Kayla - the Beginning
"This cannot continue", his voice was barely above that of a whisper as Erik sat down in a plush leather high backed chair. The room unlit aside from the last dying embers of the dusk sunset. As if sensing his fatigue his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling the device he answered. "Devon." he drew a breath, he already knew what the other person was going to ask. "No. Congress backed Zelton Corporation and the DOJ issued a one point two million dollar fine." he paused awaiting the onslaught. "I know its peanuts; they spend more than that at the Christmas Party -" he was interrupted. "Look, I don't think we are at that juncture yet. The humans are ruled by corporations and by corrupt governments, but fundamentally they are decent. I don't" he was interrupted again and lines etched across his face in frustration. "Listen Kayla, you take your directions from me. I will say what action needs to be taken. I will wrap up things here and speak with the council tomorrow. You sit tight at the Gulf until I contact you." He ended the call and threw the phone on the bed, sighing loudly he went to the drink's cabinet pulling an as of yet, unopened bottle of dark rum, breaking the seal, he poured himself a large drink. Raising the glass to his nose he inhaled, sweet sugars, vanilla and cinnamon. "To think, the drink of seamen and pirates." smirking slightly he placed the glass to his lips and tipped back a measure into his mouth. Allowing the alcohol to coat his tongue, swirling it round before swallowing. "adequate, I suppose" his tone neutral. He held the glass in his left hand, his right he brought to the bridge of his nose pinched and sighed.
Although he was only a man in his thirties, he looked aged, silver lines had crept into his brown beard which normally well-kept looked shaggy. His rigorously shaved head and pale skin was a contrast to his beard, piercing grey green eyes that looked out of the window into the now rising night. He hated Washington DC; he hated being this far away from the ocean. He longed to look on the sea, but tonight he would have to settle for a view of the Potomac river. The hotel was nice; it offered what any regular person would class as luxury a King Suite with a Park View at the Conrad would be some peoples dream. He looked over that the files strewn all over the bed his eye glancing over several key fields. Senate Sub Committee for Environmental Protection, statistics over water temperature variations, soil bed erosion, bacteria fluctuation. Graphs on the entire oceanic eco system. He had infiltrated the group as a marine biologist and expert on the Gulf Of Mexico seabed, he had pursued a course that he thought was right and sanctioned for Congress on their environmental targets, he had produced reports and findings that Zelton Corp, one of the world's leading Oil and Gas producers had been violating environmental protocol and safety standards and had been fracking for oil without permit and permission. The cost to the local sea life had been devastating, schools of fish had been displaced, their food chain disrupted. Which in turn had disrupted the larger patterns of the predators. The coral which had been seeded there for over three hundred years had all but wiped out. The sea floor now looked like a death bed, sand and silt and not a living creature for miles.
Meanwhile, Zelton had 2 offshore oil and gas rigs and an international cruiser liner passed the route dumping their guest services, garbage and sewage into the ocean with each passing. He understood Kayla's frustration, like him she had witnessed her home being slowly decimated by the humans and their wasteful ways. They dumped their garbage into the sea; they sailed in floating cities of decadence while pouring the filth of a thousand people into the very ocean they passed on. "Fools, they will be the seeds of their own destruction." He mused to himself as he pulled his tie from his collar and rose towards the bathroom. He laid the glass on the counter top and stripped his shirt off. With clothes on no one would look at him as if anything was amiss, but now topless his skin shimmered in the light like fish scale but iridescent, the colours of the room seamed to bounce off his skin. Removing his trousers and shorts he studied himself in the mirror pivoting on a leg to stand side on for the mirror giving him a full body view. His manhood was modest, but had girth and he had no complaints from his lovers in the past, not a hair stood out from his neck below his beard all the way to his toes. His skin although iridescent at the top from the neck down over his chest to the waist the colour slightly changed to that of a pale blue, like the blue of tropical waters, vibrant and life giving, he turned on the shower and stepped into the now warming stream. His skin came alive with the changing colour and he seemed to instantly relax, like a person dipping into a bath after a long day, his shoulders dropped, his eyes shut as he let the water wash over his naked body. He could have stayed in the shower all night but he needed to rest, taking what looked to be a wire brush from the shelf and scrubbed his body, a small tub of salt applied to his body to scrub as scales flaked off and were caught in the waste trap of the shower, he rinsed himself off letting the water stray over his face and head before shutting down the stream. Towel drying and wrapping the excess round his waist he retrieved his glass and exited the bathroom to his on the bed. He picked up the phone and located Kayla's number, before shaking his head toss the phone aside and finishing off the remainder of the rum. "The council will know how best to proceed." He said, before lying back and closing his eyes.
