Michael J. Martinez ’s The Daedalus Incident has an irresistible assumption : 18th 100 sailing ships flying around space , thanks to strange alchemical conception . And here ’s an exclusive excerpt where two of those ships do battle while sailing the solar breaking wind .
Daedalus Incidentis the first book to be released by Nightshade under its new ownership with Skyhorse and Start . As Martinez explains the premise to us : “ Basically , I ’m crash an 18th one C Royal Navy frigate into twenty-second century Mars . As one does . cogitate Master & Commander crossed with Star Wars . With alchemy . And a hit of Clarke ’s 2001 . ”
Hooked yet ? Here ’s the actual quad / sailing conflict , for your further edification :
February 18 , 1779
Father ,
You have often asked me about my life in service to His Majesty ’s Navy , and I have endeavoured to enjoin you as much as I can , but often detail escapes me in the telling . So it is upon the function of my first appointment as 2d deputy that I have decided to keep a journal of my time aboard HMS Daedalus and make it a present to you when next I return .
Daedalus is quite typical of frigates in His Majesty ’s Navy , boast 32 gas and a crew of some two hundred somebody . She is an older ship , but with fine short letter and quick handling disregardless . I hear tell of engineers and alchemist who would alter the purpose of our Void - going vessels , but ever since the Spaniard Pinzon ventured off Earth for the first time in 1493 , it seems such public lecture has result in little . Be it ocean or Void , Daedalus deal true , and to my eyes , needs no change .
As I write this , we are mere calendar week out of Portsmouth , on a course for Jupiter that takes us quite near Mercury , where the Sunward Trading Company has a rather extensive mining functioning . From there , we shall move past the Sun , skirt Mars and deny the Rocky Main en road to our assigning . Upon our reaching in the Jovian system , we shall aid in the blockade of New York , so that the Ganymedean rebels sha n’t receive aid from their fellows or , worse , the execrable French .
“ Mr. Weatherby ! You ’re wanted on the quarterdeck ! ”
Lt . Thomas Weatherby turned and calculate to the door of the wardroom , where Midshipman Forester — still evidently miss in the ok points of decorum — had call for him . He think of reprimanding the boy for his breach , but he was gone as quickly as he had arrived .
The immature police lieutenant closed his journal and quickly shoved it into his clear ocean pectus , shutting the latter with a slam and grab his lid on the elbow room out of the wardroom . festinate through the gun deck of cards toward the stairs , he scantily know the salutes from the work party as he button his coating and brushed lint off his uniform . They could be under fire by the entire French fleet , but Capt . Sir William Morrow still expected his officer to maintain a high banner of appearance and composure , even under duress . particularly under duress .
Weatherby rise out onto the chief deck and look the ribbon of jaundiced speck stretching into the Void from the ship ’s grim — they had arrived at Mercury at last . He turned to search for the minuscule planet , but had to look aside quickly — the Sun was not only more than six meter enceinte than it look on Earth , but six times as burnished . While this was his first voyage to Mercury , he nonetheless cursed himself for being so regardless . He instead focused on the lee side side of the ship , aside from the glare and onto the inky-black blackness around the ship , punctuated by billion of tiny stars .
One of those stars would be Earth , where they had sweep from Portsmouth just four weeks ago . Mercury was but a stopover en route to Jupiter , where Daedalus was to conjoin the fleet there and crush the insurrection of the British colonies on Ganymede . It was a just naming , Weatherby cognise , with a chance at both glory and prize money . What ’s more , it was safer than most , for the Ganymedean Navy , such as it was , hardly deserved the name , and had few ship to match even an older frigate like Daedalus .
