Champions Vol. 02

David had argued vehemently against it. They couldn't be sure there would be enough food for everyone. There wasn't enough room for everyone. They didn't have enough extra sailors to set up a twenty-four hour guard. Their argument had continued for nearly an hour before Captain Epaphras stepped in and sided with Laurena. David did not like the outcome, but he respected the Captain too much to continue the argument. His ship, his rules.

As a result there were a steadily growing number of screaming, injured sailors on the Eye, which did seem to add to the confusion and degrade their morale.

The grappling teams had five lines fixed on the opposing ship now. Sapphire, Laurena, and David kept a close eye on them, and shot any enemy sailor that tried to get close enough to cut them free. Between the continued momentum of the Eye and the hauling of the Sophia's crew, the enemy ship was eventually close enough to use the boarding planks. David's part of the plan was complete, and the stunned Captain Epaphras -- shocked by the ferocious lethality of the trio's assault -- took command of the boarding action.

The captain ordered the boarding crew out of the forecastle and forward with their planks. Led by Leontios, they set them across the ship's railing and began to move across. David drew his left-hand sword from his back, but kept his pistol in his hand. Being nearly ambidextrous had its uses. As soon as he saw Leontios move onto the planks David sprang his next surprise.

Looking for a clear area on the Eye's deck near the end of the plank, he ran toward the rail and cast telekinesis on himself as he leapt across the gap between the ships. The magic allowed him to easily clear the gap, and a little extra at the end ensured that he touched down comfortably. The few Amandurans that were standing nearby were either injured sailors slowly rising to their feet, or were too stunned by his move to react fast enough.

As soon as David's feet touched the Eye's deck, he began shooting the closest enemy sailors...in the legs. After expending his last round, he re-holstered his M9 and drew his other sword. It was time for him to get up close and very personal, he thought with a feral grin. To his right, a group of three that seemed encouraged by him holstering his pistol, charged. He was between them and the boarding plank -- and the reinforcements that were even now trundling across -- but his action to secure the small bridgehead on the deck of the Amanduran vessel had separated him from Sapphire's and Laurena's support. They were unable to target the attackers before him because the boarding crew was now between this group and the two women. He was on his own for this fight.

The first attacker to reach him chose to lead with a powerful downward strike. Catching the descending sword with his left blade, David's counter strike with his right struck the man at the elbow, severing his arm. Following through with the swing, he caught his next opponent's horizontal strike with his right-hand blade in a rising block, while swiping out with his left-hand blade to make the third opponent back up. Continuing through with both movements, David brought his left-handed sword across the front of his body in a rising strike, catching the edge of his rightmost opponent's club-wielding forearm with the tip of his blade. The enchanted edge of his sword sliced partially through the man's arm, severing tendons and forcing him to drop his club and hop backward, howling in pain.

This move exposed David's entire left side, and the last attacker attempted to capitalize on the opening, stepping forward to extend his reach and thrusting the tip of his short curved blade at David's torso.

Catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, David followed through with his own movement, trusting his recently enchanted body armor to protect him. He stepped backward with his left foot while twisting and lowering his body to ensure the oncoming strike was centered in the middle of his armored vest. At the same time he was continuing the momentum of his circular right-handed block, bringing his arm down and counter thrusting into his last opponent's sternum.

The tip of the Amanduran's blade struck David in the center of his vest, catching on some of his pistol magazine pouches, and stopping dead against the heavily enchanted fabric. The soldier's counter thrust with his enchanted blade entered his attacker's chest, sliding effortlessly into and through the man's torso. Withdrawing his blade, David took two quick steps backward to get distance from any follow up attacks, only to realize no more attacks were coming.

Leontios, flanked by the sisters Kallisto and Korrina, were engaging four Amandurans in a fierce battle. David was impressed with the Master-at-Arms fleet footwork and lighting speed, while the sisters were no slouches with their weapons either.

