S. Turney: Dark Empress

“I see no one feels the need to help me aboard, just because I didn’t have the idiot bad sense to try and personally tackle an entire crew of howling lunatics.”

He grinned as Culin reached down and grasped his hand, hauling him aboard.

The five men, the leaders of the pirate rebellion, stood for a moment, recovering, before following the beckoning form of the second officer aboard the Pride of Calphoris.

The climb up the stairs to the command deck was easier, though still a little delicate, given the condition of three of the five men. Ghassan still winced occasionally as movements pulled the stitches in his back, Saja was criss-crossed with minor cuts and abrasions and Samir… The doctor on board the Redemption had been typically sarcastic, but had begun work on stitching and binding the various wounds before the captain had even been given a sedative; a testament to how bad he considered Samir’s condition.

That had been almost five hours ago and the doctor had been quite vocal in his refusal to let Samir out of his sight, even at the governor’s request until, Ghassan had given him a direct order to his quarters.

While the doctor had worked, the crews of the three ships had swept the site of the battle, noting the locations of the various sunken wrecks mostly from the flotsam and jetsam and the bobbing, bloated bodies that had not yet been pulled down as they lay draped over random spars of wood or shattered pieces of broken deck.

The saddest had been the site of Orin’s ship, the Revenge. No sign had been found of any survivors in the area, but the pieces of charred timber and the various unpleasant things the searchers did locate had told a horrible story.

Still, Orin had fought, like all of them, for what he believed to be right and it was partially through his sacrifice that the five remaining leaders reached the top of the stairs and crossed the command deck of the massive, outsized daram to the waiting officers opposite.

Marshal Tythias and Commodore Jaral, standing to one side of the governor, bore unreadable expressions and Ghassan realised he was having a little difficulty meeting the gaze of his old captain, even in Jaral’s new exalted role as commander of the navy. The presence of a clearly very important Pelasian Satrap, dressed in his elegant black robes, and sporting numerous marks of rank and decorations, was more of a surprise. Ghassan recognised some of the markings that identified the officer as the commander of the Pelasian royal fleet.

“All five of you?” the governor asked in surprise. “I thought I saw one of your ships disappear in a fireball. I was expecting only four.”

Samir nodded wearily, wincing at the pain in his head.

“I beg a slight change in the contract, governor.”

The man frowned suspiciously.

“One does not usually change the conditions of a deal after it is done, captain Samir.”

“I’m aware of that, Excellency, but there are… circumstances.”

He glanced along the line.

“Captain Orin, as you astutely noted, is no longer with us, having given his life for the cause. However, we were very fortunate to have, as a last-minute ally, master Culin of the Lassos council.”

“Culin?” the governor snapped. “The man is wanted on a hundred different charges! Piracy is merely somewhere on the list. This is hardly what I agreed to!”

The target of his bile stepped out from the line and bowed slightly to the governor.

“With respect, your Excellency, you will find upon investigation, that more than half of those charges are erroneous or at least inflated.”

As the governor glared at him, he cast a mischievous smile back.

“Indeed, if you give me a couple of days, I think you’ll find that my charge sheet is almost clear!”

“What?”

Culin grinned.

“Come now, governor. You must be aware of just how many people I have among your people. If I’d wished, I could have cleared my name years ago. But I would rather it were done in a legitimate manner.”

The governor glared at him and then turned the look on Samir.

“You could do far worse, governor. Master Culin truly is a master, of many things. I think you would find him a serious asset in the admiralty. Certainly I’d rather have him working for me than against me…”

The governor’s glare refused to shift and Samir sighed and withdrew a folded and worn sheet of parchment from his tunic.

“And this particular item was not part of our agreement, but I will proffer it as an extra incentive to accept the change in terms.”

The governor reached out and accepted the parchment, his scowl remaining deep as he unfolded it and read the neat script on the inner surface.

“What is this? A list of names? Who are these people?”

Samir’s grin became darkly mischievous.

“Those are all the people I slipped aboard your ships over the last few years. You may want to honourably discharge them all, since they’ve done you no harm and served as well as any other sailor.”

Next to him, Ghassan blinked.

“You really did have men on board their ships? I assumed that was a lie to goad the council into action?” he asked, his voice hovering somewhere between astonishment and anger. “Not sure I’d have gone along with this if I’d known that.”

Samir laughed quietly.

“I like to have a cushion to fall back on, Ghassan. You know that. There was always the possibility that the governor would not accept my offer, and I had to be prepared.”

Ghassan stared at his brother helplessly as Samir turned back to the governor.

“Straight deal time, governor. You accept the five of us with amnesty into your service and I give you a guaranteed end to the pirate island.”

The governor turned and whispered something into the ear of Marshal Tythias. The two men, along with Commodore Jaral retreated a few paces and then fell into a brief whispered discussion while the Pelasian admiral watched them, an unreadable expression on his face. After a long minute, the three officers turned and strode back across to them.

“Very well. The deal is this: Samir, Ghassan, Saja and Faerus will be pardoned entirely and accepted into the Imperial navy at the rank of Captain, with their own commands, as per your original request. Our offer with respect to master Culin is on different terms, however. We offer an amnesty for all his crimes to date, but without Imperial naval enlistment and on the understanding that he ‘disappears’ as far as we are concerned.”

Samir shook his head.

“That’s…”

He was cut off mid-sentence as the Pelasian admiral gestured at Culin.

“In that case, I would like to offer a position to this man. The Pelasian navy is more than aware of Culin’s accomplishments. I think we can use you?”

Culin shrugged.

“How’s the weather in Pelasia.”

“Hot” the man replied with a tight smile. “Always hot.”

Samir looked back and forth between the two until Culin gave a small nod.

“Looks like you have a deal, governor, though I think you’ve let a major asset slip your fingers there. Be very wary of the Pelasian navy now.”

The governor nodded.

“Then only one thing remains.”

His eyes rose to the mist on the horizon and the black rock of Lassos’ peak rising from the centre. Samir nodded and turned to his brother.

“Ghassan?”

Fishing in his tunic, the taller brother retrieved the bronze disk with its grizzly needle and displayed it openly to the men before them.

“And I have your word this is what you said it was?”

Samir nodded.

“The dead man’s compass. Since the Hart’s Heart took the other one to the bottom of the sea a few hours ago, this is the last. Moreover, I have taken extra steps to cutting off any future hope of navigating the reefs. You need have no more fear of the pirate island, governor. This is an end of it.”