THE TEMPEST

This chapter is a joint effort between LS and I. It takes all hands to clean up after a northern storm. ~ DK

Blackhold

The rain and wind hammered against Marlon's bedroom window, only drowned out by his daughter's shrieks. The drop in pressure hurt Dalla's ears, and Lana had brought her from the nursery in the hopes that having both parents around would help soothe her. He hoped it worked. So far Lana had tried to give their little girl the breast, a pacifier, and a finger dipped in sweet juice to get her to swallow so her ears would pop, but Dalla was having none of it in favor of screaming.

"Please," Lana begged once more, holding up the pacifier. "It'll make you feel better, Dalla. Just take your binky."

"Here, let me try." Marlon scooped up his daughter and bounced her on his hip around the room. It was better than just sitting there, watching the rain.

Relieved of their daughter Lana sat back in her chair and directed her attention back to the storm. "Salt gods, this one's a monster."

"Aye." Instead of thinking about the monster storm and who was currently caught in it Marlon turned back to Dalla and distractedly stuck out his finger. Dalla stared at it like she'd never seen it before, but then she grasped it with one hand and stuck it in her mouth.

Lana threw up her hands. "Of course you have the touch."

"I think she needed someone new, that's all." With the baby taken care of there was nothing to distract him from the weather.

Lana noticed. "Marlon, I'm sure he's fine. Jamos is one of the best captains I've ever seen; I'm sure he saw the signs and put into harbor."

"Aye, if he had time to find one." He'd been on land, and still he and his crew had barely had time to batten down before the storm hit and he had to run back to the Hold in the driving rain. He could barely see the harbor through the tempest but what he could make out looked like a danger zone. Out on the open water, it would be a deathtrap.

Marlon wished he could comm his brother to at least know where he was and if he'd made it to harbor, but the storm had taken that from him too. He'd only been able to muster the fuzziest of connections to Glover in the early hours, and even that was gone now. The comms were out until the storm passed. There was nothing to do but wait and pray to the salt gods.

Dalla made a satisfied sound and he kissed the top of her head, then crossed over to the bed and sat leaning against the headboard.

"Thank the gods we're back here," Lana lay down on her side, shoulder to shoulder with Marlon. "I can't imagine if we had her out on the water in this. What would we have done?"

"Everything we could."

"And what is everything we could?"

"I'm not sure," Marlon admitted. All he knew is that whatever it was, he'd do it. He'd dive headfirst into the churning sea, he'd swim up to a hungry Chirn, he'd pay any price if it meant saving his daughter.

Just then there was a thunderclap and Lana shivered. "Salt gods, I hate storms."

If the situation had been any lighter Marlon would have laughed that Lana Blackwell, who threatened to fight the Rashes on the steps of the palace, was afraid of storms. As it was he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Jamos had to have found a harbor," she said, leaning her head on Marlon's shoulder. "He wouldn't do anything reckless with Shara on board."

"You're right." Even though he wasn't so sure and was going to call Jamos the second the comm channels came back online. Before Glover Harkon disappeared into static, he'd managed to set up a plan for the rescue efforts that would no doubt be needed when this was over.

Before he could finish the thought, another thunderclap rang out, louder than the first. Dalla startled from her drowsy position on Marlon's chest, spat out his finger, and screamed.

"Looks like hating storms is genetic," he grumbled as both parents rushed to soothe her again.

He must have fallen asleep with his family because the next thing he knew the sun was shining through the storm shutters and his comlink was ringing on the bedside table beside him.

Marlon snatched up the unit and tiptoed to the other side of his room, forking a hand through his hair so it wouldn't look like he'd just rolled out of bed. As soon as he'd done it he pressed the activation button and Glover materialized over the unit.

"Glove!" His best friend was wearing fishing leathers and looked like he'd been through hell (or more accurately, the cyclone which had just been raging). He must have already been on the water, and Marlon kicked himself for falling asleep. "Glove, what is it? Is it Jamos?"

