You people have got to stop leaving me with ties to resolve! ;p
Morning Day Four, Seized Fire Nation Vessel - Western Ocean
My mind ran through the possibilities quickly. Plans were proposed,
examined and discarded in droves. My fingers laced around the rail
and I stared out into the ocean, trying to see the pillar of black
smoke that was our enemy. No matter what way I looked at it we were
outmatched. The Fire Nation would have trained and experienced
sailors on board, and Tyro's crew barely knew how to keep this thing
moving. Running, fighting, staying here; all of them put us at a
disadvantage.
There was only one solution.
“We need to attack that ship,” I said, turning to face Tyro.
“Are
you crazy?” he
barked, his eyes widening. “We're no match for them on the open
ocean.”
“Exactly.” I snapped back. “And that is how we beat them.” I
strode past him. “I need to talk to Ed, he's our only hope that
this can work.”
“Ch-chief?” one of the men asked nervously as I stepped out of
earshot of them. I didn't have time to waste on questions, there was
the fact of seeing if this would work at all.
Ed was frowning towards the horizon when I approached, standing with
the aid of his makeshift crutch. He wobbled slightly as the ship
bobbed in the waves. “So, what's going on?” he asked.
“Fire Nation ship, probably heading right for us.”
“Running or fighting?” he asked, grimacing.
“How were you planning on keeping me alive down there?” I
pointed at the sunken derrick.
He frowned. “Is this really the time? We have people coming
straight at us? And if firebending is even half as dangerous as
Mustang's Flame Alchemy then we're in deep trouble.”
“We can deal with the firebenders,” I said sharply. “But I
need to know how you planned to keep me alive underwater.”
Ed flexed the fingers on his free hand and his frown deepened. “An
air hose,” he said.
“Air hose?”
He nodded. “Back in Amestris I fought a guy who had this armour
which was basically invincible. The trick was that the armour wasn't
made of metal at all, just carbon in a particular configuration. It's
extremely flexible and strong. If we made a hose out of it and ran it
from the surface, we could feed you air down there and you wouldn't
have to worry about the cord snapping.”
I frowned. “You'd need a pump to push air down the tube or the
water pressure would grow too strong,” I pointed out.
“Is that true?” He shrugged. “I'm not much of an expert on
this ocean stuff.”
“Where were you going to get the carbon for this air hose?” I
asked, my mind already whirling.
“There's plenty of coal on board. One hundred percent carbon.”
He grinned.
“And this stuff makes good armour?” I asked.
“Nearly perfect,” he said, frowning. “What are you planning?”
“I'm going to sink their ship,” I said. “Now, how did you plan
on using alchemy under water?”
“Glass,” he said. “Draw the array on parchment, then encase
the parchment in glass. Waterproof. Just slap it against the
structure and there you go, instant underwater array.”
“Where were you going to get the glass?” I asked.
“Glass is just melted sand. Sand is just ground up rock.” He
pointed at the 'ammunition' piles strapped to the deck.
I smiled. Oh yes, this was going to be beautiful. “Perfect. Meet
me down in the engine room, I just need one more thing.” I paused.
“And start working on the arrays to make this wonder material and
your glass.”
He watched me heading towards the cluster of earthbenders for a few
seconds then shook his head and walked to the hatch. Tyro and the
rest of his crew were arguing loudly as I approached.
“...have
to get between the range of their catapults and their firebending.
Then we can lop rock missiles at them and sink their ship.”
“There is no way they'll let us get that close. They can run rings
around us. If we start running now we can make it to shore,”
another said.
“And lead them right back to our harbour? And the village?” Tyro
shook his head.
“Tyro, I need to know two things.”
He glanced at me. “What is it?”
“Can you earthbend the coal?” I asked.
He smiled grimly. “Yes.” His expression lightened. “But that
is our fuel and two small to damage their hull.”
“The hull I can take care of.” I waved aside his concern. “How
far can you earthbend? Your maximum range?”
“Longer when my feet are on the ground,” he said. “Out here on
the ocean?” He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Depends, I can
throw something pretty far, but I'll loose stopping power and control
will be impossible after maybe ten bu.”
“Bu?” I asked.
“About as long as one of those stones,” He gestured towards the
rocks.
“So, fifteen metres,” I said, running my tongue over my teeth.
“You said control, what about not so fine. I only need something to
push in the right direction and keep it level.”
“Maybe twice that far. But not with nearly enough power to do any
damage.”
“That won't be necessary.” I waved his concern aside. I looked
at the trebuchets on the deck. “Maximum range on those can't be
more than three hundred meters. Still way out of range.” I nodded.
“We're going to have to trick them.”
Tyro crossed his arms. “Okay, I'm going to have to insist you
explain this to me. I'm in charge here.”
So I did.
*
Tyro followed me into the engine room. It was crowded and nearly
deafening. The furnace roared and the boiler hissed as three soot
coated earthbenders inexpertly adjusted the controls. Ed was sitting
near the coal pile, which was separated from the boiler by a small
door and filled most of the other room. At his feet were a half dozen
sheets of parchment, covered in elaborate diagrams. Another few
sheets of parchment were crumbled into balls at his feet. His cheeks
was stained with ink and he was chewing on the end of the brush.
“Ed, are you ready?”
“I hope so...” Ed looked up at me and his eyes widened as Tyro
dropped one of the huge stones next to him. “Uh, wow, that's even
more impressive up close. How do they do that...”
I snapped my fingers in his face. “Focus.” He gave me a sour
look.
“I'm focused,” he said.
“I don't like this plan.” Tyro said to me.
“It's the only one that will work. We need to get under the range
of those catapults. Surrendering is the only way to do that.”
He grunted and turned away to start ordering his three engineers.
After a few second of adjusting dials and levers the ship lurched
forward under our feet. Ed wove back and forth and snapped his hand
to the ground to keep himself steady. “I'm beginning to hate sea
travel,” he said with a grumble.
I sat down next to him. “We don't have much time. They're going to
move this ship up to the other one. If it starts coming towards us
we're only going to have maybe an hour before we meet each other.”
“We're moving towards the bad guys?” Ed asked.
“We need to get as close to them as possible.” I grabbed some of
the unused parchment from the bag Ed had taken on board. “Do you
have a spare brush?” I asked.
