Post by Zen on Apr 1, 2023 9:35:59 GMT -5
10th Pass, 4th Turn
Nalyra sat at the top of the steps leading up to the quarterdeck of the newly captured Bright Wing. Treyjen had already sorted through the survivors, decided who would get a chance to live and become part of their crew, and which of them would join their fallen shipmates. She knew her brother had been eyeing ships they’d taken recently, considering adding a third to their fleet, and it seemed he’d finally found one he liked enough to keep. She’d explored the ship some while her brother interrogated the former crew. It was larger than his Storm’s Eye, though not near as large as Karosh’s Sea Dragon. Which meant she probably had it in her to be fairly swift. Almost a match for the Storm’s Eye in peak conditions, she’d wager a guess. It was a fine ship, a great addition. She’d be a proper chaser and fighter, unlike the Sea Dragon.
Nalyra thought the name a bit silly for a pirate ship - the Storm’s Eye and the Sea Dragon at least carried some semblance of intimidation - but it hardly mattered one way or another what she was called. She could be renamed, but a lot of sailors bought into the superstition that it was bad luck to change a ship’s name. Changing it was a whole ceremony unto itself that Nalyra found utterly ridiculous. Invoking the sea and the four winds and offering tribute to them was nonsensical, but the average sailor wouldn’t sail on a renamed ship unless such a ceremony was performed.
Having finished with her cursory exploration, she’d rejoined the rest of the crew up on deck, taking her place on the stairs to wait while Treyjen went through the ship’s documents in the captain’s quarters. She watched the new men that were being allowed to join the crew, her gaze sliding over the new faces with vague curiosity. They were being kept together in the middle of the ship for now, but after Treyjen named a new captain for the ship they’d be split up among the three in their fleet. She wondered who would be joining them on the Storm’s Eye.
As her brother emerged from the captain’s quarters, her bright gaze flicked to him instead. He made his way up the stairs with Jusikar and Karosh and she couldn’t help but wonder who he had in mind for the new captain. Jusikar was her guess. He’d been Treyjen’s second ever since Karosh had been made captain of the Sea Dragon. It hadn’t been a forced appointment, exactly… in that Treyjen had simply offered Karosh as his choice and given the crew the ability to offer their own choices and vote, but no one had stepped up to challenge Karosh for the captaincy. She was sure whoever he chose would be accepted readily by the rest of the crew this time as well.
Yelanna sat beside her on the stairs as her brother stepped up to the railing of the quarterdeck, overlooking the deck below, and the crew fell into relative quiet as he leaned forward to speak, “The Bright Wing is ours!” A victorious cheer went up at that, and died back down soon enough so he could continue, “With her former captain… indisposed….” a chuckle went through the gathered crew, “She’ll be needing a new one.” He paused, his fingers drumming lightly on the railing as he surveyed the crew below, “And I very much intend for our new captain t’be of your choosing, not mine.” A confused and surprised murmur went up, and Nalyra shot a glance at Yelanna, wondering if she knew anything about this, but she shrugged.
He held up a hand and the murmuring fell away, “I put Karosh forward as my choice the last time we captured a ship t’keep, but this time I offer no name. Let any among you who desire the post step forward and give your reasoning, and let us vote for the most deserving! I’ll be abstaining unless the vote comes to a tie. I’ll not influence the winner. The choice is yours, my friends.”
Nalyra’s eyes shifted below, her mind whirling at this revelation. There was more murmuring as the crew considered whether they might want to be the captain of this new ship or not, until Talone stepped out of the crowd and turned to address them, “I been here from th’start’n you all know me well. I got a decent handle on navigatin’n readin’ th’winds. I been gettin’ better at readin’n writin’ too. N’I’m willin’ t’keep learnin’, betterin’ meself, t’be a better captain.” He turned and glanced up at Treyjen, as apparently the instinct to seek his approval was too deeply ingrained in some of the crew, “If y’d give me the chance, cap’n.”
Treyjen laughed lightly and shook his head, “It’s not me y’gotta convince, Talone.” He gestured to the crowd instead, “I’ll happily accept whoever y’choose, but you’re doing it on your own.”
Talone fell quiet then and murmurs spread through the crew as they considered him, and considered their own chances. Fargrim was the next to present himself, the man coming to stand beside Talone, giving a speech not too terribly different. Fargrim had been part of the original crew as well. He and Talone were actually good friends, and had been close with Treyjen long before he became a captain. Skallin joined them. He hadn’t been part of the original crew, but was one of the oldest recruits they had, and was better learned than Fargrim and Talone by far when it came to reading and writing. Rekter, the newest of all four, boasted of his kills and prowess in a fight.
