Re: Piracy on the Seven Skies (Sky Pirates IC Thread)

[Espresso]

A deathly silence blankets the Hail Mary as the crew stands shock still at Vulcan's command, thoroughly intimidated by his presence. They've made such a commotion, in fact, that there's a stumbling that comes from below deck, and out bursts a posh looking unicorn mare in an thoroughly impractical dress, looking angrily for a moment.

"What is the meaning of this? All of you, get back to work-- EEK!" That's when she notices the fiery black dragon, with the helmsman in his claws. "Wha- what- Pirates?! What is the meaning of this? What about the escort--" She then also catches sight of the corvette, slowly losing altitude as it spins out of control. "Ah- ah, oh, handsome pirate drake, I'm sure we can come to a compromise, aha, aha...!" She laughs airily, but clearly scared witless.

As Mori makes his complaints, Trigger suddenly splutters and coughs, a puff of smoke coming out with each wheezy breath. It seems replacing most of her body with implants has paid off, after all. Although, most of her artificial coat has been burned off, revealing the brass metallic body that Trigger truly possesses.

[AleneShazam]

"Ha... I guess the impact reductors really work, huh?" Trigger wheezes, before looking down at her forelegs - the two guns that took the brunt of the impact when she smashed into the hull of the ship. She grimaces at the sight of both legs being smashed beyond repair, and heaves a long sigh. "...You two, look away. It's embarrassing to open myself up in front of other people."

Once she makes sure neither of the two currently next to her are watching, she fumbles around her chest and pops open a panel. Reaching inside, she withdraws two completely pristine versions of her front two legs, and places them onto the ground next to her. She then shuts the panel, and tugs on one of the new legs, which reveals it to be one of her swiss army legs. Pulling out a few tools, she starts work on detaching the busted limbs, and attaching the new ones on.

Mechanics:

[Faege]

"Tell your men to stand down. All we want is the cargo. If you listen to what we say, nobody else needs to get hurt." Punctuating his statement, Vulcan throws the helmspony down to the deck in front of the unicorn mare. He jumps down afterwards, securing his hold on the helmspony again. "I'm going to conduct a search of the hold. If you try anything funny, my associate up there will gut you."

Despite the heat radiating off him, Vulcan's tone is ice cold as he makes the remark, turning to head down below deck into the hold, dragging the helmspony behind him like a rag doll.

[Senshuken]

As Apollo's eyes fell on the mare who appeared to be dressed in such a fancy way as to be the owner of the vessel, a flash of understanding crossed his mind as recognized her... and a ball of guilt that was heavy with unease weighed his stomach down even further then it was before. This would have been so much easier if it had just been some random, faceless noble pony who he could picture as having earned their wealth from being a dick to the working class, but he knew of Purse Flower and her circumstances... For all he knew, this shipment held a lot more worth to her then just profit in that it might have been a building block to building up and repairing her reputation as something more then a trophy wife.

It was too late now to bail through, he needed the money too badly to abandon the plan... didn't mean he couldn't feel bad about it.

"Unfortunately Mrs..Sorry, Lady Flower-" Apollo corrected himself quickly, deciding to respect the fact that she was still a minor noble even if the death of her late husband had lowered he standing a bit "- But we've accepted a contract to claim this ship and its cargo and I'm sure you of all ponies would understand the value of keeping ones word. If you and your crew are willing to cooperate, we would be more then happy to set you all down safe and soundly on the ground before being on our way. Personally, I securely hope you got this ship and the cargo insured."

[jaguargamma]

Frisky finds it hard to resist watching Trigger repair herself...until she remembers that the rest of the crew is boarding and plundering the Hail Mary.

So she decides to go help.

"Yarr!" she proclaims with her bad pirate accent as she lands on the latter ship's deck. "I be Princesss Plunderbutt the Pirate, here for ta plunder all yer pony booties! YARR!"

Actions:

[Espresso]

Purse Flower cringes at the helmspony being thrown off the edge, landing in a crumpled heap in front of her. She nods meekly, watching as Vulcan heads below deck with his claw on the helmspony.

Below deck there's a long corridor with rooms - where the crew sleep and go about their daily business. There's also what seems to be Purse Flower's office. Going down a flight of stairs is the cargo hold, with stacked up crates of undoubtedly priceless artifacts.

