The sound of sixteen canons simultaneously firing reverberated through the air and shook the ship they were trying to escape from. The DSV Reliant had fired its first round of canons.
“Why are they firing now? The ship’s already gone and we’re still on it!” Brisethi shouted in Etyne’s ear.
“Master Chief probably assumed we were done here,” he replied. When they finally reached the ladder, he wasn’t at all surprised to see that Trenn and the others in the row boat were gone. There was no time to lower another boat. “Hold your breath!” he shouted then tossed Brisethi into the sea. He jumped overboard after her, diving with ease.
Brisethi coughed up some water when she surfaced. “I’m a bit tired of getting thrown off of ships,” she muttered, using all of her willpower not to scream in pain from the salt water on her wound.
The thick storm clouds above obscured any light from the evening sky as Etyne swam through the rough waves, dragging his wounded partner behind.
Even though Trenn couldn’t have been bothered to wait for Vorsen and Sen Asel, he took all the time he needed to raise the ladder and properly stow it. At least he left the row boat, Etyne thought, irate, sore and tired. The rain had abated by the time they reached it. He climbed in first then pulled Brisethi in and examined her wound.
“Get it out of me,” Brisethi whined through rapid breathing.
“You couldn’t do it yourself when you were first hit? That’s the first rule of gunshot wounds,” he glared at her, knowing full well she couldn’t see.
“It was too painful!” Her breathing was labored. “Just do it!” She gritted her teeth.
He pressed firmly with both hands on either side of the entry wound, glancing back at her to monitor the level of pain in her eyes. He felt the shell and used his fingers to dig it out of her. He smirked a little when she screamed in agony.
“Did you have to be so aggressive?” She panted, trying to hold back the tears.
“You’re incredibly whiny for a superficial wound,” he teased, washing her blood off his hands in the sea. “Do you think you can use your mystic to get someone’s attention on the ship? I’m not sure how they couldn’t hear your oh so tragic scream.”
Keeping her eyes on his, she waited for the pain to subside to a dull ache and slowed her breathing. She looked up at the indigo sky and fired an illuminating scarlet sphere that pierced the leaden mists. It detonated with a sound of a dozen cannons, millions of scarlet sparkles emanating from the blast like the red stars of an entire galaxy falling through the universe.
Master Chief Braul was the first to peek over the ship’s railing. He began shouting orders as soon as he saw Vorsen and Sen Asel. Seconds later, the ladder was unraveled for them.
Despite the throbbing in her side, Brisethi laboriously climbed to the top, with a significant amount of help of Etyne, and stumbled onto the deck. Ibrienne was first to greet her, immediately tending to her wound.
“‘Sethi,” Ibrienne whispered close to her ear as she worked her mystics. “I have a favor to ask.”
In the commotion of the ship’s crew readying the sails, Brisethi whispered back. “What is it?”
“The reason we were captured by those pirates earlier today, was because of Sulica’s father,” Ibrienne began. “Sulica thought she recognized the pirate ship as one that her father would sometimes work on. She was severely mistaken and we were quickly detained. I’m sorry, ‘Sethi. I don’t know if I can withstand the beating we’re all about to get for this.”
Brisethi bit her lower lip in thought and relief that her wound was no longer throbbing. “I will talk to Master Chief, and exaggerate your story a bit.”
“Thank you,” Ibrienne smiled to her.
Clean-up was already well underway. Corpses of the bandits were thrown off the side as the crew of DSV Reliant watched the fiery pirate ship sink into the restless sea.
Master Chief Braul approached Sen Asel. She rose to her feet when she felt stable enough, despite Ibrienne’s disapproving look.
“Master Chief,” Brisethi began, standing at attention. She wondered how much intensive training she could bear with how much blood she had lost. “I was the one who gave permission for Petty Officer Sestas and Petty Officer Nin to seek out Nin’s father-”
“Spare me your bullshit, Sen Asel. I already beat Trenn for feigning ignorance and passing the blame on Nin and Sestas.” Master Chief shook her hand, commending her for a job well done. She felt something pass from his hand to hers and looked down to see the rank insignia of Petty Officer Second Class.
