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Keith appeared at night, into the relic of a destroyed space ship. He was five, and he didn’t remember much of his life. He didn’t have anything with him except for his own clothes and a dark blue knife.
At that time, Shiro was ten and it was an accident he was on the rescue ship – he was there as the son of the Earth ambassador, traveling towards the colony. Curious as he was, he ignored the crew’s orders and sneaked out to see what they’ve found.
He was surprised to see Keith, with his dark mess hair and his pale skin, but the thing he noticed most was the knife. There was a symbol on the knife – a pirate symbol. The crew members haven’t noticed it yet, too worried into transfer the possibly wound boy into the infirmary, so Shiro sprung in action. He slipped the knife under his jacket before his father called him back in his quarter.
There was no reason for Shiro to do so, except for his not so secret crush for pirates. As much as he knows most of them were criminals and assassins, there still was some romanticism in the life they faced, being free to fly towards the space as they wanted. And the idea Keith could have one pushed Shiro to protect him, for now, until Shiro decided if Keith could be trusted.
During the years, Keith showed some rebellious tendencies, but mostly he was a nice, sweet boy that Shiro is proud to consider one of his closes friend.
If Keith do remember the knife, he never mentions it. Shiro keeps it as a personal secret, and it’s still in the bottom of his drawer. Shiro looks at it sometimes, to remember the time he did a crime, he stole something to protect someone and didn’t respect the rules.
“Shiro, are you ready?” Commander Iverson calls from outside the bedroom.
“Yes, coming!”
In a swift decision, Shiro puts the knife in his pocket and closes the drawer. In the day of him becoming a Captain, it feels right to remember what he did in the past. He breathes hard in the white, ceremonial uniform and reaches Iverson outside.
“Nervous?”
“Should I be?” Shiro smirks.
He’s happy. He works hard to reach his position, and because of his illness first and his disability later, harder than everyone. He feels he deserves it.
“We should hurry,” Iverson informs him. “We need to stop by to Sal’s before the ceremony.”
Shiro smiles: even if he knows it’s for collecting the special sword for the ceremony, it’ll be nice seeing Keith before it. And he isn’t disappointed: Keith is there, knelled in front of an engine, his usual red jacked abandoned on a chair next to him.
While Iverson speaks with Sal about the sword, Shiro gets near. Keith notices him and stands up, his mouth opened a little.
“You look good,” he says, at last.
“Thanks. I really feel like a sausage because this thing is thigh.”
Keith coughs a little. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.” Then he smiles. “I’m so happy for you, Shiro. You deserve it.”
It’s good to have someone like Keith on his side. “Will you be at the ceremony?”
“No.” Keith rolls his eyes, annoyed. “Sal wants someone to keep the shop open. I tried to tell one that everyone will be at the ceremony, but he’s stubborn. He insisted that because every other shop is closed, we can lure more clients.”
“This is so illogical it makes some sense,” Shiro laughs, and even Keith can’t hold back a smile.
“You’ll be great,” he says. Iverson compares behind Shiro and Keith hurries to add, “Sir.”
Shiro doesn’t really mind, they’re friend, but Iverson really care about formality, especially when Shiro is on duty and especially when he’s about to be nominated Captain. So he reserves an apologetic smile to Keith and a small wave, because turning to Iverson. He accepts the sword, thanking Sal for it, and hung it at his belt before leaving the shop.
The ceremony passes in a blur. The discourses of the higher-ups are boring, and Shiro loses count of how many people he shakes his hands with, and thanks for their presence. He’s pretty sure he’s going to forget all their names within the evening.
He’s glad when Adam manages to snatch it out: with two glasses of wine, they find themselves in the terrace outside the headquarter palace. With a sigh, Shiro leans on the parapet, and admires the light blue sky that reflects itself on the small artificial lake below them, where mostly of the Garrison spaceship are parked.
“I was thinking,” Adam begins, as he sits down next to him. “Now that you’re a Captain, maybe we can think about settling down for once.”
Shiro blinks and turns his head at him. “What do you mean?”
“Well, your new position comes with more responsibility, and probably you may ask for more time here at the base instead of going around like when you were just a lieutenant.”
“That’s not why I wanted to be a Captain,” Shiro points out, with a frown. For him, being a Captain means having more freedom to fly around the space, definitely not being stuck at the base.
“You deserve some rest, and you don’t have to prove anything more to anyone,” Adam continues. “Your health may be good now, but you still…”
With a sigh, Shiro turns back looking at the sky. He should have known that Adam wouldn’t have understand. They may be friend, there may be some affection between them even, but they search something different in life, and Shiro doesn’t know how to reject him gently.
