Gathered on deck, the crew of the Golden Lily stood opposite to an officer of the Sicilian Aegis naval forces. Whaler was absent, allowed to keep the Lily stable and steady. Five soldiers stood to the side, far enough away to allow their officer to take the stage, yet close enough to intervene should any of the trader crew do anything stupid. Both guns including their lights from the frigate lit up the whole deck. The young man strolled from one person to the next, eyeing them up and down.
It gave Valentina enough time to study the people around them. Her consumption of action movies, albeit a rare occurrence, told her that the guns were probably inferior to anything a James Bond would have wielded in the 80s. They reminded her of rifles from old Western movies, far from automatics or semi-automatics. That said, it didn't mean they were not dangerous. Their uniforms were black. Long, flaring, thick pants and jackets. Heavy shoes. A tool belt. Finally a white wedge cap. Additional white details were added on shoulders and the hems of the jackets. Especially interesting was the officer's uniform, since his rank seemed to be reflected through a stitching on his left chest. Half of it was white and had a grinning face and its other half had a white frame, which supposedly was meant to be all black but didn't quite work on the same coloured fabric, that had an angry face on it. Only the officer had this mask sewn on the uniform, so it made her certain it was a version of officer stripes.
How this man strode up to her when he reached the end of the line of assembled crew spoke for itself. Royal blood and entitlement, great. The Uppersider resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The man, taller by a whole head, curled the long moustache, pushed a loose lock of hair behind his ear and sneered, "Passenger, hah, I know what this is!". "Uh, so what is it then?", she wondered. Before her brain grasped fully that it might have been a mistake, a flat hand hit her cheek and made her stumble backward.
Valentina's head spun and she groaned in pain. Why the fuck was everything in this world out to hurt her? And that hurt! Part of her wished she'd taken up some form of martial art, then she'd kick that asshole across the deck. Anger spoke inside of her, defying all strategy or tactics. A smouldering heat that wouldn't ever accept a man raise his hand and hit her. Unfortunately there were people with guns. Inside her mouth a swelling grew and the metallic taste of blood lingered. A newfound distaste for the military appeared. Of the fellow crew, no one had reacted. This made her wary, and truthfully also scared her slightly. She walked back to her spot and peered at the impatient officer with anger in her gaze.
"You will address me properly, as is fit for commonfolk. I am Captain First Grade Garton. Appropriate would also be Captain, sire. But I digress. Educating the commonfolk is such a hassle", Captain Garton sighed and pushed the loose lock of hair back a second time. Valentina squinted and tried to figure out if the man's game was just about harassment or whether he was after something else. So much time wasted on formalities, it got on her nerves.
"Ah yes, the papers of the Golden Lily check out, as far as your crew and your trades are concerned, my dear Captain Whitebeard. However I do wonder sincerely who this passenger might be? Boarded on Strife Island, no name, no origin, no records. Are you trying to deceive me, my dear Captain?", the officer turned his head and looked at the old Captain with a scowl. "It is what it is, Captain First Grade Garton. I took it upon myself to rescue a stranded civilian. Can you blame me?", Whitebeard thundered his last words at the military man, almost a challenge. "Blame you? No. I do question the motif of this young woman here. What is your name anyway?", his head turned back and tilted with a slight hint of curiosity.
The Uppersider straightened up and said, "I am Valentina Neubauer, Captain First Grade Garton". "What an unusual name, Miss Neubauer. Were you born and raised in the West?", the officer truly struggled with the pronunciation. The man had a French accent of sorts, which didn't help him one bit. On a technicality, it was correct. She was born and raised 'in the west'. So Valentina nodded in response, being truthful. "Ah, well, that explains your lack of etiquette and manners. No matter. I believe you're a spy. You will be taken into custody and handed over the the Eye of Clarity for interrogation", Garton turned on the heel, hands behind his back again and started to walk back to the gangplank. Suddenly he paused and glanced up into the darkness. Valentina tilted her head and glanced at Whitebeard who looked apologetic. Then the military man's voice cut through the silence, "And Miss Neubauer, I am an honourable man. If you have possessions you are very fond of, gather them now", his hand waved at a soldier with a gun at the ready, "Make sure she's quick about it. The rest of you is dismissed! You'll be on your way once Miss Neubauer is in our custody!".
"Go, go!", Cointoss hurried her along and the Uppersider grunted in annoyance. The soldier following her was but a boy, with keen eyes and a sharp face. While she stuffed her old clothes and single shoe into a bag, her thoughts raced. How could she get out of this mess? Her intuition was right to begin with. It all went to shit, for her! Her arms slipped into the jacket and then she walked back out. The crew had lined up to say their goodbyes, wish her good fortune, Merina even teared up a little. Cointoss embraced her in silence. Grunt whispered as they shook hands, "Manjet's Kismet, dear Valentina". Finally the Captain saw her off, shaken and sad. His lips thinned into a line and he tipped his hat, "May Gredfall's Touch stay distant. If the gods will, we'll cross paths again. Until then!". Accompanied by the soldier, she balanced over the gangplank and the frigate's engines howled. It left the Golden Lily behind, a dark, red glimmer in the distance until the lanterns on deck couldn't be seen anymore.
