Hardly had he finished his sentence that Raphaëlle had already darted down the stairs, racing down the steps at full speed. In less than two minutes, she had reached the ground floor of the town hall, sprinting down the corridor that led to the security center.
She slammed into the door of the post with her shoulder, startling Tolas who had instinctively grabbed the handle of his sword.
"Raph'? What's wrong, are you okay?" he asked.
"We're going to have... company..." she managed to utter before taking a deep breath.
Tolas's face hardened as Skepta, unperturbed, continued typing on the keyboard in front of him as if he hadn't heard anything.
"Yeah, I figured, given what we saw on the surveillance videos. There should be over twenty pirates still alive on the island. We need to get out of here quickly." Tolas said, thinking aloud.
"Did you get anything from the cameras?" Raphaëlle asked, pointing her chin towards Skepta.
He sensed the question was directed at him and signaled the young woman to approach while keeping his eyes fixed on his screens. Raphaëlle stood beside the technician.
She could see he was extremely focused on what he was doing, but she had to admit she didn't quite understand what he was up to. She observed the six still-functioning screens in front of her, showing different scenes, and then noticed a seventh screen only displaying darkness and scrolling green lines, right in front of Skepta.
"It's the other screens you're interested in." the technician said, still focused on the screen in front of him.
The wolf raised an incredulous eyebrow. Skepta was… different. His serious demeanor and the speed with which he typed on his keyboard gave him an air of assurance she would never have believed possible.
Breaking free from her thoughts, Raphaëlle refocused on the images in front of her. She could thus contemplate the attack of the pirates from the Cormoran’s fleet in all its gruesome glory.
Despite the cameras showing completely different parts of the city, the pirates were sowing the same level of destruction, attacking citizens without mercy. On one screen, houses could be seen exploding, destroyed by the cannons of the ships that had assaulted the port. Another camera, focused on the docks, showed the pirates disembarking while their cannons continued to fire cannonballs every three seconds. There was no sound and yet she could almost hear the screams of fear from the inhabitants of Ermythie, the tumults of the weapons echoing through the city’s streets, the bursts of violence with indescribable accents that would forever mark the memories of the few survivors of the carnage. Raphaëlle suddenly noticed that she had stopped breathing and she took a deep breath to center herself.
After the initial shock, the wolf eventually noticed that some images seemed much less violent than the others, showing smaller teams moving in already destroyed environments. Some images even seemed to show Ermythians moving stealthily in the shadows of the city’s rubbles.
"I managed to isolate and loop the images from the cameras that are still standing and I rerouted what little power they have left to these screens." the technician explained to her. "On the top two screens, you have images from cameras 42 and 84, but they date back to last week, the day of the attack. That's all I managed to get from them; the cameras themselves are probably dead. On the other screens next to them, you have cameras 17, 33, 67, and 54 which are still working, but I’ve put last week’s feed on them. In a minute or two, I’ll switch back to the real-time feed; we need to know how much time we have before the pirates reach our position."
Mouth agape, Raphaëlle turned to Tolas; in the last few hours, Skepta had been in such a perpetual state of abject terror that she had completely forgotten he was supposed to be a valuable member of the team. The bosun shrugged as if that was perfectly normal, then inquired about Raphaëlle's condition with a worried look, raising his chin to ask an unspoken question. The wolf furrowed her brows and turned to Skepta, who pressed a button that restarted the cameras’ real-time feed, showing empty and destroyed streets.
"And what are you doing now?" she asked.
"Right now? I'm trying to access the video feed from the royal laboratory cameras, but they're protected by several passwords, various firewalls, and an SSO so complex it would make a mute man scream. So, our bosun’s lucky star must be working extra because without me..."
The technician finished typing on his keyboard, and in a somewhat theatrical gesture, pressed the "enter" key. Suddenly, the black screen gave way to a still image of a dilapidated room with debris scattered on the floor.
"Mister Tolas!" Skepta exclaimed. "I did it!"
The bosun approached the technician, standing next to Raphaëlle with a half-serious, half-playful expression.
"Great job, Skepta!" he exclaimed, placing his hand on the technician's shoulder and inspecting the screen. "We can confirm once and for all that Cormoran's fleet has indeed reached the lab. Do you have a way to see the video of the attack?"
It was the technician's turn to take on a somewhat serious and embarrassed expression.
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"Sorry, sir, but I can't do more than capture the real-time video feed from the lab. I'd need direct access to the surveillance post's computer over there if you want anything more. I could try to hack the whole system, but given the state of the computers... Even I couldn't do anything about it! So, unless someone knows how to use mystical arts, I think we'll have to go there directly."
Tolas nodded silently, his expression turning concerned. He could hear footsteps approaching rapidly from the entrance of the corridor. He placed his hand on the hilt of his saber and began to draw it. However, Raphaëlle suddenly raised her hand in front of his face, preventing him from acting, while she continued examining the control screens.
"What are you doing?" the bosun asked.
"It’s just Cornell, take it easy." the young woman cut in, squinting her eyes as she searched for the pirates.
