Aether Shanties RP (PM if interested/Started)

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska

Sheska glared when he started to laugh, and she quickly jabbed a finger at him and scowled. "You laugh now, but do you know what it's like to wear a dress? They're all so frilly, and keep me from moving the way I want to. You can't run, or roll, or jump in them unless you want to fall on your face, and the only person I can think of that can fight very well in a dress is Beth.", she told him firmly, just before standing up.

"Luckily for you, I happen to know a couple of the best tailors in town. Pretend to be enough different people and you kinda learn this stuff.".

She nodded and sighed. "Then lets get that over with. And honestly, I'm glad you're the one accompanying me with this bullshit. I definitely wouldn't want Sam, or god forbid, Beth to come along.", she said, shaking her head as she grabbed her rum bottle.

After draining half of it in one large draft, she simply sat it down and jerked her head to the doorway. "Lets go, Izzy.", she said, smiling a little as she patted his shoulder and led the way outside.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Garrett watched from near the front of the group as a conversation was taking place between Adrianna and man he had never seen before; he also noticed another man standing behind Adrianna, definitely didn't look Imperial judging from his attire, more like a Skyfolk, but for what reason was another Skyfolk doing here escaped him. Whereas with the other man he definitely had a purpose. An imposing figure standing an inch or two short of six foot, and sported a short, and a very much Imperial hairstyle. From what Garrett was getting off of him, he had definitely seen action, though not in the traditional sense.

He waited a moment for there to be a pause in the conversation before speaking.

"Afternoon all. Apologies to you both for interrupting this conversation, no doubt the business is important so I shall not waste too much of your time. Just thought I would inform you Rear Admiral, that myself and Vasco were able to acquire the services of a shipwright, who is willing to help with necessary maintenance and upgrades to the Invincible; and as luck would have it, he happens to be an old friend of mine, so I can vouch for his experience. May I introduce Mr. Silas Rainecroft." Garrett remarked, gesturing towards the man in question.

"Old Silas here just needs to have a few words with the Engineer before work can begin, though he has told me it could take a few days for the necessary work to be completed. Speaking of, has the new Engineer arrived yet?" He then asked.

 

[3quency]

-Simmyns Outfitters-

Isaac flipped the front of his pocket watch open and checked the time.
Ten minutes, ten minutes she'd been in that damn room with the master tailor. Isaac could be up and in a decent looking suit in less than one as a matter of instinct. Admittedly the suit would look like it had been through a warzone, but that wouldn't take too long to sort out.

He'd used Simmyns once or twice before in his past life. They were good at what they did, had an eye for detail and above all, they were effortlessly discreet. When some local Skyfolk duchess or pampered Imperial wanted his or her special new raiment to be a surprise at the next society dinner you pretty much had to be.

He tapped his foot and looked out the window at the passersby. Maybe he should get something for himself. If they were going to attend this thing (not that he necessarily was), it paid to look presentable. Maybe a matter to worry about later. After all, he still had a few bits and pieces from the last time he'd needed to look smart tucked away in the cabin, and in a pinch they'd be cheaper. Not to mention already fitted with the necessary pouches and hidden straps to keep his gear on him.

"Will they be much longer?" he asked the man at the counter. He looked up from the ream of cloth he was cutting and shrugged. Isaac rolled his eyes.

He was about to ask again when the door finally opened. He turned to look...

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

-Simmyns Outfitters-

At first, Sheska was rather dubious when it came to the tailors that Izzy took her to, and after stepping into the private area where they conducted the fitting, she was right to feel that way.

They ordered her to strip, which while she knew she would have to, still felt uncomfortable about it. After measurements were taken, and she nearly broke the master tailor's assistant's nose, they finally started to make suggestions on what might suit her. So she endured.

It was almost fifteen minutes when she finally stepped out into the main shop.