In particular, there's one crate which seems extra-padded and secured with numerous chains and locks, with a sticker on top which reads "Fragile ^ This side up. Do not open unless authorized".

---

Once Vulcan is gone, and Apollo speaks, she quickly glares at the griffon. "Don't you pity me, you pirate bastard. We'll cooperate, but that doesn't mean we'll enjoy it."

There's a murmur of approval that runs through the crowd; it seems when not confronted with a burning drake of evil she still has a shred of noble pride in her.

When Frisky lands, Purse Flower just stares at her like she's an idiot, and slowly turns back to Apollo. "Is... is she for real?"

---

On the ship, it doesn't take long for Trigger to put herself together. As she stands up, she catches Vapor frowning at the black clouds brewing over the Everfree, which have only grown denser and more volatile over time, flashes of lightning sometimes visible deep inside. The wind has picked up, somewhat, but it's not enough to affect the ships outside of the Everfree No-Fly zone just yet.

(Everyone above deck, roll perception.)

[Senshuken]

Apollo sighed a little internally. He could get why she was angry at him and he couldn't blame her in the slightest. Still, he had a job to do and the sooner they got the crew off of the ship, the less likely someone was going to try doing something stupid like attempting to be a hero. However, a part of him couldn't help but wince a little at the whole 'Princess Plunderbutt' thing; It was like watching and listening to some twisted parody of what a pirate should be like and he suspected that every single actual pirate in existence had been insulted somehow on a spiritual level by the display. "I've been asking myself that same question since I've met her. I honestly suspect she got her outfit from a costume shop that normally caters to fancy dress parties." Was all he could answer with a look on his face that told the tale of how he felt Purse Flower's pain.

Shaking his head, he turned to take the now vacant helm, intent on bringing the ship down in order to unload the crew as quickly and painlessly as possible. As he took the wheel through, he glanced towards the horrific mess of storm clouds that were coiling together on mass above the Everfree with a small hint of nervousness.

Dice rolls:

[Espresso]

Distracted by the clouds, Apollo temporarily forgets to, y'know, steer. The ship starts to tilt dangerously to one side.

[AleneShazam]

Trigger glances worriedly at the clouds as well, before her eyes widen at Apollo's piloting skills.

"CLAWS ON THE WHEEL, YOU DUMB BIRD!"

Perception:

Generosity:

[Senshuken]

Apollo blinked a little quickly before shaking his head and returning to the here and now, getting his claws on the wheel properly and correcting the ship before bad things happen.

[jaguargamma]

Any semblance of professionalism sails over the side as Frisky slides across the deck one way as the ship tilts, squealing and having the time of her life as she goes.

"WHEEEEEE!"

She has just enough time to notice the storm clouds ("Oh, hey! Clouds!") before Apollo scrambles to right the ship and sends Frisky sliding back across the deck.

"WHEEEEEE!"

Actions:

[Paper Shadow]

Mori tries to watch Trigger repair herself for a second, but as she doesn't start until he turns away, he does. He can still hear though, and for a bat pony that is enough. Seeing as everyone has things under control on the Hail Mary, Mori remains on the Huntress in the meantime, ears out for anyone calling for him...

(Perception Check: 11 + 8 = 19 (+Nightwatch))

[Faege]

Vulcan chuckles as he steps into the treasure hold - it's been a long time since he's last been raiding in person, and he's forgotten how good it feels.

"Now, what have you got for us..." His eyes land on the chained cargo, and he laughs dryly under his mask. "That's just too easy."

He goes over to the crate, and gets to work unlocking the chains and taking a peek inside.

Mechanics:

[Espresso]

The crew scramble to recover from the tilt of the ship, and in the panic, no one except for the members of the raiding party notice the strangeness with the clouds over the Everfree, as the ship slowly descends towards the ground.

Namely, they're not clouds at all, they're smoke.

A looming shadow emerges from the smokescreen. A gargantuan serpentine form, covered in pitch black scales, overlaid with pitted metal armor. Black, leathery wings, spreading wide enough to cover entire ships from bow to stern. A fanged maw issuing smoke and fire, lips curled into a snarl, and malicious red eyes.

