Aquaria: The Lost Fleet

VII: The Proposition

The interior of the Black Death was murky, moist, and rusty. The men on board were not tasked with maintaining the ship to be hospitable, but instead to focus on maintaining the engines and keeping their combat skills attuned. The Black Death was solely a war ship and that is exactly what its captain, Clint Graham, intended on it being. There was a heavy sway to the ship as it glided through the seas, and even those with the most experienced sea legs would need to get used to the steep dips experienced within the hull on a constant basis. The ship was large, but not tremendously large such as the Elation or the Glory. Rats scurried through the corridors and water from humidity seemed to drip from all nooks and crannies of the ship. The ship's interior smelled of mold and gas. Again, this ship was not meant for housing families and businesses, it was meant for housing soldiers and mercenaries.

Far below the captain's deck and even below the sea line at the bottom floor were the prison cells. The prison cells were located even below the engine deck, making it hot and humid at all times throughout the day and night. In one of these cells, Paul Wake sat against the wall on the steel floor. He had no cot to sleep in. The only furnishing in his cell was a plastic bin to be used as a toilet, and it hadn't been emptied since he was captured. For days now, all Paul could see was the interior of his cell and the vacant cell across the corridor which was visible through the steel bars which kept him in captivity. One of the Black Death's crew members would slide a tube of protein paste through the bars once a day. Paul could go for long amounts of time without food as he was used to salvaging expeditions, however even he was starting to get irritable from the lack of nourishment.

On the first day Paul found out that Captain Wade of the Percival was also held on this floor, but about 4 or 5 cell blocks away. It was impossible to tell exactly how far off Wade was, but Paul had an idea by how far his voice sounded when they would conversate.

Two days before Jasmyne Costa met with Daniel Breeding on the Elation, Paul would finally meet the captain of the Black Death, none other than Clint Graham.

"So", Paul said, looking blankly at the opposite wall of his cell. "You just surrendered just like that, didn't you?"

"We were outgunned from the beginning", Wade said from his cell, some dozens of feet away.

"Did you surrender before or after you saw all your people slaughtered", Paul said. Their voices echoed throughout the cell block. To their knowledge, they were the only two in the entire block, which Paul estimated to be comprised of at least 20 cells.

"It doesn't matter", Wade said. "I'm alive."

"I thought captains were supposed to go down with their ship?", Paul said. "I thought captains were supposed to lay down their lives for their ship's civilians. Not wait until they were decimated before waving the white flag."

"If I were 20 years younger I'd kick your ass.", Wade said. "You never know when to shut up, do you Wake?"

"When I find out how, you'll be the first to know", Paul said.

"That'll be the day".

"So", Paul began. "This guy really doesn't mess around does he? I've never seen that type of weaponry on a ship before."

"Nobody has", Wade sighed. "He blew holes through the Percival like butter. We never stood a chance."

The two heard the sound of the large steel door at the end of the corridor being opened. After the screech of the door, the sound of three sets of footsteps echoed throughout the cell block. Paul listened as the footsteps reached Wade's cell first and opened his cell.