CHAPTER FIFTY
From the boat Pooch did his best to keep abreast of the medical ship, but choppy waters and the smoke from the fire made it difficult.
"Better move while you can," Pooch warned. "I'm not going to be able to hold this for long."
Clay rewarded him with an encouraging smile and a nod. "Roque?"
When the Captain failed to answer, Pooch looked at him worriedly. He'd never known the mage to be hesitant when it came to heights.
"Roque?" Clay asked again.
Pooch let out a snort when he saw the disparaging expression on the mage's face.
"Sure hope no one's watching because blue fur blends in so well with gun metal gray," Roque grumbled.
"Don't worry," Clay assured him. "I'll be going up first. Anything goes wrong, I'll knock you into the water."
"Great, so I drown instead of bleed to death... thanks."
Even as the two men groused back and forth they were already making their way to the side of the ship.
"Casey," Pooch called, nodding towards Roque and Clay. "Let me know when it's safe to pull away."
"You know, I can do a lot more for your people if I'm up high," Teagues offered.
"Yeah, but until Roque and the others take care of that elemental all you'd get up high is grilled instead of broiled."
Teagues nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I like a good barbeque as much as the next man, but being on the menu isn't part of the plan."
"Good to know you have a plan."
As they spoke Pooch continued to fight for controls trying to keep the boat as steady as possible. He'd been so focused on the task at hand that he'd missed Casey's first 'all clear' and was startled when she placed a hand on his arm.
"They're safely aboard," she assured him.
Pooch nodded and moved away from the ship, hoping to get a better angle on the situation.
#
Clay didn't know if he was relieved or worried that their approach had met with no resistance. On one hand it meant less risk to him and Roque, on the other it meant that no one was minding the store.
As he slipped over the railing and took up a defensive position to protect Roque, he saw why.
One gutted chopper lay on the landing pad while a very large, very angry figure raged across the deck as if it were a small stage.
He slung his rifle over his shoulder knowing it would do him no good here. For now they needed cover and a chance to get Roque into position to do something about the rampaging elemental.
To their left, at the craft's bow, he could see the air elemental. He turned to Roque and gave him a questioning look.
"This is your bailiwick. Tell me where you need to be."
#
Roque moved as quickly as he dared. He hadn't been kidding about just how much he would stand out against the ship's hull and the sooner he was off the side of the ship and in the shadows the better.
At least that had been his thought as he was climbing. Once he'd settled into the cover Clay had found, his priorities changed.
The fire elemental's rage was palpable. As he felt his own pulse increase he raised his knife ready to do whatever needed to be done to deal with it.
#
Clay watched Roque and shook his head as the man reached for his knife. As much as he hated blood magic, the idea of Roque hurting himself to take this thing down was too much.
He was about to say something when a woman made out of flame appeared between them.
He knew it was pointless, but it didn't stop him from doing the only thing he could: he moved between them raising his hands as if to surrender or talk the woman out of whatever she was about to do.
The woman tilted her head. "I was going to tell your friend to hold on," she began. "But perhaps I should warn you as well. I have been asked to talk to the Juggernaut. If nothing else it will give you time to seek shelter."
"If I fail.. Then you can use the grenades," she added looking meaningfully at his raised hands.
Clay gave her a slight shrug but he knew any innocence, feigned or otherwise was useless against this particular woman.
He put his hands down but didn't let go of the grenades. So far they were the best weapons he had.
#
"And that," Roque explained as he stared at the retreating form. "Is why it's good to consider elementals intelligent beings instead of forces to be used."
He paused and shook his head when he recognized Clay's expression. It was his 'pretend to understand and make sure Roque doesn't get shot' expression.
While he hated the fact that Clay would probably never understand magic, he did appreciate the whole 'not getting shot' aspect of Clay's 'understanding.'
"I'm going to check on Cougs and Jensen. I'll be back in a moment," he warned before leaning against the nearest bulkhead and going astral.
It was the quickest way to get a handle on the situation, and while Clay resisted understanding anything about how magic worked, he did know how Roque worked.
#
It didn't take Roque long to get the lay of the land. On the physical plane there were plenty of places to hide on the deck of the ship, but on the Astral there was virtually none. He could see the the attacking elemental as well as those trying to fight it: the female Fire Elemental, that had manifest nearby and the Wind Elemental hovering off the bow of the ship.
A little more searching led him to Cougar and Jensen... and several men surrounding them.
He pulled back quickly as he sensed the bug spirits inhabiting the men's meat and the deadened spaces where a person used to be. He sensed the calm resolve the filled every fiber of Cougar's being and the odd almost disco display that was Jensen's aura… only right now that disco show was colored in hues of concern and worry… and a fierce, undeniable sense of resolve that was at odds with a conscious Jensen.
The final aura was that of the Naval Mage he'd talked to. The mage was now semi-conscious, obviously injured.
'Just had to make it interesting, didn't you?' he thought to himself, somehow blaming Jensen for the reversal in fortune.
#
It didn't take Roque long to finish his scouting run and return to the situation at hand and for that Clay was eternally grateful.
The only thing worse than a magical battle was one being carried out directly in front of you and you're the least magical thing in sight.
"What have you got?"
