Embrace Your Sin!

[Mr. Moon]

Bella #1

After all these long months she found her brother. Well probably, but how many muscular, white-haired men with wolf tattoo could be there? Well, she wasn't really sure if her brother had a wolf tattoo. He didn't have one when she saw him for the last time, but from what she heard he was hanging with a bunch of people who called themselves Wolves, so perhaps he got himself one? She didn't know and didn't have a time or an opportunity to check it out, because her brother was arrested by the Marines.

Bella found out by accident only a few days ago, when she worked as a waiter in a small inn to earn some money, so she could continue on her journey. There she overheard a young marine officer who was boasting to two ladies how he single-handedly captured a dangerous criminal, who fought his way through dozens, if not hundreds of other marines when they found him, smuggling some powerful weapon into the city. Only he was strong enough to face him and ultimately capture him. Or at least that was what he said. How surprised she was when she realized that his description of the criminal almost perfectly matched how she remembered her brother!

From that moment she made sure to be always near his table, carefully listening to all details. Thanks to that she learned, that her brother was held on a large prison ship, that was docking in local port. Bella wanted to rescue him, but the whole city was full of Marines and she knew that there was no chance, that they would be able to control such a large ship alone, so she came with a different plan. Ambush on an open sea. All the white-haired girl needed was a small, fast ship and crew. However that was the major issue. While finding a ship she could “borrow” was easy, she had no friends nor money to hire a people and so she had no other chance but to play it on being helpless girl and promise money her brother hopefully had. It was shameful tactic. One, that filled her with a self-disgust, but her brother was more important than her honor, more important than anything.

And so there she was. Fifteen years old girl, with a short white hair, wearing a gray shirt and long, black skirt, sitting in an inn of questionable reputation, with her trusted sword Albus next to her, accompanied by four losers. Two sailors that were so drunk, that she doubted if they even knew what they signed up to, one young man, hardly older than her, who was looking at her like a lost puppy that found it´s master and dangerous looking thug, with long scar across his face, who barely spoke a word since he arrived. This was total disaster! If no one else´ll come, what hope she had to really win against the marines and to save Eric?

[Supreme]

A doctor on the seas is seldom ever without work, at least that was Julian’s experience. Everyone is always getting roughed up here or there or in between, and when they’re almost always willing to pay for assistance. That’s how he was able to travel from island to island, as well, since some people were more willing to pay him in passage to wherever he wanted to go. But there were lulls when there weren't any pirates that had been caught in battle that made his pockets a little stiff, and this was one of those lulls.

Not to mention a voice was nagging at the back of his mind, one that told him he hadn’t been enough of a nuisance to the Marines lately. That was the entire reason for setting out from his home in the first place, to go to other islands and help others be free from the oppressive presence of those who would abuse their power so readily. But his supply of corrupt marines to combat was just as scarce as his supply of paying patients to treat (he still helped those who didn’t have the money to pay, though, because he wasn’t a monster).

Which was why he now stood before the door of a shady looking in. Well standing wasn’t the word, more like pacing. He’d heard that someone, a girl, had put word out that she was assembling a crew for a job concerning a marine ship. It was just the kind of job he needed at the moment, but there was one problem: people. He was okay when it came to interaction with others in a professional capacity, but he didn’t know how well he would do in a situation like this.

Thus the pacing, a response to the anxiety he was feeling. He decided to enter the inn before he convinced himself he didn’t have to do this, ducking only slightly under the door frame to get into the place. He was dressed inconspicuously in gray pants, a white shirt and a black jacket, his sword gripped tight in his hand and held so it wouldn’t knock anything over. Green eyes scanned the room before landing on a shock of white hair surrounded by men that looked…less than reliable.

The urge to leave struck again but Julian simply sighed and walked over to the group slowly. He cleared his throat a bit before making direct eye contact with Bella “Are you the one, uh, offering a job?”

