A corsair ship was flying over a rocky land located on Planet Crete. It was a gladiator ship. A deadly ship in the hands of a highly skilled pilot. The ship was recognizable among many. Red lights and the engine with red plasma color. There was no doubt. It was Nina’s ship. The ship landed and the engines were turning off. The landscape was rocky and sandy. It was a lifeless area. Still inside of her gladiator, the corsair verified again if she brought enough ration to last at least a month. The words of Cesar were still in her mind. He wanted Nina to follow the punishment for at least two weeks before regaining the rank of centurion. But too much angered because of the loss, blindly, Nina setted course to a lifeless zone on Crete. She wanted to be alone, far of everything and everyone. With her hands, she slapped her cheeks to focus on right now. She pressed on a button and the cockpit’s entrance opened up. The temperature felt was 20 degrees celsius. There was no wind, a calm day.
Once outside of the ship, Nina held a heavy bag containing a tent. Carrying it with two hands, Nina walked a bit away to find a good spot where she could settle the tent. Preferably, the tent needed to be in an area where safety was present. At one hundred meters away from the gladiator, Nina finally settled the tent. The tent in itself wasn’t big but it was enough for one person. The sleeping bag and a pillow took the most place and the remaining would be for rations. Yet, Nina did not decide what to do with the left place. After closing the entrance, the young woman looked at the sky. It was a night sky coming up and stars were beginning to show up. Her thoughts were always on those Military she met. Frieda and Traudel. Both were more considered as friends than enemies. Then, she focused on Traudel. Tears were slowly falling down in the silence of the evening. ’’*Sigh* Traudel… What should I do?’’ Of course, no answer but only silence and the sound of her breath. Although, the question she said was not stupid at all. Any corsair who leaves the empire is permanently banned from it and this fact was not pleased at all. It was her home and being banned from it means she’d have no other place out there. In fact, this statement was not true. Traudel Habermeyer said often that she’d welcome Nina if needed. A place where both could be safe. On the other hand, Nina did not want this. She did not want to depend on her to live. After all, all her childhood until the beginning of adulthood, the corsair always fought to live. The corsair walked a bit and sat on a rock. She glared at the void, thinking what to do about her life. One question came in her mind. What is a corsair? Her definition was this one: A corsair is a warrior who fights for his people. But at this moment, she questioned her own definition. ’’A corsair… a corsair is a person who does what he wants to satisfy his desires no matter what. By force if needed.’’ That was her new definition. She stood up and raised a fist to the sky. ’’I am a Corsair! I do what I want to do and no one will order me to f*ck off!’’ Her fist turned into a finger. ’’Even the Elders can’t order me around. They are stuck in old traditions. They are always sitting in their chairs -thinking- what will be the best for the empire.’’ She spat a lumb of saliva. ’’It needs a change. A change that Deterrence and The Brotherhood need! Deterrence is almost a revolutionist group but they are lacking what The Brotherhood has and it is the same thing on the other hand. *sigh*’’
Tired after complaining into the void of the landscape, Nina returned to her tent. She entered inside of it, closed the entrance and laid on the ground in the sleeping back. She closed her eyes but did not fall asleep. Thoughts disturbed her. It took hours before she eventually sleep.
Day two
The corsair woke up in sweat after a nightmare. In her nightmare, she saw an execution. It was not an execution of an unknown person but someone she knew. Her heart was compressed when she saw the head rolling on the ground. Suddenly gained by a willing to vomit, Nina unzipped the tent, walked a bit away and vomited. The woman glared for some seconds at the ground trying to breathe normally. The images of her nightmare were clear. After some minutes to focus on now, Nina redressed her position and walked toward her ship to get a bag of ration. Arrived at the gladiator entrance, the Corsair entered in the ship. Her first action was to turn on the radio device. It was again the same channel. The Canal Uno. It was about farming and it was something she did not pay attention to. Suddenly, the radio began to be messy. There was noise as if the signal was getting weaker due to an interference caused by an object or but during that day, it was just a cloudy sky. Her imagination forced her to believe it could be someone trying to reach her. Unsure, she turned it off, grabbed the bag and left the ship heading to the tent. She carefully put the ration bag at the empty space of the tent, unzipped it, grabbed a plastic bag containing dried meat, opened it, dived her right hand to finally grab a piece of meat and ate it. It was surprisingly good. The woman got out of the tent, sat nearby and looked at the horizon.
