by Vee Bosse
“Meh...whatever she wants to do.” Derek’s lack of apprehension startled the others in the group as he turned and walked toward the beach, with his select group choosing to follow behind.
“I suppose you’re cool then,” said Christian, as he and the rest of the team turned to follow Derek and his friends. As they reached the sands below, they all paused to reflect on everything that had occurred in the last few days. They stared at the night sky above, listening to the ocean waves rippling with peace and tranquility, wondering about why and how they would go on to fight a seemingly impossible battle. Yet, they knew they were no longer just ordinary people. They could still feel the radiance Carlisle had passed on to them, and they couldn’t help but shake the feeling of fearlessness that seemed to have been placed in their heads.
“So, this little group that we have going here, who is the leader that decides what we do next?” said Isaac, as he studied his sword Tripleese with a smile on his face.
“We three will follow Derek, no matter what happens. I suggest you all let him lead you as well, considering that he is the one that kept us awake and operating in Haven.” Sarge and Jordan nodded their heads in agreement with Woolfing. With the rest of the group now glancing at each other to see if anyone would object to Derek being their leader, Haynes suddenly stepped forward and spoke up.
“I respect and understand that Derek is the one who has led you guys back at Haven Island, but that was under completely different circumstances. At this point, we will be travelling long distances in the hopes of starting a wide spread revolution against the criminal entity known as the Western Latitude government. How we use all of our collective power and abilities is something that I don’t believe can be left up to one person alone.”
Hayne’s sound logic resonated with the entire group as they waited to see what his suggestion would be for a second leader. “Along with Derek leading, I think Christian should be the other co-leader.”
Derek stared at Haynes, and then at Christian to catch his reaction. Yet the blue haired nominee stood silent, still staring out towards the sea. “I’m just curious, why him? Haynes, you’re actually soundin’ like you have the highest intellect out of the whole group” asked Dane, with a distinct southern drawl.
Haynes humbly replied, “I may be able to analyze situations adeptly, but that doesn’t mean that I would be able to weigh the best interests of the entire group adequately. Christian, on the other hand, with the humanity that I saw in him could easily become a suitable ‘true north’ for all of us. I see that he wants to avoid letting people die, while also having the important ability to discern whether it is necessary to kill someone in any given predicament. I shudder to think what we might become without that kind of presence being dictated.”
The group seemed to stand solidly convinced as Derek closed his eyes and looked away. “I see no reason to object. Cool then,” he said, as Westin suddenly approached Christian who turned around to face the group.
“All right, if you all will accept me, I’ll do my best to lead. Derek and I will be the leaders.” Christian said, letting a smile come on his face as the rest of the group nodded in approval.
“High five!” Westin extended his hand for yet another elevated hand slap, similar to the one he gave a day ago. Christian retained his smile as he paused for a moment, and then reciprocated the gesture.
“Westin...you’re crazy. But I like you” said Winkle as the group suddenly caught a glimpse of a ship that was fast approaching the shore they were standing on.
“Eh, is that a...hovership that I see?” asked Benedict as, indeed, a hovership did make its way to their shore in about thirty seconds flat, showing the gargantuan speed that hoverships were now able to glide over water. The group was suddenly on edge as they prepared themselves for another possible battle.
“Wait, don’t attack! Let’s see who is on it!” yelled Christian as they noticed a door in its titanium exterior slide open, letting out a mechanically unfolding walkway that landed on the sand in front of them.
Their eyes all locked on the two silhouettes that were approaching out from the ship’s interior, and they were shocked to see them suddenly waving two white flags.
“Hey everyone! We come in peace!” said a man who looked Hispanic and short in stature.
“Ai, don’t attack! We’re here to help,” said a woman next to him with beautifully long and black hair, and a look of true radiance. They dropped their flags and made their way down to the group below.
“Hey, can we ask who you are?” said Milli, looking slightly annoyed. The tall woman answered in earnest.
