Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[Evrant-Knight]

"Whatever we do, it will be an adventure. There's no place I want to be but with you." Adrianna remarked, a rather jovial smile on her face. Soon after, she moved to her desk, hoping to get some work done; but also to hide the rather bright red face she had. This caused Garrett to chuckle under his breath.

"Well, glad we share the same desires." Garrett remarked as he slowly walked towards Adrianna's desk.

"However, there is at least one thing I wish to do before I leave." He added, gently holding Adrianna's head in one hand, before giving the admiral a kiss on the lips. This lasted several seconds before he let go, and made his way towards the door. As Garrett left, he gave Adrianna a roguish smile.

"Should you need me for something, I shall be in my quarters." Garrett then left the room, allowing the admiral to get on with her work.

Back in his room, which whilst not as big as some of the others, was still large enough for his needs. He sat himself at a desk, and unholstered Cerberus, laying it flat on the table; then proceeded to remove a small assortment of tools from one of the draws, and began making some modifications to the rifle, having this feeling it would be put to use soon.

 

[Arcanist]

"Imperial ship to the north!"

Jason didn't need to think twice - as soon as the call went out, he was bolting down to the lower decks. Any member of his team he saw along the way he ordered to follow, and soon they where all grouped up in the engine room eagerly awaiting their orders.

"Jake, stay here and keep the engine running. Be careful - if something goes wrong, you'll likely be on your own until this dies down." He turned the rest of the crew, his expression grim. "Keep your weapons on you at all times. We're likely amongst the first targets if we're boarded. Fry, gather your tools and follow me. You're on damage control."

"Aye aye, sir." He did as he was told, scooping up a pile of tools into a bag and slinging it over his shoulder. Jason did the same, also making sure to sweep in a handful of bullets for good measure. With Fry in tow, he headed back to the helm.

 

[hiei82]

After Garrett left, Adrianna returned to the pressing matters her Admiralty duties required. Looking over supply lists, memorizing command structure changes, new tactical plans and Imperial Intelligence memo's: all of it took time. So, for several hours she sat at her desk doing just those that were most pressing. She presumed she would be working on the information through the evenings end. However; around 4:30, as the sun was beginning it's descent below the horizon, the signal rang from the nest.

"Foreign Lines! Due South!"

It was a signal few captains liked to hear as, invariably, it meant pirates or worse. Adrianna was no exception. Though it was her duty to sink pirate and foreign ships within Imperial air-space, there were more important tasks to deal with. None-the-less, they would need to watch it if nothing else; and prepare for battle as well.

Standing quickly, she grabbed her greatcoat from the back of her chair and threw it on to give her some protection from the elements. Walking out of her cabin, she could see that many of the crew were already rushing to their stations; manning cannons, preparing to repel boarders, pulling the rigging into battle position.

Turning to the nearest officer; her third-mate, Mr. Riley, she began her orders. "Mr. Riley, sound the general alarm; I want the crew battle ready in five." She called out to several others, giving similar orders - to batten down loose rigging and gear, take gun positions, etc.

Pulling her arm up, she used the spyglass atop it to stare in the direction indicated by the original command. It took her a moment, but she eventually spotted the ship for herself. It was still too far out to make any detail of it, but then that was no surprise; they hadn't seen it until moments ago. Judging from the flags, the ship was most definitely not Imperial; and the lack of Imperial lines only underlined the fact.

The ship was traveling east; much as they were; a fact that gave them a slight edge. It would mean their port-side guns were aligned, and few ships could boast more firepower then an Imperial Frigate. Still, she wanted every edge; she did not become a Rear-Admiral by allowing pirates any advantage. Turning to the crew member at the wheel, she gave out her orders. "Cut speed by three, four to port, and increase elevation by thirty. Should they attempt the same, compensate.

Spoiler: OOC

Her plan should be obvious to any crew member on both sides (when the pirates are close enough to make the ship out) - put the setting sun behind them so the glare is in the pirates eyes, and elevate the ship to give the cannons extra range and reduce the pirates ability to board.

Tactics; I use them.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Foreign Lines! Due South!"

Despite these words coming from one of the highest points on the Invincible, they were loud enough that it reverberated throughout the vessel, causing Garrett to awaken from an impromptu slumber, the hood of his coat fallen over his head. After checking the clock, he saw that several hours had passed, his gun was almost fully reassembled, and that a bottle of rum lay at his desk, with a small glass nearby.

