Part 16: Maritime Interlude
A week had passed since the White House incident. The trip to the coast had been rather uneventful, something Clover was almost disappointed about with all the hitchhiking they did. She almost wanted a psycho killer to pick them up, but she guessed there was strength in numbers. They were all beautiful girls, so it was easy getting rides, but there were four of them, so murderers and rapists knew not to mess with them.
Once they'd reached the coast, the difficult part had been finding a boat to take them across the ocean. By now everyone knew their faces however, so it was hard looking for one who didn't know them, hated the government so much that he would do it just to spite them, or was completely insane. As luck would have it, they'd shortly found number 3.
"Sure, I'll get you out of here." The man's crazed eyes had scanned each of them in turn, as if trying to decide which one to jump first. "Come on, I'm got the best vessel in the harbor. Those damn Imperials will never catch it! Leave it to Captain Solo!" He turned to lead them down the docks like Han Solo, even keeping his hand on his belt where his blaster should have been.
When they reached the 'fastest vessel in the harbor' it turned out to be a fairly well maintained ship of moderate size. It was obvious from the look of the crew that they took the initiative most of the time, but as the captain passed the nodded in respect. He must have once been a good captain to keep his crew's respect like this. This only made Clover wonder what the Hell had happened to him.
So now here they were, sailing across the ocean on a boat with a good crew but a captain who was convinced he was flying through deep space. Clover and Alex had spent a lot of time in unusual modes of transportation, so a boat was no big deal for them. Mandy had gone yachting frequently whenever school let out, so she was almost as at home out here as she was in the mall.
Tassara, however, had spent her life in a desert without any ocean within traveling distance. One would have thought the poor woman had contracted some horrible disease from the moment she stepped on board the ship. It had taken both Clover and Alex to get her below deck, where the first mate assured them she would feel better shortly.
To her credit, Tassara didn't moan or whine despite the obvious discomfort and nausea that left her lying on the cot with Clover sitting in a small wooden chair beside her. She managed to maintain her regal air even down like this... though it was very hard to keep that up during those times she turned to vomit violently into a wooden bucket.
"There you go..." Clover encouraged her, stroking the queen's back as she held it over the bucket for the sixth time. "Let it all out, you'll feel better." Tassara leaned back and let her head fall onto the pillow, looking up at Clover.
"I'm sorry... I don't mean to keep you here." Tassara told her. "You can go if you want... I'll be fine."
"Bah, this isn't exactly a pleasure cruise. I'm fine down here." Clover smiled, though the smell of vomit was beginning to make her want to hurl too. Tassara seemed to sense this, smiling slightly.
"Thank you... but really, go." Tassara commanded this time.
Clover wasn't one to refuse the order of a queen. "I'll come back down to make sure you're okay a little later." She smiled and patted Tassara's shoulder before getting up and heading to the deck. The calming ocean breeze washed over her skin as she emerged. The scent of salt water filled her senses as surely as the golden sun overhead reflecting off the water all around them.
She walked up to the rail, watching the crewmembers going about their business to keep the boat sailing smoothly. She leaned her elbows against the rail, staring out across the open ocean. The sound of footsteps approaching from behind alerted her to someone else's presence. Looking to the side, she saw Mandy move up against the rail beside her, leaning against it and looking at the ocean.
Clover and Mandy hadn't spent any time alone since the airport. From the moment Mandy had arrived in Lyrobia they had been too busy running, planning, and resting to talk about anything that had happened. "Look Clover... we should talk." Mandy said.
"'Bout what? Pretending to be my friend? Or turning me over to WOOHP at your earliest convenience?" Clover asked.
"I wasn't pretending to be your friend." Mandy replied. "I honestly enjoyed the time we spent together."
"But you enjoy freedom so much more that you ratted me out?" Clover smirked. Mandy growled and marched up to her, grabbing her shirt and forcing her to look her in the eyes.
"Yeah, I ratted you out! That was a mistake! But I never would have been there in the first place if you hadn't dragged me into it!" Mandy shouted.
"I didn't exactly MEAN to! I didn't decide when they would come after me!" Clover shouted back.
"Well I'm not perfect! I can't resist things like you can! I'm no spy, I'm just a normal girl!" Mandy shouted back. Clover blinked, staring at her in amazement. Did she just call herself normal? Mandy pushed her back and turned back to the rail, looking away from her. "I was confused Clover... I didn't know the extent of what was happening. I thought they would just find you, lock you up for a few years, and let you go. And I could, for the first time, have a good relationship with my dad..."
Clover looked down at the water. She could see teardrops falling into the ocean, creating small ripples that quickly vanished among the larger waves. "I'm sorry Clover..." Mandy said, not looking at her. Clover pushed herself away from the railing and walked around Mandy, putting her hand on her back and leaning against the rail in front of her.
