Laterne Von Prussia [Intercom update: 3 Sept]

[Chalybs Levitas]

ȲфʋΩɠ Ϝʆόϫ∂

Jack felt his rig hitch, and heard something snap, on the way to the wall. Wheezing after the hard impact, he pointed the gun at the ceiling and prepared to make a quick decent down the ladder nearby. It didn't work. Instead, the gun jammed and Jack had no anchor for his daring jump. Supressing a curse, he dashed the gun to the floor, grabbed the two sides of the ladder, and began sliding down. He trusted his gloves to protect him from the friction, but forgot to compensate for his warhammer.

He landed badly, his legs nearly buckled. Jack stumbled back from the ladder and turned to seek escape, only to notice the rushing marine. His hands responded almost immediately, the left bringing the knife into a defensive position, the other grabbing his sword from its sheathe at his waist and drawing it in a vicious strike at the marine.

 

[The Diamond God]

Lucille "Lucy" Cohen

Lucy's duty as a crew member was fulfilled and she took her leave of the bridge, wanting to get away from the banks of windows as much as anything else. She started back towards the Belly, but stopped half way through. Thierry. Hard would have his hands full; the navigation aid wouldn't know what hit her if the other parties landed before the marines could get up there. Lucy hurried back down three more levels to her private quarters to retrieve her pistols before heading back up all those level to the bubble. At Deck Twenty-Four, Lucy joined the three squads of marines up there and then just stopped; this far up, you could hear the wind blowing just outside the thin wooden walls. To her it sounded like fear. Like an airship rushing to give the ground a hug. What are you doing? She can clearly take care of herself. She nibbled on the nail of her left thumb nervously and tried to remembered what in the name of all that was holy what made her run all the way up here. The three squads of marines slung their rifles onto their backs and opened up one of the hatches leading to the outside; they began to climb out to get secure the outside of the craft. The wind picked up and Lucy's courage sank even more. She spoke to herself and no one in particular.

"You know, I think I'll hold down the fort here."

The last of the marines filed through the hatch, but neglected to shut it behind him. Lucy edged away from the windy hole slowly, never taking her eyes from it, like if she blinked it suddenly would move or expand. Quite distinctly over the sounds of the wind, she could hear the gunshots as the marines began to engage the pirates. This could be bad.  

[Chalybs Levitas]

Young Floyd

Jack didn't respond, or struggle, from the grasp. As the marine's grip tightened, blackness overwhelmed Jack, and he passed out. In his unconcious dreams, he fell, or flew, he wasn't sure which, from boat to boat, each ship rocking and creaking. They strained against their sails as they floated on the clouds. When he hit the last boat's deck, the soil flew upwards from his boots, and Jack looked up to see his parents, smiling and holding onto their tools, welcoming him home.

 

[The Diamond God]

Lucille "Lucy" Cohen

"B...But..."

But it was too late; the good captain was out the door and Lucy was alone with an unconscious pirate. She edged closer to the unconscious Floyd; he'd left him next to the now propped open hatchway. Why me? Lucy imagined that the sound of the wind had grown more and more menacingly. She hurriedly ducked and grabbed Floyd's leg, dragging him quickly back away from the hatch; the strong Chief only managed to pull the youth two meters before having to give up. What does this kid weigh? Lucy's hand jumped to the pistols on her belt when she thought she saw him move...but no. He was just settling.

Now what? Her totally none combat honed nerves weren't being helped by that hatch either. If she could will herself to do it, she might've tried to close the hatch herself. Damn it. Lucy sighed and slid down the wall to sit against it at such an angle that she could see both Floyd and the open hatch.  

[The Diamond God]

James Stephen Weir

James climbed up to the first catwalk with his rifle secured to his back. He pulled it around after he cleared the ladder and began to fire on the pirate-shaped blobs on the catwalks above. His eyesight had come back slowly over the years, enough that he could distinguish with some effort between his comrades and everyone else. At a few meters difference at the most; but this time, he didn't have to worry about that. James sighted down the length of his rifle and was gratified to see a corpse fall away when his gun jumped. His next few shots were a mixed bag as to mortality rates and when he went to reload, he discovered Hard had joined the squad on the catwalk.

"Glad to see you here, captain. How's the arm?"

Even in the smallest uniform they had, it just hung off of his body like James had been wearing a bag; the bones of his body stuck out grotesquely wherever they weren't covered by clothes and his equipment looked too big for him. If it weren't for the faint look of horror his eyes and the sharp angles of his body, James might've been a child playing soldier boy. He didn't flinch as a round from above sparked into their catwalk between the two of them, just looked up, a frown on his face.  

[Chalybs Levitas]

When they began their descent, four teams of twenty had landed. One held the ground, making sure their reinforcements went to the weakest areas of defense. Wield sword, hooked staff, and several low-impact guns, the ecclectic crew began their assault on the zepplin's defenses.

Desperation from hunger and desire for glory mingled in the guts of the northmost crew. They screamed bloody murder as they commited the same.

The western crew were too timid, cautious from a legacy of defeat and the hunger of the past months.

The eastmost crew, however, were simply reckless. They rappeled and clambered down the balloon as fast as they could, eager to eat once more, and careless with both life and limb.