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locker_monsterTitle: The Boy Who Waited (27/49)
Rating: PG
Characters: Rory, with appearances from Barbara
Timeline: set between "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang"
Summary: London, 1996. Barbara Wright prepares the Pandorica for exhibit at the National Museum. As the work unfolds, she recounts the lengthy history of the stone box and its loyal protector, the Lone Centurion.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Everything else is me taking liberties with history.
A/N: A huge thank you to my beta
punch_kicker15. This story would still be sitting on my hard drive if it weren't for you.
It was a bit of a task trying to find someone who could translate for the traveller. On the ride back, all Rory could get from the man was his name, Sanjeet. When they made it to the stables, the owner understood what Sanjeet was saying but he couldn’t convey the meaning to Rory or Kasumi. Their next thought was to speak with Ichiro. According to Kasumi, her father had picked up a few languages in his travels.
They walked back to the berth where the Hikaru Maru was docked. The rōnin weren’t around, but Ichiro was, though it became immediately clear that he had no idea what Sanjeet was saying either.
It wasn’t a complete loss, though.
“One of the captains here speaks Chinese. You would understand, would you not, Heavenly Warrior?” The comment sounded more like an accusation coming from Ichiro. He hadn’t approved of the English lessons back in Australia.
Rory let the comment slide. “Lead the way.”
They found the captain they sought in, where else, a tavern. His skin was a deep dark brown from working out in the sun, but he was dressed a bit more finely than the average dock worker. The robe he wore was clearly new. If the man spoke Chinese then that meant he was bringing in rarer products, which always fetched a higher price.
Rory sat down at his table, catching the captain in the middle of a sip. “Hello,” he greeted in Chinese. “I could use your help.”
The captain swallowed and then wiped the back of his hand across his lips. He stared at Rory, making note of his armour and sword, not sure what to make of him. “What sort of help?” the captain asked cautiously. His Chinese was passable. He might have learned it from a teacher, but his pronunciation was a bit off.
“I need a translator.” Rory gestured to Sanjeet behind him, who was flanked by Kasumi and Ichiro. The father and daughter weren’t as menacing as Yamada or his fellow samurai, but their foreign appearance garnered some intrigue.
The captain spoke to Sanjeet, asking a question. Sanjeet replied, his tone urgent. Again, Rory caught the word “Kalki”. At its utterance, the captain’s eyebrows shot up. He glanced back at Rory, his curiosity clearly piqued. “What do you wish to know?”
Rory kept his reaction neutral. He hadn’t thought the captain would help, not without some monetary enticement. “Is he in trouble?”
The captain repeated the question in his own language. As Sanjeet provided an answer, he sat down at the table with Ichiro and Kasumi. With limited space available, Rory ended up pressed close to Kasumi. It was better than the alternative as far as he was concerned.
“Your friend is a soldier, in the royal army. He serves our monarch. A battle is being fought in the capital and it is not going well. On orders from our emperor, he fled the fight to bring back reinforcements.”
A soldier. That made sense. It explained Sanjeet’s armour and why he looked like such a mess. “Does Cannanore have an army?” asked Rory.
The captain laughed. “We are merchants, not mercenaries. The best the emperor can hope for from Cannanore are men armed with rusted blades.”
Sanjeet said something, interrupting anything else the captain wanted to say. His restless nature hadn’t changed since they met him. Rory could only assume he was eager to get back to the fight. “What did he say?”
The captain shook his head, not in refusal, but in disbelief. “The soldier is convinced you are…” He paused, clearly trying to find the right words in Chinese. “A facet of a god.”
Rory had no idea what that meant, but he got the feeling it wasn’t exactly a good thing. “He thinks I am a god?”
“Not strictly a god, but an aspect of one. In Hindu myth, Kalki is the last incarnation of the god Vishnu. It is said that Kalki will descend and bring an end to the evil plaguing the land.”
Well, this was different. Rory had been called a lot of things over the centuries, but no one had considered him to be a god before. A notion suddenly struck him. “He wants me to return with him to the battle, to end the fighting.”
“Precisely.”
Rory buried his face in his hands and let out a moan. This was ridiculous.
“What is going on?” Kasumi whispered in his ear. “Is something wrong?”
