The small town of Taji was a great gathering place for the various flagged merchant vessels that weren't on convoy duty. A few ships gathered around a makeshift pool that had taken them months to build.
Is it ready Nybraena?" Asked one.
"Just a minute, Senet." The Norwegian replied to her sister. "There, all ready." She said as she put the finishing touches on the offerings. A group of shells collected on the beach, some old whale bones from Sierra and a piece of a carbon fiber hull that Senet had gotten on a trip to Australia.
"Okay, we've got our offerings, let's begin." Sierra said.
Several minutes in, the shrill sound of a cellphone going off interrupted the proceedings. It sounded for less than 10 seconds but the strains of the all too familiar song already wafted over the ears of the audience and into the pool itself. "The world is a vampire..."
All eyes turned to Sierra who sheepishly turned off the sound as she fished her phone out of her pocket. "Oops, forgot to silence it. Sorry everyone." She said.
There were snorts and a few glares but everyone turned back to the pool as the water began to bubble, the telltale signs of a ship returning from the depths. At last she emerged. She was tiny! That was the first impression. She had to be only 4' maybe 4'6" at most. She was dressed in black from head to toe like some kind of commando. She wore a thick sweatshirt with full length leggings and running shoes. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail and a sports headband in addition. Her hazel eyes sparkled as she took in her surroundings.
Her rigging consisted of a simple radar mast, a pair of pontoons on each arm, and a lovely wave piercing bow. She had no weapons and yet Sierra went white as a sheet. "Oh no. No, no, no..." She moaned.
Nybraena was about to give the fellow whaler a good lesson in displaying some backbone when she too noticed what Sierra had already seen. The flag at her mast was unmistakable. That distinctive skull with the dolphin and whale inset upon it along with the trident and shephard's Hook as crossbones. She gulped despite herself.
Then the newcomer spoke. "Hi, I'm Ady Gil. Last I recall I was sinking in the Southern Ocean. Would someone please be kind enough to tell me what's going on?"
Sierra fainted, falling in a heep on the ground. Nybraena nearly followed her before she got enough wits about her to run away. Far away as possible from that-that thing! That thing that flew the same flag of the group that killed her! The rest of the whalers followed suit.
Ady was left standing there, confused as hell. "Was it something I said?" She wondered.