The Lord of the Plains (50 page)

‘Yes, I know, I agree.’ She said soothingly.
‘But Vann, I don’t think setting Mr Fisley’s desk on fire is the
way to go about it.’

‘The Commander has been asking for better
safety equipment for
years
. But that
fool
up in the
Square thinks it’s not part of a submariner’s image! We’re not
asking anymore!’

‘Have you seen Azra recently?’ Lillia
changed the subject quickly. Azra was
sure
to make him
forget whatever else had riled him up. Vann had only gotten into
poor Mr Fisley’s office because she worked in the Square and of
course, when asked, had helped him. Though really, Lillia didn’t
think she’d get into trouble for that. Vann knew nearly every girl
at the Square. Anyone could have let him in.

Then Lillia wondered if Azra was alive. Her
stomach dropped.

‘No.’ Then he added, ‘I heard the
Widowmaker
didn’t suffer any losses.’

Lillia felt sickening relief. She and Azra
didn’t really get on but
still
. Watching Vann gaze moodily
out her window Lillia wondered how he dealt with all the
submariners that had been lost. He didn’t show it. None of them
did, really. But she wasn’t really concerned about the others right
now.

‘Vann, surely you could get transferred
shore side…’

Vann turned from the window, his eyes fixed
on her.

‘Submariner’s don’t live long, Vann, you
know that. Surely you’ve done enough.’

‘Lillia, every submariner in Coastside is
probably having the same conversation with someone who cares about
them. If I quit, why wouldn’t they all quit? Somebody has to do
it.’

Yes,
she thought,
but they’re
not
you.

But she had known Vann long enough. He was a
submariner. She could push it, but it would get them nowhere. And
he would probably leave.

And the thing he didn’t say, she knew, was
that he didn’t
want
to do anything else. But, she thought,
he probably thinks I don’t want to hear that right now.

He was right.

‘So what about Azra?’ He asked, his grey
eyes narrowed as if he was preparing for a blow.

Vann was looking out the window again. He
was looking at a tree in Lillia’s backyard. Not the ocean. Not
today.

He looked back. Lillia had been something
else, once, but they had both decided they preferred being friends
rather than lovers. Her blonde hair was tied back from her face. As
usual, some tendrils were escaping. They framed her face in a
lovely manner. She had a spot of blue paint on her cheek.

Lillia worked up at the Square, at the
government offices. It was called the Square because there was a
square courtyard surrounded by ugly, square, grey buildings. It
stood out like a sore.

Like many of the Coastsiders, Lillia had a
hobby that occasionally earned her some extra money. She painted in
her free time. Mostly, it was just for her own pleasure. Sometimes
she helped with the scenery at the theatre. On occasion she would
paint some rocks or shells and make jewellery. Recently she had
begun painting murals in the homes of some of the people in the
city.

‘So what about Azra?’ he asked.

‘You know, I’m sure she would leave you
alone if you just said yes. Azra’s not used to men saying no to
her.’

Azra wasn’t used to
anybody
saying no
to her.

‘No, Lillia, no. Never. She’s a submariner.
That’s just asking for trouble.’

Lillia shrugged. She had that little smile
on her face she sometimes got. Vann thought of it as her evil
smile.

‘Well, Azra only walks out with submariners.
She doesn’t like shore siders.’ Lillia shrugged. ‘Thinks they’re
too soft.’

Vann didn’t add Lillia
also
preferred
the company of submariners.

‘It never seems to cause her much trouble.’
Lillia added.

Azra was very discreet with her liaisons.
She wasn’t the type of women men would claim to have been with if
they hadn’t, and she did a good job of keeping her lovers from
telling everyone in Coastside. He knew a few men who had been with
her.

They didn’t say much.

‘Besides,’ Lillia was going on, ‘you’ve got
the same position. It’s not like you can serve together again.’

Azra had been promoted to Second before he
had. She was very good at keeping control on the subs. She was very
good at keeping control
anywhere
. She would probably get
promoted soon. Captain Azra Sarda. He suddenly had a horrible
thought of Azra promoted to Captain of the
Bad Luck
. He
suppressed a shudder.

‘N-no…’

‘Vann?’ there was concern in Lillia’s
voice.

‘No. Never. Not with her.’

Unlike some of the submariners (and Azra, he
thought), he rather liked going out to dinner, having a
conversation with a woman before sleeping with her. He couldn’t
imagine having a conversation with Azra. He could imagine her
glaring at him, her giving him orders. Anything else made his head
hurt. No, even if she hadn’t been a submariner, Vann thought, he
would never, ever have been with her. But silly him, he’d thought
explaining he didn’t go out with girls in the military would spare
her feelings.

‘Lillia, please, why are we talking about
this?’ he asked, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.
I’m going to have bad dreams now
.

