Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[Evrant-Knight]

"'Certain Factors'? We pissed off someone important, didn't we?" James said, as he then took a stance that looked more appropriate for fighting than for anything social. Garrett recognised the way in which James stood, it reminded him of a Beast Dancer he had seen perform in a cultural festival a few years back. Whether or not James was a Neobedouin was of no concern to him at the moment, getting people back on-board the Invincible was, though he made a note to ask James later about his heritage.

"Not exactly, like I said, all would be explained once everyone is back on the ship." Garrett said as he followed James and Ciel, with Drustan following on behind him back to the carriages, where he could see that most of the crew had arrived, with the exception of a couple of the officers, mainly Exeter and Lt. Commander Ring. But not a couple of moments later, he spied Exeter having a quick word with Adrianna. Waiting for the First Mate to return, Garrett approached Adrianna.

"Ah Admiral, by all accounts it appears that everyone has made it back safely, with the exception of Lt. Commander Ring. I can't imagine where he has gotten to, perhaps he overheard one of us talking, and slipped out quietly to head back when no one was looking, I'm sure he'll turn up at some point. Regardless, can I suggest that I go out first and check the surrounding area, in case anyone has set up an ambush of some kind. I know given where we are, the chances of it occurring are low, but it pays to be cautious. After all, you did hire me to keep you safe." Garrett said with a devious looking smirk, suggesting what he actually meant.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-​

Sheska looked back down as Hector replied, and she had to sigh softly out of pity at the slur in his voice.

"But they looked so boring...".

"Trust me Hector, everyone has to start somewhere, and drinking is one of those things where it's better to start simple.", she said quietly, patting his shoulder gently before looking back up at the bartender.

What he said earned him a scowl, and she shook her head in mild disgust and disappointment. Any bartender that she knew that was worth their salt knew how to concoct some rather potent remedies for hangovers and drunkenness, simply because they knew it'd earn them more gold, and get their customers to drinking again all the quicker.

"Then what good are you right now?", she asked with a scoff, before she shrugged.

"Well, I doubt a little hair of the dog that bit you is going to help much, especially with absinthe, so I really can't help. We'd have to find Sam and see what he can do.", she said, before holding out a hand.

"Lets get you up first, and if you puke on me, I'll make you pay.", she told him, though her tone was still gentle even though it took on an edge.

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Adrianna[/HEADING]

As Exeter stalked off toward the others, Adrianna couldn't help but wish he hadn't shown up - her life would certainly be easier without him. She didn't get to enjoy the thought for long however, as Garrett approached her with a status update. "Ah Admiral, by all accounts it appears that everyone has made it back safely, with the exception of Lt. Commander Ring. I can't imagine where he has gotten to, perhaps he overheard one of us talking, and slipped out quietly to head back when no one was looking, I'm sure he'll turn up at some point." he said, giving the details. Adrianna shook her head at the thought. "I'm not worried. The Lt. Commander isn't part of our crew; he's only here on orders of the embassy. What more, I'm certain he can handle himself."

[HEADING=2]Lt. Com. Ring[/HEADING]

"...That sound like fun?" his attacker said, holding a knife to his eye. Ring stared back at him for a moment, more then a little pissed. How had he - an well trained Imperial agent - been beaten so quickly? It didn't seem possible. Regardless, it was true, annoying though it might be. He stopped struggling a moment later, letting his attacker enjoy his hollow victory.

Then he brought his knee up to his chest with all the speed he could muster, slamming it between the knife wielder's legs with gusto. Riding off the momentum of the strike, he pivoted his weight, pushing the attacker over, while moving his head away from the enemy blade. With one of his hands now free, he reached for his side arm, trying to remove the attacker before he recovered.

Regardless of the results of the conflict, he knew one thing for certain: he'd die before telling the enemy a single word. He was out of uniform - nothing to tie him back to the Empire if things went wrong. Even if his plan failed, there were enough contingencies to see the problem through. The target would die, even if he didn't live to see it. He held the barrel toward his enemy and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet toward the enemy and a loud burst of light and sound out into the night.

