“Yes, Commander.”
“I will be right back. Then we can use my speeder, too.”
Cartari nodded. “We could make good use of it.”
“I will have it, and Ilisa and her unit, back. With Ceritha. You’ll see.”
“I know you will. Good luck. Be brave.”
“Be brave.”
I saluted Cartari, then left him in control. Ilisa and the seven others were waiting for me in the courtyard, where the soldier I had sent to get my private speeder had left it. She was a beauty, sure and strong, like the sailboat I had given Ceritha. Just a ship of a different sea. She sailed the sky.
I hopped in and looked at the crew. Ilisa had chosen well. I had trained both her and Laro, and a few of the others. The remainder I knew by reputation. All were Bristola Spec Ops soldiers and of the highest caliber.
“We are going to face hand-to-hand combat when we get there,” I said, certain Ilisa had briefed them already. "We will fire on the ship as much as I deem safe with the ship's guns before we board. Who is skilled in piloting this particular craft?" Four of them raised their hands. I looked at Ilisa. She pointed at a young man called Sasby. "Can you control the guns while you fly, as well? Hover effectively? We will need you to have our backs."
“Yes, Commander.”
“Then I trust my speeder to you for this mission.”
“I’m honored, sir.”
“Keep us safe. Keep our pride. Achieve our goals.”
Sasby stepped into the pilot’s chair, trimmed her up, and launched us into the air.
We whipped a backwards way out of the harbor, to make sure we weren’t hit by any errant projectiles, and swept around the ships from the oceanside, sneaking up on the Endeavor so that we passed lower than the ship’s deck.
There were five pirates on the deck and they were dead with the laser guns before they even knew we were there as we buzzed just over the top of them. Six more ran on deck when they heard the whip of the guns and they were lasered down with the next fly-by before they could telekinetically throw anything at us that struck with any impact.
Sasby hovered over the deck and the seven of us dropped down and he whipped away to hover just off the deck, but with the Endeavor in between the speeder and the other ships. We landed in the darkness and crept quickly across the deck and around the masts, to the Captain’s quarters, Ilisa and Laro slaying he and the First Mate where they conferred, not even knowing they were under attack. The other five of us snuck down the stairs to the lower decks, combing through the few sailors remaining.
I led the way to the bottom armory. Back in the dingy, flickering light, behind the boxes of cannon ammo, grenades, bombs, and other projectiles, I could just make out the shine of metal bars of a cage. Ceritha’s cell…
“Ceritha!” I called, moving slowly, sword extended, throwing knife in my left hand, one of the other soldiers right behind me.
"Axis!" Her bright red hair was a flash of welcome fire in my soul as she leaped up from her wool blanket in the corner to grab the cage bars, no hiding the joy on her face, as she heard my voice. The blanket fell away and revealed a badly ripped and dirty dress, and there was a bruise on her face that made my heart break and my fists clench around my weapons, ready to blast holes through the walls of this ship with anger.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, sheathing my weapons and coming to the cage quickly, searching for a key somewhere near.
“No, no, I’m fine. He just hit me when he knocked me out and my dress got ripped in the struggle. It’s okay. I’m just so, so happy to see you…” Her voice was the sweetest honey in the heights of summer. The most unique snowflake in the depths of winter. The gentlest leaves falling in autumn.
“Commander?” I turned to look at the soldier that had followed me down. In her hand was a slender set of lock picks. I waved my hand in permission and she quickly knelt down to go to work on the lock. In quick time, she had popped the lock and Ceritha was leaping into my arms.
I soothed her hair as she clung to me, her legs wrapped around my waist, fully holding onto me, and I squeezed her tight. The soldier finished a complete scan of the deck, then disappeared back up the way she had come. The ship was silent, just the lapping of the waves outside rocking against the boat.
I found her. I rescued her. She is safe. She is in my arms. I have her back safe. She is mine. My Princess is safe. All I have to do is hold her forever. I just have to keep her safe forever.
“Commander?” Ilisa’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Yes, Bravo?”
“I am sorry to interrupt, but I would like permission to take the speeder and take down these other ships in this cove in this manner. At least these other back ships, one at a time. We will be careful about how we do it, so that we don’t trigger an alarm. They are clearly just waiting back here.”
I hesitated. We ran the risk with the strafing. Since it was using laser weapons, they flashed and lit up the night with their light. "Permission granted. Minimize the laser guns due to light attraction. One ship at a time. Report in often. Be brave."
“Confirmed. Thank you.”
I pulled back on Ceritha’s hair to look at her as I gently knelt to the ground with her. We were alone on this massive pirate ship.
I leaned in to kiss her.
All I wanted to do was kiss my
