Shorlixa/WPSessionFourteen
And here be Session Fourteen for this crew of pirates.
Session Fourteen
With their journey through the Wyld complete, the Solars finally re-emerge into some part of Western Creation. Of course, they don't emerge to idyllic scenery but into a full blown storm and right smack into a naval engagement. Various wrecks are already being tossed around the ocean while ships fire upon each other. It's hard to tell who's fighting who given a lack of flags flying and the general storm, but the Solars certainly have made an entrance with their most unusual ship.
Lady Syn faceplants. So much for her hope of never being seen in this monster until its made fit to not be mocked.
Megumi takes her burgeremote in one hand, her spaghettibow in the other, and heads topside to get the full view of the ships involved. She needs to see who's fighting who, and if intervention is necessary, on what side.
Ryoujal says, "Should someone man the... pickles?"
Orillian peers out into the battle. "Looks like the combat systems will be tested."
Big Red takes a look across the sea to see what is actually going on
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: All hands to condiments! Ay this is embarassing."
You paged (Big Red, Ryoujal, Orillian, Megumi) with 'As they attempt to peer through the pouring sheets of rain, they can just make out ships smashing into each other. One side has battleships and looks like a well equipped naval unit. The other side has ships that look more worn out but have so many weapons firing off, they're certainly not helpless.'
Most people can't see past the pouring rain as the ships are tossed upon the waves. However, whatever the sandwich ship has been made into, it remains rather stable despite the powerful waves, turning horrible tossing into a gentler rocking. The robots have all come out to play in the storm too.
Ryoujal says, "Perhaps they'll just think we're some sort of hallucination? I mean one can't expect a large sandwich to float on by in the middle of a battle?"
Lady Syn says, "I'm nae going into this fight without some sort of disguise."
Big Red says, "Why even. Fight. It’s not ours so why we don't we just turn away and make a break for it."
Orillian nods. "But were they to become aware of this vessel's nature, I doubt they would be as squeamish about the aesthetics as we are, to gain an advantage."
Megumi says, "We don't necessarily have to fight; but we *should* determine who the two sides are in case it should become necessary or desirable to take sides."
Lady Syn checks to see if the ships systems have sensors that might ID the two sides.
Big Red says, "It looks to be two sides that want to fight each other. Its not like one side is a bunch of civilians."
Lady Syn looks at the giant. "Well."
Ryoujal takes out his calzone and tries to see if he can tell anything about the fighting ships that might lead to their identity.
As he focuses, he feels the essence drawn from him and a hologram emerges from his calzone. "External surveillance activated." Sounds in his head while the hologram soon builds itself into an accurate representation of the area around them, with various dots moving all over the map which they presume are the units fighting around them. There are various dots that glow extra bright and the information is changing extremely rapidly. However, a few looks can determine where the two sides are and with that thought from Ryoujal, the dots change colours to reflect the different sides.
Ryoujal says, "The rather bright units I think represent ones that use a lot of Essense... Right... Calzone?"
Orillian observes the map curiously.
Megumi rocks back on her heels. "Probably Realm, or possibly from the Silver Prince. Not very many naval forces have extensive magitech, and even fewer this far west."
Lady Syn says, "Still does nae tell us if we slink away and pray that no one connects us to this ship or if we silently and unrecognized preferably remove one side."
Lady Syn thinks 'Or you know take out both sides and plunder them'.
Big Red shakes his head as he check his guns
Ryoujal tries to scroll through what other sensory equipment the calzone has that might ID these ships.
Orillian suggests flatly, "Magitech salvage would make it easier to return this ship to original specifications quickly."
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: Arg! I need to get out of yer head so I can _swagger_, dammit!"
Megumi nods. "That's a good motive. And the magitech ships out there are most likely NOT friendly to us."
