Nocturna League (Episode 2: The Mist Hour) by Kell Inkston

Captain shrugs lightly.
“Yes, and I’m a goddamn idiot sometimes too. An upstanding captain
understands that she is better than the situation she is in, and
this should be reflected by her demeanor and actions. You need to
believe that you are the best captain at all times, or else your men could
become conscious of your doubt.”
    Colette, arms now crossed, nods her
head about in thought. “Alright, Captain. Thanks for talking with
me,” She says, extending her hand as if to shake his.
    “ Do not forget your
position, Jobber Colette. We are not equals- and though you saved
me the trouble of retrieving my hat, you still overstepped your
boundaries in wearing my cap and attempting to hand an order to
Dunklestein the Daring. For this, you should be
punished.”
    There is a slight silence, and Colette
scoffs. “Wait, what? It was just your damn ha-”
    “ Swab the deck, Miss
Ketiere. If I don’t see my reflection in the deck within an hour,
you will not receive dinner.”
    She draws back, her expression
indignant with rage. “Of all the shit-” Colette stops instantly
once The Captain cracks his knuckles. She takes a deep breath, her
eyes closed in stress, and she begrudgingly salutes.
    “ Good girl, now off with
you,” he says as he takes a stand, leads her out the door, and
watches her take up a mop and violently start swabbing the
already-pristine Nocturna decks. The Captain nods and decides it’s
now the right time to let Jim out of the brig. He slips around to
the back of the first deck floor and enters a small room with three
cell doors inside. He has a quick chat with Jim, who is currently
possessed; it’s a fairly rude exchange on the aberration’s part, so
it will be omitted, because The Captain scarcely allows course
language on deck- simply detestable.
    The Captain calmly steps
out of the brig and goes to the one door leading to the lower
decks, the one in the helm. Using the key only Boris,
Luisoix, Estradia ,
a certain secret someone, and himself have copies of, he opens the
way and closes the door behind him into an eerily-lit hallway- old,
long lasting lightbulbs charged by magic, producing an almost sepia
light to the hall below deck. He goes down another flight of stairs
to the engine room. Even though the Nocturna is moving, setting
sail for their originally-intended destination, there are no engine
sounds to be heard- just breathing. The hallway’s open door leaks a
little light down into the engine room. What is barely visible is
horrifying beyond description, but The Captain is used to this sort
of thing.
    “ Well, it’s not often you
come down to visit me anymore,” a very strange creature says,
breath blowing through the room like a gust of strange
wind.
    “ I apologize for that. I
suppose it has been a few days- I’ve been busy,” The Captain says,
taking a seat on the steps leading down to the engine
room.
    “ I noticed. Colette’s quite
the good shot now,” the thing says.
    The Captain nods. “She’s improving
quickly. I feel rather proud of her. Anyway, thanks.”
    “ It’s the least I could do.
Swimming around being a job is just too easy.”
    The Captain scoffs with a smirk. “Yes-
but it’s something only you can do. I’m quite grateful. She shot me
so much, and the wind was already blowing hard. I would have
guessed it’d take at least a week before I could recompose myself,
if at all.”
    “ It was close, but that’s
what I’m here for.”
    The Captain laughs- a rare sound.
“Yes, yes it is. So, anything of interest?”
    “ Only your conversation
with Colette in your quarters. You let her embrace you- quite
uncaptainly.”
    The Captain adjusts his visor and
bends his head aside as if in embarrassment. “Well, she’s getting
attached. I expect the lack of a capable father figure, or perhaps
a blooming desire for professional acceptance.”
    “ Regardless. You can’t let
her too close. That would ruin everything. Perhaps you should spend
your time with that