Chapter 29

The True Captain

“Thank you all,” Tommy said gratefully. “Walton never intended for us to leave that island alive. You saved my family at risk of yourselves and your crews.”

The four men standing around him nodded. Justin, Evyn, Conlan, Tristen, and Tommy all stood on the deck of The Guardian Star. It had been almost a full day since the raid on the island and it was time for the ships to go back to their individual adventures.

“You’re a loyal friend, Panther. You would have been there in a moment if it was me,” Tristen responded, shaking hands with Tommy. “Evyn, keep them safe now. I’ve had enough adventures with you for a while!”

Evyn laughed. “That is the plan. I think we could all use less excitement for a while.”

Conlan smiled, but it was a distracted one. “We can hope anyway.”

Justin shook his friend’s hand. “I will be waiting for your call. When you need me, I’ll be there.”

Conlan nodded. “Thank you, my friend. I do not know how much longer Breanna will be safe where she is. But I know the day will come when you will be needed.”

“You have my word,” Justin responded.

“And you, Tristen? You have a ship full of servants and slaves still,” Tommy pointed out.

“I do,” Tristen laughed. “Thankfully, since hunting down pirates to take back for hanging became a full time thing my ship is easily able to accommodate the extra passengers. It’s when I put them ashore I’m not sure what to do with them all.”

“You know, I may have a contact that could help you with that,” Conlan mused.

“Really? We must talk!” Tristen grinned.

Evyn laughed. “So much for slowing down! Life continues!”

“Doesn’t it always?” Justin asked, with a weary smile of his own.

“Yes, as God directs,” Tommy responded reflectively. “Stay safe, my friends. May God watch over you wherever He has you travel.”

“And you,” replied Conlan and Tristen.

The five friends shook hands all around and Conlan and Tristen headed to their own ships. Soon, The Dragon and The Hero’s Choice were moving out of the cove. Evyn turned to his friends.

“I’m going to check on Kiliki and Dabria. It’s foolish, I know, but I hate letting them out of my sight,” Evyn admitted.

“We can’t say it is foolish, when we both feel the exact same way,” Tommy smiled. “Go. I will join you soon myself.”

Evyn nodded and headed for the Great Cabin where the entire Brent Family, including Dabria, where staying. Justin had moved in with Evyn to Dabria and Salena’s room.

Tommy turned to Justin. “Let’s talk.”

Justin looked at him suspiciously, but nodded and led the way to his room. He had wanted to talk to Tommy as well and finally understand what had really happened with Walton, but the way Tommy had said it, made him nervous. He suddenly felt as if he was sixteen again and he had just joined the famous Black Panther’s crew. He opened the door and strode into the room, refusing to look at the artwork that Dabria had drawn and hung around the room. It was a reminder each time he saw it of how he had failed her.

Tommy sank onto Salena’s bed. “It had been a very long time. I forgot how much work you had put into changing this room.”

Justin shrugged. “They deserved it. They rode on this ship so often.”

Tommy grinned. “Yes. Perhaps they will again.”

Justin shook his head. “Not likely.” He took a deep breath, forcing thoughts of Dabria and her inevitable marriage away and focused on Tommy. “What happened back there, Black Panther? What was it that Walton really wanted?”

“What most men who have lost it all want. Revenge,” Tommy sighed and settled back more comfortably to tell his story. “Apparently, in my younger days, I hit a ship belonging to Walton’s father. He was involved in slave trading and I may have been over zealous in my retribution. Walton’s father ended up dying. Walton was at home with his very drunk and self-absorbed mother. Up to that point, he had everything he could want at his finger snap. When his father went down as a slave trader, so did the family money and position. His mother was quick to spend whatever Walton managed to salvage. His family went from wealthy elite to disgraced. All he had left was the island house, which no one but his immediate family knew about and his desire for revenge.”

“What did he do to you?” Justin asked, quietly.

“He wanted to destroy me. He’s been following you, believing you to be me. Once he found out you weren’t, he switched his focus to discovering who and where I was. When he found out I had the family and name that had been denied to him, his plan fell into place. He’s spent his time telling me of the heinous things he has been doing to Kiliki, Adem, and Dabria. He even told me Kiliki had lost the baby and she had died from the shock. He was going to take Adem and raise him as his own. And he was keeping Dabria as his mistress.” Tommy paused and Justin could almost see the scene taking place in Tommy’s mind yet again. “He was very convincing. He took his time with it. The detailed descriptions were the worst. He rarely used physical means on me. It was always a mind game.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t reach you sooner,” Justin apologized. It hurt to say it out loud.

