[Mkguild] Return to the Isl;and part 8

[cokane8116 at aol.com]

     The group arrived near the ship. Theystopped at the tree line that marked where forest ended and the beach began.They got their first sight of the ship.    The ferry didn’t look too bad. Only somebuckling on the bow told of damage when she beached.    A figure, all bundled up stood on the bow witha large lance cradled in his arms.    “That’s The Whaler,” Bob commented.    “What’s his power?” Misha asked.    “Blaster,” Nor’easter answered. “But insteadof guns or bows he uses three-foot-long harpoons.”    “Harpoons?” Stealth commented.    “Rocket propelled and tipped with variouswarheads,” Moonshine added.    “So basically rockets,” Misha answered.    “Missiles too,” Moonshine added. “Includingsurface to surface and surface to air.”    Bob nodded. “He hit the ferry with one thatput a three-foot-wide hole in the side. Thankfully above the waterline.”    “Does he wear armor?” Misha asked.    “Yes,” Trick Shot responded. “But not a lot.It’s mostly proof against bullets and the like. The jacket has some prettyhefty protection sewn into it.”    “This is where we stop,” the leopard said.“Our orders are to protect the island itself and its occupants.”    Misha nodded. “Fair enough. Part of our jobis to keep them away from all of you.”   “There is 100 feet of open ground between usand the ship,” Strela commented. “A long way to run in the open. Especiallywith people blasting away at us.”    “Swimming is out,” Misha added.    “Not for you,” Orca commented. “I canwithstand the cold but the rest of you wouldn’t last ten minutes withoutspecial, extreme cold-water gear.”    “I can cloak everything in a deep fog,”Nor’easter said.    “Maelstrom is sure to know you’re doing it,”Trickshot countered.    “She’s tried to use it on us in the past,”Moonshine explained.    “We can do it.” Misha said. “We can getclose enough without being seen to take him out,”    “Once you attack, we’ll rush in fast,” Bobadded.    “Sounds good!” Misha responded.    “First we take is the bridge and engineroom,” Strela added. “Then we’ll check on the cargo.”  *************     “We can’t walk,” Misha commented. “We’llleave pawprints in the snow. I learned that back in Aberdeen.”    Strela nodded. “We’ll fly low and slow untilwe get close enough.”    “Do we use your flash arrow first?” Mishaasked. “Or try and drop him silently?”    She pondered for a moment. “Let’s startsilent. If he doesn’t go down then we’ll go public.”    “We only need a minute to go to the ship,”Moonshine added.    “I’ll go with you,” Stealth said. “If thearrows don’t get him. I can.”    “How quickly can you cross from here to theship?” Misha asked.    Stealth looked at the open ground and theship. “Five or ten seconds.”    Misha nodded. “All right. We’ll get in asclose as possible. On my mark we’ll strike.” He turned to Stealth. “Once weshoot; get on the ship ASAP. If he’s still standing; drop him or anyone elsearound him.”    Thefox pointed to Bob. “Your people rush up as fast as possible.”    “And me?” Silvermane asked.    “My apology but I really don’t know whatyour skills are,” Misha responded.    “I prefer to keep my distance,” Silvermaneresponded. “Let my bow do the work.”    “You’ll be our heavy artillery,” Misha said.“We already know how great your aim is.”    “Heavy Artillery!”    “Big Bertha!”    “But he’s a male.”    “Big Mac!”    “He’s a hamburger? Does he come with picklesand lettuce?”    “You can always call him Silvermane,” Strelacountered.    “Where’s the fun in that?”    “The largest rifled artillery ever used incombat was 800mm and produced by Krupp,” Misha said. That one was namedSchwerer Gustav but its nickname was Dora.”    “Let me get this straight,” thenanites asked. “The gun was named after the senior engineer’s wife?”    “What did she look like? That when he sawthe gun he said ‘Oh yeah that looks like my wife.”    “Don’t all men like women with big barrels?”Stealth joked.    “Can we please get back on topic?” Silvermanasked.  
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