By looking at the readout they can see that both sides have their share of essence users, though one side shines brighter, the other has more. There are readouts in Old Realm speculating on the attack power of the ships. Only a few have special readouts that indicate a possible artifact ship, though again, both sides have some. Finally as they look through the rain, they manage to see flares of animas that look elemental.
Lady Syn sticks her tongue out at Ori.
Ryoujal says, "So it's like the Realm against some upstart Outcast pirate fleet?"
Lady Syn says, "Brighter shining. Probably means more powerful then Dragonblooded."
Megumi says, "...Outcaste..pirate fleet.." She glances at Syn. "Lintha?"
Megumi ponders. "Or maybe the.." She pales slightly and reaches for her burger.
Lady Syn says, "Hey, see if the sensors can detect undead. And if it was Lintha, there'd be sea monsters. They use those for shock and awe if nothing else."
Ryoujal tries to see if she can find the Undead Detection button.
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: More powerful than dragonbloods, those foul deepspawn? More powerfully ugly, at least."
Big Red starts cursing under his breath after hearing the mention of undead.
You paged Ryoujal with 'He tries to do something to the map, but apparently dead means dead to the map. "Unable to comply to request. System malfunction." Comes the voice.'
Ryoujal says, "It doesn't sense undead, just dead."
Megumi starts looking up what sorts of heavy weaponry the ship can actually manage to deliver.
Lady Syn says, "Oh goodie. Captain, what’s the call?"
You paged Megumi with 'As she focuses, she feels five weapons coming to life on various parts of the ship. They all feel functional and powerful, though she has to hope they don't fire snacks and treats. But they probably won't.'
Megumi looks out over the waves. "Try to give them as wide a birth as possible, but keep an eye on the situation." She looks down and makes sure the cannons are lined up on the bigger ships, for now.
Orillian looks pensive. "What would be useful is a... is a..."
Ryoujal keeps an eye on his Calzone map in case one of the ships turns to come towards them.
"Fireworks! Whee!" The main robot is celebrating the storm and the attacks being flung around the ships. Of course, given they're in the middle of battle, it's surprising that the ship hasn't been hit by a stray attack yet, although they seem to be ignoring the ship for now. Perhaps it's too ridiculous to be acknowledged.
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: A swift launch, you-argh. Guess I got most of the ideas, still."
Lady Syn says, "Aye aye." Follows the orders. "We need a swift launch."
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: To get a closer reconnaisance. Like the submersible I built. Then used as a bomb. Heh heh. That was fun."
Megumi heads back below and makes sure everyone's safe before the hatch closes.
Lady Syn gives a quiet "I hope this works". Then sets the ship to dive.
"Undersea mode engaged." Comes the cool voice. Something extends over the deck that looks suspiciously like a taco shell before the ship finally dives into the water. When they sink, the readout on the map hologram changes to reflect the undersea wildlife. For some reason, there sure is a lot of wildlife around them and big ones too. There are small clear portholes they can look through if they so wish.
Big Red stands near one of the portholes since he has no station to man
Megumi looks out a porthole.
Lady Syn says, "Might be Lintha after all. Means whoever they're fighting is probably going to hope to die in the fight. Sure you don't want to blow them away? Pride aside, turning the Lintha away in a ship like this would just be funny."
You paged Ryoujal with 'As he reads the map, he's pretty sure that it's just normal undersealife that was attracted to the battle by blood. They're probably just feasting on those people who were shipwrecked.'
You paged Lady Syn with 'Reading the map, Syn is pretty certain that the undersea life is big and plentiful. Seems a bit too plentiful for coincidence too, or simple feasting off the dead.'
You paged (Orillian, Megumi) with 'Looking out the porthole, they can make out various murky shapes in the depths. But nothing too clearly.'
You paged Big Red with 'As he looks out, he spots various big creatures swimming around the depths. He can even see some of them feasting. As he watches, for a brief moment there is a bright anima flare as some undersea dragon-blooded attempts to fight and is swallowed by a terrible creature. That is no simple wildlife. There are demons in the water.'
