For Ransom

Chapter 29: What It Means To Be Happy

Remus

The prince was halfway through his first lap around the Academy. It was a couple of hours past noon, the busiest time during the school. Thousands of ships and boats of all sizes were hauling in debris collected from different parts of the world. Small vehicles, much like the ones that were used on Achaemenid, hauled the debris to the processing plant on the north side of the island.

"Good afternoon, prince. What brings you out here?" Masika called, that same flat smile on her pleasant face. The woman glowed beneath the sunlight, her ebony skin radiant and smooth and her long braids swinging energetically around her. It was the first time he had seen her truly happy. Of course, she would be. She was in her element.

"Ahoy, Masika. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful." They began strolling together.

"Would you like to see what I have been working on, prince?"

"Of course. Why else do you think I am here?" Masika stopped before a large metal frame, the beginnings of the first aircraft, where five students were holding torches and welding different components together. The piece of paper displaying the blueprint of her design waved slightly in the cool afternoon breeze.

The prince whistled in amazement.

"It's been less than a week and you've made so much progress!"

"Soraya did say she wanted to be done with the prototypes by the end of the first month. That's when mass production begins. She's already sent out recruiters to bring workers in from the cities here so we have more hands-on deck."

Remus studied the designs on her blueprint. The plane was a simple design, streamline and flat, built for speed and efficiency, likely to save precious fuel. He turned the page. The layout of her ship was the most interesting, the design the offspring of Soraya, Masika, and his own vision. A catamaran, Masika had told them. It was invented by the Austronesian people in the Preoceania Period, but the design fell out of style due to its incompatibility to self-right itself if flipped over on the high seas. But against the ship-eaters, the increased speed and stability of the ship would be advantageous. While most ships rested on only one hull, the catamarans would be built on two. It would slice through the water like skates over ice. The center of the ship would be empty, giving less surface area for the ship-eater's to bite. There would be a singular, flat platform built over the two hulls, the only place for people to stand on. As an extra countermeasure against the ship-eaters, the bottoms would be lined with titanium.

"And what of the cost?"

"I don't know, but Soraya's pulling money out of thin air. All of the school's funding is going towards this project and on top of that, she's got revenue coming in from Alexandria and her own savings. The girl's rich." Yes, the princess never disappointed. Soraya had told him of her many years gambling and investing until she had accumulated enough wealth to achieve financial security.

All in the short span of ten years. Remus wondered what else the woman had gone through in those ten years. His heart tightened at the thought of her. Even on the day they had first met, Soraya had shone too bright for this world. He could still see that terrifying grin on her face the day she managed to jump Achaemenid's ship, a vixen ready to seize her prey. She was a ball of fire, she was a star, and no one could contain her.

Not even him.

No, he couldn't be sad. For her and his people, Remus would be strong and kind, as his uncle had always told him to be.

"Well, you're doing great things here, Masika. Keep it up." He gave her a warm smile before waving her a farewell and continuing his lap.

"Thank you."