Chapter 35: The Recovery
"There's one!" Licy exclaimed, almost jumping over the rampart behind which she was standing.
"Where?" Alcy asked
"At the top of the cliff, next to the small, round bush!"
"The top of the cliff is covered in small bushes."
"But this is a round bush! Perfectly round!" Licy replied.
"Those are bushes; none of them is… right! There they are!"
"See? I told you!" Licy lowered her telescope and grinned.
Watching the two's antics, Seacat sighed and shook her head. Slowly, of course - even after a few days of recovering, her shoulder still hurt. Not as much as her leg would hurt, should she try to stand at the rampart, as Alcy and Licy were, instead of sitting in a wheelchair Entrapta had cobbled together in ten minutes. "We already know that the Horde has scouts on top of the cliff," she said.
"But now we know exactly where they are!" Licy protested.
"And what can we do about it?" Seacat asked.
"We can send a patrol over to catch them," the other woman told her.
"And have them ambushed by the Horde forces," Seacat retorted.
"Then we need to send more troops over!" Licy wouldn't easily give up on her idea. Or on any idea, Seacat knew. At least she wasn't chasing Sea Hawk any more.
"The Horde scouts would see them approach, and withdraw," Alcy said.
"Exactly - and that would mean they'd stop spying on us!" Licy smiled widely.
"Or they would be more careful next time, so we wouldn't be able to find them as easily," Alcy replied.
"It wasn't easy to find them!"
"If you can spot a scout from across the river, then they are easy to find," Seacat pointed out. If she had been as sloppy, she would've been caught several times by the enemy.
"Perhaps they want us to think they're easy to spot," Licy suggested.
"And why would they do that?" Alcy asked.
"So we'll underestimate them!"
"No one's underestimating them any more," Seacat countered. Not after they had managed to thoroughly delay the planned offensive twice.
"Yeah…" Licy looked dejected, and Seacat caught her glancing towards the hospital of the citadel. Where Horas was still healing up.
She clenched her teeth - she hadn't meant to dampen their spirit like that. "He'll be up in a few more days; he's tough." If the minotaur had been a little less tough, he would've died; Seacat had asked the Healer in charge. Once more, she clenched her teeth. Stupid dumb brute, too proud to tell her about his wounds.
"Yes," Alcy said, with obviously forced cheer. "Then we'll get a new ship, and be off again!"
"Yes," Licy agreed.
Seacat had no doubt that they would get a new ship - Sea Hawk had always been quick to replace a lost ship - but it wouldn't be a courier with an engine of Entrapta, like the Dragon's Daughter V. They'd probably get the next Horde courier brought up by the Salinean Navy while trying to run their blockade. Or they'd get another gunboat for the river campaign. Though those would have to be built, and they had no yard, and Entrapta was busy building her 'supergun'. In top-secret, so as not to alert the Horde spies who were undoubtedly all over the place.
"Provided Mermista ever lets him go again," Alcy added.
Seacat chuckled with the others; the princess hadn't taken well to their narrow, very narrow escape from death. Nor to Sea Hawk directing the battle on the frigate while wounded. While Seacat had been allowed out of the hospital after two days, the Captain was still confined to his bed.
She sighed. It wasn't really funny, anyway.
"Are you alright? Do your wounds hurt?" Licy asked, looking at her with a concerned expression.
"No, no, I'm alright. Just thinking," Seacat replied.
"Ah."
"There's another ship coming," Alcy reported, lowering her telescope. "Looks like a transport. Salinean, not Kingdom of Snows. They're coming from the east."
That meant they were coming from Salineas. Well, most transports would travel through the Seagate.
"She's riding low in the water. Must be stuffed with supplies," Licy commented.
That wasn't new, either. The fortress was full of supplies. They'd launch the offensive upriver any day now - but without a gunboat or two, things would get sticky as soon as the river wasn't navigable by a frigate any more.
They really needed a gunboat. Seacat wondered why Mermista hadn't told Entrapta to cobble one together. Was that because she didn't want Sea Hawk to take command of it?