While she was eating and looking at the horizon of the landscape, a thought hit her. She imagined how wonderful it would be to do ‘camping’ with someone. ’’*sigh* Traudel… I wonder how are you today…’’ Still looking at the infinite horizon and thinking about what to do, a little sensation on her right knee caught her attention. It was an insect, a scorpion. She froze on place. Scorpions are a venomous insect and on Planet Crete, the species can thread the life of a man. Depending on the morphology, it can take two strikes to kill an adult and one to children. The scorpion was black, six legs, two little claws and a big tail, a sign that the insect was venomous. It was walking toward her belly. The Corsair brought her right hand before the scorpion as an invitation to embark. Trying to calm down a bit, Nina breathed deeply and once the insect in the palm of her hand, it stopped moving and changed direction toward her shoulder. Nina panicked, put down the plastic bag containing the dried meat, brought her left hand toward the scorpion to block its way but it climbed on the left hand. The woman stood up fast, ran to find a place where to bring the scorpion. While she was running, the scorpion was moving. It made the race hard for Nina and after five minutes, she found a spot where she could drop the insect. In her hand, the scorpion tried to be on her arm but before, Nina was bringing her right arm on which the scorpion was behind and she did a violent movement as if she was smashing and the scorpion followed the movement. When it was on the ground, Nina smashed it with her boots violently. She hated scorpions. After she calmed down, she returned to her camp zone. The plastic bag was still there. She sat again, grabbed the bag and restarted eating.
The night was coming and the clouds let place to stars. Nina Rodriguez was lying on the ground, her hands behind her head as a pillow. ’’*sigh* Second day in this desert. Living like this, is it better than- Whatever. At least, there’s no one around to bore me.’’ The night was silent. The only one making noise was the Corsair when she talked openly. ’’If I stay here for a month, will you consider me dead, Traudel? Or… will you be stressed again because you have no news from me? Believe me, I’d like to be with you. But I can’t. Not only because Cesar wants me to be outside of Rheinland. There’s also the fact that I felt something… Maybe it would be better if we didn’t meet during that day?’’ She freed her left arm, raised it toward the sky. ’’We can’t change the past… I need to face it. I got softened because of you and your little protege, Frieda. Why are people like you in the Military? You are both too kind for this… And, your kindness, it changed me. Being at your sides is dangerous…’’ Hours passed and it was getting late. Nina stood up, walked toward her tent and entered inside. She zipped the entrance and laid in the sleeping bag. The woman closed her eyes and fell asleep.
It was early when the Corsair woke up. It was probably 5am. The sound of rain and thunder woke her up. The sound was so loud as if the sky would crack upon her head. She thanked the tent for being waterproof so far. The weather was not the best to go outside. It will be a day confined in the tent with so little space to do anything interesting. She took the sitting position rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up properly. It was difficult. With her right hand, she was blindly seeking her personal communication PDA. The light of the screen blinded her for some long seconds. She began to get used to the screen with her sleepy eyes. There was no notification. Disappointment was the only feeling. As a lonely wolve such as herself, at some point, socializing was, in fact, essential. When they saw each other in Sigma-13 for a ‘last time’, Traudel let her private frequency open for Nina whenever she feels the need to contact her. It’s been some time now and she did not make the first step at all. Only negative thoughts came. As always, her thoughts came out of her mouth. ’’Traudel, why do you not contact me? Was I just good to be someone to talk to when you needed and then being a trash after consumption? Tell me… Did you fake everything between us?’’ Then, uncertainties. She was having doubts about Traudel and about herself as well.
