Sirius vetoed the suggestion of live bait in favor of one of every other suggestion. He even gave in on the suggestion of meat.
They all headed off and soon returned, each with a different food. Sirius had brought a few slices of salami just in case nothing else worked. One by one they took turns throwing tiny pieces of food into the room. It seemed a lost cause until something thrown by Alice suddenly had hoards of the beetles crowding over it.
The others stopped throwing food.
“What was that?” Amanda asked.
Alice looked down at his hands in surprise. The corner of his mouth started to curl up in a grin. “Well, you’re not gonna believe it but that was Billie’s coconut cream.”
“What?” came the collective reply.
“Well I stopped by to check on Billie when we all went to get food stuff and I told him what we were doing and he handed me his container and said here I might as well throw that on the pile too since he wasn’t gonna have any more use of it.”
“Does he have any more?” Sirius asked.
“Err…” Alice looked down at his empty hands and then out at the beetles who had almost demolished the container that was out there.
“Doesn’t matter,” Thatch replied. “Because we have coconuts in the hold.”
“Or butter,” Amanda wondered and when they looked at her with confusion she explained her line of reasoning out loud. “It’s cream, it won’t just be coconut. It’ll be butter or soap as well, something fatty or…” she paused as she realised that was it. “Or even coconut itself is high in fat, it makes sense they’d go for something fatty. It could be any of those things or all of them but I’ll bet it’s to do with the fat content.”
Sirius seemed satisfied. “Okay now we boil some garlic water and hope for the best. We’ll need quite a bit of the fat mix to lure them all out I think.”
Amanda liked that idea. Maybe she could stealthily burn any that emerged and pass it off as heat damage from the water, right? The more she thought on it the worse the idea got though. That was still a lot of beetles. Plus the damn things moved awful fast.
“Forget the garlic, or don’t, we can probably use it too, but I’ve got something else that might work.” Shiv had returned. “Oh you found something to group them. Very good. I was going to suggest we cut off the animal handler’s finger but this works too.”
Amanda couldn’t tell if he was joking. She had an unsettling feeling that he wasn’t.
“What have you got?” Sirius asked.
“What have we got,” Shiv corrected. “Maple Syrup, barrels of it. It’s supposed to go to Wildwater but well this is an emergency and I don’t think we’ll need that much. We can just reimburse them for a barrel or two. Or tell Wildwater there was a price increase.”
“We’ll reimburse them or it’ll bite us later. Now what are we using maple syrup for?”
“Well, it’s sticky see, the really thick stuff. We put it on em and they won’t be able to move very fast and then we can take our time doing what we like with them.”
“That’s brilliant!” Thatch observed.
Shiv gave a cocky smile in reply.
“But how do we get it on them?” Amanda asked. She felt bad as the faces of the others drooped but it had to be asked.
Shiv also took on a more serious look. “Well that’s the kicker. We have to go in there and pour it on them. And we’ll have to do it fast.” He gave them a moment to process that thought and then he rolled his eyes. “Oh come on, how do you think we do it? Half this ship has telekinesis. We lift the barrels up. In fact…” he eyed a beetle.
A moment later a small group of beetles were flying across the room towards them.
“Shiv!” Sirius exclaimed as all of the ducked.
The beetles hit the wall behind them.
Sirius crushed one with his foot. Shiv threw a knife at another with eagle eyed precision. A few more were stabbed, and unbeknownst to the others one was burnt, crispy on the inside rare on the outside such that it looked like it had died from the force of hitting the wall.
“Well, what do you know, you can stab them,” Shiv remarked.
“And crush them,” Amanda added with a frown.
“Yeah, a strongarm’s got more strength,” Alice reminded her with a grin.
“It does mean we can fight them though,” Shiv told them.
“They’ll go for us the second we set foot in the room,” Sirius countered. He framed it as more of a problem than an outright rejection. But Shiv had an answer for that too.
“Well we’ll just have to coat our feet in enough garlic then. Or I could…” He raised a hand.
