Chapter 38 - Insurrection
“Lieutenants, set-up defenses around the ship!” shouted Captain Nemo
“Yessir!”
The ten Lieutenants arranged themselves in a circle, straining their faces as they placed their hands outwards, and concentrating on the scene before them. In an instant, giant vortexes formed along the sides of the ship that stopped the first advance of Mamalarks that was fast approaching. The swirling tempests spun the ship in a circle as well however their practiced placement kept the ship spinning in a central point.
While the Mamalarks were kept at bay by the Lieutenants, Captain Nemo yelled out, “Bring out the spears!”
Hand-drawn carts of long, jagged steel tipped harpoons was pulled out into the center of the ship. Quickly, the Larks grabbed spears and started hurling them out at the first Mamalark they saw. The beasts wailed as they were deeply penetrated by tens of spears, forming a school of porcupines rather than angry whales. These screams preceded the ocean being stained a rosey color, turning the blue ocean into a red sea.
“Keep throwing spears, don’t stop until all of them are dead!” screamed the Captain as he leapt into the ocean with his sword drawn.
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Meanwhile below deck and within the Captain’s quarters, Cato was blocking Captain Nemo’s unwilling mother, Secuna, from leaving the room.
“I need to speak with my son!”
“I’m sorry, but Captain Nemo ordered me to keep you here.” Cato looked at her, apologetically.
Cato knew Secuna very well. Everyone of Edr knew her. She was their leader, physically and spiritually she led them. If this was the past, he asked himself if he would be able to derive the willpower to refuse this once seeming omniscient mother. The only thing that gave him the power, or so he thought, was the immense strength of Ralom and what it represented.
“I heard lots of shouting and running. What’s going on above?” Arnest asked, who was sitting on the couch unperturbed.
Cato kept his attention on Secuna and said, “We were attacked by Mamalarks, right now Capt-”
“Mamalarks are attacking because you’re a bad omen!” Secuna interrupted with her scream, pointing a shaking finger at Arnest.
“Me?”
“It’s just as you said before, there is danger following someone on this ship… and according to your prophecy I divined, the Mamalarks are targeting you.”
Cato’s face sullied the second he heard this. He grew up adhering to Secuna’s prophecies and never had she been wrong. One of the most telling of these divinations was the one done for his parents, who so desperately wanted a boy to send to Ralom. Secuna directed his mother to abide by some strange practice and to copulate on the night of a full moon, which resulted in his own birth, who eventually joined the Raloman rank and file as prophesied. Everyone of Edr village could retell a personal recounting of how Secuna’s prophecy had helped them or saved their life.
“Mother Secuna, is this true?” Cato asked.
“Yes child, it’s true. We’re all going to die if we don’t get rid of this boy.”
The room got eerily quiet while the three of them contemplating what was just said.
“Wait a moment, are you sure that’s what the prophecy foretold?” Arnest calmly asked.
“Yes, we’re all going to die because of you if you don’t get off this ship.”
“Didn’t you say that your divination said danger was following me?” Arnest jumped out of his seat and stood angrily upright. “How did that escalate to all of us dying?”
“Isn’t is obvious that when there’s life threatening dangers, that people will die?” Secuna snapped.
“Not necessarily, and even if that’s the case, your son leads these men on every expedition into life threatening circumstances. They don’t die every time they face a calamity, now do they?”
“This time is different, Neptus would not lie! All of us will die because of you if we don’t do something to change our fate!”
“Mother Secuna, I know you’re worried, but I think we should believe in Captain Nemo. Surely we’ll get out of this alive.” Cato said, rubbing her on the back. “Come with me for some wine to help you relax,” he continued, pulling her out of the room.
“I’m sorry about this, student officer Arnest. Please forgive her.” Cato smiled as he left with Secuna.
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Arnest sighed and fell back into his seat. There wasn’t much more use getting angry over the issue since she was out of the room. Also he didn’t hear any foreboding thoughts from Cato, who seemed to be keeping the angry and violent thinking Secuna at bay. With no one to argue with, Arnest remembered the beginning of the conversation. The promise of Mamalarks lured Arnest out of the quarters and rushing up top on the deck.
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“Mother Secuna, please drink some of this.” Cato offered a small cup of wine.
Secuna smacked the wooden cup across the room, the wine spraying across the floor and walls. “Cato, listen to me. When have any of my prophecies been wrong?”
Cato weakly smiled and then said, “It’s not that I believe in you... and Neptus, of course, Mother Secuna… It’s just that if student officer Arnest is right, that there is danger following him, especially if it’s only Mamalarks, then I believe that Captain Nemo will be able to overcome it.”
Picking up the cup, Cato dipped it into the wine barrel again and handed it to Secuna. “Please drink.”
Secuna looked at Cato, then the cup, and took a drink. She felt resigned to the fact that she couldn’t change Cato’s mind but then a thought struck her. “What I told that boy was a lie. The true prophecy is that he’s a bad omen and anyone who is close to him will die.”
Cato grimaced. “Why would you lie?”
Thinking fast again, Secuna said “Because Neptus told me to lie to him the first time. Neptus may not tell lies but he may change the truth. Everything he does is for good reason. If i had told the boy of the true prophecy, he may have been more on guard and we wouldn’t be able to stop this prophecy from becoming true.”
