POOHEAD189

Cinnabar Forever! (RCN)

"Our orders," Captain Micha said, reading aloud. Kaiden swept his gaze over the bridge, seeing his subordinates at their stations, his eyes sweeping past Sabatine without stopping at her. Behind him Tilda sauntered over to her chair, and he noticed Sabatine gave her a quick glare before going back to her proper, soldier's reserve. The midshipman to his left rose and saluted Kaiden, and the officer smiled and nodded for him to sit back down. The Captain's voice did not halt. "-Are to travel to the Errhai Star System just over the bend to scout out the outerlying planets and give a show of force to the small margin of colonists therein. And to keep the Alliance from sinking their claws in it, so to say."

Kaiden saw the orders and the Captain heavily paraphrased, but he got the gist of it. There was no Alliance presence reported there, but the ships were told to reinforce smaller systems as tensions escalated in order to keep the Alliance from growing so bold as to advance their 'influence' in lesser areas. Kaiden couldn't blame the Commodore or Cinnabar High Command for this move, but he also realized to Alliance citizens it seemed like a somewhat aggressive one. He pondered what abhorrent and vile news the tabloids on their worlds would be spewing to the general public.

"If we're all present and accounted for, let us commence aye?" The Captain asked his crew, and they gave an 'aye' in reply. Kaiden didn't speak, instead watching the Captain to learn from in so he might one day hold that command. He wondered if Micha had done some light exercise this morning before his post, because he seemed to be sweating from his brow. "Lieutenant Caladwarden," He said, drawing Kayden's attention from his musings.

Kaiden stood at attention. "Sir!"

"Would you er, do us the honors?" He said swallowing, almost uneasily. Kaiden felt he was simply seeing things. Though he didn't know why he was being presented with such an honor. Kaiden bowed stiffly, his eye opening to view Tilda at the side who gave him a wink. He'd done it to make sure she wasn't acting up, but now he recalled just how sexy she was. Luckily, not even a beautiful woman or an ex-girlfriend like Sabatine could kill his cool-headed focus at this rare moment.

"Aye sir!" He said, and he immediately changed his demeanor. His eyes as sharp as talons and his voice as crisp as waking up in a cold freezer. "Bosun Higgs, unlatch us and get the landing gear ready to be lifted. Bushman, Harwen, set us up for power with Chief Savachev. Howarth I need you focused! Ready the topsail and keep us steady as we rise. There can be no mistakes, men. Candleworth, if I don't see the coordinates on the display before I next blink! I..." He stopped, and cleared his throat. Kaiden turned to Sabatine, inclining his head toward her to suggest she should call for their lift off.

"Lieutenant, let's fire off." He said, gazing at her with his striking eyes in a neutral fashion. He was taking his ego out of it.

A Cosmic Experience

@Cosmic Eclipse It is lovely to meet you

The Sunday Group - Bumps in the Night

...and I can no longer be blamed, I'll start working on something fun.

@Rapid Reader

I feel like this is a very Val thing to say

Tales of Tamriel

Luckily for them, the Candlehearth Hall was just in front of the gate to welcome any newcomers and visitors. The guard pointed their way and another dozen meters forward, they found the wooden sign screeching back and forth through the wind. A golden circle with three candles at its center. Dax grabbed the latch and pulled the door open without hesitating, streaming cold air into the graciously warm common room.

Kris came in just behind him, her cloak matted with thin ice shards that were already beginning to melt as Dax closed the door behind her. The Argonian hissed irritably as the weather's cold faded from his scales. It had been a long boat ride and an unrelenting trek through the snow, but they finally found a safe place and city yo make their stay at. Perhaps the two of them would part ways at some point soon, but as of now they both needed a bed and some hot food.

"This here's Candlehearth Hall. Great room's upstairs, an' there's a bed for rent on the ground floor." A golden haired woman said, the lines on her face giving her creeping age away. She seemed to beam at the new guests, absent-mindedly wiping the counter with a cloth. "I am Elda Early-Dawn, and you two look like a bear got to you. I bet you both might just want some food for now though, I can guess. Some hot mead maybe?"

