Chapter 22: The Hunt.
The Cart and Dancing titans ran side by side, the former carrying Nikolai on her back after leaving the supplies on the way to allow the shifter to increase speed; they hurried onwards a small but dense forest where tha man said his "spaceship" was located. A few kilometers from the woods's edge Ymir's titan glanced at him briefly and spoke with some degree of hesitation.
_Are you really sure this thing of yours will work? -she asked- I mean, it's been abandoned for years now.
_Don't worry! -he shouted back- I'll explain once we're there!
The shifter grumbled an answer but didn't insist, knowing he wouldn't say another word as they moved between the tall trees until they reached a small clearing. Nikolai called for a stop, not realizing it wasn't needed.
Inside their respective creatures both girls gawked at the machine silently waiting away from the trees, alone on the patch of grass under the sun: a construct that was easily three or four times bigger than Ymir's titan, coloured in blue and silver and standing on four small "legs". Its shape looked like an 'A' but rounder on the edges, and the middle part had a spherical shaped section, the upper side of which was covered in what looked like transparent glass; it looked strangely smooth and harmless for all he said about it.
_Can it really do as much as you boast? -Pieck asked without stopping her staring- Travel in space and fight?
_Come and find out! -he said happily, jumping down her back holding his computer on a hand.
The other two didn't waste time in getting out of their titans, if also choosing to approach carefully as he checked his device and hummed satisfied.
_Yes, it's in perfect shape. -he commented- In case you have any doubts, this lady is programmed to turn her engine on so she can use her own heat and expulse steam from certain spots to get rid of snow, leaves dirt or some other shit when it accumulates in important places. Come on, let's take her for a ride.
He pressed a key and the computer beeped. Both girls jumped a bit when the crystal on the ship moved to reveal the cabin and a couple of thin metallic stairs spawned on its sides; Niko ignored them and quickly ran and climbed up, sitting comfortably on one of the four seats the machine had: one at the front and three behind with a bit of space between each, the middle one a bit further back than the others. The shifters exchanged a nervous look then nodded and followed him, climbing one on each side (Pieck was a bit slower) and cautiously sitting behind the man. Their doubts however vanished replaced by curiosity as soon as they saw the console with a small screen in front of each, as well as the many buttons and a two small devices potruding in front of them.
_Those little things are the controllers of the lesser plasma cannons. -he informed them- You can point them with those or by touching the screen. Try moving them around.
Ymir obeyed first, and gasped when the screen showed an image of the small area in front of them, showing two small crosses which moved as soon as she tilted the controllers to a side or the other. Niko chuckled while pressing a few buttons and reading on his screen.
_That is the zone in front ot the right wing's small cannons. -he explained- Those crosses mark the spot where you'll shoot. Press the red buttons a bit.
Eyeing Pieck anxiously, the brunette gulped and obeyed: the instant she did small blasts of purple-white... stuff shot from the ship's wing and exploded agressively on contact, making holes on the ground and shredding a few trees. The male laughed and clapped as they fell with a loud crash, burnt by the hot projectiles.
_It... it destroyed those trees like it was nothing. -Pieck whispered- And shot so quickly but... you called them the lesser cannons.
_I instructed the ship to let you use those only. -he cleared- The other weaponry will be at my disposition, at least for the time being. Now however...
Nikolai pushed a few buttons and the crystal closed around them just as the ship emitted a low, almost unhearable buzz and the trio felt a soft vibration, then a shake as it began lifting from the ground; as it did, a set of double belts sprouted from the seats to hold them in place.
_Holy fuck Nikolai! -Ymir whined behind him, holding tightly to her seat- What's going on?! What are you doing?!
_Showing you what this babe can do! -he replied with a chuckle as the trees were quickly left below.
On his left, Pieck was at a loss of words, looking at the land as they ascended more and more; in a few seconds they were a hundred meters above the ground and the ship halted, staying still in the air.
_You ready? -he asked, looking at each with a devious smile.
_I suppose. -the Cart mumbled not really sure.
_No. -the Dancing whimpered.
_Great.
The Huntress moved forward, flying above the green plains at astonishing speed: Niko laughed happily while the excited (Pieck at least) and terrified (in Ymir's case, quite more) girls sank on their seats with only their eyes moving around. Then he moved the device in his hands and the ship tilted to the left describing a graceful curve, then did it to the opposite side; Niko sped up in a straigh line and suddenly made it turn 180 degrees when they passed by a group of titans and without a word he unleashed fire on them. The ship's guns turned the creatures -a total of eight- in a bloody mist in a matter of seconds.
_Impressed? -he asked innocently, looking at each with a smug smirk.
