Deep Sea Chapter 10

10.

The Surface

Lady Jan glared at her opponent across the straw mat. She was dressed in the dark blue loose clothing suitable for the dojo training in her mansion at the estate. It was a loose tunic held by the dark sash at the waist and the balloon over the knee-length pants above her bare feet. Her hands were held out with the knuckles bent inside at the fingers to resemble the leopard paws. It was a deadly form of the Far Eastern arts for the Leopard Claws art was only taught to Masters and men but hardly a lady had ever been known to practice it. Her opponent was the short bowmen with the blond and Slavic look. He was dressed in the similar dark garb with his pants tucked into the knee-high laced boots. His blond hair was covered with the red bandanna. His name was Kosovan. He does not have a heavy chain on his neck with the dragon emblem. It was tattooed into his chest.

On the side of the dojo mat there stood Bian Feng who had returned. He was to report to her.

“Master Feng, please feel free to join us.” Lady Jan spoke out without averting her stare. “Master Kosovan here is an expert in the System; an ancient art of the northern Eastern countries.”

The System Art does not have any distinctive techniques but it covered the overall body and mind with the spirit. The master of the fighting art had to develop all of these before they could master the fighting techniques of punches and kicks.  That includes some form of acrobatic moves.

Master Bian Feng stepped forth and then bowed to the lady. He then held both his hand in front of him to flex the muscles on them. The knuckle cracked was loud before the master took the fighting stance with both legs bent and the right leg moved back to give him the kicking power. The Leopard Style was one of the five styles perfected by the Shaolin monks centuries ago. Its difference was the way the fist was created. It was the bending of the fingers at the first joint instead of the knuckle. You then clasp your thumb to the fingers. The fist could be used in jabs, chops, or rake on the opponent's flesh. You can also do a backhand slap with it.

Lady Jian smiled and then moved her lefts apart slightly before swinging the left leg right back. She was an opponent of the ancient art of Karate. The lady was part Japanese from her mother's side and had spent most of her childhood there learning the katas’. She learned her basic there from the Grand Masters before moving to the main continent where she soon perfected her skills with many other opponents.

“Hai!” Lady Jan kicked her way into the threesome fight. Her front kick was at waist level with the toes as the impact point. She had placed her second toe to support the main toe to give it more power instead of using the bottom sole of the foot. She was kicking at Kosovan who had stepped back to avoid the kick and raised his left arm to block it. He was to strike at her with this right jab into the lower waist when he saw the leopard rake from the left of his face.

“Kia!” Bian Feng had lent his attack to the ladies’ but she was not impressed by it. Lady Jan turned her body to do a reverse kick on him. He saw it coming and blocked it. Bian Feng went into a half-crouch to swing his left arm at the lady’s right thigh but she had stepped away. It was Kosovan rushed in with his overhead punch to the Bian Feng’s outlaid arm. He made contact but before he could follow through, the other had lowered his arm to channel the striking force for the counter-attack with a fist thrust towards the opponent. It was a Chinese Tai Chi moves to counter the force with a softer rebound so that it will reduce its impact force. Kosovan saw his move countered and then turned to do around sidekick. His kick was blocked by Lady Jan who then used her right fist to attack back.

Kosovan changed his target to focus only on the lady. He moved in with a series of front kicks while approaching Lady Jan and Bian Feng had moved in from the rear which was the blind spot to Lady Jan. He swung both his fist palm upwards in the leopard grasp at the lady’s waist. Lady Jan saw the move and moved her arms to block it. She arched her body back while she raised her right leg to kick at Kosovan. It was as a dancer move but her kick was deadly. Kosovan reeled back to avoid the kick and had to do a back somersault to regain his balance.

Bian Feng saw his move countered had then stepped back to do a leopard fist at the Lady but she had countered it with a body block with her arm. She then countered with the deadly thumb ‘boshi ken’ or thumb fist. It was fist with the thumb bend at hand. She delivered it with her arm outstretched and at the last moment she twists the wrist to deliver the thumb blow onto the underside of Bian Feng’s forearm.

The the trio split away from each other’s reach and accessed their next moves.

