Azur

Chapter 35: Hunter meet Hunted[2/4]

Suez Canal

0000 hours

January 3, 2027

After a 3 day voyage, in the dead of night, the Irwin slowly sailed through the Canal, looking as inconspicuous as possible as he traversed the locks. This meant keeping himself as visible as possible so that no one would suspect him of snooping around. 

Blue: "Are we there yet...?" she yawned, being awoken by a passing Pilot Ship's horn. 

Andy: "Not yet Blue, just a few more hours." he replied, blowing his horn in reply to the pilot.

Blue: "Mh....ok...." she said, sleepily, "wake me up when we get moving again..." 

Andy rolled his eyes at this while Blue fell back to sleep, Irwin and Observer were asleep in his head leaving the Captain alone. Well, not for long as the pilot boat reappeared, towing a the Oasis of the Seas out of the one way, artificial canal, none of the ships around were kansen but as the container ship and the pilot passed him, Andy heard voices, they weren't too much more than whispers but they were definitely voices.  

???: "Huh, such a tiny ship." she muttered, "What's it doing here?" 

???2: "I dunno, I don't care." he grumbled. 

???: "Well, I think it's rather cute.~" she purred, "Must be a kansen though, can't see a face." 

???2: "Control yourself, you're still carrying people." he scolded. 

???: "Alright, alright Mr Grumpy." she grumbled. 

Andy: "The fuck?" he muttered. 

Andy was barely able to get line of sight on the Oasis Class Cruise ship and found himself staring into a pair of dark brown eyes, which stared right back at him, slightly surprised. 

???: "Um....." she trailed off. 

???2: "What is it Harmony?" he asked. 

Harmony of the Seas: "Um...the kansen is staring at me..." she trailed off. 

Pilot Tug: "Um....maybe he's just in awe...?" he said, hopefully. 

Harmony of the Seas: "Nope, it's like he hears us." she said. 

Andy: 'Thisisadream, thisisadream, thisisadream, this has to be a dream.' he thought. 

Steve Irwin: 'What is a dream?' she yawned, 'Nothing is happening...'

Observer A: 'Yes, scans are showing nothing out of the ordinary, you're just staring at a Cruise Ship.' she said.

Andy: 'What do you-?' he started, stopping suddenly when he remembered something, 'Observer, scan my anatomy and mentals and compare with my anatomy and mentals from just after the battle with Empress III.'

Observer A: 'Um...ok?' she said, confused. 

A quick beat later, Observer returned, puzzled, holding a tablet. 

Observer A: 'Huh, most peculiar, says here all your mentals are the same but your anatomy is ever so slightly altered, especially around the senses.' she reported.

Andy: 'That must explain it.' he said, teleporting to his Bridge Wing where Harmony of the Seas and the Pilot Tug were still sailing by slowly, "Harmony of the Sea, I can see you, and I can hear you."