Em scratched his eyes and coughed. His entire body was covered in coal dust as the rest of the lower deck. He took the last embers of the firebox and dragged his feet upstairs.

The light from the bridge was uncomfortably blinding, though the temperature, after a night of sleeping next to the boiler, felt cool and pleasant. “Do not come that dirty, dear,” shouted Lim from the galley. “And I don’t need the embers. I have plenty of wood.”

Em looked down at the bucket and babbled. He felt exhausted from replying.

For the last two days, with not a single bit of wind, Em had to rely on the power of steam. The Ballerina’s engine, a machine he only used during subaquatic operations or to navigate the complicated waters of the Blue Kingdom, was suffering from the high pressures of his new Hanan coal, so Em had to put a close eye on it to avoid irreparable damage.

“Sir. Does Miss Lim read minds?” Macha, sitting on the Captain’s stool, had his head resting on the steering wheel.

For hours, his ship had been floating aimlessly without the need of a human hand. And that was the only reason he let the kid touch the controls.

“It’s Captain… and respect the wheel. Do I have to slap that empty coconut of yours?”

Macha stood immediately. “Miss Lim reads minds, doesn’t she? The other day when you were talking about history I thought, ‘This is the most boring day of my life’-”

Em snarled from under the wet towel he was wiping his face with. Macha paused and raised his hands, palms pointing at him. “Nothing to do with the teacher, sir… Captain. It was the topic that bored me!”

The kid waited for a reaction and continued his usual buoyant chattering.“I swear! As soon as I thought about it, Mrs. Lim said: ‘I know it’s boring dear, but this is an important lesson’, how about that?”

The imitation of Lim’s voice, which Macha did very well, would have gotten at least a chuckle from Em, but the old man was feeling like a wreck. His eyes itched and his entire body ached, so instead, he sighed deeply and grumbled.

“All right, keep your secrets. But I just heard what she said about the bucket. That proves it.”

“What are you talking about?” Em said, looking at the metal pail at his feet. “I always bring embers from below, and if I was not thinking about the embers, then how she, well, then… ah…. Just bring me a coffee, do you mind?”

Macha returned with a smoking cup while the Captain was still trying to remove the blackness from his hair. ”Mr. Em, why didn’t we stop at Jin port? You still have a few goods left from the north, right?”

“Aye. But that will sell better in Puyo.”

“I want to see the Hieng kingdom. And Jō-Dan. I heard they are beautiful islands.”

“They are. But we are not going to Jō-Dan. I don’t sail the Ring’s east. After Hieng, we will head south and cross the Blue Kingdom.”

“Cross the… The Blue? I thought we were going to sail it around the edge! Isn’t the interior a maze of shallow rocks and corals?” Macha asked, eyebrows raised.

“It is. Reach me that chart over there.” Em said, trying to clean the coal from his hands. The black dust was stuck between the joints of his prosthesis, making it clear that it would not come off until Lim gave it a good service.

In front of the kid, he flattened a chart of the Ring of Commerce. “Look. This circle of dangers is the Kingdom. but as you can see, there are navigable areas. “

“Is mostly blank,” said Macha.

“Well, this one is only to sail from the lighthouse to the Rigg. The easiest part. Even a big ship can sail there if they are skilled enough.”

“How about the rest?” Macha was staring, trying to decipher the secrets of the chart.

“Only for shallow-draft vessels. And some areas are still dangerously complicated. You will see when we reach the Wrecks. From there to the lighthouse is a challenging journey.”

“Where is the lighthouse?” Asked Macha, his nose almost touching the paper.

Em pointed in the middle of the Maze. “Here. From there, there are secret passages to thousands of islands and hundreds of floating villages that form the Kingdom.” Macha looked up, disbelief visible in his eyes. “Come kid, let’s go anchor. I don’t want to drift out of course.”

The day was sunny and with few clouds. There was not a hint of wind, which made the heat unbearable. The Ballerina moved through the flat sea following the course of a slight current. Macha grabbed the anchor winch and began to turn. “Can you sail the Maze by heart?”

Em huffed out a quiet laugh. “Impossible kid. Like you said, The Blue is a maze, yes, but it’s mostly hidden underwater. Without charts, we’d be done.”

Em took a moment to consider how important Ivy was. Even with charts, sailing from the Wrecks to the Lighthouse was an impossible endeavor without her. And not only that. Her special skills were extremely useful in many cases, and the old man realized he did not always give her the recognition she deserved.

Macha released the winch and checked the ocean surface. “How deep is this place?”

“Shallow enough to anchor. Come, let’s have a swim!” Em unbuttoned his shirt and Macha froze, staring at his prosthetic chest. “There’s still the body of an old man under this, kid. It’s not a big deal.”

