THE GOLDEN AGE

Part II

By Desmond Reddick

The Journal of Niles Caulder
March 17, 1915

In two days, I have encountered more bizarre circumstances aboard a single ship than I had in my entire life leading up to that point. Beware the Ides of March, indeed! But not even the Bard himself could have dreamt up such a peculiar circumstance for one of his myriad of characters.

Tonight, having finally emerged from my cot, I shared a drink with Bill Glenmorgan in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Bill, a Scot by birth, was very helpful in acquainting me with the operations of this Doom Patrol. He was also one of the men who saved me from certain death.  I am no friend of whiskey, but I would give of my time to this man and the others on this ship in gratitude alone. An adventurer of sorts, Bill was used to tracking his game, but they required my knowledge of the Baron’s submarine routes in order to put an end to his nefarious doings.

Apparently, since the French allied with the Russians, the Baron was at the forefront of seeking out the means of leveling the odds in any coming war. Now that the war in Europe was in full swing, his efforts had doubled. I have the opportunity to help them put that to an end.

March 18, 1915

With but a few bruises and scratches, I awoke this morning feeling far better than yesterday. Though my head was foggy from last night’s festivities, I joined the crew above deck on this magnificent ship, The Lady Justice.

The enigmatic Captain Grim – one of my three rescuers – is an honest to goodness pirate! Boisterous and lean, he commands attention with a single word. Quite a character!

My Indian rescuer was introduced to me as Nadir, the self-proclaimed Master of Magic! He was quiet, but spoke with purpose and, though his accent was heavy, had better elocution than any other native speaker I knew. A white turban sat high atop his head, and he wore crisp expensive suits even though he lived at sea.

Mysterious communications officer Larry Jordan seemed to have a very strange relationship with the electronic systems on board. He vibrated and hummed at a constant pitch, barely acknowledging my presence. When Bill introduced me to him, he simply nodded in the direction of the radio. I am still not sure if that was a ‘hello’ or if he was communicating with the radio.

Finally, I met Rose Canton, a beautiful English Rose accused of murdering her diplomat husband, though she swore she had nothing to do with it.

Quite a motley crew we are: a pirate, an Indian, a reclusive intellectual, an accused murderess, and me, a radical American scientist expelled from two distinguished British universities. Misfits one and all! Combined with the fact that Bill told me he had some part in establishing the Irish Volunteers we were quite the personae non grata in the United Kingdom.

The strangest thing of all is that Captain Grim told me of the Doom Patrol’s mission: “We strive to rescue society’s outcasts and help them use their talents for the betterment of all mankind.”

These vagabonds fight for the very powers that pushed them aside! It is quite astounding.

March 29^th

My sea legs have left me. I will refrain from saying that life at sea suits me well, but I have become quite accustomed to it. Just last week, Captain Grim named me as his Chief Petty Officer. While the Doom Patrol is quite a talented bunch, they certainly have organizational problems. I have taken to running the ship’s operations and processes. They have all taken to calling me ‘Chief.’

I have to admit that I am growing accustomed to the moniker.

April 7^th

The jovialities of the past week have ceased.

Larry discovered some encrypted radio signals leading us to believe that there were U-Boats in the vicinity some three days ago. Since then, we have stalked these waters on the hunt for the Germans.

We had travelled north for days in quiet watch for the Baron’s U-Boat. No more drinks, no more laughs, only watchful eyes.

April 21^st

This morning I was thrown from my cot. I awoke when I was already in the air, crashing down on the side of my desk. Pain shot through my leg, but the screaming came from above deck.

I ran topside, following Nadir and Bill who had exited their quarters just before me. When we crested the stairs, we beheld a fantastic sight.

Captain Grim, set against the dawning sun fending off an invading force with a cutlass and pistol, shouted as he cut down man after man. It only took me a second to realize that the invaders, clad in sleek black naval suits, were the Baron’s men.

Bill unloaded his pistol at men who were still climbing over the port side. They tumbled back into the roiling sea, knocking other men down as they fell. Nadir followed suit in an attempt to stem the attack from its source. The gun reports cracked through the air as bullets punched into the wood of the ship all around me.

It wasn’t until the bullets careened through the air right past my head and slivers of wood rained on me that I realized I was unarmed. Nadir noticed as well.

“Chief!” He had to shout over the gunfire. I looked at him and he threw his pistol to me.

I caught it with two hands as he held his hands askew with fingers at odd angles. He was saying something, but it was too quiet to hear. Gun smoke collected in front of him and seemed to swirl toward our enemies at his command.

He turned to the port side of the boat and continued murmuring and gesturing. Miraculously, waves crashed against the ship, sending the invaders into the sea faster than they could climb. The boat did not shake. Nadir truly was a master of magic!

I turned and saw Captain Grim once more overcome with attackers and fired Nadir’s pistol into the throng. I killed two men before running to the starboard side to kick at more men climbing onto the ship. As I did so, I heard a vile and horrific shrieking. A blast of wind followed a shadowy figure as it darted right in front of me.

An arc of crimson blood jettisoned from three men who were about to reach the deck of the ship, splattering against the hull as the men screamed, falling backwards. I was not sure who or what it was that did the damage, but I was thankful they were on our side. And, I have my suspicions.

The attack stopped, and the remaining invaders leapt from the ship. Preferring to take to the sea than to be taken hostage seemed to be the order of the day. I had no problem with letting them escape. They were simply cannon fodder for their master, and the excitement for the day was already at a level I did not want to challenge.

“Oh dear!”

It was Rose, whose presence I hadn’t previously noticed above deck, who cried out.

We stood looking at the ship’s helm to see Captain Grim holding himself up on the large wooden wheel. It was not readily apparent because of the color of his shirt, but upon further inspection it was plain to see that his stomach and chest were covered in blood. He clutched his abdomen, pistol dangling from his other hand.

I rushed to his side, but he dropped to the deck before I could catch him.

“They came right up under us. I believe they wanted to sink us without munitions. But the underestimated the durability of good old Lady Justice,” he said, patting the deck of the ship. “They also never knew that attacking us would be their undoing.”

“They got away, Captain,” I told him reluctantly.

“You don’t understand, Chief,” he said. “Now that they have attacked the Lady Justice, she knows how to find them. She needs only a good man at the helm.”

“Wait! I have something in my quarters that may help you!” I tensed my legs to spring up and retrieve the immortality elixir, but he shook his head.

Captain Grim slapped my chest, and, with a gentle exhalation, he passed away quietly.

We spent the rest of the day quietly readying Captain Grim’s burial at sea. The atmosphere was morose. It wasn’t until after dinner when Nadir brought up the fact that Grim had all but named me as his successor.

I balked.

Just before sundown, the five of us stood on deck as we lowered the Captain in a casket built by Bill Glenmorgan from weakened boards we pulled from the Lady Justice. Remarkably, the board began knitting themselves back together as Bill hammered them into a makeshift casket. This truly is a magical ship.

Inside the casket, the Captain’s cutlass lay on his chest while leaden weights surrounded his body. As the wooden box sunk I clutched Captain Grim’s pistol. I decided against placing it in his casket because I was going to use it to kill the man responsible for his death: Captain Zahl.

NEXT ISSUE: The conclusion to The Golden Age! See The Chief’s quest for revenge in a pulpy naval battle for the ages!