Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

In the few hours where the Captain slept, Sheska kept a dutiful eye on the horizon, making sure they were still on course while occasionally consulting Izzy through the basic intercom system the ship had. In that time, the swelling of her left eye subsided somewhat so that she could open it at least halfway, and her own headache had eased, though only a little.

She was humming 'Welcome to High Tortuga' when she saw the captain come out, glancing over the railing. "Cap'n! You manage to sleep off most of that rum? Feel any better?", she called over as loudly as she was comfortable with.

She had no doubt that Beth was dealing with a hangover right now, and if she spoke too loud, she knew she was just going to make it worse.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

-Exeter St John-

Exeter rubbed his eyes wearily as Garrett answered the Admiral. He had been without sleep for too long. He would need a few hours rest to recuperate his strength. As Garrett stopped speaking, Exeter nodded. For once, he agreed with the man.

"It's been a long time but I have been in that area a few times. Sentinel Bay-" he glanced at Garrett, face serious, "-your trusted bodyguard's home, is a deathtrap for a ship flying the Empire's colours. I had an..." he hesitated, head waving from side-to-side in indecision. Eventually he cleared his thorat briskly and continued. "Well, let's just say an unfortunate experience on an Imperial Frigate a few years back. We barely made it out alive."

Exeter placed a finger on the map to indicate Sentinel Bay's location. "It's about there Admiral, although I'm sure Mr. Corvus can verify the city's exact coordinates. Considering the place is his home, I'd recommend that in this regard, his knowledge is much more valuable than mine." As much as it pained Exeter to admit it, the statement was entirely true. As long as the tame pirate could be trusted, that is.

"Another thing," A smile crept onto Exeter's face, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "The conditions up there are particularly bad. I would advise getting a set of warm clothes as soon as we can; the wind up there could slice you in half."

-Capricorn-

The Misbegotten felt a spark of familiarity with the beaked-creature in front of him. He stared blankly as it addressed him in a muffled voice.

"You are dirty; I will clean you. You are wounded; I will heal you," Although he didn't know the words, Capricorn recognised the tone of voice. A tone that his master rarely ever used, a tone of voice spared for the people who made the pain lessen.

Capricorn limped forward, his chains rattling and scraping as he moved. Stopping a few feet from Vasco, he slowly raised his arms above his head and made a loud guttural sound. Obedient as ever, the misbegotten pet waited for the beaked figue to do his work.

 

[hiei82]

Lanester looked between Garrett and Exeter and, to her great surprise, found them in agreement. If there was any sign of a good voyage, it was this. "V...Very well; I will differ to your experience on such matters Mr. Corvus." she said, unable to hide her sense of shock at the strange turn of events. "Mr. St. John; you will take 2nd command. Until then, you are dismissed and off duty. Go get some rest until then; you look as though you need it." she said, letting the first mate go.

Grabbing the map, she exited the chamber and approached the wheel. "Ms. Baker-Cromwell; We have our heading. Make for East-Northeast; we're going to try to catch the trade winds to see if we can cut the fat from our journey." she said, then moved back to the wall before her cabin; watching Annis to see how she handled the ship.

Remembering her earlier thoughts on the good sign, she reconsidered and knocked her hand on the wall twice, muttering the older-than-the-empire phrase "Knock on wood." She didn't hold much stock in superstitions or luck, but they never hurt.

She took a moment to watch Desolation fade out of view; realizing - even if they did return to the Empire intact and with their goal; she would likely never see the city of Desolation again. Good Riddance she thought to herself, thinking instead of Old Borealis - a fine final stop.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Garrett was somewhat stunned when it appeared Exeter had agreed with him. It was the first time that the two had actually gotten along on this voyage, at least in a speaking manner. Exeter then placed a finger on a spot of the map where Sentinel Bay's location was. "It's about there Admiral, although I'm sure Mr. Corvus can verify the city's exact coordinates. Considering the place is his home, I'd recommend that in this regard, his knowledge is much more valuable than mine."

"Yes of course Mr. St. John, Sentinel Bay's location is roughly in that area. Once we set sail, I shall cross-reference it with some more local and precise maps to help provide a more accurate point regarding its exact location though." Exeter soon departed from the navigation room, making his way towards his quarters for a well earned rest. Garrett meanwhile, whilst feeling a little tired, still had some energy about him.

Adrianna then gave Annis their heading, then proceeded to give old saying of 'Knock on wood' a try, given that the agreement between Garrett and Exeter was a good sign. Garrett soon approached her, as the sight of Desolation faded from view. Knowing that Exeter wasn't around, he asked a question.