He lowered his hands and glanced back between Kasumi and Ichiro. They had listened to the entire conversation thus far, but the context was lost on them. Father and daughter regarded him eagerly, hoping to hear some answers. “Sanjeet is a soldier. He has been fighting with the emperor in the capital. He wants me to go back with him to end the battle.”
“But why did you moan like that?” wondered Kasumi.
He had hoped to leave this part out, but there was no avoiding it. It would come up sooner or later. “Apparently, I am a god, according to Sanjeet anyway.”
Kasumi bit down on her lower lip. She was obviously holding back a laugh. Ichiro just stared at Rory. “I will admit you look strange, but you look nothing like a deity.”
“I could not agree with you more,” Rory muttered.
While he talked with Kasumi and Ichiro, Sanjeet and the captain had their own conversation. The two of them seemed to reach a consensus. “The soldier cannot force you to join him, but he makes a plea. The capital will fall without reinforcements. I am not a soldier myself, but our rulers fought hard to win this land. It would be a shame to see it conquered by others who share none of our views.”
“And by views, you mean business practices,” said Rory.
The captain smiled enigmatically.
This was happening all too fast. They had come here for supplies, not to help stop a war. Rory got to his feet, forcing Kasumi and Ichiro to do the same. Sanjeet’s eyes grew wide with worry. “Tell him that my friends and I need some time to discuss this,” Rory said to the captain. “Will he be all right on his own for a few hours?”
The captain translated Rory’s words for Sanjeet. The soldier didn’t look impressed, but he nodded his head.
After leaving directions on where to find the Hikaru Maru at the docks, Rory left the tavern with Kasumi and Ichiro. He filled them in on the recent developments as they walked back to the ship.
“We cannot leave now even if we wanted to,” said Ichiro. “I am not finished with the repairs to the ship.”
“That means you can help, then,” said Kasumi.
Rory resisted the urge to be all dramatic and spin around to face Kasumi. He kept on walking just to give himself something else to focus on. “We are not here to fight someone else’s battle,” he said.
“No, but we can help. I have heard your stories. You have taken up your sword for others’ causes before.”
“That was different,” insisted Rory. When he had joined the Knights Templar, he had known what the outcome would be. Here, he didn’t know this battle. He didn’t know who won and who lost. It wasn’t his place to interfere. History had changed enough already; he didn’t need to add to the confusion.
“So you would turn your back on the suffering of others?”
This time, Rory did stop and turn around. It was hard to argue your point when you couldn’t see the other person. “That’s not what I meant.” In his frustration, he slipped into English.
“Then why do you hesitate?” It wasn’t anger that drove her to speak with such conviction. No, she wasn’t angry with him. Kasumi was disappointed. Rory could see it in her eyes. She knew what sort of person he was and his change in integrity made no sense at all.
“I believe what my daughter is trying to say,” said Ichiro with a surprising amount of warmth in his voice, “is that it is the right thing to do.”
A feeling of déjà vu swept over Rory. Kasumi had said the same thing to her father back in Kagoshima when Rory and Yamada had been trying to secure his services as a ship captain. He would have thought the sentiment would have been repeated by Kasumi, not Ichiro.
It made Rory think of a story Amy had told him during his first few days aboard the TARDIS. The Doctor had taken Amy into the future, to a ship called Starship UK. The first thing he had told Amy before she left the time machine was that he never interfered. And then he had promptly gone off to see why a little girl was crying. The story had stuck with Rory because it summed up the Doctor in an instant. When presented with the smart thing to do - not interfering - or the right thing to do - comforting a young girl - the Doctor always chose the right thing to do, no matter the consequences.
Rory wasn’t the Doctor, but he could take a page from his book.
“This is not up to me.” Kasumi began to protest, but Rory continued on before she could say anything. “We have five samurai who, I am sure, would not mind taking up a sword again. If we are to charge into battle, they should have a say as well.”
Kasumi’s face lit up and Ichiro gave him a respectful nod. Rory just hoped he lived up to their praise.
The ship’s hold was more cramped, now that their supplies were re-stocked. The rōnin sat atop various crates and barrels and they were an attentive audience as Rory laid out the situation. He felt like pacing as he spoke, but he could hardly take two strides before running into a barrel of salted fish or a bundle of canvas. By the time he finished talking, he was brimming with nervous energy.
