Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[deathbydeath]

"I must ask however; you're in Helium City; a place where thousands of vessels that pass every day - why would you wish to fly aboard the Invincible when it is neither the easiest nor the best paying of vessels?"

Drustan paused for a moment, refusing to let celebration best him. "Well Admiral (I might as well start calling you that now), that is a multi-sided question. On the first side, I couldn't tell the working conditions at a far glance, but the second side is more important, and might take a while to explain. If you don't mind me rhetorically asking, ma'am, have you ever been trapped? Have you been ensnared in such a way that not just your body is behind bars, but your soul as well? Have you been put in such a position where death is inevitable, but neither quick or glorious? A position where all you can do is lie and languish until you are no more? Then, out of what might well be nowhere, your saving grace appears? It arrives unexplained and unexpected, whether you knew it's existence or not. All you can do at that point is say farewell to your previously imminent demise and rush away, to return to the life you knew, never to look back."

Drustan paused for a minute, letting his monologue sink in before concluding. "You see, Admiral, that was what my stint in this trash heap of a city amounted to as I lied in an alleyway, drowning in familiarity and rum, as the Skies brought forth your ship, in all its glory, and presented me with the life I once knew and love."

Again he paused himself, although this was for different reasons. "So, Admiral, now that my extended monologue is over, what would you have me do?"

 

[Ruedyn]

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Mongoose. I suggest that, in the future, you do not break into Imperial Ships - they tend not to take kindly to stowaways."
'But yet you do?' James cocked an eyebrow, returning the smile and crossing his arms. James paid attention when he heard the sound of footsteps, some new people! Who probably dislike stowaways. James stooped slightly, tensing his muscles. He figured he could take em, easily.
"Look, James. Do you want to stay on this ship? If you do, pretend to be my engineering assistant or something and say we have some emergency repairs we need to make or something and I'll find a way to let you stay."
"Hm?" was about all James could get out, relaxing somewhat. She turned back around, introducing herself to the one who spoke.
'New engineer? That explains why she's here.'
"And this here is James... why don't you introduce yourself James."
"Hullo all, my name's James. Obviously. I'm her assistant" He smiled, and rubbed the back of his head, relaxing completely.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Truth be told, Zach didn't share Eddie's enthusiasm for ballistics. However, he needed something to do and, if he felt he was indebted to Eddie, then the least he could do was help out, so he got to work.

The good honest labour was strangely therapeutic, after a while. He was still no fan of oil and gun smoke, and below decks The Mermaid felt stifling, but he supposed that he could see the upside too.

"How long have you been on The Mermaid?" he asked Eddie.

 

[Cybele]

Roy was giving Sheska's gun a final polish when a vaguely man shaped shadow was cast on him and didn't move. He looked up and saw the misbegotten with the numerous limbs craning over him.

"Umm...Hi? Can I help you?" Roy asked, having missed the tall man's question. He put the gun down for the momentand waited for a reply.

 

[3quency]

-Isaac-

Isaac had known Sheska for some time now, and when chatting with her he had grown into expecting certain behaviours.
These behaviours did not, however, usually include Sheska grabbing him by his shirt and kissing him.
He was still stood there a little bemused, as she spoke.

"You're right though, we should get back to work, or if nothing else, back to the Mermaid. Up to you."

"Uhm... yes. Right. Well, I've got nothing else to do, so I suppose we go back...?" he stumbled through the sentence a little. As they made their move, Isaac returned to his usual demeanour of sober silence. With any luck Sheska would mistake it for how he generally acted when they were out and about in the city and not catch that he was deep in thought.

He wasn't sure what to make of this. Obviously, she was drunk. He could taste the alcohol (so that's what rum was like), so maybe she'd just gotten emotional and acted in the way that, to her, made sense. But... she'd always felt like a sister more than anything else. He didn't have much experience here, but sisters conventionally didn't kiss their brothers quite so intimately right? Sod it, this would be a problem for another time. She was clearly still hung up on Beth, provided she got over that and things got... peculiar, he'd try talking to her.

He just hoped he wouldn't make matters worse.

-Annis

"Thank you Ms. Baker-Cromwell. Like Mr. Crovus and Mr. Roque, you have leave of the ship as you like, though please prepare your uniform or some similar outfit for this coming evening; we have been invited to a gala tomorrow at the Presidential Palace. I'm sure I mustn't tell you that we must show the Empire still honors its agreements with Helium City. If you have a chance before tomorrow evening please inform our new quartermaster - Ms. Heatherington-Portnoy - of the state of the ship."

