Captain – Chapter 235 – Voting

Just as Caine finished reading the letter and was putting it away, an urgent knocking suddenly sounded outside the captain’s quarters.

“Come in.”

Hearing the knocking that differed from usual, the First Mate suddenly had a bad premonition. He pushed the stored letter aside and issued a command toward the wooden door in a deep voice.

The wooden door opened, and wild wind mixed with rainwater instantly rushed in, extinguishing the candles and plunging the already dim room into complete darkness where one couldn’t see their fingers before their eyes.

By the fleeting flash of lightning, Caine made out the appearance of the visitor.

It was Lance, the current Gunner Chief of the Mermaid, except now he was completely soaked by rain, breathing rapidly, with an uncontrollable coldness reflected in his eyes.

“What happened?”

Seeing the Gunner Chief in such a state, Caine couldn’t help but frown, the uneasiness in his heart growing stronger.

“First Mate, Governor Naren sent someone earlier with a message saying that the Captain wasn’t sent to the fortress north of Elvet, but was taken away by someone en route.”

Hearing this, the First Mate slowly stood up with his hand on the desk, his face expressionless as he asked: “Taken away? What does that mean? Did Rear Admiral Gavin forget his promise?”

Hearing the young man’s question, Lance said somewhat heavily: “According to the Governor, the person who brought this news… was that Rear Admiral himself.”

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In his explanation to the crew, although Caine hadn’t revealed all the details of the shocking events at the church, he hadn’t concealed Gavin’s identity or the promise he had made.

If not for this promise calming the crew’s emotions, and the First Mate using his own reputation to vouch for that officer, the pirates would likely have been unable to contain their anger and would have attempted a rescue regardless of the consequences.

But now the situation had suddenly changed, and that promise had lost its effectiveness. Naturally, the people on the Mermaid could no longer remain calm, which was evident from Lance’s reaction.

The Gunner Chief’s report was clearly unexpected to Caine. He was silent for a moment, then asked: “Besides this, is there any other intelligence?”

“The military messenger said that during the escort, the Rear Admiral’s group was stopped by another team of soldiers who held a military order from the upper echelons of the military. Their requirement was to take full responsibility for the Captain’s affairs.”

At this point, Lance gritted his teeth and said: “Besides these, the military order also required changing the location of the Captain’s trial from St. Caloie to Nickaga, with immediate departure. But the problem is, if with this military order, those bastards dare to ignore the interrogation process and forcibly take away the Captain, then who can guarantee…”

“That their destination is definitely Nickaga?”

Feeling the coldness in Lance’s words, Caine nodded: “You’re right. We can’t even be sure if that military order is genuine. In the current situation, anything could happen.”

The First Mate, who deeply understood the internal situation of the Auran military, knew very well that during an established action from its beginning to its completion, if there were no unexpected circumstances, the main person in charge would not change.

Moreover, with someone of Rear Admiral Gavin’s deep experience taking the lead, it was already sufficient to demonstrate the military’s attitude and ensure the smooth implementation of the action.

Under such circumstances, Caine really couldn’t imagine what reason would require changing the person in charge of this action midway. But one thing he knew clearly was that whatever power was contained in that military order that could make a Rear Admiral bow down must be immensely substantial.

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Even the current several Admirals of Auran, or even himself who had formerly served as the Naval Commander, might not be able to make a Rear Admiral submit with just one military order.

In fact, for this scene to appear, there were now only three possibilities.

The first was that after an emergency military meeting, more than half of the military’s upper echelon had approved this resolution.

But the possibility of this happening was not high. Not to mention the significance represented by an emergency meeting, those old men would never gather for such a trivial matter.

The second was that the old Marshal sitting in the chief seat had personally spoken. In that case, not just Rear Admiral Gavin, but even if he himself were still in the military, it would be difficult to defy the other’s will.

Although Caine had communicated with that old man in the past and felt he wasn’t the type to get involved in such matters, he couldn’t guarantee that after several years, the increasingly aging old man’s thoughts remained as before. So this possibility couldn’t be easily dismissed.

And after witnessing his father’s warning to Gavin in the church, and his undisguised expression of doubt about the authenticity of His Majesty’s edict, the third possibility seemed most likely.

That is, the military order was completely forged, nominally borrowing the name of the Marshal, but actually coming from Governor Robert’s hand.

Regardless of which of the latter two guesses was true, neither could be confirmed in the short term. What needed to be done now, besides calming the crew’s emotions, was to go see his father and discuss the next course of action together.

With this thought, Caine stopped thinking further. After taking a deep breath, he asked Lance: “Since that military order transferred the execution authority to those intercepting soldiers, do you know who their commanding officer is?”

Lance pondered for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly: “I think it’s a Colonel called… Berney.”

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Hearing this name, Caine was slightly stunned, then his fists involuntarily clenched, and an uncontrollable anger rose in his heart.

He almost immediately recalled the girl’s description of that prison warden who ignored imperial law and wanted to send a child to the gallows without a trial.

And now the person in charge of the Captain’s affairs was actually this bastard who had once caused her such pain and helplessness.

When this thought appeared in his mind, the young man’s composure was finally broken.

Without any hesitation, he walked around the desk, strode out of the captain’s quarters, and plunged into the deep curtain of rain.

During this process, Caine’s expression was terrifyingly cold, and his breathing grew heavier with each step. It wasn’t until the raindrops hit him, bringing that tangible feeling mixed with cold and pain, that he was brought back to reality from that anger that seemed capable of burning everything.

And only then did he realize that the crew had already gathered on the deck, waiting for him in the downpour for who knows how long.

The intermittently flashing lightning illuminated one resolute face after another. Feeling the fearless gazes of everyone, Caine understood they had already prepared themselves mentally for the worst situation.

At the same time, his peripheral vision caught sight of Governor Naren climbing over the ship’s rail onto the deck.

The young man understood why his father had come at this time. He was worried that his son would be overwhelmed by the sudden news and make some crazy move that those with ulterior motives would be glad to see.

Thinking of his father’s intentions, thinking of the girl’s whisper to him at their parting, Caine felt his previously heated blood gradually cooling, and his tightly clenched fists slowly relaxing.

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After a long silence, he said calmly to the crew: “I’ll still say the same thing—we must trust the Captain.”

Except for the still fierce sound of rain, the deck was completely silent.

The Governor stopped not far from the crew, silently watching him.

After hearing these words, although the pirates didn’t show surprise, their expressions were more or less downcast, even showing slight dissatisfaction. But despite this, no one spoke up to question the young man’s decision.

On the Mermaid, when the Captain was absent, the First Mate’s orders represented her will.

“However…”

Just as the crew thought the matter had concluded, and all they could do was wait quietly and agonizingly, the First Mate’s voice sounded again. But this time, his tone was no longer calm, but became extremely forceful, allowing no defiance.

“We cannot just wait passively. We should make some preparations within our capabilities for contingencies, without affecting the Captain’s plans. But since this somewhat deviates from the Captain’s will, I hereby announce…”

“We will now vote on this.”