Caballeron

“Why now?” groaned Caballeron, watching the ship come alongside Nutmeg. “We were doing so well! We were only days from home!”

“You're telling me?” Coco looked to be somewhere between distraught and panicked; she no doubt realized that her chances of getting home on time, or perhaps at all, had been severely reduced.

The first rats aboard consisted of a part of one officer and several marines. The officer wore a dark grey coat and dark grey cap with golden insignia of rank, a sheathed sword at his side; while his marines were in steel cuirasses and steel helmets, spiked hammers at their hips and shields slung over their backs.

“I am Lieutenant Torner of the commerce raider Sable, in the service of the Republic of Hivald. Who is in command here?” demanded their officer, keeping a respectful distance from the ponies.

“I am.” said the Captain from the bridge-wing above. “You have Captain Barnacle Billet of Nutmeg, a merchant steamer under the protection of the Equestrian Crown.” That final clause was heavily emphasized by the Captain.

“Captain Billet, I am under orders to conduct an inventory of your passenger and cargo manifest. Your cooperation is not necessary, but would be appreciated.” stated the rat.

“Whatever you need, you will have it.” Billet told them, coming down to the deck. “As long as we can get underway as soon as possible. However, this incident will be reported to the Admiralty as soon as we return to our own waters.”

“I expect nothing less.” replied Torner, grimly. “Unfortunately, neither I nor my own Captain are able to ignore commands from our superiors. I would like to see your passenger manifest first.” Spar was told to go fetch it, even though the only two passengers were standing on deck that very moment. Caballeron looked at Coco; she was watching the scene with anxious curiosity. Maybe this is the first time she's ever seen a rat? Rats and ponies had once been enemies, in ancient times. Some of that mutual fear was still around, buried so deep few ever realized where it came from.

Spar returned, with the official manifests of passengers and cargo. Torner was surprised when he saw the former of the two. “Well, I'll be! After six ships searched... Corporal, go tell the Captain we have our pony.” One of the marines went back down the side-stair, presumably to take the little skiff back to Sable.

“What do you mean?” asked Captain Billet. “What do you want with one of my passengers? I only have two.”

“We have orders direct from the Tetrarchy to find a certain Doctor Caballeron, and bring him back with us to Hivald.” stated Lieutenant Torner. “Is he here among you?” For a moment, Caballeron stood still. Did he stay quiet and hope no pony pointed him out while he thought out a way to escape this mess? Or did he step forward and save them all loads of trouble? Caballeron was about to go with the first course of action, when he noticed all the crew were looking at him.

“Wow, Doctor, I guess those books about you are true!” said Quartermaster Forestay. “What did you steal this time?”

Caballeron tried not to growl in irritation. “I stole nothing, you imbecile! Can't you tell the difference between a bad writer's slander and the truth? It was that worthless Timar!” exclaimed Caballeron, trying not to stamp the deck in frustration. “That little vermin ran off and cried to his bosses because I out-maneuvered him when he tried to steal from me!”

“Strong words, Doctor.” warned Lieutenant Torner, giving him a cool look. That was right, vermin was considered to be a derogatory term by the rats.

I guess the truth hurts, sourly thought Caballeron. “I apologize for nothing. I have done no wrong here! I am, as usual, the victim of liars, thieves, and barbarian savages!” he declared.

“I don't know, Doctor,” Forestay grinned, “you're usually the thief in these circumstances.”

“Impudent-!”

“Doctor Caballeron, please.” Coco put a hoof across his chest, stopping him from going after the Quartermaster. “This is really a bad time for a fight.”

“That'd make you Coco Pommel, then.” Torner deduced. “You're in luck, the Tetrarchs don't want you. Now, let's see about his cargo manifest...”

The rats went over the inventory with the help of Billet; Spar was left with the crew to make sure no pony did anything stupid. Caballeron could only sit beneath the bridge-wing discontentedly. I can't believe those stupid idiots believe every word they read from those vile “books.” One of these days, I'm going to make that Daring Do regret all the trouble she's caused me... One of these days, though certainly not today. He believed he had his priorities out of order. Here he was, fuming at almost-libel, when the very forces he had been trying to escape had found him. Never underestimate the blinding abilities of pride, Caballeron reminded himself. After some few minutes of silence, Coco spoke up again.

“Caballeron,” she said, “whyare they after you? Do they want... something?” Her pause made it clear just what she was referring to.

“They do want the Horn,” he whispered, “I'm sure of it. My 'partners' on the expedition were rats.”

“What's it to them, though?” Coco asked, glancing uneasily at the armored marines who had just boarded their ship.

