“That could explain how they keep getting away while everyone else dies. Why has no one else thought of that?”
“Well, there have been some survivors, but there is no one amongst this intel we have that seem to match. It could just be lacking, but I think them working with a Transporter is a safe bet.”
“When you put it that way, that makes this even harder, because it might not even be a vortex user. We are presuming they came here alone. What if they got on the ship via a Transporter?”
“Another good point. This is far more complicated than this mission suggested.”
“So what is our plan if that is the case? How do we identify someone who can just disappear?”
Collapsing on the bed, he leans back, as Phavian cuddles up next to him. Thinking about how this mission could be successful, the outcome was looking more and more bleak. With all the blood on his hands, this would be a great opportunity to start the process of washing some of it clean, if only a small amount. If nothing else, he was determined to save the people on the aircraft carrier if it was the last thing he did. It was when he was thinking about how to go about that, something came to his mind that might solve both their problems.
“I think I will be able to pinpoint the person as I save the carrier.”
Poking his head up, resting his chin on Anaar’s chest with a curious expression, “How do you plan on doing that? Yet another power you haven’t told me about?”
“Yes and no. Something I have been training with Ixnes is fighting for control of the same resource. When trying to wrest control of water that Ixnes is using, or when trying to resist her control of water I am using, it is like a test of strength. Whoever is stronger wins the control, the water doesn’t care. Though all data points to the fact that this person is not a Hydrokinetic, they are still affecting water. I should be able to sense the person who is trying to sink the ship as we are battling for control. If I use that to lead us to the culprit-”
“Then I can fuck ‘em up while you save the day!”
“Not exactly how I was going to put it, but yes. Though I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the person being dead, I think we would come out much better if they are alive. I don’t know how hard a fight it will be, but I think if I can just stall long enough to get to them, we can have our cake and eat it too. Also, now that I think about it, I should be able to detect the change in the water long before the ship first starts to sink.”
“Which will give us a heads up and even more time.”
“Right. The question is, just how badly does this person want the craft to go down? If they stop their efforts as soon as they are met with any resistance, that would make it difficult to track them. The one reason why I think this plan has a high probability of success is because I find it hard to believe that there has never been a single Hydrokinetic on any of the vessels that went down.”
“Do you think they may have tried fighting this person too?”
“Maybe. Even with the rarity of Water Affinities, and specifically Hydrokinetics, it stands to reason they have come up against opposition at least once. If I start out weakly, they may simply push harder and continue, which will allow us to find them. If I just flat out crush them, they may immediately give up and we lose them.”
“Wow, ‘flat out crush them?’ Someone is confident in their abilities.”
“You try having your mentor be the most powerful Hydrokinetic in existence. I think I can reasonably say I can resist someone simply changing the buoyancy of the water.”
“Fair enough. So is that the official plan? You play compass, and I play enforcer?”
“I think so. This is by far the biggest score yet, so it stands to reason they will already be taxing themselves. It shouldn’t take too much more for me to counter the effects. This will let me track them at the same time.”
“If you are much better equipped for this mission than the Headmistress alone, with your similar abilities and freaky brainpower, why are we getting paid shit compared to her?”
“The same reason A-list actors get paid more money than D-list actors. Even if we make a better fit, she has the status and acclaim to warrant the expenditure.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“That’s the world. Now let’s get some sleep.”
“It is early as hell! Why would we go to sleep? I know other things we could be doing…”
Pushing Phavian off him onto the floor, he repositions himself on the bed. “If you were going to attack your biggest target yet, would you do it during the day when everyone is up and alert, ready to respond, or would you attack during the night where there will be less of a response?”
Sighing from the floor, “Whatever you do, please don’t become a bad guy. You are way too smart and good at this shit. It isn’t fair for normal people.”
Ignoring his comment, Anaar turns over, clinging to the pillow. Opting to sleep fully dressed, he found it uncomfortable, as he normally slept in nothing but underwear, but if his theory proved correct, his margin of error could get down to seconds. Taking the time to get dressed before he sought out the source of the incident could prevent him from doing what he came to do. Determined to save the ship and catch the bad guy, he closed his eyes, resting, but more so working himself into more of a meditative state, so that he could sense even the slightest change in the water should it occur.
Waking up with a start, Anaar senses something out of the ordinary. Checking his Vizer, he notices it is just past 3am. Though it is slight, he can definitely feel someone attempting to manipulate the water in the area. Swatting Phavian in the head a few times, he does his best to quickly rouse the sleeping man.
Hobb, I need you to do me a favor. Contact everyone you can to let them know I think the attack is happening and to be on alert. Don’t sound any alarms, just have people move as quickly and quietly as possible to make things happen.
“Understood. I will alert the captain.”
Thanks Hobb.
With Phavian still not awake, he blasts him in the face with water, which immediately elicits a response.