Spoiler: OOC for NinjaDeathSlap

Two items. 1) The rifle was silenced - that's why no one heard it (yes, I'm making this up now because It explains the lack of reaction ^_^). The hand gun isn't silent however so I'm going to have fun with that. 2) Please let the bullet hit you in a non-fatal area, they you can kill Ring (or try to capture him if you prefer). I just don't want to have the character to have been ENTIRELY inconsequential is all. No promise the capture path will work btw

[HEADING=2]Adrianna: Part II[/HEADING]

"Regardless, can I suggest that I go out first and check the surrounding area, in case anyone has set up an ambush of some kind. I know given where we are, the chances of it occurring are low, but it pays to be cautious. After all, you did hire me to keep you safe." Garrett finished, making his suggestion with a slight smirk. She loved that smirk.

Adrianna shook her head, turning back to the carriages. "We have the crew and the transportation. If they have an ambush nearby, they'd have already made there move. If it's further on, you'd never find it in time. No, we'll take an alternate route back to the ship and keep out eyes open as we go." she said, letting her tactical side take command. That side of her personality wasn't in charge long however, before the sound of a gunshot rang through the empty streets. "IN THE CARRIAGES NOW!" she yelled at the Imperial crew before chaos had a chance to set in.

Gods she hated shore leave.

[HEADING=2]Ciel[/HEADING]

"W-we need to talk about those things. They are really creepy! I'm sure there are several other designs we could use instead of spiders. Like monkeys. Everybody likes monkeys!" James said, critiquing her designs. Ciel merely pouted slightly, saying "Spiders have 8 legs, Monkeys only have 4. My drones are clearly superior." she said, a touch indignant. Sure some people didn't like her drones, but they clearly didn't see the utility of the extra limbs. sooner or later, she'd find someone who didn't think the designs were creepy... right?

"Now, let's please be done emasculating me?" James said, taking the lead and smiling. While she hadn't intended to emasculate the poor man, she was getting tired of the "protect the lady" bit most men insisted upon. Sure, she was a woman, but so was the Admiral and she could take care of herself... mostly. "Fine, but don't get used to it." she said, mostly joking.

As they reached the carriages, her small drone returned; slightly dented on the top of it's "head". "Who did this to you!" she asked the drone, more then a little disturbed that someone would attack her sweet, harmless, lovable spider-automaton. She didn't get much of a chance to wonder about the question however, when a shot rang through the night and chaos unfolded.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

By the spirits of his ancestors, he hated having to take them alive!

As the assailant tumbled him overhead Zach executed a forward roll that brought him back up to his feet quickly. Perhaps it would have been better to stay down though and roll to the side instead, as when Zach was turning the assassin was bringing his sidearm to bare. It was fortunate that Zach had already gone halfway to slicing the man's foot off, as his unsteady posture combined with his lack of time to aim properly made for a poor shot. Still, at practically point blank range there was little chance of him missing altogether, and Zach for once had no time to make a move.

The shot hit in on his left side, ricocheting off the top of his pelvis and out though his back. It wasn't enough to cause serious trauma, relatively speaking at least, but the force of the gunshot at such close range was enough to knock Zach off his feet. As the Ggun went to line up another shot, at his head this time, Zach wondered for the briefest of moments if he was beaten.

"The front line of every fight is inside your own head." had been one of his first lessons from Solomon, during those relentless months of training before he'd been allowed to pick up a bow for the first time. "Even if your prey looks like it has every advantage over you, you can still win provided you're thinking further ahead. The moment you allow yourself to blank, to miss a step, to freeze, then you're dead. Doesn't matter how strong or quick you are. One bullet, one blade, one second, that's all you need to give them for you to die just as easily as any other man."

Zach had no plans to die today.