"What? How..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Tolas heard the labored breath of a person who had run far too fast for their age, getting closer. Slowly passing through the partially open door of the post, Cornell didn't even try to speak and just let himself fall on his backside, panting and cursing his old bones. Tolas turned his head toward Raphaëlle, still amazed at how sharp his friend's senses were.
"Skepta." the deckhand called "Do you think you could zoom in with this camera? I think I saw a glint somewhere in the back."
Skepta raised his head to Raphaëlle with a smirk.
"You're lucky; most surveillance cameras can’t zoom in on anything and I could openly mock your lack of knowledge on the subject, but these are royal cameras..."
Pressing the spacebar, the technician zoomed the camera in on the part indicated by Raphaëlle. The rest of the crew also approached the screen, Cornell still cursing a little bit.
There were glimmers slowing moving in the background of the image, most probably torches advancing between the city’s rubbles. It was impossible to determine the exact number of people holding said torches but it looked like there couldn’t be more than six.
"Skepta..." Tolas began.
"It's camera 33, sir." The technician interrupted, displaying a city map on a new screen. "It's less than three kilometers from here, at this intersection, right there. They should arrive in our vicinity within twenty to twenty-five minutes, given their speed."
Cornell opened his eye wide, completely incredulous. He discreetly tapped Raphaëlle's shoulder, who leaned back to listen.
"Since when did tha dockswabber start’d pullin’ his own weight?" whispered the old sea wolf.
"Apparently, since he sat in front of a computer." the young woman replied with an amused smile.
"Ya think eatin’ one migh’ make it permanent?"
"I can hear you!" Skepta exclaimed, a bit offended.
"Sailors!"
Tolas' voice echoed in the security post, making them jump. Raphaëlle turned her head toward her friend, ready to see his pissed off “I’m the boss”-face but was surprised by the small smile on his face despite his serious expression.
"Even though I'm glad you’re all able to keep joking around, may I remind you that our time is running out. We don't know if the pirates are heading for this particular building or if they're just patrolling, which means our options are limited. We can either try to escape and return to the jungle, but I don't know if it's the best idea in the middle of the night, or we can try to fight the incoming ones, but I don't know if we would be at an advantage here. What do you think?"
Raphaëlle had to admit she didn't expect him to give them a choice. The bosun barely dared to look at her, preferring to observe Skepta and Cornell, who seemed to weigh the pros and cons of each decision. Skepta was the first to speak, with a clear and determined voice:
"Honestly, I'd rather avoid the pirates. I’ve checked the cameras around the city’s exit next to the jungle and the coast is clear, so to speak, if we try to make a run for it. I’m pretty sure it's our last chance to leave without being noticed. We’re done here anyway, right? Remember our mission? We need to make it back alive to the Altaïr if we want to inform HQ of what happened. Logically speaking, I really see no reason to stay and put ourselves in even more danger."
Cornell let out a small admiring whistle.
"Well, looks like tha technician has learned ta be tactful! It's nice ta hear that instead of seein’ you stammer like a kid who can't handle his rum! Ya almost got me too!"
Skepta raised an sceptic eyebrow. Cornell continued, his tone way darker than before:
"But how could we leave withou’ makin’ them pay for wha’ they did ta tha poor girl at tha reception? I can barely imagine wha’ they must’ve done ta tha other Ermythians! If we leave now, all these bastards’ll get away with it and tha’ just doesn’ sit right with me, boyo."
The images of the attack were still fresh in Raphaëlle, Skepta, and Tolas’ minds. Cornell had been lucky not to see anything on the screens but he seemed to have an idea. A shiver ran through the technician's body and his features hardened.
"You'll have to explain to me how you intend for the four of us to make them pay for anything! Mr.Tolas and Raphaëlle might have a chance, but they won't last long if they get overwhelmed by a bunch of pirates ready to dismember them or worse!"
"Okay, so ya can get your fingers out of yar ass ta put them on a keyboard but not ta defend yar life?" Cornell replied, raising his voice. "Didn't they teach ya how ta use a weapon when ya joined the navy, runt? I'm startin’ to think we migh’ have been better off bringin’ a computer with us. Less whinin’, more doin’.
"I hope you fight as good as you run your mouth, you relic!" retorted Skepta, visibly trembling. "Because otherwise, you won’t fare much better than the Ermythians and believe me, that's not what you want! I wouldn’t wish what they’ve done to my worst ennemy!"
Cornell was about to retort, but he stopped at the last second when he truly observed the expression on the technician's face. It wasn't just fear that he could see; he could feel that his whole body was tense and that whatever he might have seen on the cameras had actually scarred him. The old sailor still noticed that there was one person who hadn't said anything since Tolas's statement. He turned to Raphaëlle, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"Little wolf?" Cornell called.
The young woman immediately looked up at the old sailor and he flinched. There was something in her eyes that he could not describe but which left him a bit speechless. After a few moments, he regained his composure.
"Wha’ do ya think we should do, little wolf? Even though I'd love ta make those bastards pay, I have ta admit Skepta migh’ not be wrong. We’ve all said our piece ‘cept ya, so... what's the best thing ta do? Fight or leave?"
The three men were now turned toward Raphaëlle, waiting to hear her decision. Her silence was more than unusual. But after what felt like an eternity, the young woman's eyes finally lit up. She had made a decision.