When Frost meets Ice (Jelsa)

Book 2

Once the dust settled, Jack recognized the giants from Keyes memories as mechanized war machines piloted by a single man each.

Goliaths.

They stood on mechanized legs as thick as a man that shook the ground with every step. Its pilot sat in a large subnautical-like cockpit reminiscent of a submarines face with its honeycomb glass and steel construction. Arms on either side of the cockpit were laden with large Gatling guns full of ammunition. A single plasma cannon sat on top of the cockpit spun along its length and began to charge sparking with blue light and electricity.

"Halt, we are the royal navy and you are under arrest. Lay down your arms and turn yourselves in." a voice from a speaker came from the mech that had landed in the restaurant.

Merida looked to her friends and gave a nod.

"Oh no, Keyes, stop her befor-" Pan reached to Bonnie as if to stop her but was too late.

"Blow it out yer hole!" Bonnie was the fastest shot with any weapon and just as accurate. Before anyone could stop her she pulled out one of her four pistols and fired it at the first mech's plasma cannon, she knew where to hit it and knew she only had one shot while it was charging.

Clang, hisssssss, the cannon wound down and the subtle blue color of its charge went out.

Instinct drove Jack to jump for cover right as the two mechs fired their guns on the group. Jack and Bonnie both crashed through the window of a pastry shop while Hawkins, Pan, and hook vanished in an alley.

Jack and Bonnie hid behind a counter in the pastry shop as bullets tore the establishment apart.

"They must want us really bad if they're willing to destroy half the block just to get us." Bonnie said, stowing her pistol and pulling out and prepping her crossbow.

"Do you have to start every fight?!" Jack yelled over the hailing gunfire.

"You know you can't talk your way out of everything! Besides, what did you think they were going to do after they started with two Goliaths, put the five of us in irons with their gatling gun hands after we threw down our swords?"

"You know what I mean! You're also starting fights!"

"No, I'm always finishing fights!" there was a pause in the hail and Bonnie aimed over the counter with her crossbow, it connected with something from the sound of the explosion.

Jack and Merida used it as a distraction and ran throw the door in the back room and up the stairs. Once upstairs Jack didn't hesitate, he could track the Goliaths just by the sound they made when they walked. "That's a load of bilge and you know it, do you know how many times I've had to finish your fights for you."

Jack leapt from the window before Merida could rebuttal. Goliaths were big, and they could be fast. They moved with a dexterity and grace that defied their size and could throw a wicked punch once their guns ran dry and they shifted from siege mode to battle mode. Therein was their weakness, their sheer size and bulky load slowed them down especially in a cramped urban street. They were also tall which meant that they were designed to attack enemies in front of and under them as far as man sized opponents went. Therefore, they were not designed to withstand and attack from a person falling from above.

Jack grabbed onto the cannon with one hand and looked for a weak spot as he pulled a dagger from his belt. Jack sent of wave of cold energy into the Goliath slowing it to a crawl and weakening choice parts of its integrity he jammed the knife into some cogs but heard the revving of the second goliaths gatling gun behind him. He turned to see the second goliath aiming at him until an explosive arrow hit its face and sent it rocking. It caught its footing and aimed at the window Merida had shot from and fired. The two bright lights of the Gatling gun sent memories flooding through him and he reacted again on instinct.

No not again, this time he would protect her.

Jack saw a plasma bolt fired from Hawkins rifle halt the goliath's fire but Jack had already loosed his dagger at the monstrosity. Explosive arrow and a plasma bolt only scorched the reinforced glass. Jack's dagger had a little wind behind it and pierced the glass inches from the pilots face. It buried down to the hilt and created a cloud of cracks to block the pilots view.

Jack had learned that trick in Mother Russia.

The volley ceased and Jack saw Hook and Pan land on it from the roof of the nearest building and squeezed a couple grenades into its joints.

Jack faced his own again, he sent a more powerful wave of frost into to core of the Goliath, enough to weaken the steel and brass. He pulled his flintlock and fired into the core of the machine shattering everything that had been suitably frozen, and with any luck the pilot's heart.

Bonnie came running down the stairs to meet Jack's Gaze as the grenades blew off the arms of the second Goliath and toppled it to the ground.

"Aw bits, yer already done." She said sadly.

"Come on, they've got more than two of these, we need to get back to the ship and make sure the captain hasn't left without us." Jack announced.

"This very bad." Jim said as he reloaded his rifle. It made a hissing noise when the spent battery popped out, and glowed with renewed energy when he stuck in the replacement.

"Something is wrong it's not like the navy to be so brash in such a high profile port town. " Hook mused.

"We can talk about that later, I know a shortcut, but we need to go now!" Pan said as plasma bolts and gunfire started to hail down at them from the navy vessel. Metal canisters landed in the street and popped open to reveal navy shock troopers in black and red armor firing high tech repeater plasma rifles at them.

Jack flung two daggers.

Pan fired a shot from a stolen pistol.

Hawkins fired his rifle.

Hook shot two pistols.

Pan threw down a smoke bomb.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 shock troopers fell. The rest stormed the smoke looking for a target. When the smoke cleared, there were no more pirates only a long fused black powder grenade that went off seconds after the smoke cleared.

BOOOOOOOOOM!