“You know I like you a lot, Takashi,” Adam continues, but Shiro’s attention is now on someone else.
There is a small blink on the sky, a small flash, and then a white pod falls with a cough into the lake. Whoever the pilot is, he’s not half bad, because not only manages to not crash the pod despite the evident problem with the motor, but he also directions the pod in one of the free space of the port. The pod half sinks in the water, but it’s in the right spot.
And that’s when Shiro notices the symbol of pirates on the right side of the pod.
“It’ll be the right time for a marriage, so we won’t have to be separate for so long because of our mission…” Adam is still talking.
“Sorry, I have to go,” Shiro interrupts him in a very harsh way, as he basically throws himself over the parapet and jumps in the water below them. He emerges back on the river in time to see the pilot as he’s talking with the guards of the port. At a first glance, he doesn’t look armed, but Shiro has been in battle long enough to recognize people that hides guns and swords behind their clothes.
He reaches the groups, in time to hear the pilot says, “what about I pay twice for the parking spot, and you don’t make any other question?”
“Sorry, sir, but that’s no possible,” Shiro says. “Please, introduce yourself.”
The pilot scrutinizes him. “And you are…?”
“Captain Shirogane, a pleasure, mister pirate.”
“Ah.” The guards step behind, leaving only Shiro and the pilot on the jetty. “I’m Captain Lotor Sincline, my pleasure.”
Shiro’s hand is already on the hilt of his ceremonial sword, so he’s ready to draw it and shield himself from Lotor’s slash. Lotor is almost taller as Shiro, but less broad, which doesn’t make him less strong, the same way Shiro’s body doesn’t make him slow.
“I’m not here to cause trouble,” Lotor says. “It’s beneficial for most of us if you let me go.”
“I can’t do that,” Shiro replies as he pushes Lotor behind, not enough to have him falling in the lake.
The sword clashes again, and Shiro hears a small cracking sound. He realizes the ceremonial sword wasn’t made for a fight, and it won’t resist for long. So he let the left hand slide on the pocket, and presses more to force the sword to break. The blade snaps, Lotor avoids to stumble and turns his sword around but Shiro is fast to clash it with Keith’s knife.
A shiver passes through Shiro’s body, and Lotor’s eyes focuses on the symbol on the knife. “Where do you find it?” he demands, with cold voice.
“Stop immediately, pirate!”
Adam has reached the jetty with a group of soldiers, all of them with their guns already on their hands.
“I couldn’t have handled it,” Shiro mutters behind his breath.
Lotor passes his gaze behind Shiro and the group. With a slowly movement, he lets his sword falling on the ground, then jump behind Shiro. “Will you risk to shoot and hit him too?”
“Takashi, move aside,” Adam advice, but Shiro snorts.
It’s too late: Lotor’s sword is on Shiro’s back, pressed through the thigh uniform. He still doesn’t let the knife go.
“Drop your weapons,” Lotor orders.
Adam grits his teeth, but then looks at Shiro and nods at the soldiers. They don’t look happy, but they place the guns on the ground.
“It’s been a pleasure, Captain Shirogane,” Lotor whispers in his ears. “Until next time.”
Shiro understands what’s going to happen, but from that position he isn’t able to resist to stumble forwards when Lotor pushed his back with both hands. The movement is enough to distract Adam, and Lotor jumps on a ship parked in the near and then on the river, surpassing the soldiers.
“Are you okay?” Adam asks, but Shiro refuses his hand.
“Fine. We need to follow him.”
Lotor is annoyed. He realizes that coming in a port that hold a Garrison division may come with some inconvenient, but there isn’t another place near enough to steal a ship – a decent one, not like the last pod that abandons him in a matter of days.
Still, he hopes to have a little bit of time more, at least the time to hide himself in the small street of the town, and to be worried only about escaping with the ship. Instead is on the run the very second he stepped on Garrison, and with the knowledge that he couldn’t leave very soon, at least not before finding out more about the knife.
Garrison is a disappointed city. Most of the street are deserted, a positive thing for someone who’s running, but civilians are usually a good distraction for the soldiers, and make them more prudent before shooting at Lotor. And the shops are mostly closed, so no place to hide inside before the soldiers reach him.
But luck is still on his side, because finally there is an open door, and of a blacksmith/mechanic of all things. There, he can find back a sword, having been forced to abandoned the previous one, and maybe a lead for a good ship. He enters and closes the door behind him.
The place looks empty. With prudence, Lotor puts his gun away with the idea of passing as a normal client, and reach for a barrel full of sword. He weights some of them, unsure of what is the best one, when he hears a small creak behind him.
He turns in time to have the tip of a blade at his neck, hold up by a boy with raven hair and intense blue eyes, cheeks spattered with dark dust and oil.