Tommy shook his head. “You did your best. God protected us.”

“How can you say that?” Justin asked, his shock momentarily making him forget his guilt.

Tommy looked Justin in the eye for a moment then said calmly, “How can I not? Justin, after everything Walton told me happened; I find out that my family is all alive and going to be okay. Kiliki and our unborn child could be dead. He might have destroyed Adem and Dabria. We can recover from this. It could have been much worse.”

“It didn’t have to happen at all,” Justin complained.

Tommy smiled grimly. “Apparently, it did. I will be the first to admit I wish I knew why we were forced to endure all this. Yet, I know that God had a plan and for some reason He needed us to go through this. I have to trust that God sees the bigger picture that I can’t. I’ve learned the hard way it is easy to trust God when everything is going well, it is when it all seems to be falling apart, that you must lean on God’s promises to make it through.”

“Promises?” Justin questioned.

Tommy nodded. “Such as that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He will guide our paths, that He has plans for us to prosper, that He loves us, that His Will will be done.”

“But his will caused you all so much pain,” Justin refuted.

“Our sin causes pain, Justin. We were given the choice to follow God or take matters into our own hands and we chose to take control. It may have started in the Garden of Eden, but we still make that choice every day. Walton chose to take control into his own hands and not only did he suffer for it, but my family did as well. We chose to give God control of the situation and God sent you and the other captains to save us.”

“He may have sent the others, but not me,” Justin admitted, his voice low.

Tommy frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t do it. I was going to, but I didn’t.” Justin shook his head as if talking to himself.

“Do what?” Tommy’s voice urged.

“Give up control.” Justin raised his head to look at Tommy. “I was going too. Namid, Maath, Evyn, they all said I needed too. And I thought they were wrong, but the way Evyn spoke. Something about how I could either choose to be part of God’s will, which was going to happen no matter what, or I could be pushed out of the way. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to be the one to rescue you. But when I opened that door, when I had to give up control, the thought never crossed my mind. I went in furious and I was almost killed. If Tristen hadn’t shown up, we would not be having this conversation right now.” The truth spilled out of Justin. If felt right to finally admit that he had been such a failure, and yet to confess it to Tommy was the worst humiliation.

“I see,” Tommy spoke slowly.

Justin stayed silent, afraid of what his hero would now think of him. Would he even take back his ship?

“Justin, who is the captain of this ship?” Tommy finally asked.

Justin frowned, but answered, “I am.”

“Ah,” Tommy nodded. “When I led this ship, I was not really its captain.”

Justin blinked. “Yes, you were.”

“What is the name of the ship?” Tommy asked next.

Justin tried to follow the odd line of questioning when the answers were so obvious. “The Guardian Star.”

“Do you know why that is?” Tommy looked amused now, but not condescending.

Justin had to shake his head no.

“The Guardian Star is the True Captain.”

Justin felt like he was saying the phrase, ‘I don’t understand’ an awful lot, so he stayed silent and waited for an explanation.

“You know that the stars are used to navigate and they help us to stay in safe waters and not get lost. When I inherited the ship from Sahen, I changed its name to Guardian Star to remind me of how Jesus is the real Guardian Star. It was on Him I needed to depend for everything, every decision I made I gave control of it to the True Captain of the ship. If I didn’t follow His guidance, then the ship and I were lost.” Tommy paused a moment as Justin took in this new information, before continuing. “Ever since you took over for me, you have neglected to realize the importance of the true Guardian Star. He is the One whom you need to give control too. Perhaps if you had, the situation with Walton would have been different, but that is not what is important now. The question is: do you understand that and what will you do about it?”

“I’m not sure,” Justin replied honestly. “I’m not positive I know what that looks like.”

“It looks like a life with purpose. Right now, you make your own decision, but without any reason to them beyond yourself. God wants you to admit that you are lost without Him, that you need His grace to give you eternal life and a purpose in this life. See, just like me, you are a sinner. You commit actions that you know are wrong, but for your own reasons, you do them anyway. For that, you deserve eternal punishment. God wants you to admit that and admit that only His son, who gave His life for you, can save you from those sins. Jesus died on the cross and took all of your sins onto Him so that He could pay the price for your sins. All He asks of you is that you accept His gift and live your life from now on His way, instead of your own way,” Tommy explained.

“But what is His way?” Justin asked.

