Operation: Pacifica, Visitors by CyberPyro (cybrpyro@infinet.com) The _Iowa_'s bridge flared into stark, glowing relief as its latest full-ship salvo thundered across the dark ocean. The sky above crisscrossed with whistling shells and exhaust trails of fighters. The full moon seized the vapors from the warring aircraft and infused them with its silvery light. From the ocean's surface it looked at though some spider were weaving a tangled, erratic illuminary web across the heavens. Below the knitting web, stars were born and swallowed by the night as the battle of machinery and humans ground onwards. Dark, shadowy geysers of sea-water rose into the air and crashed back into the rippling ocean. Inky oil floated to the undulating surface from devastated submarines and added an eerie, refracted glint. ... "MMRRRR! MMRRRR!" screamed the warning klaxons. CP steadied his stance as Perazim grabbed a nearby wall-ladder rung to stabilize himself in the coming shockwave. The deck jumped under their feet like a cat who had it's tail stepped on. The air pressure changed slightly, signaling the shockwave's departure. The small amber lights under the warning klaxons continued to spin and flash, indicating that another salvo would be fired ASAP. "What fun." CP smiled, clearly liking a ship that rattled from every discharge of its guns. "Too bad we're a fifth wheel around here..." "They call us 'passengers.'" Perazim leaned against the steel gray wall and sighed heavily. ... "Sir!" yelled the XO on the _Iowa_'s bridge, "the flagship of the spongin fleet appears to be leading a charge!" "Range?" asked the Captain Williams. "10 kilometers and closing fast!" "We've some time then." The captain paused for thought. "Sir?" "Keep that flagship in mind, check range after every salvo." "Aye, Sir!" ... The _Iowa_'s array of sixteen inch guns fired in rapid succession. Burning trails of gas arced across the sky, indicating their destination: the spongin flagship. The dozen sixteen inch shells fell along their perfect parabola, lighting the deck of the spongin ship as they closed in. Five star bursts lit up the ocean for miles around as shells found a home in the b'harnate vessel. Fearsome tides of thunderous noise ripped across the ocean, rattling the windows throughout the fleet as showers of debris splashed into the waters. The flagship rocked wildly back and forth in the water as the still living crew members fought to control the damage. Curiously, its inertia was sufficient to carry it forward with little to no loss of velocity. ... "FIVE DIRECT HITS!!" bellowed the XO. The bridge crew cheered loudly, momentarily blotting out the background noises of the tacnet. "RELOAD!" yelled the Captain. "Let's finish these bastards off." ... "Well, we're not allowed to play Quake right." "*sigh*" Perazim slumped into the lounge chair. "It's against regulations and all. They need the airwaves for coordinating the ..." Something intangible changed in the atmosphere of the ship. Perazim, too wrapped up in feeling glum, didn't notice except that CP stopped talking mid-sentence, something he rarely did. "What?" Perazim felt first curious and then seriously alarmed as CP yanked a Beretta 92F out of his fatigue's over-sized leg pocket and leveled it at him. The question in his throat turned into a scream as CP fired four rapid shots. "Get your eyes open. We've got company," snapped the TRES Grand Admiral. Perazim looked behind him. Four sponge minions, obviously teleported aboard, lay sprawled across the rec room floor in spreading pools of their own blood. "I'm unarmed, except for my sword." Perazim had left his other weapons in his quarters. Gun shots and the cries of dying men drifted into the rec room from nearby. "We'll pick up an issue along the way. Let's go." ... The Jihaddi waged a vicious, effective war against the spongin attempting to take control of the _Iowa_ from within. Judging by the lack of gun-boom from the Jihaddi fleet, it could be guessed that every ship was likewise affected. CP rounded a corner, came face-to-face with a grinning sponge minion wielding a long sword. To the minion's horror, the Barney Slayer emerged from its sheath and flamed to life. A swift, fiery arc clove through sword, minion, and its permanent soul in one lethal move. Another minion attempted to strike CP from behind, but stumbled forwards as Perazim's Jihaddium sword tore through the front of its uniform. "Thanks. Let's check the bridge," motioned CP as walked towards the hatch to the next level up. ... After a brief climb and elimination of spongin, the two Jihaddi emerged onto the _Iowa_'s deck. Strewn about it were dozens of dead spongin and several sailors. The toll of the battle was heavy, but not grievous. "I ... *GAAH!*" CP twitched violently and stumbled to the side railing. Perazim followed, worried about the twitching and snarling of his friend. The spongin flagship closed on the Jihaddi fleet and began to change. The image of a wounded flagship melted away, revealing a mauve and obviously organic vessel. It was a Lyran ship. Bright green crackled and swirled about the vessel, turning the ocean a nauseating color. CP snarled and thrust his hands into the Big Ass Claws[tm] given him by Windigo before they left San Francisco. The transformation had begun. The Lyran flagship momentarily disappeared from view behind a wall of green energies. It fired a blindingly bright bolt of magic directly at the _Des Moines_. The bolt struck the cruises dead center, melting through steel on contact. A split-second later, the force of the explosion tore the ship in half. The aft section flew upwards, carried from the water by the gigantic explosion of the fore. A growing, rolling wall of flame raced towards the _Iowa_. Perazim registered this, the transformation of his friend into DeadLock the Feral, the Maenad's leap into the on-rushing flame, and then the shockwave took consciousness from him. "NYAR!" was heard throughout the _Iowa_ as a twisting, shimmering fiery storm flew across the water towards the Lyrans. An ancient battle was about to be rejoined. - CP/DLtF(NYAR!)