Quoth the Raven

"We watched from the Tower as the clouds burned; watched as the flames of hell painted the sky in a concerto of colours, lighting the horizon in a parody of the sunset that waited in the wings but that was never allowed to take centre stage. Standing in silence we bore mute witness as the Empire turned to stricken rubble around us, the glory of British power dying with the fading light from the West.

That sunset over the City of London presaged the dawn of a new age of steam; one of necessity and invention, one of desperation and survival, where the former colonies left us to survive as best we could in the fragmented society left in the aftermath of the Chem War. The Americans had taken their own independence one step further, declaring that the whole world should be free of the tyranny of British colonial might; it seemed that many others agreed.

We fought as we had always fought, but we were outnumbered, outgunned, and left to rebuild as best we could. The Tower provided sanctuary at first, then a centre of power, and finally a rule of law overseen by the Tower Guard under the Commander of the Tower: a small island of order in a sea of anarchy.

Now we live in a country where pirates rule the skies in their Cloudships and the effects of the chemical war inflicted on us blights our daily lives. Nevertheless, we fight for survival and a semblance of peace amidst the chaos that surrounds us on all sides. We fight for London."

Seth put down the page he had been reading aloud, looking over at his friend who was feeding the doves and rooks from the roof of the water tower where he had made his home.

"It's a decent start old boy, but to be honest I think it needs a bit of an edit, it's a tad overly dramatic for my tastes."

Raven turned away from his beloved birds and perilous perch overlooking the city and turned to face the larger man, his twisted beak of a mouth adding a strange sibilance to his words.

"Your tastes tend to involve pornography and bawdy humour Seth, so I don't feel too inclined to worry over much about your critique. I merely thought that it might be useful for future generations if someone kept some sort of record of events."

"The future?" Seth's laughter rumbled over the rooftop as Raven scowled and slumped down beside him on the solidly made bench, the Tower dominating the view as it always had. "Sorry, old friend but I think we need to worry more about the present, the future can take care of itself. Why have you been writing anyway?"

"I finished what I was working on so I decided to try something new."

"Finished? So you've completed it?"

"I have, but before we get down to business and I have to leave the sunshine, what news do you bring from the lofty heights of the Tower? You're the only one who seems to bother telling me anything. The others run in and out with bits of odd machinery that they think I might be able to use or requests for something to be fixed or modified, but they never really bother talking to me."

Seth leant back on the bench and looked at the birds that crowded the ledge, collecting his thoughts and making sure he was prepared for the inevitable barrage of questions from the Raven. He looked over at his friend of twenty years, taking in the birdlike frame and misshapen head. The feathery wisps of hair on his mutated body had thinned over the decades since the Chem Wars but he had lost none of his sharpness nor engineering skills: he had served the Tower well.

"We are under siege," he said shortly. "The pirates are getting stronger by the day and are threatening to breach our defences. If they gain control of the skies over London then we are all doomed. We're running low on supplies, low on men and morale, and I think we have a mole somewhere in the organisation."

"A mole?" Raven's head swung sharply in Seth's direction. "How?"

"I don't know, we are all vetted and all have sworn the Oath to the Tower Commander, but the pirates always seem to be one step ahead of us." He sighed deeply, looking at his feet. "I'm not sure what I or any of the others can do anymore."

"One man can always make a difference my friend."

"Quoth the Raven..." said Seth, his tone sardonic, bitterness shadowing his features as he switched his gaze back to the Tower.

"Ah, sarcasm, the lowest form of wit, or possibly twit in your case. Now, when you've finished making sarcastic jokes I've only heard a score of times before, perhaps I can cheer you up and give you some reason to hope." Raven opened his beaklike mouth in his version of a grin and motioned Seth to follow him.

They made their way down the ladders into the main part of the water tower and then further down into the massive central hall of the pumping station. Workbenches crowded the walls, strange half-built weapons, machines, and gadgets strewn across their surfaces. Interspersed here and there were tools, bits of paper, and other odd seemingly random detritus. Seth picked up a piece of paper, momentarily trying to puzzle through some of the equations and sketches before dropping it back onto the bench with a shake of his head.