“That will take you a lifetime to find out. That’s why He gave us The Good Book. That is our map from The Guardian Star. It will tell you what is holy to do and what you should not. From the moment you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or if you prefer, as your True Captain, you agree to live your life by the words of the Good Book and the life of Jesus.”

“That’s not an easy deal to make,” Justin surmised.

“No, you’re right. It is the most important deal you will make in your life. Think on it carefully, but do not take too long. As you have already seen, this decision will enable you to make a life time of correct choices in moments when it will matter the most.” Tommy stood and stretched, then walked over to Dabria’s table and pulling a book off of it he handed it to Justin. “This will help. I would start with the section marked John.”

Justin glanced down and saw the title “The Good Book.”

Tommy smiled. “Evyn was right. It is your choice and only you can make it. Choose wisely, my friend.” With that, Tommy crossed to the door and let himself out.

Justin frowned at the book in his hand. Were the answers truly here? Was this the map he had been missing? Could it be that simple? He fingered the pages and the book flipped silently, opening to a page with the word ‘JOHN’ at the top. Coincidence?

Justin took a deep breath. No time like the present to begin to figure out what was apparently the biggest choice of his life.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God…” He read out loud.

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Justin had no idea what time it was when he finally put down the book. At some point, someone had brought him a tray of food. He had picked at it as he continued to read. Now, though the words were swimming on the page and he laid the book down carefully, before stretching his arms above his head. There was so much contained in one section of The Good Book. He decided it was no wonder people had devoted their entire lives to studying its depths. He didn’t want to do that, but he did want to figure it out more. First though, he needed a break. Stretching again, he headed out onto the deck, where the stars were beginning to peak from behind the cloud covering. He thought briefly that Dabria would love the beautiful sight. He startled when he realized it was the first time he had thought of her since he had picked up the book. Quickly, he made his way to the Great Cabin and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Kiliki’s voice answered.

Justin swung open the door and stepped inside the room. A musty smell hung in the air. The desk in the middle of the room had been cleared of its papers to make room for the medical supplies. Adem had claimed his own corner of the room under the right porthole and was snoring soundly on his makeshift sleeping mat. Kiliki sat in the green chair, which had been pulled up to sit next to the bed. She looked up to smile at him.

“Come in. She’s sleeping,” Kiliki spoke quietly.

Justin finally settled his gaze on the bed. Dabria looked pale and still, though her chest rose and feel slightly if one watched closely for a few moments. Her eyes were closed and her hair was spread around her face as if it were an angel’s halo. The scene looked to close to death for Justin’s comfort.

“How is she?” Justin asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Unresponsive,” Kiliki replied. “I’m not sure what hurts worse, that she won’t respond to my voice or that her only whispered word is Walton’s name.”

Justin clenched his fist tight against his side, his nails digging into his hand. “He can’t hurt her anymore.”

“No,” Kiliki agreed, “but the damage has already been done.” She took her hand and wiped away a strand of hair from the sleeping girl’s face. “It’s strange. It’s not her normal sickness at all. No fever, no hard or inconsistent breathing, no panic attacks. Whatever he did to her, I think it was a mind game. I…” Kiliki paused, but then continued, “I almost wonder if she did this to herself, to protect herself from whatever he may have done otherwise.”

“But if that were the case,” Justin mused, “Wouldn’t she be able to snap back out of it?”

Kiliki shrugged slightly. “Maybe not. I don’t know how long she’s been like this. It could take months for her to come back around. If she did bring on her own attack, I don’t think she meant it to go this far.”

“She was brave to put herself into that if she really did it on her own,” Justin thought out loud.

Kiliki nodded. “Yes, but then Dabria has never had a problem being courageous.”

“No,” Justin smiled. “No, being courageous and stubborn are two things she’s always been good at.”

“She still is. Her courage and bravery are two things she’s going to need to get over this attack,” Kiliki mused.

“If anyone can beat this, Dabria can. She is never one to let something stand her in way,” Justin reassured, putting a hand on Kiliki’s shoulder to comfort her.

“That is very true. We always had to be carefully how we worded things, or she would find some way around it. She is one smart girl.”

“Dangerous too with the situations she manages to get into. Climbing rigging, jumping overboard, getting a low class workers job…you never know what adventure she is heading towards next.” Justin smiled at the memories.

Kiliki laughed softly. “Yes. She is spirited. But she is caring, loving, and she can even be responsible when she wants too. I am never afraid to let her take care of Adem. No matter what adventure she wants to go on, she will always put his safety first. She will make a fine mother some day.” Kiliki smiled at her little sister. “And a wife,” she added.

