by Robin Roseau
Both children nodded, and I was proud of them.
And then we were at the captain's quarters. I stopped them right outside. "You only have permission to come here this time. This section of the ship is normally off-limits, so this does not represent a change in your parole."
They both understood.
Jorek looked subdued as we entered the cabin, but then he turned to his sister. "So, Squirt. You went for a swim without permission! I bet the captain is going to make you scrub the deck or something for that."
"Jorek," Minori asked. "Were you hoping a shark would eat me?"
"I don't know about that," he said. "I wouldn't want a shark to eat you, Squirt."
"That's sweet of you, Jorek," his mother said.
"Your questions would give the shark indigestion, and that's cruelty to animals."
"Jorek!" Glora yelled, but she smiled at her kids.
I served the tea and bread. Glora collected all her children around her, and her concern for each of them was evident. I pulled the captain and commander aside. "You two realize this wouldn't have happened if you didn't engage in kidnapping women and children. Don't get me wrong; I am deeply grateful for what you both did today. But it shouldn't have been necessary."
"No," the captain said. "It should not have been, for more reasons than you are implying. Rani, drop this for now. We will have a longer discussion later."
"I must see to the ship, Captain," the commander said.
"Thank you, Commander," the captain said. "Ensign Karden and I will be back to our normal duties after lunch. Commander, officer's dinner is in my cabin tonight. Ensign you will serve and then may join us. I think tonight your niece should spend with her immediate family."
"They'll be tired of her again by morning."
"Perhaps."
* * * *
Glora took her brood home with her after lunch. I spent the afternoon shadowing the captain or running errands for her. The third time I had to return to her and ask for permission to access a portion of the ship, she altered my parole agreement. "You will never step on the gun deck unless I bring you there personally. Otherwise you have access to the entire ship as needed for duties assigned to you by an officer. You will not abuse this permission. When off duty, your access reverts to your normal parole."
"Yes, Captain," I said in understanding. "I understand the difference."
"Of course you do," she said. "But now you understand the reason for clarity ahead of time."
"Yes, Captain, I do."
The afternoon went quickly, and soon I found myself serving dinner to the four officers before seating myself next to the captain. She moved over slightly so I would have room. It was a small table for five, but I was where she wanted me to be.
Conversation was casual for a while, then the captain asked for a report from each of her officers, beginning with the navigator.
"No fresh sightings," she said. "I believe we are ...." she paused and looked pointedly at me.
"I wouldn't have asked if I had a problem with the ensign overhearing, Lieutenant," the captain said.
"I believe we are five hundred and twenty miles from the Candora coast, somewhat less than that from the outlying islands. If we do not have a fresh sighting by morning the day after tomorrow, we will start taking soundings."
The captain turned to me. "Did you have any questions, Ensign?"
"No, Captain."
"I don't believe you. You may ask her."
I smiled. "Have I become so predictable?"
"No. Except about this."
"Lieutenant," I asked. "How far are we from Southgate?"
"I am glad you asked that, Ensign," she said. "We are seventeen hundred and twenty one nautical miles from Southgate."
I felt for Minori's toy dog. It was faint at this distance, but I got a feel for it. The distance was so great I wasn't at all sure, but I thought we might only be fifteen hundred or sixteen hundred miles from Southgate.
"At this moment?" I asked.
"No, when I did the calculations an hour ago. So perhaps nine miles further now."
We weren't in danger of running aground if I kept my silence, so I didn't ask any further questions about our navigation.
"Thank you. This is a very, very long way from home for me. Captain, do you know how long we will be here?"
"Perhaps a week, perhaps a month. It depends upon how stubbornly the negotiations go."
"How do you negotiate from two thousand miles away?"
"We have someone who negotiates for us. She sends word when she has an agreement for at least two thirds of our guests."
"Hostages. In this discussion, Captain, we are hostages."
"All right. Hostages."
"How do you get word?"
"She knows how. She sends word. She may already have done so; word could be waiting when we arrive, if it sailed faster than we did."
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"Sometimes word does not reach us. She will actually send word by any ships heading this way. Word gets through. If it goes excessively long, then we might sail back, but that has only happened twice, and it was because our negotiator had grown deathly ill. Now she has an assistant who isn't allowed to negotiate, but can send us notice."
"What happens when you return to those hostages for whom you have not reached agreement?"
"They stay with us. Nearly always the threat of us sailing away again unleashes the coffers. There have only been a few times someone has stayed with us a lengthy period."
Everyone was looking at me. "I'm sorry. I have taken over the conversation on a different topic. My apologies."
"Do you have more questions on this topic?" the captain asked.
"Yes. Would you like me to ask them later?"
"No. We have time. What else would you like to know?"
"My own status. I do not believe my brother will pay for me. He knows I have a bond, and he knows how big it is."
"My negotiator knows you have a bond, but she does not know the size. She is going to assume it is bigger than it is."
"How big?"
"Our asking price."