"Sort of," Glover looked over at something past the hologram's field. "We left the Hall as soon as the worst of the storm was past. Adria almost killed me for it, but salt gods are we glad we left when we did. Marlon, I'm sorry but I won't be able to help you look for your brother. The Bralykburns are in a bad way."

Marlon knew what that meant after a storm. "How bad is it?"

"Bad. There weren't many survivors. Hugo's a wreck, his little girl has hypothermia and she's sicker than a cog, and his wife and son ..." Glover shook his head. "Lady Bralykburn and Dominic didn't make it."

Marlon closed his eyes. "In the light of the salt gods."

"In the light of the salt gods. Poor kid was serving his first voyage." He blinked to clear his head. "I'm taking them back to the Hall. They don't have the strength to make any side trips."

"I understand. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I have it under control right now."

Marlon nodded and then asked his main, burning question. "Have you heard anything from Jamos?"

"Haven't gotten the chance. I was just about to comm him when the second mate heard Talia's cog barking to Dxun and we changed our heading to look for them. I'll admit, Marlon, when we found them I forgot all about your brother till now."

"Mr. Glover, are you talking about my cog? Is he okay?"

Glover turned from Marlon to someone outside the holofield. "Go back to sleep, Talia. You need your rest."

"But my cog? He was barking so much and I don't hear him now."

"Honey, he's fine. He's sleeping, like you should be. Here, do you want to see someone?" Glover stepped out for a second and returned with a young girl wearing a comically oversized men's shirt. "This is my friend Marlon. He's the Lord of the North."

Marlon waved. "Hello, Talia."

"Hi, my lord," she sniffed and wiped her nose on the enormous sleeve.

"Are you staying in Glover's cabin?"

"Uh-huh. Papa was supposed to, but he switched with me."

"It's warmer here than in the first mate's cabin," Glover explained both to Marlon and Talia. "You were like a block of ice when we pulled you out of the water."

"Papa was cold too. Where is he?"

"Taking a nap."

"I wanna see him. Can I go see him?"

A brilliant idea came to Marlon before Glover had to answer. "Talia, has Mr. Glover shown you his magic trick?"

Immediately the child's attention was on him. "Magic trick?"

Glover jumped on the distraction. "I almost forgot my magic trick!" he announced and knelt before Talia to show her a little trick where it looked like his thumb had been severed. She smiled and Glover scooped her up again. "Why don't you go back to bed and when your Papa wakes up, we can show him too?"

Talia nodded and let Glover carry her out of the holofield. He returned a moment later, looking very relieved. "Thank you. Hugo's more passed out than asleep; she can't see him like that."

"I need to comm Jamos." If the Bralykburns got into this much trouble then he didn't feel great about Jamos' chances. "I'll be in contact later but if you need anything before then, just comm. I'll be near a unit." Whether that unit was the one at the Hold or on his ship remained to be said.

"Hope it's good news, or at least better news than Hugo's." There was a crash somewhere outside the holofield and Glover's head snapped in that direction. "Got to go. I'm praying for your brother, Marl."

"So am I," Marlon murmured. The instant the comm cut out he entered Jamos' frequency as fast as he could. "Believe me, so am I."

…

Flint Locke

There really was no hope whatever that the captain and the beast master might descend from their room without some sort of fuss from the crew who had spent the night in the common room below.

"Here they come!" Shara heard someone (most likely Ness) call as soon as she had opened the door.

"Better get this over with," said Jamos over her shoulder. The klick wide grin on his face belied the words.

She rolled her eyes and walked down the steps as stately as any great lady. That is before Jamos raced down beside her, took her hand in his, and kissed her cheek. They were met with a roar of applause.

Shara took the moment to lean over to him and whisper. "You really are a beast."

"Aye, but you love me." He whispered back.

"I don't recall ever saying that."

