A shade appeared around the corner of the tower and a figure followed it before anyone had noticed. Only Lev had spotted the sailor who saw the infiltrators, freezing in position as he felt his adrenaline course through his body. Preparing to call for reinforcements, he bore his dagger first to protect himself but the enemy was too quick. Lev pushed Arber aside and swung his arm in a wide arc, pelting his knife at the sailor whose voice was about to be projected. His aim was nearly miraculous as it flew straight and struck him in his chest, piercing through his ribs. Unable to comprehend what had happened in the seconds it took for him to hesitate, the sailor looked down at the blade that was deeply lodged inside him. His heart stopped and he grew limp, collapsing onto the deck, dead and alone. Lev took a breath and a let out a deep exhale for ot was too close a call he and his comrades thought. As the last of their allies climbed aboard, he was reminded by the need to continue their plan and showed his comrades where the bridge, their first checkpoint, was, and pointed at the stairs leading to it. Julien looked around him and seeing that all who were supposed to be a part of their operation was present, he wordlessly dispatched Arber to cleanse the upper deck of anymore unnecessary surprises. Silently and swiftly, the lancer picked out a squad for his task and dispersed themselves across the deck, moving out in all directions whilst keeping to the dark. With all those who remained, Lev and Julien led on in a single file and ascended the steps, caring for their flanks and rear, they made sure that their position was not given away by the constant flashes of gunfire and shining signal lamps, but before they could fear anything more, they were already couching outside the bridge. Lev turned back and sought Julien’s consolement but it was clear that he had to be the one to do it. A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he placed his hand on the handle. In his mind, he counted down before turning the knob of the door and stormed into the bridge with a dozen men in tow. The sailors and the commander of the ship turned their attention to where the wind and rain had broke in and before they could unsheathe their arms, they found themselves held hostage by blades pressed against their necks. Lev was the only among his squad who was unarmed and saw that the commander was his foe. They spotted a saber and a revolver laying by the control panels at an equal distance and raced to arm themselves before the enemy could. Lev swept the revolver into his hand and the commander reached for his saber, but when he wanted to draw his blade, he felt that the cold steel barrel was already pointed at his head.
The commander froze and looked up at Lev whose luck had seen too many near-misses in a single day. “Mačodz, kos bjatsau tu domau darau? (Sailor, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?)” Keeping a vigilant eye on the trigger, he leaned away from the gun.
“Viner godav skědjř, kaptejn. (I think that’s pretty obvious, captain.)” Lev cocked its hammer, his hand shaking. “Měer dzagau tur peldvěš. (We’re commandeering your ship.)” The corporal revealed his intentions to his oblivious former commander.
His men, similarly held hostage, stared at the captain, waiting for his command. Their hands were raised, keeping away from antagonizing the ununiformed infiltrators, but they were itching to fight back.
Finally catching on, the Rus gritted his teeth. “Ta, tuer nodayu tur tauta wor měm tsjvjljdzněav nelěta? (So, you’re going to betray your motherland for these barbarian peasants?)” Despite what was happening around him, he tried to shift his allegiance with questions of morality.
But to his weak attempt in argument, Lev softly shook his head, offering him a chance to surrender however unlikely he knew it was. The Rus were proud and they would rather die before admitting defeat and the commander was no different when he suddenly unsheathed his saber and lunged at Lev with his crew following in his lead by bearing their daggers even if they knew it was futile resistance. A gunshot rang out that echoed within the steel case that was the bridge and it was resonant, sounding as if a howitzer was discharged beside their ears, and for an instant, there was a yellowish flash. Blood washed over the panels and glass and slaughtered before they could lift their arms up to fight, the crew slumped to the floor altogether. The bridge became quiet until Lev dropped the revolver by the commander’s corpse and the door of the opposite side swung open. Arber entered and his squad filtered in, met with the sight of monstrous bloodshed, but he could not deny that he was somewhat surprised that they had managed to secure the bridge before he had completed his task.
Julien recovered his breath and sheathed his sword. “Did everything go as planned?” Sickened by the scent of iron and raw flesh, he covered his mouth and asked Arber.
“There weren’t as many as we thought.” The lancer wiped his blade on his sleeve and recalled. “The rest should be below deck.” Promptly sheathing his sword, Arber replied.
As Lev moved towards the control panels, he peered out of the window, blurred by a waterfall of rain. “Good, we should move before anyone finds out.” He stated, feeling a state of anxiousness creep into him.
At the wheel, he was sure that he knew how to pilot a ship but everything else requiring diligence to learn was in Rus. The boy may have spoke it but he could not read it and noticed that the telegraphs were for different orders for differents parts of the ship. He fiddled around levers and buttons, wondering what each did, and he could only hope he had not accidentally sounded the alarm.
Beside him, crossing his arms, Arber looked at his face of worry and at his trembling hands. “Do you even know how to pilot a ship?” Unconvinced that he was the best for the job, he added to his nerves.
“I just need you to be quiet, then I’ll figure it out.” Lev berated him, holding up a hand to silence his useless input pecking at his mind. “In any case, we might be blown to bits before our plan could ever be put into action.” He mumbled to himself but everyone had heard it.
Julien turned to him and approached, holding his shoulder. “That’s not reassuring…” Looking around the commands, he could hardly fathom what anything did or meant.
It was Lev’s nemesis, to study, but even if he hated it, he was the only one within that bridge who was capable of decoding the panel. He linked certain alphabets together which he had seen twice or more and created a decrypting machine in his mind when he began to see what each button did but there was one which he had passed by many times that latched onto his hand being drawn towards it. He had to risk it and pulled on the lever, praying that it would not be the thing that killed him. His hand was still and he gulped, but nothing disastrous changed and the alarms did not sound. After a brief delay, the turrets stopped firing for the crew below deck would not have noticed anything worth their suspicion when they did not even know where they were. They simply followed the orders given by the bridge and slowly spun the turret to face the bow.
As if the frigate had become his new favorite toy, Lev smirked. “Nothing about this plan’s been reassuring to begin with.” He looked over his shoulder and said.
His eyes lay ahead as he tightly held onto the wheel of the ship. Another lever was pushed forward having become sure of what each telegraph did and as another delay in command ensued, the signal was passed down to the crew below deck. The entire vessel began to vibrate and those who have never been on any sea-going machine of that size grew immediately unsure not knowing what had caused the floor and walls to rumble. When the pistons of the engines were heard, Julien rallied beside Lev, and taking a deep breath, they advanced into the dark of the fog.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMyLURUue4
