Chapter 2

High above the clouds in the white Mid Ocean no ships were sailing. Here silence reigned. Only distantly one could hear the sound of ship's engines down below. A swarm of flutterflies flew past.

Had anyone been there, they would hear a remote murmur from the east. It grew in strength until it became a thundering growl. A huge ship came rushing and then slowly stopped. It lost height and started to fall backwards…

… until Vyse pulled the gauge and reactivated the Delphinus's engine.

"Now that's better," Aika said. "But the descent will be a bit slower, eh?"

"If you don't want a one-way ticket to Deep Sky, that is," Vyse answered. "Fina, lean us forward at 45 degrees. Aika, give us some speed."

Delphinus slowly tilted back on course, and started to sail. Straight to the west. Vyse turned the steering wheel in a fast spin to right.

"Towards north," he said. "If the jump was correct, we'll arrive at Valua in half an hour."

"I just don't get it," Kirala said, astonished. "Have we really travelled this far this fast?"

"We sure have," Vyse said, as the Delphinus started to break through the thick cloud layer. "Okay, we may have to fix the course a little bit, but it should be a breeze."

Now the Delphinus had dropped down and sailed in regular sky. Straight to the north. No ships could be seen. It was very quiet.

At that moment, a ship appeared in front of the Delphinus's bow, probably from below their hull. It was a sloop, just a tad smaller than the Little Jack, with a deck wide enough for five cannons but only sporting three on each side. The ship had two masts, full sails.

"Looks like someone is in a hurry," Vyse remarked.

Then the ship came out fully, increased in height, and then the Delphinus's crew could see that its engines were on fire, and the starboard side had been heavily trashed. But before anyone could react, a new ship appeared. As big as maybe galeas, it was rag-tagged, red painted, black sailed, and crowned with a Jolly Roger. The skull itself was accompanied with a red moon and a sharp anchor. Having emerged from the same direction as the first ship; it had most certainly been hunting them. As if to prove that, the Black Pirates started to fire. Several of their shots hit their prey, who didn't even return fire. They swiftly darted away on a wavering course towards north.

"That ship won't hold up much longer!" Aika shouted. "Vyse, we gotta help them!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Vyse said and grabbed the hearing-tube. "Take down that ship in front!"

The Delphinus's cannons burst into life. Several shots flew across the sky and hit their target. It didn't seem to scare the Black Pirates who immediately responded. A small cannon on their poop deck shot a projectile straight up against…

"Dodge!" Vyse screamed.

All of the crew on the bridge crouched on their positions as the projectile hit the viewport. Fortunately enough it wasn't a cannonball. However, soon the viewport was covered in darkness from the smoke grenade.

"Captain!" heard Tairon from the tube. "They'll soon be out of range from our cannons! We're going to lose them if we don't speed up!"

"We're not going to lose them!" Vyse answered. "But right now we got some trouble up here. They've smoked the windshield. You'll have to be our eyes from now."

To immediately go from just under half-speed to full speed was a hard achievement for any ship. It was the worst occasion ever to get blinded and lose their target. Even now, the Black Pirates probably had a great lead.

"Starboard! Portside! To the starboard!"

It was really a different experience to manoeuvre at someone else's directive rather than your own sight. This was just as hard as the time they had to sail through the Dark Rift. Except this time they had to hurry.

"We gotta get rid of this smoke!" Vyse growled, frustrated.

"How 'bout I climb out and toss it away?" Aika said. "No really. I'm serious."

"You don't have to," Fina said and held out her hand, and Cupil popped out. "Quick, fly out and clear the smoke. Can you do it?"

Cupil answered with a self assured beep. Swiftly he flew out from the bridge, heading to the lookout.

"If this works" Vyse said "I'll promote you to anything, except captain."

"You mean her or Cupil?"

Off in the distance, the sounds of cannons could be heard. The runaway ship remained in the air, but also remained in grave danger.

Soon the dark smoke started to dissolve. Only a few taints of the fog remained, and the port was a tad dirty. Whether Cupil had tossed the grenade overboard, on the deck or just eaten it didn't matter. The skies shone clear once again.