“I don't know.” answered Caballeron, frowning at them. “As far as I'm aware, it's an old relic that doesn't even work. So why are they risking the Princess's wrath over a collection piece?”

“Unless it's more than a relic.” Coco squirmed. “With a name like it has...”

“One shudders at the thought.” dryly said Caballeron. Though to be honest, there was some degree of power in that Horn. The question was, how much? While Coco and he had talked, Lieutenant Torner and Billet had reached a conclusion themselves. Neither party looked pleased.

“The good news,” Lieutenant Torner announced, “is that your personal property will not be infringed upon. The bad news...” the rat looked genuinely apologetic. “is that you have a cargo of twenty tons of coffee grounds, which is grade-A war material by our mission charter. Our own holds are full, but we are required to bring these goods back with us.” stated Lieutenant Torner. He then raised his voice, and put a hand on the hilt of his sword. “By order of the Tetrarchs of the Republic of Hivald, we are hereby seizing this vessel as a war prize, and holding her crew prisoner until they can be delivered safely to a neutral port. Resistance will not be tolerated; cooperation will further your own interests as well as ours...”

Torner went on to recite the rules of war at sea, and how they applied to Nutmeg and her crew. Captain Billet and Shoal Spar could only look on grimly; they must have known this would be a risk when they entered the waters of Zebradom. Other members of the crew present varied from apathetic to outright panicked. Coco Pommel looked absolutely crushed; her ears fell straight down, and she stared at her hooves. There was no way, in heaven or Earth, that she'd make it home in time now. As for Caballeron himself... He didn't know what to think. The idea of having victory within his reach, only to have it snatched away on the jaws of fate, was nothing new to him. I suppose I should be used to this by now, he grumbled to himself.

But with his resignation came a twinge of worry. Why did the rats want him? Why did they want the Horn? Where those strange streaks of luck something more than just luck? Perhaps the Horn had guided him to this point? Then came a third why: why did the Horn, assuming it could influence fortune, bring him far from the clutches of Timar, and do the best it could to point him at Equestria, only to lead him straight to a Rattish commerce raider which would now drag him, and the innocent mare he had accidentally brought into this, all the way back south to Hivald? It didn't make sense! Wilhelm of Hockham's razor came into effect here; these events were easier explained as just strange luck at play, than any work of a Horn that could not even make a sound.

His luck was about to fail again, as well. Caballeron was told to gather his effects, for he was being taken to Sable for the duration of the journey. After a moment of thought, Torner decided that Coco and Captain Billet were coming as well, along with another number of crew. They all objected and asked why, but Caballeron knew exactly why.

“We're hostages, to prevent Spar and the rest of the crew from revolting. If they try anything, they'll kill one of us.” he said to Coco.

“W-what?” stammered she. He didn't think it was possible, but her ears dropped even further; and she trembled. Caballeron quickly deduced this was the first time his new friend had ever been threatened with death, even implicitly. In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to tell Coco that.

“Don't worry too much,” he tried to calm her, “if they want to hurt you, I'll tell them I won't cooperate with them any further.” Coco didn't seem too convinced about that, but nodded in thankfulness anyway. She was right not to be, he'd likely say no such thing if it came down to that.

Caballeron ended up pushing the Horn's box in front of him, while Coco had to choose a minimum of her possessions to take over to Sable. Because she was a lady, of some class as Captain Billet informed Torner, she got to take a little more of her own belongings than anypony else. And here I am with only this wretched Horn, a bag of bits, and the jacket on my back.

The ponies were ushered down the iron stairway bolted to the side of Nutmeg,and onto the skiff the rats had come aboard on. It must have returned from the foray back to its mother ship. “In you go.” ordered Torner. Captain Billet, Coco, Quartermaster Forestay, half a dozen other crew members, and Caballeron himself were packed into the skiff with four of the rat marines, plus rowers. Needless to say, the trip to Sable was short but very uncomfortable. And once there, they got to meet their new chief captor.

“Welcome to my ship.” said a rat in a sharp-looking uniform. He was a fearsome sight; far taller than any pony there, with a mauled ear and tail, untamed whiskers, and rough brown fur. This one too wore a sword. Flanking him was a short, heavy-framed tawny rat in the armor of a marine, and a thin grey rat. “I am Captain Barlent of the commerce raider Sable. You no doubt have already been informed of the circumstances of our mission.”

“We have.” Billet said, nodding.

“Very good.” Captain Barlent declared. “You will be shown to your holdings, where you will be put under watch for the duration of the voyage or until I see fit.” He turned to one of his marines. “Sergeant Grimsly, if you would...”

So began their captivity with the rats of Hivald.

Author's Note

Gotta update fast, due date is in a week.