A new enemy

Rafferty wakes up in the middle of the night.
He's still in the sleeping room next to his new smuggler friends.

He gets up and leaves the sleeping room.
Then he decides to look around in this building. Maybe he can find something interesting to steal.

As he looks around, he finds himself in a room with a bunch of storage racks filled with random stuff.
Maybe he should just take some with him? Or maybe this would be too dangerous right now?

Then he notices something interesting.
It's the exact ornament that he stole and left on the ship he stole with the pirates back then.
Are Jack and his crew somewhere around this place?
No, it would only be his crew. He killed Jack himself.

He can't stop staring at it.
But he won't steal it again. It will only get him into trouble.

Oh, you like that?

He looks around and notices a person he hasn't seen before.

I found it on my ship. It has been stolen.
Sadly I couldn't save it. It was damaged beyod repair.
At least they had this treasure. It's almost as valuable.

And the thieves? Did you kill them?

I left them there to die. I'm sure then won't survive much longer.

Who even are you? I haven't seen you before.

I'm Harken, the leader of these smugglers here.
I've already been told who you are. They said you want to join us.

That's true. I'll help you steal whatever you want.

That's honorable. But I already have something else in mind for you.
Since you're awake now, could you please follow me?

Rafferty follows him to some small room.
And some dirty woman is inside. He remembers her. This must be Anne from the pirates.
She nods after he entered the room.

Also it's the first time he sees Harken in good light.
He's very tall and wears a coat. He also looks very strong.
Something is wrong with his right arm, though. It doesn't look normal.

I'm sure, you'll be able to serve us well.
I'm not mad at you. You helped me to get this rare item.

Rafferty is scared. He knows he has been caught.
Should he just run away? No, this won't work.

But sorry for bothering you in the middle of the night.
You probably want to continue sleeping now.

Yeah, I'm already tired again. Thanks for accepting me as your crew member.

Rafferty slowly leaves the room and goes back to the sleeping room. But he doesn't enter. He only waits there for a while, and then tries to find an exit.
He probably has to use the entry he already knows. The one in the stockroom.

He just enters the room. Maybe he should steal something?
If Harken really was the owner of the ship that he blew up, he might have some more explosive weapons.
He looks around and sees some subtle glow from one of the boxes, so he gets closer and opens it properly.
Inside, there really are some glowing balls. But smaller than the one he found on his ship.
So he takes a few of them and then quickly leaves.

He's outside now. That was easy.
But where should he go now? He'll just steal the boat and row back to the Light of Cian.
If they are still around here, he should be able to see them. It's a huge ship.
They wouldn't just leave without him, right?

As he starts walking, he notices a dark figure in the moonlight.
It's Harken.

I already feared that we can't solve this in the peaceful way.

Harken throws away his coat. Now his muscular upper body is visible. And his right arm looks very mechanical, like a weapon.

Rafferty doesn't hesitate and throws a bomb at him, and another one to be sure.
Then he runs away.

Kael wakes up in the middle of the night.
Maris is still sleeping, learing against him.
He gets up, making her gently fall onto the couch without waking her up.

He doesn't want to get her in trouble, so he checks what's going on himself.
He gets his brass knuckles and then quickly leaves the ship. This might be the chance to try his new weapons in practice.

As soon as Kael is outside, he already hears some gunshots. At least one per second.
In front of him, he sees a cloud of smoke, and suddenly a dark figure appears.
Kael immediately gets ready, when he suddenly notices that it's just Rafferty.
Of course he's the one responsible for this...

Rafferty looks at him.

Kael? Somebody is trying to kill me!

Don't worry. I'll care for him. Get in the ship and wake up Maris.

He just runs past him.
Kael stays calm. He just enters the smoke. Nobody will see him, but he can hear the gunshots.

He doesn't know if this is smart. Maybe he should just flee together with Rafferty and get to safety.
Actually, he's even a little scared.
But he really wants to try his new weapons.

He slowly walks toward the enemy. And the shots get louder and louder.
He doesn't walk in the middle of the path, but stays close to buildings.
Then he suddenly feels something between his left shoulder and his chest. He doesn't immediately understand what it is. But then he feels a severe pain. He almost doesn't dare to move his left arm anymore. This makes it even worse.

