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And so the journey went for a handful of days until Maya had serviced every member of the crew ... one tired body at a time. Every man was passive, obedient, and in great cheer. One out of every three men would loose his seed as she rubbed his back, and Maya was keenly aware that this was not normal. Among even the most pent up men, there should have been more varied reactions from the crew, but all of the men grew hard the moment she touched them, all of them did exactly what she told them to do, and all of them were absurdly polite.

Then ... Maya rose into a day without clients. The routine she had fallen into left her clean, well groomed, and heavily armed, but she had finished with every one of the men and they had yet to reach their destination. She was not certain what that would mean for her. Would she start again? Would they arrive today? Would she be ambushed and then tossed into the hold with the other two women? In what condition were Elizabeth and Natasa after all this time?

Maya forced her mind into stillness as she opened the door and stepped out on to the deck. The sky had clouded over and a cool breeze caused her skin to erupt with goose-flesh. Something was different ... something was not right. Each man attended his job with a clenched jaw and a stern look of intense concentration. The tension caused not one of them to smile as she moved among them. Those who did respond only gave her a respectful nod and then continued with their task.

After a walk around the ship's boarder, Maya looked up to see the captain at the helm. It suddenly struck her that this was the first time she had seen the man since coming aboard. While she had always assumed that his duties caused her to be below the deck when he was around, he never went below deck, never joined his men for a meal, and he did not move around his room or snore late at night. Maya had never shared a wall with a neighbor who made no noise at all and she had begun to think that Joseph had killed the man and taken over. After all, Joseph was the First Mate ... and he always seemed to be up and around whenever Maya was awake.

"My lady," Joseph said to her as these thoughts distracted her, "you need to get below deck." Maya drew her dagger at his approach and placed the other hand upon a pistol. Joseph froze and blinked at her for a moment before understanding registered on his face. "I'm sorry ... I didn't mean it that way. We are being chased by pirates."

Maya blinked at him and then followed his gesture toward the horizon. Far behind them was a speck that she would not have noticed on her own. It rose and fell in time with the waves and she immediately noticed that the men all around her kept stealing nervous glances in its direction. Then she noticed two more details ... the rigging had been pulled taught, to make the vessel move faster ... and all of the men were armed.

Slowly, Maya returned her dagger to its sheath and let her hands fall away from the hilts of her weapons. The smug posture she had been assuming to keep the wolves at bay faltered and a serious chill of terror began to nip at her. A moment later she found herself following the instructions of Joseph's calm and confident voice.

The crew's quarters, which doubled as the cafeteria and massage parlor, was now dominated by six gun crews. All of the joy had fled from their faces and the grim resolve of soldiers had taken residence. Rough men generally kept their war-faces hidden from the women at the brothel and Maya had only seen the look a handful of times in her life. But as she passed by the men a cold and familiar feeling crept into her bones ... and she felt her heartbeat increase.

Below the cannon deck was the hold and the large metal door which held the other women. Maya froze like a deer when Joseph pulled the door open and motioned her in, but as her eyes adjusted to the dark, she did not see a pair of mostly naked sex-slaves wallowing in their own filth. Instead they were ... clothed and armed.

Elizabeth's tall frame was wearing a tunic and breaches with leather armor pulled over the top, a bandoleer of knives, and a pair of pistols. She was clean, well groomed, and her eyes shone with the intelligence of a military officer. Natasa was also dressed in a tunic and breeches, but her smaller frame carried only a few daggers and a single pistol. Maya recognized the look in the young woman's eyes. She had seen it in the gaze of battle worn warriors who had fought too many battles and were sick of it.

"You were telling me the truth," Maya said as she stared disbelieving.

"Aye," Joseph said gently.

"So ... what happens now?"

"We face The Bull," Joseph said and Natasa shuttered visibly.

"Is he alone?" the younger woman asked in a trembling tone.

"We have not yet spotted the crafty swine, my lady," Joseph said as if he were addressing royalty. "The Bull is alone and he has the wind ... but the Nether-Pylon is close ..."

"But not close enough," the youth said and Joseph flinched before shaking his head. Natasa approached him and motioned for the big man to kneel. Joseph immediately dropped to one knee and then the young woman took his face in her hands and planted a kiss so deeply upon him that it made Maya feel like she was intruding on something truly intimate. As the kiss lingered for far too many seconds, the young woman began to shimmer and a soft blue glow passed from her into him. Joseph's eyes went wide and for an instance, they became slitted and yellow ... like a feline.