[pepsi]

-- CHAPTER 1 // EMBRACE YOUR SIN

-- THE PRIDEFUL PIONEER'S INN, BUPAE ISLAND, 9:30

Orion arrived at the inn several hours prior to the agreed time. He was always methodical, he was always careful; and when it came to situations like these, he made sure everything had to go according to plan.
He still stuck out like a thumb, especially with his white hair, white coat and white stubble; he only blended a little with his surroundings thanks to the black eyepatch on his left eye. About the fact that he was noticeably missing his left arm, that didn't help him one way or the other. The sleeve was rolled up to the shoulder and fastened in place by a simple button; every once in a while, he would attempt to grab his drink with the left before realising that it was a fruitless endeavor.

When he'd heard about Gideon's imprisonment, and he finally recovered from his last fight, he knew he had to move in and set him free; he still owed the man a few, after all, and he was surely a man of his word.
He got his feelers out, looking for contacts. Orion figured out there weren't going to be a lot of takers for such an ill-conceived idea; after all, who in their right mind would just assault an entire jailer ship? Just for the sake of one man? Nevertheless, he gave it a shot.
And much like with his trusty pistol, he rarely missed a shot. He eventually found out that a girl was recruiting people for pretty much the same idea; he offered his knowledge for the job, as he had been on the Seas for quite a few years.
All in all, the recruitment process was a success, as apparently the girl was still recruiting even after the minimum number of people had been reached on his part.

When he finished his (terrible) drink, he finally decided to approach Bella and begin explaining his plan in detail; before he could do so, however, yet another person showed up before the girl.
He was just into earshot, enough to hear that person talk. "Still attracting more people, I see" he said, taking the opportunity to barge in. "I'll explain for one last time. The day is today. It's a little late for preparations, but one more person aboard is still an extra pair of hands."

He sat down at the same table as Bella, nodding in her direction to make sure she was going to follow. "The job is about boarding a jailer ship. There, we're gonna need to free as many inmates as we can. I'm not going to lie, there will be chaos and there will be a strong resistance from the Marines. At least, there will be until we manage to free one specific inmate, which I would say is the most dangerous thing aboard that ship."
He stopped for a moment to look at the newcomer. "That's the job. If you feel up to the task, there's a handsome reward at the end."

-- OPEN SEAS, 13:45

Rythmic rattling of chains filled the air, down in the belly of the jailer ship. One inmate in particular seemed to be rather restless. And so he spoke again, from the darkness of his cell, behind iron bars.

"WARDEN!"

The chains rattled again, and a pair of red horns peeked from beyond the iron bars. The rest of his face was covered by a metal contraption that prevented him from opening his mouth, if not just enough to breathe and speak. "I'm... hungry."
Gideon Brandwen was his name; he was jailed for piracy, in the past years he had accumulated a bounty of 10 million Beri. Nobody on the ship could figure out why the inmate was delivered to them with that metal mask, except for a vague threat by his previous warden "not to let him near any food".
A weird request, given that the inmates had been fed just a few minutes prior to setting sail. It made no sense for the inmate to get hungry again so quick, unless the food simply wasn't enough.

Ice-white eyes peered from beyond the darkness and the shiny metal. They found a Marine standing not far away from the cells, perhaps guarding them. "You" he called, breathing heavily through the metal mask. "What's your name?"

"Lieutenant Rubik Gizem..." he repeated. "I need more food. When can I get more food?"

-- NAME // Gideon Brandwen

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Orion Rivera

-- CLASS // ???

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Gizem #1}

---

There was something to be said for idle jobs within law enforcement — the necessary turns of the cogs that kept the whole legal system moving smoothly like clockwork. Writing up reports, tracking provisions, filing paperwork, even something as mundane as cross-referencing prisoner records was a valuable piece of the overall puzzle of Justice. Perhaps the infantrymen and women were lucky in that regard. They only had to pay mind to that which was requested of them or within their rank, with no concern for anything above it. The officer who saw it as a burden was the fool that threatened the system.

Noon had passed and, at her own discretion, Lieutenant Rubik had personally relieved the active warden from his duties so that he might have taken a much welcome break from the monotonous stress of keeping an eye on shackled criminals. A quarter of an hour more and he would return to his usual patrols, but for now, that was her prerogative as she walked the expansive brig of the prison ship, clipboard in her arm and a pencil in her free hand. Under lock and key, the silence of the cells was somehow more lenient than that of an office, allowing her to analyse, annotate, and adjudicate paperwork with far less interruptions.

