110 days. 110 days was how long that chase lasted before Thunder, her fuel running low and her crew ready to give up, decided to scuttle her. For Thunder, death was a welcome relief. For years she'd toiled, exploiting and never giving. She'd longed for the early days when such a practice was not looked down upon. The thrill of the catch was gone and all Thunder saw when she pulled the nets up were lives being extinguished for nothing!
She slowed to a halt and began to list on her starboard side.
"Thunder!" Pol cried, racing forward.
Thunder groaned and turned her gaze onto her daughter. There was just one last thing she had left to do.
"Don't bother Pol, I'm going down and that's that." She said.
"But..." Pol began.
"Don't argue with me!" Thunder snapped. "Take my crew and go."
Pol bit her lip and nodded. "I'll take them." She promised and turned to move a safe distance away. It was now or never.
"Pol!" Thunder called her back.
"Yes Thunder?" She asked.
"You remember your Norwegian don't you?"
"Of course. It's my native tongue."
"It's mine as well. My name, Thunder is a translation of my name in Norwegian. In Norway, many years ago, I was known as Thora." Thunder sighed.
"But that's, that's my mother's name... She left when I was little." Pol and Thunder's gazes met and it was then the younger ship knew.
"Why?" Pol asked, tears coming to her eyes.
"So many things happened. My role in the Falklands War made me a target and I thought you'd be safer if I wasn't there. So I left, thinking I could return later once the war had ended. I was wrong." Thunder sighed. "You must think I abandoned you, left you at such a young age."
Pol didn't answer, she was still trying to process everything. Is this why she felt some connection to Thunder. She knew know that she'd always known. On a subconscious level she'd known Thunder was her missing mother.
"The worst part about it was, I didn't even know what you looked like at first." Thunder murmured. "But those eyes, they've remained the same throughout the years. I can still see that rambunctious little shipling that went on night excursions around the harbor."
Pol managed a faint smile, recalling those days faintly. And she also recalled Thunder. She knew she'd seen the old ship before but she wasn't sure when or where. Now she knew...
"I should've come back. I should've found some way to come back. But I didn't, and you grew up believing I was either dead or missing. Can you-can you forgive me for that?" Thunder asked, her vision blurring. "Not long now." She thought.
"I..." Pol began uncertainly but when her eyes met her mother's her gaze softened and she sighed. "Yes, I forgive you mother." She whispered. Thunder managed a shaky purr as the two nuzzled for the first time in 45 years.
"Look at you." She whispered. "So beautiful. You've done so much with your life, and for this planet." She stroked a wire against Pol's cheek. "I am so proud of you."
A stray tear found it's way from the corner of one of Pol's eyes. "Don't go..." Her voice broke. "Please..."
Thunder smiled sadly, a sense of peace washing over her. The only solace Pol had was seeing that peace reflected in her mother's eyes before they went dark forever. Tipping her head back, the Sea Shepherd deputy gave a loud wail that could be heard for miles.