What she wore was a long, blood red dress that hugged what few curves she had, and had a long slit in the right side of the skirt, revealing one of her bare legs as she strode forward. It had a single thick piece of fabric that wrapped up and over her left shoulder, hiding the scar she had and keeping it up, all the while dipping low enough to reveal what little cleavage she had. And riding up the left side of the dress was a simple but elegant black floral design.

Stepping forward, she held out her arm and looked at Izzy expectantly. "Well? How do I look?", she asked quietly.

 

[3quency]

Isaac gaped. He fumbled for words for a few seconds before responding.

"Sheska... wow. In word, I'd go with stunning."
At which point he remembered Sheska's occasionally very literal approach to compliments.
"Which is a damned good thing." he added hurriedly.

He stayed still for a moment, marvelling at the handiwork. There wasn't really much he could add. But by damn, he ought to come back here for something of his own.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

-Sheska-

At Izzy's reaction, she had to grin, and she felt herself blushing just slightly at what he said.

"Sheska... wow. In word, I'd go with stunning. Which is a damned good thing."

She laughed and nodded. "I know, and good. If I can make you react like that, then hopefully at the shindig, no one will think that I'm a pirate.", she said, then she looked him over and adding, "And I wouldn't mind seeing you in a proper suit.".

In all honesty, she liked the dress. It looked good, fit well, and she felt... Feminine without looking or feeling too girly. If anything, it didn't make her look less dangerous, it only made her look more classy. After the function, she thought that she might end up keeping it, along with the other things the tailor mentioned ought to accompany the dress.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Zach's eyes followed the captain as she stepped of the gangplank and took up her place in the secluded portion of the wharf. For several reasons, it wasn't heard to tell who she was, but the thing about her that struck Zach first wasn't something as straightforward as her appearance or her garb, but rather the way she held herself. People with authority, or at least people deserving of their authority, didn't just wear it in words or stripes on their sleeves. No, they wore it in the way they moved. It was one of the many talents of his that he owed to his youth as an outrider for his tribe, the ability to read these subtleties as if they stood out clear as day. If you wanted to survive out on the plains, you needed to be able to learn everything you need to know about a creature just by watching from a distance. Are they predator, or prey? Where are they strong, and where are they weak. The Captain moved like an Alpha, without even trying. She was someone to be treated with a healthy respect, and he'd approach her with more caution than he'd approached the others so far, even if by now he had rather taken to the rum.

"You must be my new captian." Zach said as he approached, coming to a halt a few paces away. "I apologize if I'm intruding on your solitude, but I thought that I might take the opportunity to introduce myself, while things are relatively quiet. Zach Eagle, at your service, and this is Oswin." to which the Parrot whistled his usual greeting.

He thought it best to keep his tone measured and matter of fact. While he didn't want to presume to take liberties so soon, he wanted even less to be taken for a witless boy, trying too hard to win favour.

"It's a pleasant change, to see a Captain so at ease out here. Last ship I served on, the Captain was rarely seen outside his cabin. Mind you, that may have been on account of him being almost too fat to fit though his own door."

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]Almost everyone[/HEADING]

"Lieutenant Commander Isaac Lee Ring on attachment to the embassy in Helium City. Sorry to have disturbed you. I have a message o f the utmost importance which I have been told to pass on to you and you alone. Do you mind if we find somewhere where we can talk without being interrupted?" The embassy man said, taking her hand. Before she could respond however, two other surprises occurred.

The first was that an unknown man of impressive size and shape carrying an axe of similarly extreme size. Despite his intimidating figure, the man merely waved for the attention of the officers, remaining passive otherwise. The second was Garrett and Vasco returning and reporting in.