Sirius held his own hand up. “No more telekinesis of the beetles Shiv, unless you’re going to throw them the other direction.”
“Mmm, easier if I’m closer. They’re pretty quick. I really only meant to grab the one before.”
The others were silent.
“Will the garlic work? Assuming we don’t get them all with the syrup” Alice eventually asked.
Shiv shrugged. “Don’t know.”
Amanda glanced into the beetle room. “I don’t think they’ll smell us if we put enough garlic on. And it should keep enough of the rogue ones away.” She could always use her powers one beetle at a time on any loose ones, just like she had been. It was safer that way anyway, especially given she’d just remembered Shiv’s mention of ammunitions being in some of the cargo. Better not to create too much heat in such a confined area if that was the case. She could alter its direction but the heat still had to go somewhere.
Her certain tone convinced the others and soon they were all nodding. A plan was made and went about starting to implement it.
Thatch and Alice went to get the maple syrup ready. They were going to warm it so it was easy to pour, then split it into several containers, one for each person. The beetles were to be lured out with a concoction of coconut, butter, and grease which Amanda was in charge of making. Once the beetles were out, the group plus a few extra volunteers that Shiv had rounded up were to pour the syrup all over them and then Crick, who’s power was to control temperature was going to chill the syrup right down so it went hard and held the beetles steady. Ideally the beetles could then be stabbed or crushed by the strongarms. There was some doubt as to the precision of some of the crew’s telekinesis so in the end it was decided to pour some of the barrels by hand. To be safe the garlic mixture was to be spread on the hands, feet, and ankles of anyone who was to pour the syrup or fight the beetles. Once Shiv had rounded up his volunteers he joined Sirius and the crew’s chef in putting this together.
Finally they gathered at the entrance.
“Why aren’t we using more telekinetics to capture the beetles or to carry the barrels?” one of the recently rounded up volunteers inquired. ”We have several on the ship.”
Sirius turned to the crewman. “How many of them could safely lift a barrel that size, carry it our there, and pour it so it gets as many beetles as possible?”
“I reckon Crawly could do it,” the man replied. “And Shiv.” He nodded at the quatermaster.
In response Shiv telekinetically lifted his barrel off the ground to about waist height. He was making a face like it was difficult but Amanda could spot the bluff a mile away.
The men all gave him bored looks. They could tell he was messing with them too.
Shiv grinned and resumed a relaxed position with the barrel floating in the air.
“We are using some telekinesis but we need to do all the barrels at once? Besides carrying them is one thing, tilting them all to get the pour right is an entirely different thing.” Shiv explained. “We don’t get them all at once then Crick’s gotta stay there and keep it cool while we try to get the rest and they scurry all over the place. I don’t know how smart those beetles are but let’s not give ourselves the chance to find out. ” Shiv put his barrel back down.
“I saw you lift a whole mast once,” the crewman replied giving one last objection.
“There’s a difference between brute strength and precision or have you forgotten how that mast ended up.”
The crewman nodded as his eyes slid to the side in recall.
Sirius added, “Shiv already tried moving one of the beetles that way. They move too fast. And if they move too fast for Shiv’s precision I’m not letting just anyone else try it, not with other people around anyway. Where is Crawly? I couldn’t find him. He’d be useful here. He’s our next best telekinetic”
“Asleep on the 3rd deck,” came the reply.
Shiv rolled his eyes. “Well go get him.”
The crewman glanced to Sirius and received a nod of confirmation.
“Yes sir,” he darted off.
Shiv eyed Sirius “What about Mathias? I managed to grab a few strongarms but he was up the mast.”
Sirius shook his head. “We should have enough. I want him up there, especially while we’re down here.”
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Shiv nodded.
They waited for the other man to return with Crawly.
Crawly was dark skinned and sandy haired and looked like he’d just woken up. He gave a yawn as Sirius explained what was about to happen. Sirius didn’t seem to notice but he did wait for Crawly to nod in agreement at the end.