Annis blinked, almost imperceptibly stunned.
New Quarter Master? That was her duty! At which point her subconscious reminded her that she was now the Second Mate, and that duty should more than take up her time. This may take some adjusting.
And as for the gala... Annis didn't want to comment, but they had a mission, and the sooner they returned to it, the better. Did the Empire honestly think that the Rear-Admiral had time to waste socialising with a bunch of slack-jawed Skyfolk and so-called "neutral" Helium nobles?

Bah. She'd attend, she'd been ordered to do so, but she didn't have to like it.

Annis nodded to Lanester.
"Of course, Rear-Admiral. I believe I have time now to brief her. Please ask her to make her way to my... to the Quarter Master's cabin as soon as she is able."
And with that she turned on her heel started to stalk away.
It was about here that Annis caught herself - she'd questioned the Admiralty again. She hadn't even thought about it this time, just assumed they were idiots for arranging attendance at this gala. Was something wrong with her? This post was perhaps beginning to take its toll. Maybe the shift in work would refresh her mentally.
She could only hope.

 

[Redryhno]

"How long have you been on The Mermaid?"

Eddie paused a minute, rag holding his face, looking around the hold as if expecting the powder and cannonballs to answer the question for him,"Don' know, really."

"Got picked up....somewhere around 'ere, I think, every port looks the same ta me. Just got off the last ship since the Cap'n died from a bit of splinters to the heart, ol' man stayed alive for two weeks with that thing in 'is chest. Then the First Mate took ova' and that was the end o' me time aboard. Afore that, I was on anotha ship, big bloomin' thing too, thirty guns a side, got scuttled by an Imp fleet, we barely made it out o' there, but that's where I got me coat, though it was a bit shinier at the time, and the fella wearin' it didn't take too kindly to me tossin' him over the side. Wasn't my fault her boots were so polished they slipped on the deck, after all.

"And before that, I was on a little ship, smaller'n this one, crowded too, two hunnerd hands at least,"He stopped a moment and began counting his fingers, stopping at around forty,"Yeah, lotsa guys there. Raided more merchant ships than any other place I've been on though. And even before that I was just a kid on Cap'n Truddiuk Beaksly's ship. Got my first little gig as a cannon boy, not like we was expected to live fer long, Imps always aim for the cannons first. But I was too good fer those Impierialisals, they got all the trainin in the world, but they don't know a good wind from a fair wind. Jus' as they were tryin' ta get away, out of cannon shot, I got a good shot off and killed their top...brass? Is that wha they call 'em? Anyways, killed 'em, and ripped through their rudder chain. Damn Imps don't know what to do when they're ship breaks on 'em, only real advan'age they got on us Pirates. So, I don' know, a few years maybe?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Uh.. yeah, I'm the new Engineer for the Invincible; that's me. You may call me Ciel. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr...?" Ciel responded with rather quickly, as if she was nervous about something. Garrett could at least breathe a sigh of relief, finally getting a name to associate with her face, which now he had a better view of it, looked somewhat pretty, despite the scar going down the side of her face; and her reddish pink eyes reminded Garrett of his own to a degree.

"And this here is James... why don't you introduce yourself James." Ciel then added afterwards, referring of course to the gentleman beside her.

"Hullo all, my name's James. Obviously. I'm her assistant." James said as he smiled, rubbing the back of his head. Garrett could sense that something was up between Ciel and James, as the gentleman looked as though he didn't quite fit in with the scene that he was framed in; but Garrett would play along for now.

"Alright, I guess that checks out, might have to ask you two a few questions later, but we'll see what time we are left with. In any case, my name is Garrett Corvus, I act as the bodyguard to Rear Admiral Lanestar. The beaked gentleman to my left is Vasco Roque, the Invincible's on-board doctor, a man of respectable skill in his profession, which certainly came in handy a few days ago."

"And this man on my right is Silas Rainecroft, the shipwright who we've hired to help make repairs and upgrades to the Invincible. The two of you will need to talk about the specific nature of the work required. The two gentleman behind us have been ordered by the Admiral to act as an escort for Mr. Rainecroft; which means you and your assistant will have to put up with them as well." Garrett added at the end, pointing to the two crewmen who stood at the back of the group.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

"Uhm... yes. Right. Well, I've got nothing else to do, so I suppose we go back...?".

"I guess so. Let's head on back then, Izzy.", she said, grabbing the wrapped package that was her outfit for the upcoming party and strode out surprisingly steadily despite being drunk.