The hunted ship was clearly trying to escape, and made little to no effort to defend itself, in contrast to its black-sailed opponent. The two ships were heading northwest. If they held the course, they might hit Valua, but the prey would be shot down long before that.

"Okay!" Vyse shouted. "Aika, set the engines at full speed! Fina, get us down to attack position!" Already as he spoke, he could feel the Delphinus's engines starting to roar up. "Kirala, get a binocular and keep a watch on them!" Fina tossed Kirala her own special binocular, and the Yafutoman took post at the window. Vyse grabbed the hearing tube for the cannons. "Fire as soon as you can!"

The Delphinus raced forward across the sky, gulping the long distance between the ships, slowly gaining speed. Vyse turned the steering wheel a tad to the right. It would take too long to shoot down their opponents. But if Vyse could just intercept their course, the other ship would be saved and the Delphinus could take care of the pirates.

"That's Black Pirates alright," Kirala said. "And the other ones… oh my gosh!"

"What?"

"The sails! And the flag… that's… I… I think they might be Blue Rogues!"

Three hearts skipped a beat. The reason Black Pirates didn't plunder each other was mostly because they wanted as little opposition as possible, it had nothing to do with collegiality. Blue Rogues, however, never hesitated to join the fray if any fellow-rogues were in trouble.

"Darn!" Vyse hissed, his knuckles were white from grabbing the steering-wheel. "Can't we go any faster!? They'll be splinters before we can even begin to shoot!"

"We can't," Fina answered. "We've already passed the critical level!"

The other Rogues would have to fend for themselves a little longer. More than once they had tried to change course, but the Black Pirates had answered by blocking their path. Being cut off from escape, the quarry had no other options than to stall. They used manoeuvres Vyse had never seen before. They sailed straight towards their opponents on a low ramming course, but decreased their height at the last second. The Black Pirates turned sharply, but met only thin air. The Rogues had steered starboard and sailed straight north.

Despite the situation, Vyse couldn't help feeling impressed. Whoever the captain was, he or she sure had many years of experience at the helm.

Then suddenly, the Black Pirates fired a salvo that broke the Rogues' mainmast in half. Now there was no time to loose. Rise or fall…

"Open fire!" was Vyse's order. "Try to knock out their engines and sails!"

Instead of "affirmative", the answer came in two booming bangs, only this time they came from the Delphinus. The two shots flew across the sky. The first one flew past, almost hitting the Rogues. The second one just brushed against the target's propellers. More shots followed quickly. The cannon crew had used the time well and reloaded everything.

"We're still out of range! How far away are we!?"

"According to the sonar" Aika said "the distance is around one half kilometer."

At that distance, it was almost impossible to hit, but the Delphinus had at least two extraordinary cannoners. A new bang was heard, followed by two lower. One of the shots seemed to hit the deck, the other ones were direct full hits at the engine section. Another shot hit the cannon at the stern.

The battle had now clearly changed character. Realising that their trick hadn't paid off, and that they would meet the locker if they stayed, the Black Pirates turned sharply to starboard. Its cannons, for once, lay dormant. Its ragged Jolly Roger waved in the wind.

"Ha-ha!" Aika shouted. "We got 'em!"

"I'm glad we made it," Fina said, relieved. "I hope they're all okay."

"Sure thing," Vyse nodded. "At least they can still move."

Then they heard a voice from the hearing-tube:

"Captain, they've stopped firing. Shall we continue?"

"No," Vyse said. "Let them go if they want to, right now we need to check up the other ship. Good work all of you."

The Delphinus swiftly its way to the other ship. Slow but steady, the other ship carefully laid itself alongside the portside of Delphinus, close to the bridge. It could maybe compete with Little Jack in length, but they were beaten in height. Three cannons lay along its sides, another two laid beneath deck. The mainmast was broken at the middle, what remained of the sail was mostly blue rags. Dark smoke was belching from the engine, and the ship's wings hung slightly. The damages seemed severe enough, but the flag was unhurt: a white skull accompanied with cutlasses, clasped with angel wings. Although it would've looked better if it weren't lying down on the deck.