Chapter XVII
When the Recruit Training Expedition Ceremony finally came to an end, after speeches from an admiral and a general, the Division commanders, and a final drill march formation, Brisethi’s parents rushed to her from the audience outside of the Res’Baveth Citadel’s grand entrance, fully decked out for the occasion.
“My little girl!” Brisethi’s father, Admiral Tirinnis Sen Asel, yelled, wrapping her in his arms like he did when she was a child. “I’m so proud. You even earned your navy endurance medal - you were so worried about failing. And only four of you made it to second class petty officer rank, worse than my division,” he chuckled. She didn’t bother to tell him that she had drowned the day before passing the certification or that she had taken a shot to her hip which had earned her the last rank.
Her mother, Naiana, was in tears when she finally embraced her Dominion Soldier of a daughter. “This was the worst four years of my entire four centuries in this life,” she sobbed. “I’m so happy to see you!”
Before they walked to their dinner table, Brisethi introduced her parents to Commander Nessel, Master Chief Braul and Sergeant First Class Vilkinsen. Each division commander told her parents they had raised an outstanding soldier and sailor, commending her once more for her achievements, for which she respectfully thanked them. She then introduced her parents to Korteni and Antuni, who had been about to introduce their parents to the commanders, as well as Ibrienne.
Thousands of tiny lanterns were strewn over the closed-off main street in front of the Citadel for the semi-annual Dominion ceremony. Decorated trees and lantern posts lined the massive cobblestone street while lit candles brightened each of the forty tables that were reserved for the recruits and their families. An orchestra of skilled Dominion soldiers and sailors played nostalgic notes of symphonic melodies.
Livian Reej stared in awe at the majestic celebration and the soldiers dressed in their ornate, decorated uniforms. Each year of her service in the Citadel, the ceremony seemed better than the one before, whether it was from more complex music, heart-felt speeches, prettier lighting or lavish table cloths. She enjoyed helping to set up and take down the festive decor, counting the days until she was old enough to enlist into the Dominion. For the next four years, however, she would audition to partake in the small orchestra for each ceremony.
She walked to each of the four tables she had been assigned to, serving glasses of wine and water to each guest, replenishing their fruit and breads and making small talk with the soldiers and sailors who hadn’t come home to a family member. Livian could easily relate to those whose parents had been lost in some battle or another during the endless war with the Kiarans.
Although she wasn’t in the military, the serving girls all wore form-fitting black dresses with burgundy overcoats flowing behind them. The gold Dominion insignia was embroidered on their right arm, nearly giving Livian the feeling of wearing a military dress uniform.
As she turned from one table to the next, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. “Ibrienne? Is that you?” Livian questioned uncertainly. The young woman who stood before her was much thinner and more confident than the one she remembered, but the warm smile was still the same.
“Liv!” Ibrienne quickly jumped up to hug the younger girl. She wrapped her arms tightly around her. When Ibrienne pulled away, tears were in her eyes. “Look at you! You’re so beautiful, just as I remembered.”
�
��I didn’t know you joined the Dominion,” Liv returned the tight embrace. “How was it? Are you staying in?”
Ibrienne smiled sweetly at her young friend from the orphanage. “I haven’t decided if I’ll continue staying in. I struggled quite a bit, and I wouldn’t want to hold my division back in any way. But what about you?” she exclaimed. “How did you leave the orphanage?”
Livian bit her lower lip before responding to keep it from trembling. “It burned down, Ibrienne! I was the only survivor.” The words fell out of her in a rush. “I had to sleep in an alleyway and then found my way to the Citadel. I’ve been working for Acolyte Roz for the past few years. I can’t wait until four more years when I’m finally able to enlist.”
“I’m so glad you made it out alive! When I heard what happened…” Ibrienne’s voice trailed off for a moment. “Ah, never mind, I know you’ll make a great soldier and sailor someday,” she finished, beaming at the young woman who had been like her kid sister in childhood.
