PoraBora

Chapter Forty-Three

Miimikani took her seat at the whalebone table, between the new Navigator of War and the sullen Navigator of Fowl. The Navigator of the Docks and Navigator of Events both raised their eyebrows to see her but said nothing.

Nobody said anything.

They had been called, so they had gathered. Nine Navigators in total. Some of them Miimikani had worked with before. The Navigator of Events, Lekea, often sought her help when there was something to celebrate. They didn't work closely: Lekea would say there was to be a feast, and Miimikani and other landed would work diligently to make it happen.

The Navigator of the Docks was a man called Bairaba. Infrequently did Miimikani's odd jobs take her so close to the boats, but there were mornings they did, when someone was needed to help carry in fish or carry out patchwork materials. There weren't enough fish, anymore.

Neither asked what she was doing there, perhaps because the others didn't question it.

The Navigator of Foreign Affairs sweated, wiping down his forehead with a kerchief.

Miimikani didn't blame him. Akapuan warriors were stationed at the doors, and more stood at the head of the table where two empty chairs awaited the summoners.

They didn't wait long.

A firm man led the way, with a torso so flat an eye could have poked out. Dark stains lined his rib cage, matching him to his warriors and suggesting what his history had been. He would be the new naval commander, thought Miimikani. To replace their own.

To replace the one who had died.

"Good," grunted the man. "You're all here. First order of business is the restoration project. We've been--"

"Now we can take just a minute, can't we, to introduce ourselves?" It was the second man, who was slower to his chair. He smiled at the Navigators. Miimikani's first impression was that he was short, but it may have been only that the commander was tall. He did not have any oil markings or tattoos, but his smile seemed just as permanent. It wasn't so large as to be startling, but it unsettled Miimikani anyway. It was too soft, too gentle to belong to a conqueror. His eyes made their way across the room. The naval commander's made their way across the ceiling.

"We're not going anywhere, are we?" the second man asked the first. "So there's no need to be in such a hurry."

The commander glared at him. His brow was perfectly pronounced for the job, as if he had been chosen simply for his ability to smolder.

"Perfect. I am called Wehaeha, while my friend here is Halamu."

Halamu's look did not seem to agree with everything Wehaeha said. "Done?" demanded the commander. "Li'hili avoided too much damage, thankfully, so my men are almost finished--"

"Halamu," said Wehaeha, touching the man's arm lightly. "Give these Navigators a second of your time, please. You and I will be staying here. Don't you think it's best we take the opportunity to get to know our Taipalan brothers and sisters?"

Halamu's face visibly stiffened.

"Your enthusiastic new naval commander," said Wehaeha with a flourish to his partner. "And of course, that makes me your Navigator of Taipala. I've already spoken to several of you one on one," so he smiled at Timoteo, the Navigator of the Docks, and one Miimikani had probably seen around the village but had never learned the position of, "And I look forward to getting to know the rest of you. We will all of us be working together to make sure Ila'i, and indeed all of Taipala, come through this transition in one piece."

"Where's Chief U'ekeo?" Miimikani demanded.

The other Navigators looked at her. Samuelu coughed. Halamu glared.