Dea clung to the rope as Ravi pulled her up onto the deck. Water dripped down while her wet skin glistened in the ship's lighting. The ocean below was as dark as the sky, where scudding clouds partially obscured the stars. It was now well past midnight. The swim had eased her bodily discomfort and cleared her head.

"Thank you," she said, glad to get out of the makeshift harness.

Ravi merely nodded as he helped her into the Cypod.

When she headed towards the gathering on deck, the atmosphere was solemn. They were having a moment of silence for their fallen crew member, who turned out to be one of Endera's recent recruits.

"Dea, we have news of the latest developments," Nadie said the instant she joined them. "A lot has happened would be an understatement."

"What do you mean?" she asked, dread pooling inside.

"Calliathron has acted sooner than we expected." The captain leaned forward, her expression grim. "I think the breach at Kadol Doova had sent alarm bells ringing in the upper echelons of Serendiva's government. Dilip Goonewardane must've briefed everyone. They've launched their navy. It's as you described—the battle has taken place in the straits to the north."

Dea's tail flukes tapped away inside the Cypod while her brain processed the information. Waves gushed past the ship, scattering bursts of sea spray.

"The Callian forces are smaller and relatively few in number, but way tougher and nothing like Serendiva's navy has faced before." Nadie paused. "On top of that, Serendiva's large ships couldn't maneuver in the narrow strait—a clever tactical move to get them there. Your commander and strategists are quite something."

"It's...happening now?" Dea's heart pounded her ribcage. "So Calliathron's winning?"

"It's been going on for over six hours, and yes, it's a decisive victory for Calliathron. They've already sunk much of Serendiva's fleet."

"But what about the other human nations?"

"It's chaos out there, because no one expected this invasion from a hitherto unknown enemy. The situation is being monitored."

"Massa and Mora might be using the threat of nuclear warfare to keep them at bay," Dea said, almost to herself.

A chilly wind blustered past her ears, and the wetness on her skin evaporated.

Nadie finally broke the silence and exchanged hurried words with the others before turning to Dea. "The latest update is that Seren City is expecting a Callian attack. In fact, Calliathron must be launching its land offensive as we speak. The city is being evacuated. The next troubling piece of information..."

"What is it?"

Muda spoke up, "The news back home is that you've been captured. And you're possibly dead."

"That's crazy..."

"It is." Nadie crossed her arms. "Someone seems to be intent on getting you out of the picture and painting Serendiva in the worst possible light. Stoking the flames of hatred..."

Dea's stomach twisted. "Hal Moray Massa."

The captain nodded. "It must've been awfully inconvenient to hand over his position of power when you reached majority. And I'm thinking you're a wild card in his book—not a pliant enough puppet."

"I was his puppet..."

"Well, you're a bit too headstrong for that phase to last—and I'm just talking out of what I've seen so far." Nadie looked at Muda, who just shook her head. "We're yet to see exactly what Massa plans on doing, because it's crazy to think that just taking over Seren City by force will pave the way for a promising future. In theory, you can force Serendiva's government to accept your terms, but Massa must know this won't have good outcomes in the long run."

Darkness seemed to seep into her very bones, and she gritted her teeth. "I need to go to the battlefield. If I could get to Mora, we could withdraw the forces and call for a ceasefire. As the queen, I could veto whatever orders Massa issues out."

"That's what I was thinking." The captain turned to address the gathering. "This is our primary objective. We need to find Talmus Mora, the commander of this campaign, and get Dea to his location."

"Nadie," Dea said, massaging her temples, "even if we withdraw the Callian forces, there's the problem of Dilip and the Goonewardane government. In Dilip's own words, merpeople are an inconvenience. He'd never agree to negotiations—in fact, he and his family might announce to the world that this war was an act of unprovoked aggression and work to crush us."

"That's why I said getting you to Mora is the primary objective," Nadie replied.

She blinked. "And what's the other objective?"

"Ousting the Goonewardanes."

The words hit her like a bolt of lightning and electrified the atmosphere. She stared at the captain. Myriad scenarios gyred in her head.

"How is that even possible if they have the people's favor?" Dea finally asked, pushing her hair back as it flew in the wind.

"Let me explain. They knew us as a direct action conservation group. They couldn't nab us because we operated within the law—in fact, we were just enforcing it in the open ocean." Shadows intensified on Nadie's frowning face. "What they didn't know was that we were also the anonymous rebels who've been a thorn in their side. Yep, we've been gathering evidence, spying on them and documenting their activities. But now, they've made the connection. We've blown our cover—they'd actively hunt us down."

"Dilip definitely knows Anuk is involved," Dea said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah." Nadie turned to the crew. "And that's why we must act fast."

"What do we do?" she asked.

