#x. ... drabble.

     “You don’t have to learn Heraklioniká if you don’t want to. However, it is the language of your family and home, is thousands of years old, and is the language of the gods. Don’t you wish to speak to the gods?” prompted Lyra, placing four thick and dusty grammar and vocabulary books in front of her two year old daughter, books that like looked as though they themselves dated back thousands of years. Her toddler daughter paid no mind, sitting in her high chair and sticking cereal shaped like rings on her fingertips and then pressing them to her face, missing her mouth entirely.

     “We’ll start with good morning. This is easy because it is the origin of your family name. Epone, repeat after me,” clears throat.  “... Kaliméra...!”

     Epone stopped playing with her breakfast and gurgled out with a giggle,  “Ka la la la la..!” slapping her wrists on the table of her high chair, having a grand time with her mama.

     Many years ago, Lyra spent an entire afternoon chasing Shanks through the streets and alleys of a seaside city. Leaping over trashcans, sprinting along high walls, climbing over fences, crashing through buildings, shops, and restaurants --- all for the opportunity to corner him and engage him in yet another test of swordsmanship (and, ultimately, to arrest him). Eventually she lost sight of the wily pirate.

     Running as fast as she could with her saber banging on her hip, she emerged from the labyrinthine alleys and onto the wooden pier where several ships were anchored and resting, skidding to a halt and resting her hands on the railing just in time to see the Red Force sailing past, already underway and that damned red head waving at her from one of the weatherdecks. 

     “Chicken shit!”  

     A letter laid open on her desk, the hand-writing neat and in cursive, but written by hands that still made mistakes; words were erased and clouded in gray on the paper as her daughter tried to put her sentiments over Mother’s Day into words, trying to sound like an adult at age fourteen but still finding her own voice. Lyra had never been home on Heraklion Island during a single Mother’s Day since she had her daughter. The times that she had been able to go home just never landed in the month of May.

     Epone was doing well in school and looking forward to summer. She had gained acceptance to a summer program focusing on exploration of the technical sciences for local youths, ages fifteen to eighteen; a waiver had to be put in place for her to join in and she couldn’t be more excited that they had accepted her. The work missed during the school year would be made up with extra hours in the fall, and Epone had no hesitations about it. Lyra’s daughter was a smart girl, inclined towards science. Perhaps it was cliche, but Lyra had thought her progeny would continue the family business of serving in the Navy --- imagine Lyra’s surprise when she was not only proud that her daughter told her she wanted to be a scientist, but she was relieved.

     The letter ended the same way all of Epone’s letters end: with the wish that her mother be safe and that she come home soon. Lyra still had another two years on the seas before she’d have the chance to go home for a week, based on the operations schedule. She’d wait to write back until she could get her thoughts in order on how to break that news to her. Epone was old enough now that Lyra didn’t have to offer her previously frequent refrain of I’ll be back soon. Plus, Epone stopped believing her around age ten.

     Long pale fingers reached out to fold the letter back up carefully, treating it as if it were delicate, not wanting to put any creases into it that weren’t already there. Lyra opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled out a folder, placing the letter into the sleeve amongst the more than forty other letters she had received from Epone throughout her life. Lyra kept every single one. She imagined that one day she would go over them with her daughter, and they’d laugh over what four year old Epone wanted to say and what twelve year old Epone’s thoughts on the boys in her class were. 

     Lyra sat rigid as a board in the chair across from Vice Admiral Tsuru’s desk, unclear as to the meaning of this abrupt and unexpected meeting. The famously wise Vice Admiral was working on a memorandum of sorts when Lyra was called in. At this point, Lyra was Vice Admiral Tsuru’s second in command onboard the battleship as an experienced Captain, but she had only had the job for a few months. She worried that perhaps she was being fired from the position... but she hadn’t done anything wrong. No infractions she could think of. If anything, she thought she had been doing phenomenally... not that she would say that out loud. She had done everything Vice Admiral Tsuru taught her to, not a toe out of line...?

     The silence continued for a few more minutes, but as Lyra opened her mouth to question the meaning of this meeting, Vice Admiral Tsuru finally spoke, curt and direct.

     “You’re being transferred.”

