The Ravager was dead in the water.

The afternoon sky was a deep blue with only a few puffs of white clouds smudging the color above.  The open ocean below was calm.  The sun sparkled off the water, the bright prisms of light dancing about the ocean surface.  The large vessel stood like a floating rock against the miniscule waves that lapped against her dark hull.

“Well at least we’re on schedule.” Captain Weeds mumbled to himself as he stood on the upper deck and surveyed the Ravager.

The ship’s design was sleek and aerodynamic.  The dark wood of the hull contrasted with the deep blue-green of the surrounding ocean.  Three masts protruded from the deck in a triangular formation with a single mast toward the bow of the vessel and two side-by-side masts toward the stern.  All three were angled backwards twenty degrees off vertical, adding to the vessels smooth layout.  Rigging stretched out all around the ship, creaking above his head.

The entire ship was destroyed.  Two of the masts were broken off, pieces of the sails dangling above in tatters.  Rigging hung in the air, tangled and knotted in chaos.  The dark hull displayed several large holes that were partially patched.  Chunks of debris were strewn about the decks; the entire ship was a wreck.

It was perfect.

His crew busied themselves with their work below him, oblivious to the clutter and damage around them.  All of them were working with purpose, preparing. 

Weeds wore a big grin under his neatly trimmed beard.  A black, quad tipped hat laced in silver adorned his head.  Dirty blonde hair mixed with a touch of gray flowed to shoulder length from under his hat.  He wore clothes that he had acquired from various nobility the Ravager’s crew had dispatched.  Collecting clothing had become a hobby over the past few years.

Today he wore a dark blue and black outfit that was lined with silver and black trim.  His small bolt gun hung on his hip, loaded.  Shining black boots finished off the outfit.  Weeds felt good.

“Still no sign sir,” Gabe reported as he came up to meet the Captain.

“They’ll be here,” Weeds responded looking to the man.

Gabe was a muscular man in his thirties.  Standing six foot tall his shoulders were board and his chest stuck out with power.  His dark hair was tied back in cornrows which kept it out of his tanned, stubble-covered face.  He wore a slick dark gray vest that was adorned with various pockets.  His pants were baggy and were also covered in cargo pockets.  A dagger was strapped to each of his thick biceps.

“The intelligence better not be faulty,” Gabe said as he looked out to the horizon.  “And it’s hot out here.”

“I should hope not; your team secured it,” Weeds said with a smile and a wink as he slapped Gabe on the shoulder.  “Either way, it’s good to have you back on board.”

Gabe was a former Ravager crew member and Weeds was glad to have him around again.  Several months ago he had been chosen to lead a new Special Forces unit and hadn’t been onboard since.  His squad of eight was onboard the Ravager with orders to help achieve their objective.

Gabe was frustrated as their target hadn’t shown up when it was supposed to.  He was second in command next to Captain Weeds and didn’t want to disappoint his old leader.  He felt guilty.

“It’s good to be back sir,” Gabe said.  Weeds always had a way of making people feel good.  “Looking good today I see.”

“Always,” Weeds said.

“And what about him?  He alright?” Gabe said nodding to the bow of the ship past several crew members where a lone figure was leaning against the railing.

“Rezen?” Captain Weeds asked looking to the figure.  “I think he’s still sore you didn’t recommend him for your team.”

Rezen was a vael, a different race from humans although not dissimilar.  The vael was young, only twenty years old.  His back was turned to them, his attention on the calm sea.  The captain stared at him for a long moment, watching the vael’s bright green hair blow around his sharp ears in the calm breeze. 

He was almost six feet tall with a slim, toned build.  Vaels resembled humans in almost every way except for their more angular features.  The bottom and tops of Rezen’s ears swept back into thin points under his wild, green and black streaked hair.

The vael wore a loose, dark, hooded sweater with one sleeve always rolled up around his bicep.  Black baggy pants with several pockets stitched into random spots hung loosely on his waist with two equally loose belts.  One pant leg was also rolled up to match his sleeve.  Several straps crossed his body, arms and legs, keeping his rapier and dagger in place on his lower hip.  His skin had a dark tan to it, earned from the months at sea, as did all the crew. 

The vael’s shoulders were slumped and even though Rezen’s back was turned to Weeds, the Captain knew the vael was bored.

“He’ll get over it,” Gabe said.

“I hope so.  I doubt it, but I hope so.”

“Rezen will understand one day.  Maybe.”

Weeds tilted his head.  Maybe.

“You worry too much Gabe.”

“And you don’t sir?”

Weeds conceded the point with a slight bow.

Rezen had been transferred over to the Ravager seven months ago after recovering from an injury while serving on a different ship.  Aside from recovering from physical harm the vael also suffered from a pre-existing condition of a mental disorder known as repressed memory.  Captain Weeds had been given a technical run down from the doctors about the disorder, but most of the heavy terms and medical jargon had long since been lost on him.  Rezen was not crazy or lost, he just needed friends.  Weeds was more than happy to help in that regard.

“He shouldn’t even be here anyway, not for this mission, he’s not ready for this stuff,” Gabe said.  “Same with the girl.  They don’t have the experience.”

Weeds looked behind him and studied the strong men and women of his crew.  All of them were here because they believed in the work they did.  There was not a single member who would not give their life for one another.  This comradeship was thicker than any blood between siblings.  How could he look anyone of them in the eye and deny them this right?

“No Gabe, they have earned this.  You and I both know it.  You can’t play babysitter forever.  Have to let them go sometime,” Captain Weeds said turning back to his friend.  “Besides, there’s no way I could have kept them on the island.  No way they would miss this.”

Gabe reluctantly nodded.  He had served with Rezen for only a few months before his transfer to special operations, but they had become good friends during that time.

“Your team ready?” Captain Weeds asked.

“Yes sir,” Gabe said.  “They’re performing equipment checks now.”

“Good, relax then.  Just keep an eye out,” Weeds said giving Gabe another slap on the back and a grin.

“Yes sir.”

Captain Weeds took his leave of Gabe and went down to the main deck of the Ravager heading for Rezen.  He had to step over several large chunks of wood debris to navigate the deck.

“Rezen!” Weeds called out in his joyful voice. 

He strode past his crew surveying the vessel as he approached the vael at the bow of the ship, his boots clunking on the duck.

“Rezen,” Weeds greeted.

He didn’t hear the Captain at first.  His mind was drifting with the rhythmic swaying of the ship and the subtle song-like creaks the Ravager made.  His was off duty at the moment and bored.  Sailing the ocean brought more moments like this than most people would care to believe. 

He heard his name called again and snapped out of his trance.  Rezen turned his head to Weeds.

Captain Weeds was always taken back by Rezen’s facial features.  Vael’s by nature were enticing creatures, but Rezen had a different quality to him, one earned from time at sea. 

Weeds liked Rezen’s eyes.  They were a deep gray with swirls of black.  Nowhere in all the lands that he had sailed or of all the people he had encountered had he met a more peculiar set of eyes.  They revealed an emptiness to the vael that at times sent chills through Weeds.  Those eyes were always thinking, always lost. 

There was one flaw on Rezen’s face.  He had suffered a wound some time ago, not even Rezen knew when, that had put a scar running from his forehead straight down past his left eye onto his cheek. 

“Captain, sir” Rezen greeted and gave a slight nod.

“How are you feeling today boy.  Lovely day you know, good day for clothes shoppen’, don’t you think?” Weeds said with a wink, folding his arms across his barrel chest.  

Rezen smiled.  Weeds had an insatiable habit of relieving enemy ships’ captains of their well crafted garments and adding them to his own collection.

“Don’t think you need anymore,” Rezen said running his hand through his hair.  “The closets on the ship are pretty full, huh?”

“Never!” Weed’s laughed, slapping Rezen on the back.

They fell silent for a moment, each one staring out onto the expanse of the open ocean. 

“So you ready?  This one will be tough,” the Captain said, his tone turning serious. 

He leaned on the railing next to Rezen.  The boat swayed gently side to side in the docile waves and the occasional ocean spray felt good on his bearded face

Rezen was ready.  He had no reason not to be.  His duties on board the Ravager were pretty simple.  Attend to cleaning duties when it was his turn, check rigging, cook the day’s meals on his day and other menial tasks.  He had already completed his duties for the afternoon.

“Don’t worry about it Captain.  With all the extra men we’ve taken on I’m sure we’ll be alright,” Rezen said as he straightened up and stretched his arms.  “We have what, sixty more men or something onboard now?”

“You’re right. I’m just…”

“Worried about me, I know,” Rezen finished for him, ”Just because you send the poor defenseless vael to the front line shouldn’t make you feel bad,” Rezen cocked an eye.

“Yeah.  Well, when you’re all grown up I’ll stop worrying,” Weeds said with a mocking grin.

Rezen snorted and shook his head.

“Great, in your eyes guess I’m never growen up then,” Rezen said.

“This is true,” Weeds agreed.

“So where is this ship anyway?  We’ve been sitten here for hours.  We’re gonna spend the rest of the day doing nothing,” Rezen said as he slumped back on the railing.  He had seen no sight of the vessel they were going to ambush and Rezen really did not feel like chasing the target through the night.

“You have something better to do?” Weeds asked.

Rezen sighed.

“She’ll come.  We’re in the right spot, she’ll be here,” Weeds said.

“So, why this one?  What’s the big deal?” Rezen asked.  “I hate waiting like this.”

The Ravager had left Kionic Island with one purpose, with orders to capture the vessel they were waiting for now.  Weeds and Gabe were the only ones who knew anything about the assignment, the rest of the crew had been left in the dark.

“Hopefully this is nothing more than a false alarm,” Weeds said at length.

Rezen cocked his head and looked to his captain.

“False alarm?”

“Three point mast, south west, two thousand and closing¼.slowly,” the lookout shouted from his perch in the crow’s nest.

Rezen and Weeds walked to the other side of the ship, as did some of the crew, to get a glimpse of their target.  A small dot had materialized on the horizon and Rezen knew it would be a long wait before the ship got anywhere near them.

Weed’s looked at Rezen, his visage turning serious.

“This one’s important Rezen,” Weed’s said indicating the distant ship.  “Keep your head about you, no foolishness.  Oh, and don’t go sinken her like you did the last one, we’ll be needen this one sea worthy.”

“Hey, wait, that last one was Ex’s fault,” Rezen countered.

“Not according to her,” Weeds said with a shrug, smiling.

Rezen dropped the subject in light of the worried demeanor his Captain was now trying to hide.  There was something behind every word that Weeds spoke that bothered the vael.  Capturing and plundering ships on the Diaminican Sea was a risky business, but one that the Kionics did well.  Most of the time ships would simply give up their cargo with little or no resistance and the Ravager would be on her way.  They had their fair share of scuffles and occasional loss of life, but all of it had been well within acceptable limits.