"There are limits to what we've been able to achieve from afar with our hacking and sleuthing work. There's one place that has been out of bounds up until now. And that's Dilip Goonewardane's residence. If we can get into his private computer, which we suspect stores records of his covert dealings, we will complete our case against him and his family. We also have footage of the secret facility and what they've been doing to merpeople. We can then release everything to the press in one fell swoop."

Shivers swam down Dea's spine while a buzz of conversation broke out.

Nadie spoke over the noise, "So we could use this chaos to our advantage. We need to split. One team will break into Dilip Goonewardane's residence and acquire all incriminating data. In fact, I think you should be on this team, Dea."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"We could go on ahead of you to scout out the area and locate Mora. Then we can specify the route for you and clear the way."

"I don't want you getting in harm's way for my sake or—"

"We at Endera have been working for this moment for over a decade—our ocean conservation efforts go back even further. We will fight, and we cannot afford to lose." Nadie's eyes blazed. "As for you, Queen of Calliathron. The future of both land and sea rests on you. You're our most vital asset."

The captain's deep voice carried over the group. Heads nodded, accompanied by a chorus of affirmations.

Dea stared from one to the other, and a dozen thoughts vied for dominance. Her heart swelled, pushing back against the mountain that bore down on her. She noticed the few who still shot her belligerent looks. Among them was Gog, her lanky figure ensconced in a military Cypod.

"What good would she do on this mission?" Gog drawled, her face as dour as the gloomy sea beyond. "Maybe she should just sit tight while we do the hard work."

"Actually," Dea said, looking her directly in the eye, "I should go on this mission."

"Yeah? And why's that?"

"Because I have the layout of Dilip's house."

A hush fell over those assembled. Gog appeared stumped.

"How did you get your hands on that?" Nadie asked sharply.

Dea produced her ogi and initiated a file transfer to the merpeople's devices. As ogis unfurled to accept the file, their mini halos popped out against the night. Nadie leaned sideways to peer at Muda's device.

"What you see there is the sonar map," Dea said. "On the day I came to land a month ago, I attended Dilip's banquet. That was when he took me prisoner. I mapped the house to try and find an escape. I was actually in his study. He does indeed keep a computer there."

Everyone pored over the map.

Dea folded her arms. "So the question is—how would we proceed once we get there? Who's going to get this information?"

"Why, that'd be Tamara's job," the captain said, nodding at the girl who perched silently on the railing. "She'd use a program to download the data into a portable drive."

Tamara just smiled.

"Oh." Dea blinked. "I thought you're a deckhand?"

Nadie replied, "She's also our most skilled hacker."

"Wake up, princess."

Even though the words were gentle, Dea started and snapped up her head from the edge of the bed. Anuk watched her, a hint of a smile lingering on his lips. The bed was now tilted at the head, propping him up to a sitting position.

"I thought you were sleeping." She straightened up in the chair. "I wasn't actually asleep. I can't—not with all this going on."

"Your sleep is actually half awake anyways," he said lightly. "It's hard to imagine that."

"Mhmm. It's hard for me to imagine how you shut down completely—it's kind of scary."

The banter was short-lived. The gravity of what lay ahead made her stomach churn—tumbling and twisting, not unlike the waves outside.

"It's almost dawn," she whispered.

He said nothing for a heartbeat. "I know."

A sinking sensation dragged her down. Will I even live to see you again, Anuk? She pulled in one breath after another while emotion rolled over her. Her chest tightened, and she tamped down nausea.

"Dea?"

She gulped and composed herself.

"Promise me you'd be safe," Anuk said, his voice lowered to bass notes. "Promise me you won't be so crazy reckless."

"I promise," she murmured.

He just sighed—a defeated sound that tugged at her heartstrings. His eyes were as black as obsidian under the muted luminescence. She quickly averted hers, lest he see the tears in them. Instead, she fixated her stare on the IV tube connected to his wrist, though she couldn't bring herself to look at his bandaged arm.

"Dea," he said quietly.

"What?"

"Don't be so sad when you look at me." His gaze softened. "I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to see you here next to me. I have no regrets. I won't hesitate to take that bullet again."

A puff of air escaped her lips.

Dea didn't know what came over her. She moved to the bed in one fluid motion and leaned into him, arms entwining around his neck. He stiffened—then slowly relaxed. His good arm circled around her waist and pressed her closer.

As she melded into him, a school of butterflyfish broke into an elaborate dance inside. He was so warm, and his heartbeat pulsed to the heightened rhythm of her own. Her eyes closed.

She wished the seconds would tick slower, but in what felt like the blink of an eye, rapid footsteps approached.

Her whole being protested when she made to push away. His arm refused to let her go. Instead, his hand traveled up to her neck and cupped her head. She could only blink when he kissed her forehead.

Her heart clenched.

Then he released her, fingertips brushing away the tear that slid down her cheek. Dea forced herself to move and swiped at her eyes.