A woman then emerged from the ship. She appeared to be in her late twenties with hair that was brown, curly and big. She wore green half-long trousers, and a white blouse topped with a brown leather vest.

She crossed the deck, absently brushing her forehead. She looked like she's just run a double sprinting lap, but already warming up for a rerun. She swiftly grabbed the hearing-tube over the Delphinus.

"Thanks for the rescue," said her voice. "We'd almost thought we had it, but then you came. I shouldn't expect anything less from the legend himself, could I?"

"Savings in the last minute is our specialty," Vyse answered. "Are any of you hurt?"

"Oh, no. The ship is maybe a bit wrecked, but what can you expect from the Crimson Fear? Especially since I've made too much profit at their cost, or their leader's cost."

Immediately suspicion rose at the bridge. Both Aika and Fina left their positions and walked up to Vyse. This started to sound interesting. They didn't want to miss a word of this.

"You mean they are privateers?" Vyse asked.

"Almost," said the stranger. "Everybody thinks so, but it's more like… maybe we could take the rest indoors?"

With that, she let go of the tube, graciously vaulted over the railing, and walked across the Delphinus's deck towards the door. She had apparently settled her mind. A very decisive rogue.

Vyse once again grasped the hearing tube, but this one led down to the cannons.

"Esteban?"

"Copy."

"Does the name 'crimson fear' say you anything?"

"I've heard they're a band of Black Pirates that operates in Nasr," he said. "They're concentrating on taking on incoming trade ships. Was it them we encountered?"

"Seems so. It looks like we're going to stay here a while, so we need you up at the crow's nest. If you see anything, just give a yell to Kirala."

"Will do."

Vyse hung back the tube, and then turned to his two friends.

"We'll go down and listen to what she has to say."

Vyse, Aika and Fina walked out from the bridge, while Kirala remained. Out through the door and then down the stairs.

"I wonder why they were attacked," Fina said. "Usually, Black Pirates don't go after us."

"Maybe they didn't know what they had caught," Vyse said. "And when they found out they kept it coming. But I guess we'll find out."

"Yep," Aika said. "But she better not complain about us being late." She cracked her knuckles, and smiled widely.

"See, that's exactly why I brought you two along. Or maybe you should just stay aside and nod as soon as I speak."

Aika's smile dispersed at the cost of her deeply frowned forehead.

"Fina, how 'bout a secret ambush when we get back to Crescent?"

"That sounds nice," Fina giggled. "I'm sure we have enough sacres crystals for it."

"So much for the secret, airheads," Vyse laughed.

xXx

The women's name was Nicole, and she was the captain. Her crew, now busy with making the ship able to sail, were a group of youths she had trained into Rogues. It sure seemed familiar. A bit like Clara, maybe?

"Sure I knew of her," Nicole said, and sipped on her ice-tea. "Headstrong and crazy, but who isn't?"

"Touché," Aika grinned.

"Crazy enough to take on a ship's load of Black Pirates?" Vyse asked.

"One ship? It was actually two."

"Two!?"

Nicole nodded.

"Yes. It's like this… it all started a couple of weeks ago. I and my crew lay docked at Sailor's Island. We were in pursuit of jobs."

"Like mercenaries?"

"Oh no, well maybe. My crew isn't yet used to real battles. Maybe in a couple of years. Anyway, we met a geezer who had a couple of deliveries for Nasrad, and he needed escort. Sure, sounds good enough, we thought."

"Didn't you just say that your buckos couldn't fight?" Aika said.

"Ah. Sure, the cutlass playing is a bit iffy even if Chloe and Rod are fairly good. But we're all great shooters, I'll tell you that." She took gulp of tea. "We made it to Nasrad without trouble, and unloaded it all at a storage. He had stuff to deliver back the next day, but we didn't mind waiting, especially since he paid all rent for us."

"He seems generous," Fina remarked.

"That's what we thought too."