“So… that is the current situation.” He looked around at the five samurai, trying to gauge their thoughts on the matter.
Yamada was, as always, unreadable. The others were slightly more expressive. The thought that they could be fighting on a battlefield again was an alluring one and Rory could see the hopefulness in their eyes. Though they made good sailors, they were all samurai at heart.
“Whatever you decide,” said Kimura, “we will follow you, Master.” The young man immediately clamped his mouth shut and a flush rose up his neck.
At first, Rory thought he misheard Kimura, but with the way the others avoided looking at him, when you did when someone embarrassed themselves, he knew he hadn’t been mistaken. The young samurai saw him as his master.
“Is that what you all think?” Kimura turned even redder as Rory spoke. He was quick to add, “You will fight if I ask you to?”
All eyes turned to Yamada. The eldest samurai blinked, like he was waking from a nap, but he seemed unaware of the attention suddenly thrust upon him. “We trust your judgement, Heavenly Warrior.”
That was it then. The five men before would do anything he asked. Rory wasn’t sure if he liked this feeling. “All right. I will speak with Sanjeet about getting us to the capital.”
With the meeting over, the rōnin dispersed. Kimura practically flew out of the hold. Rory understood completely. He knew what it was like to have a secret blurted out to the one person who shouldn’t have known. He considered having a talk with the young man when he noticed that Yamada hadn’t moved from his seat upon a wooden crate.
“Is something wrong?” asked Rory. A tiny part of him hoped that Yamada had stayed behind to argue about entering the battle, but the samurai’s calm countenance did little to back up that thought.
“Kimura is right.”
“About?”
A lesser man might have rolled his eyes with impatience. “You are our master.”
An overwhelming urge to start laughing struck Rory from out of nowhere. He swallowed hard, like he could force back the sudden hysteria. “I am not your master,” he insisted, but even as he said it, he knew there was no point in disagreeing. If Yamada thought Rory was his master, then Rory was his master.
“We were disgraced, but you gave us a purpose again. No greater gift could be bestowed upon a warrior.”
This was practically an elegant speech for Yamada. Usually, Rory would have to prompt the man to give such a lengthy response. He could see where this was coming from and he was flattered that Yamada cared enough to reassure him. He wasn’t forcing any of the rōnin to be here. They wanted to follow him, even if that meant fighting in a war that had nothing to do with them.
Sensing that Rory had nothing to add, Yamada got to his feet. He bowed and intoned a respectful, “Master”, before leaving the hold.
Rory waited until he heard Yamada’s footsteps recede into the distance before plopping down on the battered chest in the corner. The contents rattled. He realized that he had no idea if the army had a doctor. If any of the samurai got hurt and he wasn’t there to help…
“God, what I am doing?” Rory muttered to himself. He ripped off his helmet and threw it across the hold. It struck a row of fishing rods, knocking them over with a clatter.
He wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t even a proper soldier. His head was full of false memories of being in a legion that never existed. He was a plastic robot with delusions of humanity. The real Rory Williams didn’t even have a single leadership bone in his body. He was going to lead these men to their deaths and all because he was being kind.
He looked up at the ceiling of the hold. There was a black void noticeable among the cracks between the slats of wood, denoting where the Pandorica sat. “What am I doing, Amy?”
It had been awhile since Rory “talked” to Amy. It was hard to get a conversation in when he was constantly surrounded by people on the ship. Not that he was embarrassed to talk to Amy. He just didn’t want the others asking more questions about the Pandorica. But no one was around now and he desperately needed to voice his fears, whether it was to an actual person or not.
“I don’t give orders; I follow them. That’s the whole point of a nurse. I shouldn’t even be leading these people. What do I have to offer that inspires loyalty?”
He was a lone figure protecting a mysterious box. He wasn’t out to be a hero.
Rory was prepared to stay down in the hold by himself for as long as possible, but the universe seemed to have other plans for him. He heard a cacophony of voices approaching from the distance and it sounded like they were headed towards the Hikaru Maru. He looked back up at the Pandorica, sitting exposed on the deck of the ship. He didn’t have a covering for it. Whoever was coming would see the box and the strange markings on the side. Rory didn’t need a crowd getting the wrong idea right now.
