After that, Nimbus slept again, the sleep was good because it had been a long time since he enjoyed the comfort of a bed. The night passed peacefully; Nimbus was truly tired and only woke up the next day. When he opened his eyes, Jaime was already awake and getting dressed for work. There were also several other crew members walking back and forth inside the room.
— Good morning, Nimbus, ready to go to work? — Jaime asked.
— Well... morning — Nimbus had swollen eyes from sleeping a lot, and waking up was a bit difficult.
— So, ready to go to engineering?
— How do you know I'm going there? — Nimbus asked, surprised that everyone already knew about it.
— Is it because you're in the engineering crew's accommodation? Besides, I saw you and Sir Lonios talking to Dr. Henry.
— I see, so it's obvious that I'm going there.
— Yes, indeed. If you want company, I'm going there too; my shift starts now.
— Sure. — Nimbus got ready quickly, remembered that carrying weapons inside the Brand was not allowed, took his sword, which he had hidden under the mattress before sleeping, and stored it in the chest at the foot of his bed. He saw a jumpsuit similar to the one Dr. Henry wore; he took it from there, changed clothes, and to be sure, locked the padlock and took the key with him. After getting ready, he went with Jaime to engineering, and along the way, the boy explained everything to Nimbus.
— This accommodation in front of ours is the other accommodation for the engineering staff, the one in the back is for the soldiers, and the one in front of this is for the general services personnel.
— General services? — Nimbus asked.
— Yes, carpenters, craftsmen, and some specific services.
They reached the door at the end of the corridor and entered engineering; the noise was still deafening. Several men walked back and forth, performing their tasks.
He said goodbye to Jaime and went in search of Dr. Henry. He found him talking to some men, apparently giving instructions. When he spotted him, Henry said goodbye to the men and walked towards Nimbus.
— Good morning, kid. I hope you've rested because today will be a long day — he spoke, and Nimbus could barely hear due to the noise.
— Yes, Dr. Henry — he remembered that the day before he didn't want to be called sir.
— Well, let's go then. — He started walking and signaled Nimbus to follow him with a hand gesture. They walked a bit and reached a room. There were several small lockers stacked on top of each other. The man approached one of them and said:
— Nimbus, this is your locker. Your belongings will be in there. Take a look.
Inside, hanging on a hanger, was a sleeveless leather apron, some T-shirts, a pair of boots, leather gloves, and two earplugs.
— Got it? Put on the apron and follow me. — He waited for Nimbus to get dressed and then led him.
Nimbus wondered what kind of work he would be doing. Would he be a mechanic's assistant and learn to fix the Brand? He was apprehensive. Walking a bit, the man took him to a place where Jaime was with the same uniform as Nimbus, all covered in oil, holding a broom and some dirty rags. Dr. Henry called the boy when they arrived.
— Jim, come here — immediately, Jaime stopped what he was doing and approached the two. At that moment, Nimbus noticed that the boy's nickname was Jim.
— Yes, Dr. Henry — he promptly responded when he got closer.
— Nimbus will work here with you in the cleaning team; show him everything and how the job works, alright? — and, turning to Nimbus — Nimbus, you'll work in the cleaning team; all newcomers start here, it's a very important job. Without the cleaning team, no one could work, so do your best. Every day, report to me, and I'll assign your tasks, okay?
Nimbus turned pale when Dr. Henry mentioned he would work in the cleaning team. He had hoped to learn something important, but now it seemed all was lost. Why didn't Lonios speak to Henry to give him a more important role? Surely, it was a punishment for sneaking into the ship.
— Yes, sir — Nimbus replied, forgetting the recommendation not to say that to the Doctor.
— Until later, then. When you finish what you're doing, come find me; I have more tasks for you.
Suddenly, another boy about Nimbus and Jaime's age arrived. He was of average height, neither fat nor thin, with brown hair and eyes.
— Good morning, Dr. Henry — the boy spoke and stood there, staring at the engineer as if he didn't have a topic to continue the conversation.
— Good morning, Ari. What do you need?
— Well, I wanted to wish you a great day, sir. — Nimbus and Jaime, who were just listening to Ari's conversation, exchanged glances.
— And did you come here just to tell me that? Get back to work and get out of my way, kid. — Dr. Henry walked away towards his office. — They only send brown-nosers to my engineering department. — His voice could be heard before it was drowned out by the deafening noise of the place.
Ari, who was standing there, looked somewhat embarrassed in front of Nimbus and Jaime. Without saying anything, he left, and Jaime commented.
— That guy there is the son of some big shots from Aldair's government. His father spoke with the captain, and he started directly as a mechanic, but he's terrible, never studied anything, just messes things up. Still, the captain likes him. Whenever he sees some bigwig here in engineering or anywhere on the ship, he drops everything and goes there to suck up to them. The captain loves that, but Dr. Henry doesn't give him an inch.
— Yes. — Nimbus replied, feeling down.
— I guess you didn't like being in cleaning, but it's a good job. With time, if you do the job well, you can be promoted to a mechanic assistant, but on the next trip, of course. — Jaime noticed Nimbus's sadness.
— I guess I really didn't like it. I thought a squire would have a more important role on a ship like this. — Suddenly, Nimbus thought and decided to ask Jaime. — So, if I'm in cleaning, what's the job of Sir Adon's squire?
— Oh, you mean the other squire? He's a Second Lieutenant in the security team. — Jaime answered with disdain.
— In security? Second Lieutenant? What rank is that? — Nimbus asked incredulously.
— Something below Lieutenant, or something like that. I just know he bosses the guards and has two officers above him who boss him around.
