(Aah, I'm so excited for this! Okay, so here's the rundown. We have... Captain Natalia Burgundy, and her first mate Jack Curnow, Jade Eloquence, and Ellia Mercury played by yours truly. All four characters are open for romance. @Common Sense's medic, who I just realized we do not have a name for. He is open for a gay romantic relationship. Avice Rohesia, played by @Stuffy McPatch. She is a sailor who is open for romance. Jared Rayne, played by @Starlight Speedster, who is a cook who is also open for romance. Sierra Feist, played by @AzureBlitz. She is a medic, who it doesn't look like is open for romance, but we will have to see. Cobiah Seatone, played by @Proxy, is a sailor. He is not open for romance. We also have some unnamed NPCs, and if more people sign up, these people can be substituted. Let's get started. Sign ups are at this link: http://www.everypony.com/threads/pirates-character-sheet.18831/ They will be up for the first five pages, and then they will close. Our story begins during an attack..) Jade bit back a grunt as the metal of her sword clanged against the hairy sailor's blade. With a swipe, she parried the blow, and stabbed the man in the belly. With a groan, he fell to the ground, and Jade looked across the deck. Her shipmates were finishing their attacks, and Jade nodded slightly in approval. As the last man fell, she turned to Ellia with a half smile on her lips, and she opened her mouth to speak. Her words were abruptly cut off by a strong hand enclosing her throat. She was raised to the mast, and her fingers struggled against the grip on her throat. "Hold your fire!" the sailor barked, his eyes wide with panic, spittle spraying from his mouth. "If you want the girl to live, drop your weapons, and back away!" Jade struggled to breathe, and her gaze darted from person to person. A small shadow darted behind the crew and Jade held back a smile. The sailor looked around frantically. "Get your captain. Where's the Siren?" A slight tap on his shoulder made him crane his head back to see Natalia reaching across his neck to pull his opposite shoulder. She pulled him with force, and his body twisted, and he fell to the ground. To his credit, he held onto Jade's neck for a majority of the fall, but moments before he hit the ground, Natalia kicked his wrist, and there was a sudden pressure around her neck as the sailor squeezed, and then let go. Jack, the first mate, caught Jade under the arms as she fell, demonstrating yet again an eerie ability to anticipate the Siren's actions before she even completed them. Natalie pulled out a dagger out from under her belt as she walked over to the sailor. "You fought dishonorably, but you can die bravely if you look into my eyes." The sailor lay on his back, breathing heavily, but after a moment, his gaze flickered to hers. Her face turned almost gentle, and she nodded. "Good. Rest now." The dagger fell, and the sailor died quickly. Natalia took a moment, and then retrieved her weapon. She pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, and wiped it clean. Her startling blue eyes shifted from the dead body to her crew and she addressed them with a clear, serious voice. "Their loot is in the hold. Load it into the ship as soon as possible, and let's get out of here." She turned, and her boots clicked against the wooden grain of the ship. Her first mate, Jack, watched her go, and then sighed and pushed his brown hair out of his face. "Alright everyone, you know the drill. Get down to the hold." (Medics and Cooks, people will be coming soon enough, but you can go down to help if you wish.)
Jared looked around at the aftermath of the battle. "Oh jeez... I've lost my apatite now..." He never liked looking at death. He scurried over to the edge of the Calypso's shame. "Make sure to get their food!" He called over. "We're celebrating this victory!"
OOC: I don't think I mentioned a name for my character, Just call him, Carrick Reynolds.....Okay? "The captain's man never seem to not amaze me, There strategy is Magnificent at best if not a little weak on the Defence side at worst, either way that was a brutal battle, if only I was better at using my Bow, yet again to risk such a important Organ Expert Medic in a battle like this, would be far to dangerous" He sighed a bit turning to one of the mates "Ya' know, You gibber far to much, I'm going to the Hold as ordered, Good luck, Scottish man........" As the Mate walked into the hold, Carrick shouted back "I'M IRISH! What do people not get about that?" he sighed while having a look around, "They shall be calling Medics soon" he said to himself. "But I would like to give that sailor a piece of my mind............" Carrick was left pondering what to do before finally deciding to wait until Medic assistance is required.
Cobiah shoved the body of the attacker off his blade and into the sea. His blade was still as white as the moon, despite the bloodshed. He sheathed his sword and walked to the hold. He cracked open a barrel with a nearby prying bar, and, to his delight, it was full of pistols. "Hey, Captain, come over here, I found quite a treat! Pistols! From the looks of it, it's some high quality stuff, won't blow your hand off after firing it!"
