Dominion (6 page)

Eight

“What do you think of all this?” Kashuba asked, staring out across the glistening whitecaps.

Rain had two moons. 
Hawke had only seen the ringed one last night.  Tonight, the red one was peeking over the horizon while a cratered white orb lit the night sky from above.  It looked very similar to Earth’s moon, only a little smaller in size. 

“By
‘this,’
are you referring to this ship, your planet, the beautiful red moon over there, or the shimmering ocean?” he asked.

“This,” she said, patting his arms that were wrapped around her.

They were standing near the bow by the railing.  She was holding onto the railing while he held onto her from behind.  The chill in the nighttime air was enough to cause both of them to take comfort in each other’s warmth.

“This?” he asked, squeezing her
gently, “I think this is a woman who gives me comfort and solace in a world where I’m completely lost.  This is a woman who makes me wish I was back on Earth and she was willing to go out on a date with me.  Maybe bowling… a movie… perhaps miniature golf.  If this woman who makes me smile didn’t run away after a date or two, I’d probably take her dancing.”

“I don’t know what bowling, movies, or miniature golf are, but I do know dancing,” she said, leaning back into him, “Why would you not dance on a first date?”

He chuckled, “For my own sanity.  You are much too attractive for me to spend time dancing with on a first date.  I’d probably be thinking about all the wrong things and this wouldn’t be good for a respectable man on a first date with a respectable woman.”

“Your society holds
an unfair value on women, you know,” she said, “How are we supposed to hold up under such a high regard.”

“You already have,” he whispered.

She turned to him and wrapped him in her arms, kissing him tenderly.  He accepted the kiss, returning it with interest.

. . . .

“Mr. Hawke,” the voice rose from the pitch dark, “Hawke.”

“Hmmm?” he groaned, peeking out at
a ghost accented in the flickering candlelight.

“I’ve been asked to move you and the misses down below to the safety chamber,” he replied, “Three ships are bearing upon us and we are expecting to battle.”

Hawke sat up and got a clearer image of the small man beside the bed.  The room was dark except for flickering images brought to light by the dancing flame in the oil lamp.  The man held the lamp higher, perhaps to show that he was a man and not a wraith.

“Battle?”
Hawke asked, feeling Kashuba stir beside him.

“Yes sir,” he replied, “You are free to take what you wish with you.  I recommend you bring your blanket and pillows.  It will be safer down below in the center of the ship.  The rooms in the superstructure are prone to damage.”

“What’s going on?” Kashuba asked.

He patted her, then took the blanket, “We need to follow this gentleman below.  There are ships on the horizon.”

An explosion suddenly rocked the ship, a flash bringing daylight to the room for a half second.  Another explosion followed as Kashuba and Hawke grabbed their pillows and followed the man into the hallway.  Someone was shouting in the corridor about a fire in the galley.  Two men raced past them as they took to the stairs.

“Where are we going?” Kashuba asked, “Is the ship on fire?”

“We’ve been hit, but the men are trained very well in firefighting,” he replied, “If the ship was in any kind of trouble, we’d be heading for the life rafts, my dear.”

He led them to a room that indeed appeared to be in the very center of the ship and away from outer bulkheads.  Inside the room, they found Night Rain, Sky Listener, another man, and two women huddled together near a lamp.  They too had brought their bedding with them.  Sky Listener was lying on the floor near the lamp reading the book he had earlier.  The rest were just resting against each other quietly looking around.

“Welcome to the eternal war,” one of the women stated.

“Indeed,” Kashuba replied, following
Hawke to a secluded corner away from the others.

“And some think that we are the aggressors,” Night Rain added for the benefit of Kashuba.

The ship shuddered, this time from the Savior’s own cannon fire.  It was easier now for Hawke to tell the difference between their guns and the damaging hits from the enemy. 

“
I’ve always thought of kidnappers as aggressors,” Kashuba added, accepting the blanket from Hawke.

She sat against the wall, hugging her pillow in front of her as the ship shuddered again twice in a row. 
Hawke helped spread the blanket over both of them as they situated themselves in the dark corner.

“Unless
of course those kidnappers are rescuers from a free nation.  In that case, the rescuers are just trying to stay alive in the midst of a violent group of so-called gods,” a woman replied from the other side of the room.

“Demigods,” Kashuba corrected, “They realize that they are not gods as that would be blasphemy.  Don’t speak of what you don’t understand.”