— He's the chief of the guards? — Nimbus got even more upset with Lonios's likely punishment. This was totally in line with the knight's character.
— That's right. Now let's get to work; come here, and I'll teach you everything. — Jaime showed Nimbus the tasks they would perform.
Basically, it was keeping the engineering department clean, removing oil stains from the floor, cleaning the generators, the walls. It was a hard job, and there were about fifteen boys of Nimbus and Jaime's age doing the tasks. At the end of their six-hour shift, Nimbus was completely covered in grease and oil, and Jaime showed him the communal bathroom where everyone showered after their shift. After cleaning up, he said goodbye to Jim and went to meet Lonios at the gym for his daily training.
— So, Nimbus, what's it like working in engineering? — the knight asked with a little laugh, probably knowing the answer he would get.
— It's awful, sir. Are you punishing me? Sir Adon's squire is the chief of the guards, and I'm in cleaning! — Nimbus was furious, and Lonios had given him that intimacy to speak his mind.
— Cleaning? — the knight laughed. — I'm sorry, Nimbus. I didn't know where Dr. Henry would place you to work. Believe me, it's not a punishment. I didn't ask the man to assign you to any specific role. But this can serve as a lesson in humility. Just because you're a squire doesn't necessarily mean you should be treated specially. In everything we do, we start from the bottom. Through our dedication, we gain more responsibility and consequently more important roles. For instance, I am the third officer of the Brand. Above me, there's Sir Elisis, who is the second officer, Sir Adon, the first officer, and Captain Jones, who is in charge of us all. To make the ship run correctly, we follow a hierarchy here inside. — Lonios sat down with Nimbus as he spoke about the ship.
— You're below Sir Elisis? But she's been a knight for much less time than you. — Nimbus was now calmer and noticed that Lonios, too, was being assigned and placed in a lower position.
— Yes, in a way, Sir Elisis is my superior hierarchically, but I don't mind. I am the third officer, but that doesn't mean I'm not better than Sir Adon or even a better captain than Jones. Understand?
— Yes, I understand. We shouldn't worry about what we're doing right now. I'm not a cleaning guy. I'm temporarily working as a cleaning guy. I'm better than that. — Nimbus was now a bit sad for Lonios.
— But enough of sadness, let's train. — The two went to the training ground and began practicing swordplay. They were alone, apparently only the knights used the gym at that time.
When they finished the training, after two hours, Lonios instructed Nimbus to go to the library to deepen his knowledge of economics, as he wouldn't have the opportunity to teach him personally due to his duties. He also mentioned that the Brand's library was one of the most comprehensive he had ever seen on ships.
Nimbus walked through the corridor and saw Ari chasing the captain to talk to him. When he reached the elder's side, he greeted him and started saying something. Nimbus didn't understand what it was, but the captain seemed pleased. Nimbus decided to continue on his way and went to the library.
Upon arrival, the large metal door that closed the place was open. As he entered, he noticed that the place was huge, about the size of the gym. All its walls were lined with books, and there were several shelves forming corridors and many tables with chairs for studying, as well as some sofas. The place was empty; apparently, not many people were interested in books on that ship. However, Nimbus spotted a familiar face – Jaime was sitting at a table with a notebook and at least three small stacks of books on the table. He seemed to be studying something, and Nimbus decided to see what he was learning.
— Hey, Jim, studying?
— Yes. — The boy didn't even lift his eyes from the books to look at Nimbus.
— But what are you studying? — Nimbus insisted.
— Naval history, construction, operation, ship maintenance, navigation, damage control, mechanics... — Jaime still didn't look at Nimbus, just reading and taking notes.
— So, you're interested in ships? — Curious, Nimbus asked.
— Actually, my dream is to be the captain of a ship like this, and since there aren't many books on the subject in Cenferum's libraries, I study here. — This time Jaime took his eyes off the books when he noticed Nimbus was interested.
— Captain? But you work in cleaning. How do you plan to become a captain there?
— I had to take the cleaning job to be able to study. If I learn enough about ships, when I return, I can apply to work on the bridge of another ship. You just have to prove that you know about the subject and be selected. There aren't many people who want to work on ships, you know?
Incredible, it seemed that Jaime was on the Brand just to study. Nimbus's view of the boy was starting to change; that's why he worked so hard.
— Wow, you're thinking about the future!
— I have a goal for my life. I will be a captain one day. — Jaime spoke with conviction. Apparently, few people took him seriously.
Nimbus realized that he himself didn't have a big life goal.
— And you, what's your dream, Nimbus?
— Mine? I'm already living it. I'm training to be a knight someday, traveling on a ship, and I'll get to see the world. That's all I wanted. — Nimbus replied confidently.
— Okay, but is that all? Being a knight is just the beginning. What will you do after becoming one? — Jaime asked.
Nimbus didn't know how to answer; he had never thought about it. Maybe following the knight's code would be enough, but he had no clear answer.
— I don't know. — He replied softly.
— Well, then, choose a bigger goal. It's like navigation; if you don't know where to go, any place will do, and any place can be a bad place for you. — Jaime seemed wiser than he appeared.
— You're right. I'll set a goal for the future, but I still don't know what it will be.
— That's the spirit, Nimbus. It's us. — Jaime raised his hand for Nimbus to slap, after a few seconds of confusion, Nimbus hit the boy's hand.
— I have to study; I got a task from my master.
Nimbus left, grabbing some books on economics and started reading. Sometimes, he glanced at Jaime, who was focused on his studies, and at that moment, seeing the boy's determination, he knew Jaime would achieve his goals someday.
But Nimbus was intrigued: What goal would he choose for his future?
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