Natalia glanced away from a linen bag of various jewelry that she was inspecting, slung the sack over her back, and walked over to Cobiah. She reached thin, calloused fingers to the metal of the pistols, and although she rarely smiled, her lips slightly curved upwards, and she raised an eyebrow, and Cobiah could tell she was pleased. "Excellent work, Mr. Seatone. Mr. Elliott will help you carry this. I'd imagine it will be quite heavy." She turned to a nearby sailor, with slicked down hair, and dark grey eyes, and she cleared her throat. "Mr. Elliott, help Mr. Seatone carry his bounty back into our ship, if you please." "Yes, Captain," the sailor muttered, dropping the small drawstring bag of coins he was investigating. * * * Ellia climbed down from the crow's nest, her fingers naturally finding the curves in the ropes that she had climbed so many times. She didn't want to see the carnage again, but she wanted to help. One thing the Siren had made clear was that Ellia would earn her stay while they searched for her hometown. She hit the ground of the ship, and quickly made her way across the deck, passing Jared just in time to hear his announcement, and she smiled. * * * Jade rubbed her neck, her face flushed with embarrassment. "That was so stupid," she thought. It was one of the first lesson of piracy: never relax during an attack. The first mate had helped her stand, and gave her a small pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry," Jack said, "that could have happened to anyone. Go see the medics; make sure there's no lasting damage." Jade nodded, and silently returned to the ship.
Jared was dragging a barrel of potatoes along the deck of the ship to the stairs of the hold. He was quite glad they had found a wealthy supply of fresh food. His foot missed the first step and he almost lost his balance, the barrel almost squashing him. He regained his composure and managed dragged the barrel to storage while some sailors watched and chuckled.
"Okay, on the count of three, lift." Cobiah said, as he turned the barrel on it's side and curled his arms under it to lift. "One, two, three, HEAVE." The two sailors lifted and carefully carried the barrel back to the Calypso, where they placed it in the armory.
Sierra reloaded her flintlock and put it away as she went over to the barrel of guns and pulled a pistol out. "Might wanna hold on a sec with that barrel boys,who knows if these pirates were trying to get rid of some shoddy paper weights." She checked to make sure it was loaded. "Looks fine,feels like any other gun,acts like any other pistol out there. now what if it shoots?" she checked again to see if it was loaded and pointed the pistol towards the sea and pulled the trigger.nothing. she reloaded to see if something might have jammed and fired again.still nothing. "Yep, just like i thought. Either their hiding their real load or they were planning on giving away their guns. but i'll keep this one, in case i do mange to get in working order." she put the pistol away as well as she went down to the Medic room.
Jade walked across the deck, rubbing her neck in frustration. She passed by Jared, and watched him almost fall. "This happens," she thought, "people make mistakes." She stepped forward to help, but he regained his balance. Her shipmates chortles warranted a glare from her. "It's not right that they do that," she thought. "They aren't doing any work themselves." * * * Natalia strode into the Captain's Quarters, and close the door behind her. She rubbed her temple with one hand, and the other pulled out a map from the chestnut drawers. She sat at a desk engraved , and pulled out an inkwell. Unrolling the scroll, she made a few notes, her writing small but neat. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she looked at the door. "Come in," she called, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Jack entered. He looked tired, Natalia noticed, and he slumped slightly against the wall. "We are almost ready, Natalia," he said. "The cook has gotten most of the food, and we have retrieved most of the loot." "Excellent. I fear we may need to depart rather swiftly. Set an eastern route, please, and release the crew to be receive medical attention." "Yes ma'am," he said, bowing out of the room.
Jared was able to move the barrels of food to his kitchen quarter and began to survey his findings. He opened the lid to the barrels and looked inside. "Hmm... Potatoes... Carrots... Salt beef... Apples? What a find!" He looked around before popping the cork out of a small bottle and taking a swig of rum followed by quickly replacing it back in his pocket.. "Fantastic!"
Jack walked down the steps from Natalia's room, and thought about his close friend. He heard the whispers, rumours about their relationship, but he ignored them. Let them think what they want. He cleared his throat, and looked over at the crew. "Quiet everyone, please. At this time, we will be departing. Make sure you've gotten everything, and man your stations. Miss Lemming, please direct the boat in the easterly direction." "Yes, sir!" said a small, tattooed, blonde girl, swinging past him to reach the wheel. "Please, those of you in need of medical attention, head to the infirmary. The captain will be coming by soon, so it's in your best interest to be doing your job correctly."
Avice watched everyone silently. She sat cross-legged on a barrel while picking the dried blood off of her dagger, and sighed. She hadn't gotten much loot, mostly out of pure laziness and procrastination. Her brown hair rustled slightly in the wind as she got up, and twirled the small knife between her fingers before placing it back into its small sheath the rest at her belt. Fortunately, Avice had been lucky enough to sidestep from any injury.