"Are you surprised as I am, that Exeter actually agreed with me?"

 

[3quency]

"Ms. Baker-Cromwell; We have our heading. Make for East-Northeast; we're going to try to catch the trade winds to see if we can cut the fat from our journey."

"Rear-Admiral" Annis responded, still concentrating on steering the ship.
She hadn't piloted a frigate in a long time and it was taking all of her effort to clear the rust out of her technique. She made minute adjustments to the course to better suit the directions Adrianna had given and prepared a number of switches for different tasks; thrust, altitude, fuel mixture... it was an old dance and she was glad she remembered the tune as well as she did.

As the Rear-Admiral left the cabin, she heard a distinct rapping on the wall. Annis frowned. Superstition? From Lanester?

...Did she doubt Annis?

An icy feeling flooded her stomach and the quill began to sting something fierce.
Why would the Rear-Admiral doubt her? Had she done something wrong? No, she couldn't have done. Her disciplinary record was exemplary and she had kept in peak physical and mental condition since her assignment aboard this vessel.

Maybe she was reading too much into the situation. Lanester had been under a lot of stress lately, hadn't she? Maybe, maybe not. It wasn't Annis' place to care about her superiors' personal lives.

These thoughts would cloud her judgement. She had to clear her mind.

The weight of the scrap of paper in her breast pocket was suddenly very real.

Not long after she had returned to active duty, Annis had been in a stand-up-knock-down brawl with some pirates aboard their ship. After the fighters in the crew were all dead she had headed down below to clear out the rest and encountered a man that had fancied himself a historian. He'd clutched the books so tightly when Annis had strangled him that she couldn't help but look at one.

Burnt along with the rest now of course, but one page in particular had stayed with her. She could ever remember the words by heart now.

"When I consider how my light is spent
  E're half my days, in this dark world and wide,
  And that one Talent which is death to hide,
  Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent..."

Annis recited the rest of the sonnet quietly to herself as the ship plunged ponderously into the air.

 

[Terratina.]

As the Invincibile shook, a signal that they had left Desolation, Vasco studied the creature before him in the lamplight. The Misbegotten grunted and complied with the order and with that Vasco started his work. He went through the various steps of wound treatment, though he had already assessed the patient once or twice already, he did so again, in his delicate, but efficient manner. Trails of blood betrayed where the flesh wounds lay in the mess of dull scars, which itself betrayed a history of beatings and neglect. After that, he moved to characterise the numerous wounds that marred the surface of Capricorn skin, looking at the size and depth of the wounds and other such things. They were mostly lacerations and abrasions, with some contusions. Vasco sighed, if this went on, Capricorn might develop a crush injury with all the stress his body had taken.

Nevertheless, he moved on and began to clean the wounds, applying a fair amount of pressure as he did so. Always assume lacerations are contaminated, 30% always are. However, with the sheer amount of wounds it was like giving the Misbegotten a sponge bath than wound treatment. He grabbed a needle and some surgical thread from the tray, and made sure that the particularly long and nasty wound on his thigh got some stitches. That one would definitely leave a scar, especially if Exeter was true to form and reopened old wounds. Feron-12 simply stared at Vasco while he did his work, watching the crow-headed figure weave about, covering red cuts with slightly stained white bandages, but not before leaving stained squares of brown in the center of the red craters. Hopefully it or Exeter wouldn't tear the bandages apart, enough resources had been wasted already.

It was done, Vasco checked over and over numerous times and found himself happy with his work. He retrieved the lantern from Feron-12 and the tray from the stand, then ascended the stairs and ladders back up to the sick bay, glad to get out of that dirty place. Though not with the huffing and the puffing involved. Pity he couldn't ascend those things as fast as he would have liked, but then again, everybody had limitations and he had his.

 

[hiei82]

"Are you surprised as I am, that Exeter actually agreed with me?"

Adrianna had been staring off at the city and caught unaware. As such, she was startled at the address.When she had recovered, Adrianna took a moment to glance around, confirming no one was within hearing range and responded. "That obvious am I? Seeing Mr. St. John differ to another on a matter related to pirates; I didn't believe I would live to see the day." she said with a small wiry grin. She took a moment to stare once more out at the horizon, toward the shimmer the was Desolation. She pondered their orders for a moment and all her annoyances and stress came back.

"Do you think we'll make it Garrett?" she asked, softly enough that the wind would take the question from all but its intended recipient. She honestly had no idea. the voyage itself would be difficult int he extreme, but when their return hinged on a piece of technology that probably did not exist... it was frustrating and disheartening all at the same time.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

"Cap'n! You manage to sleep off most of that rum? Feel any better?"

