Barnabas stared at the woman before him. She had a temper indeed. He chuckled to himself. good to know that the captain can stand up for herself. She had passed his test, like most of the other captains had. If they could stand up to Barnabas, they had some sense of quality leadership. His men would follow her wholeheartedly now – instead of questioning her decisions because she was a female, short or otherwise. He had needed her to prove herself to him, as she had already done to Paddy. He wondered how Lukas would test her. Once the three were in agreement, they could plan the real strategy of keeping the cargo – and to a lesser extent the ship’s crew protected.

The three men had agreed to test captains starting their second mission together. After, of course, the previous one had gone sour. The captain, it turns out, was a pirate and neither interested in neither the cargo nor the crew but in the spoils of what their lives and the cargo would earn him. Barnabas had lost a few men to piracy that day. Not their lives, no, but their loyalty. It was only the quick thinking of Andrew that had saved the rest of the men from mutinying. Sure, Barnabas had lost the cargo, but he’d not lost a life. The Academy had seen it differently. They didn’t care about whether the men had lived or died. The cargo held all the importance. They counted the mission as a failure.

From that point on, the trio had tested the captains to be clear of who they were sailing with – each in their own way. Barnabas tended to go for the overdramatic approach; Paddy charmed the person with his easygoing personality; Lukas chose to test based on intelligence. Andrew had gotten in on the fun a few times, but only if he thought the others were going about the task poorly or slowly. Barnabas was certain that Andrew would test Eve – given she was female and not the type of captain the men were used to. Andrew of course, had probably done the same with the men while they were waiting in the shuttle bay. Slowly but surely the butler was going to make gentlemen out of them.


“Lukas,” Andrew said in a calm voice “grab her arms.” The lieutenant grinned and did as instructed. “My dear,” Andrew addressed Eve this time “I’m old, but not deaf. There is no need for you to yell. I’ve no desire to usurp your position; neither do the gentlemen in my care. I am, as always, watching over you. The barbarian you call ‘Cook’ had not been trained in his trade. I merely removed him from his incorrect position.”

Andrew walked to the cauldron, took in the aroma and sighed. He could see the captain still struggling – as he expected her to, given her current position. He removed from a bag on the counter a small golden spoon. He dipped the spoon in the stew and walked to the captain. “I really do detest having to be so rough, my Lady. Please forgive me.” He grabbed her chin forced it open and dumped the broth into her mouth.

Lukas, being merely a bystander during this situation, decided it best to keep his mouth shut. Sorry it had to come to this, my dear he thought. I guess I’m the last one to test you then… Lukas was often the first to test the captain. He sometimes posed as Barnabas – especially for captains that had never met either of them before. It amused him greatly that only three had discovered the ruse without being told. Ah, yes. You seem to be a clever one, yet if both Paddy and Barnabas got to you that easily… Perhaps you feel more than you think. That could end poorly. Captains that don’t think about their voyages tend to be victims of piracy, or pirates themselves.


“Well lass,” Paddy grinned “ol’Paddy will ‘elp ye with that.” He went to wrap his left arm around her waist to pull her a bit closer, but she backed up before he could. His fingers brushed the side of her waist instead. He jumped – but recovered quickly – at the sound of the intercom. He looked around the room before following Amy’s gaze to the speaker on the wall. The room was silent, except for the hum of the engines causing the captain’s voice to echo. Paddy threw back his head and groaned. “Jes ‘cause I tested the lass…” he muttered under his breath. “Bloody idiots.”

The marine – Dr. Holmes – turned to address Paddy. “Sir!” he gasped “The major… the major called for a meeting. “

“Aw, well seem he has a date in tha torpedo bay.” Paddy joked.

“Sir?” Holmes said, obviously not understanding.

“Aye, ferget it lad an’ get back to tha sleep bay.” Paddy turned his attention towards Amy and the boy. Perhaps their conversation would shed more light on the captain.