The buildings outdoors were beautifully built with carved statues that caught the wander eye. Within, it looked fairly plain. Wooden floors and round tables with chairs and the smell of hot food wafting in the air. A connoisseur of inn's would at least appreciate the two firepits that bisected the room and the double chairs and single table set that matched both. As the name of the inn implied, there were candled a-plenty.

Daixanos didn't answer the woman. He creeped over to one of the roaring flames and removed his hood and cloak, revealing his crimson scales and fearsome reptilian visage. Were he not removing a piece of clothing followed by very dangerous and very humanoid weapons, he'd look very much like a grumpy beast from the wilderness finding a cave for the night. The fire eased his temperament slightly, and the Argonian began to relax and grow almost languidly apathetic to his surroundings.
@Penny

Tales of Tamriel

2 days later...

Despite the Dunmer's words, no pursuit had followed. Perhaps it was because they were far too busy with their own problems further inland, or perhaps they could not follow quickly enough to catch up. Either way, the Nords were fine sailors and had dropped Kris and Dax off on the western half of the White River not hours ago.

The wind howled like a haunting aberration. It bit the skin, and even the trees looked as if they had been cut into. Dax growled low in his throat, their current predicament unrelentingly poor to his sensibilities. He imagined Kris and other humans would at least consider the landscape beautiful, but to the Argonian it was a white hell. The fact that snow was simply soft water was small measure of comfort to the reptilian. Had he not been clad in a dark cloak of thick wool, he would have found it unbearable.

Horses whinnied from within the stables as they passed. The fighter wondered how he could hear any noises through the gale they were in and noted the information for later. Ever the hunter, he looked for any edge in combat in every circumstance. Most were unnerved by his manner and cold look, but Kris seemed to not mind. The only thing she likely cared about was his lashing tail that had a tendency to trip her up if she walked too close, and in the snow that reached halfway to one's knees, Kris was near enough to touch his shoulder.

Daixanos' booted feet touched something hard beneath, and he looked up to see he had bumped into the first step on a small stairway that led to the gate of Windhelm. Even through the weather, he could see a massive mammoth's skull hung over the enormous, powerful gates. Daixanos exerted himself further, as much as he wanted to lie down and accept slipping into a frozen coma. Stepping up, he heard a distant voice above them crying out. "Two at the gates! Cloaked and hooded!"

Of course we are, we're freezing to death Dax thought, but he merely grunted irritably. Shuffling, he crested the top of the stairway and saw the doors to the city creeping open. He could see nothing past the gates, save the silhouettes of buildings and four figures awaiting them inside. Daixanos wasn't perturbed and continued to march forward, revealing the figures to be four, burly nords in mail armor. They bore shields with the sign of the bear, and longswords held easily in their off hands. Beards flecked with snow seemed grown out of their steel helms.

"Who are you, travelers?" A heavy voice asked, piercing the flying snow. "Answer or face the wrath of the Stormcloaks."

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

The roar was at least two dozen feet away, and yet the powerful breath of the giant monster suddenly hit the thief with the force of a blow. He accidentally let go of the rope and plummeted, falling ten feet before hitting a rope below him and rolling to catch it. The burn of the catch seared into his hands, but he held firm and watched with satisfaction as the Sea Dragon sank beneath the waves to quench itself from what had to be a trick from Emmaline. That woman never ceased to amaze him.

Grunting, he swung his body backwards and then forwards, hooking his legs around the rope he dangled on to ease the pressure on his cut hands. He grabbed his saber hilt, unsheathing the blade and swiping it. The rope he held onto was cut in twain, sending him in a swing to land safely onto the deck with what remained of the ship and the crew. Water mingled with blood on the ruined wood at his feet, and every few meters there was a crack on the deck from the Dragon's strikes.

