14: Second Date With Shikimaru
The Phalanx was the name of the airship, and it wasn't pleasant.
Of course, the pleasantness of an airship was hard to judge if the only place you'd spent any credible amount of time in was the brig. Said brig was rather spacious, but that was about all it brought to the table - it was plain, aged and dusty and looked like it could really do with a fresh lick of paint and some oil for the ugly iron gate, which had made so much noise when the guard had swung it open that no quantity of stabbed Felynes could ever compare. There was nowhere to sit, so the hunters had to either stay standing or lean against the wall at the back. Dante sat with Alexis in his arms, as did Aaron with April. Teiko and Ash sat hugging their legs in the left corner while Yumi and Ruby sat in the middle and Ichiro sat silently in the right corner, not making a sound. Miyuki leant carefreely against the bars that made up the east-facing wall toying with one of her kunai while Irvine was deep in thought, pacing back and forth across the cell, trying to gather his thoughts. Thain was here now, too; he'd already been in here when they'd arrived. He stood across from Miyuki, not doing much at all other than breathing, heavily as always. He was thick-set and almost unimaginably tall, after all, so with eleven other people in the cell, as big as it was, there really wasn't much room from him to do anything. Normally he would tap on the blade of his enormous axe when he was bored but each of the prisoners had had their weapons confiscated, as they'd expected, so there really was nothing to do. None among them was comfortable making conversation with guards -strangers- standing vigilantly just outside the cell, so they weren't talking to each other either. It was quiet, boring and awkward and the teenagers all hoped that whatever Shikimaru had planned for them, he'd make a start sometime soon. It had been at least a day since they'd been taken from Yii-Do; although with nothing to do it felt like far longer.
Ash, personally, would have given anything to be back in school in Kairu right now. She didn't care what lesson; science, history, mathematics (yes, even that), literature, it didn't matter. Anything was better than being held captive by separatists and sitting in a cell in utter silence (well, minus the low vibrations from the aircraft's engine), even if it was with your brother and your friends. Of course, all this was entirely normal; she was thirteen and became homesick whenever she'd set foot out of town prior to this, which was to go hunting with the others. But she'd never missed home like she did now. She missed the snow and the ice and the mist and the flowers. She missed every inch of it. But she knew in her heart that it would be a long, long time before she would ever go home.
Her wistful train of thought was interrupted by the jangling of heavy keys, the turning of a lock and the familiar shrieking of the metal gate in dire need of oiling that imprisoned her and the others. Those who weren't standing already did so promptly.
"The emperor wishes to see you on the bridge, the jailer said placidly, gesturing down the dark, narrow corridor that lead to other areas of the ship. Slowly, almost begrudgingly, the hunters stalked out of the cell and began to walk.
"This ought to be good," Miyuki grunted as she strode past the jailer, ever confident and apathetic.
They hadn't been expecting the sudden change of scenery. It turns out that the Phalanx was just one of the myriad airships docked in a destroyer-class Battleship called the Titan (aptly). They hadn't seen it from the outside: in fact, they hadn't seen any of it. They'd all been blindfolded -the guards hadn't even bothered to remove their helmets to do so- just before they'd left the Phalanx. But now, they stood on the bridge, and they could see Shikimaru, dressed the same as he was before, standing with his back to them, his green cloak bearing the Tenkai emblem still around his shoulders. They had been told to wait where they were and not to speak until spoken to. Again, there was nowhere to sit. It had been some minutes since they'd entered the room so the hunters had had plenty of time to scan in carefully. It was triangular in shape, pointed at the front, with two rows of four seats -all filled by crew members operating one thing or another- lining the diagonal sides of the room, tapping away at control panels or pulling on levers, shouting out various readings and ship status updates that they did not understand. And all the while, Shikimaru simply stood still, as if frozen in time, staring out of the glass that lined the two sides of the room.
"Haven't these guys heard of chairs?" Teiko scowled.
"Quiet!" snapped one of the guards at the door behind them. Then, as if awakened by the guard's outburst, Shikimaru spoke two simple words, sternly and almost grumpily, as if angry at the soldier for interrupting his mulling or some such thing.