“What’s going on?” Rezen asked.  He had never seen the Captain like this before.

“Just be ready, we’ve gone through the drills, you know what to do if anything goes wrong,” Weeds responded.

“Planning on something going wrong?” Rezen asked a little worried.

”Wouldn’t be much fun if it didn’t, eh?” Weed’s said with a grin, patting Rezen on the back.

Rezen tilted his head and looked out to the ship on the horizon.

“Nope.”

“Fly the flag,” Captain Weeds called out. 

A crew member strung up an orange flag, the symbol for help.  The crew knew the procedure and began to finish up the preparations for the attack.  Weeds watched as his disciplined men worked in unison manning their positions.

Here you go,” Weeds said as he took off his hat and plopped it on Rezen’s head.  Rezen grimaced as he felt the weight of the large hat land on his head.  It began sliding down, covering his face,

“Looks good on ya’ boy.  Don’t get it dirty.”

Weeds walked off laughing, having other business to attend to.  Rezen hated the stupid hat.  It looked so bad on him and didn’t fit at all.  The hat was made for a fat human head and Rezen’s smaller vael head was no match for the attire.  He stood there struggling with the hat when he heard more laughter, this time it was female. 

Rezen recognized the sound and looked around for an escape, but the hat fell over his eyes and blocked his vision.  He was going nowhere and Exphasia’s irritating laughter was close now.

“Damn it,” Rezen muttered under his breath as he folded his arms and braced himself for the mockery he was about to receive.

Exphasia laughed even harder when the hat engulfed Rezen’s entire head and he made no move to fix it.  With Rezen standing up straight and his arms folded he reminded the woman of a toothpick with a piece of cheese on the end of it.

“Oh, poor Rezen,” Exphasia sighed as she came close to him.

Rezen still didn’t move.  He could feel her staring at him. 

She walked right up to Rezen and tilted the front corner of the hat up just so she could see his face. Rezen didn’t move and just glared back at her with his dark gray, unblinking eyes.  Her face was only inches from his and he could feel her soft breath as she chuckled at him.  It was hard for Rezen to hold such a stern face in the light of such beauty.

Exphasia’s tanned skin matched her brown eyes.  Her slender figure moved with an edge to it that was accentuated by her youthful curves.  Hair bleached by years at sea emphasized her darker skin tone.  She was a few inches shorter than Rezen.  Her body was lightly corded with delicate muscle.  She wore a light blue and black stripped sleeveless top that openly exposed her mid drift.  Light green pants with two zigzagging black stripes running down the left pant leg hung loosely at her hips with several small belts that hung even looser.  Her delicate black sandals were open on the end to expose her tiny toes.  Several thin black straps wrapped across her left biceps.  Various piercings in her ears added to the intricacy of her style.

Rezen slipped the hat off his head and re-crossed his arms.

“In a mood today I see,” She purred giving him a curt a smile. 

Rezen never fell for any of her seductive undertones that so easily caught most others off guard. He could not deny her beauty, but damn, did she irritate him.

“I’m not in a mood,” he grumbled.

“You're always down about something,” Exphasia said.

“Well, you’re always bitchen’ about something,” Rezen mumbled.

“What was that?” Exphasia asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing.”

“Stupid vael, I come over here to be nice, to tell you good news,” Exphasia began.

“Good news?  You’re leaving the ship?” Rezen said with an evil smile.

“You wish,” Exphasia retorted.  “Hat’s still too big for you.”  She ruffled his hair with her hand and Rezen jerked away.

They stared at each other for a moment.

“Then what is it?” Rezen said breaking the silence.

“Figured out that new enhancement,” She said changing the subject while folding her arms across her chest and sticking her hip out to the side.

“Here it comes,” Rezen said turning away from her and focusing back to the approaching ship.

“No, no, it’s not like the last one,” Exphasia countered.

“I doubt it.”

Exphasia was only twenty years old, but she was a very good spherist.  She had tricked Rezen one too many times into being her test subject on some new spell or enhancement she learned.

“So damn ungrateful,” she said.

She liked Rezen more than a friend and all her attempts at showing him that seemed to fail.  She was not good at actually trying to get close to someone. 

Rezen was the only one who never seemed to notice her.  That was one of the reasons for her semi attraction to him.  Aside from their occasional bickering, they were good friends, their relationship sealed in battle.

“It’s hot today,” Exphasia said.

Rezen turned to her, his gaze flat.

“It’s always hot,” Rezen said.

Exphasia shrugged.

She stared at him for a moment longer and Rezen met her gaze full on, but not quite the way the young woman wanted him too.  A call from the lookout broke the silence.

“Eighteen hundred,” came the distance call, “and closing.”

They both turned their attention back to the water as the rest of the crew continued to scurry about the decks.

“Here we go,” Rezen said and began to step away.

Exphasia took a step to the side and intercepted the vael.  She unsheathed his dagger that had been hanging at her side.

“Here, I finished the enhancement for you; it’s got some heavy encryption on it.  Should be tough to braek,” Exphasia said, her tone carrying a more business like quality.  “I customized it just for you.”

He paused and didn’t respond at first.  She gave him a sidelong look, puffed out her checks with air and blew out a long sigh.

Spherist’s channeled their powers from the different Spheres of existence beyond their own world.  Rezen knew nothing of the art, but Exphasia was good at it and had used Rezen and his stuff more than once as a test subject on something new she had learned.  His dagger was now Exphasia’s latest victim.

“Thanks,” Rezen said.

He truly was grateful as he held the dagger out in front of him.  The blade was seven inches long and the handle was wrapped tightly in black leather.  However now there was some sort of very fine writing engraved on the blade.  The writing appeared on both sides and made no sense to Rezen at all.

“What’s it do?  What’d you encrypt in it?” Rezen asked.

Exphasia shrugged.

“You don’t know what you did to it?” Rezen asked, hardly surprised.

Rezen knew the ability to enhance an item was difficult and he was skeptical she had done anything to his weapon at all.

         “I’ll let you know if it works, besides, you need all the help you can get,” Exphasia said smiling.  She left him then and headed for the Captain to tend to her duties.  Rezen watched her leave for a second.

She was graceful when she walked and Rezen was sure she was adding an extra little seductiveness to that walk right now.  He turned away from her and looked out to the approaching ship.  It was getting closer and his adrenaline was slowing beginning to course through him.  He looked down at the dagger again and hoped that it wouldn’t explode when he used it.

“Second ship!” came the call from above.

“What the _ _ _ _ ?” Rezen mumbled to himself as he stretched his neck out looking to the horizon where the first ship was.

“There’s two!” the lookout shouted.

Rezen’s adrenaline began to pump.  There shouldn’t be two ships.  The Ravager wasn’t equipped to take on two ships for this mission.

The reaction of the Ravager’s crew mirrored his thoughts as a sense of urgency sent everyone into motion.  Rezen pushed himself away from the railing and went over Captain Weeds who was now in the middle of deck with Gabe.

“The logistics said nothing of an escort ship sir.  They were supposed to be traveling under cover of a simple trade vessel,” Rezen heard Gabe say in irritation as the vael came up to the group.

“Ex!” Weeds shouted to the helm where Exphasia was posted.

“Sir?” she called down.

“Get down here please!” Weeds called back.

Exphasia ran down the stairs from the helm and met up with the small group that was forming on the deck.

“Are your scramblers still up?” Captain Weeds asked.

“Yes sir, no way their braeking my encryption to deactivate them,” Exphasia said with confidence.

“Keep the spells up Ex, we don’t need them looking in on us,” Weeds ordered.

“Yes sir.”

“What about theirs?” Weeds asked.

“Still up and they’re too still far away for me to do anything,” Exphasia said.

“I’m sorry sir, there shouldn’t be two ships,” Gabe explained.

“Gabe, quiet,” Weeds said with a reassuring smile.  “The escort ship, it has to go down, no excuses, can your men do it?”

Gabe looked out to the incoming specs far away.  The lead vessel he knew was the Yummeril, it was their target ship.  The escort ship was trailing behind by at least a thousand yards.  They couldn’t attack the ships outright; they had to board and gain control of the Yummeril to secure her cargo, which called for a plan of deception.  They couldn’t allow the Yummeril’s crew time to destroy what they were after.

“We can do it,” Gabe said after a long minute of staring at the lagging escort ship.  “I’ll split my team up, five of us will go and take down that escort, the other four can remain here and carry out the original mission on the Yummeril.”

“That leaves our main boarding party leaderless,” Weeds said.  The mission had called for Gabe to be in command of the main boarding party.

“I’ll lead,” Rezen burst out.

Captain Weeds, Gabe, several crew members and Exphasia turned and looked at Rezen.  Exphasia smirked.

“I can do it sir, I’m always right there in front anyway,” Rezen said.

“No way Rezen, you can’t, this isn’t a standard run,” Gabe began.

“Gabe,” Weeds said interrupting Gabe, shooting him a look to be quiet.  “You want this one Rezen?”

“Yes sir,” Rezen said looking from Weeds to Gabe.

Weeds locked stares with the vael’s.  The Captains experienced eyes were met with a burning fire pouring out from Rezen’s.  The vael wanted this one.

“Who’s dying with Rezen today?” Weeds shouted dramatically to the surrounding crew.

The entire crew cheered and laughed.  Weeds joined in with a grin.

“The command’s yours,” Weeds said with a nod to Rezen.  Their time was limited.  “Gabe, what can your men do about that escort?”

Gabe and Rezen’s eyes locked onto each other.  Gabe didn’t like this one bit and Rezen knew it.  Gabe shook his head as he shifted his gaze back onto the Captain.

“I’ll split up my team.  We brought extra charges just in case, my team will intercept the escort from behind, we’ll do what we can,” Gabe said.  “Rezen, if we fail, you guys won’t have much time to secure that cargo.”

“We’ll get it Gabe,” Rezen said, his voice dripping with determination.  “I can do this.”

“Get your team out of here Gabe,” Weeds ordered.

“Sir.”

Gabe took his leave, disappearing through a door on the first deck level.

“They’re trying braek my encryption Captain,” Exphasia said.

They looked over to the spherist who had her eyes closed and her fists clenched down at her sides.  Exphasia was breathing deeply, every subtle movement of her body under perfect control.  It always looked awkward to Rezen.  Her vision had shifted into the sphere spectrum where she was able to physically view spell energy with in the world around her.

“They have a good braeker?” Weeds asked.

The term braeking was associated with those spherists who had the capability to decrypt security encryptions that were placed around spells.  Encryptions kept spells safe from being dispelled, reversed or otherwise twisted.  Encrypting spells was extraordinarily tough to do and few spherists wasted their time learning the skill.  Braekers were often looked down on in most societies as the skill was usually associated with criminal activities.