At five feet and eight, her sleek hourglass physique was mostly concealed beneath a strangely masculine attire — a dark avocado suit with fine white pinstripes and a black shirt with a white tie. Over her shoulders hung the Justice Coat so typically worn by commissioned officers, bearing ‘Justice’ on its back and epaulettes indicative of her rank. Blonde, naturally spiked hair possessed a peculiar green iridescence, kept on the short side with a perfectly straight fringe and side bangs, while eyes of watercolour lilac scrutinised the prisoner documentation pinned to the clipboard as she walked along.

B12. Buggs, Volkswagen: Male, thirty seven years of age, six feet, eight inches, two hundred and eighty pounds…, she listed off mentally as she passed a few cells — cells currently occupied by a recently detained smuggling crew and owners of the stolen ship ‘Carmen’. Eyes fell upon her as she walked by. B13. Cleopatra, Renault: Female, forty two years of age, five feet and seven, one hundred pounds… B14. Benjamins, Mercedes: Male, forty five years, s–

^{“You,” growled a voice:
“What’s your name?”}

“I am Lieutenant Rubik Gizem,” she replied, matter-of-factly, as she responded to the interruption — the first she’d received thus far. She scratched off the last few details made upon the paper, turning to view the inmate on the opposing side of the hall of cells. He’d been the one that had called out before, for sure, pressed up against the iron so that the metal contraption upon his face gently clinked against them.

“When can I get more food?” he asked, reciting her identity as she flipped a sheet over and traced a list of names.

“A14. Brandwen, Gideon…” Gizem’s voice trailed. The warden of the previous holding had spoken of this one, though she’d not been privy to that particular exchange and the exact verbatim. There it was, however, in red ink that had been hastily scribbled on by whomever had organised the papers:

^{WATER ONLY. NO FOOD.
— Warden DeWitt}

“I cannot tell you because I do not have an answer,” the LT replied honestly. Meal rotas weren’t part of her deal here, just to provide military support and command during prisoner transport. “You are also in no position to make requests for additional meals. This is a prison ship, not a leisure cruise,” she finalised snappily, glaring at the masked man behind the bars. To think, a set of shackles and a few rods of solid iron were all that really separated them. But a curiosity dwelt within. “The wardens have left strict instructions not to feed you. Why is that…?”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>As the mysterious Gideon demands food, Gizem informs him of his position as she patrols the brig.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

LT Rubik Gizem | #568203
Gideon Brandwen | #fae7b5

[Mr. Moon]

Bella #2

The white-haired girl raised her head when as the door opened, looking at the tall, dark-skinned man, that entered. He was handsome and looked strangely sober and competent for their pathetic fellowship, so she immediately lost all interest in him. Well, that was until he walked directly to her table and asked about the job she offered.
"Ehm...I mean...yes I am."
She whispered with a blushed face, as he took her by surprise. Fortunately, Orion arrived to save the situation and explain to the newcomer what their job was supposed to be about. As the man sat down at her table, Bella slightly shivered. That man was creeping her out. He was the first one who offered her help and also came up with a plan of the rescue, but also had his agenda and Bella thought more than once if he perhaps isn't some sort of secret agent or undercover Marine that will lead them all into some elaborate trap. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think about any other way how to save Eric. And truth to be told, she was desperate enough to take the chance and wage her own freedom on it. Well, at least most of the time.
"Two, two specific inmates."
She added with a gentle frown, as Orion was explaining the basics of their plan.
"No one will leave that ship without my brother."
Even she was surprised by how resolute and aggressive that sentence sounded. So she reflexively softened it with muttered
"If he is there."
But in fact the more she thought about it the more it resonated with her. She has nothing against Marines. She wasn't wanted, desperate for money and didn't really care for the guy Orion wanted to set free. She was doing it only for her brother and nothing else.

[pepsi]

"The wardens have left strict instructions not to feed you. Why is that…?"