The unseasoned officer quick mounted the stairs to the quarterdeck . “ Lt . Weatherby , report as rank , sir , ” he said , sharply saluting the captain as he approached . The commander of Daedalus turn off a hunky-dory figure on the lee side of the quarterdeck , standing beside the clockwork orrery that go after the position of the Known Worlds . Morrow ’s weather side , line by both wind and wiseness , held dark , discerning optic that seemed to take in everything before him at once . His black fuzz , grey at the temples , was wed back in a simple tail , and his uniform look quite ready for a Royal inspection .
Morrow swagger his head slimly toward the untried lieutenant , but his gaze was fixed outwards , about three points off the larboard side . “ We still can not make out their colors . Quite a job when you do n’t know whom to inject at . You have just eyes . Can you make them out ? ”
Weatherby pulled out his Methedrine and looked in the lead . Now that his centre had adjusted , he could see Mercury off in the distance — a barren , pock - marked sphere suspended in the Void . Much closer , however , he picked out a merchantman , her planesails unfurled at either side , her ruddersail suspended a full eighty feet below her keel . Along her port side , puff of gage erupt from a 2nd vas , most potential a orotund frigate or small ship of the transmission line .
“ No , sir , I can not see their colour , ” Weatherby enunciate . “ The merchantman is certainly outgunned . The frigate looks to be a Gallic make . ”
“ Very well . Stay on your methamphetamine , ” Morrow say . He turned to his first lieutenant , George Plumb , who had already report . “ Mr. Plumb , we may as well be prepared . Beat to after part , if you please . ”
“ Beat to fourth part ! ” shouted Plumb , a large man with a stone face and gravelly voice . Immediately , the devil dog on watch below grabbed a drum and began to beat out a warriorlike rhythm , while one of the young midshipmen initiate call up the ship ’s Alexander Melville Bell , just aft of the mainmast .
A torrent of badly - shaved , groggy and half - dressed men erupt onto deck from below , roused untimely from their slumber by the view of battle . The little , more nimble seamen start scurrying up the rigging toward the sails , while Maj . Harold Denning begin send out his devil dog aloft , so they could rain down deadly shot upon any enemy officer that might present themselves as target area .
Meanwhile , the larger , burlier crewman pulled the wheeled triggerman back from the railings of the independent deck of cards , while others used elephantine brushes to swab out the interior and prepare them for firing . Sacks of powder were place indoors , followed by alchemically - regale carom shot , then wadding to keep everything in place . That done , the guns were run out again , with ropes and pulleys doing the Book of Job , while the independent gunner for each weapon primed his torpedo with more powder and ready to fire .
Within less than three transactions , Daedalus was primed for battle , each of her 32 guns ready to spew forth iron shot and alchemical essences of destruction upon whatever target was take for a threat .
Meanwhile , Weatherby assay to determine what that target might be , if any . While the Sun ’s cleverness masked many of the star , it utterly light the two watercraft in combat , as well as the golden stream of the sunshine - currents behind them . Those currents would make for a flying escape , whip a ship toward the outer planets at incredible speeds — if only the merchantman could reach them in metre .
“ Ganymedean flag on the frigate , sir ! ” Weatherby at last scream . “ Dutch on the merchantman . ”
Morrow frowned . “ I think the Dutch were well tending to the Ganymedean rebels , ” he said . “ Thank you , Mr. Weatherby . You may join your sectionalization . We have no official quarrel with the Dutch , but we certainly have one with our perverse colonies . We shall engage the Ganny . ”
Weatherby folded his glass , saluted , and clambered down the staircase to the torpedo deck . As second police lieutenant , he was in charge of the starboard division , and he cursorily inspected the readiness of his men and their guns . A slack water line here , a misplaced powder thrill there , but Weatherby discover his valet had responded well , especially founder the other hour . He expect to the ship ’s bo’sun , James — an aged seaman whose time aboard ship in all likelihood surpassed his days on land — and this worthy returned his police lieutenant ’s regard with a nod . They were ready .
“ Ganny privateer , is it ? ” ask one of the men before him , the burly gunner Smythe , his eye alight at the prospect of struggle — or perhaps simply respect money .
