Just as she did on the day they entered Higuchi’s harbor, Zara donned her various weapons. Not sure of what she would
find, she opted to leave her cape behind in order to have full mobility should a fight be called for. She held down the feelings
that raged within her soul. As time moved slowly, she had an urge to order her men to turn sails, to make as much distance as
possible between her ship and the drifting Tartan. But as this thought crossed her mind, she glanced out at her crew.
Many of the men were from her country of Morocco, and only a few were from other areas of the Mediterranean. Within the
minority of crewmen, four hailed from the lands of Arabia. Even if she had no crewmen from the land of the desert sea, Zara
knew that she could not turn her back on their distant cousins. With this in mind, she strapped on her customary weapons,
and then made her way to the deck.
Nadrah had been standing with Abu by the bow the whole time. As the crew’s voices buzzed behind her, she stared at the
oncoming ship. Her eyes strained to see anything exciting. When they were within shouting distance, the girl saw a spark of
light. Blinking back her surprise, she stared at the light with wide-eyed amazement. Only when they were close enough for
the girl to see the ship clearly did she feel her little heart beat faster.
On the deck, standing opposite of where she stood, was a little boy only a bit taller than her. He wore the clothes of the desert
people. With sad eyes, he remained frozen in place, as he seemed to stare right at her. Amazed, Nadrah’s mouth opened as a gasp
escaped her control. When the boy’s arm raised and pointed at her, she yelped and ran from the rail. Afraid of what she had seen,
she ran and hid behind Gabrielle’s leg.
“Honey, what’s the matter?” the Greek woman’s voice was soft and filled with concern as she knelt in front of Nadrah.
Since she had seen the craft, Gabrielle had sensed something odd and was alert for danger. Although she had no tangible proof, the
blonde woman instinctively felt that something was wrong. Seeing the open fear in Nadrah only enhanced her trepidation as her
protective instincts took control.
“It’s all right, I’m here. You’ll be safe,” Gabrielle cooed to the girl.
“Gabrielle, something’s not right over there,” Xena supported her soulmate’s unspoken fears.
The blonde nodded, “I feel something, Xena, but I don’t know what it is.” She rose from kneeling beside Nadrah and looked
worriedly over to the empty ship.
Unable to voice her fears, Nadrah held fast to the healer’s leg as she buried her face against the woman. “They’re not right,” the
child’s muffled voice stated.
“Honey, what do you mean, ‘they’re not right’?” Gabrielle repeated as she turned and watched Zara walk onto the deck. “Who are
you talking about, Nadrah?” Nadrah merely shivered and said nothing more.
When the captain walked across the deck, she glanced up at the setting sun, its rays casting a shadow over the looming ship. As
Abu barked orders, she moved to the main group that was armed as she was. Each man remained quiet as they stared off at the
dark ship, seeming lost in their own thoughts. Zuhair, Ahmad, Jabir and Farraj were always the men that Abu chose to accompany
her into danger. Although Zara did not know each of their histories, she knew that these men had been with Abu long before he
stepped foot on a ship. They were each fiercely loyal men and like Abu, they gave their allegiance to her above all others. Just as
she had at Higuchi, she knew that these men would do all that was needed to insure their safe return to the ship.
“Captain!” Nadrah’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. Glancing down, she smiled at the little girl.
“Yes, Nadrah?” she knelt down to look into the child’s eyes.
“Captain, I don’t like it here. Can we turn away?” the child’s voice was barely a whisper as her eyes were fixed on the ship.
“No, Nadrah. We cannot. We don’t know what happened, and if there are survivors, they may need our help. Now be a
good girl and listen to Abu,” Zara instructed as she rose to her full height. As an afterthought, she glanced up at Gabrielle,
“And always obey Gabrielle.”
“Yes, Captain,” the girl replied as she moved to stand near the storyteller. At her words, Gabrielle looked at her and it
seemed she might smile, but then her lips tightened and she deliberately looked away at the other ship. Expressionless, the
captain turned away without another word.
