After questioning Acting-Captain Alaric once more on the Myrmidon's ill-fated encounter with the Blackhorn's ship, the Chameleon, Serena was careful to avoid becoming complacent during their remaining travels to Ishaq. She had overwhelming confidence in her own command, her crew, and her ship, but—according to Alaric's report—so did the deceased Captain Durval. The false confidence presumably applied to Captain Matthews of the Indefatigable's still-missing crew.

Therefore, she wasn't in the mood to take any chances.

The Vengeance sailed south, seeking bands of better weather that should take them all the way to Ishaq. While calmer skies meant they could take it easy on the engines and even unfurl some of the smaller sails, it also meant they were closer to pirate territory and the numerous bases hidden away in the lumina-locked island fields to the south.

Thorne's gunnery crews were at high alert at all times, coordinating closely with Sensors and Communications to ensure they were ready to respond at a moment's notice. Just being in a state of high alertness for so long was draining, and so Serena ensured the Head Chef knew to give the gunners the better cuts of meat.

It didn't take long before signatures started to appear on the Vengeance's instruments. Through the island fields and boulder debris that littered the Southern Passage, the telltale rhythmic beating of a ship's lift engine drew the attention of the Vengeance and its captain. Serena knew these ships, despite their benign appearance of small fishing vessels or light transports, couldn't have travelled this far into the Southern Passage from either side, and therefore must have their home port at one of the pirate bases nearby.

So, she didn't feel bad when she ordered one of the Vengeance's turrets to align its barrels at the shadowing vessels. With explosive shells loaded, Thorne's gunnery crews were ready to begin polite conversation with the pirate vessels regarding their upcoming travels to the under-sky. That ready greeting, along with the Vengeance's pinging the suspect ships and demanding that they approach for inspection, was mostly enough to make them scarper away and out of aetherscope range.

Sometimes they lingered, responding with handy excuses; too little crystal, problematic winds or even lift engine trouble. Serena was almost impressed at their boldness and determination to keep shadowing them, but whether it was bravery or stupidity, she didn't care to find out.

Persistent vessels found themselves subject to warning shots; cheerful greetings that whistled a dozen metres in front of their bow. Having certain death fly past them at twice the speed of sound, following the perfect ballistic trajectory calculated from the Vengeance's new Ambler Firing Tables, was enough to send all but the most cocky vessels running.

One determined pirate vessel that still wanted to play peeka and mouse even after the Vengeance had fired a warning shot—a ship that Menes identified as belonging to a pirate group called the Red Hands—only backed off after Serena ordered a nearby island to be obliterated, covering the Red Hand ship in grey rock and fragmentation.

Even then, it lingered at the edges of its aetherscope range and didn't fully retreat until Serena demonstrated that Thorne's hardened crews could be sufficiently accurate at eight klicks.

"Those Red Hands are a problem group," Menes said after the engagement. "Whoever leads them is aggressive, my sayyidah. They take risks and attack vessels that the other factions leave alone. Perhaps they are trying to get into the Blackhorn's favour?"

Serena made a note of his comments, adding it to a growing list of information she'd been collating between Intelligence, Acting-Captain Alaric, Captain Matthew's notes, and Menes' understanding of the frail and ever-changing alliances and conflicts between the various groups littering the Passage.

After a few more days of relatively calm skies, the Vengeance—aided by its unrelenting aggressive stance to the local inhabitants—no longer found itself shadowed by suspect signatures. It seemed Serena's persistent attempt to have an honest, explosive conversation with the pirates had prompted them to have their own conversation with their dishonest colleagues at their home ports. Word seemed to have gotten around, and the Vengeance was left alone thereafter. On the rare occasion they would stumble across a vessel, it would rapidly withdraw, often before the Vengeance sent its initial warnings.

They soon found themselves in a patch of sky Menes called the calm triangle; a small area roughly equidistant from the Shattered Isles to their north, the pirate territory that was now to their south-east, and Ishaq's perimeter, now only two hundred klicks away.

With good weather and clear skies providing the observers with clear lines of sight in all directions, and their aetherscope managing to sense out to their full range, Serena ordered that the general alertness of the ship be reduced, giving everyone a much-needed break. Taking the opportunity to give her crew some fresh air and do some washing, she opened the first deck for general access.