     Lyra’s mouth shut and she raised an eyebrow, leaning forward on her chair slightly. She was confused --- why was she being transferred? Was she failing as a second in command? She didn’t think she had been doing a half-bad job. This was unexpected... Inside, she was crestfallen, but she didn’t show it outwardly. There were a thousand things that needed to be done in preparation for transfer --- but she didn’t expect to be sent anywhere... Was Vice Admiral Tsuru disappointed in her? --- Actually, that didn’t matter. She was being transferred. She trusted that no matter what, Vice Admiral Tsuru had reasons behind her decisions. Lyra would not question her decision.

     “To where, ma’am?”

    “To Battleship 71.”

    “Aye, ma’am. Understood.” 

     “No, I don’t think you do,” answered Tsuru, finally putting down her pen and looking up at her, folding her old sun-beaten hands on the desk over the memorandum that was now signed, stamped, and ready for routing to HQ. “You’re transferring to Battleship 71 to take command.”

          ... to take command...

     Lyra sat straighter on the chair and raised her chin, her brows furrowed slightly in confusion. “Ma’am?”

     She had only just become an executive officer, the second in command on Vice Admiral Tsuru’s battleship a few months ago. This was happening so fast. 

     “The fact is, you’re too good to be a second in command, and I can’t be selfish and keep you to myself. It’s about time I release you out onto the sea on your own. Remember, you never advantage yourself at the expense of other units. You’ve been running the ship and the missions for the past few months, putting my orders into play before I even give them; frankly, you’re running me out of my own job --- which is exactly what I taught you to do. The Vice Admiral who had been commanding Battleship 71 is retiring next month, and I’m sending the request to HQ to have you replace him, but it’s already been approved by big Navy. You are the next commanding officer of Battleship 71, Captain Lyra.”

     Lyra received the news with a straight face, but excitement and adrenaline was coursing through her... She couldn’t help herself. She cracked... Lyra smiled wide, so wide it reached her eyes and she laughed at herself and shook her head.  “Ma’am... I am honored.”

     “It’s not an honor,” said the Vice Admiral, standing up from her chair --- which prompted Lyra to immediately stand. “You are simply the best for the job, Captain Lyra. Do you accept?”

     “Yes, ma’am,” said Lyra with force, trying hard to contain her smile. Command at sea --- she had been working towards this her entire career! Her dreams were coming true. Becoming a second-in-command had been exciting enough, but this was on an entire other level. She would be the commanding officer of a naval battleship, with over four hundred Marines under her command to lead and look after, to promote Justice on the seas her way -- imagine that! 

     Vice Admiral stuck her hand out to shake Lyra’s. “Do you have any questions or requests?”

     “I’d like to take Commander Janus with me. I trust him wholeheartedly and would like to continue working with him on my team.”

     “Done,” said Vice Admiral Tsuru, letting go of Lyra’s hand as the Captain smiled, glad to be taking the head of the intelligence department with her. Commander Janus and Lyra had come up through the Navy together; he appeared on the ship roughly two years after she did, but they had always worked together. He was just as dedicated to the Navy as she was, a high-speed officer with a quick wit and steady nerves, and she would rather take command of Battleship 71 with him than without him. 

     Lyra would not get emotional, not here, but... It was hard to believe her road with Vice Admiral Tsuru was at its end. She had been working under the Great Staff for over twelve years, learning everything she knew from her. It was fitting that Vice Admiral Tsuru would be the officer to promote Lyra to command at sea. Lyra would miss working with the Vice Admiral daily, but... their relationship was entirely professional. Naturally.

     “Permission to depart, ma’am?”

    “Permission granted.”

     “... Oh, and Captain?” said Tsuru suddenly, just as Lyra was about to reach the door to leave her office, turning around one last time.

    “Aye, ma’am?”

     “Give ‘em Hell.”

     Behind Epone stood the girl’s father, leaning against the white door frame with his arms crossed over himself. Lyra didn’t have to look up to know he was pleased with how this had turned out. She doesn’t even know you, Lyra! he had said. Why do you even bother coming back? This isn’t your home anymore.

     “Epone, honey... just one word for your mama, just one...?”  she pleaded softly, offering a smile and thinking for a brief moment maybe her daughter would talk to her. The little white haired girl stood still, her expression firm in defiance, clutching a brown teddy bear (named Ajax, but allegedly Epone called it ‘Ajas’) in front of her. 

