A/N: The assault has begun! Let's hope that our heroes nab that stupid pirate leader!
To answer a question that was posed to me earlier, heh… nah, it's not already written out. All of this is more or less off the top of my head. I wish it was already written out though. It's getting harder and harder to pump out chapters quickly, so if you y'all don't mind, I'm going to slow down a bit. Maybe limit myself to 1-2 chapters a week. Hope no one's mad!
One other thing: I'm thinking about making Under the Sky So Blue into part of a larger saga. There are a number of stones left unturned in Arcadia that some may have never thought of. Not only will this bring more action and such, but it will help to further the romance of Vyse and Fina. Don't worry though. By the end of Under the Sky So Blue, they will confess everything. Everything after that will just be… reinforcement, so to speak. If anyone wants to see a larger saga be built from this, please let me know in your reviews! Along the way, I may make a side-story or two. These will most likely involve Gilder and/or Clara, but we'll see…
That being said, on with today's story!
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Chapter 7: Infiltration
The shots didn't miss their mark. The entire first volley of cannon-fire slammed into the docks of Dangrel Island, damaging a few ships and cannon turrets that were meant to defend the island. The Delphinus moved in closer.
Vyse threw his arm forward. "Second volley, fire!"
Another volley was released from the Delphinus. Again, they all found their mark. Two of the ships that were parked were so heavily damaged from this most recent strike that they broke away from the dock and plummeted into Deep Sky. Panicked men could be seen running around the dock as they were trying to figure out what to do.
The captain of the world's most powerful battleship picked up a scout's scope and observed the damage done to the dock. A few fires had broken out and roughly five bodies lie strewn about the dock. Damage done to the docks themselves had been quite extensive. Vyse was proud of his gunners. At this rate, it would be entirely too easy to just destroy the entire island with cannon-fire. However, he had remembered what Fina had told him.
"Don't lose yourself, Vyse," he told himself. "Aika wouldn't want that either." He nodded and put down the scope.
"Release one more volley at the docks and target the uppermost buildings with two torpedoes," he ordered.
One more volley was set loose as two torpedoes were shot into the sky, preparing to home in on their target. One of the thus-far undamaged docks was completely annihilated when a lucky shot from the Delphinus struck a canister of red moon stones sitting nearby, causing a massively destructive blast to ripple throughout the dock area. The rest of the shots mostly hit unimportant targets such as supply crates and loading crates.
Vyse picked up the scope once more as he observed the path of the torpedoes. He watched as they began to make their way downward toward their targets. Their speed increased greatly just before they struck their targets: the two tallest buildings located on the island. As soon as they hit, all the lights on Dangrel Island went out, only to have some replaced by ones not quite as bright, others to be replaced by red emergency lights.
The captain smirked as he set down the scope once more. He turned to his boarding party. "Is everyone ready?" he asked.
They all nodded. He nodded back and turned to Lawrence.
"Lawrence, take us in. We've done enough damage to the docks to make a safe entrance for ourselves. Do you remember what you're supposed to do once we land?"
Lawrence nodded without turning to his captain. "Aye aye, sir."
Pleased with the preparations, Vyse said, "All right everybody. Let's do it!"
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The Delphinus docked at the one dock that not received too much damaged. The ramp was lowered and the boarding party rushed off, not wanting to waste any time. Vyse turned back and faced the bridge, giving it a thumbs-up. Once that was done, the Delphinus began to pull away, ready to perform its part of the raid.
Everyone readied their weapons as they looked around the dock. No one was waiting for them. After watching their comrades die, the ex-Valuans must've lost the will to fight and ran.
Once everyone was finished, a PA speaker crackled to life. "Blue Rogues," the voice said, "this was very foolish of you. Not only did you manage to anger me, but you are already too late. The "Jericho" is complete! There's no stopping it now! Hahaha-"
The voice was cut-off when Gilder shot the speaker. Everyone looked at him.
"What?" he started. "That guy was getting on my nerves."
Before he could even finish his sentence, guards were already beginning to pour out of the remaining doors that hadn't been smashed to bits by cannon-fire.
