A Pirate's Tale: The Only Solution Is Retribution (33 page)

Leo stared at the wounded creature and walked over to the edge of the circle and stepped out.  Blakey roared, “Finish it.  It’s not right to make it suffer like this!!”

“Before I go back into the circle, I have a question.”

The five Councilors looked at Leo like he was insane; stopping a duel to ask a question was unheard of.  Blakely looked at the Dacon quickly regenerating its body parts and said, “What is your question?”

“You say that the winner of this duel takes possession of all the holdings of the loser, is that correct?”

The Dacon looked up from the floor and listened to what was going on.  Blakely nodded, “That’s correct.  The crews will be executed and you will take possession of their ships and monetary holdings.”

“Aren’t the crews part of their possessions?”

Blakely’s stood up and he looked at the other Councilors.  They all stared at him and it was clear they didn’t know how to answer the question.  Blakely turned to Leo and said, “I honestly don’t know.  No one has ever asked that question before.”

Leo looked at the Argyan Crews as he said, “It appears to me that the crews are part of the ships that make them operate just like a reactor, engines, or any other piece that is essential for the ship to function.  The ships won’t operate without a crew.”

Blakely looked at the other Councilors again and the Councilor sitting to Blakely’s right broke the silence, “I suppose he is correct about that.  If he wants the crews to man the ships, he should be given that option.”

Blakely turned back to Leo, “The crews are part of the Argyan possessions.  It would be wise for you to have them executed; you will not be able to trust them.” 

Leo stepped back into the circle and walked over to the Dacon, “I will not harm your crews.  I will use them to operate the ships.  Now you do have another option and I do hope you use it.  You are back to your full strength now and if you choose to continue this, I will end it.  Are you willing to call this off?”

The Dacon stared at Leo and flexed its arms and tail.  It looked over at the Argyan Fleet Commander who was screaming at him to attack.  He turned and walked over to the edge of the circle directly in front of the Council, looked up at Blakely, and said, “I choose to not participate in this Duel.”

The entire building erupted in a giant roar as the thousands of pirates stood up and cheered.  Blakely shook his head and allowed it to continue for a few minutes and then he sounded the tone.  The room became instantly silent and he looked at Leonidas “Captain you now own all six Argyan Ships as your personal property.  Are there any other ships that you currently own other than the Thermopylae?”

Leo quickly said, “I also command a ship we use as a decoy.  It appears to be a pleasure yacht but it is armed.  The ship’s name is the Play Toy.”

Blakely looked at the Tortugan Official, “Please add these ships to Captain Alexander’s registry.”  The Official nodded and began speaking into a tablet it was holding.

Blakely turned back to Leo, “What’s to prevent the Argyan ships from leaving and not coming back?”

Leo looked at the Argyans and said where they could hear, “First things first.”  He turned to Blakely, “I do not consider that Fleet Commander as a possession.”

Blakely smiled broadly and said, “Guards, remove the Fleet Commander and carry out his execution.”  The Fleet Commander was grabbed forcibly and pulled toward the entrance; he screamed all the way out of the building.  Leo turned back to the Argyan Crews and pointed at the Beligeese, “You, what is your name?”

“You couldn’t pronounce it, Captain.  Everyone calls me Black Hat.”

Leo smiled.  He was wearing a large black hat that came down over his ears.  “You are now in overall command of the Argyan Ships.  You’ve shown that you will follow orders and tell the truth even when it’s dangerous to do so.  You will take the six ships and continue to operate as you have in the past but you will pay me twenty percent of all your takings.  You will continue to do that for five years and at the end of that time, you will be given your freedom and stop having to make payments.”

The Argyans stared at Leo stunned by the offer.  Blakely smiled and said, “That will prevent them from fleeing with their ships.  It would cost them a lot more than twenty percent to have to go to another place to live.”

Leo nodded, “All of you plan to meet with me at my quarters tonight after this meeting is concluded.”  Leo turned to the Tortugan Representative, “Would it be possible for you to be there as well so we can sort out how these payments will be made?”

The Tortugan licked his face, “Absolutely.”

Blakely looked around the giant arena, picked up a thick book from his console, and said over the PA system, “I would like to officially welcome the Thermopylae and its crew to Fellowship as its newest residents.  Captain Alexander, I’m presenting you with this book that covers all the regulations and laws that govern how the Ship Commanders function in our society.  It will tell you your responsibilities and benefits while living here.  Welcome to our brotherhood.”

