After making sure that Dan was alright and that he hadn't lost his mind, just yet, the people there finally focused on what he was saying.

  "Let's go somewhere more private," It was Marcus who said that as he gave a fast glance around them. The others all approved as they made their way outside the corridor cluster where the islanders were kept.

  Old Raily stopped to give the guards some instructions, mainly about being more careful around the islanders and explaining a bit about what some of them really were.

  Once they were in a private cabin away from where the islanders were, Dan explained what had happened to him to Robert, Marcus and old Raily.

  "I won't lie," Robert said once Dan was done speaking, "Of all the things that happened to us, the Voyager's situation really emphasises how magical this world could be."

  "I get you," Old Raily said with a light nod. "I doubt that I would come to accept the fact that the ship I'm on is coming alive anytime soon."

  "At least our most pressing problem is dealt with," Marcus nodded.

  "And if she understood what I said," Dan interjected, "And I think she most likely did, she's probably capable of noticing similar marks put on her from now on. That lifts a huge weight off my shoulders."

  "Fortunately, we dealt with that mess fast," Marcus said before his expression turned even more serious as he continued, "Now we have to deal with the other bigger mess."

  Dan could feel the air in the cabin turn heavier. He knew what Marcus meant, the islanders, they needed to solve that ticking time bomb as soon as possible. A sense of loss and self-reproach also filled him at those words. This was a problem he was the source of. He took a deep breath to bring it all under control, he might have made a mistake, but it wasn't the time to feel sorry about himself, they needed to deal with this as fast as possible.

  "Dropping them as soon as possible is a must," Old Raily said, his expression so serious and dark that Dan could feel his heart skip a beat. Ever since all this started, the old man seemed to be turning to someone else. This side of him would only appear from time to time, but it felt so oppressive.

  "I agree," The chief officer said, tapping the table, "I don't like what a group of magical spies could do. What's keeping them in check is probably just their fear of the unknown. They have no idea that the guards they see are all we have. We should drop them before that illusion disappears."

  "I'm really thankful to the Voyager for that." Old Raily said, "Before she dealt with the mark, they were our only hope. Having them know that we can't even deal with those would have been a nightmare. I can't imagine what a group of spies would have done with that kind of knowledge."

  "So what?" Dan finally could say, pushing his feelings aside as he focused on the matter at hand, "Should we drop them right now? We can do that, but I fear how dangerous returning that close to shore would be. I think the Empire must be full of activity because of us."

  "I thought of that too," Marcus sighed, Dan could only imagine what the chief security officer must have been feeling. The man was someone who took his job quite seriously. Yet in this world, everything seemed to be, or lead to, a threat, it must have been driving him crazy. "But in the end, it's the lesser of two evils. We can try and drop them tonight, move somewhere random that's far from here, take them all on one tender with heavy security, drop them and be done with it. That has the risk of being discovered by the Imperial Navy or more guards. Or keep them with us for a couple of days, waiting for the Empire's attention to lower before dropping them off."

  "We must do it today," Old Raily said once again, "Keeping them is too much of a risk. I can take my chances with the possibility of being found by the Empire, but having them on our ship is something else, I wouldn't have it."

  Dan saw Marcus nod faintly as the old man spoke, and honestly, he could get it, the two options were on completely different levels of risk. The way he, and possibly all the people in the room saw it, the islanders had to go, and fast.

  "Seems that we all have the same idea," Robert said with a light smile, "So, how are we doing this?"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "We should up security," Marcus said, taking control of the conversation as it entered his area of expertise. "Me, Old Raily, and all the other guards will be on that tender taking them to shore. We need to be on high alert."

  "Captain," He turned to Dan, "You should discuss with Keith on possible locations where we can drop them at. Needs to be secluded, away from any villages or towns."

  Dan just nodded, he already had that in mind.

  Marcus then looked at his watch, thought for a few seconds before saying,

  "Taking into consideration how long it would take us to prepare everything, let's say we should leave with them on the tender in 3 hours. It should be enough time for you and Keith to choose possible locations, and for the Voyager to make it there, right?"

  "Yes, it should be enough." Dan nodded.

  "Should we tell the islanders?" Robert asked something that Dan had in mind too.

  "I think we shouldn't," It was Old Raily who answered, "We shouldn't give them time to prepare for a retaliation, in case they wanted to act on that. Keep the old man and the woman who's always with him separate from the others, don't let them contact them to plan for anything."

  "I agree with that," Marcus said, "Once the tender is in place, we should start leading them to it. That should keep the chances of any trouble low."

  "That's all for now I guess," Seeing everyone nod, Marcus finally said with a sigh. "Hopefully everything will go well. Get moving everyone."

  "Okay," Everyone said.

  Dan left toward the bridge, Robert beside him.

  "Don't let it get to you," his friend said after they had moved in silence for a while.

  "It was that noticeable, huh?" Dan chuckled.

  "Yup," Robert smiled, "I think the others noticed too, they just didn't comment on it."

  "It is a mess," Dan sighed, "But I know that it isn't the time to think about all of that. Dealing with it should be our priority right now, going to leave everything else to later."

  "Good, that's my Captain," Robert patted him on the shoulder.

  The rest of the way to the bridge was silent, Dan and Robert were both lost in their own thoughts. Making it to the bridge, Dan grounded himself in the present as he prepared for what was coming.

  "Keith, Freddie, how is it going?" He called out.

  The two lifted their heads from the map and the book they were lost in at his voice, it was Keith who spoke first,

  "The Voyager is already on its-" She stopped here, changing how she referred to the Voyager under a weird look from Freddie, "-her way to a stretch of the ocean we think is going to be quite safe for us. It's close to a location that some creatures called Swarmers have chosen as their territory."

  "The book mentioned that they are a kind of territorial fish that tend to attack any ship passing by." Freddie continued, "Their main lethality seems to be how Cornerstones, whatever those are, can't keep them away, and how they bite through wood easily. That made this zone get abandoned as a safe route. Ships usually take a detour when they pass around there. It should be a perfect location for us to lay low."

  "Great to hear," He nodded. He then looked around the bridge, it was empty, except for those two, Robert and him. It was already late at night, and most of the others were already asleep. Happy with the privacy, he continued, "Unfortunately, a change of plans happened. We are going to drop the islanders in a couple of hours. See if you can find somewhere where we can drop them safely. You know the drill, away from villages or towns and hopefully even not that well used by ships."

  "Right now?" Freddie asked in confusion, Keith's face mirroring his.

  "Yes, things turned a bit messy with them. We need to deal with them fast," It was Robert who answered seriously.

  "Okay, okay," Keith said slowly as she glanced back at the map, Freddie joining her with it. At the same time, she told them absentmindedly, "Stop the Voyager please. We don't need to waste fuel heading any deeper into the ocean if we're just going to return on our way."

  "On it," Dan answered as he walked to the small handle that worked as the Voyager's steering wheel. Just as he was about to reach it, his eyes glanced to the side, at the screen that Keith linked her skill to. Noticing that an orange shape appeared at the top of the screen. It wasn't a dot like all the others, but boat-shaped! Before he could even say anything about it. He heard Keith's shout,

  "Hostiles ahead!"

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