"M-my lady!" he gasped as he broke the kiss and pulled forcibly away from her.

"Take it, Brujah," she told him in a fatigued tone as she wavered unsteadily with a hand against the wall, "you will need the power before this is through." Joseph's gaze was still cat-like as he looked fearfully upon her. Then he closed his eyes, hard and when they opened, they were dark brown once more. He bowed deeply and then turned to head up the stairs. "Watch for the feint," she called out to him as he went ... and then the women were alone.

Maya tried to stammer out a question but was unable to form the words. Natasa looked at her with sympathetic eyes and sighed deeply. "I am sorry, Xitllali ... but you are now in the middle of a war. I cannot guarantee your safety anymore ... I am sorry."

A surge of energy lit Maya's blood aflame and she began to shiver uncontrollably. "Wha ... wha ..." She sputtered and went to her knees ... something in the young woman's words had afflicted her and she had to shake her head several times to stabilize herself.

"Xitllali," Natasa said again, and the effect buzzed through her body once more.

"Zzzz .... zzzz .... Xi-tlla-li." Maya's lips wrapped around the word carefully, and the old memories which had been trying to force their way through the trauma of her past began to poke through. "Xitllali," she repeated, "it was ... my name."

"It was," Natasa told her gently. "It is." Maya looked up at her and gazed into eyes that were eons older than the body which held them. In the soft brown pools lurked pleasure, pain, and passion ... failure and fortitude ... wisdom ... the wise eyes of experience peered through her and saw into the deepest parts of her being.

"Who ... are you?" Maya asked with barely more than a whisper.

"Don't," Elizabeth say as she stepped to the bottom of the stairs and listened, "it will wreck her and she might need to move soon."

"I know," Natasa said without removing her eyes from Maya's soul. "You will have to trust me for now, Xitllali. Can you do that ... for now? Please?"

It took an immense amount of effort for Maya to close her eyes, but it did not stop her from seeing the young woman and the power which buzzed all around her. "For now," she whispered.

Above their heads there was a sudden shuffling and as the gun crews shifted the cannons into their slots. Maya's eyes flashed open and Elizabeth was moving toward them. "Back into the vault," she said with ushering gestures. "It has begun."

The three of them stepped back into the room where they had all met for the first time. Elizabeth grabbed the handle on the inside of the massive metal door and pulled it shut with a fair amount of effort. "Up against the wall," she ordered Maya with a light touch of a French accent coloring her English. "Brace yourself in the corner." The former brothel girl did not understand, but the warrior woman's voice held the absolute authority of a person who was used to having people follow their commands. The body moved on its own, at the sound of such a voice, and all three of the women soon braced themselves against a different corner.

The first sharp turn pitched Maya hard into the corner which she was already in and her head smacked back into the metal. "Ow," she whimpered but she braced herself more effectively for the second turn which closely followed.

"Boom," Elizabeth said with her eyes closed, and, a breath later, the air exploded with the concussion of cannon fire. The shockwave of the weapon rocked through Maya's entire body, and for a moment she entertained the idea that her heart and bones had all just exploded. Her hands closed over her ears on reflex and the sudden terror causing her to squeal out a whimper of primal fear.

After a moment she relaxed her panicked cowering, but the shuffling of the gunnery crews was all the noise she could hear. Then, they finished and the cannons slid forward once more. This time Maya covered her ears in advance, but the concussion was so intense that she still felt the impact along the whole of her body.

This process repeated itself a dozen times. The rhythm of fire, reload, and fire again seemed orderly enough to the other two women in the room and Maya discovered, by the fourth shot, that Elizabeth was counting out the seconds between each volley and then bracing herself right before the roar of the guns sounded.

The ship turned once more and soon they were rushing along with the wind. Elizabeth relaxed her body a moment and Maya imitated her example. "They turned to slow the enemy down," she explained. "Those were likely salvoes of chain-shot, designed to wreck their sails and tangle their rigging."

"Such a valiant waste," Natasa whispered and the three of them went silent. The sound of the running water and the creaking wood took over for a long time and then there was more shuffling from above them. A loud knocking sound struck the wood of the hull and Maya nearly threw herself to the floor.

"Musket fire," Elizabeth said softly. "They're close." Again the knocking struck the hull and the warrior woman began her counting once more. The knocking happened again ... and again ... and then there was a louder bang which caused Elizabeth to narrow her eyes. Maya wanted to ask what that sound had been but the woman's expression said she was focused on the events outside.