Exphasia had created her own style of braeking that had served the Kionics very well.  Right now her scramble spells would cause any enemy spherist trying to spy on the Ravager to blur and dissipate, making it impossible to see the activities on deck.

“Yeah, they do, shit,” Exphasia said.  “It’ll hold, I don’t think they can’t get through.”

“You sure?” Weeds asked.

“It’ll hold sir,” Exphasia reassured him.

“Good.  Rezen, get your teams ready,” Weeds said shifting his attention to the vael.

“Yes sir,” Rezen said with a grin and turning around.  “Ben, Hess, let’s go!”

“Yes sir,” Hess said with Ben following behind.

“What are they running Ex?” Weeds asked.

While in the sphere spectrum Exphasia was in another realm of her own.  The world around her appeared different as she was able to identify different energies and encryptions visually.  They appeared in fine detail, the particles of energy so clear she could almost reach out and grab them.  She threw her vision out the approaching ships, trying garner any information she could.

As she expected she ran into an intricate set of scrambling spells with deep sets of encryption embedded in the spell’s energy fibers.  She could see the fragments of the encryption as it twisted around the scramble spell denying her access.  The scrambler lashed out at her scrying spell and annihilated it.

“D--- it.  I don’t have time to braek their scramble sir,” Exphasia said.  “This spherist is good.”

“That’s fine, Ex; go get yourself ready,” Weeds ordered.

Exphasia opened her eyes and looked around.  She knew this fight was going to be tough.  With a long sigh Exphasia made her way for the armory deck below.

Gabe and his Special Forces team emerged onto the deck passing by Exphasia.  The four men that Gabe was taking with him each had several packs strapped down around their legs or arms.  The packs were spherically enhanced explosive charges, normally used for scuttling ships.  Each man, including Gabe, had a thin sword strapped to their backs as well as several more daggers.

“Will they float? They look heavy,” Weeds commented as Gabe met up with him.

“Should.  Full power boys,” Gabe said slapping one of the packs that contained an explosive charge in it while looking over to his men. 

“Good,” Weeds said.

“I’m sorry sir, there shouldn’t be two,” Gabe said, feeling as though he had betrayed the Captain.

“It’s alright Gabe, we can do this, let’s move, we don’t have much time,” Weeds said and broke up the huddle.

Gabe and his team went over to port side of the ship and double checked each other’s gear.  Each man then took a seat on the edge of the railing.

“Rezen!” Gabe shouted to the vael who had just finished organizing his four different squads.

“What?” Rezen said as he came over to the Special Forces leader.

“Still mad at me?” Gabe asked.

“I should be going with you Gabe,” Rezen said.

“No you shouldn’t,” Gabe said, the stone cold tone ending the conversation.

“How are you comen with that?” Gabe asked nodding to Rezen’s dagger.

Rezen pulled the blade out and twirled it around in his fingers with skill.  As he spun the blade around the back of his hand he lost control and it fell to the deck with several clanging sounds.

Gabe raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“Shut up, you’ll see what I can do with this soon,” Rezen said in irritation as he picked up the weapon.

“You’re made of some tough shit vael,” Gabe said.  “Secure that cargo, I don’t know if this plan is gonna to work,” Gabe said indicating his team and their current positions on the railing.  “This mission is important, but don’t get yourself killed.  And watch out for Ex too, huh?”

“Yeah, right,” Rezen said with a snort looking out to the two specs on the horizon.  “Currents with you, you’ll get there quick.”

Gabe stepped forward and grabbed Rezen’s shoulder with his powerful hand.  He looked into the vael’s eyes.

“The mission is priority one Rezen.  It must be completed at all costs,” Gabe said, his tone dead serious.  “All costs Rezen.  You get my team in there so they can secure that cargo.  All other concerns are secondary.  Understood?”

The grave words hit Rezen with a weight of responsibility he was not prepared for.  Rezen knew what Gabe meant by the term “all costs”.

“Yes sir,” Rezen said.

“Don’t _ _ _ _  up,” Gabe said.  “Let’s move!”

“Yes sir!” his team shouted back.

Gabe shouted the order.  The five men fell backward off the ship, flipping into the water below.  Rezen looked over the side to make sure they had splashed down without any problems.  After a few seconds he counted five heads bobbing in the water.  The current picked them up and rushed them away from the stationary Ravager.

“Rezen, squad three wants to stay on top and four wants to be a hidden,” Ben said as he came up to Rezen.

“That’s fine.  Tell Hess his team is in charge of getting our spec ops guys down into that cargo hold,” Rezen said.  “Get your men into position Ben.”

“Yes sir,”

“The helm is our priority, we need to gain control and shut it down fast.  They can’t have any time to get away from the Ravager,” Rezen paused and locked eyes with Ben.  “All costs Ben.  We can’t fail.”

Ben gave a hard nod.

“Yes sir.  See you on board,” Ben said and went back to his squad.

A wicked smile crossed Rezen’s face. 

---            ---            ---

                “Distressed vessel! We are here to help. Please have your entire crew come on deck,” came a shout from the deck of the approaching vessel.

Rezen walked over to the starboard side of the Ravager and stopped just short of the railing.  The other ship, The Yummeril, was pulling up cautiously on the starboard side of the Ravager, there were at least twenty of them all studying the Ravager.  Although they were dressed in civilian clothes Rezen knew each one of these people was a soldier in disguise. 

“Captain, what’s left of us are what you see now,” Rezen shouted to the other ship, which was drifting to a stop about fifty yards away. 

The Yummeril was an Anciaun Annihilator class warship.  The vessel stretched one hundred and ten yards from bow to stern and thirty yards from port to starboard.  A forward sloping, two story deck structure towered above them on the Yummeril’s stern.  It sat low in the water reducing its profile.  There were no guns visible on deck, but lining the hull on either side were at least twenty gun ports, all of which were closed at the moment.

The triple parallel masts were tall and each held large sails, which had been raised to stop the ship. The Yummeril’s hull was made from a sort of golden brown wood that contrasted badly when compared to the dark wood of The Ravager.  Her name, The Yummeril, was prominently displayed on her side in gold lettering.

Rezen couldn’t believe this ship was trying to pass itself off as a merchant vessel.  He looked past the Yummeril to the escort ship which was still lagging far behind.  Good, Rezen thought.

As the two ships maneuvered closer, the crew of the Ravager began to play their role of the worn out sailors.  Captain Weeds and his squad of snipers were hiding below deck along with three of Rezen’s squads.  Rezen’s men, squad two, were on deck.

The crew of the Yummeril was being cautious, but still they greeted the Ravager with several friendly shouts.  Rezen saw two children being herded off the deck and inside the Yummeril’s hull.  They had brought children along to help with ruse of the Yummeril being a civilian ship.  Rezen’s stomach twisted, those children shouldn’t be here. 

Once the gap had been closed each ship tossed several grapples across to each other to secure the vessels. As the two ships pulled each other in Rezen studied all the actions of the crew.  He needed to make sure that everything was in the Ravagers favor and not the Yummeril’s.  As he scanned the deck he noticed a slender women walk up to the captain and begin talking to him. 

She was dressed in a sleek, dark outfit that was accented with black and greens.  Parts of it were skin tight and revealed a toned body underneath.  Several slits across her tight shirt exposed her muscled mid drift.  She had shoulder length curly brown hair streaked with black and purple.

Both the woman and the captain paused, turning to eye the vael.  Then the women walked away from the captain and up the stairs to the top deck where she leaned against the railing and watched the grappling procedure with more than a passing interest.  Her movements were very precise and that bothered Rezen.  He already didn’t like this woman.

“Well met captain,” Rezen shouted,” As you can see we are in desperate need of repairs.”

The captain of the Yummeril was a short man with a gut.  His face was cleanly shaven and his black hair was slicked back.

“You’re awfully far from home vael,” the Yummeril Captain said back as the two ships bumped into each other.  He was intrigued by the sight of Rezen.

This was how it usually happened.  Rezen played captain because ships in this part of the ocean never saw vaels and the chance to help one out was never passed up.  Rezen wasn’t entirely sure why as he had no idea what they expected in return, but it always worked.

“We are captain, we would be grateful for any repairs you can help us with,” Rezen said.

The Captain of the Yummeril surveyed the Ravagers decks.  The hull was badly damaged, the masts were broken off, the rigging looked shot and the crew appeared beaten and ti

“Trouble on the sea?  Pirates?” the Captain asked.

“No, nothing like that.  A freak wave caught us off guard; we were slammed into a small reef just west of here.  I lost half the crew and one of my main masts, we’ve been stuck out here for several weeks,” Rezen explained striking a position which conveyed that he retained his dignity, but he was badly beaten by the sea. 

“We have some spare supplies, it should be enough to get you along to the closest port,” the Captain of the Yummeril replied. 

The Ravager groaned as the two ships lightly bumped each other as they connected and the water between them lapped at the bows of the ships.  The size difference became very real then.  The Yummeril was almost twice the bulk of the Ravager.  Welcomes from the two crews were exchanged as well as several more lines securing the two ships.

“Thank you captain for stopping, I feared you would have thought us pirates and changed your mind,” Rezen said to the captain who had come up to the railing of his ship to better inspect the damage.

“Yes," the captain replied, his tone slow.  “These waters are dangerous, you’re lucky the Kionics didn’t pick you off.  I’m told your scrambling spells are still up.”

“I take my precautions, I’m sure you can understand that,” Rezen said.

Some crew members of the Yummeril brought forth several thick boarding planks and began to lay them out across the gap between the ships.  Rezen studied every movement of the Yummeril’s crew.  There were at least twenty men on deck, possibly more.  He figured the woman had to be the spherist and his attack strategy began to form.

”Permission to board Captain?” Rezen asked.

“Granted.”

---            ---            ---

                Gabe’s eyes never left the escort vessel.  It was an Anciaun Justicator class warship.  The ship’s eighty foot long hull ran high on the waterline.  From this distance Gabe could already make out several large guns on her bow pointing in the direction of the Ravager and Yummeril.  Running along its port and starboard sides were at least twenty gun ports.  The Justicator class was known for its excellent fire support.  From his vantage point Gabe could see the crew on deck was having trouble with the sails.

Having dodged the distracted Yummeril, Gabe and his team pumped their powerful arms as they swam with the current.  It was swift and they were having little trouble clearing the distance to the escort ship.  The Ravager was now far away from them as they swam through the open ocean.

Their movements were graceful as every stroke was made with a sense of stealth.  His team kept low in the water as every stroke they made sliced through the water expertly so as not to make any splashes.

Their objective was now less than five hundred yards away.

---            ---            ---

                Exphasia was crouched down in the gunnery, feeling more comfortable hiding near big weapons.  Her eyes were open, but her vision had shifted into the sphere spectrum.  Her scrambling spell was holding as was her illusionary spell that made the Ravager appear destroyed.  Her kinetic energy absorbing enhancement that was embedded into the Ravagers hull was also intact and remained untested.