“Yeah, here,” he pulled a brush out of his pocket. I grabbed it
and dipped it in the nearby inkwell before I started sketching. “What
are you doing?”
“Mechanical design,” I said. “One of the things I studied.”
Oh, what I wouldn't do for a good drafting pencil? This brush was too
imprecise! Still, I soldiered on. “I need you to help me make some
things with alchemy.”
“Such as?”
“This.” I handed him the first sketch. “The pump for the air.”
Ed blinked. “This is...” He frowned at it. “Not very complex.
Six moving parts? I can make the individual bits, especially if we
can salvage some of the spare fitting from the engine room.
Assembling it would be a bit of a problem. This is a complex task.”
“And this,” I handed him the second one.
He looked at it. “Is this all one piece?”
“No, see on the back of the head?” I pointed to a section of the
drawing. “It snaps off.”
He frowned and turned it upside down. “Yeah, okay. I see it now.”
Ed's gold eyes narrowed. “This is some fairly complex alchemy. It's
definitely not beginner stuff.”
“Thankfully, I have my wonderful teacher here to help me,” I
said with mock cheerfulness as I continued sketching.
“Ugh,” he stuck his tongue out. “Okay, I think I can get these
to work.”
“And then I need some arrays in glass. But I remember the array in
question, so I can do those while you work on your part.”
“You remember?” he asked.
“It was the first array you taught me. It will be perfect for
this.” I held up the finished array. “How does it look?”
Ed's eyes widened and he stared at me. “You... really remembered
that array from just one use?” He grabbed it and went over it for a
few seconds in silence. “No way... one time, and reproduced this
faithfully?” He shook his head slowly.
“Nin, do you still need me down here?” Tyro asked as he walked
over.
“Yeah, best if you stay below decks for now, and I need to test to
make certain this will work.”
He looked like he was going to protest then stopped. “I just need
to give my men the final instructions, then I'll be back.” He
turned and marched stiffly out of the room.
“Right,” Ed rolled up his sleeves. “Let's get started.”
*
“By all the spirits!”
Tyro's eyes were shaking in his skull as he pointed at the device
revealed by the rapidly fading could of smoke (“Excess matter
runoff,” Ed explained. “Try not to breath it in.”). The metal
pumping device was crude but looked complete. I leaned down an
examined it, making certain the hose could connect smoothly. If it
didn't, I'd probably asphyxiate.
“Looks good,” I said. “Not perfect, but it will work long
enough.”
“Good.” Ed gestured to the pile. “I'll start on the second
array then, you get the coal. We'll need precisely one hundred
kilos.”
“Tyro, could you help me to move the coal to the centre of that
circle?” I asked, pointing to the cleared space.
“You bent metal!” Tyro gasped, his eyes still wide. “You.
Bent. METAL.” He and the three engineers were all staring at me in
awe.
“I transmuted metal,” I corrected.
“That's impossible.” His head waved back and forth in denial.
“No earthbender can bend metal.”
“I'm not an earthbender,” I reminded him. “I'm an alchemist.”
I paused. “In training.”
“Alchemist?”
“Someone
who can do that to metal,” I said. “Now we're less than a half
hour from being within range of that Fire Nation ship and we need to
hurry.”
“Right, right...” He was looking at me with something that was
either new found respect, or religious terror, I couldn't tell.
The hardest part was measuring the weight of the coal. But
eventually it was all pile din the centre of the alchemy circle Ed
sketched on the floor. Tyro bending proved invaluable since he could
float the nuggets over the circle without risking scuffing out Ed's
work with our feet. Ed finally stepped back and nodded. “It's as
good as it's going to get.” He looked at me. “Just like before,
take your time. If I see anything that even resembles a rebound I
will break your connection manually.” Which meant he would tackle
me away from the circle and hope the rebound didn't eat my arms or
any of him.
“Right, wish me luck.” Taking a deep breath I crouched next to
the array and placed my hands on it. My eyes examined the entire
thing before I closed them. The symbol was burned into my mind. I let
out a deep breath and listened to the voices.
Heat ran up my arms, flooded my chest and burned up my neck and into
my brain. It didn't hurt. Far from it. I could hear the Voices in my
mind, roaring and shouting and arguing with each other. I wanted to
sit there, to just relish in the familiar sound of them. But I
didn't. Instead I had to impose order on them. It was like running
through the house, screaming to be heard over the cacophony, bringing
it into unison. The symbols of the array shifted in my mind. The
equation balanced itself. From cacophony, came chorus.
My eyes snapped open as the reaction finished. Blue lightning danced
across the interior of the engine room, and slowly built itself back
into the hose and suit. I grinned. Barely even any smoke that time.
“Wonder of wonders,” Tyro breathed. “I've never seen
earthbending like that.”
“And Ed has never seen anything like your earthbending,” I told
him. “If you would please, try to life the suit.”
He glanced at me then at the black garment. Nodding his head he
walked over and touched it. A look of surprise crossed his features
before he walked back to me. “It is made of earth,” he said in
wonder. “But like no earth I've ever felt before.”
“Carbon nanotubes,” I said with a grin. “Can you lift it?”
“I think so.” He reached out with one hand, then the other. His
legs shifted apart as he widened his stance. His mouth compressed
into a thin line. Then he gestured sharply upward with a loud grunt.
The suit floated into the air in front of him. He smiled. “Yes, it
appears I can.”
I strode over and grabbed it out of the air. “Good. Now I...” I
paused and looked at everyone. My cheeks suddenly started burning. “I
just need to get changed.”
“What's the problem?” Tyro asked.
“I...” I looked at all of them as they stared expectantly. The
diving suit was skintight by design. I would have to strip entirely
before putting it on. The thought of doing that in front of a bunch
of men caused me to panic more than the idea of fighting a bunch of
firebenders by myself. Life is funny like that.
“I'll just go change!” I squeaked out. “Ed, finish those glass
arrays!” I darted from the room.
*
The
ocean was cold. That was the first thought in my head as I sunk below
the waves. The light dimmed. The glass goggles Ed had helped me
fashion with alchemy immediately fogged up and I bit back a curse.
For a moment I continued to sink, and my mind wondered what it would
be like to just continue dropping. The suit I wore was very light,
and I could have swam but out here in the deep ocean that would only
delay the inevitable. Then I stopped abruptly, my body jarring with
the force of it.