Those people watching the map soon see a change as a few of the unidentifiable shapes start moving towards them. They have to do something quickly.
Big Red turns to the helm "We need to move out of here now. Those creatures are not natural."
Orillian scratches his head. "I recall... a stomach..."
Ryoujal says, "You sure? They're big... but they might just be looking to feed."
Big Red says, "I just watched it eat a Dragon Blood."
Ryoujal says, "... Okay, so they're not natural..."
Lady Syn says, "Weapons online? I'm surfacing now. We help the Dragon Blood and if they're ungrateful, we take them out too. Agreed?"
Megumi looks at the other officers. "Let's move, then. If there's creatures down here with us, I doubt they're friendly." She starts looking at the map and using it to aim the cannons for the boomboom. Which she promptly starts delivering. Because apparently stealth is no longer an issue here.
Megumi nods to Syn. "Sounds good."
Ryoujal says, "Sounds like a plan."
Big Red says, "This isn't going to end well" Lady Syn sets the ship to surface. "If it is Lintha, give them no quarter. They're merciless monsters who will gladly torture you for days before killing you. And that’s if you're lucky.
Orillian suggests, "With the current... 'condition' of the ship
Orillian suggests, "With the current... 'condition' of the ship's systems, it may be most prudent to rely on what we know to be in sound condition. Notably, the hull, and the ramming prow."
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: Jump right in. My favorite tactic, after all..."
Lady Syn says, "At least we can agree on that, Ori. When in doubt, make it loud."
Megumi fires and there's a rumble in the water as something very big fires off a charge. Given it takes whatever is coming by surprise, Megumi manages a hit and one of those large objects in the water stops moving. However, she's called attention to herself and now most of the shapes are heading towards the ship, according to the map.
Ryoujal says, "Well I think we got their attention...."
Big Red says, "Yep. Not going to end well at all"
Orillian turns to the automata. "Are you equipped to repel boarders?"
Megumi sighs. Great. She studies the map to determine how many ships are inbound, and which are the closest.
For a change, the robot answers sensibly. "Duties cover repair and maintenance. Mode: Passive."
Orillian frowns. "Oh well."
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: ...all that insanity, and no means of violence?"
Lady Syn heads towards the surface looking to plow through one of the non-realm ships. "And for that I'm thankful."
And so they crash back into the surface, breaking apart one of the ships currently in battle. This time, no one can ignore the sandwich, although right now, they're not quite sure what to think about it. Now with a better idea of what to look for, they can see that ships are being pulled down by undersea creatures as well, while the flaring animas of the dragon-blooded are becoming fewer.
Lady Syn starts towards another Lintha vessel. "Any damage to our ship for this stunt?"
Orillian examines the engineering plate.
If there was damage, the mini-robots are hard at work fixing the sandwich already. The main robot is running around the ship having fun. Orillian examines his panel and notes some minor damage that's already being fixed, whether by the ship itself or the robots is debatable.
Megumi aims on the nearest Lintha ships with the concussives and winks at the screen. "Gotcha." She squeezes whatever triggering mechanism exists to fire at one off to the side. Orillian notes, "The automata are at least efficient."
The trigger is basically her own thoughts and lots of essence. The first concussive cannon hasn't recovered from the underwater shot, but there's still the two large ones ready to fire.
Lady Syn says, "Oh good. Now this almost makes all the headaches worthwhile. I almost wish I could see the looks on their faces. There is just something that makes me giddy about making the Lintha have a bad day."
They emerge from the water and destroy that Lintha ship. It's clear they're Lintha given their hideous faces and mutations, if anyone cares to look. Attempts to scrabble up the sandwich ship by the pirates fail miserably as the surface of the ship has been made exceedingly smooth to prevent that very action. Around their immediate vincinity, there are six ships engaging in battle, four Lintha ships on two dragon-blooded ones.