Finella took the opportunity to run her squad through even more training. Seonmi and Noburu went through gunnery drills, with a helping pair of horns provided by Thorne. Mel and the twins—Ido and Arin—progressed through kata sequences in which Finella echoed a previous Katalin lesson and had them repeatedly flare their aura with every move, straining their bodies and focus.

Daichi and Hinako were practising manifesting wards, while a cheerful Amelia—still in her disguise as Lia Liona—joined in. Thankfully, Amelia was conscious of the presence of Alaric's and Menes' crews—who did not know of her true identity—and kept her Marzanna magic to first-circle only.

If Serena's eyes and senses didn't deceive her, wasn't Daichi's and Hinako's magic starting to feel very… Amelia-like? Their spell construction was still rather rigid, echoing the distinct procedure of the Imperial Step-Wise Method, but there were parts where they were merging multiple steps together, instantaneously constructing the next part of the formation, similarly to how Amelia typically did with all her magic.

It wasn't just the mages who demonstrated vast improvement in the short amount of time since they'd set sail from Asamaywa; Mel's orange was more vibrant than ever, Ido's technique was as steady as a rock, and Arin's sharpshooting would soon threaten Thorne's standing as the ship's best marksmen if he wasn't careful. Even Noburu and Seonmi were moving and responding more like soldiers, handling their rifles in a manner that Serena thought appropriate for a crewmember of her ship.

Once they arrived at Ishaq, Serena needed to find time for Amelia and Noburu to sit down and experiment with each other's abilities. While Noburu's presence on the Vengeance had been justified by Chesterfield by hinting that a demon of his particular talents might be needed for their upcoming duties, Serena knew the real main reason was his mistwalking ability and the opportunity to pass that knowledge onto Amelia.

And… what of her own training? As a captain in charge of transporting more than three hundred souls through some of the most awkward skies she'd ever had the privilege of sailing through, Serena simply hadn't found time to develop her own talents further.

She knew she was now comfortable with blue aura—the fifth level of aura only accessible to her after Speaking Narean. The exhausting training and duels she'd faced in Katalin's training sessions had pushed Serena to her limits and beyond. As much as part of her mind desperately wanted to forget the almost incomprehensible events that happened in the Asamaywa Academy's Speaker training room, her body wouldn't forget the progress it had made and still needed to make.

"Menes," she asked, turning to the Arakian standing next to her. "Does Ishaq have Speaker training rooms?"

"Rooms?" Menes frowned. After Serena explained how the Asamaywa academy handled training Speakers, his eyes opened in realisation and he shook his head. "We only have open training areas, my sayyidah. They should be sufficient for you, yes?"

"I'm accustomed to more privacy when training my Word," Serena said, before going on to explain, "In Samino culture, warriors often train away from prying eyes, so as not to expose the limits of their abilities to enemy spies."

In fact, the older generations of Shimokan practitioners, such as the Grandmaster of the Asamaywa Academy and his Kenhoro-based brother, would train wearing a dress-like garment called a hakama. It was a black piece of cloth that hung from the waist and covered the ankles, serving to hide the precise foot movements of advanced Shimokan techniques. The garment had fallen out of fashion in Serena's generation, as the advent of cameras had meant the previously secretive information was more widely accessible to the general public.

"Hmm," Menes hummed, rubbing his chin. "I know of this concern. I have heard of Ishaqian warriors finding secluded areas of our wilderness. You don't have to travel far before you feel like you are a hundred klicks from another person, my sayyidah."

"The Ishaqian wilderness, how dangerous is it?" Serena asked.

"For one such as yourself?" Menes gestured towards her before nodding towards Finella's squad. "Or them? There is little danger. The biggest beast you'll find in our wilderness is a shawa, my sayyidah. You have to go into the desert or travel past Shiloh to find bigger monsters."

Shawa. The larger, hungrier big brother of the half-domesticated peeka.

"Those two would need to be more careful," Menes continued, pointing out Noburu and Seonmi. "But we have solved this problem, yes? Those in Ishaq who travel the wilderness wear face masks on the back of their head." Serena raised an eyebrow and, seeing it, Menes chuckled and explained, "Shawas stalk their prey before attacking. They always attack from behind, but if they think you are looking at them, they do not strike. This is what the face mask does, yes? It tricks the shawa."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Menes grunted, and the two of them watched the training progress for a few minutes in silence. Serena took out a handkerchief and wiped her forehead.