“Are you the pirate that fought against Shiro?” the boy demanded.
“It’s better if I say he was the one to start it?”
The grip on the sword tightened. “You threatened him.”
Lotor sees the weakness and hit. “A little,” says, with a smirk.
The boy breathes hard and grits his teeth. The anger obfuscates his sense enough for Lotor to grab a sword and tries to disarm him. To his surprise, the boy has good reflex, and he’s stronger than he seems since he small and slender body. Lotor can’t believe to have meeting two incredible skilled swordsmen in the span of few minutes.
As much as he enjoys the fight, he has other plans for the day. The boy is strong, but he lacks delicacy. Lotor drags voluntary him back, faking a weakness under his string lash, then he turns around so he is again in the direction of the door. He takes a jump forwards and then kicks a pile of boxes, that fell on the ground and free all the metal objects they contained.
The boy steps behind to avoid being it, and Lotor rushes towards the door.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t hurt your Shiro too much,” he yells, and he doesn’t see that the door is opening, and it hit him right in the face.
Shiro is disappointed. He’s first day as a Captain hasn’t being great. A petty part of him consider that he could have beat Lotor if Adam wouldn’t have interfered, still. The fact that in the end it was Sal, even if by mistake, to catch Lotor was a pretty wound on Shiro’s pride.
The positive thing, Shiro thinks while looking at the knife, was that Adam didn’t notice it, neither did the other soldiers. Adam especially were too focused on Shiro’s well-being, allowing Shiro to hide back the knife in the pocket.
Well, what’s done is done, Shiro shrugs. He’s about to put back the knife in his drawer, when the symbol on the hilt glows. White light erupts from it: it lasts just five second before disappearing again, but Shiro isn’t mistaking his sight. It never happens before, and he puts Shiro on an edge.
That day was also the first time Shiro ever used it in battle. Usually, he doesn’t even bring it around. Shiro remembers clearly the shiver he felt when the knife’s blade stopped the slash of Lotor’s sword. Now he’s chilling, but a different kind of chilling, like the feeling that something bad is about to happening. Like the knife is trying to warn him.
Iverson is in his own room, and Shiro feels it’s not use to disturb him over a feeling. He takes his coat and leaves the mansion, the knife safe in his pocket. His intention is to reach for the guard tower next to the port and checks the defense system. Garrison Town has one of the best of the universe, so probably even if they’re under attack they will be able to repel it.
He doesn’t manage to arrive at the tower. He hears a whistle sound, then the entire town is hit by a shock wave that caused a blackout. Shiro observes with wide eyes as the light in the house around turns off one after another. The stars above him become brighter and, even in the dark, it’s impossible to miss the light of the giant ship that is slowly descending on the port.
Hoverbikes flying out from the ship, and screams and yells and gunshots can be heard around. Fires starts sprouting around.
“Pirates!”
Shiro changes his course, running towards the headquarter with the idea of helping with the defenses. He isn’t armed, so there’s few he can do against the pirates alone. Yet, he stops when he sees a pirate jumping off his hoverbike and trying to attack an old man that slowly is trying to reach his house.
Using the dark and the pirate’s distraction at his advantages, Shiro strikes body slamming against the pirate. He lets the gun fell, so Shiro grabs it in a second and shot the man in the chest, the adrenaline pushing him into shooting ten times, with the body of the pirate that winces against the hits.
Silence fells in the street, and Shiro breathes hard to calm himself. Then his ears rings, and he can hear again the screams above and around him. He’s about to turn to ask at the old man if he’s okay, when the pirate stands up. His shirt is plasters with holes, but not blood in there.
He cracks his head and smirk at Shiro. The old man screams and Shiro shots again, this time in the head. The pirate stops, but doesn’t fell.
“The legends… they’re true…” the old man whispers.
“Impossible,” Shiro says, the gun still pointed to the pirate. “Pirates aren’t immortals.” Yet, the knife seemed to have some sort of power related to them… it couldn’t be a coincidence that the pirates arrived the day Shiro used it the first time.
“No… they’re true… I’ve seen the symbol on the ship… it’s the Black Lion…”
The Black Lion is a legend among sailors: a mysterious ship that navigate space for hundred years, with an immortal crew of pirates. Nobody has been able to testify it, because there haven’t been survivors in the towns the Back Lion attacked. Shiro knows of the legend, with the curiosity about space stories he has as a child, but he never believes them.
Not until his gun finishes the shot and the pirate is still alive, still upstanding in front of him. And with no regards, he leans his hand towards Shiro, towards his pocket…
“Parley,” Shiro says suddenly.
“Par…don?” the pirate startles.
