Post by Terminally Chill on May 29, 2011 0:11:39 GMT -5
“That's him! Get ready!”
Dice gripped the hilt of katana tightly, watching with anticipation as Li trained his twin pistols on the tall, broad-shouldered figure. A high pitched scream, not a gunshot, was the first sound to pierce the tension, alerting the man with the darkened eye to their presence. Dice wheeled around to see a woman, most likely a Serine citizen, peddling back away from them. She had most likely screamed out of fear of seeing Li draw the firearms in broad daylight. The deed had been done and her fright could not be helped; Dice quickly turned back to watch Blackeye as gunshots rang out. The young recruit could not help but curse under his breath as Captain Blackeye managed to avoid the Ensign's two shots; if only capturing the notorious North Blue rookie would have been that easy. With their chances of completing the mission in that moment ruined, the time to confront the pirate captain was now fast approaching. Before the righteous duo charged into the heat of battle, Li turned to Dice.
“Trust me Dice… Every man has his own justice, just always remember to follow yours first.”
The Ensign's surprisingly insightful advice left Dice without words for a moment. The recruit's view of Li had been in flux since the particularly violent incident before, but the sentiment of his sentence cast a different light on his comrade as well as his beliefs for a moment. Dice had trusted in Justice as a single, enduring concept. That is the meaning his father had instilled in him, so how could every man have his own unique sense of Justice? Had Li's own Justice caused him to act that way before? These were certainly not questions that could be answered with the inevitable conflict against Blackeye looming ahead, so the young soldier quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Despite Li's methods, he was a man Dice could trust. That is all he needed to drive him forward after Li, following in the trail of the injured Ensign's sprint. However, as they approached, the scene was not what one would expect. The lackeys of the cruel captain had were not charging to meet them, nor was Blackeye continuing on his path toward the docks where his ship was located. The mass of men, with Captain Blackeye towering above each of them, remained still and in patient waiting for the two Marines to come closer. Dice came skidding to a stop a reasonable distance from the crowd of thugs, hand still tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
“So yer still alive, huh? Can't say I'm not disappointed.” Blackeye paused to take a drag of his crinkled cigarette, his imposing appearance no longer masked by the shadow of the previous alley. “But... I don't recognize you,” the eight-million-beri head said, motioning toward Li. "Where'd the other rats get off ta, huh?” Trails of smoke wreathed the darkly stubbled face and murderous grin of the criminal.
“None of that matters! This is the end for you, Blackeye!” Dice said, his emotions once again getting the best of him and causing him to make the dramatic declaration in the face of overwhelming odds. Captain Blackeye could not help but let out a deep, hoarse laugh with the rest of the crew he had with him following suit.
"Ya sure like to talk tough, punk. Bando, was it?” Blackeye took a moment to contemplate the name, rubbing his scruffy face in thought. “Sounds familiar, doesn't it boys? Pretty sure we got a Bando on the crew... Weird, huh?” the pirate captain asked, directing his question to the less experienced of the two soldiers. Dice's eyes widened in shock and his body visibly became more tense upon hearing Blackeye mention one of his crew members sharing his own last name. Blackeye's grin turned to a devious smirk as he baited the trap.
'Zane?!' Images of the day his brother left their family in Viktas to become a pirate flashed through Dice's mind, his teeth grinding together at the thought of his own blood following someone as vile as Captain Blackeye. The towering captain turned away from the duo once again. “Like I said, I ain't got time for this. Make sure ya kill 'em this time, will ya boys?” And with that, the deceptively cunning captain turned his back to the duo once again and made it way to his ship, around fifteen of his cronies blocking the path or even a decent shot at the pirate. The scene was very much the same: the ragged thugs brandished their assortment of weaponry as Captain Blackeye gradually disappeared into the distance with a few remaining followers tailing him.