"Apology accepted..." Clover said simply. Mandy looked up at her, reaching up to wipe at her tear-stained face. "You're not perfect... I've known that for a long time." She smiled jokingly. Mandy chuckled, leaning her back against the rail. "Besides, we can't afford to be fighting each other right now."
"True." Mandy nodded, watching the crew of the boat go about their work. "What do we do if the queen doesn't believe us? What if she locks us up and ships us back to America?"
"Then America continues its warpath, and the world is plunged into World War 3." Clover replied simply. Mandy shivered, pulling her purple vest tighter around herself. She was wearing more normal clothes now after getting rid of the easily spotted red WOOHP jumpsuit. They wanted to blend in, though Alex had been reluctant to give up her outfit.
"Why would anyone want to start a world war?" Mandy shook her head.
"Power." Clover replied. "Plain and simple. We see it in all kinds of villains; they'll go so far as trying to destroy the world to be able to control it." She looked over at Mandy, who was watching her with a steady gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"It's just hard to believe that all this time you've been saving the world without anyone knowing it." Mandy replied.
"Yeah, that was always kind of a bummer. All the work and none of the perks." Clover sighed. "And after all that... after all that this shit starts and I get punished for it. What was the fucking point?" She closed her eyes and put one hand on her forehead. Mandy moved away form the rail and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a gentle hug.
Mandy spoke softly into her ear. "I doubt anyone's ever said this, so I will. Thank you Clover, for saving the world." Clover smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around Mandy, returning the hug. They stayed that way for a fairly long while, eventually turning to look out across the ocean.
The day faded into night, and they retired to the cabin below deck where Tassara had finally stopped throwing up, having nothing left inside her. Alex met them after spending the day quizzing the crewmembers about their duties. She'd soaked up the knowledge like a sponge until she could probably man a boat all by herself. She had trouble learning from books, but watching and being taught directly was another story.
The night passed uneventfully, to allow the morning to come before they had to wake up again. Clover yawned and stretched her arms over her head, running one hand through her hair as she examined the small cabin. Mandy and Alex were asleep in their own beds, but Tassara was missing, probably unable to sleep with the rocking of the boat.
Clover stood from her cot and headed out to the deck. The sun wasn't even up yet, just beginning to shine the first rays over the horizon with the stars still dominating the sky. She could see Tassara's elbow sticking out beside the mast, which she was leaning against as she sat on the deck. The sound of a news reporter could be heard as well.
Clover approached the mast, moving around it until she could see Tassara sitting in a huddled position with a small remote TV in her hands. The reporter was standing in the courtyard of her palace. "Well it looks like the combat here is officially over. After only a week, military forces have been able to suppress all resistance, and can now look forward to rebuilding a brighter future for this once-terrorist nation."
"In other words, make it an extension of America." Clover stated. Tassara jumped in surprise and looked up at her. She was somewhat pale, but she was no longer shaking and vomiting uncontrollably, so she was getting used to the rocking. "Assimilate it like it was never a separate country in the first place." Clover knelt down beside Tassara, watching the TV screen.
"They only held out for a week..." Tassara shook her head. "Maybe if I'd been there we could have lasted longer..." She sighed, pressing the power button on the small TV. "Probably not... they never stood a chance... defeat was inevitable..."
Clover squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We'll expose what's really going on to the entire world. They'll have to remove President Chambers from office and replace everyone who's a part of this, and then they'll have to pull out of Lyrobia. You'll be able to go back and rebuild." Tassara looked over at her, letting the TV slip from her hands.
"Flights of fantasy don't help us, Clover..." Tassara told her plainly. "Lyrobia is lost... by the time we reach the Queen of England, they'll have already taken over, reshaping it until it becomes a part of America. Assimilated... as you said." She leaned her head back against the mast, staring up at the main sail above her. "Lyrobia is dead... and so am I..."
"No you're not... and you won't die. I'll make sure of it." Clover leaned in to kiss her cheek softly, stroking her shoulder before she climbed to her feet, leaning against the mast. She saw a speck in the distance moments before someone shouted from the crow's nest on top of the mast. "Land ho!" The ship's crew started scrambling to make preparations for docking.
"Come on, we should get ready to leave." Clover grabbed Tassara's hand and pulled her to her feet. She swayed unsteadily on the rocking boat, but she was at least able to stand now as they turned to head down to the cabin to fetch Alex and Mandy. The peace and relaxation of the open ocean was going to be gone soon... it was time for another flight across a country and another desperate plea. Hopefully, this one would turn out better than the first one.
