The Iron Queen (Patreon Only story from Tunnel Rat) (Patreon)

Just finished this, and exhausted. Still fighting the battle of the covid. Popping this up, might polish it more, but also have to get working on the next story for August

Three figures moved through the murky waters near the bottom of Rust Sea. The heavily armored forms moved along slowly, forcing their way through the muck of the bottom, walking in a world where nothing else chose to walk. There was little life down here of the normal sort. Not enough little fish to feed the big fish and not enough big fish to feed the monsters. But things did sleep in the depths, and it was best not to wake them.

The travelers made communicated by hand signals or by touching together the face plates of their suits so they could say a few words. There wasn't much need to talk. They knew what they were looking for, and they knew what to do if they found it. That didn't stop other people from talking too much though.

"Narwhale! Calling Narwhale! Are you there? Over."

"Damnation! Sharkey! Where the hell else would I be? Stay off the damned talky box! Even the little magic it uses might get noticed"

"No can do Narwhale. The Boss Whale wants an update. How much longer are you going to be down there? Looks like there might be something big in the area. Over. Oh, and you have to say Over when you're done, remember? Over"

"How the hell would I know? We’ll quit looking when we find it. And screw your damned talky-box rules. Goodbye Sharkey."

"So what should I tell Whale? Over. "
"Hello? Over"
"Oh, piss off then. Over"

The team of three armored warriors continued their movement through the red tinged waters, moving from one rotting hulk of a ship to another. Things glinted from the interiors of ruptured hulls, and it was with heavy hearts that they ignored the lure of possible treasure. It was one specific thing they had in mind that had them risking the exploration of the area.

It was Pike that spotted it; a deeper reddish cloud in the midst of the murky waters. They trudged onward for another hour to cover that half a mile of distance. The hulk rose above them, still magnificent even in her death. Thick armored plates and three decks of cannon were enough to identify her. None but the Iron Queen had carried this many guns, each one a bronzed behemoth over twenty feet long. Now they were tarnished and bedecked with barnacles, but in their day, they sent dozens of ships to the bottom

A broken keel and ruptured hull testified that she'd never leave this graveyard. Too much damage done in whatever fight she'd lost, and the damage done on her trip through the Gullet to the Rust Sea. Narwhale thought it a shame the queen had ended this way. If any ship could have traversed the Gullet it was her, but not after a battle that had put holes in her. Still, what a ride that would be.

Somewhere on the other side of the world was an area of vast storms that hid islands full of riches. The ships that dared sail those waters feared the storms and the serpents, but they feared the Maw most of all. The gigantic whirlpool seemed to appear and disappear, always in a different spot, hiding in the storms and waiting for ships to sail to close. It was a hungry mouth that used those shining islands as bait to lure its food in close. The Maw feasted well, sending ship after ship to the Gullet. It was said that when there was no prey to catch the Maw would scour the bottom of the sea for wrecked ships to eat. And if the whirlpool was the mouth, and the Gullet the guts, then the Rust Sea was the other end where the remains of the meals emerged.

Thousands of wrecks littered the sea floor here, some stacked on top of each other in huge piles. It was every Scavengers dream to loot the Rust with a good crew and a fast ship. No, they were here, but with no time to search for lost treasure. The rusting hulk of the Iron Queen was the prize of prizes; assuming one knew what to look for.

Getting inside took some work. There were holes in the hull, but none that were easy to get to. You didn't swim in Armored Scavenger Suits. After a hurried conversation with helmets pressed together, they took a chance at a spot that looked like it would lead Officer's Country. Cutting a hole took some time. Using too much power could attract attention. When the chunk of armored hull fell away, Pike and Narwhale moved inside, leaving Piranha on guard.

"This looks right from the plans that Whale got ahold of. This wide hallway should go past four cabins then end in double doors of the captain’s cabin." Narwhale had spent hours memorizing the plans, deck by deck.

"I wish our tub had this much room. Maybe we can get Whale to add another section on, and get some breathing room?"

Both of them knew it wouldn't happen. In Whales view, more room meant either more guns, or more engines. Scavengers were quick and well-armed. Anything else got you killed.

Double doors opened easily; despite the ages they had been submerged. Inside, it was just liked they had imagined. Gold trimmed woodwork, toppled statues, sextants and depth gauges scattered on the floor where they'd fallen from the navigation table. What they hadn't expected was an armored figure sitting on a thrown, helmet off and a bare skull with an iron crown upon its head glaring at them. Pike froze. Narwhale advanced and bowed low, hoping to hell all the practice would mean the next part went off right.

"Begging the Captains pardon, but the Chief Engineer says they can't hold her together. Only hope is getting the valuables to safety and save the swag. Code: Bottom's Up and Down the Hatch."

For a long minute nothing happened, then a hint of green fire lit in the empty sockets and the skull nodded three times. A ghostly voice said: "Take it sailor, I've been on guard too long. Go kiss a cute beard and pat his ass for me when you hit port." The skeleton crumbled. Fingers dropped a jeweled cutlass as the iron crown rolled across the slimy floor.

Pike moved the navigators table aside, and pushed off the remains of a rotting carpet. Beneath were a set of golden metal doors inscribed with runes and places to fit the crown and sword. As soon as each was in place the doors glowed, turned upright, and opened, revealing a large extra-dimensional storage area. It was at least ten feet square and twenty feet deep, and filled to the brim with large leather bags of loot. Pike whistled. "I didn't think it would be real. An Arcane Workshop built right into the captains quarters. And filled to the brim with loot."

