Something Exploded

As the sun began to set, crew members crowded into the galley for extra servings of the day’s luxurious feast.

Barbarossa approached Lina and Skayla, who had claimed a four-person table while the rest of the crew squeezed together inside the crowded galley.

“Exactly how much did you two catch?” he asked, taking an empty seat. “Are you sure neither of you has fished before?”

“This was truly my first time,” Skayla said innocently, struggling to crack open a lobster shell.

“I’ve only caught fish in rivers and lakes, never at sea,” Lina said, taking the lobster from Skayla’s hands and splitting its shell open with a loud CRACK! “Here, take it.”

“Thank you,” Skayla said, marveling at the whitish-pink meat before happily gobbling it down. “SO YUMMY!!” 

“Hmm... I see,” Barbarossa muttered, studying their plates. “A-Rank Diamond Head Tuna, B-Rank Golden Snapper, C-Rank King Lobster... and even an A-Rank Silverfin Swordfish.”

Barbarossa’s expression gradually became more serious.

“Even during the late-summer rainy season, catching this many rare, high-ranking fish shouldn’t be possible,” Barbarossa thought. “Most of these species don’t normally swim in these waters. It’s as if something is attracting them here... or, more likely, scaring them toward us.”

Barbarossa placed his right hand over the scar on his chest and held his breath, waiting for a sign that might confirm his suspicion.

“Aren’t you going to join us for dinner, Captain?” Skayla asked, noticing there wasn’t a plate in front of him.

“Huh?” Barbarossa muttered, quickly lowering his hand from his chest. “Not right now. I’m going to check on a couple of things before I shower and come back to eat. Make sure you save some for me.”

Barbarossa’s eyes drifted to Skayla’s side of the table, where a galley worker struggled to collect the rather large pile of dirty plates beside her.

“No promises,” Skayla replied innocently as she began eating the pan-seared Diamond Head Tuna steaks.

Barbarossa chuckled lightly as he stood and made his way toward the galley exit.

As he passed, crew members stopped eating and rose from their seats one after another, saluting their captain.

Barbarossa, however, was too deep in thought to notice, leaving the confused crew members hanging as he stepped through the door.

“Did something seem off about him?” Skayla asked Lina. 

“Leave him alone. That means more for us,” Lina said, cracking open another lobster shell for Skayla.

“I’m pretty sure that cuckoo old man has something on his mind. He probably doesn’t want to startle us... or anyone else just yet,” Lina thought, recalling the concern on Barbarossa’s face before he left.

After leaving the galley, Barbarossa entered the ship’s bridge, where the evening-shift crew stood to salute him.

“At ease,” Barbarossa ordered, walking over to a large metal box with a circular glass screen. “Anything on the ship’s Mana Doppler?”

The Mana Doppler was a relatively new magic tool that used mana waves to detect nearby ships and marine life. Few ships carried one because it required an enormous amount of mana.

“Nothing out of the ordinary, sir. Just the usual ships and schools of fish,” the crew member stationed in front of it reported. “We’ve kept the Mana Doppler running continuously since leaving port, just as you ordered.”

“That’s good to hear,” Barbarossa said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Remember, I want someone watching that display every second we’re at sea.”

The old scar across Barbarossa’s chest throbbed again, making him falter and catch himself against the edge of the Mana Doppler.

“Are you alright, sir?” the crew member asked.

“Yes. Just a bit hungry, that’s all,” Barbarossa replied with a serious expression. “You know what? I want two sets of eyes on that display at all times. I won’t have tired eyes missing something.”

“If any of you see something concerning, or even something that just looks funny on the horizon or the Doppler, I want to know about it,” he ordered, turning to address the crew. “I don’t care if I’m asleep, taking a bath, or taking a shit. Get your arse to me immediately. Savvy?”

“YES, CAPTAIN!” they shouted in unison.

Barbarossa headed toward the bridge exit and rested his right hand against the metal door, hoping fresh air would ease the lingering pain in his chest.

One of the ship’s youngest recruits stood and saluted. “Captain, permission to speak!”

Barbarossa stopped and turned around. “Permission granted. Speak, boy.”

“What exactly are we looking for?” the young crewman asked.

Barbarossa glanced around at the other confused faces. Several long seconds passed before he spoke.

“I haven’t got the slightest damn clue,” he answered, resting his left hand on the hilt of his old cutlass. “But something about these waters... just ain’t feeling right.”

Without another word, Barbarossa stepped through the metal door.

The crew members returned to their stations, their attention fixed on the horizon and the Mana Doppler. After all, if there was one thing every sailor aboard the Flying Crimson trusted without hesitation, it was Captain Barbarossa’s intuition.

After dinner, Lina and Skayla returned to their shared guest room, which contained a queen-size bed, a private bathroom, and a small seating area.

Lina stepped out of the bathroom in a loosely tied white robe, her long scarlet hair still damp from the shower. As she dried it with a clean white towel, stray droplets rolled down her exposed neck and collarbone.

“You can use the bath now,” Lina told Skayla, who was sprawled across the bed with one hand resting on her stomach, having eaten far more than she probably should have.

Lina sat on the edge of the bed, still drying her hair.

“I still can’t believe I’m on a ship,” she said, glancing around the room in amazement. “Every other ship I’ve sailed on was cramped, damp, and reeked of urine. Compared to them, this room feels like the Royal Castle.”

“Klarisa told me the ship’s interior was based on designs found in one of the Age of Chaos journals from the chest,” Skayla explained as she rolled herself out of bed. “The shipwrights didn’t understand why a ship needed such fancy amenities, but the Amber Sail Company insisted, so they included them.”

“The Age of Chaos, huh?” Lina muttered. “What actually ended that era?”

“Hmm... I think I remember something exploding,” Skayla answered as she grabbed her clothes from her magic bag and headed toward the bathroom.

“Something exploded?” Lina asked, confused by Skayla’s vague explanation.

“Yeah... something exploded, which then caused something else to explode... then apparently everything started exploding,” Skayla explained as she disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, the shower turned on.

Lina lay back on the bed, resting an arm across her forehead as she tried to follow Skayla’s incredibly detailed history lesson.

“BOOM! BOOM! KABOOM! BOOOOOOM!” Skayla shouted as she popped back into the guest room, dressed in nothing but her black lace-trimmed undergarments.

“SKAYLA!” Lina shouted, startled half to death and ready to tackle her.

Skayla immediately made a tactical retreat into the bathroom, her laughter echoing loudly from inside.

Lina sat back down on the edge of the bed, wrapped her damp hair in a fresh towel, and returned to her thoughts.

“Something... exploded?” she muttered. “Exploded... huh?”

The word lingered in her mind as she leaned back against the soft, luxurious bed, trying to remember why it sounded so familiar until the ship’s gentle rocking lulled her into a deep sleep.

“HEY! WAKE UP!” a female voice shouted.

“HELLO?! ARE YOU AWAKE?!” the voice continued.

“WAKE UP ALREADY, YOU RUNT!” she finally yelled at the top of her lungs.

Lina slowly opened her eyes, still dazed and groggy, her cheek resting against a curtain of long silver hair that smelled of roses and lilies.

“Mom...?” Lina muttered sleepily.

“Mom?! I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!” the woman shouted, immediately dropping Lina onto the moss-covered ground.

“OWWWW!” Lina shouted, staring up at the beautiful young silver-haired woman towering over her. “THAT REALLY HURT, MASTER!”

“Oh, look who’s finally awake,” Atena said, staring down at the little scarlet-haired girl with a cheeky smirk.

This was one of Lina’s childhood memories of the spontaneous training sessions her Master, Atena, had forced upon her when she was only nine years old.