     Lyra pulled her lips in and furrowed her brow... okay... Epone wasn’t going to speak to her. Lyra rubbed her fingers together awkwardly and nodded, reaching out to bring Epone into a hug --- but Epone stepped back and out of her reach, and then wrapped an arm around her father’s leg. 

     Lyra blinked, pulling her hands back slowly, feeling like her chest just caved in. She was embarrassed... and she was heart-broken. Her eyes became watery, but she wasn’t going to cry in front of her former husband and she certainly wasn’t going to cry in front of Epone. Lyra’s hands shook and she grimaced, looking down at the stone of the walkway in defeat... before she nodded again in acceptance and stood up, leaving quickly.

     Lyra knew she couldn’t turn and look back or she might never leave. The last time she saw Epone, she was no bigger than a loaf of bread, a pink little potato wrapped in yellow blankets, learning how to walk while holding onto her mama’s hands. She was four years old now, a child, and the next time Lyra saw her... well, Lyra didn’t know when the next time would be. She rested a hand on the gate to the small front yard and pushed it to leave.

     “... Mama...”

     “... Mama, please don’t go! Please don’t leave!”

    Lyra turned around and saw Epone running after her, her teddy bear left laying across the pathway. The little girl wrapped herself around Lyra’s legs at the knees, crying.  “Mama, please don’t go! I’ll be good! I want you to stay, I’ll be good all day, just please don’t go!”

     Lyra pulled her daughter off of her legs and knelt down once more, pulling her into the tightest hug imaginable, resting her hand on the back of Epone’s head, in wonder at how small and fragile her little girl was as a burning began at the back of her eyes.  “Epone, sweetheart... I love you so much. It’s going to be okay. Shh... It’s alright.... I’ll come back, Epone...”

    Lyra pulled away from Epone, holding her by her upper arms gently to look her in the eye, using the backs of her fingers to wipe away her daughter’s tears from her cheeks.  “I’ll come back. I promise. It’ll be okay, I’ll come back.”

     “I’ll come back,” she said, pulling Epone in for another hug, turning her head and kissing her white hair, closing her eyes to push tears out, reaching up quickly to wipe the wetness off her cheeks. Lyra looked up at the sky for a brief moment, praying that she wasn’t lying. No, she wasn’t lying. Come Hell or high water, she would be back again.   “I love you so much...”

     Lyra picked Epone up and held her on her hip, the little girl openly crying now --- which was drawing the attention of neighbors. Lyra held her with one arm and poked her nose.  “Hey... Shhh... it’s okay to cry... but eventually, you gotta be strong, right?”

    Epone sniffled and nodded.

    “Are you gonna be strong for mama? Because mama’s gonna be strong for you, okay?”

     Epone nodded again, fiercely wiping tears away with clumsy little hands.

     Lyra smiled and bounced Epone on her hip, voice wavering,  “That’s my good brave girl. Okay... now let’s get you back to your daddy, sweetheart...”

     “Orion, pay attention!”  barked Lyra’s father, Atlas, scolding his eldest son. The Rear Admiral was an imposing older man, a rugged long-time Marine with two huge and uneven scars across the left side of his face. Four of his children were lined up in a neat row, standing at attention after a long day of training from sun up to sun down.

     Arranged from oldest to youngest in a height line, Orion, Asterios, Hektor, and tiny little Lyra stood expertly still and sported mean mugs, trying to appear as tough as possible for their father while he issued critiques and warned them of what was to come tomorrow. Their deathly serious expressions were ruined a tad by all the fresh bumps, bruises, and cuts from the day’s activities. Lyra was the youngest, the smallest, and with the meanest expression. At six years old, she was dwarfed by her burly and heavily-browed older brother, Orion, who was a full ten years older than her. Despite age difference across the siblings, all were expected to complete the same trials and evolutions set up by their father. Swimming, running, climbing, swordsmanship, wrestling and brawling --- Rear Admiral Atlas was dedicated to ensuring that his brood joined the Navy and that they were ready when they did. 

     Each child in the Calimeras family was expected to become a Marine. What else could they possibly be, with parents like theirs? This was all they knew, so it never seemed strange at all to them. You wake up, you train, you eat, you sleep --- and then you do it all over again the next day. It was especially important for Orion, now that he was only a year away from finally going off to the Navy. Lyra had plenty more time; she might be slower and weaker than her brothers now, but give her ten more years! She’ll beat the snot outta all of them!