"It's getting warm," she said idly, putting in a bit more aether into her aura to help regulate her temperature. As she did, she felt one of Amelia's many wards respond to her will, assisting the work of her aura.

In truth, opening up the first deck for washing, relaxation, and training wasn't the only reason Serena made the decision. It was getting warm in the Vengeance. Warm and humid. While she and the other warriors and mages could handle it well enough, the majority of the Vengeance's complement did not have the luck of being aether users.

They'd already opened vents and bulkhead doors, trying to get as much airflow as possible throughout the ship. That had helped, but everyone knew it was going to get worse. If it was this bad when they weren't even in the South yet, how bad would Ishaq be?

"Ha, you'll get used to it," Menes said. "The calm triangle is always a bit stuffy, but Ishaq is pleasant. There is a constant south wind, my sayyidah. Pulled in from the desert heat rising. There are many ways to stay cool in the South, but, uh…" Menes turned his head, looking Serena up and down. "Those uniforms will not help. Your men will pass out if you do not allow them to take clothes off, yes?"

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"...Noted," Serena said. She'd heard more than a few stories of how liberal Ishaqian clothing could become. It was one of the reasons captains would find some of their men not appearing for duty after being on military leave in the city.

"Look at her, my sayyidah. Isn't Pyrinn beautiful, even from this distance?" Menes raised his arms, palms open, and gestured to the distant Red Moon that was only now becoming visible through the Passage skies. "Her red moonlight blesses us all, warms us in our darkest times. When you leave the South, you will miss her gaze, my sayyidah. I promise you that."

If we don't all melt from her heat, Serena thought.

"Is it common in Ishaq to use their Old World names?" Serena asked, nodding to the Red Moon. Pyrinn was the Red Moon's name throughout the Cascadian continent before the Long Discordancy. After the Empress's crusades and victory over the Enemy, the old names had fallen out of fashion, and most people simply used their colour to describe them.

"It is what the Ashendi called her," Menes said solemnly. "We must never forget their true names, my sayyidah. All nine of them. If we forget, the chain will break and they will be born again." The Arakian chuckled. "Well… It's a tale to scare children. I do not believe it…"

Serena frowned, her mind suddenly connecting his words to Anathor's ethereal warning.

Lose them not, nor break the chain—or beasts shall walk the world again.

"Menes," Serena said, her interest piqued. "Where exactly—"

"Captain!" Dagon's voice grabbed her attention. Serena turned just as Dagon rounded the corner. "Ship engine detected at one-twenty, level with us!" Dagon pointed off the starboard side. "We just pinged her and she responded with an identification code. She's claiming"—Dagon's eyes flicked to Menes—"to be the Nefertari, Captain."

"The Nefertari!?" Menes exclaimed. "Aha!" He rushed across the deck, peering into the sky. A moment passed before he let out a great jubilant cry and raised both his arms to the sky, roaring, "Bless the Red Moon! Bless Pyrinn's light! She's guided my ship back to me!" He turned, his face wearing a wide and happy grin. "See, my sayyidah? The Passage takes and gives. Today, it has given us this re—" Menes paused, frowning slightly. "This re—"

"Reunion," Serena intoned, stepping up beside him and peering out into the open expanse. There, about six klicks away, she identified the white-hulled ship. It was an unusual shape, weighted at the bottom with a long underhull superstructure. The bow of the ship flattened near the end, curving slightly and spreading out to the port and starboard sides, reminding her of an arcwhale's fins. The prow boasted a figurehead, carved from a darker wood than the white hull. Pushing her aura into orange, Serena could just about make out the feminine figure.

"There she is!" Menes cried again, practically weeping with happiness. "Look at her, my sayyidah. Is she not the most beautiful ship you've ever seen!" Menes reached out, spreading out his hands dramatically and saying, "White Ishaqian oak for the hull, with fine Yameni sails that won't let even a whisper of wind escape! And of course, at the very front, is Nefertari herself!"

"...You carved the figurehead after your wife?" Serena asked. "That's a bit… bold, don't you think?"