"I think perhaps we should rename you Magpie. It seems that anything interesting or bright and shiny manages to make its way in here. How much do you have going on in your head old son?" asked Seth, looking at the clutter that surrounded him.

"There's always something to do old friend, there's so much to learn, so much to explore. Everything is interesting, even you on rare occasions. Now, here we are, I might need to adjust it slightly to your frame but I think it should do the job."

Raven drew back a curtain with a dramatic flourish and exposed a wooden frame on which hung various bits of armour and clothing. Metallic greaves and arm guards polished to a high sheen, with a breastplate and shoulder guards of the same material mirrored the dingy light of the workshop. Sturdy leather trews and the tailed uniform jacket of the Tower Guard lay ready for use; a pair of flying goggles and a matching metallic helm with chain mail hood hung on a hook to one side. Cast casually on a peg was a matching cloak and a pair of gloves. What drew Seth's gaze however was the cylindrical contraption that rested in a cradle by the metallically biased uniform. Wires and tubes were coiled and ready, and the new equipment was all polished and oiled for use.

"What in the name of the Tower is that?" Seth's eyes were suddenly alight with excitement, his earlier gloom dissipating rapidly as he drank in the view of the new weapon.

Raven raised his eyes heavenwards for a moment and shook his head wryly. "Typical, give you something shiny with wires and the possibility of some wanton destruction and you turn into a four-year-old boy again."

"It destroys things too?" he said with a grin, knowing that it would annoy the other man.

"Child," muttered Raven irritably and then laughed suddenly, a whispering giggle that made Seth grin all the more broadly. "Come on, let's see if I've managed to get this right."

"You haven't tested it?"

"Not on a live subject," noted Raven, laughing again at Seth's sudden look of horror. "Come on my little guinea pig, let's get you strapped in. Shall I show you to the fitting rooms, sir?"

Several minutes later Seth stood in front of a polished steel mirror and looked himself over. He was lucky, his mutation had taken the form of bulk and size rather than any physical deformity and it lent itself to the new armour that Raven had supplied. Reaching up, he twirled his moustache rakishly, grinning at his reflection before shouldering the straps of the cylinder. Raven fussed around for a few more minutes plugging in tubes and attaching wires then tightened the final few straps before standing back to cast a critical eye over Seth.

"Now then, there are several functions to this thing. The armour acts both as protection and as a power source. Behind the metal plates are ultra-thin water reservoirs. The heat from your body, and more preferably sunlight, will heat the water in the reservoirs. These then connect to the larger flasks on your back. The whole system is at reduced pressure, thus reducing the boiling point of the water. Once boiling, that 'steam' is released to power up the dynamos, generating electricity which is contained as energy in the container at the rear. You can pressurise and depressurise the system by moving, as the exoskeleton contained in your new armour and uniform all connect into the system. The control panel is contained in the forearm guard on your left arm. There are a few other surprises too, but we can run through them as we train you up in its use.

"Oh, here, you'll need these. The pockets on each side of your trousers are designed to conceal them." Raven handed over a long knife and a repeater-style handgun designed and built by Raven, which Seth examined with a grin before stowing for future use.

"Now then, I have an old shop mannequin ready for testing purposes. Please put your goggles on and we'll see if this thing blows up or not."

"You're not instilling me with a huge amount of confidence in this engine thing you know old boy. By the way what sort of lenses have you put in these goggles, they seem to give a very odd view?"

"That's a special modification I've been working on," noted Raven, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "They pick up heat as well as letting in light so that you get a little bit more information on your surroundings than you would otherwise do. They also react instantly to strong light polarising slightly to protect your eyes when you use the weapon. They might come in handy for something else at some point too."

"Um... yes. Possibly," said Seth doubtfully. "Now how does this thing work again?"

A few seconds later Seth stood open-mouthed in front of a small pile of splinters and the smoldering remains of the mannequin, while Raven fussed around behind him. An arc of bluish light had streamed from the weapon, sending Seth staggering backward before he got it under control. After a couple of seconds, the energy stream had died abruptly leaving him stunned and Raven muttering dark epithets about substandard electronics.