Gideon stood silent for a few seconds. Though it would be hidden by the metallic mask, he was grinning ear to ear.
What a funny way to keep him from getting to his food. In the short time he was stationed on the nearest island, before they put him on the boat, he would drive the wardens insane. He'd ask for food, eat his serve, then go and bully the other prisoners into giving him their portion too.
A few actually went hungry for a few days, before the wardens decided he was not getting anything anymore.
But that was just an instance, Gideon thought. Why should he not get any food, from his perspective, was a much deeper issue. "Gizem..." he called, addressing the Marine by her first name.

"Gizem, have you ever been hungry?"

He listened for a response. But of course, whatever they would answer, Gideon knew that it wouldn't matter. "Not the kind of hungry you would get right before the next meal."

"When you haven't eaten for days. When your body has started eating itself, in a desperate and paradoxical attempt to keep itself alive. When you feel like you could eat the most rancid and poisonous of sludge and it would taste gourmet. When you are in so much pain, you'd rather be dead."

"That's the kind of hunger I talk about." Gideon inched closer to the bars, the rattle of the chains reminding him that he really couldn't get much further. "And that is the kind of hunger I feel. Every. Single. Day."
Gideon was born with insatiable hunger. Any hour he didn't put something in his belly left him feeling like a piece of him was missing; he needed to eat at least five times a day when he was a kid. His parents, poor as they were, couldn't feed him - so they left him to rot away in a deserted junkyard.
His life eventually turned around, but he never forgot how he felt when for the first time he didn't eat for a whole day.
Instead of lamenting his pain, however, he decided he would be stronger. He decided he wouldn't let another day pass where he would go hungry - and right then, it was about twenty-four hours since his last meal. "So, Gizem" he called again, "when can I get more food?..."

---

"So" Orion said, having listened closely to Bella's words. "There's two targets, sure, but that means when we get there we're going to free your brother first and the other last." Gideon was a strategic asset in most situations. Though he wouldn't be at peak physical form, because there was no way he would be well-fed on that ship, he still represented the curtain-call card. The moment Gideon would be set free was the moment they all had to get the hell out of there, and quickly.
"Time's up, let's get to our boat. I'll explain the plan there."

Orion's vessel was nothing more than a sloop, but it would serve them well to get close to the prison ship quickly without rising too much suspicion. "You can see those caches, over on the bridge, right Bella?" he asked, pointing at the described location with his only arm. "Your job is, on my signal, to empty the content of those caches onto the prison ship. You can transport them to the other side and break them, or you can throw them over. I don't care how as long as they are opened on top of that ship."
Orion went on to explain the plan some more. "Once you do that, we'll have to get the hell out of there. We have a few hours, still, because we will approach the ship at night. Is everything clear? Any questions before we go?"

-- NAME // Gideon Brandwen

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Orion Rivera

-- CLASS // ???

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Gizem #2}

---

The Lieutenant’s face hardened when this ‘Gideon’ called her by forename — perhaps her own fault for revealing it and not thinking that an outspoken prisoner would care for etiquette. She would have to make sure he was aware. However, it was the question he’d asked that piqued the woman’s curiosity further. In the simplest of terms, no, she had never gone hungry. Nothing she would classify as such, at the very least. True hunger wasn’t something most people knew; merely the body’s standard for a steady flow of nutrition.

“No,” she replied, simply.

“When you haven’t eaten for days,” Mister Brandwen continued, a simple query turned monologue as he reached for something unseen, intangible, with words rather than hands. Miss Rubik stood as she was, observing the man with passive scrutiny as he uttered those words and approached the bars of his cell. Soft rattling of restraints was near enough the only accompaniment his voice needed, alongside the dull reverberations of his breath through the ventilation of his muzzle.

^{“…Every. Single. Day.”}

She remained stoic.

^{“So, Gizem,” Gideon asked anew:
“When can I get more food…?”}

“First, you will properly address me as Lieutenant Rubik,” the LT replied, matter-of-factly, as she met the man’s gaze and took her own step forward. Something told her he might not have so readily obliged and so, without pause, she moved to her second point. “Second, you will receive more food when we are ordered to provide it — no sooner — and I do not have the liberties to change that. Am I understood, Mister Brandwen?” Gizem stated with the authority expected of her position, but also due respect; even if the man before her, shackled and caged and supposedly starving was a criminal, he was still a man.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Lieutenant Gizem informs the unusual Gideon of his place.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

LT Rubik Gizem | #568203
Gideon Brandwen | #fae7b5

[Mr. Moon]

Bella #3

The young girl gently frowned. The more she knew about this man, the stronger was her impression, that this whole thing was one giant mistake. Well, she could curse only herself for her weakness that forced her to rely on this stranger and a bunch of misfits to save her brother. To survive in this world on her own, she had to grow stronger, if only she had an idea of how to do so.