“Master Bian Feng, there is no shame in defeat. We have all been defeated before.” Lady Jan replied. She then pulled apart her tunic to reveal the metal exo-skeleton on her chest to her shoulders and trailed to her forearms.

“This is my mark of defeat. I had my spine broken once but it’s now reinforced with this. It gives me the extra strength to my kicks and punches. The metal trailed beneath my flesh there.” Lady Jan smiled “Kosovan held his own badge of defeat. His spine was like mine.”   

Kosovan rushed in with a sliding kick at Bian Feng legs while Lady Jan did a roundhouse right kick at the surprised master’s face. Her toe kick broke his left cheek when Kosovan kicked at his left thigh. He bent over in pain when Kosovan deliver the next blow with another kick at the left waist of the crouching master. It was then Lady Jab moved in with her right-hand chop at the back of the neck. She broke his neck bone and then in a series of chops she went down trailing on the log spine.

“Master Bian Feng, you are one of us now.” Lady Jan told him when the other fell to the ground writhing in pain. “You will be given a new body frame by my healers. We learned from the sea. To swim together we need to be one with each other. We will be the new masters of the Sea.”

The Depth

Lord Henry was upset when he was refused aboard the ship which will take him to his island. He was stopped by the Port Authorities that he was not to leave the area. He had disembarked a distance from the port where the train stopped. All the other passengers have disembarked then.

“Those are the orders of the Lord Chamberlain Office. We cannot defy it.” The officer told his Lordship. Lord Henry stood there alone on the train station and looked at the assembled guards holding his progress. His ship was in the port then. He saw then the guards on him were not the normal units.

There were three of the newly designed exoskeleton machine frames with the operator inside the unit. The unit looked like a human but it was seven feet in height with the extended limbs. The human operator stands itself inside the unit and moved the unit with levers within reach of the hands to work as an extension of its body. Once the operator was in the unit, it will firstly activate the unit and a chest armor plate will move to cover the human operator from harm. On the limbs, secured greaves will cover the exposed flesh. The exo-skeleton units were also armed with rotary mini cannons on both their hands with the ammo belt linked to the backpack. Below the backpack was an electrical charge bank. A fully charged unit can last up to four hours before its return for recharging.  

Lord Henry did not ask about his crews. He knew his ship crews were kept under guard at the Officer’s Office.

“Lord Henry, I am also under order to take you into protective custody. There are some threats to your well- being.” The Officer told him. “These officers will take you there.”

“Hold your suspenders on, Officer. I need to pee again.” Lord Henry stepped away to the side of the pier. There he unzipped his pants. “It was a harrowing train ride with Jones at the steamer engine. He was trained by his Uncle how to ride the train.”

Within the hearing distance, the Sergeant Major stepped up to the Corporal to question him on his ‘tutored’ lessons.

“Aye I did learn from my Uncle. It was great when you seated on his lap and with his jostling, your side by side.” Jones replied. “Sadly we rode the short journey. He won’t take me for the long rides. Sadly, he died when the train he was on derailed. It did however set the record for the City Line for fastest time from London to Manchester.”

“Won’t the jostling on the legs be considered as a sexual intrusion?” Stay cut in. “I once knifed the man who tried that.”

Jones looked towards her and smiled.

“Only to a lady. You have not ridden a real horse yet, huh? I doubt so.” Jones had led the others back to the train when his Lordship excused himself to pee. It was the agreed signal for him to act. He climbed up the train compartment and turned onto the steamer gauge. “Sergeant Major, would you be kind to shut the boiler hatch. I don’t want to have boils on my ride but let me ride to my boils. Pardon the pun, ma’am.”

Stacy was to reach for her dagger when the Captain stopped her. He then looked at the boiler gauges and held out his right hand to the Sergeant Major who was shoveling in coals.

“You better stop feeding her coals. Her gauge tells us she is boiling over.”

“Those are gauges? I thought they were for the time of the day.” Jones remarked back. “Guess I better get going now. We are taking her for a ride.”

Thankfully the rail men build sturdy tracks and the train ran on iron wheels. It left more than a spark too much on the lowering of the speed. They made forward with the train puffing like the dragon.