She nodded and turned to Sheska at the helm, while still leaning against the railing. The wind tore at her hair, and pulled it out, which made it hard to see when it got in her face. It was something she didn't enjoy, but had gotten used too. Her hair grew out as long within a couple of weeks, if she cut it. Fortunately it stopped growing at that point.


"Aye, just a headache. Maybe the doc can help me with that though."

Beth wondered if Sheska might have been at the wheel, since she went to bed and that was hours ago. She felt selfish for losing control yesterday and would have to make up for it today.

"How are you feeling? I trust the night went by without any major issues." She brushed her hair away from her mouth. Damn that wind. "Actually, I need to talk to everyone. Well, everyone of importance."

It was uneccessary to show the whole crew the map, better some of them didn't know.

"If you're not in any immediate need of sleep, I'd like to have you by my si.. There."

She smiled, hopefully the others weren't that tired either. They would need to know where she had told herself to go. It would be worse if she didn't tell them and they found out when they were halfway to the arctic.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"Aye, just a headache. Maybe the doc can help me with that though.".

"I would hope so, Cap'n. Its good to know you're sober now, you gave us all a fright with the cast off, and then threatening to kill poor Izzy. We all worry about you, but you know we have to worry about the ship, too. It goes down, we'll likely all die with it. That's scary shit.", Sheska told her, then she shrugged when the Captain asked how she was feeling.

"My eye isn't as swollen anymore, and I don't have as much of a headache myself. Other than a little tired, I'm right as rain. Night and morning went by without a fuss.", she reassured her.

"Actually, I need to talk to everyone. Well, everyone of importance. If you're not in any immediate need of sleep, I'd like to have you by my si.. There.".

Hearing that, Sheska smiled widely and nodded. "Of course, Cap'n Beth. It's good to see you're back to mostly normal again.", she said happily.

She started to pull away, then hesitated and grimaced. "Ah, we may want to have that meeting here, Cap'n. Seeing as I have to steer the ship and keep it on course and all.", she said, laughing awkwardly.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel had run an experiment to make a natural solution for his stomach ills made from water and a selection of herbs he had purchased in port. For the moment it seemed to be working somewhat as he had eaten a bit of a traditional skyfolk stew and been forced to vomit over the side of the ship only twice. He figured if he increased the potency with less water and perhaps a finer grinding of the active ingredients he could have an effective way of limiting his stomach troubles.

'Hopefully it will work, I can't keep using the medicine for my own needs. Besides what kind of doctor would I be if I didn't find alternatives?' He thought as he set about grinding more of the ingredients, still queasy but to a lesser extent than he would have been otherwise. Though he was sure he would look green to anyone else.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Adrianna was still looking back at the increasingly disappearing view of Desolation, and so was startled when Garrett made the address. Giving herself a brief moment to recover, and once she was sure that no one else is around or within hearing range, she responded.

"That obvious am I? Seeing Mr. St. John differ to another on a matter related to pirates; I didn't believe I would live to see the day." She said with a wiry grin.

"Yeah, you did have that slightly stunned expression on your face when he agreed. Perhaps he realised that someone with my specialist knowledge of the local area, was a good thing to have." Garrett remarked in a slightly proud manner, feeling good that he managed to get on Exeter's good side, if the man had one that is.

"Do you think we'll make it Garrett?" Adrianna asked softly, quiet enough that the wind would hide to all except its recipient.

"I have a good feeling we will. With you leading us, with Annis making sure we sail straight, with Vasco making sure our injuries are tended to; even with Exeter making sure things are in order, and with me by your side, I'm sure we will make it." He said with a reassuring tone, and a smile to match. Garrett switched to a softer tone.

"Now then, what are we going to do after this mission is over?"

 

[Driekan]

She heard someone coming up the crow's nest when they were still a fair distance below her. That was one of the advantages of the place - easy to spot everyone else, not so easy to be spotted. She'd leaned against the far end of the barrel as Isaac came up, calmly waiting.

He seemed deep in his own thoughts as he set about climbing up, not spotting her until he was already in the nest. That brought a faint grin to her lips, but it faded when she noticed the way his expression changed abruptly upon spotting her.

"I'll... I'll just be off. Sorry to bother you. Didn't heh, didn't think there'd be anyone up here."

"Oy, don't be silly now, Isaac." She chuckled, shaking her head slowly as the smile returned in full force. "Just breathing some of the night air, I don't need to keep the 'nest. Suppose you do, to check on the weather and such?"

