Stuck with a smaller cabin than on the Golden Lily, the deck of the cargo vessel, which were little more than the two gangways around the citadel, became a good place as any to hang out. Madison, Rain and Valentina each found their own rhythm and places to spend time between the distributed chores.
Reel and Madison took turns on manning the bridge, Rain and Madison shared maintenance duties, whereas the latter focused more on the engine and the former dealt with electricity and plumbing. Janet had taken over the kitchen and managed to create a diverse range of dishes despite the lack of varied ingredients. To her dismay, Valentina's mismatched skills got her the ungrateful duty to clean. Everything needed cleaning. It sparked a new appreciation for Merina and how well she had managed that duty on the Golden Lily. Dishes were handled by a rotation and Janet, who simply commented, "If anyone messes up my order, you'll skip dinner!". That had the crew pay attention and learn her order meticulously and to the letter.
New clothes allowed everyone to laundry their old, smelly ones. Somehow the new set was warmer, more comfortable and definitely more versatile than her previous ones, but it'd stand out in many ports. The Uppersider had made a decision to mainly wear the dull zealot dress, that was what Rain had named it amongst other less appreciative words after receiving it, on board.
Flipping up the collar against the cold, Valentina sat on a makeshift stool she had built out of three panels of wood and a couple of sturdy, long nails. It sure beat sitting on the cold, metal gangway. Her spot was near the bow beneath the bridge. Darkness surrounded the ship as far as she could see. When Damascus vanished behind them, the amount of islands decreased in number rapidly. They hadn't seen another source of light in two days. Both navigators took the Mercurial slightly further north than necessary. A corridor without islands was marked on the map, hopefully enough to let them slip by most other ships, especially of the military type. To further decrease their chance of detection, none of the bridge or deck lamps were lit.
A human's eyes got used to the darkness eventually, realising it wasn't completely dark. Just mostly. There were enough gaps between the welding of the metal and the bridge might not be lit, but some instruments still had a dim back light. Boredom and the lonely hours forced her to face her reality. Slowly, surely, the Uppersider worked through her loss of Italy and her friends again. Through everything that had happened to her since falling through Glint's Gate. It still brought her to the brink of crying, less so than two days ago. She sighed and pushed her hands further into the pockets in her jacket, keeping them warm. The chill barely registered now, already used to it. Since their departure from port, she'd mostly kept to herself, working through her issues. After listening to everyone else rant about the so-called fanatics during dinner, she'd even decided to skip mentioning her exploration of the Western Syriac Cathedral and her meeting with Francis. Somehow trust was hard to come by, and it was a lot easier with Whitebeard's crew.
***
After dinner and the dishes, Reel took another shift on the bridge and Rain assessed a small leak on the piping of the bilge pump. To Valentina's surprise, Madison wandered outside with her, bringing her own chair with her. Somehow they hadn't talked much and rarely ended up free at the same time. She had noticed, since their departure from Sainte Monique, the navigator was much more present during conversations while the engineer inside Madison only came out when discussions became heated or the topic turned toward a technical challenge. She appreciated the consistency, not having to deal with two people during meals.
"Not tired yet?", she asked the bald woman next to her after they had found a comfortable position and the shuffling had stopped. Madison wore a woollen hat against the chilly night. The shrug was mostly a sound, "I sleep well enough lately". "That's good, right?", the Uppersider whispered loud enough to be heard without alerting any potential dangers around them. "Yeah. No dreams when it's this quiet", the response kept them in silence for a few minutes, then the navigator spoke up again in the trademark higher pitched voice, "So you really came through Glint's Gate?". "Sure did", sounded defeated and contained part of the pain she'd been working through the days. "What's it like? Where you come from, I mean?". Valentina heard the curious, calm voice and had to smile, "Different. For one there's no eternal night. We have a sun, up there in the sky. It wanders across the firmament, bestowing the earth with light and warmth". "You miss it, huh?". Her face turned soft and so did her voice, "Of course I do. I miss my friends and family, my world, my job". She pulled her legs close and rested her chin on top of the knees. Above them was only darkness, no matter how much either of them stared into it. The sun didn't magically appear. How unfortunate.
"What about your family? Rain mentioned that you have folks down in the Duchy", she asked and turned her head. Madison's profile hardly outlined from the background. She heard a sigh and a soft clonk when the navigator's head bumped against the metal behind them. "Sometimes I miss 'em. They disowned me when they found out about my, uh, condition. Can't blame 'em I guess. I don't have ill wishes, with the war I just home they're fine", Madison explained, air exhaled into a cloud of mist. "I regret that happened to you! Don't lose hope, sometimes life throws you a curve ball", the Uppersider tried to cheer the woman up. Her hand reached over, to lightly squeeze the woman's thigh, to show her compassion and support, but Madison was quite twitchy when it came to physical contact. After hovering the hand for a moment, she pulled it back. Stupid me, can't even take a risk. A frown appeared on her forehead with the thought.