Then he sees a shadow in the smoke.
He runs closer. The person is really tall. But he jumps onto him, clings onto his left arm and punches his face very hard with his right arm.
But the enemy keeps standing and looks directly into his face.
The smoke is almost gone by now.

Kael continues punching his face, switching between his right and his left arm despite the pain, clinging to him with his legs, but he's really a beast.
Soon the huge guy shakes him off.

Kael falls to the ground but quickly gets up again and moves back.
The guy wants to punch him with his weird mechanical arm. It's faster than any punch Kael has seen. He only barely manages to dodge.
Then he hears a few more shots.

Harken turns to Rafferty, who is holding a gun at him.
Rafferty immediately starts running again.
Harken got shot into his back, but this doesn't bring him down.

He targets him. Now Kael sees his chance. He moves to his other side and punches his mechanical arm.

Stop it! This won't help you!

Kael thinks they can win if they keep fighting togther.

Then Zenna suddenly appears and comes closer.

Stop this!

Leave, young girl! You might get hurt.

Harken targets her with his arm.

No, not her!

Kael would regret it if a girl died because of him.
He jumps onto his mechanical arm. Harken can't target them.
Then Harken gets hit by another shot. It hit his lower leg. He can't stand anymore and falls down.

Harken might not be able to attack for a while. He really seems exhausted. Maybe he accepted his defeat. His mechanical arm seems broken.

Kael now runs toward the ship and his friends.
But he quickly gets slower. The pain gets stronger, now that he's out of danger. His new outfit already has a red stripe.

Come here!

Zenna comes closer to him, and tries to help him walk.

Oh, that wound seems serious, you have to get help soon. Rafferty, help!

Rafferty also approaches them. He immediately decides to carry Kael back to the ship on his own.

Zenna keeps standing there and looks back at Harken once more.
She's sorry for him. Maybe he isn't such a bad guy.

Maris already got the ship ready.
She only waits for Rafferty and Kael to come back.

When Rafferty enters the ship, he puts him onto the couch.

We're back!

Maris immediately starts the ship, and they start to move to their next destination.

Then Maris quickly comes down with some badages.
The wound isn't too deep. The bullet is small and already must have fallen out during the fight.
She doesn't have a lot of experience, but she remembers some injury she had herself, when she was younger.
She tries to bind it, hoping it helps.

Now Kael keeps lying there.
Sadly Maris hasn't seen his fight. But she even admires him for it.
She really likes how he looks now. When he's dirty from the fight, he seems much more mature.

She continues caring for him a little more while Rafferty tells her what happened.
Rafferty is mostly annoying. He's really excited when telling his story, but it's clear that he caused all of this trouble.

Soon, Kael is sleeping. He seems okay so far.

I guess we should keep him here.
I'll go to bed.

Okay, I'll watch for him a little more, in case he wakes up and needs something.

Thanks. But don't bother him.

In the early morning, Rafferty is still awake, when Kael wakes up.

Is everybody fine!

Rafferty is surprised by this sudden question.

Yeah, I'm fine. And Maris went to bed. Are you fine?

Yes, I'm okay. And what about Zenna?

Uhm...
She must be back to her room, I think.

Can you please look for her?

She might be sleeping.

Look for her! Now!

Okay, okay. I'll be right back.

Rafferty enters her room, but she really isn't there.
Only a bunch of documents. And one handwritten paper.
Rafferty doesn't dare to come back. Did they really leave Zenna alone with Harken?

Rafferty comes back to Kael and gives him a paper.

Can you read this?

Zenna must have written this. "Thank you for the adventure. But I want to stay here. Please do not follow."

Do you think she stayed?

We have to go back immediately. This guy might kill her!

Okay, I'll ask Maris!

As Rafferty turns away from Kael, Kael notices a paper on his back.

What is this?

Rafferty stops.

What?

On your back?

Rafferty grabs onto his back and takes the paper.
He gives it to Kael.

Kael looks at it.

What does it say?

"I'll care for Harken. Don't come back. I'll be fine."

We should still check, right?

We don't have a chance against Harken in our current state. He might still be our enemy. But he didn't want to hurt Zenna. I trust her. I'm relieved now.
She must have talked to him already before she wrote this. She knows his name.

Kael is happy. At least it's not his fault if anything happens to her. It's her own decision, and thats what matters.