She had to talk to the princess, Seacat decided. Finding Mermista was easier said than done, though. Especially with Seacat limited to her wheelchair. At this time of the day, Mermista should be either in the planning room, or in the office - well, what passed for an office in her quarters.
Seacat grabbed the wheels of her chair and started to roll towards the ramp at the end of the wall; it was built to push cannons up to the ramparts but it handled her chair as well.
"Seacat! What are you doing?" Alcy asked before Seacat had managed to travel a few yards.
"Looking for Mermista."
"You're supposed to rest, not work!" Licy protested.
"I'm not running around, am I?" Seacat pointed out. "I'm resting."
Alcy snorted. "You're not resting your shoulder."
"Exercise is good for recovering from bed rest," Seacat replied.
"Once your wounds have healed," Alcy retorted. "Not when they're still open."
The two women had caught up to Seacat, and Alcy had grabbed the back of the wheelchair. "Don't exert yourself."
Seacat sighed. If only she wasn't so… Ah well. "Alright, then start pushing. I need to talk to Mermista. She should be in her quarters. Unless you saw her walking around down in the harbour?" She turned her head to look at the two women.
"No, she isn't. I would've noticed when the soldiers and workers started running instead of walking and lollygagging," Licy told her, grinning.
"You need to talk to her?" Alcy asked. She was frowning a little, Seacat noticed.
"About gunboats," Seacat explained. "They should be setting up a yard or something. They aren't, though."
"Ah." Alcy nodded. "I haven't heard anything about it, either. But this sounds like you want to start working again."
Seacat clenched her teeth. She didn't want to sit around being useless when the war was going on, and everyone else was fighting. Any day she wasted here, any day the offensive wasn't launched upriver, meant another day the Horde could focus on Bright Moon's forces. On Adora. "I just want to know what's going on," she said.
Alcy still looked as if she doubted her, but Licy nodded. "So do we! Let's go!"
They went down the ramp - which was a little more concerning than going up, Seacat realised. If Alcy let go and the wheelchair's brakes broke… that would be hard on her hands.
But they reached the yard, where marines were drilling, without trouble and followed the wall to the entrance to the main part of the citadel. Double the normal guards were there - another sign that Mermista was here.
"We're looking for the princess," Seacat told the marines standing guard. "Is she in her quarters or the planning room?"
"We don't know," the corporal in charge told her. "I'd try the planning room," he added, glancing at her wheelchair.
The planning room was on the ground floor. Mermista's quarters were higher up. And there were no ramps leading upstairs. "The planning room it is," Seacat agreed.
"I hope she's in a good mood," Alcy said as they went on.
"She spent her fury," Seacat said. At least she hoped that was the case - Mermista had been cursing Sea Hawk for quite some time. After hugging him, of course. "We'll be fine."
As they approached the planning room - two more marines were guarding it - the door was opened, and Mermista stepped out. The princess frowned as soon as she saw them. "Seacat? Shouldn't you be resting?"
Oh. "I'm resting," Seacat claimed. "Entrapta made this for me so I can still go around without exerting myself." She patted the armrests of the chair.
"As long as she's not pushing the wheels herself," Licy added - very unhelpfully.
Seacat heard Alcy groan for a moment while Mermista glared at them. At Seacat. "You need rest! You almost died from blood loss according to healer Kirsten!"
"But I didn't," Seacat blurted out before she could help herself. "And I can't stay in bed all day!"
"Oh, you can, trust me," Mermista replied. She glared at Alcy and Licy as well. "Didn't I order her to rest?"
"Yes, Princess!" Alcy said, nodding.
Licy tried to make up for her earlier mistake. "But she's resting - Entrpata said the chair would let her rest while being, uh, mobile." She nodded a few times.
"Entrapta did?" Mermista frowned again.
"Speaking of her," Seacat cut in, "I was wondering about gunboats. Namely, where are we getting more of them?"
