The sea was a dark mass that could only be distinguished from the sky by the countless stars that shone like tiny diamonds. The entire crew was on deck, all looking alarmed, but Chanon took control of the situation in a couple of seconds:
"Crew members, to your positions! The enemy's position can be detected to the southeast; however, they attacked us from above. They must have a bomber glider! Zenon, to the tower. Activate the cannons and wait for us to locate the source with precision. They must not have a clear idea of our position, yet. Chanaia, divert course. We don't want them to suspect The Base's location. We will confront them and finish them off right here."
At that moment, Armin and Mak got closer, both wearing serious and determined expressions. The burly young man seemed to be protectively surrounding the small, copper-haired girl. A smile began to form on Armin's face when she saw everyone in a combat stance. The young woman liked to fight.
"They must have a very talented Infinite with them, since I haven't deactivated the fog the entire way; moreover, we've been advancing under sail. I never ordered the engines to be started, even though I was interested in arriving as soon as possible due to Ilia's condition." - Chanaia commented to her brother. "A battle at sea, huh..." She murmured at the end as if talking to herself.
Chanon didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to the redhead Cela, who looked pale next to them, making the freckles that dotted her nose and forehead stand out.
Chanon knew it wasn't objective to instigate his subordinate at that time; nevertheless, it couldn't be helped.
"You were on guard duty. Why didn't you raise the alarm? You know the protocol, Cela."
For three seconds, the young woman didn't know how to reply. Her tongue seemed tied; such was the look the squadron captain was giving her. Around her, everyone was moving around, looking for positions, and some were multitasking, like Amir, who looked like a whirlwind on deck. Chanon shouted some orders again, looking composed and alert as he supervised all his subordinates.
"Chanaia, ready two homing missiles! Kenyak, I hope you have the barrier activated!"
"Ready, sir!" Replied the son of the desert.
Then, finally seeming to recover from her stupor, Cela turned to Chanon, looking desperate. Neither of her brothers had made any move in their work to approach her, but instead remained completely focused on their activities.
"I never let my guard down, Chanon. There was nothing on the radars, I swear!" She was on the verge of tears, that was a fact. She was even hiccuping and sniffling at times. Then Chanon placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I know you're telling the truth. Come on, find your position."
"Thank you, sir."
"No, I'm doing it because I'm certain you're not lying; otherwise, you'd be punished. Everyone must know this isn't a game, Cela." That was Chanon's blunt response. Just after his words, a strong jolt sent everyone staggering on deck. They had hit the starboard barrier, and Keniak's energy field was sparking where the shell had hit. But Zenon's immediate response with the cannons was not long in coming. Having obtained an approximate location of the enemy thanks to Chanon, he had easily seen the trajectory of the attack.
"Zorro, at three-fifteen," Zenon roared as he fired, and immediately something exploded somewhere to the southeast of his position. A ball of fire and pink smoke rose into the darkness about two kilometers from the ship.
"Very good," Chanon praised in a controlled voice. "Now I'll take care of the one who flies."-Then, raising his voice, he ordered, "Everyone, hold on!"
Concentrating intensely, Chanon began to move large masses of air. The warm sea at that hour helped him with his aim, and soon a strong column of air was crackling quite far from the ship, but making the waters dangerously choppy. Eventually, Chanon began to hunt down the bomber with the whirlpool.
At that moment, everyone heard Cela shout: "I've got them on the radar!"
Immediately, Chanaia was at her brother's side: "Whoever was disorienting the navigators had to be on the boat we just sank."
But again, Chanon ignored her as he muttered more to himself: "I've got you."
Chanaia, who could almost read her brother's mind, was very close to knowing exactly what he was doing. Soon, to confirm her suspicions, she saw a burning aircraft spiral down with its wings shattered. The ship exploded as soon as it crashed into the water. The bomber landed near the spot where the enemy boat had exploded, apparently because Chanon had taken into account the possibility that they might have retained some formation. However, it was only to be expected that they would have scattered after hitting the first target.
"Just in case," he told his sister, following her train of thought masterfully. They knew each other so well.
They all took a breath until Cela shouted once more:
"Five heat signatures are approaching, very fast...! They've appeared suddenly! Captain, they're right on top of us!" Cela sounded terrified. Five seconds later, Keniak's barrier trembled, sending out sparks from several points in the lower reaches where it made contact with the seawater. To make matters worse: two bombs fell from above, exploding on the barrier one after the other, causing a dazzling display of sparks and fire.
"I can't hold out much longer," The son of the desert gasped, his forehead beading with sweat. He grunted before adding, "I'm going to reinforce it one last time, Chanon. I've reached my limit."
"It's okay, Keniak, you've been great," Chanon replied before looking for Chanaia. His sister was approaching with several firearms in her arms. Although Zenon's shots from the main cannon continued, they failed to hit the second boat.
"For some reason, the second boat is repelling all of our attacks. Chanon, did you see them?" Chanaia snapped as soon as she got closer. She was referring to the five attackers who were assaulting the barrier from the water, so close to The Seeker.
"Yes, they are the mercenaries' famous bionic weapons," Chanon said, and everyone froze.