Jumping to his feet, he rushed across the hold to grab his helmet. He paused for a second to pick up the fishing rods, but they just fell over again when he tried to lean them against the wall of the hold. Rory left them where they were and jammed on his helmet as he climbed up the stairs to the deck of the ship. As he suspected, he spotted a group of people walking down the docks towards the Hikaru Maru. They numbered around two dozen and at the front of the group, supposedly leading them on, was Sanjeet.
“Canvas.” Rory looked around at the others. They were watching the group’s approach as well. He touched Ichiro on the arm. “You bought canvas.”
“Yes. Why?”
“Cover the Pandorica.” The man just stared at him. “Now!”
Ichiro didn’t scurry off, but he didn’t grumble a complaint, either. He grabbed Kimura and Katō and they headed down into the hold just as Sanjeet and his mob reached the Hikaru Maru’s berth. Rory took up a position at the top of the ramp. He noticed that the crowd was armed, but mostly with farm tools and old looking swords. Behind him, he heard the remaining samurai take up flanking positions.
Kasumi stood at the wheel of the ship and Rory shot her glance, indicating she should stay where she was. He caught a brief scowl from her, but she stayed.
“Hello.” Rory looked down at the crowd and waved awkwardly at them. The group was all male, with varying ages. They looked up at him, some in disbelief, others in awe.
Sanjeet turned to address the group. It seemed like a modest speech, but as he continued to speak, the crowd began to grow. Idle dock workers watching the proceedings drifted closer and soon they were regarding Rory with various degrees of shock, delight, and fear. He heard the word “Kalki” more than a few times and he could only guess that Sanjeet was telling everyone about Rory’s supposed godhood.
Rory wanted to dismiss the outlandish thought, but he never got the chance. Together, the men that Sanjeet had gathered began to chant “Kalki!” over and over.
“I believe,” said Yamada, sounding mildly astonished, “that soldier has gathered an army in your name.”
Rating: PG
Characters: Rory, with appearances from Barbara
Timeline: set between "The Pandorica Opens" and "The Big Bang"
Summary: London, 1996. Barbara Wright prepares the Pandorica for exhibit at the National Museum. As the work unfolds, she recounts the lengthy history of the stone box and its loyal protector, the Lone Centurion.
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. Everything else is me taking liberties with history.
A/N: A huge thank you to my beta
punch_kicker15. This story would still be sitting on my hard drive if it weren't for you.1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49
It was a bit of a task trying to find someone who could translate for the traveller. On the ride back, all Rory could get from the man was his name, Sanjeet. When they made it to the stables, the owner understood what Sanjeet was saying but he couldn’t convey the meaning to Rory or Kasumi. Their next thought was to speak with Ichiro. According to Kasumi, her father had picked up a few languages in his travels.
They walked back to the berth where the Hikaru Maru was docked. The rōnin weren’t around, but Ichiro was, though it became immediately clear that he had no idea what Sanjeet was saying either.
It wasn’t a complete loss, though.
“One of the captains here speaks Chinese. You would understand, would you not, Heavenly Warrior?” The comment sounded more like an accusation coming from Ichiro. He hadn’t approved of the English lessons back in Australia.
Rory let the comment slide. “Lead the way.”
They found the captain they sought in, where else, a tavern. His skin was a deep dark brown from working out in the sun, but he was dressed a bit more finely than the average dock worker. The robe he wore was clearly new. If the man spoke Chinese then that meant he was bringing in rarer products, which always fetched a higher price.
Rory sat down at his table, catching the captain in the middle of a sip. “Hello,” he greeted in Chinese. “I could use your help.”
The captain swallowed and then wiped the back of his hand across his lips. He stared at Rory, making note of his armour and sword, not sure what to make of him. “What sort of help?” the captain asked cautiously. His Chinese was passable. He might have learned it from a teacher, but his pronunciation was a bit off.
“I need a translator.” Rory gestured to Sanjeet behind him, who was flanked by Kasumi and Ichiro. The father and daughter weren’t as menacing as Yamada or his fellow samurai, but their foreign appearance garnered some intrigue.
