“CNS Baited Breath,” Allia says, reading off the name on the side of the foreign warship through her lensing spells. “Chthonian?” She asks.

  “West Chthonian,” Jakes?n says, answering her silent real question. “Ours would be CAS.”

  “So, what’s a West Chthonian warship doing so close to us? What is it, a battleship? How did it slip so far past the army’s ‘sea wall’?”

  “Don’t know,” Jakes?n mutters, “But it’s worse than a battleship, it’s a battlecruiser.”

  “That doesn’t sound worse,” Carly says.

  Sarrah explains. “A battlecruiser has the same main cannons as a battleship, but sacrifices some of its defences, mainly having only 2 main shield generators instead of 3, in favour of extra speed. Meaning that anything big enough to be a risk to it can’t keep up.”

  “I didn’t know you knew so much about warships,” Allia says to her friend.

  Sarrah shrugs. “The adventurer league decided to have one built a few years back as a sort of flagship. My parents had a major role in the debate, so some details ended up trickling down to me.”

  “That’s all well and good,” Carly says, her face fixated on the vessel, her lips quivering slightly at the sight, “but is it in our waters?”

  The table goes silent at the suggestion, then separately calculate estimates.

  “Length?” Allia asks, holding a finger out to compare the ship against to estimate degrees.

  “Should be about 800 feet, the same as a battleship,” Sarrah answers.

  Allia nods, tapping fingers on the table to mentally mark their direction and estimated distance travelled, confirming it by standing up and spotting their island destination in the distance, before nodding to herself to confirm her final estimate. “I’d say it’s about 5 miles out form treaty waters, plus or minus 2.”

  The table sighs in relief at that their not being at war presently. Sarrah speaks. “Those treaties are ridiculously outdated though. Their main cannons could level half of Newflor from there before needing absolution.”

  “So why is the Salvation a la mode heading for it. What could it even do against that thing?” Allia asks, her gaze turning down to track the MDC’s corvette.

  Sarrah shrugs. “To get shot at, I suppose.” Allia turns questioningly at her friend, prompting further explanation. “Nothing on board can penetrate the Baited Breath’s shields. Well, the depth charges maybe, but the range is too short. So, the corvette will probably just shadow them until the army can take over. If they get blown to pieces, then I guess that’s as good as hint of their intention as any.”

  “What could they possibly be doing here if it’s not against us?” Carly asks.

  Jakes?n answers weakly, “Perhaps they’re just passing through? Exploring the islands south of the federation, but sticking close to your territory avoid abyssal waters.”

  Allia tilts her head. “But that still puts them over deep waters, why not just negotiate for passage in our shallows. It’s not like they could really hope to get all the way past us unseen skirting our territory. Besides, how did they get past the seawall without going over an abyss?”

  “And why aren’t they moving?” Sarrah asks.

  Jakes?n shrugs. “Who knows. Those from the west are our brothers, but they do make the occasional bizarre choice. Hence our separation.”

  “Of course, they’re the ones with the odd choices.” Sarrah smiles innocently, very badly hiding her ironic intent. Jakes?n gives her a look, but ignores the remark.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “How long do you think the army will take to respond?” Carly asks Sarrah.

  She shrugs. “Planes can reach it in an hour. Don’t know if we have enough nearby to threaten it though. It might have lighter defences, but they’re still capital class. Really, they’d need cruisers to properly respond, at least 6 to really threaten it. 10 to sink it without losses. I know the army has about 50 in total, but most of them are in the seawall. It’ll probably be at least a full day for the reserves to reach here.”

  “The MDC has their own cruisers, don’t they?” Jakes?n asks, “Aren’t they closer?”

  Sarrah nods. “They’re mostly patrolling deep waters farther out, but they should be able to pull in enough to threaten it. Maybe half a day? Whether they will or not though is a political question. I’m sure MDC leadership wants to, since them resolving the situation would embarrass the army. Whether or they’ll be allowed though? It might undermine the council’s position that the MDC is purely a civilian defence force if they manage to sink a foreign capital ship.”

  “Not exactly a calming thought for our day at the beach, now is it,” Carly says.

  “Don’t worry” Jakes?n says, giving her a quick side hug and shoulder squeeze, “if they haven’t done anything yet, then I’m certain they’re not going to. The surprise is lost. This will just be a moderate diplomatic incident. West Chthonia is probably just counting coup – demonstration a capability to put pressure on your government over something else. I’m sure nothing big will come of it.”

  Carly smiles and leans into the hug. “Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.” There’s glance from her to the two other girls, and a twist of her smile.

  The ferry shudders and begins its decent, having returned to shallow waters, causing the Baited Breath to dip below the horizon. About 10 minutes later the island comes back in sight, and the group goes to the front of the viewing platform to watch it.

  It’s an emerald in a sea of sapphire. Several miles wide with verdant tropical trees covering most of it. A small portion of it is cleared where about 3 dozen small buildings sit, along with the main beach and dock, with brightly clothed figures going about like ants at this distance.

  A few dozen small boats dart about the island, some fishing boats, but most just pleasure skiffs. A few ride boards a little longer than Allia’s two new acquaintances, but propelled by sail rather than enchantment.

  The air is filled with seagulls, which a few harpies use as cover to approach, and dive down at one of the wind surfers, only to be rebuffed by their shield and torn apart by jets of water shooting from the ocean a moment later.

  “All right beach goers!” The captain announces over the voice system. “We’re initiating final docking procedures, and will get to the pier just as soon as we can negotiate our way to it. Usually takes about 10 minutes from here. We’ll be leaving about 15 minutes after that, and will return two hours after that. Our final departure time is 8 tonight. If you miss it, please don’t try to swim back.” He pauses to let a total of 2 passengers laugh, including Allia. “There’s a small inn on the island, but be warned that capacity isn’t high, but prices are. If that fails, and you can’t find an amenable local to take you in for the night, you can always rent a tent from the hiking supply store or, if you really need to get back, a skiff from the dock which you can drop off in Newflor’s central dock. Though I hear you could have just bought a used one for what they’ll charge you.”

  He then goes through a number of local business, which have obviously paid the ferry company to advertise for them. Eventually though he goes quiet, though the crackle of the system remains, so the passengers remain quiet, clearly in anticipation of the missing statement.

  “…Well, then,” he starts, hesitantly, “that’s all from my usual announcements. Many of you however may have noticed the commotion earlier when we reached peak altitude over the deep water. For those of you below deck who may have missed it, a West Chthonian cruiser has somehow found its way near our territorial waters. I wish to assure all of you that it has not crossed over into our territory. We’ve been in communication with Newflor authorities, and they have been informed that communication between them and the vessel is underway. They feel convinced that it’s not here for hostile purposes, and that no new hostilities have developed between our two nations to warrant any aggression. As such, they feel confident in not evacuating the island.

  “If however, such an evacuation were to become necessary, please rest assured that this ferry would be capable of achieving the task in one trip. There is an island wide announcement system in place, so please be sure to be on a listen for any messages from the authorities. But we’re confident that the situation will resolve itself shortly, and you needn’t let it distract you from your day of relaxation.

  “That’s all for announcements. Once again, this has been your captain, and, as always, have a great day at the beach.”

  “Well, that was certainly cheery,” Sarrah mumbles to herself.

  “Yeah,” Allia says brightly, “I don’t know why, but I feel really assured.”

  Sarrah gives her friend a ‘seriously’ look, but doesn’t make anything of it.