"Afternoon all. Apologies to you both for interrupting this conversation, no doubt the business is important so I shall not waste too much of your time. Just thought I would inform you Rear Admiral, that myself and Vasco were able to acquire the services of a shipwright, who is willing to help with necessary maintenance and upgrades to the Invincible; and as luck would have it, he happens to be an old friend of mine, so I can vouch for his experience. May I introduce Mr. Silas Rainecroft. Old Silas here just needs to have a few words with the Engineer before work can begin, though he has told me it could take a few days for the necessary work to be completed. Speaking of, has the new Engineer arrived yet?" Garrett said, introducing the Shipwright. Adrianna nodded to the man, who seemed intent on appearing annoyed at everything around him.

Turning back to the embassy employee for a moment, she began to respond. "Very well; I believe the Captain's Quarters should provide you the requisite privacy. Allow me to deal with a few small items here, and I shall guide you there." Adrianna said, dealing with one issue at a time. Returning to Garrett, she responded in kind. "I trust your and Mr. Roque's judgement; if you believe Mr. Raincroft will meet our needs, then you have my approval. The new Engineer arrived several minutes ago; I believe she will either be in the officer's quarters or in the engine room." Turning slightly so she could look at both Vasco and Garrett, she added "Please see to it that Mr. Raincroft has an escort at all times while aboard the Invincible, then the two of you may have leave of ship as you see fit. On a related note however, the Officers and some of the crew - yourself included Mr. Corvus - have been invited to a gala tomorrow evening. Please see to it that your uniforms or formal-wear are up to spec. Dismissed."

With one more item out of the way, Adrianna turned to George, to make another item clear. "Mr. Maelstrom; I'm afraid we will need to conclude our conversation at a later time this evening. In the mean time, you have leave of the Invincible. Please familiarize yourself with the vessel and her crew. If you have any questions, I'm certain one of the officers or Mr. Corvus can answer them" she said, before dismissing him.

Finally, with only one item remaining, she turned to the strange giant of a man, posing him a question. "Is there something I can help you with Sir?" she asked, though it was not the first question on her mind - that belonged to questioning how he made it past the Imperial security for the dockyard.

[HEADING=2]James[/HEADING]

Ciel was making her way through the ship - from the officer's quarters to the engine room - when she heard an odd sound coming from one of the decks. It sounded something like an over-sized woodpecker, which could not be good on a vessel like the Invincible. Working her way closer with some measure of stealth and using her drone's liberally, she found the source of the sound quickly - a strange man banging his head against the side of the hull.

We'll, we can't have that now can we she thought to herself, as she slowly moved closer. "I'm so screwed." he said, his head making slight abrasions on the siding. When she was close enough, she coughed slightly to catch his attention and said "I don't know what your doing here or what the problem is, but I would appreciate you not scuffing up the side of the ship - it makes my job harder. Now; is there something I can help you with Sir?" she said, trying to be as kind as she could while still convincing him to stop making damages she would need to fix.

 

[deathbydeath]

"Is there something I can help you with Sir?"

"I would hope so, ma'am." If the clothing she wore was any indicator of her importance, Drustan felt that he should leave the best impression possible on this woman, and offered his hand as a greeting. "My name is Drustan Cynwrig, and I am an errant mercenary who has been on this glorified trash heap for far too long. I long to get back to the Skies, ma'am, and I would be more than willing to work on your ship in order to achieve that."

Drustan paused for a second, then mentally kicked himself for forgetting his manners. "My apologies for the aimless discourse, ma'am. What is your name?"

 

[hiei82]

"...My apologies for the aimless discourse, ma'am. What is your name?" the man - now known as Durstan - said after a short pause. Adrianna stared at the man, somewhat dumbfounded. She'd run into many people over the course of her career; from Skyfolk warriors to Misbegotten so deformed identifying them as human would be impossible, and she'd believed she was fairly skilled at handling all sorts of people. To be blunt, she'd even fallen for a Skyfolk Mercenary who now served beneath her - evidence of her worldly nature; but never had she encountered a person who would break into an Imperial dock and extravagantly announce that they were looking for a job.

The only word for it was brazen, though it was hardly a sufficient term.