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***
Together with two additional so-called spies, the Marie Eclaire sailed towards Sainte Monique. A military vessel was very different to a cargo vessel run by a merchant or trader. Outside her bulkhead stood a soldier, day and night, together with two more further down the corridor. Food was delivered to her, apart from that she was being left alone, which started to gnaw on her sanity. Books on this boat were some weird dialect of French and English, impossible to figure out without a teacher. Contact with the other spies or the crew was prohibited, but someone from the crew slipped her a deck of cards. When she wasn't sleeping, she played a variant of Solitaire as the hours slowly passed by. Twice they had made a quick stop, once the Captain had checked in on her. That was it.
Without any idea how long she'd been on this frigate, they reached their destination. The young soldier accompanied her out on deck, the one that followed her under deck on the Golden Lily. It was as far as their acquaintance went. On deck most of the soldiers of the crew hurried about, dealing with their own tasks.
Multiple similar sized ships lay next to the Marie Eclaire, further down Valentina spotted larger vessels, towering over the tiny frigates. Most definitely a military port. Behind her fortifications with probable armaments circled around the port, all illuminated by many many lamps. Buildings rose up on the shore into the distance and between them, busy streets lit by more street lamps. It made her wonder about electricity costs all of a sudden. In the distance, some hills held more settlements. She could see different light colours, too. Ranging from bright yellow into darker red or blue.
Her escort nudged her on the shoulder with his hand, pushing her forward. She shut her mouth, after her jaw had fallen open at the marvels of this place. Somehow in her mind it had never been a busy, industrial age port but a dark, sad place with tons of candles and very few people. None of it hit the mark, instead this place seemed to be flourishing. Also, the Empire was at war, a good reason as any for an army to buzz about.
They reached Captain First Grade Garton and another man in a suit. A black suit with a white shirt and a white and black bowler hat. This was ridiculous, who came up with these uniforms. Fortunately her grin was unnoticed by both men, both definitely of authority here. For the first time, the Uppersider met her fellow spies. One was a pretty, tall woman who wore her hair short and had green eyes as deep as the ocean. More akin to a prize than a spy, but appearances could deceive, so she shrugged and eyed the other person. A wiry fellow, wild red hair and beard and seemed to have been in a street brawl once too often. Who were they searching for? Add herself to the mix, they probably collected everybody who didn't properly clear up during inspection. A real spy wouldn't get caught like this. A real spy had backing and a proper plan to infiltrate. This was stupid.
"Ah, finally. I can be rid of you now. Can't say it was a pleasure. Inspector!", Garton sighed, waved to the man in the suit and walked over to a soldier saluting to him. They exchanged words and went back under deck. "Now", he clapped once with gloved hands, "I am the Inspector", the man paused dramatically, and very different to Garton. He radiated danger, through authority and body language, as if he could rip anyone apart with a click of his fingers. No other soldiers remained and her fellow spies made no move on the man, he may indeed be dangerous. She decided to just follow along for now, for one she wasn't a spy, so what were they going to do, kill every random person? A shiver ran down her spine. Maybe they would do exactly that.
Sweaty palms gripped the gangplank as she followed the Inspector to a coach. A very loud tractor rumbled in front of it, a young lad reclining regally on top. Amidst hundreds of soldiers and workers, resupplying the docked ships, the group of four boarded the coach and sat opposite another. The Underside rarely saw rain, she assumed, so there was little need for a roofed vehicle. It gave her a good view of the trip. After a jolt, the tractor rumbled onward along the a gravel track that didn't quite deserve the term 'road'. Every couple of meters a dim lamp stood on the edge of the track.
"As you can imagine, you are not the first group of irregularities", the Inspector started to address the alleged spies, "and you won't be the last. Most likely you are not sent to undermine the Empress or sabotage our military or economy. Regardless, you will undergo the same interrogation and testing as everybody else". He folded his hands and glared at Valentina in particular, "We will find out why you were trying to reach French Sicily. Rest assured, there will be no mistakes".
The Uppersider heard the statement that could double as a threat. It didn't come as a surprise, but it hit the mark anyhow. Her hands were still sweaty and her gaze uneasily shifted across the barely illuminated countryside. They were still within the military compound, since further away the amount of lights multiplied. Her fellow accused didn't react at all, the woman sitting with a straight back, staring into the distance with an empty gaze and the wiry guy wore a mad grin. Amazing, those two looked like they've been caught and interrogated before. How the fuck did I get here?
Images of her execution flickered before her eyes and her breathing became erratic. The Inspector started laughing, "Good, a bit of fear will make it easier!". Valentina wasn't amused, instead considered jumping off the coach and run into the darkness. So far nothing that she had seen made her believe that they expected an escape. Absentmindedly her foot poked through the hole under the low gate through which they had entered the coach. Her eyes darted through the dark space.
Suddenly a firm grip clasped her wrist and the Inspector was in front of her face. His eyes glowed with a mad danger, "Attempting to escape will not be tolerated, Miss Neubauer. It will not end well for you!". Reluctantly she nodded at him and he let go, sitting back comfortably. Both gloved hands straightened out his suit and corrected the hat a tiny notch. She exhaled and fought tears. How did he know? Mind reading? Was that why the others just sat there? Her hands gripped her thighs, nails digging into the thick fabric of her pants. Just stay calm, she repeatedly told herself in her mind. Eventually it started to work and her breathing became normal, but her fear didn't subside. And so she waited. Something that she had done for days now.