Book 4 The Heaven's War, Chapter 2: Ras Malai
Taking another bite into his desert, a dish made of a flavourless cheese drenched in milk and sugar with almonds to top; Taichi watched the harbour teem with life in the far distance from his balcony, as the Reliant had finally finished it's repairs to its damaged haul. Sighing, Taichi took one final bite, he was stressed and beyond worried. A week ago Agumon had came down with a light cold and it had not passed over yet. Taichi feared that if they were to travel with Agumon in such a condition, Agumon could become even more ill.
He had tried to find anything he could on the subject of Digimon getting sick to no avail. He had asked his second in command, former governor of Manchester but Koushiro had no clue. He had said there was no past cases that he was aware of and even Lady Lily Crowle had found nothing from Saint George Academy's library and even less information from her elder sister Beatrix. Lady Crowle had made it a daily routine to visit him in his manor, often bring local delicacies for him to try. She was truly an excellent cook, even better than Mimi. Having witness his last encounter with Lady Crowle, Taichi found no need to tell Mimi about this new daily meeting between the two. Mimi was always tied by his sister for one reason or another and Taichi found it useless to find out what they were doing.
The Reliant was set to sail in a week's time; it would take that long for the ship to refill on supplies needed for the remaining of their trip to Ming. The original plan had been to sail around the coast until they reach the northern capital, however as they had wasted a months time on repairs, the new plan as suggested by Koushiro was a better navigator than himself, suggested they travel over land and through the desert locals called the "Sands of Death". However, seeing as airships were a relatively new technology, the desert did not pose the same dangers as traveling by land.
Although, Taichi would have felt better if he was traveling in one of the Ming's ship rather than a Royal one. The HMAS Reliant was fully capable of staying afloat in the air but compared to the Ming's ship, it was less reliable. The Ming, Taichi had learned were the first to travel by air and had improve the technology much beyond what Royal ships were. The Royal ships were simple in design, one large ballon to allow it to float and multiple sail fins to catch the wind much like a fish would with its fins. Ming ships on the other hand, did not rely on the wind, rather they had giant propellers powered by steam, something similar to paddle ships Taichi had once seen on a travel television program on the American south. It was much more reliable and controllable, and much, much faster.
The Reliant, with what little time Taichi had spent on the ship, was quite a capable machine. A heavyweight, one hundred gun class ship. It was truly an aerial fortress unlike the Noble or the Lyon, both thirty gun ships built for speed and boarding of other ships whilst the Reliant was act as the command centre. The size of the Reliant was not solely for the purposes of staying afloat in the air during battles but it was also used to house Digimon, were as the Noble and Lyon would only be capable of holding one large Digimon, the Reliant could hold five, with ample space for them to move around. In fact, the Reliant carried more than its fair share of Digimon, as it held one heavy weight in Megakabutarimon, two 3 medium sized Digimon in Davis' Magnamon, Takato's Gallentmon, and Mimi's Lilymon. Of course, he and his sister had the two smallest Digimon, Agumon and Gatomon respectfully. Their other travelling companions had opted to stay on the other ships, Takaru, Yolei, and Ken all stayed on the HMAS Lyon, which had accompanied the Prince of Ming and his personal airship back to Ming to establish diplomatic ties.
Even though he had planes, helicopters, blimps, gliders, and another dozens of aircrafts in his world, airship was still an amazement to him. Not because they could fly but because of the gigantic scale of it all. Taichi imagined that one day in this world, airships would become the norm, even though it was in this time. It was harder to keep track of them all, listing them from the top of his head, he knew Royal had only three classes of ships, the one hundred gun heavyweight class such as the Reliant, the thirty gun middle weight class ships, and finally the courier class ships build for a crew of five and three times faster then their battle counter parts. At least the Ming ships were easier to remember, as growing up with Buddhism Taichi could remember them from the top of his head. The Dragon class, a thirty gun ship that was super fast in straights, mostly used for transport. Then there was the Phoenix class ships, which Prince Lee Jianliang had told him consisted of twenty two guns but was made for a small crew and could fly circles around any other airship. The Prince himself had his personal ship, a Tiger class, only twelve guns but was made for boarding enemy ships. And finally, like the Royal heavyweight ships, the Ming had the Turtle class, although smaller and only half the fire power, it was built from steel, the only of its kind as everything else was built from lumber. Finally, according to Koushiro the Empire only had two types, the Olympus forty gun class, a ship that could fly higher than Royal ships and the Lord Class twenty two gun similar to a Royal middleweight, both of which Koushiro reminded, had been easily destroyed in the dozens by Taichi alone.
"Taichi, Lady Crowle is here to see you." Koushiro had come to remind Taichi, seeing as he was the only one currently employed within the manor as his advisor. Davis and Takato both had opted to stay on board of the Reliant to make sure the repairs had been done on time.
"Send her up and have the servants bring some tea." Taichi replied, holding his hands up to tell Koushiro was free to do as he liked.