“My name is Reylina Kinney. This is my husband, Melas Jinbei. We are nomads of the sea who have spent our long lives attempting to escape the presence of both of the Latitudes.”
Dre stepped forward abruptly, tossing her last cigarette to the ground in frustration. “Say, you guys have any smokes?” Reylina and Melas looked at each other, wondering if what they heard about the group could be true with such odd characters.
“Sorry kid, we don’t smoke,” said Melas to which Dre stood in silence, letting irritation show on her face.
“Sorry, no durry, mate,” said Reylina.
“Simply put, we nomads of the sea are damned good at hiding our presence. We were watching the Eastern Latitude’s fleet for a few days as it came out of southern Japan heading South with speeds we have rarely ever seen. But then we saw from a distance what went down on Haven Island. Gotta say guys, I’m thankful you all are still alive,” Melas said as the group took in the impressive size of their hovership.
“Thanks, I’m glad we aren’t dead either. So why are you approaching us exactly? Are there any other nomads watching us right now?” asked Derek as Reylina spoke up to answer.
“There are a couple. We honestly have never seen anyone with abilities even remotely similar to yours. Gotta say, a dragon? Melas n’ I had a fair suck of the sav at that one eh,” The group cocked their heads in wonder of what Reylina’s expression meant.
“She sounds Australian, but Melas just looks short,” said Winkle, catching a look of ire from Melas.
“Shuddup. Now, everyone get in the ship so we can take you to Australia. You want to catch up to those three elites that we saw fleeing, right? We’ve decided to help you get revenge against Revenant.” Melas’ words sent a shock up the entire group’s spines, and Laran suddenly stepped forward in earnest.
“Wait, hold on, get revenge on Revenant? I had always heard about nomads of the sea running from the government. They had always been branded as cowards, but I had never heard of anyone fighting the government on the sea. That would be a death trap.”
Reylina spoke once again, “To be brutally honest with you all, we need your help, desperately. Revenant is no ordinary commander...he is actually the reason that two decades ago, Australia’s inhabitants mysteriously disappeared.”
Upon hearing this, the entire group’s jaws dropped. “Wait, what? What do you mean?” questioned Isaac.
“Revenant is more powerful than you think you know. He has some odd ability that I witnessed that night, with my own eyes. He, killed them all...including my family.”
Tears now appeared on Reylina’s face as Melas embraced her to try and comfort her. “I remember the military uniform he was wearing that said ‘Revenant’, plain as day. It was him, and someone else. The other man wore a black fedora with a white sash around the base of it. For some reason, my memory of that night was fuzzy, almost like I was drugged or gassed, or something. But I distinctly remember that the man with the fedora somehow gave the finishing blow after Revenant hit them with some kind of power, I just can’t recall exactly what.” Reylina did her best to fight the terror and despair of that horrific night, when the voice of Melas brought her to a sunnier place.
“I had been on an old-fashioned ship for many years at that point, doing my damnest to get away from the government and their corruption they seeped into everyone’s lives. People had b
een brainwashed into becoming subservient ghosts. Then one night while I was observing Australia from a distance, I saw massive flames engulfing Melbourne. It was horrific like you couldn’t imagine, I heard the screams of hundreds of thousands of people slowly fade into nothing...but then, I saw her.”
Reylina let a smile come onto her face at the remembering of the first time that she saw Melas, allowing herself to get lost in his words as he spoke. “The most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life, frantically swimming away from the city towards the ocean. I pulled her into my ship, and did my best to calm her. But the horrors she had seen were too much, it took months before she could overcome the grief. But I stayed strong to help her through it, and we built a life together on the seas never forgetting the unspeakable horrors that befell Australia that brought us together.” Laran and Milli gazed at each other, amazed at how strong a love for one another can become.