She gritted her teeth in frustration as the spherist onboard the Yummeril was repeatedly attacking her encryptions surrounding her scrambler spell.  She could see the enemy spherist’s braeking energy lashing out at her encryption.  It would take a lot of time to braek through her security; it should keep the spherist busy.  It was Exphasia’s turn for some braeking.

Her vision warped to a profile view of the Yummeril.  Their scramble spells were still up, but not encrypted.  That was odd, but not uncommon. Exphasia’s body tensed as she summoned the Disfraction energy from the Negosha Sphere.  She congealed the destructive power from the sphere with her own braeking skills and unleashed an attack on the scramble energy.

Exphasia’s spell slammed into the scrambler, the energy rippled out and around the ship as it was decimated by her attack.  The scrambler energy evaporated.  She now had a clear view of the Yummeril.         

The hoisted sails had a faint yellow glow to them as the protection energy swirled about them.  The spell was designed to keep the material safe from fire.  The encryption particles wove in and out of the spells energy.  From this vantage point she could tell the encryption was weak.

She now waited for the signal.

---            ---            ---

                Rezen looked over to the woman and made sure she had not done anything to hinder this operation.  She was stilling leaning on the railing of the upper deck and Rezen could tell she was studying the Ravager’s condition.

The crews laid out several thick planks of wood, connecting the two ships.  The Yummeril sat higher on the water than the Ravager forcing the planks to rest at an angle.  Before the Yummeril’s captain could cross over to the Ravager Rezen hopped onto the plank with perfect balance and walked over to the other side.

“Impressive,” the Captain said as he took a step back.

Rezen and the captain looked each other over once and then came the Yummeril’s men.

“Not impressive enough I’m afraid, Kionic,” the Captain said as four men drew their swords and surrounded the vael.

Rezen didn’t miss a beat.  He titled his head slightly to the left for a split second giving the signal.  In the same movement Rezen’s dagger shot out from beneath his sleeve.  Using his inherent agility he lunged forward faster than the four crewmen surrounding him could react.

Rezen twirled his dagger around in his hand as he cleared the short distance between him and the Captain.  He sliced the weapon diagonally across the captains face cutting open his left eye and right cheek.  Rezen reversed the momentum of the blade and slammed it into the side of the Captains skull.  Still driving forward he retracted his blade and pushed the Captain into one of his men as bright red blood poured from the wounds like water.  He spun around unsheathing his rapier and deflecting the first series of strikes from the closest Yummeril soldier as he fell low to the deck.             

The battle exploded around him. 

---            ---            ---

                Exphasia, still locked into sphere spectrum, unleashed the Disfraction energy she had been holding back for the past several minutes.  All in one blinding flash of dark purple and black colors she decrypted the sails protection spell and ignited the material.  The sails burst into an explosion of bright white flame.

“Go!” Exphasia heard one of the gunners shout from the real world.

In the gunnery two simultaneous blasts exploded out from the Ravager.  The sound was deafening as two guns fired powerful metal grapples into the Yummeril’s hull that was only several feet from the Ravager’s.  Each thick grapple had a massive chain attached to the end.  The sound of the chain grinding along the edge of the porthole was intense and caused the entire ship to rumble.

The thick grapples collided with the Yummeril’s hull shattering through the vessel’s reinforced armor.  The grapples shot straight into the ship, tore through the inner decks and exploded out of the other side in a cloud of debris.

Exphasia shook herself out of the spectrum.  She was behind the line of twelve guns that stretched out before her in single file.  The first and last gun’s portholes were the only ones open at the moment.  She saw the powerful chains sliding out of the opening.

“Bring 'em in!” the gunner shouted.

One of the gunners manned the control system next to the spool where the stern chain was located.  The slack on the chains disappeared as they began to retract back into the Ravager.

“Did it stick?” the controller shouted.

“We got her!”

The two ships were now locked onto one another.  The Yummeril’s guns would now be useless. 

Exphasia turned and ran for the main deck. 

---            ---            ---

                The loud explosions echoed across the open water.  Gabe signaled for his men to stop as they all looked back the entangled Ravager and Yummeril.  They saw the grapple that had penetrated the stern of the ship slip back up its hull and lock into place, securing it to the Ravager.

The escort ship was less than two hundred yards away and her crew had just fixed their sail problem.  Gabe watched the sails drop down and instantly balloon out as it caught the wind.  Only problem was there was no wind, at least none that would cause the sails to fill with air with such intensity.  The sails were spherically enhanced and the escort ship accelerated.

Gabe and his men waited.

---            ---            ---

                Just above the porthole where each chain stretched out was another set of port holes.  From these hidden openings squad one and four poured out.  They leapt onto the chain with lightening speed using them as bridges.  The grapples had created two large holes in bow and stern of the Yummeril.

The Kionic teams had infiltrated the bowels of the Yummeril in only seconds. 

---            ---            ---

Rezen felt the heat of the energy as the sails were engulfed in a flash of fire.  The bright light distracted the soldiers surrounding Rezen for a split second.  The vael rolled out to side lashing out with his blade slicing one of them across the shin.

All around him he heard the shouts of the Yummeril’s crew bracing for the onslaught. 

---            ---            --- 

The air around the Ravager shifted and its form became wavy.  A rush of cold air flowed over the ship and shot down into the ocean as the rippling image of the ship intensified.  Every particle of the ship morphed in and out as the Ravager began to reconstruct itself.  The tangled rigging disappeared and the masts spiked upwards as they regenerated themselves.  The debris on the deck vanished and the damage to the hull liquefied and melted back into the sides of the ship.

A wicked grin crossed Exphasia’s face as the Ravager emerged from her illusionary spell.  She took great pride in watching the crew of the Yummeril become disheartened.

The Ravager was in perfect condition, its polished black wood casting a grim presence over the Yummeril.  Gun portals were now visible on the sides of the Ravager and her crew went from looking beaten and tired to menacing and frightening.  Carved into the bow of the Ravager was the head of a sharp toothed demon, its slanted eyes glaring forward.

She was in killing condition.  

---            ---            --- 

Captain Weeds led the sniper assault.  The team of seven emerged from various ports along first and second tier decks.  Without missing a beat, all of them began to pick off the Yummeril’s crew with their slick bolt guns.

Weeds and several others locked onto the men that were encroaching on Rezen.  The vael had scurried behind several crates and thick rigging with the soldier’s right behind him.  Weeds couldn’t get a good lock onto any of the men that were now engaging Rezen.

“Dam it Rezen,” Weeds whispered to himself as he squeezed off a shot catching one of the soldiers in the neck. 

---            ---            --- 

Rezen sprung from his crouched position just in time to see one of his assailants’ necks explode in a mist of red.  The soldier lurched forward awkwardly as he dropped his sword, his hand’s clasping for his exposed neck.

“Get that _ _ _ _ ing vael!” shouted one of the Yummeril’s crew.

“Here they come!” Rezen heard another shout. 

The other two soldiers came charging in, weapons leading.  Rezen leapt forward between them before they could retaliate.  As he passed by the closest soldier he let his rapier slash into the man’s torso.  Rezen’s blade sliced through skin and muscle, drawing a thick line of blood across the soldier’s stomach.  He smashed his rapier’s hilt into the soldier’s head sending him to the ground doubled over.

Rezen spun around just in time to repel the fury of attacks launched by the second soldier.  He wasn’t ready for the speed this man possessed and quickly lost ground.  Their blades met and pinged off one another in a flurry of strikes.  Rezen was getting backed up into the railing.

The vael lunged forward in a feint, bringing his dagger around trying to stab at the soldier’s weapon hand.  The soldier moved to the right avoiding Rezen’s attack which left him open.  The soldier stabbed forward once, twice and slapped away the blades.  Then the man’s fist connected with Rezen’s head.

Rezen went stumbling backward as he brought his weapon back up in front of him for defense.  The man charged in, this time recklessly.  Rezen regained his bearing and stepped to the side with his rapier swinging out catching the soldiers own blade and throwing it out wide.  Rezen stepped in with his dagger and stabbed the soldier in the chest in rapid succession.  Rezen could feel the warm blood erupt from the soldier’s chest and cover his hand.  After the last stab he pushed the bloody man away as he crumbled to the ground.

Looking across the Yummeril’s deck he watched as squads two and three fought their way onto the ship under cover of Weeds’ snipers.  The Yummeril soldiers were trying to push the gang planks over board as the Ravager’s vicious crew boarded.  There was shouting everywhere now as each side communicated with their own troops, the sounds battle filling in the air.

Looking out beyond the battle Rezen could see the escort ship was closing in fast, but it wasn’t firing.  He smiled.  It wasn’t going to risk any collateral damage by opening up on them. 

---            ---            --- 

The escort ship rushed right into their path as Gabe and his team bobbed in the water unnoticed by the distracted crew that was making boarding preparations.  They were all roughly forty yards apart; each one had their explosive charges in hand.   Within seconds the vessel was upon them, its dark brown wood hull overshadowing them.

It was sailing faster than expected and as the hull passed by the first of his team the bow crushed the man, shattering his body and dragging hum under the keel.

“S---,” Gabe cursed through grinding teeth.

The chopping waves didn’t afford him the best of views as the ship roared past his second and third men.  They were better positioned and as the ship passed by they each set their charges on the port side of the hull, one amidships and one just barely slapping his charge onto the stern as it passed by.  His fourth man was unable to attach his charge as the ship passed him by.

The vessel was then on Gabe.  They needed at least one charge on the stern.  The ship rushed up to him.  Gabe swam forward with the explosive pack in his left hand, pumping his powerful arms as he tried to catch the ship at the stern.  The waves pushed him back just as he was about to place his charge.  He swam forward again pushing with all his might as the stern passed him by.

“_ _ _ _ ,” Gabe growled as he was now amidships.

Placing a charge here with the other one would be better than nothing.  Gabe reached out with his left hand to plant the charge.  He hadn’t noticed the thin netting on the side of the ship as he stuck the black charge to the hull.  As he pulled his hand away but the netting caught him, entangling him by the wrist.  Gabe grunted as he tried to free his wrist.  The ship continued forward dragging him through the water. 

---            ---            --- 

The soldier dipped in low and swung for his legs.  Rezen jumped the attack and spun in mid air lashing out with his rapier.  The blade cut straight across the man’s eye line, slicing open each eye ball.  The soldier fell to his knees, shouting in pain, his eyes pouring blood and mush.  Rezen had no time to admire his work though as the battle around him thickened. 

Another soldier came at Rezen, but his style seemed more conservative.  The man’s short sword was held in front of him to keep the vael at bay.  He was obviously a veteran fighter as he came in skillfully swinging his sword in a rhythmic dance. 