He saw the Captain face down on the deck, weakly placing his hands under him to get off his chest. Amal knelt down and helped him up as best he could. "That thing ate the Bosun," The Captain grimaced, making it to his feet roughly. "Damn, I'd call us to the lifeboats but Sigmar knows they'd spot and catch them too if the beast didn't come to devour them whole." It seemed a hopeless situation, and by Allah it likely was. The masts above were tattered remnants of what they once were and the ship seemed all too vulnerable now.

"Perhaps if we get the engine going again-" Amal began before a scything wind passed by him. He knew immediately it was no natural wind, and looked up to see the mast that had been wrecked was now completely cut in half. A small boom echoed in the distance, and both he and the Captain turned to see more of what had passed overhead. The dark ships, now far closer, began to unleash a barrage of kunai-like blades that spun in the air faster than the eye could see. One man was sliced in half like a sword cutting through a weed stalk, and the projectile continued until it cleanly cut through part of the deck and a bit of the railing behind the bisected man.

The first lateen sloop suddenly began to spin, having dropped the starboard anchor. The Destrier was still moving, but only out of momentum. Soon it would be merely adrift, and it seemed as if the Dark Elves were now showing off at the near stranded ship. "They're club hauling!" The Captain cried, looking around for the quartermaster, who Amal had the unfortunate experience to have seen eaten alive.

Knowing they had little time, he gave the order himself. Drawing his cutlass, he raised it in the air. "Fire cannons!" He cried. Silence on deck followed. Amal and the topside crew were disturbed at the Druchii's long, screaming faces as they came face to face along the starboard side of the ship. Somehow they were both beautiful and sinfully terrible to look upon with their too-long fingers and oddly high cheek bones, as if they were parodies of what the race of men might find sexually appealing. Amal knew he hadn't the time to reload his pistol and instead backed away to go and find Emmaline just as the Elves began to swing grappling hooks to board.

Horribly loud echoes tore through the air and billowing smoke shot out as what remained of the cannons were finally unleashed. Two Dark Elves exploded in a mass of gore just as their ship suddenly was pierced in four different places. It hadn't destroyed or even crippled the sloop, but what men were left alive in the Destrier cried out as their morale was boosted and they drew swords and ranged weapons, crying for the Elves to have a taste. Most of them didn't realize that the other sloop was quietly running around behind them.
@Penny

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

The Doomsayers spoke of the End of Days approaching the world, and though they had been saying it for generations, the news that traveled showed the claims had merit. The winds of chaos flowed ever more strongly these days, and there had been increasing attacks on shipping lanes and the shores of the Old World by the 'Elves'. In their haughtiness, the Elves of Ulthuan never made it public knowledge to the Men and Dwarfs of the Old World there had even been a Sundering. But some sailors who had to deal with Elves had heard tale of their dark kin, who were behind the treachery of Elven slave raids.

Of course Amal had only heard stories, and he wasn't privvy to world events. All he knew was there was a grimness to the air, as if death and corruption radiated off the ships that looked to be closing fast. As the men scrambled, Amal took off his hat, sliding it inside his belt. He placed his foot on the deck railing and kicked up to grab one of the ropes, climbing like a monkey up higher to get a better view (and to keep an eye on Emmaline).

"Haul on the main brace, lads!" The Captain cried, clapping hard as the Quartermaster literally kicked the ass of a slow sailor to get him moving. Bottles spilled as crossbows, axes, and firearms were handed out to any that didn't have immediate duties. A few mercenaries were standing on the forecastle, holding boarding pikes. "Ready with those guns and throw anything overboard we can't eat, drink, or make a profit off of! Go!"

"Sir, should we turn back!?" The Bosun cried, wringing a line of rope around the aft mast. The entire crew stopped at once and turned to look at the Captain, who seemed to be on the verge of considering that or jumping overboard. There was a beat, and then he growled. "The wind'd be against us ye slack jawed idiots, now move afore they catch us on the cross stream!"