A flick of his wrist, and another throwing knife was buried in the Ggun's crotch, which seemed to make him forget entirely about what was in his hands. A heel kick sent the weapon over the side of the building and out of sight. Zach used Talon to catch the man by his collar and reel him in, which was followed by an elbow strike to the face that sent the agent sprawling. He fell against the wooden guard rail, and Zach swung Talon down so hard that the hook went right through the man's forearm and the timber underneath it, impaling him on the rail. Just for good measure, Zach aimed a kick in between his legs that drove the knife in deeper.

"You see what you've done now?!" Zach snarled, grabbing the Ggun's face and pulling it upwards, forcing him to look Zach in the eye. "You've made me go and forget my manners. Look at me! You think I haven't seen that look of quaint, patriotic resistance before, struggling on bravely through the pain? Sorry to steal your thunder but you're not the first Ggun I've crossed paths with, and not even close to being the best. They all start this way, swearing to themselves that they'll never talk, but sooner or later they all sang to me. Have you ever wondered just where your breaking point is? Believe me, I can find it for you. You will tell me who you were here to kill tonight, you will tell me everything you know about said person, and you will tell me about everyone else who is involved and all contingencies that are in place. Who knows, by the time your done I might have calmed down enough to finish the job quickly? If you don't talk soon though, I will cause you the kind of agony that makes a man forget the faces of everyone who ever made them smile, the sort that'll get you spilling every secret you've ever known, right down to that rolling pin you caught your mother using on herself when you were six if you think that that's make me stop!"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"I'm not worried. The Lt. Commander isn't part of our crew; he's only here on orders of the embassy. What more, I'm certain he can handle himself. We have the crew and the transportation... you'd never find it in time. No, we'll take an alternate route back to the ship and keep out eyes open as we go." Adrianna said as she gave her thoughts on Garrett's suggestion.

"Fair enough, quite the sound observation." Garrett said, complimenting the decision. He was about to continue when a gunshot could be heard.

"IN THE CARRIAGES NOW!" Adrianna shouted out, ordering an immediate return. Garrett meanwhile withdrew his revolver and aimed it in the direction where the gunshot could be heard; from his best guess that was up above on the rooftop. He could faintly make out that there were two people up on the roof, but the darkness shrouded any discernible features.

"Admiral, get into the carriage first, I'll cover you in case they decide to fire again."

 

[Arcanist]

Jason was drunk.

Even by pirate standards, he was pretty sloshed. He was responsive, sure, but it mostly entailed ornery grunts and the occasional slurred "Gofugyerself." But he wouldn't have it any other way - this party was even more boring than taking stock of supplies, if such an unholy thing was even possible. If it weren't for the buzz, he'd likely have started a fight by now, or worse -

BANG.

The gunshot roused Jason from his stupor. Another acquired talent of his - the ability to suppress alcohol in his blood with adrenaline. Whipping around, he quickly determined it was fired somewhere outside. 'Great. Something interesting deigns to happen and I'm not around to see it.' Sliding out of his seat, he landed with a grace not normally associated with somebody that just spent the last hour drinking themselves stupid. He spotted Sheska at the end of the bar with one of the new recruits. "Oi, Sheska. Looks like we get to have fun after all." He trundled off towards the sound of the shot, his arm ready to draw his pistol at a second's notice.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-​

Despite the classy atmosphere, the fact that she was mildly buzzed from the few glasses of wine she had had, and the heavily hungover Misbegotten in front of her, the gunshot that rang in from outside immediately put her blood up. Her head shot up and her eyes scanned the room even as her hand reached toward her left hip for her cutlass.

Only to slap against the skin bared by the slit in her skirt.

She swore viciously under her breath before she reached up to her hair and drew one of the long, golden needles that held her dreadlocks back. After a quick examination, she decided it would have to do. The point was sharp enough that she could stab someone if need be, but there wasn't a cutting edge, or even a proper handle to keep a hold of, so as far as makeshift weapons went, it was only a step above a broken bottle.

When Jason strode over, he didn't look nearly as drunk as he did earlier, but adrenaline could do some wonderful things when you needed it to. After all, she had plenty of experience there.

"Oi, Sheska. Looks like we get to have fun after all.".