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"I don't know what a curve ball is, but I think I know what you mean", Madison chuckled. Valentina decided against explaining the expression. It wouldn't help the woman. A long pause followed. "We'll reach North Cross tomorrow, better get some sleep soon", the schizophrenic said and pushed herself up. "North Cross? The port on the north end of Shallow Straight?", she asked, peeking up at the navigator. "Yeah, hope we'll get some intel on sailing conditions south and some supplies". "Guess I'll find some rest soon, too". "You should. Night Valentina", Madison said her good night with a smile, voice soft and kind. The darkness allowed everyone to rely less on their eyes. Her head perked up again, "Night".
***
Contrary to their previous visit to a port, with everyone having their jobs, the contributions came in all round the table. Janet took notes of stock and required supplies. Valentina asked for vinegar and sodium bicarbonate. That caused some raised eyebrows. Vinegar they also had on the Golden Lily, but natron wasn't widely known it seemed. "It's an ingredient for baking, causing bread or cake to expand? When dissolved and mixed with water, it can remove smell from clothes and help with cleaning certain dirt from dishes or softer metal", she had explained and the group had spent some time discussing the issue. The common word to use was soda, but Valentina wasn't sure it was the right compound. She'd have to try it to find out.
Both Reel and Janet would go ashore again to buy supplies. Madison would stay aboard and Rain and Valentina were to gather intel. Mostly regarding the state of the Shallow Straight, but also the progress of the war and fleet positions. While it was unlikely that a simple inspection would get them caught, too many ships and captains were sailing for the Aegis and they were just a small group of escapees, yet an inspection would unveil certain irregularities. Most prominently the question as to what they were doing, sailing south without a contract with the Free Trading Company and without cargo or enough money to buy any. None wanted to be caught and so they decided to let caution prevail.
"Quite something, this sodium bicarbonate that you seem to know", Rain almost choked on pronouncing sodium bicarbonate, but managed decently in the end. The Uppersider snickered and fell onto her cot. The muscular man had his arms crossed while leaning against the open bulkhead. He mumbled, "Sorry, Miss Smartpants, not everyone had this, what did you call it, University degree?". She smirked and shrugged, "We learn these things in school, Universities build on top of schools with what they teach". "Right, Smartpants it is", he grinned at her and showed her a row of yellow teeth. Tooth hygiene was severely lacking here, not everyone saw the benefits of a toothbrush. Luckily in this department, the Underside wasn't too far off and provided similar amenities than those she had been used to back in Italy.
"Any tips for finding the intel?", she wondered and slipped out of her jacket. Underneath she wore two shirts and a bra, enough to keep her warm outside. Immediately goosebumps appeared on her arms. The inside of the ship was definitely warmer than outside, but was still chilly. He grimaced, "If we're lucky, the Sicilian Aegies has a presence. We'll exploit that. Sailors like to drink Whiskbrew and wouldn't mind having a go at a pretty girl like you. We could also try the temple...". The man's eyes trailed to the left, probably a memory appeared in his mind. "You want to use me as bait? No thank you! I'd rather try my luck in the temple. Don't they have a church, too? Damascus had one", came her counter, getting her opinion about being used across. The flat look Rain gave her was priceless. "The fanatics don't get to build their churches everywhere they want! Lucky for us! They're bad news! North Cross has two temples, if my memory doesn't betray me, one to Hess and another one to Umira. We'd probably have more luck with Hess". "Why not Umira?". "The mother doesn't like wars. Even gets angry". The Uppersider interrupted him, another frown appearing on her face. Too many frowns lately, shot through her mind, but she tried to push away the distraction. "What's Umira's deal? Marriage? You call her the mother", she didn't get the gods yet, all of them seemed to have weird responsibilities. "Ah, right. Most people pray to Umira about their harvest. Farmers and the sort. The mother, uh, yeah. You'd get that if you saw her statue. Umira statues are quite something", he explained and blushed. "Quite something? Don't be so mysterious, Rain! I don't understand anything", she chuckled and leaned forward. "Right", he scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable with the question, "She's a mother-to-be, naked and quite beautiful, too". Ah, that's what it was. A naked, pregnant woman. She shook her head and sighed, "Alright, I guess now I see why asking a priest of Umira wouldn't get us anywhere". "Yeah", he agreed. The blush slowly faded from his cheeks, but he excused himself quickly.
Valentina slipped out of her boots and fell back on her cot. So they had to find soldiers or priests. That made some sense, but wouldn't merchants have a better idea about blockades and fleet presence? And their information would be far more recent. Maybe she should poke Janet and Reel about it, they would be dealing with merchants. In the end she decided against it. The type of traders they would encounter were locals, not the sailors they needed. Possibly Rain could go drink with the military and she could try her luck with the merchants and priests? Hess protected traders, chances were a visit to the temple would net her two birds with a single stone. A smile appeared on her dry lips. The last question remaining was whether she should prepare a letter to the Inspector. There was nothing to report now and whether they'd take the Shallow Straight south depended largely on the amount of supplies and the reports from the south. It didn't strike her as strategically sound to write the letter now. Then she drifted off into a shallow sleep, dreaming about temples and churches, where people in long robes sold blessings for a hefty sum. The dreams soon faded and her sleep became less disturbed. The Mercurial would arrive soon, everyone that could rested in their cabin. Everyone except Madison, who commanded the ship and followed a tricky route without landmarks further southwest.