Thicelt’s face cleared. “Ah. Politics.” He ran a long-fingered hand over his shaven skull. Then the wry smile returned. “And why not? Any common pirate can rob and plunder and rape and kill. It takes a great pirate to do politics.”
He squared his shoulders and tapped his chest with a finger. “Here, Justiciar Demansk, you see a great pirate. One of the best! So. What are to be my new responsibilities?”
“I’m not sure yet, as far as the long term goes. In the short term, I need a captain for a sea voyage.” He matched the wry smile with one of his own. “I do know your new title, on the other hand. Special Attendant.”
” ‘Special Attendant.’ ” Thicelt rolled the odd words around in his mouth. ” ‘Special Attendant.’ It has a nice vague sound to it. Splendid! Vague titles are a damnation for a workman; a boon, for the overseer.”
“Exactly,” said Demansk. “And for the overseer’s master.”
He looked at his son, pointing at the steam ram. “And?”
Trae shrugged. “We can run it easily enough, Father, as well as fire the cannons. The damage has all been repaired. I think I understand how everything works—even, more or less, why it works. But I hope you’re not planning to use it for your mysterious ‘sea voyage.’ I wouldn’t trust this tub in open waters for more than a few hours, and then only in fine weather. Even Sharlz wouldn’t.”
The former pirate captain scowled. “A ‘tub,’ as you say. The damn thing gave me nothing but grief, except in battle. Where”—he grinned at Demansk—”it was a terror to my enemies until that unspeakable imbecile Prince Tenny insisted on taking command.”
Having been one of Thicelt’s enemies in that sea battle, Demansk couldn’t help but agree. The infernal steam ram, with its armored shell and its cannons, had wreaked havoc among Demansk’s own ships. But Prince Tenny, the oldest son of King Casull of the Isles, had been aboard the ram. He had forced Thicelt to abandon the captain’s cunning tactics and try to mix it up directly with the Confederate forces.
The Confederate navy was notoriously clumsy, with none of the superb seamanship of the Islanders. But no one in their right mind ever tried to “mix it up directly” with Confederate naval forces. Those forces consisted mainly of marines, who were the world’s experts at turning a sea battle into a land battle. Demansk himself had led the boarding operation which captured the steam ram—and its captain, in the bargain.
Prince Tenny had been killed in the course of that boarding operation, with a dart through his guts. Demansk could still remember Sharlz Thicelt spitting on the corpse with fury.
“I’ve got other plans for the steam ram,” said Demansk. “You’ll have a good seagoing vessel for your voyage, Special Attendant Thicelt, have no fear of that. In fact, your very first assignment is to select the ship in the first place. I’ll give you the money to buy it.” Again, he waved his hand. “I’ll expect you not to skim more than a modest sum off the top.”
Thicelt grinned. “And then?”
Demansk hooked his thumb at the ram. “If it’s working, does it need you to captain it?”
Thicelt shook his head. “Any good captain can manage the thing, with some training.”
“Good. Because what I really need is an admiral.”
All the good cheer left Thicelt’s face. He studied Demansk very carefully. Then: “An honest pirate, as I said. So I will not lie. The ‘price’ involves costs as well as rewards. There is only one reason you would need an ‘admiral,’ and that is to conquer the Isles.” The man’s long face grew longer still. “I have family on those Isles, Justiciar Demansk. Political loyalties are nothing to me. Family . . . is a different thing. People get hurt in conquests. Killed and ravished and maimed. Their property taken and themselves sold into slavery.”
Demansk nodded. “I wouldn’t expect your loyalty under such conditions. Nor would I even want it, to be honest.” He reached out a hand and seized the taller man by the shoulder. “I can promise you this, Sharlz Thicelt. If you let me know where your family lives—and especially if you can get word to them ahead of time—I will see to their safety and well-being.”