I was in Tyro's hands now, figuratively speaking.
The Fire Nation ship had been well within eyeshot when I was dumped
over the back, out of their line of sight. It would only be a few
hundred meters until we were within bombardment range of their
catapults. Everything relied on the firebenders being more eager to
capture the crew than sink the ship. The whole plan hinged on that.
If everything I had heard was true, then there should be no doubt.
Yet what sounded good up in the clear air surrounded by strong men
sounded very different in the cold deep, hanging by a thread and held
in place by a force you couldn't even see or understand.
It was the quiet I hated. Hanging in that cold darkness, barely able
to make out more than dim shadows through my fogged over goggles, the
only sound was the constant hiss of the pump in the back of the suit
as dry air was pushed into the suit. Two strong men were operating
the pump, hopefully with the even strokes I had shown them. Otherwise
the pump might break and then I'd be in even more trouble. These
thoughts rose unbidden in the silence.
I hated silence.
Would I even know if the other vessel opened fire? My first clue
would be when I suddenly started dropping down, my air hose flailing
above me. Then snapping loose of its hosing and the only sound would
be the quiet rush of water flooding in...
Stop it!
Was that a shape up ahead? It was dark and huge. A shadow in the
meager light. It had to be a shape! I reached up, my actions sluggish
in the water resistance and tugged on the hose once. Somewhere up
above Ed got my signal. Hopefully.
Two jerks.
Not close enough.
The shadow grew larger. My heart was pounding. My skin was crawling.
I wanted OUT. I wanted to scramble up the umbilical and out of this
cold, quiet hell. Why had I ever agreed to this? Why had I ever
thought this was a good idea? My hands clutched at the mask. It was
too tight. I couldn't breath.
Three jerks. It was the only warning I got before I was suddenly
flying forward through the water. There was no way to describe it
accept as surreal. My suit was pulling me forward, the entire thing
rushing forward. I was just along for the ride. The shadow in front
of me loomed closer and closer, growing until it blacked out
everything else.
I was coming in too fast!
I flinched, but just before I hit I felt myself slow down. Then
gently my body pressed against something large and cold and metal.
The Fire Nation ship. My hands scrambled over the surface, searching
for purchase. It wasn't hard to find. From a distance the ships
looked sleek and menacing, but up close the welding was crude and
primitive. The plates overlapped and gave enough handholds that I was
able to guide my motion around the side of the metal behemoth.
The quiet hell grew more bearable now that I was partially in
control of my own fate. I felt the “grip” on me from Tyro's
earthbending weakening with each meter I moved down the enemies hull.
In my mind the layout of the ship was front and centre. I could only
hope that they built these things to a single plan. There was a tug
on my umbilical.
Out of slack. This would have to do.
My
hand fished into the bag at my side and pulled out one of the
glass-encased arrays. With a curse it slipped through my fingers,
plummeting into the abyss. Underwater glass was slippery! Who knew?
That left me with only two arrays. One more loss and this plan was
history. Moving much more carefully, able to use only one hand as the
other partially gripped a seam in the ships hull I pulled the back-up
array out. With a smooth motion I slapped it against the hull.
I couldn't see it!
Cursing may not have helped, but it certainly felt good. I pressed
the glasses of my goggles against the thing glass of the array. Not
to hard, or it would break... I had to be able to see it. There.
Shapes and symbols. Blurry, but good enough I hoped.
Draw a deep breath. No closing my eyes this time.
The chorus became the cacophony.
The reaction was more spectacular than I could have hoped for.
Underwater lightning flashed across the hull, a perfect circle in all
direction. The water bubbled and hissed. Then red spread from the
centre outward. The reaction was even stronger, but then again it was
drawing on the nearby ocean to speed up the oxidation. Otherwise
known as rust.
In fact, the reaction went too fast. Before I could pull myself away
like planned the entire circle of rust imploded into the ship. The
water pressure pulled me in like a fly caught in a draining sink. I
felt the hose draw taunt against that pull as it hopelessly fought to
tether me, then the emergency valve broke and I was free. My body was
dashed against the side of the whole and i felt something sharp press
painfully against my skin. The suit held and then I was slammed into
the far wall of the interior corridor. For the next few seconds I
tumbled helplessly in the grip of the water. I saw men in red armour
and more casual garb bowled off their feet all around me.
My body stopped tumbling before my mind did. I pulled myself
unsteadily to my feet. My hands tore away my mask, and I coughed out
a lungful of water that had been forced down my throat. The water was
up to my knees and I could hear it roaring into the corridor. My eyes
cleared and I saw a half dozen men scattered all around me.
A women turned the corner, her feet splashing in the rapidly
flooding corridor. Her hair was black and she wore a slightly more
feminine version of the standard armour. “What is going on down
here?” she shouted.
I reacted on instinct, plowing into her with my shoulder down. I
proved stronger and heavier, but the water made my footing poor and
we both went over. I kept my head above the surging flood, she did
not. Grabbing her shoulders I knocked her head against the floor and
her struggles ceased.
Men were getting up behind me, groaning. I stood up, picking up the
woman's limp body and flinging it behind me without looking. Shouts
and cries of alarm went up. I started running. The water was up to my
waist now. I could feel the ship beginning to list.
One hand found my pack, confirmed it hadn't been torn free. The
array inside was still in one piece, though I could feel the glass
had cracked. I could only hope that it had remained water free and
not torn to pieces, there certainly wasn't enough time to check. I
pulled my knife, holding the blade away from me.
I turned a corner and three men waited for me. Two were armed with
spears, one was standing before them, trying to maintain his stance
as the water flowed up his thighs. “Intruder!” the man snarled.
“Stop right there!”
That was the only path to the engine room. I needed to go through. I
ran forward, the water splashing loudly all around me. The air was
full of curses and screams and cries. The man stepped forward, his
movement slightly off. His fist came up. Sparks danced along his
knuckles.
I dove. The jet of flame was weak, glancing off the water as I
plunged under it. I was moving with the current, he was fighting
against it. Firebenders fought from their base.
My arms wrapped around his legs, pulling them out from under him and
sending him tumbling behind me. My knife came up and suddenly the
water bloomed red, a perfect hamstring.