"Well, best go see what the situation is up top." Garrett said to himself as he finished with the modifications and repairs, along with the reattachment of Cerberus's scope; before holstering the rifle and acquiring a sufficient supply of ammunition. After readjusting his attire and making sure that his sword was with him, he hastily left the room, and made his way up on deck. He didn't bother with lowering his hood.

Garrett could see that everyone was getting battle ready, with various crew members dashing about making sure that everything was secure and everyone was armed. He skillfully moved his way around those on board, till he could see Adrianna giving out orders and looking through the spyglass that was built into her automata arm.

"What is the situation m'lady?"

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

"You know I was just teasing Izzy, Cap'n. I'm honestly hoping he and Jess have something together."

It was hard for her to imagine Jessie and Isaac together, but maybe not impossible. She smiled, seemingly unconcerned by the imperial ship, who was still quite far away.

"What makes you think I wasn't teasing you?" It wouldn't be the first time.

"Imp swine? Running into them already? Oh good, I can't wait to gut some of them like pigs for what they did to the other Beth. Permission to board and slaughter them, Captain?"

The look in the woman's eyes would put fear into most, but she didn't feel like she had anything to fear from her first mate. Beth shook her head, put her lips against Sheska's bottle for the third time and drank some more.

"As flattering as your concern for my dead body is, I am still very much alive. There's no need to board them yet. Besides," She pointed at the imperial ship, which was rising slowly. "I think they'll try their best to prevent us boarding. Which, granted, is fucking cowardly, considering that they most likely outnumber us."

She handed the bottle back to Sheska.

"We'll use our superior speed and maneuverability, to cut in front of them and avoid taking fire from their port side. That should still allow us to fire at them, if we align some of the cannons and the lightning gun towards the rear."

Beth stepped back up onto the helm again, and gestured for Farthing to leave the wheel to her.

"Sheska, if you want something to do, get on the lightning gun and punch some holes in whatever armor the may have." She reached for the intercom, to broadcast a message across the ship.

"Attention, all crewmembers should prepare for battle. Eddie, make sure you've got some cannons pointed to fire behind us. Full speed ahead!"

She steered the ship in the direction of the imperial frigate, but tried to stay outside of their range, until she could get the ship in front of them.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"As flattering as your concern for my dead body is, I am still very much alive. There's no need to board them yet. Besides, I think they'll try their best to prevent us boarding. Which, granted, is fucking cowardly, considering that they most likely outnumber us."

Sheska pouted a little, the fire in her eyes dying down a little to embers as she watched her Captain. "Better stay alive, Cap'n. Seeing you die once was more than enough for me. So remember, between the two of us, I die first, preferably so that you can get away and kick their asses another day.", she pointed out as she followed dutifully behind Beth.

It was then that she had a moment of self-reflection: She hadn't really changed much from her time in the Chuno Ggun in terms of what she was. She was a killer, and really, a rabid dog to be unleashed whenever the time was right. Its just that now, she was a loyal dog, and this time chose her leader. With a small smirk, she nodded as Captain Beth handed her back her rum and gave her her orders.

"Sheska, if you want something to do, get on the lightning gun and punch some holes in whatever armor the may have.".

"With pleasure, Cap'n.", she said, nodding before heading down below.

She shouted various orders for men to be ready for battle as she weaved between the bustling crew, just before getting to the lightning guns controls and speaking into the intercom. "Ready Cap'n! Lets fry some Imps. I prefer them 'well done'.", she added in a purr as she charged up the ships weapon.

 

[Redryhno]

"Eddie, make sure you've got some cannons pointed to fire behind us. Full speed ahead!"

"What d'ya take me for?," He yelled out from the cannons,"Some first month bilge rat that don't know port from starboard?"

The rest of the hold was crammed with the rest of the cannon teams, the more experienced partnered with the lessers, with Eddie in the center of it all, just waiting for the right moment to fire. They may be outgunned, but how many of these Imps knew how to bust open their can as easily as himself?

 

[hiei82]

"What is the situation m'lady?" Garrett said as he arrived on deck. Adrianna had hardly a moment to respond, as she kept watch over the ship. "Enemy vessel inbound. It looks pirate, but I don't recognize the flag; they must not be well know and not very successful"** she said, not looking at her companion. Instead, she called out to the nearest runner. "Some one find me Mr. St. John; I want to know everything about that ship and her captain." the runner took off toward the nearest possible location he might be found.