Jumping up still groggy, “What in the hell was that for?”
“We are on a fucking mission! Get your ass in gear! It’s happening!”
Snapping to alertness with impressive speed once he remembered what was going on, “Are you sure?”
“No I’m not sure! It is subtle right now, like they are priming it, so that all at once they can push hard and make the bottom fall out. Either way we need to move. Now!”
Rushing from the room, Phavian stumbles clumsily out the quarters behind him, as Anaar does his best to home in on the disturbance. Because it is so faint and subtle, it is hard to know for sure the exact location, but he is able to get a general direction and that it is below them. The moment he finds stairs that allowed him to descend lower into the hull, he takes them hoping for the signal to get stronger.
With almost twenty minutes passing since they started their search, Anaar was beginning to think he was possibly wrong until he felt a much more substantial shift, and the carrier lurched violently. Pushing against the force, the signal became much clearer, and he found he was getting quite close. He also realized the fight had begun, as the person indeed intended for this to end in their success. Hoping the person did not have nearly the sensory ability he had to alert them to his arrival, he was certain he was within 100 feet or so of the person.
“Phavian, check every room, this person is close, and they are fighting back. The ship is stable for now, but they are really giving it their all. If you find anyone that looks like they are exerting themselves freeze them.”
“Like solid, or…”
“Just make sure they don’t get away!”
“Fine, fine, I get it. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to keep fighting them and try to make a backup plan.”
With a nod, Phavian runs off, checking in the various rooms for anyone who might seem suspicious. Though the person t
hat was fighting him was indeed rather powerful, it was nothing in comparison to Ixnes. He also realized their range was seemingly taxed, as the water much deeper, and even roughly twenty feet outside the carrier was unaffected. Utilizing this information to his advantage, he enacted another plan.
Keeping one part of his mind focused on the battle over the immediate area, with another part of his mind, he began creating a giant whale that was bigger than the carrier, deeper than the influence he and the mysterious person was fighting over. Between the fight and his own other project, he could feel himself tiring out much quicker than normal, as creating something so massive was a feat in itself, but doing that while fighting against someone and trying to track them it was quite taxing.
Lumbering his way toward the signal that was growing in strength, he felt the person push harder on him, which took him by surprise, as he had presumed they were already at their limit. Though he had not completely lost control, he did note the ship was ever so slightly moving deeper. With one final burst, the person pushed past his control, causing the ship to begin sinking again. That surge almost acted as a beacon to the person, and Anaar let his control over the area go, while bringing in the next part of his plan.
Running toward the place he had just felt the pulse, as he realized he had been moving in the wrong direction, he moved the monolithic whale made of living water into place, wrapping it in a barrier to protect it from the person’s potential influence. Programming the whale with a specific duty, it proceeded to act as a mount for the ship to stop its sinking. Finally, he came upon an area that was nearby an exit. Always careful, he shifted his face into its aqueous form to protect his identity, then flung open the door to the chamber.
Inside was a woman who was dressed in a standard crewman’s outfit, thin and fit looking, but clearly at her limit. Reaching out, he could tell she had pushed to the extreme once he let go of his influence, but simply changing the buoyancy of the water was not enough to thwart the massive sea beast doing its job to keep the carrier afloat.
Before the woman had a chance to properly react, not realizing someone would have found her in such a location, Anaar bound her in thick ropes of water, squeezing her tight so she could not escape or even move. Looking up in horror, she was just in time to let out a scream as the ropes solidified into ice. From behind him Phavian had arrived, his search proving empty, so he decided to try the other direction. Noticing Anaar was looking a bit worse for wear, he could only imagine what he was doing to save the carrier. Dashing in, he punches the woman directly in the side of the head, knocking her unconscious immediately.
With the carrier now able to sustain itself as the water was returning to its original buoyancy, the water whale had no problem pushing the vessel back to the surface. Even without its help, once back to the surface it remained steady, allowing Anaar to release his massive construct, and the immense drain it was putting on him to perform its task, as well as the barrier protecting it. The moment he did, he gasped since it was as if he could feel the entire weight of the carrier being lifted off of him. With the imminent threat past and the woman subdued, he slumped to the floor, extremely tired from the struggle.
Thanks to Hobb’s assistance, help arrived soon after to apprehend the woman, and question the two men about the strange turn of events. It was clear the ship had indeed begun to sink, but based on what they knew, it should have gone much quicker, leaving little time to react. Thanking Phavian and Anaar for their work, they were walked back to their chambers where they would rest soundly until James came to pick them up. The woman was given a sedative to prevent her from awakening and causing more trouble, which Anaar was happy about.
When they received their report, they were pleased to find how highly they came commended, as their work was so crisp, most of the personnel of the ship had no idea anything was happening. Because they not only achieved their primary mission with flying colors, capturing the woman rather killing her, and also protected their carrier without incident, they received special recognition from the president, and also double their maximum pay, which made for quite a staggering sum.