Rezen blocked the man’s first two attacks, jumping back a few feet to get some distance between him and his opponent.  The soldier charged in with his sword coming in low then sweeping high.  Rezen parried the attacks and went for his own.  He feigned an attack with his dagger and thrust in for the man’s chest with his rapier.  The man recognized the feint and easily countered the blow with a strike of his own.  Rezen got his dagger up in time to repel the incoming blade from reaching his heart, but the blade nicked him on the left side of his ribs.  Rezen winced as he the metal ricocheted off his bone and felt warm blood starting to flow.

Rezen was overmatched, he knew it.  The battle was raging around them.  He didn’t have much room to negotiate with.  He was stuck between the ships railing and his opponent, so he charged full into the soldier.  The soldier smiled as their blades met again. 

This time they held each other at bay, the ringing of the connecting blades barely audible over the battle.  Rezen was becoming increasingly irritated as the soldier continued to block both his dagger and his rapier with just his little short sword.  It was a reminder that Rezen had much to learn.

“You're dead vael!” the man yelled and pressed in even harder, scoring another minor hit.

Rezen growled as the stinging blow bit into his right leg opening a large gash in the muscle.  Rezen could feel his hot blood run down his flesh underneath his pants.  

His adrenaline kicked in full gear and all thoughts of a parrying and skillful striking fled his mind.  Rezen got his rapier up to block an incoming blow heading for his throat, simultaneously flipping his dagger in his hand so that he held the blade and launched it straight for the soldier.

Having never fought a vael before, he had never experienced such speed and would never get a chance to witness it again.  Rezen’s dagger found its target, the soldiers open mouth.  The blade cut straight through several teeth sending them flying.  The blade thudded into the roof of the man’s mouth where a river blood opened up. 

The soldier groaned and gurgled in horror.  Dropping his sword, his hands went for the dagger as he fell to the deck.  Rezen followed with his rapier.  The weapon cut through the man’s chest with a sickening crack as it hit bone and Rezen ripped his dagger out.

 Rezen took cover behind one of the thick masts as a bolt whistled by his ear.  He surveyed the scene to pick out his next target.  The Kionics were almost in control of the main deck, but the two upper decks still retained soldiers and several snipers.  He also saw the woman on the bridge; she remained calm standing out in the open.  He wondered why Weeds hadn’t taken her out yet.

Squad three was in charge of securing the bridge, but to do so they would have to get passed the soldiers up there.  Through the collage of the fighting he could only see four of his own men down on the decks of the Yummeril.  The bodies were beginning to pile up, but most of them were the enemy’s.

Looking back to the woman he watched as her left hand began to glow with green and black fire. Dark green halos formed around her forearms as the fire curved down beyond her now clenched fist.  The black and green fire flowed around itself as it took the shape of a wicked glowing blade.

With perfect balance the woman leapt from the bridge and down onto the deck where sliced through a Kionics skull.  She reared around, her movements were precise as she ducked low, dodging an attack from another Kionic.

The spherist’s energy blade that extended from the tip of her elbow to two feet out beyond her fist slashed through the Kionic’s sword, melting it in half.  The Kionic spun to the side trying to dodge the glowing blade as it made for his throat.  The weapon missed, instead cutting deeply into his shoulder.  He grunted in pain as the woman grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him toward her.

“No,” Rezen breathed as the woman reared her sword arm.

She struck the man in the head, but not with the blade.  As her fist slammed into the Kionic’s head the blade retracted so that she could pummel him with her knuckles.  She lashed out with her fist in rapid succession, its deadly precision connecting with the Kionics nose, forehead and left cheek causing them to burst open in an explosion of blood.

With the next strike the blade shot out as it struck straight through Rezen’s friend’s neck, nearly severing it.  The spherist pushed the Kionic aside as his mutilated body hit the deck in a mush of gore and blood.

“_ _ _ _ ing Spherist!” Rezen shouted as he tried to get to get up, the pain in his leg assaulting his body.  “Kill that bitch!”

Before he made it more than a few feet another soldier intercepted him 

---            ---            --- 

Squad four, lead by Hess, charged in through the cramped corridors of the bow of the Yummeril.  They could hear the battle raging above them and echoing within the hull as squad one penetrated the stern of the ship.

They had already suffered one death and two casualties as the close quarter fighting degenerated into hand to hand combat.  They had just finished off two enemies and were heading for the cargo level.

“Stay down,” Hess whispered the man behind him as he crept forward to get a peek around a corner.

The blade lashed out and caught Hess across the chest, the blade sinking deep into his flesh, slicing into his heart.  Hess’s face froze in surprise as his body twitched and drained of life in torrent of blood.

It happened so fast that no one was able to do anything to stop it.  Hess’s men shouted in anger as the Kionic behind Hess pulled his limp body back and the squad charged forward to engage the soldiers around the corner.  The hallway exploded into cramped chaos as the two sides clashed, slamming each other into walls and weapons.

The Special Forces team was right behind squad three with their explosive charges.  They had to make it to the cargo hold.

---            ---            ---

 The attack came swift and Rezen rolled to the ground to avoid losing his head.  Rolling to his feet he met the next attack with one of his own.  His new opponents’ sword came swishing at Rezen from the side.  Rezen parried the blow and went to attack with his dagger.  The soldier got his sword in front of the dagger sending the blade down and wide. 

They fought for a moment on even ground, both testing each other’s fighting style and looking for a weakness.  The ringing noise from the swords and dagger clashing began to quicken.  Rezen scored two minor hits to the soldier’s left arm and shoulder, but that hardly slowed him as the soldier extorted a hole in Rezen’s defenses, punching him in the head.

The soldier slapped Rezen’s rapier to the side and kicked him in his right leg, hitting his wound.  The hot pain shot up through the whole right side of Rezen’s body.  He nearly fainted as he swooned from the blow.  The soldier saw his chance and dove straight in for the vael, sword leading.  Rezen braced for the attack. 

A loud cracking noise and a flash of light appeared over Rezen then, blinding him temporarily.  The soldier was no longer bearing down on him when his vision returned.  He rubbed his eyes and looked over to his right.  There, on the deck, the soldier’s body lay twitching with smoke flowing freely from a black hole in his chest.  The smell of charred flesh filled his nostrils.  Rezen looked over to his left were the Ravager was and saw Exphasia smiling at him. 

“I could’ve taken him myself,” he grumbled silently, thankful for the help.

Shouts from the deck forced Rezen to turn away from the spherist and look out beyond the stern of the two ships.  The escort ship was speeding in towards them.  It almost looked as though it was out of control.

“S---, Gabe, kill that thing,” Rezen mumbled as he slid back against a crate holding his leg. 

---            ---            --- 

Looking to ship Exphasia already knew something was wrong.  Her gaze went void as she shifted into the sphere spectrum.  She threw her vision out beyond the battle around her and to the Justicator class warship.  The vessel had several spherical protections on it, all encrypted.  The only thing not encrypted was the enhanced sails.

The energy signature on the sails forced it to glow a light blue.  But the blue was flickering from light to dark.  The enhancement was malfunctioning.  She knew the encryption had been lifted so that the escort ship’s spherist could try to fix the problem.

Watching the energy signature in the sails twitch erratically she knew that there was no way the enhancement could be fixed, it was too badly damaged.  It was out of control and the deteriorating enhancement was forcing the ship to increase in speed.  The glitch in the enhancement must be why the ship had been trailing so far behind.  This was the exact reason she never used such enhancements on the Ravager, they were too unreliable.

Exphasia shook herself out of the spectrum as she felt her stomach sink.  The escort’s bearing was bringing it directly to the Ravager and the Yummeril.                       

---            ---            --- 

Gabe knew the other charges on the stern and amidships of the escort vessel would go off any second.  He struggled with his stuck hand trying to free it from the tangled netting.  The water rushed by him and it was hard for him to keep his eyes open as the stinging water shot into them.

He reached up with his right hand and grabbed the dagger tied to his left biceps.  He ripped the dagger out and began sawing at the net.  Ahead of him he could see the two intertwined ships fast approaching.  He began hacking viciously at the netting.

The last chop cut his wrist free.  His body bounced off the hull and his head slammed against the wood as was sent spinning away from the speeding escort ship.  Water was forced down his throat as he slipped under the water.  He pumped his strong arms and resurfaced coughing violently just as the charge on the stern exploded. 

---            ---            ---

Rezen finished tying off his leg with a piece of material he had ripped off a dead body as he saw the escort ship screaming toward them.  At less than two hundred yards away, it was going to collide with the entangled ships.  The entire area shook from a deafening explosion. 

The charge on the stern exploded, its anti encryption energy chewing through the hulls security followed by the explosive energy.  The explosion tore into the hull with a massive burst of energy forcing the stern of the ship out of the water.  Enormous volumes of water sprayed out as the stern of the escort ship launched out of the water and pivoted hard to starboard.  The hull skidded across the surface of the ocean sideways as several crew members were thrown off.

The escort was less than fifty yards from the Ravager and Yummeril when the last two charges placed amidships detonated.

“S---, get down!” Rezen shouted to several of his men in the immediate area as the escort ship was about to slam into them. 

The middle of the hull exploded with tremendous force as the two charges detonated.  The force of the blast tore the ship completely out of the water as its hull bowed under its own weight. The hull amidships fractured and then shattered into thousands of pieces as the vessel was ripped apart down the middle in the fiery blast.

The extreme inertia of the escort ship sent the now separated stern and bow careening forward high through the air with intense speed.  The huge stern of the ship was sent spinning in the air as it passed over the top of the Yummeril raining down men and debris.  The bulk of the bow roared over the Ravager snapping off the top of one of its masts, it was spinning much faster.  The munitions from the broken Justicator spilled out into the air from the exposed hull and ignited in chaos.

Rezen’s body was jerked awkwardly to the side as a piece of debris slammed into his shoulder sending him hard into the deck.  His head bounced off the deck as he hit, his vision blurring for a second.  He twisted his head and looked at his shoulder where a foot long piece of wood had embedded itself.  Rezen ground his teeth in pain as other large chunks of debris crashed about him.  Several other men were taken out by the debris.

“S---, s---,” Rezen said between his teeth covering his head as one of the airborne soldiers from the escort ship hit the middle of the Yummeril’s mast, snapping the man’s body in mid air.       

The explosions above him erupted in many different colors as he felt the hull of Yummeril shake violently under him.  There were crackles and whistles as the various munitions ignited all around them. People screamed and shouted for help as men on both sides were cut down by the chaotic explosions that hit the deck and from the shrapnel that rained down on them from the air.

Rezen caught a glimpse of one of the Justicator’s crew slam into the Yummeril’s deck causing his head to snap backward ripping open his neck.  His legs pivoted over his head flipping him back into the air and out of Rezen’s view.  He moved his head to the side and saw another flying man crash into a Kionic.  They flew backwards twisting in the air until they hit the bow of the Yummeril.  A large chuck of soaring fractured wood followed right behind colliding with their torsos in an explosion of blood.

