For Ransom

Chapter 9: Being Captain Was Hard

Soraya

Soraya woke to a slight aching in her thigh, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She had been asleep for the past two days, regaining her strength for the hardships that were to come. The storm had passed at last and it was her turn to resume command of the ship as Tom and his sailors rested after endless hours of grueling work to keep the Miracle afloat. Carlos had left a pair of crutches by her door and she used them now to enter the bustling dining hall, busy with breakfast and small talk.

"Ahoy, captain. Good seeing you!" The triplets hailed in unison, their radiant smiles bringing a grin to her own, tired face that boosted her already good mood. She waved cheerfully before finding a seat besides Carlos and Jan. Soraya usually ate by herself in her own quarters, but after the bullet incident, she had realized life was too fragile to spend it secluded. It had been a wake-up call, but also a reminder that she needed to let herself breathe once in a while and enjoy the pleasures that came with living. She would appreciate the crew she had gathered today and look towards the future of tomorrow.

The summer solstice was exactly a month from right now. Yes, Soraya had much to look forward to and even more work to do as well. The Land was waiting for her.

"And the princess awakens." Jan grinned toothily, punching the captain's arm playfully in greeting.

"How is your leg feeling? It looks like its healing just fine." Carlos asked through a mouthful of refried beans.

"You did a terrific job as always. It's a bit sore, but that's pretty much it." Soraya replied, digging into her own meal of beans, bread, and vitamins. Though the raid had almost cost Soraya a leg, the rations it provided would last them another week, at least until they reached the oil rig where they could replenish their supplies. She surveyed the hall, taking note of the dozen women they had taken refuge of, who were already looking much better than the sticks they had first found them as. Jan had wasted no time putting them to work, scrubbing the decks, repairing the sails, and cleaning the toilets. However, though the Miracle was quite a decent-sized ship, Connie had been right: it could not feed another twelve hungry mouths. Soraya had never intended for her crew to grow over fifty people and now, they were well into the sixties. She would either need to buy another ship soon or sell the women to another crew. She didn't want to do either.

"We could keep at most half of them and sell the rest," Jan said as if reading her mind.

"Initiating six people sounds hella exhausting though." Carlos added, knowing perfectly well how long the process of joining her crew was. He had made fun of her several times for it, but Soraya knew it was necessary to maintaining a trustworthy and capable crew.

She sighed heavily. Not even an hour of waking and her responsibilities were already catching up to her. She still had to figure out how she was going to break the defenses of the Land and capture Romulus without sinking her entire ship and endangering her crew.

"Don't worry about the women. I'll figure something out." Jan's smile was kind as she finished her glass of water and stood up to start the workday.

"You're the best Jan." Soraya nodded her appreciation. She continued surveying the room, stopping on a sullen Alessandro who appeared as though he hadn't slept in a century.

"What's going on with our boy?" She asked Carlos.

"He was like that all day yesterday. Didn't talk to a single soul, just stared at the ocean for hours and hours. Tom said he found the boy laying on the top deck in the middle of the night like a dead fish. Scared the living shits outta him."

"Did Tom try to talk to him? You know Tom's good at that stuff." Soraya furrowed her brow as she stared at the pirate hunter, who was still handsome despite his unruly hair and deep eye bags. The beginnings of a beard were forming on his shapely jaw and she remembered for a fact that Alessandro had told her during his initiation that he despised beards, thought they made men look gruff and tasteless. Something was definitely wrong. And as much as she hated the bastard, she missed seeing his arrogant smile roaming around the ship.