Chapter Twenty-Four
Michael sat in the Seawolf Hunter control booth, watching as the countdown on the screen beside him made its way through the two-minute mark. Letting his breath hiss out from between his teeth, he spun his chair around to face Jake. "All set?"
Jake scanned through the various diagnostics that reported on the condition of the fighting vessel. "Engines are green, ammo loadout is 100, no leaks…Set to roll."
"Well alrighty then." Michael took a sip from his can of Coke and was silent for a moment. "So, this is it then."
"Yup." Jake turned to look at his friend. "We're in the final dogfight. Finally," he added with a grin.
Michael groaned. "Did you have to add that at the end?"
"Of course I did. You would have if I hadn't."
"True." Michael spun back to his console as the warning buzzer for one minute. "Let's do this then."
In the press booth, Melanie made her way to her seat and sat down. The Dradle Industries bodyguard, recovered from the events of the day before, proceeded to take his seat beside her. She looked up at the big screen set up for the audience, and at the vast crowd gathered to watch the final engagement. Down in the crowd, she recognised Admiral James Bickerson and the captain of the Messernacht, standing among the fans, watching. She smiled, then looked over to where the control booths were located. "Good luck," she whispered as the timer clicked down the last five seconds and the starting horn blared.
Michael immediately shoved forward on the throttles, sending the Seawolf Hunter blazing across the waves at full speed. At the same time, Jake activated the radar, looking for the elusive Hydra. "Got 'im," he called. "Come right to two-five-zero."
"Two-five-zero. Doing it," Michael replied, turning the vessel so that it barrelled towards its opponent at high speed. In less than a minute, a small white dot appeared on the horizon in front of the Seawolf Hunter. As the vessel closed the range, moving across the waves at 45 knots, the Hydra came into view. Michael grinned, closing the distance until the two vessels were less than a hundred metres apart. "What are you up to Kurt?" As he said it, Hydra literally slammed to a halt, braking impossibly fast for a boat. Michael tried to manoeuvre clear, and managed to avoid his stationary opponent by three metres. However, as the Seawolf Hunter swept past, Hydra rotated on the spot and raked her opponent with rotary cannon fire. Michael dodged away as the Hydra got back up on plane and set off in pursuit.
The crowd cheered as the Hydra tore into her foe. At the same time, Melanie sucked in her breath as the Seawolf Hunter dodged clear. "Close one Mike," she muttered. The bodyguard grunted in approval, then helped himself to a handful of popcorn from the CNN anchor to his left.
Michael snarled to himself as various warning lights appeared on his display. "We've taken damage to the main cannon," Jake called out, "but the boosters and harpoon seem to be ok."
"Alright then." Michael flicked through the camera-angles, finally spotting the Hydra astern and to port. The main cannon on the opposing vessel belched fire, sending high-explosive rounds into the water all around the Seawolf Hunter. "I think he's getting serious about this," Michael said as he tried to dodge the explosions that raked the water around his vessel.
"Well, you'd better get serious then too," Jake said in a stern voice.
Michael dodged another explosion. Then, inexplicably, he grinned. "Those mods to the booster software that Stan made. They still work?"
"Don't see why not," Jake replied. "What you thinking?"
Michaels grin grew wider. "Watch this bro…" His fingers dashed across the display before him, finally slamming down on one key.
The result was instantaneous
The jet booster on the Seawolf Hunter emerged from their recessed slots. Then, with a roar, they ignited. With the modifications made by the Stan AI, the power that the boosters now held was, for lack of a better word, insane. Seawolf Hunter fired away like a seven metre long, armour-plated, ship-shaped bullet, leaving the Hydra in its wake.
The crowd went mad as the Seawolf Hunter unleashed the full power of her boosters. Over the two combatants, a cameraman in a helicopter overhead struggled to keep the vessel in frame. Then, inexplicably, Seawolf Hunter doubled back, heading back towards Hydra. As the crowd watched on the big screen, the television audience watched on their televisions, and Melanie watched with the rest of the press, Seawolf Hunter began to circle the Hydra, which suddenly slid to a halt as Kurt watched through his onboard cameras in bewilderment. As the camera zoomed in, an oily trail appeared behind the Seawolf Hunter, almost as if it was dumping its fuel in a trail behind it. Then, with a loud whoosh, the circling vessel pulsed its booster, igniting the fuel trail that encircled the Hydra.
