Post by Roin on Sept 24, 2015 21:22:00 GMT -5
[Play for success! The prior thread can be found here!]
Days had passed since the strange activity and loss of contact with the Marine spy had been cut off, the six-foot wall protecting East Winchester all but quiet in the morning sun. The ensemble of Marines from the base's dispatch were on alert, but they weren't actively searching. The arrival of the mysterious Gunn Pirates on the island had made the border contest come to a crawling halt, but a few men of the group, positioned atop the wall with their rifles, were grumbling. Five platoons, roughly one-hundred and fifty men, had been stationed to guard the gateway into their town. Of these platoons, only a few had any skill or live training. For the most part, their numbers alone had allowed the position to be held... but that tale has nothing to do with this. As three of the grumbling spotters began to talk, the other two were leaving their shift and starting down the stairway off the wall.
"Look, all I'm sayin' is we should ask for a transfer. Our platoon never gets to see any action!" "Hell, it's better than being part of the Fighting Failures... those guys aren't even worth their group's history." "Heh, yeah, those guys are more or less foo-... what's that noise?"
The five men all stopped, even the duo heading down the stairs, before turning toward the west. There was nothing they could see coming from the no-man's land between the two halves of the island... but all the Marines could hear the whistling. It was no man's whistle... but that of something traveling through the air. As the men on watch all began to look for the source, rifles rising to their hands and swords being drawn in suspicion, the spotters all gasped. The three at the front had enough time to open their mouths, but the weren't able to make a sound. Not that they needed to.. the wall's firing platform erupted with a brilliant flame. The stone was coated in a new light, Marines all looking and beginning to shout out their warnings and declarations of the chaotic flame. But it took only a moment before three more fireball-like explosions stung the stone wall, the thunk-bang-hiss of exploding ammunition sounding loudly as fireballs seemed to "hug" the walls around the gates.
"Th-there! That's where the shots came fro- it's one of the Gunn Brothers!"
Even as the siren went up, the town on the other side of the wall no doubt looking on in fear at the rising flames from the wall shielding them, the other side was undergoing a completely different horror. Standing with a worried smile on his face atop a nearby hill was the sight of a normal-sized man and a much larger behemoth. Holding his revolver-like cannon in one hand, Frank looked to Ted with a big dopey smile.
"I got 'em Ted! We're good to-"
With one arm, Ted hit Frank in the gut, the other arm holding a large barrel atop one of his shoulders. The captain of the Gunn Pirates was missing his trademark hat, but the confidence on his face only seemed to grow at the hesitation from the now-ambushed defenders. As pirates began to run from the forest line across the no-man's land between the their safe woods and the stone wall, two of them dropped to their knees in-front of the man. Even as the Marines began shooting at the charging pirates of West Winchester's pirate haven, the pirates aligned with a single-purpose, the bullets landed around but not on target. Frank watched as the barrel was placed between the two men's shoulders... and then turned and bellowed a cry before joining the charge of pirates. There was no reason to protect Ted, the barrel now cracking open on both ends. Belt-fed rifles, each resting around the barrel, were all linked to a rotating mechanism around the outside. Grabbing the combination-trigger within the barrel, Ted's other hand went to shove a crank into the "tap" of the barrel. The clink-clink was a good sound... because the pirate's smirk grew to one of great confidence as the battle began to unfold in front of him.
"Alright, boys! Get 'em! I'll support you from here!"
With a maniacal chuckle, the man pulled the safety lever of the barrel-confined weapon system to ensure all the rifles were live. After that, all he did was begin to crank. The result wasn't immediate, the "bang" of the first rifle sounding... then a few seconds later the next crack went off. But as Ted hit his strive, the rifles and the muzzle-fire began to catch a rhythm... and steadily grew until it was like a series of slow-popping firecrackers going off, the two pirates supporting the weapon cringing and covering their ears closest to the weapon. The shooting from the distance wasn't effective, the rifles losing their power greatly, but the result was instant as the shots hit the stone and left their mark, spraying dust over the rear of the Marine guard. The gate remained shut to protect the flying shrapnel from striking anyone within... and just like that, a large portion of the island's Marines were caught up in a fight with the numerous pirates of the West.
The base had been quiet, but the clanking of Den Den could be heard in the communications room. Calls for help were bouncing off the lightly-lit stone walls, the officers all working to try and relay commands to the garrison on the island. Unlike the various, full-fledged bases that spotted the islands of the West Blue, they weren't the most numerous with only a smaller garrison in the thousands. However, there were troops already being deployed from the town's garrison and various patrols to aid the blistering ambush that threatened the safety of the town. But all of that was a simple distraction... the sound of war carrying well beyond the Fort to the seas.
