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 Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:51 pm
((Post coming, as I promised Kami, it's just... rather late now. >>; ))
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:54 am
"You're heading out again?" Shining, pale gold locks danced as their owner turned their head around, the light coming in from the window was turning mellow and golden from the approaching sunset. The long tresses were up in an intricate hairdo with a few curling ringlets hanging down behind the head but high enough to expose the slender neck. The young woman's profile was framed by a window situated towards the west, which made the afternoon sun shine in at full force, outlining her in gold. Her faces was shadowed, but only slightly, and her dress was a pale rose pink.
"Yes," the man, who was sitting comfortably in an armchair not too far away, nodded, but his eyes didn't leave the book in front of him. She was a glorious being, true, but he saw her everyday after all. She was his fiancé. "You can come along if you're bored, you know," he said, knowing that she already knew that to be true. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her nod in agreement.
"Indeed, I know. How long will you be gone?" she questioned, turning back to the window once again and to watch the sun slowly sinking towards the horizon and into the soon burning sea.
"I don't expect it to be long," he said with a shrug of one shoulder, confessing that he didn't know for sure. They probably hadn't specified, she guessed. "I'm heading to Darsun first so you could always stay with Kale if you don't wish to travel too much."
She nodded in reply. "We shall see," she said, her sweet voice resembling that of the famed wavesingers of the submarine races.
Well, that had been yesterday afternoon and today he stood upon the deck of his official Navy flagship, Luciana, gazing out over the churning waves that broke against the hull as the sturdy ship tore through them. He was dressed in a uniform today and the perfume of the ocean had clung to him since this morning when they set out for the neighboring barony of Darsun.
Indeed, just as she had said, he didn't know how long he would be gone. He had actually thought it to be something much less, much shorter, than it really was. And that damn Kale, who he wasn't sure why he was friends with at times, had just been having mighty fun about his reaction when he got to know the depth of his assignment. That damn little... brat. Hey, he was 4 years than him! Plus, he had some rights to call the other names, seeing all that he knew about the man.
"Admiral, sir!" The man turned his attention towards the member of his crew that had just come hurrying up to him.
"Yes?" he replied with an even stare and without breaking much of a face at all. The other man gave a quick bow of his head, the man was old in his ways and had served in the Navy for his fair share of years but he was a fairly new member of Luciana's crew.
"We've sighted another ship due northeast," he said, trailing off a bit at the end, making his superior understand there was more to it.
"Hostile?"
"Lawless, sir." Pirate ship.
"Name?" he requested as he held out his hand and was given the telescope, the silent order having been read.
((Sujika, you dork! >EE XDD How can I do anything without the name of the lady captain's ship!? >=E Now this post became shorter because I didn't have the name. Bah.))
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:26 pm
He saw it as at the same time as the man said it; the "Black Dove". Mouth twisting into a small, wry smile, one that nearly bordered on a miniscule smirk. So it had been good that Denizell didn't come along then. This was the best that had happened since he left Darsure this morning. Yes indeed, this was absolutely perfect, he thought to himself as he lowered the telescope.
"Mr. Reimer, inform the crew that we're going to have to deviate slightly from the plans since we just encountered something that entreats us to act by noblesse oblige, being a part of Asura's foremost defense," he said, his smile widening slightly. The man bowed his head again and left. What he hadn't seen, however, was the small smirk on curving the lips on the other side of his commanding officer's face.
True, they were too far away at the moment, by normal standards, to engage in combat or even begin shooting with the cannons but that was not something he cared about really. He had ways around most things that proved to be... bothersome. After all, he was Falk du Ruine.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 12:59 pm
Of course, by the time that the crew of the Luciana was ready to go, the crew of the Dove had spotted them, and Captain Erica Lance was just trying to figure out which of the Navy's ships was tailing them. She had her very best manipulators trying to move the ship out of range while they worked out the details, but as soon as she realized whose ship it was, the captain's blood began to boil with the fiery intensity she was known for.
This man, no, this man would not be allowed to escape them. Not after the life he had chosen to lead.