“What, you don’t know the parley?” Shiro comments, while the old man behind him trembles. “The pirate cone. Sure someone that lives for so long knows about the right of a person to ask for a meeting with the Captain. You know, to negotiate a deal.”
The pirate frowns. “We don’t need to negotiate.”
“What’s your name?” Shiro asks, surprising the pirate.
“Haxus.”
“Well, Haxus, you can do what you want, but are you sure your captain won’t be disappoint of you disrupting the pirates’ code?”
“Fine,” Haxus says. “If you want so bad to speak with the captain, you will. Your loss.”
They reach the ship with the hoverbike, and Shiro can’t help but enjoy the fly, and also the chance to admire from above the Black Lion. It’s a gigantic ship, with three black sails and a silver lion head as a figurehead. The pirates are still around the city with their hoverbikes, but the attacks have stopped, and some of them are already on board, to check the situation.
Shiro remains next to the parapet, even if he knows he can’t jump from that height: the pirates have been smart enough to not land on the surface of the lake.
“So, who’s the man who asked for a parley?” a deep, loud voice says, sounding like a roar.
The Captain is an imposing man, taller than Shiro, with a big mouth and teeth that looks like fang. Just like Shiro, he has a prosthetic arm, but his own hasn’t the dimension of a normal arm, and instead of a hand it ends with a blade.
“I’m Captain Takashi Shirogane,” Shiro introduces himself with a step forward, to show confidence.
The Captain eyes brighten. “Oh, you’re famous around space. The Champion.”
Shiro doesn’t like that surname, and the way he gains it in war, so he doesn’t answer. “Who have I the pleasure to speak with.”
“I’m Sendak, the Captain of the Black Lion,” he answers with a grin. “You’re here for the parley, so… speak.”
“I want you and your crew to leave the town and not coming back.”
Around here, the pirates snicker, but Sendak looks at him with interest. “And why we should do that?”
Slowly, Shiro puts the hand on his pocket and he takes off the knife. It’s a lucky guess, but he smiles a little because he doesn’t miss the slight way Sendak’s eyes bulge. And the way the pirates stop laughing.
“In exchange, I’ll give you this knife.”
“Why should we turn down an entire city over a poorly knife?” Sendak tries to show indifference.
“Oh, well, if you don’t want it I can always…” He puts the arm over the parapet and opens his head.
“No!” Sendak yells.
With a swift movement of his prosthetic, Shiro grabs back the knife and smirk with satisfaction.
“Fine,” Sendak spats, realizing there have no way to negate his interest in the knife. “You have your deal.”
“How can I know you’ll respect your part?” Shiro asks.
“The pirates’ code is sacred for us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t ever have talked with you.”
That is true. In all the years Shiro navigate in space, the parley and the sanctity of it is something that everyone agrees with. So he puts back his arm and delivers the knife to Sendak.
He passes it at Haxus, before turning to his man. “We’re leaving! Ready to set sail!”
Shiro looks around, guessing how they will be returning him to the ground. But when the Black Lion starts lifting to the ground, he realizes they have no intention of letting him go.
“What about me?”
“Oh?” Sendak purrs. “You haven’t say anything about you in your parley.” And then, with a satisfied smirk, he adds, “you’re not as good as you think you are, Champion.”
A bucket of water wakes Keith up. He passes out the night before, fighting against the pirates, and he’s still on the ground, in the dirt, with his body that aches everywhere. He doesn’t know how he managed to survive. He doesn’t remember much of the night previous except from the fact those pirates look immortal like the legends his father told him as a child, before dying.
Stumbling and with a hand on the wall, Keith stands up and walks with the intention of returning to his small apartment and sleeping all day, ignoring the fact that he has to work at Sal’s. Damn, maybe Sal was killed by the pirates. He has to check he’s okay before resting.
He has to check Shiro is fine before taking care of himself.
The city isn’t destroyed as Keith feared. There are burned house around, but the fire has been stopped, and apparently most people are fine enough to take care of the reparations.
Keith grasps fragments of conversation as he walks towards the blacksmith. Most people discuss about the fact that the pirates left without destroying the city, or even attacking the best house, the mansions of the nobles. The soldiers admit they were losing, but the pirates run away by themselves.
And then, Keith hears something that freeze his blood in his veins: Shiro has disappeared. Nobody has seen Captain Shirogane around and, it seems, a person testified he left with one of the pirates.
Immediately, Keith’s pain disappeared, substitute by the worries for Shiro’s situation. He changes his course and runs towards the headquarters, a place he hasn’t visited anymore after he was expelled a couple of years before. He ignores the complain of the guards and jumps on the railway. The time he has spent there as a cadet there allows him to know the best route to reach for the higher-ups’ office: and they are all there, around their table, with their maps in front of them.