Em jumped headfirst into the sea. For a glimpse of a moment, the bubbles dancing around him made him feel young again. He kicked hard, wanting to dive as deep as possible, but his body, cleverly designed to float, pushed in the opposite direction.

“You scared me, Sir. I thought you were going to sink!” Said Macha.

“I cannot.” Em tapped his shoulder. “Some parts are metal, but mostly it’s made of materials I don’t even know the name of. And I have air compartments here and there.”

Macha sat on the deck floor, gazing at his Captain. “That’s amazing Mr. Em.”

Em rubbed his hair, wishing the bath would clean him properly. “The water is refreshing. Don’t you want to jump?” He gave a couple of backstrokes and stopped to enjoy the sky over him, drifting immobile on the calm waters.

“I don’t want to be eaten by a shark.”

“Sharks don’t prey on humans. Not intentionally. They won’t attack unless they mistake you for one of their usual prey.”

“Well, if I don’t swim, then I won’t give them the chance to make a mistake.” Pointed the kid. “How about sirens? And Tritons? They drag sailors into the abyss.”

“That things do not exist.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve been at sea most of my life and never seen one,” answered Em.

“I’ve never seen the gods of my people. But I’m certain they exist.”

Em didn’t want to go further on that conversation. Instead, he swam around, enjoying the moment.

“Good morning Miss Ivy.” Macha said. Em raised his face to see his niece standing on the edge, blanket over the shoulders and arms hugging her favorite reading book. Surprisingly, she greeted Macha without a cursing sign.

“She is saying ‘Good morning’ to you,” Pointed Em.

“I know that one!” Macha repeated the arm movement exactly as Ivy had done, and she answered with the slight nod of a frowning face. Ignoring the girl’s laconic reaction, Macha continued speaking. “Miss Ivy, we were talking about sirens. Do you believe in sea monsters?”

“I know there’s a kraken,” she signaled, showing a gaze of hidden rage only Em could understand.

Macha turned to Em, waiting for a translation. “She says there are no such things… Where were you, Ivy? I wanted to ask you to join us for a swim.”

“I was at the stern deck. I came to tell you there is a breeze.” Ivy pointed at the small windmill that charged the batteries. It was slightly spinning.

“Oh. Damn it.” shouted Em. He rushed back to the ship with big powerful strokes. “Ivy sails. Macha Anchor.”

Glad to be sailing with the wind again, Em took control of the ship. Lim, pulling a long face, approached him with a towel in hand.

“Sorry. At least I’m not dirty with coal, right?” Em said, trying to ease the mood.

“Either dust or water someone that is not you will have to clean.” answered her. “Did Ivy tell you about the ship?”

“What ship?”

“The one she spotted over the horizon.”

“Uhm. Nay. She didn’t,” Em said, following Ivy’s movements with his eyes. She took the spyglass from the desk and went back outside. “Are you looking for that ship?” Em raised his voice to make sure she could hear him.

She signaled ‘yes’, looked at the wind vane and went back inside. “There is a two-masted gaff-rigged schooner at board on the port quarter. Is around two to three miles away.”

“Colors?” Em asked.

“Hanan.”

“Hanan merchants usually sail on djongs or dhows, but it’s not uncommon these days to see Northern riggings here. Why did it pick your attention so much?”

“Wind is from sou’est by sou. Hieng is straight beam reach. If they go that way, why are they sailing close reach? And if they are not, where are they going? There is nothing south, just the Maze. I think they are sneaking up on us.”

He took a moment to answer. “You are right. When they reach abeam, let me know if they raise the Black.”

The north west of the Ring was ruled by one of the five Lords of Piracy. A vicious and uncanny woman known by the Harpy. Noone dared to plunder her dominions unless it was with her permission and all pirates that sailed under her flag knew the Ballerina was untouchable. But the Harpy was only one of the five. The Ring of Commerce was divided, so each of the Lords had their piece of cake. The north-east, where the island of Jō-Dan was located, were the domains of the Ue-Wokou Clan. The head of the clan, Lord Ue-Jin, was an ambitious man and, unlike the Harpy, didn’t owe Em any favors, so his subordinates could have crossed the borders and targeted his ship.

The sound of a cannon shot brought him back from his thoughts. It was a warning not meant to harm, but to warn. Em had many encounters with pirates of all sorts, and he knew all the steps they would follow. Now that they were close enough, it was time to inflict fear.

“Can you see the Harpy?” shouted the Captain. Ivy was again outside, looking through the spyglass. “There’s no Mama’s Harpy,” signaled the girl. “No Ue flower either.” Ivy strode inside. “It seems just black. Pirates with no alliance? how is that possible?”