"Be ready for a fight though." she added with a slight grin, seeing the enemy ship begin its jump to attack speeds. From the looks of the movement, they were trying to take advantage of their ships mobility; no doubt to get out of line of fire from their port side guns. Glancing though the spy glass, it appeared they were changing the alignment of their guns; which made sense; better to minimize our ability to target them, while firing in their own right. The solution however, had a flaw. They would need to pull out in front at great speeds to escape their guns.

It was a perfect chance for the Invincible to prove its name.

"Mr. Riley-" she called out to her third mate, now manning the wheel until either the first or second mate arrived. "-when the enemy makes to pull out in front, hard to Starboard." she finished, smiling. Mr. Riley was an old sailor with her, and he knew her moves well. She hadn't even finished the statement, and Riley was already calling down to the Starboard gunners to ready their shots.

Lanester had learned long ago the disadvantages of Imperial Frigates. They might out gun every pirate the Empire had ever met by half, but they were slow by comparison. The only solution was to turn their speed against them; the brigands would fly into a storm of Imperial brimstone and iron; every pirates worst nightmare.

Save perhaps; the rum being gone.

Spoiler: ** OOC

That's for the cowardly remark

 

[Arcanist]

Jason arrived on the deck just in time to see the Imperial vessel come into clear view. It was several hundred yards away, and massive - much larger than the Mermaid. 'Something that large must be a frigate. I'm not sure we should be picking a fight with something that large and heavily armored.' Seeing a crewman run with a spyglass at his hip, he called out to him. "Oi, you, lend me your spyglass. That's an order!" The man tossed it over, and Jason pointed it at the Imperial ship and peered through it.

'Definitely a frigate, alright. That armor looks thick - I'm not sure we have shot that could pierce it.' He swept the ship's length, making note of the guns he saw - at least a dozen in view, likely more being brought to bear. 'I'm not sure this is a fight we can win... I hope Beth knows what she's doing.'

"Fry, judging by its list, we're about to take a salvo. I'm not sure it'll hit at this range, but get ready to duck."

 

[blaze96]

Samuel had gathered his things and was now staying on the deck just below top. He also made sure to stay at center ship so that way he was equidistant from anywhere he might need to be and just below deck.

"I hope none of this cuts into my experiments." Samuel muttered to himself as he took an out of the way position.

 

[3quency]

-Isaac-
Isaac was out on deck, watching in horror as the Imperial vessel came into view. They shouldn't have been here. There were no Imperial patrols out this way, it was precisely why Isaac had picked the route. What the hell was going on?

Easy, no reason to lose his head. There were here, so something needed to be done.
Isaac wasn't a fighter. Oh, he'd fought and he'd killed but not in an all-out scrap like the kind they always seemed to run into aboard this ship. He wouldn't be much good defending. If he had a crossbow or a sniper or something scoped then maybe he'd be able to contribute, but he didn't like those odds. Well, he knew what to do. The captain would have orders and he'd follow them.

He marched as quick as he could over to Beth, stopping stock still in front of her.

"Captain, orders?"



-Annis-

Annis was out on deck, watching in glee as the pirate vessel approached. She'd ordered one of the crew to take the wheel about an hour ago and had been marching back and forth impatiently since. But this, this was something she could deal with.

She almost felt like her old self, eagerly awaiting the din of ship-to-ship combat. But of course, she was not that person anymore. Things had to be dealt with efficiently. Effectively. They needed to cut the pirates down before they could become a real threat.

She barged her way through the hurrying crew, leaving a wide trail in her wake as the ordinary sailors all but dived out of her way.

"Rear-Admiral." she hissed, a violent edge to her voice that she couldn't quite control.
"I can have a boarding party ready within moments, are we to require one?"

Of course, she probably needed to check with Vasco if she was able to engage in combat, that was sort of the rule he'd imposed on her after a very narrow escape from the jaws of death not long after their assignment to the vessel. But she didn't feel like looking for him. Of course she was combat ready! She felt it in her bones. The sword at her hip felt light, and thirsty. She wanted to draw it already and lay into the pirates.

But not without Adrianna's consent. Perhaps if they played this right, they wouldn't even need to board the ship.