"Do you honestly want to discuss strategy and logistics in the middle of a hallway?" Mermista shook her head.
"We can discuss it inside," Seacat suggested.
"No. We'll get you back to your room to rest, and I might answer a question or two - if you're being good and staying in bed." Mermista nodded at Alcy and Licy.
The two women jumped to grab Seacat's wheelchair and turn her around.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Of course, Princess!"
Traitors. But there wasn't anything Seacat could do. Not with her leg still useless. And with Mermista in a bad mood.
"We considered building gunboats, but we don't have the facilities," Mermista explained as they crossed the courtyard again. "Building them would take too long."
"Even with Entrapta's help?" Seacat asked.
"Yes."
They entered the building where Seacat was quartered.
"Entrapta suggested to build the parts in the yards in Salineas, ship them here and put them together," the Princess went on. "But we'd need a yard here anyway."
"So, what can we do?" Seacat asked, trying not to groan when Alcy and Licy lifted her out of the chair and onto the bed.
"You can rest. We're going to take the Horde yards upriver. The frigates should be able to reach the base there." Mermista smiled tightly. "We're expecting more landing boats from Salineas - the transport that arrived should carry them with the rest of the supplies."
"So, we're launching a limited offensive?" Seacat bit her lower lip. And then they would have to build gunboats? Provided the yards were taken intact? That sounded like a tall order.
"Yes."
"What about Bright Moon's forces?" And Adora.
"We've sent a skiff upriver the day you almost died. They know we can't move to link up with them yet.
Seacat smiled. That meant they wouldn't overextend themselves, expecting support when none was coming. Adora would be safe.
Seacat grunted as she manoeuvred her chair through the door. Her shoulder still hurt a little when she strained her arm - and moving in her wheelchair without someone pushing her was straining after a while, though good training as well. Oh. Horas was awake. "Hey!" she said.
He grunted in return. He was sitting in his bed - which was much bigger than hers - and while most of his chest was covered in bandages, it was still a good sign.
"How are you doing?" she asked. "Alcy and Licy send their regard; they're busy looking at barges."
He grunted again.
"That bad, huh?" She grinned. "Cheer up! We'll soon be out of here. Probably before Mermista lets the Captain out of his room." She rolled over to the side of his bed. "I'd offer you my chair - I'm getting crutches - but I fear you wouldn't fit. But I can ask Entrapta to make a bigger one for you if you want."
"I'll manage without," he said. "I wouldn't want anyone to break something trying to push me around," he added.
She flashed her fangs in a grin. "Hey! I managed to carry you!" she reminded him.
"And I thank you for that." He nodded somberly, and she suppressed a wince - she shouldn't have mentioned that.
"That's what crew does for each other," she told him. "The sacred laws of the sea bind us together," she quoted the Captain.
Once more, Horas nodded with a sombre expression. He seemed to be taking this far too seriously. It wasn't as if she'd done anything special - she'd have done that for anyone.
"Anyway, you've probably heard already, but we're launching an offensive upriver, to capture the Horde base with the shipyards," she said. News had spread in the day since she'd heard of it.
"Yes." He took a deep breath - she could almost hear the bandages straining. "That will be bloody."
"A frigate can reach up there. And the troops will move overland, following the river." She shrugged.
"The bombs will be dangerous."
"We don't know how many they've left," she pointed out. "And they can clear a path." They certainly had had enough practice. "And we've got more barges to ferry the soldiers over the river."
"It'll be bloody anyway."
"Of course it'll be bloody." She grimaced. In theory, the frigate would suppress and wipe out the Horde guns covering the river, allowing the troops to cross the river and land on both sides of the base. Then they would shell the fortifications and take the base. But things never went as smoothly as that. The river was navigable for a frigate - but only barely. They might not be able to get close enough due to bombs. "But, hey - what else can we do?"
Not that they could do anything, what with being laid up while they recovered.
He nodded again.
