86 — BOARD MEETINGS
A month after the departure of the Galleon of Athena, the Sanctuary was experiencing hot and wonderful days on the Greek coast where the village of Rodório stood, as well as the mountain of the Twelve Temples. The rainy afternoons and nights of the early period were simply swept from the sky to make way for that unseasonable summer, which took the inhabitants of the simple village to enjoy themselves on the isolated beach of the region.
The strip of sand that usually received only a few teenagers from the village on their amorous or degenerate escapades, as well as the few fishermen both day and night, now swarmed with bathers who soon abandoned their jobs to enjoy that curiously very good weather. Day after day it was a hot, beachy day.
And as soon as the cool and pleasant night fell in that forgotten region of the world, people gathered in the central square to share the gossip of the day or even remember old Sanctuary victories over invented or not invented enemies. There was always an elder who warned the younger ones that in their time wars were like this or like that.
With such pleasant days and nights, an immense feeling spread among everyone that the Athena's Galleon had accomplished its mission and that peace now reigned in the world again. The good mood of the sentries, the demonstration fights in the Arena that were now preceded by humorous skits, or even replaced by tragedies enacting ancient stories of that people were samples of a curious time.
One night, one of those very pleasant for the people of Rodório, the Council of Athena met under low lights and a lot of tension between the Gold Saints in the House of Lion. When Mayura appeared, the Gold Saints who were gathered there stood up to see the Camerlenga among them. She asked everyone to be seated and immediately took the floor.
"Thank you for the reception, Aioria." she said first to the host. "Gold Saints, thank you so much for coming. This will be a slightly shorter meeting."
There were some important absences from that Council meeting, but Mayura did not ask or explain, so no one objected to the start of work. As soon as they were all seated, Mayura passed the word on.
"Nicol, please begin."
"Thank you very much, Master Mayura." and then addressed them all in his calm, professorial voice. "I am happy to confirm that the Athena's Galleon quest around the Seven Seas has already sealed four of the seven Relics of Poseidon. The presence of the God of the Seas in the Sanctuary of Cape Súnion is already much milder than before and it becomes smaller and smaller around the world, as we can see and feel."
The Gold Saints looked at each other, somehow satisfied, and Mayura added another piece of information.
"Captain Meko Kaire even rescued some abandoned children on an island in the Aegean Sea, not far from here. Apparently, they contacted the Graad Foundation and they were rescued and arrived safely."
Shaina let out a smirk before commenting aloud.
"These children would be better off on the island than with this Foundation." she teased, drawing Nicol's hot eyes to her side.
"It is not polite to speak ill of the Goddess Athena in her absence." he warned at her side, because, knowing as he was, he studied and heard precisely how the whole crisis of the Sanctuary happened before being freed from his prison and knew that she was alluding to Saori, the Goddess Athena.
Shaina didn't run away from Nicol's cross look, but Mayura again took the floor so that childish argument wouldn't go on.
"What matters is that everything is going as planned. Athena's Galleon should be able to seal the rest of the Relics."
Nicol seemed to apologize with his eyes to Mayura and added.
"If the Nautical Chart is being followed, at this point they are heading for the Amazon and then there will be the Caribbean, which the first-mate Argo Geist knows so well, and finally Asgard."
"They shouldn't find any problems in the Amazon." said Aldebaran, a native of the region.
"But about Asgard…" Miro began, taking the floor. "I'd like to know if we've had any news from Jamian."
Mayura cleared her throat before answering, as everyone was waiting for her answer.
"No. Jamian's crows still haven't returned."
"But that doesn't make sense, it's been a long time since we've last contacted them." replied Miro, worried.
"We have no idea how easy or difficult this northern trail is." Nicol interrupted, trying to appease him. "Maybe they haven't reached Asgard yet, after all, this is the Land of the Northern Gods, which is not on any map of our world. Who will know the distance they have to travel to get there?"
"We need to be patient." warned Mayura, and Shaina took the floor.
"Anyway, they must reach Asgard before Moses and the Galleon, or it will have been in vain. Saga believed that Asgard was a threat, and it is important that the Cygnus Saint explains about the Relics so that there is no confusion."
Everyone there looked at her, digesting that information.
"For now, all we can do is wait and trust the Saints of Athena." Mayura said.
"That's not enough." said Miro, annoyed.
"Are you doubting the Cygnus Saint, Miro?" Mayura asked him.
"Not for a second would I doubt Hyoga, Master Mayura, but we don't know which Asgard will be the one they find. Whether it will be a prosperous and inviting land that no one remembers or whether, as Saga predicted, a territory ready for war."
"We don't know if the threat Saga warned in his book is a frontal war." said Nicol.
"That's the problem: we don't know." continued Miro.
"We're going to have to trust them, Miro." said Aldebaran in his thunderous voice, placing his huge hand on Miro's shoulder.