Pieck nodded absently not realizing the question wasn't serious while Ymir's mouth opened and closed in a loop as she dug her nails on her seat to latch on her place. He hummed and remained in position, thinking his next move for a short while before smiling wide and making the ship go upwards at stunning speed, something Ymir didn't find amusing judging by her strangled cry; even Pieck made small scared noises the higher they went.
_Don't panic, this bad girl is made to endure much more than this. -he said calmly as they went up- We'll be there in no time.
Both girls where too busy being concerned about dying horribly to bother to ask him what he meant as their ascension progressed, the clouds looking bigger by the second. Pieck felt her heart beat wildly in her chest when they became engulfed by them for a few seconds before the Huntress left them behind quickly without any sign of stopping; the marleyan tried to ask him what he was trying to do, but all she managed to do was a soft croaking sound as the sky turned darker and darker, and then...
_N-N-N-Nikolai... it's...
His head poked from behind his seat, a smile growing on his features when he saw the girl's awed expression: her eyes wide open as well as her mouth, sitting still while her mind probably tried to process it all.
_It's a nice view. -he said turning to look at Ymir- Take a look you too.
The freckled shifter trembled on her seat, her hands covering her eyes; Nikolai pressed a button and his belts retracted so he could move. Carefully, he moved from his seat to kneel at her side and slowly moved a hand to brush her own. Ymir whimpered a bit, but other than that she remained still.
_Come on, don't be afraid. We're not moving now, promise. -he said tenderly- I'm sorry for scaring you, really. I didn't think consider how much flying could shock you, it wasn't my intention to make you feel so bad. Come on Ymir... let me show you.
Gently he pulled both hands away, but the girl kept her eyes and mouth closed tight and shook her head; Nikolai caressed her cheek, assuring her it was alright, that she was safe, that nothing would hurt her. After a bit, Ymir finally seemed to calm down and began breathing normally; then she slowly opened her eyes and soon was agape like Pieck.
In front of them, the blue sky was replaced by the pitch black of night; the shifter knew that was impossible, since it was early afternoon when they found the ship and also it was... different. Instead of having the brightest stars only and having to squint to see others like in the city, or the slightly clearer view from the forest trips partially covered by branches, Ymir witnessed the blackness of space littered by countless stars like small diamonds on dark velvet amidst the most complete silence; other than their soft breathing no sound could be heard, not even from within the ship.
_Wh-where are we? -the Dancing shifter finally said, not bothering to look at Nikolai.
_On the borders of outer space. -he informed- Barely withing the planet's gravity field.
_Oh... whatever.
_It's beautiful. -Pieck mumbled as he sat back on his seat.
_Yeah it is. Although compared to other things i've seen... i'll show you one of these days i hope.
_You saw this very often, didn't you? -Ymit asked him with a bit of envy.
_Not as much as you think. -he confessed, sitting back on his place- Whenever i travelled i usually wasn't the one piloting the ship, and most do not have windows to peek outside unless they're leisure cruisers. I have my share of sightings of course, and a bunch of pictures and videos recorded.
_How far can we go? -Pieck said from her spot with interest- Before having to return?
_With the right conditions, i think i could actually take you to the moon and back. -he answered, and the shifters shared a shocked glance- But we don't have time for that. However... there is something else i want you to see.
Slowly, to avoid scaring Ymir again, Nikolai made the ship turn around to let them see the real treat, grinning as he quickly eyed each of the girls staring in utter shock.
Right before their eyes, the planet showed its surface covered in the blue of the ocean, the green and brown of land and the white of gigantic groups of clouds moving lazily as they watched. Part of it was clear to see, thanks to the sun's light -a bigger than most spot amidst the stars Pieck almost didn't notice due to having her attention on the globe- while the rest was dark, enveloped in shadows. It was so surreal the girls couldn't do anything but watch; never had any of them even dreamed of seeing something like that.
_This is... this is our planet? -Ymir whispered- Is this what you saw when you came?
_Yeah. -he said softly- It's beautiful, isn't it?
_It is so... breathtaking. -Pieck said, feeling really moved by it- Oh Nikolai, i could look at it forever!
_I believe you. We'll take a few more minutes and then return. -he said pointing at a relatively big island- That's where the walls are at, what's its name?
_Paradi. -both shifters said.
Pieck looked at the other in surprise, and Ymir seemed to realize it by the way she glanced at the liberian.
_I thought you didn't know anything about the history of the world beyond the walls.
_I... it's complicated. -the shifter said with a sigh- I'll explain some other day, let's enjoy this a bit more.
The warrior nodded her agreement while Niko listened at them without saying a word and the trio spent some time marveling at the sight, looking at the planet's surface. After a while, Nikolai announced it was time to return.