The entire gathering rose and cheered the newest ship and shouted out ‘
Thermopylae
’ at the top of their voices.  Blakely looked down from the dais at Leo and said, “Why did you really choose to not kill the crews?”

Leo looked up at him and smiled, “It would be bad for business.”

Blakely smiled and then his eyes narrowed as he stared at Leo.  After a moment, his eyes widened, “I KNOW YOU!”

Leo smiled, “Indeed you do, Lead Councilor.”  That was the last thing said between them as Leo’s crew lifted him up on their shoulders and carried him toward the entrance.  Blakely was left behind staring at Leonidas as he disappeared out of the building.

They arrived back at their quarters and Leo said to Carl, “Get the meeting room set up for the Argyans.  I want everyone present so you may have to move some chairs out of your personal quarters.”  Carl nodded and began issuing orders.

“Sir, I must confess that I was worried about you.”

“So was I, Barney.”

“It’s a good thing you had Embree in command.  I was prepared to order the crew in and fight our way out.”

“Did he point out why that would be a mistake?”

Barney sighed, “Yes; I didn’t see the blasters in the ceiling above the dueling area.”  Barney paused, “Sir, I really think that the ship would be better served if you made Embree your second-in-command.”  Leo started shaking his head and Barney quickly said, “I’ll be glad to command any ground attacks but I can see Embree sees things I miss and that could prove to be fatal.  You need look no further than what happened tonight.”

Leo paused and said, “Are you sure about this, Barney?”

Barney smiled and shrugged, “There’s no place for an ego in doing the right thing, Captain.  Besides, our former ranks don’t apply in this new world we find ourselves in.”

Leo put his hand on Barney’s shoulder, “I know you weren’t in my unit but I see you as one of my own.  This proves to me that I was right in choosing you to be on this mission.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

The Tortugan Official arrived a moment later with a crew that began moving chairs out of a hauler into the meeting room.  Leo looked at him in wonder and the Tortugan said, “I…Uhhh…looked at the…inventory of your…quarters and saw that…there are not enough…chairs to hold…your meeting.”

Leo smiled, “How much does this cost me?”

The Tortugan raised his beak, “Nothing, Captain.  We allowed you to be…put in danger tonight and…this is my way…of apologizing.”

“Are you equipped to make transfers tonight?”

The Tortugan licked his face, “We are always prepared to make transfers, Captain.  The Argyans use a different bank than ours.  We welcome them to move their assets to us.”

The Argyans arrived and Leo looked at the Beligeese as he said, “I’m sorry, Captain.  We had to walk here from the arena.  The former Fleet Commander pretty much bankrupted us in paying for the duel and we couldn’t afford to pay for a ride here.”  Leo saw the Tortugan was not happy at hearing that.

Leo nodded and shouted to his crew, “Bring our visitors something to drink.”

Leo moved to the front of the room, sat down behind a console, and waited for the Argyans to be given something to drink and snack on.  Finally, everyone was sitting in silence waiting for him to speak.  “Black Hat, I’m sure all of your crews had time to discuss what happened tonight on your walk over here.  Tell me what you’ve determined.”  Black Hat looked around at the other Argyans and saw their nervousness. Leo said, “Tell me the truth.”

“Captain, there is great concern about what you are going to do with us.  The Ship Commanders fear you are going to have them replaced with a member of your crew and the regular crewmen are greatly concerned about how we are going to survive with all of our holdings being wasted on this duel.  They question if we will be able to go out when we’re unable to purchase the fuel we’d need to do it.”

“What else?”

“Our rent is due tomorrow.  We don’t have it.”

Leo stared at the Argyans and said, “You left out that they fear that once I learn they are a liability that I might order them executed.”

Black Hat shrugged, “It would be a natural response to our predicament.”

“Before I address these issues, there are some things that you need to be aware of before we do anything else.”  Leo paused and said, “I own all of you.  Many of your freedoms go away as a result of that and one of them is the right to choose who leads you.”

Leo stared at them and Black Hat replied, “Yes, Captain.  We realize that for all intents and purposes, we are, in effect, your slaves.”

“You will be the Fleet Commander of the six Argyan Ships.  You may not be replaced or challenged by any one on the six ships.  Do all of you understand?!”