"We seem to have blown a fuse here which isn't ideal, but I think that's easily remedied. You're strong enough to cope with the recoil of the weapon, but I may have to make some smaller models for some of your colleagues as you're a bit of a freak of nature. Right, take it off; I've got work to do."

"That was incredible," breathed Seth. "I feel like I could take on the world." 

"I suspect you probably could if I built one big enough. Happier now?"

Seth smiled. "Yes old friend, I believe I am. If the entire Tower Guard was equipped with this sort of weaponry, the pirates wouldn't stand a chance."

"If I can give you some advantage and keep you safe I will Seth. I owe you my life and I am now responsible for yours."

"That was a long time ago Raven."

"I have a long memory. Without you, I would not be here and without you, I would not have this space, this purpose, or this freedom." He smiled. "Right, I think you've played enough at being armoured steam knight for now. Commander Danelta has sanctioned your use of the new uniform so you can keep that on; make sure you take the cloak with you. I'll give this thing a tweak and retest it. We have to ensure that this one is working correctly so I can make the rest properly."

"The rest?"

"Yes. Danelta has asked me to make more as quickly as I can. It looks like he's taking your request to go on the offensive seriously. I'll see you in a couple of days."

Seth clasped hands with Raven and looked the birdlike man in the eyes. "Take care old friend, and thank you for giving me hope."

"One man really can make a difference Seth: believe in yourself."

~

The massed ranks of the Tower Guard stood in the courtyard looking up at the balcony as the Tower Commander finished his speech.

"... and so now ladies and gentlemen it is the time; the time when we take the fight to the clouds. With new weapons, new technology, and your strength, we can win. We can take back the skies, make London safe and then begin to rebuild this country. Troop Leader Seth here will accompany me when I go to parlay with the leaders of the pirates. We will give them an ultimatum that they cannot afford to ignore. If they decide not to cease their piratical ways, then we will deal with them.

"We will keep the peace, but first we have to fight for that peace.

"You are the key to that peace and all that stands between order and chaos. The Tower is the rock around which a new civilisation can be built. We make a stand. Here. Now. For the future. Tower!"

"Tower!" the crowd roared in reply and then the Commander dismissed them, the dark uniformed Guards moving once more to their duties in readiness for the Commander's visit to the Cloud Pirates.

"Seth, are you ready?" the Commander said as he turned away from the ranks to the men who stood to attention behind him.

"Yes sir."

"Good, we leave in fifteen minutes. Draw weapons from the armoury and meet me by the Tower Cloudship in ten minutes. Bring your sub-unit of six."

"Yes sir."

"Seth?"

"You have a question, sir?"

"Did you talk to Raven about the mole?"

"Yes sir."

"And do you think he is one of them?"

"No sir."

"Would you care to expand your vocabulary to something that contains more than one syllable?"

"Yes sir, sorry sir." Seth flushed at the rebuke and gathered his thoughts. "Raven is not interested in helping anyone other than us. He's interested in information, technology, and experimentation. He wants to keep his workshop and the space to think, he wants to feed his birds and occasionally enjoy the sunshine. We give him that."

"...and..."

"And what sir?"

"You trust him?"

"Yes sir, with my life."

"If your judgement is wrong, he holds all our lives in his feathery hands, Seth."

"Yes sir."

"Sir, may I ask a question?"

"Yes, Trooper, carry on."

"How do we know we can trust Captain Pincer?"

"We don't Seth, he's a pirate. If necessary I will take him down myself, and it may well be the only way to ensure that the pirates lose strength and cohesion. If I fail, you may have to take over. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. I will make sure I pick my best men."

"Oh, and Seth?"

"Yes sir?"

"If it comes down to it, you will have to kill Raven, do you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Ready yourself, I will see you shortly."

~

Seth tightened his grip on the wooden rail of the small Tower vessel. Their cloudship and one supporting clipper approached the mass of balloons and cloudships that formed the massed ranks of the pirate fleet. Two larger vessels were set apart from the main fleet, stationary in the cool morning air, their streamlined helium balloons marred only by the black pirate pennants that fluttered from their masts in the slight breeze. The white flag of parlay was draped from the side of the gondola on the largest of them, and one of the Tower sailors hurriedly raised their own smaller white flag as they approached.