The spear caught me before I could even begin to recover. I shouted
in pain, swallowing water. I curled into a ball on instinct, allowing
the water to send me tumbling past. I came against a wall with a
painful jolt and slid to my feet, clutching my shoulder. The water
had dulled the impact some, the suit hadn't broken. Still my shoulder
felt like someone had smashed down on it with a hammer, even worse
than the pain in my ribs from being dashed against the hull.
Dislocated.
One of the armoured goons was charging at me down the flooded
hallway. The other was helping the man I had attacked to his feet. My
hand flashed out and I threw the knife. It clattered off the soldiers
faceplate, spinning into the water and vanishing. No damage at all,
but it made him flinch.
A wordless roar escaped my lips and I rushed forward, grabbing the
haft of the spear just below the blade with my good hand. The
soldiers snarled at me. He jerked his blade. His grip was better. I
was pulled off my feet. The wall crashed against my back. I cried and
let go.
He flowed smoothly, his spear coming up. It was aimed at my face. I
jerked my head to the side at the last second. Sparks filled my
vision. Pain bloomed across my cheek. My forearm came down on the
haft. The wood splintered.
The soldiers danced back as best he could in the current. It was up
to mid chest now. I rose from the water, my fingers finding and
gripping the spearhead before the current could carry it away.
“Juichiro!” the other soldier cried and tossed his spear. The
soldier caught it, but turned away from me slightly to do so. My feet
scrambled for purchase on the slick floor and I barrelled into him.
The air exploded from both our lungs.
The blade pressed against my glove, not meant to be wielding this
way. I brought it up sharply and the man screamed as it sunk into his
bicep. His arm twitched and he released the spear. I caught it and
backed off four steps, spinning the weapon around and pointing it at
him.
“Stay!” I barked and then turned and ran.
The engine room was in the back of the ship, the water was barely a
trickle I reached it. There were no more soldiers, but I could hear
the commotion on the deck. Loud crashes and shouts and the a sound
like a dozen bonfires being doused with gasoline. I needed to hurry.
I paused only long enough to smash my shoulder into a wall, popping
the join back in with a mind-searing crack.
The engine room door was open. The entire compartment, the whole
ship, was listing dangerously to the side. It was sinking, but not
fast enough. Four men stood in the room, two of them standing in
front of the furnace and constantly punching balls of flame into the
open flame. The other two were shovelling coal. One turned and
noticed me running up the hall, spear in hand.
“Look out!” he shouted and turned to face me with his shovel. He
sprinted into the hallway, thrusting the spade at me. He was no
soldier. I knocked his weapon to the side with my spear and clocked
him upside the head with the reverse motion. He crumbled like a
puppet with its strings cut.
The two firebenders were a much worse threat. They both had plenty
of time to set themselves. The water wasn't even lapping over their
shoes. Charging them was pure suicide.
I launched my spear at them. One stepped forward, kicking his legs
up. A curtain of fire cascading from the soles of his feet, flaring
out and catching the spear in mid air. It burned to a crisp almost
instantly, the steel blade tumbling harmlessly past their head to
clang against the boiler behind them.
The other stepped in front of him, his feet shifting and kicking up
a spray of water. His hands scissored and two streamers of flame
burst out at chest height. I fell under them, the heat washing over
my back. I felt the suit burn as my chest slammed into the water on
the floor. I slid forward, my hands pulling my bag out front.
The first firebender jumped over me, pulling his fist straight up
into the air. I slammed the final array on the ground, right in front
of the boiler. It was miraculously in one piece. No time to think.
Just react!
Blue lighting erupted all around me in a widening circle. Prepared
this time I rolled to the side as the reaction left a red circle in
my wake. A pillar of fire slammed into the circle as the firebender
fell where I had been. The floor vanished into red flakes underneath
him. He didn't even have a chance to scream before he vanished into
the suddenly revealed water.
The two standing men in the room stared in shock as I rolled over
and flipped to my feet with as much grace as I could manage. “I
wouldn't want to be in here when that boiler falls apart,” I said,
pointing at the listing furnace and boiler as it began to shriek and
tremble with most of its base gone.
I didn't look back but I could hear feet pounding after me as I
sprinted from the room. I paused only long enough to scope up the man
I had knocked out. I managed to make it around a corner before the
thing exploded.
The entire ship shuddered and I could hear the terrible sound of
iron and steel tearing itself apart. The explosion was still smaller
than I had expected. Of course, if it had been any larger I probably
would be dead now. The gods must look out for fools, I suppose.
Even so, with two giant holes in it this ship was not long for this
world. I threw the man I was carrying towards the firebender who had
fled the engine room. He caught the man numbly, staring at me. I
raised my hands. “I surrender. Bring me to your captain.”
“What?” the man gasped.
“Unless you want to sink to the bottom of the ocean, I'd bring me
to your captain so he can formally surrender to the earthbenders in
the other ship.”
For a few seconds he could only stare at me in mute horror.
*
Tyro laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. I bit back a shriek and
settled on only collapsing to my knees and moaning. The man looked
apologetic, but couldn't stop chuckling. Ed helped me to my feet.
“I still can't believe it,” Tyro said. “An entire Fire Nation
ship. Practically by yourself.” He shook his head in wonder.
“Alchemists are scary.”
“I had a lot of help.” I pointed out, bitting back the pain. Now
that the adreniline was dying down my body felt like it had been run
through industrial machinery. My ribs were probably cracked, my
shoulder was one giant bruise, my left hand was sore, my cheek was
bleeding and there were blisters all down my back. “I couldn't have
done anything if we hadn't worked together.”
“Still, it's amazing.” Tyro shook his head and looked towards
the prisoners. There were almost a hundred of them. The majority were
crowded near the bow of the ship, just regular Fire Nation soldiers.
About two dozen were sitting in front of them, there arms and legs
trapped in blocks of granite. The firebenders. None of them looked
happy. The earthbenders carrying spears pointed at them probably
didn't help. “That Avatar himself would be proud of this victory.”
“So, what do we do with them?” Ed asked.
[ ]Offer to let them go in exchange for information about the missing
people.
[ ]Leave me alone with the captain for five minutes. He'll tell me
everything.
[ ]Contact the fire nation. We can probably ransom them back.
[ ]They're too much trouble. Drop them into the ocean.
Note: Due to the delay caused by rolling blackouts last night, voting for next chapter will be open until noon EST tomorrow (and the same the next day). Regular shcedule will be resumed after the weekend.