Orillian starts wandering towards one of the implosion bows.
Big Red mans a cannon
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: Hey! Get back here, me! Bah, fine. Great, this'll be when something breaks."
Ryoujal says, "Time to blow something up Captian?"
Megumi glances at Ryo. "I've been. Yes. Let's." She makes her way back to the deck of the ship with her bow - cuz the concussion cannons are fun, but VERY draining.
Lady Syn says, "He has to ask? I've been going off about the evils of Lintha for how bloody long and he has to ask?"
Ryoujal says, "Aye Captian!"
Ryoujal says, "I was asking if it was time I should blow something up, or continue to shout where the ships are."
Ryoujal goes off to arm one of the Essence cannons muttering, "Now how do you work this thing?"
After they emerge, Megumi fires off two shots instantly at two of the Lintha ships and sees some very satisfying holes in the ships. They're just limping along now and can probably be more easily handled. And with that declaration of sides, the battle is joined. Orillian examines the implosion bow and frowns at his lack of archery knowledge. Oh well. Even firing wildly, with how thick the Lintha's monsters were, would probably help.
Ryoujal swings the cannon about to fire off an essence cannon at one of the unwounded Lithiana ships.
Lady Syn steers the ship towards one of the undamaged Lintha ships while trying to evade the brunt of their fire.
Megumi starts pulling out arrows to fire at the Lintha crewmen - ideally captainy ones.
Big Red aims his cannon at the ship Syn targets to ram trying to weaken the target for her a little
Megumi fires off an excellent shot with her bow, managing to pick out the pirate that was probably the most important. While the crew are confused, Red, Orillian and Ryoujal all aim towards one undamaged Lintha ship and successfully punch more holes in the ship. And as a finishing touch, Syn rams their ship through the enemy and it becomes another wreck on the ocean. At this point, something rams the ship from below. A quick check by Orillian reveals superficial damage, but the sea creatures will not be ignored. With only one good ship and the rest limping, the DB ships are revived and retaliate mercilessly, sinking the two limping ships. The last Lintha ship attempts to turn tail and regroup with its fleet.
Megumi extends her hand into the rainy expanse to summon another arrow. Twirling it in her hand, she shakes her head. "Uh-uh. You're in *MY* domain now, you bastards." Quickly drawing it back on her bow, she lets go with a trail of lightning and pasta. The flaming arrow arcs through the storm toward the sails of the retreating ship - it's not going to retreat very far.
Ryoujal says, "Can't let that one get away! All pickles fire!"
Ryoujal swings his cannon about and lets loose a 7 essence blast from the cannon.
Lady Syn says, "If we have anything to deal with the sea monsters, might be good."
Orillian directs the automata to concentrate repairs on the lower hull and lifts the giant hammer off his back. "Perhaps it's time for a swim again."
Lady Syn says, "Try not to get eaten this time."
Megumi says, "Dive, dive, dive!"
Orillian says, "Is that what happened last time? Hmm. Oh, are we not staying for salvage?""
Lady Syn obeys the captain and dives once more.
Lady Syn says, "Salvage after the seas are less monstrous. The captain and I can fetch stuff with little worries."
Orillian stands ready to bat at anything that tries to flop on board before the ship reseals for submersion.
The Solars fire off a few more rounds and sink the last Lintha ship before sinking back underwater, leaving the DB ships grateful but completely mystified. Nothing manages to flop on board before the taco shell surrounds them and they submerge. The map once more changes to reflect the undersea environment, and there are a lot of monsters. Most of them immediately rush against the ship, battering it with their various limbs and teeth.
Lady Syn says, "You may shoot the nasty beasties any time you feel like it."
Ryoujal says, "Got it."
Ryoujal fires off a five essence burst at anything that gets too close to his field of fire.
Big Red lets his cannon answer for him and blast the creatures
You paged Orillian with 'He figures the best deterrent is just to keep blasting them.'