A line was thrown, and once the Tower ship was securely tied off a gangplank was lowered and the Tower Commander, Seth, and his men made their way over to the pirate's ship, the other Tower ship moving apart from the others slightly to give covering fire if required.

Seth's new cloak caught the breeze slightly as he made his way across the narrow wooden gangway, and he staggered causing some of the pirates leaning over the rail to laugh. Glaring at them, he regained his balance and looked down, noting the incredible drop to the earth below. An involuntary shudder coursed through his frame and he clamped his jaw tight against the swelling fear as he followed his men on board.

"Ah, the inestimable Commander Danelta, welcome on board. Good of you to join us up here." The deep voice boomed across the deck of the cloudship and Captain Pincer, the legendary captain of the Cloudship Pirates strode into view. "Please tell your men to stay on deck Commander, we can have our discussion in private."

"Of course Captain, lead on."

"Commander! Do you think it wise to go on your own? Perhaps one of my troopers should accompany you?" Seth moved toward his Commander, his arm partially raised as if to restrain his leader.

"Thank you for your concern Troop Leader Seth, but I'll be fine. We are under a flag of truce after all." The Commander nodded his head faintly and then turned back to his host, Seth acquiescing unhappily to his commander's unspoken command.

"Be ready gentlemen, spread out and await my orders."

"Yes sir," his men responded and moved across the deck to lean against various sections of the ship taking up positions that left them spread out and less susceptible to attack.

Seth sighed, this was not going how he wanted and he was keyed up and sweating under Raven's new armour despite the cool of the day.

He moved toward the bow of the ship, hoping to catch a glimpse of London to the north. The meeting point had been chosen so that the location was visible from the Tower, but outside the range of the London defences, in order to assure the pirates that they would not come under fire. Seth had, as ordered, put the entire Tower Guard on duty in preparation for the talks not going well. Pincer was notoriously quick to anger and any attack would likely be immediate should things go wrong, the Commander had remained convinced that Pincer would at least honour the truce flag regardless of the outcome of the talks, even if he himself was considering a more permanent solution to Pincer's presence in the skies.

Leaning on the rail at the bow of the ship, he looked at the bracelet that dangled loosely on his left wrist. Seemingly flawless, only the Oath made it whole, only breaking that Oath could remove it. The Tower Commander had protected the City since the Chem wars and no one who had made the Oath to Danelta on joining the Guard could break their word without the Commander knowing. All had sworn to protect the City and their colleagues, and uphold the Law. He sighed again, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets in frustration. His right pocket rustled and he withdrew a folded piece of paper.

"Who does the Commander give his Oath to?"

The simple sentence was scrawled in the spidery hand of Raven. He turned over the slip of paper, his mind working furiously.

"One man can make a difference, for good or ill..." was written on the reverse.

"Oh shit," he muttered as the implications of Raven's handwritten note hit home. He stood in mute horror for a few moments, the wind at the exposed bowsprit plucking at the paper he held. He stuffed it back into a pocket, the cold wind making his eyes tear. Lifting his hands to his head he gently placed the goggles over his eyes to protect his vision, then turned back to face his men. As he did so, the special lenses picked up several new details. A flicker of warm light from below decks illuminated crouched forms of cloudship marines next to concealed cannons on the starboard side. His worry grew as his gaze flickered swiftly over the ship; a group of men became apparent concealed behind the enclosed upper deck of the ship, their weapons drawn and ready. Cannons were also present and ready on the port side, and within the cabin Pincer and the Tower Commander clasped hands before moving to the door.

His mouth dry, Seth unzipped the pockets on his trousers, unwilling to believe what the goggles had picked up and frozen with unaccustomed indecision. He coughed loudly, alerting his men with the prearranged signal that something might be amiss, watching as Pincer and the Commander walked back onto the deck. Seemingly in slow motion, the row of pirates on the upper deck stood from concealment and raised weapons. As they did so, hatches opened on both the port and starboard sides of the ship and a rain of fire blasted a broadside into the helpless Tower ships, the other pirate vessels closing in rapidly to unleash a further barrage at the other Tower cloudship before the Tower marines could even register what had happened.