Adrianna continued to stare, more then a little confused, for a few more moments before she caught herself. She cleared her throat, responding "Rear-Admiral Lanester; Commanding Officer of the H.M.S. Invincible." to answer his question. She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts then added "This is highly irregular. Give me 1 reason I shouldn't have my men shoot you where you stand, much less hire you - an unknown mercenary without Imperial orders - to my vessel." The question was blunt she knew, lacking in all her usual tact, but then she wasn't exactly sure how to deal with him.

 

[Ruedyn]

"I don't know what your doing here or what the problem is, but I would appreciate you not scuffing up the side of the ship - it makes my job harder. Now; is there something I can help you with Sir?"
James stopped, and turned as quickly as he could, subconsciously getting into a fighting stance.
'Guile or punching, guile or punching, guile or punching-'
"Erm, Hello? My name is James. Please don't shoot me." James raised his arms, deciding to just face his fate, rather than punch his way out of an imperial ship. There was NO way the latter would go well, unless very trusting pirates were nearby.
"I take it you work here, and are not cool with breaking and entering?"

 

[deathbydeath]

"This is highly irregular. Give me 1 reason I shouldn't have my men shoot you where you stand, much less hire you - an unknown mercenary without Imperial orders - to my vessel."

Drustan swiveled his head back and forth, taking in the Imperial troops he missed upon his unorthodox entrance, and then shrugged upon answering her question. "I asked politely? In all seriousness, this could have gone much worse. I apologies for arriving in an unorthodox manner, which, for the record, was as easy as dropping down from that roof." he pointed to a building at the edge of the docks to prove his story. "I was in a bit of a rush to get here, so I came in as straight a line as possible. As to the second half of your request, I can say from experience that sets of skills such as mine are often rare, if present at all in the Navy. For example, have you heard of the Navy vessel Judgement?"

 

[hiei82]

[HEADING=2]James[/HEADING]

"I take it you work here, and are not cool with breaking and entering?" the man said, holding his hands up. Ciel almost wanted to laugh at the man, but decided against it. "Yes I do, and generally no we do not." she said, motioning for him without raising a weapon of any kind. "Let's go find the Captain; I'm sure she won't do anything but question you for a while and ask you to leave." she said, trying to be as kind to the strnage man as possible. "So... do you have a name?" she asked, trying to make friendly conversation with the stowaway. Realizing she was being impolite by asking for his name without offering hers (her mother would kill her if she found out about such an indiscretion), she added "I'm Ciel by the way, Ciel Kriebel."

[HEADING=2]Drustan[/HEADING]

"..For example, have you heard of the Navy vessel Judgement?" Drustan said, forcing Adrianna to think about it for a moment. She was aware of the vessel and some of its exploits. It was a fine vessel to be sure, but what it had to do with the strange Merc in front of her was beyond her. Last she'd heard of it however was it had recently changed command. "The one now commanded by Captain Malkon?" she asked, trying to make sense of what the Merc was trying to get at.

 

[deathbydeath]

"The one now commanded by Captain Malkon?"

Drustan was glad that she had heard of the ship, as it removed some of the burden of convincing her off his shoulders. "Ah, yes, that's the one. There was an incident about a year ago where it came under fire from a pirate ship four days from port. Dear Malkon was incapacated in the leading salvo of cannons, as one of the balls exploded directly beneath his feet. This was quite a lucky move for the pirates, as decapitating their foe before most of them had even awakened is a severe advantage. Acknowledging this, a Skyfolk mercenary seeking passage on that ship hoisted the captain onto his back and tied him there with some scrap rigging. Said Skyfolk proceeded to hustle the ship into action and direct the crew under direction of Captain Malkon, and served as the primary force preventing the pirates boarding via gangplank. While I doubt I need to explain the identity of the Skyfolk mercenary, I am honestly surprised you haven't heard the tale. I myself was told it twice the third night I was here by an Imperial fellow with a drinking problem. Nonetheless, I hope that clarifies some questions you have about allowing me to travel with you."

