Riku Tanaka's heart hammered against his ribs, a frantic drumbeat against the rising tension that thrummed through the disguised Aeternus.
He stood by the starboard coil-cannon, his hands slick with a nervous sweat. He quickly wiped on his trousers, resting on the cool, unfamiliar metal of its control interface. This was it.
His moment.
Ever since the System had designated him Gunnery Cadet, specializing in Coil-Cannon Precision, he'd pored over the schematics, run countless simulations in his mind, and pestered Helga Rössler and Hammer Kovács with endless questions.
Now, the black flags of the slaver fleet were growing larger, their crude ships spreading out like a wolf pack closing in on unsuspecting prey... prey that, Riku knew, was far more dangerous than it appeared.
The Aeternus, under its Veil-of-Harbour, looked like a mundane merchantman, plodding along innocently.
But beneath that photonic skin, her heart was nuclear, her sinews were of leviathan bone, and her teeth were waiting to bite.
Riku could feel the barely suppressed power of the coil-cannon beneath his fingertips, a low thrum that resonated with the thrum of the Clean-Core deep within the ship.
Helga had managed to get a stable power feed to the cannons, and Riku had spent hours familiarizing himself with the targeting system, which felt less like machinery and more like an extension of his own will.
"They're hailing us, Captain," Idris al-Arif's smooth voice reported from the quarterdeck, where he stood beside Captain Mallory, ready to engage in a verbal dance with the slavers.
"On screen, Mr. Tanaka, if you please," Mallory's voice was calm, but Riku could hear the underlying steel.
Not an actual screen, but the System could feed visual data. Riku focused on his console, which flickered, showing a magnified view of the lead slaver vessel.
A brutish, heavily armored ship bristling with crude cannons and what looked like harpoon launchers. On its deck, a figure in dark, ornate armor, presumably the slaver captain, was gesturing towards them.
Idris began to speak, his voice taking on a subservient, almost whiny tone that was a perfect imitation of a nervous merchant captain.
Riku couldn't hear the slavers' reply, but Idris's side of the conversation was a masterclass in feigned ignorance and fear, all designed to buy them time, to draw the slavers in closer.
"They're asking our cargo, our destination," Idris relayed, his voice low. "Standard pleasantries before they decide whether to rob us, enslave us, or sink us for sport."
"Keep them talking, Idris," Mallory said. "Valeria, what's their disposition?"
"Several of their faster ships are attempting to flank us, Captain," Valeria Chen, the Chief Navigator, reported, her voice tight. "They're not falling for the lone trader act completely. They're boxing us in."
"Hammer," Mallory's voice was sharp. "Are your ballista crews ready?"
"Aye, Captain!" Gabriel 'Hammer' Kovács, the Bosun turned Weapons Master, roared back. Riku could see him across the deck, a giant of a man whose newfound authority sat surprisingly well on his broad shoulders.
He was directing the crews on the eight Storm-Bolt gravity ballistas, their leviathan-bone arms already aimed, their sinew strings taut. "We've got a firing solution for those flankers. Just give the word."
Kovács, despite his initial reluctance, had thrown himself into his new role. He'd drilled the ballista crews relentlessly, his booming voice echoing across the deck as he taught them the intricacies of the strange, powerful weapons.
His fear of the deep water was still there, Riku knew, but when it came to the ship's rigging and her weapons, Hammer was fearless, a rock for the crew to depend on.
He'd even started to innovate, sketching out modifications for the storm-bolts, incorporating some of the salvaged megalodon teeth into their tips for extra penetration.
His likability, the gentle giant who could braid rope toys for the ship's cat, was now augmented by a fierce, protective determination when it came to defending the Aeternus.
"Riku, status on the coil-cannons?" Mallory asked.
"Fully powered, Captain!" Riku reported, his voice cracking slightly with excitement. He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Targeting systems are green. I can paint any one of those rust buckets from here to next week."
"Hold your fire, Cadet," Mallory cautioned. "Let's see how this plays out. We don't want to reveal our full hand too soon."
The lead slaver ship was now less than a kilometer away. Riku could make out the individual figures on its deck, their faces leering and cruel.
The black pennant with its kraken hook emblem snapped mockingly in the wind. The core image from the outline: Black pennant shaped like a kraken hook. It was a symbol of pure menace.
Suddenly, Idris stiffened. "Captain, they're demanding we heave to and prepare to be boarded. They say they're 'inspecting' for contraband. Standard slaver pretext."
"Standard indeed," Mallory said, his voice hardening.
"Valeria, evasive maneuvers. Take us to the port, try to break through their flanking line. Helga, give us everything you've got from the Core! Hammer, Riku, prepare to engage at will! It's time the Aeternus showed her teeth!"
***
***
The System's notification flashed in Riku's vision.
The illusion of the small merchantman dissolved, the true form of the Aeternus shimmering into view sleek, powerful, her oak-veneer-over-steel hull gleaming, her advanced weaponry now starkly visible.
A collective gasp, almost audible even over the distance and the wind, seemed to come from the slaver ships.
"Helms alee!" Valeria cried, spinning the wheel.
The Aeternus, her Clean-Core roaring to life, responded with a surge of speed and agility that belied her size. She heeled over sharply, her kelp-fiber sails straining as she clawed her way to port, directly towards the gap in the slavers' encircling line.
"They're firing!" someone shouted.
Puffs of black smoke erupted from the sides of the nearest slaver vessels. Cannonballs, crude iron spheres, screamed through the air.