Seth reached for his gun on his hip, his reactions overcoming his disbelief, bullets pumping rapidly as the pressurised repeating action Raven had designed the previous year fed the bullets into the chamber as fast as he could pull the trigger. A hail of fire swept into the pirates who had attacked his troops, his own few men falling to the superior numbers of the pirates. As the Tower ships slowly collapsed in on themselves, the helium balloons deflated sufficiently for gravity to overcome lift, and the stricken vessels tumbled to the ground far below. As the last of his troopers hit the deck, blood and brains pooling on the pale wood, Seth staggered backward in horror seeking some cover, two paces finding him up against the bow rail. His gun chamber span impotently for a second and he automatically reached for a spare clip, slamming it home with a snarl.

He lifted the gun, took aim, and staggered as his smiling Commander shot him in the chest, the bullet caroming off the breastplate with an angry buzz. Arms windmilling as he fought for balance, his gun flying from his grasp, he seemed to hang suspended over the rail for a second, then another bullet slammed into his chest plate and spun him over the edge into the cold air.

With the wind whistling past his face he came to his senses a few seconds later. Reflex kicked in and he spread his arms wide, shouting in joy and terror as his cloak billowed open behind him stabilising and slowing his plummeting body. Raven's hidden 'wing' had worked! His descent slowed and he looked around, steering himself towards London as the exoskeleton worked to assist his muscular frame. With the goggles protecting his eyes, his view of the Tower was clear but as he aligned himself with the protective fortress he had called home for decades, angling his body to head for home, his retinas were momentarily bombarded with the light of a huge explosion as a fireball rose from where the Tower had stood mere seconds before. Polarised lenses shielding his eyes and muscles cramping with the strain of his flight, he roared in inchoate rage at the pirates who floated serenely above with his traitorous Commander, watching as the flames consumed the entire Guard, all who had been on duty at his Commander's order.

Raven!

The thought blasted into his mind and he steered to the south. Seconds later, he pulled several ties and the cloak ballooned into a chute that checked his final descent allowing him to land at a staggering run in an open street not far from Raven's water tower. Discarding the cloak, he stood in the street for a few seconds to catch his breath, the ashes of the Tower drifting down around him. Breaking into a run, he sprinted toward the pumping station buildings, tugging the long knife from its sheath on his hip as he approached the hidden door to Raven's home.

It was ajar, the door sagging on its hinges. He moved cautiously inside, the goggles assisting his view of the poorly lit interior. Assessing his status he altered his course and made his way to Raven's hidden armoury before continuing his search.

Voices from ahead signalled trouble and he checked the pressure gauge on the multi-chambered gun that Raven had shown him a few weeks before. The massive weight of it had rendered it useless to most of the Guard, but Seth's bulk had proven that some of the Guard at least could use it without being blown off their feet. He smiled grimly. The steam pressure was high, the bullet belts were loaded and the safety was off.

He stepped from behind a pillar into the workshop area and walked calmly and quietly towards the knot of men gathered by one of the workbenches, catching the end of the conversation as the leader of the small group lifted his voice in anger.

"...idiots! We need..." his words faltered as he caught sight of Seth over his men's shoulders. "Seth!" he shouted in panic, a shout that was drowned out by the roar of the machine gun as Seth pulled the trigger. Bullets whipped from the steam-powered carbines as the massive gun decimated the group of men, making them dance and jerk like figures in a substandard puppet show.

Seth lowered the carbine, a jet of steam hissing from the release valve as he let it hang from his shoulder by the strap. Lifting his blade once more, he moved toward the moaning pile of humanity that littered the floor in bloody agony, punching the weapon through the throat of a man who tried to lift himself from the floor. Shifting a few still twitching bodies he located the leader of the group, who had been partially shielded from the bullets by his men. As Seth freed the man's legs, he began to drag himself across the floor in terror, a short bloody trail noting his lack of progress.

He yelped as Seth lifted him from the floor, one massive fist grabbing a handful of cloth to leave him dangling, his face inches from the burning eyes of the lone Guard to survive the carnage wrought by the pirates.