With the hours passing, the weather calmed down, letting place to a light rain. Nina was outside having her face up to the sky. Her clothes were humid, her hair and face. All suggested she was there for a good moment. Solitude was now the feeling felt. The rain was cold but refreshing. The Corsair was splitted in two. A side of her inner self wanted to leave the corsair empire and then living as she wants with this person who was dear to her. The other side, it was all the negative thoughts and energy gathered together making slowly but surely an equilibrate Nina to an aggressive Nina thirsty for blood and violence. This side wanted to explode. She was tired. She felt heavy due of the negativity gathered over the months and due of the lose of what she gained.
The day was long. It was now 6pm and the rain was still falling. Nina Rodriguez was freezing and she got inside of the tent. Her clothes were completely wet. In those conditions, to not catch a cold, the only thing to do would be to remove all she was wearing and being covered in the sleeping bag. That’s what she did. There was nothing much to do. She grabbed a ration bag, opened it and began to eat. It was the same thing. Dried meat.
Nina woke up after a terrible dream. In the dream she had, her vision turned red. Only one impulsion directed her body. Anger. A murder willing against those she met. Whatever the faction they belonged to. The dream ended when she saw her own hands covered of her dear friend’s blood, Traudel Habermeyer. When the Corsair opened her eyes, daylight was there. It was probably around 7am. She put her clothes on and went outside of the tent. Her clothes were still humid. She stayed still for an hour. The heat was drying the clothes slowly making them more comfortable with the time. Then, a sound of spaceship reactor caught her attention. She looked at the sky to see where the sound was coming from but saw nothing.
After a while, the ship was in sight. It was a Titan and it was coming toward her position. Nina was obviously wondering who the hell was the pilot. ’’Did they find me?? No.. It’s not The Brotherhood.’’ The closer the ship was getting, the more details were becoming visible. The ship seemed dusty and a symbol on a wing was totally unknown to her.
The Titan finally landed near her Gladiator. From the position she was, near her tent, Nina was observing the ship and then, the unknown person who just got out of it. The clothes of the person were different from what she used to see where she was living. The simple description she believed to be was sand clothes when people travel in the desert. The person was looking at the Gladiator belonging to Nina. Then, he looked at his ship and back to the Gladiator. He was probably intrigued. After spending a moment observing the Gladiator, the person was looking around searching to whom the Gladiator belonged to and he saw a woman observing from 100 meters away. It was Nina. The person began to walk toward her. Nina was calmed but was seriously wondering who the hell was the unknown person. After a while, both were facing each other. The crimson eyes of Nina was severely staring at the person. His face was covered to protect against the sand during sandstorms. ’’Salam Alaikum, stranger.’’ His voice was neutral and it was that kind of voice that was not boring. On the contrary, the sound of it was encouraging to answer. Nina replied to the man as respectful as he did. ’’Hola, stranger.’’ The man removed his cover on his face. An attractive face he had. By his face, Nina noticed he was black man. He then started to ask questions to the woman. ’’By the look of yours, you are a corsair. Why are you so far away from civilization? It is curious because we don’t see a lot of lonely Corsairs in this part of the desert.’’ Nina sighed but not against the stranger. It was mostly because she was tired of multiple things going on in her mind. ’’Well, you see, I decided to stay far away from everything. Trying to survive on my own and figure out some… things. It’s a long story.’’ The man chuckled a bit. ’’I see. Whatever brought you here belongs to you. However, I’d suggest you to follow me. So far, you've been lucky because around these parts, you’d prefer to run away due to the creatures living around.’’ For a second, Nina froze. She now thought about the scorpion she killed. She closed her eyes and opened them to focus on now. ’’Alright… Just let me pack my things and I'll come. ’’ The crimson haired Corsair started packing up her things. She was doing it as fast as she could. Meanwhile, after observing the woman from head to feet while she was not facing him, the man looked away for a moment. With everything packed up, Nina looked at the man. ‘’I’m ready.’’ The man did a sign as a ‘follow me’. He entered in his ship and Nina did the same but in her own ship. By radio, the man said basically two words. Follow me. The ships’ engines turned on and they began to fly in the sky.