“Yeah, for Leon,” Justin muttered angrily, dropping his hand to his side.

“Perhaps,” Kiliki answered slowly, glancing up at him, then focusing back on Dabria, “although, I don’t remember mentioning his name.”

“But they are engaged aren’t they?” Justin questioned.

“Officially, yes. Her parents were notified, but with Leon on the trip with his father and with Dabria’s condition, I guess for now, things have been postponed.”

“Kiliki,” Justin paused, unsure of how to word his question, but wanting an answer. “Are you happy with the engagement?”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?” Kiliki looked up at him again.

“He doesn’t fit with her,” Justin mumbled.

“Fit with her?” Kiliki asked.

“He’s so…stuffy!” The description popped out before Justin could stop it.

Kiliki laughed. “Oh, I don’t know.” She paused a moment. “Well, perhaps he is when you compare his lifestyle to that of yours. But, he has his good traits as well. And he can understand her devotion and love of God, because he is also a Christian.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Justin questioned, knowing full well it had been this point that had really divided the two men as worthy of Dabria’s hand, though he had never been sure of why.

“A lot,” Kiliki responded. “When you both follow the same God, you know what His love truly is, and that enables you to love and understand each other better. Of course, that doesn’t mean that just because two people are Christians they are meant to be together. Some people aren’t suited for each other regardless, that could be because of their personalities, their expectations for the future don’t match, or their beliefs or values in other areas are different. However, if they are both Christians it does give them a more common and solid foundation. Remember, there is no escaping a marriage once it has been sealed in God’s eyes. That is why it is so important to have your marriage based on a good foundation. Trust, love, respect, faith,” Kiliki counted things off on her fingers, before putting her hands back in her lap and looking at her sister. “There are more of course, but if you don’t have those, everything else in the marriage is false. God holds marriage in the highest of esteems. That’s why He speaks so often about its requirements and guidelines.”

“Requirements and guidelines?” Justin questioned stunned. “For marriage?

“Yes, think of it this way, you will be spending the rest of your life with your spouse. God values the choice of marriage so highly; He gives us guidelines to follow when looking for that special person. Some of the things are simple, such as the duties of the household, what the husband and wife should both do concerning each other and how their relationships should work. For example, the husband should be the spiritual head of the household, which means you have to trust that person to guide you in the way that God wants you to live. The husband is to love the wife as he loves his own body, and the wife is to respect and support her husband. All of these are very important things that should be thought about and considered. If either person cannot fulfill those duties, than they shouldn’t get married.”

Kiliki paused to straighten the covers over Dabria as she shifted slightly. The girl never opened her eyes, but sighed and stilled again. Kiliki waited until she was sure Dabria was comfortable again, the resumed her lecture. “One of the requirements that the Bible talks about most strongly is that God says you should not marry someone who does not have the same faith as you. If you do, then you can never truly understand each other. You will also long for more in your marriage and a connection that the other person cannot give you. Your spouse will usually end up taking you away from the Lord, rather than drawing you closer as should be done.”

Kiliki turned slightly to face Justin better and held up her hands so that the fingers formed a triangle. “Think of marriage as this triangle. At the top of the triangle is God and the two points are you and your spouse. Now, as you grow closer to God the triangle because smaller, meaning as you grow closer to God you also grow closer to your spouse. But what if you take away the section of the triangle connecting you to God?” Kiliki dropped one of her fingers from the triangle to illustrate her point. “Now as your spouse grows closer to God, but you don’t the two of you will grow further apart, because you don’t have that same link to the top of the triangle that your spouse does. It’s hard to understand someone fully when you don’t understand the God they love and serve with all their heart and mind.”

“But Leon can do this?” Justin questioned, coming back to his original point and filing the rest of the conversation away to mull over later.

“Well, Leon certainly understands this and he has demonstrated the spiritual leadership needed to lead Dabria in a Godly marriage,” Kiliki admitted.

“And that really make him understand her better?” Justin refused to admit defeat.

“Well, on that level, yes.”

“What about on every other level? He’s going to expect her to sit there and look pretty! Dabria doesn’t sit there and look pretty for anybody! She’s an adventurer! She wants to have fun and live life, not sit in some house all day long and play hostess to people she doesn’t even like!” Justin spouted.

Kiliki covered her mouth, but the laughter escaped anyway. When she had recovered, she asked, “And this is something you don’t think Leon knows?”