“ Mind your throttle , Smythe , ” Weatherby aver steady . “ We ’ll have it off shortly enough . ”
Weatherby turned to see Third Lt . John Foster approaching . “ Our first struggle then , ” said the vernal human , who was a year shy of Weatherby ’s historic period . He was newly minted a lieutenant , and like Weatherby , had yet to see military action aboard Daedalus . Foster extended his hand . “ Good luck , Tom . ”
Weatherby managed a small grinning . Foster was a good shipmate , if a little too bathetic at times like these . “ And to you , John , ” he managed , stir his fellow officer ’s mitt . He then quickly turned back to his naval division , firm put his mind toward the task at hand .
Daedalus approached the two vessels under full canvass , look like a cross between a shark and a blowfish . In addition to her three masts of sails , used on planetary sea as well as the Void , she boasted a large planesail on each side , sticking out like the fins on a whale . These helped the ship move larboard and starboard and , more importantly , up and down against the world-wide plane and giving them three dimensions of apparent movement . Underneath , the ruddersail perplex out most a hundred foot from under the watercraft , helping catch the solar winds and Sunday - current to provide further direction .
Weatherby eyed the starboard - side planesail closely , hoping his late drill amongst the men there would bear fruit . The canvass would have to be quickly bring in before a broadside could be force out , lest the Daedalus inject off her own sails and allow her without the power to ascend or descend .
“ What ’s all this hoo-hah then ? ” fall a voice from behind him .
Weatherby turned to see Dr. Joseph Ashton , the ship ’s alchemist and sawbones , totter up to him . The elderly scientist might not have been the most nimble navy man , but his facility with the Great Work kept the Daedalus sailing between the Known Worlds . It was he who managed the cruise treatment that allowed them to beguile the solar wind , as well as the lodestone in the handle which provided breeze and gravity for all on base . Ashton also provided curatives for the wounded and alchemic shot for the gun .
“ Ganymedean ship engaging a Dutch merchantman , Doctor , ” Weatherby replied . “ We ’re after the Ganny , of course . ”
“ Hmph . Yes . Rightly so , damned rebels , ” Ashton pronounce . “ ‘ devoid and independent states , ’ indeed ! ” The alchemist clapped Weatherby on the shoulder and made his style toward his station below decks , where he would stand quick to handle for any wounded that might result from the engagement .
Weatherby looked through the hit man porthole and assure Morrow would be engaging the frigate off the starboard side . That would dish up to position Daedalus between the Ganymedean and the bottom , perhaps allowing the latter to make a run for the sun - currents and make a rapid escape . It would also put Weatherby ’s division at the forefront of the engagement , fire the first shots and take the brunt of the frigate ’s response .
Faint boom reverberate across the black , and Weatherby see green fire erupt from the Ganymedean ’s guns as she fuel upon the merchantman . Morrow was right ; it made piddling sense for the rebel to fire on the Dutch , as the latter nation was far better qualify to the errant Jovian colonies than the Crown ; the Dutch , it seemed , need little else than to put a crimp in England ’s burgeon Known Worlds business deal .
“ Ready on the guns ! ” Plumb barked from the quarterdeck , snapping Weatherby ’s attention back to the labor at hand . The men of the starboard division primed their weapons and prepared to send away before Weatherby could echo the ordination . The young lieutenant was well pleased with their effort and hope Plumb or Morrow noticed their efficiency in the coming action . The son of shopkeepers in London , Weatherby had long imagined more for himself than groveling before customer , though he would never say such before his hard - working , genial parents . A remote relation had fix him a situation as a midshipman when he was twelve . Now , at nineteen , Weatherby had embark upon his first assignment as second lieutenant , and he hoped for a quick promotion to first lieutenant , or even post - captain , in a few years . From there , he occasionally allowed himself to dream of commanding a first - charge per unit , of brocade upon his shoulder — but he tamp down down on these phantasy quickly . While young , he had at least enough wiseness to know he had much to learn in the interim .
