Chapter 19: Discord and Concord
The atmosphere of the control room of the Star Surfer was bleak, and utterly tense; a far cry from the communal joy that happened just the day before. The loss of Lieutenant Nia Ennis was felt keenly by everyone, and not even the rescue of another Lieutenant—Ricardo ‘Rick’ Smits was enough to offset her loss. Rick himself was silent as he sat down on one of the tables. Next to him was the lionesswoman Asmunikal who had a look of awkwardness within her—she was, of course, utterly grateful that her beloved Ricardo was now with her, yet she couldn’t bear to show her joy, especially not in front of Abel who had just lost his own beloved. Standing at the corner was Melia; the Shark Princess had been sullen ever since Nia’s kidnapping.
But the focus of the meeting were two figures: the Lion Chief Muwatalli and Captain Abel Ramsey, who both had the strongest of feelings when it came to the topic of the conversation:
“Gah,” the Lion Chief said with roar. “I cannot believe you would even consider this offer, Abel of Ramsey!”
Abel’s arms were crossed, as he maintained a firm look. “It’s the only way for us to rescue Nia.”
Muwatalli waved his arm with force. “Nonsense! We have our lion warriors with us…”
“… and just one airship,” interrupted Abel. “I’ve seen Cain’s report on the Floating City of Ra. It would be suicide for us to attack it with a single ship.”
It was at this point that Melia came between the two arguing men; she looked to Muwatalli, eyes pleading, and said, “Please, Chief Muwatalli. Nia is up there, imprisoned. I know what Cain did to you and your people, but please put that aside. For Nia….”
And the sound of Muwatalli’s roar rang through the Star Surfer so hard that it felt like the ship was shaking. Melia’s eyes widened, and everyone else looked to the Lion Chief in shock.
“Never!” Muwatalli said, his fists tightened. “I will never forget my brothers and my fellow lion warriors who were slaughtered at the hands of Cain. I will never forget my pain, not even for Nia of Ennis.”
As Melia heard this, a drop of tear flowed through her cheeks, before it became a stream, as Melia’s cry could be heard throughout the dining hall.
Abel, moved with pity and sorrow, hugged Melia tightly.
“There, there, Melia,” he said.
Melia sniffed as she remained still in Abel’s embrace.
Now as anger had replaced sorrow, the UEC Captain looked to the Lion Chief, his face displaying his full fury as he spoke:
“Why did you do that?”
But far from intimidated, Muwatalli remained defiant, as he shook his head. “You do not understand, Abel of Ramsey. You do not understand the pains and the sorrow I have felt.”
“I do understand,” Abel snapped. “But frankly, I just don’t care!”
As Abel said those words, he paused, and the entire room as well. The UEC Captain immediately regretted his words, yet he felt he could not fall back from them.
Muwatalli roared once more. “You dare, Abel of Ramsey? You dare mock the sacrifice of my people?!”
Abel countered, “You made Melia cry!”
It was at this point that Rick and Asmunikal intervened. Rick held his hands up in front of Abel, Asmunikal bowed before her brother Muwatalli.
“Whoa, whoa, Abe!” Rick said. “Please calm down.”
Asmunikal nodded. “Brother, please.”
“You need to be the bigger man, Captain…”
“… he did not mean what he said. Surely you know this, brother.”
Thus, an internal fight amongst the crew of the Star Surfer was avoided, just barely. Yet both Abel Ramsey and Muwatalli had yet to reconcile. And with Cain’s offer still looming at the horizon, time was running short.
***
Just at the outskirts of where the Star Surfer had parked was a row of tents and sleeping areas, set up by the freed lionmen prisoners who had set up camp. The atmosphere was busy as warriors busied themselves with hunting, gathering, and even cooking. Abel had wisely decided to hold their meeting inside of the Star Surfer, meaning that none of the lionmen were the wiser of the conflict between their chief and their new Sethite ally.
Abel kept on walking until he finally left the camp, then stopped by a tree, perhaps an oak tree. It overlooked a small valley amid a natural carpet of grass; it was an unusually fertile area of the Dour Plains. Abel knew he must have gotten far from the Star Surfer and the camp, meaning he must be alone.
Or so he thought.
“Hey there, Abe.”
Abel knew that voice anywhere, no mistaking it. As he turned to face his friend, he couldn’t help but grin, despite everything.
“Rick,” the Captain said. “What are doing here? Have you been following me?”
“Obviously,” responded Rick. “Can’t just have the whole thing end on that. Not with Little Miss Generalissimo still needing rescue.”
As he said this, Rick motioned towards the ground beneath the tree, asking Abel to sit down. Abel did so, and Rick followed suit. And now under the shade of the oak tree, Rick and Abel were silent for about a good minute.
It was Abel who broke the silence, “Rick, I’m… sorry you had to see that.”
Rick shook his head. “Never mind that, Abe. I have just one question.”
“Shoot.”
“Little Miss… I mean, Nia. You love her, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Abel said. “I love her.”
Rick’s eyes widened. “Well that was easy. I thought this’ll be like… pulling teeth.”
Abel couldn’t help but smile. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“No, no,” Rick said, putting his arms up. “It’s great actually. Now I know the Chief will hear you out.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked Abel.
Rick put a hand on Abel’s shoulder as he spoke, “It’s very simple. If there’s one thing that drives the Lion Tribe, it’s love.”
“Love?” said Abel, his eyes narrowed. “I thought it’d be pride, or rage.”
“Their rage is born of love, Abe,” responded Rick. “The reason the Chief cannot forget those slain by Cain is because of his love for them. For his brothers, for his people. The reason he gave me blessing to marry Nike is because he saw her love for me.