“How could he know it?” Justin snorted. “Dabria doesn’t act like herself when he’s around! She’s all prim and proper. And the light she usually has in her eyes dies every time.”

“Are you sure you’re not just seeing things? Maybe when he is around, she can see herself as being a different person from whom she’s always been,” Kiliki suggested.

“Not Dabria,” Justin stated firmly. “She doesn’t need to be different! She’s perfect the way she is. She shouldn’t have to change for anybody.”

“I’m not so sure about being perfect,” Kiliki smiled fondly at her sister, before looking back to Justin. “But it may surprise you that I agree with you, Justin. She shouldn’t have to change so drastically for anybody. She should be able to be who she is and grow into the woman that God intended her to be. But right now, I think she is still trying to figure that out. After all, the two men in her life pose very different options for her. Leon is a strong Christian and he does love her. And yet, her lifestyle would be very different. She would have to be a dutiful wife and run the King’s Ambassadors’ house. Or prim and proper as you put it. And there is you, who has every adventure and all the excitement she could possible want and yet, you do not share the love for the God she serves.” Kiliki paused to make sure she had his full attention. “Justin, until you understand and love the God she loves, you will never truly be able to love her as she deserves.”

“I don’t get how God could make me love her any more or less,” Justin whispered looking down at Dabria.

“That is something you will not understand, until you come to God yourself.” Kiliki watched him for a moment then asked softly, “Do you love her, Justin?”

Justin swallowed, but nodded his head firmly. “I guess I’ve loved her for a long time and just didn’t know it. Everything about her is something to love, the way she moves and talks, her feisty spirit and independence, her love for her family, friends, life…. her ability to see right through me. She makes me want to be better than who I really am.” Justin spoke out loud the words that had been brewing inside him and he wished he could tell them to Dabria instead of her sister. “I want to take care of her, Kiliki, and protect her. I want to give her the ability to be whoever it is she wants to be, to reach for the stars.” He paused, “but that’s not enough is it?”

“No you’re missing one single vital ingredient. You want to help her to be who she wants, but she needs to also grow into who God wants her to be and until you believe in Him as she does, you can’t help her become that woman.” Kiliki remained firm on the point.

Justin took a deep breath. She was everything he wanted and more and yet she came with the price to follow God as she did. It was a choice he found himself wanting more and more to make and yet, his thoughts were still jumbled and as of yet had left him unable to make the final choice. He knew it had to be his choice alone. Tommy and Evyn had made that clear. If he was going to give control over to God, it had to be because he wanted too, not because it would enable him to marry the girl he loved so much. “If I did believe in God as you all do, if I made the decision honestly, would you… would you let me marry her, Kiliki?” He spoke slowly, her answer meaning everything, but then rushed on to add, “I know I’m not of the same high class as Leon, but I would provide for her and protect her. I do love her.”

Kiliki stood and smiled at him. “Justin, that has never, ever been a factor to us and you know it. Her parents will feel differently. But to our family, you have always been worthy. If you made that decision with your whole heart and with pure motives to truly follow God in your own life as well, putting Him first above even her, but leading her to follow God was well, I would have no objections, Justin. I’d be thrilled.”

“You mean, you’d really give me permission?” Justin asked, surprised.

Kiliki laughed. “Of course, provided you met those conditions. I can’t think of anyone better suited for Dabria than you, Justin. But you still have some things you need to work out.”

Justin sighed. “I know. I feel like I have all the facts, but to give all control of my life to someone who I can’t see or touch, but wants to rule my every move is no easy decision. Maybe I’m just too stubborn to give in.”

“You’ve been through as much as the rest of us have these past few months. Maybe it’s not that you’re too stubborn, but that you need time to process without the pressure of everyone else feeding you more information,” Kiliki surmised. “Perhaps what you really need is time alone with The Guardian Star.”

Justin smiled. “Tommy told you.”

“A long time ago. We’ve both been praying for you that you would choose to follow the real Guardian Star and the plans He has for you.”

“Maybe that is what I need, but I won’t get that time until we get you all safely home.”

“Don’t push it off for too long, Justin,” Kiliki warned.

“I won’t. I know it’s an important choice and I will make the right one. I’ll do the same for Dabria. She no longer belongs to Leon.”

“That’s her choice to make. Not yours,” Kiliki cautioned.

“But I can fight for her. I walked away once and gave her up. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Kiliki smiled. “I believe you.”

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