Miro looked at him and couldn't let his breath be heavy and noisy, as if he still didn't completely agree with that embargo on the Gold Saints. But he was silent, for in every meeting he protested and in every meeting he was reminded that the Gold Saints should stay there. Planted.
Mayura then looked at Aioria at her side.
"How's Dragon training going?"
"She's ready."
"Excellent." Mayura said, and Nicol noticed how his friend, even blindfolded, looked for Athena in the vacant place at the end of the table.
Just a moment, but long enough for him to guess that her absence bothered her as much as it bothered him. But she kept talking.
"Shun and Ikki also had their training completed, I was told. What about Cloths recovery, Shaina, do we have any news?"
The Ophiuchus Saint responded immediately, always ready.
"Jabu and Ichi should return soon, but Shinato and Mirai haven't been in contact anymore, which is normal for a first mission. In any case, I will send the Silver Saint Sirius to check on the progress of the mission in Africa. Jack and Ban have brought the Bronze Columba Cloth and we are waiting for the Aries Saint so we can assess who can ascend."
"Keep me informed." Mayura said.
"Hm, about Mu..." began Aldebaran, extremely awkwardly. "Master Mu had to leave. I know the Gold Saints need to be at the Sanctuary..." he said, almost apologizing for him and his friend "but I'm sure she had a good reason. I will guard the entrance to the Twelve Temples from the House of Taurus."
"Yes, Master Mu went to Jamiel." Aioria spoke at his side, to Aldebaran's surprise.
"She's gone to retrieve some old copies of the ancient Pope Sion so I can put it in our collection." Nicol told him.
"She should be back soon." said Miro.
"Did you all know about this?" asked Aldebaran.
"Yes, she told us before she left." Aioria said.
Aldebaran only then realized that her friend had played a trick on him so that he would pass that shame in the middle of his meeting with Athena; Lucky for him Saori wasn't there, he thought, but he promised he'd charge her friend for another dinner as soon as she got back. The Council tried to laugh at the huge Bull and the meeting was closed, as it was even shorter. Each returned to their abodes.
That same night, in the shack where Seiya and his friends had recovered before, two hooded people quickly crossed the deserted dirt road to get in as quickly as possible, as if trying to hide from something. The two figures were received by the only resident of the hovel: Kiki. They were Saori and Alice.
They didn't run away from anything more serious than the enormous curiosity that those people had for Saori, which, if it had taken time to gain the trust of the sentinels, it didn't take that long to gain favor with the people.
"It's all quiet, no one saw you coming." Kiki said looking out.
"Thank you, Kiki. Keep an eye out for us."
"I got it."
Saori and Alice climbed the stairs to the second floor, where they could still find Mu's desk, as well as the technological apparatus that had aided their friends' recovery. As a matter of fact, the hovel was even converted into a kind of outpatient clinic for those who needed medical attention in the region, but that night it was deserted, as they well knew.
"It's almost time." said Saori, sitting at the table and fixing her hair.
Alice took a nice laptop computer from a backpack and placed it on the table in front of Saori, who immediately turned it on letting the monitor light shine on her own face. Alice connected the source to the energy and Saori clicked a few times on the screen until the image of her uncle, Tatsumi Kido, appeared on the other side.
"Good night, Tatsumi. Sorry I'm late."
"Good night, Miss Saori. It's been a long time!" he began." Is everything fine with you? Why is it so dark?"
"Oh, don't worry. Here we need to choose between having light or having the connection…"
"Why, miss, you should have stayed here with us. It breaks my heart to think of you suffering there."
"It's okay, Tatsumi." Saori smiled and turned the camera to Alice. "Look, Alice is here."
Saori knew that Alice couldn't stand Tatsumi and did that silly thing on purpose, but soon she turned the camera to her own face, while Tatsumi was still whining and coming up with plans.
"You can't come, Tatsumi. We already talked about this." she said, very serious. "But as soon as this crisis passes, we'll pay a visit."
He looked over the top of the computer at Alice, who was rolling her eyes.
"A crisis? Is it something we need to be concerned about?" Tatsumi asked.
"No. There's no need to worry."
"Can't you really tell me what's going on? I wish I could help and…"
"You know I can't, Tatsumi. It's better this way."
"You're right, miss. Sorry my intrusion."
Saori straightened herself up in her chair and pulled out a notebook, as if not to forget anything.
"How are the kids?" she began.
"They all arrived very well. Some got sick during the trip, but they are all doing very well."
"Thank you so much for that, Tatsumi."
"There's nothing to be thankful for, miss. I know you can't tell me your reasons, but know that I'll do my best to help you."
"What about the Foundation? Don't hide anything from me, Tatsumi."
"The Foundation Board remains very confused about your departure and usage of resources from our maritime sector without much explanation. But little by little it gets better."
"Soon it won't be necessary anymore and everything will be in peace for you." she said, controlled, and then continued on that subject. "Tatsumi, what stage are we in with the project?"
"We are in the final transfer stage." he began. "All the key people were contacted and, as a matter of fact, they already imagined that something like this could happen."
