Chapter 17 "Captain of the Ship"

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

The next morning, we made our way to the palace before the crowds filled the city. Even though it was spring, the morning air was already warm. (Do these Ardainians ever have a cold day?)

"Driver Remi and Blade Nia, welcome back to the palace," Special Inquisitor Càidh greeted us without Brighid. "I was informed that everything went smoothly in setting up this joint-mission with your chief, so you are all set to lead the expedition."

"Are you sure that it's a good idea for us to lead? I'm no army commander." I glanced past him to some soldiers and common Blades gathered at the royal dock. "Besides, won't your men object to taking orders from foreigners?"

"You are honorary dignitaries. They are aware of your status and that you saved Brighid from falling into the wrong hands. If they do not show you respect, then they will be reprimanded," he assured. Nia crossed her arms and giggled to herself. "At any rate, I have to leave soon, so let's set you up with the cargo team."

By the time we reached the dock, those soldiers had formed a line with their common Blades and saluted. Standing nearby were a couple of local drivers with their rare Blades. "Sir! The first ship has been thoroughly inspected and prepared for travel to Indol," one soldier reported. The ships were cargo compartments built on the backs of small Titans.

"Thank you." Special Inquisitor Càidh took out a clipboard as Nia and I joined the group. "Right, now let's take attendance." First, he approached the soldiers and read their names. Next, he approached the other drivers and Blades. "Driver Brusa with Blade Goliad, check. Driver Kirk with Blade Galloway, check. Guest driver Remi with Blade Nia, check." (Brusa and Goliad are here? I guess it shouldn't surprise me since they helped the empire before.)

"Is this everybody?" the other driver asked the Special Inquisitor. "I expected more to show up."

"Yes. This is the first day and we put the word out on short notice." He skimmed through the roster sheet again before he signed it. "We anticipate more to show up for the following trips. For now, you will make do with the current lineup. Your sole task is to protect the ship, its cargo, the pilot, and the inventory specialist from harm. In the event that you are under siege, you will follow Remi and Nia's orders." Nia and I looked at each other. (Right… no pressure. No pressure at all…)

None of my teammates said a word to us, but they didn't shy away from staring. With the instructions given, the Special Inquisitor wished us good luck and returned to the palace. "Well, come on, then. We're all set, so let's go!" I led us into the ship and soon we were on our way to Indol.

~ CLOUD SEA ~

"How's everyone holding up?" I asked around. We'd been traveling for roughly an hour so far. It was slightly awkward to share the same space with very little to do. Two soldiers and their Blades were up on the roof of the ship on patrol duties.

"We're all good," one soldier reported back. I nodded to him and continued pacing back and forth with my hands behind my back. I soon realized that I was walking like the Special Inquisitor.

"You don't need to act so high and mighty, hot stuff," someone retorted from behind. I turned and saw Brusa sitting in a corner, giving me the same glare that she'd always given me. The pink-haired Ardainian looked as gritty as ever in her short, frayed rodeo dress. Keeping my hands behind my back, I slowly walked over to her and Goliad, her faithful Blade in a big black hat and sweeping black overcoat. Neither of them made any movement as I approached them.

"I'm sorry that I've given an impression of that nature," I started to say, but she was having none of it. "Look, as long as I'm in charge, I have to make sure that everyone is okay. Or would you rather I don't care about what might happen to you?" She chuckled to herself and shook her head.

"I can take anything," she claimed confidently and smacked her fists together. "I don't need you to care." I looked to Goliad who may have been asleep this whole time. I couldn't tell with his hat cocked forward to cover his eyes. (Not the most pleasant people, these two. They can handle themselves.)

"Hey boss!" I turned back around and saw Kirk, the other Ardainian driver walking towards me.

"Please, call me Remi. I'm not really your boss, you know that." Perhaps I'd been acting too stiff and proper on this trip so far, but I wasn't about to let my nerves get to me.

