more than that. What need did scientists have for something this colossal?
More to the point, how come a ship so huge was sending out a mayday? What could conceivably pose a threat to a titan of such epic proportions?
Closer yet, he noticed that the Egersund was listing slightly. It was stationary but leaning at a drunken angle. He could only presume it had been holed below the waterline.
The Admiral Winterbrook dropped to dead slow, and Dev did the same, disengaging the autopilot and assuming manual control of the jetboat. The catamaran nosed warily around the bow of the Egersund , and Dev followed in its wake.
Still not getting anything on any of the regular radio frequencies. If someone’s aboard, they’re not answering. I’m going to try the loudhailer.
Aye-aye, lieutenant.
You’re not a sailor. Don’t say that.
“ Ahoy, the Egersund.” Sigursdottir’s amplified voice rang out from the Admiral Winterbrook . “ Can anyone hear me? Signal somehow if you can. What is the problem? Are you taking on water? Do your crew need rescuing? ”
Nothing from the research vessel. No heads appeared atop the great promontory of its prow. No arms waved.
As they came round its far side, Dev saw that the sea was awash with blood. A great frothing patch of crimson spread out from the hull. It looked as though the Egersund was bleeding into the water from some mortal wound.
No, it wasn’t the Egersund .
Attached to the ship’s flank by cables was the carcass of a redback whale. The cetacean was floating underside up, quite dead, its pectoral fins raised towards the sky as though in supplication or valediction.
The cables were lashed around its tail, and one of the derricks had begun the process of drawing the beast aft but had halted for some reason, leaving the redback’s flukes suspended just above the waves.
The Admiral Winterbrook and the Reckless Abandon chuntered past the whale. The boats were dwarfed by the mound of the creature’s pink, barnacled belly, and the redback was in turn dwarfed by the Egersund .
The stern of the gigantic ship sported a U-shaped transom, inset with a ramp almost level with the water. The ramp was streaked with stains that could have been rust but could equally have been caked-on blood from the corpses of other cetaceans. This was where the derrick had been hauling the redback carcass before something interrupted the procedure. The ramp doubled as a means of getting the bodies aboard the ship and a chute for dumping bones, offal and other valueless parts.
Scientific research my butt.
My thoughts exactly. This is a whaler. A factory ship. I’d heard there were a couple of them operating on-planet, but I reckoned it was just a rumour.
They’re collecting whale meat?
There’s a market for it back home and in some Diasporan communities. A ship like this can catch, process and flash-freeze several thousand tonnes of redback and load the flesh aboard a goods freighter for distribution.
That’d cost a small fortune. The price per kilo at the restaurant table would be extortionate.
There’s people willing to pay it and rich enough to. Japanese tech tycoons, for one.
Nordic interstellar logistics magnates, for another.
Was that a dig, Harmer?
Not intended as such. But it’s the Nordic countries and Japan who used to consume whale meat the most and who whined the loudest when TerCon finally abolished it from the menu. Stands to reason they’d be the ones coughing up the cash to buy it from other sources when it’s no longer available on Earth. Pricey extraterrestrial whale meat’s better than no whale meat at all.
Well, yeah, can’t argue with that. Speaking as an ethnic Icelander, I’ve never had the urge to eat it myself, but I can remember my grandfather going on about how much he had loved hval rengi – that’s whale blubber soured with milk.
Seriously?
And sur rengi – pickled blubber.
Sounds delicious. I’m amazed you were never tempted to try
More to the point, how come a ship so huge was sending out a mayday? What could conceivably pose a threat to a titan of such epic proportions?
Closer yet, he noticed that the Egersund was listing slightly. It was stationary but leaning at a drunken angle. He could only presume it had been holed below the waterline.
The Admiral Winterbrook dropped to dead slow, and Dev did the same, disengaging the autopilot and assuming manual control of the jetboat. The catamaran nosed warily around the bow of the Egersund , and Dev followed in its wake.
Still not getting anything on any of the regular radio frequencies. If someone’s aboard, they’re not answering. I’m going to try the loudhailer.
Aye-aye, lieutenant.
You’re not a sailor. Don’t say that.
“ Ahoy, the Egersund.” Sigursdottir’s amplified voice rang out from the Admiral Winterbrook . “ Can anyone hear me? Signal somehow if you can. What is the problem? Are you taking on water? Do your crew need rescuing? ”
Nothing from the research vessel. No heads appeared atop the great promontory of its prow. No arms waved.
As they came round its far side, Dev saw that the sea was awash with blood. A great frothing patch of crimson spread out from the hull. It looked as though the Egersund was bleeding into the water from some mortal wound.
No, it wasn’t the Egersund .
Attached to the ship’s flank by cables was the carcass of a redback whale. The cetacean was floating underside up, quite dead, its pectoral fins raised towards the sky as though in supplication or valediction.
The cables were lashed around its tail, and one of the derricks had begun the process of drawing the beast aft but had halted for some reason, leaving the redback’s flukes suspended just above the waves.
The Admiral Winterbrook and the Reckless Abandon chuntered past the whale. The boats were dwarfed by the mound of the creature’s pink, barnacled belly, and the redback was in turn dwarfed by the Egersund .
The stern of the gigantic ship sported a U-shaped transom, inset with a ramp almost level with the water. The ramp was streaked with stains that could have been rust but could equally have been caked-on blood from the corpses of other cetaceans. This was where the derrick had been hauling the redback carcass before something interrupted the procedure. The ramp doubled as a means of getting the bodies aboard the ship and a chute for dumping bones, offal and other valueless parts.
Scientific research my butt.
My thoughts exactly. This is a whaler. A factory ship. I’d heard there were a couple of them operating on-planet, but I reckoned it was just a rumour.
They’re collecting whale meat?
There’s a market for it back home and in some Diasporan communities. A ship like this can catch, process and flash-freeze several thousand tonnes of redback and load the flesh aboard a goods freighter for distribution.
That’d cost a small fortune. The price per kilo at the restaurant table would be extortionate.
There’s people willing to pay it and rich enough to. Japanese tech tycoons, for one.
Nordic interstellar logistics magnates, for another.
Was that a dig, Harmer?
Not intended as such. But it’s the Nordic countries and Japan who used to consume whale meat the most and who whined the loudest when TerCon finally abolished it from the menu. Stands to reason they’d be the ones coughing up the cash to buy it from other sources when it’s no longer available on Earth. Pricey extraterrestrial whale meat’s better than no whale meat at all.
Well, yeah, can’t argue with that. Speaking as an ethnic Icelander, I’ve never had the urge to eat it myself, but I can remember my grandfather going on about how much he had loved hval rengi – that’s whale blubber soured with milk.
Seriously?
And sur rengi – pickled blubber.
Sounds delicious. I’m amazed you were never tempted to try
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