TO BE CONTINUED
A week had passed since the White House incident. The trip to the coast had been rather uneventful, something Clover was almost disappointed about with all the hitchhiking they did. She almost wanted a psycho killer to pick them up, but she guessed there was strength in numbers. They were all beautiful girls, so it was easy getting rides, but there were four of them, so murderers and rapists knew not to mess with them.
Once they'd reached the coast, the difficult part had been finding a boat to take them across the ocean. By now everyone knew their faces however, so it was hard looking for one who didn't know them, hated the government so much that he would do it just to spite them, or was completely insane. As luck would have it, they'd shortly found number 3.
"Sure, I'll get you out of here." The man's crazed eyes had scanned each of them in turn, as if trying to decide which one to jump first. "Come on, I'm got the best vessel in the harbor. Those damn Imperials will never catch it! Leave it to Captain Solo!" He turned to lead them down the docks like Han Solo, even keeping his hand on his belt where his blaster should have been.
When they reached the 'fastest vessel in the harbor' it turned out to be a fairly well maintained ship of moderate size. It was obvious from the look of the crew that they took the initiative most of the time, but as the captain passed the nodded in respect. He must have once been a good captain to keep his crew's respect like this. This only made Clover wonder what the Hell had happened to him.
So now here they were, sailing across the ocean on a boat with a good crew but a captain who was convinced he was flying through deep space. Clover and Alex had spent a lot of time in unusual modes of transportation, so a boat was no big deal for them. Mandy had gone yachting frequently whenever school let out, so she was almost as at home out here as she was in the mall.
Tassara, however, had spent her life in a desert without any ocean within traveling distance. One would have thought the poor woman had contracted some horrible disease from the moment she stepped on board the ship. It had taken both Clover and Alex to get her below deck, where the first mate assured them she would feel better shortly.
To her credit, Tassara didn't moan or whine despite the obvious discomfort and nausea that left her lying on the cot with Clover sitting in a small wooden chair beside her. She managed to maintain her regal air even down like this... though it was very hard to keep that up during those times she turned to vomit violently into a wooden bucket.
"There you go..." Clover encouraged her, stroking the queen's back as she held it over the bucket for the sixth time. "Let it all out, you'll feel better." Tassara leaned back and let her head fall onto the pillow, looking up at Clover.
"I'm sorry... I don't mean to keep you here." Tassara told her. "You can go if you want... I'll be fine."
"Bah, this isn't exactly a pleasure cruise. I'm fine down here." Clover smiled, though the smell of vomit was beginning to make her want to hurl too. Tassara seemed to sense this, smiling slightly.
"Thank you... but really, go." Tassara commanded this time.
Clover wasn't one to refuse the order of a queen. "I'll come back down to make sure you're okay a little later." She smiled and patted Tassara's shoulder before getting up and heading to the deck. The calming ocean breeze washed over her skin as she emerged. The scent of salt water filled her senses as surely as the golden sun overhead reflecting off the water all around them.
She walked up to the rail, watching the crewmembers going about their business to keep the boat sailing smoothly. She leaned her elbows against the rail, staring out across the open ocean. The sound of footsteps approaching from behind alerted her to someone else's presence. Looking to the side, she saw Mandy move up against the rail beside her, leaning against it and looking at the ocean.
Clover and Mandy hadn't spent any time alone since the airport. From the moment Mandy had arrived in Lyrobia they had been too busy running, planning, and resting to talk about anything that had happened. "Look Clover... we should talk." Mandy said.
"'Bout what? Pretending to be my friend? Or turning me over to WOOHP at your earliest convenience?" Clover asked.
"I wasn't pretending to be your friend." Mandy replied. "I honestly enjoyed the time we spent together."
"But you enjoy freedom so much more that you ratted me out?" Clover smirked. Mandy growled and marched up to her, grabbing her shirt and forcing her to look her in the eyes.
"Yeah, I ratted you out! That was a mistake! But I never would have been there in the first place if you hadn't dragged me into it!" Mandy shouted.
"I didn't exactly MEAN to! I didn't decide when they would come after me!" Clover shouted back.
"Well I'm not perfect! I can't resist things like you can! I'm no spy, I'm just a normal girl!" Mandy shouted back. Clover blinked, staring at her in amazement. Did she just call herself normal? Mandy pushed her back and turned back to the rail, looking away from her. "I was confused Clover... I didn't know the extent of what was happening. I thought they would just find you, lock you up for a few years, and let you go. And I could, for the first time, have a good relationship with my dad..."
Clover looked down at the water. She could see teardrops falling into the ocean, creating small ripples that quickly vanished among the larger waves. "I'm sorry Clover..." Mandy said, not looking at her. Clover pushed herself away from the railing and walked around Mandy, putting her hand on her back and leaning against the rail in front of her.