The Captain was frowning at her when she entered his room. He had his arms crossed over the chest and was sitting in his bed. She could see the hint of bandages through his open shirt as well, but he looked better than Horas.
"Captain." She raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"
"I'm still confined to the bed," he told her.
That explained the two guards outside. And the bars on the window, which hadn't been there during her first visit. Yet… The Captain had gotten out of tighter spots, and he looked quite healthy. Well, healthy enough to stand and walk, which meant he would climb and jump. So, why…? "You've broken out of more solid cells," she said.
"Err, yes…" He grimaced.
"You're not chained to the bed, are you?"
"What? No!"
"So?" She rolled to his side.
"Mermista made me promise not to leave the bed until I was healed," he said, pouting. "And a man of the sea is a man of his word!"
"Especially if you gave your word to Mermista," she told him.
"Well, yes." He sighed. "But she's being really unreasonable about this. I'm almost healed up."
"Ah." The princess must've been more struck by their close brush with death than Seacat had thought. She shrugged. "It's not as if we could do much, anyway - we're still missing a ship. Right?"
"Ah, right." He sighed. "Mermista said she's ordered a new courier for us, but that'll take some time. Our new ship has to be built first, then sailed to us. And then Entrapta will have to install an engine."
So, at least a month, if the yard pulled double-shifts or Mermista commandeered a courier already on the slip. Yes, everyone would be healthy once the new ship was ready. She sighed as well. She didn't like waiting and doing nothing while others risked their lives. Like Adora.
At least she'd be able to ditch the chair soon - her leg didn't hurt as much any more, and crutches would be fine. At the very least, she'd be able to stand on the leg without ripping the wound open. Hell, if Entrpata hadn't taken time out of her busy schedule to build the chair for her, Seacat would've ditched it already.
"What are you thinking about?" Sea Hawk suddenly asked, and Seacat realised that she'd fallen silent for a few moments.
"Adora," she replied.
"Ah." He smiled. "I should've known."
Seacat felt a pang of guilt. Even healing up, she wouldn't be able to help with the offensive. The curtailed offensive. "We've let Bright Moon down," she muttered.
"Huh? What brought this on?"
She frowned at the Captain. As if he didn't know! "We should've taken the entire river by now and finished off the encircled portions of the enemy army. But instead, we've got Horde forces threatening our lines, and Bright Moon has to fight alone."
"I'm sure Bright Moon suffered setbacks as well. They didn't take the mines on schedule, either."
And Seacat was sure that Adora would fight even harder to make up for any setback. She wouldn't sit around doing nothing while others fought. And died.
"Hey! It wasn't your fault at all," Sea Hawk told her. "If anything, the fault belongs with me - I should've expected such an underhanded move as the Horde pulled with the harbour!"
She snorted at that. "That's the fault of the Salinean officer corps."
"Oh, don't be too hard on them. If I didn't think of it, then they couldn't even imagine it." He flashed her smile.
"But they could imagine listening to you," she shot back with a scowl.
"Ah, that." He shrugged. "They'll come around."
Her scowl deepened. They had been 'coming around' for a long while now, and she still couldn't see the port of that journey. "They are a bunch of…"
A knock on the door interrupted her, and before Sea Hawk could answer, the door was opened, and Mermista walked in. "There you are!" she snapped.
"Where else would I be, since you've confined me to my quarters?" Sea Hawk retorted with a pout.
"For your own good. If you want to run off and risk your life again, you'll have to be fully healed at least," she shot back. "But enough of that. How are you doing, Seacat?"
"Me?" Seacat's blinked. "I'm doing fine," she replied. She didn't want to end up confined to a bed as well, after all. "The leg doesn't hurt too much any more. And the shoulder's down to some twinging." She patted her shoulder to demonstrate. And didn't wince.
"Ugh," Mermista replied. "You're almost as bad as he is." She glared at Sea Hawk. "That means you can barely stand, I guess. And crutches would still strain your shoulder."
Seacat glared at her. "I'm not an invalid. I'm almost back to normal," she lied. Well, almost lied - compared to being crippled or dead, she was much closer to healthy.