The time was up. The last opportunity to change her mind and she didn´t use it. Instead, Bella followed Orion on his ship. Ordinary sloop, hopefully, fast and sturdy enough for this job. As the small crew boarded their vessel, Orion took her aside, to explain his plan to her. Well, to explain his plan wasn´t a really good way to put it as she still had no idea what was going on.

“Alright, but…what are these?”

She asked, taking all of them into her backpack.

“If I am supposed to run around with bombs on my back, I would like to know.”

Bella added, trying her best to not come out as rude or ungrateful. Still, she really hated the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen.

“And what about the rest of our plan?”

She asked after a while sheepishly.

“I mean, it´s a prison ship with a lot of very dangerous people on board. I don´t think the Marines won´t have some guards there, even in night and they won´t just let anyone on board, especially people who are looking like us.”

The white-haired girl said us, but what she really meant by these words was them. Truth to be told, she didn´t really fit in their little group, be it by her age, or the simple fact that unlike most of their companion she knew how to use soap.

[pepsi]

Gideon remained silent for a few seconds after the Lieutenant finished talking. And then...

"Hahahahahaha!"

The captive pirate laughed his heart out, almost uncharacteristically given his broody and edgy demeanor from just a moment prior. "Oh, you guys really love your sense of authority, isn't that right Gizem?" he asked, deliberately dodging the Lieutenant's request.
He stood silent for a few seconds more, letting the chains rattle and his breath whisper through the muzzle. "None of that matters" he said, in a lower, graver tone of voice. "It's only an act. Remove the chains, remove the law, remove this mask, and your 'authority' ceases to have any meaning."

And with that, the volume of his words gradually becoming dimmer and dimmer, his head bent downwards. Gideon Brandwen stopped replying for the rest of the day from that moment on, as he had fallen into something akin to a deep slumber.

Orion looked back at the girl. "You knew it was going to be messy the moment you went out looking for comrades for something like this" he replied, picking one of the caches himself and stuffing it under his nonexistent right arm. "As for the plan... Nobody knows what's going to happen. We're going to board the ship and hope for the best. A direct assault. If you have a better idea, you're free to share."
Maybe it wasn't clear to her until that very moment, but the way Orion talked about it made one thing shine through: this man was not backing down from something he had set his eyes on. But one question remained: even if it was going to be a direct attack, how could one approach the ship without the Marines retaliating in some way? Did Orion have an ace up his sleeve?

"And about the contents of those caches..." he turned back around, pointing at the girl's backpack with his left hand.

He smirked. "... It's food. His favourite."

-- NAME // Gideon Brandwen

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Orion Rivera

-- CLASS // ???

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Gizem #3}

---

“I do not love having authority,” the LT retorted, easing the venom on her tongue before it escaped her lips. Criminals came in many flavours — some were rather friendly and jovial despite their crimes. Others showed legitimate regret for their actions. This one? This one was worthy of her disgust, for he refused a simple facet of life that she had been so gracious as to provide. “It is necessary for my duty in upholding the law, and to be honest and respectful of others are the fundamentals of wielding authority,” she added.

“None of that matters,” the ignominious inmate said, though whether he was actually responding to what she had just said or merely speaking in continuation was unknown. Indeed, much to Gizem’s equal parts annoyance and relief, Mister Brandwen seemed to be reverting to a state of inactivity. With his mask upon his face, reading him was a difficult task, even more so as he sank back into the shadows of his cell. Any urge to respond was quelled by the futility of the endeavour.

We will see about that, should it come to it, Gideon, Gizem thought, words contained to restrain her ire as she issued an unspoken promise to the prisoner. Within seconds of his silence she had left; gone to resume the rounds as necessary, and to return to her assigned duties when the time came. Her presence was purely supervisory, yet she remained alert and aware, even more so because of that accursed man’s enigmatic nature…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Lieutenant Gizem returns to her duties after Gideon stops responding.