"Come about! The Navy's favorite dog is at our heels, and I don't intend to let him off without a sound whipping..."she said, eyes narrowed with determination. Had it been any other ship, or even simply any other captain aboard her, and Lance would more than likely have simply out matched it...but not with that man on it...The betrayer would finally pay for his deeds.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 1:48 pm
"Admiral, sir! She seems to be turning. I think they've decided to meet us instead," the man, Lieutenant Harn Reimer, informed his commanding officer when he returned to the steering wheel after having breifed the crew upon deck and set the lower levels into gear. Falk nodded once in reply, he had expected no less of her and even if she had surprised him and set off on a "catch me if you can" game, he would have followed and taken her down. Rather now when he had her where he saw her.
"That is good, prepare the cannons, or, actually, just one," Falk told the man still standing on the top step of the stair leading up to the podium that the steering wheel was situated. The man blinked at the vice admiral in confusion.
"N-now, sir?"
"Did I specify any other time, lieutenant?" Falk questioned with a raised eyebrow. The man shook his head.
"No, you did not, sir. I just... I don't think we can hit from this distance," he confess, earning a small smile from the master.
"I know that. Load in one and a half batch of powder, that should do it. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," he said with a nod and the darker man just nodded and left. Personally, Harn was pretty sure they wouldn't hit. The distance was just too great! The cannon ball would fall short some meters even with the extra powder. But he wasn't about to argue with this man, not many would feel like arguing with the Baron du Ruine, the "Lion of the (Asuran) Navy" as he was called.
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Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 4:54 pm
There was an air of palpable tension on the Luciana, a mixture of excitement and adrenaline and nerves. A few of the crew were hurrying about, preforming various errands or still hastening to various stations, but most of them were still. This was the waiting, the stretched-out pause before the world exploded into action and reaction.
"What the hell is he doing?"
Stay glanced over at the young man next to her, sweat starting to drip from beneath his thick black hair to run between his eyes. His mutter, barely vocalized, was still loud enough to have been clearly heard by those standing nearby in this tense still. They were standing at attention on the upper deck, among those who were neither manipulating the wind or the waves nor positioning the ship or carrying out the specific orders of the Admiral, merely awaiting the start of the action and the roar of the cannon.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 2:10 am
((XDD *loved that* He's doing a lot. *rubs hands* XDD;;; *laughs* *just had to*))
Falk looked over to the turning Black Dove who was soon going to start heading for them. He smiled at the ship as the sun passed 2 o'clock overhead them. Yes, it was a perfect day; the view was clear, the sea wasn't unruly and the wind fresh but acceptable.
"Admiral, they've loaded the cannon and we're ready," Harn called out as he came up from below deck and turned to look at his commander. Now what?
Falk gave him a light but controlled smile and a nod in reply. "Good," he replied before turning completely towards their enemy ship. Still too far away (if you counted the normal way, that is). A small smirk grazed his lips before it disappeared and he decsended down the stairs to the upper, main, deck. Raising his arm in the air, elbow in level with his shoulders and hand held high he fixed the Dove with his eyes.
Now, Miss Lance, let's see what you'll do. "Fire!" he called, letting his lower arm fall to point towards the other ship.
"Fire!" the lieutenant relied the command just as swiftly to the lower levels. However much he doubted this, it was his duty and so he would perform it without fail.
The cannon flared off with a thundering cry and the black shadow that the human eye could almost miss whizzed away across the water. The tension that comes with the first shot, before it hits or sinks, was extreme as the whistling noise resounded over the water but then came the sudden, and totally unexpected (to all but one or perhaps two) sound. The thunderous crash of a flying projectil harshly tearing into an obstacle, not about to be denied passage. It was a good question if the cannon ball even stayed inside the ship...
A splash of water some way on the other side of the Black Dove later seemed to confirm that the bullet had passed straight through the hull. The entering hole glared darkly back at the Luciana where it now sat some feet above the water level. It wouldn't remain dry inside for long if the ship rocked like that.