"You mean he was some sort of smuggler?" Vyse asked.

"Worse. Chloe, our chef, was a bit suspicious about it all, so she decided to keep an eye out at the store. That is, the beautiful art that's called eavesdropping. Our customer was there with two other men, she says. He was displeased with the payment, but the clients only told him to 'be glad that he could keep his life'. And then he said:" Nicole got a certain look in her eye. "'May the devil take you and your syndicate'. But there's more. After he walked away, those two talked on how they would share up the cargo, and that the 'reds' would get 'their salary', and how tired they were to 'work with pirates'. Around here, Chloe decided to buzz away. And I don't blame her. Neither syndicalists nor Black Pirates are known for their courtesy."

During all that, Nicole had slowly went from at least slightly jovial to more adamant. And who could blame her? A Blue Rogue being tricked into feeding a criminal syndicate and a group of Black Pirates. There were worse screw ups than that, but not much.

"Big, big bummer," Aika said, effectively summing it all up.

"Definitely," Vyse agreed. "So what happened next? Did they found out you had overheard them?"

"Yes and no. We did the trip back to Sailor's Island, and then we were supposed to do one last round to Nasrad. Only this time, we… yeah, we boarded him halfway there. He wasn't exactly happy about that, fortunately no one of us got hurt. This time he was shipping a giant load of gunpowder and ammunition, both for guns and cannons, knipples and grapeshots, you name it." She smirked slightly. "We relieved him of his cargo, and then it seems like he took off to Nasrad."

"But what happened to him then?" Fina asked.

Nicole nodded a tad appreciating.

"Yeah, that's what we started to wonder too. They could just as well think he had dropped the cargo, and then he would have to join it, all the way down. I left him a 'souvenir' on his ship to tell who was behind it. So, we had enough gunpowder to swim in it, and an enemy for life. Well, can't have them all. It took only a couple of days until we ran into them. Two of their ships pursued us. We managed to shake away one of them, the other followed, and… yeah, along came you, and now I'm sitting here sipping tea, instead of resting in Deep Sky, wondering what the heck hit me."

"You're very lucky, alright," Aika nodded. "It's my special-tea."

"I can see why."

It was clear enough that the two of them shared a common enemy. In Vyse's eyes, Nicole seemed like a pure example of the ideal Blue Rogue. She did what was right even though it could be dangerous and risky. It was pretty convenient that they had met.

"So, if I've got this right," Vyse started. "The Crimson Fear is hired and supplied by the syndicate?"

"Privateers in all, except letters of marque," Nicole nodded.

"That's enough for me," Vyse said. "And for Nasrad, as well. It's time for us to intervene and mess with their plans. And if we can get one of them to talk, we could find out more about the syndicate. Join us, and then together we'll fix them. Are you in?"

It was words like these that made people abandon all they were doing and join up with Vyse without thinking twice. No, not the words, but the feeling behind them. Aika and Fina had seen this many times before, but it was equally stunning every time. It was clear that Nicole was enthralled. The Legend himself wanted her to sign up!

"I guess, last time you said something like this, it ended up with the death of at least one evil despot," Nicole said. "My ship and my cutlass stand ready, and my crew! I'm not missing this opportunity."

"Then you're welcome aboard," Vyse said with consent from Aika and Fina. "But first we gotta patch up your ship a bit. We were heading to Valua just when we met you. Can I tempt you with a tow-cable?"

"Some silver-tongued devil you are!" Nicole grinned. "The Azalea won't lie down and die just because some scratches."

"Oh yeah?" Aika said. "You sure you wouldn't need a sail?"

"That would fit nicely," Nicole said. "You can't get enough of sailcloth, but we had to dump it all overboard. Yes, even the loqua."

With that settled, the four Blue Rogues walked down to the cargo area. The Delphinus had no sails, but Vyse had insisted on keeping a full vary of equipment for all eventualities. And that was fortunate. After some looking around, they found a sail. It was actually a little too big, but that could be adjusted later on.

Together they carried it out towards the deck. But right then, Kirala came rushing.

