Joe only manages command of his body because of the way Marvelous is looking at him. He's sure on his own he'd be frozen in place, wondering what specific thing he'd said wrong, what he could have said to have a better effect than this. But Marvelous's expression is insistent, and Joe drags himself upright by force of will. He's tired, and leans on Marvelous while he figures out the latches on his muzzle; as he slowly lifts it free, the spikes on its inside surface reluctantly detatching from the wounds and dried blood that covers the lower half of Marvelous's face, his captain is already speaking, unconcerned with the way his lips crack and bleed as he shapes the words.
"The crew," Marvelous rasps. "My crew."
"I'll find out," Joe says, hating that he can't make any stronger promise than that. He limps to the cell door, steels himself, and steps into the hall.
Thankfully, he supposes, he was right about the gunshot. The screams from inside the blindered cells would be the crew, fearing one of their own had just perished; but Joe had come to know Basco better than that by now.
It wasn't going to be easy for Marvelous, Joe knew, but even harder for Doc and Gai, both of whom still believed, on some level, in the possibility of marginally happy endings. By the same token, Joe doubted Ahim or Luka would have as much of a problem stomaching the sight of Basco's corpse, his skull...opened, and spilled. Joe tugged the feathery boa Basco always wore free of the crook of his elbow, laying two loops of it across the dead privateer's face. The feathers quickly soaked in the liquids surrounding Basco's head, drooping as they grew heavy with blood and other things. At the very least, the feathers covered his face, and the ruin that was the back of his head, a makeshift shroud. Marvelous would appreciate that much respect paid to him, once he could see what had occurred.
Joe called down the line to his captain. "Marvelous, it's Basco. He--"
"The crew," Marvelous rasped, his voice hoarse and raw from disuse. Joe understood: focus on the living, not the too-late.
Joe summoned the best volume he could manage, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. "Crew, sound off!" For a single terrifying second, a moment that lasted for hours, the silence that sounded after his words sank in Joe's paranoid heart like a stone. Then...
Joe breathed. The muffled, painful groans from each of the four blinkered cells were the best that the crew could manage, as they were all certainly still gagged and bound as Basco had left them. The roll call had sounded less like distinct words and more like a conversation during dinner with full mouths. But Joe knew by heart the callsigns the crew were trying to say around the metal gags. One for each familiar voice.
They were all alive.
Joe found the wall switches for the cell grates, raising the blind and pulling back the bars for each of their four teammates. Feeling stronger and more whole than he had since their ordeal began, Joe gently removed each crew member's gag, doing what he could to soothe the wounds and abrasions on their faces. None of them had been so warmly treated as Marvelous. Doc, whom Joe suspected had attempted an ill-advised but nobly intended hunger strike, was even worse off than the other three, all emaciated and weak.
Joe knew it was only adrenaline driving him by this point, as he reassured each member of their crew, then returned to Marvelous's cell to begin working on the locks that bound him. Gai said he'd seen where Basco replaced the keys each time after locking them up. Luka said she'd seen them stashed in a different place. Joe checked both, trying to walk faster than his bad leg wanted him to, and found a fat keyring in each location. From there it was a slow, tedious process of trial and error to find the right key for each of the locks binding his crewmates' hands, legs, and bodies. As each was released, Joe gently lowered them to the floor, propping them up in the corner of their cells because they were all very nearly too weak to move.
Joe took his time. There was a lot to report to Marvelous, and a lot of care that would be needed on all their parts before any of them were seaworthy again.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
Epilogue
Date: 2012-06-22 12:27 pm (UTC)"The crew," Marvelous rasps. "My crew."
"I'll find out," Joe says, hating that he can't make any stronger promise than that. He limps to the cell door, steels himself, and steps into the hall.
Thankfully, he supposes, he was right about the gunshot. The screams from inside the blindered cells would be the crew, fearing one of their own had just perished; but Joe had come to know Basco better than that by now.
It wasn't going to be easy for Marvelous, Joe knew, but even harder for Doc and Gai, both of whom still believed, on some level, in the possibility of marginally happy endings. By the same token, Joe doubted Ahim or Luka would have as much of a problem stomaching the sight of Basco's corpse, his skull...opened, and spilled. Joe tugged the feathery boa Basco always wore free of the crook of his elbow, laying two loops of it across the dead privateer's face. The feathers quickly soaked in the liquids surrounding Basco's head, drooping as they grew heavy with blood and other things. At the very least, the feathers covered his face, and the ruin that was the back of his head, a makeshift shroud. Marvelous would appreciate that much respect paid to him, once he could see what had occurred.
Joe called down the line to his captain. "Marvelous, it's Basco. He--"
"The crew," Marvelous rasped, his voice hoarse and raw from disuse. Joe understood: focus on the living, not the too-late.
Joe summoned the best volume he could manage, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. "Crew, sound off!" For a single terrifying second, a moment that lasted for hours, the silence that sounded after his words sank in Joe's paranoid heart like a stone. Then...
"Gokai Yellow."
"Gokai Green."
"Gokai Pink."
"MARVELOUS-SANNNN!"
Joe breathed. The muffled, painful groans from each of the four blinkered cells were the best that the crew could manage, as they were all certainly still gagged and bound as Basco had left them. The roll call had sounded less like distinct words and more like a conversation during dinner with full mouths. But Joe knew by heart the callsigns the crew were trying to say around the metal gags. One for each familiar voice.
They were all alive.
Joe found the wall switches for the cell grates, raising the blind and pulling back the bars for each of their four teammates. Feeling stronger and more whole than he had since their ordeal began, Joe gently removed each crew member's gag, doing what he could to soothe the wounds and abrasions on their faces. None of them had been so warmly treated as Marvelous. Doc, whom Joe suspected had attempted an ill-advised but nobly intended hunger strike, was even worse off than the other three, all emaciated and weak.
Joe knew it was only adrenaline driving him by this point, as he reassured each member of their crew, then returned to Marvelous's cell to begin working on the locks that bound him. Gai said he'd seen where Basco replaced the keys each time after locking them up. Luka said she'd seen them stashed in a different place. Joe checked both, trying to walk faster than his bad leg wanted him to, and found a fat keyring in each location. From there it was a slow, tedious process of trial and error to find the right key for each of the locks binding his crewmates' hands, legs, and bodies. As each was released, Joe gently lowered them to the floor, propping them up in the corner of their cells because they were all very nearly too weak to move.
Joe took his time. There was a lot to report to Marvelous, and a lot of care that would be needed on all their parts before any of them were seaworthy again.