“Oi love, but now the Eastern Latitude is sailing towards the West, and massive battles will soon erupt on the coastline of the Western Latitude. The defenses they have mean that your families that you are surely concerned about will not be harmed, yet this is the opportunity that Melas and I have been waiting for. We don’t understand your abilities at all honestly, nor how they could happen, but what we know is the Revenant and whoever his accomplice was have the heart to commit mass murder at any point that they decide to. Please, you are the only ones that can end him, please mates. We need you.”
The team was moved with purpose upon hearing Reylina’s story of unspeakable hardship that befell Australia long ago. Christian suddenly stepped forward, and he smiled at Reylina and Melas who eagerly awaited their reply.
“He already committed mass murder, again. Take us to him...we will go anywhere you say that he is. I promise you, we will kill Commander Revenant!! We WILL get revenge for our fellow prisoners, and for your fellow Australians that he wiped out.” Christian’s declaration was like a war cry to the group. They knew the extent of the atrocities that Revenant had carried out on behalf of the government. Why exactly they would want an entire continent wiped out was irrelevant at that point, no explanation was going to be enough to sway them in their decision.
The team looked ready to board the ship when suddenly, Dee King approached Christian appearing reserved and stoic. “I wonder, if revenge is the way we ought to go. Killing this man who has committed unspeakable acts? Yeah man, I get it. But just remember that when you deliver that finishing blow, you might get a taste of whatever drove him to do such a thing. Christian, don’t seek revenge...let yourself be led by justice instead.” Christian stared at Dee, as everyone became perplexed by his unexpected virtue.
“Yeah,” Christian said as Reylina and Melas nodded their heads in gratitude at the team who began to board the ship with resolve. Derek who decided to board last noticed that Dee was standing at the entrance to the ship, staring at him while he walked by.
“Meh,” said the unfazed co-leader while the wise man from the Harlem Territory of the Western Latitude seemed to tell Derek that he didn’t trust him with his gaze.
“Oi, we have boarded well mates. A wee bit of Australian knowledge for you all before we part: Haven Island is a ways east of here, but it used to be called Waterhouse Island. Where we are now is the site where a little bit inland, the town of Devonport used to be.” As Reylina finished giving out their location, the team still had only one thought on their minds.
“Please reveal the location of Revenant as appropriate to the group mission objective,” said Sabrina as the group moved to the top of the ship where they inhaled the cool night time breeze of the sea. They gazed at the disaster area where Carlisle had done an incredible demolition service.
“We saw Revenant with two other commanders jetting away on a small escape hovercraft. I launched a small tracking device that flew and attached to their ship before we hightailed out of the area, expecting that there was some reason they were fleeing like that. Man, what an explosion though!” said Melas who was now also taking in the disaster area. “We currently have their location pegged at where Melbourne used to be.”
Everyone stared in shock upon hearing the ironic location of the commanders. “That...seems odd,” Haynes said with a reluctant tone.
“Even if it is a trap, it won’t matter. I’m sure with our new abilities, we won’t have any trouble,” said Isaac with a confident grin. Reylina and Melas didn’t humor his show of confidence, however.
“We are putting our faith in you guys that you can protect the world from Revenant and the government, but remember not to be overconfident you guys. Take care of yourselves, he wiped out an entire continent with little effort,” said Melas as he pulled out a small tablet-style phone, and proceeded to press a few buttons that caused the ship to lift itself out of the water, hovering above.
“We will do what we have to...I know we’ll be all right,” said Westin as Reylina ushered for the team to sit down and hold on tight for the ride of their lives. With another press of a button on Melas’ tablet, the ship blasted off directly north towards the ruins of Melbourne.
While the ship took off to leave Tasmania behind, an android was still standing in front of her slain master, still without any words or emotions. However, once the ship was fully out of the island’s viewpoint, Blue Misty fell to her knees, with a teardrop managing to somehow seep out of the circuitry that was her artificial tear duct. This android was now a ‘forever alone’, and why any of them should have cared is unknown.
