Chapter 73: Alpha Watch

From above the bridge, Bekka watched the Alpha raise its forearm over the man standing between it and the clinic.

"Get off the span before it takes the supports with you!"

The limb struck a pylon, and he brought his blade up as the sweep carried across the deck toward him.

His guard gave under the blow, throwing him across the boards until his shoulder struck the base of the railing.

"GAAH...!"

He rolled away from the follow-up strike and pushed himself upright, keeping his burned arm away from the boards.

’Too much force to take through the blade, even if my core caught some of it.’

The creature opened its mouth, and he vaulted beneath the railing as acid swept the place where he’d been standing.

A mooring post sagged into sludge beside his hand, forcing him to drop before he could pull himself up.

"Stop giving it the bridge to aim at!"

"Give me somewhere else it can’t reach the clinic!"

He caught the edge of the lower platform and climbed back, cutting toward the seam behind the creature’s knee.

The blade scored the joint without entering it, and he withdrew before the forearm could pin him against the deck.

"I can’t get through while it’s standing on that leg!"

Cole waved two apprentices toward the canal edge, bracing their hose against the railing as they opened the valve.

"Put the water on its horns and keep it there when it turns!"

The stream struck the sensory clusters above its jaws, drawing its head toward the workers while they fought the hose.

"It’s looking at us!"

"That’s the idea, now hang on and don’t let the nozzle climb!"

Wind hit the creature’s snout before its jaws reached the platform, driving its head away from the apprentices.

The liaison circled back over the span, pointing toward the boards starting to lift beneath her partner’s feet.

"That section’s coming loose, and I can’t hold its mouth away forever!"

He tested the knee again while the hose crew ducked beneath a tail sweeping over their heads toward the barricade.

’The joint closes every time it plants its foot, and I keep arriving after it settles.’

"Make it turn toward me when I move, but keep the crew clear of its mouth!"

"Move now, Leo!"

Her alarm reached him through the bond before the claw came down, pulling his attention toward the lifting boards.

He stepped clear as the claw punched through the deck, leaving the limb caught between supports beneath him.

[ Reciprocal Bloom ]

[ Partner: Bekka ]

[ Want: High ]

[ Want Focus: Do Not Die There ]

[ Host Effect: Love Rate 2.5x ]

[ Effect Focus: Footwork and timing ]

’It’s pulling against the claw, and the knee’s opening with it.’

He drove the tip into the tendon behind the joint, holding the cut open as the creature tried to turn.

"Bring the hammer down where I’ve got the blade!"

The dockmaster charged from the barricade, raising his sledge while the apprentices kept the water against the creature’s horns.

"Pull it out unless you want me to flatten that too!"

He withdrew as the hammer struck the joint, carrying the worker’s remaining density into the gap behind the kneecap.

The leg buckled beneath the beast, dragging its neck down while its tail whipped across the platform toward the crew.

"Down, all of you!"

The apprentices dropped under their hose, but the tail caught the dockmaster across his ribs before he could retreat.

He landed beside the railing and tried to rise, coughing blood as his arm folded beneath his weight.

"Don’t stop for me, you bastard, finish it before it stands!"

The swordsman ran along the collapsing flank and plunged his blade into the nerve cluster exposed beneath the neck plates.

Void energy tore through the cluster, breaking the creature’s ether circulation while its claw remained trapped beneath the span.

Its body fell into the canal and dragged two pylons down, sending water over the bridge and against the clinic.

He caught a cable before the deck tilted, holding on while the creature settled against the bed of the channel.

’Stay down, and let that be enough.’

The hose crew kept spraying until the jaws stopped moving, then lowered the nozzle together without releasing their grip.

"Is it finished?"

"Keep watching it while we get him off the boards!"

He climbed back across the span as two workers brought a stretcher through the gap beside the barricade.

The dockmaster pressed a hand against his chest, trying to wave them past while blood ran between his fingers.

"Don’t you look at me like I’ve stopped paying union dues."

"Save your breath for the doctor, and let them get you onto that."

He supported the worker’s shoulders while the crew slid the stretcher beneath him, stopping when his breathing caught.

"Tell us when to move."

"Now, before I change my mind and make you carry me without it."

They lifted together, keeping the stretcher level as the dockmaster caught the sleeve beside his hand and held on.

"Don’t let anyone say the sword did that alone."

"Your hammer’s still beside its knee, and I’ll make sure they see it."

His fingers released the sleeve, letting the crew carry him toward the clinic while the boards shifted under their feet.

Andre climbed onto the barricade and started calling the crews, waiting for answers before moving down his list.

"Hose team, both of you where I can see you!"

"We’re here, but she can’t stand on her ankle."

"Stay beside her and wave the stretcher crew over when they come back."

Two welders raised their arms to show acid burns while three runners failed to answer until someone touched their shoulders.

"Don’t shout in their ears, bring them to the door and tell the doctor what happened."

Near the pawnshop, Kage pushed out of the swordsman’s shadow and tried to follow the workers heading toward the clinic.

His shoulder failed as his forelegs formed, dropping him against the ground before he could take another step.

"No more scouting, and don’t show me your teeth over it."

He knelt and steadied the hound, feeling the wound leak between his hands while the creature tried to pull away.

"You can argue when you can stand, but you’re staying with me."

The protest faded as he guided the hound back into his shadow, keeping him away from the traffic of stretchers.

Sierra braced against a winch and checked the space beneath the bridge, pointing workers away from a separating support.

"Keep that side empty until you’ve got a cable around it, and nobody climbs under the deck."

An apprentice looked from her to the creature in the canal, clutching the nozzle while his partner sat beside him.

"We killed that with equipment the foreman keeps saying we need to replace."

"He’ll use this to refuse the request again, so don’t give him a speech for the meeting."

The older worker took the hose from him and lowered it, leaving the apprentice free to help his partner.

At the clinic, Luna moved away from the doorway to admit the stretcher, holding herself against the frame as it passed.

The dockmaster’s voice carried back across the bridge when someone inside tried to move his hand away from his chest.

"Tell me before you do that again!"

"Then listen when I tell you to lie still!"

He sheathed his blade while workers looped cables around the supports, testing the winch before putting weight against the line.

Bekka landed beside him and caught his collar, pulling his mouth against hers before he could ask about her gauntlets.

He held her waist as she kissed him, keeping his feet braced while a worker carried the hammer past them.

"Don’t mind me, we’ve only got a bridge trying to fall over."

She broke the kiss without releasing his collar, glancing toward the cameras beyond the canal before looking back at him.

"Next time I tell you to leave the bridge, try listening."

"Next time, give me an option that keeps everyone alive."

"I did, and it involved trusting the rest of us before you ran out of boards."

He looked toward the hose crew, then helped her move aside as the stretcher bearers returned for the apprentice.

"Next time, tell me where you need me instead of letting me pick the worst place."

"I’ll put you on the hose and see how you like getting orders."

She released his collar and turned toward the clinic as the winch stopped, leaving the cable hanging above the water.

"Why have you stopped pulling?"

The operator pointed upward without answering, and the workers beside him began looking past the roofs toward the ship.

Its five-mile shadow covered the bridge as the flagship descended, driving water against the supports they were trying to save.

He reached for his blade while the liaison stepped back beside him, her hand closing around his sleeve.

"It’s coming lower."