"Vyse!" she gasped. "Esteban just said that the pirates are sinking!"

As if given a signal, the four Rogues dropped all they were carrying and ran back up to the bridge. Vyse darted up to the steering wheel. He grasped the hearing tube.

"How far away are they!?"

"Too late," Esteban answered calmly. "They've fallen a long way now. I can't see them anymore."

And that was all. A nice lead to the syndicate was gone, plus a whole lot of human life.

"What happened to them?" Vyse asked. "Were they attacked?"

"No. All out a sudden they just started to lose height. We probably crippled their engines."

"Could you spot any lifeboats?"

"None at all. Either they didn't make it, or they didn't have any."

Black Pirates or not; poor bastards. Lifeboats were not something to be slap dashed with. On the other hand, they didn't have to report their failure. From what he knew, the syndicate didn't offer second chances.

"Continue to hold watch," Vyse said. "We'll be up later."

"Aye."

With that said, the four rogues went back down. Picking up the sails, they proceeded their walk out from the ship.

The Azalea had now stopped smoking. Up at the top of the forward mast sat a girl of seemingly Vyse's age. She had her back turned to them, so far being oblivious to their presence. She wore a rough green dress with a black bodysuit underneath. Her hair was short and hazel-brown. At the moment, she was in the middle of patching up what had once been the yardarm.

"Chloe!" Nicole called. "We got some sails for you."

The girl up the mast turned. At the sight of her captain she swiftly climbed down.

"The forward mast is okay, but the main-one is scrap," Chloe said. "Nina fixed the worst, now she's at the engines." She turned to Vyse and his friends. "I never thought I would get to meet you in person, I'm glad we did. Thank you."

"From one Blue Rogue to another," Vyse said, smiling. Handling admiration wasn't all too easy. At times, it was a bit of a drag. At least Chloe seemed to be down-to-Arcadia. "So you are the eavesdropper?"

Chloe shrugged.

"Technically I'm the chef. I did hear some interesting stuff in Nasrad, but I guess the captain already told you about it?"

"That and then some," Aika said.

At that moment, three other persons came out from the ship. In the lead was a young man. He was dressed in a black waistcoat, red trousers and black fingerless gloves. His hair was blonde. He lit up at the sight of the three Blue Rogues. At first Vyse thought it was another admirer, but then noticed he was having his eyes at Aika and Fina. Well, he seemed to have good taste.

Behind him was a blonde gal. Her hair seemed to be shoulder-long, but it was heavily curled. She wore a green beret, white shirt and red shorts. On her cheeks and fingers there were a couple of oil-spots. Vyse could bet she was the engineer of the crew, even though she seemed a bit young for it. Still, the former nasultan had thought Vyse was too young to have escaped the Grand Fortress. Looks as well as ages sure could be deceiving.

Last and least was a young lad, maybe around fourteen years old. He wore white trousers and a navy-blue jacket. His hair was so blonde it almost whitened. He seemed a little out of place, or maybe he just wasn't let into the harder work.

"And here we have the rest," Nicole said.

The gal stepped forward. Her face wore an expression that was a mixture of nervousness and eagerness.

"M…my name is Nina," she said. "I'm the engineer, and very honoured to meet you in person." Her eyes seemingly enlarged, trying to take in as much of Vyse as she could.

"I'm Rodrigo," said the guy with the black waistcoat. "I'm second helmsman, but I mostly keep the lookout."

"Yeah," Chloe agreed, a tad ironically. "A lookout for lasses."

"And what's the problem!?" Rodrigo shot back. "Being on the same ship with you requires other sights of interest."

"He is like that," Nicole grinned. "But he's also a good swabber, like my nephew here."

The boy stepped forward.

"That's me," he said. "My name is Paco. I'm Nina's brother. If she's the engineer, I'm the sanitary engineer."

"That's just a nice title for a bad job," Nina said playfully, actually able to tear her eyes away from Vyse, for a brief moment.

"I know what you may think now," Nicole started. "But I do keep driving hard with them."

