The Battle of the Ark
Of course, I never got to see it like this.
I was deep within her fighting like fury not only for my life, but that of Melphisolees, Doff, Marty and Anna (though she’d never admit the fact). This is an ‘artist’s impression’, if you will, of the tumultuous final moments before the vast wooden boat disappeared into the sea. Kitchener, who’d observed the scene far away from harm on the bridge of Dreadnought, described it to me later.
He had said the explosions had come from within, and he bizarrely thought I’d had more than a little to do with it. True enough, I set loose those dragons in the upper hanger and they celebrated their freedom by torching the place, but sink the Ark? No, it wasn’t me. Something, or someone, else had done that.
In any case, this enormous vessel had haunted the Commander Knights for close to 600 years and in an afternoon it was gone. Judging by their celebrations afterwards, the Commander Knights were pretty happy about it and you’d think I would be too. But I couldn’t forget Sinsamene laughing at me the first time we met and saying (in his dreadful mocking tone) he knew we were coming. And Melphisolees saying it was all a trap. But more than anything, I couldn’t forget the thing only I saw. Sinsamene in the library. Alive – when I’d seen him slain and lying in a pool of blood at my feet. Odd things happened aboard that boat.
RS