Which would be a shame, but one cannot have everything.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

-Exeter St John-

Exeter's cabin was cramped and cluttered, only big enough for one person to stand in between the door and his bunk. He wasn't too far from the engines and the noise was incessantly loud. He'd been offered much bigger, better situated, quarters but this was the way Exeter liked it, this was comforting - another aspect brought over from his former life. The First Mate was lying on his bed, thinking on the meeting a few hours previous.

"That Garrett Corvus has the better knowledge of the northern territories," he mumbled to himself, "but I'll have to keep a close eye on him. The bastard can't be trusted to steer us away from Sentinel Bay safely. A few minor miscalculations here, a bit of 'forgotten' intelligence there and we'll take a few hits, probably lose a few men." Exeter locked his fingers together and placed them on his head, his teeth clenching slightly. "And Lanester will allow it, too. She'll claim that we're all human and let him off with a warning. 'These things happen', she'll say." He sat up slowly and grabbed the small tumbler of brandy resting on the floor. "*****." He spat, knocking the drink down in one go. "I'll ensure they both do their jobs and don't put us into any danger..."

As he reached for the bottle of brandy, a loud rap sounded on his door. "Come," he yelled, puring himself another glass.

The door opened to show a relatively young, nervous-looking sailor. Exeter noted his impeccable salute. "Admiral Lanester requires you straight away sir!"

Exeter cradled his glass and smiled softly. "But the good Admiral Lanester gave me leave to rest." He casually took a sip of his drink, cursing the woman inside.

"But we seem to have run into...um...pirates sir." The young sailor was frightened. Of the pirates or simply Exeter, he couldn't say.

At the mention of pirates, Exeter's face clouded and he aimed a kick at the young sailor. Luckily it missed, crashing into the door instead. "Why didn't you begin with that boy!?" Exeter roared above the engine noise. "Go back to your post dammit, I'll be there directly!" The sailor left Exeter alone. After downing his brandy, the First Mate gathered up his equipment and made his way up to the Admiral, humming under his breath. "But the skies be ours...And by the powers...Where we will...we'll roam."

On his way, he noted the efficiency of the crew. The ship was a hive of activity, everyone was doing something to prepare for the confrontation that was surely inevitable. Exeter had to admit: Despite her liberal views on officer discipline, Lanester ran a pretty tight airship. She was a good Admiral, without a doubt. It would be a shame if her allegiance to the Empire were to be compromised by ill-judgement on her part. A small shame, but a shame nontheless.

Exeter came arrived on the deck with the wind whipping his jacket behind him. He squinted across the horizon and could just about make out the pirate ship in the distance. Weaving expertly through the throng of people scuttling across the deck, Exeter made his way towards The Admiral, her tame pirate and Annis.

"Admiral." He said gravely as he gave a low bow, making his jacket whip back even more violently. "What are the orders?" As he said this, Exeter pulled a looking-glass from a jacket pocket. It was old and little rusted, but still worked well. He put it up to his eye in order to inspect the foreign ship better.

 

[hiei82]

Lanester didn't need to give Annis's suggestion a second thought; yelling "Make it so! You will board astern!" over the roar of the ship's crew. Their little maneuver would likely put them in a position where boarding was the best option; not a good option, but the best. Though they had the numbers advantage, pirate vessels had the speed edge; should the escape the encounter, the crew would be effectively stranded aboard an enemy ship; never a good place to be. None-the-less, it would likely need to be done.



It was about this time, that Exeter arrived on deck. Lanester wasted no time bringing him up to speed. "There's a ship off to port-" she called out, tossing him a spyglass. "-it looks pirate; I want to know everything you know about that vessel and her captain!" she continued, trying to get whatever information she could from her first-mate. "After which, I want you leading the aft boarding group." she finished with the first-mate, then continued between he and Annis. "Coordinate your strikes; I leave the exact plans to your discretion." she said, turning back to the task at hand. Though she would have preferred to take command of one of the boarding parties herself, or at least given the tactical goals for the boarding parties, Adrianna knew such steps were unnecessary; both Exeter and Annis could more then hold their own in any situation.