Roque shook his head and activated his comm, it was probably better to tell everyone at one time rather than tell Clay and have him relay it to the the others.
'We've got a problem,' he began.
'What, more than a ship full of bugs, potential bug fodder and a rampaging Fire Elemental?' Pooch demanded.
Clay shook his head. That answer was pure Pooch.
'Yes. Pooch, since you asked, Jensen and Cougs are on the port side of the ship. They are surrounded, Coug's is engaged with the enemy and the man's aura is slipping into the danger zone.'
Roque paused. He didn't want to worry the others any more than that, but there was more to say. Cougs had gone into this fight injured and from what he'd seen this was going to be a death match.
'The particular enemy Cougar is fighting is cybered and bugged, and very, very powerful.'
'See what you all can do to help him out… we're going to have our hands full dealing with the fire elemental,' he added as he turned towards Clay.
'If we don't take it out fast, rescuing Cougs and Jensen won't matter because the elemental will fry them… and us.'
#
Clay liked the sound of that even less. It meant that the 'negotiations' with the Elemental hadn't worked out and it was going to take a much bigger stick to get things settled.
With a slight shrug he prepared to move in. There was little else he could do.
#
Pooch immediately bought the boat around, changing its heading towards the ship's port side and began scanning the area.
"What's going on?" Teagues asked, worried by the sudden change in direction.
"The rest of our team is in trouble. Roque wants us to see what we can do."
"From down here?"
"Yeah, from down here."
"How!?"
"Don't ask me, I'm just the driver."
Teagues shook his head and quickly made his way to the bow of the boat.
Watching him begin scanning the decks through his rifle's scope sent a shiver down Pooch's spine. Part of him was thankful for the assist, but the other parts couldn't help but scream that it should be Cougar scanning the area and reporting in.
He turned towards Jolene and Casey.
"See if you can find..."
His sentence trailed off as Jolene handed him a pair of binoculars.
"It is a patrol boat," she explained.
He shrugged and took them. "Thanks."
In the end there really wasn't much else to say.
#
Cougar knew he was in trouble.
Stretching out his senses he could feel the wrongness on a very deep level. Each impact, each effort to get back up was costing him and it was getting worse. He drew a deep breath, calling on more energy from to even things out, to stabilize himself and prevent more harm.
Looking at Martinez he spat. The man wasn't going to give him the chance to heal- the MA wanted him broken and bloody before he died.
#
Martinez let out a low chuckle as he noticed not only the blood seeping through Alvarez's bandages, but Jensen's reaction to his friend's injuries. This was going to be an important step in breaking the decker.
Martinez wondered if the decker, had realized it yet it yet or not, but he had been the one who had shot Alvarez, albeit at Max's orders. He wondered if Jensen was thinking about how much easier it would have been if he'd surrendered in the first place.
The decker had been bought and paid for, he just hadn't realized it yet.
Some people were just slow learners and this was going to be a painful lesson for Cougar and, more importantly for Jensen.
#
There was something in Martinez's glance that sent Cougar's nerves on edge. There was a possessiveness in the man's stance, and when he realized that 'possession' was Jensen he stood taller, channeling his energy inwardly to heal the damage long enough for him to teach that pendejo that no one owned his teammate.
He wavered on his feet just long enough to let over confidence set in before he launched himself at the Master of Arms.
#
It wasn't pretty, it wasn't graceful. Jensen understood the time had run out on that- it was now kill or be killed and time was the enemy.
While Cougar's attack lacked the smooth liquid motion he'd come to expect from the physical adept, there was a primal force behind it that was just as breath taking.
He was very glad Cougar was on his side.
#
As the boat caught the swells generated by the ship's passing Teagues spotted the fight in question.
"Found em'," he called nodding towards the ship. "Quarter of the way back, Five surrounding two... "
He paused as another swell brought them higher. "Make that three... one's down, and there's a knock down-drag out going on between two of them...
#
Pooch grabbed the binoculars and tried to take in as much as he could as he fought to keep the ship under control.
As it was, he was forced to grab the wheel and throttle down the engines, trying to match the ship's speed and direction.
"Let Casey have the binoculars... she can tell your man what's going on. You need to focus on driving," Jolene told him gently as she took the binoculars from him and handed them to the medic.
Pooch watched as Casey took them and headed out to the deck and shook his head. A medic/pacifist/dryad acting as spotter for an Azzie sniper... what would he see next?
#
Jolene watched the way Pooch studied Casey and shook her head. At first she'd thought there was something between the medic and Roque, but she quickly learned that his feelings towards her were more brotherly than... otherwise.
Now Pooch was looking at the medic the same way.
She sighed, wishing someone would look at her the same way... or ... otherwise.
#
Roque moved closer to Clay.
"We're only going to get one shot at this. I know what I need to do. I need you to let me do it."
"Not if it gets you killed," Clay answered as he began rolling up his sleeve.
Roque was taken aback when the Colonel, his brother in everything but blood offered him his arm, his life's blood to defeat the elemental.
"Clay..."
"Just... do it Roque... "
When he started to object again, Clay met his gaze. "Roque... You know what's at stake... We don't do this..."
Roque studied him a moment longer and nodded. Desperate times called for desperate measures.
He took a deep breath and drew his knife, honored by the trust his commander and friend was showing him.
