Azlant looks on as the crew quickly scoops up the fish that Aquia had caught, before returning his gaze back to the open ocean.  His quiet reflection is quickly disturbed when an alarm begins sounding below him.  Quickly ducking down into the control deck, he hears enough of the conversation to realize what’s going on.  Looking back out to sea, Chroma changes course, heading out towards the spot where the ships had briefly appeared on radar.  Soon enough, she can see them, but they’re still a fair distance away.<br/><br/>Taken somewhat aback by Arkain’s abrupt entrance, Azlant recovers fairly quickly.<span style="font-style: italic">“That may be true, but they want Jaku alive and unharmed; they won’t risk firing on the ship unless they know she won’t be hit.  Even given that though, they have us outgunned, and can likely outrun us as well.  What exactly do you propose we do?”</span>When Arkain asks to talk to Chroma and Aquia, Azlant pauses for a moment before looking back at him.  A sudden gust of wind, followed by a hazy shape forming over one of the nearby railings shows Chroma’s presence, and a jet of water arcs up from the ocean and lands on the deck, flowing up the stairs to the bridge before Aquia’s fin rises from it, circling slowly.<span style="font-style: italic">“Whatever you’re planning, you’d better get started soon – we don’t have much time.  I’m going to try to keep an eye on those ships.”</span>Darting out of the room, Azlant begins to spiral higher and higher above the ship, gaining height to try to get the Chimera ships in eyesight.<br/><br/>------<br/><br/>As Kellus is effectively slurped up like an oversized noodle, he finds himself comparing the experience to his earlier…encounter with Jaku.  The powerful swallows of Jaku’s throat are much more distinct, coming in separate, rolling contractions rather than the more steady pull he had previously felt.  Slipping further inside her, Jaku’s comments once again remind him that, so long as he’s inside her, she can feel his emotions just as he can feel hers.  “I thank you for your concern, but the situation is slightly different than you understand, I think.  I’m not feeling regret for what’s happening now; I’m feeling regret over something that happened long ago…”<br/><br/>As he is embraced from within Jaku’s stomach, Kellus’ speech drifts off.  However, it’s easy for Jaku to catch little flashes of the memories passing through his head.  Kellus, dressed in a style of armor similar to those the attackers in the town had worn, addressing what appears to be a military group of some kind.  A blur, then a memory of him in combat, a spear whirling in his hand and a collar of some sort of metal with an inset blood-red gem glinting at his throat.  A final blur: Kellus is kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and cradling the body of a woman.  His face is twisted in anguish, and the collar at his neck more obvious than ever as the gem seems to glow from within with an ugly red light.<br/><br/>The rush of memories comes to an abrupt halt as Kellus re-asserts himself, almost violently so.  “My apologies; a long life combined with near-perfect memory means that I can easily become lost if I’m not careful.  What happened occurred a long time ago, and isn’t something that I care to dwell on.  More than ever, I look forward to replacing those memories with ones of happier times, something that I’m certain will be simple with your help.”<br/><br/>------<br/><br/>Aboard the battleship, a figure simply seems to appear from thin air behind the captain.  Wearing a more ornate form of the armor the attackers in the town wore, along with a red half-cloak, he stands at a respectful distance.  “Captain Kruge, I believe?  I am Antian, and I believe that you and I have a similar interest here.  I am in pursuit of an individual who I believe is aboard that vessel, one who possesses potent capabilities that you lack the ability to properly counter.  My men and I, however, can.  If you will agree to give me custody of him upon his capture, I will lend you my support in the fight to come.  I assure you that without my help your job will much harder; your radar masking, for example, will do little when the very air and water can tell him where you are.  He<span style="font-style: italic">will</span>be ours, eventually, but there is no reason why we can't work together in this to expedite both our goals.”