Orillian takes the implosion bow's controls again. "Well... looks like we'll just have to keep blasting them. No alpha beastie or anything I can identify." And he fires some more.
Lady Syn says, "Kill enough and the others will hopefully run away."
Lady Syn decides to see if these things are equally ramable.
Megumi checks to see if the concussion cannons have recharged adequately to be fired again.
The Solars do rather well in fending off the sea creatures and blasting most of them dead or ramming them unconscious. Some do swim off in search of easier prey, but by massing on the ship, a few of them have slithered onto the surface of the ship, setting off proximity alerts and being too close to the ship for cannons to be aimed at them.
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: Feh, looks like we're goin' fer a swim then?
Ryoujal lets go of his cannon and runs off down the deck, "Time to do what I'm best at...
Ryoujal unsheathes his tiger claws to stab at what ever unholy monstrosity is trying to come aboard.
Orillian observes, "If they breach, most likely the outer... shell, we may need to surface again to safely engage them.
Megumi heads for the exits.
Lady Syn unsheathes her sword. "Guess that means time to do what I'm best at too. Save the fools who forget they are underwater." She heads towards an exit putting the ship onto slow and circling.
As the Solars emerge from the ship, they can see how the waters are full of blood and monsters. All around them, corpses or unconscious bodies of the creatures that have attempted to attack them drift in the waters. It's also oddly calm underwater despite the raging storm that's currently on the surface of the seas. There are several creatures that have managed to stick to the taco ship and are currently attempting to burrow their way in. They can see three worm-like creatures pretty near from where they emerge.
Megumi quickly fires a shot at one of the nasties.
Those inside the ship have to rely on the hologram readout to gauge when more monsters are attacking. With Ryoujal, Megumi and Syn outside, the ship is basically staying still, can't see anything and can't fire its weapons. Red and Orillian will have to work hard to prevent more creatures from getting close enough to the ship.
Ryoujal keeps her arms close to his sides and swims towards one of the worms Storm isn't firing at.
Lady Syn says, "Ori, this thing is mentally controlled right? And you're in my head so can you handle that?"
Lady Syn runs along the side of the ship until she reaches the wormlings then delivers a flip cut as she jumps back.
To (Lady Syn, Shorlixa), Orillian pages: I think I can, then again, all I can do is think. So yeah, yeah."
Orillian aims out into the murky water, thinking like a smith. One does not simply pound away at the metal; one shapes it and guides it, building its thickness and then pummelling it into the desired shape. And so it is with his shots, at first aiming more to herd the attacking creatures into a narrower zone of fire than actually hit them.
Big Red grits his teeth and sights down the barrel. Working from the other side as Orillian he start funnelling them in.
The Solars outside pummel away on the encroaching creatures. Megumi takes one out easily with her first shot. Ryoujal rushes in and slices the second worm and Syn dices the third one. The element of surprise works wonders. However, the other creatures that crawled onto the surface start slithering towards them and they can guess that it won't be so easy now.
Red does extremely well in funnelling the creatures, using the dead/unconscious bodies to his advantage. Unfortunately, Orillian is not as good at doing so, but with both of them working together, only one or two monsters manage to get through.
On the outside, four more creatures slither in while they see another two attach themselves to the ship after avoiding cannon fire. Ryoujal, being the quickest, manages to make his move before any of the worms manage to.
Ryoujal seeing the worms start to attach to the taco shield, he crouches on the corpse of the one he just killed and pushed off, propelling himself to the closest one, claws out like a very spikey torpedo.
Ryoujal charges in and spears the worm with his claws, leaving a very thick trail of oozy blood to flow freely into the waters. It's a good thing the blood is neither acidic nor toxic. Around them, more worms come in to attack the Solars while Red and Orillian attempt to fend off more of these infernal creatures. One advantage though, at least that means the DB fleet on the surface has one less thing to worry about.