A massive black dragon breaks free of the Everfree skyline, propelling itself towards the Hail Mary with only a few flaps of its powerful wings. What's more, perched on the dragon's back like a morbid backpack, is what looks to be a fortress, bristling with guns and thick steel plating.

Those who are on the Hail Mary particularly notice that at the top of the fortress is a black flag, bearing the insignia of a skull, cracked down the middle.

The Black Sky.

The wind picks up suddenly, and it takes all of Apollo's piloting skills to keep the Hail Mary from being violently buffeted by the sudden gales.

---

Vulcan easily opens up the crate, but when he looks into the cargo crate, rather than gold, silver, or antique goods, all he sees are five stone orbs with geometric shapes carved into the stone face. They don't look particularly expensive, or valuable.

Suddenly, the ship shudders, causing some of the cargo to quake dangerously.

[Senshuken]

The sudden assault of the winds rocked the Hail Mary and almost took Apollo by surprise; However, his training kicked in and while he wasn't the greatest of helmsman out there, he managed to keep his cool enough to keep the ship under control... For what good it was worth at any rate. His blood froze at not just the sight of the dragon that was barreling before him, but the flag that it was flying from the fortress that rested on its back. He had heard tales, seen drawings of it... but seeing the flag ship of Reaver himself in the flesh filled his heart with hatred and fear. It's presence made one thing absolutely clear through: The Hail Mary was doomed.

There was no one in tartarus that the Hail Mary could outrun Dreadwing... nor could it fight it. If Reaver had wanted them shot down they would be dead already, so clearly they were intent on boarding; This was going to be a blood bath no matter if the crew fought or not, but dying fighting might be a better end then whatever sick games Reaver could come up with if he was feeling bored. The Huntress had a chance of escaping, provided it could avoid being hit but it was still better then nothing. Dying was better then being captured by Reaver and his monsters.

Apollo puffed himself up immediately as he abandoned the wheel. "EVERYONE ABLE TO DO SO, MAKE FOR THE HUNTRESS! IF YOU CAN CARRY SOMEONE, DO SO! ANYONE WHO CAN'T MAKE IT OR GET A LIFT, JUMP OVERBOARD OR PREPARE TO DIE FIGHTING BECAUSE THOSE ARE YOUR BEST OUTCOMES RIGHT NOW! MOVE IT!" He tried to keep his voice steady and in command, but there was a deep sense of fear crawling at Apollo's heart as he darted towards Purse Flower before attempting to grab her in order to carry her with him as he abandoned the Hail Mary to try and make it to the Huntress. He dreaded to think what would happen to her if she had been left to the Black Sky...

Actions and Dice Rolls:

[Faege]

"...Rocks?" Vulcan frowns, staring into the crate. Sure, they look old, and finely worked, but... rocks? Really? He grabs one of the stones, looking it over.

Yup. Rocks. He sighs, and shrugs - there's probably a market for it somewhere.

But the ship shudders suddenly, and Vulcan staggers, supporting himself on a crate. "What in the..." He straightens up, and rushes back up above deck, bursting roughly past the doors and laying eyes on the massive dragon bearing down on the ship.

"Fuck that," He spits, turning and sprinting right off the deck of the Hail Mary, leaping and shifting into a desperate flight back to the Huntress, shouting at the griffon attempting to take flight with noble in claw. "What the hell is going on?!"

Athletics:

[jaguargamma]

"WHEEEEOOoooh, that's not good."

Big, black dragons with cannons on them seldom are.

Frisky's wings spring out, and she lifts off the deck and circles the ship's mast. She takes in the situation to see what needs doing...and then spots Vulcan staggering up from below-deck with a round stone in his hand.

She may be new to this whole "piracy" thing, but Frisky's had enough experience with magical artifacts to know one when she sees it.

She banks and lands below-deck, then makes a beeline for the cargo hold, and then to the special crate. Four stone orbs, and a round indent for a fifth--no doubt the one Vulcan carried up.

Frisky finds a nearby sack among the ship's cargo and dumps it out, quickly replacing its contents with the remaining stones.