Kayla, loved the ocean, she was a daughter of Atlantis, her mother was part of the council while her father worked in repaired the climate changes the humans brought upon the ocean. She had been ever hopeful to help the humans see the error of their ways, and she had at a time wanted to believe that they were a noble race worthy of change. However, each year she had seen her father's work to stem the poison that had been inflicted upon their world. She had seen entire species of marine life disappear forever, unable to cope or change rapidly enough to prevent their own extinction. Had witnessed the ocean try and adapt to human trespassing on the waters, barnacles on ships to clean the sea of emissions as they sailed. Instead of marvelling at nature, humans scraped them off ships like left over trash. When the act of scraping the ship had become too much, they developed chemical warfare. To paint the underside of the ship with toxic substances so that when any barnacle attached to the hull, it would be dead soon afterwards. She had worked with Erik who was an idealist for the humans. She had watched their broadcasts, learned their history the humans, at least the ones in power responded to only two things, money or war and the Atlantean's had no conventional wealth, so that left all but one only choice. She had been sceptical that Erik would be able to affect change, but she had dared to hope. His rebuke not to take action had stung "There's trash in the Ocean" she pleaded, "Both in it, and sailing on top of it." She would never have described as an activist but she couldn't let these acts of the humans continue. 'Sit tight at the Gulf until I contact you.' the words ringing in her ears. "No Erik, I can't. Your way doesn't work. Now it's time to give the Council another option."
She flipped through the contacts on her phone and keyed a number "Rosch? Good. Get the team. We hit them tonight." There was a pause as a question was asked "All of them" She hung up the call and slid the phone back in her pocket. She didn't need to pack a bag; the team would bring anything she needed. She pulled a leather jacket from the stand in her hotel room, tied her sun glinting blonde hair into a ponytail and left. The breeze that hit her face when she exited the building was warm and the refreshing smell of the salt air from the ocean made her feel alive. She drew in deep breaths of warm air and proceeded towards the beach. Rosch was there, she whistled when Kayla approached and waved her over. A small duffle back slung over her shoulder. Rosch was business like, she was lithe but had broad shoulders, her head shaved in at both sides but had a fiery mohawk of red hair and piercing blue eyes. She stripped off to a blue bikini and her skin was the same as Eriks, like tight weave fish scale light iridescent on the top but melting into a deep wine-red colour as it got to her feet. To her left was Kit who looked like what could only be described as a brick wall on legs, dark brown eyes almost black, like a great white shark, which was fitting, she looked like a predator that has not needed to change or evolve with time, apex and at the top of the food chain. She had a square body and arms the size of tree trunks, her legs look like she would be able to lift a car, and did so every time she wanted to work out. She said nothing, just stripped into a wine coloured one piece that was high legged. She handed Rosch a tool that looked like a white torch. Kayla was the last to strip, her blonde raid caught the last dying rays of sunlight as her golden eyes sparkled. Her black figure-hugging bikini looked to be made of shark skin but complimented her own colouring, the same pale iridescent from the nape of her neck, flowing over her ample bust to change round about her navel into a deep lavender purple. She stepped out of the jeans and sneakers and took the offered white torch from Kit. She gripped her toes into the sand as if flexing, all three women reached into the duffle bag and pulled a light belt each. "Okay Mermaids, let's do this." Kayla said wrapping the cord of the bel round her waist as the other two followed suit. With faces of determination, they waded silently into the water.