Another cannon suddenly cleared its throat ... then a second ... then a third. "Oh ..." Elizabeth cursed and then braced hard against the corner. Maya instinctively followed the woman's example and then there was an explosion and a series of terrible responsive noises which were much worse than the cannon fire from earlier. Bits and pieces of things scattered outside of their cage and men screamed in agony. Then there was a mighty battle cry, and the true carnage began.

"We're boarded," Elizabeth said as she suddenly stood.

"No!" Natasa said in a commanding tone and the warrior woman stopped. "You have to stay and protect the both of us."

"Tasa that's-"

"An order!" the younger looking woman cut her off.

"As you wish," Elizabeth said with a slight bow. Then she slid the leaver on the door into place, moved to stand a few feet before the solid surface, and then dropped to both knees. Once comfortable, she drew a pair of pistols, closed her eyes, and listened to the battle.

Maya sat frozen as the horror of what was happening raged all around her. Feet shuffled across the wooden surface all around them, engaged in a fight for their lives. Screams were followed by thumps of meat falling to the deck. Steel rang upon steel and bursts of gunpowder expelled metal balls through the air.

Chaos rained over their heads, ebbing and flowing with waves and crashes. Panicked whimpers occasionally slipped from Maya's lips as the battle played on. Though she had been raised in a rough environment and had dealt with the outbursts of violent men before, she had never been exposed to the pure carnage of savage combat before. She could walk like a warrior and she could hold a weapon like she knew how to use it ... but she was untested and had never actually used a weapon to protect herself. She had never been in a fight before. No one had ever tried to kill her ... or ... had they?

Maya's memories flickered and she recalled running through the jungles as a child. There was a fight ... the sounds of screaming ... a hand was holding hers and pulling her forward ... they ran ... there was a loud noise and the hand jerked ... the body fell ... the person who had been holding her hand was shot ... screaming ... pleading with the men to spare her daughter ... "mother ... mother ..." Maya began to weep and curled into a ball as tightly as she could.

A soft hand touched her head and then gentle arms wrapped around her body and held her close as the fighting continued. Soft hands cupped her cheeks and then guided her to look up into Natasa's ancient eyes. For a moment, both were silent ... then Natasa moved forward and planted a kiss upon quivering lips.

Maya went ridged. All of the emotions in the world seemed to pulse through her at once and it caused her muscles to flex themselves as tightly as they could. Fear was smothered beneath the raw need to protect a dear loved one and the weakness in her limbs was infused with a surge of raw lust. Her nipples were suddenly very hard against their protective clothing and her arms wrapped around the other woman's frame.

Maya found herself pressing herself hard against the other, her hands felt strong muscles beneath the clothing and their tongues exchanged the taste of fiery excitement one always encounters when experiencing a new lover. A sudden deluge of energy flowed from Natasa into Maya and her whole body shuttered in orgasmic release. Then it was over ... and she fell to the ground.

For several moments the sounds of fighting did not register and Maya simply lay upon the ground panting like she had just finished a particularly exhaustive round of love making. The afterglow settled calmly through her and she was extremely aware of the beat of her heart. Slowly ... her breathing began to steady and the world ceased its uncontrollable spinning.

It took some effort to sit upright but when she did she saw that Natasa was leaning weakly against the wall. "Tasa," Maya whispered in concern and then she moved forward to embrace the young woman, whom leaned against her weakly.

"She gave you the last of her strength," Elizabeth said from where she knelt. "You must use it to defend her." Maya nodded without hesitation, an unknown courage burned in her chest like a glowing ember from a black smith's forge. The only fear she felt was for the young woman she now cradled in her arms, and then she heard a crash outside of the door, and Elizabeth spoke once more. "They're here ... get ready."

Maya carefully set Natasa onto the ground and then she drew her pistols and moved to stand along the wall. A loud bang struck the giant metal door and the force of it was almost as startling as the cannons had been. The entire room seemed to shutter as something massive beat angrily against the sturdy frame and dents began to appear from the severity of the blows.

"Steady," Elizabeth intoned as blows rained down upon the structure. "Steady." Again and again something slammed into the metal. The edges of the frame began to crumple inward ... bending as the center slowly collapsed from the tireless assault. A slight pause allowed an eerie silence to fill the room and then Elizabeth leapt up and away from the door in one swift movement. An instant later the door exploded inward and fell to where she had been kneeling.