Operation Honey Trap vs The Emperor of the Apocalypse

"What was that?" asked Indy. "Anyone? Lili?"

Lili stopped hacking at the shark at the bow of the boat for a moment. She lifted the binoculars and stared out to sea.

"Tubiàn bottlenose dolphins. A big pod. Incoming starboard side. Fast."

They all looked out to sea. You could already see the pod of massive dolphins with long noses leaping in and out of the water as they swam towards them.

"Does anyone remember what they were originally bred for during the war?" Delphi asked urgently.

"Cargo?" recalled Feifei. "And defence."

"Get ready everyone!" shouted Delphi.

The dolphins' high-pitched chatter got louder.

"Twenty-five metres out. Starboard. Coming in like battering rams. Hold tight!" called Lili.

They all grabbed for something solid to hold onto.

The dolphins swam straight into the sharks with their battering ram bottlenoses. The sharks silently let go of the hull, and the boat bobbed back up out of the water. The tubiàn sharks disappeared under the water, emerging thirty metres off the port side of the boat, with the dolphins chasing along behind them, scolding them. There was clearly no love lost between the two species.

"Yeay!" cried Ruby, air punching. "Thank you dolphies!"

"Keep your guard up until we see what they intend to do with us," said Delphi, not nearly ready to relax just yet.

"They're defending us Delph," said Ruby with unjustified certainty.

The dolphins were finally satisfied with their work on the sharks, having chased them out of sight. They circled back around to the humans, returning towards the sailboat, leaping in and out of the water as they approached, still busily chattering among themselves.

The girls got ready to defend themselves again, not sure if they were friends or foe. It might be a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, thought Delphi. No doubt those vicious great white sharks would prey upon young dolphins.

The huge tubiàn dolphins pulled up right alongside the hull and raised their heads, chattering loudly at the girls in clicks and whistles.

"Thank you, boys," said Ruby softly. She reached out to stroke a dolphin that had pulled up alongside her on the nose.

"Ruby, be careful!" said Indy sharply. "Don't be so reckless. You put your faith in animals too easily."

"I can read animals better than people, jiejie. They're friendly."

Sure enough, the dolphin chattered and clicked excitedly at Ruby when she stroked him, flipping his head up and down and gently nudging and butting her hand.

The rest of the girls reached out cautiously and petted the enormous creatures that now surrounded the boat, the girls talking to them in baby talk, while the dolphins chattered back, filling the air with their "click, click, whistle, click" sounds.

The dolphin that Ruby was communing with suddenly turned and zipped away from the boat with a splash. It raced back towards the rear of the boat at pace, leaping right over the stern, its beautiful skin flashing in the sunlight.

"Woah," cried Ruby. "Amazing boy! I'll name you, Skyrocket," she said admiringly.

Indy laughed. "You can't help yourself can you, meimei. Always falling in love with animals. How do you know it's a boy?"

"His pee-pee was hanging out when he jumped over me."

"Looks like he loves her back," laughed Lili.

"Feifei, take us into Phillip Island before anything else happens," said Delphi wearily.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Feifei saluted. "I really wanted to say that at least once before we hit the Mainland."

"I hope you won't get any more chances to say it again. Ever. Period."

The dolphins chaperoned them all the way in.

As soon as they were within reach of the shore, Ruby stripped off her clothes and dived into the surf, swimming naked alongside Skyrocket, who frolicked and played, gently nudging her and letting her hold onto his fins, taking her for little rides in the waves. She laughed with joy as she bonded with the creature.

Indy stripped off and followed her in, dagger still strapped to her thigh; partly to enjoy the experience and partly to protect her little sister, who was entirely too trusting. Delphi dropped the anchor, and everyone else followed the twins into the surf.

The girls were used to bathing together after every training session, so there was no false modesty among them.

This chance to be safe outdoors and enjoy the ocean in peace, swimming with the dolphins, was just too good to pass up. The dolphins seemed as happy as the humans were, to have found such friendly playmates. They were like over-grown puppies, frolicking and playing and competing for the girls' attention.

As they tired, the girls started washing up onto the beach, one by one.

Ruby was the last out, bidding her dolphins a sad farewell. They chattered and clicked happily at her before swimming off out of sight around the tip of the island.

The girls flopped onto the sandy beach of the Mainland on their backs, staring happily up into the high blue sky.

"We've made it, girls," Delphi said joyfully. "We've made it! We're free. Whatever happens from here on out, it will be on our terms."

"This is where it all begins Delph," said Feifei. "This is where we make our stand."

"Right Feif. From here we start the battle. This is where we become freedom fighters. This is where the rebellion begins…"

Unbeknownst to the young women, Commander Meyer had a powerful telescope on board, and he had spotted their sail where they had anchored.