Lyric and the rest of the crew made it to the first small island. They stopped the ship a ways off so that Eve could disembark and infiltrate the enemy camp. Lyric was going to be the main fighter while Valentina would support with her time manipulation ability. They had a good amount of time to plan and prepare. It was time to put those efforts into action.

Lyric was still a bit nervous about everything since this would be her first official command. It wasn’t as if this was a huge thing and Alexandria would be back in a few days. She just needed to relax and trust in her crewmates.

A smile crossed her face as she watched Eve take the small lifeboat towards the island. Lyric decided that she would bombard the island with light cannon fire to distract while Eve made her way to the island. Thankfully Valentina knew how to fire the cannons so Lyric could keep watch on the action.

“Alright Valentina rain iron on those poor wretched souls!” She tried her best to keep a serious face but Lyric couldn’t hold back the giggle.

Valentina had already loaded the two stern cannons and commenced with the bombardment. It was rather fun to do this since she could stop time while the cannon balls were in mid-air to reload the cannons and restore time to make it seem like they were firing at a faster rate.

Eve rowed as quickly as she could. The cannon balls whizzed above her crashing down around the encampment in the distance. This would be the first time she had done anything like this which sent a chill up her spine. She had a rough idea of what the defenders would be wearing from Fina’s accounts. Once she was on the island getting a precise look from a hiding spot and then revealing herself would be the best course of action.

It only took her about ten minutes or so to get to the shore. She pulled the boat up and secured it so no one could find or steal it. Cloaking herself she walked into the tall bushes near the encampment peering inside. She needed to alter her look a bit and then she would be good to go.

The encampment wasn’t very large and she needed to send the signal for the bombardment to cease since she was on the island now. She took a torch from her pack, lit it, and covered it with some underbrush to send up a light trail of smoke. Once the bombardment stopped she would put it out so as not to be discovered.

Lyric was watching for the signal through her spyglass. It took her a few moments but she found the small trail of smoke. “Valentina, that is enough Eve is safely on the island. We need to get ready to join her.” Lyric called down from the helm. She checked over her gear making sure everything was set. She was wearing the new blade she received from Fina’s treasure room along with her trusty rapier. The excitement of the coming battle was churning in her gut making her sway back and forth with a smile on her face.

Valentina appeared on the deck in her gear but not wielding a weapon. She had yet to formally choose one to use so not having one at the moment was fine with her. “I am prepared to disembark for the island.”

The absence of a weapon was a bit concerning to Lyric. Of course she would do her best to protect Valentina and her ability made it to where she was almost untouchable. However, having a weapon just in case should be something Lyric should advise Valentina to do. “Is there a reason you don’t have a weapon?” Lyric asked with just a hint of concern in her voice.

“Well I have never really had to use one aside from the ones I would steal from the people attacking me. I guess carrying my own weapon just seems foreign since I can easily steal from others which is fun to see the looks on their faces when I have their weapon in the blink of an eye.” Valentina let out a playful giggle which just warmed Lyric’s heart.

“Alright then if you want to do things that way for now I will accept. However, if you ever get injured in the future would you consider choosing a weapon for yourself?” Lyric wasn’t giving a demand per say she was just giving a nudge in the right direction.

Valentina let out a playful giggle giving the question a bit of thought. “Alright if I do get hurt at any time in the future I will consider getting my own personal weapon.” She gave Lyric a thumbs up with a goofy grin on her face.

Lyric returned the grin with one of her own followed by a giggle. They needed to get serious however because since they had been talking Lyric had brought them up close enough to drop anchor and disembark. Eve was already set up inside the camp now it was just a matter of seizing it and moving on to the next island.

Eve heard the bombardment stop and made her way into the encampment. At first she was ignored by the other defenders due to her outfit. It wasn’t long after making her way to the entrance that she was stopped by a large hand on her shoulder. “Hey, who the hell are you?”

She turned around looking up at the hand then to the person attached to it. “I am going to be the small person that breaks your hand if you touch me like that again.” Eve pushed the hand off her shoulder turning around to face the huge looking man fully equipped with breathing gear to keep him from contracting the virus.

The man clenched his fists a few times. “You have a lot of nerve for someone so small. You must have arrived the other day with our supplies. How about you go get to work securing the defenses instead of trying to run away through the front.” He let out a hearty chuckle not taking his eyes off of Eve.

Hearing the splash of the anchor in the distance made her smirk as she turned her head to look. The ship had come into the shallows which meant Lyric and Valentina would be here in a few minutes. She turned back to the large man tilting her head to the side. “I don’t see any use for you in future so how about I do you a favor.” Eve put two fingers up motioning for the big man to lean down.