The Argyans all said together, “Yes, Captain.”

“For the moment, I am not going to change any current Ship Commander.  I will keep my eyes on you and if you do what I order, you will keep your commands.”  Leo saw the Argyans in the front chairs start to relax.  Leo looked at the Dacon, “You will retain the command of the ship you were promoted to lead.”  He looked at Black Hat, “I expect you to go out with the ships and give me an accounting of what you see.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Further, my senior officers out rank all of you.  If they issue you orders, you will follow them as if I’m making them.”

Leo paused and the Argyans shouted, “Yes, Captain.”

“One other thing.”  Leo lowered his eyes and said very deliberately, “I will not tolerate needless killing of crews or passengers on the ships you attack.  If you have to kill to defend yourself, I will listen to your reasons and make a determination if no other option was available.  You all know that most ships will surrender if they know they will not lose their lives.  It is bad for business to wantonly kill.  If you don’t adhere to this order, I will execute you without a second thought.”

“Yes, Captain!!”

Leo looked at the Tortugan Official who was looking quite glum, “I notice that the buildings on each side of this one are unoccupied.”

“Yes, Captain…there has been no one…able to pay the rent…to take possession.”

“Is there rent similar to this one?”

“The one on the left is slightly less.”

“How much less?”

“Six thousand…a month…it does not have a pool.”

Leo reached in his pocket and pulled out a white card, “I want you to open an account in the Argyan’s name and transfer ten million credits into it.”  The Argyans and the Bank Official were shocked silent.  The Bank Official was too stunned to lick his face.  “Once the transfer is made, I want a card granting access to the account given to Black Hat.”  Leo looked at him as he said, “I want a monthly accounting of how much is used.”

Barney came forward and took the card from Leo and took it to the official.  The Tortugan slid the card into a slot and began pressing buttons.  After a few moments, he looked up with his mouth beak wide open.  Leo smiled, “The first expenditures will be made to rent the two buildings next to this one.  I also want movers hired to transfer the Argyans possessions from their current quarters to the new buildings.  I want them moved in within twenty-four hours.  Can you make that happen?”

The Tortugan’s tongue was back in action, “Yes, Captain!  We’ll start the process tonight.”

“Further, I want another account established and all the future takings from the Argyan ships will be deposited into that account.  I want another two million transferred into that account to replace what was spent on the duel.”

“YES, CAPTAIN!”

Leo looked at Black Hat, “You will use the first account to pay your bills and I’m holding you personally responsible to use them wisely.”

“Captain, I will do as you ask but this is not something we can understand.  You are trusting us with this wealth and you have every reason to punish us for what happened, not reward us.”

Leo slowly shook his head as he said, “You are now a part of my crew.  I didn’t ask for this but one thing I will do is take care of those under my command.  I will come to your defense, if needed, and I will make sure you do not go hungry or wanting for things necessary to survive.  The ones that are assigned to the building without a pool will have free access to the one here or at the other building.  All of you will be given a wage each month and I would encourage you to save as much of it as possible against the time you pay off your debt to me and are free to go your way.”

Black Hat sighed, “Captain, we may never pay off our debt with the rental expenses that these two buildings cost.”

“They will not be included in your debt.”

“WHAT?”

“You are an investment.  I fully expect there would be expenses in making you ultimately profitable, however, you will not have those expenses added to your debt.”

One of the Argyan Ship Commanders asked, “What about the wages paid to the Commanders?”

“You will be paid the same wage as the members of your crews.  You will be allowed to choose your personal quarters first and those quarters will be much larger than those assigned to your crews.  I recognize that you will need the additional space to handle your duties.  If your ships are successful, you will be paid a large bonus the day you pay off your debt.  You will also be responsible for taking good care of my crews on board your ships.  You will be replaced if I find you put yourselves ahead of them.”  Leo looked at the Ship Commanders, “If this isn’t acceptable, you may resign your positions now.  However, if you choose to keep your commands, I will hold you responsible for not wasting the lives of those under your command.  Do any of you wish to step down?”  The six Commanders looked at each other and shook their heads.  Leo looked at Barney, “Please take the Argyans to the cafeteria and have the kitchen staff prepare a meal for them while our Bank Representative orders transportation to take them back to their quarters to start packing for the move.”