tinybutMIGHTY
Legacy Name: tinybutMIGHTY

The Diagnosis 

The beginning of the end happened on a Wednesday. 

She hadn't been feeling right for some time. Your average citizen might've gone running to the doctor sooner but Tiny was a Marine. She put her nation first, she looked out for her crew always and she saw to her personal needs only after those two conditions were met. Despite her retired status, she was still very much active as a volunteer. She counseled active-duty soldiers struggling with PTSD, ran training seminars for new recruits and checked in with the surviving members of her crew via video chat almost on a daily basis. 

Even in her quiet moments, she was (in a sense) putting others ahead of herself. She had an elaborate system of hummingbird feeders hung in the front yard before her modest beach cottage. She was a daughter of the sea and had to be near the water, though she no longer had the strength or stamina to live for months beneath the waves.  

It was the weakness in her arms that finally convinced her she could no longer ignore the pain. She couldn't even lift the nectar wand high enough to fill the lowest-tiered feeders. Her treasured jewel-winged friends hovered nearby, waiting for their daily feeding. Anger and sadness warred with weariness. This was not her crew, yet they looked to her for nourishment and kindness the way the brave souls on the Maria had once looked to her for courage in the face of impossible odds. 

She called a kind neighbor, asking for a ride into town. She claimed car trouble, too proud to admit that she wasn't sure she could safely make the drive. Her vision was blurry, though she could still see well enough...most of the time.  

Sitting in that waiting room was worse than the time they'd lost power on the sub. She'd never been afraid of death when she was staring it in the eye on a daily basis.  

This was different. She had no control over when the nurse would call her name or when the doctor would finally make her way to the exam room. Some unseen force was the Captain of this great ship and she was merely along for the ride. 

Dr. Lynette was brisk and no-nonsense, introducing herself as an oncologist with twelve years working in the area of Stage Four Terminal Cancer.  

She liked Dr. Lynette immediately. The young doctor was optimistic without being overly cheerful. She did not try to sugar-coat reality. She offered no false hope. There was a potential experimental treatment, one that had significantly extended the lives of former Marines in similar circumstances.  

It wasn't a cure.  

It was no less than she'd expected. Twenty years ago, she'd offered up her life to anyone who might be listening for the sake of her threatened crew. She would not weep, now that the inevitable had come calling. 

She had always been a fighter. This battle was not from a foreign or domestic threat...but she would fight it with all she had, all the same.

The Maria B 

It was more than just a Merchant Marine ship. It was her life mission, her home on the water and the closest she would ever come to a lover. It had a heartbeat in its thrumming water supply lines and the hiss and sigh of the pistons being forced into motion by the Class A Atebus Reactor was gentle breathing that let the crew know they were safe despite the thousands of tons of water pressure always lurking just beyond the hatches. 

Speaking of her crew, they were her family. Captain Atevia was witty, loyal to the mission beyond question and the best Vetan Chess player you'll ever hope to meet. Head engineer Sully had a secret love of music and would sometimes whip out his harmonica and treat them to one of the classics. "Bloodred Charlie's Got the Blues" was Tiny's personal favorite. Lysander the ship's physician had a soft spot for minions and would gladly keep an eye on Cook's mischievous birds when she was in the midst of meal preparations. (Nobody knew Cook's actual name...they were too afraid to end up in one of her mystery stews to ask.) 

Then there were the non-officers, average members of the crew that always gave Bosun Tiny a listening ear and a shoulder to lean on. Samantha. Will. J.R. 

Tiny was well valued for her size. She could fit into those awkward crawl spaces that would leave an average-sized Subetan breathless (or in the hospital). She feared nothing and was curious about everything. It seemed there was no task her nimble fingers couldn't accomplish from feeling for the single loose bolt among hundreds to picking apart strands of a ratty rope and weaving them back together to avoid waste. She was also a genius and not afraid to show it. She had 12,000+ intelligence and added to that almost daily. 

When you spend months at a time doing stealth missions well beneath the ocean's surface, you don't waste so much as a single can of beans. 

Whenever the crew came ashore, she'd hunt out the nearest market and gorge on watermelon until she felt sick. Fresh fruit was a rarity and the sweet, juicy texture of watermelon instantly took her mind to lounging on the beach in high summer as a child. Going to the beach had been a treat growing up. Her best memories centered around learning to swim and exploring the miniature worlds contained in tide pools with her siblings. 

Being called back to the ship was always bittersweet. She longed for the familiar comfort of her cabin yet couldn't help wishing for a few more of the creature comforts that landlubbers took for granted. 

She would have served until the day Demi Jones came to claim her, had it not been for the breach.

The Breach 

The first crack was no longer than the end of your pinky nail. 

It should have been enough. The sensor should have tripped. Alarms should have been blaring. The whole reactor section should have gone into automatic lockdown immediately. 

It didn't. 

The crack deepened and grew in length until it was nearly as long as a feli's tail. That got the attention of the surrounding sensors and set off the alarm but by then it was too late. 

How long had they all been breathing contaminated air? There was no way to know for sure. There were no security cameras in the reactor room...too big a security risk.  

Dr. Lysander was soon overwhelmed with cases of headaches and severe nausea. Captain Atevia ordered an immediate cessation of all non-vital activities and demanded the whole crew be dosed with what limited anti-radiation capsules they had available. They were two days from the nearest port.  

Then the needles on the ship's instrument panel shot into the red. Captain Atevia knew she would have to make a choice. 

