With the captain onboard, preparations for the Odette’s departure made headway. Casks and barrels filled with water and food were carried in and the following day the slaves who would man the oars were brought onboard.
While the slaves came from all sorts of races—humans, beastmen, all sorts of folk with red and blue skin—they were all able-bodied men. The slaves were brought down into the rowing deck where groups of three slaves—chained up together—were chained into each rowing bench where they would be rowing a single oar each. The Odette has 20 oars on each side for a total of 40 oars, meaning that the ship needs at least 120 slaves to man the oars. The Tinaye government, despite suffering a three-day delay, managed to cobble up enough slaves to man three fully armed warships together.
These 120 slave oarsmen and 24 additional fighting marines were added to the ship’s existing 140-man crew consisting of the captain, the vice-captain, the officers, the petty officers, and the sailors. Finally, there were the captain’s personal underlings and boat pilot, topping off an almost 400-man complement crammed together inside a cramped ship.
It was now Tokushima’s job as a galley boy to feed all 400 of those souls onboard. Despite the more primitive technologies made available to him, the fundamentals remained largely the same so he fit right in. After being tested by the head steward when he said that he could cook, he deemed him a fitting asset for the galley and was given the seal of approval.
“Our junior head steward was reassigned to the Magenta to be their head steward so we’re down a man. You’ll make do as our new galley boy.”
Or so the head steward told him, but in reality, Tokushima was relegated to the less-than-ideal job of feeding the slaves. Of course, Edajima and Chan, by virtue of signing up together with Tokushima, were also brought into the galley as assistant stewards. They were given the undignified tasks of carrying out foodstuffs from the food stores and preparing the slaves’ meals. As such, the trio were in frequent contact with the slaves, providing them the two meals per day they were afforded.
“This world is so backward. We really gotta enlighten ‘em on the beauty of human rights. Right, guys?”
Chan aired his frustrations as he tossed dried soybeans into a pot filled with fresh water.
“I don’t think people change their views that easily, though.”
Tokushima replied as he swiftly inserted oats into the pot and put the pot in a lit brick oven.
“But that’s precisely the kind of job journalists like me are here for! Or are you saying you agree to this system of slavery? Well, Edajima?”
Edajima, who was cleaning the bowls reserved for the slaves, replied to him.
“Of course not. In fact, we are completely opposed to slavery. I’ll go a step further, saying that as members of the SDF, we pledged an oath to uphold the Constitution of Japan in which human rights are enshrined, so we are actually in the same boat as you.”
“Then humor me, alright?!”
“But our oath is only good so far as Japan is concerned. Whenever we go anywhere outside of Japan, I believe we should suppress our sense of values because outside of Japan, people may hold values different to our own.”
“Ah, the bystander type, aren’t ya?! By just standing by and watching those atrocities unfold, you essentially enable it!”
“Please take this as simply my own personal opinion, but the secret to being able to coexist with people who come from all walks of life holding all sorts of beliefs is to accept them as people even though they might hold incompatible beliefs and not force your own beliefs down their throats. There’s a point to that, is there not? By understanding that you may disagree on things, you can politely raise mental or physical barriers and still coexist. Of course, it’s still important to build trust through mutual exchange, but what’s important to ensuring there’s peace is to never overstep each other’s boundaries. If, as a result of our exchange, this world is inspired by our way of thinking and a trend toward human rights and the abolishment of slavery were to spring up, I’d be happy, but I believe that if we try and force those values on them, they’ll resist and there will be conflict.”
“So you’re saying we should just close our eyes to the suffering unfolding before us?”
“By trying to do something about suffering at present, we could cause more suffering, so I’d like to be careful. Isn’t that the foundational spirit of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Cruelty to Indigenous Peoples?”