“ The Ganny ’s turning ! ” add up the call from the crow ’s nest , mellow upon the mainmast , the sailor ’s voice filtering down below . “ I weigh forty - two guns ! ”
Grim tidings it was , as the Daedalus was well outgunned by the larger ship . yet , Morrow appeared undiscouraged . “ Three points upwardly on the aeroplane ! ” Plumb called down , relay the captain ’s orders . The Daedalus apace rose higher into the Void , above the level at which the Ganymedean sailed . Morrow had opt to try an angled shot in the hopes of rain down a flier — a fusillade of shank fire from the intact starboard battery — down upon the rebel frigate ’s unprotected master deck of cards . Hopefully , that could take place before the Ganny ’s guns could punch through the Daedalus ’ down in the mouth hull .
Weatherby take care up through the cargo hatch toward the quarterdeck , where Morrow stand up , a statue of calm except for his eyes , which darted about and beyond the ship , exact in everything and feeding the tartar of battle in his mind . Next to him , Plumb was a scantily leashed hound , barking orders and seemingly quick to swoop on anyone not following them to the letter of the alphabet , ensuring the ship would be quick for whatever Morrow would have in mind .
“ The bottom ’s making for the stream ! ” Foster called from the larboard side . In the distance , Weatherby could see the yellow track of the sunlight - current snaking yesteryear , away from the Sun and toward the other planets . Should the merchantman reach the current quickly enough , she would be mile away in bare moments , carry off at unimaginable speeding by the power of the Sun itself . While good news for the merchantman , it would mean Daedalus would have to enamor the larger Ganny in club to square off what had transpire between them .
And the Ganymedean was shut fast , having forsake the merchantman for turn and engage the English vas . Weatherby could see her planer unroll as well , trying to compensate for Daedalus ’ flight , but it would be a lost causal agent . Daedalus would indeed approach from above , and a quick play on the plane would bring her guns to bear forthrightly above the Ganny ’s deck .
“ inviolable body blood ! ” Weatherby scream . forthwith , the men begin tying ropes around their waists ; the other ends were affixed to metal loops driven into the Cordell Hull . The ship ’s solemnity , administered by alchemically treated lodestones in the hold , often did n’t compensate quickly enough when the ship maneuvered radically , and the lines prevented anyone from being lost overboard .
The Ganny approached quickly — the employment would be rapid indeed . Unlike battle at ocean , where wind and lunar time period forced opponents to pussyfoot together slowly , the sun - current swept ship together as though they were mounted knight of sometime . They would have one chance at a whip tirade before the two ship passed — and with hazard , only one would be able to come around for a second pass .
Weatherby felt fervor and ambition dwindle into a familiar fear . Though this was not his first battle , either at sea or in the Void , it was his first in command of so orotund a part , and his first against a larger vas . The other engagements to his acknowledgment were barely worthy of being called battles , lopsided as they were in favor of the Royal Navy . “ Steady , men ! ” he phone , though it was as much for his own face as theirs . Nonetheless , his voice rang out cleanly , and the military man tensed and prepared for the coming onslaught .
“ Down five points on the starboard plane ! ” Plumb shouted , immediately echoed by Weatherby . Four men heaved upon the appropriate lever , and the large planesail on the side of the ship angle down so that it was perpendicular to the ship — right under the guns . The tactical maneuver not only careen the ship toward the other frigate , but brought the plane parallel to the rail line of the ship , free the accelerator to enkindle above it unimpeded . They would not have to draw in the sail after all .
Weatherby saw the other ship set forth to tilt upward as well , trying to bring its guns to bear . He frowned — they would get some stroke off under the waterline . There would be repairs to be made before Daedalus could splash her keel down upon the oceans of any world .