A bright flash suddenly reflected from Dice's blade as he unleashed it from his sheath, charging forward with reckless abandon as the thoughts of Zane finally brought him to a breaking point. One of the pirates, armed with a dinged up metal pole, immediately engaged the sudden animated recruit. Dice quickly forced the weapon to the side, a streak of scarlet spraying from the pirate's chest the next instant. The soldier smashed the pirate in the side with his shoulder, sending the Blackeye brute to the ground in a heap as Dice continued on his warpath.
“I'm sorry, sir!” Dice called out to Li, rushing forward to engage the next pirate who swung at Dice with a large knife. A blazing determination, even greater than the one witnessed in the alley, was now burning in Dice's eyes and fueling every muscle in his body to press forward. The pirate slashed, cutting across the fiery recruit's cheek but receiving a deeper cut on his chest as a result. The thug went down with a yelp and Dice continued on.
“But I have to...”
One of Blackeye's thugs armed with a sword locked blades with Dice now, the two exchanging a short series of slashes and parries.
“... Find...”
The pirate thrust forward as Dice, forcing him to duck under the potentially fatal strike. The edge of the blade cut across his shoulder as he pressed forward, staining his shirt with dark crimson.
“MY BROTHER!” the young Marine screamed, bringing the hilt of his sword upward and smashing it into the pirate's chin with all of the force he could muster. The braggart's feet momentarily left the concrete before he came crashing down, unconscious. Dice had managed to clear a path by defeating the three pirates in quick succession, and without hesitation, he charged forward through the pursuit of Captain Blackeye. The other pirates looked on, almost stunned by the sudden burst of combat prowess they were witnessing from the harmless-looking Marine whelp. At the pace he was going, there was no use in chasing him. Blackeye would most likely be angered bu their incompetence, but he could handle one kid by himself. Their was still the issue of dealing with the man known as the White Reaper, so the twelve remaining pirates quickly crowded around the Ensign as Dice's lone figure disappeared into the distance.
Perhaps now Li Shengshun was understanding the connection Dice had to the mission that the Marine captain in Ana Nine had been so hesitant to mention.
Dice gripped the hilt of katana tightly, watching with anticipation as Li trained his twin pistols on the tall, broad-shouldered figure. A high pitched scream, not a gunshot, was the first sound to pierce the tension, alerting the man with the darkened eye to their presence. Dice wheeled around to see a woman, most likely a Serine citizen, peddling back away from them. She had most likely screamed out of fear of seeing Li draw the firearms in broad daylight. The deed had been done and her fright could not be helped; Dice quickly turned back to watch Blackeye as gunshots rang out. The young recruit could not help but curse under his breath as Captain Blackeye managed to avoid the Ensign's two shots; if only capturing the notorious North Blue rookie would have been that easy. With their chances of completing the mission in that moment ruined, the time to confront the pirate captain was now fast approaching. Before the righteous duo charged into the heat of battle, Li turned to Dice.
“Trust me Dice… Every man has his own justice, just always remember to follow yours first.”
The Ensign's surprisingly insightful advice left Dice without words for a moment. The recruit's view of Li had been in flux since the particularly violent incident before, but the sentiment of his sentence cast a different light on his comrade as well as his beliefs for a moment. Dice had trusted in Justice as a single, enduring concept. That is the meaning his father had instilled in him, so how could every man have his own unique sense of Justice? Had Li's own Justice caused him to act that way before? These were certainly not questions that could be answered with the inevitable conflict against Blackeye looming ahead, so the young soldier quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Despite Li's methods, he was a man Dice could trust. That is all he needed to drive him forward after Li, following in the trail of the injured Ensign's sprint. However, as they approached, the scene was not what one would expect. The lackeys of the cruel captain had were not charging to meet them, nor was Blackeye continuing on his path toward the docks where his ship was located. The mass of men, with Captain Blackeye towering above each of them, remained still and in patient waiting for the two Marines to come closer. Dice came skidding to a stop a reasonable distance from the crowd of thugs, hand still tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword.
