NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 13

Meeting...

The journey had just begun, and he was already tired. He had been running for several hours, making sure all the supplies were loaded. If anything was missing, it could make the difference between life and death on a trip like this. Now he lay on his uncomfortable bed, hands behind his head, examining the junctions of the metal plates on the ceiling and the rivets that held them together. He was taking advantage of this moment to rest and relax, but it didn't last long. Someone knocked on the door, and soon after the sound of the knock, a voice followed.

— Sir Lonios, the Captain awaits you on the bridge. — After that, silence. Lonios got up, lamenting his fate, but giving up was out of the question. He couldn't deny this favor to his old friend.

He composed himself and walked out through the door. This time, he just closed it without bothering to lock it. He thought he wouldn't be robbed on the first day of the journey. Then, he walked briskly to the deck. As he had a prominent role in this mission, his cabin was only a few meters from the spiral staircase leading to a panoramic room with glass windows on all sides, providing a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the ship and everything around it. On the deck was the watchtower, located at the rear of the ship, where soldiers took turns 24 hours a day to observe the wild blue. It was nothing more than a metal mast with another spiral staircase inside. The tower was also used to store the parking balloons, which were rolled up after the ship's departure. At the moment, they were inflated, and one could see the fire torches heating the air to keep this giant of several tons in the air. The watchtower rose like the tail of the great steel monster; the ship indeed resembled a frog with a tail standing, as Nimbus used to say.

Arriving in the room, he found the captain himself in the ship's command chair. But what caught his attention the most were the instruments distributed along all the walls, featuring various types of clocks. Some were completely round with hands and various scales within their glass visors, others were just a half-moon, half of a clock with a single hand. Around them were systematically placed small levers, each in a different position, some with scales marked at the base from where they originated, others only with on and off labels.

That was one of the most well-equipped command bridges he had ever been in. Undoubtedly, if one could control the entire ship from there, it explained how it had managed to escape from an entire fleet of pirate ships.

— You were the only one missing, Sir Lonios. I hope you won't keep us waiting next time. On a ship of our level, such privileges do not exist. — The captain scolded him, and he seemed to enjoy doing so.

Lonios remained silent and positioned himself next to Elisis. Adon didn't seem to appreciate it much, as he shot a fierce look at the two, sharp as an arrow. Lonios once again ignored the old man's attitude, surely it was jealousy, he thought.

— Since everyone is here, and everything is in order, I believe this is the moment to depart. — He took what seemed to be a small box with a metal cord attached to it and said, "Dr. Henry, how are things? Everything fine?"

— Yes, captain, all systems are operational and within normal parameters. — The captain received this response from another box on a panel in the wall.

— Captain Jones really likes to ask if everything is okay. — Lonios turned to Elisis and spoke quietly. She smiled and tried to disguise it by lowering her head, but she couldn't hold back for long and let out a slightly more audible giggle.

— Any issue, Sir Lonios? — the captain asked when he heard Elisis's giggle.

— No issue, captain, everything's fine — Lonios replied, sarcastically.

Elisis couldn't hold back another giggle.

— Very well, let's continue. I'll speak to you on another more opportune occasion. — The captain returned to his task of starting the ship.

— As a personal tradition, on every ship where I've served as captain, I've also been the first to pilot the ship. — Probably, this was also a way to show everyone who was in charge of the ship. — Let it be clear that I am a man of action, not a man of speeches, but this occasion requires me to explain why I am here. — At this moment, the captain turned to everyone in the room and continued, with only one hand on the helm.

— As you all know, the former captain refused to command this ship due to the great danger that awaits us. So, at the personal request of the Great Leader, I decided to act as captain again, after a period of more than a decade in retirement. But don't think that just because I've been away, I am not fit for the role. During my years of service as a captain, including here on the Brand, which, by the way, is looking like a pigsty, I was the most decorated captain in Cenferum. I never lost a ship or was overcome by any pirate or ether monster, and all of this is not because I am an excellent captain and a navigation genius but because I am tough, and due to the second-rate rabble of a crew that has been assigned here, I think I'll have to be tougher than ever. — As he spoke, he looked at Lonios with a sarcastic smile.

The knight just observed him with anger in his eyes.

— So, I want you to know that everything will be done exactly as I command. No one will have autonomy; everything that happens here, I will need to know, and it will go through my approval.