"Sure you are." Mermista, damn her, wasn't fooled, though, and shook her head. "That's your fault." She turned to Sea Hawk. "She's got that from you."
He smiled in response. "She learned from the best!"
"Oh, you!" Mermista wasn't amused.
Sea Hawk, though, didn't double down - he held up his hand. "My love, my dear Mermista, we're at war. With the Horde. To win, we have to take some risks. Playing it safe will only let the Horde recover from the defeats they've suffered. And how could we not share the risks of our soldiers and sailors?"
Seacat bit her tongue to keep from telling Mermista that the princess had fought and risked her life as well. Mermista was aware of that. And she hated being poked like that. She still winced a little when the princess glared at them.
"I'm very much aware of that," Mermista admitted. "But there is a slight - no, a huge! - difference between fighting in the war, and risking your life with reckless abandon."
"It was a calculated risk," Sea Hawk replied.
"Then you miscalculated."
"Hey! Bad luck happens," Seacat cut in. She raised her chin when Mermista glared at her. "The plan was sound. A little dangerous, but sound."
"We've gone over that before," Mermista told her. Well, she must have done that in private with Sea Hawk.
"Oh, yes, we did." Sea Hawk confirmed with a wince.
"In any case, you won't leave the bed until you're whole again," Mermista said. "And the same goes…"
Another knock at the door interrupted the princess.
"Enter!" Sea Hawk said quickly.
A Salinean marine stood there. "Princess! There's a skiff approaching - it bears the colours of Bright Moon."
Seacat blinked. "A courier?" Bright Moon's forces didn't have many skiffs - most of them were captured Horde skiffs if she recalled correctly. Too few to use them to transport troops, as the Horde did. But they did great work as couriers - on land, of course.
"News from the Western front," Mermista said, frowning. "Probably asking for a new estimate for when we'll start our offensive."
Seacat winced. Having to tell your allies you couldn't do your part was embarrassing. She didn't envy Mermista for that. And… if this was a courier, they probably carried letters as well. Adora!
She almost jumped up in her haste but managed to turn it into sitting straighter. "Let's go welcome them!" she said, grabbing the wheels of her chair.
"Ah, wondering if there will be news from your lover?" Sea Hawk asked.
She glanced at him and huffed. That was obvious, wasn't it? And perfectly natural. Seeing as he was working directly with Mermista, he shouldn't be teasing her about wishing for a letter.
She frowned when she rolled out of the room. She'd have to write to Adora anyway. Inform her about the latest events. And… tell her she'd been wounded again. Though she could truthfully say it wasn't anything serious. Not any more.
Mermista caught up to her, and, a moment later, the guard who had informed her about the skiff's arrival started pushing Seacat's chair down the corridor. She almost protested that she didn't need the help but relented. Mermista would call her a fool, and Seacat didn't really need to prove anything.
They reached the courtyard right after the skiff set down. It was a former Horde skiff, too - a scout model. And… her eyes widened, and her heart seemed to skip a beat when she saw the pilot. "Adora?" she yelled out.
"Cat-Seacat!" Adora turned, smiling. But as soon as she saw Seacat, she gasped. "No!"
Seacat winced. "I'm fine!" she protested - but Adora had already jumped down from the skiff and was rushing towards her.
"Seacat! You're wounded! Oh, no! And it's serious!" Adora reached out for her, hugging Seacat to her chest, then released her as if she'd touched hot coal. "Ack! Sorry! I almost hurt you… what happened? How did you get hurt?"
"The usual way. We fought the Horde," Seacat blurted out before she could help herself. That was about the stupidest thing she could've said.
"They almost got killed when they beached their gunboat on the Horde's side of the river," Mermista said. "That was after their ship got sunk."
Adora gasped again, then stared at Seacat. "What did you do?"
"Adora!" The shrimp's arrival in a wave of sparkles, together with Brain Boy, kept Seacat from answering. "Hello, Mermista! Hi, Seacat." The princess waved at them both.