She huffed once as she gave the other guests another once-over. "Right, fun. We might be attacked at any moment, and I don't have my gun or my cutlass, and I'm short an arm. I thought I was going to stop mauling people by hand after I left the Ggun.", she told him, before glancing at Hector and lightly kicking his foot.

"Get up, boy, we need to be ready, so ignore the pain and get on your feet. Now!", she hissed, before striding over to Jason.

"We need to get the crew together. Think you can do that? I'm going to find the Captain.", she told him, before striding into the crowds and searching for Beth.

 

[Floris2123]

George put his mug on the table again, having finished another. Suddenly a voice interrupted his conversation, he turned his head to see Garrett. "Ah, Mr. Maelstrom...I've got to go and find our engineer now, so I shall speak with you later." Garrett then left the bar and headed into the crowd, George turned back to Roy. "Well good luck with that...Nap time already?" Roy asked, chuckling. George nodded with a serious expression. "I am not sure what happend, but it seems to be time to leave. Well it was a pleasure talking to you Roy, and who knows we might meet again at some point."

George stood up from the bar, and began to slowly make his way towards the exit. He was happy for his ability to drink a lot of beer before collapsing, still he had to make sure not to drink so much again when serving on the ship. George arrived outside, to hear a loud gunshot, he could hear the admiral yelling "IN THE CARRIAGES NOW!" George made a bee line for the nearest carriage, he regretted not taking a decent weapon with him now. He jumped into the carriage, and looked up at the roof trying to make out who shot.

 

[Arcanist]

"Right, fun. We might be attacked at any moment, and I don't have my gun or my cutlass, and I'm short an arm."

'Oh, right. Sheska's unarm... fuck. Really? Even in my head, that's a terrible pun.' He rolled his eyes a bit at his own terrible sense of humor and continued on his way. Sheska took a moment to rouse the greenhorn and dashed to join him. He grunted in greeting, keeping his eyes affixed forward.

"We need to get the crew together. Think you can do that? I'm going to find the Captain."

He stopped his advance towards the door and took a brief look around. Sure enough, the shot had sent the crowd into disarray, with people dashing every which way looking for their friends and loved ones. It would take a great deal of effort to find the rest of the crew in this madness. As much as his trigger finger itched, getting the Mermaid's crew squared away was more important. He removed his hand from his coat pocket and nodded in agreement. "Aye aye, First Mate. See you on the ship."

He turned to leave, but a sudden realization struck him. What if... someone from the crew was being targeted, and this gunshot was the first warning? The thought chilled him, especially as he realized just how helpless Sheska really was in her current state. Even if she could throw a punch with the best of them, she was unarmed in more ways than one. And considering she and the Captain were likely on the top of any anti-Mermaid hitlists...

He turned back to Sheska, whipping out his revolver with a flourish and offering it to her handle-first. "Five shots. The first chamber isn't loaded." Even drunk, his gaze was hard and utterly resolute. "Be careful, Sheska. We don't know what we're dealing with."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-​

Sheska watched as Jason stopped and looked around after she asked if he could gather the crew. She knew how hard it could be to resist going on the offensive, especially at a time like this. She wanted to go out and investigate herself, but first priority was safety of the crew.

Then he nodded.

"Aye aye, First Mate. See you on the ship.".

She nodded in return. "Good man.", she told him approvingly before she turned and started into the heart of the crowd.

It was a scant few seconds before she turned back to Jason as he took a few steps towards her again. One of her eyebrows winged up before he drew a revolver and offered it to her, handle-first. She blinked, and then she had to smile as she reached up and stabbed the hair needle back into the mess of dreadlocks behind her head.

"Five shots. The first chamber isn't loaded. Be careful, Sheska. We don't know what we're dealing with.".

She took it with a chuckle. "Wow, Jason, you know exactly what a girl wants.", she said before her tone was more serious.

"You be careful yourself. It'd be hard as shit finding an engineer of your skill that I can stand if you die.", she told him.