“Do you have friends? Is it true what they say that the people you meet in the Dominion are like family?” Livian sat down next to Ibrienne, not wanting to leave her friend alone again.
Tears welled in Ibrienne’s light eyes again. She glanced down at the division photographs each recruit was given that evening that had been taken their first month at the Citadel. “Yes, it’s true. Brisethi, Korteni, even Sulica – we endured the training together and helped one another out. If I don’t stay in, though, I’m afraid I’ll lose contact with them. But, Sulica said she wanted to help her father’s merchant company with one of the others and asked if I would help her with the administrative and accounting part of it. I might take her up on it.”
“Do it,” Livian encouraged her. “Do whatever you think would make you the most happiest in the end.”
Brisethi’s parents took their seats while she remained standing by her chair a moment longer, glancing a few tables away where Etyne sat with two gorgeous women. She assumed one of them was his mother, but couldn’t tell which. Resarians didn’t age the way the rest of the world did. Their hair didn’t gray and their skin didn’t wrinkle until well into their eight-hundreds when their spirits grew weary and needed to return to the Sea of Renewal.
Etyne’s eyes met Brisethi’s, and he watched her smile awkwardly at him. He stood, excused himself, and walked toward her.
“Sen Asel,” he shook her hand.
“Vorsen, this is my father, Admiral Tirinnis Sen Asel, and my mother, Naiana,” she introduced them.
Vorsen saluted her admiral father who wore his navy dress uniform and shook Naiana’s hand. “It was an honor to compete with your daughter for advancement the past four years,” he told them respectfully.
“Liar,” Brisethi muttered.
“Well, obviously you were no match for me in the beginning,” he said with a faint grin.
Tirinnis chuckled, “As long as you made her work hard for those ranks you both achieved. She’s quite the handful.”
“Rude,” Brisethi pouted jokingly.
Etyne guided Brisethi to his own table to meet his mother and the other woman sitting next to her. “Sen Asel, meet my mother, Drienna, and this here is Marinelle, my lovely other half.” They both stood to greet her as she tried not to stare at both of them. These must be the most beautiful women in all of Falajen. No wonder he barely looks at me if he has Marinelle to stare at forever, she thought. Her normal confidence faltered as she suddenly felt unattractive in her gaudy uniform and muscular build with her uneven hair, standing before two soft, skinny women in silky, frilly dresses and flowing, curly hair. Her face flushed as all the previous sentiments she’d had for her former partner flashed through her mind. She made the appropriate salutations then excused herself to return to her own table.
Brisethi devoured her fruit and bread while waiting for her steak. She answered the dozens of questions from her mother that she was certain had already been answered in letters.
“’Sethi!” Hands gripped her shoulders, nearly startling her.
She looked up to see a familiar face. “Joss! What are you doing here?” She stood to embrace her childhood friend.
“Naiana invited me, of course. Sorry I’m late; my father wouldn’t let me close the shop early to watch the ceremony,” Joss replied.
“It’s been over six years since we last spoke. I’m surprised you showed up at all, but I’m grateful,” Brisethi said as she sat down once again, inviting him to sit next to her.
The two had been friends since the first day of school at age four, and they remained friends for the next twelve years until finally giving in to their desires of one another. Briefly, they thought they would stay together for centuries, but Brisethi always had different plans for her life. Joss hadn’t wanted her to join the Dominion because of the risk, the danger, and the four years he would be without her. She said her goodbye to him two years before enlisting to make it easier on the both of them, thankful she was transferred to another school for her last two years. A pang of guilt swept over her when she looked into his longing eyes. He hadn’t deserved to have his heart broken.
The dinner came to an end as lanterns slowly dimmed out and serving personnel initiated the take-down of the tables, chairs, and decorations. The Dominion Military personnel had officially been released for their month of leave. Some would return for a second enlistment of four years into the Navy or Army, some would pursue more training to earn a commission as an officer, while the rest would return to civilian life as a lifelong reservist.