“So yer still alive, huh? Can't say I'm not disappointed.” Blackeye paused to take a drag of his crinkled cigarette, his imposing appearance no longer masked by the shadow of the previous alley. “But... I don't recognize you,” the eight-million-beri head said, motioning toward Li. "Where'd the other rats get off ta, huh?” Trails of smoke wreathed the darkly stubbled face and murderous grin of the criminal.
“None of that matters! This is the end for you, Blackeye!” Dice said, his emotions once again getting the best of him and causing him to make the dramatic declaration in the face of overwhelming odds. Captain Blackeye could not help but let out a deep, hoarse laugh with the rest of the crew he had with him following suit.
"Ya sure like to talk tough, punk. Bando, was it?” Blackeye took a moment to contemplate the name, rubbing his scruffy face in thought. “Sounds familiar, doesn't it boys? Pretty sure we got a Bando on the crew... Weird, huh?” the pirate captain asked, directing his question to the less experienced of the two soldiers. Dice's eyes widened in shock and his body visibly became more tense upon hearing Blackeye mention one of his crew members sharing his own last name. Blackeye's grin turned to a devious smirk as he baited the trap.
'Zane?!' Images of the day his brother left their family in Viktas to become a pirate flashed through Dice's mind, his teeth grinding together at the thought of his own blood following someone as vile as Captain Blackeye. The towering captain turned away from the duo once again. “Like I said, I ain't got time for this. Make sure ya kill 'em this time, will ya boys?” And with that, the deceptively cunning captain turned his back to the duo once again and made it way to his ship, around fifteen of his cronies blocking the path or even a decent shot at the pirate. The scene was very much the same: the ragged thugs brandished their assortment of weaponry as Captain Blackeye gradually disappeared into the distance with a few remaining followers tailing him.
A bright flash suddenly reflected from Dice's blade as he unleashed it from his sheath, charging forward with reckless abandon as the thoughts of Zane finally brought him to a breaking point. One of the pirates, armed with a dinged up metal pole, immediately engaged the sudden animated recruit. Dice quickly forced the weapon to the side, a streak of scarlet spraying from the pirate's chest the next instant. The soldier smashed the pirate in the side with his shoulder, sending the Blackeye brute to the ground in a heap as Dice continued on his warpath.
“I'm sorry, sir!” Dice called out to Li, rushing forward to engage the next pirate who swung at Dice with a large knife. A blazing determination, even greater than the one witnessed in the alley, was now burning in Dice's eyes and fueling every muscle in his body to press forward. The pirate slashed, cutting across the fiery recruit's cheek but receiving a deeper cut on his chest as a result. The thug went down with a yelp and Dice continued on.
“But I have to...”
One of Blackeye's thugs armed with a sword locked blades with Dice now, the two exchanging a short series of slashes and parries.
“... Find...”
The pirate thrust forward as Dice, forcing him to duck under the potentially fatal strike. The edge of the blade cut across his shoulder as he pressed forward, staining his shirt with dark crimson.
“MY BROTHER!” the young Marine screamed, bringing the hilt of his sword upward and smashing it into the pirate's chin with all of the force he could muster. The braggart's feet momentarily left the concrete before he came crashing down, unconscious. Dice had managed to clear a path by defeating the three pirates in quick succession, and without hesitation, he charged forward through the pursuit of Captain Blackeye. The other pirates looked on, almost stunned by the sudden burst of combat prowess they were witnessing from the harmless-looking Marine whelp. At the pace he was going, there was no use in chasing him. Blackeye would most likely be angered bu their incompetence, but he could handle one kid by himself. Their was still the issue of dealing with the man known as the White Reaper, so the twelve remaining pirates quickly crowded around the Ensign as Dice's lone figure disappeared into the distance.
Perhaps now Li Shengshun was understanding the connection Dice had to the mission that the Marine captain in Ana Nine had been so hesitant to mention.