"Leave us."
The two guards on either side of the door leading away from the bridge bowed their heads politely before turning on their heels and leaving. A brief silence descended before the separatist spoke again.
"I suppose you're wondering where we are, and why it is I've brought you here," he said thoughtfully, each word precise and deliberate.
"However did you guess?" Yumi asked sarcastically, feigning bewilderment.
"I thought as much," Shikimaru continued, unperturbed. Finally, he turned to face his prisoners. He outstretched his right arm and curled his fingers inward, beckoning the party forward. "Come, and I will show you."
With hesitation and reluctance the group walked toward Shikimaru until they came to a stop at the very front of the ship, so close that they could almost press their heads against the glass windows. They almost jumped back in shock. There was a city below them, barely visible above the thin layer of clouds concealing the mammoth ship from view, but each and every one of them knew exactly what city it was.
Eridias. The capital of Altus.
"Now you know where you are," Shikimaru picked up his monologue again. "As for why I've brought you here, it's simply because I know from past experience how persistent and unpredictable you can all be, and I didn't want another fiasco like Fort Ryu. So, I upped security for myself and my future destinations and ordered you be brought to me should you be found. And now, here we are. Small world, is it not?"
"How did you possibly figure out where to find us?" Irvine growled, by Shikimaru's smugness.
"Well, Commander Irvine, I'm afraid the blame for that one really is on you," Shikimaru said, using the Guildsman's name -which he Irvine hadn't given him either- only to anger him further. Shikimaru snapped his fingers and five soldiers walked in form the door at the back of the room. There were four males and one female, each dressed in Rukodiora armour. "I believe you recognised them. They came to Tenkai with you. They've been posted at Yii-Do for, oh, about a year now, haven't they, Commander? They worked directly under you - well, under your nose that is."
"Spies..." Irvine let out a heavy sigh, filled with regret. "How could I have been so blind?" he muttered.
"I'm afraid only a doctor has the answer to that particular question," Shikimaru taunted him.
"Why Eridias?" Alexis asked, baffled. "It's a megacity dead in the centre of the country, and the most heavily protected location in Altus. What could you gain by attacking the capital when the rest of country will obliterate you regardless of what transpires? Tenkai has lost this war. Why won't you just accept that?"
"Lost? No, nonononononno. Tenkai hasn't lost, far from it."
"How can you say that?" Miyuki wayed in. "Are you blind? The only thing you can do right now is hold your own territory together. You haven't even attacked us in ages, and now you're rushing to attack the capital all because a few kids ruffled your feathers. Get the fuck over yourself."
"I wouldn't say it if I wasn't adamant. Tenkai has access to the most powerful weapon in the known world. The people under the Guild's banner live sheltered lives under a false sense of security. But when their leader is no longer there to look to for support, they will descend into panic. And when the Goa Magara is put to work intoxicating the populace, they will quickly fall apart. Unless, of course, they accept the new rule."
"You're insane...Completely bat-shit crazy..." Dante said, awestruck by the words of a madman.
"That's your opinion."
Moments after Shikimaru's retort, the crew member nearest to him on the left spoke.
"My lord, we are approaching Szaras Dúl. What are your orders?"
Shikimaru passed for a moment as if to think, but Dante and co. could tell he'd already made up his mind about what to do. A few short, tense seconds passed, and the emperor gave his command.
"Take us below the cloud layer," he said, flatly and decisively. The crewman uttered nothing further. The whole crew of the bridge began doing whatever it was they had to do to take the Titan lower. Shikimaru snapped his fingers yet again and the two guards that had brought the teenagers here to begin with walked in through the bridge entrance. "Take the prisoners back to the Phalanx. The ship doesn't leave the hangar until I say otherwise," Shikimaru ordered. The two guards nodded, and with that, Dante, Alexis and the others were once again blindfolded and guided away from the bridge and back to the Phalanx and it's painfully boring brig.
Shikimaru cleared his throat and gently took ahold of a cone-shaped loudhailer at the edge of the left side of the bridge crew's control panel and spoke into it. His words would resonate through the entire ship.
"Attention all units. Commence the attack."