It was probably the strength of sheer panic that enabled Cally to haul the doctor’s torso over the railing; after that, he scrambled over the rest of the way and she took a step back to regain her balance as he got to his feet. She opened her mouth to speak, and then the doctor lunged at her and she hit the deck with a painful ‘whoof’ of air from her lungs. She heard a harpoon tearing through the air overhead as she tried to catch her breath and tasted bile in the back of her throat once more. 

The doctor helped her upright and then the captain joined them and quickly explained his plan. Cally was sure everyone heard her heart racing when he ordered her to ‘hold the line’ and she nodded with a hoarsely muttered “Yes, captain.” The wash of terror she’d felt earlier had provoked a desperate do-or-die courage. 

She had felt a surge of relief when Rei suddenly appeared – she would deal with the pyurgist, and with him out of the way, they would be able to deal with the rest of the crew. That relief died when flames burst from Rei’s sword and she stabbed repeated at the other, screaming something as though she’d gone berserk.

“This won’t end well.” The doctor said, and her heart lurched – an out of control urgist was not someone that she, Cally, wanted to have to deal with, and certainly not after seeing what had happened to poor Kimball. 

In any case she had her orders. [i]Round ‘em up and hold the line.[/i] She took the vials the doctor gave her with a quick nod of thanks, tucking them securely in her belt where she could reach them if she needed them but still have her hands free before drawing her side-sword. The familiar braided leather hilt was almost comforting; chaos might be unfolding all around her, but she and her sword were partners - wield it with skill, and it would protect her, that was the arrangement they had. She got into a half-crouch, still protected from any outburst of flames by the capstan. Her eyes scanned the deck, plotting a route to the crew that would give her some slight cover from the flames at least part of the way.

Drawing a deep breath, she tensed and got ready to run.