"Oh well, yes you did." He argued. "At salt and light and to your goddaughter no less. I believe your exact words were, 'we all love Uncle Jamos'."

"Are you really going to use something I said to my sweet, innocent, little goddaughter, against me?" She gave him a wounded look.

"Against you?" He asked, with mock-injured pride. "Never! I'd say it works out very much in your favor."

She was going to respond with a snappy comeback before Ness called out. "Oh, watch out lads! Trouble in Paradise!"

There was another cheer and then the couple were ushered to places of honor for a breakfast on the house. There was an air of celebration as the crew honored the beast master's quick thinking and the Captain's decisive action that had saved them all. Not to mention their supposed first night together.

Jamos ate it up. Shara endured more quietly with a blush in her cheeks that only gave more fuel to the suspicions.

And then someone mentioned how lucky it was that the Lord and Lady and the little princess had decided to stay back at the Hold.

"Jamos," Shara leaned over toward him. "Did you ever comm them to let them know we're alright?"

"Oh kriff, you're right! I should do that. Marlon is probably about out of his mind. It's a wonder he hasn't tried to comm us already." He fumbled for his comm unit in his pocket but when he retrieved it he found there was no signal. "Explains that. Flint Locke is a pretty small place. If the signal got knocked out during the storm, it'll be awhile before they get it up again." He put the device back in his pocket, unperturbed, and went back to his nerf steak.

"Shouldn't we find a place that does have a signal so we can get word to them?" She inquired.

"We will. I'm not going to turn down a free breakfast." He patted her hand and then gestured towards the crew. "They're celebrating that they're alive and they have you to thank for that. Don't worry. As soon as we're on the water again we'll find a signal and let them know we're okay."

"Alright." She nodded not completely appeased. She wished they could finish this and get on their way.

It was another hour before they had all finished eating and thanking the owners for their hospitality. As it turned out they were cousins of Maris's, so Ness had to spend another several minutes talking to them and inviting them to their wedding at the Hold in the fall.

Finally they all stepped out of the inn and for a moment they were all speechless. The storm had done it's damage to the little town and to the boats in the harbor. There were several exclamations of thanks to the salt gods for guiding them to a place of refuge and Shara was given a few grateful pats on the shoulder.

"We really need to get in touch with Marlon and Lana." Shara said. "Gods, I hope no one else was caught out in this."

"So do I." Jamos swallowed guiltily. "I hope the Bralykburns found a harbor."

"That's right! They were…" Shara's hand flew to her mouth. Suddenly her big breakfast wasn't sitting so well on her stomach. How could they have been celebrating when there were probably still people out there?

He gave her hand a squeeze and then Jamos's air of command returned. He addressed his crew, "We were very fortunate to have an early warning and a place to shelter during this storm but others may not have been so lucky. I want every manjack of you working hard to get the Polaris back in action so we can get out there and help anyone who might need our assistance. Do you hear me?"

"Aye, Captain!" They all chorused.

Shara nodded her approval and pride.

…

Harkon Hall

In one of the Hall's guest rooms, Adria Harkon worked a comb through Talia's tangled hair.

"There you are." She set the comb aside and tucked the girl's hair behind her ears. "It may have taken a while, but we did it."

"Thank you," Talia slid off Adria's lap and padded aimlessly around the room in her bare feet. Adria stayed seated on the edge of the bed and watched her. She certainly looked better than she did when the first mate carried her into the Hall on her father's heels. Adria had snatched the shivering, feverish child wearing a man's shirt from his arms and whisked her into the guest room so she didn't have to watch Hugo stumble along with Glover's support any longer.

Now Talia was scrubbed pink, dressed in one of Elinor's nightgowns and with meds running through her system to fight off the fever. Physically Adria wasn't worried about her, sure she'd keep an eye on the fever and make sure the med doses didn't lapse, but the hypothermia was no longer a concern. If she had learned one good thing from her sister, it was the many uses for wine. Before she left Sanda had downed carafes of the stuff on her bad days, and Adria knew that a cup of mulled wine would put a little warmth in anyone's belly. She'd had Talia working on one while she combed her hair.