Part Two
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Kayla was the first to dip her head into the water, followed by Rosch and then Kit; on land all three women moved like humans, in the water they sailed. Their scales changed and hardened; their feet webbed and became akin to self-made flippers and from their calf muscles fins sprouted. From their neck, slits appeared for gills allowing them to breathe under the water. They moved with the speed and grace of dolphins but with the team work and determination of a pod of hunting orca. They closed the sixty-mile distance to the first rig of the Zelton Corp, oil and gas field Ceasar and another fifteen miles away from that was the Tonga. They reached the Ceasar in just over an hour and they could see the Tonga in the distance despite the lack of ambient light. The fire plumes from the from the top of pipe stacks continued day and night. They spoke at normal volume no one would be at the base of the rig which was seldom accessed by anyone as most of the passengers moved by helicopter to and from the base. Only welding and scraper crews came down here to conduct repairs and maintenance. Kayla looked at the two women opposite. "Okay, Rosch you plant the charges, on the support columns Kit and I will move down to the drill point." Rosch nodded and set about the task while Kayla and kit dived deep to the ocean floor. They swam through murky waters that bore no fish and the ocean itself felt cold, dark and desolate. Kaya and Kit's eyes naturally adjusted, a product of evolution to draw in the ever-decreasing amount of natural light, on the surface the moon shone on a cloudless sky, but even just a few feet below the surface a human would need torches just to see their own hand.
Pipes snaked down the support structure to outlets on the sea floor. Waste, sediment, slag from the drilling was all being pumped back into the ocean as waste from the rig was discarded. Kayla could practically taste the stank putrid bile that flowed into the sea but her mouth remained closed. Kit swam ahead towards two of the support beams which anchored the rig in place and set the charges. She removed small cylindrical disks from her belt and swam round the tether lines and drill / pump site that would be pumping oil to the massive structure above, working twenty-four hours a day whilst expelling its waste back into the ocean. Zelton was supposed to dispose of the non-discardable waste back on shore where it could be treated and broken down. This was normally done by transportation ships, however only supply ships bringing food, personal and equipment had been logged and Zelton's latest fine was the punishment the Department of Justice had levied for the rank pollution of the sea. Kit placed the same style charges round the dill site and then met with Kayla while she finished placing the last of the charges on the tethers.
Rosch meanwhile removed the same style small cylindrical disks from her belt and swam round the central column placing the charges. She had to tag the main column along with four other support columns which dug into the sea bed. Their task completed Kit and Kayla ascended back up to the water line. Graceful swimmers who glided through the darkness, silent and deadly. They hit the water break point with a small splash and ripple and swam to the rig edge. A walk way leading down to the sea level looked like a fire escape from a New York high rise flat. Rosch joined them and all three hauled themselves out of the water. "Let's cap this the tanks, eject them and deal with the crew." They nodded and proceeded up the medal grating stairway. Their feet making dull wet thuds as they went. Out of the water their feet returned to normal and their skin shimmered in the cool night time breeze. The sea was calm and the gentle lapping of waves hitting the rig would have been soothing if someone stopped to take in the moment. They climbed, the steps in silence as they listened to the machinery above. Workers if they needed to access the ocean or struts would have done so via the crane but these women didn't have that luxury, steady breathes from all three were the only noises they made. The rig main platform stood at one hundred meters above the sea level, approximately the same as a ten-storey building. The walkway zig zagged its way up the side of the rig and they reached the top with elevated breathing. Rosche surveyed the area and pointed towards massive twenty-meter sized canisters on the same side they had ascended on. The oil tanks housed all the refined oil ready to be picked up by ship and transported back to the mainland. They could be sealed and jettisoned in case of emergency, no sense in the corporation losing profit over the sake of an industrial fire. Kayla nodded at Rosch and pointed towards the main set buildings that looked like offices and crew quarters.
Kayla and Kit set off, in the direction of the buildings and interior as Rosch moved on her own. Kayla rounded a corner and ducked under a section of piping as two workers in orange jump suits, high visibility vests and hard hats were conversing, looking at each other but walking towards her. She stood frozen as both of them detecting a presence looked at her and the conversation between them fell away as they looked at each other in shock and bewilderment. One of the men shook his head to snap himself out of confusion "Who, the hell are you? What they hell you doing wandering about the rig in a bikini. Foreman catches you, and you are in a heap of shit. I suggest you get back to bunk." He trailed off as Kit circled round the side on Kayla and charged both of the guys. She picked up speed to barrel into both knocking them to the floor. She flat palm punched the individual who was talking straight into the bridge of his nose, while on top of him. In almost slow motion his nose bent crooked and then exploded on his face, blood pouring from his nostrils. The second gent, who had found himself on his back wrestled with himself to get up, gripping his hard had he brought it down on Kit's shoulder as he bargained for leverage on the walkway to stand back up. Kayla now free of her momentary confusion lunged over the two wrestling bodies and snatched his makeshift hard hat club from his hands. She turned the helmet and brought it down on his head with all the strength and might she could muster, the man staggered and swayed, "He..Help" he screamed and then was silenced as she brought the helmet back down on him again, and he slumped forward onto the walk way unconscious.