     Rear Admiral Atlas finished reading his critiques and notes off of his clipboard and snapped to attention himself, shouting that they were dismissed. The children snapped to attention and saluted; when the salute was returned by their father, they were free to go. 

     Asterios, 14 years old and with a slighter frame than his brothers, adjusted his glasses and lightly pushed his older brother with his elbow. “Orion, better pay attention at muster next time. He’s going to pound you into the ground. You’re getting less disciplined as time goes on; you’ll be a shitty Marine.”

     Orion swiftly shoved him back, knocking Asterios clean off his feet and into a tree.  “Shut up. I’m going to beat his ass one day. Old man never even put on Vice Admiral. That’s why he’s such a hardass, you know. Tch... That’s all I want, to beat him. Well, that and kill pirates. The seas’ll tide red with blood when I’m running wild, I’ll tell you that. I’ll put more away than he ever did.”

     Lyra stuck close to Hektor, ten years old, the pair walking behind their older siblings. All four were headed to the river to splash the sweat off before going inside their house --- per their mother’s rules. Hektor attempted to offer sound advice as he pulled his shoes off at the riverside. “He’s going to hear you, bro... ... ... besides, it’s more than just killing pirates. Marines are supposed to protect people; shouldn’t it be the people you should focus on?”

     Orion raised an eyebrow, pulling his shirt over his head. “Nah... I’ll focus on the scummy pirates, thanks. Looking forward to seeing how far up the ranks you advance, focusing on people and not the mission.”

     Hektor continued, a big grin on his round face surrounded by white curls, “The people are the mission, man! You’ll see. ... I just wanna be a Marine already! It’s going to be such an adventure! I just want to do my part and have a good time!”

     Lyra chirped from beside her brother, “Yeah!” 

     Orion and Asterios both snickered at Lyra. Orion chose to start in on her,  “What are you even doing here? You’re not a boy and you’re not gonna be a man. Real Marines are men, and they’re going to laugh at you when you show up; the pirate scum, too. You’re gonna get picked apart by pirates. The Pirate King would use you as a tooth-pick, kid,” he said with an evil smirk, throwing a small rock at her with quite a bit more force than an older brother should --- which conked her on the forehead and knocked her into the water.

     Lyra immediately popped up out of the water as soon as she fell in, bleeding and furious and throwing a fish at her brother. “I want to be a Marine, too!”

     Asterios rolled his eyes, “You don’t even know the first thing about Marines, or---”

     “I’M GOING TO BE THE FLEET ADMIRAL!”  screamed Lyra, standing up out of the water with her fists to the sky, shutting up all her older brothers, and causing Hektor to giggle at his little sister’s audacity. She looked ridiculous making such a claim, a small girl soaking wet in all her clothes and blood running down her forehead, but Lyra didn’t know that. She felt ten feet tall whenever she bounced back from her brothers bullying her. She felt like an Admiral.

     “I’M GOING TO BE THE FLEET ADMIRAL! And when I’m the Fleet Admiral, you’re all going to have to salute me! And we’ll do the Navy MY way!”  she screamed. “The RIGHT way!”

     She held that pose for a few seconds longer, up until Orion picked up another rock out of the riverbed, giving a sneer and throwing it with more force at her, knocking her into the water again. He walked over to where his sister was, picking her up out of the water by her neck and looming over her as he growled into her face. “You’ll never be the Fleet Admiral. That’s stupid. They’d never pick a stupid little girl like you for the job,”  he said, pushing her back down into the water and holding her there. Lyra was holding her breath, but she still kicked and squirmed under the current of the river. “And if you do become a Marine, if you get in the way of my advancement to the top, I’ll kill you myself.”

     He let up on her and let go, walking away --- but he didn’t get far. Lyra popped up out of the water again, this time with TWO fish in her hands, and leaped roaring onto his back, beating the back of his head with the fish. Hektor doubled over laughing and Asterios fervently tried to pull Lyra off of Orion.

     Lyra wasn’t sure who this pirate crew was... There were no reports of active enemy entities in the area --- and the jolly roger they flew was unknown, as well. She eyed it with a raised brow. A skull and bones fouled in chains? 

