Tanzen Ship Novels & Stories

No legal registry numbers caught the light. "The Nereid," Aisha muttered, her voice dropping back into that low, dominant contralto as she expertly brought the zodiac alongside the towering steel wall. "Julian's primary deep-water transport. This ship doesn't exist on any corporate ledger. It hasn't docked in a civilian port in five years." A heavy cargo net was thrown over the side, hitting the rubber tube of the zodiac with a wet thud. "Up, Elara!" Aisha commanded, grabbing the back of my life vest with a terrifying, effortless strength and hoisting me toward the ropes. "The clock is down to forty-five hours, and the Atlantic transport leaves from Nova Scotia by sunrise. Move!"

“This hut has been a place of peaceful healing for me.” As the night descended, the music and revelry from the village carried over the sand and the horizon glowed with the torches lit around the village square, dancing shadow crossing the orange glow as the villagers and performers moved between the light and his location. Thaelen had placed the ship onto logs in order to protect the hull as he dragged it through the sand-dunes to the water. The waves helped him to take it out into the water, and the sail filled so that distance was swiftly gained. Thaelen dropped the anchor and lowered the sail before standing and looking around him proudly, his hands on his hips. Twice the size of a fishi

No more games. I grinned without mirth. "You have some information I need. Speak quickly and you may yet breathe a while longer." Zane squirmed but my grip only tightened. He read truth in my eyes—this ended in cooperation or death. "Th-the shipyards. Containers ninety-six to one-fifteen," he stammered. I nodded, satisfied it matched intelligence from other sources. Zane shrank as my smile widened. "Very good. Time to take a little trip now." I could practically smell the fear rolling off him as we escorted his trembling form into the night. Whether or not he survived the coming hours depended on what other useful details shook loose.

He summoned a tsunami to push back their enemies and set back their pursuit. But before his tsunami could hit its target, it shrunk and dissolved. There was only one explanation for this. From the current distance, his eyes couldn’t pierce the silhouette of their pursuers standing on deck but it was clear from the full bamboo-sail battens that they had a junco ship. It was a two-master flying a black flag. “Bad news, guys!” he shouted to Temujin and Aki. “The pirates have also got a blue Slayer on board!”

For a brief moment, Tara breathed it all in—and her worries loosened their grip. They joined Curtis, Vera, and Taylor near one of the central gathering points. The girls were laughing, sipping coconut drinks, carefree. A man stood beside Curtis—unfamiliar. "Tara," Curtis said, "this is Alpha Zane of the Nightshade Pack." Before she could respond, a deep, resonant sound tore through the air. A horn. Long. Powerful. Echoing across the island. Silence swept over the festival. From the mist above the water, massive ships emerged—three of them—crafted from ancient wood. Bold letters marked the sails.

The merchant ship descended to a low altitude and immediately, a ship approached. A young man’s voice came from inside. “Hello, I am the navigator of this large trade zone. If you need anything, just ask me. I know this place very well.” Upon seeing the word ‘Central’ engraved on the other party’s ship, Marlee felt relieved. If they were another swindler like Willie, there would not be the word ‘Central’ on their ship. This was a means of transportation that only staff members recognized by the Central Sacred Continent officials could drive.

The faint purple lines along her collarbone pulsed at a slow, domestic sixty beats a minute—perfectly slaved to the rhythm of my own heart. "The loading manifests are logging thirty thousand tons of unrefined winter grain," Vance said, his finger tapping a jagged row of green ciphers on his screen. "It’s enough to clear the food deficit for the entire western boundary for the next three months. But something is wrong with the ballast readings on the lead ship, #3. The weight displacement isn't matching the density of raw seed. It’s too... dense. Too metallic." Beside me, Dante let out a low, vibration-heavy growl that rattled the loose iron plates beneath my bare feet.

Trevor: What ship do I use? Bob: the unarmed vessel we captured, DJS Chernov. A freighter the size of a destroyer, stealth capabilities too... It is a smuggler's ship. DIANA will be moved to that interface... together with a copy of your captain's chair. Take the file with you...