A motley crew if anyone existed. There was a thin line in between professionals and wanna-bes. But these Rogues seemed like they had "the right stuff". More than that, it seemed like all of them were set on seeing Vyse as a heroic legend. It wasn't all without difficulties. He had much to live up to, and if he failed, they would bail. When Vyse had blasted out of the Grand Fortress, he was famous enough. Now after the battle of Soltis, he was a living legend.

"It seems like you all know of me," Vyse said. "These are my navigators and first mates."

"In the flesh," Aika said. "The name's Aika."

"My name is Fina," the Silvite said. "Pleased to meet you all."

"I look forward to working with you," Vyse said. "But now," he clapped his hands together, "we need to get you started."

With that said, the group started to set up the sail. No one ever suspected they were under watch from the Delphinus's crow's nest. Esteban stood up there, keeping an eye on both the surroundings and the meeting over the other ship. On his mind, the previous battle still lingered.

Esteban had known all along that events like these could, even would, happen sooner or later. He did not like fighting, but if it was for his friends, he would do whatever necessary. But had they been in real danger? The Black Pirates hadn't exactly tried to take down the Delphinus. In fact, they only tried to defend themselves.

But if Vyse hadn't intervened; the other ship would rest on the bottom of the world by now. Esteban had never been fond of Black Pirates, and he would not be that now. Especially not after last time.

But still, maybe someone like me was on board.

Esteban hadn't been exactly all nice ever since that day he climbed out of his ship in the Nasr desert. Yet, he had seen the light. Vyse, Aika and Fina had offered him a chance to turn around, finding his way back. No one was entirely lost.

But whatever could they have done? Vyse had given the Black Pirates a chance to get away. Whatever happened afterward couldn't be blamed on them.

Better not think too much. I'll just hurt my head.

xXx

The Delphinus and the Azalea sailed alongside each other straight towards Valua. The new sail had worked wonders, although it couldn't keep up with the Delphinus's top speed.

Vyse stood at the wheel, thinking over the last hour's events. He didn't like false-play, but he had deliberately held back some info from Nicole. Though that was mostly for Esteban's sake, and he didn't want to promise stuff he might not be able to hold. Now with additional crew, they had the chance to take on not only the Crimson Fear, but also get a headshot at the syndicate itself. But it all depended on one person.

"Aika, take the wheel," Vyse said. "I'll be back soon."

"Aye," Aika answered and walked up to the helm.

Vyse went out from the bridge, then he aimed his steps to the opposite door. He opened it up and started to climb the ladder up to the lookout. He knocked at the hatch, and then proceeded to open it. Halfway through, the lid was opened up. Vyse vaulted up to the crow's nest where Esteban currently resided. Up here, the winds were blowing friskily.

"Seen any ships?" Vyse asked.

"None at all, captain," Esteban answered. "It's been calm."

"Good," Vyse said, as he closed the hatch. "It may not last long, though. We got some news from the others."

"What sort?" His tone revealed he expected something.

"To start with, we have decided to go together and sink the Crimson Fear. And secondly, don't take this the wrong way, but how much do the syndicate trust you?"

"Enough to know I wouldn't join a band of Blue Rogues," Esteban answered. "I didn't even think so myself. They believe me to be loyal."

The question hadn't seemed to offend him at all. He could overlook slips and mistakes… sometimes. And by the way, it had been a fair question.

"Did they also tell you" Vyse began "that they held the leash of Crimson Fear? Sponsoring them with gold and ammo."

That sent Esteban's eyebrows on a quick trip upwards.

"No," he said. "But it doesn't seem farfetched."

"Because none of them fancy Blue Rogues?"

"No, but it's just like them to…" Esteban slowly stopped talking, and frowned slightly. It seemed like he was trying to remember something, so Vyse let him take his time. "It may be a hunch, but some jobs before we met, I happened to overhear a report. One of their ships had been plundered by Blue Rogues."

It was far too easy to jump to conclusions, but all ways were possible. It could be everything from a discovery, or a dead-shot.

"Did they say who the Rogues were?"