"Right, Remi…" He glanced at Nia while she was facing away from us. "Where'd you find her?" I blinked at him for a moment.

"Destiny, you might say," I answered coyly. "She's originally from Gormott, but we met on Prudentia. It's a long story."

"I heard she saved the Special Inquisitor." She turned to smile at us when she heard him say that. "Does she really have mystical healing powers?"

"You'd better believe it. She won't let anyone die. Not on her watch." It was good to remind myself of that, especially not knowing if there was something dangerous out there as Brighid had theorized.

I wasn't the only one aboard wondering about it. In time, the soldiers started to talk amongst themselves. It wasn't hard to overhear their conversation. One soldier believed that there were pirates roaming the Cloud Sea. Another soldier believed that there was a monster hiding in the depths. (The Cloud Sea is so vast, I wouldn't be surprised if either theory is true.)

"Attention! Unidentified vessel off the starboard side!" one of the rooftop soldiers shouted through the hatch. I quickly climbed up the ladder to peer outward. Indeed, there was a ship in the distance. Having forgotten that I was still on the ladder, I felt someone tap me on my foot. I climbed all the way up and Nia followed, along with a few more soldiers and Blades.

"Do you see it, Rem?" She looked to the right with one hand brushing her bangs away from her eyes. The wind was fierce, and the mist made it difficult to see the other ship in detail. Soon, all the soldiers were looking at me for directions. (Oh! Right… I'm captain of the ship… sort of…)

"Have your weapons ready. That ship's going in the opposite direction. Let's see if it starts coming towards us." While the soldiers had their eyes on the ship, I looked down into the Cloud Sea. Remembering the stakeout mission at the Ardainian port last year, I carefully scanned the area in front of us for any smaller boats that might've been sneaking through the clouds. Five minutes passed, and soon the unidentified ship was gone. "Stand down. I think we're in the clear."

"Were you nervous?" Nia patted me on the shoulder.

"No, not at all." She tilted her head and gave me a crooked smile. "Okay, maybe a little bit…" I rotated the soldiers for patrol duties and returned to the ship's quarters to find Kirk standing at attention. "Don't worry. False alarm."

"Aw…" he sulked and loosened his grip on his greataxe. "I was hoping for a little action."

"We're just a protective team. Action is what we don't want." I looked past him to Brusa and Goliad who still hadn't moved from their corner. "If we end up sitting around doing nothing for all of our trips, then we should consider ourselves lucky."

~ GOETUIS WHARF, port of the Titan Indol ~

We arrived at the Indoline Praetorium a few hours later. The ship's pilot informed me that the delivery usually took an hour to complete, so I allowed Kirk, Brusa, and their Blades to roam around. Not wanting their imperious presence to cause a disturbance with the locals, I ordered the soldiers to stay behind and guard the ship.

"Well, Nia, here we are… at the Indoline Praetorium." We gazed in awe at the magnificent cityscape and its impeccably-chiseled architecture. "Never in my life did I think I'd ever visit this place."

"See? I told you it'd be fun!" She tugged at my shirt. "C'mon! You let the others go, so why don't we check it out ourselves?" As we started to enter the plaza, some Indoline guards walked past us and met with the pilot and inventory specialist. (They must be here for the delivery.)

~ QUATTOR STREET, main street of Indol ~

We were surprised to see so many shops in a place not known for tourism. I'd always been told that people came to Indol because either they were invited or they were in trouble. Praetor Amalthus was respected by all, although some of that respect might've come from fear.

~ REFUGEE CAMPGROUND, of Indol ~

As we turned the corner, we found a refugee camp stretching all the way to the edge of the Titan. There were people from all walks of life, and nobody looked happy.

"What's goin' on 'ere?" Nia asked me discreetly. "This looks just like Mor Ardain."

"They told us in school that Indol was a home for lost souls, but I didn't expect to see so many." I couldn't help but look at the line of people waiting for food. Something didn't feel right. "We just had lunch at a bustling deli a minute ago and here are tons of people starving." (How did they end up like this while I've got a cozy house and more gold than I know what to do with?)