Nadie poked her head through the curtains. "Kelp is here—he's brought the new gear. Ready to go, Anuk? We don't have time."

"Yep," he said, though his voice came out flat.

The captain came in and lifted Dea onto her shoulder before turning to Anuk. "You better be all healed up by the time we get back."

"I'll drink more kottamalli."

Nadie chuckled and tousled his hair. A weak laugh burst out of Dea, though the joke itself was lost on her.

As they passed through the curtains, Ravi and Doc went in to get Anuk ready to board Kelp's transport. Dea struggled to contain her rampaging thoughts. A lump formed in her throat, and tears stung her eyes.

When they emerged on deck, a motley team had assembled under the inky blue sky. A floodlight glazed the armor with a dull sheen. Some people sported new carapaces while the military Cypods bore battle scars. Heads turned as they approached.

"Dea!" Kelp rolled forward in his regular machine.

She tried to wriggle into a better position on the captain's shoulder. "Nadie, could you put me down, please?"

"Well, where is it, Kelp?" Nadie asked.

Kelp gestured. "Right here."

People cleared out of the way as the captain headed to whatever it was that held their attention. Dea craned her neck.

Then she saw it.

The new machine lay half cloaked in darkness, sleek contours gleaming like the glassy blackness of the Witch's Cauldron. The shape was similar to the other Cypod designs, except for the unusually large undercarriage and the tinted viewport that formed a protective shell on top. An extendable robotic arm hugged one side, while a formidable gun slung from the other. Pink lined the seams—a striking dash of color.

Dea goggled at it. "Whoa."

Kelp hastened to open the hatch at the back, which slid outward, glass and metal separating from the seams.

"Nice toy." Nadie eyed it admiringly as she helped Dea in.

"Yeah, he even added in some pink." Kelp suppressed a chuckle and turned to Dea. "You'll have to download the driver. Here, let me transfer it to your chip. Then you'd have to calibrate—especially the leg component."

"Leg component?" Dea croaked.

"Yeah. This is a mechwalker-Cypod hybrid. The wheels are retractable. The body can stand up on the robotic legs once they're unfolded."

Surprised exclamations issued out from the onlookers. Dea was too stunned to speak as she scrutinized the schematic diagram on Kelp's ogi.

"That kid," Nadie shook her head with a laugh. "He'd create fins for us next."

Kelp grinned and peered at Dea through the viewport. "The legs are inspired from these wading birds, except much sturdier to support the weight. You can imagine how much of a design challenge this was. Anuk experimented with various models in 3D and tweaked the rigging so many times. Even after multiple motion simulations, the first 3D-printed model failed the test run. He finally got it right a couple of weeks back."

An awed silence now met the words as everyone feasted their eyes on the creation.

"What do you call it?" Tamara asked, eyes shining.

Kelp tilted his head like a bot while the translation came through and then announced, "This is the Flamingo Mk II."

"Flamingo?" Dea's hushed words blended into the waves.

"That's a pinkish bird." Tamara grinned. "It's not black though."

Dea stroked the surface. "I love it."

"Should've added some pompoms too, Kelp." Gog rolled her eyes. "Make it all nice and cutesy for the battlefield."

"Don't be an assfish, Gog," Kelp retorted.

Muda facepalmed.

"Alright, people," Nadie fired out, effectively slashing the conversation.

Everyone tensed.

"As soon as we send Anuk off, we'll plot a course to Seren City." The captain looked at each of them in turn. "We'll head to the safe house. I've already placed a call to arrange transport. We'll go through the specifics on the way."

The team nodded, determination stamped on their faces. The air almost crackled with the rising tension, mingled with a sense of danger.

"No matter what happens, we stick to our goal and our values," Nadie continued. "No one shall die by our hand, but we will win. All these years, we've fought for our future and for our planet. Our sweat and blood cannot be in vain. We will bring our leaders to justice. We will fight."

A roar greeted the words, louder than the bellow of the ocean. Mermish blended with human words, and fists pumped into the air.

The sky lightened as Dea watched, and clouds parted in the horizon, revealing a dab of orange. The first light of dawn reached its golden touch towards those on deck, driving away the shadows. It struck her then—the extraordinary sight of merpeople and humans, united in their vision of a better tomorrow. It was a moment she knew would go down in history.

The sun reached right into her soul and rekindled the fire of hope. It thawed the last layer of permafrost in her heart, which beat with a vigor she thought she'd lost forever. The darkness withdrew to the recesses in her mind. A two-sided coin that can flip the wrong way.

Dea balled up her hand and joined in the show of solidarity.

"Today, we mark a new beginning for both land and sea." The captain raised her own fist. "We will give it our all or die trying."

Animal: Assfish

https://youtu.be/k1yiWo3LzUY