“Urk. Well, yeah…”
With the Gate reopened and access between Ginza and the Special Region restored, countries in the United Nations General Assembly swiftly proposed the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Cruelty to Indigenous Peoples. The convention calls on all countries to observe the protection of the values and way of life of the indigenous peoples beyond the Gate, restrain themselves from transferring and building industrial facilities in the Special Region, and prevent the transfer of technology and knowledge and the creation of enterprises that preys on the cheap and plentiful labor to be found there. Of course, the passing of the convention was driven by the West-led coalition who have such underlying motives as preventing Japan from monopolizing the Special Region and denying Japan the benefits if it continued to block UN control. Still, mass media picked up on the spirit of protecting the indigenous peoples beyond the Gate for its humanitarian aspect and so discourse on the convention became widespread. One of the big media companies that passionately led this information campaign was Chan’s News Journal.
Of course, these maneuvers by China and the West are not lost on the Japanese government. They make the rules, create loopholes that only they can fit through, and then reap the benefits while everybody languishes. That was how the world works. That was how they do things. However, as a consequential result of the convention’s proclamation, Japan also acceded to the convention and subsequently ratified it. This was because a similar agreement with the Council of the Big Five Goddesses, which has come to administer the Gate, was underway and the government believed that by acceding to the convention, they essentially prevent the world from singling out Japan. Add to this the advantage that the Gate is in Ginza—well inside sovereign Japanese territory—and Japan came out of the ordeal in the best position.
“You’re American, right, Mr. Chan? Surely you know about the US Civil War. Do you remember the total number of deaths in that war?”
“…”
“Counting the deaths that indirectly resulted from suffering in the war, the death toll is estimated to range from 700,000 to 900,000. While the Civil War didn’t break out for the sake of emancipation, it was undoubtedly one of the major reasons why the belligerents fought that war. How do you think should we look at this death toll, which came to be for the sake of the ideal of emancipation?”
“As a necessary sacrifice? What else?”
“So we should think that the tragedy of 700,000 to 900,000 deaths and their individual suffering, not to mention that of their families’, is a comparably small amount of misery when compared to slavery?”
“T-That’s not what I’m trying to say!… Still…”
“If you say you act based on your self-professed values of justice, that is all well and good. But please keep in mind that the American fashion of liberty and human rights is a concept that is valid only in places where the US military can enforce it. We are currently in the Special Region, a place where even your right to life isn’t guaranteed. That’s why you shouldn’t ever forget your place when it comes to professing your opinion.”
“So we’re just a country of dreamers and idealists, is that it, huh?! Fuck you!”
Chan lashed out and spat on the floor of the galley.
“Errr, that’s… You really are a handful, aren’t you Mr. Chan? We just told you and all…”
Tokushima and Edajima sighed at Chan’s actions.
“Told me what, huh?!”
Chan angrily asked but he soon found out what they meant.
“You imbecile! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?! You dare spit on our galley’s sacred floors?!”
The enraged head steward stomped his way toward Chan and pushed him aside. There’s a strong belief among Tinaye Navy petty officers that lousy landlubbers can’t do their work properly just by telling them nicely so they must discipline them and their bodies harshly. Thus, he decided to make Chan learn firsthand how what he did was wrong and what he ought to do next time.
Chan was ordered to clean the top deck.
“Hup! Hup! Hup!”
After splashing water over the deck, he took a scrubbing brush made out of half of a coconut husk and scrubbed the deck thoroughly to the tune of their yelling. He was actually ordered to scrub so hard as if to chisel the deck so he was pressing down on the brush. What’s more, he wasn’t alone; to punish them for the crime of not stopping him, Tokushima and Edajima were also on cleaning duty.
“And so they made us clean too…”
Tokushima muttered with a not-so-bothered tone. Edajima, however, wasn’t having it.
“This is what they call, ‘collective responsibility.’ By cultivating a sense of responsibility for the actions of your compatriots, you feel closer and more harmonized as a group… I see the logic there, but it sure takes more of a toll on you with age.”
Hunched over on the floor and making brisk back-and-forth movements with your back may have looked inspiring but it was hard on the body. Because of that, Edajima had to kneel and keep hitting his stiff back over and over. But worse still were the cold stares from the other galley crew members, particularly toward Chan who they deeply despised. He was disliked to the point that they would bind him in his sleep and beat him with towels wrapped around hard soap bars.
The boatswain and the head steward turned to the sailors and addressed them as they made an example out of the trio.