Both Kit and Kayla stood motionless, listening. The man whom Kit still sat on top of was gurgling slipping in an out of consciousness, he wanted to speak but the back of his throat filled with blood and he just coughed and wheezed. Kayla stepped forward, placing the hard hat on the walkway and continued to listen. She could hear no sign of movement, or reinforcements coming for the one lone cry for help. The sounds of the rig had not changed, no running footsteps no alarms, no shouts or cries. She turned to see something move out her peripheral vision, an orange flash. Looking up she saw Kit lifting the man who was rendered unconscious by Kayla and dangling him over the side of the walk way. Her moth dropped open, and she had to work to form the words, "What, the fuck?" she took a step but Kit looked up at her as if only just noticing her, a puzzled look flashed across her face. "What?" she uttered, her tone and voice almost robotic. Kit released the man and he sailed rapidly out of sight and out of view of the women. Kayla rushed to the side rail but she couldn't see anything, at the height she wouldn't even hear the impact of the man's body hitting the waves and there was no way either of the two men would have survived the fall or impact. Kayla's hands trembled, "We. We didn't need to kill them." she uttered barely beyond a whisper. Kit just grunted, "Didn't need them alive. You've seen the species we've lost, our own people affected and lives lost to their filth. This is war little girl, in war there is casualties. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you can do what needs to be done." Kit brushed past her, she harboured no ill will towards Kayla, in fact the humans on the rig were just a means to an end, if they evacuated, great, if they didn't and died with its destruction then she would shed no tears.
Kayla swallowed hard and paced after Kit, she understood the costs, but she had not banked on actually killing people. The two-woman moved in tandem a foot apart as they stalked towards the doors of the rig, they could hear movement but nothing on their level and they advanced up the stairs to the control centre and operations room. Both women reached into their packs and retrieved the small torches that they caried with them. The door to the operations centre with closed but had a portion of the door as glass and both women could see three males and one female all looking at screens, and status charts and symbols. One man at the centre, seated with a white moustache and a cup of something in his hand. He pointed as screens as Kayla raised a small secondary stick and pressed a button. Deep below them, the cylindrical device attached to the underwater drill mechanism flashed and explodes. Flash frying the drill bit and pumping piles, all the screens in the operations centre flash warnings as the man at the centre of the room jumps up in alarm, spilling the contents of the cup down his front. The cup hits the deck, bounces once and then shatters on the second impact. But it's too late, Kayla and Kit are now inside the room. "Pumping drill must have hit something, we have no feeds, no cameras nothing." She yelled, her Southern American accent coming in confused. "No damage to support tethers, pump station has sealed off containers but we will need to sift tank seven, likely she pumped up sea water before we closed the valve." one of the males at the front of the room stated. The man with the moustache brushed at his jumper irritated "Dump the tank into the sea. Waste of time and resource to sift it." The female turned to protest "But that's close to a thousand gallons." She trailed off as she spotted the two women in the room. Kit flanked white moustache while Kayla gripped the back of his collar and with a swift kick to the back of his knee removed his balance and form him onto his knees. At the same time both of them drew their white sticks and thumbed the sticks and the poles extended like a blade, the cutting edge sparked like an arc welder and Kayla held it to the man's throat under him. Her voice was icy rage at the sound of the callous nature of the deliberate aggression against the sea. "Don't you fucking dare release that oil." She hissed as she scanned the room. Kit moved round and grabbed the woman who looked too dumbfounded to offer any resistance. Little surprising they were being attacked by what looked like two bikini clad woman with tattooed skin wielding swords. It was more than she could in realistically comprehend.