When he did she pulled a knife from her jacket with lightning speed cutting the hose in the mask that fed him oxygen. The virus was airborne so even the slightest inhale no matter how small was deadly. She pulled him down to her level by the air hose looking into his eyes. “My nerve as you call it is backed up by skill. Which isn’t something you can’t say about yourself.” She pushed him backwards, sending two more knives into his chest. There was no reason to kill him, the virus would take care of him in the next few minutes.

The remaining defenders around her all drew their weapons and encircled her. She threw off her disguise revealing her vest of knives and a devious look on her face. “Finally a challenge or are y’all just an appetizer for the main course islands we will hit later on?” She gave the group a collective wink which sent them moving in towards her in an uncoordinated mess.

Lyric and Valentina disembarked the ship making their way to the shore and the entrance to the camp. Lyric could hear the commotion of battle coming from just inside the camp. She rolled her eyes letting a soft giggle escape her lips. “It would seem Eve got ahead of herself. Either that or someone insulated her so she taught them a lesson. We need to get in there and back her up.” Lyric flicked her wrist and disappeared from sight.

Valentina moved up the path on the opposite side of where she believed Lyric was walking. A smile was painted across her face and her heart was pounding in her chest. This would be the first time she worked with anyone else to do anything. She was going to relish in this moment for as long as she possibly could.

Lyric made her way up peering into the camp to see Eve surrounded by what looked like the full garrison of the encampment. That was a good thing since they hopefully wouldn’t have to hunt for stranglers. She stepped inside moving quickly to a crate that was behind two defenders who were facing Eve. Lyric took in a deep breath and lunged forward with her rapier. The blade went straight through the defenders back and out her chest. The defender grabbed at her chest and started to fall extremely slowly.

Valentina had begun slowing time the moment she saw Lyric’s blade pierce through the defender's chest. She was also giving Lyric and Eve the ability to move in real time rather than slow motion like the defenders. It was taking all her concentration so she couldn’t hold it for long.

Eve smirked not liking the unfair advantage but remembered how out of place she was when Valentina did this to them back on Fina’s island. She couldn’t wait to see the looks on the defenders faces when time was restored. Eve took out four knives and threw them at four different defenders hitting them all square in the head. She cracked her knuckles and waited.

Lyric pulled her rapier free of the defender she had just stabbed. She turned her attention to the other standing beside. Lyric moved quickly, slicing that one at the back of the knees, cutting their throat for good measure as they slowly fell down to their knees.

The blood acted as though it was suspended in mid-air. There were twelve defenders in the camp. Now only five still stood watching their comrades get killed in slow motion. Lyric wanted to leave a few alive to turn them so the islands could be watched until they could come back and build on them. Once everything went back to normal time she needed to decide if five was two much, not enough, or just right.

Valentina couldn’t hold it anymore and restored time to normal speed for everyone. Blood splattered everywhere mixing in the air with screams and thuds from defenders all around them. The five who remained had puzzled looks on their faces not sure what to do.

Eve soaked in the carnage that was around her even though there wasn’t a lot of blood it was still enough to give her that rush. She walked over to the bodies and retrieved her knives passing by the large man who was now lifeless with a twisted look on his face. Eve looked over to Valentina who had dropped to one knee. “Hey if that was you, thanks for that. However, don't push yourself too much. Training your ability as you know takes time.”

“I haven’t tried that one before with other people. This is the first time.” Valentina stood up regaining her breath giving Eve a reassuring wave. She needed to practice that more often so her body could take the strain.

Lyric sheathed her rapier, gathering up the remaining defenders and dropping them to their knees. Valentina and Eve stood on either side of Lyric. “We are a part of Alexandria’s pirate crew. This island is now part of her territory. You can either die here and now with your comrades or swear loyalty to her and protect this island until we return.”

They looked up at Lyric still trying to figure out how the hell the other two appeared out of nowhere. It wasn’t a hard choice to make since they were already sentenced to death by Fina to play this game. Four of them bowed their heads in respect which signaled they agreed to swear their loyalty to Alexandria. The fifth spit on the ground at Lyric’s feet.

Eve moved forward, pulled her special knife from its place and thrust it into the defender's head. She stepped back as she fell, pulling the blade free before the body hit the ground. “You four made the correct choice. Welcome to the crew.” Eve wiped the blade clean on the defender’s robe and sheathed it.

“Very well the four of you are tasked with cleaning up this mess, displaying our colors, stocking the island, and repairing the defenses. There are plenty of supplies on the ship that we can set you up with.” Lyric was about to walk away but stopped short, turning to them for a moment. “If you try to betray us and run. What just happened to your former comrades will be child's play compared to what I will do to you.”

The four members nodded, hurrying around to do the assigned tasks. That was one island down with four new members. It was just going to get harder from here but Lyric believed after that display of teamwork they could handle anything that was thrown at them.