Notes:— N/A</sub>

---

LT Rubik Gizem | #568203
Gideon Brandwen | #fae7b5

[Mr. Moon]

Bella #4

The young woman wanted to protest again but then realized that Orion was right. She knew this would be a messy business, or rather she should have known that from the moment she decided to save her brother from the Marines. Still, she couldn't get rid of the fear that took hold deep inside of her. It was this strange feeling as if she was missing something important something like the fact that even if they will manage to avoid all the guns the prisoner ship will have and will sneak on them successfully the ship will be still filled to the brim with marines and prison guards ready to fight them so…why was this guy so confident about everything? Did he have some secret weapon of some sort or was he simply an overconfident fool? She was unable to say and was afraid to point it out just in case he decided to scold her even further. Although he was technically helping her, the white-haired girl was a little afraid of Mr. Orion since the moment they met.

“Yes, you are right.”

She muttered quietly, taking the bag and throwing it on the back instead of her sword, which ended up on her waist. However, when he mentioned what was inside, Bella paused once again.

“His favorite food?”

She asked, looking at the bag with a hint of suspicion in her eyes as if she expected something terrible to be hidden there, before trying to hide her concern behind a joke.

“What exactly is he? Some kind of glutton? Or an animal that had to be lured on board?”

She asked however her voice revealed more of her actual feelings than she would like. So clearing he throat Bella nodded.

“Anyway, you can count on me with this.”

[pepsi]

Marine Ensign Ezra Behlke was a honest soldier. He climbed up the ranks the old fashioned way, by putting people behind bars and helping the populace when duty called. Standing at a hefty three meters and a half, black wavy hair and deep blue eyes, with his trusty kanabo on his shoulder he commanded every seaman that darn ship.
All except one, at least, as his superior Liutenant Gizem was the more authoritative voice aboard that jailer ship.

The ship was divided into two large sections. The front of the ship was where all the resources needed to run such a boat were stored such as rations, ammunitions and weapons; in the back, divided from the first section by a thick reinforced wall and gate, were all the jails. Both portions were located below the main deck of the ship. Other important things like dorms and personnel spaces were instead all located in the quarterdeck area, at the stern.
As Rubik Gizem was responsible for the jail area, Behlke among others were the heads that divided and administered the resources. There were about fifty people on that ship, excluding the inmates, and a hefty amount of paperwork as well as actual brainpower was needed to manage it all. It was a job Behlke hated doing, but it was still part of his duty - so he swallowed it up and didn't complain.

Orion scoffed at Bella's remark. "He's so much more than a glutton. But a glutton nonetheless." He produced a pistol from his white leather coat; it looked like a modified version of a revolver, with a reinforced frame, two chambers and a silvery shiny coat. One could ask how could he aim such a gun with only one hand and one eye, but the more time passed the more this person seemed confident in his decisions.
Having said that, he kicked a barrel into the sea, and pushed it so that it would placidly drift away from their little barge.

The jailer ship was just coming into view.

The humongous Behlke saluted the Lieutenant with a straight spine, making him look even taller than he was. "Lieutenant Rubik," he said, "I overheard the conversation. It is really true that every new generation of pirates gets worse."

BANG! BOOM!

The white-haired gunslinger had taken aim, and shot a bullet right as the barrel reached the jailer ship's side. "Quick!" he said, "dim all the lights, cover all metals! Let's approach the ship while they're confused!"
The men on the barge all took out their oars, and started rowing towards the backside of the jailer ship.

The sudden impact almost knocked Behlke off his feet. "What was that?" he asked, looking around for someone with a better clue than himself. "Are we under attack?" he grunted, running up the stairs to the deck to try and understand what was going on.
He pointed at the seamen on the deck, and ordered them: "Turn the searchlights on!"

Orion grinned. On that kind of ship, searchlights had a blind spot. They could look in virtually every direction except for a narrow cone at the back, near the rudder.
They were built that way, and that was their design flaw.

"We... we can't see anything! The sea is clear, Ensign Behlke!"
"That's impossible... I heard an explosion! There must be enemies somewhere...!"

