Chapter 20, Sarah

  Two sailors circle each other, fists raised, their faces slick with sweat and streaked with blood. I recognize one of them is Gery. The other stumbles over air.

  "He’s got his pockets full of rations, Captain. Search him and you’ll see," Gery says.

  Roberts makes a low, clicking sound with her tongue, shaking her head as she pats Cordon down.

  "I’m disappointed, Cordon."

  She pulls a small bundle of rations from his pocket and tosses it to Harken, who stands poised to intervene.

  “Those will be the last rations you lay eyes on,” she says to Cordon. Then, to the crew gathered around, “If the punishment is fair, say ‘aye.’”

  A brief silence. Then, the ‘ayes’ have it. Roberts steps back, leaving Cordon standing there, swaying.

  "It’s settled then," she says. "Let this be a warning to all of you."

  “You bog-wallowing snitch.” Cordon seethes, drawing his blade, wobbling slightly in Gery’s direction.

  I tense, the way I always do when a weapon comes out.

  Roberts catches his wrist and slams her knee into his forearm, knocking the blade from his grip. It clatters to the deck, spinning out of reach. He sways, stunned.

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  "The penalty for drawing on a crewmate is death, Cordon. You know the law. Say it for all to hear.”

  “Aye, yes I do,” he whimpers.

  I cross my arms, bracing for what comes next.

  "Kneel," she says, the tip of her steel resting against his chest.

  He hesitates for a moment. But the instinct to resist is fleeting. His shoulders slump in acceptance as he falls to his knees.

  “Do you have any last words?" she says.

  "I trust you’ll make it swift, Captain." The words tremble on his lips.

  There’s something in the way he says it. Like a thank you, goodbye, and I’m sorry, all at once.

  Roberts circles him until they are face to face. She raises the hilt of the blade higher. It’s shorter and more curved than the saber I’ve seen her with before. A heavy, brutal thing that looks made for cleaving.

  Her grip shifts, a subtle adjustment, and then she drives the blade in. Cordon’s body jerks. His breath catches, a sharp inhale he never gets to finish.

  Roberts pulls the sword free, blood spilling at her feet.

  She turns to Jake, “Search the crow’s nest and fetch me anything else he may have stashed."

  It only takes him a few seconds to climb the rigging.

  “Just an empty bottle, Captain!” Jake calls from above, waving it in the air.

  She nods up at him, then turns to me. Her bloodied blade hanging unsheathed at her side.

  "Where were we?” She says loud enough for Harken and a few others to hear. “Oh yes, you were telling me about your navigation skills."

  For a second I’m thrown. But I recover, forcing a polite expression. "Of course, Captain. What would you like to know?"

  A hint of surprise flickers in her gaze, then she starts walking and I follow.