Em grunted. His niece was just too young and the few times she had seen such people were just minions of a bigger dog. Em let Ivy take command of the ship to check through the spyglass himself.

“That’s not a schooner,” he said while plodding back inside.” It’s a pinisi rigged ship. Common in the Pirate Run. That freebooters are surely from there.”

“Can we outrun them?” Asked Macha.

Em took a moment to answer. “Maybe, but I don’t want them to raise the Red.”

“I have heard stories of pirates slaughtering ships that had surrendered while the Black was up,” Macha said.

“Some sea-dogs don’t respect the old ways,” whispered Em, grinding his teeth. “But it doesn’t matter. No mangy pooch is boarding my Ballerina. Not now, not ever!”

Em had faced pirates in the past. Too many times to tell the truth. But he never had been chased since Lim and Ivy joined him.

Em rushed towards Lim’s cabin and searched under the bed. The box of his old gun was dusty, but not as much as the one with the caplock pistols. His Samuel & Samuel was not a common weapon and, to keep it in good condition, he serviced it often, but it had been years since he had used the two muzzleloader guns for the last time.

He tied the holster around his waist and checked the cylinder, trigger and hammer, which worked as smooth as the first time.

He secured the trigger with the leather string and loaded six of the gun’s special ammunition. “A pinisi,” He mumbled to himself. “Ten crew? fifteen? Cannons, uhm. I need to know how many cannons.”

A thunderous sound rumbled from afar. Right after, the splash of the ball. Near. Em was testing his luck. The next shot would no longer be a warning.

“I can do it!” Ivy signaled. “My plan. Let me do it!”

The Ballerina wasn’t an extremely fast vessel, and it didn’t have any guns either. Em always sailed around areas of safe passage and never had to face a black flag with the catamaran. For years, Ivy talked about a plan for situations like that, but Em never took it seriously. Now, his only option was a foolish ruse that put her in great danger, and other options, direct confrontation or surrender, were none acceptable.

“She can do it, Em.” said Lim from behind. Her voice reverberated in his head, reminding him of the thousand times they talked about her.

Em snorted slowly and deeply. “I know.”

In a sudden burst of energy, He put Macha behind the wheel and waved Ivy to follow. The boy, with his mouth wide open, could not believe he was really sailing the ship. “Continue straight!” Em snapped from outside.

He unfolded the spyglass one more time to have a better look at his enemy. The pirate vessel was a palari ship. Small, with a total of four cannons on the main deck.

“There is no lower deck to sneak inside, Ivy. Either cannon ports.”

“Then, instead of the tiller rope, I’ll disable the rudder from below.”

“The cannons will be surrounded by the entire crew.”

“I won’t nail them, you will have to get out of the fire line somehow.”

Em grunted. “Do you have flint and oil?”

“I’ll bring the powder of your old pistols as well.”

Em began to pull down the sails. “All right. Let’s do it.” he said reluctantly.

“I’m ready to fight Captain.” Said Macha when Em returned inside.

Em squatted in front of Lim. He was a tall man, and even crouched, his face was at the same height as hers. “I will need you to go to your room and lie on the floor. Cover with blankets and pillows as much as you can. Where is Rob?”

“I told him to go to the boiler. He is ready to start the engine at command.”

Em smiled, and both shared a silent moment staring at each other. “Everything will be fine. You know how to deal with such scum.” Lim said.

Em stood and stretched his arms. “Macha, take those pistols and come with me.” The kid took the weapons delicately, almost as if he was scared to break them.

Outside, Ivy was almost ready for the raid. Dressed in her black dress and with a belt armed with a machete and knife, her niece was finishing filling the watertight pouch.

“Be careful there. If you don’t see it clearly, go for the rudder and come back,” Em said.

Ivy tied her hair up and lifted her thumb. Next, she took one last look at the approaching pirate ship and jumped into the sea, completely disappearing out of sight. No one would see her again until it was over. That was only if everything worked as it was supposed to. Em could not help feeling an uncomfortable sensation all over his guts.

As he watched that black flag get closer and closer, Em experienced feelings that he believed were long dead, growing stronger at every minute.

He had feared nothing in a long time. Or so he thought. Now, with danger looming over his family, Em felt terrified. He took a long breath and searched for focus. Dug into his memories to remember the old ways, the old tips and the old tricks.

“Are you a good shooter, Mr. Em?” Asked Macha. The boy stood stiffly beside him, one pistol in his hand and the other at his waistband. “I’m not. You know? I’ve never had time to practice much.”