----------------
Epsilon
Morning Day Four, Seized Fire Nation Vessel - Western Ocean
My mind ran through the possibilities quickly. Plans were proposed,
examined and discarded in droves. My fingers laced around the rail
and I stared out into the ocean, trying to see the pillar of black
smoke that was our enemy. No matter what way I looked at it we were
outmatched. The Fire Nation would have trained and experienced
sailors on board, and Tyro's crew barely knew how to keep this thing
moving. Running, fighting, staying here; all of them put us at a
disadvantage.
There was only one solution.
“We need to attack that ship,” I said, turning to face Tyro.
“Are
you crazy?” he
barked, his eyes widening. “We're no match for them on the open
ocean.”
“Exactly.” I snapped back. “And that is how we beat them.” I
strode past him. “I need to talk to Ed, he's our only hope that
this can work.”
“Ch-chief?” one of the men asked nervously as I stepped out of
earshot of them. I didn't have time to waste on questions, there was
the fact of seeing if this would work at all.
Ed was frowning towards the horizon when I approached, standing with
the aid of his makeshift crutch. He wobbled slightly as the ship
bobbed in the waves. “So, what's going on?” he asked.
“Fire Nation ship, probably heading right for us.”
“Running or fighting?” he asked, grimacing.
“How were you planning on keeping me alive down there?” I
pointed at the sunken derrick.
He frowned. “Is this really the time? We have people coming
straight at us? And if firebending is even half as dangerous as
Mustang's Flame Alchemy then we're in deep trouble.”
“We can deal with the firebenders,” I said sharply. “But I
need to know how you planned to keep me alive underwater.”
Ed flexed the fingers on his free hand and his frown deepened. “An
air hose,” he said.
“Air hose?”
He nodded. “Back in Amestris I fought a guy who had this armour
which was basically invincible. The trick was that the armour wasn't
made of metal at all, just carbon in a particular configuration. It's
extremely flexible and strong. If we made a hose out of it and ran it
from the surface, we could feed you air down there and you wouldn't
have to worry about the cord snapping.”
I frowned. “You'd need a pump to push air down the tube or the
water pressure would grow too strong,” I pointed out.
“Is that true?” He shrugged. “I'm not much of an expert on
this ocean stuff.”
“Where were you going to get the carbon for this air hose?” I
asked, my mind already whirling.
“There's plenty of coal on board. One hundred percent carbon.”
He grinned.
“And this stuff makes good armour?” I asked.
“Nearly perfect,” he said, frowning. “What are you planning?”
“I'm going to sink their ship,” I said. “Now, how did you plan
on using alchemy under water?”
“Glass,” he said. “Draw the array on parchment, then encase
the parchment in glass. Waterproof. Just slap it against the
structure and there you go, instant underwater array.”
“Where were you going to get the glass?” I asked.
“Glass is just melted sand. Sand is just ground up rock.” He
pointed at the 'ammunition' piles strapped to the deck.
I smiled. Oh yes, this was going to be beautiful. “Perfect. Meet
me down in the engine room, I just need one more thing.” I paused.
“And start working on the arrays to make this wonder material and
your glass.”
He watched me heading towards the cluster of earthbenders for a few
seconds then shook his head and walked to the hatch. Tyro and the
rest of his crew were arguing loudly as I approached.
“...have
to get between the range of their catapults and their firebending.
Then we can lop rock missiles at them and sink their ship.”
“There is no way they'll let us get that close. They can run rings
around us. If we start running now we can make it to shore,”
another said.
“And lead them right back to our harbour? And the village?” Tyro
shook his head.
“Tyro, I need to know two things.”
He glanced at me. “What is it?”
“Can you earthbend the coal?” I asked.
He smiled grimly. “Yes.” His expression lightened. “But that
is our fuel and two small to damage their hull.”
“The hull I can take care of.” I waved aside his concern. “How
far can you earthbend? Your maximum range?”
“Longer when my feet are on the ground,” he said. “Out here on
the ocean?” He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. “Depends, I can
throw something pretty far, but I'll loose stopping power and control
will be impossible after maybe ten bu.”
“Bu?” I asked.
“About as long as one of those stones,” He gestured towards the
rocks.
“So, fifteen metres,” I said, running my tongue over my teeth.
“You said control, what about not so fine. I only need something to
push in the right direction and keep it level.”
“Maybe twice that far. But not with nearly enough power to do any
damage.”
“That won't be necessary.” I waved his concern aside. I looked
at the trebuchets on the deck. “Maximum range on those can't be
more than three hundred meters. Still way out of range.” I nodded.
“We're going to have to trick them.”
Tyro crossed his arms. “Okay, I'm going to have to insist you
explain this to me. I'm in charge here.”
So I did.
*
Tyro followed me into the engine room. It was crowded and nearly
deafening. The furnace roared and the boiler hissed as three soot
coated earthbenders inexpertly adjusted the controls. Ed was sitting
near the coal pile, which was separated from the boiler by a small
door and filled most of the other room. At his feet were a half dozen
sheets of parchment, covered in elaborate diagrams. Another few
sheets of parchment were crumbled into balls at his feet. His cheeks
was stained with ink and he was chewing on the end of the brush.
“Ed, are you ready?”
“I hope so...” Ed looked up at me and his eyes widened as Tyro
dropped one of the huge stones next to him. “Uh, wow, that's even
more impressive up close. How do they do that...”
I snapped my fingers in his face. “Focus.” He gave me a sour
look.
“I'm focused,” he said.
“I don't like this plan.” Tyro said to me.
“It's the only one that will work. We need to get under the range
of those catapults. Surrendering is the only way to do that.”
He grunted and turned away to start ordering his three engineers.
After a few second of adjusting dials and levers the ship lurched
forward under our feet. Ed wove back and forth and snapped his hand
to the ground to keep himself steady. “I'm beginning to hate sea
travel,” he said with a grumble.
I sat down next to him. “We don't have much time. They're going to
move this ship up to the other one. If it starts coming towards us
we're only going to have maybe an hour before we meet each other.”
“We're moving towards the bad guys?” Ed asked.
“We need to get as close to them as possible.” I grabbed some of
the unused parchment from the bag Ed had taken on board. “Do you
have a spare brush?” I asked.