Natalia opened the door of her cabin, and closed it silently behind her. With a strange sort of elegance, she walked down the stairs, and strode past various crew members, ignoring the sudden hush of conversation that followed like a wave. She stood at the side of the ship, and set her sights across the sea. Her brow furrowed as she noticed a dot on the horizon, and with a small start, she looked up to the crow's nest. She grabbed the rope that was connected the mast, and hauled herself up halfway, moving swiftly. "Miss Mercury!" she called when she was within earshot, "Please set your sights on the ship due west, and describe the flag it carries!" "It's not just one, Ma'am!" responded the girl. "It appears that there are three Corps ships approaching swiftly!" Natalia cursed, and swung down to the base of the rope. Holding on with one hand, she addressed her crew. "Attention! We have three ships of the Corps pursuing us. Man your stations, and get us moving." She dropped down, and crossed the deck. She climbed a mast, and released one end of the sails, her hair whipping in the wind. (A little bit of background info: the Corps - Officially known as the Corps for Peace - is essentially the police of the ocean. However, a large amount of the members are considered corrupt. Either way, you don't want to run into them.)
"The Corps? If they catch us then we're toast!" He took another swig of rum before putting the lids back on the barrels and propping them between 2 crates.
"The Corps are coming I see, well we better make Haste, There equipment is funded by several countries and is some of the best out there, even with the best strategy are entire team would be surrounded and wiped out, I better see if anyone needs help....." Carrick looks around for a bit until he notices a Mate pull out one of his teeth with ease. "Hmm.......Do we have a Scurvy Problem?" he walked up to the mate and asked to have a look at his Teeth, The ship had been low on high Vitamin C food and drink for a while and it seemed as if it just started causing issues now, "What if the whole ship is to follow, I must warn the Captain" Carrick rushed towards the Captain "Natalia we must talk, One of our ship members has just got Scurvy, hopefully that Ship your looting has some high Vitamin C Produce, if not the rest of the ship may follow" He addressed his Captain very formally with his hand behind his back like a scientist. "I know we must rush from the Corps first, but is there any Country or place we could loot for some High Vitamin C food, the results of not having it could be catastrophic"
Natalia's fingers were expertly untying the knot containing the sail. "Mr. Reynolds, I don't know if you've noticed, but we are currently in a state of panic. Go discuss our food intake with Mr. Rayne, see if he has anything to spare. However, I fear scurvy is the least of our medical worries currently." She undid the knot, and climbed to another level of the mast. "Miss Mercury! Are there any updates on our pursuers?" "They are coming quickly, Ma'am!" Natalia looked across the beam, at her crew undoing the sails, and she cursed. "Mr. Curnow, Mr. Seatone, Miss Eloquence, Miss Rohesia, Mr. Edgars, Miss Damian, Mr. Crewe, and Mr. Elliott! Ready the cannons!"
Corps? Oh god. Either A they were here for getting everyone else. Or B they were here to get her. The reason why she ran away was because someone killed her father, the most notorious Chief Captain in the Corps was murdered and she was blamed for it. But if everyone is gonna get hurt because of her,she might as well tell the truth. She rushed up to Captain Natalia and was already out of breath after running such a short distance. "C-captain Natalia,I-i think we may be able to get out of this alive with no one on our team injured and nobody having to fire. You might not believe me when i say this but,their coming after me, and i'll tell you everything but, dont fire at the Corps and surrender. I've had run-ins with them and some are corrupt but they're always willing to negotiate. I swear,if this doesn't work,you can punish me however you like,just trust me on this..." if she doesn't do something,then countless deaths are gonna be on her conscience and she doesn't want to deal with more than the one shes already carrying.
Natalia turned to Sierra, a stunning amount of calculated frustration in her startling blue eyes. "Miss Feist. I have been on this ship for years, and I have faced the Corps in ways that you can't imagine. Do not presume to know more than me. If you are the reason my ship is in danger, then the very least you can do is follow my orders. " She pointed to the opposite end of the sails, and turned back to the knot she was working on. "Release those sails, and strap down the equipment if all of your duties as a medic have been completed. The cannons are not desired, but we will fight if we need to. If we can get these sails released in time, then we have a quick escape." She paused for a moment and then looked over her shoulder. Her words were slightly gentler, although still serious. "I understand that you may have misgivings, Miss Feist, but as a member of my crew, you must follow my instructions, and trust in me. I am your captain. You are a part of my crew. Come to my cabin after this is over. We will discuss your..." Here she paused, thinking carefully about the words she would choose next. "..relationship with the Corps, and how it affects my crew." With that, she released the last knot, and the sail opened, catching the wind. A small cheer came from the crows nest as the ship burst forward, propelled by the wind.
Cobiah leaned out of a window on the lower deck, and shouted up to the gunwale. "Portside cannons loaded, ma'am! We'll be in firing range soon!"
"Y-yes ma'am." Sierra looked somewhat disappointed but she did as she was ordered and when she finished doing what the captain told her to do she went down to Natalia's cabin and waited. "So...how am i gonna tell everyone that most of the attacks are probably my fault?" hopefully,once everyone on board finds out,nobody tries to throw her body overboard afterwards. "So...exactly how do i tell this to everyone WITHOUT them most likely flipping their *squee!*?" she sat on Natalia's desk as she pondered on her decisions,and her extremely possible outcomes.