"Being bold is Ishaqian tradition!" Menes explained, beginning to wave at the Nefertari with both hands. "When the first refugees travelled the Golden Path and arrived in the new lands, they carved figures of their lost husbands and wives, in honour of those who didn't make it. When we used balloons to travel in the sky, we carved them on the basket! And now we have great ships with lift engines, so we carve our loved ones so they may guide us in when things are at their worst! Look, my sayyidah!" Menes pointed excitedly. "It has worked! Aha!"

Serena turned to Dagon and instructed, "Tell them to pull alongside us. The weather's good enough for them to come on deck. Bring up the rest of the Hakian crew. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this reunion."

"Aye, Captain!" Dagon said, saluting quickly before vanishing back into the bridge.

Serena watched as the Nefertari approached. It appeared to only have a single weapon: a single-barreled two-inch system mounted on its underhull, near the bow. There were some systems mounted on its first deck, but they were only smoke and illumination systems.

"Light load-out for a ship that braves the Passage," she murmured.

"Ah, but she is built for speed, my sayyidah," Menes intoned proudly. "She is fast—faster than any pirate ship. You've seen what kind of vessels they sail, yes? Our little cannon is more than enough to scare away any small fish trying to nip our ankles." The Arakian chuckled before continuing, "and run away from the big ones."

Serena hummed in response, watching as the Nefertari came ever closer. The rest of Menes' crew were brought onto the deck, and soon she was drowned out in Hakian cries of jubilation and prayer. It wasn't long before those same celebrations spread to the Nefertari itself. Serena could see the Captain of the ship stepping out onto the deck and watching them through a telescope. The man, a large Arakian demon that looked like Menes, made excited gestures to his crew before they too broke out in celebration.

"It's heartwarming," Alaric said quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the Hakian shouts. "I can only pray Captain Matthews and the rest of the Indefatigable's crew will experience something similar in the near future."

"If they're alive, the search team will find them. I promise you that, Acting-Captain Voss," Serena reassured.

"...Thank you, Captain."

The Nefertari made its final approach turn, coming smoothly alongside the Vengeance with a level of skilful piloting that even impressed Serena. For a moment, she thought Menes would lose himself in his excitement and launch himself over the gap, but he just about managed to restrain himself, shouting for a rope.

His answer came from the Nefertari. A weight—with an attached rope—was thrown from the ship onto the Vengeance's deck. Serena ordered Finella to pull. Soon the rope, which was further attached to a rope bridge, was pulled across the gap and secured on both sides.

Ship boarding was a delicate business. You could do it the secure, firm way, where you extend a metal connector and lock in with the opposing ship, or you can use a connection which isn't as sensitive to each ship's movement, such as a rope bridge. Considering the former required metal locking mechanisms and dampeners that the Nefertari's wooden hull lacked, they'd chosen the latter.

The large Arakian on the opposing side moved first, practically running across the rope bridge, his face joyous and laughing. Serena positioned herself to receive the man, but he flew past her, embracing Menes in a firm hug. The pair began hitting each other on the back with loud thuds that sounded painful.

"Brother!" the man cried in a thick accent.

"Brother!" Menes cried back.

"Menes, I prayed to the Red Moon you would be safe, and she delivered you to me!"

"Brother, I prayed to the Red Moon you would be safe, and she delivered you to me!"

Both brothers laughed and immediately entered an animated conversation in Hakian, talking so fast that Serena couldn't pick up the few words she might have recognised if she tried.

"Seven Hells," Finella muttered, coming up beside her. "There are two of them?"

"Two that we know of," Serena whispered back.

"Double the trouble."

"You're telling me."

"Think he has any sisters?"

"Don't jinx it."

"Moons, can you imagine? I bet—"

"My sayyidah!" Menes suddenly exclaimed, pulling his brother up to stand in front of her. "Meet my mighty little brother, Lieutenant Bahar Bastet! Brother, meet the, uh, forceful Captain Serena Halen and"—Menes leaned in to his brother, saying in a low voice—"a strong woman."