“You really are a sympathizer of the enemy,” the woman retorted, “Did they tell you that they rescued you after your parents died?  They say that to all the Cheronook children they take as plunder.”

Kashuba leapt forward, but not before
Hawke grabbed a hold of her ankle and caused her to stumble.

“How dare you, you brainwashed savage!” Kashuba spat, trying all the while to twist out of
Hawke’s grasp, “You know nothing about the Shomani beyond the lies that are fed to you from your savage teachers.”

“I know that the Shomani burned down my cousin’s village and killed everyone above the age of two,” the unseen woman shouted back, “Did you notice that all their servants and slaves are Cheronook who were raised from infancy?  Did you notice that they all serve willingly because they believe they owe the Shomani something? 
Owe them?
  The Shomani killed their families!”

“Let go of me!” Kashuba spat, kicking at
Hawke as he pulled her back to him.

“You’ve no right to be on this ship, Shomani,” the woman added.

“Everyone, shut up!” Sky Listener shouted, tossing his book at the wall in frustration.

He rose up beside the lamp that apparently belonged to the man.  Kashuba was still struggling against
Hawke as he pulled her into his arms.  An explosion rocked the ship, causing the lamp to slide across the deck and Sky Listener to stumble.

“That was a hit and a very violent one at that!” Sky Listener shouted,
catching the lamp before it smashed into the wall, “We are under attack and may very well die tonight.  I will not spend my last moments listening to hatred and hurtful words.  We are all going to accept the same fate tonight and none of us have any control over that.  We are all the same.”

Hawke
felt Kashuba relax in his arms.  The ship continued to rock back and forth from the previous hit.  He could still hear Kashuba grinding her teeth in anger, but at least she wasn’t fighting to get out of his arms anymore.

“Not
all
of us are the same,” the unseen woman whispered.

Sky Listener groaned and lifted the lamp.  He searched the room for his book and then returned to where his blanket
remained.

“I’m sorry,
Hawke,” Kashuba whispered.

The ship
shuddered over and over again as the cannons continued to fire.  Screams and shouts could be heard from beyond the room, but they tried their best to tune them out.

“Why don’t we talk about something to get our minds off all this,” he whispered to her, still holding her against him.

She retrieved her pillow and tucked it behind his lower back for support, accepting her place in his arms. 

“
I’m afraid of the water.  I don’t know about your world, but on Rain, most of our sea creatures are carnivores,” she replied, “And most of them are large enough to swallow a person whole.”

“Here there be dragons,” he said.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Sorry,” he muttered, “Being on an old ship and what you just said… it made me recall something on old maps in my world.  In uncharted areas, the map makers would draw a dragon and insert the words ‘here there be dragons’.”

“And were there dragons there?” she asked, “Did you have dragons in the oceans on Earth?”

“No, never,” he chuckled, running his hand across her back, “It was just a phrase to scare the weary traveler away from uncharted areas.  Dragons were mythical creatures where I came from.”

“They’re not mythical here,” she replied, “In Coranka, you can pay to see a hundred and twenty meter dragon locked in a giant aquarium.  There have been sightings at sea of dragons measuring more than two hundred meters.”

“What do they look like?” he asked, startled by this thought.

“Long serpentine creatures with scaly flesh so thick that swords are useless.  A single fang of this beast is as big as your arm,” she said, “Actually, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this stuff while the ship is shaking like it is.”

“Yeah, m
aybe you’re right,” he said with a sigh, “When we reach port, how about we make a vow to never go to sea again?”

Nine

The ship continued to rock and tremble throughout the night under the attack of the enemy.  Sleep came, but only in small bits and pieces.  Eventually, Hawke awoke to find himself in silent darkness.  Sky Listener’s lamp had apparently been snuffed at some point and without the benefit of windows; it was impossible to tell if morning had come.  The ship was rocking steadily now, an effect of the rough seas most likely.

Kashuba was on the floor now and was using his thigh as a pillow
.  He slowly slid his leg out from beneath her and lowered her head to the pillow he placed on the floor.  Using the wall as a guide in the darkness, he found his way to the door.  He then opened the door, letting in a bright sliver of light. 

Hawke
slipped quickly into the corridor and closed the door behind him.  He immediately discovered much to his shock that the ship had been torn open before him and now offered him a large view of the ocean.  A salty spray of cool water found its way into the giant gash and across his lower legs.  If anyone had been in that room last night, they would have certainly died from either the initial explosion or the flying shrapnel as the outside hull exploded inward.