Send in the one crew member with a hope of containing the leak or allow the breach to run unchecked and risk the lives of the entire crew. 

Tiny had reached the same conclusion and was at the Captain's door, ready to volunteer before Atevia could even ask.  

She was afraid.  

For the sake of those she loved, she would not let that fear show. 

They offered what protection they could. She couldn't be weighed down with a bulky protective suit, not if she hoped to crawl down the narrow ventilation pipe that was the only access point with the main doors sealed.  

She told herself over and over that the thin material of the chemical suit was infused with Shinwa's own light. It kept her hand steady as she guided the welder over the crack glowing with bright blue ooze. Her head was pounding, her muscles beginning to ache but she would not abandon her mission until the last inch of that line was solid black.  

She didn't remember crawling back through the narrow pipe. Dr. Lysander caught her as she slithered free. Captain Atevia (in the best protective suit the ship supplied) hailed her as a hero and promised all of Subeta would know the tale of what she had done.  

Her closest friends knew the risks but didn't balk at keeping her company on the anxious voyage home. Charlene and Cherie continued to bunk with her. Marie talked about former missions to keep her spirits high. Always the cheerful one, Ashley insisted she was going to be a household name in the very near future. 

This was many years before a young scientist named Ian made a breakthrough discovery that would allow nuclear material to be diluted down to a safe enough level to give Subetans fancy black and green coats without sickening them. The effects of radiation were little understood...and devastating. 

She spent nearly a month in the hospital. No expense was spared on her treatment. She gradually rebuilt her life, enjoying a tour of Subeta where youths of all species waved to her from the side of the road and threw flowers. She would not be allowed to return to the sea but she would enjoy celebrity status for a good number of years until her formal retirement to her little Delphi cottage. 

Every other member of her crew survived. Some had to be on thyroid medication for the rest of their lives but not a single one of them showed signs of cancer at five years out. That was what filled Tiny with pride and got her out of bed on the days worry tried to creep in. She had done her ultimate duty. 

There truly was no fight she couldn't win. 

That was what she whispered to herself the day her treatment began.

The Treatment 

Nurse Rox took every precaution to make sure she was as comfortable as possible. She had more pillows than a Saheric sultan and a stack of all the latest magazines to browse. Dr Lynette took the time to explain exactly how the process would work and reassured Tiny it would be over quickly. She was so used to putting on a brave face, she didn't even have to think about it. She nodded an affirmative, when asked if she was ready. 

In the days to come, she would learn how loved and respected she truly was. 

It started with the arrival of her siblings. Her brother KOKOmo was a captain in his own right and her sister SEA HAG was practically a fish. They were a family of water lovers, a scrappy bunch not used to seeing each other except on major holidays. 

Mo told his salty jokes and got her to laugh through the tears. Haggie (a childhood nickname she never could shake) showed off the impressive collection of treasure bits she'd picked up on one of her many voyages. (These were snuck in beneath Haggie's jacket to avoid the wrath of paranoid nurses. Some of them still had bits of brine and seaweed clinging to their smoothed edges - hardly a welcome sight in a hospital!) 

The fan letters came next, collected by Mo as he sailed from one port to the next. They were from youngsters who had been there to remember the Maria B limping into port. Many had become doctors or scientists themselves, inspired by Tiny's great courage. Her eyes teared up as she worked her way through the stack. For once, she couldn't blame her reaction on the chemo. 

The best surprise of all came as she was starting to recover from her third round.  

The whole crew came to stand with her, to let her know they were still her family in every way that counted. Captain Atevia pinned a medal on behalf of none other than Sebastian Phoenix and insisted on a game of chess. (Tiny lost but not for lack of effort. It brought a smile to her face to see her old captain sweat.) Dr. Lysander could barely speak past the xotl in his throat. Cook rolled her eyes at the hospital food and insisted Tiny sample some of her new gourmet sweets (which were surprisingly good.) Sully had also retired and was now a member in a band calling themselves the Vete-Rockers. He strummed his guitar and gave the whole wing a free concert. 

She hadn't known such happiness in years. It was almost enough to make her forget the treatments and long recovery periods. 

It was almost enough to make her believe she really could win this war against death.

The Final Battle 

She lost the battle on a Saturday. 

Even Dr. Lynette couldn't stop a few tears when the flatline sounded. Mo had abandoned his usual efforts to look macho and Haggie was openly weeping. The crewmates of the Maria B stood in the hall with hats removed and hands over their hearts, each remembering that tiny but mighty warrior that had such a big impact on their lives. There would be a national day of remembrance for one of the most heroic Subetans to ever live. 

Tiny's spirit saw all this as if watching a parade from a great distance. She felt a pang of sorrow at all she was leaving behind but the call of something greater turned her away. 

Before her stretched an ocean vast and unending, begging to be explored. 

Here there was no war and always something new to explore.  

Her ship was a lonely place for now, sailing on its own power with her the lone occupant. She knew in days to come, these ethereal cabins would once again be filled with bawdy jokes and songs. She knew her brother's ship would someday sail as a companion, her sister's vessel skimming the waves on a parallel course.  

She would not resent the living their limited world, nor begrudge them the full extent of their mortal lives. 

There was a peaceful ocean beckoning her to go exploring, its crystal-clear waters stretching to infinity.  

It was paradise.

Legacy Name: tinybutMIGHTY
The ♀ Chibi Charlie
Owner: kokoMO
Born: May 9th, 2007

Background Art: LenaArcher
Overlay: Dove
Profile: Iridescent
Story: Pureflower

Battle Records

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