The captain spoke to Sanjeet, asking a question. Sanjeet replied, his tone urgent. Again, Rory caught the word “Kalki”. At its utterance, the captain’s eyebrows shot up. He glanced back at Rory, his curiosity clearly piqued. “What do you wish to know?”
Rory kept his reaction neutral. He hadn’t thought the captain would help, not without some monetary enticement. “Is he in trouble?”
The captain repeated the question in his own language. As Sanjeet provided an answer, he sat down at the table with Ichiro and Kasumi. With limited space available, Rory ended up pressed close to Kasumi. It was better than the alternative as far as he was concerned.
“Your friend is a soldier, in the royal army. He serves our monarch. A battle is being fought in the capital and it is not going well. On orders from our emperor, he fled the fight to bring back reinforcements.”
A soldier. That made sense. It explained Sanjeet’s armour and why he looked like such a mess. “Does Cannanore have an army?” asked Rory.
The captain laughed. “We are merchants, not mercenaries. The best the emperor can hope for from Cannanore are men armed with rusted blades.”
Sanjeet said something, interrupting anything else the captain wanted to say. His restless nature hadn’t changed since they met him. Rory could only assume he was eager to get back to the fight. “What did he say?”
The captain shook his head, not in refusal, but in disbelief. “The soldier is convinced you are…” He paused, clearly trying to find the right words in Chinese. “A facet of a god.”
Rory had no idea what that meant, but he got the feeling it wasn’t exactly a good thing. “He thinks I am a god?”
“Not strictly a god, but an aspect of one. In Hindu myth, Kalki is the last incarnation of the god Vishnu. It is said that Kalki will descend and bring an end to the evil plaguing the land.”
Well, this was different. Rory had been called a lot of things over the centuries, but no one had considered him to be a god before. A notion suddenly struck him. “He wants me to return with him to the battle, to end the fighting.”
“Precisely.”
Rory buried his face in his hands and let out a moan. This was ridiculous.
“What is going on?” Kasumi whispered in his ear. “Is something wrong?”
He lowered his hands and glanced back between Kasumi and Ichiro. They had listened to the entire conversation thus far, but the context was lost on them. Father and daughter regarded him eagerly, hoping to hear some answers. “Sanjeet is a soldier. He has been fighting with the emperor in the capital. He wants me to go back with him to end the battle.”
“But why did you moan like that?” wondered Kasumi.
He had hoped to leave this part out, but there was no avoiding it. It would come up sooner or later. “Apparently, I am a god, according to Sanjeet anyway.”
Kasumi bit down on her lower lip. She was obviously holding back a laugh. Ichiro just stared at Rory. “I will admit you look strange, but you look nothing like a deity.”
“I could not agree with you more,” Rory muttered.
While he talked with Kasumi and Ichiro, Sanjeet and the captain had their own conversation. The two of them seemed to reach a consensus. “The soldier cannot force you to join him, but he makes a plea. The capital will fall without reinforcements. I am not a soldier myself, but our rulers fought hard to win this land. It would be a shame to see it conquered by others who share none of our views.”
“And by views, you mean business practices,” said Rory.
The captain smiled enigmatically.
This was happening all too fast. They had come here for supplies, not to help stop a war. Rory got to his feet, forcing Kasumi and Ichiro to do the same. Sanjeet’s eyes grew wide with worry. “Tell him that my friends and I need some time to discuss this,” Rory said to the captain. “Will he be all right on his own for a few hours?”
The captain translated Rory’s words for Sanjeet. The soldier didn’t look impressed, but he nodded his head.
After leaving directions on where to find the Hikaru Maru at the docks, Rory left the tavern with Kasumi and Ichiro. He filled them in on the recent developments as they walked back to the ship.
“We cannot leave now even if we wanted to,” said Ichiro. “I am not finished with the repairs to the ship.”
“That means you can help, then,” said Kasumi.
Rory resisted the urge to be all dramatic and spin around to face Kasumi. He kept on walking just to give himself something else to focus on. “We are not here to fight someone else’s battle,” he said.
“No, but we can help. I have heard your stories. You have taken up your sword for others’ causes before.”
“That was different,” insisted Rory. When he had joined the Knights Templar, he had known what the outcome would be. Here, he didn’t know this battle. He didn’t know who won and who lost. It wasn’t his place to interfere. History had changed enough already; he didn’t need to add to the confusion.