"Apology accepted..." Clover said simply. Mandy looked up at her, reaching up to wipe at her tear-stained face. "You're not perfect... I've known that for a long time." She smiled jokingly. Mandy chuckled, leaning her back against the rail. "Besides, we can't afford to be fighting each other right now."
"True." Mandy nodded, watching the crew of the boat go about their work. "What do we do if the queen doesn't believe us? What if she locks us up and ships us back to America?"
"Then America continues its warpath, and the world is plunged into World War 3." Clover replied simply. Mandy shivered, pulling her purple vest tighter around herself. She was wearing more normal clothes now after getting rid of the easily spotted red WOOHP jumpsuit. They wanted to blend in, though Alex had been reluctant to give up her outfit.
"Why would anyone want to start a world war?" Mandy shook her head.
"Power." Clover replied. "Plain and simple. We see it in all kinds of villains; they'll go so far as trying to destroy the world to be able to control it." She looked over at Mandy, who was watching her with a steady gaze. "What are you looking at?"
"It's just hard to believe that all this time you've been saving the world without anyone knowing it." Mandy replied.
"Yeah, that was always kind of a bummer. All the work and none of the perks." Clover sighed. "And after all that... after all that this shit starts and I get punished for it. What was the fucking point?" She closed her eyes and put one hand on her forehead. Mandy moved away form the rail and walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her into a gentle hug.
Mandy spoke softly into her ear. "I doubt anyone's ever said this, so I will. Thank you Clover, for saving the world." Clover smiled slightly and wrapped her arms around Mandy, returning the hug. They stayed that way for a fairly long while, eventually turning to look out across the ocean.
The day faded into night, and they retired to the cabin below deck where Tassara had finally stopped throwing up, having nothing left inside her. Alex met them after spending the day quizzing the crewmembers about their duties. She'd soaked up the knowledge like a sponge until she could probably man a boat all by herself. She had trouble learning from books, but watching and being taught directly was another story.
The night passed uneventfully, to allow the morning to come before they had to wake up again. Clover yawned and stretched her arms over her head, running one hand through her hair as she examined the small cabin. Mandy and Alex were asleep in their own beds, but Tassara was missing, probably unable to sleep with the rocking of the boat.
Clover stood from her cot and headed out to the deck. The sun wasn't even up yet, just beginning to shine the first rays over the horizon with the stars still dominating the sky. She could see Tassara's elbow sticking out beside the mast, which she was leaning against as she sat on the deck. The sound of a news reporter could be heard as well.
Clover approached the mast, moving around it until she could see Tassara sitting in a huddled position with a small remote TV in her hands. The reporter was standing in the courtyard of her palace. "Well it looks like the combat here is officially over. After only a week, military forces have been able to suppress all resistance, and can now look forward to rebuilding a brighter future for this once-terrorist nation."
"In other words, make it an extension of America." Clover stated. Tassara jumped in surprise and looked up at her. She was somewhat pale, but she was no longer shaking and vomiting uncontrollably, so she was getting used to the rocking. "Assimilate it like it was never a separate country in the first place." Clover knelt down beside Tassara, watching the TV screen.
"They only held out for a week..." Tassara shook her head. "Maybe if I'd been there we could have lasted longer..." She sighed, pressing the power button on the small TV. "Probably not... they never stood a chance... defeat was inevitable..."
Clover squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. "We'll expose what's really going on to the entire world. They'll have to remove President Chambers from office and replace everyone who's a part of this, and then they'll have to pull out of Lyrobia. You'll be able to go back and rebuild." Tassara looked over at her, letting the TV slip from her hands.
"Flights of fantasy don't help us, Clover..." Tassara told her plainly. "Lyrobia is lost... by the time we reach the Queen of England, they'll have already taken over, reshaping it until it becomes a part of America. Assimilated... as you said." She leaned her head back against the mast, staring up at the main sail above her. "Lyrobia is dead... and so am I..."
"No you're not... and you won't die. I'll make sure of it." Clover leaned in to kiss her cheek softly, stroking her shoulder before she climbed to her feet, leaning against the mast. She saw a speck in the distance moments before someone shouted from the crow's nest on top of the mast. "Land ho!" The ship's crew started scrambling to make preparations for docking.
"Come on, we should get ready to leave." Clover grabbed Tassara's hand and pulled her to her feet. She swayed unsteadily on the rocking boat, but she was at least able to stand now as they turned to head down to the cabin to fetch Alex and Mandy. The peace and relaxation of the open ocean was going to be gone soon... it was time for another flight across a country and another desperate plea. Hopefully, this one would turn out better than the first one.
TO BE CONTINUED