((Oooh! I so LOVE this part! XD It was so... exciting to write! And there be more to come so... reactions! Kami and Suji! XDD From the crew and captain that is.))
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:14 am
((XDD My turn to call you a dork.))
Stay's eyes widened slightly at the sound of the cannonball tearing through the pirate ship, but she remained still. At her side, Gerald gave a low impressed murmur and she could feel the air of anticipation within the Luciana sharply rise. They had gotten the first hit. The pirate ship was still advancing for the moment. Soon there would be a real engagement.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 11:22 am
"Damnit...I forgot...Anyone who's ever spit with some skill get your a** down there and fix that hull!"Lance shouted, and as if on cue the water manipulators rushed down to the lower decks. Given, they certainly wouldn't be able to keep the ship floating if this kept up, but long enough for at least some kind of fight perhaps.
"Earth to the aft, air mid ship, fire to the fore!"were her next commands, running forward herself to be joined by several others of her crew. The few air manipulators took a stance in the middle, knowing this plan well, as the ones with the earth gift started to literally call up the ocean floor as their weapon; it would take time, but they could do it.
Then the retaliation began. "Fire the first!" Surely, that string of fireballs would never make it to the Luciana...or it wouldn't have except for the extra push it was given. As the wave of controlled air hit them, a few of the weaker flames were simply snuffed out, but those that survived flared up with the extra oxygen.
Contact. Flames began to rise from the deck of the other ship; one of the weaker even managed to hit the lower corner of a sail. Captain Lance couldn't help but smirk a little, thinking that even if the Luciana escaped this, that was going to be a pain in the a** to fix...oh well, an eye for an eye, a sail for her ship's hull...She just wished it had been her own that managed to ignite one of the ship's 'vital organs'.
((wheeee!))
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:09 pm
((XD No, you may not call me a dork! *protests*))
As soon as it was a confirmed hit, not that he wasn't already sure it would have been, Falk shouted a new order. "Reload and fire when ready! Same amount of force." However, when he saw how the Dove's crew began to move a small, loopsided smile touched his lips. Ah, Lance, I knew you.
"Mr. Reimer, aim higher this time! Aim for the mainmast at deck level," he added onto his previous order. Blow those air manipulators away, he thought grimly. That was something, after all, they could do without. "After confirmed hit, fire at will until confrontation. She shall rest at the bottom of the sea or be firewood found at the nearest shores around here before we leave."
It was then that a light flared off from the front of the Black Dove. Falk didn't even need to try and figure out what would happen, he already knew. The flames hit, though not as many as had left the enemy vessle, licking greedily at the smaller fore sails. Falk gritted his teeth lightly. "Water manipulators!" He didn't even need to voice his demand, they would know what needed to be done.
"Fire manipulators to the prow*, once we get close enough take down those earth manipulators at the aft! Leave nothing but a scorge mark if you have to. Many of these are experienced manipulators who all are full into their abilities, leave them no room for any tricks and give no quarter. Understood?"
((*Usually ships meet each other, meaning that they come up fore to aft on both sides, no?))
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 12:28 pm
By the time the next cannon-blast echoed through the air, at least one of the earth manipulators had gotten some earth up. The shot hit what seemed to be compacted sand made hard like brick, but burst through regardless as the gifted tried to multi-task and continue to pull up more.
"No you fools, you've got some earth, use it!"Shouted Lance, readying another round of flames. However, before she could sent it flying, the mast began to creak; Falk's shot had been true, and after swaying a bit the wooden beam toppled to the side. Lance swore under her breath...at least the delay had given the Air users time to scatter away from it.
"Regroup!"the captain ordered, then sending a non-manipulator below deck to get the water manipulators to keep the Dove moving towards the Luciana. Once they were back in position, the fire manipulators launched another round. This time, the poor air users, shaken from nearly being crushed by their own mast couldn't offer as much control, and only half the flames even touched the other ship, the Captain's being the only one landing right in the middle of a deck.