It took some hours before they arrived in the middle of nowhere. The ships finally landed on the sand of the desert. Nina let her things inside her Gladiator. They meet again outside. The man greeted Nina once more, but this time formally. ’’I am Youssef Amdouni. We will need to walk a moment from now on.’’ Nina nodded to Youssef and she said her name. ’’And I am Nina Rodriguez.’’ He simply nodded and they both started walking. Hours of walk finished to be paid as we say. Youssef and Nina finally joined a group of nomads. They were wearing the same clothing as Youssef. They were soon noticed. The group walked toward their direction and of course, Nina was the only black sheep of the group. Everyone was curious and skeptical about her. Youssef made the presentation to the group and an elder of the group approached her. He was mostly examining her. In his head, he noted her physic. ’’Introduce yourself Nina Rodriguez.’’ Of course, she complied to the old man’s request. ’’I am Nina Rodriguez. I am a Corsair who decided to be far from civilization. I am a member of The Brotherhood. I know it is surprising to see someone like me here in the desert but some events happened and I needed some space.’’ There was some whispering here and there after she said that. Then, the elder spoke again. ’’Alright then. We are about to settle our camp and you will talk more. We don’t trust newcomers on the first day.’’’’Naturally.’’ Replied Nina respectfully.
It was now night and the camp was settled. Nina was in the tent of the elder and he was not alone. The old man was accompanied by two other elders and four soldiers by the look of them. Nina was in the middle of the tent facing three old men sitting on the ground. The same elder of earlier ordered Nina to speak about herself but in details. ’’I am Nina Rodriguez. A simple member of The Brotherhood. I used to be a centurion in their ranks but I got punished and lost the title. Thoroughly angered, I decided to live for a month in the desert and today, it is my fourth day. I wanted to figure things out far from the civilization.’’ She took a short break before continuing. ’’Since my childhood, I had to fight to survive. Nowadays, it is different of course but I can afford what I need to live.’’ The three men seemed to have a little chat after she had finished to talk. At the end of their talks, they nodded at the same time. ’’Interesting. So you are a member of The Brotherhood. I see we have not anyone here. We can let you stay as long as you respect our rules. The next times you come in the desert, it will be preferable to advice first. You are young and it was your first time being in a desert. You will be escorted where you will sleep for tonight. On this, you can go.’’ One of the soldiers escorted Nina to another tent and in there, it was just women. The soldier let Nina enter first and he followed. He said one sentence. ‘’She is allowed to stay as long as she respects our rules. You are in charge of her.’’ On those words, he bowed and left. One of the women took Nina’s hand leading her where she will sleep. It was a sleeping bag on the ground made of furs in the middle of two other sleeping bags. It was already late and Nina did not waste time going in, closing her eyes and eventually sleep.
It is now the fifth day she passed in the desert. Nina woke up early after being awakened by the women waking up and yawning. They were black skinned as well. Nina helped them to pack everything. After all, they offered hospitality. It was the least she could do as payment. After that, Nina went outside and walked a bit. It was early. The sun was not even up in the sky. She inhaled deeply the fresh air before it becomes an arid air. Slowly, the Corsair was hypnotized by the horizon. She saw the red sun getting higher and higher slowly by the time. The only thing she was about to say was said by a man's voice from her back. It was Youssef’s voice. ’’Pretty, isn’t it?’’ She had a scare. ’’Don’t appear behind me like this!! You want me to get a heart attack or what ?!’’ He simply chuckled. ’’No no. You were so focused that your guard was down. First time you see a rising sun in the desert?’’ She nodded then looked at him. ’’Indeed. Also, do you think you can lead me to my ship? I am afraid I need to go sooner than I thought…’’ The man nodded. ’’I can but I have things to do first. In fact, you can come with me. It will be faster.’’ She looked at him unsure what to say. He then explained further what he needed to do and Nina finished to accept. They both headed toward the horizon after being equipped like any hunters would be in a desert. Adequate clothes and weapons as well and a map of the desert.