"Hello, Mermista, Seacat." Brain Boy, as usual, was less outspoken, and took a short bow.
"The Horde crippled Ca-Seacat!" Adora blurted out.
"I'm not crippled!" Seacat protested. "I'm just using this to heal up more quickly." She tapoped the armrest of her chair.
"But you're still hurt!"
"Well, heal her, then, Adora!" the shrimp said with a frown.
"Oh… right!" Adora nodded with a determined expression.
"I'm fine - I'm just…" Seacat started to explain, but Adora wasn't listening.
"For the Honour of Grayskull!"
And there was She-Ra. She took a step back, then levelled her sword at Seacat. And glowing energy shot out of the blade's tip at Seacat.
Seacat clenched her teeth and held her breath as the energy - the magic - hit her. Then she shivered when she felt her body heal. For a moment, she felt weird. Then she sighed - her leg wasn't hurting any more.
"Did it work? Are you healed?" Adora asked, gripping her sword with both hands as she leaned in. "Can you walk again?"
Seacat flashed her fangs in a grin. "Let me get up and find out."
"Uh, of course!" Adora blushed in that cute manner of hers and took a step back. The shrimp snickered, and Brain Boy shook his head with a wry grin. And Mermista would be rolling her eyes - Seacat didn't need to turn her head and look at the princess to know that.
She smiled at Adora instead, then slowly got up from the chair. Her leg still didn't hurt, and she stood, then carefully started to shift her weight on her healed leg. It held. Not even a hint of pain. Nodding, she took a few steps. No pain either. "Yes, It's good," she said. She rolled her left shoulder, then gripped it with her hand, squeezing. "That's good as well. Thank you."
"Your shoulder was wounded as well?"
Seacat frowned. Adora needed to calm down. She took one more step forward and hugged her, sighing into She-Ra's chest. She was fine. Everything was fine. Well, almost. Seacat raised her head to look up. "You should heal Sea Hawk too. And Horas," she said.
"Sea Hawk is also wounded?"
"Confined to bed," Seacat confirmed.
Adora gasped once more.
"That's just to keep him from running off and hopping on the next ship to fight the Horde," Seacat said.
"Oh. But he's still wounded?"
"Yes. As is Horas," Seacat told her.
The shrimp cleared her throat. "We also need to discuss the actual reason we've travelled here."
"One of the reasons," Brain Boy added.
The shrimp briefly frowned at him, then nodded at Mermista. "We need to coordinate our forces. And I think we can help you out."
Mermista looked like she wasn't sure if she should be happy or annoyed at the offer, in Seacat's opinion. But she nodded. "Let's talk in the planning room."
Right. Any Horde spy would now be aware that the She-Ra and the Princess of Bright Moon had arrived. And it wouldn't take a genius to figure out that they weren't here to sightsee.
Great.
"Let me!" Adora said to the guard next to Seacat. A moment later, she had gripped the chair and turned it around. "Back to where you've come from?"
"Uh, yes." Seacat told her.
At least it's not as embarrassing as being carried like an invalid, she thought.
"Marvellous! The difference between your magic and the Healer's arts is astonishing!" Sea Hawk flexed and struck several poses. "I feel no pain whatsoever any more!"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Mermista said. "Can we focus on the planning now?" She rolled her eyes and pointed at the map table. But Seacat didn't miss that the princess's cheeks had flushed a little.
And, judging by his wide smile, neither had Sea Hawk. "Of course, my love! Now that I have been freed from my prison, the Horde's defeat is merely a question of time!"
"Let's not be too hasty," Brain Boy pointed out. "The Horde has surprised us several times lately. We cannot underestimate them."
"That's right!" the shrimp agreed. "Not only did they stall your offensive from Fortress Freedom, but they also resisted our own."
Oh? So the forces of Bright Moon had encountered trouble as well? More than the expected resistance? "What did they do?" Seacat asked.