"Oh. She has no reason to negotiate a lower rate with him, does she?"
"It is a balancing act. We may not revert to your bond for six months."
"I am here for six months?" I screeched.
"No." She paused. "She is negotiating based on the belief your bond is fifty crowns. Her negotiation will change as soon as she learns the real value of your bond."
"Which means?"
"I do not want to tell you. I would, but you would tell your sister-in-law, and it might affect negotiations with your brother after we release your family, and she tells her husband."
"You want more than my bond?"
"It's not that. It's that I do not want to undermine my negotiator. She gets justifiably crabby when I interfere. So whether it were to affect our negotiations for you or not, I will not tell you."
"Okay. Hypothetically speaking, if my bond were for fifty crowns the way she believes, but my brother refused to offer more than, say, ten crowns, what would happen?"
"One of several things. You could agree to pay the bond yourself. We would take your fifty crowns, or your bank would, and we would set you free. If your bond is through an employer, you could beseech your employer to ransom you, but he would not be obligated to do so."
"So an employer who doesn't want to pay for an employee can refuse?"
"No. The next thing that could happen is we could negotiate directly with you to take a smaller amount of your bond, such as forty crowns. This is no different than the negotiations we would do with your employer."
"All right."
"Or we can keep you for six months and then we automatically get your bond and set you free."
"So you could keep me for six months, but no longer, as long as I have a bond registered."
"Yes. Now, there is one more thing that could happen. If your bond was through your employer, as terms of y
our employment, you can negotiate different terms on how quickly they must pay out. The standard is six months, and if you did a bond through the bank, they may not even have explained that. You might not tell us the terms of your bond, and your bank may not, but you are under no obligation to remain silent. You could tell us, I have a two-month bond at fifty crowns, and then we are obligated to make reasonable effort to have you home at the end of two months, subject to the vagaries of sea travel. It could be three, but there tend to be penalties if we do that."
"It is all very complicated."
"Yes, it is," the captain agreed. "Rani, if your brother does not ransom you, and from what you've said about the situation, I find it likely he will not, then you will spend more time with us than your niece. I have a pretty good idea how much time. It won't be six months. I won't say more than that until the other passengers are off my ship. But please do not fret. Now, I know you want to say something cutting, but don't. May I move on with my reports?"
"Yes, Captain. Thank you for explaining."
I listened as the quartermaster gave her report, first as doctor then as quartermaster. She reported a few stuffed-up noses, but the crew was otherwise in good health. The incident from this morning seemed to have no ill effects, but it was possible one or the other swimmer would become mildly ill; she wouldn't know for sure they would remain healthy for another day or two.
"Why would they become sick?" I blurted out.
"Your niece consumed some of the water, both in her stomach and in her lungs. Sometimes the water contains things that make us sick. Sea water isn't so bad; brackish water can be very bad. I would rather go overboard deep at sea than in the harbor at Southgate."
"And the captain?"
"The captain knows to keep sea water out of her lungs and stomach," the captain said. "Your niece did not."
"If she's not sick by this time tomorrow, she isn't going to get sick?"
"Probably not, but anyone can get sick at any time. She is at heightened risk for a day or two, but her mother knows the risks and will keep her from anyone who may pass something to her."
"Thank you for explaining, Commander," I said.
The first mate gave her report last. There was nothing in it that required comment from me, so I remained silent. When the commander had finished, the captain turned to me.
"No questions?"
"I didn't understand half of it, but I don't believe the parts I didn't understand affect me overmuch, so I didn't ask."
"All right," the captain said. "We should arrive at our temporary destination within the next three days, perhaps sooner. We will offload and send the ship for additional supplies. We should expect to be here for at least a few weeks. Commander Wattmore, I will have additional supplies for you to obtain."
"Offload?" I asked. "Are you dumping us somewhere? You can't do that!"
"Relax, Rani. I will be with you. If we take the hostages to a port town, then we risk escape attempts. For many reasons, including our financial loss and the safety of the hostages, we can not risk this, so we would be obligated to lock you somewhere safe."
"Like the brig?"
"Yes. Like the brig."
"So you dump us somewhere instead? What keeps us from wandering away? Are you bringing us to some garrison?"
"No. A remote island, miles and miles from anywhere else. Most of the ship's crew will disembark with you along with sufficient supplies for several weeks, but the ship will not be gone remotely that long. The ship will restock and return to us. Then the ship anchors and we do whatever maintenance is required while we wait for word to return to Southgate. Everyone will consider this a vacation, Rani. Even you. It is a beautiful island with white sand beaches and much warmer water than your niece and I experienced today. However, we will not be providing you with any more access to our location after this meal."
It's not like I needed her to tell me where we were.
"Furthermore, beginning tonight, you are confined to the cabin between sunset and sunrise. Nor are you to look out the windows."
"Why?"