Nalyra didn’t give anyone else the chance to follow Rekter, standing from her place at the top of the stairs and quickly drawing the eyes of the crew, “I’m the reason we’re pirates.” She let the statement stand for a long moment. It had taken her a bit of time to gather her thoughts, to decide just what she wanted to say, and though she didn’t actually hold out much hope of being chosen, she wanted to speak her peace at least. “In the beginning, you stole a ship because Treyjen asked you to… for me. Ever since that day… before that day… I’ve considered you all my family.”
She descended the stairs, taking a place on Talone’s other side before turning to look up at Treyjen, seeing the rather shocked and intrigued look on her brother’s face for the first time since she had started to speak. She gestured up at him as she turned back to the crew, “Most might think being a captain means being in charge, being a leader, and aye, it is that, but Treyjen has shown me it’s so much more. It’s service. It’s sacrifice. I can never thank you enough for what you did for me… but I also can’t think of a better way to repay you than by becoming a captain, so I can be part of making the decisions that are in your best interest. You have had my back for so long… if you let me have yours now, I’ll always do my best to put your wants and needs first. I owe you a debt, and it’s beyond time I begin to repay it.”
Treyjen wasn’t the only one that looked shocked. There was surprise on a great many faces. They’d never follow a woman, of that she was sure, but she’d be furious with herself if she didn’t try. And she’d never really said thank you… never told them how she felt about the sacrifice they’d made for her and Treyjen. At least they would know now.
Rekter laughed, voicing what Nalyra was sure most of them were thinking, “A woman as captain?”
Nalyra shot him a look through narrowed eyes, her fists clenching, but before she could speak or act, Talone moved and grabbed the man by his shirt, growling in his face, “If ever there was a woman t’be cap’n, it’d be Nalyra. Y’keep yer idiot thoughts’n yer dimglow head.”
Rekter growled back, “She can’t even defend herself, gotta get a man t’do it!”
“Talone! Let him go.” While she did appreciate his loyalty and was surprised by his words, he wasn’t really doing her any favors by intervening on her behalf. Talone glanced back at her, scowled one more time at Rekter, and released him. She met the man’s taunting gaze and tilted her head slightly, a soft smile on her lips, deceptively innocent, “I don’t need anyone to defend me, least of all from you, that’s just what family does for each other. If you haven’t learned that yet, you’re not ready to lead anyone.” She was more than pleased to hear murmurs of assent from the crowd, which had Rekter’s face turning red with anger.
He seemed about to argue further but Treyjen spoke first, his displeasure at the whole ordeal clear even though he was doing his best to remain neutral through it all, “Is there anyone else that would like to step forward?” He shot Rekter a hard look and the man turned away with a growl. When no one else came forth, Treyjen sent each candidate to a different area of the deck and let those who would vote for them congregate nearby. Several men, and the few women on the crew, came to stand with her, and a few more men trickled over as the crowd separated into distinct voting groups. It was more than she had imagined would join her, but it wasn’t enough.
She was surprised once more when Talone moved to join her as well, and brought everyone that had been ready to vote for him to her side, raising his voice to announce, “I yield t’Nalyra!”
She tilted her head up at him, “What are you doing…? You have a good shot, I think.”
“So d’you,” he grinned, “N’it’d be more’n satisfying t’see th’look on Rekter’s face.”
Nalyra laughed and shook her head, “A pettiness I can get behind.”
It was hard to tell from where she stood, with Fargrim and Skallin collecting a decent number of votes, but it was quite satisfying to see the small handful of men standing with Rekter, marking him as a clear loser in the race. She noted each of them, for she wanted none of them on her crew if she won. They would be of a mind with him. Her sex would earn her no respect from that group, no matter what she did.
Talone leaned in, “I think Skallin might have it.” Skallin? Ah, well… she hadn’t expected to win, after all.
“I yield t’Nalyra!” Fargim’s voice was clear and her head snapped around to find him heading toward her group, with all those who had sided with him. Well, nearly all. She noted a couple of them move to join Skallin’s group instead… but not enough. She drew in a deep breath. There was no question now who had the largest group of supporters. She looked up to see Treyjen grinning at her.
“By order of the crew, the new captain of the Bright Wing is Nalyra!” he announced, and as those around her cheered, Talone pulled her into a side hug while she laughed. It was slow to sink in, her mind in a fog of disbelief. She had won. She was the captain of her own ship.
tovaana (since Fehl would have been there to witness it, though he wouldn't have been allowed to vote obviously)