“Yeah, here,” he pulled a brush out of his pocket. I grabbed it
and dipped it in the nearby inkwell before I started sketching. “What
are you doing?”
“Mechanical design,” I said. “One of the things I studied.”
Oh, what I wouldn't do for a good drafting pencil? This brush was too
imprecise! Still, I soldiered on. “I need you to help me make some
things with alchemy.”
“Such as?”
“This.” I handed him the first sketch. “The pump for the air.”
Ed blinked. “This is...” He frowned at it. “Not very complex.
Six moving parts? I can make the individual bits, especially if we
can salvage some of the spare fitting from the engine room.
Assembling it would be a bit of a problem. This is a complex task.”
“And this,” I handed him the second one.
He looked at it. “Is this all one piece?”
“No, see on the back of the head?” I pointed to a section of the
drawing. “It snaps off.”
He frowned and turned it upside down. “Yeah, okay. I see it now.”
Ed's gold eyes narrowed. “This is some fairly complex alchemy. It's
definitely not beginner stuff.”
“Thankfully, I have my wonderful teacher here to help me,” I
said with mock cheerfulness as I continued sketching.
“Ugh,” he stuck his tongue out. “Okay, I think I can get these
to work.”
“And then I need some arrays in glass. But I remember the array in
question, so I can do those while you work on your part.”
“You remember?” he asked.
“It was the first array you taught me. It will be perfect for
this.” I held up the finished array. “How does it look?”
Ed's eyes widened and he stared at me. “You... really remembered
that array from just one use?” He grabbed it and went over it for a
few seconds in silence. “No way... one time, and reproduced this
faithfully?” He shook his head slowly.
“Nin, do you still need me down here?” Tyro asked as he walked
over.
“Yeah, best if you stay below decks for now, and I need to test to
make certain this will work.”
He looked like he was going to protest then stopped. “I just need
to give my men the final instructions, then I'll be back.” He
turned and marched stiffly out of the room.
“Right,” Ed rolled up his sleeves. “Let's get started.”
*
“By all the spirits!”
Tyro's eyes were shaking in his skull as he pointed at the device
revealed by the rapidly fading could of smoke (“Excess matter
runoff,” Ed explained. “Try not to breath it in.”). The metal
pumping device was crude but looked complete. I leaned down an
examined it, making certain the hose could connect smoothly. If it
didn't, I'd probably asphyxiate.
“Looks good,” I said. “Not perfect, but it will work long
enough.”
“Good.” Ed gestured to the pile. “I'll start on the second
array then, you get the coal. We'll need precisely one hundred
kilos.”
“Tyro, could you help me to move the coal to the centre of that
circle?” I asked, pointing to the cleared space.
“You bent metal!” Tyro gasped, his eyes still wide. “You.
Bent. METAL.” He and the three engineers were all staring at me in
awe.
“I transmuted metal,” I corrected.
“That's impossible.” His head waved back and forth in denial.
“No earthbender can bend metal.”
“I'm not an earthbender,” I reminded him. “I'm an alchemist.”
I paused. “In training.”
“Alchemist?”
“Someone
who can do that to metal,” I said. “Now we're less than a half
hour from being within range of that Fire Nation ship and we need to
hurry.”
“Right, right...” He was looking at me with something that was
either new found respect, or religious terror, I couldn't tell.
The hardest part was measuring the weight of the coal. But
eventually it was all pile din the centre of the alchemy circle Ed
sketched on the floor. Tyro bending proved invaluable since he could
float the nuggets over the circle without risking scuffing out Ed's
work with our feet. Ed finally stepped back and nodded. “It's as
good as it's going to get.” He looked at me. “Just like before,
take your time. If I see anything that even resembles a rebound I
will break your connection manually.” Which meant he would tackle
me away from the circle and hope the rebound didn't eat my arms or
any of him.
“Right, wish me luck.” Taking a deep breath I crouched next to
the array and placed my hands on it. My eyes examined the entire
thing before I closed them. The symbol was burned into my mind. I let
out a deep breath and listened to the voices.
Heat ran up my arms, flooded my chest and burned up my neck and into
my brain. It didn't hurt. Far from it. I could hear the Voices in my
mind, roaring and shouting and arguing with each other. I wanted to
sit there, to just relish in the familiar sound of them. But I
didn't. Instead I had to impose order on them. It was like running
through the house, screaming to be heard over the cacophony, bringing
it into unison. The symbols of the array shifted in my mind. The
equation balanced itself. From cacophony, came chorus.
My eyes snapped open as the reaction finished. Blue lightning danced
across the interior of the engine room, and slowly built itself back
into the hose and suit. I grinned. Barely even any smoke that time.
“Wonder of wonders,” Tyro breathed. “I've never seen
earthbending like that.”
“And Ed has never seen anything like your earthbending,” I told
him. “If you would please, try to life the suit.”
He glanced at me then at the black garment. Nodding his head he
walked over and touched it. A look of surprise crossed his features
before he walked back to me. “It is made of earth,” he said in
wonder. “But like no earth I've ever felt before.”
“Carbon nanotubes,” I said with a grin. “Can you lift it?”
“I think so.” He reached out with one hand, then the other. His
legs shifted apart as he widened his stance. His mouth compressed
into a thin line. Then he gestured sharply upward with a loud grunt.
The suit floated into the air in front of him. He smiled. “Yes, it
appears I can.”
I strode over and grabbed it out of the air. “Good. Now I...” I
paused and looked at everyone. My cheeks suddenly started burning. “I
just need to get changed.”
“What's the problem?” Tyro asked.
“I...” I looked at all of them as they stared expectantly. The
diving suit was skintight by design. I would have to strip entirely
before putting it on. The thought of doing that in front of a bunch
of men caused me to panic more than the idea of fighting a bunch of
firebenders by myself. Life is funny like that.
“I'll just go change!” I squeaked out. “Ed, finish those glass
arrays!” I darted from the room.
*
The
ocean was cold. That was the first thought in my head as I sunk below
the waves. The light dimmed. The glass goggles Ed had helped me
fashion with alchemy immediately fogged up and I bit back a curse.
For a moment I continued to sink, and my mind wondered what it would
be like to just continue dropping. The suit I wore was very light,
and I could have swam but out here in the deep ocean that would only
delay the inevitable. Then I stopped abruptly, my body jarring with
the force of it.
I was in Tyro's hands now, figuratively speaking.