While skirmishes were nice and all... Miyahara Ahn stood on the deck of Huangyuhua, the vessel sitting low in a collection of other Revolutionaries. A complete take-over would have been ideal, but with the lack of complete unity underneath Ted and his brother in the Western Haven it had turned more into a raid. The vessel's cannons were all moved to the front of the top deck, aimed ahead and braced. The speed of the Jade Flower was great on its own, but with the collection of Revolutionaries to back it up the raid would no doubt land. From there, however, it was up to the revolutionaries. Quietly squatting, the sails open wide and the vessel cutting the water on its way speedily toward the fort's lowest sea-wall, Ahn was frowning as he ran a hand over the wood.
"I didn't modify the ship's quarters, but they did such a sloppy job on the finish... I'll need to remind my wife to take it again for another look. Dark and grainy makes us look so... ominous."
Ahn's wife had remained back aboard a command vessel with their daughter, but the few seasoned hands aboard the Jade Flower all paid him no heed. Some were manning the cannons, some keeping the sails in place and catching as much of the wind as possible, and some stood nearby readying their weapons. All-in-all, the Sea-Flowers were roughly fifteen in number. That, of course, wasn't counting the recent arrivals from other parts of the Revolutionary army. Rising to his feet, the tree-spouting man looked on ahead with one hand on his sword's hilt.
"Miss Koketsu, I can entrust you will protect me until we find the commanding officer? While he is no World Government dog... I suspect he will be at least a Commander within their rankings due to this island's detachment."
If Ayano chose to ignore him or acknowledge the question, it didn't matter. Ahn had dressed properly and forgone any sort of disguise from his place on the deck. Winds blew at his purple hair and the ponytail-like styling it had, but the tall mixed culture leader of the Sea-Flowers was doing his best to keep his eyes forward. Da-hengan, resting within a stone sheath, was particularly standing out. Even with his hand on the weapon, the originally ceremonial sword seemed to demand respect even without any legendary forging known to it. As a wave broke and bounced the ship slightly upward, the man began to quietly walk to the front of the ship, watching the slowly increasing-in-size fort. The stone walls seemed to beckon out a challenge, the man smiling at an idle thought in his mind. No eyes were looking to the sea with enough focus to catch the approaching group of revolutionaries, the combined force from the other ships no doubt bringing them to a couple hundred, but with the red flag curled up for the moment it almost ensured an element of surprise.
Soon, this place will fall and lure out those World Government dogs... like a bountiful fruit tree falling and luring out prized creatures worthy of slaying.
Days had passed since the strange activity and loss of contact with the Marine spy had been cut off, the six-foot wall protecting East Winchester all but quiet in the morning sun. The ensemble of Marines from the base's dispatch were on alert, but they weren't actively searching. The arrival of the mysterious Gunn Pirates on the island had made the border contest come to a crawling halt, but a few men of the group, positioned atop the wall with their rifles, were grumbling. Five platoons, roughly one-hundred and fifty men, had been stationed to guard the gateway into their town. Of these platoons, only a few had any skill or live training. For the most part, their numbers alone had allowed the position to be held... but that tale has nothing to do with this. As three of the grumbling spotters began to talk, the other two were leaving their shift and starting down the stairway off the wall.
"Look, all I'm sayin' is we should ask for a transfer. Our platoon never gets to see any action!" "Hell, it's better than being part of the Fighting Failures... those guys aren't even worth their group's history." "Heh, yeah, those guys are more or less foo-... what's that noise?"
The five men all stopped, even the duo heading down the stairs, before turning toward the west. There was nothing they could see coming from the no-man's land between the two halves of the island... but all the Marines could hear the whistling. It was no man's whistle... but that of something traveling through the air. As the men on watch all began to look for the source, rifles rising to their hands and swords being drawn in suspicion, the spotters all gasped. The three at the front had enough time to open their mouths, but the weren't able to make a sound. Not that they needed to.. the wall's firing platform erupted with a brilliant flame. The stone was coated in a new light, Marines all looking and beginning to shout out their warnings and declarations of the chaotic flame. But it took only a moment before three more fireball-like explosions stung the stone wall, the thunk-bang-hiss of exploding ammunition sounding loudly as fireballs seemed to "hug" the walls around the gates.
"Th-there! That's where the shots came fro- it's one of the Gunn Brothers!"
Even as the siren went up, the town on the other side of the wall no doubt looking on in fear at the rising flames from the wall shielding them, the other side was undergoing a completely different horror. Standing with a worried smile on his face atop a nearby hill was the sight of a normal-sized man and a much larger behemoth. Holding his revolver-like cannon in one hand, Frank looked to Ted with a big dopey smile.