"Boys you'd better hurry it up, or we're going to have some trouble!"Lance commanded the earth users, all of them nodding in reply. The one had the damaged wall of earth back in shape, and finally the others were getting some near the surface.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:02 pm
((Okay, I have to agree. This is pretty exciting. ^^;; ))
The men standing at attention had parted and reformed with the commands given and Stay was in a small group standing at the front of the ship, waiting expectantly for the Black Dove to come into better range. There were never as many fire-manipulators working for the Navy as water or air, although the number was still far higher than earth. She flexed her right hand, her dominant one, expectantly. She could hit the other vessel from here, but not with as much force as she would be able to in just a few more seconds. Hopefully the waves would stay low. Last time they had encountered and engaged a pirate vessel, things had gotten quite damp, making it difficult for her to do her job...
Stay dropped that train of thought, refocusing upon the target. The Black Dove was now much closer, starting to move up alongside the Luciana.
"Ready..." The order was given by one of the men a rank above her and equal to or higher than the rest of those waiting. "Hold..." Stay kept her face impassive, gathering her energy for the rush about to fill her. "Fire!"
Oh, the perfect phrasing of the command. She raised her arm from her side as those around her did the same, drawing forth and flinging outward a massive blaze of flame. The combined effort was quite impressive, casting a veritable arching curtain of fire at the prow of the pirate ship. Stay felt her breath catch momentarily from the passage of energy through her body and from the combined heat around and before her. She blinked hard, forcing away the light-headedness that followed the effort of conjuring up such a wave of fire, and noted with pleasure that her own contribution had more than swollen the attack's size. It was certainly larger than the substantial flame of the commanding officer.
As the thought passed through her clearing mind, the fire hit, immediately searing its way through the wooden side of the vessel near the top of the ship after climbing over and under the levetating earth and momentarily engulfing the entire near side of the prow and the earth-manipulators standing there. Stay watched as the earth wall hovering in midair crumpled and fell.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 6:49 pm
The fire manipulators turned at once, changing from attack to defense, using their ability to start lifting their opponent's flames into the air. Immediately, part of the non-manipulator section of the crew ran forward, hoping to get to the earth manipulators before it was too late. By the time they got there, two were already dead, one badly burned, and one unconscious.
"Get them below deck!"Shouted Lance, lifting some of Stay's fire and tossing it back at her as the ship's met side by side. At the same moment, two of the water manipulators ran up the stairs from below, and started to put out the fire, as other members of the crew laid out planks to cross to the Luciana.
As soon as the first plank was laid, the crew drew swords. Water manipulators freezing water around their blades to perfect the edges, fire setting their swords aflame. The captain led the way, leaving part of the crew on board the Dove to protect her, the others going for their Navy opponents.
The water manipulators immediately went towards the fire contingent, hoping to soak them completely before they could attack again. One such gifted person managed to bring up a spray of water, throwing it onto the manipulator next to Stay, a little spray hitting her as well. It wasn't enough to put her out of commission, but had the attack been inches over she would have been drenched just like her crew mate.
Of course, the one going for the opposing captain was of course none other than Erica Lance herself...The traitor would not be allowed to fall by any blade but hers.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:31 pm
Stay jerked to the side as the contingent started to break formation. She caught some of the fire in the air and waved it quickly over her left arm and hand, drying the material and skin. It would not do to have her fire put out of commission this early on. Closing the small flame in both her hands, now dry, she compressed it slightly then drew it out with her right hand, rolling it between her fingers and shaping it as she pulled it out. With a last jerk, the move almost a caress, Stay pulled it from its base on her palm. She hefted it, a long and pointed shaft of flame, and threw it between the eyes of the nearest water manipulator, the one who had soaked the man beside her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:41 pm
The water manipulator died instantly, collapsing into a heap onto the deck. As soon as he fell, another took his place. The new manipulator was more ready to fight stay, and this time managed to freeze her left hand. At that point, the man put up a barrier of water between the two, a water whip in his other hand, clearly hoping to use it to get his opponent damp eneough to stop the flames.
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