Destiny: Book of Light (8 page)

The next day a beautiful blue morning was sitting up waiting for them to awake. As Sean stirred the captain went up to the bridge to relieve Tim.

"About bloody time, I was nearly dreaming with my eyes open. I think I can see the end of the pass on the horizon, you see?"

"Ya Tim, I see. Thanks for taking the shift, I needed a bit of time for myself."
"No hassle cap, wake me if you need me."

The ship was usually run like clockwork, with regular shifts alternating between on watch, on duty or off. Now with the recent loss to the crew the shifts were going to be very widespread and the general chores cut back. They would all have to pitch in just to keep the ship running, and at that, no matter how much work they put in, they were going to be seriously affected by the losses. There was no option but having to pick up more crew members at Woshell but they didn't have enough money to pay for a crew. Without them they would never make it to Brima but more immediate problems lay on the horizon. They were going to be passing through the Denshir Islands. The fiercest mercenaries, criminals and just general thieves called these islands home. This was going to be like hopping on one leg, as fast as you can through a minefield, while trying to balance a bath of acid on your head.

The captain huddled in a corner, nursing his usual strong, black cup of coffee while wallowing in a cloud of smoke from his cigar. His face looked wrinkled in concentration, as some of the others tried to busy themselves, to take their minds off the anticipation. The air was close in the living quarters and the tension could be cut with a knife. James attempted to build castles out of cards which seemed like an impossible task with the currents rolling the ship about, but he told the others that was the challenge in it. Sean sat in a corner smoking one of the captains cigars and wondering why all captains he knew smoked cigars. The others had a game of closest to the wall going. This was where a line was drawn three meters from the wall and each person had a go of flicking a coin and try get it closest to the wall. Closest took the pot.

"Looking at the charts, I reckon our best bet would be to take the long way around. Head out west, then south and then back around east. That way we avoid most of the main islands and hopefully most of the trouble. What du think Sean?"
"I think whatever you think is best, you are the captain, cap."
"That's right, I forgot." They glanced at each other and had a little chuckle.

The horizon became dotted with islands as the ship slowed coming out from Dills Pass. Silence was in the air, with nothing but the soft splashes of the sea against the hull to be heard. The sun was high in the sky, casting its usual blue tinge on the world and blurring the line between the blue sea and the blue sky. Only the islands showed that there was any partition, the majority of which were to the East, indicating the path to the West. The bodies spread out with the seas currents as if they were all heading their own way.
With all the worrying passing in vain, the Denshir islands passed without incident. The stories that scaled the world were of the dread of the islands and not the pass. After what they had been through in the pass, they were expecting all out war here. But the seas were calm and not a soul was to be seen or heard. There was always the smell of death in the air though. The tough, pungent fear being carried on the low breeze and straight through the hearts of those onboard as if the very souls of the dead were trying to claw their way back to life. But their executioners were not to be found.

Sean was on lookout duty up the crowsnest of the ship, which was purpose built in the center ship because of lack of a radar. In fact nobody had seen a working radar since shortly after the fall of Riona. He was half an hour away from the shift rotation when it started to rain. A few clouds had begun to build over the previous couple of hours and it started out as a slight drizzle from the north, increasing to a torrential downpour. With it, the seas welled up, tossing the ship on the backs of massive waves. The sky went dark in the face of the oncoming storm, and in the distance lightning began to flash and thunder rolled, mimicking the movement of the waves. The ship was not far from land now, but in this weather docking could be risky.

The seas surrounding Woshell were famous for their dangerous rock clusters. These were relatively easy to navigate with calm seas but were like playing Russian roulette with five shots in rough weather, not to mention the lack of a full crew. Lack of a care in the city meant that the old lighthouses were never reliable, so the captain thought it best to ride out the storm on water rather than risk docking.