Chapter Seven
The Three Elites
Their hovership moved towards Australia at lightning speed, while Thomin Kasper sat in a dimly lit cabin towards the ship’s stern. As he sat in silence, Winkle walked in with a curious smile, wanting to unravel the mystery that had surrounded him thus far. “Kasper, what’s up?” she asked as she studied the gold kunai dagger that she had picked up from the weapons pile that Dre had brought forth earlier.
Kasper remained apathetic as he turned her direction, his hands resting comfortably on his chair’s armrests. “We have been travelling for roughly one hour. We are now getting close to the Australian coastline,” he said, as Winkle appeared suddenly curious at his odd response.
“Well, that doesn’t really answer my question.” Winkle was now studying Kasper thinking about any ways she could get him to open up. Just then, the blind sensor stood up, with a look of vigilance suddenly on his face.
“Winkle, approximately two miles to our northeast, someone is approaching us fast!” Winkle also stood up in haste as Kasper dashed out of the cabin, both of them realizing that perhaps they really had walked into a trap. “Listen everyone, Kasper says that someone is coming!” said Winkle as the blind sensor ran to the ship’s bow, eagerly awaiting their possible opponent.
“What? Kasper, what are you,” just before Jassa could finish her sentence, a strange fog erupted from the sea seemingly out of nowhere, consuming the entire team who had all ran to the deck of the ship above.
“I have a bad feeling about this fog,” said Melas who had taken position at the bow of the hovership with Reylina by his side. The large group of friends stood by, ready to protect their two new allies at any cost.
“I actually feel...sleepy,” said Westin as, indeed, the entire group including Reylina and Melas suddenly started to nod off.
“Someone...stop this!” gasped Winkle as the team and the ship captains ceased to remain awake, crashing to the deck floor below in sudden slumber.
The ship was now silent and without a pilot, and it sped past a silhouette in the fog at amazing speed without slowing down.
“Subjects subdued,” said the figure, letting the ship pass by as it raced towards Melbourne’s beach shore. It was about five minutes later when the smoke had begun to clear from the ship’s path, with the crew still in a deep sleep that didn’t show signs of wearing off anytime soon. Helpless to stop it from running aground with terrible fury, the beach shore approached from the horizon at an ala
rming speed.
Just as hope for the crew seemed to be lost, there was one of the team that stood amongst the slumbering rebels. Sabrina leapt into action without delay, jumping to the ship’s control panel as her right hand slowly turned into a crazy mess of odd looking electrical probes and extensions. She slammed it into the panel where it seemed to assimilate with the ship’s circuitry, giving her absolute control of its functions.
“Manual override of hovership controls, complete,” said the partially-human android as the ship came to a successive and slow stop, barely managing to cease all momentum before reaching the shore.
Sabrina then dismounted from the panel causing a mess of sparks to fly from the damaged optical circuitry, as her hand slowly returned to its original human form.
“Vice General Politek, this is unlike you,” said a voice that Sabrina was able to recognize from her early days in the Glass Submarine, before becoming one of Hubris’ experiments. She leapt forward and stood on the bow of the ship, laying her artificial eyes on the figures of Commanders Revenant and Dogvale. Revenant wore his usually sadistic smile, while Dogvale retained his serious and dutiful expression.
“The vice-general is usually never this careless. She forgot to make sure that there was no one still awake on the ship...yet even I am surprised to see Hubris’ breakthrough experiment standing before me, aiding the enemy escapees.” Sabrina kept her gaze on the two elites, seemingly unfazed by their intimidating presence.
Just then, it was Vice-General Politek that skimmed on the water at an amazing speed to land on the shore next to her two allies.
“So, sue me. Every now and then, miscalculations are bound to pop up. Let’s just subdue her so we can wait for General Schilling to show up.” Just as the three government elites prepared themselves to capture the last remaining target that was in a position to fight back, Sabrina spoke up to give them a shocking status update.