Death Dealers

The Voyage continues

Esrea watched as the city and her love vanished from view. She knew that Gareth had already gone, he used less conventional travel. Her marines still stood behind her. She turned from the retreating city and walked to the captain's chambers.

The captain was leaning against the table looking at a map when she walked in. He and Nicoli were discussing the new route they would take to Southport. They had reprovisioned while she was on trial, but they were still down marines. He looked up as she entered.

"I'm not sure that I've thanked you for saving the fleet and myself." He said, his voice still betrayed the pain he was still in.

"No thanks is necessary, I was doing my duty." She replied. She took two steps to him. "Allow me to reduce your pain," she said holding out her hand.

The captain gave her his hand and she ran soothing ki through him. He sighed and stood straiter. "Thank you."

She nodded. "I was told that you wished to see me." She stated.

"Yes, I am back on my feet, mostly. So I am assuming command of the fleet. Nicholi will be my second, and I'd like you to take his previous post. The Marines respect and answer to you anyway. While you were with your husband, I spoke with the healers. They agree to let you take this post. It was mostly Constance, but she does command the healer on this ship." He said.

Nicholi took over. "You will be responsible for the health and training of the marines and for training your healers. Your day will be more full than mine was, because you will still train with Constance also." He added.

"If we suffer another attack, what is my function, I have been ordered not to kill again?"

"That was also discussed. Your job will be with the triage units taking the wounded to treatment. You can move through a battle and your armor will protect you. The healers also pointed out that while they loathed fighting, rendering a person unconscious is not against the oath." The captain said.

***

She fell onto the small bed in her quarters. It had been two weeks since she took over her duties and already she was exhausted. She looked at the bucket of water that she would use to bathe. Oh, how she wanted a true bath! It wasn't that training was going poorly. She was taking to the Marine's martial arts quite well. They filled in some gaps in Chi-con-lo-ee, but she was training for a total of four hours a day and that wasn't natural. That didn't count the time she spent studying herb lore. Constance had given her a personal acolyte skilled at herb lore and the girl followed her around discussing the pros and cons of different plants. It saved time, but it was draining.

She lifted her hand and the bucket of water slid to her, its water already putting off steam. There were advantages to being the vault. She unclasped the neck of her healer's robes and let them pool around her waist. Her bath was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come." She ordered.

Her acolyte slipped into the room. "Mistress, you are needed below decks. There's been an incident."

She sighed. Used her magic to dry her skin and pulled her robes back up, clasping them at the neck. She stood and walked from her cabin.

Two marines were being held in the brig. Both were quite battered, but their wounds were healing. That was a good sign, they were becoming proficient in Ki-lom-ee. Constance was already here, but she was not seeing to the wounds.

"These two had a disagreement including you," Constance stated.

"Elaborate." She commanded.

"He struck me and broke my arm because I said I wanted to bed you." The larger marine said.

Esrea looked to the other man.

"The way he said it, made you the subservient partner. That is why he got struck." The man said.

"And rightly so." Nicholi stated as he walked down the steps to the brig."In the Navy, we have a policy. You may not allude to certain acts when discussing a commanding officer." Nicholi stated.

"If she were an officer she'd know this." The larger man said.

"You think I don't have rank." Esrea said as she touched the serpent coiled around her arm. Her hand moved to the crest of house Kilmora that hung between her breasts. "Is that the issue?" She paused. "You don't recognize the rank of my husband."

The Marine took a step back in the cell.

"You will stay in the brig, when you are not swabbing the deck, until we reach Southport. I could care less about what you would like to do to or with me. But dishonoring my husband will not be tolerated. You will not be excused from muster. You shall report to muster in shackles and you will swab the deck in shackles."

She turned to leave. "Constance see to the wounds of the smart one. Let the other suffer for his stupidity."

***

Dawn found her on the observation deck going through her morning routine. She felt Nicholi before she ever saw him. Her hours of practice and teaching every day had enhanced her senses to points beyond what she could find in history. She knew that part of this was the vault. Imperial history didn’t know too much about the sensory abilities of the vault, vault members had always died before divulging information, thus the new members of the vault were learning it for the first time, and at times it was hard to separate yourself from the vault. We are one. It whispered.

She had turned to face the stairs to the observation deck before Nicholi appeared. The navy referred to the stairs as a ladder, but that didn’t make it so. You had to climb a ladder, you walked upstairs.

“Do you have room for another student?” He asked, a broad smile on his face.

Her only reply was moving into a defensive stance. He glanced at her curiously and she realized she had moved into a marine stance. “You are making the stances your own. Are you sure you’re in the right calling?” He asked as he took his own stance.

“Don’t start that, I’m confused enough as it is.” She said as she deflected several blows.

“You don’t seem confused to me...It’s like you are holding yourself back. You are a healer, but you are also a leader and a warrior.” He said as he danced around her.

“Nichi, I can’t think like that, not yet...I’m a healer, I am simply teaching others to survive.” She said.

“Nichi...Is it?” he asked with a smile.

Her jab got through his defenses and wiped the smile from his face. “Damn, you’re getting good, when we started we were equals, I need to put in more time.”

“Less w*****g would do the trick.” She quipped.

“Do you have a problem with my s*x life?” He chuckled.

She shrugged, “It’s not healthy.” She replied honestly.

“I just need a good woman to straighten me out.” He said as he launched a roundhouse at her.

She caught his leg and tossed him to the ground then pinned him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, she did like the games they played. She held him for a minute, “maybe if I get extremely bored…””Esrea!” Someone shouted.

“Duty calls.” She said and let him regain his feet.

***

Constance was waiting for her under the stairs, she was smiling. “I’d thought I’d save Nicholi from being raped.” She quipped.

“Raped...he is more than willing at times I am so tempted, he moves so much like Gareth.” She replied.

“Most people trained to be death dealers would move similar to Gareth. My Nephew would have been above most, but his father had other plans.”

“I need to understand what makes the nobles tick. The testing interests me.” Esrea commented.

“That is why I called you, for an hour a day, around this time, I want to start going over the sacred histories and the rules that govern the high lords of our lands. I support you and Gareth, I think it is time for new blood, but if the two of you are going to win, you need more than allies, you need knowledge. Gareth knows a lot of what I will teach you, but he isn’t here and he doesn’t like the prophecies so he dismisses them.”