The first victory...
Brand sailed for several days along the edge of the storm; the sound of the winds was uncomfortable, but after some time, it became a routine for everyone. Lonios was practically sleeping in his armor, as per the captain's request. Now, after a week, he had summoned the knights to the bridge along the way. All the lights on the ship were starting to be turned off until only the dimly lit ones in the corridors remained intact. Upon arriving there, Lonios found Adon, Valeros, and Elisis; he brought along his two boys, Nimbus and his friend Jim.
— Gentlemen, we have finally reached our destination — the captain spoke, indicating the vast expanse of ether around the ship.
— What do you mean? I don't see anything — Adon replied.
— Of course, Sir Adon, you don't see anything. We are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by ether — the captain replied.
— Then, why did you summon us here? What does this mean? — Lonios asked.
— I called you because, if my brilliant maneuver is correct, we will see the pirates behind us... — He waited for a few seconds until lights appeared on the horizon. — Now.
— Are those lights from the pirates? — Elisis asked. — Aren't they from Peregrino, which stayed behind?
— No, Peregrino is on our right flank. I saw it a few minutes ago; they were also turning off their lights — Valeros replied.
— Impossible! How can we be in front of a ship faster than ours after a week? — Adon spoke incredulously.
— I told you we were going to make a detour — the captain replied.
— It can't be! In a week, we sailed... — Adon calculated for a moment and answered. — It was a detour of one thousand seven hundred kilometers!
Everyone was astonished by the captain's ability. Only Lonios, Nimbus, and Jim looked at each other and confirmed that Jim was right in his suspicions about the captain's route.
— Go there, prepare the men for battle. We'll catch them off guard; by the time they see us, we'll already be upon them. The night is dark tonight; they won't even see what hit them.
Everyone rushed out to inform the soldiers. Lonios recommended that Nimbus and Jim stay in his cabin and that Nimbus put on his armor. After a few minutes, they returned to the bridge, and the entire crew was positioned in the corridor, ready to attack.
— Sir Adon, everyone is under your command. — Boagrius was carrying his war hammer and wearing armor identical to the soldiers, except for a shoulder painted red.
— In position, Boagrius. Prepare the men; we'll try to ram our ships into the pirates' and then attack.
— Yes, sir. — Boagrius went down the stairs.
— How many men do we have exactly, Sir Adon? — Lonios asked.
— One hundred and four, including me, all in perfect health and ready to attack — Valeros hurried to answer. — Or one hundred and five, including Nimbus. I know you gave him armor — the boy added, in a funny manner.
— So, we have one hundred and four — Lonios said, ignoring Valeros's joke. — It will be an easy fight; our crew alone would take care of defeating these pirates. We also have Peregrino's crew; how many are there in their crew?
— Peregrino's crew is at least twice the size of ours, about 600 people. As the combat crew of a Snow-class ship is one-third of the crew, they are approximately two hundred soldiers.
— A walk in the park — exclaimed Lonios.
The lights on the pirate ship were getting larger, and only when Brand and Peregrino were very close did the pirate ship's alarm bells start ringing. It was too late; a few seconds later, Brand violently collided with the pirate ship's hull. Hooks were quickly launched from the sides of the enemy Bufo, connecting the two ships, and a few seconds later, another impact occurred. Peregrino had collided with the other end of the pirate ship. Now, Lonios, alongside Valeros, Adon, and Elisis, led the charge, running towards the pirate ship.
— ATTACK — Adon shouted at the top of his lungs.
Immediately, hatches opened on the deck, and the entire soldier garrison of Brand rushed out, screaming towards the pirate ship. They met Peregrino's soldiers on the enemy ship's deck. Initially, the pirates emerged crazily from the interior of the ship, launching an attack against the invaders. They were so fierce in combat that Valeros asked:
— Why are they so frenzied, fighting to the death?
— That's because the captains of assault ships usually order the execution of all survivors, so it's preferable to fight to the death — Lonios replied.
— My, this seems cruel. I didn't know captains did that. — Valeros sidestepped a pirate and hit him with his shield in the face; he fell backward to the ground, unconscious.
— It's not reported in the captains' log; they usually state that the enemies preferred death to surrender, which is not entirely untrue. — Lonios disarmed one of the pirates, kicked him in the back, making him fall to the ground, grabbed a knife from his waist, and returned. In a kamikaze attack, Lonios had no choice but to impale the opponent with his sword. — Curse it, they're killing each other.
Elisis, with her traditional war makeup, her face white, and black wings drawn over her eyes, took a somewhat distant position from the combat and killed everyone with arrow shots to the neck or head. She rarely missed the target, and when she did, she would wound a pirate behind the one she aimed at. Lonios imagined that she must be the deadliest fighter on Brand, as Sir Adon had warned him when he first met her.
After a few minutes of combat, the battle was won. The few surviving pirates were wounded and subdued by the garrison of both ships. Then, a very loud noise was heard. An explosion. Smoke emanated from inside the pirate ship, and the pirate captain emerged, escorted by Flavius, Portos, and Araniz, knights from Peregrino.
— We captured the Captain, but we couldn't stop him from blowing up the engine room; I think the generators are a total loss — Araniz delivered the bad news to his comrades. — We also found his diary.
— You won't keep my ship — the pirate captain spoke, heavily injured from the fight, with his hands tied behind his back. — Farewell, I prefer ether over dying like a dog.
He broke free from his captors and ran towards the edge of the ship, and when he jumped, Elisis hit him mid-air with an arrow. All the captured pirates cheered for the honorable death of their captain.
— I'm human too. Dying suffocating and melting in the ether is a horrible death — Elisis justified herself, noticing everyone staring in amazement.
— I should have let him melt. — Captain Jones had left the Brand's command bridge when everything seemed safe and walked towards the pirate ship. — So, what will we do with the survivors? — he asked, looking for input.
At the same time, he took the pirate captain's diary to examine it.
— Leave this diary with me.
— Since the ship is disabled, I suggest letting them sink with it; after all, the crew should go down with the ship — Araniz declared sarcastically to the captain, and all the surrendered pirates exchanged glances.
— I disagree; we should keep them as prisoners. When we reach Cenferum, they will be judged for their crimes — Lonios expressed his opinion.
— And where will we leave them? We don't have enough supplies to feed so many prisoners, nor do we have enough cells for all of them — Araniz replied.
— It's decided. Lock them inside the pirate ship and release the grappling hooks; they will sink like stones. — Captain Jones expressed a malicious smile to order such cruelty.
The ship was secured only by the hooks of the Brand and Peregrino; their docking balloons were not inflated. If the hooks were released, the ship would sink like a stone since its turbines were damaged.
— That's right, death to the pirates; they sank nine of our ships on the last expedition — a soldier spoke up and was applauded by others.
— Has this turned into a revenge crusade now? — Lonios asked the soldiers.
— It's not revenge; it's justice — Araniz ended the conversation.
After that, the pirates were tied up and placed sitting in the central corridor of the pirate ship, and then the door was sealed. When everyone returned to their respective ships, the hooks that held the pirate ship tethered to the Brand and Peregrino were released, and the pirate ship began to nose-dive into the depths of the ether.
As it disappeared into the depths, Lonios could hear the pirates' screams of terror and shook his head in disapproval.
This was the first victory.
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