“Listen you poor sods! Lemme tell you from the bottom of my heart that I admire your dedication to the republic by joining the Navy in these trying times! But we won’t tolerate any rule breakin’ of the sort! Take a look at these pathetic sons of bitches and burn their sight into yer minds! This is what happens if any of y’all dare to soil these sacred decks!”
Just then, an order to form ranks was given.
“Form ranks at the entryway!”
The sailors rushed to line up on the deck; of course, the trio was also expected to drop their duties and form rank. Chan, figuring that forming rank was a more forgiving job than wiping the deck, was like a parched fish finally finding water and immediately tossed aside his brush and went into formation.
“Her Drunken Highness will soon be boarding! Be on your best behavior or I swear I’ll deal with you personally!”
After some sharp words from the petty officer in charge of security, the captain and the rest of the officers came up to the deck. They then prepared the highest honors, after which the gangway was brought up for Princess Primera to board the Odette.
At the blow of a whistle, the formed-up sailors welcomed Her Drunken Highness aboard. Going up the gangway her gait was somewhat precarious, so much so that when she came onto the deck she needed her eyepatch-wearing tomboy companion to guide her. Maybe she wasn’t used to ships or she indeed lived up to her monicker and was tipsy drunk.
With Primera safely aboard, Captain Curaçao immediately welcomed her with a polite bow.
“We’ve been expecting you, Princess.”
Primera’s eyes widened in surprise. She wasn’t expecting such a youthful captain to welcome her.
“You’re Captain Cairipinya?”
“No, I’m Curaçao no Orange. I’ve been tasked with the captaincy of the Odette.”
“Ahh, really? Then I’ll be in your care, Captain Curaçao.”
“Then allow me to show you to your quarters.”
Curaçao led Primera to her quarters at the stern and they descended down the deck through a ladder. Her quarters, the ship’s sole VIP room, was located right below the captain’s quarters. While it wasn’t that roomy, the VIP room and the captain’s quarters were the largest living spaces on the ship.
With the Princess aboard, the sailors were dismissed, marking the end of a rather uneventful welcome ceremony.
“Sir! This is our chance!”
“So it is!”
Tokushima saw this as a chance to finally escape. There was still a marine standing guard at the entrance, but with Princess Primera having come aboard her staff was lugging her baggage up the gangway, so now he was just watching their comings and goings. The Black Hand members were also nowhere to be found on the docks.
“O-Oi! What’s gotten into y’all?!”
Tokushima and Edajima flanked Chan and wrapped their arms around his shoulders and guided him to the entryway. It wasn’t that he was mad rather he was at a loss on how to react.
“This is it! It’s our chance to escape, Mr. Chan!”
“And your stuff?!”
“What do you care about our stuff?” replied Edajima.
The trio blended into the line of staff carrying baggage and stepped onto the gangway. The marine on watch didn’t bat an eye, perhaps thinking that the trio may just be helping the staff out.
Just a little more… A little more and they’re free.
But then suddenly someone called out to them.
“Hey, you three! Perfect timing. I need you to carry the princess’s stuff up there.”
The trio froze in place and gulped in surprise, for they recognized that voice from somewhere…
“Ah—!”
“Wait a minute…”
Turning around, they see that the one who called out to them was none other than Oux do Vi, a member of Tinaye’s counter-intelligence arm Black Hand.
“You’re all under arrest. Now, be good lackeys or I will have you killed.”
Vi called out to the trio, though he never made a single move on them. As a boy, he couldn’t really do anything to three fully grown men by himself, so he simply called out to them with a sigh. Then he ordered them to carry chests filled with clothes.
Chan looked at Tokushima and Edajima and asked.
“Oi! Aren’t we gonna run?!”
“W-What do we do, sir?”
Himself at a loss on what to do next, Tokushima turned to Edajima.
If they tried to run now, Vi might call out to the marine on watch to chase after them. Then there’s also the possibility that there are Black Hand members lying in wait somewhere down on the docks, so even if they manage to get far from the ship they might still be caught. With these factors in mind, Edajima replied to Tokushima.