"I don't know who you think you are but you won't get away." he stammered but Kit cut him off with her own monotone "Shut up". Kayla wiggled the blade at his throat line. "Listen very carefully. You are going to sound an evacuation, and radio a catastrophic failure" He laughed under her grip, he spat on the floor and spoke with an icy vile voice. "You are for more stupid than you look. There is no way I am" She drew the blade across his throat, not all the way but enough that he yelped. "I don't expect this blade to be my only tool but if you want all of these people to die then so be it." She nodded at Kit who pressed the activator switch and there was a slight vibration felt throughout the deck. Several of the status displays flashed warnings as one of the anchor tethers reported being ruptured. "Thats just one, we have them on the other anchor and all the support struts mined ready to blow. Now we are going to detonate them, if you want to stay, be my guest, but I am being generous by allowing evac." The man swallowed hard and looked at the two men. "Sound emergency and evac." The two of them turned and punched keys on their consoles and the lights changed from white to red in the room and klaxons sounded throughout the rig. 'Emergency Evacuation - All hands to Life Boats. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.' The klaxons began a continuous warble and the message repeated over the loud speaker. Kayla could view men and women stop what they were doing and proceed at pace towards the launch deck with eight life pods all sat waiting for evacuees. Kayla let the grip on the man go, "Now, the general distress message, if you please." He stood and walked towards the desk, pulling a radio receiver. "Skipper one one two five, Zelton Ceaser Platform. Code blue, Catastrophic failure, evacuation required. Repeat code blue, catastrophic failure." He looked behind him slightly and turned the radio transmitter in his hand. Now a step away from the blade. "Armed Terrorists have." Kayla pressed a switch on the handle and the blade that hummed arc energy pulsed, a blade haze lit up the room a high-pitched whine and then it was gone. The man blinked. He looked stunned not sure what just happened, he looked down his hand went to touch his chest. He couldn't feel anything his hand dipped inside his chest as the wave of nausea swept over him, he couldn't breathe his hand came back in front of his face covered in blood and he fell to his knees, looking up at Kayla who has a sad but determined expression on her face. He fell face forward onto the floor and expelled his last breath. The Atlantean weapon had fired a shot which had burnt a hole the size of a dinner plate three inches into his chest. The woman in the room tried to scream but her vocal cords wouldn't work, she had never a dead body let alone a man killed in front of her, both the other males were silent and chalk white. Kit looked at all three and smiled, a smile that had no warmth to it, "Go. Now, quickly and quietly." Both men didn't need any further convincing and they bolted for the door, taking the steps down to the outside space two at a time. The woman just stood there her eyes fixed on the dead man. Kit turned her head towards her and she looked into the woman's eyes. "Go." She snapped out of her transfixed state and she too, ran for the exit.
The alarms warbled and the crews all evacuated kit looked at the read outs, "Eight out of ten life boats have launched. But there is a aircraft approaching from The Tonga. Most likely security forces." She was cut off as the glass to the door was shattered. Kayla and Kit both instinctively ducked from the noise and crouched behind the consoles for cover. There was silence for a moment then what felt like a pin drop, a clink of a canister like someone had thrown a soda can into the room. Both women covered their ears and squeezed their eyes shut. Even with their ears covered and eyes squeezed shut the flash bang grenade detonated with an ear-piercing screech. Two men in black fatigues and black boots stepped into the room and trained automatic weapons into the corners. Their eyes focused as they swept the room, moving with measured steps, one of them crunched the glass as he moved. Kit popped up from behind one of the computer stations, the blade extended and fired at the guard. The bolt of blue energy shot across the room and hit him in the throat, his neck and a large portion of his upper chest just disintegrated as his head flopped to one side hanging there by spinal cord and sinew. He crumbled to the floor, foot twitching as his brain sent the final few electrical impulses to his legs to keep moving. The second guard trained on her and snapped off a quick three round burst, catching her centre mast, she fell back into cover and out of Kayla's sight. The guard tracked her movement and moved towards her body as Kayla revealed her own weapon, aimed an blew a hole in the guards back, the force of the blast sent him tumbling forward over the console desk for him to land awkwardly on his neck and shoulder. If the blast had not killed him, the angle that his head now lay in certainly would have. "Kit. Speak to me." Kayla demanded as she stood up. Kit popped back up, "I'm fine. But there will be bruising" Looking at her skin, the once unblemished iridescent scales on her chest were now stained a wine-red colour. "Skin held up under fire." she commented, "Good, let's get out of here" Kayla remarked and was already proceeding out of the door.