"I only heard the name of the ship, partly. Something like 'allya'. She, the leader, decided to let the red group take care of them, as she said."

"This just keeps getting better," Vyse said. "What sort of cargo was on the ship?"

"Guns and ammunition. Of course."

Vyse smiled appreciatively to his gunner and new friend.

"There we have the connection," Vyse said. "Those Rogues who had raided from the syndicate are the ones who we just saved. And the ship is named the Azalea. As far as they know, we'll go after the Black Pirates, but I would like you to tell me as much about the syndicate as you know."

"I see," Esteban nodded. "And if we're going up against the syndicate, then we could use me as bait. I'm prepared for it."

"Well, maybe," Vyse said, in avoidance. "But I rather hope it won't come to that."

xXx

Sunset had passed; day was slowly turning into night. Finally they had made it to Valua. The Delphinus sailed proudly and steady helms forward. Even though the Azalea was torn to the utmost, she managed to keep up. The two ships sailed past the two enormous cliff walls. It was still strange to not see the Grand Fortress standing there. Up ahead, the capital city could be seen, its lights shimmering in the evening, like pieces of lit amber. At this distance, it could almost be taken for the old Upper City.

Vyse had decided to wait with his new briefing until the repairs were finished, since all the subsequent planning could take very long. Besides, it gave him an excuse to slip away and get a word with Enrique. But on the other hand, he had better wait with that until the plan had been approved by everyone.

The Delphinus slowed to stop, close enough to mark belonging to the harbour, yet faraway enough to not block entrance for other ships. The Azalea sailed on to the docks.

"Vyse," Kirala said. "If it's alright, I'd like to go and pick up Urala."

"Of course you can," Vyse answered. "But where will you find her?"

"In the vicinity of Hans."

"I'll go with you," Vyse said. "I need to have a talk with Enrique." He might as well get this over with. "When we're back we'll have a meeting. It would be nice if you two could prepare a bit."

"In what way?" Fina asked.

"Fix up the dining room," Vyse said, whilst walking past the starboard panel, where Aika and Fina were occupied. "Make some snacks, drinks, clean up a little, you know, the regular female stuff... whoa, that was close!"

"That was just a loose shot," Aika said and cracked her left fist. "Next time I'll floor ya."

"On a ship it's called deck."

"No," Fina said. "What Aika said was a figure-speech. Don't you know what that is?"

"You're the last person I want to hear that from," Vyse grinned. "We'll be back soon."

Afterward, both Aika and Fina would reflect on how casual Vyse had sounded, like this was just a regular see-you-later...

xXx

Using the lifeboat, Vyse and Kirala breezed away towards the harbour. They stopped by the yard to check up how the Azaela was doing.

It did not look good. The ship's wings were completely removed, and several planks were missing from the hull. The ship's intimates lay beside. A huge team of dock-workers were working on her.

"The question is, what parts are not broken," Kirala muttered under her breath. She liked sailing, and seeing a ship in this state was a sad sight.

At the moment, the working-team was at the engine and the wings. Nicole and her crew stood nearby. None of them seemed very happy. Nina looked direct miserable.

"How's it with her?" Vyse asked.

"Bad enough that they still can't get how we managed all the way here," Nicole said. "That engine won't make it through another party like this."

"Never," Nina said. "If I would patch it up one more time, it would be just a big patch."

"And the bill is big enough to make any upper-citizen from Valua cry blood at sight," Rodrigo muttered. "I would."

Now what was this?!

"Were you from the Upper City?" Vyse asked, surprised.

"Uhm… yes," Rodrigo nodded. "Thank the moons I've seen the last of that place. Oh, eh, I mean, I'm glad I made it out! Of course, it was long before the destruction."

Vyse wasn't all sure, but he sensed there might be slight antagonism, tensions and direct confrontation within the crew. Or, more precisely, between two certain crew-members. Life wasn't easy, but it seldom was. Whatever trouble that would come out of this would have to be dealt with later. Right now…

"Hey you!" Vyse called to the repairmen. "Pick out the best engine and wings you got and send the bill to me."