“We need to get rid of him now, before it’s too late.”
Cato’s facial expression became even more grotesque, unable to decide.
“Cato, I have nothing against the boy. This is for the greater good or our people.” Secuna added.
Cato looked down for a while and then rose his head with a sense of absolution.
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Arnest grabbed one of the many spears and tossed it out. It went fairly far, but no where close to where he aimed it, and fell short of a Mamalark that was already probably dead. He went to go get another spear when one of the Larks stopped him.
“Student officer Arnest, let us take care of this. Go back to the Captain’s quarters.” he said.
Arnest frowned, “I was given the Lark company to practice fighting monsters, not hide away in the Captain’s quarters.”
“Captain Nemo’s orders.” the Lark said, gripping Arnest by the arm.
“Where is Captain Nemo?! I want to speak with him then!” Arnest shouted.
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.”
“Why not?!”
“He’s out in the water, fighting those beasts. Said he’ll kill at least four of them. So let’s go back to the quarters before you get yourself hurt.” the Lark said, dragging Arnest away from the battle.
As Arnest struggled, a voice called out to the two of them. “It’s alright, Captain sent me to find him.”
The Lark turned around and saw Cato. “Ah, the Captain’s errand boy.”
“Yup, I’m here to take Arnest out to where the Captain is, with the help of a Lieutenant,” Cato said, pointing towards a man next to him.
“Alright, take him then.” the Lark said, tossing Arnest over to Cato.
“Thanks.” Arnest said, rubbing his arm.
“No need for thanks, let’s hurry to where the Captain is.”
A small boat was lowered into the water, carrying Arnest, Cato and a Lieutenant. The Lieutenant used his powers, derived from what one could only assume to be Mamalark blood, and deftly directed the boat through the tempests. The fight was entirely visible, even from this lower position. It seemed to be so one-sided, where the Mamalarks were just target practice for the Lark company. As the trio left the spiraling waters and stormy airspace, they arrived in front of a half-dead Mamalark.
“Is this where Captain Nemo is?” Arnest asked.
The Mamalark glanced over at the nearing boat with a death stare. It’s eye glossed over the three of them, but stopped when it reached Arnest, lighting up with an intense vigor.
“AROOGHHH” it wailed as it charged the small boat.
“Where is Captain Nemo?” Arnest asked, once again.
“Don’t worry, we’re almost to where he is.” Cato replied.
The charging Mamalark opened its giant mouth, screaming all the while. The Lieutenant concentrated, pushing the boat faster towards the beast. As they neared each other, Cato grabbed Arnest.
“Cato?!” Arnest yelled in protest.
When the Mamalaks’ fish-stenched breath covered them, Cato pushed Arnest into the mouth of the beast, Arnest’s head diving into the sharp rows of teeth first. Once landing inside, the Mamalark snapped its jaw shut and swam out into the opposite direction, screeching another tune. The other Mamalarks, who heard the call, also fled into dizzying opposite directions until none were left surrounding the Lark company ship.
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Captain Nemo was all bloody from fighting the Mamalarks head on. He had actually ended up butchering five Mamalarks already, in the short time that had passed. It was fairly easy for him to clean up the half-dead Mamalarks that were just sitting around trying to rest after being skewered by the rest of the company. When the Mamalark that he was fighting ran off, he tried giving chase to no avail, so he eventually returned to the ship. When he arrived back, he was met with grim news.
“Student officer Arnest died?” Captain Nemo asked, shaking his head. “How?”
“Mother Secuna prophesied our demise if we kept him on the ship so we threw him to the Mamalarks.” Cato said.
The entire company became quiet. Cato said “we” but in reality it was only him, one Lieutenant and Secuna who knew of the plan. Captain Nemo started to shake in anger and yelled, breaking the silence.
“WHOEVER WAS A PART OF THIS, LINE UP IN FRONT OF ME, NOW!”
Cato and the Lieutenant looked at each other and then lined up in front of the Captain. He stared down the two of them with an intense glare that one might show for a child who had committed some sort of horrible crime.
“Tie both of them up and keep my mother in my quarters. We’ll see how the Ralom courts decide to deal with traitors.”
“Captain, please! I did it for the good of Edr!” Cato pleaded.
“You may have done it for the good of Edr, but what about the good of Ralom?” Captain Nemo retorted.
“Did you think once about what might happen to the Lark company if they find out we killed a student officer who we were supposed to protect?”
Cato resolutely looked forward as he was being tightly bound, “They would understand! The Killean Isles, especially Edr, has a lot of influence in Ralom!”
“We may have influence but do you have more influence than the legendary Instructor Maest of Guardia Academy?”
“But-”
“Or how General Abdiel of the Sixth Army?” Captain Nemo said, nearing the two traitors.
Captain Nemo screamed directly into Cato’s face, “WHO DO YOU THINK WAS BACKING THAT STUPID BRAT?!”
“I-I, didn’t know!”
“I know you didn’t know, you idiot!” Captain Nemo slammed his fist into Cato’s head, knocking him unconscious.
“You didn’t need to know... All you had to do was follow my orders…” Captain Nemo murmured.