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Post by Steinerman on Jul 31, 2011 14:49:01 GMT -5
Thomas made his way above-decks and glanced around, taking in the gentle sea-breeze. The two Guardians were checking their ammo and combat-vests, ensuring the armored plates were secure inside the vests.
A little ways away from them, Vesper was leaning against a railing, staring into the distance. Next to her, Aya was calmly sharpening a combat knife. The dark-skinned woman nodded at Thomas, but otherwise kept silent.
Thomas grabbed his own gear from beside the entrance and quickly donned it, checking the sighting on his rifle and ensuring the magazine was full.
"Thomas?" Vesper called out without bothering to turn. "Wasn't the negotiation ship supposed to wait for us?"
"They bloody well should have," Thomas replied in annoyance. "Why?" He asked, already dreading the answer.
"Because it looks like they went on without us, I see two ships side-by-side. One looks like the Yacht, and the other is some sort of cutter, nothing too special."
Thomas glared out at the two ships in the distance, realizing that Vesper was correct, the negotiation ship seemed to have gone on without them. He quickly scrambled up the ladder to the raised bridge of the ship and poked his head inside, "Trace, slow us down and give me a full sweep with the magnetic detector, something's wrong out there and I don't feel like floating into a trap."
The man at the helm nodded, "Right, it'll take a few minutes though."
Thomas was already sliding back down the ladder, but caught enough of what the helmsman had said to shout out, "Give us a shout when it's done." Before going to stand by Vesper, his rifle out and the powerful scope pointed at the boats.
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Post by Ribitta on Aug 3, 2011 12:53:58 GMT -5
Scept appeared on deck moments later, having caught scraps of the conversation as well. Given the new stance everyone had taken, he went straight to the only question that had any importance for him as he walked up to the rifle-bearing Thomas, "And what, exactly, does this mean for us?" It seemed everyone on the ship had been expecting diplomacy to fail anyway, so it did not seem like a huge disadvantage to them. On the one hand, Scept knew he should hope for successful diplomacy above all else, but on the other he felt like a charge ready to explode if he could not unleash his magic somewhere.
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Post by Steinerman on Aug 3, 2011 13:53:08 GMT -5
"Well, the negotiators who were supposed to meet us are seasoned professionals who've worked with us before," Thomas replied, still staring through his scope. "So it's unlikely that they'd go on without us."
He grimaced and looked up expectantly at the bridge, no answer as of yet. "But the real problem is how they're set up, it looks a little too familiar."
Aya sheathed her knife and hefted a menacing battle-rifle, checking the magazine as she did so. "Dark Harbor." She said with annoyance.
Thomas nodded, "Aye, it looks like that trick the Dark Harbor pirate band pulled on one of our other sloops a few months back, they're trying to edge into this territory and they figure the best way of making themselves known is by beating up our unit."
He pointed out at the ships, explaining the situation to Scept, "If it is the pirates we think, this has all been a trap to get us here. There'll be a third ship, hiding behind the other two, when we get close enough the other two ships will break off and move out of the way, allowing the actual pirate ship to put several unseemly holes through our hull."
There was a shout from the bridge and the blond, freckled face of the helmsman poked out of a window. "Aye, Omega, magnetic scan shows a third contact behind the other two, she's hiding behind the yacht."
Thomas shrugged and caught Vesper's pointed glance. "Thomas," She said softly, "there's a chance those negotiators are still alive, we've worked with them before." She left the rest unsaid, he'd already understood her meaning.
Thomas turned a hard look at the two visible ships, "They'll probably be on the yacht, which we can handle. But there's going to be a ship with guns behind it, Vesper, it'll be a bit of a sea battle."
Vesper grinned, "I'll patch you up afterwards, and I imagine Scept can help us as well."
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Post by Ribitta on Aug 11, 2011 21:55:57 GMT -5
Scept very quickly found his lack of combat knowledge quite evident as the situation was explained to him. The operation had indeed been quite simple beforehand, but now it was much trickier, and he suddenly found himself comforted that he was not in charge of it. Turning to Thomas, the boy finally allowed himself to fully concede to the older man's authority, "What do you want me to do, then?"
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Post by Steinerman on Aug 14, 2011 16:24:41 GMT -5
Now Thomas was in his element, his pace, manner and entire bearing became sharper, more direct. "We'll continue as planned for the moment, let them think we're just cautious. When the ships break off, Aya will lead the squad onto the yacht to clear it and get our old friends out safely."
The darkskinned woman nodded sharply, a half-grin appearing on her features. "Where'll you be, Omega?" She asked curiously.
Thomas stared at Scept for a moment before answering, "Scept and I have a date with a pirate ship." He answered calmly. He brushed past Scept as the ship got under way again, and with a grunt indicated Scept should follow him towards the rear of the sloop. Once out of earshot of the others, Thomas turned and stared hard at Scept, "Alright, Scept." He began, his tone intent.