“ Starboard division — FIRE ! ”
Morrow call out the program line himself , which was apace recall by every ship’s officer and midshipman aboard . The Daedalus ’ guns replied immediately , sending a towering crash of immature - beam cannon shoot toward the foe ship . The hitman jerk backward from the recoil and were fill by the well - exercise crewmen , who stood quick to swab out the bore-hole and reload .
all of a sudden , the ship skunk , and Weatherby was send off flying back into the thick bole of the mainmast . He could hear cannon gibe erupt upward through the deck of cards behind him , and his vision was cursorily clouded by a nebuliser of wooden fragment erupting from the wooden planking . He fall off to the deck , his back to the mast , just in time to see one of his cannon being snap apart by another blast , the gun itself hurtling up through the shipment hatch and out into the Void — along with two of the torpedo ’s bunch , their bloodline failing them . The rest were burned horribly by the alchemical guessing , and blood and cry presently mixed with the wooden shrapnel in the air .
The cries of the wounded helped Weatherby focus his nous once more as he shook off the daze and ache and attempted to regain his feet . Yet he could not benefit solid ground , and rapidly feared that his head had been strike much hard than he realized .
And then he looked down . He was float a human foot above the main deck of cards .
similarly , a handful of the men near Weatherby — and one 1½-ton carom — were no longer safely aboard either . Debris swirled in the air around him .
“ Captain ! We ’ve lost a loadstone ! ” Weatherby called . He then turned to his valet . “ strap that gun to the deck ! ”
standardized shouts come from all over the ship , detailing the damage inflicted by the Ganymedean , which by this stage had hobble off and appeared to be derive about in a wide arc , make for the sunshine - current . Morrow ordered following , but it quickly became apparent that the Daedalus had been the less fortunate . There were several holes in her hull , some of which germinate flawlessly through the lower decks and out the main deck of cards . At least one other loadstone was lost near the forecastle . While the soberness was erratic now , that was less troublesome than the prospect of losing air — a ship needed its lodestones to not only keep everyone on deck , but to retain the air necessary to pass off on long voyages between the Known Worlds .
Most importantly , the Ganny had managed to shoot the Daedalus ’ rudder - sail completely away — making the capture of the Ganymedean an unacceptable chore , as a ship ’s ocean rudder was wholly mismated for pilot the sun - currents between worlds .
Yet Daedalus had acquitted herself admirably , causing the other vessel severe hurt amidships . Lookouts reported that the rebel ship suffer a damage mainmast and a number of grease-gun misplace . small curiosity she was making for the sunshine - current rather of coming around for another shot , Weatherby suppose . Perhaps this would , at the very least , convert the Ganymedeans to stay in the Jovian organization instead of targeting Crown asset such as Mercury .
“ tolerate down ! ” Plumb call . “ Repair crews to stations ! ” Weatherby reprize the ordering with disappointment , but knew the captain was wise in not attempt chase . Besides , there were his men to attend to . Starks and Adler , two of his best gunners , were already out of sight and lost to the Void ; there was nothing to be done for them . Flung far from the ship , they would shortly yield to deficiency of air , and drown on void . Were they further out from the Sun , they might have died of the horrid chill of the Void first , but ’ labialize Mercury , not even this small blessing would be theirs .
Yet there were four others badly wounded , with sickly char burns and bloody limbs , and these were man who may be saved . Putting the unfortunates recede to the Void out of mind , Weatherby chop-chop called for the orderlies , fight down back the bile in his throat as he kneel beside the worst casualty .
“ Where is Ashton ? ” Weatherby demanded of one of the crew who came to return financial aid .
The human being merely shake his head deplorably . As the fogginess of battle sort out from his head , Weatherby could see the gape holes in the deck beneath his feet , and feared that little tending would be outgoing from the ship ’s alchemist .
gratefully , military officer express a handful of therapeutic on their persons at all times , and Weatherby managed to stop three of his men from bleeding out . The 4th , sadly , rest his last before Weatherby could get to him .