"Mr. Corvus-" she said, turning to her bodyguard and secret lover, "-please see to it that anyone not in Imperial attire who steps aboard this ship, does not live long enough to reap the benefits therein." Rightly, she should have chosen another officer to lead such an action, but between Mr. Riley's presence at the wheel, Mr. Roque's medical duties, and their lack of engineer and quartermaster, she had little choice in the matter. Not that it really mattered; even if they did, Garrett would outstrip them in ability and, though they would never know the reason, loyalty.

 

[Terratina.]

The ship shook, the shaking caused by many feet rushing to grab munitions. It caused the pen to slip, leaving a jagged line on the page. Vasco scowled. He was just about to finish up with the paperwork and had been interrupted at a time like this. He sighed, you could never catch a break here, he had assumed that with their mission - retrieving a relic from the cold mists of the Arctic - that there would be more time for more things other that sink pirate ships. At least the commanding officer here was not as aggressive as his previous one, but no doubt the sick bay would be oversaturated with patients and blood after this encounter. From his window, Vasco could discern that boarding the tiny vessel would be the order of the day - no doubt to Lanester playing it smart and using the Invincible's superior numbers to win. Well, Vasco would play it smart and hurried down to the sick bay - his home away from home - and prepared the room for the guests to come; laying out tools, ethanol and other disinfectants, gauze, bandages, measuring out syringes of morphine... If it was one thing Vasco believed in, it was being prepared. After all, he was confidently assured that at least one person would need his services. Annis was always the eager one...

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Exeter soon arrived on deck, offering a quick bow then standing to the other side of Adrianna. "There's a ship off to port-" Adrianna called out, tossing the man a spyglass in which to view the ship. "-it looks pirate; I want to know everything you know about that vessel and her captain!" She continued with, wanting as much information as she could from the admiral. "After which, I want you leading the aft boarding group." After which, Adrianna spoke to both Exeter and Annis. "Coordinate your strikes; I leave the exact plans to your discretion." Her thoughts soon turned to Garrett.

"Mr. Corvus-" She said, turning to face him. "-please see to it that anyone not in Imperial attire who steps aboard this ship, does not live long enough to reap the benefits therein." This caused Garrett to usher in a little smile, glad that his sword would hopefully taste action.

"Of course m'lady, should any happen to pass over the threshold of this vessel; they shall either taste the cold metal of my blade, or if I am feeling extra generous, a bullet from my rifle." Garrett remarked, unholstering the weapon with his free hand, as the other clutched onto his sword.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

-Exeter St John-

Exeter examined the ship, noting the old, yet servicable, appearance. "Interesting." He muttered into the wind. He continued to ponder as Lanester barked orders over the tumultous noise of the crew's preparations. Hearing his name, the First Mate tuned back in.

"I want to know everything you know about that vessel and her captain!" The ship was certainly familiar. He was still unsure, despite his vast knowledge of the current active vessels. He listened intently as the Admiral continued. "After which, I want you leading the aft boarding group." Exeter smiled, taking the looking-glass from his eye. "Coordinate your strikes; I leave the exact plans to your discretion." At the last remark, Exeter's smile deepened. No leash of orders to reign in his violence against the pirate scum. Just as well; Capricorn was in need of excercise.

"As you wish, Admiral." He pulled the telescopic baton from inside his jacket and grabbed a running crew member. "Take this," he said, handing the baton to the sailor. "Go down to the lower deck and bring up Capricorn." The sailor paled, hands suddenly shaking as he gripped the baton. "Don't worry," Exeter grinned, "he doesn't bite. Now get going!" He turned back to the pirate airship and began studying it through the looking-glass once more

"It's old..." Exeter mused in Lanester's general direction. Suddenly, the ship's name struck him. If he was correct, things could get ugly. "It's the Mermaid, Admiral. Unmistakable. I've not had the pleasure of facing the ship's current captain, but she was first mate to a traitor by the name of Bartholomew Roberts a year or so ago." He leaned to spit over the side of the Invincible. "A Misbegotten whore by the name of Winged Beth. From what I hear, the crew are loyal to the death, disciplined by another Misbegotten - a monstrous demon I've heard little about except that it's ferocious in battle." Exeter lowered the looking-glass and turned to Lanester, his face grave. "I wouldn't bet against us, Admiral, but if The Mermaid has retained any of Roberts' tenacity and cunning, then this won't be a simple boarding."

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Seeing you die once was more than enough for me. So remember, between the two of us, I die first

The words echoed in her head. She might have said similar things under Captain Robert, but she actually believed it when Sheska said it.