The Fire Nation ship had been well within eyeshot when I was dumped
over the back, out of their line of sight. It would only be a few
hundred meters until we were within bombardment range of their
catapults. Everything relied on the firebenders being more eager to
capture the crew than sink the ship. The whole plan hinged on that.
If everything I had heard was true, then there should be no doubt.
Yet what sounded good up in the clear air surrounded by strong men
sounded very different in the cold deep, hanging by a thread and held
in place by a force you couldn't even see or understand.
It was the quiet I hated. Hanging in that cold darkness, barely able
to make out more than dim shadows through my fogged over goggles, the
only sound was the constant hiss of the pump in the back of the suit
as dry air was pushed into the suit. Two strong men were operating
the pump, hopefully with the even strokes I had shown them. Otherwise
the pump might break and then I'd be in even more trouble. These
thoughts rose unbidden in the silence.
I hated silence.
Would I even know if the other vessel opened fire? My first clue
would be when I suddenly started dropping down, my air hose flailing
above me. Then snapping loose of its hosing and the only sound would
be the quiet rush of water flooding in...
Stop it!
Was that a shape up ahead? It was dark and huge. A shadow in the
meager light. It had to be a shape! I reached up, my actions sluggish
in the water resistance and tugged on the hose once. Somewhere up
above Ed got my signal. Hopefully.
Two jerks.
Not close enough.
The shadow grew larger. My heart was pounding. My skin was crawling.
I wanted OUT. I wanted to scramble up the umbilical and out of this
cold, quiet hell. Why had I ever agreed to this? Why had I ever
thought this was a good idea? My hands clutched at the mask. It was
too tight. I couldn't breath.
Three jerks. It was the only warning I got before I was suddenly
flying forward through the water. There was no way to describe it
accept as surreal. My suit was pulling me forward, the entire thing
rushing forward. I was just along for the ride. The shadow in front
of me loomed closer and closer, growing until it blacked out
everything else.
I was coming in too fast!
I flinched, but just before I hit I felt myself slow down. Then
gently my body pressed against something large and cold and metal.
The Fire Nation ship. My hands scrambled over the surface, searching
for purchase. It wasn't hard to find. From a distance the ships
looked sleek and menacing, but up close the welding was crude and
primitive. The plates overlapped and gave enough handholds that I was
able to guide my motion around the side of the metal behemoth.
The quiet hell grew more bearable now that I was partially in
control of my own fate. I felt the “grip” on me from Tyro's
earthbending weakening with each meter I moved down the enemies hull.
In my mind the layout of the ship was front and centre. I could only
hope that they built these things to a single plan. There was a tug
on my umbilical.
Out of slack. This would have to do.
My
hand fished into the bag at my side and pulled out one of the
glass-encased arrays. With a curse it slipped through my fingers,
plummeting into the abyss. Underwater glass was slippery! Who knew?
That left me with only two arrays. One more loss and this plan was
history. Moving much more carefully, able to use only one hand as the
other partially gripped a seam in the ships hull I pulled the back-up
array out. With a smooth motion I slapped it against the hull.
I couldn't see it!
Cursing may not have helped, but it certainly felt good. I pressed
the glasses of my goggles against the thing glass of the array. Not
to hard, or it would break... I had to be able to see it. There.
Shapes and symbols. Blurry, but good enough I hoped.
Draw a deep breath. No closing my eyes this time.
The chorus became the cacophony.
The reaction was more spectacular than I could have hoped for.
Underwater lightning flashed across the hull, a perfect circle in all
direction. The water bubbled and hissed. Then red spread from the
centre outward. The reaction was even stronger, but then again it was
drawing on the nearby ocean to speed up the oxidation. Otherwise
known as rust.
In fact, the reaction went too fast. Before I could pull myself away
like planned the entire circle of rust imploded into the ship. The
water pressure pulled me in like a fly caught in a draining sink. I
felt the hose draw taunt against that pull as it hopelessly fought to
tether me, then the emergency valve broke and I was free. My body was
dashed against the side of the whole and i felt something sharp press
painfully against my skin. The suit held and then I was slammed into
the far wall of the interior corridor. For the next few seconds I
tumbled helplessly in the grip of the water. I saw men in red armour
and more casual garb bowled off their feet all around me.
My body stopped tumbling before my mind did. I pulled myself
unsteadily to my feet. My hands tore away my mask, and I coughed out
a lungful of water that had been forced down my throat. The water was
up to my knees and I could hear it roaring into the corridor. My eyes
cleared and I saw a half dozen men scattered all around me.
A women turned the corner, her feet splashing in the rapidly
flooding corridor. Her hair was black and she wore a slightly more
feminine version of the standard armour. “What is going on down
here?” she shouted.
I reacted on instinct, plowing into her with my shoulder down. I
proved stronger and heavier, but the water made my footing poor and
we both went over. I kept my head above the surging flood, she did
not. Grabbing her shoulders I knocked her head against the floor and
her struggles ceased.
Men were getting up behind me, groaning. I stood up, picking up the
woman's limp body and flinging it behind me without looking. Shouts
and cries of alarm went up. I started running. The water was up to my
waist now. I could feel the ship beginning to list.
One hand found my pack, confirmed it hadn't been torn free. The
array inside was still in one piece, though I could feel the glass
had cracked. I could only hope that it had remained water free and
not torn to pieces, there certainly wasn't enough time to check. I
pulled my knife, holding the blade away from me.
I turned a corner and three men waited for me. Two were armed with
spears, one was standing before them, trying to maintain his stance
as the water flowed up his thighs. “Intruder!” the man snarled.
“Stop right there!”
That was the only path to the engine room. I needed to go through. I
ran forward, the water splashing loudly all around me. The air was
full of curses and screams and cries. The man stepped forward, his
movement slightly off. His fist came up. Sparks danced along his
knuckles.
I dove. The jet of flame was weak, glancing off the water as I
plunged under it. I was moving with the current, he was fighting
against it. Firebenders fought from their base.
My arms wrapped around his legs, pulling them out from under him and
sending him tumbling behind me. My knife came up and suddenly the
water bloomed red, a perfect hamstring.