"Where is he?" he whispered. "Where is Raven?"

"I don't know. Please, please don't hurt me. We've searched the building but we can't find him or the engine that Pincer said would be here."

Seth stuck the point of his knife into the man's leg and left it there, twisting it sharply to elicit a scream of pain.

"You killed the Guard."

"No, no, not me," the man sobbed. "Pincer sent in a gang last night. There are tunnels under the Tower that someone had told him about, they set explosives. We were told that the entire Guard would be in there, bar the few that would taken care of on the cloudships."

Seth backhanded his knife through the throat of the man with a snarl, dropping the twitching corpse to the workshop floor before wiping his blade clean on the man's clothing.

"Raven!" he roared, pain and anger making the pigeons in the rafters far above flutter in dismay.

"The roof," he muttered.

Dropping the carbine and sheathing his knife, he ran to the iron ladder in the corner and climbed the worn rungs as quickly as he could, opening the hatch and scrambling onto the roof. A gentle breeze ruffled the feathers of the doves and ravens who watched him warily from their perches.

"Raven!" he shouted, startling the birds into avian panic as they flapped away from the maniac who had invaded their space.

"Raven!" The shout choked in his throat as emotion roared to the surface. The black smoke of the Tower still rose in front of him and he slumped to the bench where he and Raven had shared so many discussions, tears coursing down his cheeks. A single black feather drifted down from above and he picked it up as it drifted to his feet.

"Raven," he croaked. "What shall I do without you, my friend?"

"Well, I hope we'll not need to find out for some time yet." The muffled voice came from underneath his backside and Seth jumped to his feet in alarm. "Now, if you've finished shouting, can you lift the seat, please? I got in here, but it's too damn heavy to move from underneath."

Seth turned and ripped the seat of the bench away from its supports, screws, and brackets flying across the roof of the tower as he threw it to one side. Underneath the seat in a cramped space lay Raven and the engine. Seth lifted the smaller man bodily from the cavity and crushed him in a huge bear hug, as he wept in relief and loss.

"Put me down, there's a good lad."

"They're all dead," Seth said hoarsely gesturing at the ruined Tower.

"Aye, I know. I was up here when the explosion went off. Bits of masonry reached even here and the blast blew me off my feet. I had just enough time to grab the engine and hide and then a group of men blew the door off and stormed the building. Thank you for coming for me."

Raven offered his hand and looked at his massive friend who took it and pulled the smaller man back into another, more gentle hug.

"Your note and equipment saved my life, I thought it only fair." His faint smile faded. "What the hell do we do now old friend?"

"As I've said before, one man can always make a difference. You're still alive, and so am I. Unfortunately so are Denalta and Pincer."

"One man can make a difference," repeated Seth, then looked at Raven and smiled. "Two should be able to rip them a new arsehole then? I swear on my life that I will not rest until I've killed both of them."

"Delicately put Seth, but yes, I think so. Besides, I have all sorts of things downstairs that I've never even shown you that could be interesting. I think our friends up there may be about to live in interesting times..."

"Quoth the Raven..." grinned Seth.

There was faint cracking noise and Seth lifted his left arm just in time to catch the two fragments of his Oath bracelet as they fell from his wrist.

"You threatened your Commander's life," noted Raven softly. "You have broken your Oath."

"Then I will make a new one. I pledge my life to you my friend and to the idea of the Law that the Tower once embodied.

"Well said, and I pledge the same." The two men clasped hands and Seth dropped the fragments of his former life to the roof of the tower. "Now then, we need to find a place to hide and get you re-equipped."

"Is there any chance of a motorbike? I've always fancied a steam-powered bike."

"Child," muttered Raven under his breath. "Come on, we've got some pirates to kill..."

~~~ The End ~~~

A short story based on the four images in the slideshow on the right hand side, written for the SciFi short story smackdown 2.0. Run by ForbiddenPlanet via The Pub. Round 1 - Steampunk.

Quoth the Raven

by

Gavin Wilson

Wattpad EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Gavin Wilson on Wattpad

Quoth the Raven Copyright © 2012 Gavin Wilson.

All rights reserved.

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