Driven by our curiosity, we walked through the camp which was a maze of canopies. Crates were stacked by the wall where some kids played hide-and-seek in the dirt. It wasn't long before some of the refugees noticed us. People always stared at us whenever we entered a new place, but there was something different about this crowd. They almost seemed angry.

"Nia… we'd better leave." I tried to get us out of there as inconspicuously as possible. "I think they can tell that we're not destitute like they are."

~ GOETUIS WHARF ~

Everyone returned to the ship within the hour. I was relieved that I didn't need to search for latecomers. Kirk and Galloway came back with a couple of souvenirs in hand. The pilot and inventory specialist confirmed that the delivery was handled successfully. After I checked that the whole team was present, we set sail for the homeward trip to Mor Ardain.

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

We arrived in Mor Ardain by sunset. Special Inquisitor Càidh and Brighid were still away, so the pilot and inventory specialist took the elevator upstairs to give their reports of the delivery to the emperor directly. Everyone else dismissed themselves for the evening.

~ JAKOLO'S INN ~

"Nice goin', captain!" Nia praised as we got back to our room at the inn. "You handled that pretty well."

"Thanks. I'm glad that we didn't have any obstacles out there." I was exhausted despite not battling today.

"You worried for nothing." She removed her boots and sleeves and prepared a pot of tea for us. "And Indol was great, yes?"

"Yes, except for that refugee camp." I kicked off my shoes as well and sat by the table. "It left a sour taste in my mouth."

"Here, have some sweet tea, then." She passed me a cup. "But you're right. It was downright depressing. I wish we could do something about it."

"I think we'd be biting off more than we can chew. We certainly don't have the time to worry about them right now." I finished my tea and shuffled my aching feet over to the window. "We've got two more full days of traveling to do…"

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

Next morning, we returned to the palace to find Special Inquisitor Càidh talking to a group of soldiers whom I assumed were the same ones from yesterday.

"Good morning, driver Remi and Blade Nia," the Special Inquisitor turned to greet us. "My apologies for missing your return last night. Brighid and I were quite busy."

"Oh? Doin' what?" Nia was as curious as a cat.

"It's top-secret information. I'm afraid I cannot disclose, not even to you." As he spoke, I noticed some of the soldiers whispering amongst themselves. "Anyway, today's roster will be the same as yesterday's. Seeing as how your first day went so smoothly, I suppose we don't need any additional drivers."

Kirk, Brusa, and their Blades joined us within the next five minutes. Like yesterday, once the Special Inquisitor signed the roster sheet, we were on our way to Indol with a shipment of core crystals.

~ CLOUD SEA ~

This second trip to Indol was much like the first. Since we had the same team as before, I didn't see the need to check on everyone again which I'm sure was fine with Brusa. The only time she left her corner of the ship was when it was her turn to patrol the rooftop.

"Hey you." Nia leaned against the wall beside me. "So, what do you think the Special Inquisitor and Brighid are up to?"

"I haven't a clue. In a position like theirs, it could be anything." I glanced across the room to the soldiers sitting together. "Although, I have a feeling somebody here might know." They looked at each other for a moment.

"You didn't hear this from me, but they've been trying to cover up something," one soldier offered.

"Yeah, some scandal from the championship," another soldier spoke next.

"The Cloud Sea Championship? But that was almost a year ago." Brusa finally perked up when I mentioned it, but she didn't say anything. "Did you guys cheat?" They all hesitated. (Duh… of course nobody would admit to that.)

"Rem…" Nia pulled me close to whisper. "Remember the attack on Regideria?" She referred to the rumored foul play on the winning nation following the championship.

"Forget about it," I shouted back to the soldiers. "That's not what we're here for, anyway." (And I certainly don't want to get sucked into spreading rumors.)

