RETURN OF THE SHADOW

As Daniel was explaining the situation to Winston, Vargrave and Arthur, two people were lying down in rest. One was Balthazar who was simply waiting for Richard to pick him up. He was relatively happy and didn't have any idea of the attack that had happened.

The other wasn't in such a happy state. It was Dave (Asuragana Dharma Pratap), who had finally managed to escape from Jack Godspeed's pursuit. He was very tired and in severe pain. He had lost his left arm in the fight and suffered quite a few burns and other injuries. He had been resting at a corner in the infirmary.

He had barely escape from near death with a very small fraction of the bandits who used to be under his brother's command. About 90% of them had all died in the vicious attack by an unknown enemy. They all barely managed to escape their pursuers and a majority of the survivors were injured with over 40% of them severely injured that they would be dead within a day or two, if they didn't receive proper medical care in a city.

With the ship damaged and most of the resources that were available, it would be extremely hard for them to continue living the manner they previously did. He also realized that there might be spies among the crew when the explosives were used by Walter. So, he believed there to be a high chance that apart from the main attackers, there were other that were keeping track of them. He would need to comb through the entire vessel to make sure it wasn't so.

It would require a lot of manpower and time. He considered leaving the vessel to be the most prudent action for his survival right now. He was sure that 'the unhindered' which had been the legacy of the Nirbaadh pirates would be lost in his hands completely.

But that was the least of his problems. He is currently a person who had lost an arm and was extremely weak and tired. He was among pirates the most ruthless kind who only listened to the strongest among them. He doesn't know much details about any of them or their capabilities but was sure he would be no match to them in his condition.

With his brother out of the picture, some of the l would surely try to fight for leadership of the remaining members. The survivors could be considered to be the strongest of the bunch. If he was given such a strong teammates, he would have considered it a gift, but right now it was like a loaded gun pointed to his face.

Even if he told them that he didn't have any intention to lead, they wouldn't believe him as he was the brother of the previous captain. The lieutenants of his brother who had helped train him would be the ones who will try to kill him the most.

It was a nightmare and he would have run away from the vessel in a small stealth vehicle if he had the option, but his presence was already requested at the commander's cabin. Moreover, a couple of strong escorts were sent to retrieve him. They would definitely kill him if he tried to escape. They could simply tell the others that he was colluding with their enemies. No one would fight for him after he was dead. He didn't even know who among his brother's strong and loyal men were still alive. He only hoped that a few of them and himself could mutually support each other.

Without any other options, he had quietly got up and decided to move along with the two who came to escort him. He didn't know what the others had planned for him and hoped that it wasn't anything drastic. He resigned himself to his fate as he made his way behind the pair of them.

He followed them to commander's cabin where the 10 lieutenants and three commanders waiting for him. The unhindered was a very big ship and it had four parts the size of a general military warship that would be used to plunder their targets and make their escape. It had four commanders who were in-charge of these warsh.i.p.s and 5 lieutenants directly under the captain.

Apart from that a few lieutenants were under the commanders and had served under them. One of the commanders died and another one, Arkhan was injured worse than Dharma Pratap, but was still brought to the cabin.

Of the lieutenants under Rana Pratap, three survived in good health and were also waiting for him. He knew one of them, Darak. He had been with them since the time his father was the captain. He was quite loyal to his brother and suspected that if it wasn't for his intervention, they might have already killed him. He was a veteran with cropped hair and maintained the appearance of a businessmen. Hardly anyone would consider him a thug when he went into a city.

Though they were lieutenants and technically had a lower standing than the commanders. They were ones who had always been under the direct control of captain. They along with their teams were known to be quite strong and 80% of their teams survived. Even, the men of the two dead lieutenants under the captain had a similar survival rate. It was much high, more than double compared to the other teams. Thus, the other commanders and lieutenants were extremely wary of them.

"You are finally here," said Basuli, one of the commanders. Basuli was about 7 feet tall, dark skin, a fear inducing face and braided hair that fell all over his torso. His escorts nodded to Basuli leaving him in the cabin. "I guess we can discuss the important things now," he humphed looking at the Darak.

"We don't know who our enemies are, but have they attacked quickly and put us in an extremely perilous situation. We are left with only one of the vessels and even lost the main part. A lot of our brothers also died in the fight, but this we don't have time to mourn for them. He has a lot of issues that need to be examined to make sure that we don't fall into another trap," said Basuli.

"What is the status of the engines and transport. I was told that we they were over heated and need urgent maintenance," asked the other commander, Moreno looking at Basuli expecting answers. Moreno was a blue eyed, dark haired caucasian about 8 feet tall. He had a very intimidating presence and was well known as the brute among the four commanders.

Arkhan had the highest number of pirates under him currently, but a majority of them were injured. Basuli had the next best and was the commander who was in-charge of the vessel that they escaped in. So, he knew the situation best among them.