“Let’s do as he says. You too, Mr. Chan.”
Seeing that Vi, despite finding them out, wasn’t doing anything to jeopardize them, Tokushima decided to follow his orders.
“Guess that’s that, then.”
Chan also reluctantly followed Vi’s orders. As he lifted the heavy wooden chest, Tokushima turned to Vi and asked him.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Vi, himself carrying another heavy chest filled with clothes, replied as he went up the gangway.
“I was ordered to accompany Her Highness by the top brass.”
“But why?”
“You say as if you had nothing to do with it, huh? After showing up empty-handed when you did what you did at the warehouse district, how could I not be reassigned?! So now I’m part of the princess’s staff. In other words, they’re banishing me, which is…”
“Tinaye’s counter-intelligence sure works fast, huh?”
“Too fast, If I may say so myself. It may have even been decided long ago, and I suspect they just finally found a reason to do it.”
So he says but the look on Vi’s face says that he’s convinced that was the case. That must have been the reason for his uncharacteristically unbothered disposition, though they’re not exactly in the position to say that’s exactly the case…
“Oh, right. What do you plan to do with us?”
“Not my problem. That’s no longer my job so go do whatever, I guess. No, actually, be my guest! I’m just a lowly staff member to the princess, so it’s not my business whatever it is you do.”
He pouted as if in exasperation.
“So… we can go now?”
“Of course not! If you do, you will leave me by myself to carry all of these clothes! You do that and I will have you killed!”
Looking back at the docks, there were still at least ten or so boxes and chests filled with Primera’s clothes. It’d definitely be unreasonable for them to allow a delicate kid like him to bring them all into the ship.
“Ahh, okay. So once we’re done, we’re free?”
“Yeah, go and get away from my sight for all I care.”
“You’re not gonna cause a ruckus or anything?”
“It’s not like my banishment will be reversed if I arrest you now…”
Faced with no other option, the trio of Tokushima, Edajima, and Chan helped him bring the heavy chests up to Primera’s quarters.
After numerous trips to and from the docks, they finally brought all of the princess’s chests aboard. Climbing up the ladder and onto the deck, the trio were going to descend the ship when they heard Odette’s voice.
“Captain, I’m here to confirm the route’s safety. Eulo and Vorey are both bringing in winds from their direction (in layman’s terms, the wind was blowing from the northeast). Towards the evening, the four goddesses will dance around, so the windward will go around the four directions before weakening at night.”
“Thanks, Odette. That means if we’re leaving, it’s now or never! Tell the lookouts to watch for a signal from the flagship Carly!”
The mood on the stern deck flipped around as the ship’s main officers—the captain, the vice-captain, and the navigator—all stood on alert.
“Captain! The flagship has raised the flag to begin departure!”
Listening in on the captain and the vice-captain, Edajima clicked his tongue.
“Dammit…”
“What is it, sir?”
“We’re about to leave port.”
Just then, the order for general stations to all crew was given. Once this order is given, every crew member, whether it be those who are on their shift or not, must report to their station. Everyone is on alert and so now it becomes almost impossible to try and leave. Naturally, as part of the crew, the trio must also report to their stations, which as inexperienced landlubbers is manning the capstan. At the junior boatswain’s signal, they began turning the capstan.
“Alright, you sons of bitches, put your backs to it!!!”
“Grrrraaaaahhh!!!”
The capstan has multiple uses, one of which is to hoist the heavy anchor from beneath the sea. For now, though, the capstan had a rope extending from a crane that hovered over the gangway. Their job was to turn the capstan to lift the gangway connecting the ship to the docks. Not long after, the mooring ropes tying the ship to the bollards on the docks were removed.
“Set sail!”
At the captain’s order, the vice captain began issuing detailed orders to the sailors.
“Deploy all oars! Forward, very slow!”
Below the ship, down at the lowest deck where the oarsmen were, a sailor started hammering a wooden mallet to a set tempo. The oarsmen promptly began rowing their oars to the tempo. 40 massive oars slowly turned in unison, hitting the water and then pushing it before lifting it back up to repeat the process. The tempo was set at one beat every two seconds and soon, the sounds of the thumping mallet and splashing water were joined by the creaking of wood. Slowly but surely, the Odette distanced itself from the docks.