Amal felt his belt as the ship began to luff with the wind and churn in the sea. He felt a bit better he had his pistol there, powdered and ready. He'd never shot a firearm before, but he'd been shown back in port reaver how to load one, and he'd seen them being fired before in Al-Hiekk. As long as he kept his hand steady, he'd do fine.

The clouds overhead passed them by and the sun began to shine again, dispelling some of the doom that the people onboard felt at their predicament. Amal had always loved the sun, even in a land of perpetual heat. He looked down and spotted Emmaline's golden hair among the men, and his eyes turned across the boat over into the water. His gaze passed over a large school of fish below sweeping below the ship, and then his eye caught the end of the long school to see a massive serpentine tail.

Amal's eyes widened and his heart lurched when he realized that wasn't a school of fish at all. The shape was dark and as large as a whale, moving with a cruel will that was now out of sight. Amal wondered for a moment if it was the sea serpent that had aided he and Emmaline those days ago to the shore, but his heart told him otherwise. He grabbed ahold of the rope harder and called down to the Captain below.

"Under the ship!" He cried, his voice lost over the wind. He saw Warhem and Emmaline look up at him inquisitively. "Under the ship! A beast!"

He hadn't even finished his last word before the ship lurched and grounded along something, as if they had bumped into a sandbar. The Arabyan was portside, and he turned to see if he could find whatever had been under them before an explosion of flesh and churning sea water erupted out of the water on the starboard side. The thing rose so high out of the water it matched Amal's level, and he guessed he was six meters above the deck.

"Hoog!"

A Sea Dragon of Naggaroth, limbless save fins and as thick as four masts together. It was as terrible to look upon as a Carnosaur of Lustria. The dull, sea colored scales shined brightly, nearly blinding Amal in the sun for a moment. Atop the beasts head was a figure, lithe and graceful. It was an Elf, with dark hair and a deathly ill pallor to the color of its skin. His features were chiseled and striking, and Amal saw an intense hatred in his eyes as he called out in a foreign tongue to the beast.

"Hoog!" The dragon growled gutturally, and slammed its head onto the deck, cracking timber and swallowing two of the crew members whole. Men wailed and pointed, aiming their crossbows and arquebuses at the sea monster. Those that didn't miss out of panic seemed like bee stings to the beast, only truly enraging it. Like lightning it struck again, its maw taking a screaming man and biting him in half, crushing two others that had been standing beside him.

Compared to the monster, Amal's pistol seemed flimsy. So he did the next best thing.

He aimed and shot the Elf.
@Penny

Grim Galaxy: Shots and Chances

Light spilled into the cavernous mouth of the wrecked car when Magdalena opened the trunk door with three taps on the rear axle from a small hammer. Neil gave off a low whistle when he saw the trunk of the vehicle was actually a door leading into a scrap-metal tunnel, feeding down into what looked like a large underchamber. Junebug and Neil gave one another a look whilst Taya's eyes widened in amazement. Magdalena told her little daughter to hop up and go first, and she did so obediently. She climbed onto the back bumper and hopped through, holding some loose, unplugged wiring they obviously used as a rope-like railing to descend and ascend.

Neil was told to go next, and he did so. He hopped over the bumper onto the platform, and found the way down somewhat steep by checked with various bits of scrap and wood planted to halt one from sliding, along with the wiring. Neil actually quite enjoyed this little opening, nearly doing a trick jump or two before he realized it was probably rude. That and it could damage the integrity of the tunnel around him.

One by one they made their way down, Taya coming right before Magdalena took the rear of the line. Neil had expected some vast undercity filled with huge support beams and a thriving society that gave the above-ground dystopia to shame. In reality it was barely the size of half the Highlander, and there was merely a few younger people here, all likely Magdalena's children. There was a roughly made slab of wood atop a large propeller that likely came from a surface to air, planetary flight machine. One of the younger children spun it around, sending the small toys on the table spinning.