The Moroccan woman moved to the men chosen by Abu. As she looked into the eyes of each man, she suddenly felt the
sensation that the shores of Higuchi had returned. As if reading her thoughts, the men smiled slightly as they realized that the
group consisted of the same members as before.
“Can I not convince you to let me go aboard the ship?” Abu’s words pulled her from her thoughts.
Zara glanced at him, then shook her head, “No, my friend. You cannot. You are needed here, should anything happen to
us…” She allowed her words to trail off as she nodded at her friend.
“Understood, Captain,” was all Abu said as he stepped away.
The dusky woman moved to the starboard rail and glanced at the Arabic vessel. She felt her ship inching closer; yet not close
enough to board. Turning to the crewmen who held the grappling hooks, she nodded and waited for them to do their jobs.
The crew stood back to give them room to swing the hooks in a circle and let fly. When the loud thuds of the hooks landing
on the deck were heard and the ropes were pulled until the rails were caught, Zara waited and watched her men move into
action. Those remaining on the ship pulled on the ropes while the ones boarding the ship began to light torches before
preparing to board the dark ship.
As her vessel rocked gently under her feet, she watched as the Arabian craft was pulled closer. Only when its deck was
close, did she move to the rail. In an easy move, she unfastened the rail door, then lifted it from its fastening. The tall
Moroccan woman felt the ship sway below her feet as she gauged the rocking motions of the abandoned vessel. Inhaling
deeply, the captain took one leap and landed on the neighboring ship. As she climbed over the rail, she couldn’t help but feel
a coldness surrounding her. Ignoring Xena’s ghost, she found the other ship’s latch and removed its port door. With this
done, she waited as her crew laid down the wooden boards, which closed the distance between the two ships. When her
men crossed the bridge, she waited as she glanced around the darkened deck. One by one they stood by her, holding their
torches up high as they waited for her orders. After taking a lighted torch, she nodded to the upside-down flag flapping
against the mast.
“Ahmed, take that down,” she ordered as she pointed at the flag, then indicated to two of her crew, “Zuhair, Farraj, go below
and search for any survivors. Jabir, as soon as Ahmed has the flag, you both go to the cargo holds and look for any signs of
what happened here,” she ordered as she turned and made her way to the captain’s cabin.
With torch held high, Zara carefully opened the door. In the distance she heard the sounds of the ocean waves against the
silent ship as the slight muffled voices of her crew reached her senses. When the door began to open, a squeaking of the
hinges echoed across the ship. With hand resting on her hilt, she stepped into the darkness, held the torch high and glanced
around the cabin. The blankets on the bed were strewn and clothes littered the floors. In stark contrast to the room, the
captain’s log scrolls were neatly piled in a corner.
“Captain, you should see this,” she heard Farraj call. Moving from the cabin, she made her way across the deck. The
captain cast an occasional glance over the deck in search of clues. She saw patches of dried blood, but nothing else. When
she made her way down into the bowels of the ship, she caught up with her men.
The look of fear was etched in their eyes as they waited for her. With jaws firmly set, Zahair and Farraj held their torches up
to give her added light. “Captain, th-this is horrible…” Zara heard Zahair make a gulping sound as she stepped into the crew
quarters.
Involuntarily the tall leader inhaled deeply at what she saw and then wished she hadn’t as the stench reached her nostrils.
Fighting back the gagging sensations, she covered her mouth and nose with the collar of her shirt as she swept her torch
around the room. Like garbage, the crew’s bodies were piled against one corner, their bodies horribly disfigured from
unknown swords. As she moved further into the room, she felt her boots sticking to the floor. When she glanced down, she
saw the floorboards covered with a mixture of blood, internal organs, and feces. Grimacing, she pulled her feet to avoid
touching the floor with her boots. When she glanced around at the bodies, she noticed their last expressions of agony
permanently etched on their faces. While some appeared to have fought, others were in the positions of begging for mercy.