You think you know someone, then your future self shows up and dies in front of them...

She wasn't sure what to think about it. Anyone could feign loyalty to get ahead and it wasn't that she had doubted the woman's loyalty before, but now it felt set in stone.

Isaac stepped over to her.

"Captain, orders?"

Pretend that you're actually useful in a battle.

She didn't speak her mind though, but asking for orders when everyone else knew what they were supposed to be doing got on her nerves.

"Keep an eye on the imperial ship and warn me if they change course."

Beth was moving her mermaid closer to the imperial ship, who was still higher up than them. It was far from her first fight with imperial frigates. Though she had only contributed in bringing two of them down before as acting captain, and that was with the help of other ships, belonging to the skyfolk or pirates. It wasn't what this about. Damaging an imperial ship and hoping that it would run into more pirates, who would notice that it was damaged, was the point. She knew that other captains hated them just as much as her, and hopefully the imperial swines would run into more of those, before it reached it's goal. Even if they didn't, she would feel better knowing that imperials died today. There would be casualties on both sides.

She looked at the crewmembers in front of her on the deck. Good rugged pirates, who were experienced veterans in fights by now. They shouldn't have that much of a problem protecting the deck, the main issue was getting overrun, but they knew what to do. Let the enemy board the deck, but quickly get rid off the grappling hooks. After that she would pull away or slow down. It would become a slaughter, which she would have a nice view of.

She had a firm and steady grip of the wheel, almost anticipating Isaac to shout that the imperial ship would change its course. If it did anything along those lines, it would mean that she needed to act fast to avoid taking damage or ending up in a position they didn't want to be in. It shouldn't be that hard, and they really just needed to get close enough to fire at this point. Avoiding damage altogether was tough, but avoiding stupid mistakes wasn't.

They had climbed a bit, and she thought that Sheska would be able to hit them with the lightning gun. She wasn't sure about the cannons, but the mermaid wasn't properly aligned to the imperial ship yet.

"Sheska, fire at will and let's fry some imp swine." Beth was about to turn the intercom off, but felt like she owned those who might die today more than that. "Remember this, anyone who dies after having killed imperials, dies a hero on this ship. Anyone else, well, I'll see you in hell."

Beth laughed loudly and turned it off, the pirates on deck laughed with her.

"Ain't no empire lapdogs putting their foot on this ship, without getting the whole leg chopped off." Farthing said where he stood among the others. She nodded, a grim grin spreading across her face.

 

[Driekan]

Jessie had stepped back again after speaking up, the calm, detached expression and unconcerned posture further serving to help her blend back into the background.

"Of course not! We're pirates, and any self-respecting pirate can't resist the call of booty!"

She noticed the way Sheska looked towards Isaac after saying it, left eyebrow arcing up slightly. Huh. Wouldn't have guessed, those two... a faint grin played at the corner of her lips a moment, but it didn't last long.

As the meeting died down, she shrugged, waiting for people start moving away before making her own way towards the main deck. Her eyes and expression had the vacant, detached quality of one whose mind is traveling far, far away even though their bodies remain. It seemed to be only by chance that she didn't bump into anyone while walking away.

"Imperial ship to the north!"

The call brought her back to here and now. The sharp attentiveness immediately returned to her gaze, and she sprinted across the deck, dodging and weaving through the movement to get to the main mast. She set to climbing it, adrenalin and custom ensuring she made good time.

The shape was larger by the time she got there and nodded to the other pirate already manning the post. She pulled out her spyglass, pointing it towards the still-distant shape. With the spyglass, she could make out the colors, the size, the shape of the decks brimming with guns, she could even see some of the crew. That was an imperial frigate, alright. So much for this being the safer course.

"Taking over here, mate. Need the room." She didn't bother to check whether the man accepted the request, instead immediately employing her rope set to tie herself at the mast - for greater stability - before setting her gun.

The stock on her shoulder was the touch of an old lover, the vision down the the sights was his face. She breathed slow and deep, body calming down, mind slowing until the only movement was the sway of the deck, the only sound was the rhythmic thumping of her own heart.

If the imperials were any good, they'd need to maneuver a lot to keep up with the smaller, more agile Mermaid. She acted on that knowledge. Her attention roamed over what she could see of the imperial ship, seeking men working the sails or better yet, an officer coordinating them.