Ixnes had also been showered with a hefty amount of attention and praise for cultivating such fine students. As such, the US government more than tripled funding to the school, with the understanding that if a Freshman and a Junior could achieve such a feat, what would the graduates of the academy be like. Lavishing the two with her own praise, she promised that with the number of missions they had gone on recently, and the sums they obtained, they had more than earned a break.
Thankful for the opportunity to return to a quieter school life where they could simply be students and enjoy their friends, Phavian and Anaar began working hard to make up for lost time. Their friends were all too excited to take them up on the offer to spend more time together. With their free time back, they could turn their sights to the end of their second trimester, and the finals that were on their way.
26
Pleasantly surprised and excited by the turnout, Stefani waits as another person sets up their tools. For the past two weeks she had been tirelessly promoting a new initiative around campus. She wanted to start either a band, or a small orchestra, depending upon the interest.
She had tried her best to put on her own solo concerts, but not many people were interested in more classical styles. Over time she had learned that people would be much more amenable to covers of more popular music, but she lacked the background in such things. It was at this point she realized she would be better off seeking assistance, while surrounding herself with other lovers of music.
The fliers she had made, both paper and digital, since most people checked their Vizers religiously, asked for people of varying skill levels, because if someone had enough heart, she would be more than happy to mentor them if she could. From what she could tell, no one had ever attempted their own musical organization on campus. Most college campuses at least had some sort of acapella group, but Sophangence was sorely lacking. To her it was completely nonsensical that being talented in combat meant everything else must fall by the wayside.
With the person’s preparations completed, they finally began to play. She watched the acne riddled woman, mousy and shy, begin long vibrating strokes along the cello in between her thighs. Though the handling of her bow could use work, and there were clear moments she missed, it was obvious the woman was pouring her all into the performance. When the music had stopped, she gave the woman a brief round of applause, letting her know that she would be in touch.
One of the greatest advantages she found doing the tryouts in the auditorium was she could easily have Hobb record and categorize each one for review later. Because she was not sure what exactly she was trying to create, she would rather not disregard one person because they were focused on a style she was not as familiar with and it turned out they were a true talent that could contribute to the overall growth of her project. She made her own notes immediately about the woman’s performance, then went to get the next person.
Something she did not have experience with was the logistics of the music industry. She had always gone to tryouts herself and worked with her manager, so there was no need for her to figure out times, venues, and tryouts for larger productions. This was all handled for her, even when she was the headliner. She was simply the talent. Now she found herself wishing she had paid closer attention to the workings of such things, as even on such a small scale as this, having an assistant or two would have gone a long way.
The next man, quite brawny, with a serious expression, strode confidently into the auditorium, taking a seat behind the piano. Stefani felt a small pang of shame, as she had immediately judged the man due to his appearance. For some reason his build simply did not fit with her idea of someone who would be capable of playing beautiful music. Silently reprimanding herself for being so judgmental, she sat down, giving the man to signal to begin whenever he was ready.
As he began to play, she immediately realized her mi
stake, as the man was quite skilled. The medley of upbeat tunes that he played seemed as if they were more contemporary in nature, which was something that excited her. What was most shocking to her was when he opened his mouth and began to sing at one point, his baritone voice quite smooth, working with the key and tempo of the piano. When he was done, she immediately stood, clapping vigorously, and asked if he had ever composed anything original. Though he responded he had not, he did mention that he would like to try it, but his composition skills were rather poor, as even his ability to read music was lacking. Taking notes of all these things Stefani thanked him and went to find the next person.
This process went on for the next two hours, some of the people making Stefani wonder if it were their first time touching their instrument or singing. Though she appreciated the interest, it being much greater of a turnout than she expected, she found the best was definitely not saved for last. She had three violinists, if they could be called that, in a row that were little more than an ear-splitting racket of screeches and scrapes. Ever the diplomat, Stefani still grit her teeth and smiled, thanking them for their time.
With the auditions finished, she left the auditorium in deep thought, turning over the various performances she had seen. There were some genuine talents among the bunch, that much was certain, however the vast majority left much to be desired. This made her seriously reevaluate her thought that heart was enough to make up for talent. She did not want to come across as a diva, but for some of them, she realized there was not enough heart in the world to make up for their lack.
As she sat on the shuttle, she found herself coming more to the understanding that she would rather not spend the time trying to cultivate someone. She felt slightly ashamed of her revelation, but after listening to the people who had auditioned, she knew that if she wanted to teach people music, she would have gone about it a different way. To make up for her feelings, she thought she could perhaps take the opportunity to start a student mentoring group for those that clearly had the desire, but not the talent or training to be successful. Finding this idea soothed her conscience, she was surprised to find where her body had led her.
Divulgence (Song of Sophangence Book 2) Page 31