     Battleship 71 and Battleship 69 were transiting to the new Marineford, full steam ahead. Lyra tilted her head as the pirate ship changed course, heading towards Battleship 69 instead of her own... Given their positioning... “Get on the horn with Battleship 69′s commander. Tell them I want them to fire a warning shot. Change our course 180 degrees. Get us on the other side of the ship, sandwiching the pirate ship between the battleships broadsides, just in case. Maybe it’ll scare ‘em off...,” she said to the Marines standing behind her, who snapped to attention before running off to do their duty as instructed.

     A warning shot was fair. It conveyed, ‘This is a Navy battleship, do not come any closer.’

     Three and a half minutes later, the pirate ship was pulling up broadsides to Battleship 69, a quarter of a nautical mile of water between them --- too close for comfort. A single warning shot was fired by Battleship 69 into the water beyond the bow of the vessel, as ordered. The pirate ship didn’t seem to take the hint, though. The enemy ship fired a series of cannonballs at Battleship 69, nine pounders, taking up a hostile position --- but to no avail. They were close enough for sniper fire to be a threat, but still too far for those cannons to actually do any damage. The cannonballs that did reach the Battleship dented the steel hull and fell into the water --- and that could be repaired by engineers quickly. Battleship 69 was mostly unscathed, though they were likely preparing for battle and scrambling about the decks in response to the attack.

     Still, it was the principle of the matter. Those pirates thought they were going to kill Marines and sink the battleship with their poorly conceived naval tactics, and Lyra just couldn’t allow that. Her face darkened as she slowly pulled her sword from her scabbard on her hip. Did the pirate ship even notice Battleship 71 coming back around behind them?  Pirate scum... Bold, they were, and very stupid.

     “Rankyaku...,” she growled, slashing her saber through the air so fast it would be impossible to see with the naked eye. Invisible blades of wind raced towards the pirate ship, caught between the two Navy vessels, before it suddenly burst into fragments, sliced through three times and utterly destroyed. Whichever pirates were on that ship had better be able to swim, because their ship was decimated --- and that’s if they weren’t already killed.

     Lyra’s nostrils flared as she calmed herself down and slowly slid her saber back into her scabbard. She heard hurried boots across the wooden planks of her weatherdeck behind her, before they stopped right before her. Her eyes were down on the destroyed pirate ship, now passing them as Battleship 71 and Battleship 69 continued their way. 69 would now be in front of 71, cutting the wind as 71 came back around to follow.

     “Rear Admiral Lyra. We received a telegram from Battleship 69.” 

     “How does it read?”

     “It says... ah... ‘From BB-69, To BB-71, via NAVCOM:  Temper, temper.’”

     Lyra lowered her lashes over her eyes after a moment and shook her head, giving a small smile. Okay, perhaps she overreacted... but at the end of the day, that pirate ship threatened Marines and Lyra was not going to stand by and let that happen... even if the pirate ship was entirely incompetent. Honestly, just approaching and attacking two Navy ships out of the blue? They wouldn’t have made it far in the New World anyway.

     “Sweetheart... Don’t be afraid. I’ll be back in... well, I’ll be back. I always come back... you know that...,”  said Lyra softly to her daughter, resting a gentle hand on Epone’s head to stroke her hair as white as snow, just like her mother’s. The book she had been reading to her was on Lyra’s lap, open to the page she had left on but entirely forgotten, and her daughter lay snuggled warm and safe in her bed. This was the last night that Lyra would see her daughter for at least two years. It would be better if she didn’t say how long she would be gone, though. 

     “And when I come back, you’ll be so grown up, and I’m already excited to hear about all you’ll have learned in school, and what your father has taught you, okay...”

     “Mama... Are there pirates where you’re going?”

     “Yes... but don’t worry, sweetheart. Your mama knows how to handle the scary pirates.”

     “Okay, mama...”

     “... ... ... Are you going to sleep now?”

     “...” 

     Lyra stood up from where she sat and closed the book in her hands, bending over at the waist to kiss her sleeping daughter on the forehead before she stood straight up again. She lingered there for a while, looking down at her little girl. She was seven years old now. Lyra hadn’t seen her since she was five. It was a wonder Epone even remembered that Lyra was her mother. Lyra was missing out on Epone’s entire childhood, but she would never forgive herself if she didn’t fight to keep her safe. There were evil scary pirates out there, after all. Some sacrifices had to be made in order to make the world safer... no matter how much they hurt.