Post by Jade on Dec 12, 2019 1:29:07 GMT -5
What should have been yet another idyllic afternoon on the popular holiday destination island of Kyuka, with visitors to the island milling about and enjoying some time away from the responsibilities of their daily lives, had been rudely interrupted.
The woman sitting within her office reviewed the report she'd been handed once again as she awaited word of her ship's arrival upon the island. Kyuka Island was no stranger to attacks like this - in fact, it attracted them on a fairly regular basis. Pirates seemed to find the popular vacation island an attractive target, even if Marines were frequently on or near enough to the island to respond swiftly. It seemed that today's assault on the primary port was a similar case, though there were some odd factors about it that made the entire situation seem off.
First and foremost, the report seemed adamant that the three vessels of the small pirate fleet had crashed into the harbor, rather than simply coming into the port and allowing the crew to disembark. The shock tactics had been effective, allowing the pirates to quickly sweep through and take control of the nearby parts of the city, which they had holed themselves up in and locked the area down. Given the unusual circumstances of the attack, the crew had not been identified, and so there was no telling what they should prepare themselves for.
Claire sighed, placing the paper back down onto the desk in front of her as she rubbed her temple with her other hand. It made no sense - why would pirates launch an attack on an island and hole themselves up in the area around the harbor after destroying their ships?
The sound of distant knocking brought the Captain out of her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to the view of her office from behind her desk outside of her prison. "Come in," she called out in response to the knock, and the door creaked open, revealing one of the rank-and-file Marines on board the 53rd Division's vessel.
"We've arrived at Kyuka Island, Captain," the young man said, saluting her for a moment before dropping it to continue with the report. "There's smoke rising from the harbor. Where do you want to anchor?"
"Position us so we can pin the pirates against the harbor." Claire replied, keeping her level tone. "Not in the harbor itself - we'd push them into the rest of the island. But get us close." The Marine nodded in response, giving her another quick salute before ducking out of the room.
The blonde woman closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, followed by another long sigh, and then her eyes reopened, once again in the other office within her prison. She reached for the young Den Den Mushi on the desk in front of her; the snail-like creature's eyes opened as she pulled the receiver from its shell and spoke into it: "All personnel, prepare to disembark." The sound of her own voice ringing throughout the prison and, distantly, throughout the ship outside was something she would never quite get used to.
Closing her eyes and opening them once more in the outside world, Claire stood from her chair and walked out from behind her desk, quickly stepping across her small office to grab her "Justice" coat hanging from the wall near the door. She pulled it on, letting it hang from her shoulders rather than putting her arms through the sleeves - taking a moment as she adjusted it to wonder, not for the first time, where the style had originated - and then pushed out into the narrow hallway of the officer's quarters section of the ship. As she passed by it, she rapped her knuckles sharply against the door into Ensign Anthony's quarters, continuing on past without waiting from him to respond.