She leaned back on the railing, casting her gaze ahead. Nights were dark enough that the ground far below was only a faintly visible outline, the dark shapes of mountains making a ragged edge of the vague skyline. She breathed deep, letting the night wind get into her hair and fill her lungs, then turned back to navigator.

"Ye'll have to teach me some of that some day. The winds and directions and gadgets ye all use? Could come in handy." She nodded earnestly, a brief pause. "Suppose ye need to focus on your work just now, though?" She made for the railing, clearly about to climb down.

Taking the first watch seemed like it would be a good idea. It would mean going to sleep earlier, and getting up in time to enjoy the day.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

"I think you're one of the few that worries about me. Most of the crew doesn't care about me, to them I'm just another captain on another ship." She stepped over to Sheska and patted her on the back, before reaching for the intercom. Time to wake the lazy ones up.

"Ah, we may want to have that meeting here, Cap'n. Seeing as I have to steer the ship and keep it on course and all."

Sheska's awkward laugh cheered her up.

"Aye, might be best to do it that way. I'll just need to get the map and some food first."

She activated the intercom with the press of a button and made it broadcast across the entire ship.

"Attention crew of the mermaid, this is your captain speaking. All the officers and anyone that isn't busy with their work or asleep, should come to the helm within half an hour. I have plans to discuss with the officers."

Beth figured that inviting the crew wouldn't result in much anyway, since they didn't need to show up if they didn't want to. The ambitious ones who wanted a promotion might show up and if they were going to do it at the helm, then the rest would be able to overhear them anyway.

"Well, I'll be back soon." She left the helm and headed for her cabin, to get the map and find something to eat on the way.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"You're my friend, not just my Captain, Beth. Of course I worry about you. Besides, while I hope to eventually Captain The Mermaid myself, I'm not ready for that just yet.", she added slyly, chuckling to herself.

"Well, I'll be back soon.".

"Oh! If you can, could you get me a bottle of my rum? Its stashed just behind my accordion, next to your cabin door. I could use a drink. Been a few hours since my last.", she called over, the tension she had easing.

While things were from from back to normal, it felt like they were getting that way. Hopefully this meeting would answer some of the questions she had. Like who that other Beth really was, where she came from. Why they needed to be warned. Of course, that didn't answer the most important question to the First Mates mind: Who killed her Captain, so she could kill the son of a whore first.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel got a glass of water and a couple of painkillers before going to the helm. The captain had been quite visibly drunk before and it was rather obvious she would need to rehydrate and probably need something for the pain. It was a common cure but it worked and didn't have any side effects so the captain could still be on top of things. He calmly stepped onto the planks of the helm.

"Captain good to see you are awake. I brought you some water and painkillers for the hangover I'm sure you are having if yesterday were any indication." He said as he walked over to where Beth was and held out the two painkillers and the glass of water. He looked to Sheska as he held out the items to Beth.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. How are you?"

 

[Redryhno]

"Attention crew of the mermaid, this is your captain speaking. All the officers and anyone that isn't busy with their work or asleep, should come to the helm within half an hour. I have plans to discuss with the officers."

Still on deck, Eddie heard the announcement and made his way from the front of the ship where he'd been watching them make their way for the night, relishing the air blowing on his face. It was always a welcome feeling to him, and he expected it to be for years to come. He sighed and entered the helm, Sheska and the Captain talking before he arrived.

"So's Cap, this have anything to do with the dead you in the bottom of the ship? More importantly, where we goin'?"

 

[3quency]

-Last Night-
"Ye'll have to teach me some of that some day. The winds and directions and gadgets ye all use? Could come in handy." She nodded earnestly, a brief pause. "Suppose ye need to focus on your work just now, though?"

Isaac watched as she started to leave. He was about to offer a mute "okay", when he had a sudden vision of Sheska backhanding him again.

"Erm, actually." he said, trying to make it sound casual.
"I'm not doing anything too hard tonight, just getting a read for planning tomorrow. You could probably stay and watch. If you wanted. You don't have to."

 

[Arcanist]

"Attention crew of the mermaid, this is your captain speaking. All the officers and anyone that isn't busy with their work or asleep, should come to the helm within half an hour. I have plans to discuss with the officers."

Jason was still stone asleep. He'd been tending to the engines long into the night, and he had wordlessly set up his hammock when he realized he was so tired he couldn't walk straight. His favored underlings, Fry and Jake, stood over him.

"Uh.. Fry? Should we...?" Jake looked to his friend, his body language betraying his nervousness. Jason' harsh demeanor had always intimidated him, being timid in nature. "Yea. He'd be pissed if we got him in trouble with the Captain." He twisted his face into a wolfish grin, holding a bucket of water to his sides. "And we both know how heavily he sleeps. May as well have some fun with this..." He raised the bucket over Jason's head and tipped it over, spilling its contents on his face. He awoke with a violent start, giving a confused sputter. His confusion quickly gave to alarm.