“Where’s Shiro?” he demands.
Iverson looks at him with annoyance, but before he gets the change to kick Keith out, Adam intervenes. He places his hand on Keith’s shoulder and, despite his protest, he pushes him outside the room and closes the door behind them.
Keith escapes his grip. “He was kidnapped by the pirates, wasn’t he?”
“Listen,” Adam says. “We’re on their tail. The entire army is ready to fight for them. They probably took him for a ransom, and we’re getting ready for that too. We’ll bring him back.”
“I know how it works. You’re there discussing by yourself while Shiro’s outside in the hands of the pirates!”
Now Adam is annoyed. “What Shiro always tell you? Patience yields focus. We have-”
“Don’t,” Keith snarls. “Don’t use this against me.”
He turns his back at Adam, who doesn’t follow back. While he walks, he takes a decision. It’s a stupid one, reckless, but it’s the best idea Keith has at the moment to reach Shiro.
So he moves towards the cell block.
Since most of the guards are in town to help with the damages, Keith sneaks in without being spotted. Lotor is the only prisoner in the cell block, and in the silence of the area it’s impossible he hasn’t heard Keith’s steps, still he doesn’t lift from the bed he lies on.
“Hey,” Keith calls. “What do you know about the Black Lion?”
“And why do you want to know something about the Black Lion?”
“They took Shiro.”
“Ah, Captain Shirogane. A pity but, well, what’s done it’s done,” Lotor replies, with a brief shrug. “If he isn’t dead already, he’ll wish to be soon.”
Keith’s fist clatters the cell bars. “I’m going to save him. I just need to know where the Black Lion is now.”
“You’ll die,” Lotor affirms, and this time he stands up. “Why does he matter so much to you?”
“Shiro is the only one who never give up on me, so I won’t give up on him.” He looks at Lotor, at his impassible face, and the snorts. “Doesn’t matter, I’ll do it alone.”
He’s about to leave when Lotor calls him back. “What’s your name?”
“Keith.”
“Keith and what?”
“Keith and nothing.”
“Well, Keith and nothing,” Lotor smirks, “what’s your plan? You’re going around looking for any trace of the Black Lion and then, just, fight everyone? An army of immortal pirates?”
“That’s the plan, yes,” Keith answers between his teeth. It’s not like he has any other ideas.
“Okay, my plan. I’ll give you not only a way to find the Black Lion, but also a hand to take your Shiro back without dying in the meantime. If you bring me out of here.”
Keith blinks and looks at the metal bars. “I can’t take you out.” Lotor’s eyes widen, and Keith adds, “the lock is a magnetic one, it can be open only with the fingerprints of the guards.”
“Then what, you really came here hoping me, a pirate, will give you information for free?”
“That was my plan, yes.”
“Unbelievable!” Lotor turns around and lies again on the small mattress.
Keith smirks. He takes off his screwdriver and opens the small box below the lock. He takes off the caves, cuts out of them. The lock frizzles a little and then the bars open. Lotor turns around surprise.
“But I have a back plan,” Keith says. “My boss helped to build this locks.”
There is a satisfied smile on Lotor’s face. “Glad to know you’re not as naïve as you look. We may be able to do it, after all. Now let’s go before someone catch us back. But, one last question: how good are you as a pilot?”
His time in the pirate ship was boring than Shiro expect: he basically spends all his time in the small cabin they reserved to him, and for a prisoner he feels he’s be treating good. But he’s bored nevertheless, so he accepts with enthusiasm Sendak’s invitation at dinner. A good chance to find more about the knife and why they wanted it so bad.
The dinner was served in Sendak’s private cabin, and he and Shiro are the only guest inside. Sendak doesn’t eat, but Shiro is hungry and Sendak doesn’t seem the type to indulge in poisoning. He seems more inclined in decapitation or some other gruesome methods.
“You’re not scared,” Sendak says, after Shiro ends the first chicken wing and starts the second one.
“There’s no reason to be,” Shiro replies calm. “If you want me dead, I’ll be already. And to be fair, I’ve been in worse situation.” He waves his prosthetic just to make a point.
“Fair,” Sendak admits. He takes off Keith’s knife and stab the wooden table with it. “You’re an interesting man, Champion. But before deciding what I’ll do with you, I need to know where did you find the knife.”
“It’s mine,” Shiro replies immediately. “I’ve had it all my life, even if I don’t remember who gave me.”
There is no way Shiro will bring Keith in this: the less Sendak knows about Keith’s connection to the knife or to Shiro himself, the better. Hoping that Keith didn’t get killed in the attack. But no: Shiro needs to hope Keith is safe back at the town.