Lillia shrugged. She had a tight smile on
her face. Vann glared at her. She was trembling slightly, as if she
was trying to hold back laughter.

‘Nothing, just last time I saw her she
pointed out she was better at making jewellery than I was.’

‘She said that.’ Vann said in disbelief.

Lillia shrugged, her blue eyes glittering.
‘Well, it’s true.’

Vann had trouble imagining the hard, sharp
woman that was Azra making jewellery out of seashells and colourful
stones from the mines. But she did and was in fact very good at it.
Many Coastsiders approached her personally to buy some.

‘I think she thinks I’m her competition.’
Lillia added.

‘She’s probably right, darling.’ Vann stood
up and gave her a wicked smile. ‘If I hadn’t met you first I might
have settled for her.’

As he left Vann was gratified to see Lillia
flushing red.

His mood went from pleased to mildly
irritated rather quickly.

Nearly getting run over by Dr Ralis’
daughter would do that to you.

He watched the flash of blue that was her
dress and the smoke that poured from the vehicle disappear down the
hill. The spluttering noises died down as it drove further away.
Once a week that girl went driving around Coastside in her smoke
spewing machine, wreaking havoc wherever she went.

He turned away from it and his mood
plummeted even further.

He stared in shock at
her.

‘Vann.’ Azra greeted him, her perfectly
shaped brows lowered in a perpetual glare. ‘Visiting Lillia?’

‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded,
recovering some of his composure.

‘I thought you might be here.’

‘You followed me.’ he stated
incredulously.

She gazed at him with those astonishingly
blue eyes of hers. Then after a laden pause she said, ‘you keep
avoiding me.’ The way she said it Vann expected her to assign him
uniform duty for a month for it.

He crossed his arms and glared right back at
her. ’You have trouble understanding the word ‘no’.’

‘Laztar and Leili got married. Being a
submariner should hardly matter.’

‘I’m not Laztar. And I’m afraid it does. I
don’t go out with submariners. No exceptions.’ He crossed his arms
over his chest. He was very close to getting sick of this.

‘And if I transferred to Astar?’

Vann hardly considered what it meant that
she’d suggest that. He was angry. And he didn’t consider for a
moment she’d actually do it. ‘I don’t care if you join the air
force, the answer is no. No, Azra, no.’

‘So no military girls, then.’ she said it as
if she was collecting data, not as if it was of interest to her.
Not as if it affected her at all.

‘No military girls.’ he agreed. ‘Excuse me.’
he said roughly as he strode past her. She hadn’t been injured in
the Molk attack, and would be leaving tomorrow for sub duty.

That was a month free of her.

He didn’t look back once.

Chapter 37

‘Hmm.’ Mr Geiba mused as he tapped a pen
against his clipboard. His eyes flicked over to Commander Reista.
They did not look impressed. ‘Will you require more recruits from
Astar to fill the vacant positions?’ Every word the man said was
filled with contempt.

‘No, that’s not the issue.’ the Commander
said, struggling to keep his voice calm. ‘We don’t have enough
submarines. Sending more recruits is not necessary, Mr Geiba.’

‘I see.’ It was amazing how much a person
could say with two words. And a perpetual scowl, coupled with a
dismissive gaze. ‘I understood from the report sent to Astar,
late,’
he hissed out that word, ‘that the Coastside
submariners would no longer be able to protect the supply
routes.’

‘Late was it? So sorry, Mr Geiba. The
submariners can protect the supply routes. For the next two months
the number of ships travelling those routes will decline. However
the impact will be minimal on supplies. In two months the numbers
will return to normal levels.’

‘
Hmmm.
I see. And perhaps, Commander
Reista, if Astar had been notified
prior
to engagement with
this…
Molk
, the mission would not have been so
disastrous.’

‘Disastrous.’ Commander Reista stated.
Bureaucrats!
He thought. ‘What
exactly
do you think
Astar could have done?’

Mr Geiba fixed the Commander with a sneer
both condescending and contemptuous. He didn’t bother answering.
Clearly, he thought it was obvious.

‘I will be conducting a review of the
situation in Coastside for the Council of Astar, Commander. I
suggest you don’t interfere.’

‘Certainly.’ The Commander answered calmly.
Representatives from Astar came every few years to have a look
around Coastside and report back to Astar. Though it had been
nearly ten years since the last one, it wasn’t unusual. He
remembered that man. He’d been more enamoured with the lovely, sun
kissed beauties of Coastside than investigating Coastside. Well,
perhaps that
was
investigating Coastside. Thinking how long
ago that had been made him feel old. ‘Will you require a
guide?’

Pity Azra hadn’t incurred any shore-leave
requiring injuries in the Molk attack, the Commander thought. He’d
dearly like to set her on this pompous little fool.