Kallisto had her club wielding opponent back on his heels, struggling to fend off her powerful attack routine. Meanwhile, Korrina was wielding a short spear with a great deal of finesse. She had two attackers tied up on Leontios' left, neither of them able to get past her weapon's deadly reach to support their beleaguered comrades.

In the four seconds it took for David to decide whether to reload his pistol and assist them from a distance or run in with his swords the fight was already over. Leontios had run his opponent through with a lunge, and one of Korrina's opponents had pushed his luck too far and taken a deep spear thrust to the thigh. Seeing the lethal skill of their adversaries, the remaining two fighters flung away their weapons and dropped to their knees, pleading mercy.

Looking for the next fight, David was surprised to find that there were none. The rest of the Sophia's boarding party was rounding up the surviving crew of the Eye of Amenemhet. The few uninjured Amandurans remaining had dropped their weapons and surrendered after witnessing the displays of David and Leontios. The injured foes that possessed the will to resist were quickly 'convinced' but the hulking size of Homeros that such resistance was futile. Searching the battlefield, David noticed that HMFIC was missing.

"Sapphire, where is 'the talker'?" David called out, knowing his love had been keeping an eye on the battlefield while he was busy.

"He ran below decks," Sapphire replied, "the door to your right."

"Okay. Leave your rifle and back me up, we need to clear the lower decks," David called out to her.

Seeing her throw back the concealing blanket and move to join him, David returned his attention to the deck of the Eye. Of the nearly thirty enemy sailors on that ship, only a handful of them were uninjured. Only after the Sophia's crew had all of the survivors secured, would Laurena be allowed to begin healing the worst wounded. That part of the plan wasn't even David's. Captain Epaphras had commanded that no one would be allowed to threaten the new Champion of Eros.

While David waited for Sapphire he readied himself for close quarters combat. He cleaned and sheathed his swords, drew his M9 and reloaded it, and drew his enchanted fighting knife. When Sapphire joined him she already had her pistol drawn and she was wearing his headlamp with the white LED light on, ready to support him in the tight confines of the ship.

Moving to the door, he checked it quickly for booby traps. Spotting none he carefully tested the latch, and found it locked. Looking to Sapphire, who was stacked up on the left side of the door like he taught her, he nodded to confirm he was ready and she nodded back. Taking a breath to steady himself, David reached up and clicked on the white light on his own helmet mounted LED lamp. Then he kicked the door open, breaking the lock and causing the portal to swing wide. The instant his raised foot hit the deck he leapt clear of the doorway, taking his position on the opposite side of the opening from Sapphire. They waited a handful of heartbeats before moving in. If anyone was inside waiting for them, the first second of the breach was the most dangerous. However, with an enemy that did not have access to firearms of their own, the standard tactic of rushing in to control the room in the first few seconds of surprise was unnecessarily dangerous. When no surprise attacks came forth from the doorway, David moved in swiftly. Sapphire followed closely behind him.

They cleared the tight hallways quickly. Right now they were hunting an enemy that knew they were coming; which meant that they did not have the element of surprise, but they did have the 'Initiative'. They had taken control of the battlespace, and they would refuse to surrender that control without a bloody and costly fight. They met no resistance as they moved, and had soon cleared from one end of the ship to the other. As they reached the final area, they realized they were outside what was probably the captain's quarters below the wheel house.

Knowing that their opponent had either tried to sneak back on deck -- in which case the sailors of the Sophia already had him -- or that he was on the other side of this door, David motioned for Sapphire to stand to the side of the portal. He inspected the door for booby traps while Sapphire covered his movements. If the door suddenly opened he would be exposed, and it was her job to neutralize any threat. Finding the door clear, he cautiously tested the latch, and found it unlocked. Surprised, he moved to the opposite side of the door from his love, and when she nodded she was ready, he reached over and opened it forcefully. Unlike before, they did not enter.

David knew that if their enemy was inside, it would be unnecessarily dangerous for them to charge in now. Having seen the rest of the ship, he knew the quarters would be too small for he and Sapphire to safely charge in. Plus, now that their foe was cornered, there was no need to rush.