"We will be shifting course at night. I do not want you guessing where we take you. I also do not want you looking at the charts again. I do not believe you are so attuned to the ship you can guess our course changes accurately from within the cabin, but you are good enough to guess if I let you outside, even on a cloudy night. And if I let you on the quarterdeck to see the compass, there would be no question at all."
"I understand, Captain, but why the secrecy?"
"In case we ever take anyone else back here, I don't want you telling would-be rescuers where to search for us. There are four thousand islands off the coast of Candora, at least four hundred of them matching the description of the one we'll be using, so as long as you can't guess any closer than three hundred miles, no one you send would ever find us."
"Thank you for explaining. Who will take the ship to port?"
"You are welcome. The quartermaster and navigator will take the ship along with only enough seamen to effectively run the ship in friendly, coastal waters."
"You and the first mate will be with us?"
"And all the marines, so don't get any ideas. There will be rules."
"I understand, Captain. Thank you for explaining."
She gave a few more directions, then she said, "I have one more issue. Ensign, no questions."
"Yes, Captain."
"Regarding that other issue we have been discussing. Does anyone wish to say anything further?"
"Some of the men won't like it," Commander Halfheart said immediately.
"Most, or only some?"
"Only some."
"And the three of you?" the captain asked.
"We are with you, Captain," they each said.
She looked at each of them. "I want your final recommendation. Aye to give it a trial run for a year, to review again at that time. A nay to continue the status quo. Commander Halfheart."
"Aye."
"Commander Wattmore."
"Aye."
"Lieutenant Nordon."
"Aye."
"Is anyone voting that way because she thinks that is what I want to hear?"
"When have we ever sugar-coated our opinions, Sorri?" the quartermaster asked. "What kind of officers would we be if we weren't honest with you?"
"I had to ask," she said after getting nods from the other two. "Then it is aye." She looked around the table. "We have two more decisions to make. When do we inform the crew, and do we care if our current hostages learn about this decision?"
Radha immediately looked at me. "I know what answer you want, Captain."
"Ignore that issue."
"It would normally not be any business of the hostages. It is ship's business."
"So that is your recommendation?"
"No, it is not. Tell her. You owe it to her."
"Owe what to me?" I asked.
"Hush, Ensign," the captain said immediately. "One more word and I will gag you. I am not bluffing or baiting."
"Yes, Captain."
She sighed. "That was two words."
I put my hand over my mouth firmly, and she nodded.
"There will be a certain amount of bitterness if you tell the hostages," the quartermaster said.
"The decision does not affect them," the commander said. "But there may be bitterness."
"Unmanageable?" the captain asked.
Everyone turned to me. "No, not unmanageable."
I didn't say a word.
"The crew deserves to know before any of the hostages," said the lieutenant. "Any of the hostages." She stressed the word 'any' and I knew she was referring to me.
"I agree," said the captain. "So, you will tell the crew tonight. You will order them not to discuss this within hearing of any of our passengers, and any questions from the passengers regarding this topic are to be referred to me, and only me. I will decide what to tell our passengers and when to tell them. Any dissent or further discussion?"
There wasn't any.
"Is there anything else we need to discuss?"
There wasn't.
She turned to me. "Ensign. You will clear and return the cabin to ship-shape condition. You will then join me on the quarterdeck for some fresh air before our course change."
"Aye-aye, Captain. Thank you, Sorri."
She smiled.
* * * *
Captain Sorri Westmere
Waiting on the quarterdeck, I was nervous. I realized I had expectations, and I didn't know how I was going to respond if they weren't met. I didn't know how I was going to feel if they were met. I shouldn't have had expectations, but I did.
Rani took a half hour before her head poked over the ladder. Her eyes searched mine, and she waited until I nodded to her before she finished the climb onto the quarterdeck. She crossed the short distance, stopping in front of me.
"No questions," I told her.
She nodded. "Captain, you have not baited me today."
"I do not wish to do so tonight."
"I need to be baited, Captain. I am starting to recognize the signs. I never recognized them before."
"Go see your sister-in-law, Rani. Come back when you are calm."
She looked away. "I want you to bait me now so I can enjoy the little time you will give me."
"We will have an hour once you return. Go see your sister-in-law."
"I do not wish her to be forced to do this in front of her children. May I take her somewhere else to do this? And I am worried if she pushes hard, I will get physical. I have gotten physical with you, but you can handle it."
"Commander!" I said. "Do you have your key to the brig?"
"Yes, Captain," Radha said, approaching. "Has she revoked her parole again?"
"No. Please give me your key."
Radha gave me the key to the brig, pulling it from a chain around her neck. I pressed it into Rani's hand. "You may use the brig for this. I want you to be the one to open the door, but give the key to Glora before she baits you. If you are unable to calm down afterwards, she has permission to retrieve me here."
"Does she have permission to send Minori? She does not like the deck after dark."
"All right."
"If I am gone long, will you please come find me, Sorri?" She was biting her lip.
"Yes, Rani. If you are gone long, I will come."