"My sayyidah," Bahar intoned, taking Serena's hand and, before she could process what he was doing, he got down on one knee and kissed the back of her hand. "You are a beautiful woman, my sayyidah. I see that no ring adorns your fingers or your horns. You are unmarried, yes? If I may, I would like to take you to dinner to thank you for rescuing my brother. I come from a strong family, as do you. Our binding would be a great thing, under the eyes of the Red Moon. She would bless us, I am sure. I pray that you would allow me this honour of wedding you."

For the briefest of moments, Serena's brain shut down.

Then, with the back of her hand still pressed against Bahar's lips, Serena looked to her left. There she saw a completely white-faced Finella, whose eyes had grown as wide as saucers. Next to Finella, Serena saw Mel and the rest of the squad were sharing their commander's lack of facial colour. Mel met Serena's eyes, only to immediately look away, her entire body stiffening as if she felt she was in immense danger.

Serena then turned her head to look to her right. There she saw Dagon, her First Officer. He was motioning frantically with one finger, drawing it alongside his throat again and again while staring intently at Menes and jerking his head towards his kneeling brother. When Dagon realised Serena saw him, he snapped his arm down and stood rock solid with perfect posture.

And then there was Menes, whose body seemed undecided on what to do. On one horn, he was tentatively reaching towards his brother, only for his hand to pull itself back, as if reacting to something hot. On the other horn, he was wearing a nervous expression, with his other hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Aha…" he muttered, his voice shaking with nervous laughter. "My sayyidah… my brother… you see…"

Then Serena caught sight of Amelia. There she stood, disguised as Lia Liona, a little bit back from everyone else. Both her hands were covering her mouth, and her flushed cheeks glowed a vibrant red. Her eyes met Serena's, and instantly Amelia's jaw clenched, and her girlfriend's eyes sparkled in mirth as she did her best not to burst out with laughter. Amelia looked at her with eyes that said, 'This is the most hilarious thing that I've ever seen! I'm going to tease you about this for years!'

"My sayyidah?" Bahar said, the confidence in his voice making Serena sense something boil up from within her. Something dangerous. "I'm awaiting your answer, my good woman."

"B—" Serena had to close her mouth and take a moment. "Bahar," she said, her tone dripping with venomous sweetness that even she didn't know she was capable of producing. It was a tone of voice that would cause even her mother to pause. Serena pulled her hand away. She could see it was shaking slightly, with subtle tremors not unlike those Acting-Captain Alaric suffered from before his mind broke.

"Yes, my sayyidah?" Bahar looked up from his kneeling position, his face sporting an arrogant smile. "You will not regret spending time with me, I promise you that. I may be a large man, but I have a gentle touch."

Channelling absolutely everything and anything Serena possessed in an effort not to behead the man there and then, Serena opened her mouth and just about managed to get the words out, "Bahar, I could never be with someone who couldn't defeat me." As she spoke, she realised her sword arm was already firmly gripping her sword's hilt, slowly withdrawing it from the sheath.

"Oh? Oh!" Bahar's eyes widened. He nodded seriously, as if he expected such a response. "Of course, you are a strong woman, as my mighty brother said. I will be careful, my sayyidah, and show you why being by my side as my wife is the safest place for you. Enough sailing around in this ship. You are too young to waste your life playing sailor, my sayyidah." Bahar then stood up and in one smooth motion, unsheathed his sword. He flourished it dramatically. "A duel then, my sayyidah? Until one of us surrenders?"

"Oh… Bahar," Serena intoned. Was she whispering? She couldn't even tell. There was a humming in her ears and the sound of rushing blood. "That sounds wonderful."

"O-Officer Mori," Serena just about heard Finella stutter. "Officer Mori!"

"W-What?"

"R-Run and get Hillbrand. Go… Go now!"

"Y-Yes!"

"Just wonderful," Serena repeated, motioning with her sword for everyone to form an impromptu circle. In all her years of being captain of the Vengeance, she'd rarely seen her crew move so fast to get out of her way.

Taking her position, she saw Menes trying to say something to his brother. Whatever it was, Serena couldn't hear. The blood in her ears was too loud, and if she wasn't mistaken, did her vision now have a red tint? Bahar seemed to shrug off Menes, laughing and spinning his sword as he stepped into the circle. Then, he bowed deeply. Rising, his body broke out into a solid orange aura, and he pointed his sword at Serena and said something.

Was he offering her the first move?

"Wonderful…" Serena whispered again.

And then…

She attacked.

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