Most fell short, splashing harmlessly into the churning sea. But a few came dangerously close. One smashed into the water just meters from their stern, sending up a geyser of spray that drenched the aft deck.
"Riku! That lead is a flanking ship! Take it out!" Mallory commanded.
"Aye, Captain!" Riku's fingers danced over his console. The targeting reticle in his vision locked onto the slaver ship, a fast, paddle-wheel driven vessel that was trying to cut off their escape route.
***
***
"Firing starboard coil-cannon!" Riku yelled, slamming his palm down on the firing stud.
There was no deafening roar like a traditional cannon. Instead, a sharp, whip-crack sound split the air, followed by a low hum as the massive capacitors discharged.
A streak of incandescent blue light, the 3kg flechette sabot moving at Mach 4, erupted from the coil-cannon. It was too fast to see, a line of pure energy that connected the Aeternus to its target.
The impact was devastating.
The flechette didn't just punch a hole; it tore through the slaver ship's paddle-wheel mechanism like it was made of paper, sending splinters of wood and metal flying.
The ship lurched violently, its primary propulsion destroyed, and began to slew helplessly, out of the fight.
"YEEESSSS!" Riku screamed, pumping his fist. The power was intoxicating, the precision exhilarating.
"Good shooting, Cadet!" Mallory's voice was approving. "Hammer! Give their friends something to remember us by! Target those ships to starboard!"
"With pleasure, Captain!" Hammer roared. "Ballista crews, volley fire! Aim for their rigging and rudders!"
The eight Storm-Bolt gravity ballistas fired in a coordinated volley, the sound of their leviathan-bone arms cracking like thunder.
The massive bolts, trailing their thick cables, arced through the air.
Several found their mark, shredding sails, smashing through rudders, and punching into hulls with brutal force. One slaver ship, its mainmast shattered, began to list heavily.
The slavers, clearly shocked by the sudden and overwhelming firepower of their intended victim, seemed to hesitate. Their undisciplined cannon fire became more sporadic, less accurate.
But the flagship, the one flying the kraken hook pennant, was not so easily deterred. It turned ponderously, its own heavy cannons beginning to bear. Riku saw flashes of light from its deck not just cannon fire, but something else, something that looked like… lightning?
"Incoming! Energy discharge!" Valeria shouted from the helm.
Arcs of what looked like raw electricity, crackling and blue, leaped from the slaver flagship towards the Aeternus.
This was the "lightning harpoon tech" the dossier had mentioned. The core image: Arcs dancing over steel-oak veneer.
Several of the bolts struck their hull. The ship shuddered under the impacts, and Riku saw sparks fly from the railings. Warning lights flashed on his console.
***
***
"Shielding?" Riku muttered. He hadn't even known they had energy shielding.
"Their flagship is tougher than the others, Captain!" Hammer yelled. "Our ballista bolts are not doing enough damage!"
"Riku, can you target their weapons?" Mallory asked, his voice tight.
"Trying, Captain! But those lightning projectors are small targets, and they're moving!" Riku struggled to get a lock, the slaver flagship maneuvering erratically, its own cannons now finding their range.
A cannonball screamed past Riku's head, so close he felt the wind of its passage, and smashed into the mainmast with a sickening crunch. The mast shuddered, but held, thanks to Hammer's earlier repairs and its own enhanced structure.
***
***
"We need to break off this engagement, Captain, or they'll overwhelm us with numbers!" Valeria urged, skillfully dodging another volley of cannon fire.
Mallory knew she was right.
They had bloodied the slavers, shown them they were not easy prey, but a prolonged, running gun duel with a numerically superior, if technologically inferior, foe was a losing proposition.
Their goal was to escape, to survive, not to win a pitched battle. Not yet, anyway.
"Agreed. Riku, one more shot! Target their flagship's rudder! Hammer, suppressive fire on their forward cannons! Helga, prepare for maximum evasive speed once Riku fires! Valeria, be ready to take us through the gap!"
Orders acknowledged, Riku took a deep breath, his entire being focused on the targeting reticle.
The slaver flagship's rudder was a difficult shot, partially submerged, constantly moving. But he had to make it. He waited for the Aeternus to crest a wave, for that fractional moment of stability, then fired.
The blue streak of the coil-cannon flashed out again. This time, it struck true. There was a muffled explosion at the stern of the slaver flagship. The massive rudder splintered, then tore away, leaving the flagship wallowing, unable to steer effectively.
"Direct hit! Rudder destroyed!" Riku yelled triumphantly.
"Now, Valeria! Now!" Mallory commanded.
With a final, defiant volley from Hammer's ballistas that swept the decks of the nearest slaver ships, the Aeternus surged forward, her Clean-Core roaring at full power.
She sliced through the gap in the slaver line, leaving the disorganized, damaged armada in her wake. A few parting shots followed them, but they were wild, inaccurate.
They had done it. They had faced a slaver armada and fought their way free. Riku felt a wave of exhaustion and elation wash over him.
He looked at his crewmates their faces grimy, sweat-soaked, but alive, and with a new, hard-won glint in their eyes. They were no longer just bewildered castaways. They were warriors. And the Aeternus was their sword and shield.
The black flags of the slavers receded in the distance, a red wake of blood and splintered wood marking their brief, violent encounter.
The Sea of Ten-Fold Shadows had tested them again. And again, they had survived. But Riku knew, with a chilling certainty, that this was far from over. The kraken hook would remember them.