Adoira winced and glanced at the shrimp. Seacat's eyes narrowed. Adora was too honest for her own good. When she didn't want to answer a question, something was wrong.
"What did they do?"
"We attacked as usual, to break through their lines," Brain Boy told her. "Princesses in the front to overwhelm the local defences, regular troops behind them to exploit the breakthrough. A classic strategy. But they were ready for us - they retreated quickly, and when we pursued, they blew up their own lines."
Seacat gasped and looked at Adora. She knew her friend - Adora would've been leading the charge. "They blew you up?"
"They tried. But I was too fast for them!" Adora defended herself.
"They mistimed the explosion," the shrimp corrected her. "Adora was already closing in with the retreating Horde forces when the bombs went off. But the company following her was decimated, and she was cut off and surrounded."
Adora looked down at the floor, pressing her lips together. She felt guilty, Seacat realised. She took a step towards her lover and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "It wasn't your fault," she whispered.
"It was. I shouldn't have charged ahead. A leader stays with their troops. I should've known better."
"If you had stayed with the company, you'd have been caught in the explosion and you'd be left wounded for the Headhunters," Brain Boy told her.
"Headhunters?" Seacat narrowed her eyes. Catra didn't remember any such unit amongst the Horde.
"A new force that the Horde's fielding," Brain Boy said. "Soldiers specially trained to fight princesses, as far as we know."
"What?" Mermista blurted out.
"Yes. they've got better weapons and training than the regular Hode soldiers - better than the scouts and strike units, too!" Adora said.
"Could they hurt She-Ra?" Seacat asked, squeezing a little harder.
"Not really…" Adora trailed off. "Just scratches. Mostly. They didn't hit with their cannons."
"Cannons? Artillery?" Sea Hawk asked.
"No. I would've wrecked them before they could've gotten a shot off. They mounted small cannons on skiffs." Adora rubbed her shoulder. "They shoot while moving, so they don't hit very often."
"Swivel guns. They mounted swivel guns on skiffs." Seacat cursed. "That'll… we need to adjust our tactics. Small units will be cut to pieces in the open by such skiffs."
"Yeah, that's what kinda happened afterwards," Brain Boy said. "Turns out that soldiers trained to fight princesses are good to fight other soldiers."
"I beat them," Adora told them, with a rather mulish expression.
"In your sector. But Spinnerella and Netossa almost died. If they hadn't managed to catch the skiffs in the nets - if the Horde soldiers had been a little farther away…" The shrimp shook her head. "We had to fortify our positions and dig in while Adora healed them. And herself."
Seacat narrowed her eyes again. Aha - Adora had been hurt more seriously than she had said!
"Anyway!" Adora spoke up, looking anywhere but at Seacat. "We're here to plan how to deal with those new tactics. I've got some ideas!"
"They better be good," the shrimp said. "The old ideas didn't work."
Seacat looked at Brain Boy as Adora hunched her shoulders again and the shrimp suddenly looked guilty.
"Concentration of force. Instead of following up with a company per princess team, we gathered all princesses, and then Glimmer transported us behind the enemy lines," he told her.
That sounded like a decent plan. Unless… "They were prepared for that?"
"They detonated another bomb in their own camp as soon as we were spotted," Adora said through clenched teeth, "They killed a company of their own to kill us. Glimmer got us all out just before the explosion."
"Because Bow had detected the fuse they were using," the shrimp said.
"But… if they were so close and so quick… whoever lit the fuse would've been caught in the explosion as well, wouldn't they?" Mermista asked.
Adora wasn't the only one who looked grim as she nodded. "We don't know if they were told the explosion would be smaller - or if they were ready to die…"
Seacat cursed again.
Mermista shook her head. "Horde soldiers aren't fanatical enough to sacrifice themselves. They break far too easily."
"You've mainly fought the Horde fleet," Adora retorted. "They are the dregs of the Horde forces. They have much more fanatical troops." She grimaced. "I should know; I was raised as one."