With approximately one hour to go, it was our turn to patrol the rooftop. Nia and I climbed up the ladder to relieve Kirk and his Blade Galloway. "Alright guys, you can go back down, now."

"Time's up already?" Kirk pouted at us. "It's so boring down there. Patrolling is the only thing that's interesting."

"I'm so sorry that we're not being attacked," Nia apologized sarcastically. "Seriously though, you should be glad that it's been uneventful so far." With an audible sigh, the young Ardainian left his post and went back down the ladder. His Blade shrugged his shoulders and followed soon after. "Thrill-seekers, sheesh."

"Hey now, you're sort of a thrill-seeker yourself, no?" She gave me the evil eye.

"I'm not like that, you twit." She shoved me playfully as she went to cover the port side.

~ GOETUIS WHARF ~

We were back in Indol before we knew it. Like yesterday, the pilot and inventory specialist handled the delivery with some Indoline guards while we drivers toured the Titan. Unlike yesterday, however, I noticed that we weren't the only ones making a delivery. Occupying the other wharf was a Tantalese ship, but I couldn't tell what they brought.

~ POLDIS CIRCLE ~

After lunch, Nia and I roosted on the upper plaza overlooking the refugee campground. It was as if we were drawn back to it, although we thought better than to go near it again.

"I see Ardainians down there… and Gormotti… and Regiderian…" I observed. "A lot of them are kids. I wonder if they were born in Indol as refugees."

"I can't imagine having a life down there." She focused on the food line. "What can they do besides beg for a meal?"

"I don't know, but it's giving me flashbacks of my childhood." I remembered how I used to share bunkbeds with other kids my age at the orphanage and tattered tents with fellow mercenaries at the Solly Mercs camp. Back then, the only things I owned were the dirty clothes that I was wearing. These bleak images from the past were vivid in my head. "It's a lifestyle that I never want to experience again."

"Rem…" Nia's voice brought me back to the present. "Are you okay? You look like you're about to cry."

"We should head back to the ship. This scene is making me depressed." Looking at me with solemn eyes and a pronounced lower lip, Nia took me by the hand and together we walked downstairs to the wharf. The delivery had gone as planned, so we were soon on our way back to Mor Ardain.

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

Once again, Special Inquisitor Càidh and Brighid were nowhere to be found when we docked the ship. We all dispersed with hardly a wave or a goodbye.

~ JAKOLO'S INN ~

My somber mood persisted despite a hearty Ardainian dinner and a refreshing evening wash. Nia prepared another pot of tea as I climbed into bed.

"You never answered my question," she spoke from across the room. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Oh? Yeah, don't worry. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning." I lifted my blanket and invited her to sit next to me. "Besides, even if I am about to have another moody episode, I've got free access to the best doctors in Prudentia."

"Right, right." She sipped her tea and offered some to me. "I'm not happy when you're not happy, so you know I'll always try to keep your spirits up as best as I can."

"Nia, it doesn't take much for you to make me happy." I kissed her on the cheek which almost made her spill her tea. "The closer we are, the happier I am."

"Is that so?" She set her cup on the nightstand and scooted closer to me. I watched her casually slip her hand under the blanket and felt her sneak into my undergarment. I shivered at the touch, but I wasn't ready to let her finish.

"Not here." I shook my head and pulled her hand out. "It only feels right to do it at home."

"Fair enough." She winked at me and went over to her bed. "Goodnight, Rem."

~ HARDHAIGH PALACE ~

"Welcome back, driver Remi and Blade Nia," Special Inquisitor Càidh greeted us the next morning. "Once again, my apologies for missing your arrival last night. I was told that everything went smoothly, even more so than the first day."

"Correct," I confirmed. "Nothing bad has happened."

"Yet…" Nia added with a smirk. "Oh come on, Rem, I'm just teasin'!"

