//------------------------------//
// Chapter 46 
// Story: My Little Destroyermen: Walker on Water 
// by The Atlantean 
//------------------------------//

Twilight watched from Walker’s rail as Safir Maraan stared longingly back toward the ruins of B’mbaado and Aryaal. Chack stood next to the Lemurian queen on the boarding ramp, letting her be the last person to leave the abandoned shores. For a moment, they stood in silence, then turned and somberly walked across the ramp.
Matt’s familiar uniform shoes clunked along the deck nearby, stopping at her side. “Spanky says the screw is tight as can be. Thank you. Again.”
“It wasn’t hard. Just some simple telekinesis.”
He smiled warily. “Well, Laney and Silva are really the only two qualified to use the dive suit besides Spanky himself, and in these waters…” He gestured at the brackish water frothing with flasher-fish stirred up by bored crew tossing rocks gathered from the beach. Although they were supposed to be on duty since Walker was about to get underway, various members of the deck crew--mostly the gun and torpedo crews--weren’t doing anything.
“I understand,” Twilight said softly. She looked again at Chack and Safir Maraan. “I wish we didn’t have to do this.”
“Me neither, but it’s the only choice we have. We’re trading land for time.”
“Yeah, but how much time can we really buy with this?”
“I just hope it’s enough.” Matt stopped leaning on the rail as Chack and Maraan boarded the ship. “Good, they’re aboard. If you’ll excuse me, I must return to the bridge.”
Twilight’s shoulders heaved, and she felt the screws start to churn the water beneath the fantail. As Walker steamed out of Aryaal harbor to meet Neracca, which had already sailed almost over the horizon, she looked back at the ruins. She furrowed her eyes, and she swore that by her life, she’d repair the damage she’d done. She’d restore the two cities to their former greatness.
She’d make things right even if it killed her.


-------------------------


A couple days later, Radioman 1st Class Russel Clancy emerged from the radio room with a paper. “Captain, Mr. Mallory reports that he has spotted the Grik armada and confirms that Amagi is with them,” he said.
“Thank you, Mr. Clancy,” Matt said. “Tell Mr. Mallory to get the hell out of the way and see if Revenge is still floating. Mr. Tolson received our message, correct?”
“Yes, Captain, he did,” Twilight replied. “I located Revenge with my scrying spell, then teleported over to deliver it myself. Last I saw, he’d turned far north to the Java shore to get around the Grik before they cut him off from Baalkpan. I’ve already given you my report on Revenge’s status, so you know how hard the storm hit her.”
Matt frowned and dismissed Russel, who quickly returned to the radio room beneath the pilothouse. “Well, unless they’ve split their forces to attack both Aryaal and Baalkpan, we should be safe” he grumbled. “Does Sunset Shimmer know that spell you use to see whatever you want from wherever you are?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised, Captain. It’s a pretty basic spell, and Sunset is a pretty powerful unicorn. However, I don’t know why she’d want to use it besides… the same reason I would use it. She probably knows exactly where we are.”
The talker held his headphones to his ear, waited a second, then called out: “Captain, Neracca’s lookout reports Grik vessels bearing approximately two-two-five, range thirty-five thousand yards!”
“Are they in range?” Twilight asked.
“Of us? Hell no. Are we in Amagi’s?” Matt sighed. “If we aren’t, we’re certainly getting close.”
Twilight glanced at Walker’s fantail, then up to Neracca, then back toward the Grik fleet. “Can we do anything? We have, like, six thousand people on that ship!”
“I know!” Matt followed her original gaze to the fantail, but his eyes wandered down toward the engineering spaces. “We’re gonna have to tow her.”
“What?” Twilight cried, but Matt had already spun to enter the bridge. He walked over to the talker, frowning in concentration.
“Tell Mr. McFarlane to get up here, and call in Mr. Dowden, Mr. Garrett, and the Chief. All others: sound general quarters!”