The Veggie Caliphate - Homecoming

MiecraftMan is disgraced and in exile.  It’s been 6 months since he fled from the Veggie Caliphate to the remote islands of the Galapagos, but he’s finally ready to leave and face Riniv, the usurper.  Having recently departed on a large VC battleship, he is returning home.

Jordan’s life is not going great under the reign of Riniv.  Under the tyrant’s rule, the rich got richer and the poor suffered.  Jordan’s family was forced to let go of the staff they had hired after finding the plane, as they just didn’t have enough money to pay them anymore.  The unjustness of it all angers Jordan, and he vows to make a difference in the fight against Riniv.

Riniv is living the life any man could dream of.  MiecraftMan is far away on the Galapagos (not that it matters), and his place in the throne is secure.  He has all the support he needs in the VC to do whatever he likes.  By paying the rich men and women of the Veggie Caliphate, he has gained the loyalty and service of anyone who is anyone.  He does not care for the poor, and they hate him for that.  Let them hate, he says.  They’re nobodies.  They can’t do anything.

MiecraftMan is quite positive there are spies on the ship.  He is certain Riniv knows he fled to the Galapagos, so surely he would have sent men to keep an eye on him and stop him if necessary.  With a crew of 300 men and women on the small Veggie Caliphate battleship, it seemed unlikely nobody worked for Riniv.

It had been 6 months since MiecraftMan last saw the shores of the Veggie Caliphate (technically, the Galapagos were under VC rule, but it was a territory, and not part of the actual nation).  Finally, about a weeks ago, MiecraftMan had mustered up the strength and manpower to depart from the islands and return home.  Now, after sailing over a thousand kilometers, the Panama Canal was in sight.

“Your Majesty,” said a voice to MiecraftMan’s right.  MiecraftMan turned, and saw his closest advisor and friend on the ship.  Lake had been one of the first to turn up on the Galapagos seeking MiecraftMan and fleeing from Riniv and the Veggie Caliphate, and therefore MiecraftMan trusted him greatly.

A pale, gaunt man, Lake had grown up poor in the slums of Nigeria.  He had enlisted in the army at a young age, and worked his way up from there.  Then, after Riniv took power, everything had been stripped from him.  His rank, his influence, even his family, had all been torn away by Riniv, simply because he had spoken out against the tyranny.  Now he was here, on the battleship, ready to fight with MiecraftMan to reclaim his home.

“What is it,” MiecraftMan asked.

“The Scruffs are causing trouble on the deck again, Your Majesty,” responded Lake.  He ran his hand through his white-blonde hair, and sighed.

The Scruffs was the nickname used to describe the small group of about 15 thugs and ruffians on the ship.  They were undisciplined, unruly men who often caused trouble on the ship, and Miecraft and Lake both despised them.  Sadly, MiecraftMan needed all the manpower he could muster, and he doubted the Scruffs would turn to Riniv if their loyalties were questioned.

As MiecraftMan followed Lake down to the deck, he tried to read the man.  Lake had not shared much with Miecraft besides the outline of his backstory, and MiecraftMan was certain many things had been left out.  However, Lake kept himself closely guarded, and rarely talked to anybody besides MiecraftMan and a few other senior soldiers.  Even when MiecraftMan did converse with Lake, the man never talked about himself.

Nevertheless, Miecraft considered Lake his friend and respected him as an individual.  Lake had proved himself loyal and trustworthy on many occasions, and everyone was entitled to secrets.  Not to mention that Lake was the one who had turned up on the shores of the Galapagos with a stolen battleship.  Miecraft was forever in debt to him for that.

The Scruffs leader was a large man named Omar.  He was perhaps the hairiest, meanest, rudest member of the gang, and therefor commandeered the respect of the others.  As MiecraftMan approached him, his cold, dark eyes pierced into Miecraft’s soul.  His eyes seemed to be saying “try me, I dare you.”

“What’s the problem this time,” MiecraftMan asked.

“Little runt wouldn’t apologize after he ran into me,” Omar grunted.  He gestured to a small, brown-haired man backed up against the wall.

“Hard not to, you great big whale,” the man scowled.  Omar looked murderous, but he didn’t dare act in front of Lake and MiecraftMan.

MiecraftMan glanced at the man, and recalled his name.  Dillon.  He was one of the last to arrive in the Galapagos, but seemed eager to fight for Miecraft’s cause.