"Before Brighid and I depart, I need to update you of a change to the roster." The Special Inquisitor retrieved his clipboard and cleared his throat. "Ahem… driver Kirk and Blade Galloway have opted out of any further trips to Indol, and in their place will be driver James and Blade Godfrey."

"That doesn't surprise me. Kirk was rather bored." I turned around to make sure that he wasn't behind me to hear that.

"I also understand that this will be your last trip for us." He approached me and bowed his head. "The empire is grateful for your services. I wanted to thank you now in case I'm not here when you return."

"It's been our pleasure, sir. I'm sorry we can't stay for the fourth trip." I was sorry that we'd be passing on an additional paycheck, but I wasn't about to tell him that. A few minutes later, Brusa, Goliad, and the replacements, James and Godfrey arrived. After the new recruits were briefed on the mission, the Special Inquisitor bid us farewell.

~ CLOUD SEA ~

I anticipated another smooth journey to Indol. As usual, Brusa and Goliad kept to themselves, as did the soldiers with their Blades.

"Remi, is it?" James came over with Godfrey, his handsome redhead Blade dressed in iced armor. "Remember us? We drove the Brionac out of Teddim last year."

"Ah yes, good to see you two again." Even though we were teammates before, this was my first time speaking with them.

"Good job on keeping the Special Inquisitor alive and all," he complimented wryly. "How are you feeling? You were on the ground the last time I saw you."

"Oh…" I felt myself blush. "I'm sorry you saw me in such a mess, but I am much better now, thanks to Nia. She'll make sure that we all stay safe."

"These sorts of missions aren't my cup of tea," Godfrey joined the conversation, "but my driver got on the good side of the empire, so I guess I can't complain."

"Frankly, as much as I love my country, I'm really here for the gold." The young Ardainian wrapped his arm around his Blade. "Godfrey here would rather fight for justice than be a chaperone."

"As long as we're being honest, the money is what roped me into this gig as well. Nia and I were supposed to head home after we ran some errands." She draped herself on my arm and kissed me on the cheek which caught James' attention.

"Ah, are you two… uh… y'know…" I blushed in front of him again and tried to wriggle out of Nia's grasp, but she didn't let go.

"Yeah…" I confessed, "but please don't spread it around." Brusa sneered audibly.

"It's fine. Whatever floats your ship." He nodded at us and walked over to introduce himself and Godfrey to the soldiers. I turned my attention to Brusa who continued to judge us with her eyes. I struggled to keep my emotions in check as we approached her in the dark corner.

"Have you got something to say?" I interrogated her as quietly as I could.

"It's nothing," she lied under her breath.

"You reacted. This isn't nothing to you." Nobody spoke next, and after a minute, I decided it was time to drop it.

"Don't let her get under your skin," Nia cautioned. "You know people pass judgment when they're uncomfortable of something that's different from them."

"All the same, I need some fresh air." I started to climb up the ladder to the rooftop. "Come on, it's nearly our turn to patrol anyway." Once outside, I called to the two soldiers and their Blades and told them to head back inside. I took my post on the starboard side, but Nia didn't go to her side yet.

"Hey… Rem." I felt the heat from her body in contrast to the cold air as we flew over the Cloud Sea. "Is it safe to assume that that's why you want to keep our relationship private?"

"Yes. I can't wait for a world that doesn't mind who you like… human or Blade, man or woman." I tried to take a deep breath, but the cold air tickled the back of my throat. "But enough about that. Go watch your side of the ship! We hens have a nest to protect!"

"You're weird!" she hollered.

"I don't care!" As soon as I shouted back, we heard a clunk of metal, and a door of the ship fell into the clouds. Seconds later, the ship began a slow descent. Instinctively, I ran for the hatch and climbed down the ladder.

With our weapons drawn, we all faced the cockpit, and out came the most intimidating Blade I'd ever seen. Dressed in silver armor with a spiked mask over his eyes, the Blade reached for his nodachi and advanced toward us.

I swallowed hard. "Who are you?!"