Several successive and deafening blasts rang out just above Rezen.  A projectile screamed downward and exploded into the deck just before him opening up a large a hole in the deck.  A loud ringing erupted in Rezen’s ears as the closest blast went off and covered him in more debris.  He also saw a bit of water spray up from the new hole.

An anchor swung wildly at the end of its chain that was connected to the airborne stern of escort ship.  It bounced off the top deck of the Ravager, ripping off hunks of wood before it whipped around and smashed into the deck of the Yummeril.  The ends of the anchor bit into the wood, bounced up and dug itself in again as it tore through the deck.

Several men were in the way of the flailing anchor and Rezen watched as a soldiers leg was cut clean off.  The anchor ricocheted off some stairs as it hit the bow of the ship where it caught a Kionic in the side of the chest, ripping out the entire left side of his upper body.  He crumbled to the deck in mess of red gore.

The two separated chunks of the escort ship soared over the battle as a rush of water spray from the charges washed over the stern of both vessels.  The flipping bow crashed into the ocean just ahead of the Ravager throwing a giant spray of white water into the air.  The stern of the escort ship cleared the Yummeril and flew a hundred more yards before slamming into the water. 

Rezen growled and grabbed the chunk of wood in his shoulder.  He gritted his teeth and yanked the wooden shard from his flesh.  Rezen’s eyes grew even bigger when he saw the size of the projectile and his blood covering at least two inches at the tip of it.  He almost fainted again.  Warm blood ran down his back.

Rezen tried to get up, but fell to the deck and rolled onto his stomach, his cheek resting on the blood soaked deck.  Bodies, blackened wood and pieces of meat littered the deck, explosions having mutilated body parts unrecognizable.  The men who had survived came out form their respective cover and the battle flared up again. 

His ears stung with the intense ringing, the noise of the combat raging around him sounded so distant, like he was in a quiet cave.  He lay very still for a moment trying to compose himself and deal with the excruciating pain he was feeling from his many wounds.  The copper smell of blood and salt water assaulted his nose.

He rolled over and came face to face with a corpse.  A dead child lay only a foot in front of him.  It was a little girl.  Her body was contorted in a grotesque position, with her back arched so that one of her feet was touching the back of her head.  Her left arm was twisted backwards, the white bone of the elbow exposed through the red muscle tissue.  Rezen knew every bone to be broken in that little frame.  Her face was covered in blood, or at least what remained of her face. 

Half of it was missing and her brain matter was oozing out of a large hole in the cranial cavity.  Some of her brown hair was matted against her cheek with blood.  Bright red blood ran over her white teeth.  A thick puddle of blood and gore pooled around the little girl.  One blue eye was still open and it stared blankly at Rezen.  Rezen stared back, his gaze just as cold as the dead child’s.

 The deck shuddered violently underneath him as the sea forced the two ship’s massive hulls to smash together.  Rezen watched as several men stumbled and lurched in mid combat. 

The familiar smell of smoke mixed with fresh salty sea air and dead bodies of many people was thick all about him.  Through the haze, Rezen watched as Dabby, one of his crewmates, stabbed a soldier in the chest and stomach repeatedly.  The soldier cried out in pain and terror as the blade slid in and out of his body.  He was helpless against Dabby’s attacks and that helplessness echoed in his cries.  It was amazing how much damage a body could sometimes take before it finally gave up. 

To any on lookers Rezen was dead.  A few soldiers had walked by him and not given him a second thought.  They were coming out of several hatches on the bow to reinforce the enemy.  The ringing in his ear began to fade as the muffled shouts and cries of battle became clearer. 

“Get a med on him!”

“Two on the left!”

“Help me!”

“Get back!”

Rezen looked over the Ravager to see how his ship had faired.  It was still floating, that was good.  The deck looked battered and had some large pieces of the escort ship on it, but otherwise was in good condition.  The second he spotted Exphasia on deck he felt a million times better.  But something else was off.  The Yummeril’s railings were much lower now than the Ravagers were.  Rezen remembered that the Yummeril’s railings used to be a bit higher.

“Great,” he muttered under his breath looking to hole that had been blasted in the deck. 

The ship was sinking. 

---            ---            ---

Exphasia’s back and right leg burned.  She had been blasted through the air and had slammed into the wall of the Ravager’s first level.  She clenched her fist pushing the pain out of her mind.  Looking down to the Ravager’s deck and across to the Yummeril she was surprised to see so many survivors.  The battle had already been reignited as a fresh batch of soldiers entered the fray from several port holes onboard the Yummeril.

Rezen’s teams had still not taken control of the helm and the battle raging on the upper decks of the Yummeril had become fierce.

“Rezen!” Exphasia breathed as she scanned the battle for the vael.

She couldn’t find him.  It was getting harder to see anything now as a light haze of smoke had settled over the two ships.  Exphasia desperately searched for her friend, but instead found the spherist.  The woman was busy killing another Kionic with her synth blade.  Exphasia knew the spell and the talent required to control such energy was beyond her own.  The woman was acting as the main defense for the helm of the Yummeril.

Exphasia’s eyes went blank as she switched to the sphere spectrum.  Several vibrant purple and red halos of color orbited this woman.  Her blade arm radiated with sharp green and black colors.  In the sphere spectrum she was an explosion of spherical energy, all of it expertly controlled.

The halos around the woman were energy dampening spells.  Exphasia’s heart sank as she realized that she could do nothing to this woman to stop her killing spree.  Another Kionic went down as she caught a glimpse of Rezen out of the corner of her eye.

Rezen’s men would have to take this spherist out and quick, she wouldn’t be able to help them.  Exphasia conjured up small concentration of energy. 

---            ---            ---

Rezen shrugged away all of the pain that was surging through his body as he staggered forward.  He held his rapier poised and ready as he began his slow walk, his glare fixated on the woman spherist at the helm.

Rezen’s head twitched to the side as a slight burning sensation singed by his temple.  He jerked his head to the side and saw Exphasia across the way on the first deck level of the Ravager.  She looked beat up.

“I can’t do anything, get her!” Rezen read her lips as she pointed to the spherist.

“No shit,” Rezen mouthed back.  “Cover us!”

A soldier backed into Rezen, not seeing the vael as his blade slid into a Kionics stomach.  Rezen stumbled a little as he watched his crewmate force the blade out of his body and come back in with an attack of his own.  The two men shouted and their weapons clashed.  Rezen drew his dagger, grabbed the man on the shoulder, pulled him back and forced the blade into the soldier’s kidney.

His body lurched as Rezen’s weapon sunk into flesh and organ.  The wounded Kionic then finished the Yummeril soldier off, his blade slicing through the throat.

“Rezen,” his crew mate said, nodding his thanks as he stumbled backwards.  Rezen pulled him down behind a chunk of the escort ship that had landed on the Yummeril’s deck.

“Damn it, got your kit Dwain?” Rezen asked looking to the wound in Dwain’s stomach.  The vael was referring to the small med kit all Kionics carried with them.

“Yeah,” the Dwain said as a stream of blood ran down from his mouth. 

He was already pulling out the small kit from a side pocket on his pants.  From the dark pouch he produced two pills which he quickly swallowed.

“You?” Dwain asked nodding to Rezen’s wounds.

“Later.”

Dwain grinned.

“Ben!” Rezen shouted as he saw the leader of squad three with several other Kionics retreating from an attack on the second tier of the Yummeril.

The main deck of the ship was almost secure again, the fighting had been pushed back either down into the hull or up on the second tier and helm.  The upper decks were littered with debris where both sides had taken cover having reached a stalemate.

“Rezen, we're getten tore up!” Ben shouted as he ran up to the vael, several bolts whizzing by him.  “That bitch up there ain’t letten anyone up.”

“Ex is gonna provide us cover fire, maybe she can open up them up enough for Weeds to knock some of ‘‘em out too,” Rezen said.  The soldiers were offering no targets to Weeds’ snipers if they remained behind the wreckage.

“They’ve got us locked down Rezen.”

“Then we rush ‘em, this mission is important Ben, Rezen said looking Ben in the eyes.  “It’s an order.  Let’s do this.”

Ben nodded and turned back for the upper decks.

Rezen began to follow behind Ben just as several more soldiers burst out from a trap door on the deck behind him.  The men all shouted as they charged for Rezen, Ben and several Kionics.

“_ _ _ _ .”

The fist smashed into Rezen’s cheek knocking him to deck where he quickly rolled to the side dodging two thrusts of a weapon. 

---            ---            --- 

The stern of the escort ship pitched in the water in a mess of bubbles and white foam as it began to sink beneath the waves.  Inside her hull, the gunnery was a disaster and several barrels of volatile chemicals had spilled to the ground.  The yellow and orange gels crept toward each other until they met right next to the main munitions cache. 

---            ---            --- 

A hundred yards off the bows of the interlocked Ravager and Yummeril the severed stern of the escort ship vaporized.  A blinding flash of light appeared all around the combatants as the deafening explosion filled the air.  The shockwave thundered through the two ship’s hulls causing them to vibrate and rock in the water.  A split second later came the forty foot wall of water.

Rezen was kicked in the back as he tried to get to his feet.  He fell forward, catching himself on his hands and knees.  He found it hard to keep his balance as the ship was rocking out of control.  All around him people were shouting to each other to hold on.

The enormous wave slammed into the two ships, their keels slicing through the face of the wave as it lifted them into the air.  Water exploded all around them and swept several overboard.  All hands were thrown backward as the two ships began to rise upwards almost vertically with the wall of water. 

Rezen was knocked flat against the deck as the powerful water washed over him.  He could feel the ship lifting upward.  With his free hand he desperately scrambled for some sort of hand hold as he began to slide down the deck with other men and debris.  The ship rose almost vertically and the large hole that had been blasted into the Yummeril’s deck earlier was fast approaching.  Rezen found a small notch in the deck to grab onto just before he tumbled into the large hole.

The Yummeril’s lead mast snapped under its own weight above him.  The twenty foot chunk of mast free fell over Rezen’s head as he dangled against the hull, flipping over itself as it sliced through rigging and bounced off the helm before splashing into the ocean below him. 

The spherist had leapt onto a railing and was keeping her balance as she dodged falling debris and men.  She even cut a Kionic in half with her synth blade as he fell by her.  Looking over to the Ravager he saw his crew holding on for their lives.  Several were unable to and they fell into the churning ocean below.  He saw Exphasia holding onto some rigging where she and several others were swinging around erratically trying not to fall. 

The chains that connected the Yummeril and the Ravager groaned horribly.  As the two ships rose in the air the chains sliced through the Yummeril’s hull, tearing several large gashes in her side.  The ships shook violently as they were tossed in the air.