Lake didn’t seem to happy to see Dillon.  He glared at the man, and Dillon instantly paled.  “You,” he growled.

“Last time I saw you, I warned you.  Never show your face to me again, not after what you said about my family,” Lake spat.

“I…no, that’s not….” Dillon looked at Lake’s angry face though, and decided against continuing what he was about to say.  He shot a hateful look at Omar and Lake, then scampered out of sight.

Miecraft knew better than to ask Lake what that was all about, so he turned to Omar.  “Lay off the other crew members.  We all have the same cause here, and I fear you may be forgetting it.”  Omar scoffed.  Lake said nothing.  MiecraftMan sighed, then retreated back to his room.

It had been two days since they crossed the Panama Canal.  Everything was going well, and the Scruffs had caused little trouble since the incident with Dillon.  MiecraftMan saw little of Lake, and he learned from others that the man rarely left his room anymore.  It was strange, but MiecraftMan would not waste time brooding over it.

On the third day, disaster struck.  Early in the morning, a young soldier had reported to Miecraft’s room, clearly distressed.  He led Miecraft down to the soldier’s bunks, and only then did Miecraft see a handwritten note on one of the mattresses.  He picked up the note and read it.

To who this may consern, I am gone.  Everything was too much for me, and I feered going to war with the great Veggie Caliphate.  Late last nite, I took my own life by drowning.  I hope nobody will miss me. 

Goodbye, Dillon A. Rodgers

MiecraftMan gasped.  He couldn’t really believe it, the man had never came across as suicidal to him.  MiecraftMan feared he may have had something to do with it.  If only he had checked on the man after Omar had bullied him, he was clearly distressed.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty.” MiecraftMan turned and saw Lake standing next to him.  “There is something you must see.”

As MiecraftMan followed Lake, Lake held a finger to his mouth.  Silent.  Lake suddenly stopped and peered around the corner.  MiecraftMan followed Lake’s gaze, and saw Omar and two Scruffs huddled up whispering to each other.  Occasionally one of them would laugh.  Once MiecraftMan caught Omar saying “he deserved it.”

Lake led Miecraft away, but now MiecraftMan began to have doubts about the validity of Dillon’s suicide note.  What if foul play was involved, and Omar and the Scruffs had something to do with it?

“Did something strike you as odd about the suicide note, Your Majesty,” asked Lake.

“Well, yes actually.  There were blatant grammar and spelling errors in the note,” said MiecraftMan.

“Exactly,” Lake grinned, “if Omar and the Scruffs could spell correctly, then I’m Riniv’s right hand man.  I think they murdered Dillon and forged the note.”

“We need to prove it, then we can either force them off the ship, or execute them,” said Miecraft.  He didn’t want to lose men if he could avoid it, but if murderers were on the ship, something had to be done.

“I’ll work on it, Your Majesty.  Right now though, I have an important phone call I need to attend to.” With that, Lake left MiecraftMan to his thoughts.

Riniv yawned.  Was it supposed to be this boring ruling a country?  Sure, it was fun, but surely there was more to be done?  Maybe not.  He had a lot of wealthy aristocrats basically doing everything for him, so he supposed that would explain the lack of things to do.

Riniv’s phone rang.  He glanced at the screen, and saw who was calling.  He sighed mentally.  Talking to those men was never something he enjoyed, but he picked up the phone regardless.

“The ship just passed Puerto Rico.  If we let them get any farther, the opportunity will pass and we will not be able to do anything,” the man said.

“You’re asking permission to strike,” confirmed Riniv.

“Yes.  Give the word and MiecraftMan will be dead by tomorrow morning.”  The man’s hoarse voice was barely a whisper, but it gave chills down Riniv’s spine.  Good thing they were on his side.  The things a man could buy with money….

“If only the spy would be willing to take out MiecraftMan himself.  That coward.  What did he call it?  ‘A risk to my personal safety,’” Riniv imitated. “Blast his personal safety!  My wishes take importance.  Do not fail me in your task, or I will be severely disappointed.”

“You won’t be.  You’ll never have to worry about MiecraftMan ever again,” spoke the man.

Thank the veggies for Lake, MiecraftMan thought as he retired for bed.  It had been two days since Dillon’s supposed suicide, but still Lake and Miecraft were unable to prove Omar’s guilt.  However, Lake was being extremely helpful in other ways.  The past two nights, Lake and some of his trusted soldiers had volunteered to take the night guard, and MiecraftMan was grateful to them for that.  They were almost out of the Caribbean, but until they were safely in the Atlantic, MiecraftMan still feared attacks on the ship.

