Next generation

[DoS Archive]

From: ellisaamorgan@aol.com (Ellisa A Morgan)
Date: 21 Feb 2000 16:10:03 EST


She was aboard the Dragon by noon and her men were busy, they would be leaving on a short run by midnight. All things seemed to be in order except for things with Random, of whom neither hide nor hair could be found.

The frustrations of the past few weeks seemed to melt like the snows beneath an angered sun as she breathed in the salty tang of the sea and she felt more like her old self again. She was standing amid deck when she heard Lynx cry for permission to board, and thought little of it until he was standing in front of her waiting for her to signal her assent to speak.

"Before you turn blue from not breathing, what have you to say?" She fell into her normal stance, her feet a shoulders width apart, her arms crossed over her chest as her body moved with the slow rock of the deck as naturally as breathing.

"Captain, I was in the Arena, lookin' for Thom and I noticed that Avery bloke left a response to your-"

Ellisa cut the words off with a quick flick of her hand, "Lynx, I do not want to hear any more."

"But Captain..."

"Nothing Lynx," she sighed before continuing in a far off voice, "I have out grown that place, I think, bloody hell, maybe it never fit. The Overlord will say what he will say and I have no desire to hear of it." She thought about the past and where she wanted her future to go, "The sport has changed, and not to my liking, and is bound to change further before it is done. I cannot relate to the patrons any more, brash braggarts for the most part
... one Billy Ray was enough and even he did not constantly feel the need to preen over just one duels' win."

Lynx listened as his Captain spoke, knowing that it was all rhetorical.

"The officials may not always do the best job, but most of them have their hearts' in the right place; mine is here aboard my ship and that is where it will stay until my death," with the words she turned, striding over to the side of the deck.

"And Thom?" Lynx never felt fear asking his Captain anything, she never discouraged that in anything except when it came to her direct orders.

A small smile tugged at her lips, "He is, as are all members of my crew, free to participate in the sport. No more of idle chatter though, we have work to complete."

Lynx nodded and quickly went to see to his duties, knowing that once his Captain made up her mind, there was little to be done about it.