Massive waves crashed over the sides, and everyone stayed off deck. This type of weather was pretty much a constant on this side of the world so there was no telling how long the storm would last. The captain kept close enough to land to be able to make a move should any lull show itself. The storm raged on. Two nights in, and lights from another ship were seen to the East. It appeared with brief sightings between the arches of the waves, that the ship was heading to them. It was now a matter of choosing between two evils. Navigate the rock enigma or hope the ship was friendly. The ship seemed the safest option with the deadly cargo as a safety net. As it approached nobody could be seen aboard.

The ship itself was a tanker but much more heavily armed then the Angel. Though they were in range, the weapons did not fire and there appeared to be no movement onboard. A light could be seen on the ships bridge, but nobody was sure if what they saw was the outline of a person, or just a shadow. Just outside of what would be boarding attack range the ship stopped coming towards them and all lights shut down. It stayed there for the best part of an hour and all concentration onboard the Angel was watching it. At the same time another ship with no lights whatsoever approached the Angel from the West. This ship had more the remanence of the old navy destroyers. By the time anyone had noticed this ship was well within attack range. Both ships were about 50 meters from the Angel, but the Angel stood fast.

No one was sure why, but both ships just left. The captain said he figured it may have been their reluctance to try and escape that put doubt in the minds of the would be attackers. But nobody could be certain. Once again they were alone in the raging seas. The shock of the second ship made the captain decide that it would be safer to risk the rocks before any other attempt at attack was risked.

"Right lads, next time we might not be so lucky. We're gona try guide her to land. What I want is everybody on look out for rocks. The more eyes the better. I want you Sean up in the nest with the search light, and the rest of ye up at the bow. There are more lights down in cargo, so bring them up. We're goin to need every bit of light we can get. Now what I want is anytime ye see a rock put yer hand up in the opposite direction. I'll be able to keep in contact with Sean on the two way but I will only be able to see ye Got it?"
"Yes Cap," they announced in staggered unison.

The ship pushed on through the rough waters. Spray was launched into the air from rocks on the surface. There was a path marked with buoys but a close call showed that it couldn't be trusted. With the harbour in sight the worst was coming. So many rocks were directly in the path of the ship that it seemed that those on the bow were just waving to someone off shore.

Sean roared down the two way, "Starboard, port, starboard, starboard port!"
But it was in vain. The ship hit on the starboard side. The crushing sound of metal screeched through the storm beaten coast. Water poured into the hull.

"All hands below, we've hit, we've hit!"

Angel barely made it. They tied up at pier 9 with the ship barely afloat.
The captain stayed aboard after hiring various dock workers to help with repairs. They got to work like a team of surgeons, as the rest headed their separate ways through the city after been given 24 hours shore leave.

Light flickered from the candle lit windows down an old cobble lane. Sewerage ran the length of the street along shallow channels on either side of the pathway, which often blocked up sending sewerage out over the path. The smell was intimidating. Sean wasn't sure why he decided to go down that particular
lane, but something tickled his curiosity.

The buildings were very old in this quarter, the oldest in the city having been built well over 400 years before. Little work had been done to maintain them, as this was also the poorest quarter. Little town houses hugged together as if for warmth as cloths lines scaled the streets and rubbish spilled from the dilapidated homes.
There were very few people around this late at night. Sean must have been walking for the best part of an hour and only passed three people. Pleasantries were exchanged.

He came to a tavern at the end of a flight of rugged old steps. From the outside it looked like just another town house with the exception of the Ale price list on the window, but on the inside it spread out well. Sean was convinced it had taken space from the house next door but couldn't be sure as it spread out at the back aswell.

Smoke poured out onto the streets as soon as he opened the door, and just as equally soon, a shout came through the smoke to shut the door before the smoke escapes. Sean knew the smell well. It wasn't tobacco it was fleck leaf. Common around these parst with the hippies, it had been quite some time since Sean had smoked any himself. He walked blind through the smoke with his hands out in front of him trying to feel his way to the bar. To make matters worse the lighting was quite poor, Sean guessed to add to the effect.
He could hear whispered voices coming from different corners of the room as if they had just changed topic as he entered. He found his way to a bar stool and sat down.
"Well foggy in here ain't it," a short blocky bar man asked through bloodshot eyes and a cheeky grin. The man appeared to be made from grease. Sweat poured down his face and as he spoke it sprayed from his lips. His hair was deep black and set as if in stone by very expensive smelling hair wax.