As she dove into the crowd, revolver at her side and cocked, she had to shake her head again. Earlier that night, a man was worried about her safety and threatened to kill the person threatening her. All that ended up doing was pissing her off. Another man was worried about her now, and offered a weapon for her to kill the unknown threat herself, and that made her feel warm and fuzzy. She supposed it went to show that the crew knew her well.

 

[MortifiedPenguin]

"Lets get you up first, and if you puke on me, I'll make you pay."

Hector nodded faintly as he turned his drooped head away from Sheska's shoes. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach stirring and even in his inebriated state he knew that she didn't mean paying for replacement shoes.

There was a gunshot...Somewhere.

His head throbbed, what now?

The Sulk-Hound tried to rouse him before dashing of into the fray. Suddenly unsupported he collapsed to the floor, hitting the ground hard, "The bigger they are..." He muttered as he dragged himself onto a chair, looking out for shoes not to throw up upon.

 

[deathbydeath]

Drustan was getting bored. Initially, he had been excited at the prospect of "enforcing tranquility" at the gala, but as the evening dragged on the prospect of violence began to dwindle until the only signs of confrontation were brutal animosity tucked into the veneer of polite conversation.

*gun noise*

Now things were picking up. Adrianna had been rounding up the crew members who traveled with her, but Drustan thought there were still one or two missing. While the big man was really just looking for a good scrap to end the night on, looking for missing crew members would be a convenient excuse to rough someone up. He was just strolling out of the door when the shot rang out, and the noise caused him to bolt off in that direction, giving Adriana a quick "Heyadrianaimmagolookforcrewmemberskthanksbye!" as he passed the admiral. Seeing that his target lie on a rooftop, Drustan hopped and vaulted on the cart of a rag-and-bone man trundling along the street to propel himself onto a nearby roof. His movement was so fast and sudden he'd wager she hardly knew he was gone.

As he trekked up and down the rooftops of Helium City in pursuit of his conflict, he finally heard the admiral give an order concerning him. "IN THE CARRIAGES NOW!" The only statement that felt appropriate bubbled out of his lips: "Well, shit." If he was able to accidentally stumble into a restricted area like the dock where the Invincible was, Drustan hoped he could do so purposefully again.

As Drustan was finishing his ascent, he jumped up to grab a ledge near where he thought the shot came from. Being the tired, large, and at this point clumsy man he is, Drustan promptly lost his grip and fell back down to a lower rooftop. He decided for a more diplomatic approach at this point.

"Hey, is anybody up there? Do you have a gun? Can I fight you?"

 

[blaze96]

Samuel was just about to down a shot of whiskey when a different sort of shot rang out. He immediately grabbed the bottle and dropped low to the ground out of reflex. He moved around the bar to provide some amount of cover. He didn't see gun smoke, bodies, or a bullet hole nearby so he had no way of seeing where the shot came from. He immediately took a swig from the bottle to steady himself a bit as he began checking the immediate area behind the bar, hoping to find a pistol or shotgun tucked away for the bartender to use in case somebody tried to take more than their share. Though it turned out the bartender had less bite than expected since he was cowering in a corner of the bar and the wall.

"Calm down man." He said as he passed him the bottle.

"Until people actually enter the building with guns there is no reason to think they are going to get you. Now if you have a firearm please do tell me where it is, oh and if you happen to have a first aid kit somewhere around here please tell me where that is as well." He kept his voice calm hoping the man might take a bit of inspiration from him.

 

[Arcanist]

"It'd be hard as shit finding an engineer of your skill that I can stand if you die."

Jason could help but give a drunken snort at Sheska's barb. "Try impossible." She bolted into the crowd, no doubt looking for Beth. He supposed he should get on his task of accounting for the rest of the crew. To that end, he scanned the crowd once more, seeing Sam trying to calm the bartender, who had dived for cover the second he shot rang out.