Rezen held on with all of his strength as his feet legs dangled just in front of the large hole.  The wave passed under them and they broke the crest.  Rezen a felt a bit of relief as the ship’s bow lurched downward and began to level out.  It was short lived as a solider above Rezen came sliding down the deck, kicking the vael in the forehead.  His head snapped back, his vision exploding into a multitude of colors as he lost his grip.  He slid down the deck and into the hole with the solider right behind him.

The hole had been blasted all the way down to the keel.  Rezen’s shoulder and ribs slammed on the edge of the third level, some protruding wreckage sending his body into a spin.  He smashed onto the bottom of the cargo hold, where he was met by a rush of cold water and floating debris.

Rezen tried to stagger to his feet with his left arm was shaking a little.  The water around him shifted as the ship went over the wave, rocking back and forth.  The water rushed over him keeping him down.  Rezen coughed as he got a lung full of water.

The cargo hold was almost empty save for a dull green glow twenty feet down from Rezen toward the stern.  Rezen could make out an intricate crate no more than three feet across suspended in mid air.  It was silver with dark green runes etched all over it.  Orbiting the box was three sets of chains.

“Got ya,” Rezen coughed.

Before Rezen could get up the man who had kicked him down into the hold crashed on top of him.  Rezen was slammed onto his stomach and under the water.  The man’s weight kept him pinned down and Rezen felt a sting of panic surge through his body.

Everything is so much quieter underwat

Suddenly all of his pain disappeared and breathing again became his only reason for existing.  Rezen was still holding onto his dagger and lashed out in several desperate strikes.  The water slowed his movements as his blade awkwardly cut into the man’s leg.

The cuts weren’t deep at all, but they caused the man enough pain and he relinquished his hold on Rezen.  Rezen shot up out of the water gasping for breath.  He swallowed more water and choked.  He looked over to the soldier who was already in motion.

Rezen wasn’t able to get out of the way quick enough and the man’s fist connected with Rezen’s head.  They both stumbled forward with the blow, the water rushing in around their feet as the ship rocked hard to port, throwing their balance off.

Rezen fell back and to the side, striking out with his rapier in one fluid movement as he unsheathed the weapon.  The blade caught the soldier across his arm and chest as he came around for another punch.  He grunted off the pain and charged Rezen.  The vael charged in too, his blades leading.

The soldier was much larger than Rezen and the vael figured he would be slower in his movements.  He was wrong.  The soldier moved out of the way of Rezen’s rapier, grabbed his wrist and twisted the vael around.  He landed several punches into Rezen’s back.

“_ _ _ _ !” Rezen growled as the blows connected.

He went with the twist though and swung around, his dagger slamming into the man’s upper shoulder.  Rezen twisted the blade with all his might and he heard the muscle sinew cut as his blade dug in deep.  The man released his grip and Rezen swung around so that he was now behind the soldier.

Rezen was losing time; that spherist back on deck had to die; they had to secure this ship.

Without missing a beat Rezen pushed the man forward using all his weight.  He pushed the dagger in further as they both fell into the rising water.  Rezen grabbed the back of the man’s skull and forced his head under the water as he pulled his dagger out from the man’s back.  He slammed it into the back of the soldier’s neck with all of his strength.  The blade sunk into the spine.

“_ _ _ _  you!” Rezen shouted as the man’s body twitched wildly beneath him.  He twisted the blade in the bone until he heard several snaps the man’s body went limp.

Rezen rolled off the body and into the cold water.  The water around them was turning red.  Rezen got to his feet and felt his head where he had been punched.  He brought his hand in front of him and it was covered in blood.  He could feel a huge gash had been opened from the blow.

Rezen sheathed his weapons, reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his med kit.  He produced a pill and a tiny packet of healing salve.  He ripped it open with his teeth and squeezed out the ooze into his hand.  He rubbed it into the gash on his head as he wiped away the blood from his eyes with the other hand.  He could feel the healing energy flow into the gash and through his body.  A surge of energy washed over him and the cut almost completely closed up.  He popped the pill next and drank a hand full of bloody sea water to wash it down.

“Rezen!” someone shouted above him.

The vael looked up to see several members of squad four and one of the Special Forces men poking their heads over the lip of the hole.  They were in one of the middle decks looking down at him.

“It’s down here!”  Rezen shouted back up to them.  “Get Gabe’s men down here!”

“We're comen down!”

“Where’s Hess?”

Two of the Kionics above Rezen looked to each other and then back to Rezen.  One of them shook their head.

“Were runnen out of time, let’s go!” Rezen shouted back and began to pick his way up through the hole as squad four and the Special Forces unit climbed down.

As the Kionic’s climbed in their respective directions they could hear people talking and shouting to one another within the hull.  Rezen was surprised no one had come to the hole to pick them off.  Among the combat chatter all of them heard something about firing the guns.  That didn’t sit well in Rezen’s stomach.

“We’re gonna take the helm, secure that cargo and let’s get the _ _ _ _  outta here,” Rezen said to the squad as they passed by each other.

“Yes sir.”

---            ---            --- 

“Hold ‘em down Kris, he’s going into shock!” Menry shouted to Kris directly across from him.

The two men were crouched down, attempting to secure their violently convulsing friend on the Ravagers deck.  The color of his skin was draining before their eyes.  His chest and stomach had been ripped open from debris and he was bleeding profusely.

“Where’s his med kit?” the other man shouted as he gripped his crewmate’s shoulders hard.

“Shit, he doesn’t have it!”

All Kionics carried a med kit, but he couldn’t find his injured crew mates’ anywhere in his pockets.

“Use yours!” Menry shouted to Kris over a large explosion.

Kris was way ahead of Menry and was already reaching into his pants pocket from which he produced a rolled up dark green cloth.  The cloth was soaked in a healing mixture that could heal wounds quickly, or at least stabilize them.  In this case if Kris could just wrap the bandage around Deak maybe he could secure the man’s intestines.

“Lift him,” Kris ordered calmly.

“You’re gonna be alright Deak,” Menry said as he tried to lift Deak’s upper body off the deck so Kris could get under him.

Kris reached under and struggled to wrap the bandage around Deak’s chest just as his large intestine spilled out.

“Oh s---,” Kris mumbled.

“Ex! Get over here!” Menry shouted to spherist who had just run by them.

Exphasia stopped at the call and saw her crew mates huddled on the deck, a mess of blood and gore was pooling under them.

“Put it back in!” Menry shouted to Kris, indicating the organs as Exphasia slid to their side.

“D--- it,” Exphasia breathed as she saw the mess.

“Heal him up!” Menry shouted.

Exphasia shook her head and attempted to connect with the healing energies of the Echo Sphere.  The chaos going on around her though did not disappear; it interrupted her thoughts, skewing her ability to connect with the Echo Sphere to call forth any sort of healing energy.

Deak’s body convulsed.  She couldn’t focus, she couldn’t do it.

“Ex!” Kris shouted.

The deck underneath them shook violently as several shots rang out from the Yummeril.  Her guns had opened up oat point blank range.

“She’s firing!” someone shouted on the deck of the Ravager as plumes of smoke erupted from between the two ships.

There was an explosion several yards from them, the force of the blast scattered all four of them into the air and across the deck.  Exphasia smashed into the base of the mast, the air forced from her lungs.  Her vision went blurry and her ears rang with a high pitch whistle.

She doubled over trying to breathe.  It took her a moment to regain her senses and when she did she saw Deak’s entrails spread out across the deck, she couldn’t see Deak’s body anywhere.  Menry and Kris were already up and had returned to the fight.

She hadn’t been able to save Deak.

“Ex!” came her name again, this time it was Captain Weed’s shouting for her.

She felt guilty; she hadn’t even had a chance to try to save Deak.  She cursed under her breath as her stomach wrenched.  She had never been good at any of the healing energies and once again another one of her crew mates had paid the price.

“Ex!” Weed’s shouted over the noise of combat.

“Sir!” Exphasia shouted back, bringing herself to her feet. 

“Port side, knock ‘em out!” Weeds shouted his orders as his snipers took aimed shots at the Yummeril’s crew.

Several more of the Yummeril’s guns went off, vibrating the hull of the Ravager.  The Ravager was built with this style of combat in mind, its armored hull absorbing the shot and Exphasia’s protection enhancements deflecting most of the destructive energy.

“Ex!  Shut those guns down!” Weeds order Exphasia.

“I’m on it!” Exphasia shouted.

Anger rose inside the young woman.  This battle was going wrong, never had she been in such a brutal fight.  The Yummeril’s crew would have to die.  All of them.

Exphasia fell into the sphere spectrum and called upon the Multi Sphere’s energy essence.  Using the sphere’s inherent powers she conjured up a schematic view of the Yummeril which revealed the surviving gun placements.

She locked onto the guns and shifted her focus from the Multi Sphere to the Negosha Sphere, summoning the destructive Disfraction energy with frightening speed.  Her eyes shot open and she stood up, her fingers and wrists popping in erratic motions.

An evil smile crossed her lips. 

---            ---            --- 

As Rezen pulled himself back onto the deck of the Yummeril he heard a low humming sound echo below him in the depths of the ship.  There were several cries of surprise and pain.  Rezen heard a sizzling sound and the guns went silent.

“Their melting the _ _ _ _ ing guns!” he heard a solider cry out.

“Repel it!” he heard another shout.                                                                                                 

It was too late though.  The Yummeril’s guns were now just large pieces of warped metal.

Rezen poked his head up out of the hole and surveyed the battle.  Everywhere he looked he saw only chaos, blood and destruction.  Ben’s squad had somehow regrouped and was now encroaching on the helm.  The woman was still on top with at least ten other soldiers fending off Ben’s squad. 

He pulled himself up and made his way for the battle on the upper decks, his eyes never leaving the spherist.  The woman was finishing off a Kionic as she bounced the pirate’s head off a railing and sliced him through the back with her synth blade.  Rezen drew his weapons and made his way for the woman.

A soldier jumped in Rezen’s path, desiring revenge for the deaths of his friends.  Rezen continued to walk forward as if the man wasn’t there and brought his rapier into a ready position as the man charged in.  He got about three feet away from Rezen when the man’s body convulsed as two bolts sunk deep into the side of his head and shot out the other side in a mist of blood and bone.  One bolt had gone straight through one ear and out the other.  He was dead before he felt anything.  The man’s eyes froze in a horrid expression and he fell to the deck. 

Rezen, never even breaking stride, caught the falling corpse and plunged his rapier through the dead soldier’s belly and pushed him a side.  He landed with a thud on the deck and a pool of blood circled out around him to join the numerous other blood stains saturating the Yummeril’s deck.  Rezen reached the stairs that led to the upper decks and broke into a straight sprint, using all of his adrenaline to fight back against the pain of his wounds.