Mentally was another story. Talia had just lost her mother and brother, and Adria wasn't sure how much of it the five-year-old understood. But better not to push the issue now, while she was milling around the room looking lost.

"Would you like to hear a story, Talia?" she offered. "We have lots of holobooks. I'm sure you and I can pick out something you'd like." She wracked her mind for the last story she'd read to the twins and settled on Elinor's favorite. "What about the one with the old house in Iziz that was covered in vines, and twelve little girls in two straight lines?"

"No, thank you."

Adria was sick of reading that one anyway. "Well then what about the one with the big red cog?"

"My cog!" Talia jumped and suddenly Adria had her undivided attention. "I haven't seen him. Where is he? Did he get lost? Dom made him a collar so he wouldn't get lost."

"Oh no, he's not lost. Mr. Glover put him in the kennels where he'd be safe." Not for the first time Adria thanked the salt gods that Hugo had bought his daughter the pup. If Glover's crew hadn't heard the creature barking, gods only knew what would have become of the Bralykburns. "Tell you what, why don't you climb into bed and I'll go get him and the cog book? Then we can all read it together."

Talia nodded and Adria stepped out on her retrieval mission.

…

Hugo

Pirate, the other clans called them. Aye, he knew it. But he still had a code of honor. For one, he would never cheat at cards. You played the hand you were dealt. And for another, a catch was an honest catch as long as it was taken on the high seas, even if it was at the point of a harpoon from another crew's deck. Before the fish were unloaded at the dock and the credits exchanged hands, they were fair game.

Hugo was at the point of considering that proposition, sitting there at the bar all those years ago. And he went back there in his fevered dreams.

All he had wanted was to go home to his beautiful wife, to lie in her bed, and maybe put another baby in her belly, but how could he do that when he didn't have enough credits to feed the son they already had. His father, the great Lord Bralykburn, had left him with nothing. The entire family fortune had been drunk and gambled away, leaving Hugo with a fleet of leaking tubs and a drafty, crumbling castle.

Yanara didn't mind. She'd come from nothing, but Hugo loved her, raised her to the status of a lady, for what it was worth. And she'd given him a son, a strong boy to carry on the name of Bralykburn when he was gone.

Hugo wanted to be the kind of man who Dominic could look up to. Not like his own father had been, salt gods rest him. Hugo touched a thumb to his lips self-consciously at the thought and then took another swig of his drink.

It was the thought of the boy that had kept him from going pirate up till now and the boy that made the option a consideration. He wouldn't have to know how his papa had gotten the next catch. He was only a little thing, barely two. He wouldn't understand even if his papa explained it to him. And it would only be till they were back on their feet. As soon as he could afford to pay a proper crew and make the necessary repairs to the ships, then Hugo would be back on the straight and narrow. He'd bring Dom on board as his cabin boy and teach him all he needed to know about the ways of the northmen, about ships and the sea…

And then a new crew entered the bar. Singing and laughing, they had hoisted the beardless, spoiled, little lordling on their shoulders. Maybe Hugo wouldn't have to resort to plunder after all. Maybe he could make some honest chits and take this kid down a peg as well.

"Drinks for the Blackwhelp's crew!" Hugo called out.

The bartender whispered to him that he didn't have that kind of money to be thrown around but Hugo only winked at him. "Call it an investment. I'll be good for it by the time the night is over."

"It's Blackwell." The boy corrected him, as if he didn't know, and his voice creaked like a new mast in a gale. "Jamos Blackwell."

"Well, Jamos Blackwell, have you ever played sabaac?"

"I know the basics, Sir." He grinned.

"How about if I teach you how to play a man's game?"