Neil ran his hand over the wall, examining the structure of the cavern itself. He smiled. "This is an abandoned ship," He said, and on second look he was right. The walls were the color of light marble and made of pristinely designed steel, though dirt and wear/tear caked the material. Piles of junk were everywhere, though there were many cots on the ground to choose from, when the hostess presented them, of course.

"We've food ready," Magdalena said tiredly, tying her hair up in a bun and making her way to the left section of the room, beside an old door where there was a fire burning and pot set up on what looked to be a broken gravity converter holding it up. It was fascinating on how things could be rigged and utilized for different uses. Meanwhile, Taya had gone over to play with the children. That might have been a strong word, however. The oldest of the five was a young man close to Taya's age, holding what looked to be another baby sister.

Elsewhere across the room, a toilet flushed. The small sliding steel door opened by what looked to be a lever system and a bearded man walked through, brown skinned with a goatee and baggy clothing. He stopped when he saw the Highlander crew, and Magdalena hurried over to him. "Javier, these people saved Lucina. They're staying with us tonight." She explained. He pushed passed her, eyeing them. The way he held his hand, it looked like there was a concealed weapon on him.

Neil raised his hands, face easy as always. "We're not here to start trouble." He said, before he realized Junebug had already pulled on the man and the reason he had stopped was that her barrel was aimed at his forehead. Neil exhaled audibly. "But apparently we will finish it if it starts."
@Penny

Dogs of War: Old World Mercenaries

The ship creaked under the midday sun as sailors went about their daily routine. Crates filled with spices and liquor were needing hauled off the foredeck to below, the crew having neglected to move some of the shipment boxes after having gotten drunk the night before. This had the side effect of most sailors being unable to pass the time leisurely. Fortunately, it still left just enough of them to play Liar's Dice.

Amal and the rest of them shook their cups, the two carved bones within clinking and clacking together against the cup before they were slammed down on the table in the foreroom of the ship, just below the deck. The thief had not caught all of their names as of yet, but at the table sat the Arabyan with an Ostermarker, Reiklander, a Kislevite, and a Tilean. It had the potential for a great joke, had Amal been more worldly.

At the center of the table was a pile of coins, messily stacked to the point none of the players really knew who's bet was what. It didn't truly matter, they all played for keeps. The Kislevite, a man known as Dimitri opened his cup and grinned, spreading his mustache even wider if that were possible. The Ostermarker next to him had a similiar mustache, though he had a long thin beard preened out of his chin. Northerners were a strange folk.

"three twos." The Tilean said haughtily to Amal, and the Arabyan shook his head. Behind him, the torch flares brightly, and Amal thought for a moment. "Four fives."

"Liar!"

"Show me!"

The Tilean and Arabyan lifted their cups, and Amal raised his hands in triumph. The Tilean was suddenly slugged across the face by the Kislevite for lying himself, and the rest of the men followed suit with their guesses. None of them were as accurate as Amal's premonition, which gave him the win. The men grumbled loudly and punched him in the shoulder, but they were fine sports of it. Little did they realize Amal had positioned himself before the torch perfectly. He had seen their dice rolls off the reflections of their eyes.

"Sail ho!" A cried rose up from above just as Amal scooped up his winnings. He could not wait to show Emmaline his score. Added gold meant added fun in more than one way. The other men huffed and the Tilean laughed, rubbing his jaw as they went up the stairs to answer the call. Curious as always, Amal slid every coin into his purse before he followed suit. A bawdy song in his head, he felt like these lads were good to hang around with. As he made it to the stairway leading up, he wanted to throw a few jokes at their expense, but found the silence topside deafening.

The clouds ran across the sun's light, eclipsing the ship to match the general mood and confusion of the Destrier's crew. In the distance there was a strange shape. Indigo in color, with double Lateen sails and the terrible head of a sea drake carved on its bow. As it approached, the wind caused it to shift lightly, and Amal's keen eyes made out something behind it. Another ship? He didn't quite understand, even as the Captain told his quartermaster to get the men to their stations.
@Penny