Narwhale started hauling it out bag by bag. "Let's not dawdle. It might not be stable. Let's unload, then signal the Leviathan to get over here. Finding the treasure is only the first part of keeping it." The hydraulic suits made easy work as they hauled out load after load of swag. When it was all out, Pike trundled off to signal the ship and Narwhale closed the doors. The crown and cutlass came free. Shrugging, Narwhale took them along. A bit of personal salvage that no one could say was unearned.

Pike and Piranha came running back. "Leviathan is coming in fast and hot, with something behind it. They'll drop a cargo net and we just drop it all into it and go! ETA is 17 minutes." Each scavenger grabbed three bags and hauled them to the opening. They finished with a few minutes to spare. Narwhale looked up, past the green-bronze cannons on the decks above, and up at the descending ship. The huge cargo net was already deployed. It would lay flat and all they had to do was toss things into it.

Narwhale considered. "What's the load of a standard cargo net, Pike?"

"Maybe twenty-five tons in air, hell of a lot more down here. Don't worry about it, Nar. This load is barely ten tons, all total."

"That's what I was thinking. Give me a hand, Piranha, and bring the bolt-cutters. I want a souvenir."

Five minutes later, the huge net used to haul away salvage was lowered from the Leviathan. Up until now, none of the crew had really believed another ship could be bigger than Leviathan. She was 210 feet long, double hulled, and twenty-five feet when her weapons were pulled in. The Iron Queen dwarfed her at over 500 feet in length. Her crew watched from portholes, and some were in their own suits and scattered about the hull to help haul in the swag.

These where the crew that saw the first of two huge, bronzed cannons tumble from a gun-deck down into the net. After Narwhale had her souvenirs, the three of them quickly tossed the rest of the swag on top and leaped into the net themselves. Leviathan was already heading up and out. That was the good news. The bad news was what had been tailing them.

As the salvage crew and the loot was pulled into the ship, the captain stared out the front observation port with a sub-scope. "Dragonfish, but nothing we can't handle. Tell the gunners to load the harpoons with explosive heads and wait for it to try and pass it. It'll want to swing by, the circle us and try to snap us in half. We take the shots as it starts to turn and keep firing until it's dead."

The portside gunner, Spike, yawned. "Sorry, was taking a nap while you jabbered on telling someone how to do their job, Captain."

Whale knew better that to argue with her gunner when they had incoming. Spike knew her business. If only other people did. What did that fool girl think trying to take two cannons along with the good stuff. Fool thing.

That was the moment the airlock to the bridge opened, and three tired scavengers entered the room. Other crew members helped them out of the heavy diving helmets and pneumatic suits. Narwhale stretched out her arms, showing impressive muscles and more impressive tattoos. Someone tossed her a comb and she started getting knots out of her bright orange hair and beard.

Whale waiting until she was presentable before giving her daughter a hug. "Damn little fool, what are those old, worthless guns for?"

"Not too worthless, I bet we can add one to Leviathan and give her some extra power to the front. You always said you wanted a bow gun. The other I'm keeping for my dowry. A girl can't have too many guns."

"What about the rest? Good as the legends say?"

Nar nodded. "I checked a few bags. It's the treasure of a lifetime. Engine parts, magi-tech, blue-prints galore, and bag after bag of shiny pieces of gold. The crew will be drinking themselves blind and chasing they short-beards back home for a year and a day on their share."

Whale snorted. "Don't count your gold before its safely home. We still have a dragonfish coming after us. Some sort of guardian maybe."

With a look at the gunners, Narwhale winked at Spike, then turned back to the captain. "Well, I'm sure Mama Whale knows best, but I'll bet you your first pick of the treasure for my next two picks that Spike nails it first shot."

"No bet girl. You have first pick coming. You're two mates go next. Then I get fourth and fifth. You found the map and journal; you did the work. Only fair you get first pick."

The crew roared when, as predicted, Spike an explosive bolt into the snake just behind the head and blew it to smithereens. Whale slapped her on the back. "You just earned 6th pick Spike, nice shooting."

"Thanks, Captain. Did I hear there was some magi-tech in there?"

Narwhale nodded. "All sorts of gadgets, along with cables, power sources, manuals. Look, I even found a power crystal small enough for your old amulet, mama."

From around her neck, Narwhale took out an old amulet with the runes for two families intertwined. She casually put the tip of her knife under the old, dead crystal, flipping it out of the amulet, and set the new one inside.

Whale shook her head. What folly that deal had been? Her own great-mam had tied herself to the youngest son of one of the great clans. They were young and full of plans. She was going to serve seven years as a mate on her family’s submersible, and he was going to be an engineer. She never saw him again. Just as well. It led to her having Leviathaninstead of being the daughter of some spanner-boy.

The amulet glowed, lines of light filling in several layers of her family’s rune, while on the other side it slowly advanced to marking half-way up the rune. Whale stared. "Well slap me sideways and cart me off to a nunnery. He's alive!"

Spike squinted at the old bit of magi-tech. "Alive, and just made Senior Engineer. Congratulations, little Narwhale, you're engaged! Now you just have to go find him."

A sound of rage echoed through the ship. From the muck near Leviathan, something began to emerge, shaking itself loose from the ocean floor. "SHIT! Sorry, Captain, but it's bad. Another snake. An old one and she's pissed."

Whale yelled orders. "Let's get up-top and make our get-away. How far to the nearest safe port?"

The navigator had the answer ready. "Day and a half to Shadowport if we go high and pop the balloon. Two days if we try to run on the surface."

"Hit the surface then, and deploy the mainsail. We'll keep the balloon for an emergency. Set course for Shadowport. Nar can go husband hunting while we drink the town dry."

Narwhale looked at the small compass that was part of the amulet. Its arrow was aligned with the ship that was racing towards Shadowport. “Oh, I’ll find him alright.”