NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 20

The First Contact...

Nimbus and Jim were in the library, as usual. The two of them went there to study every afternoon. Nimbus, by order of his master, and Jim, studied whatever he wanted. Jim seemed to be far superior to Nimbus in terms of learning. While Nimbus read a book, Jim studied three or more at the same time. His appetite for knowledge was voracious and sometimes scared Nimbus with his precise memory, even superior to Nimbus's extraordinary memory, according to Lonios. The problem with Jim was that he had a lot of theoretical knowledge and little practical experience. Jim seemed to know everything about weapons and fighting techniques, but whenever Nimbus tried to teach him something practical, his friend didn't do well outside of his theories. Nevertheless, they exchanged tips, with Jim helping with Nimbus's research and the squire trying to teach the art of swordsmanship.

Apart from that, the work was as uninteresting as ever and had only gotten worse now that the guy they hated the most was the leader of their team. Dr. Henry had complained to the captain about Ari's skills as a mechanic. Almost every time he performed his tasks, he made mistakes, once nearly condemning one of the ship's generators. As a solution, the captain went to maintenance and promoted Ari to Ensign, putting him in charge of the cleaning team. Dr. Henry didn't like that at all, but he had to comply with the captain's order.

— So, what did the old man give you to read today? — Jim asked. He had probably finished reading his volume of "Aether Monsters, Types, and Peril."

— He told me to study critical thinking: to doubt everything one reads and hears, and to get as close to the data as possible for greater precision.

— I think he's trying to teach you to be a counselor or something. That doesn't seem like something a knight would learn. — Jim closed his book, picked up the other volumes on the table, and went to the shelves to put them back where he got them.

— No, Jim, he said he's teaching me all this so I won't be manipulated by one of those unscrupulous rulers.

— If you say so, but what he's teaching you seems very strange indeed. — He emphasized the word "indeed" when he spoke. — But, changing the subject, did you hear what that idiot Ari said when the captain promoted him to Ensign?

Nimbus already had an idea but said no, and Jim began to mimic Ari perfectly.

— "Now I'm the one in charge of this crap. From now on, you'll work for real with me."

— Hahahaha, you nailed it. He's a real idiot, promoted just because he kisses up to the captain.

Suddenly, the alert bells from the watchtower rang. Bim-blom! ... bim-blom! ... bim-blom! The bell rang three times, and after a few seconds of silence, it rang three more times.

— What do you think happened? — Nimbus asked.

— I don't know, but in emergencies, everyone must assume their workstations, orders from the captain — Jim replied.

— Let's go!

They left everything where it was and ran to maintenance. Suddenly, a muffled blast almost exploded the boys' eardrums. The impact was so violent that it threw them against the walls of the corridor where they were running.

— Wow, it seems like something hit us! — Nimbus exclaimed, wide-eyed.

— Maybe we hit something.

They started running again. At that moment, the corridor was already filled with people heading to their designated emergency stations. The bells kept ringing in the same rhythm as before.

After a few more seconds, another impact, this one weaker.

— Undoubtedly, it's an attack — Jim admitted, now with wide eyes, visibly scared.