"Just how long can you keep up your . . ." He shook his head in annoyance, unsure of what to call it. "Chronosphere thingy," he finally decided on. "How long can you keep your chronosphere going if it's just around you and me? No BS bravado answers, just honesty. Both our lives may depend on it."
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Post by Ribitta on Aug 18, 2011 12:07:41 GMT -5
"Just the two of us? Quite a bit longer than an entire ship, I'd think. Reducing the radius to say, six feet, would allow me to keep it up quite efficiently for twenty minutes. That's our time, mind you. Depending on how fast you wish to go compared to everyone else, it will tire me out quicker." It wasn't exactly a truthful answer. Last time Scept had tried to speed himself up to the point of not even being noticed, it had faltered after just under thirty minutes, and that was only supporting himself. Too difficult to tell though how much more work it would be with another person; besides, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this rested. If someone had asked him to, he would have tried to slow the world.
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Post by Steinerman on Aug 18, 2011 22:56:39 GMT -5
Thomas nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, then we'd better get ready. In about three minutes or so this little sea-party is about to get loud." He then nodded towards a small ladder protruding from the siding of the sloop, it led down a few feet and ended mere inches above a sturdily built motor-boat, big enough to seat four.
"We'll hop in there, and lower it. When everything gets messy, we'll make an end-run for the pirate ship that's hiding behind the others. If we can time it right, you won't have to use your ability much until we're actually on-board. In which case it'd be nice to be going at least a little bit faster than the pirates. My reflexes are already pretty high, and with you helping me I figure we should be able to get on board and neutralize the pirates before they can put any serious holes in us or the sloop."
He started down the ladder before locking his mechanical eye onto Scept, "How's that sound for a fun afternoon?" He questioned with a sarcastic grin.
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Post by Ribitta on Aug 20, 2011 11:51:58 GMT -5
Scept looked away from Thomas to deny any emotion that had begun crawling through him. A bit of excitement was certainly present, but there was a hint of fear too. The boy had ended lives before, but he still was not a hard killer like this man was. Even holding the barrier up, Scept did not doubt that the killing around him would make him a little nauseous, not to mention the bullets that might make it his direction. Best to slow things down enough to avoid that. Instead of answering Thomas's last question, Scept lowered himself down the ladder behind him and said plainly, "Just tell me when to start."
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Post by Steinerman on Aug 20, 2011 21:52:12 GMT -5
Thomas grinned viciously, he wasn't surprised to see the excitement and fear mixed in Scept's face, the boy obviously hadn't had time to get used to combat yet. But in time that would change, and he seemed level-headed enough for the time being. Which hopefully meant he wouldn't freak out and get them both killed.
He smacked a lever attached to the rigging for the motorboat and waited patiently as the mechanical winches lowered it into the water. He then took his place at the pilot's position and prepared to start the motor, waiting for the tell-tale sounds of combat from the pirates.
They coasted along silently, towed behind the sloop for several minutes before there were sounds of commotion from the sloop's deck. The roar of distant engines filled the uneasy silence that had built up in the moments beforehand.
"That'll be the yacht and cutter moving to give their friend a clear shot." Thomas said for Scept's benefit. In response to the movement from the pirate vessels, the mercenary sloop gunned its engines and leapt forward with a burst of speed, peeling off in pursuit of the pleasure yacht.
Thomas waited until the last second before disengaging the clamps that had secured them to the sloop. With a quick movement he started the motorboat's engine and kicked the machine into its highest speed as fast as he could. "Don't use your ability until you hear them shooting at us." He called back to Scept. "And stay down."
With a sudden jolt the motorboat sped from behind the sloop and headed straight for the pirate vessels. To their left the sloop headed on its kamikaze course after the pleasure yacht. To their right the cutter that had previously belonged to the negotiation team was speeding away, trying to clear the area and give the third vessel time to fight.
The third vessel (the target Thomas was aiming for) was a low-slung pirate ship, commonly referred to as a battle-barge. The battle-barge was a shoddy looking thing that sat low in the the water, much lower than most other pirate ships that prowled the high seas, this vessel's siding barely reached six feet out of the water. Made mostly from wood, ships of that type were meant for hiding in river-inlets for passing ships, counting on their low profile to get in close enough to unleash a devastating arsenal of modern cannon onto unsuspecting prey.
In a fair fight the barge wouldn't have stood a chance against the more modern sloop, but this barge had meant to use its low profile to hide behind the other ships and only come out of hiding for the kill.
The pirate barge was slowly angling to intercept the mercenary sloop, and for a few precious seconds the barge crew didn't see Thomas and Scept in their approaching motorboat. "Get ready!" Thomas called back to Scept. A moment later he ducked as something sped past his head with a whining hiss. Aboard the barge, several pirates had seen them and were opening fire with a mixed assortment of rifles.
Thomas kept to their course however, hoping that Scept's ability would let them get close enough to the barge for a boarding attempt.
