章節 2: Terror of the Seas
Many tread the barren soil of Gaia-Seven, and many others sail on unforgiving seas the planet has to offer; among them are both the fit and the unworthy. Gaia-Seven gives each and every earthly children of hers, capable or not, an equal chance to live and prosper. Yet, as it has always been evident like a sunlight on ocean waves, only a few among them prove to be worthy inhabitants of the planet.
A battleship, carrying hundreds of tech-warriors in exo-skeletons, was sailing amidst virulent storms and ferocious gales on the ocean. Circling around the ship, gigantic sea waves of immense size relentlessly sought to devour the warriors and other crewmen as a whole. Above in the sky, fierce thunders and terrible weather jammed almost every single communication coming in and out of the ship. Under the surface of ocean, a huge dark shadow lurked ominously near the boat that was barely floating above the raging water.
"Row, row, row the damn boat, ye worthless, half-born misfits that call themselves tech-warriors!"
"... Status report from the engine-room: Power is yet to be restored for the main engines unless spirits of the techs are willing to help us again..."
"Then why won't ye sods without muscles get outta there and row the ship for us?" Shouted one of tech-warriors to the source of voices.
With every men and women restless on board, Prince Aelthred, a captain of the battleship, a paragon for others to follow, a fearsome tech-warrior of might and respect, the eldest, and yet the most brilliant son of King Aelfred the Third, was heeding to his own comm-link implanted in the left side of his neck.
"It is no good, for every elements of the planet are against us." Said Gael, a second top commander of the tech-warriors.
"Then make it good again and do not waste another breath on such unnecessary yapping of yours." Replied Aelthred bitterly.
"This is the engine-room. We finally found a way to soothe the spirits and fix their mechanical vessels. The main engines should be fired up after some time for certain, but we still do not know exactly when they will..."
"News of bliss, ye good soul. Now get to the repairs without any more time spent on making reports."
"Both my right arm and the exo-skeleton will fall apart if I row any further!" One of the warriors screamed.
"Then let them part ways with you, out of their sockets, for Divines' sake; not just your arms and your heirloom are in peril now!" So yelled Aelthred.
Situation on the deck was grievous the same as any part of the ship. Gunners each manning autocannons and laser-interceptors were having trouble with their visions due to the tidal waves that seemed endless. Quite a number of deck crew, even including some tech-warriors, already fell prey to the vicious ocean, and others remaining were struggling to barely carry out their duties. Things were getting completely hopeless for everyone aboard the ship. By the time one of the gunners caught a glimpse of something humongous in size, eternal damnation was not afar.
"By the 3-Divines, what in the world is that thing?" Shouted the gunner in exo-skeleton.
"Just keep your hands away from firing it till you get your orders, understood?"
Tension was building up in each brave heart of men and women on the deck. Anything with a barrel attached to it was readied to be fired. Out of the tenseness, a few talks were heard among warriors with a word 'Kraken' mentioned, the very name that had been told to be one of the foul fruits begotten from ancient bio-techs. If the silhouette they had seen was that of the beast named Kraken, it meant unescapable doom for all of them.
Soon after scanners in the ship's bridge caught a sign of the monster, almost everyone on board panicked at what they saw. Kraken was not of myths and old tales; it was right near them.
"All the batteries and cannons available, open fire! Rain fire upon that thing!"
Every guns and techs on the ship were fired at Kraken's hideous body. All the beams and shells these techs spitted out looked like rays of light that would drive away any darkness approaching the warriors.
However, Kraken didn't seem to be defeated nor backing off. When the volley of shots came to pause for a moment, it wiped the deck out with its tentacles. Guns and batteries were torn away from the ship along with their gunners. Bloody remains of tech-warriors were smudged thick everywhere on the deck. Fortunately, at least, the bridge and many other parts of the ship stayed intact, for it seemed like the monster didn't care much about the rest other than the guns on the deck.
'Any time soon, the bridge and every single bits of the ship will be annihilated.' Aelthred thought.
Remaining crew and warriors of the deck regrouped, recovering whatever they could to make another volley of fire onto that loathsome sea-beast.
"Ready the remaining batteries, for the love of 3-Divines! We shall make another thunder of techs on it!"
Aelthred, however, thought it would be foolish to anger the beast further without any plans. Techs might be strong in their power, but there were numerous occasions in Gaia-Seven where the strength of techs alone cannot solve matters from their roots.
"Hold your fire! Do not fire upon it until I say so!" Yelled Aelthred through his comm-links.
He kept on figuring out what he could do with Kraken. He needed a strength different in nature from that of the techs. From times of the ancients, there had always been a hero with courage and might whenever eternal doom was imminent. Through excellent feats and noble sacrifices of heroes could the heritage of men and women be passed on so far. At the present, his brothers and sisters in arms were on the verge of getting themselves killed; this could not be allowed to happen, for he, Prince Aelthred, had sworn to protect his people at all costs.
With only his tech-sword and the ancient exo-skeleton at his disposal, all of which worked well even in the depths of water, Aelthred walked out of the bridge and headed onto the deck now covered in blood.
"To all able men and women on board: Clear the way, for I shall challenge the beast in person."
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