 

[Ruedyn]

"Yes I do, and generally no we do not."
"Huh." James raised an eyebrow. Really lax security it seemed. Though, she didn't look like much, at least to him.
"Let's go find the Captain; I'm sure she won't do anything but question you for a while and ask you to leave."
"No promises of my firstborn child or anything? IS this an Imperial ship?" James muttered this to himself, with a smile. She actually seemed like a nice human being. And she didn't even try to shoot him!
"So... do you have a name...? I'm Ciel by the way, Ciel Kriebel."
"Ah, hullo, I'm James. James the Mongoose, if you care for the whole title."

 

[Cybele]

Once the revolver was disassembled and the pieces lay neatly in front of him Roy proceeded with cleaning, taking note of any parts that would need to be fixed or replaced and shooing away anyone who tried to take the crates he was sitting on down to the ship's hold.

The firing pin seemed worn and might need to be replaced but other than that there was nothing that a brush or a drop of oil couldn't fix. When the gun was cleaned and reassembled Roy loaded in a few round and tried to fire, taking care not to point the revolver at anyone. No recoil, no smoke, no angry glares in his direction and the bullet was still sitting neatly in its chamber. Frowning, Roy tried again but got the same results.

"Guess I'll have to replace it after all," he muttered as he unloaded the gun and then started to disassemble it yet again to replace the old firing pin with a new one. Luckily he had a spare that fitted well enough. Once that was done he tried to fire again and this time felt the recoil as the gun fired.

"Much better."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

At the sound of the gunshot Zach turned sharply, unsheathing his bow and drawing an arrow so quickly it may have been a reflex. Scanning the wharf and the deck, he noticed the gun-smoke rising from the barrel of Sheska's pistol where the new engineer had just test-fired it.

'Damn him! Has he got a death wish? All it would have taken was an undue twitch of my fingers and he'd be dead now.'

He also inwardly cursed himself. He should have seen what the man was about to do before he did it. Being off the deck and having his back turned was no excuse, he was better than that. If Solomon, the Neobedouin who had mentored Zach to be an Outrider since he was 7 had been here, he would have been furious. His extended visit to Helium City was making him lazy. He needed to be out roaming the skies again, soon.

Zach relaxed and sheathed his weapon. On another day he'd have been tempted to aim a shot just above the engineer's head, to remind him that sudden loud noises in Zach's presence could be bad for his health, but he felt it was probably best not to start a fight so soon into his career as a pirate. Oswin had taken flight at the sound and was now circling above his head, shrieking angrily. With a whistle and a click of his teeth he called him back down, before turning back to Beth.

"Sorry about that Captain. Guess I'm a little jumpy for having not sailed in a while. You wouldn't happen to know when we set sail next would you?"

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

Beth

She didn't remain alone for long, as one of the new recruits stepped up to her and introduced himself. Why did they have to do that? It was a question she kept asking herself, as it didn't take more than a few weeks or a month for some of them to get killed. She'd prefer it if they remained nameless, hell, even faceless would have been great in some cases. A quick glance at the man revealed that he was not one of the latter, she put the bottle to her lips and drank, as the laughter in her throat threatened to break her silence.

"I must be your new captain, if Sheska hired you." She said. "My name is Beth, which you might know if you've listened or talked with any of my veterans."

Beth kept drinking, and looking down at Helium City. She wondered if Roberts had been the one behind the messenger, the initials fit him, but it felt like a fool's hope to think it was him.

Zach mentioned how his old captain had not shown himself among the crew, and she rolled her eyes. It was one of the first lessons she had been taught, to get people to follow you, you need to show them that you don't think you're any better than them. Arrogance did no one any good, and to brag was a way of showing that you thought you needed to prove yourself to others.

She needed to lead, know where they were going, keep the loot coming and they'd follow her anywhere. As long as she could avoid any disasters at least. "That sounds like it must have been a shitty captain, Zach."