This sudden acknowledge caused a mild ruckus as the repair-team saw who had entered. Vyse had to spend some minutes shaking hands with the boss, as well as going through the price, which he managed to bargain down a couple of gold.

"But Vy… captain, you really didn't need to do that," Nicole said, equally stunned as her crew.

"With those damages?" Vyse smiled. "No, seriously, don't mind that, and by the way" He intended to add 'just call me Vyse', but if he was their captain he was. "By the way we made a huge raid not too long ago so we're quite minted now. Maybe I can tell that tale later?"

"Hopefully over a glass of loqua," Nicole said.

That engine would cost a whole lot, but it was worth it. Not only did their opinion about Vyse raise a whole lot, it would give their oncoming relationship a most smooth start. But ulterior motives and such aside, there was nothing wrong with being nice and friendly, was it?

"I'd sure like to," Vyse said. "We're soon gonna have a briefing over at the Delphinus. About time we all get to meet each other. And plan the next move."

Without giving much information about what the meeting would be about, and giving Kirala time to meet and greet Nicole's crew, the legendary captain and the Yafutoman carpenter left the yard.

xXx

Back at the Delphinus, Aika and Fina had some troubles of their own. Fixing the room was easily done, but they were in disagreement about the menu.

"Yeah, yeah, he said light snacks and such, but come on, this is our first gathering. Nothing wrong with some extra, is there?"

"Of course not. But they'll be here for the meeting, not for dinner. Besides, we didn't get much notice."

"Hmm, guess so. But still: Vyse always says that 'we don't need a reason to sail'. I say 'We don't need a reason to celebrate'."

"I think I agree there. How about this; we fix some light stuff now, and when we get back to Crescent Isle, we'll make a grand dinner?"

"What do you mean 'we'? Hey, ok, ok, I'll help."

"Cupil, you don't have to do that!"

xXx

In the city, Vyse walked with Kirala. It would be easiest to start with Hans and Urala, and deal with Enrique later.

Seven months after the rains, the city had recovered. It was nothing like its former 'glory', but well over what could be expected. The harbour was big, and the houses were many. So many that the streets could be named without looking conceited. A couple of taverns and stores here and there, and the sailor's guild had of course been quick to open an office. At night, the streets were lit up by lightposts, powered by a yellow moonstone each. Not too many people were out, except for an occasional patrolling guard. The yellow moon cast an eerie light.

"It'll be good to have Urala and Hans with us," Kirala said. "At least, you can order dinner without fearing attempts on your life."

"Ah, they'll find other ways," Vyse smiled. "And it's a good way to keep up the reflexes. But the more the better, now especially."

"Yeah. And believe me; you sure won't get any problems with them. I mean, that girl Nina for instance, she was practically ogling you like crazy."

"Did she? Well, remind me to not send her to the crow's nest then. She's obviously got bad eyesight."

"You're such a kidder," Kirala grinned. "I think you are the one with bad eyesight, when you look yourself in the mirror."

Now they had reached a plaza. In the middle a fountain resided, accompanied with a couple of benches. In front of the fountain stood a lanky middle-aged man. He stood so still one could almost guess he was part of the plaza decoration. A small sign informed whoever was looking that this was 'Lumina plaza'. Apart from the still water splashing from the fountain; the scene laid still and quiet.

"Okay," Kirala said. "Urala said Hans live around here somewhere. I guess we'll…"

"Excuse me?"

The man over the fountain walked towards them. His eyes told of surprise and reverence.

"You are Vyse the Legend, are you not?" he said, cringing enough, and stretched out his right hand.

"Last time I checked, at least," Vyse smiled and grabbed the stranger's hand for a shake.

While still holding Vyse's hand in a hard grip, the man reached into his coat and brought out a slightly corroded but probably highly effective handgun.

"I've finally managed to meet you," he said.

"What is the meaning… Kirala run!"

The stranger quickly shoved away Vyse, took some steps back and changed his aim to Kirala.

"Not so fast, young lady," he said. "Now, will you two please back into that alley?"