Sharon's reaction at first was to flip fins and swim away. It was very likely that Russian marines -- or whatever were they called -- wouldn't even have bothered reporting a mermaid entering the minefield. Nobody was going to believe them. And indeed, the four came to a sudden halt when they spotted her.
They were perfectly still, and remained so for a long handful of seconds. Sharon reasoned quickly. They didn't believe what they were seeing, and the best way to avoid an armed confrontation was to play the role. At first she made a backflip and disappeared behind a mine, taking a little time to make a decision.
Signs were exchanged by the members of the Russian patrol, and a soldier was sent ahead to check what the heck THAT was. Sharon could almost feel his nervousness when he approached the large spherical mine, and made her appearance from behind it. She didn't have time to unfold the trident and skipped that part, but with the ancient-looking nailbow strapped to a forearm and the old WW1 German helmet on her head she did make her figure. She made her best "ready-but-frightened" look, the second part of which wasn't hard at all to fake, and looked at the trooper quizzically. The poor fellow almost had a heart attack, but managed to recover.
To Sharon's surprise, the trooper locked his weapon (which looked more like an electric cattle prod) and raised a gloved hand in what looked very much like a greeting.
Sat Jul 10 16:55:26 1999