The ships turrets came to life as they spun backwards, pointing at the enemy behind us. Qitar didn't stand on ceremony as she opened fire on the ship that shot at us, pelting a ridiculous amount of laser fire at it. However contrary to my expectations, said ship did not go up in a ball of flames like I wanted it to, instead a massive golden shield came to life around the structure of the ship, intercepting our assault.
"Mack what the hell kind of ship is that, and who the fuck owns it?" I asked Mack as I turned my gaze towards the ship.
"I have no idea captain, they must have left Patmos after we did, and even then development of that ship must have been kept under wraps. I don't know who we're dealing with." He replied.
The feeling of annoyance in the pit of my stomach was not one I've felt in quite a while, but it was there. Just from their first attack alone, I knew my ship did not have a strong enough defense to withstand an open sea gun battle with whoever owns that ship, plus seeing as they just turned a tidal wave into bubbles, I'm sure a weapon or artifact as powerful or even more so than Thalasio Spathi was within the hands of our assailants. We had to give this one up.
"Darke full speed ahead, get us the fuck away from this place, and do it fast! I get you some cover. The rest of you go below deck, Qitar give me some suppressive fire, and Dinah, pull up the deck's shielding, the sea's about to get wild."
They all scrambled to do as I said, with Darke moving the ship forwards. Even though Acheron seems a little to frail to handle the weapons she has on board, the girl was pretty damn fast. Heck I don't want to brag but, this baby might be the fastest sea faring vessel in new Gaia, just like the black pearl once was.
Qitar did not stop firing the turrets at the ship chasing us, though all of our shots were intercepted by the shield covering the ship. In contrast to the Acheron, the enemy ship was our opposite in every way. First of all, it's color scheme was a mixture of white and gold, and then it was three times bigger than the Acheron, both in size and height.
That ship looked like the vessel of a great general, why Acheron just looked like a black bandit. But no matter, this black bandit would achieve great things, I will make sure of it. We pulled away from them in record time, in fact if this was a race, it would be like comparing a cheetah competing against a baboon.
But just puling away wasn't enough, we needed cover, or at the very least to slow them down. And this would not be about me protecting my ship from their assault, it would just be my attempt at Letty revenge. With the shielding over the deck, the Acheron looked like a black bullet on the calm sea. The shield protects the deck from the elements, and works the same way tinted windows functioned. They couldn't see in, but we could see outside.
I swung Thalasio Spathi, loving how much power it gave me over the seas. It was rather intoxicating to be honest, but I kept my goal in sight. Since these guys could turn a 70 foot tidal wave into a cloud of bubbles, let's see if they can do the same to the sea they're sailing on.
I started twirling the sea sword, moving around like I was practicing a sword routine, and if I had to be honest, I actually was, but for now this was the motion I was most comfortable with, to do exactly what I had in mind. And what was that you might ask,...I was making a storm.
*BOOoooOoooM!*
And there comes the thunder, followed quite closely by dark clouds, rain and rolling, churning and turning of the very ocean itself. My anger fueled her, and she responded, carrying out my wrath to my enemies. Darke took us out of the range of the storm, but as for that other ship, they can kiss sunshine good bye for the next day or more. I made it so that the storm would only keel carrying them round a and round in circles, until it dissipates by itself.
[You have created a Storm at Sea. The Gods of the Sea have taken notice of your actions. 🔱 🔱 Poseidon/Neptune 🔱 🔱 Watches.]
Well that was one creepy system message, but at least we were out of any immediate danger. As awesome as everything that's happens was, I'm kind of bummed that it would take me another four days before I used call of the ocean again. So until then, I think it would be wise for us to keep our sea battles, to a minimum.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The part of the Jitusat ocean that had the hollows, was also filled with rocky hills that jutted out of the sea. You could call them mini islands too, but the fact is, they could go a long way in helping to hide a ship, especially if you wanted to avoid detection. I think our biggest fear is the fact that we had no idea how we were going to be received by the locals, in fact you could say that we expected them to be hostile, after all that's what the hollows are most known for, their hostility and the fact that death could be found in every corner.
"We have to travel at minimum speed from here on out captain, should we go any faster, it might be perceived as an aggressive act, and we might be incur the wrong sort of attention. Besides, the nanites on the ship need time to fix the damage we've sustained, so we really shouldn't even be moving, but to be OK the safe side, constant motion is required. This way we should be on the safe side and get stuff done while not sitting around and waiting for someone to come kill us." Dinah said to me as we gathered in the ships lounge.
I nodded my head and mumbled a silent thanks to her as I watched the recordings of our previous battle. Everyone's response wad satisfactory, but we mostly just relied on the ships turret and the power of Thalasio Spathi. Should a time come when we can't rely on these tools, then we're toast.
"Guys we might have survived, but I know we might have done a lot more than survive if we had all participated in one way or another. The fact of the matter is that we don't know each other, and as such were not really sure of what the other is capable of. We need to take every advantage of the time we have together to get to know each other, it would help if we all know what move is about to be made on the battlefield by our comrades long before said move has been made.
I have to log out now, but once I'm back once every three days, we're going to be having a free for all spar. I think for now, apart from talking to each other, the fastest way we can get to know each other is by punching each other in the face. So you all should prepare yourself, including you Raven Song. So try to be online as much as possible." I said to them as I got to my feet.
I made a gesture, and the holographic display in the middle of the lounge lit up, and a list showed up. It was more of a task list, or schedule of activities for them to focus on while I was away. Though the list was detailed enough, I decided to too explain to them what is it that I wanted them to do.
"Qitar you're my first mate, and as such you should know every inch of this ship, maybe even more than I do. So that's your assignment, understand the ship, and gain more control over it's weapons system, and that new arm of yours. I noticed that when you use the turrets, not all of them respond, you should try learning to control one, and then move up from there.
Dinah I need a proper system diagnostics of the ship, and what is needed to improve it's capabilities. I don't care how big that other bloody ship is, the next time we meet up with those bastards, I want to punch a bloody hole into it's pristine white surface.
Darke you're still in charge with navigating this ship, currently we're relying on radar, and the ships own compass. Get a map, every single kind you can find, and study it. I don't know how long it would take you, but I need you capable of navigating the seven oceans of new Gaia with your eyes closed. Mack you need to make some calls, or surf the Internet, whatever you need to do, do it. Compile information about the contestants in this trial, the forces behind them, and also information about every major power on new Gaia, and also important locations like hunting grounds, ruins, dungeons, black markets and the stock market.
And Zack..….you're to baby sit Sky, make sure she doesn't get into any sort of trouble. I should be back in a day or two, now if you guys will excuse me, I have a company to go take over.