The spear caught me before I could even begin to recover. I shouted
in pain, swallowing water. I curled into a ball on instinct, allowing
the water to send me tumbling past. I came against a wall with a
painful jolt and slid to my feet, clutching my shoulder. The water
had dulled the impact some, the suit hadn't broken. Still my shoulder
felt like someone had smashed down on it with a hammer, even worse
than the pain in my ribs from being dashed against the hull.
Dislocated.
One of the armoured goons was charging at me down the flooded
hallway. The other was helping the man I had attacked to his feet. My
hand flashed out and I threw the knife. It clattered off the soldiers
faceplate, spinning into the water and vanishing. No damage at all,
but it made him flinch.
A wordless roar escaped my lips and I rushed forward, grabbing the
haft of the spear just below the blade with my good hand. The
soldiers snarled at me. He jerked his blade. His grip was better. I
was pulled off my feet. The wall crashed against my back. I cried and
let go.
He flowed smoothly, his spear coming up. It was aimed at my face. I
jerked my head to the side at the last second. Sparks filled my
vision. Pain bloomed across my cheek. My forearm came down on the
haft. The wood splintered.
The soldiers danced back as best he could in the current. It was up
to mid chest now. I rose from the water, my fingers finding and
gripping the spearhead before the current could carry it away.
“Juichiro!” the other soldier cried and tossed his spear. The
soldier caught it, but turned away from me slightly to do so. My feet
scrambled for purchase on the slick floor and I barrelled into him.
The air exploded from both our lungs.
The blade pressed against my glove, not meant to be wielding this
way. I brought it up sharply and the man screamed as it sunk into his
bicep. His arm twitched and he released the spear. I caught it and
backed off four steps, spinning the weapon around and pointing it at
him.
“Stay!” I barked and then turned and ran.
The engine room was in the back of the ship, the water was barely a
trickle I reached it. There were no more soldiers, but I could hear
the commotion on the deck. Loud crashes and shouts and the a sound
like a dozen bonfires being doused with gasoline. I needed to hurry.
I paused only long enough to smash my shoulder into a wall, popping
the join back in with a mind-searing crack.
The engine room door was open. The entire compartment, the whole
ship, was listing dangerously to the side. It was sinking, but not
fast enough. Four men stood in the room, two of them standing in
front of the furnace and constantly punching balls of flame into the
open flame. The other two were shovelling coal. One turned and
noticed me running up the hall, spear in hand.
“Look out!” he shouted and turned to face me with his shovel. He
sprinted into the hallway, thrusting the spade at me. He was no
soldier. I knocked his weapon to the side with my spear and clocked
him upside the head with the reverse motion. He crumbled like a
puppet with its strings cut.
The two firebenders were a much worse threat. They both had plenty
of time to set themselves. The water wasn't even lapping over their
shoes. Charging them was pure suicide.
I launched my spear at them. One stepped forward, kicking his legs
up. A curtain of fire cascading from the soles of his feet, flaring
out and catching the spear in mid air. It burned to a crisp almost
instantly, the steel blade tumbling harmlessly past their head to
clang against the boiler behind them.
The other stepped in front of him, his feet shifting and kicking up
a spray of water. His hands scissored and two streamers of flame
burst out at chest height. I fell under them, the heat washing over
my back. I felt the suit burn as my chest slammed into the water on
the floor. I slid forward, my hands pulling my bag out front.
The first firebender jumped over me, pulling his fist straight up
into the air. I slammed the final array on the ground, right in front
of the boiler. It was miraculously in one piece. No time to think.
Just react!
Blue lighting erupted all around me in a widening circle. Prepared
this time I rolled to the side as the reaction left a red circle in
my wake. A pillar of fire slammed into the circle as the firebender
fell where I had been. The floor vanished into red flakes underneath
him. He didn't even have a chance to scream before he vanished into
the suddenly revealed water.
The two standing men in the room stared in shock as I rolled over
and flipped to my feet with as much grace as I could manage. “I
wouldn't want to be in here when that boiler falls apart,” I said,
pointing at the listing furnace and boiler as it began to shriek and
tremble with most of its base gone.
I didn't look back but I could hear feet pounding after me as I
sprinted from the room. I paused only long enough to scope up the man
I had knocked out. I managed to make it around a corner before the
thing exploded.
The entire ship shuddered and I could hear the terrible sound of
iron and steel tearing itself apart. The explosion was still smaller
than I had expected. Of course, if it had been any larger I probably
would be dead now. The gods must look out for fools, I suppose.
Even so, with two giant holes in it this ship was not long for this
world. I threw the man I was carrying towards the firebender who had
fled the engine room. He caught the man numbly, staring at me. I
raised my hands. “I surrender. Bring me to your captain.”
“What?” the man gasped.
“Unless you want to sink to the bottom of the ocean, I'd bring me
to your captain so he can formally surrender to the earthbenders in
the other ship.”
For a few seconds he could only stare at me in mute horror.
*
Tyro laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. I bit back a shriek and
settled on only collapsing to my knees and moaning. The man looked
apologetic, but couldn't stop chuckling. Ed helped me to my feet.
“I still can't believe it,” Tyro said. “An entire Fire Nation
ship. Practically by yourself.” He shook his head in wonder.
“Alchemists are scary.”
“I had a lot of help.” I pointed out, bitting back the pain. Now
that the adreniline was dying down my body felt like it had been run
through industrial machinery. My ribs were probably cracked, my
shoulder was one giant bruise, my left hand was sore, my cheek was
bleeding and there were blisters all down my back. “I couldn't have
done anything if we hadn't worked together.”
“Still, it's amazing.” Tyro shook his head and looked towards
the prisoners. There were almost a hundred of them. The majority were
crowded near the bow of the ship, just regular Fire Nation soldiers.
About two dozen were sitting in front of them, there arms and legs
trapped in blocks of granite. The firebenders. None of them looked
happy. The earthbenders carrying spears pointed at them probably
didn't help. “That Avatar himself would be proud of this victory.”
“So, what do we do with them?” Ed asked.
[ ]Offer to let them go in exchange for information about the missing
people.
[ ]Leave me alone with the captain for five minutes. He'll tell me
everything.
[ ]Contact the fire nation. We can probably ransom them back.
[ ]They're too much trouble. Drop them into the ocean.
Note: Due to the delay caused by rolling blackouts last night, voting for next chapter will be open until noon EST tomorrow (and the same the next day). Regular shcedule will be resumed after the weekend.
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Epsilon