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Post by Ribitta on Sept 3, 2011 15:36:46 GMT -5
At the order to lower himself, Scept barred his teeth slightly and dropped down a couple of inches, though probably not nearly as far as Thomas's order would have suggested. It was not until the bullets finally did come, though, that Scept ducked himself lower out of instinct. Despite the danger directly above his head, Scept could not help but let a grin escape as he released his energy in turn, erecting a layered bubble around the small vessel, strange runes running out of the focal point where Scept had started the spell.
It was an effort, to say the least, to resist drawing in more power than he could handle. The euphoria from using magic coupled with his nearly exploding energy confirmed in his mind that he could reverse the turning of the world if he felt like it. The eruptions in his mind from controlling the time field grounded him to reality though, each moment holding the shield exhausting him just slightly more than the last. Encompassing the entire boat with his magic now, Scept sped up their movements two, then four, then finally six-fold.
The world outside the bubble becoming blurry as time inside was rapidly sped up. While the enemy boat came nearer and nearer at an incredible speed, the men aboard it moved sluggishly, trying to catch up with Scept and Thomas but failing to keep track. Scept hardened the shield slightly so that it would deflect glancing blows on the off-chance they got close enough to do so. As a slug penetrated the shield and slammed into the boat, though, hardly a foot from Scept, he was reminded that a direct shot could still make it through quite effectively. The enemy boat would be near now, though, and Scept prepared to amplify his magic even further once they were on-board.
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Post by Steinerman on Sept 5, 2011 2:16:03 GMT -5
Thomas smiled grimly as Scept's magic kicked in. He had to give the kid credit, it was quite a useful trick. And in Thomas' experience, the more useful a magical spell, the harder it was to keep up.
He kept the motorboat running full-speed until they nearly ran into the low-slung hull of the battle-barge, and then with a quick twist of the controls he expertly killed the engine and swung the motorboat alongside the barge.
"Alright, now the real fun begins." the pirates aboard the vessel were still obviously trying to compensate for the motorboat's speed, and Thomas had a few seconds before anything truly painful started.
"Can I shoot out of this little lovely bubble? Or do we have to get up close and personal with these thugs?" He questioned as he rose and started to clamber up the side of the barge.
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Post by Ribitta on Sept 12, 2011 14:36:12 GMT -5
Following him out of the boat, Scept responded as he thinned the bubble enough to allow projectiles to pass through once more, "Yeah, but they can too." It wasn't until he doubled the magnitude of his time warp, though, that the boy finally felt the strain from his magic. It was a faint thing, a distant ripple in an ocean, but it was there. It grounded him once more to reality, but nevertheless he pushed for more. Enemies were now moving at a crawling pace, a fraction of their previous speed compared to Scept and Thomas. Part of him wanted to remind his partner to move quickly, that he couldn't hold it forever, but he stuffed the comment away. He could hold it, after all.
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Post by Steinerman on Sept 12, 2011 17:41:35 GMT -5
Thomas grunted once in approval, and then went about his bloody work. Unslinging his monstrous sniper rifle, he took a shooter's stance and prepared to fire. Faster than most would think possible, the rifle thundered, sending a .50 cal. Bullet through the field at tremendous speeds.
Without even bothering to check if he'd hit the target, (though he was positive he had. The shot had been clean and the target wasn't exactly moving fast.) Thomas adjusted aim and fired again, and again, and again.
The air began to fill with the acrid smoke of gunfire as he sped through the twelve-round clip, ejected it and reloaded, then kept firing. He realized now that the pirates were moving even slower than before, and that meant Scept had increased the power to the bubble, so for his new, temporary partner's sake, he hurried through the fight.
He paused long enough to utter a bark of laughter, a grim sight considering he had just killed over fifteen men in a minute's time. "I doubt they were expecting this." He said sarcastically.
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Post by Ribitta on Oct 18, 2011 18:58:30 GMT -5
He was regulating his breathing now, not out of necessity yet but merely preparation. Already was he beginning to feel the smaller blood vessels throughout his body strain from the tension of holding the field. Clenching his hands, the boy shrugged off the first tendrils of exhaustion seeping in and focused solely on staying alive. Most of the deck was clear already, and that would likely be the bulk of the men. After all, they probably hadn't really expected an invasion like this. He would just supply the magic, though. That was all he could do, now, anyway. It would be up to Thomas to take care of any sort of planning or strategy. As Thomas's words met Scept's ear, the boy simply nodded in acknowledgement, not breaking his steady breathing unless he had to.
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Post by Steinerman on Oct 19, 2011 1:33:45 GMT -5
Thomas finished off the last visible pair of pirates he could see. And then did a quick scan with his enhanced eye, making sure there was nothing left alive above-decks besides he and Scept.
Once he was sure that the deck was clear of enemies, he nodded once. "Right, Scept. You can bring it down now. They're toast." Remembering almost too late, he quickly added. "And don't look too closely at the bodies, kid. fifties can do horrible things to a human body, don't look if you don't want nightmares."
With that, he slung his rifle back over his shoulder and drew a side-arm, taking a step forward into the bloody mess.
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