"Figures!" Clara complained. With her free hand, she drew one of her daggers from her vest. "Vyse! Get going! Gilder and I will draw their attention!"
Fina wanted to protest but Vyse cut her off. "Alright. You guys take care!"
Gilder began firing with both guns. "Don't die, kid!" he grinned over at Vyse.
Vyse smiled back and flashed a thumbs-up. With that, Vyse, Fina, and Juan snuck around the remains of one of the docks and made their way inside and Gilder and Clara fought outside.
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"This way!" Juan exclaimed as he took point. Juan had once told Vyse and everyone else that, at one time, he was stationed at Dangrel Island and knew the layout of the base better than anyone else.
Vyse and Fina followed close behind him. The halls were bare of any signs of life. Any the weren't killed by the initial attack were most likely either outside fighting Gilder and Clara or were a part of the Sky Fortress "Jericho's" crew.
Speakers in the base crackled to life. "It's pointless Vyse! Go back now and find someplace to hide!"
As they ran along, Fina targeted any speakers she could find with the Cupilrang and struck them down. Vyse turned to her and smiled as they ran.
"Thanks Fina. Gilder was right. That guy is annoying," he said.
Fina smiled back and turned back forward. Up ahead, Juan had just bumped into a few troopers coming out of a side room. Juan and the troopers just stared at each other for a few moments before fighting broke out. Juan was very strong and was able to keep them from pouring through the door, meaning he only had to fight one man at a time. He looked back at his two companions.
"Get going you two!" he exclaimed. "These guys are no match for me! Hurry and stop Jericho!"
This time, even Vyse had to protest. "Juan! We can't leave you here! There's no one here to help you!"
Juan growled back. "Don't about little things like that! I can take care of myself! Now get going!"
Vyse was about to speak again when Fina ran past Vyse and began dragging him along. "Vyse, come on! Everyone's fighting for our success! We can't let them down!"
Vyse sighed and began running too so he wouldn't force Fina into dragging him. Behind them, Juan could be heard yelling and clashing with the enemy troopers. They ran past an open, heavy-looking security door with a small control room above and made their way down to the bottom floor.
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The passed a few more empty rooms once they reached the bottom floor and came face-to-face with a massive door made of steel. Vyse began to search for a control panel as Fina's heart raced. Vyse heard her begin to breathe very heavily and walked over to her.
"Fina? Are you ok?" he asked.
Sweat could be seen dripping down her face. "I-I'm scared, Vyse."
Vyse's eyes began to water. It brought great amounts of pain to his heart to see Fina like this. Such a wonderful girl shouldn't be subject to negative feelings such as these.
He embraced Fina warmly. "It's ok Fina… it's ok…" He pulled back a bit and smiled as her stared into her beautiful yet sad-looking eyes. "I'm scared too. Let's help each other be not scared. We have to win Fina. We just have to…"
A few tears dropped down her cheek as she threw her arms around Vyse. She looked up at him. "Vyse… there's something I want to tell you."
Vyse was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say. Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor place to make such confessions and share such feelings.
"Hey, you act like we're not gonna make it out of this alive. I promise you can tell me after we kick this guy's and the Jericho's butt! How's that sound?" He flashed a confident smile at her as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
She smiled warmly back at him and nodded. "Ok Vyse. I'll do my best. Let's stop this man… together!"
They hugged once more and Vyse pressed a few buttons on the control panel. The massive door slowly opened and a great amount of light flooded the hallway they were standing in. They slowly walked into the light.
Two gunshots rang out.
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Gaha! Suspense is a real… killer! ::laughs at own stupid pun:: Anyway, what will happen to Vyse and Fina? Will she be stopped from telling Vyse her true feelings for him? And what about the rest of the crew? Will they be alright? Find out this and more in Chapter 8!
Keep the reviews coming in! A reviewed Steve is a productive Steve! D Also, let me know what you think about a continuing saga and side-stories!
Oh, and sorry for the sorta short chapter. Work is killing me.