After being prepared to go, they both started walking heading to nowhere, from Nina’s perspective. They walked for hours before they reached a rocky area. Both sitting on a rock, Youssef took the map and showed to Nina where they were and explained to her why they were there. ’’We are here to hunt, Nina. Just follow my instructions and everything will be fine.’’ The woman nodded in silence and then, they both settled a little camp. A fire pit and a tent big enough for two. ’’We will be here for a moment. Probably for three weeks. In March, I will be able to lead the way to your ship.’’ Nina replied with no time. ‘’It’s fine. The Brotherhood will probably believe I left or exiled myself. I’d like to avoid that…’’ The man nodded silently. ’’Then, we will need to hunt with no break for a week or two. Are you ready for this?’’ Determined, Nina nodded with a thumbs up.
…
Two days later, the first week of February has passed and it’s been a week since Nina was in the desert. During two days, Nina Rodriguez helped Youssef hunting animals to get food and skin. Together, they did more than what was planned in the first place. Of course, the beginnings were not easy. Nina never hunted so it took a while before Youssef’s instructions finished to stay in her head. Youssef did not even need to say anything to the woman. She got ready when she needed to be.
It was finally the day to leave. Youssef led Nina Rodriguez to her Gladiator. They both said farewell. The good side of this short trip, she learnt how to hunt and she even had some fighting lessons from Youssef. Nina was highly surprised how efficient his fighting style was compared to hers. She ate a lot of dust before to eventually improve bit by bit. Another good point was that she finally made up her mind. She decided to be cruel to the enemies of the Empire of Corsairs and to those who never listen to what she says.
Arrived to the civilization, her ship landed at a public landing site and once she got out of the ship, there was one place the Corsair wanted to go and it was at her place.
The Corsair was sitting in a bar. She was glaring at the bottle of whiskey standing before her. The bottle was still unused. There were no rumors about her and her demotion in The Brotherhood. It seemed only those in the said faction knew about it. It was a good thing, though. By hiding this, other Corsairs won’t laugh at her just because she did something that dishonored The Empire.
She was focused. So focused that the time around her seemed to stop. Focusing on what to do to regain the loss of her rank. She was the youngest to have reached this. She was eager. She wanted to occupy a high rank. A high rank to change things. Although, in society such as The Empire of Corsairs, making changements is hard. You needed to be supported by many and it was far to be the case most of the time because ideology was different from one person to another one. How did The Elders manage to do that? Was there a secret? The unique hint she had was simply to ask an Elder, but who? Alberto was old and hard to convince. Not only that but he was also an angry person. Pepe Ladron? No way. He is long gone. No one even knew where he could be. Then, there’s Cesar. It was him who demoted Nina because she revealed what she had done. Their last time they met, it was on a salty note in the beginning of February. She suddenly had a bitter taste in her mouth and because of it, she left the bar and directly vomited. She then headed to her place.
Arrived, Nina looked at the dusty floor and while she closed the door behind her, she simply let herself down to the ground. For hours, she just glared to the wall. Thoughts spinning and spinning. Even if she made the decision while she was in the desert, applying the thing was something else. She needed to talk to someone. She wanted to see her again but she knew it won’t be possible. For many days, Nina decided to stay at her place and make a come back the next month, in less than 19 days.
![[Image: wRlzTev.png]](https://imgur.com/wRlzTev.png)