“Get that gun out of your pants.”

Macha jumped in surprise. “Oh, oh! Yes, not a good idea,” he said with a chuckle of fear.

“Don’t worry about that. It’s not even loaded. I just want you to show it well. Let them see we are armed.” Macha nodded and raised the weapons over his shoulders, one on each side of the face.

“Good lad,” Em said. “Now listen to me carefully. When they arrive, no sudden movements. And don’t even think about targeting anyone. When I tell you, lower your weapons little by little, with your finger away from the trigger. Let that be seen clearly. And you put those two down. “

“I can fight. I’m no coward.” Macha complained.

“When you learn how to shoot, you will fight. Until then, you will do as I order. Do you understand me?”

Macha blew his nose in frustration. “Son...” continued Em. “As soon as Ivy creates a distraction, I need you to command Rob to start the engine and move the Ballerina towards their stern. These are Cap’n orders. Aye?”

Macha cocked the hammers with difficulty. “Aye, aye. Sir.”

Em noticed the tingling of excitement. He knew perfectly well that if he didn’t control it, that emotion could get out of control, clouding the judgment of the most experienced man. In situations like that, there was no room for hot heads or, worse, terrified souls.

“Nervous?”

“Yes,” Macha replied, almost speechless.

“Try not to think about anything but the task you have to do. Focus on that alone.” Em said. His own advice sounded obvious and somehow silly, which made him feel embarrassed. Macha responded with a growl, like the ones the Captain used to do, and when Em glanced at him, the boy smirked.

“What’s that think of your belt?” asked Macha.

“My revolver ammunition.”

“Never seen rounds like that.”

“Aye, it’s uncommon here. I buy it in the Nor’Wes.”

“I will buy one of those guns when we sail there. And practice every day.”

“That’s the spirit,” Em said, winking at the boy, who seemed a little more confident.

Staring at the approaching ship, Em remembered Macha’s words about his gods. He also had one once. One that he hadn’t spoken to for years. For a long time, he used to blame him for the evils he experienced throughout his life and, in that instant, he considered whether it was time to make peace with him.

After a long wait that seemed never to end, the ship lowered the sails at a distance that provided certain safety for them and, at the same time, gave a perfect line of fire for their heavy artillery. The pinisi had a similar size as the Ballerina, and with around forty feet of length, it could only arrange a battery of two eight pounders on each side.

Em counted only eight sailors. A crew relatively small to handle the sails and the guns at the same time. They were all well armed, even the gunners. Six of the eight had muskets or pistols. A lot of bullets to dodge at once, he thought.

One man was aiming with a swivel gun that Em hadn’t noticed previously. Unlike the bigger guns, it was a type of artillery that could change direction easily, and that made that gunner the most dangerous of their crew, and therefore, the first who had to go down.

Em shouted with all his heart. “Parley!” The marauders looked at each other, confused. Main time, Em kept looking for any detail that would give him a winning edge.

The pirates were all from the southeast. Small bodies and dark skin. None but one dressed properly. Only rags and dirt. The fancy captain, who seemed the only with fighting experience, had a cat o’nine hanging from his belt. He’d be the second to fall. Without a leader who seemed to treat them worse than dogs, there was a slight chance they would stop fighting.

The pirate captain raised a cutlass menacingly. “Ya have nay’right to parley!”

Em smiled. Neither his size nor a blade that could do little at that distance frightened him. Slowly, He drew his gun, and with the barrel still pointed at the ground, he cocked the hammer. Dropping the safety leather strap. “As far as I know, A Parley isn’t only pirate’s right, Cap’n. Everyone can parley, even on land.”

Em’s risky move didn’t go unnoticed. Each of the pirates reacted nervously, reaching for their weapons and looking for orders with their eyes, either from the captain or from a thick, half-naked man who stood in the middle of the deck. The suspected quartermaster would be the third to go, and luckily without him or the captain, the rest would be confused enough to allow a safe escape.

“Parley’s a truce between two armies, bah!. Ya not an army. Ya’a prey!”

“I haven’t surrendered my ship yet.”

“Ya what?” yelled the pirate. “I didn’t raise ma’red out of cour’sey. This is how’s work. Black jack’up, you stop, let us plunder. leh? Don wan? Rule of reds and I keel’haul ya’all!”

“Yes, those are the rules. And we will follow the rules of the sea. We are armed, you are armed. So, we will parley. Rules are rules, gentlemen.” Shouted Em.

The captain hesitated, taking a quick look around. Having his decisions questioned in front of his men was not something he was used to. But Em knew no predator takes unnecessary risks. “Aye’bah!. Then ya talk, talk! Wanna say?” jabbed the southerner.