“I see,” Sendak hums. “Are you interesting in its story?”
“You’re going to tell me, just like that?” Shiro is surprised.
Sendak shrugs. “Why not? I can assure you, there is nothing you can do with it.”
“Except to finally satisfy my curiosity.”
“I suppose so.” Sendak touches the knife with his finger. “This story started a lot of time ago, when Captain Zarkon was still the captain of the Black Lion, and a man I’ve been proud to follow. He was a great, blood lusting pirate, you know, but he was mortal like every human.”
“You don’t look mortal to me.”
“It wasn’t always like that. The first time we ever heard about the possibility of being immortal, it was when Zarkon fall ill. His wife, well, she was a strange one, always focused on strange rituals, like a witch. She said his illness was fatal, unless she found a way to make him immortal. So she left to find the source of this immortality. Oriande, she called it.”
“But they’re supposed to be all legends, right?”
“Most of them, probably. But the space is huge, so some legends end up true in the end, in some way.”
“Like this one.”
“That’s what Honerva believed, at least. But when she returned, Zarkon was already dead.”
“The illness got him.”
“Not the illness. His own son killed him.” Sendal almost growls his last words, before his face returns impassible. “Honerva was desperate, and to calm her down, we accepted to follow her to Oriande. None of us believed the story of the immortality, but we hoped to find some treasure there. A place no one knows where it is? That’s something.”
“And did you find something?”
Sendak shakes his head. “Nothing except for those kind of knife, that were embedded in the rock of a cave. We didn’t know which metal they’re made off. Honerva called it luxite, and she said they’re magic. They were, sort off. In the hand of the person that took them off the rock, they can turn into a sword. But that isn’t their only secret.”
“What also they can do?” Shiro asks, a little too exciting.
“Since the knife were the only thing there, we took them, with the idea of selling them around.” Sendak smirks at Shiro’s disappointed expression, then he continues, “we didn’t gain much money, to be honest, but soon after we realized that we couldn’t be killed. We were so amazed, at first.”
With a sudden movement, Sendak takes the knife and stabs his neck with it. Shiro looks in awe when the two hem of skin and human meat are surrounded by small, round dark creatures, that moves with a metallic sound. They cover the wound entirely and then disappear inside Sendak’s body, leaving his neck intact as nothing happened to it.
“Nanomachines, probably created by a very advanced society,” Sendak explains. “The knifes were the key to this kind of technology: once we removed them, the nanomachines escaped their container and parasited us. I felt there some magic in them too, since how able they are to repair our bodies.”
Shiro is amazed, in a weird and sick way. “So that’s your secret. But what about you get decapitated?” Sendak misses a limb after all.
He doesn’t answer. “We spend years to collect back every single sword and bring them back in the cave of Oriande. Searching all the legends about it, we were pretty sure that putting them back in the rock with a small blood sacrifice will be enough to put the nanomachines back in their container. And finally, we found the last one of them.” He stabs back the knife in the table.
“I don’t understand,” Shiro murmurs, honest. “I thought you want to be immortal.”
“It was great at first,” Sendak admits. “Before we realized what did it mean for real. The nanomachines treat the human body like their personal puppet. They heal you only because they want to continue to use it as a vector. They steal all of your feelings. I can eat and drink, but they’ll be the one getting it, while I’m condemn to be hungry and thirsty forever. There isn’t a human desire I can’t satisfy anymore.”
“It did sound like a shitty life. No offense.”
“It is. But it’s almost over.” Sendak stands up and walks around the table. “When I took my place as the rightful heir of Zarkon, there are a group of us that didn’t approve. They wanted Lotor as a Captain,” another growls behind his teeth, “despite what he’d done to Zarkon. We threw them out, but we didn’t realize that one of them remain behind, to spy on us. She was with us at Oriante, and she took a knife too. And then she escaped.”
“Will I sound smart if I guess this knife was hers?”
Sendak grins. “Once we found out, we pursued her, and then let her rot in the emptiness of the space. That was before we discovered that we need the knife and the blood of the person that took it. But we are luckily: the blood of her son should be enough.”
There is a predatory look in Sendak’s gaze. Shiro sustains it, even if there are a lot of thoughts spinning around his head. Keith had the knife with him, and didn’t remember his mother at all, just his father. It made sense with Sendak’s story. Shiro is glad Keith isn’t there to listen to the story.
“You don’t look much like her.”
“I haven’t ever met her.” And it isn’t even a lie.
“You will soon,” Sendak affirms, with an amused smirk. “Like I said, we need a bloody sacrifice for the ritual to work. It doesn’t matter for us because we’re immortal, but you. Well. It’s been a pleasure, Champion. Enjoy your meal for me too.”