“_ _ _ _ en spherist,” Rezen growled as he reached the top of the stairs, rushing past several soldiers, Hess and some of squad four.  He emerged on the helm, slamming into the woman with his right shoulder, using all of his gained momentum. 

She was caught off guard and took the full impact of the blow in the chest.  Rezen charged so strong and quick that he lifted her off the ground and carried her all the way to back railing.  They slammed into the wooden railing, squishing her between it and Rezen’s shoulder, but her tiny muscled frame withstood the impact. The wound on his shoulder opened even more with a searing sting and he felt an increased flow of warm blood run down his back.  He growled away the pain and continued to pin the woman. 

“Vael?” the woman said calmly as she bashed Rezen in the mouth with her elbow.  “That’s new.”

“_ _ _ _  you!” Rezen grunted as he accepted the blow and spit out blood.

Rezen pulled out of the fray and smashed her in the face with his right fist once, twice, the last blow connecting with her temple.  He was too close to pull off any effective attacks with his rapier.  Her nose exploded into a mesh of blood that splashed across her face and Rezen geared for another of his anger driven blows, but this time she was ready.  She quickly dodged Rezen’s fist and slammed her forehead straight into his face and spun around the vael grabbing his left arm and twisting it.  Rezen’s head slammed back from the impact and he felt warm blood run down his face from a new gash as he was spun around. 

“You wanna play you little bitch,” the caster shouted in anger.

Rezen knew the synth blade was coming.  Instead of trying to stop the spin he went with and fell low.  The spherist didn’t release her grip as the synth blade came screaming in for Rezen.  It missed him by less than an inch.  In the same motion Rezen pulled out his dagger with his free hand and slammed it straight through the woman’s right forearm that was connected with the synth blade.

“_ _ _ _ ,” the spherist grunted as she lost control of her synth blade, the energy twisted and evaporated.

“Sloppy,” Rezen said with a bloody smile as spun around to face her.

A scowl exploded on her face as she lunged for Rezen, her hands lashing out with deadly speed.  Five rapid punches connected with Rezen’s chest and gut stealing his breath. A sixth and unbelievably strong blow to the ribs picked him up off the ground and sent him crashing to the deck where he slid straight into the base of the steering wheel.  His rapier flew out of his hand and went skidding across the deck. 

Rezen knew he was far over matched now.  She hadn’t even bothered to remove his dagger which was sticking straight through her left forearm.  The spherist had landed her punches in less than a second and he could tell this speed was not some artificial spherical enhancement, but was of her own physical prowess.  

 He sprung to his feet only to be met by a roundhouse kick to the face.  Rezen stumbled back, tears welling up in his eyes, feeling more blood freely running from his nose.

“You want it like that, huh,” Rezen taunted as he stumbled, spitting blood.  “Let’s do this.” 

She followed her kick with two more strikes.  Rezen dodged the first and brought his arm up to block the second.  He barely deflected the blow as he did a half spin around the fist grabbing onto the hilt of his embedded dagger.  He wrenched the blade free in one sickening motion drawing a long line of blood from her forearm.

The spherist hopped backwards and grabbed her forearm as she tried to subdue the pain.  For a split second Rezen got a glimpse into this woman’s bright green eyes.  Those eyes were filled with frustration and calculated anger. This was very unlike his own current uncontrolled rage.

Rezen rushed the woman; he couldn’t give her an inch in this fight.  The spherist met him halfway.  Rezen slid to the deck as he avoided a burst of kicks.  He stopped himself and reversed his momentum coming up on the spherist’s side.

He struck out with his dagger but the woman’s hands lashed out again with crazy speed sending his attack out wide.  She landed several more punches to Rezen’s head and chest before Rezen got in a blow of his own.  Rezen closed the gap, grabbing onto her shoulder and pulling her close as he tried to get his dagger into her torso.

The woman’s hands worked methodically as she twisted his dagger hand around in an awkward position and latched onto his other arm, bringing them together in a strong lock.  Their faces were only inches from one another.

“It’s no fun ‘til someone dies,” she whispered, eerily calm and perfectly in control.

Rezen caught the glint in her eye; she was going to cast a spell.  Rezen pushed forward and slammed his knee into her stomach twice.  The woman’s grasp loosened just a bit, but it was he needed.  Rezen pulled his left arm free and grabbed her by the neck.  He gritted his teeth as he squeezed with all his strength.

The woman released the arm lock, flattened out her hand and chopped it into Rezen’s neck, once twice.  His eyes went wide as the powerful attacks closed his wind pipe and robbed him of oxygen.  Rezen pushed the woman away as he stumbled backward, his hand going to his throat as he tried to cough.

She was on him in an instant.  Choking, Rezen stepped to the side, dipped low and tripped the woman up as she descended on him.  Rezen caught a knee to the side of his head as the two fell to the deck.

They wrestled for a second on the ground, the woman scoring more of her quick punches.  Rezen landed a few too, but on his last strike she grabbed his fist and threw it to the side.  Still holding firm on his punching hand she grabbed his biceps with her free hand and snapped her hands in opposite directions applying tremendous pressure on his right arm.

Rezen’s mouth opened wide in horror as he heard the bones in his forearm snap in two.  His vision blurred as pain and rage flooded through his body.  He tried to move his arm, but it did not respond.  

“_ _ _ _ !” Rezen shouted as he found a new source energy boiling and explode inside him.

He smashed his forehead into her left eye with all his might, he did it again and again until he bought himself a little room to maneuver his good arm.  Using his inherent agility he wriggled his dagger arm free faster than the caster was ready for and slashed wildly for her head.

She tried to move her head out of the way, but Rezen was quicker.  His blade missed his intended target as she jerked her head to the side.  Instead, the blade sliced down through her ear, across her jaw bone length wise and down the side of her throat.  Her fleshed opened up and blood began to poor out.

Once again they looked into each other’s eyes and saw the most intense hatred for a living being either one had ever witnessed.

The caster positioned her feet under Rezen’s stomach and kicked him off of her, sending the vael flying through the air.  Rezen had no hope of landing on his feet and he smashed into the hard deck, his right hip absorbing the fall.  The caster flipped up to her feet Rezen could see an evil grin form on her face as the blood from her vicious wound flowed freely.  Her hands began to glow with black smoke.

A ball of dark purple energy screamed in behind the spherist catching her in the back and causing the black energy around her hands to vaporize.  The inertia of the attack sent her body spinning in the air.  The oxygen was blasted from her lungs as she fell to her to her knees.  Rezen looked past the downed spherist and saw Exphasia on the Ravager’s helm, which was now higher than the Yummeril’s, grinning and holding up two fingers. 

Rezen didn’t have time to contemplate that.  He rushed at the spherist, kicking at her head.  Her hands flashed out with amazing speed and she caught his foot and twisted it.  Rezen spun in the air and landed face down, his head bouncing off the deck.

“I’ll _ _ _ _ ing kill you,” Rezen whispered coughing up blood as he staggered to his feet.

Dagger in hand Rezen was ready.

Placing her hand to her neck the caster looked around, for the first time noticing that the ship was sinking and that the Kionics had almost complete control of the Yummeril.  The vessel’s deck was now in line with the middle of the Ravagers hull.  Her teeth clenched in rage as she felt her warm blood oozing from the side of her head and neck between her fingers.

“It’ll be fun next time, I promise,” she said motioning with both hands toward Rezen, her index and middle fingers pointing at him as if she were aiming a boltgun at him. 

Behind her the air ripped open in a haze of purple and black smoke.  A black void expanded out from the center of the smoke and the spherist stepped back into darkness, her eyes remaining locked onto Rezen’s.  He returned the glare, a new found intense hatred coursing through his veins like venom.   The spherist mirrored that emotion perfectly in her own icy, dead stare. 

It was all over in flash though as she was engulfed by the spherical energy and disappeared before him through the portal.  He coughed hard as he propped himself against the wheel, watching the portal energies vaporize. 

Rezen panted hard, the fight had been extremely taxing.  He wiped off some of the blood that had leaked into his eyes and looked down to his broken forearm.  Unable to move it, Rezen could see the bones sticking up, stretching his skin, but not penetrating it.  The world around him phased in and out becoming surreal. 

He could feel the ship sinking under him.  He was on the bridge and it was now almost even with the Ravagers main deck.  He had a high vantage point on the Yummeril though and now got a full view of the battle that had taken place.  

Thick smoke hung over the two ships, the haze blocking out the beautiful days warming sun.  The deck was redder now than a wooden brown.  Bodies, body parts and wreckage covered almost every foot of it.  There were a few deck fires that no one was bothering to put out.

Taking in the scene Rezen knew the battle was over.  They had won the ship.  The rest of his crew was finishing off the stragglers and helping their wounded off the ship onto the Ravager.  He knew there would be no prisoners taken this on this mission, no survivors.  The spherist had gotten away though.

All around him on the helm lay wreckage and bodies, both Kionic and of the Yummeril’s crew.  The smell of charred flesh, smoke and blood permeated the air.  One body just a foot away from him had been sliced almost in half, the man’s mushy, multicolored organs lay strewn about.  Ben’s team had just finished off the rest of the helms opposition.

“S---, Rezen, shit” Ben said as came up to the vael with several others behind him, his face scrunched up in concern.  “You alright?”

The voice was so distant, it sounded like he was underwater again.

“Secure the helm,” Rezen ordered between coughs.

“Yes sir.”

He sheathed his dagger, picked up his rapier and began to stumble down the stairs.  He had to step over someone’s dismembered arm and several bodies to get to the bottom.  He coughed a few times from inhaling the smoke.  His whole body was numb, but he could still feel his warm blood running down his skin and dripping on the deck.

A wave of nausea overcame Rezen as he walked across the deck.  He swooned, but continued on toward the Ravager where Captain Weeds was negotiating a plank that bridged the gap between the two ships. 

“Let’s move, she’s going down,” Captain Weeds shouted to the men on deck.

“They almost have it sir,” a Kionic shouted as he looked down the large hole in the Yummeril.

“Hustle up!  Where’s squad...” Captain Weeds began, but trailed off as Rezen’s limping figure became clear through the light haze.

The vael looked like the walking dead.  Rezen was covered in blood and lacerations.  His clothes were sliced up and his skin was the palest white Weeds had ever seen.  A stream of blood ran down his broken arm and was dripping onto the deck.  His stomach twisted at the sight, Weeds couldn’t believe Rezen was able to move in his current condition.

“Rezen.  Damn it Rezen,” the Captain breathed as the vael stopped in front of him. 

Rezen stood very still just staring at the Captain, ignoring his wounds and the streams of blood coursing down his body. 

“We have secured the ship sir,” Rezen said softly as he collapsed down to one knee, his weight shifted and he crumbled to the deck, out cold in a pool of his own blood.

 Copyright 2009, Sean Kinsley, All rights reserved

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