"Ya looks like ye've been working on it all day."
"Aye, sure this is all we ever do, so what will it be there stranger?"
"Can I get a beer, a fog, and the names Sean?"
"Right Sean, I'm Jesuth, well might I recommend our house beer, and house joint?"
"Sure, sure." Sean was already feeling light headed from the smoke in the room. His eyes were irritated too, going bloodshot before the fleck leaf ever kicked in.

The ale was dry, but it didn't matter. It was the first taste of ale he'd had in longer than he could remember. The fleck leaf was more potent than Sean knew possible, as was the rumours of Roshell. It was said that they genetically modified the fleck plant using technology that nobody else in the world had cared enough about, to put the time into.

An hour passed and Sean was well on his way. The pints were going down easier now and the smoke clouded his mind giving him a break from the many thoughts screaming in his head. It had been a while since he had smoked too, and he did have to fight paranoia just a little. It was a common side-effect with fleck leaf but the last time Sean had to deal with it would have been when he was a boy. After stocking up on the leaf he decided to retire to a quiet corner of the tavern after spotting a guitar behind the bar.

It was an old classical guitar, showing many signs of it's age. Despite this it was well looked after and had a fresh set of beautifully woven nylon strings. The melodies flowed from his fingers out into the dense smoke of the room. The guitar had always come naturally to him, and when he was stoned he felt more in tune with the guitar itself, being able to feel the way a song should sound and improvise on demand.

Pretty soon a crowd had gathered around him. Not your usual rowdy bar crowd, more a group of people appreciating the stoner music. They were in a daze and following the path that he was laying down from his own daze. It became a kind of group understanding. He noticed her among the metronomic nodding of heads. Her hair flow was untamed covering most of her face, but the one eye on show was what caught Seans attention. For a second in the haze of a world that he was in, he nearly had forgotten what had happened, but after the epiphany of reality he decided she could have been her twin.

Losing himself in the thoughts of her, he snapped a string. The crowd muttered in disgust at the silence now filling the air as they dispersed back into the murky shadows of the smoke filled bar. Sean stayed where he was, watching her going about her night. She seemed to have a glow about her that captured the attentions of all in the bar. She had to fend off the young males in the bar, but did so in such a soft manner that they all left smiling.

He could picture the words coming from his mouth, a simple "Hi my name is Sean, might I enquire to yours." And then somehow slowly work out if she knew anything about their similarities. But when he finally made it to the stool next to her, steadily being watched by all eyes in the room, it all went wrong. His hands trembled as memories rushed through him in her presence. She noticed. The curious eyes turned to pity as they thought him sinking in the never ending battle to woe Vulita.

He spoke, "Hi, my name is yours, might I enquire to Seans?" She left out a giggle, "Do you want to try that again?" Her smile warmed Sean as she spoke.
His head went down as he spoke, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to....ugh.....ah."
She helped him out. "It's fine Sean, my name is Vulita." Sean was lost in her eyes as she spoke, and after.

She extended her hand confidently.
Sean considered taking it, and kissing it so soft that he'd tickle a birds feathers. He extended his hand and then pulled back abruptly. His head went back down. "The reason I am speaking to you tonight, is you bare an uncanny resemblance to someone dear to me."

"Oh my." She was taken back.
"You must mean my sister Sarah?"
"Yes, so you're her sister?" Sean's eyes lightened.
"Yes, we are twins. Times were hard for our parents and they had to send me here to live with my Aunt, god rest her soul. I had kept in contact until I heard of the death of our parents and since then I have heard nothing from her, is she here?" Her eyes darted around the room.