“So you would turn your back on the suffering of others?”
This time, Rory did stop and turn around. It was hard to argue your point when you couldn’t see the other person. “That’s not what I meant.” In his frustration, he slipped into English.
“Then why do you hesitate?” It wasn’t anger that drove her to speak with such conviction. No, she wasn’t angry with him. Kasumi was disappointed. Rory could see it in her eyes. She knew what sort of person he was and his change in integrity made no sense at all.
“I believe what my daughter is trying to say,” said Ichiro with a surprising amount of warmth in his voice, “is that it is the right thing to do.”
A feeling of déjà vu swept over Rory. Kasumi had said the same thing to her father back in Kagoshima when Rory and Yamada had been trying to secure his services as a ship captain. He would have thought the sentiment would have been repeated by Kasumi, not Ichiro.
It made Rory think of a story Amy had told him during his first few days aboard the TARDIS. The Doctor had taken Amy into the future, to a ship called Starship UK. The first thing he had told Amy before she left the time machine was that he never interfered. And then he had promptly gone off to see why a little girl was crying. The story had stuck with Rory because it summed up the Doctor in an instant. When presented with the smart thing to do - not interfering - or the right thing to do - comforting a young girl - the Doctor always chose the right thing to do, no matter the consequences.
Rory wasn’t the Doctor, but he could take a page from his book.
“This is not up to me.” Kasumi began to protest, but Rory continued on before she could say anything. “We have five samurai who, I am sure, would not mind taking up a sword again. If we are to charge into battle, they should have a say as well.”
Kasumi’s face lit up and Ichiro gave him a respectful nod. Rory just hoped he lived up to their praise.
The ship’s hold was more cramped, now that their supplies were re-stocked. The rōnin sat atop various crates and barrels and they were an attentive audience as Rory laid out the situation. He felt like pacing as he spoke, but he could hardly take two strides before running into a barrel of salted fish or a bundle of canvas. By the time he finished talking, he was brimming with nervous energy.
“So… that is the current situation.” He looked around at the five samurai, trying to gauge their thoughts on the matter.
Yamada was, as always, unreadable. The others were slightly more expressive. The thought that they could be fighting on a battlefield again was an alluring one and Rory could see the hopefulness in their eyes. Though they made good sailors, they were all samurai at heart.
“Whatever you decide,” said Kimura, “we will follow you, Master.” The young man immediately clamped his mouth shut and a flush rose up his neck.
At first, Rory thought he misheard Kimura, but with the way the others avoided looking at him, when you did when someone embarrassed themselves, he knew he hadn’t been mistaken. The young samurai saw him as his master.
“Is that what you all think?” Kimura turned even redder as Rory spoke. He was quick to add, “You will fight if I ask you to?”
All eyes turned to Yamada. The eldest samurai blinked, like he was waking from a nap, but he seemed unaware of the attention suddenly thrust upon him. “We trust your judgement, Heavenly Warrior.”
That was it then. The five men before would do anything he asked. Rory wasn’t sure if he liked this feeling. “All right. I will speak with Sanjeet about getting us to the capital.”
With the meeting over, the rōnin dispersed. Kimura practically flew out of the hold. Rory understood completely. He knew what it was like to have a secret blurted out to the one person who shouldn’t have known. He considered having a talk with the young man when he noticed that Yamada hadn’t moved from his seat upon a wooden crate.
“Is something wrong?” asked Rory. A tiny part of him hoped that Yamada had stayed behind to argue about entering the battle, but the samurai’s calm countenance did little to back up that thought.
“Kimura is right.”
“About?”
A lesser man might have rolled his eyes with impatience. “You are our master.”
An overwhelming urge to start laughing struck Rory from out of nowhere. He swallowed hard, like he could force back the sudden hysteria. “I am not your master,” he insisted, but even as he said it, he knew there was no point in disagreeing. If Yamada thought Rory was his master, then Rory was his master.
“We were disgraced, but you gave us a purpose again. No greater gift could be bestowed upon a warrior.”
