They try to mount a rescue.

“There must be something we could do! I can’t bear the thought of all those people lost..” Aria cried out. They could all feel the resolution in her thoughts.

“Luna… think, is there a way to maybe scare them off or something?” Richard asked.

“You can probe into my mind and seek out all my knowledge about the Sirens,” Luna replied.

They looked in their mind’s eye, which connected to hers. Suddenly Richard just knew facts about these creatures as if he had known these things all along! Only similar to Luna’s species visually, these sea creatures were much more feral. They did not have the higher brain functions that Luna possessed, more akin to wild animals, like a pack of sea wolves. They hunted in hordes and had a taste for human flesh, having hunted them throughout the millennia. Their bodies featured more fishlike features than mermaids, with fins and spikes growing from their elbows and necks and fishlike snapping jaws filled with sharp, flesh rendering teeth.

Richard shuddered at just how menacing these beasts were. He couldn’t think of anything that could stop the horde now that they were assaulting the ship.

“Sirens!” Aria shouted in their minds.

“Yes, they’re Sirens, different from Luna’s people,” Richard agreed.

“Oh…” Abe lamented, “Luna, had I known back then…” Luna touched Abe’s arm and gave him a warm smile. No thoughts needed to be shared about their past tragedy. Richard and Aria could feel the warmth of love shared between the old couple.

Aria turned their attention back to the problem at hand. “No, I mean their shrieks… “ she explained, “They’re called Sirens from greek mythology because they made a siren call to lure sailors to their doom! They communicate with these sirens.”

“It is true, their vocalizations can mean different things for them to communicate during hunts,” Luna agreed.

“Then all we need to do is to tell them to leave and they’ll disperse,” Aria concluded.

“That would only work if the call was made from their queen,” Luna noted.

“Then we need to find the queen and **** her to call a retreat,” Richard surmised.

“If we’re talking pack animals, they’ll be guarding the queen,” Abe pointed out. “Won’t be easy getting to her…”

“What if we gave them a bigger threat? Like a new leader?” Aria suggested, looking directly towards Luna.

“Me?” Luna asked, dumbfounded. “I told you, I am no match for the horde, they won’t listen to me.”

Aria rubbed her head as she thought, “From your knowledge, the loudest call is the one the Sirens follow… if we could amplify your voice…”

“Like with the PA system!” Richard added, catching on to Aria’s thoughts.

“That may work…” Luna agreed.

“Abe,” Richard said, turning to the old sailor.

“It’ll be on the bridge. I know the way,” Abe said.

Richard nodded and looked to everyone, they nodded back, resolute in the plan. They were going to rescue the Orient Eclipse.