The trip back was uneventful, particularly due to the fact that her friend was silent the whole way. But, since he didn't seem to be upset, merely thoughtful, she wasn't worried. The only problem was the massive staircase of the Chase Tower that led up to where The Mermaid had docked, but they climbed up regardless.

By the time they had gotten onto the deck, she was back to scowling like she usually was, and she spotted both Hector and the other new arrival, Roy, speaking to one another. As she walked over, she spotted her revolver on top of a crate in front of the young gunsmith, and quirking an eyebrow, nodded to them both.

"Hector, why are you bothering Roy while he's working on my gun?", she asked slowly.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

"...have you ever been trapped?..." the mercenary said, beginning his long monologue. Adrianna listened closely to the monologue, each word finding resonance. Though he's asked the question rhetorically, she could not help but think of her answers: she was trapped, as he claimed to be. Though she hadn't realized it at the time, the Empire was her cage. Sure, it was a gilded one, one she enjoyed and protected vehemently, but she still knew it was a cage. And she had been freed from it, however secretly. As the Invincible was Durstan's savior, hers had been Garrett. In the end, she found herself envious of Durstan's ability to state his truth so openly and wished she might one day do the same. The way he said it left little doubt of its veracity; she no longer had any complaint.

"Very well Mr. Cynwrig; I understand your reasons and ambitions. Report to me at 1300 hours for orders. Until then, you have leave to gather your personals." she said, while standing at the top of the the gangway, the Lt. Commander a few steps behind her. She turned away from the merc, walking out of view before he could say another word.

She quickly moved to her quarters and opened the door; allowing Lt. Commander Ring to enter first. A moment later, she stepped in herself and closed the door behind her, the soft click of the bolt locking the only sound. "Very well Lt. Com. Ring; you said you needed to discuss something with me in private?"

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

Ciel breathed a sigh of relief as James introduced himself as her assistant. The plan might work. Now all she needed to do was get away from the officers before something went wrong.

"...The two of you will need to talk about the specific nature of the work required. The two gentleman behind us have been ordered by the Admiral to act as an escort for Mr. Rainecroft; which means you and your assistant will have to put up with them as well." Garrett said, after introducing themselves.

Having finally calmed down a bit, Ciel spoke up, a smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Roque-" she offered then turned to Garrett, where she stumbled over her own words for a moment before adding "Mr. Corvus, and Mr. Raincroft. I would be happy to discuss the state of the ship. Unfortunately, James cannot join us. He seems to have lost a great deal of his personal belongings; the embassy was supposed to deliver them but never did. I was trying to help him requisition a new uniform, but we're still unfamiliar with the Invincible. Do either of you think you can help him acquire some new personals? I hardly think the rags we were able to find will suffice once we set sail." she said to the pair of people, hoping to both explain James's apparel, fix the apparel situation, and escape the other officers as quickly as possible - not to mention give James his place on the ship.

"I was supposed to see to it his supplies were delivered, so you can take the costs out of my commission if needed." The plan was perfect. Now, just to hope that James would know how to fake technical knowledge long enough to get some new cloths... that wouldn't be hard right?

 

[Cybele]

"Hector, why are you bothering Roy while he's working on my gun?" Sheska asked, having returned to the ship.

"It's ok. I was almost finished," Roy cut in, "I just need to reload it and then I'm done. Now where did I put those bullets..." he muttered and started to go through his numerous pockets. They contained everything from small pins and metal rods to bits of wire and metal.

Roy had to pause his search for a moment when he pulled out a small bird scull with worn markings and a strip of leather attached to it - an old memento from his lost tribe. "Now how did this get in there?" He considered simply throwing it overboard but in the end stuffed it back into a pocket with a frown.

He finally found the bullets and after loading the gun handed it back to Sheska. "There. As good as new."

 

[madox ford]

The Inquisitor followed Rear Admiral Lanester up the gangway to the H.M.S. Invincible, before waiting quietly by her side as she was assaulted by a plethora of tasks. After calmly dealing with them she motioned the Inquisitor to the captains' quarters before locking the door and turning to face him.

"Very well Lt. Com. Ring; you said you needed to discuss something with me in private?"

The truth, but as little as possible. Enough to satisfy her that I have the required authority and should be extended all the help required, but not more information than is necessary. Besides Imperial Officers generally tended to favour getting strait to the point.

The Inquisitor calmly smiled before carefully removing a letter from the inner pocket of his jacket and placing it on the table in front of the Rear Admiral. "Indeed. I'm here about a recent encounter you vessel had with a pirate ship, going by the name of The Mermaid. I seek a person on the ship and would appreciate any information you are able to relay to me about the encounter, specifically with regards to a grey skinned female misbegotten." The inquisitor gestured to the letter on the table before continuing "In case you need to check my credentials."