The small unassuming barge had successfully reached the rudder essentially unseen. All that was left was climb up from the ship's back. Every man on the little ship was given a grappling hook, except for Orion. "I'm taking a different route" he declared, adjusting his eyepatch. "I'm going straight for the jails."

-- NAME // Gideon Brandwen

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Orion Rivera

-- CLASS // ???

-- TECHS USED // None.

[Vio]

^{Gizem #4}

---

“At ease, Ensign,” Gizem nodded as the goliath Behlke saluted her, the sheer disparity of their heights on full display. She was by no means short, rather average in fact, but men like Behlke did exist—a man twice her own height and with a significantly more imposing frame. “Mm. Every once in a while there is one worth talking to. Those kinds are becoming much more scarce. I–”

^Boooom!

The Lieutenant stumbled, slamming a hand against the wall to steady herself as the entire ship rocked. Possibilities flew through her mind, but it was the ever diligent and dutiful Ensign who offered a curious suggestion as he tried to clue himself into what had transpired.

“It sounded like an explosion,” she offered, looking to the sky of all things as the seamen responded to her subordinate’s order. “This region of the Grand Line is not known for any occurrences that could cause that sort of impact,” she added, putting briefing and knowledge of local charts and surveys to good use. It wouldn’t have been the first time Marines were ‘jumped’ by Paradise’s oceanic phenomena, herself remembering her first encounter with ‘sea bombs’ and the enormous bubbles that caused them. Not a pleasant experience, to say the least.

^{“The sea is clear, Ensign Behlke!”}

^{“That’s impossible…,” Ezra shouted:
“There must be enemies somewhere…!”}

^Gacha…!

“All troops, this is Lieutenant Rubik,” the green-blonde woman announced through a localised Den Den Mushi network. “I want a full sweep of the ship immediately—check every deck, every room, from stern to bow—leave no corner unchecked. Over.” With a click of the small snail to set it to a passive mode and the alarm duly raised, she turned lilac eyes to Behlke. “Ensign, I suggest you lock down any important items and documents in the case of an actual attack,” she iterated as her body shifted and split apart into a dozens of bizarre black and white fragments basked in a dull green light, her voice becoming somewhat ethereal and tinny as she did so.

“I will perform another sweep of the cells. Report any and all interactions with potential hostiles,” Gizem iterated, perhaps unnecessarily but duly so, as the many fragments pieced themselves together into a decently large sphere—marked by a network of green markings—and began to bowl back towards the cell areas…

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:—}
<sub>Lieutenant Gizem briefly converses with Ensign Behlke when the ship seems to be attacked, prompting a sweep of the vessel and using her power to aid in a patrol of the jail area.

Notes:— Gizem has used her Rejtélyes Gӧmb Technique.</sub>

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LT Rubik Gizem | #568203
Gideon Brandwen | #fae7b5
EN Ezra Behlke [NPC] | #3d6bc9

[Mr. Moon]

Bella #5

The young woman froze, when Orion pulled out his gun, unintentionally showing the level of distrust or perhaps fear she felt towards the man. However, she quickly relaxed again, when he started working on his plan again, without explaining to her a thing.

Bella frowned. If there was something she really hated it was the feeling of being left out, especially during something she started, at least partially. The white-haired girl watched her companion throwing a barrel into the water right after the marine ship appeared on the horizon watching it float slowly towards them. Then an explosion came, eliciting feelings of surprise, fear, and anger inside of her.

“Are you out of your mind? You just warned them!”

She hissed, perhaps too soon, as Orion revealed yet another part of his plan. Quickly, Bella wrapped her sword in some dirty clothes that were lying around, sitting down to at least somehow hid herself behind the taffrail.

Fortunately, it didn´t take long, before they reached the prison ship. Unfortunately, Orion yet again came up with a plan he didn´t share with anyone before. While the rest of them was supposed to go on the main deck and probably create a diversion, he was going directly to the prison himself. To the exact same place, she needed to go to save her brother. The problem was that the men they took with them were hardly loyal. They were just a bunch of lost existences and misfits picked on the way there meaning if both of them went a different route they could simply turn their tails and run.