A gun went off and the neobeduin jumped at the sound, while Beth remained seated and raised the bottle to drink again. Somehow, she doubted he'd last long if he reacted like that to a gunshot. Maybe she had been numbed by hearing the sound too often, but there was no such thing as too often as a pirate, it was just part of the every day life.

"I'm sure you are..." She answered him. "We'll be in port for a few more days, to get the ship repaired and restocked."

Wilhelmena

She walked down the gangplank, and past the admiral who was talking with a skyfolk brute, by the looks of it. "Are you hiring mercs now? I can recommend some, though I suppose the only thing that matters in the end are their muscles and it looks like you picked a good one."

Wilhelmena suspected that Adrianna hadn't considered doing it yet, but if she complimented her on the idea, she might be more willing and real mercenaries didn't have any loyalty to anything else than gold. It would help to have some, when the time came.

"Anyway, I need to get the rest of my luggage. Can't leave without it, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to carry it for me either." She laughed, then left in the direction she had come from, but when she was out of sight of the Invincible, she turned to head in a different direction.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

His reception from the Captain had been a little cold, but it was no more than Zach had expected, and she was at least less abrasive than her first mate. He allowed himself to relax a little, sitting on another barrel opposite her, and taking out his own drink again.

"Anyway, he was no pirate that's for sure." he responded to her remark about his old Captain. "Over 25 stone of Neo-Victorian pomp and entitlement. Still, it's not like he'd have been much use above decks anyway. He probably did us all a favour by keeping out of the way. To be honest, it didn't matter to me. I was out in the open air, the pay was good, and I got into a fair few good fights whenever someone tried to raid us."

Zach wasn't sure if he should dwell too much on him having killed pirates before. He wanted Beth to know that he could handle himself, but at the same time he wasn't sure how deep 'honour among thieves' ran with her, and if she'd hold it against him if it turned out that Zach had killed anyone she knew.

"Can't wait for a good skirmish against some Imps though." Zach decided to cover with "One of the reasons I got so damn sick of the last ship. Having to welcome them on board and thank them for their smug self-satisfied presence while they take one look at the brown Neobeduin and wonder if he likes to fuck women or horses." An edge of his normally well-concealed bitterness crept into Zach's voice, as he took another swig of rum in one hand, and made one of his knives dance with the other. "We'll see what they wonder about me once I pull their teeth out and add them to my collection." he added darkly, tapping the steel of his blade against the Sabre teeth resting on his bare chest.

 

[3quency]

-Isaac-
"I know, and good. If I can make you react like that, then hopefully at the shindig, no one will think that I'm a pirate. And I wouldn't mind seeing you in a proper suit."

Isaac coughed politely and looked away.
"Erm, shall we head back? Still stuff to do."
He dropped a handful of notes (from his own emergency fund) into the tailor's hand and turned to Sheska, waiting for her to change.

"So... how did things go with Beth?" he asked as soon as they were moving from the shop. He could already guess, judging from her expression but he preferred to hear it from her.


-Annis-

Annis strode back through the streets, barely looking to see if her man was following. The deed was done, it was time to get clear. As much as she doubted it, if the foul play was discovered too soon, the town's law would have to do something and she couldn't afford to be accused. It was bad enough that she had distinguishing features recognisable a mile away, but to be seen in the neighbourhood from which the saboteurs operated would be unthinkable.

She easily made it through the streets and before too long arrived back at The Invincible. The place was a hive of activity. It seemed some new recruits had been assigned and were collecting nearby. Corvus and the good Doctor had returned with a Ship Wright who was busying himself looking at the changes they wanted.

And there was the Rear-Admiral, talking to some mercenary giant. Annis raised an eyebrow as she approached, dismissing Stanford with the flick of a hand. She stood before Lanester and saluted sharply.

"Rear Admiral, orders? My business in town is concluded."