"It is going to take some time. Darak and I have personally looked over the items and the state of the systems. I already sent a few of my men on our shuttles to get enough materials to make the ship reach a good hiding spot. Also made contact with Geraldino to provide us a place to hide and recuperate," said Basuli.

"The main issue is the situation with the ship. We obviously had a few moles among us. That is the only plausible explanation for the explosions," said Dharma Pratap. He planned to make preparations to escape during this search. "We need to sweep through the vessel to make sure no silent beacons were planted."

"Agreed," said Darak. "I suggest we check each other's quarters and their belongings. This is a matter of life and death. We can't consider our brother's privacy in this instance. The fact is that Basuli and his crew are in charge of the vessel. So, if any mole is remaining and has a moderate control of the vessel, it is highly likely they are in his crew. It is for the best, if we check each other's crews especially Basuli's. What do you say?" asked Darak looking at Basuli.

"How dare you? Why should we show you our possessions?" roared one of the lieutenants beside Basuli.

"Yes, you are just using the situation to your advantage. Don't forget you are talking to a commander, lieutenant Darak," shouted another.

Basuli looked at Darak's face for a moment as he raised his hand to stop his lieutenants. "It will be done. A silent beacon would be the worst thing that could happen to us, right now," he said.

"Captain! You can't be serious," said one of them in a hurry. They were pirates and had the habit of always keeping one or two valuable artifacts in their rooms for a rainy day. Most of the men except Basuli's crew had lost their rooms and their valuables in the attack. Basuli's crew had their valuables stowed in this vessel and were afraid that they would be taken away, especially in a situation where all others had lost theirs in the fight. The same applied for Basuli's lieutenants. He didn't expect Basuli to agree and he definitely didn't want to let others check his quarters.

"Enough! There is no need to be concerned about it. Though you search in his room for a signal, I request you to let our brother's cover it with some cloth. At close range, even a silent beacon can't escape detection even put in a lead box. I hope you agree to this," said Barak looking at Darak and then the other pirates in the room. He needed them all to agree as the checking was definitely advantageous to them.

Before the others could even ponder on it, Darak had replied. "It is a reasonable request. We won't be so shameless as to put our own brother's in an unfavorable predicament. Also, any aggression among brothers needs to be dealt severely by their own lieutenants and commanders. Else, it would lead to in-fighting and we don't want that now. It is best if we all announce this in the vessel after the meeting."

His words surprised the other pirates in the room, including Dharma. All the others had surely thought that Darak was using this chance to move against Basuli, but it didn't seem so.

"Let us come to the main point, then," said Basuli glancing at Darak and Moreno. He wanted to bring the topic of the next captain or at least the interim captain. His lieutenant had already called him captain and hence, he needed to deal with it as soon as possible. He viewed at the two pirates who seemed to wield the most power apart from him. He didn't even consider Dharma Pratap to be important and view him only as a pawn of Darak.

"Though it is inappropriate, my lieutenant had called me captain. It is best that we decide on whom to lead us. At this perilous time, we need a strong leader who makes the last decision. Without one we wouldn't be effective as a group," said Basuli as he nodded towards Arkhan.

Arkhan was waiting for this signal for quite some time. He and his crew had suffered the most damage and were extremely afraid of aggression from others. Basuli had already made him an offer when he was at his weakest. He had already accepted to be Basuli's second in command. He got down on one knee while holding bandages in one hand.

"I, Arkhan Borra, believe that commander Basuli is a very able leader and is capable of letting us gain us getting back all that we have lost. I pledge my allegiance to him and on behalf of my crew," said Arkhan with his held head down.

"Mierda Cobarde," cursed Moreno hardly able to believe Arkhan's words. He was already aware of Basuli's intentions and he was sure that Basuli had made concrete plans for it when he heard the lieutenant refer to Basuli as captain, but he had never expected Arkhan to offer his allegiance. He was hoping that at least Darak and his two fellow lieutenants would oppose him right now.

"I can't deny your logic, Basuli," said Darak. Moreno's heart plummeted as he heard those words. He wished to beat them immediate. "But it is counterproductive to talk of it at this time," continued Darak. "We can discuss it once we are safe and our men are all back in good health. Still I agree that we best let you handle all the affairs currently. After all, you had been doing it all this time."

It was neither an acceptance like Arkhan's or a rejection like that of Moreno's but a deferment to decide the leadership at a later time. Even Basuli couldn't deny it as he also knew that Arkhan's allegiance was only due to the temporary situation. He couldn't completely trust Arkhan.

He gritted his teeth in anger but couldn't fight against both Moreno and Darak as that would just deplete his troops. He still didn't have much idea of the enemies who had attacked them. So, all he could do was simply accept it. He still had a better chance than the other three, even after they get to a safe place provided by Geraldino.

Geraldino was his contact and he would still have decent control at that point of time. He still had his chance and his plan was to conserve as much strength as possible. He had lost many able fighters and didn't want to lose more either. That is why he tried it in a peaceful manner.