Spoiler: Contents of Letter

To whom it may concern
The holder of this writ is to be afforded every possible service and courtesy by members of all branches of Imperial Military as well as all branches HRHs' Diplomatic and Intelligence services. The holder acts with the good will and authority of the Most Illustrious Emperor Victor III as well as the heads of the Admiralty Board, Imperial Marines High Command and the Chuno Ggun.

The Inquisitor hated dealing with fellow imperials. The necessity to demonstrate his authority almost inevitably removed even the slightest hint of subtlety. The letter itself made his job painfully obvious to the extent that he tried to avoid carrying it on his person unless absolutely necessary for fear of it being discovered.

 

[blaze96]

Samuel watched from his positions as Sheska, Roy, and Hector interacted. He realized that eventually he would need to go below decks and get the files for the new pirates ready. Medical exams were a necessary minor pain of being a doctor. Time consuming though they were, if not done it meant that he could end up being surprised by some abnormal growth of bone from a broken arm back when they were a child. If that surprise were to happen in a high pressure surgery, well it could make quite the difference. Eventually he would need to talk to Sheska or Beth and get a list of the new crew from them.

'The life of a pirate doctor. Tedium interspersed with moments of either fun or sheer terror. At least I can perform research in peace.' He thought with a smirk.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Mr. Corvus, and Mr. Rainecroft. I would be happy to discuss the state of the ship. Unfortunately, James cannot join us.... Do either of you think you can help him acquire some new personals? I hardly think the rags we were able to find will suffice once we set sail." Ciel said with a definite smile on her face, feeling calm about how introductions went.

"I could possibly try and talk to either the Quartermaster Portnoy or Rear Admiral Lanestar herself, see if we can't arrange for something to be delivered to the ship during our lengthened stay here due to the request for a upgraded engine if I recall correctly. Should I prove successful, I'll need to know what size you are James, care to elaborate on that?" Garrett asked as he looked at James, trying to find out if he was telling the truth or not.

 

[MortifiedPenguin]

"Hector, why are you bothering Roy while he's working on my gun?" She asked slowly.

The sudden appearance of the Sulk-Hound startled him, possibly more then the gun going off earlier; for someone much shorter than him, she certainly knew how to loom.

"I'm not bothering him, I was just wondering what he was doing" He replied innocently, "

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Wilhelmena

She stopped outside the tavern by the name of The Wet *****. It was a place she'd never like, but it was also a place no one expected her to come too. She turned around one last time, and checked the streets, before entering. The inside was dank and close to empty, except for a couple of people. The neobeduin was waiting for her, but wouldn't recognize her as she was dressed now. It was expected.

Wilhelmena strode over to Jennifer, and sat down, which the woman objected too, as she was waiting for someone. She had a few ways to identify herself as the one she was waiting for, but the fastest was to simply lift her eyepatch and show a characteristic eye. It had been expensive, and she had killed the creator afterwards to make sure it remained unique. The eye was a marvel of engineering, a clockwork wonder with a blue shining pupil. It had a number of varying functions. She prefered to keep it concealed. An eyepatch was a less distinguishable feature.

Jennifer grinned, but tried to stifle her laugther. "That is a pretty outfit."

She would let the neobeduin have her fun, the woman had become irreplaceable a few times over, or would become. It was getting annoying. "Did you purchase it?" Jennifer nodded. "How many does that make? Those I represent will need as many as you can get."

"Three, but if they provide us with more gold, we can..." She tapped her fingers on the table, and left the sentence unspoken.

"I'll give you more. You'll need to get the means for the rest yourselves. There's a limit to my resources as well. Besides, they need to be spent on other things than that. Which brings me to the second task I asked you to perform. Did you bring it?"

Jennifer reached down below the table, and pushed a medium sized box out from beneath it. The box shook for a moment, then stopped moving. "These are not ordinary. I would not wish them upon anyone."

Wilhelmena would use any means at her disposable. After all, she already had, it would be strange to stop now. She put a larger purse on the table. "This should cover another one, and your trouble for acquiring these for us."

Rising from her seat, she picked the box up. "I'll see you in the future." She said, and left the tavern. Now she needed to get the rest of her luggage from Remmington's mansion, though she'd have to be careful with the contents of the box.

