Thunder now understood the meaning of the word jinx. "I should not have thought it couldn't get any worse." She moaned to herself.
Obviously it could, Pol had been on her tail for 21 straight days and showed no signs of stopping. The last time any ship had chased a poaching vessel this long was an Australian ship years ago. Thunder had thought Pol would give up. She was wrong. Apparently the words give up were not in the Sea Shepherd deputy's vocabulary.
"If you know what's good for you, you'll quit cause I'm not gonna. I can keep this up for a whole year if I have to!" She called.
"Not on your life you pokodoted bitch!" Thunder shot back.
Pol started laughing behind her. "Is that your best comeback?" She asked. "That's pathetic!"
Thunder knew she was just trying to rile her and bit back her growl of anger. A second ship fell in behind her, also dazzle colored but not nearly in extravagant pattern as Pol.
"Sam, about time you showed up!" Pol cried.
"Sorry, got held up. I swear Westra gets more motherly by the day." Simon groaned.
"She worries. What can I say?" Pol chuckled. "How's she doing?"
"She's in the drydock now and she's been ordered on 4 month leave. Naturally she protested." Simon said.
"How far could she be heard this time?" Pol sighed.
"At least 20 miles. I could still hear her screaming cuss words loud and clear from that distance." Simon replied.
"At least she's shouting. That's a good sign." Pol said.
"She's been hurting for a while now though. She deserves the rest." Simon said.
"If she'll take it that is. That ship will work until she dies." Pol snorted.
"Tell me about it." the male ship grumbled as he brushed against Pol.
"Don't even think about it!" Pol growled. "We're on a mission right now."
Simon pouted. "Aww, but Pol." He whined. "Do as you are told, Simon." Pol growled.
"Fine..." He huffed and moved off a short distance, beginning to circle Thunder. "Time to have a little fun." He thought.
"Nah, nah, nah, nah! You can't catch me!" He sang in a grating tenor.
Pol even winced and Thunder practically had steam coming out of her ears. A bit more taunting and she snapped, lunging at Simon. He dodged nimbly out of the way.
"That the best you got?!" He called.
Panting, Thunder lunged again. Pol frowned. True, the smaller ship had been running for days now but she shouldn't be that tired yet. Something was very wrong with Thunder.
Simon again dodged out of the poaching ships way. "Come on, take a punch at me!" He taunted.
Thunder glared at him and Pol caught a glimpse of the pain she was trying to hide behind her eyes, a warning. "Simon, that's enough!" She roared.
Simon paused. "Enough Simon, I'll deal with her on my own." Pol said.
Though it was brief, Thunder's eyes flashed their gratefulness. Pol gave a slight nod. She understood now what Thunder must be feeling. She too had once been a ship like her. A whaler and in a twist of irony she was now opposing such a practice. Heck, she'd even been present when her commander, Andenes, had collided with Whales Forever, an early Sea Shepherd ship.
Now here she was, deputy of the very organization she'd once helped to attack. But she still remembered those early days, though she tried not to and she knew that Thunder was just like how she was once. A slave forced to bow to the whip of the master who was uncaring of her health. Thunder ate whatever she caught that was undesirable and she could sometimes go for days without such a thing. Also, she ate pretty much whatever so who knew what kind of diseases she could pick up.
It appeared something was affecting her for she looked too thin for a poaching vessel with a large catch. She also was having trouble breathing which was another issue. Thunder was ordinarily a very fit vessel, she could run rings around Pol on a good day. That wasn't the case now. Now she looked weak, tired, and sick.
As Thunder continued on Pol noticed her speed had dropped drastically. She was now going a mere 10 knots. Periodically her head would droop and her shoulders would shake. Her sides, rising and falling quickly, would tremor. Pol bit her lip in worry. Of course Thunder was a poacher, they were on opposite sides but Pol couldn't shake the feeling of sympathy she had. Thunder had no choice in what she was doing. She was forced into it and it was costing her. Pol's actions were only adding to that. The former whaler was tempted just to let Thunder go but she knew she couldn't do that. She had her duty and at least if Thunder were detained she might get proper medical treatment for whatever was ailing her.
"Hold firm Thunder, but give up your quest. Let me help you." She thought.