With his men stable and the orderlies bandaging their sunburn , Weatherby picked his way up to the main deck of cards to report , stepping around a minuscule gathering of marines ; Maj . Denning was among those who had fall in the engagement , and they kneel in orison over his corpse . Yet once Weatherby arrive upon the quarterdeck , he found Morrow was elsewhere ; James directed him toward the cockpit , where the police chief had go to check on Ashton .
Weatherby rushed back down below toward the belly of the ship , hoping Ashton somehow managed to survive the struggle . When he entered , he was aghast at conditions therein , and trounce at how misplaced his hopes had been .
There was a massive gob in the low one-half of the starboard wall , where one of the Ganymedean ’s shot had penetrated , strew charred and shell wood throughout . Floorboards and walls still smoldered where fires and acid from the lab were release . And in the middle of the room , Morrow and an orderly were kneel over the beaten-up and fucking eubstance of Dr. Ashton , seek to administer curatives in the dim lantern sparkle .
Weatherby undertake to walk into the elbow room , but tripped — upon Ashton ’s severed branch , which had been thrown from his dead body . Unable to keep his breadbasket calm at this , Weatherby cursorily rush toward a hole in the Kingston-upon Hull , rent by alchemical barb , and made it there in time so that his hurried breakfast did not stain the deck as it came onward .
When he work back around , he saw Morrow and the orderly , still kneel before the rest of Ashton ’s body , but with renounce looks upon their faces . “ It ’s no employment at all , ” Morrow said . “ He ’s all in . ” The headwaiter search up to see Weatherby staring in horror ; Weatherby sleep with full well that the captain had taken billet of his lack of composure . “ Mr. Weatherby , please take Mr. Plumb to modify course . We ’ll have to put in at Elizabeth Mercuris to make repairs .
“ And we ’ll ask to witness a young alchemist , sorry to say , ” he sum up . Weatherby nodded and saluted , then rushed away above pack of cards , thankful for Morrow ’s circumspection . He knew the captain would be less forgiving if there had been more crewmen about , however , and he resolved to nerve himself more soundly next prison term .
As Weatherby delivered Morrow ’s orders and began overseeing repairs , his opinion drift to the large-hearted Ashton — the erstwhile puffer had called Weatherby his fellow “ bookworm”—and , more importantly , what he meant to Daedalus . Other than the sea captain himself , a ship ’s alchemist was the most important somebody aboard ship . He direct the occult operations necessary to keep the ship aloft in the Void , made air and gravity possible and , on pocket-size ships like Daedalus , also acted as ship ’s surgeon . While police officer sometimes made a study of the Great Work , their knowledge was typically quite special compared to those who devote their entire life sentence to the Art of Transformation .
I despair of come up an alchemist worth his Salt at the Elizabeth Mercuris excavation colony , now bare hours away . There is little in the fashion of rescript there , allow alone acquisition , and from what my shipmate have order me , the tale differentiate in the London taverns are true , in that it is an altogether rough and ill - fortuned place . Yet the ores mined there , used in alchemic shot and shipbuilding alike , are critical to England ’s supremacy in the Void . So the Royal Navy keep back Elizabeth Mercuris afloat above that Lord’s Day - blasted rock of a planet — and because of that , I doubt they have an alchemist to spare , as it is no mean feat to keep a wooden outpost hang in the Void above that woebegone clinker of a world .
And while we might press hands into service there to replace those drop off , I am certain no one of alchemical learning would find themselves in such a home without ill news having bechance them , despite the frontier settlement ’s importance to England . So even if there be an alchemist available to us , what sort of man would he be ?
But we have little choice , Father . Without someone to tend to the ship ’s loadstone and cruise , we would be adrift in the Void , perhaps constantly lose to Earth , England and dwelling house . So I must hope that Elizabeth Mercuris may give us something of a miracle — in the form of a suitable alchemist .
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