“We sail under the protection of the Mama’Thumbs. These are her waters.”

“Ya see any Harpy on my flag?”

“Do you know what she does to old salts that fish in her pond?”

The sea-dog raised his thumbs up and wiggled them. “Ain’scared! The Fist is a crippled hand!”

“A hand with three fingers can still hold a blade.”

“Ain’t care. Unless ya better cards, this parley finish, savvy? Now we board ya.”

Em looked at the stern of the pirate’s ship. There were no signs of Ivy. He needed more time.

For sure, Ivy had engaged the ship even before it reached them. But disabling its navigation, and with none of the dogs realizing it, was going to take time. Not to mention creating a distracting fire in damp wood.

“You are eight scallywags.” Em yelled. “My boy here has two rounds ready. He is one hell of a shot. And this piece here on my side is a wheel gun. Revolvers are called. It can shoot six bullets without a reload.”

The pirate captain laughed. “Dead-shoots here, ah? Before killing us all, one of ma’lasses sure shot ma’longs and blew yar ship to pieces!”

“I have something inside that can change your mind, Cap’n. My lass will lower his guns and go get it.”

“Nay! Yar lass moves, I kill him!”

Macha, who had begun to lower his weapons, slowly stopped. Em snapped his teeth. “All right, all right. He will low his weapons and-”

“Throw it at the sea. Ya’all!” shouted the quartermaster, obviously more nervous than his superior. “And lay on deck!”

“When I tell you, run inside, and keep with our plan,“ whispered Em, wishing the mustache could hide the movement of his lips.

“I’m out of patience! Da’parley is over!” stormed the pirate captain, who had the navigation master whispering at his ear the steering problem.

“A parley is over when both sides say so. Rules are rules.” insisted Em.

The quartermaster raised a gun and Em’s instincts kicked in. In the blink of an eye, his revolver was spitting fire and the first of the pirates fell on deck. “Run!” He cocked the hammer and fired again. Em’s target grabbed his shoulder and backed away, yanking on the rope that fired the swivel into the air.

Two bullets whizzed by. Em fired two of his own without aiming. Both hit the hull. Even so, the missing shots got what he wanted. A man who ran for cover was a man who was not aiming at him.

Walking backwards and as low as possible, Em shot at the captain but the bullet hit the wood of his cover. His last shot went through the leg of a man who was trying to fire a cannon.

With the good cover of the bell, he loaded his gun with ease. The smell of fire enveloped everything, and the Ballerina rattled. The pirates cursed, but this time not against him. Ivy’s fire was working, and Macha was moving his ship out of harm’s way.

Em let out a relieved snort when a loud blast cut off his breath. The heavy ball ricocheted off the deck, smashing the wooden floor. Another storming shoot followed, but hit nothing but water behind the catamaran.

Em fired two bullets at random, but his eyes hit all the targets he was looking for. The catamaran, steaming towards the pinisi’s sterm, was no longer within range of the big guns, and the swivel had no one around. Hidden behind barrels and sacks, only two pirates remained engaged.

Ivy’s fire, which had left much of the rear wood scorched, was out, but releasing a fair amount of smoke that was giving them suitable cover. That didn’t stop the shooters, who still managed to hit the ship on the bell twice, and one last time at the wall of the bridge, which made Em’s blood run cold.

After a brief exchange of fire, from the pirate ship they only received cries of rage. When he was certain they were safe, Em hurried inside. “Everyone all right?” He shouted, almost breathless. Lim answered from inside of her cabin and Macha nodded.

“Sir, you are bleeding!” Em looked at his shirt. It was soaked, but it wasn’t blood. He touched the liquid with his fingers and sniffed. “This is just oil. I’m not hurt.” With the rush of the moment, he had not noticed the impact.

Em was raising the sails when Ivy boarded with a leap worthy of a dolphin. “Are you hurt?” was the first thing she signaled.

“Just oil, don’t worry. Excellent job pumpkin. I’m proud of you.” With his arm around his niece’s shoulder, Em ushered her in to be greeted by Lim, who was getting on her nerves. This time, she completely ignored the water dripping all over the bridge and gave Ivy a big, long hug.

“Good job, son.” Em patted Macha’s shoulder, who was sailing the Ballerina with pride. “Good job everyone.” He repeated, adrenaline fading away, along with the rush of excitement that engulfed him minutes ago.

Still, the heavy feeling in his stomach remained. This time, they had narrowly escaped. Those cannonballs could have hit the ship. They’d have hurt Lim. Hurt Macha. The thought was nauseating.

For some reason, the waters they had been sailing for years were no longer safe. It was time for a change.