Sirius turned to the rest. “Right, you know the drill. We throw the fat mix in the middle of the room. Once the beetles are on it we run out with the maple syrup or use telekinesis if I’ve approved it, surround them and then on my count we pour. Crick, you be ready to freeze it as it coats them. Any one else sees any beetles heading for Crick do what you can to lure them away. Shiv, you throw the fat mix and then grab a syrup barrel. And watch your power usage. I don’t want any injuries or anyone passing out in there from overuse.”
Shiv nodded along with the others.
“Line up in order!” Sirius instructed.
The section of floor inside the room and nearest the door had been coated in a layer of garlic sauce so that most of the group could just gather inside the entrance with their barrels, ready to run into a circle.
Sirius positioned himself next to Crick, evidently ready to be the first to lure any rogue beetles away from him.
Amanda obstinately took position on Crick’s other side.
Sirius peered around Crick and seeing her there objected. “Not you. You stay back out of the room.”
“I’m on this ship. Whatever happens with these beetles affects me too.” She didn’t mention that she was also well placed to burn up any rogue beetles. She still didn’t want them knowing she was a firestarter but if everyone was preoccupied on their own beetle battle then she could do her bit stealthily. It wouldn’t be right to hang back when she knew she was useful.
“Can you even lift that barrel?” Crick asked with a sneer.
To her left Amanda could hear Shiv chuckling.
She grabbed the barrel and lifted with everything she had. She managed to get it just off the ground. She refused to set it down though.
“Take a smaller one,” Sirius instructed.
Crick snorted. “We need as much syrup as…”
Suddenly Amanda found the barrel lifted easily.
“It’s fine,” Shiv remarked in an exasperated voice. “I can lift two no problem. All you need to do is pour okay?” Evidently he’d gotten tired of watching her struggle and his captain’s suggestion of a smaller barrel had made it clear he was allowing her to stay there.
Amanda nodded.
“Alright then, are we ready?” Sirius asked.
“Ready,” Shiv replied.
Sirius’s gaze swept the room. There were several other nods. “Go,” he instructed.
With a flick of his hand Shiv cast the fat mixture into the centre of the room.
As Amanda watched it fly, dropping bits on the way she couldn’t help but wonder if it would have been better to do that one with more precision as well. It would have been harder for whomever ever did it however for no sooner had it hit the floor than a sea of beetles washed over it from many directions. There would have been no safe place to stand.
The men held still until Sirius said the word and he waited until the majority of the beetles had swarmed into the middle and there was room to stand around them.
“Go!” He commanded. They sprang into action, every man moving as one. Not a single soul stayed where he was. Even the telekinetics moved in. They surrounded the beetles and for a moment Amanda thought the garlic was working. They started to pour the maple syrup.
A moment later Crick dropped down and touched a finger to the edge.
Then Amanda felt something sharp sink into her calf. She glanced down to find a rogue beetle there, half way in already. She reacted immediately, mentally drawing a fire within it’s shell. The beetle fell to the floor and she stomped it. It barely cracked but it was dead from her flame already. Another loose one crawled near Crick and she reached out a leg and stomped that right as she burnt it. Might as well keep up the illusion. She kept one hand tilting the barrel Shiv was holding up. Not once did she let up in pouring the syrup.
From across the other side of the room there came a shout and one man dropped a barrel. She looked up and she could see a couple of beetles crawling over him. She tried to burn the insides of some of them but they moved too fast and the man moved too.
Everything was quickly becoming far more chaotic than any of them had predicted.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Shiv wince and then telekinetically fling something small across the room. He didn’t loosen his mental hold on the barrels however. More men started to find beetles on themselves. They weren’t attacking all of them so the garlic was having some effect. So was the syrup. Most of the beetles were stuck in the thick, slowly hardening liquid, trying relentlessly to break out. They didn’t seem to be dying though, just getting stuck.
Some men stood their ground, some flailed and hit at themselves, but none fled.
“Keep pouring until it’s all on,” Sirius commanded.