Both women took the stairs at a run and waited on the inside of the door. Looking out through the glass upper half of the outer door, Kit pulled the lever to unlock the door and swung the heavy metal slab open. The noise of the sirens pierced the air as the evacuation alarms continued to sound. They scanned the horizon and although they couldn't hear it, the sweeping single point search light sweeping back and forth across the helipad indicated that the helicopter from the Tonga Pipe field had arrived. Tonga was double the size of the Ceaser and carried a full security compliment of twelve. Kayla pressed her ear "Rosche, we are exiting the building, Tanks secure?" There was a beep and her voice came back, "Tanks secure, two security agents evacuated, two remain." There was a loud pop and Kayla looked up to see the ninth launch release from the steel cage and plummet towards the ocean. She looked at Kit, "One left, two sec ops remaining". Kit nodded and ducked her head out of the doorway, with her massive bulk both her and Kayla couldn't squeeze out the doorway together. They stalked the walkways towards the fire escape like exit as the helicopter rotated showing the side door opening and the scope light spun over the building trying to locate any quarry. Kayla and Kit ducked behind a large set of coloured pipes, the white beam of light almost upon them. They held there, both breathing audibly, the light swept away and Kayla moved out of cover. She felt the impact before she heard it as "Fuck!" she yelled and pulled back in. One of the two remaining security guards peppered where she had been with automatic gun fire, bullets ricocheted off the pipes distorting sound as shrapnel from the bullets pinged all around the two women. The noise and muzzle flare cut short as the security guard had to change magazines and reload. Kit swept round to try and find him as the white beam from the copter swung back round to their position. Kayla attempted to move the opposite way to avoid the beam of light when the second security guard opened up on her position, she scurried back into cover beside Kit. She pressed her ear as the security team on the copter started to rain fire down with larger calibre weapons. Two of the pipes ruptured in front of Kit and she recoiled back instinctively bunching up against Kayla. Neither women could move and although their skin could protect from the small arms fire, the larger caliber rounds would puncture them and tear them to shreds. Kayle pressed her finger to her ear "Rosch?" she yelled, but she couldn't hear the woman. She looked between the pipes and could see the copter rotate again and ropes be kicked out the sides for people to repel down. They would soon be overrun. (edited)
Kayla looked back and fourth her brain going a million miles a second but coming up with nothing as blue light pierced the darkness. The blue energy ball smashed into the rear rotor blade of the helicopter and sent it spinning in the opposite direction. The noise and pitch from the machines engines changed as it veered and spun away from the pad, one of the people on board must not have been secured in or couldn't reach a handhold in time, as the machine spun a full three hundred and sixty degree turn he was flung from the open door into the awaiting darkness and the abyss of the ocean. The copter continued its spin and its descent as a second ball of energy lanced out from the platform and struck just below the rotor blades. Metal just disintegrated and the engines sputtered and the rotor which had been spinning wildly lost its power and started slowing. The entire machine seamed to hang in the air for a few brief fleeting seconds until gravity and the laws of physics grabbed a hold of it. The copter disappeared from view, the sounds of grinding metal fading until silence gripped the night air. Kit looked at Kayla "The alarms have stopped." They looked at each other, Kalya looked at her arm, deep red welts on her bicep where she had been struck from the fire before, she would be feeling that for days to come. The silence was interrupted as the two remaining guards moved quickly to confront them both. Kayla looked at Kit who braced herself, but it was Kayla who stood up, her golden eyes sparkled when she parted her soft lips. "My heart is pierced by Cupid. I distain all glittering gold. There is nothing, can console me. But my jolly sailor bold." The two men stopped in their tracks, the look of dazed confusion on their faces. Kayla altered her pitch and repeated the line and both men swayed slightly, "My heart is pierced by Cupid." and their weapons lowered. "I disdain all glittering gold." they wavered, "There is nothing can, console me. But my Jolly Sailor Bold." Both men looked like they wanted to question, confusion rippled across their faces but they were rooted and Kayla tiled her head and her pitch changed again, darker and deeper, with an edge to something primordial and sinister. "My heart is pierced by Cupid. I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me. But my Jolly Sailor ...Bold." and both men swayed and she looked at the left man, tanned, clean shaven with brown eyes and a crew cut hair style. She pointed her finger at man to the right and made a gun motion shooting at him. Without hesitation the man pulled out a side arm and shot the bewildered gent in the side of the head. The befallen security guard crumped and hit the decking, blood and brains sprayed across the pipes and beyond. Kayla looked at him, edging closer she made the same gun motion under her own chin and looked intently into his eyes. He hesitated, the gun slowly moving into position under his jaw line. His finger over the trigger his eyes pleading to stop, but his body could not. The trigger didn't depress and pull and Kayla looked at him in the eyes. "There is nothing can console me..." He pulled the trigger and ended his own life.