As soon as distance permitted, her finger would perform the slow, calm squeeze that sent death their way. Then she'd pick the next target and repeat...

 

[Arcanist]

Jason kept his spyglass trained on the Imperial vessel, carefully observing its movements. He knew a thing or two about airships, and about fighting with them - he was an engineer and pirate, after all. So he couldn't help but break into a grin when he saw them starting to list downwards. 'They're maneuvering to board us - just as I thought they would. They'll lose ship-to-ship because we'd just outmaneuver them - but they have boarding vessels, so they can try to overwhelm us with superior numbers. The operative word, of course, being TRY.'

"It seems they want to fight man to man. Fry, did you finish making those grenade cores?" Fry mockingly balked at this statement. "Of course I did! It was the only interesting thing you had me do this month. But I don't see why that's..." As he finished that sentence, his expression changed from one of confusion to one of realization. "Ah... I see."

"You know, Fry, it's a Skyfolk custom to give a welcoming gift to first-time guests to your ship." With a mischievous grin still plastered on his face, he turned to return to the lower decks. "Shall we go prepare one?"

With Fry in tow, they headed back to the engine room. "Listen up, you louts! Those Imperial pigs are finally manning up and are attempting to board us. Gather up your welding sticks and some engine oil - we're gonna give them a gift they won't soon forget!" Fry emerged from the back of the engine room holding a box of ceramic spheres, each with two holes drilled in them - one large enough for a welding stick. They inserted a welding stick in the larger, and poured engine oil into the smaller. They capped both with pitch, and attached a pitch-soaked rag to the top. Once the had hastily finished arming their makeshift grenades, Jason and Fry carried them to the deck, and set them on the ground.

"Oi, Beth! You know those incendiary grenades I was tellin' you about? I think now's a perfect time for a field test!"

 

[3quency]

-Annis-
"Make it so! You will board astern!"
Annis felt her heart soar a little at the command. She'd missed combat more than she thought.
"By your command, Rear-Admiral."

But then Lanester had to go spoil her fun by dragging Exeter into it.
"After which, I want you leading the aft boarding group. Coordinate your strikes; I leave the exact plans to your discretion."
Annis looked at Exeter. Well if they had to, they had to. The man was a competent enough soldier, so she could have worse watching her back. How he'd work as a team player though was something she'd yet to see. She didn't relish finding out.

She turned on her heel, and reached out and snatched a passing man by his shoulder. Sure enough, it was Dakin.
"Gather the squadron. You have one minute."
She released the man and he rushed off mutely. Annis spent a great deal of time with the marines on the ship. It was an environment she was familiar with, and since she was generally called upon to lead boarding parties it paid to have a small disciplined set of men ready to follow her orders in an instant.

Whilst Dakin was gathering her squad she turned back to Adriana and Exeter as they discussed the Pirate vessel.

"A Misbegotten whore by the name of Winged Beth. From what I hear, the crew are loyal to the death, disciplined by another Misbegotten - a monstrous demon I've heard little about except that it's ferocious in battle."
Annis' eyes flashed. Something in her became very cold. The quill tickled her throat.
"I can handle the Misbegotten." she found herself saying, cutting in on the conversation.

But of course, there was more.
"I wouldn't bet against us, Admiral, but if The Mermaid has retained any of Roberts' tenacity and cunning, then this won't be a simple boarding."
Damn. Still, this was merely a problem with a solution, like anything else. They just needed to work at it.

"Well Mr. St John, since we are leading the boarding parties, what tactics would your recommend?"
No, she didn't like the man. But if this was an area he knew well she'd be a fool not to defer to him.


-Isaac-
"Keep an eye on the imperial ship and warn me if they change course."
Isaac could see the irritation in his Captain's voice, in her eyes. He didn't react, she required all of he crew to obey without question and he respected that. But what could he do other than ask? They both knew he couldn't manage a flat out fight.
The gravity blade sits heavy against his wrist...

Not without the element of surprise, and more often than not a little luck. And he'd been low on that lately. Still, he had to do his best to be useful. He nodded once and headed off without another word. He'd have headed up the Crow's Nest, but warning Beth would be more than a little difficult from the height, so he'd have to risk being up on deck. He headed to the back of the ship to get a clearer view, unfolded his collapsible telescope, and observed.