With the guards on duty however, MiecraftMan felt he could safely retire to bed.  He flicked off the lights, lied himself down, and quickly fell asleep.

*     *     *

MiecraftMan woke with a jolt.  He could feel that something was extremely off on the ship.  He listened carefully, and could hear screams and shouts down on the deck.  MiecraftMan threw himself out of bed, grabbed a gun off the wall, then carefully made his way down to the deck.

He had braced himself for the worst, but still what he saw shocked him.  The carnage had torn throughout the deck, and bodies of soldiers as well as other men MiecraftMan didn’t recognize lay strewn across the ground.  He saw a strange ship docked next to the battleship, and realized strangers must have boarded overnight.  He needed to find Lake.  Lake would know what was happening.

MiecraftMan spotted Lake a few yards away, and rushed over to him.  “What on Earth is happening!” he cried.

“The Scruffs.  Omar and a dozen other of his ruffians all overpowered my men on guard, and then invited these…these pirates onto the ship.  They slaughtered some of the men in their sleep, and haven’t stopped killing since.  I shot down two and barely escaped with my life,” said Lake slowly.

MiecraftMan cursed loudly.  “We need to get them off the ship or else the whole mission will be sabotaged,” he said.  MiecraftMan loaded his gun, then slowly tiptoed below deck, Lake following him.

Suddenly, a scream echoed from one of the rooms to MiecraftMan’s left.  MiecraftMan dashed inside, and saw pirate aiming a gun at a soldier’s face.  The soldier was lying on the ground, covered in blood.  “Please….”

A pistol shot rang out, and the man was dead.  The pirate/killer turned to face Lake and MiecraftMan, and when he saw them he grinned.

The pirate was hideous.  He had one eye, and the other half was a charred mess.  It reminded MiecraftMan of Two-Face, or possibly Prince Zuko.  It didn’t get better the further MiecraftMan studied the man.  His remaining eye was dark black, and the pupil was near impossible to see.  He had long, dark, matted hair, which looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a very long time.  The man had a no teeth whatsoever, and a sinister toothless grin on his face.  He towered over MiecraftMan and even Lake.  If Miecraft had to guess he was easily 7 feet tall.  To sum things up, he was intimidating.

“MiecraftMan!  How I have waited to finally, ah, meet you.  And under such pleasurable circumstances!  I am the Reaper, the Scourge of the Caribbean, the dreaded captain of my majestic ship the Comet Tail.  I take it you are acquainted with some of my handiwork?” The pirate captain gestured to dead man strewn across the ground.  “You shall soon be joining my friend here.” The pirate flashed another sinister, toothless grin.

MiecraftMan pulled out his gun and shot him in the chest.  The pirate let out a gasp, then crumpled to the floor, either dead or unconscious.

“Impressive.” Lake stood by MiecraftMan’s side, applauding slowly.  “I wonder if that killed him.”

MiecraftMan knelt down to feel the man’s pulse, when he heard a gun being cocked.  He looked up, and saw Lake pointing a revolver at his face.

MiecraftMan was shocked, confused, and half expected Lake to drop the gun, laugh, and say it was all a joke.  But no.  “Lake,” MiecraftMan said slowly, “Why?”

Lake just laughed.  Suddenly, MiecraftMan dived to the side, away from Lake’s pistol.  Lake looked surprised, and the stunt would have worked if the pirate truly was unconscious.  MiecraftMan felt a firm hand grip around his leg, and then his face slammed against the floor.

“Why, you ask?  Riniv has given me everything.  Money, property, his trust.  I am one of his greatest servants, and so when he asked me to spy on you, I was honored.  I obliged, happily.  I fed you a cock and bull story about my past.  You ate it up.  You believed me to be your friend,” Lake spat the word.  “I gave info to my friends the pirates and to Riniv, so they knew when to act.  I murdered Dillon and blamed it on Omar.  It had to be done.  The man was onto me.  I took night guard with five men who trusted me, then I killed them all silently one by one.  I let the pirates onto the ship, and then the real fun began.  There, I confessed.  Does it matter though?  You’ll be dead in a minute.” Lake let loose a maniacal laugh.

“Well, good job.  Want a round of applause?  Let’s kill him,” the pirate said.