They went to a table and started to play. Hugo kept the boy's tankard full and tried not to think about how that trusting expression reminded him of Dom. The boy was well and truly shloshed when the cards finally came up in Hugo's favor. He laid everything out on the table.

"The Hold isn' mine t' bet with." The boy slurred. "But I gotta shhhhip. Iss bran new."

"Well, that'll be fine." Hugo tried to hold down his excitement. He'd seen the craft Lord Blackwell had given the kid for a birthday present. It was a beauty, one of the finest ever produced by the Harkon shipwrights. And he couldn't lose, not with this hand.

If only the crewman, the boy's minder most likely, hadn't come up at that moment and taken the cards from his hand. He took one look at them and gave Hugo a pitying frown. "It's time to go, sir." He practically had to lift the boy out of the chair.

"Come on, Ness. It was jus gettin' good." Jamos giggled before he passed out in the man's arms.

Ness didn't attempt to gather the boy's winnings before he carried him out.

Hugo called after him. "Hey, we weren't done with that last hand."

"Aye, you were done." The man replied before he disappeared with the boy out into the street.

Hugo began to gather the chits from the table. He passed a few of them over to the barkeep to pay his debt for the drinks, and then he turned over Jamos Blackwell's cards. Idiot's Array! Kriff him!

Hugo's urgency to scrape every last credit off the table went into high gear. With what he had here, he could make a few repairs to his flagship. Maybe he could hire a better beast master for the next voyage. He would turn things around. He would do it for Yanara and Dominic.

Dominic and Yanara! Hugo woke up crying their names. They were gone!

…

Adria had just shut the guest room door behind her when Hugo started crying his wife's and son's names a few doors down.

Glover raced past her to Hugo's room but not before giving her a quick smile and nod of solidarity. Then he ducked into the door to take care of Hugo while she hurried off to fetch the book and the cog.

When she returned with the book tucked under her left arm and the pup in her right Talia had another visitor. Elinor stood at the foot of the bed with her big eyes laser-focused on Talia.

"Did you give the pup a name?" Elinor asked, not seeing her mother with the creature in question.

Talia shook her head. "Dom wants to name him Noodle."

The present tense didn't sit well with Adria, nor did the moniker with Elinor. "Noodle?"

"'Noodle' is a lovely name," Adria spoke up and the children's heads snapped over to her in the doorway.

Elinor gave her mom the best innocent look she had in her arsenal and Talia reached out for the pup. "Noodle!"

The pup - Noodle - leaped out of Adria's arms and into its mistress'. Talia hugged it and buried her face in its fur as if she planned never to let it go.

"Talia and I were talking about cogs," Elinor announced. She must have thought she was going to get in trouble for sneaking in to visit their guest, but Adria couldn't be angry. If Elinor could get Talia's mind on a sunny topic for a while, then so be it.

"I brought the holobook," she said and held it up as evidence. "Talia, would you like to hear the big red cog story now? Ellie can stay with us if you'd like."

Talia nodded and Adria settled on the bed, a girl on either side of her and Noodle curled on Talia's lap. If Adria was lucky they'd both fall asleep during the story and she could remove Elinor to let their guests get some much-needed rest.

She'd barely gotten through the first three pages when the bedroom door opened and Hugo shuffled in, face still flushed and eyes gleaming with fever. He relaxed immensely seeing his daughter.

"Papa!" Talia dumped Noodle on the bed and jumped into his arms.

"You look better, Talia." Hugo hugged her tight. "Are you feeling better?"

"Aye, Papa." And then she pulled back and asked him, with sheer five-year-old innocence, "Can we get Dom and Mama and go home now?"

Hugo froze and then hugged Talia again so she wouldn't see the tears streaming down his face.

"Not now," he choked. "We aren't going home for a while."

A moment later Glover came racing into the room and looked relieved to see the father and daughter reunited. Adria went to his side. She was proud of her husband for all he had done to help this family… what was left of it.

