Post by Kurosaki on May 10, 2012 21:54:10 GMT -5
Gasping for air, Lance resurfaced a distance away from the dock. Luckily this time he had put enough space between himself and the guns firing at him that he wouldn't be in direct danger but there was still the chance that one of them had followed around on shore. Thankfully, it seemed that they were having a hard time agreeing on some issues. Well, while they worked out their problems with organization and who was in charge at that very moment, Lance began to swim for shore. It would probably be a better idea to regroup with some Marines and help them take out those that had managed to land.
There was really only so much as one person that Lance could do; Warrant Officer or not. He liked to think sometimes that he was strong, a go getter and that this alone would help him rise through the ranks and become one of the greats of the Marines. But that was too ideological and naive and normally Lance tried to keep a grip on reality.
That was until a giant wave came up and nearly engulfed Lance who was actually still far enough away from the shore that he could very easily drown since he could not touch the bottom of the ocean floor while standing. Luckily, Lance thought quickly and dove under the water. There he did a small turn and looked back despite the salt water in his eyes and the sting that resulted. He just had enough time to see that someone was swimming in the water nearby. Had they caused that huge wave?
Whether or not they were the one responsible, Lance figured it wasn't a good idea to just stay in the water and find out. He was a sitting duck practically. Swimming to shore he found himself among friendly Marines and smiled. At least they were down but not out! Someone up high was obviously making the right calls for these Marines to have grouped together so quickly and to be pushing the Pirates back.
Upon approaching the Marines and the woman that seemed to be in charge with glasses and a long sword, Lance proceeded to salute despite his wet and ragged self. His uniform was literally ripped in some places from fighting and soaking wet and his hair slicked back from the salt water and sort of stuck that way.
"Ma'am, Warrant Officer Lance Hains reporting for duty," he started to say. He seemed proud and was holding himself upright and proper despite his appearance that he knew to be ridiculous. At least he was sure that they would need the fighters and wouldn't quite mind what he looked like as long as he could help. Right?
Perhaps that was a very unrealistic approach. But Lance had no clue that any of the Pirates had come up with the brilliant idea to disguise themselves as Marine officers to get close to the Marines enough to slaughter them. Nor that any orders had been issued for Marines to wear a cap or the like in order to prove that they were Marines. After all, he had been without a Den Den Mushi for communication, having lost it in the explosion back at the Prison, and had been fighting Pirates as a solo act for the majority of the day.
"So, what's our course of act-" started Lance, hoping that he would be brought back up to speed on what he had missed. Instead he found himself in for a rude awakening!