This was practically an elegant speech for Yamada. Usually, Rory would have to prompt the man to give such a lengthy response. He could see where this was coming from and he was flattered that Yamada cared enough to reassure him. He wasn’t forcing any of the rōnin to be here. They wanted to follow him, even if that meant fighting in a war that had nothing to do with them.
Sensing that Rory had nothing to add, Yamada got to his feet. He bowed and intoned a respectful, “Master”, before leaving the hold.
Rory waited until he heard Yamada’s footsteps recede into the distance before plopping down on the battered chest in the corner. The contents rattled. He realized that he had no idea if the army had a doctor. If any of the samurai got hurt and he wasn’t there to help…
“God, what I am doing?” Rory muttered to himself. He ripped off his helmet and threw it across the hold. It struck a row of fishing rods, knocking them over with a clatter.
He wasn’t a leader. He wasn’t even a proper soldier. His head was full of false memories of being in a legion that never existed. He was a plastic robot with delusions of humanity. The real Rory Williams didn’t even have a single leadership bone in his body. He was going to lead these men to their deaths and all because he was being kind.
He looked up at the ceiling of the hold. There was a black void noticeable among the cracks between the slats of wood, denoting where the Pandorica sat. “What am I doing, Amy?”
It had been awhile since Rory “talked” to Amy. It was hard to get a conversation in when he was constantly surrounded by people on the ship. Not that he was embarrassed to talk to Amy. He just didn’t want the others asking more questions about the Pandorica. But no one was around now and he desperately needed to voice his fears, whether it was to an actual person or not.
“I don’t give orders; I follow them. That’s the whole point of a nurse. I shouldn’t even be leading these people. What do I have to offer that inspires loyalty?”
He was a lone figure protecting a mysterious box. He wasn’t out to be a hero.
Rory was prepared to stay down in the hold by himself for as long as possible, but the universe seemed to have other plans for him. He heard a cacophony of voices approaching from the distance and it sounded like they were headed towards the Hikaru Maru. He looked back up at the Pandorica, sitting exposed on the deck of the ship. He didn’t have a covering for it. Whoever was coming would see the box and the strange markings on the side. Rory didn’t need a crowd getting the wrong idea right now.
Jumping to his feet, he rushed across the hold to grab his helmet. He paused for a second to pick up the fishing rods, but they just fell over again when he tried to lean them against the wall of the hold. Rory left them where they were and jammed on his helmet as he climbed up the stairs to the deck of the ship. As he suspected, he spotted a group of people walking down the docks towards the Hikaru Maru. They numbered around two dozen and at the front of the group, supposedly leading them on, was Sanjeet.
“Canvas.” Rory looked around at the others. They were watching the group’s approach as well. He touched Ichiro on the arm. “You bought canvas.”
“Yes. Why?”
“Cover the Pandorica.” The man just stared at him. “Now!”
Ichiro didn’t scurry off, but he didn’t grumble a complaint, either. He grabbed Kimura and Katō and they headed down into the hold just as Sanjeet and his mob reached the Hikaru Maru’s berth. Rory took up a position at the top of the ramp. He noticed that the crowd was armed, but mostly with farm tools and old looking swords. Behind him, he heard the remaining samurai take up flanking positions.
Kasumi stood at the wheel of the ship and Rory shot her glance, indicating she should stay where she was. He caught a brief scowl from her, but she stayed.
“Hello.” Rory looked down at the crowd and waved awkwardly at them. The group was all male, with varying ages. They looked up at him, some in disbelief, others in awe.
Sanjeet turned to address the group. It seemed like a modest speech, but as he continued to speak, the crowd began to grow. Idle dock workers watching the proceedings drifted closer and soon they were regarding Rory with various degrees of shock, delight, and fear. He heard the word “Kalki” more than a few times and he could only guess that Sanjeet was telling everyone about Rory’s supposed godhood.
Rory wanted to dismiss the outlandish thought, but he never got the chance. Together, the men that Sanjeet had gathered began to chant “Kalki!” over and over.
“I believe,” said Yamada, sounding mildly astonished, “that soldier has gathered an army in your name.”
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Date: 2013-07-18 10:03 pm (UTC)Looking forward to the next part! This is gonna get interesting, I can just feel it!
*HUGS*
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Date: 2013-07-20 12:54 am (UTC)