Oh my goodness gracious it has been so long since I published the first chapter. Hahaha, it's been a long time coming, so here's chapter two. I havent given up on this one yet! Please favorite and review, take care!
Harlock was a stable constant in the eyes of his crew. Through the worst of the Illumidas assaults against them, they harbored the feeling that with Harlock, they were invincible. With him, they could hold the hope that someday they would take back their planet. They knew it was foolish to place all their faith in a single man, but they did so anyway. There was something about him, the way he spoke like he was thousands of years old, the way he held himself with a mixture of confidence and wisdom. He was no longer a person to them, but a symbol. An icon that would give fire to the remnants of humanity, igniting passion for their homeland.
But this man, he was human like the rest of them. Only flesh and nerve, not marble or stone. Upon hearing the words that now echoed in his brain, this fact became clearer than ever to his two crewmates. It wasn't anything major, no tremors wracking his body, no screams, nothing like that, but it was just big enough. A small, single change in demeanor.
Kei and Tadashi, young and inexperienced, were frightened by the news of cameras watching their every move. The pair's minds raced imagining the penalties they might face if they were identified and captured. Imprisonment, torture….ostensibly, death. They each turned to their anchor. There was no comfort to be found in Harlock's narrowing eyes. Sweat began to break through his wall of calm. His shoulders were tensed, ever so slightly.
The words kept echoing. A voice like an incessant ringing, more an alarm than bells, now. A clocktower signaling the hour before midnight.
"For the first time in history...televised...televised...televised…broadcasted wherever a…televised…"
A sickness deep in the pits of their stomachs evolved into panic. Their eyes grew frantic as they searched every corner of the room for watchful eyes. Either the cameras weren't visible, or the pirates had gone blind with terror.
Harlock's hand tightened into a fist. In a low voice, he murmured to his compatriots: "Be calm, but stay alert. We're not in any danger yet, I promise you…"
His nails dug deeper and deeper into the flesh of his palm until blood began to seep out. He glanced left and right, and shoved the hand into his pocket. Neither of them needed to see it.
"It's a while until the cannon comes up for bid. Maybe a break is in order?"
Kei nodded, and looked to Tadashi for his approval. The boy was still. He only mouthed a "Yes".
The lobby was the same, though the crowd from earlier had mostly dispersed. A few organizers and building employees milled about and shared gossip. The security guards maintained their posts with a threatening dignity.
"Excuse me, is there anything like a water fountain here?" Kei asked one of the ushers. The three pirates were directed to a small alcove where a pair of restrooms and fountains were situated. Kei thanked their guide, who then retreated back to the conversation he had been distracted from.
She tucked her loose blonde hair behind her ears and drank. Her throat had been burning for quite a bit. For a moment, she thought she was going to vomit. The acidic sensation was dissipated by the water. She straightened herself out, feeling her composure return.
"How do you feel?" Her captain asked her.
"Exhausted, mostly," Kei replied with a choked laugh. "I'm more worried about Tadashi, though. He seems…despondent? I mean, he's a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with this kind of stress. Maybe we should send him back to the ship."
"He wanted to come with us. He would be angry with me if I made him go back when he's come this far. I'm sure he'll come back to himself."
Tadashi, meanwhile, sat in a corner of the alcove, partially hidden under the water fountains. He stared into nothing.
The older crewmen watched him, unsure of how to restore his confidence.
Harlock eventually called to him. "Tadashi."
The boy perked up, turning his head to the familiar voice, but eyes still unfocused.
"Captain…"
The man approached, crouching down so he was at eye level with his young crewmember.
"Listen, Tadashi. We can't afford to be caught, and it's natural to be nervous, but the more unnatural we act, the more the possibility we'll be found out grows. Do you understand? We can't let ourselves give in to hysteria like that."
Tadashi swallowed. His vision slowly came back to him. The captain, he saw, had a light smile on his face. He studied it, memorizing the layout of such a rare expression on that stoic profile. Unknowingly, he copied it, a nervous, toothy grin appearing.
Suddenly, Harlock looked almost sad, a nostalgic kind of expression. His age become more apparent than befitting a man barely into his thirties.
My captain has an old soul, Tadashi thought. Ancient.
"Okay, atta boy…Kei, shall we go back in?"
On their way back in, the trio came across a familiar face. Mrs. Jall was waiting for them just at the doors of the great auction hall.
"Having trouble?"
Kei shook her head. "No, no, not at all. Our son just had to get a drink of water."
The tall woman was amused by this. "Oh, yes. It's very hot in there, with all the people. One can easily get…dehydrated."
She joined the group as they made their way back to row L. For most of the way, she talked at the supposed Mrs. Holberg with a pace faster than anyone would have thought possible, about a range of subjects from fashion to politics. Kei understood none of it. She shifted between not being able to understand anything the woman was saying and vaguely recognizing certain names, but finding herself unable to put faces to them. She smiled and nodded every so often, when Mrs. Jall made the infrequent pause. This suited them both just fine, Kei because she couldn't bring herself to care about any of the topics at hand, and Mrs. Jall because she evidently liked listening to sound of her own voice.
"And make sure you get plenty of fluids, okay?" Mrs. Jall's parting advice wasn't of any help, but it did mark a welcome respite from the torrent of rambling that had been inflicted upon them.
The pirates went back to their seats, at last free of the rich woman's presence.
"Captain, can I ask something?" Tadashi's voice was a mite hoarse. "Why did an Illumidas like Jall marry…y'know, a human?"
"Northen Jall is a collector," Harlock answered. "He seeks out rarities and keeps them for his amusement."
Tadashi shuddered. "I don't think I could imagine that woman being a rarity. Or amusing."
"It isn't her personality he's drawn to, I think it's purely because she is human."
Kei looked back to the end of the row, where the collector's wife was sitting.
"So she's like a circus act to him…A curio."
Grimly, Harlock nodded. "It could be."
At seat L-1, Mrs. Annamaria Jall glanced down the aisle behind her. She casually tapped her finger on the paddle sitting in her lap. Her nails were manicured simply with several coats of clear polish, causing them to glisten in the light.
A man behind her leaned forward to whisper in her ear.
"My sweet, I saw you talk to them."
This voice belonged to her beloved husband.
"I did, my love." Her plasticine grin was replaced with an earnest happiness.
"And you did as I instructed?"
"Of course…the wife didn't appear to know what I was talking about. She obviously isn't who she says she is, though I suppose there is the possibility that they might be nobility from a rural edge of the galaxy."
"Yes, possible. But how she walks, she doesn't have the posture of nobility. It's telling. She comes from an urban upbringing, a poor background, I suspect."
"Oh? How smart."
"The inflection is everything. It's easy to mark the difference between her and the rest of the bidders."
"And the husband?"
"Military, I suspect."
"Then it is them."
"I would say so. Their reaction to my broadcast confirmed it."
Annamaria turned her whole body to gaze deep into Jall's eyes. They matched her own coldness.
"You're so good, following my instructions exactly." Jall patted his wife's shoulder.
"I aim to please."
He continued, caressing his hand down her body. "You are so good…"
Mrs. Jall breathed in. "But not as good as him…you want him more than me."
"I do…I want to play him. I knew he would come for the weapon; he did as I predicted, for once. I'll play him, and then I'll know if I can defeat him. If I do…I will have him."
The emcee, Fergus, continued on in her usual candor.
"Item number 8! This one comes from our good friend and patron of the arts, Ms. Gallagher, and today she's brought us this antique chair, and it is beautiful, folks! Look at that gold inlay, what do you think? It's a one of a kind, certainly, and let's start the bid at 50,000…"
Somewhere in the crowd, a watch ticked by.