“And that’s why I know he’ll come around to rescuing Nia, because you love her. And the Chief will see that.”
Abel was stunned silent as he heard Rick’s explanation. It sounded… fanciful, to say the least. Yet he knew Rick wasn’t the type to speak carelessly, not when it came to the matters of the heart.
The UEC Captain got back to his feet. As he looked towards Rick still sitting, he spoke, “I’ll talk to Chief Muwatalli.”
Rick nodded. “Good luck.”
***
Abel made his way back to the Star Surfer as quickly as he could; after rushing through the camp of liberated lionmen warriors, he went up the steps of the airship, entering through the door…
… only to find Chief Muwatalli standing in front of him.
But far from angry or even aggressive, the Lion Chief looked unsure, bashful even.
“Abel of Ramsey,” he said. “I was wondering if…”
“… you want to talk?” Abel completed; he didn’t have to wait for an answer. “Let’s go to the control room.”
And so, the two men went to the control room, and inside they were greeted by the sight of the lionman camp right outside of the window. Both Abel and Muwatalli looked out at the busy makeshift camp and pathways in front of them. It was dusk now, and the prisoners looked ready to take part in a celebratory feast, no doubt due to their newfound freedom.
“Looks like they’re having a good time,” Abel commented.
“Indeed they should,” responded Muwatalli. “They have just earned their freedom. More importantly, this is the site of the old capital of Mufasalla, the one that the Conquering Cain razed to the ground.”
Abel crossed his arms. “Hmm, and we just landed on top of it.”
“It is the Lord’s will that you did,” Muwatalli said. “As I am sure that it is His will as well that we crossed paths.”
There was then silence, comfortable silence, as if it was better not to talk at all, and instead look upon the camp and not just its past as a thriving village of lions but perhaps its future as well.
Muwatalli spoke again, “Abel of Ramsey, I wish to… apologize. I did not know, or rather, I was blind to your love for Nia of Ennis. Had I known that she was your betrothed, I would not have been so careless with my words.”
“B-betrothed?” Abel said; he figured this must have been Asmunikal’s doing, whether out of misunderstanding or… something else, remained to be seen. “N-never mind.” The UEC Captain shook his head. “If anything, I’m the one who must apologize. I have no right to diminish your anger against Cain.”
“Even so, your understanding of the situation is completely correct,” responded Muwatalli. “We cannot attack the hawkmen’s floating city with just one airship. I do not want to admit this, but we need the Conquering Cain’s assistance. It was his airships, more than anything, that defeated the Lion Tribe.
“So you have my blessing for this alliance, much as I want nothing more than to tear him to pieces.”
Abel nodded, his face showing gratitude. “Thank you, Muwatalli.”
The two men shook hands.
“But of course,” Abel continued, “you still need to apologize to Melia.”
“That was the first thing I did,” Muwatalli said, his tone defensive.
***
It was now nighttime at the Star Surfer. Abel was ready to make his diagnostics check, but with Nia not around, the task of the navigator instead fell to Rick. But Rick would not even let the Captain take his seat.
“I got this, Cap.”
“But…”
“Listen, Abe,” Rick said. “Strictly speaking, you only really need one person to do this. Don’t worry, I’ve looked through the systems earlier, I can handle it. You need to go get some rest.
“Remember, you’re going to meet the Emperor of Kruptos himself. He’s not the type of man who will let any weaknesses slide. You’ll need to be at your A-game.”
Abel nodded. “All right, Rick. You win.”
The walk towards the officers’ quarters were quick and uneventful. Captain Abel Ramsey was ready to call it a night. But as he was entering his own quarters, he reached into his pocket absentmindedly… only to discover Nia’s medic gun inside; Abel soon remembered how soon after the battle, he found it just lying on the dirt next to a dead hawkman—the implication was clear. So instead of going to his quarters, Abel went across to Nia’s. He opened it, expecting a completely empty room, only to gasp in shock to discover a person lying on the bed…
“Melia?!”
The Shark Princess sat up. “Hi Abel,” she said, smiling.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just… hanging around. Since Nia’s not here right now, I thought I should use it. You know, until she gets back.”
Abel chuckled. “Then you won’t be sleeping here for too long. We’ll get Nia back, sooner rather than later.”
Melia’s eyes widened, her eyes showing hope. “Really?”
“Really,” Abel said, nodding. As he said this, he ruffled Melia’s hair. “Now get some rest, okay.”
Then, almost suddenly, Melia jumped onto Abel, forcing him to catch her. Now safe, nestled in Abel’s embrace, she said, “You’ll save Nia, won’t you, Abel?”
“Yes,” responded Abel. “You and I both, and not to mention Rick, Nike, and Muwatalli.”
“Don’t forget Turtey.”
“Of course.”
It took a while, but Abel finally got Melia out of his embrace, and tucked into bed. Right before he left, he remembered to place the medic gun on the table next to the bed. The sight of the Shark Princess sleeping soundly next to the very device that had saved her life was not lost on Abel; it was fitting, for lack of a better word.
When Abel finally lied on his own bed in his own quarters, sleep came quickly, quicker than he thought it would; it was as if a huge burden had been lifted away from him, and he was ready for the next challenge, the next mission:
Rescue Lieutenant Nia Ennis.
To be continued…
Thanks for reading. If you love my work, consider supporting my work through one of the following:
Buy my books:
Tip via Buy Me A Coffee.
Bitcoin: bc1qydz05wsjqmuhqv6yu6zr0l45wewzhgkg96xqt0
Thank you in advance for your support, it keeps me writing and helps me considerably. Germanicus Publishing is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