Kit stood up, "What the actual fuck.... You are a Siren?" She stated, and for the first time her monotone voice broke. Kayla turned "On my grandmother's side, yes." Kit nodded "Glad you are on our side in this war." Rosch joined them, "Ladies, if we are finished this picnic" she looked past them, "Shit what's this?" Kit turned, her monotone returning, "Big ship. Cruise liner. Royal Caribbean operate out of the Gulf all the time. Responding to the distress signal." Rosch nodded, "They can't get close, the charges will rip a ship's hull apart. I don't mind wiping out these cretins, but not two to three thousand families." Kayla looked somber, "What do we do?" Kit scoffed, "We sink her." she moved past Kayla who gripped her arm "We can't do that!" she protested. "They are viable targets, ships like that dump all their garbage on their routes. Trash, plastic, human and industrial waste. It's about time they swam in their own filth!" she bit back. Rosch moved between them, "You are both right." She looked at Kit "They are viable." and then at Kayla, "We won't instantly sink her, just slice the hull. The hull of a cruise liner is only about what ten to twenty millimetres thick. The Arc-Blades can handle that no problem." They nodded in unison and Kayla looked down; she feared that she might be crossing a line. She looked up at both dead humans in front of her, maybe she already had, she thought but didn't dare voice that opinion. All three women ran for the stair line down three flights before the felt it was safe, and in perfect unison like precision swimmers the dived into the ocean. They hit the water with near no sound, no splash or ripple, their bodies adapting for swim and the water. They moved like torpedo's cutting a wake towards the cruise liner. Under the water their vision adjusting they could feel the pressure changes and hear the thudding sound through the water of the liner's turbine propellers. They split to opposite sides of the cruiser and Rosch sped up to hit the propeller. Drawing her blade, she sliced forward and fired a charge through the water. Bubbles rushed past her as the charge ignited and the propeller stuttered and lost three of its fin blades. On board the ship, crew and passengers were thrown from their feet as the ship shuttered like she had run aground. Kayla and Kit on opposite side extended their own blades and pierced the hull. The red stained metal offers no resistance to the Arc-Blade as both women cut large gouges of several meters along the hull. Water, fining any crack it could poured into the now open space. They swam upwards and again continued the cut along the hull meaning that there would be no amount of closed compartments to stop her slow march towards the bottom of the ocean.
They surfaced within moments of each other to see lights on the cruise liner flicker as she had to switch from engine power to some sort of internal power systems. Kayla looked at the ships bow, "Harmony of the Seas, fucking hypocrites." She might have had reservations but now that the act had been completed she held no regrets. All raised their Arc-Blades and shouted in unison "For the Ocean!" and pressed the activator switches. All the charges on the Caesar rig, the tanks, the supports and the struts detonated. The support struts blew apart, sending shrapnel in all directions. Had the cruise liner ineed anchored close by it would have been ripped to shreds from collateral damage. The main support column light up like a timed tree at Christmas and it too, cracked and exploded. The sounds of creaking metal, crunching stone and gears as the entire structure hit the water and began sinking rapidly. The woman turned from the scene and made their way back to shore, in under the cover of night not a single soul bore witness.
The phone buzzing woke Erik and he sleepily rubbed an eye and answered, "Devon?" he stated the fog sleep rapidly receding "No, I haven't." he fumbled and switched the phone from one ear to the other and reached for the remote. Turning on the TV he watched as Fox News covered a breaking story in the Gulf. He sighed and began listening again. "Understood. Recall all assets. We are coming in." He ended the call and continued to watch the broadcast as the sun slowly rose on a brand-new day. "Well, its war now."