149. ROYAL KIRGHIZ NAVY: RUKU,

We got a good head start, but those Galley ships were still chasing us. We couldn't see them because they were over the horizon, but twice a day, the same bird would fly over and mark our position. They were following. Esgyn found us on the second day. I only saw him once, though.

The Monster Core ran out of energy too fast, and we were reduced to an hour and a half of speed and then two and a half hours of limping along with only the main sail. Suzy was patching the mainsail, but we had given up trying to jury-rig a new foresail. Even with my Inspiring Aura, it was too much for her Slave reduced Mental Agility.

Thorsson mostly took over the helm, while Abigail and I directed Robert, Suzy and Knut in keeping the ship going. Susy was stuck on the ground until her leg healed. My foot and ribs were the first to be healed, thanks to Wai for the boost in my Regeneration.

It was a hard slog, day after day. Snatching sleep where we could and getting only one hour off in four, continuously. The enchanters were no better and were getting more and more worn down. Our time for the engine powering the ship was slowly getting shorter. On top of it all, I had to catch fish to supplement our food.

We had two positive things. Firstly the weather didn’t spring any nasty storms, and secondly, Robert had the Navigation Class, so he was able to keep us heading in the right direction. It was over three weeks before we were sighted by a task force of six ships from the Royal Kirghiz Navy. We were quickly boarded by Marine Commandos. Fortunately, I had trained some of them, so things went smoother than they could have.

Within a day, we had the task forces carpenters, sailmakers fixing the ship, and a new Navy crew aboard with supplies. We then gained a two-ship escort back to Obalno, which still took another three and a half weeks.

In Obalno, I was greeted by Sione. The first thing I did was release the slave bonds. As a slave owner, I could pick up a bond with an unbonded slave, and I could release my bond, leaving the slave open to be bonded to someone else. The Military had trained Psychologists to pick up slave bonds and help them live as normal a life as possible. Military Psychologists picked up Robert, Suzy and Knut from me and the three from Thorsson. Abigail went with them as she would need the training to help her understand and work with her father and grieve her mother's death.

Thorsson was whisked away and buried with the Navy think tanks as they drawled over the ship with an engine. Thorsson had made a lot of the mechanical parts for the engine, although he had no more than a general understanding of the enchanting.

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I settled in for a multi-day debrief with the navy command. They were ecstatic about me bringing the Seabreeze in. A working engine and the Blacksmith that created most of it were a huge boon. The engine cost was high, both in construction and in running it, but they were hoping the Think Tanks would be able to improve the design and bring the cost down.

Gwaed was a problem. They were pleased to hear about the plague in Northport and will take advantage of that. However, I think they would have preferred me to have killed her. They brought in a specialist and went over all my interactions with her with a fine tooth comb, to build a psychological profile of her. They are glad she is in the Empire, but there is the possibility the empire might recruit her, which would be a disaster. The conclusion was she was probably too independent to join the empire, but that did not preclude the possibility of them using her.

Her four bonds were of particular interest, and, no, I didn’t know how many she could have. I did know she had picked up the Multi-tasking Skill. That got people worried. A skill that requires over 60 in Mental Agility means she is a creative genius. Only Master Craftsmen would have that. The fact she is mostly bonded with scavengers is a big insight into her personality. Being a scavenger means she will feed where the opportunity arises, and the Empire is bound to make an opportunity available if they can. If they realise who they have.

Naval Command really would have preferred me to have killed her.

Naval Command was also very keen for me to reenlist with them. No, thank you. I am going south to rejoin my new clan.

It was a week later when I finally emerged from the Naval base to spend a few days in Obalno to relax. As I left the base, the gate personnel were treating me with even greater respect. I was just a civilian now, but I was treated with unusual respect. Apparently, I was the Marine Commando who single handily stole a ship with secret technology right from under the Empire's nose. My reputation had risen a few more notches. I am guessing in a few years, the story will grow, and I will have single handily destroyed their navy fleet while stealing their secret ship. Maybe I will have won the war for them if the bards get hold of it. I await to hear the story with bated breath.

I booked into an Inn and visited a shipping agent, and booked passage on the fastest ship to Kirghiz I could. It would leave in a few days. I could have gotten Sione to get me there on a military courier ship, but I did want to break ties with the military and travel in comfort and preferably unrecognised. I booked as a passenger only.

I treated Wai and myself to a number of luxuries in those few days. We deserved it. Sione met me as we were boarding the ship to Kirghiz. Sione made a half-hearted attempt to get me to re-enlist. He knew I wouldn’t. With more interesting news, apparently, Wiremu and Tabitha had arrived in Kirghiz with quite a bang. The fascinating part was that the big stir was actually caused by Modrica. They have come to the attention of King Thorbjørn himself. His news was a week old, but they should still be there by the time my ship arrived. I have a lot to look forward to.