Child of Hades

11. The struggle is real (Leo)

For the first time in my life, I felt unsure of what to do. What kind of captain was I going to be? How was I supposed to prove myself? I had never been in charge of anyone.

I walked around in the cockpit nervously. I had aced my curriculum with grandeur, every textbook discussing the path of a Lex officer was familiar to me. There were no guidelines for what a captain was supposed to do during a routine patrol flight. Was I supposed to be with the crew? Should I be talking more? Should I be talking less? How would I lead these people into the journey as a unity? Was there anything I had forgotten to do?

After a few hours of pondering it crossed my mind that I had never been so far away from Lukra and my sense of uncertainty increased even more.

I went to check our machinery for the 3rd time since the take-off. A pleasant smell was coming from the kitchen. The distraction was soothing. I took a sneak peek through the door to watch my personnel hurriedly preparing our lunch. Was I supposed to validate their work somehow? They were dressed in very simple dark brown uniforms, spoiled by the steams and splatters of the foods they prepared. I could not think of any way to address them.

I moved to the training room. Some of my soldiers were there, practicing shooting skills and melee attacks in simulations. They did not notice me, nor did I want them too. 

I decided to read a book to pass time before lunch. Mr. Heydrich had reminded me of a Lukrain classic that I had been meaning to read. It was in the ship's library, so I accessed it with my techdevice. I sat down in my room, determined to find some relaxation.

A sudden noise surprised me, followed by green gas spreading quickly inside my room. I tried to hold my breath, my eyes were tearing. Someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to fight back when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. I lost consciousness.

When I woke up my hands were tied behind my back. I was inside a ship, but it was not Jussum. The cockpit was small. The ground and the walls were mostly white, shimmering in all colors of the rainbow as I looked around. A plain wall was separating the cockpit from the rest of the ship.

A pale female elf, about 1,55 meters tall, with long white hair and black clothes, was standing close to me. She seemed busy operating the ship.

I moved myself in a more comfortable position.  She immediately turned around to observe my movements.

"Great. Now you can provide proof of life. Smile for the camera.", her voice was mocking. Deep anger started growing inside of me. That arrogance. I would make her pay for that.

I felt giddy and my head was heavy. Through heaves of dizziness I saw a hologram of my father on the ship.

The elf was arguing about something, she kept suggesting numbers until my father finally responded.

He spoke loud and clearly: "I will not pay anything because you have not captured my son. My son would not be captured by common pirates.", he paused to look at me.  "I don't have a son anymore."

The hologram closed. The elf was swearing, using words I had never heard on Lukra. She turned around and eyed me grudgingly. 

"Believe it or not, I really don't want to do this.", she said as she unsheathed her gun.

I heard footsteps behind me. Someone entered the room and the elf quickly put the gun into her pocket as if to hide it. I turned my head. There was a human boy, I could only see him from behind. He had brown hair and white skin, judging from his voice he was probably a young teenager. "I can help.", was the first thing he said. The elf disagreed vehemently, and the two started arguing.

I felt a rush of adrenaline burst through me as I realized this might be my one opportunity to escape. My hands started searching my pockets to find the small flat e-block I had gotten from the academy. It was sewed into my pockets so the elf might not have found it even if she had searched me. 

Bingo. I pulled it out of my pocket slowly, watching the elf carefully as I lifted my backside off the floor to reach for it.  A deep breath escaped my lungs as I sat back on the floor. She was not looking, her voice shrill and loud as she tried convincing the child to get back behind the barrier.  I pushed the cold, flat device against the handcuffs around my hands. The e-block moved up and down searching for the lock as I tried to keep the rest of my body still, my face expressionless. The elf lifted her hand to commandeer the boy back to the space he had stepped out of. She pushed him gently, he yelled. My hands were free.