 

[Ruedyn]

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Roque- Er- Mr. Corvus, and Mr. Raincroft. I would be happy to discuss the state of the ship. Unfortunately, James cannot join us. He seems to have lost a great deal of his personal belongings; the embassy was supposed to deliver them but never did. I was trying to help him requisition a new uniform, but we're still unfamiliar with the Invincible. Do either of you think you can help him acquire some new personals? I hardly think the rags we were able to find will suffice once we set sail."
'A fast liar? Wait, she just call these rags? Do I have to wear a uniform now?!' James cringed slightly at the mere thought of having to wear one of those things. And he was to sit around the engine, handing spanners to Ciel all day, instead of blissfully punching faces and riding in the crows nest? James sighed quietly, unnoticed as Ciel continued.
"I was supposed to see to it his supplies were delivered, so you can take the costs out of my commission if needed."
That raised the question of James pay check.
'How much to assistants get payed? Probably quite a bit in hazard... And suddenly there was bright side.' James smirked. All he had to do was fake some tech babble if needed, and he got paid. How hard could that be?

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

The fact that the taller misbegotten was visibly startled made her snort and chuckle softly to herself, and she tilted her head when she heard his reply.

"I'm not bothering him, I was just wondering what he was doing.".

"He was repairing my gun, or at least I would hope so.", she said, her tone amused as she turned to look at Roy.

"It's ok. I was almost finished. I just need to reload it and then I'm done. Now where did I put those bullets..."

Sheska watched as he fumbled in his pockets to find ammunition for her revolver, but she quirked a brow at the implication. "Wait a minute, you carry .44 caliber rounds on you all the time? What other calibers do you have in those pockets?", she asked while she looked him over with new curiosity.

But when he loaded it and handed it to her, she took it easily and inspected it carefully. Drunk as she was, she knew that revolver well, and knew how it was supposed to look. With a grunt, she set the package she had down before properly cocking her revolver and aiming it at an empty bottle someone had set on the railing of the ship.

She glanced at both Roy and Hector once, then decided to play it up, making her hand sway and her face screwed up into an expression of intense concentration. "Alright, lets see if I can...", she slurred deliberately, fighting against a smirk.

When she fired, her arm straightened properly, her face relaxed, and the bottle on the railing shattered.

"Good work, Roy. You've passed my test, now see to Jason so that he can put you through your paces.", she told him with an approving nod.

 

[deathbydeath]

Report to me at 1300 hours for orders. Until then, you have leave to gather your personals.

Drustan bowed his thanks to Adrianna, the gratitude evident on his face removing any need for words. Seeing as this was the proper time to make his exit as the Admiral made hers, Drustan exited the Imperial docks, leaving a confused set of guards wondering why they didn't see him enter in the first place. Striding through the city streets, this time with a completely opposite mindset, Drustan planned his next move while trying to remember where he had slept the night before, if it was at night at all.

 

[Cybele]

"...rounds on you all the time? What other calibers do you have in those pockets?" Roy caught Sheska asking while he was going through his pockets.

"Well, I try to have a few of each type at hand," Roy explained as he watched Sheska try out the gun. "For test fires and such. Can't give a gun back unless I'm sure it works, right?" Especially if the owners were the murderous sort like Sheska. Still, she seemed to be a pretty good shot, hitting something as small as a bottle while drunk wasn't easy though the first mate seemed to get a bit more drunk while shooting. Roy figured it best not to comment.

"Good work, Roy. You've passed my test, now see to Jason so that he can put you through your paces."

"Right, any idea where I might find him?" Roy asked, scanning the deck.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

As she slid the revolver back into its holster and patted it once out of affection, she listened to Roy's reply to her question.

"Well, I try to have a few of each type at hand. For test fires and such. Can't give a gun back unless I'm sure it works, right?"

She nodded, seeing the logic in that even in her drunken state. It was when she picked up the wrapped package again that he asked where Jason might be, and she looked at him blankly.

"Well, I'd have to say that the engine room would be a safe bet.", she said rather blandly, before gesturing to the steps leading to below the deck.

"Head down there and go down another level, then head straight back. If Jason isn't there, then, ah, try to find someone named Fry. If I remember correctly, that's the name of his current protege.", she said before shrugging.

"Really, I wouldn't know. The engine room is Jason's charge, and he orders around everyone that works down there. It's like Eddie and his cannons, and Izzy with everyone who tries, and fails, to be a decent navigator. Me, I just handle the fighters and the general crew. That's why Jason's the one judging when you've proven yourself, while Hector here has to answer to my sadistic ass.", she said, gesturing vaguely to the nearby misbegotten.

Then she smirked. "Don't get me wrong though, Jason is a... Hard person to please when it comes to mechanics.", she added.