"But you turned to the light as soon as you were aware!" the shrimp told Adora with a smile.
"You've been naive," Seacat added. "And Shadow Weaver did a number on you." She managed not to hiss at the name, but she tensed a little anyway. That was in the past. She was Seacat, not Catra. She had beaten the witch.
Adora took a step towards her, then hesitated. "Yes, but… many wouldn't have known better."
"And once they've lost a few friends in battle, many will harden their resolve and fight to avenge them," Sea Hawk said. "They might not believe in the Horde - but they hate us."
Adora flinched again. Seacat sighed and went to hug her. Her friend was probably once again blaming herself for Catra's 'disappearance'.
Seacat felt her relax some, leaning into her hug. She wanted to let go of her again, but Adora wrapped her arms around her.
"Anyway…" Mermista cleared her throat. "If they keep doing this, they'll run out of loyal soldiers."
"Yes!" Sea Hawk nodded. "Many crews - not mine, of course - would be lost without a good captain and first mate. Any loyal officer lost like this will have repercussions."
"Well, for the longest time, you two were your crew," the shrimp said. "But, yes - that's also our prediction. The Horde won't be able to sustain these tactics for long, and it'll significantly reduce the effectiveness of their forces overall."
"Even the 'Headhunters' are having such an effect," Brain Boy added. "They're their best soldiers - and they're missing from the regular forces. That means the average troop quality of any unit other than the Headhunters goes down amongst the Horde forces. We can exploit that."
Seacat almost snorted. The boy sounded like he was giving a lecture.
"Yes." Adora nodded, her chin touching Seacat's shoulder. "Change of tactics - we use the princesses as a decoy to draw off their best troops, and then hit them with our regular forces."
"Though it'll be harder to move enough troops for that," the shrimp went on. "I can't transport enough soldiers to make a difference."
Seacat's eyes widened. "But ships can. Or barges."
"Exactly!" The princess beamed at her. "The Headhunters use skiffs to move around rapidly. We don't have enough skiffs to match them - but if we fight along a river, we can use ships instead."
"We already planned to secure the river," Mermista pointed out. "And we need to remove the Horde from its shores for that."
"Yes," Sea Hawk said, "But moving more troops with ships will allow us to move along the coast and strike deeper from any point of the river without a big obvious buildup." He grinned." We'll be able to trap the enemy army across the river."
"That's the plan, yes," the shrimp said. "Lure them into attacking the river, and cut them off."
"Like we are supposed to cut off the Horde forces north of us?" Seacat asked. "Just pointing out that we haven't done that, yet," she added when the shrimp frowned at her. But Mermista was frowning at her as well. Damn.
"We're working on that. But the recent setback has further delayed our offensive," Mermista said.
"Well, according to our scouts, the Horde forces in the north are mostly cut off already - they are only receiving a trickle of supplies overland," Brain Boy said.
"But they are holding in place, instead of trying to break through our lines and retreat over the river," the shrimp added.
"Trying to get an army across a river as big as this one requires a lot of boats and time," Mermista told her. "My frigates would cut them to pieces, and they might not have the time or supplies to move west of the Horde base on the river to cross outside our range."
"They would be in our range," Adora said, releasing Seacat. "We'd sweep around them and encircle them. Waiting for a relief force might be their best bet."
Seacat wasn't convinced. In their place, she'd have thrown everything south - even if the attack failed, it would've done something. And if they had attacked together with the southern army… Could the Horde really lack enough carts and skiffs to move their army? "I don't like it," she said. "The Horde must be up to something. Shadow Weaver must have a reason for letting the Horde forces north of us die in place."
And it was probably going to be very bad for the Alliance.
"Well, whatever her reason, she won't stop us from taking the Horde yards!" Adora announced. "That's why we're here - we want to launch a pincer attack on it!"
"As soon as possible," the shrimp added.
"Let's strike in the morning! Huzzah!" Sea Hawk, of course, was all for it.
But Seacat wasn't quite as enthusiastic.