"Are they just the ones in the report you sent me this week?"
"Yes. Old Mitsumasa must have foreseen that this would happen in the future, so the project around you already had very few people who knew about the truth. The vast majority are from the Foundation's Research and Development Center, which worked on the Steel Protection project, and the rest are a few cadres from the Galaxian War. I supervised the screening myself. It was all very smooth, as everyone had been warned by Mitsumasa still in life when they were recruited that something like this could happen."
"That's good, Tatsumi."
She pulled out her notebook and tidied herself up.
"Okay, is everyone there?"
"As agreed, miss."
"Very well, you can call the first one."
And into the night, Saori met with the few but important men and women who helped the Graad Foundation develop the Steel Protection that she once used in battle, thanks to the knowledge gained from the Gold Cloth as well as the extensive archeology around the Saints of Athena, who would now be detached from their Foundation to join Crater Nicol preservation efforts.
It was important that everything was done with the utmost care so that there was no chance at the Foundation of leaking the Sanctuary's secret information that Saori, as host of the Galaxian War, made a point of showing the World. And now it was also part of her job to work with Tatsumi, her figurehead uncle, to cover up much of the narrative she had created.
And while Mayura joined the valiant Gold Saints defining the future of the Holy War and Seiya sailed the world sealing mythological Relics and facing ancient stories and living legends, Saori, the Goddess Athena, was embroiled in a complex public relations project.
On the stone bridge, next to the ruins where the Bronze Saints usually went now to think about life, Shun and Shiryu were looking at the waves of the sea with distant thoughts, into the sea, where Seiya was, and far away, where Hyoga was lost. Shiryu, covered in bandages on her body and face, while Shun with sunken eyes and absolutely exhausted.
"You should come sit here with us too, Ikki." Shiryu spoke to the darkness.
Shun looked back smiling and found his sister there too. She was leaning against a pillar looking across the horizon, but she let out a smile and joined them.
"Are you showing off your new training?" Ikki commented, with some mockery, when discovered.
"No. I recognized you by your very scent." she said.
"Are you by any chance saying I need a bath, Shiryu?"
Shun tried to laugh, but pulled Ikki to sit next to him.
"And how are you, Shun?"
"Tired. The Old Master is a very strict master." he said, taking his friend Shiryu's hand. "You must have suffered horrors in your time."
"Imagine seven years of that." she said.
"You're in much worse shape, Shiryu." Ikki commented when she saw the two closer.
"Aioria isn't far behind either." she said.
"What about Shaka?" Shun asked Ikki.
"I must have thrown a stone at the cross. Nothing gets me out of my head that this was that girl's idea as punishment for me attacking her in the beginning."
"Of course not, Ikki." Shun smiled. "It seems the choices were made by the Gold Saints themselves; that's what Shaina told me."
"And what reason would you have to train with the Old Master?" asked Ikki.
"I was also surprised at first. I thought Shiryu would be the best choice, but I totally understand why I was chosen now." Shun began, looking at his right hand. "I still can't control the destructive force of my Cosmos. The Libra Cloth is the most sensitive balance in the world. And keeping it perfectly balanced with my nebula breath is an almost impossible task. Whenever I got close, the Old Master would alter the balance so that I would have to counterbalance my cosmos."
And then Shun conjured a gust of wind causing some flowers to fly nearby.
"An unsuspecting person who entered the House of Libra would think I was playing sitting in front of that scale. But I was able to get much greater control of my Cosmo."
"The Old Master must have chosen you because he knows you don't like to hurt your enemies, Shun."
Shun looked at her and then at his hand. And then he cracked a smile.
"That's what I understood too."
Silence then sat with them too as they rested before that long night. The three saw a glow in the distant ocean and a Cosmo breaking up on the horizon, in a subtle but perceptible way: it was Meko Kaire's farewell to the Seven Seas. They cuddled up and let the night pass.
A night that seemed endless, whose starry sky that the simple people of Rodório glimpsed was the same incredible sky that Athens tourists also experienced in their elegant clothes as they took pictures with the ruins of the Parthenon lit by torches in the background on their digital cameras or even modern cell phones.
And on the beach of Votsalakia, a woman with red hair blowing in the wind, jeans up to her shins, a loose-fitting gown and her bare feet in the shallows of the crystal clear night water, looked at the horizon of the Aegean Sea.
"Damn it, Meko. Rest in peace." said Marin to the ocean.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER: Meko Kaire's trilogy was very intense and I think it was important to give them a breather and show what was happening on the other side of the world, in Sanctuary. Remember Hyoga's mission, show that there is still a lot to do in the Graad Foundation and also give some clues about what Shun, Shiryu and Ikki have been doing at the Sanctuary. =)
NEXT CHAPTER: LOWER DECKS
The Captain's death is a terrible burden on the crew of Athena's Hope. Not only among the top officers, but especially among those who work and are almost never remembered.