"Bwuh... wuh... What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the engine? DID SOMETHING EXPLODE?" He tipped out of his hammock, still dazed. Fry had to stifle a chuckle as he responded. "Nothing so dramatic, sir. The captain wants to see you."

"Guh... wha? Beth? Ugh, fine..." Stumbling to his feet, Jason brushed himself off. "What time is it?"

"Three thirty, sir." Irritated, Jason had to bite down on his cheek to keep himself from yawning. 'That late already?' No rest for the wicked, he supposed. "Keep your watch on the engine. I'll be back shortly. And Fry!"

"Yes sir?"

"I expect you to have the vents scrubbed down by the time I return. Next time, try using your words like a big boy." With Fry's indignant response, his work here was done. He worked his way up to the helm, where Beth and Sheska stood talking. "So, what's all this about?"

 

[Driekan]

-Last Night-

"I'm not doing anything too hard tonight, just getting a read for planning tomorrow. You could probably stay and watch. If you wanted. You don't have to."

Jessie had already climbed up on the railing to start on her way down when Isaac called out. She got back down, turning towards him with that same, wide smile on her lips. She seemed honestly glad about the answer.

"Ye sure? Well, glad to hear. Seems we get something of a break after all, eh?"

She chuckled, stepping up closer so she could watch him at work. "So where do we start?"

-Present time-

She'd woken up before noon, and since then had just wandered the ship, watching the sights, the people at work and the world far below. She still had a few hours of free time left when the call came.

"Attention crew of the mermaid, this is your captain speaking. All the officers and anyone that isn't busy with their work or asleep, should come to the helm within half an hour. I have plans to discuss with the officers."

Jessie stood quietly a moment, pondering her options. Eventually, with a casual shrug, she set off towards the helm, taking it at a leisurely stroll. She tipped her hat Sheska's way as soon as she arrived, repeating the gesture to everyone else as they came.

"Evenin', boss. Imagine this is about the course we've set off on last night?"

She eyed Sheska over a brief moment. The first mate's injury from the previous night was still quite visible, unlike Jessie's, which by now seemed to be just a slight purpling at the cheek. There was a note of concern in the gaze as it lingered on Sheska's swollen eye, but she didn't voice it in any way.

 

[3quency]

-Last Night-
"Ye sure? Well, glad to hear. Seems we get something of a break after all, eh?"
She chuckled, stepping up closer so she could watch him at work. Isaac's heart started beating a little faster, something he'd just gotten used to when Jessie was around.
"So where do we start?"
Work, right.

"Erm..." where was a good place to start? The basics he supposed. Not quite what he was up here for but it wouldn't take long.

"Well the first thing you always do if you Crow-charting is making sure your map fits. That's why I come up here, gives you the best view of the ground below so you can make sure everything's up-to-date. I mean, I can do it from memory now but when you're starting out it's a pretty good idea to come up here at least once a day to make sure everything's where it should be. You'll never need to check that often but it's a good memory lesson. You can read a Skymap, right?"
He looked at Jessie questioningly.


-Now-

When they took the shaking man into the room, he'd already soiled himself. Agent 4 didn't mind the stench, he'd seen prisoners do far worse before interrogation. When he'd whipped the bag away he'd seen the reeling, terrified eyes of a Misbegotten. How such a creature had become the First Mate aboard a vessel was only a testament to how vile the Pirates were. Agent 4 hadn't thought to question his superiors demand for answers from the thing. Nor had he protested when ordered to cut it's tongue out, slice by tiny slice...

The Nightmare was still heavy in Isaac's mind as he did his rounds. He'd awoken obscenely early that morning and was still suffering for it, but the steaming mug of coffee he clutched in one hand was doing the job. He just needed to make another couple of course corrections, because he was feeling fussy. Keeping the mind occupied was good for him, kept thoughts of the nightmare from returning.

But of course, this was not going to last.

"Attention crew of the mermaid, this is your captain speaking. All the officers and anyone that isn't busy with their work or asleep, should come to the helm within half an hour. I have plans to discuss with the officers."

Isaac sighed, drained the cup and made his way to the helm. As he entered he nodded to the other occupants before coming to a stop and leaning against the wall. Beth looked a lot better. He wasn't entirely sure if he should apologise or not for last night so he went with his old Imperial instincts of carrying on as if nothing had happened.

"Captain."