_The trip back might be a little rough for you, so i'll ask you to close your eyes and i mean it. The last thing i need is having to clean your puke from the screens. Pieck, can you tell me more or less where you and Zeke arrived? And how many people await there?
_There's a ship waiting for us on the west coast with fifteen more soldiers waiting for us.
_No problem, that's all i needed to know. Now eyes shut.
Ymir obeyed instantly, while the warrior doubted a bit before doing so too; Niko licked his lips and the Huntress moved towards Paradi at increasing speed to the point of igniting the air around its force shield a couple minutes after it began its descent. The island grew larger and larger as the ship flew and pierced the clouds, point at which the man changed course and decreased speed to allow both shifters to open their eyes and gaze around, seeing the forests of varying sizes dotting the land and the rivers and lakes like little ponds on the surface.
_West coast you said? -he asked Pieck and she nodded- Fine then, it's time to pay those guys a visit.
_Are we gonna blow them up to pieces? -Ymir inquired with interest.
_No.
_What? Why not?
_First of all, i want their ship intact so i can bring some members of the Corps to study it. Heck even i should, since i need to familiarize with marleyan technology. Second, i need to find out more or less what those soldiers are capable of in combat not involving titans.
_Anything else? -the Cart Titan asked the male.
_Actually yes. -Niko said with a smirk, touching the screen on his console- I promised you before coming i'd show you how i fought. And that's a promise i'll be glad to fullfill.
He accelerated towards the west, flying over the plains and woods at great speed. On her seat, Ymir had grown more accustomed to the ship's quickness and dared to look at the land from time to time feeling less dizzy than before, while her fellow shifter studied the console and pressed the options on it.
_How come i can read this? -she asked suddenly- Does everyone in space speak our language?
_Not really, but your tongue is a more or less bastardized version of regular interstellar human language. You see, when the first aliens made contact with humans in a diplomatic/investigation mission they asked mankind to develop or choose a tongue to inscribe in the interstellar registry of communications. Basically it's a database with the official dialects used in trade and politic events, apart from the myriad spoken throughout the different worlds. The humans made and amalgam of several, a process that was unusually fast for the gallactic standards: they had it ready in little more than a year.
_And all humans speak like that now?
_While also keeping their mother language of course. -he pointed- When you travel to other worlds most feel the need to take all they can from their culture: how they speak, their customs, idioms, religion, pretty much anything. But yeah, that's the languge used which is why i had little trouble in adapting it so you could read, and... oh! I almost forgot the cloaking.
_The what?
_This ship, along with other things i have, has the ability to conceal its presence -he said activating it- It turns invisible and muffles all sound to an exceptional degree.
_Invisible? -both asked at the same time- Seriously?
_Indeed. And i have linked the ship to my bracer, which allows me to control it to a certain degree and program its behaviour in case. It will remain invisible and passive as i fight unless ordered otherwise to prevent you from shooting anything... for the time being.
As he finished they saw the coastline in the distance and Pieck scanned the zone, suddenly pointing to the right side where the terrain wasn't as flat as usual.
_That small group of hills over there, i saw them from the right little after we began our journey. The ship must be somewhere in that direction.
Nikolai turned their airship towards the north, flying along the coast until they saw it: a small harbor shielded by a wall where the marleyan boat floated, with the small shapes of people being little more than dots in the distance. Niko approached unworried, trusting the Huntress's ability to move undetected until they saw the soldiers clearly, moving right below them. The man made the ship float in front of the harbor and about five meters above to give the shifters a good sight of the action and readied himself.
_They'll see you for a moment until i the glass lowers again. -he said taking out one of his blades- But will forget you're there once i begin my part.
Without another word he pressed a button and a soft whizzle announced the opening, otherwise unnoticed by both girls. Ymir saw a man on the ship suddenly pointing towards them and his partner straighten and stare incredulously when Niko jumped down, weapon in hand, and landed behind an unsuspecting soldier slicing him all the way to the waist. The rifleman a few meters in front screamed at the sudden apparition and tried to ready his gun only for the outsider to cover the distance in a jump and cut his head clean as he pressed a button on the bracer and both girls vanished from sight.
Feeling a cold glee Nikolai jumped down to the middle of the stairwell, avoiding the first barrage of shots and falling in between three soldiers: he stabbed through the first's chest as he savagely high kicked the one behind who was still with his back on him, breaking the man's neck vertebrae; before he fell limply on the steps he pulled the second blade from his back and slashed the third's throat before jumping down where four soldiers awaited, taking the first one with him and landing softly while his victim impacted on the ground.
Not wasting a second he spun and threw one of the heavy blades to the nearest one, the sword sinking in his guts and rolled to the side avoiding more shots, grabbing the fallen one's rifle laying next to him. His practice with the mechanism during the trip proved wise as he shot the other three in record time, two in the heart and the last in the head.