“For Pete’s sake, next time let me drive.” The Sergeant Major was annoyed at the recklessness of the Corporal. “You are damaging the engines with the brakes holding it back.”

Meanwhile the Station Master was nearby looking at the watch and then at them. He approached the train.

“Four in the morning? Who are you driving Pete at this hour?  Where is the driver?” The Station Master motioned to the train. The word ‘Pete the Dragon’ was on the steamer front.

“Pete? Oh, that’s his name. I think the driver in the coach. He’s taking a pee there.” Lord Henry had mounted the train. He then added in. “Against regulations, I say.”

“I say we move on, Jones.” With that command, Jones released the brakes and the train roared off. The three exoskeletons were at the side of the track but they were no match for the speeding train.

“Here is my peed.” Lord Henry tossed out the water bottle he saw at the engine.

Soon they were at the Pier and they realized the new hazard to the ship. It was anchored from the dock. The Captain came up with a brilliant idea to use a sailboat to row over and board it on the blindside. Lord Henry was for it but he wanted to rescue his crew.

“I need the crew.” The plan was put into motion. He was to distract the Officer and the guards at the Pier Authority Office. They stopped him when he reached there. There were three more exoskeletons there with the Officer.

“My Lord, you must step follow …”  The Officer call for caution was interrupted by the swinging twenty feet length iron beam that was swung by the hoisting crane. It was Jones as expected who manned it. He had manned the overhead hoist and then hooked up the iron beam. He sat there waiting for the Lordship to signal him. He swung the beam at the three exoskeletons before the human operators could react. The swinging beam impacted on the three like a moving train. They were scattered to the rear on their back.

Meanwhile the Sergeant Major stepped into the Pier Authority Office where the ten crew members of Lord Henry’s ship were seated there in the holding cell. The single guard there was groggy from the late hours of duty looked up at the imposing figure standing there. The Sergeant Major has not on his uniform but his confidence and stance spoke well of his authority.

“By George, what is your name? Do you know the punishment for sleeping on sentry duty?” The Sergeant Major hollered out in his infamous vocal for the regiment. The guard hastily stood up and raised his right hand to salute.

“I,” The guard lowered his arm when he realized he was attending to a civilian and not the frigging NCO but his late awareness was shuttered by the left hook punch that took out his argument. The Sergeant Major then grabbed the set of keys on the table and tossed it to the ship crews.

“Get your asses onto the ship by the double. His Lordship needs the ship sailing now.” The crews rushed out but the Captain of the ship stopped to ask the Sergeant Major.

“Won’t it is a crime to break out of the holding cell?” The Captain asked. The sodden officer was still in his PJ’s and was rewarded with a shove back into the cell.

“It’s for you. Your cowardice to surrender your ship does not warrant your rescue.” The Sergeant Major locked the cell door and walked off.

On the pier, the exo-skeleton on its back could not get back up again. The Officer alerted other guards who rushed to the scene but were deterred by the swinging beam. Then the roar of the machine-gun fire from the aft of the dock decked the guards. It was Stacy who was firing at them from a docked ship bow with the machine gun.

“Get your asses towards the ship.” Stacy called out.

Meanwhile the Captain sailed out to the Lordship’s ship and had boarded it from the blind side. He climbed by the side ladder there and then made his way to the Bridge. The Captain had fired up the boilers and then opened up the valves while Stacy did the fire cover on the dockside.

Stacy saw the incoming ship crews. She sheep herded the guards to the side while the crews made their way to the ship with the small boats at the dock. She saw Jones had abandoned his post and ran for the boat. Soon they were on with his Lordship’s ship is nearer to the dock. The crews boarded and soon they were adding in firepower. The Sergeant Major had then escorted his Lordship onto the ship. He saw Jones in the last boat and it was slow for he was rowing himself.

“Jones!” The Sergeant Major called out. “Move your butt or being grounded.”

It was then seen Jones jumped from the boat into the sea.   

“Bloody show nutcase.” The Sergeant Major sighed. “Thankfully I am from the Highlands. We aren’t that crazy.”