"I thought he'd gone back to sleep," Glover explained in a whisper to his wife. "And then I couldn't find him."

"Maybe we can set up the room for them to stay together." Adria suggested. "I think they might prefer not to be apart."

"Maybe you're right." He agreed. "I can…" but whatever it was he was going to suggest was cut short by chime of his comm link. "That'll probably be Marl about his brother. I'll take it in the comm room."

"Tell them, they're in my prayers." Adria called after him as he slipped out of the room and down the hall.

Glover glanced at the ID on the comm and shut his eyes for a moment, relieved. It wasn't just Marlon but Jamos's own frequency. The younger Blackwell brother's image rose over the table with his signature grin. "I already commed Marlon but he suggested I contact you all as well."

"I'm glad you did. Marlon told you, we have Hugo and his daughter here?"

"He did, Glove." Jamos sobered. "Gods it's awful! If only we'd known, we could have gotten word to them somehow, warned them. Shara's really beating herself up about it."

"How did you know? How did she…" Glover asked. He didn't hear someone enter the comm room behind him just out of the range of the holo field.

"It was amazing." A little of Jamos's grin returned as he related the tale. He couldn't help but speak with pride about the girl he loved. "I've never seen a beast master like her. She could tell the brylks were acting strangely. She said it was like the fambaas down south when they're going to stampede. She knew somehow that they sensed danger and wanted us to get to a safe harbor, too. All I did was trust her instincts. Glove, I have no doubt that she saved all of us and the Polaris…"

"That southern witch!" Hugo came hurtling out of the shadows. "Saved your spoiled, kriffing arse and couldn't save my Yanara! She couldn't save my son!"

Glover wrapped his arms around the man and tried to calm him but not before he put a fist through the projector unit effectively ending the comm and bloodying his hand in the shattered wreckage.

"She didn't know you were on the water. I'm sure Shara would have done everything she could to warn your family had she known." Glover spoke evenly and attempted to hold Hugo back from doing any more damage to his wounded hand.

"Should have known you'd take her side! You and the Blackwells have always hung together against the rest of us! Blackwhelp gets a new whore and she's just part of the clan! Not even from the north! Don't know anything about our ways and he trusts her with his ship! With his crew! Is the Lord gonna just hand over the whole northern sea to her now?"

It was Adria who saved them with her quick thinking. She snuck into the comm room while he was distracted and injected the hypo-sedative into his arm. It took effect quickly and she leant her strength to her husband to support the unconscious man.

…

Polaris

"What did they say?" Shara rushed to him as soon as Jamos had finished the comm. She had said she needed some air after they had commed the Hold together.

Jamos was still a little shaky after what he had just heard and seen he was glad she hadn't been there to witness it as well. "They're in good hands. Hugo and the girl…"

"Talia." Shara remembered.

"Aye, Talia. Glover and Adria are taking good care of them." He held her close. He couldn't blame Hugo for the outburst. Jamos knew he would have been the same if he had lost Shara and… their child.

And he had known! Looking back, the signs had been there! He knew the sea. The warm breeze, the pink tinge to the sky, they had heralded the coming storm and he had ignored them. He had been distracted.

He wouldn't let that happen again. He would protect this woman. Whether she was ready to say vows or share his bed was irrelevant.

But just now he had to let go of her and do his job. They were nearly home.

…

Marlon and Lana and Dalla were there at the dock to greet them and so was Maris. Ness was one of the first down the gangplank. He took the girl in his arms and swung her around.

"I was that worried about you, Love." They could hear her telling him.

"Bah. You know I'm like a bad credit chit. I always turn up."

Shara smiled at them sadly. Jamos could tell she was thinking about the other families who had lost loved ones in the storm.

"It's not your fault, you know. You can't save everyone, especially if they don't want to be saved, but you did make that reunion possible."

She nodded and took his hand and together they disembarked.

…

Thank you for reading this little event that leaves some wide ripples in its wake.