The Iron Man [Serial]

Departures

I slept little the night before our departure. The evening hours were spent loading baggage and dunnage onto the Hippocampus. I spent the night beside Murphy on his bedroll out in the shrub-brush. I was too nervous about the upcoming mission-- or my own decision to seek to share a bed --to rest my mind. I watched the slow turning of the stars until the sky glowed with dawn, and then I was up again, to complete preparations for the next leg of our journey.

The early morning hours were spent visiting Vila Eivissa, again, to collect a pair of shoes for Sina and to settle accounts with Vlad. Afterward, we helped the other strike the tent. With more than half our number departing, the tent would no longer be necessary, and those remaining would want for hands, later.

Finally, it came time to depart. We carried the last of our belongings to the pier. There, Alpha found me. "I have something for you," he said.

"But, we're to travel together." I was not parting from him, not yet.

"I'll give it to you now, so you can stow it safely amongst your luggage." He reached into a broad canvas bag at his foot. "It's a loan. I cannot gift it to you permanently, as it was only given to me for safekeeping."

I recognized the shape immediately. It was a Scipio, a crook-handled cane sword. This one was bound with green ribbon which prevented immediate drawing of its blade. I wanted to refuse so rare a gift, but knowing it was a loan and refusing would likely be insulting, I extended my hands to accept the weapon. "I will take care of it."

"May it take care of you. Murphy's meant to be teaching you, which will be easier if you each have your own." Alpha looked down at the Scipio, fingers still firmly grasping its length. I waited. Eventually, he released the cane-sword into my hands.

It was then time for farewells. Garin and Dolores would be staying behind with the Chief and not rejoin us until we reached Alexandria. Garin consented to clasp hands with each of us as he wished us luck on our journey. In Dolores' case, she exchanged cheek kisses with Murphy and Sina. When she came to Prim and Alpha, Dolores gave and received the cheek kisses, but then also leaned-in for an embrace. I was yet close enough to see-- to almost hear --she whispered something to Alpha. When finally she came to me, Dolores smiled and offered her hand. I took her offered hand and bowed to kiss her knuckles.

"Bon voyage, Julien," Dolores said.

"Et vous."

We boarded the Hippocampus then and were soon sailing around the Island of Eivissa.

The small sailing yacht was not ideally suited to five passengers. Through its upper deck, cabin, and cramped lower cabin it incorporated storage compartments and furnishings into its structure as much as possible. All adjusting and rigging of sails was done on deck, while rudder control and navigation were performed within the small upper cabin, where the map table sometimes doubled as a dining or card table. Below there was room for two or three to rest on cushioned benches, and the most basic of wash and galley facilities. Necessarily our rest came in shifts.

There was often some active operation of the boat to tend, but there was some free time. As I was not as capable piloting a vessel-- though Alpha attempted to talk me through many operations --I often took on the task of preparing our small meals and heating water on the small gas-fired stove to brew coffee or tea.

It had not been feasible to load Alpha and Murphy's shared library, so lessons were most often in the form of oral quizzes. Did we all know the system of government within the Nuovo Impero and the names of current nobility and politicians? Did we know the relevant sections of the Dress Code for our various cover identities? What did we understand of Italian culture and current mode of dress within the parameters of regulation?

Sometimes Murphy and Prim played music for us, or Prim read aloud from one of his small collection of books. He was, apart from being an acoustical engineer, seemingly as interested in philosophy as Alpha. Yet, Prim's tastes ran toward contemporary German thinkers who wrote of social sciences, or novelists in the orientalist trend. He spoke of caste struggles, the Apollonian versus the Dionysian, and the defining of the spectrum of human sex and attraction.

Caste struggle or the seeking of personal pleasure over the needs of The Pax, were not Regulation topics in our post-war period-- Prim might find certain texts confiscated if we went through a customs search --but The Fashionista evidently approved of works disseminating eastern philosophy and religion, as well as scientific study of attraction, because they provided the sort of pan-cultural and inclusive thinking that supported the concept that we were all happiest in a society where we performed our own assigned roles within the greater society.

It seemed strange to me to see Alpha-- my teacher --play the role of the student. He hung on every word Prim said. It might have been that he just held affection for Prim on a personal level, except that his questions in response to Prim seemed to indicate attempt to understand the subject matter, as much as to continue dialogue. In contrast, Murphy seemed already familiar with these continental theories. He was able to rephrase Prim's words in Arabic such as to help Alpha improve his comprehension.

Though I truly wished to help others realize their dreams, at times their conversation was too removed from my immediate concerns to hold interest. I was glad for a small break from our close quarters when we neared the halfway point of our journey and stopped in the port of Casteddu on the island of Sardìgna.

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Chapter 29.

I've made a minor edit to the chapter during re-read  to replace the media. I found the video I originally linked was removed from Youtube. This one is different, but still a form of Sardinian music/singing.

Thanks everyone for reading. :)