"Taichi..." Koushiro started, "I don't want to over stay my welcome, but is it wise to be seeing Lady Crowle every day when Mimi, your wife let me remind you, has not seen you in more than a week and has no idea about your meetings with Lady Crowle?"
Sighing again, Taichi turned to Koushiro, "Its not like I have a choice Koushiro. You now know that Mimi is actually Lady Alsace, if anyone else knows then we would be in trouble. Lord Crowle doesn't know that and he has it in his head that one of his daughters is destined to marry me. Plus, we're leaving next week anyways, so Mimi does not have to worry or know about me seeing Lady Lily.
"Yes of course Taichi." Kourshiro replied, Taichi could see he was still unsure, "I shall inform the servants to bring you some tea then."
Some time after, Lily Crowle finally made her way up to the balcony where Taichi was sitting, not having moved and still staring out to the harbour. Lily took a seat beside him, Taichi noted that she was dress the same as their previous encounters, a simple white blouse and a green plaided skirt. Her hair still the same, two ponytail like pigtails, giving her a youthful look but none the less still every bit as beautiful. She had a frown on her face when otherwise she had always been smiling or lightly blushing in his presence.
"Father received a letter today." She simply stated and Taichi gave her a raised eyebrow, "The new government has already sent no less then ten airships towards Madras after catching word of your stay here. Taichi! You have to prepare your crew and leave as soon as possible!"
Taichi did not know how to reply to the tearful girl, he was in shock of the short notice. So in shocked that he did not realize Koushiro had entered the balcony, puffing and huffing for air as if he had ran for the last ten minutes.
"Taichi! We have some trouble, I just got this letter from Lady Ruki!" Quickly holding up a piece of paper and shoving it into Taichi's hands.
June 21, Year 1759 of our Lord Yggdrasil.
Dear Taichi,
Although I wish I can write to you about better times, this letter is to warn you. Father has just been visited by no less ten airships sent by the new government, now calling themselves Britannia. They have caught word of your stay in Madras from the new Prime Minister, one Jyou de Lyonais. It seems that he views you as the biggest threat to Britannia and will do anything for your head.
I have order the Royal ship, HMAS Sparrow to get this to you. When you receive this, Britannian airships should only be no less than three days behind. I implore you to leave for Ming as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Ruki of Bolton
Having read the letter, Taichi frowned at the date. It was only written three days ago, the Sparrow was indeed a fast ship but the more pressing matter was that he had less time to prepare his crew.
"Koushiro! Get the ships prepared for departure. Grab Hikari and Mimi and tell them to be ready by the morning. Have the crew fill up the supplies, enough for at least a few days travel."
"Yes My Lord!" Koushiro quick rushed off to do as he was instructed.
Taichi then turned to Lily, still a frown on her face. "Lily, get your family prepared to leave. I'll have the Noble and Sparrow ready to take your family and any of the students who are from royalist family and take you all to South Wales. You should be safe with Lord Bolton until you find means to get to the New World."
Lily merely shook her head, "Father has made arrangements for everyone to evacuate, we should be safe as Britannia is only after you. We will take a ship to Hurontario once you have made it to safety." Lily said softly, before she leapt from her seat and kissed Taichi's cheeks. Leaving Taichi speechless, she quickly left the manor before he could reply, still holding the spot where she kissed him.
Arriving back in his room as the entire manor was in a frenzy to pack everything that was of value, leaving Tachi with little to nothing for himself to pack. The important items to him, his Digivice in particular was always on him, attached to his belt. The only thing he really needed to take was his Digimon, Agumon who was sleep in his bed, sweet rolling down his pained face no doubt in a deep fight with his illness. Sighing for the frustration the disease had caused him so far, Taichi picked up Agumon, still wrapped in a heavy blanket. Using all his strength, Taichi held up his Digimon and made his way to the entrance of the manor where his personal carriage Lord Crowle had lent to him awaited. As he was making his way down the stairs, he came to realized that Agumon was fairly heavy, weighing no less than one hundred pounds by his guest. As soon as the illness was to pass, he was going to put Agumon on a diet. There was no telling how much he was eating with an entire manor's worth of servants at your call.
Putting Agumon into the carriage, Taichi took one last look the Madras sky, now painted in a golden yellow and deep orange glow as the sun was setting. Although Taichi knew he had some leeway with the amount of time he had before the Empire's or rather the arrival of the Britiannian ships, he still felt a sense of urgency. There was no doubt the Britannians would seek him out and follow his trail and there was no doubt in his mind the would follow him until he reach the safety of the western boarders of Ming. That by his calculation would take no less than two or three days, giving them ample time to catch up with the slow moving Reliant.
The ride down to the port was quiet, allowing Taichi for something time to think. He did not want to engage in battle with the Britannians, he knew he had the advantage with two Mega Digimon, along with Koushiro's ultimate level Megakabutarimon, and Davis' golden armored Digimon. Taichi never felt the need to ask but now that he thought about it, what was Magnamon's level designation in this world? From his past experiences, Davis had been able to beat a ultimate level Digimon with ease back during Ken's rule as emperor in his world and this world's Davis had easily beaten one or two mega level SabreLeomon during their time in South Wales. Deciding the matter was for another time, Taichi took note that the carriage would be soon arriving at the docks.