As the families left one by one, several of the new graduates bid each other goodbye. Antuni grabbed Sulica’s arm gently and led her to a quiet section of the street. They stood awkwardly for a moment, neither knowing how to say what was on their minds. Antuni gave Sulica a lopsided grin and took her hand.
She smiled in return, pushing a strand of her silky blonde hair behind her ear. “Thank you for helping me through the last few years.”
He shrugged. “Well, you’re joining your father’s crew, right?”
Sulica nodded. She began to reach for Antuni’s face but changed her mind halfway through the gesture and brought her hand up to play with the necklace around her throat, a gift he had given to her after bartering with Brisethi. “And you?”
“I’ll probably re-enlist. I’m going to see how I feel after the month off, though. I want to spend some time at home for a while.”
She nodded again. “Well, if you ever…” She didn’t finish her sentence.
“Thanks. You take care, okay?” Antuni pulled her close one last time.
“You too,” she whispered in his ear.
They broke their embrace when Korteni’s voice reached them. “Nin, Crommick, where are you?” she called.
The two rejoined the rest of their friends who were all busily exchanging contact information in case anyone wanted to meet up during the break. “You’d think this was a summer camp farewell,” Sulica said in a bored tone, but she joined the others easily. Another half of an hour later, the group finally parted ways amid shouts of fortune and promises of future gatherings.
Joss and Brisethi sat on carved log chairs at their old meeting place along the northern shore. The sky was absent of moons and clouds to allow the clusters of stars to shine brightly. Only the red planet nearby graced Falajen with its presence, casting its glow on the water below.
“Do you have to remain at the Citadel for the entire four years of officer training?” Joss asked.
“Yes. It’s going to be a long time until I finally purchase my dream home downtown. Above a bakery, perhaps, or a trinket store. And then I’ll get a cat to keep me company,” she said with a grin.
“If it’s company you want, you should get a dog. They’re happier creatures. And why downtown? Why not a big house with multiple rooms for children along the shoreline and enough land for multiple dogs? City life is harsh, noisy,” he lectured.
And so it begins, she thought sadly, trying to convince me tha
t his life decisions would be more suitable for me. “Because, Joss, I don’t want to spend hours commuting on horseback from the shoreline to the Citadel when I can take a carriage for only half of an hour. And I wouldn’t make some poor dog suffer by living in a tiny flat.” She tried to force a laugh.
“What about your children?” He persisted.
“What children? I have hundreds of years to go before I even think about taking the time to raise a child. I don’t understand why so many Resarians feel the need to rush into making a family before the age of one-hundred.” She was becoming irritated.
“And then you’ll move out of the city?” he asked once more.
“In a few hundred years I’ll be ranking up to general. Do you know where the high ranking officers get to live? In the palace! They get their own grand chambers in one of the six towers because they need to be within summoning range of the emperor in the event that Sariadne is under attack. That’s the life I want, Joss. Roaming the palace halls and spending hours in the libraries, reading and painting, learning to play the piano or violin so that I can take part in grand orchestras on my off time. I want to lead the Dominion and influence the militaries of the rest of the world to unite with Sariadne,” she said earnestly. “I want the war to end, Joss,” she continued with a sigh and slouched in her chair.
“Oh, ‘Sethi,” he said. “Don’t you understand how many other officers before you have probably already tried that? You’re not the first person to have such ideals,” he softly replied.
Brisethi matched her tone to his. “For every new general who earns rank in the Dominion, five emperors and generals of the Pahl’Kiar have come and gone. It’s all about persistence and convincing the right one. I want the Resarians to co-exist with the Kiarans once more on our continent.”
Joss had always admired his friend’s innocence and naivety. He didn’t always agree with her ambitions, but tried his best not to interfere with them. “I hope you succeed, ‘Sethi, I really do. While you’re up in the palace with the emperor coordinating tactics and all that, I’ll be trying to keep your economy up, selling the carriages I make,” he laughed, and she smiled easily.
Spirits of Falajen Page 17