"Surrender! You will not be killed and I promise you will be treated fairly," David shouted into the room, lying his ass off. He would not kill the man, but there would be nothing 'fair' about the interrogation he had planned.

They both waited, holding their breaths and straining to hear any sound from the other room. Unfortunately, it was completely silent. Sheathing his knife, David pulled his signal mirror out and used it to check around the doorframe without exposing his body to the room. What he saw made him relax. He pocketed his mirror and stepped into the room with a shrug to Sapphire.

Following behind him, she could not initially see what was inside, but as he cleared the doorway and stepped to the side, she finally saw what had caused him to relax. Their quarry was sitting in a chair, slumped over and dead. He had killed himself. Turning to David with a questioning look, the soldier just shrugged at his love.

"Shit happens," he commented.

Returning above deck, they linked-up with Captain Epaphras and Laurena, discussing what they would do about the enemy ship and sailors. David insistent that he needed to interrogate them for any information he could find out about their reasons for attacking. The captain grudgingly agreed, and Laurena told them to wait until she and Phile finished healing everyone. David wanted to argue -- withholding treatment was an effective interrogation technique -- but he decided not to. Laurena was growing into her role as the Champion of Eros, and he realized he needed to work harder at supporting her, rather than arguing with her.

As the other two walked off to finish their work, David turned to Sapphire and said, "Well, it looks like we won. What do you want to do now?"

Sapphire paused, affecting a look of deep concentration, and then with a sly grin replied, "Victory blow-job?"

*** Chapter 22: Is Two Better Than One? ***

261830MAY13 DW

6^th of Pyanepsion (6^th month), 2351 EC (Erosian Calendar)

The Great Sea, en-route to The Isle of Eirini

Sadly David had to wait a while for his intimate victory celebration. Twelve Amanduran sailors survived the one-sided battle, although one was now missing his right arm at the elbow. Luckily the few minor injuries sustained by the Sophia's crew were quickly healed.

In the aftermath of the battle there was still much work to be done. Thankfully the Sophia suffered no damage in the encounter, and there would be enough space aboard to fit the twelve prisoners they had taken. However, there were now twelve more mouths to feed, nearly half again as many as were already aboard. Captain Epaphras sent his Quartermaster onto the Eye of Amenemhet to see what supplies could be scavenged. Luck was with them, and they were able to increase their food stores by a third before they ran out of room. Every usable empty space on the top deck of the Sophia was now packed with foodstuffs; but even so they would be forced to stop and resupply at an island port on their return home.

David joined Leontios in guarding the prisoners, freeing three of the Sophia's crew to help with the supply transfer. When he first approached the captive men he could hear their angry grumblings, but when they noticed his arrival they instantly quieted and shied away from him in fear. His powerful display earlier had them all cowed into submission.

Their harshly whispered words, spoken before they noticed his presence, had sounded quite different than the Erosian accents he was used to. He realized they were speaking in their native tongue, and he decided to keep his ability to understand it a secret.

"Leontios," he began, speaking loud enough that the prisoners could hear him, "do we have anyone aboard ship that speaks their language?"

"I have never heard it before, David, so I very much doubt it," the master-at-arms replied.

"We shall have to see if any know Erosian," David told him, making sure his voice was loud enough to carry. "Or if any recognized another language known to the ship's crew."

Quiet muttering drifted through the restrained men, and David thought he overheard "...pretend...not understand..." but it could have just as easily been "...bartend...hot rubberstamp..." He would continue to remain nearby and listen. He was sure that he could extract everything useful from the men in a few hours, but he doubted Laurena, Epaphras, or the Sophia's crew would appreciate his methods. He would instead focus on covert collection, and direct Sapphire to take charge of the overt collection. She may not have had the same training he did, but she at least had two years of experience in information collection learned during her personal quest. He could lend advice as he observed, for he doubted any of these men understood Dracian.

Hmm, David thought to himself. Perhaps I should teach Sapphire and Laurena English. It was language unknown to any in this world, which would make it ideal for covert communication.