Of the remaining six, three were on the ship and the others were on the second stairwell of the harbor's wall. Nikolai shot a man on the ship's deck on the arm and as he fell he threw the rifle as it was a javelin towards the soldiers aiming for him on the stairs. The gun hit the last one on the eye with such force it kept moving and pierced through the back of his skull; the soldier fell forward on the other two pushing and making them fall like dominoes. Grinning, the attacker charged towards the men crashing down the stairs only to suddenly change direction and race towards the ship, jumping from side to side at astonishing speed to avoid the marleyan shots.
Panicking, one of the men tried to load his gun only to jam the bullet in the chamber; he looked to his weapon and then his comrade shouted at him to move aside. When he lifted his eyes he saw the albino demon jump from the harbor's edge towards the boat, reaching easily despite the three meters of distance; the next thing he felt was a searing pain on his lower abdomen, where his blade sunk and stabbed, pushing him down and nailing him to, and through, the ship's floor. The woman who warned him aimed his gun at Nikolai, but he dashed under the shot and uppercutted her with such strength her lower jaw shattered and she fell dead on her back; her killer barely glanced at the other injured one as he tried to ignore the pain and take out his handgun only for Niko to place his hand on his face and bring him down, smashing his head on the deck and leaving him with a bloody halo around.
Of the surviving ones the oldest, a grey moustached man, tried to run away but barely gave a step before being shot down by the remaining one, a tall brunette with a ponytail. She quickly dropped her gun as the man looked from the ship towards her with apparent interest.
_I surrender! -she shouted, slowly taking her handgun with two fingers as he approached- I surrender!
Nikolai walked calmly with a blade on a hand and a rifle on the other as she carefull stood up, hands up.
_I don't know who you are, but you clearly outmatch me. I surrender myself and all information i have to you.
Nikolai listened quietly, eyeing her up and down, and nodded. Then shot her in the chest.
_I don't care.
The soldier stumbled wide eyed, patting the bleeding hole where her heart was and fell on her knees as life ebbed away, the man going towards the dead soldiers to recover his other blade. Nikolai walked up the stairwell cleaning the blood and tissue on his weapons with a small handkerchief, using his bracer to uncloak the ship and seeing both shifters clearly unnerved at the display as the ship lowered and the cabin's window opened for him to jump in.
_Is this how you always fight? -Pieck asked warily.
_Most of the time no, i go for the conventional methods. -he confessed- But i wanted you to see a bit of what i'm capable of.
_And what are you capable of, aside from this? -Ymir said harshly.
_Infiltration, assassination, demolition, reconnaisance, spying, information gathering, use of heavy and light weaponry, rescue operations, vehicle reparing and sabotage... want me to go on?
_Why did you kill the last one? -the liberian questioned- She had clearly surrendered.
_I had no time or need for prisoners. -he stated- I can't risk having her around you or any other shifter back in the walls, not to mention what could happen if she tried to escape.
_Still...
_And killing a surrendering soldier is far from being the worst thing i've ever done, i mean come on as if it was that uncommon.
PIeck fell silent, sharing a glance with the other shifter as the ship went up to the sky and past the clouds.
_Fine we get it, you're a hell of a good soldier.-Ymir said and decided to make one last question- And now this is settled, what's next?
_First we go back to Wall Rose to contact Smith and the rest, then we'll meet with Braun and Hoover.
_And after that? -she insisted- What's your plan?
_Well, with this little baby and your help as shifters. -he said with a sly smile- We'll take over the government inside the walls and then... what?
_I didn't say anything. -Ymir answered and he shook a hand.
_No not you, this thing... but how?
_What's wrong? -Pieck asked with some worry- Don't tell me it's broken or something!
_No, it's not that. But when... oh...
_Nikolai! -the Dancing Titan shifter warned him- Quit the bullshit and tell us what's going on!
_This ship has a communication system. -he explained quickly- It was deactivated when we found her, and remained so until i linked the ship to my bracer. As soon as i did, it reactivated and began scanning the area, and now... it's caught a signal. Another ship's signal.
_What?! -Ymir said- There's another ship here?!
_Someone followed you? -the Cart shifter asked- But you said it was...
_Impossible, yes. And it is, no one could find where i am now. No, this signal comes from another source unrelated to mine, it comes from...
He stopped once more, looking fixedly at the screen, and the freckled woman lost her nerve.
_For fuck's sake, JUST SAY IT!
Nikolai turned to eye her, his serious face instantly replacing her anger with worry.
_It comes from within the walls. -he said- There's an active ship on the island.
End of Chapter