“Great, just please don´t blow anything up before I´ll get there. There is my brother somewhere on that ship.”

She growled, taking the grappling hook to quickly climb on the prison ship. As she jumped over the taffrail, the white-haired girl crouched down, hand on the hilt of her sword, while quickly moving towards the centre of the ship.

[pepsi]

Orion had studied the schematics of that ship for days. To be fair, it wasn't the schematics of that ship; he managed to peddle for the schemes belonging to a model that was several versions older and no longer in use.
He sold some of the loot he'd been stashing when he was a pirate and traded it for information. Which convicts were on the ship, where the jailer ship was heading, when it'd sail; he needed to know the schedule better than the damn helmsman.

But most importantly, Orion knew he could trust nobody. He was the only one who could bring a prison break to fruition - that was his strong belief. In case any one person failed to do their job, he had a backup plan; in case any one fell out of place, he had a replacement; in case anything went wrong, he could fix it.

Orion had identified a flaw in the old schematics: the boat's rudder was tucked a bit into the stern, and the axis that connected it to the helm was held in place by flimsy wooden boards. He took a gamble, and guessed that flaw was never fixed.

He was right.

Orion rowed the boat close to the rudder, together with the last few that stayed behind. As the boat approached the rudder, he jumped over and climbed up.
He busted open the wood with a punch of his only hand, and squeezed through the hole.

Ezra Behlke joined his fellow Marines on the deck, only to find a situation that could only be described as disastrous.
Of the fifty-or-so soldiers on that ship, a few already laid on deck in a pool of blood; as the sound of gunshots started filling the cold air of the night, he realised that the intruders were picking them one by one aided by the shadows. "Show your resolve!" he bellowed, to no avail. The lead seemed to come from everywhere at once, and it was quickly decimating the Marine forces. "Point the searchlights inwards! Towards the stern!" Ezra ordered, and soon enough that half of the boat was lit.

Those men that didn't think to hide lost the cover of the night, and decided to charge forwards. One, two down from Marine musket shots; a third reached Ezra himself, who sent him flying with a single swing of his kanabo.
"You've made a grave mistake!" he yelled, taking another swing. It was clear: if the pirates wanted to infiltrate the ship, they had to go through him first.

The two Marine guards had been told to keep their position. They were stationed at the very end of the corridor that housed all the cells, all thirty of them.
Perhaps they believed they were safe, as they could stay away from the fight.

[Knock knock.]

"Did you do that?" said the first. "What, Cal?"
"I heard knocking."

[Knock knock.]

"Wait, is it coming from... the other side of the wall-"

[BANG! BANG!]

Two pistol shots blew right through the wood and pierced the Marines. A few more shoulder bashes later Orion emerged from behind the planks.
"What's going on?" "What's happening?" quizzed the convicts as they had no vision of what just happened. Orion promptly ignored them, and proceeded with his plan.
He dusted off some splinters and old spider webs from his white coat, and walked into the corridor. "B15... B14..." he counted. He had no way of knowing where Gideon's cell would be, but it didn't take long to find it.

Orion squatted down to match Gideon's kneeling position. He savored the moment, as all of his efforts in the past weeks finally came to fruition.
He was finally about to pay his dues to Gideon once and for all.

"Hey!" he called, shouting a whisper at the convict. "Psst, Gideon!" He received no answer. Gideon was still very deep in his catatonic state.
Orion sighed: "I had a feeling I'd find you like this. How long have you been starving...?" he said, as his hand holstered the pistol and reached into the coat. From the coat he produced a piece of cheese, whose pungent odor immediately filled the air.

A stranger movement in his peripheral vision sent Orion into high alert. He chucked the cheese into the cell, and drew his weapon at the danger. "What the...?" he exclaimed, as he witnessed a large sphere roll into the corridor the opposite way from which he came. He figured that he'd been found out, and that if he wanted to free any prisoner he'd have to fight his way to the keys. "Oh, that's new. Didn't know Pacifista Discoballs were going to be involved" he quipped, aiming down the sights.

-- NAME // Gideon Brandwen

-- CLASS // E

-- TECHS USED // None.

-- NAME // Orion Rivera

-- CLASS // ???

-- TECHS USED // None.