Crick dodged between men and beetles, alternating between cooling the syrup and chilling sections of air. Amanda couldn’t be sure if the cold was slowing the beetles but she did feel it sting her ankles as Crick got a little too close.
But beetles kept pouring out from hidden crevices between the cargo. There were more rogues than they’d expected.
Amanda smoked a few on Shiv without his notice and anyone else she could but it was hard. She had to do one at a time since they moved so fast. She couldn’t have burnt a group at once even if she’d wanted to now because they were too spread out among the people. She wondered if she should have spoken up earlier and volunteered to do a gentle fire sweep instead. Surely that would have gone better? But at this point it was too late and there were now too many men who she risked hitting.
It felt like forever until the barrel was empty but eventually it happened. She glanced at Shiv. He nodded. She released the barrel and stepped out of the way as he threw it off to the side. She didn’t run, unlike some of the other men once their barrels were empty. Instead she focused on killing the ones she could as subtly as she could.
Some men stayed to bravely pull beetles off their friends. But it was looking like the first guy to get attacked on the other side was about to be left there with no help. Every beetle he managed to shake off was soon replaced by another. At least he was wearing trousers and had wisely tucked them into his socks. Why the beetles didn’t just cut through fabric Amanda didn’t know but it was a blessing that it was the case. Amanda dashed forward to block the way of a few fleeing men. “Help him!” she commanded with so much fury the men turned around in fear. To her relief two out of the three stayed to help while the other ran shrieking, “He’s a goner already.”
Back on the other side Shiv had stripped off his shirt and Sirius, who had miraculously managed to avoid getting any beetles on himself, was now pull them off Shiv and crushing them with his bare hands. He had only about a second or two to get them once they reached the skin but so far he seemed to be managing okay.
There weren't many men left now. Even Alice gave a high pitched scream as a small wave scuttled towards him and he dashed to join Thatch behind the main garlic barrier.
Shiv flicked several beetles into the nearby wall, hard enough to crush them. He accidentally managed to catch another crewman in the process and the poor man got knocked out cold.
“Shiv!” Sirius chided.
“Oops,” Shiv remarked as he focused on using his powers to fling the man roughly out of the way of a few determined beetles.
Amanda helped another downed man. She burnt what she could and then she tied to yank him to safety. He was too heavy but she soon had help from another crewman.
She gave a small yelp as one beetle crawled up under the fabric of her pants. That one soon fell out, it’s insides and outsides crisp. She stomped it and this time this one did crush. Hopefully no one would notice they were burnt if they were also squished.
“We need to stab these ones over here,” Crick cried.
She glanced back to find him on his hands and knees. Somehow he had managed to avoid the beetles so far but it looked like he was struggling with keeping the syrup cool. The beetles within were moving more rapidly. One broke the surface. Sirius stabbed with with a sword. Another escapee got a knife stuck into it. It turned out the blades went in far easier than she’d expected. The hardest part was getting them slow enough to hit. Shiv telekinetically pulled his knife back to his hand and sliced a few that were clinging to his trousers. Now free of beetles himself he went about stabbing as many on the floor as he could.
Amanda and the one remaining helper finally cleared their friend of beetles although they spent several more seconds than was necessary making sure. Amanda hoped none had got inside his skin but he didn’t seem to be in any pain. Once the beetles got inside they were difficult to remove.
“Get back out here and kill them!” Sirius yelled at those who had retreated.
To her surprise it worked. They did re-layer themselves in more garlic mixture first but the majority of the men were soon back out and stabbing at the things. It was the first time Amanda felt like they were actually making some progress.
They helped each other too. Hitting and slashing at beetles trying to climb on their comrades.
“It’s working, keep going,” Sirius instructed as he chopped another in half. Then he turned and grabbed another rogue one that had made it’s way up to Shiv’s back.
Amanda watched as it he grabbed it. Before he could crush it she saw it dig into his skin and disappear.
