NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

Chapter 31

The Price of Victory...

Elisis was in the infirmary, it was the least she could do since the last time Nimbus had helped her when she got injured fighting the ether monster.

The place felt like hell; nurses ran back and forth, taking care of the wounded, and many soldiers moaned and screamed in pain, waiting for attention. Nurse Cristiane couldn't manage to organize the entire nursing staff of the ship to attend to the most severe cases. At that moment, Dr. Leonardo was examining Nimbus, who was unconscious on a stretcher.

— What's wrong with him, Dr.? Is he going to go blind?

Dr. Leonardo examined Nimbus' eyes, illuminating them and looking through a lens.

— I don't believe so. It seems he used his vision very intensely, causing some small hemorrhages in the capillaries that supply the eyeballs. A few days of rest, and he should be able to see normally.

— Hemorrhage? What could have caused it?

— I don't know; I've never seen anything like it. But under the guidance of Sir Lonios received from the soldiers who brought Nimbus here, we just need to sedate him a bit and let him rest. But if you'll excuse me, I have more severe cases to attend to. He'll be fine.

Noticing that everything was okay, Elisis left the infirmary. She had men to command, and the ship needed to be put in order.

She couldn't believe what had happened. Sir Adon had been the greatest hero she had ever seen in her life, and she had never witnessed anything more spectacular than his last charge against the enemy bridge. It was then that she approached the corridor leading to the bridge ascent, and in the middle of it were Lonios hugging a Valeros she didn't recognize. He looked like a frightened child crying on his father's shoulder. To get noticed, she began to quicken her steps in the corridor, and the two separated.

It was at that moment that she realized Adon was very important to Valeros. He had raised him since childhood as a squire; his love was now devastated. The relationship between knights and their masters was completely different from that between an Amazon and her squire. We were raised to be weapons, tools; our masters had no compassion or connection with their squires. If one didn't survive, it was just a matter of going to an orphanage and getting another disposable girl for the mission. This was even true for Elisis, who was a squire to her mother, who never showed a smile of affection to her.

So, even without knowing what Valeros was feeling and without saying a word, Elisis approached and hugged her love with all the strength she had, even getting emotional with the fragility that this man, who seemed so strong, was expressing now.

At that moment, the alarm began to sound on the Brand, two tolls; more pirates were approaching. Still a little shaken by that moment, Elisis ran to the bridge and, upon arriving there, looked out the window.

— Report! — It wasn't the time for emotions; it was a time for action. The girl ordered her subordinates with a commanding tone; now she was the officer in charge of Brand's security, the greatest responsibility she had ever had in her life.

— Commander, we have only thirty percent of our operational forces. We can mobilize about fifty percent of our soldiers if we count the less severe injuries. — Lieutenant Ka responded.

— Brand has several hull damages, giving us an eighty percent structural integrity. In terms of ammunition, we have seventy percent of our reserves, which would give us a few hours of combat. — First Lieutenant Wenra addressed her request.

— Then mobilize the Brand, Lieutenant; we need every man.

— Commander, you don't understand, we can't fight against that ship in our current situation. The enemies are not yet incarcerated, and we can't leave them unattended. In that ship, the danger of them taking it and having two ships fighting against us is high. — Lonios intervened, despite having resigned from the position.