A cool salty breeze stirred the scent of smoky charred wood, reminding him of just how real this world was and how real
that raging sea was beyond the hull.  He stared at the splintered beams, realizing just how close that blast had been to the room they were hiding in.  It was a large enough blast to destroy not just the ship’s hull, but also a portion of the floor and the inner wall to the corridor.  The fact that the charred wood didn’t extend further down the corridor was a testament to their firefighting skills.

Another mist of cool water chilled his bare feet. 
He walked down the hall, holding on to the walls as he attempted to move steadily across a swaying floor.  He wasn’t accustomed to moving about in a ship at sea and that particular sea was proving to be very rough this morning.  He navigated past two empty pails, then located the stairs.

He climbed the stairs and found himself in another corridor that had sustained some damage.  This time however, there were two large beams blocking off any progress toward the aft end of the ship.  Bright shafts of light near those splintered beams suggested that yet another explosion had torn open the side of the ship last night.

“Hello?” Hawke called out, “Is everyone okay?”

He got no response.  He started down the corridor in the only direction available.  The door at the end of the hall was open, leading to the main deck outside.  He cautiously stepped out into the open, wondering if any enemy ships still lurked nearby.
 

The first thing he noticed was that the deck was littered in broken beams and crumpled white tarps.  He wasn’t sure what the tarps were until he caught sight of two men working high up in
the foremast.  They appeared to be tying a new sail into place.  This was evidenced by the fact that the sail on the other side of the boom had a grungy yellowish tint while the one they were installing was bright white.

He stepped further out into the open and noticed that the taller mast just behind him was also being repaired by several skilled sailors.  Whatever damages the ship had sustained, it apparently wasn’t enough to worry the crew of this ship.  They just went about their business as though it were an ordinary day at sea. 

His wandering eyes stumbled upon a weary looking lady who was resting against a Gatling gun.  She had been watching him and only when his eyes met hers did she offer him a tiny smile.  He waved to her, then located the stairs that led to the deck she waited on.

He climbed the stairs and noticed immediately that this outer deck only served as a gunner’s post where two Gatling guns were mounted.  A man was sleeping at the base of the other automatic weapon, snoring loudly.  He turned to the woman and wondered for a moment if she was the operator of the weapon.

“You see a woman with a loaded gun and it doesn’t scare you away?” she asked, “Give it time, boy.”

“You operate this thing?” he asked, holding onto the railing as he approached her.

In spite of some missing teeth and what appeared to be a weeks worth of dirt covering every inch, she could have very well been pretty in another life.  She had long braided black hair and a tan that women would have envied back on Earth, but the long scar on the side of her face spoke of a rough life.

“Gunner’s Mate Wind Racer,” she said, offering him her hand.

He shook it, “Meriwether Hawke, ma’am.  It’s nice to meet a beautiful woman who is tough enough to fight off an armada.”

“Somebody has to look out for
the treasure,” she replied with a wide grin that did her no favors in the beauty department.

“Treasure?” he asked, wondering for a moment how long it had been since this woman had bathed.

“On this particular trip, that treasure is you, spaceman,” she said, “How does it feel knowing that you’re being protected by a woman?”

He laughed, noticing in her expression that she was taunting him
in the hopes that he’d take the challenge and succumb to an embarrassing beating from a woman.  He couldn’t tell if she disliked him or if she was just being curious. 

“It’s a turn on
for me, actually.  There’s nothing better than being with a strong woman,” he said, turning back to the stairs, “Is this ship still seaworthy?”

Her smile softened.  She nodded to the door behind him.

“The man you need to ask is in there, but I imagine it will all be okay.  That’s the Captain’s quarters,” she said.

“Oh, I don’t want to bother him.  I was just curious,” he said.

“Well, if your curiosity brings you back up here in an hour and if your tiny little lover can spare you for the day, I’ll show you what strong women are all about,” she said, reaching out and trailing a finger through his hair, “I’m off duty in an hour.”

He wondered for a moment where all these women were back when he was in college and had no respect for himself or
for others.  And even so, he would have chosen Kashuba over Wind Racer in an instant.  This here was only harmless flirting as far as he had been concerned.

“Thank you, ma’am, but I do believe my tiny lover would not take it too well if she knew I was
offering myself to others,” he said apologetically.

“Well, we’ve got
a couple more days at sea until we reach the North and a lot can happen.  If you get bored, you know where to find me,” she said.

He sighed sadly and nodded, heading back to the stairwell.  Nothing in this world was going to be easy for him.