Wondering if he would ever be able to return to his world, Taichi again sighed. There was no doubt another war was coming, especially having seen Jyou's temper against the ruling family of Royal. And now that he had been made Prime Minister, Jyou would of course free his fellow countrymen. Taichi had once again gotten himself into a sticky situation, knowing full well he had to help Ming with their problems and than no doubt returning to Royal once everything passed only to have to fight Jyou. Home seemed far away now but Taichi knew he had a duty to protect those he cared about.
Exiting the carriage with Agumon in hand, Taichi was greeted by Koushiro along with his sister and wife. Both girls were dressed in the standard academy uniform provided by St. George.
"My Lord Captain." Koushiro saluted while Mimi was the first to rush to him and hug him, followed closely by his sister.
"Have the crew make final preparations, we will set sail at midnight." He commanded in his most regal voice he could muster, Koushiro saluted in understanding and set about making arrangements with the other higher officers.
He turned to the servants attending to Mimi and his sister, "Bring my wife's belongings to my quarters and have my sister's thing brought to the one next to mine."
"Taichi, I will not have you sleep with Mi..." His sister was cut off by himself, giving her a glare.
"We don't have time to argue. And I'm a grown man and captain of this ship. It's my right to have my wife sleep in the same room as me and it is my right to have my wife wake up with me in the morning." Hikari looked taken back, Taichi having never ever shouted at his sister of this world sighed in frustration once again, "Look, sorry Hikari but we don't have time to argue this. He can talk about it once we're out of danger."
They made their way to their cabins, Taichi's being the largest on board the ship as it acted as his room and more importantly his command centre. Dropping Agumon onto his large bed, he could see his Digimon partner was suffering greatly, his breathing was heavy and his face red. Leaving his partner to get some sleep, he looked towards Mimi who had a worried face as this was the first time she had a proper look at Agumon.
"He's going to be okay right?" She asked a little scared.
"Of course!" Taichi grinned from ear to ear, "Agumon and I have been through tougher than this!" Although he did not show it, Taichi was very much worried about Agumon.
However, without warning the ship began to shake. The lights hanging from Taichi's ceiling began to shake and flicker, the sound of wind began broadcast, as if to signal the ship was taking off. The next moment, Taichi's door slammed open and Koushiro and Davis appeared.
"Captain!" Davis started but was cut off by Koushiro "The Empire's airships have been spotted less than three kilometres from our position. They've fired warning shots at us. I'm afraid we do not have time to completely stock up on rations, we have to take off now!"
Nodding, Taichi stood up from the bed that Agumon slept, "Order the crew to take off, have the Noble and Sparrow follow at the rear. Do not fire unless we are hit first, I do not want to be the one responsible for inciting a war!"
"Yes Milord!" Both Koushiro and Davis saluted and then ran to their post to prepare the ship for take off.
Turning once again to Mimi, he looked at her and said, "You stay here, it safer. I have Davis and Takato to send out their Digimon in defence of the ship."
Mimi opened her mouth to protest but was stopped by another raspy voice, "I'm coming too Taichi" Agumon caughed, "You'll need my help."
Taichi turned towards his Digimon, "No, your still ill. Even though I can Digivolve you, your still laking the energy."
"No I'm fine" Agumon retorted and slipped off the blanket that had previously been covering him. Agumon stood up weakly and continued out of the room while Taichi was glued to his spot. Snapping out of his shock, he bid Mimi to take care of herself and rushed to where Agumon was heading.
By the time both of them had slowly made their way to the top deck of the Reliant, the giant airship was already flying a couple of hundred feet above the Madras townscape. Behind them to the south west was the Britannian fleet, ten small dots in the sky could be seen, as the wood and canvas of the ship was visible with the setting sun as its back drop. The Noble and the Sparrow followed behind them, still a little under them as they were still trying to gain attitude. Davis and Takato were already near the back of the ship, trying to gain the highest position on the deck to see and shout commands to their Digimon.
Taichi followed with Agumon, releasing his Digivice from his belt, Taichi held it out towards Agumon. "Now Agumon, Digivolve!"
The Digivice began to glow it usual orange however it soon faded and was replaced by a red light flashing on his Digivice screen. Three symbols appeared, flashing on screen, Agumon still in his rookie form. Taichi recognized the three symbols. Thanks to Koushiro, the Digidestined were given a lesson on translating Digital symbols into hiragana. His Digivice read "eraa", error.
Not believing what had happened, Taichi held his Digivice tightly still staring at it intensely as he fell to his knees. He did not notice or hear anything that was going on around him. He also failed to notice Agumon fainting besides him as explosions could be heard not too far from where they were.
"Taichi! Taichi! Damn it all! Full sail, have the Noble and Sparrow bring up the rear, retreat our Digimon. We better hope we can out run them." Koushiro called as Taichi was still in shook. The ship unfrailed it's fin like sails as the wind began to push them out to sea.