Lotor considers himself a good judge of characters. And, by the brief time he knows Keith, he deduces Keith isn’t good at following orders. He may do it only if the trusts the person he gave the order, or if he finds the order reasonable enough. It’s obvious then that Keith doesn’t work well with Lotor, being unable to understand the finesse of his plan, and Lotor doesn’t have time to explain things to him.
“So,” Keith says. “I hope the fact that they’ve surrounded us it’s part of your plan.”
“Your mistrust hurts me,” Lotor informs him, as he throws a quick glance around.
They’re on the top of the biggest ship in the port, the Atlas (the fact that Shirogane was supposed to be its captain doesn’t help Keith’s humor unfortunately). They were spotted soon enough by the guards and now the soldiers are on their boats all around, anchored the big ship on the lake.
“Keith,” calls a man who Lotor recognizes like the one that came in Shirogane’s aid the day of Lotor’s arrival. “I understand you’re worried, but that’s not the solution. Come down quietly and I’ll speak with Iverson about it.”
Lotor looks at Keith, who snorts. “So? What’s the plan?”
“Well, now that ship is free,” he nods towards a red ship at the near end of the port. “It looks fast, and we should be able to pilot it by ourselves.”
“Red?” Keith asks. “She’s the fastest ship of the fleet. Still, I fail to say how we can reach her since we’re, if it isn’t clear enough, we’re surrounded.”
“You claimed to be a good pilot,” Lotor says. “It’s the moment to prove it.”
“Unbelievable,” Keith comments.
Without another word, he disappeared inside the ship. Lotor doesn’t stop it: to be fair, he has a plan to escape from the siege, but he needs to see Keith’s ability first. They’re going to fight the immortals, and they’ll need to be prepared for it. Keith’s being the key of everything may be not enough for Sendak, and in any way Lotor doesn’t intend to use it unlike he needs to.
He keeps the gaze on the soldiers and he notices that they’ve started the boarding. He doesn’t have much time left, if Keith doesn’t manage to find a way… and then he hears it, the roar of a hoverbike’s engine. Instead of coming out by the hangar’s door, Keith passed towards the hallway of the ships and emerges from the same door he used to enter.
“Get on!” he screams as he passes next to Lotor, and he has to jump on the running hoverbike, with a big smirk on his face.
Keith flies the hoverbike behind the soldiers that are about to jump on the ship and then lets the hoverbike falling towards the lake. He turns on again the engine just a second before they crash on the lake, and the air of the engine splashes the boats with the soldiers around. Then, with the push, they spring towards the ship of their choice.
Lotor doesn’t even have to order Keith to take the helm of the ship. With a smirk, he confesses, “I’ve always wanted to pilot Red.”
“You didn’t lie when you said you’re the best pilot around,” Lotor comments.
Like mother, like son, he thinks. Krolia would be proud, but Lotor can’t tell Keith. Not yet, at last. Maybe, once he gets the Black Lion back, he may think of recruiting Keith.
If Shiro wouldn’t be in danger, Keith would have enjoyed the ride. Red isn’t supposed to be maneuver by only two people, but she’s little enough to let it works, so Keith can stay on the helm and see her as she drifts towards the waves.
Truly an amazing feeling.
“Hey,” he calls for Lotor. “There is the island! The Black Lion will be there?”
“No way,” Lotor answers with a yawn. “That’s Olkari, the town of pirates. They would never stay in such a spotlight.”
“But I thought…” Keith frowns.
“Listen, if you want to save your Shiro, we have to be prepared. Only two of us won’t work. But I have friends here, and I can create a small crew in no time. Then we’ll be ready to go to the Black Lion’s den.”
“It can be too late!”
“The Black Lion is a big ship, slower than us. And I know a shortcut to the den. Don’t worry.” Lotor pats Keith’s back. “Just be careful when you moor.”
Keith grits his teeth, but at the moment he doesn’t have other choices but to follow Lotor. He’s not a pirate expert (not as Shiro is) and he can’t just go around hoping to intercept the Black Lion; especially with the Garrison on his tail. At least, in a town of pirates he may found some other leads if Lotor isn’t enough.
Surprisingly, he feels at easy in the town. There are looks in his direction, but they seem more because he’s a new pirate in town than the usually pitied and annoyed expression he got back. And the absence of rules actually turns the place into something really free: there are machineries and engines and ships that wouldn’t have allowed under Garrison’s jurisdiction but that Keith would test for sure if he had the time. Without even notice, it has a small smile in his face.
“Can you look more…” Lotor whispers to him “… I don’t know, threatening?”
Keith frowns. “What do you mean?”