Jason calmly made his way through the crowd, stopping just at the doctor's side. From what he had heard, Sam planned on tending to any injured. A noble sentiment, but they were on a rather tight schedule. "No time to play doctor, Sam. We're gathering the others and beating a hasty retreat." He took another look around the bar, but the swelling crowd was making it difficult to make out any of the crew. "Gather everyone you can find and get back to the ship."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach couldn't help but laugh.

"If you want a fight, there's no need to ask my permission." he replied to the ginger giant. "Make no mistake though, take one more step and you're a dead man. My business with this piece of shit excuse for an assassin doesn't concern you. He's not worth your time, and, no offense, but I think even with a bullet hole through me I'm a little above your pay grade. So you just climb back down and keep right on walking by with those Imp bosses of yours before they start to miss you. How does that sound?"

 

[deathbydeath]

"So you just climb back down and keep right on walking by with those Imp bosses of yours before they start to miss you. How does that sound?"

"Ooh, an assassin!" Drustan scrambled onto the roof to see what was going on. When he hauled himself upwards, he stood over Ring's body with a slight memory of his identity. "Huh, I think I saw that guy somewhere before." This time he turned around to face the Neobeduin punk, using his shoulder to signify Ring. "Who was he trying to assassinate?"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach just eyes Drustan for a second with eyebrows raised. He'd crossed paths with a lot of stupid people in his time, but he never would have thought that this one could end up being genuinely a dumb as he looked. Zach could only assume the reason he'd lived this long was that no-one had dared to pick a fight with a man Drustan's size.

"Are you... not all there or something? You do realise that I am, right now, in the process of torturing this man? You are also aware, are you not, that you're working for the same people he is, which by association makes you more than a legitimate target for me? You did hear me say before that I would kill you if you tried to interfere? Yet here you are, trying to make small talk like we're just sitting down for coffee and I'm reading a newspaper, and you expect me to just indulge whatever information or suspicions I have with you and then just let you go on your merry way. Wow, you might just be the absolute worst mercenary that I have ever met, and that really is saying something! Is that why you're whoring yourself out to the Empire? Are you so dense that even the Skyfolk didn't want you on their team?"

 

[blaze96]

"Very well I was more concerned with seeing if this bar had a shotgun or pistol behind it but it would seem there isn't one. Such is life sometimes. Probably for the best if I stick with you, seeing as I am particularly unarmed. Leaving me at something of a disadvantage." Samuel said as he popped up from the bar and started scanning the room to see if there was anybody he could easily recognize.

 

[Cybele]

Roy continued to drink after the Imp had left and entertained himself by trying to build a tiny catapult out of a coin, a paper clip, and a small spring. He noticed that the crowd of guests seemed more on edge. Or maybe he was just imagining it. While the seagull wine didn't seem to have all that much alcohol in it, it was starting to make Roy feel lightheaded and slightly dizzy which made it harder for him to construct the catapult to Roy's great annoyance.

Still, after a short while, Roy had something ready and tried firing a peanut. Bombs away! The nut flew with a surprisingly wide arc and landed somewhere in the crowd near the bar, possibly hitting someone.

Hmmm...spring needs adjusting... Roy thought and continued to tinker with his tiny new toy.

 

[deathbydeath]

"Are you so dense that even the Skyfolk didn't want you on their team?"

Drustan was appalled! Could this fellow even comprehend the idea of manners? Before replying, Drustan chose to clear his throat: "While this is normally the part of the conversation where I start to mock and question your intelligence, this time I will make an exception for you. And yes, while I am aware of most of what you said, all I was looking for was an amiable conversation ans possibly an equally friendly brawl, and I greeted you under the assumption that the desire for polite interaction would trump your senseless, contradictory, arrogant, foolish, and pretentious urge to feel superior." Drustan's tone began to quicken and become more forceful as he went on, but he took a pause in conversation and calmed himself. "My apologies; I was wrong."

Not failing to give the youth one last chance, Drustan stuck out his hand, symbolic of a peace offering. "Let us try this again: Hello, my name is Drustan Cynwrig; it is nice to meet you. Will you please tell me who the assassin on the roof over there is?"