“Captain, the Carly and the Magenta have also set sail.”
Hearing this from the vice-captain, Curaçao clicked his tongue.
“That’s too bad. I was hoping we’d come out first.”
“Our ships are built the same and our crews as fine as they can be. We’re doing fine, captain.”
“No, we are not the same at all. I am the captain, so this ship has to be the best! Cairipinya may have spoiled you all but I am not like him. I will be relentless, so keep that in mind!”
“…Yes, captain.”
The three ships of Fleet Eral all set sailed at roughly the same time. Once they were out of the harbor and inside the bay, the Carly took point in a line ahead formation; the Odette followed while the Magenta served as the rear guard.
“We’re out of the harbor, Edajima. Now what?”
Replying to Chan was Tokushima.
“We jump into the water and make for land before the ships leave the bay. You’ll be fine with that, right, Mr. Chan?”
Chan took one look at the serene and waveless sea and turned pale.
“H-Hell no!”
“But why? The foreign ministry boys are waiting for us with a chartered ship. If we jump now and swim back, we’d finally be able to go home!”
“N-No! Jumping into the water is out of the question! I can’t swim for the life of me!”
“Whaaat?”
Tokushima tried to encourage him further.
“It’ll be fine! We’re both here to help you so you don’t drown! Right, sir?”
“Yes, we’re trained for situations like this. Even if you’re tired, you’ll be fine as long as you can float. Just let us handle you and you’ll be fine.”
But no matter how much they assured him, Chan’s face was twitching with fear and wouldn’t budge.
“I guess we have no choice. Tokushima.”
“Right.”
The two then took him by the arms and forced him toward the broadside, but Chan was relentless.
“So are you saying you don’t want to leave this ship, Mr. Chan?”
“Are you? Because if we don’t, we’ll be caught up in fighting at some point.”
If they continue to make a ruckus, they’ll get the attention of the officers and petty officers. Sure enough, a petty officer in charge of security came toward them.
“What the fuck are you three scoundrels doing?! General stations have already been lifted so go back to the galley! Get back to work!”
“Ah, we’re… Uhh…”
Tokushima stammered, unable to come up with a good excuse.
“Now if I didn’t know better, I’d be under the impression you three are pissing your pants and are now trying to escape! If that’s what you’re trying to do, then we’ll clobber you till you’re dead! If not, then go back to work, but I’ll be watching!”
With that, the trio fell under strict watch, making even Tokushima and Edajima unable to do anything. In the meantime, the Odette continued to get further and further from the harbor.
The commander of the fleet, Eral, raised his flag above the Carly as the ship led the formation on a course for the Vasquez Channel, a narrow waterway to the west of Keroux Island which stood between Nasta Bay and open ocean. A tailwind blew diagonally from their backs but from time to time it changes, which shouldn’t be a problem for their fully unfurled triangular lateen sails to catch, thus allowing their oarsmen to rest. With the order to cease rowing given, the slaves all hunched forward to rest, using their gigantic oars as a pillow of sorts. Once they’re in the open ocean, they’ll have no need for them except in battle, when there’s no wind, when they’re sailing into headwind, or when they next enter port.
Now, it was the sailors working on the decks who were toiling away.
“Understand, vice-captain? We’ll make sure our fleet commander knows who’s boss! Full speed ahead!”
“You mean to challenge the flagship?”
“Yes. Why? Are you saying you can’t carry out my orders?”
“Aye aye, captain!”
Usually, the ships in a line ahead formation would match the speed of the ship in front, which means adjusting the sails to ensure that one doesn’t go too slow or fast. But then Captain Curaçao gave the order to raise their speed to full. As the fleet commander, Eral’s orders take precedence, but he holds arrogance being the captain of the Odette, which has the princess onboard and is the fleet’s primary mission.