“That’s it, perfect! Keep that expression.” And he pushes open the door of a tavern.
The inside isn’t very different from the outside, save for the fact that the people are busier into drinking and betting that paying attention to them. Lotor looks around until he spots a beautiful woman with white hair cupped in a high chignon.
“Allura, my dear. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.” He leans towards her.
She smiles, a pleasant but dangerous one. Then she grabs Lotor by one arm and she throws him around the room: he falls right next to Keith, who is still at the door. He raises an eyebrow.
“I like you,” he says to her.
“Thank you.”
“I’m not sure I deserved it,” Lotor complains. He stands up again, brushes his dirty pants and sighs.
“Believe me, you did,” Allura replies. “What are you doing here?”
“I need your help,” he says sincerely. “I need a crew, a small, trustful one. To get to Oriande.”
Allura rolls his eyes. “Again? Listen, I understand you, and I’m the first one that hate that my faith was used but-”
“Sendak has the last knife,” Lotor interrupts her, and Allura’s surprised expression turns into a sadness one in a second.
Keith remains silent, but he listens every word. What knife was Lotor talking about? Who is Sendak? Was Oriande the pirates’ den? Lotor was in prison at the time of the attack at the town, so he definitely knows more than he says. And despite that, he may be the right person for Keith in that moment.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” Allura says. “If they revert the course, the world will be a better place. You’re too involved because of the Black Lion.”
“The world will be safe only if Sendak will stop being the captain of the Black Lion,” Lotor retorts. “And in the moment they revert the course they’ll be vulnerable. We need to hit them!”
“Your name is Allura, right?” Keith intervenes, at last. “The pirates of the Black Lion kidnapped a friend of mine. I want to save him, and I’ll do everything to do it. If you could help us, it’ll be really appreciated. If I lose Shiro…” It’s the first time he admits loudly that not everything could be fine in the end, and it’s so hard he almost chokes in himself.
Allura’s expression soft. “I’m sorry for your friend, but I really…”
“Please,” Lotor says. “I haven’t been the best person around, and you’re right to be angry… but this time we can do something good. Saving a life…”
“Fine,” she spats. “Give me three hours. I should be able to recruit someone crazy enough to follow you.”
“Thank you,” Keith says sincerely.
They return back to Red and waits. Keith is restless so he trains a little on the deck with a sword, while Lotor looks the horizon in silence. There are some questions Keith has for him, but he isn’t sure Lotor would have answer. And to be honest, he doesn’t not care as much as he cares about Shiro.
As promised, Allura joins them after four hours, and five girls are with her: Keith remains on the deck and studies all of them. They look tough, which is probably what they need.
“All woman?”
“I can pay them less,” Lotor jokes, and he jumps on the moor to greet them. “I’m happy to see you, and I thank you for-”
Before he can finish, the woman with the long blond hair grabs him and throws him in the air. Lotor lands with his ass back on the deck of the ship.
“Let me guess, you don’t deserve it,” Keith comments. Sometimes his decision to follow Lotor wanders.
“No, I probably deserve this one.”
“Let’s go, girl,” Allura says, “we have a work to do.”
Flying Red with a more numerous crew is easier, and lets Keith more time to dedicate only at the navigation. Lotor gave him direction, and Keith drives with more energy because this time, finally, they’ll go to save Shiro. The others are expert sailors, unlike Keith, but they seem impressed by his ability to keep the ship, and he can trust her for the other duty.
Again, Keith feels an easiness he isn’t used to. And that he wasn’t supposed to, since they all were pirates and Keith… Keith isn’t sure of what he is.
“You can rest, you know,” Allura joins him next the helm. Her tone is kind.
“I can’t,” he replies. “Not until we save Shiro.”
“You care a lot about him, don’t you?”
“I thought is pretty obvious, since everything. I mean, I’m following Lotor.”
Allura chuckles. “Fair point.” Then, her gaze becomes serious. “Lotor isn’t a bad person, but you have to be careful. The Black Lion is a sore spot for him, and it happened in the past that he ended up hurting people because of it. It doesn’t matter if his intentions are good, someone is going to suffer. And I truly hope it won’t be you.”
“You don’t even know me,” Keith replies.
“Maybe,” she says. “But you remember me of someone.” She doesn’t add anything, and Keith doesn’t ask.
His top priority in that moment is Shiro, and Lotor can bring Keith to Shiro. That’s all. He doesn’t feel any attachment to Lotor, so if he has to let Lotor behind for Shiro’s sake, he will.
This probably makes him a worse person than Lotor. A person who’s more likely hurting someone of the crew than Lotor.
“You don’t have to worry about me, but I hope we all get out of this unscattered.”
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