It took nearly two hours to complete the work, and now they debated what to do with the Eye. First Mate Lysandros wanted to keep the ship, and many of the crew agreed with him. It would normally take a few days of work to repair the damage from David's spell, but he had seen what David, Sapphire, and Laurena could do with their powerful magic. He was certain that the ship could be restored to working order in a day.

He argued that they could tow the Eye behind the Sophia and repair crews could work on it along the way. A second ship with its extra supplies would lessen the burden placed on them by the prisoners, and they could actually refit its cargo area into a prison to hold them, which would be a much better solution than the small area of the Sophia's where they were currently being kept.

Captain Epaphras wanted to sink the ship, concerned that it was evidence of the attack and their victory. He worried that ships allied to the Eye might be in the area, and its presence with them would surely provoke another attack. Further, splitting the crew to sail two ships would leave both severely undermanned.

David offered a compromise. "I suggest we tow the Eye of Amenemhet and begin repairs," he began. "Meanwhile we try to learn as much from the prisoners as possible. If they have allies in the region we will sink it and continue on. If they do not, then we keep it and crew both ships. Either way, as long as the ship is with us we can eat the food aboard it, rather than our own supplies. This will stretch our rations that much longer."

Captain Epaphras considered the compromise carefully while Lysandros looked on hopefully. Gaining such a ship with so little effort was a great opportunity. They could sell it for a fortune when they returned to Erosius, or (as the First Mate secretly hoped) they could recruit more sailors and double their business. The Eye was not a commercial vessel. It was smaller, with sleeker lines obviously built for speed. However it still boasted a decent size hold and the oversized crew quarters could be converted to expand the hold further.

"It is a good suggestion, David," Captain Epaphras finally stated. "It balances the benefits and risks well. However, it puts much upon your and Sapphire's shoulders. How certain are you that you two will be able to learn what you need from the prisoners?"

"I can guarantee it," David assured him. The predatory smile David wore when he said it was less reassuring to the captain.

* * *

"Finally," David sighed in relief, flopping onto the comfortable bed in their small cabin. It was one of the first bits of work that he and Sapphire had done on the ship. The cabin was only six feet by eight feet, and originally had two small bunks in it. Sapphire had taken one look at it and immediately sought out the captain's permission to remodel. She had to work hard to sweet-talk the captain into it -- no captain wanted passengers altering his ship -- but once she explained the planned changes he agreed.

She had removed the bunks, and replaced it with a folding frame and mattress which lifted flush with the wall when not in use. David called it a Murphy bed. It took up most of the room when lowered, but allowed them enough room to sleep together comfortably, or a bit snugly when Laurena joined them. The captain had liked it so much that Sapphire had crafted another one for the quarters he shared with his wife.

"Tired love," Sapphire teased him. She was seated on the edge of the bed and was brushing out her unbraided hair. They had expended a great deal of magic in the last hour helping prepare the Eye of Amenemhet to be towed. There were no good anchor points on the front of the smaller ship, so they had to fashion a guide on the prow and thread the tow rope through it, after fastening the end to the ship's mast. Between that work, clearing the damage caused by his shield spell, and the earlier supply transfer effort, both had expended large amounts of magical energy in a very short time. It was more than either had expended since they set sail, and they were feeling drained.

Cracking an eyelid, David saw what Sapphire was doing and rolled across the bed to bury his nose in the hair hanging down her back. This was one of his favorite parts of the day. Once they had both cast their cleansing spells her hair was cleaned of all the ocean smells. The natural aroma of her hair was at once intoxicating and calming to him. The scent of it both enflamed his loins and soothed his heart. It never failed to spark images of her lying in his arms in bed after a night of passionate lovemaking.

Feeling the surge of his passion through their bond, Sapphire decided to tease him. "Why do you always insist on doing that," she huffed, pretending annoyance. "Can't you see I'm busy here," she continued as she tried to slide away from him to resume her brushing.