Secrets of the New World (Infini Calendar) (Volume 2) (28 page)

Suddenly there was a rhythmic knocking reverberating along the hull. “
Es el commandante
,” one of the Spaniards said. He went into the men’s room—although Pierre was fairly certain the room handled the expulsion of waste as well as people, since that was where Escobar went when he left the underwater vessel—and was in there for a few moments. He then yelled, “
Que es esto
?” followed by a crunch and a pained grunt, and a moment later Escobar emerged from the room.

Wait—it wasn’t Escobar; it was Commander de Fleur, wearing Escobar’s form-fitting diving suit. “Commander?” Pierre said, astonished.

“That’s right.” She untied him.

He got to his feet. “I didn’t expect you to come save me.”

She said emphatically, “I’m not losing any more comrades.”

The men working the bilge pumps in the corridor stood there, evidently unsure of what to do. After watching the two knights for several seconds, they decided to defend their decrepit vessel and attacked them. Pierre and Commander de Fleur quickly took care of them, however. The crew members obviously weren’t trained fighters.

One man, whom Pierre took to be what passed for an officer on the submersed ship, came out of the tiny bridge, saw what was happening and quickly ducked back inside, shutting the door behind him.

“Let’s get out of here,” Pierre said.

But Jeanne said, “Not yet.”

“What do you mean?”

She pointed to the door that man had just shut himself behind. “Is that the bridge?”

“I think so, although it must be fairly cramped.”

“We’re going in there.”

He wasn’t sure he had heard that right. “What? Why?”

She explained, “They attacked us, Lieutenant. That means they attacked France. We can’t let that stand. We’re going to put this disgrace they call a submarino out of commission permanently.”

He thought it was crazy, but at the same time he liked her spirit. “Heh. All right; let’s do it.”

As expected, the door was locked. However, it didn’t look to be a particularly sturdy door. “On three,” Jeanne said. “One…two…three!” They brought their shoulders against the door. Despite the pain it caused, the door crashed open, and they were in the bridge.

Pierre thought it was far too small to be called a bridge. There were only two chairs surrounded on three sides by a U-shaped work station covered in switches and levers. Each of the three walls contained a port hole undoubtedly used for navigation.

One of the chairs was occupied by the underwater vessel’s equivalent of an operator. The other chair was empty, its occupant standing behind it, his back to Pierre and Commander de Fleur.

“I don’t know if you two can understand me, but we’re going to scuttle this thing, so you’d better leave,” Commander de Fleur warned.

The man in the chair looked over at his partner and said calmly, “
Conoces nuestros pedidos
.”

The other man nodded grimly.

“What did you say?” Pierre asked.

The man who was standing said, “We have our orders. Victory or death.”

Suddenly there was a hissing noise. The man turned around…and he was holding a live stick of dynamite!

“Run!” Commander de Fleur yelled.

Pierre and the Commander bolted down the corridor. A few moments later an explosion sent them crashing to the deck. Water rushed into the gaping maw that had just been ripped open behind them. They scrambled to the door which led to the room Pierre knew held their means of escape (he didn’t know if those spring-loaded alcoves worked underwater), while a torrent threatened to engulf them.

***

Victor paced back and forth on the top deck of the
Minuit Solaire
, anxiously waiting for Commander de Fleur and Lieutenant Girard to return. Despite his carefree attitude, he really was concerned for their safety. Plus, the lieutenant was a sexy beast.

Suddenly Victor heard a sound like an explosion, only it came from underwater.
Oh, God—what happened down there?

For a few minutes there was silence. And then, miraculously, two figures pierced the surface of the water. It was them. “Are you two all right?”

“Never better,” Lieutenant Girard said dryly.

Commander de Fleur only nodded.

Victor helped them aboard the airship. “That must have been some adventure you had down there.”

“Just be glad you weren’t there,” Girard said.

***

Versailles, France, September 4, 1788 (Infini Calendar), 9:00 a.m.

They returned home and handed Escobar over to stand trial for his crimes. Of course, the Kingdom of Spain denied any involvement in the affair, and declared Escobar to be a rogue agent. To make matters worse, the Ordre had returned home without any gold, thus ensuring France’s financial woes would continue.

Jeanne was sitting in her office, not feeling particularly triumphant, when there was a knock at the door. “Enter,” she said. Lieutenant Girard and Celeste came in. “What can I do for you two?”

Girard said, “Well, you see, there’s something we wanted to s—”

Celeste interrupted with, “You were amazing, Commander!”

“Is that what you wanted to say?” Jeanne asked Girard.

He nodded. “That’s not quite how I planned to say it, but yes—we were very impressed with your performance as our leader. The enemy sprung a trap on us, but you rose to the challenge and defeated them.”

She smiled. “Thank you—both of you. But it wasn’t just me; you all did your part to get us home safely. And you know, if that mission was any indication of the kind of teamwork we’re capable of, I think the Ordre has a bright future ahead of us.”

They bowed respectfully, and left her to her work.

For the first time since Rene Assange died, she felt satisfaction. Just as important, she felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. No—the weight was still there, she decided. It was she who had become strong enough to bear it.

END

Afterword

While I was writing
The Game Called Revolution
, I envisioned a series of books set in this universe. I couldn’t wait to get started on the sequel. It was going to be a new setting with new characters that continued the story of
Revolution
.

But it wasn’t
Secrets of the New World
. No, the novel I just described will actually be the third one in this series.

So why the change?

The answer is actually pretty simple: Farahilde Johanna. She ended up being my favorite character, and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet. I knew the Austrian spitfire had more stories to tell, more adventures to go on.

So I had the protagonist. I still needed a setting. I decided upon America as the technologically advanced place Farahilde and co. would venture to. Every since the American Revolution, the United States has been a leader in technology and innovation, so it follows that in this retro-futuristic world I created they would be especially advanced. And, of course, other countries would want a piece of the action.

Secrets of the New World
also gave me the chance to expand upon plot points that were alluded to in
The Game Called Revolution
, such as the existence of shape-shifting entities, Farahilde’s complicated relationship with her family, the possible romance between Jeanne and Pierre, and Pierre’s mysterious origins.

Speaking of origin stories—I like them. I like them a lot. So, of course, to me it was a no-brainer to do a prequel story, which is where “Brilliant Dawn” comes in. A while back I saw a documentary that talked about a Spanish ship carrying gold that went down not too far from France back in the 17
^th
or 18
^th
century. I thought that would make a good mission for the Ordre de la Tradition to go on. Meanwhile, Jeanne would wrestle with her new responsibility as Commander and her own self-doubt, and through that struggle we can see her grow as a character.

Thanks for your patronage. Please continue enjoying my work as I continue writing.

--December 2012

About the author

I live in Oklahoma. I enjoy TV, anime, videogames, comics, and, of course, writing. I also work to create awareness for people living with personality disorders such as depression and Asperger’s. I run a science fiction-themed blog at
www.thegamecalledrevolution.blogspot.com
and you can follow me on Twitter @SK_Author.

The adventure will continue in…

The Revolution Beyond Time