Back in the Hydra control booth, Kurt Rickardson looked around his vessel with his cameras as he waited for the flames to dissipate. Suddenly, with a loud ringing, the cell-phone he had left beside his control console began to ring. He picked up the phone and glared at the caller ID. Then, flipping the phone open, he raised it to his ear. "Yes, very nice Michael. But to what end?"
"Oh, that's easy," Michael responded. "Knock knock."
"Who's there?" Kurt responded.
"Look."
"Look who?" Kurt grinned.
"Look behind you." The line suddenly went dead. Kurt stared at the phone, then looked up at his screen. Acting purely on instinct, he slewed the Hydra around ninety degrees to starboard and opened fire. The water exploded from the impact of the shells, sending flaming spray into the air.
Then, Seawolf Hunter appeared.
Not on the water, but two metres above where the explosions raked the seas, Seawolf Hunter arrowed downwards, having performed a Cobra manoeuvre similar to in her semi-final fight. Jet boosters screaming, Seawolf Hunter scorched through the fire, through the flames, and through the air. To his credit, Rickardson reacted incredibly fast, correcting his aim and slamming no less than five high-explosive shells into the oncoming vessel before Seawolf Hunter slammed into Hydra at a thirty-five degree angle on the vertical axes with diabolical force, driving both vessels beneath the surface and out of sight.
The crowd, watching back on shore, fell silent as both vessels disappeared beneath the waves. All around the world, those watching the Naval Royale went silent, waiting to see what competitor would rise to the surface as the victor and winner. Melanie was on her feet, watching as the fire-circle flamed out and the cameraman in the helicopter looked for his subjects. Then, a rush of bubbles rose to the surface. And through the foam, Seawolf Hunter surfaced. Seconds later, towed by harpoon, the disabled wreck of the Hydra emerged, offline. The battle, and indeed the tournament, was over. The crowd erupted in cheers and roars of approval. In the press booth, Melanie got to her feet as the bodyguard raised the camera, ready to film her statement. As she tried to figure out what to say, Melanie suddenly smiled. "Film the crowd," she said, before striding across the room towards the door.
In the control booth, Michael leaned back in his chair and let his breath whoosh out between his teeth. "Can't believe that actually worked."
"Hang on," Jake said. "You're telling me you bet all of our hard work on a move you had no idea would even work?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Jake got out of his chair and strode across to where Michael has stood up. Jake glared at his friend, before slapping him on the back in a bear-hug. The two laughed in triumph at their victory, before walking to the door and emerging to the roar of the crowd. Michael raised his arms in victory and yelled, in a call that the crowd returned. Suddenly, the banging of footsteps on the cat-walk made him turn, just as Melanie leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately, which made the crowd cheer even louder.
A loud cough behind the duo made Michael look behind him. Mr Stophanes, the Acting Chairman of the Naval Royale Commission, stood with the trophy in his hand. Speaking into a boom microphone, his voice echoed out over the crowd. "Ladies and gentleman, it is with great honour and privilege that I present the winners' trophy for Naval Royale 2010 to Team SeaMasters. Jake Delsio, Michael Merckenson, and the Seawolf Hunter!" The crowd roared in delight as Stophanes handed the trophy to Michael and Jake, shaking their hands as he did so. Turning to the crowd, the duo raised the trophy to the crowd, which roared in approval. As they did so, Michael looked to the sky. "For you Dad," he whispered. "Thanks for the help." Jake nodded, while Melanie wrapped her arms around Michael and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Merckenson!"
Michael turned. On the catwalk behind Jake stood Kurt Rickardson, his winning streak destroyed. Glaring at his defeater, Rickardson stalked over and looked Michael in the eye. Then, abruptly, he stuck out his hand. "Good match," he said, a smile breaking out on his face.
Michael accepted the shake. "You too Kurt. You too."
The two combatants stood like that for a moment, before Kurt broke away and headed off towards his booth. Then, suddenly, he turned back to Michael. "See you next season?"
Michael grinned. "You can count on it." Kurt grinned and headed away. Michael watched him go. Then, handing the trophy to Jake, he wrapped an arm around Melanie's shoulders, before heading away into the crowd that continued to roar in celebration.