Brekker's Barrel

7-INEJ

   Talon hugged Inej's leg as she and Kaz left the cottage. Inej said goodbye and gave her a pat on the head, knowing she'd be fine with Colm.

With a soft smile on her face, she closed the door carefully, not making a sound.

   Then she looked up at Kaz. Those dark eyes never failed to consume her. The soft expression he had maintained around Talon quickly turned to one of determination. That's when she realized she had been staring for too long. They had to get away, and fast. They couldn't risk being followed.

~

   Captaining The Wraith felt more and more natural every day. By now she only needed Specht's help with a few things. The waters were like every other aspect of life; completely uncontrollable, but hers to navigate and explore. She learned to make the waves her own. 

   On the third day, a crew member noticed a fleet of ships on the horizon. Three to be exact. As they drew closer, Inej could not see a single flag on them to identify their origin or association. Not a good sign.

   On day four, the first cannon was fired. 

   It was early morning, the sun barely managing to show on the water. Inej jolted awake, already going over battle plans in her mind.

   Kaz rose almost immediately , having slept on a cot across the room. His eyes showed no surprise or worry as he slipped on his black leather gloves and gave her a nod, making his way up to the deck.

   Inej rushed behind him and took in her surroundings as she emerged into the salty breeze. Only one ship from the fleet was visible; the one that had fired a warning shot. The others must have went on, figuring it would only take one of them to sink The Wraith.

"Are they loaded?" Inej shouted at Specht, gesturing to the cannons at each side of her ship.

"Ready to go. Don't think these guys are much for negotiating."

"We will not fire unless absolutely necessary."

   Inej scanned the crew to make sure they all understood. Despite the fleet's aggression, she couldn't risk being the one to start firing, maybe even starting a war. The Kerch flag still flew over The Wraith, and there was no way of knowing which nation these ships belonged to.

   Moments later, the enemy ship drifted dangerously close. She heard crew members barking orders in Shu. A plank rose and fell to bridge the distance between the two ships, its end smacking against the railing of The Wraith. Then, two large men and a woman crossed, hopping down onto the deck across from Inej. The men were clearly bruisers, while the woman had pistols strapped to her hips.

   The woman drew a pistol from her left hip, sending a bullet zipping over Inej's shoulder. Inej unsheathed the knives at her forearms and ran at her. The rugged looking woman, possibly in her late thirties: was a good shot, but failed to match Inej's quickness. Inej tackled her full force, kicking the gun from her hand. She straddled her, holding a knife to the woman's chest. Inej hardly noticed the men brawling behind her, instead looking into the gunslinger's terrified eyes.

"Who are you?" Inej said in a cold tone.

"Who are you?!" She tried again in Shu.

   The woman said nothing. A smirk played on her rough face as she signaled to one of her companions.

   Inej felt a hard hit to her shoulder blades,  making her aware of the bruiser attacking her from behind. She spent no time driving the knife into the woman's chest, retracting her
knife to use on the fat faced man on her back.

   But before she could thrust her knife into his
gut, a cane hit his jaw. The ugly man winced and kicked Inej away from him, making her land on her rump.

   Kaz spared a worried glance at her, their eyes meeting for a split second. Then Kaz was standing his ground between her and the bruiser. Inej could practically see the intimidating look on Kaz's face.

The bruiser nervously patted around his waist as if looking for something.

"Looking for this?" Kaz teased, casually holding up the man's gun.

A look of shock took over his face before he fell, a bullet in his chest.

   Inej scanned the the deck, seeing the other man dead across the ship. Everyone in her crew seemed to be alright. That's when she noticed the pin shining from each of their coats. She walked over to the woman's body, kneeling down to take her pin.

Shining silver, it was made to look like the bones of a fish.

Inej pocketed the pin, watching the enemy ship disappear on the horizon.

Such little regard for their own. Inej thought, averting her eyes while Kaz and Specht threw the bodies overboard.