“Very well,” responded Lake.  He lowed his gun so it pointed at MiecraftMan’s head.  “Any last words, Your Majesty?” Lake spat the last two words.

“No, I don’t think he has any,” said a voice from behind Lake.  A gunshot rang out, and Lake collapsed to the ground, clutching his shoulder.  Behind him stood Omar, and two other Scruffs.

The pirate captain cussed loudly, loaded his gun, then shot the Scruff to Omar’s left, all in the blink of an eye. The man collapsed to the ground dead.  A bullet came flying at the pirate, shot by the other Scruff, but it simply winded the man.  Clearly the pirate was wearing something bulletproof.

The Scruff’s second shot missed the captain by an inch.  The pirate aimed his gun at MiecraftMan.  “One false move, and your leader dies,” the pirate said.  “Drop your weapons.”

Omar slowly dropped his weapon, but the Scruff to his right did not follow suit.

“Drop your weapon,” the pirate snarled.

“No,” the Scruff said.  He pointed his gun at the pirate’s face.  MiecraftMan dived at the last moment.  He felt a searing pain in his leg, and he saw the pirate fall to the ground, dead.  Then everything blacked out.

*   *   *

MiecraftMan’s eyes flickered open.  He saw a doctor hovering over him, taking to a man waiting waiting by the door.  Upon further glance, MiecraftMan recognized the man as Omar.

“And so he wakes.  It’s been 17 hours, but we’re safely in the Atlantic now.  We’ve removed the bullet from your leg.  You’re lucky it didn’t hit any higher up.” The doctor smiled.

“How was your slumber?” asked Omar.

“Good, thanks. Also, thanks for saving my butt back with the pirate.  I don’t suppose Lake is….”

“Nah, he got away.  As soon as you got shot, Lake slipped out the door.  Him and the few remaining pirates returned to the Comet Tail, and sailed away.  You were rushed to the hospital corridor, and have been out cold since.”

“Thanks for everything.” MiecraftMan smiled weakly.

“Don’t worry about it.  You’re annoying, but I hate Riniv and what he stands for.  If you died, the mission would fail and we would see the shores of the VC.  Don’t consider me your friend though, now that I’ve saved your butt once,” said Omar.

“If you wish,” smiled MiecraftMan.  “How heavy were our losses to the pirates, though?”

“Bad,” grimaced Omar. “We lost about 50 to their attack.  They took us by surprise, killed some in their sleep before we could figure out what was going on.  We may not have enough to accomplish our goals once we land in Nigeria.”

“Actually, I plan to land in Benin.  I have a friend there who owns a dock, and he can provide us and get us on our way as swift as possible.  From there, we can make our way to Abuja.  I’m not sure what we’ll do about the losses, we’ll have to improvise once we arrive.  From here though, I guess it’s smooth sailing until we reach Benin.  I doubt I’ll be seeing much more than the walls of this room, though…,” MiecraftMan laughed weakly.

“Smooth sailing,” repeated Omar. “That sounds nice.”

Only an ocean stood in MiecraftMan’s way, and then he would finally be home.

Jordan had aged 3 years in the 6 months of Riniv’s rule.  He was stronger, fitter, more of a man than the carefree, laughing boy he had been half a year ago.  His hands were rough and calloused from working on the farm.

Jordan was 15 years old, and lived on a farm with his mother, father, grandmother, an eight year old sister, and a three year old brother.  Life on the farm was never easy, but times were worse than ever under the rule of Riniv.  The farm’s customers, mostly poor villagers who came to Jordan’s family for cheap fruits, vegetables, and poultry, now had barely enough money to buy a loaf of bread.

Riniv did not care for the poor, and they suffered because of it.  The farm was forced to lower prices, but even still they did not have nearly enough customers to provide for a family of six.  Jordan and his father had been working tirelessly to care for the farm, and Jordan enjoyed working with his father, but still the unfairness of it all angered Jordan.

See, 6 months ago, Riniv had stolen a small fortune from Jordan and his family.  This was bad, but it kept getting worse after that horrible event.  The poor and the middle class of the VC got poorer and poorer, and it was not uncommon for Jordan and his family to go to bed hungry.

Riniv was a tyrant, and he had to be taken down.  Jordan vowed to himself that he would have a role to play in that.  It wasn’t a happy thought, but it was something to fight for, and that consoled Jordan.