She raced across the room, skidded up next to him, grabbed his forearm and gripped her hands around it until she could feel where the beetle was moving within. There she focused her heat and her fire. Tight and controlled. The thing stopped digging.
Sirius pulled her hands away and with a knife he dug deeply into his own skin, risking blood loss and ensuring the crafting of yet one more scar to add to the several that were already there if he survived. He pulled the beetle from his arm, checked it was dead and threw it into the pile. He then grabbed his bloody arm, and keeping a firm pressure on the wound he retreated to the door.
Someone must have fetched the ship’s healer Patchie for there at the door was a man who unmistakably fit the name. His skin was bi-coloured, half cream, half brown. His hair half white, half brunette. One eye was a milky white and unseeing although he did not wear an eye patch. He was healing the most grievous of injuries and as Sirius appeared before him he healed him too.
Amanda was familiar with healing given it was her father’s power. She could tell this was no skilled healer. Some of his heals left scars and bumps. Cancer was a risk of a bad heal but for now the risk of blood loss was greater and they could always pay for better healing later if the former became a problem. No one here minded the scars. In this life they were as much a warning to others as they were a badge of a battle won.
She watched Sirius turn straight around and head back out to kill a few more once his wound had been taken care of. The way he’d just casually ripped out that beetle and then rejoined the fray captivated her. Then she felt something brush her leg. Glancing down she noticed a beetle pinned to floor with a dagger. Looking in the direction it had come from she found Shiv.
“Pay attention,” he chided.
She blushed at having been observed ogling the captain, and retrieved Shiv’s dagger from the floor. For a moment she considered making use of it herself but it was too short and the beetles too fast. She didn’t have Shiv’s throwing skills so she stuck to secret burning and pretend stomping.
The killing seemed to go on forever but despite the initial chaos they seemed to be doing okay. Some men used telekinesis to pin a beetle and then stab it, although with the speed of the beetles it seemed to require a lot of luck to catch one. Others wielded swords with uncanny speed. Quickfoots they were called. One man bounced around the room as if missing pieces of space entirely. Whether he was using teleportation or time manipulation Amanda wasn’t sure. Strongarms crushed them underfoot and then there were several men who just went about slicing them up the good old fashioned way. Every time they thought they had them all another group would appear. They were dwindling though, weren’t they? There were several close calls but no one seemed to get any within their skin too deep. Although in the chaos it was hard to tell for sure. But the men kept a good watch on each other and any time one started to dig in another man would knife it out if he had to. They spared no concern for keeping each other’s skin unblemished. They understood that to let a beetle in was a matter of life and death. Amanda was impressed at their teamwork.
Then out of the corner of her eye she saw the healer faint. Sirius noticed it too and called a retreat. Once everyone was back over the garlic line he turned and spoke loudly so everyone could hear.
“All right, good work men. There’s a few left but I’m assuming they don’t breed fast so we’ll take a break for now and pick this up again tomorrow, now go get yer dinner.”
There was a loud cheer and the men dispersed.
Amanda waited with Sirius and Shiv. Alice and Thatch also stayed.
Thatch leaned against the wall. “Phew, we almost had them all you know.” He eyed the room as if ready to go back out for more.
Sirius shook hi head. “I won’t risk it without the healer. Let him get some of his strength back. Really I should have had him here from the start.”
“Even I didn’t think it was gonna be that chaotic,” Shiv replied.
“You want us to guard for a bit?” Alice asked Sirius.
Sirius nodded. “Yeah, I’ll send someone else down after dinner.”
Sirius spared a glance at Amanda.
She met his green eyes. He seemed to be pondering something. He thought better of asking her anything though. Instead he left through the door.
Shiv motioned at Amanda to go next and so she did.
She followed the captain to the dining hall. Just at they were about to enter when one crewman came jogging down the hall and met them at the entrance.
“Captain, there’s a storm brewing on the horizon, we need you up on deck.”
Sirius turned to Amanda and Shiv. “Go eat something,” he commanded. Then he followed the sailor up to the top deck.