"I got 'em Ted! We're good to-"
With one arm, Ted hit Frank in the gut, the other arm holding a large barrel atop one of his shoulders. The captain of the Gunn Pirates was missing his trademark hat, but the confidence on his face only seemed to grow at the hesitation from the now-ambushed defenders. As pirates began to run from the forest line across the no-man's land between the their safe woods and the stone wall, two of them dropped to their knees in-front of the man. Even as the Marines began shooting at the charging pirates of West Winchester's pirate haven, the pirates aligned with a single-purpose, the bullets landed around but not on target. Frank watched as the barrel was placed between the two men's shoulders... and then turned and bellowed a cry before joining the charge of pirates. There was no reason to protect Ted, the barrel now cracking open on both ends. Belt-fed rifles, each resting around the barrel, were all linked to a rotating mechanism around the outside. Grabbing the combination-trigger within the barrel, Ted's other hand went to shove a crank into the "tap" of the barrel. The clink-clink was a good sound... because the pirate's smirk grew to one of great confidence as the battle began to unfold in front of him.
"Alright, boys! Get 'em! I'll support you from here!"
With a maniacal chuckle, the man pulled the safety lever of the barrel-confined weapon system to ensure all the rifles were live. After that, all he did was begin to crank. The result wasn't immediate, the "bang" of the first rifle sounding... then a few seconds later the next crack went off. But as Ted hit his strive, the rifles and the muzzle-fire began to catch a rhythm... and steadily grew until it was like a series of slow-popping firecrackers going off, the two pirates supporting the weapon cringing and covering their ears closest to the weapon. The shooting from the distance wasn't effective, the rifles losing their power greatly, but the result was instant as the shots hit the stone and left their mark, spraying dust over the rear of the Marine guard. The gate remained shut to protect the flying shrapnel from striking anyone within... and just like that, a large portion of the island's Marines were caught up in a fight with the numerous pirates of the West.
The base had been quiet, but the clanking of Den Den could be heard in the communications room. Calls for help were bouncing off the lightly-lit stone walls, the officers all working to try and relay commands to the garrison on the island. Unlike the various, full-fledged bases that spotted the islands of the West Blue, they weren't the most numerous with only a smaller garrison in the thousands. However, there were troops already being deployed from the town's garrison and various patrols to aid the blistering ambush that threatened the safety of the town. But all of that was a simple distraction... the sound of war carrying well beyond the Fort to the seas.
While skirmishes were nice and all... Miyahara Ahn stood on the deck of Huangyuhua, the vessel sitting low in a collection of other Revolutionaries. A complete take-over would have been ideal, but with the lack of complete unity underneath Ted and his brother in the Western Haven it had turned more into a raid. The vessel's cannons were all moved to the front of the top deck, aimed ahead and braced. The speed of the Jade Flower was great on its own, but with the collection of Revolutionaries to back it up the raid would no doubt land. From there, however, it was up to the revolutionaries. Quietly squatting, the sails open wide and the vessel cutting the water on its way speedily toward the fort's lowest sea-wall, Ahn was frowning as he ran a hand over the wood.
"I didn't modify the ship's quarters, but they did such a sloppy job on the finish... I'll need to remind my wife to take it again for another look. Dark and grainy makes us look so... ominous."
Ahn's wife had remained back aboard a command vessel with their daughter, but the few seasoned hands aboard the Jade Flower all paid him no heed. Some were manning the cannons, some keeping the sails in place and catching as much of the wind as possible, and some stood nearby readying their weapons. All-in-all, the Sea-Flowers were roughly fifteen in number. That, of course, wasn't counting the recent arrivals from other parts of the Revolutionary army. Rising to his feet, the tree-spouting man looked on ahead with one hand on his sword's hilt.
"Miss Koketsu, I can entrust you will protect me until we find the commanding officer? While he is no World Government dog... I suspect he will be at least a Commander within their rankings due to this island's detachment."
If Ayano chose to ignore him or acknowledge the question, it didn't matter. Ahn had dressed properly and forgone any sort of disguise from his place on the deck. Winds blew at his purple hair and the ponytail-like styling it had, but the tall mixed culture leader of the Sea-Flowers was doing his best to keep his eyes forward. Da-hengan, resting within a stone sheath, was particularly standing out. Even with his hand on the weapon, the originally ceremonial sword seemed to demand respect even without any legendary forging known to it. As a wave broke and bounced the ship slightly upward, the man began to quietly walk to the front of the ship, watching the slowly increasing-in-size fort. The stone walls seemed to beckon out a challenge, the man smiling at an idle thought in his mind. No eyes were looking to the sea with enough focus to catch the approaching group of revolutionaries, the combined force from the other ships no doubt bringing them to a couple hundred, but with the red flag curled up for the moment it almost ensured an element of surprise.
Soon, this place will fall and lure out those World Government dogs... like a bountiful fruit tree falling and luring out prized creatures worthy of slaying.