When she tries to lift it telekinetically, she finds the stones are heavier than she expected; the sack is just a little too heavy for telekinesis. She remedies that by taking one stone out, tying the sack closed around the others, and putting the one she remove into her pirate's shirt. Using her forelimbs to cradle it, she heads back topside with her haul, and makes a beeline for the Huntress.

[Paper Shadow]

Mori tried to remain calm and stoic in the face of the great dragon before the two ships. His composure lasts a few seconds before he shrugs to himself and mutters a defeated "Well, we're dead," his voice quivers as he does. He turns to Trigger and Vapor, trying to look in control but only managing to look dumbstruck. "I ain't a captain," he says, eyes staring wide, "But I think we've got only one way out of this. You gotta rig the Huntress to blow and ram it into the Hail Mary. Then..." He swallows uncertainty in his own plan. "Then we leg it though the Everfree on hoof and hope that everypony's distracted havin' to scavenge for whatever Reaver's here for. That's our only out." All in all, the plan sounds like a terrible idea...

[AleneShazam]

Trigger takes a look at the dragon, then back at Mori. "Sounds good! I'll get the bomb." She flips her chest open again and starts rummaging inside.

"They may be Black Sky, but they should still respect - to some extent - the members of the other Skies..." Trigger says, pulling out a slab of gray putty-like substance. "As long as we do nothing to miff them off, we should be fine... right?"

[Espresso]

The boarding party arrive on the Huntress just in time to hear Mori propose his plan, and for Trigger to agree with it. Purse Flower is flailing about in a panic, and the Hail Mary is in an uproar - the crew who can fly are carrying non-combatants off, not onto the Huntress but down to the ground blow and those who cannot fly are lowering ropes to make the descent down as well.

Meanwhile, the dragon bears down on the Hail Mary - less than a mile away, and approaching fast. It seems as though there's still some time to plan at first, but that notion quickly becomes dispelled when there's a thunderous roar, and whistling through the air comes five massive iron harpoons, long and thick as trees, barbed at the tips, thick chains trailing behind.

Three miss, slamming into the dirt below and sending up a cascade of dust and debris, but one clips the Hail Mary's prow, and another smashes clean through the Hail Mary's hull. The chain snaps taut, beginning to draw the ship towards the dragon even as it flies ever closer, much to the dismay of those still onboard.

[Senshuken]

Letting Purse Flower go in order to free himself up, Apollo stepped forward in order to take over a leadership position since there didn't seem to be a clear pony in charge of the Huntress. "You're right, that is an idiotic idea. How about instead we freaking floor it and get going already!" Taking a moment to take a deep breath, the griffin quickly explained "We're fast enough that we can outrun Dreadwing and we're small and nimble enough that we should be able to dodge anything they throw at us. Their main weapons are locked on the Hail Mary anyway so let's MOVE IT!"

[Faege]

"No. The Doc's plan makes sense, even if it's a little risky." Vulcan speaks up quickly. He glances at Apollo, deciding to explain himself and to give credit where credit is due. "Your assessment is fair, but not fully informed. If we go by your plan, we'll by hunted down like prey."

"You see, the dragon is a mobile aerodrome, housing small jet-ships that can outpace a sloop like the Huntress easily. Even if we could outrun the dragon, the bastard's fliers will bring us down. Making for the cover of the Everfree, however dangerous, is the only path to survival."

[jaguargamma]

Frisky's demeanor is dead serious as she transfers the stone in her shirt to the sack, and then plucks the final one out of Vulcan's claw to put it in the sack as well.

"If you're gonna go with that plan, you'll need somepony to stay on the Huntress to make sure it works."

Frisky ties the sack closed and slides it toward Apollo.

"Do we have any jumper cables?"

[AleneShazam]

"So we're still blowing up the ship?" Trigger says, gleefully. "I can make sure the ship goes up in as big a boom as possible. Just give the word."

She glances towards Frisky, and nods. "Yes, why?"

[jaguargamma]

"To hook me up to the ship's engines. I can boost their output, make the ship hit harder and blow up bigger. I know spells to get myself out in time, so the rest of you would just need to worry about getting yourselves down safely with the stones."

She gives Vulcan a hard look. "All the stones. Whatever they are, they look important, so Black Sky can't have any of them."

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