One of the officers in charge of the ship’s piloting gave orders to the boatswain, who in turn gave orders to the sailors under his command. The sailors promptly got to work adjusting the direction and tightness of the sails through their halyards, making minute changes to enable the sails to catch as much wind as possible. They ran back and forth between the different halyards, tightening or loosening them as ordered.
“Pull! Pull, dammit! Put your backs into it!”
Tokushima, who was working on the deck, pulled on one of the halyards as it was also pulling him ahead. With the sails unfurled, their halyards proved to be a menace to adjust as they were fighting against the might of the wind. However, it was that same wind that pushed the Odette further out to sea.
“Keroux Lighthouse, 500 out! It’s coming abeam… now!”
One of the officer cadets serving as lookout reported.
“We’ll soon be through the Vasquez Channel, captain!”
After Captain Curaçao and the vice-captain confirmed the position of the lighthouse on Keroux Island, they discussed the intentions of the fleet commander regarding their route.
“Hmm. Looks like our commander wants us to catch the wind and pass through the Tornol Channel between the South and East Redoubt Reefs.”
Vice-Captain Ottmeyer turned to the map laid out on the platform and nodded in agreement.
“A natural choice if we’re prioritizing speed. He also probably wants to get as far away from this pirate-infested area before the wind changes direction at nightfall.”
“But it’s easier for a third party to predict our movements if we take that route. How do you explain that, then?”
“With our fleet of state-of-the-art ships, don’t you think it’ll be easy to smash any pirate that tries to get in our way?”
As Curaçao nodded in agreement, an officer looking up at the sky with a telescope shouted.
“Message from the guardian protector, captain! She spotted three unflagged vessels to our port!”
Flying high in the sky as a lookout, Odette communicated what she saw back to the ship with signal flags.
“Our ‘port?’ She sure has some guts to think we’d know what that means…”
“Ah, I mean… what she meant to say was that she spotted three unflagged vessels, seven ticks to the left!”
A “tick” is a directional marker that corresponds to a single unit from when a 90-degree arc from a ship’s bow to its abeam is divided into eight equal parts. It roughly corresponds to the size of a fist from an onlooker when they extend their arm as far as they can. What Odette was saying was that there were three ships in the direction of a fist’s breadth away from their port abeam.
Curaçao and Ottmeyer walked toward the port broadside and looked toward the reported direction through their telescopes. However, all they could see through their polished yet largely imperfect insect husk lens was the horizon.
“Where are the ships’ heading?”
A sailor with six arms communicated with Odette using signal flags. Odette replied promptly.
“‘Straight toward us,’ I repeat: she says they’re heading ‘straight toward us!’”
“What does the topman see?”
The topman, a lookout posted atop the main mast, reported.
“I still can’t see them!”
Curaçao turned to Ottmeyer for advice.
“If the topman still can’t see them, that means they’re more than 10 leagues (~16km) out. So there are unflagged vessels from beyond the horizon headed straight toward us. What do you think?”
“The fact that they’re unflagged is a sign of what they really are, is what I think.”
“Pirates. But they’re coming at us one-to-one. How dare they look down on us…!”
“Captain, the fleet commander is yet to give out orders, but are you considering giving the order to prepare for battle?”
“Hmm…”
Curaçao pondered the idea for a bit, but then someone called out to him from the side.
“Captain, wait! We must not fight here. Not now!”
Emerging onto the poop deck was Cabernet, Tinaye’s Lord Chancellor of the Foreign Office and the individual who will accompany Princess Primera to the Court of Schilaff.
“This fleet’s mission is to send Princess Primera off to Schilaff. I believe we must prioritize that over fighting pirates.”
“With all due respect, Lord Cabernet, but as officers, we must abide by the orders of our superior, which in this case is the fleet commander. I acknowledge your opinion but please return to your quarters.”
“And if this was the will of someone even higher than your fleet commander?”
“What do you mean?”
Cabernet produced a red letter—a designated state top secret—from his pocket and handed it over to Captain Curaçao.
“W-Who’s this from?!”
“The Decemviri. Who else? I think you and your officers ought to follow this to the tee.”
Breaking the sealing wax and reading the letter, Curaçao couldn’t contain his shock.
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