Post by Weeks on Feb 19, 2014 12:15:19 GMT -5
"That's a Noble ship!" said Donner, his tone more enthusiastic than Justin had expected.
It surely was. Only a world noble would travel in such extravagance. It was as if an entire palace had been fitted inside of a ship hull, and Justin wasn't sure if that wasn't the case. It was surely huge, and as he looked straight up to the first walkable deck, he estimated the height at no less than a good 3 stories tall. Of course, from this angle, it was impossible to put the girth of the ship into perspective, making this larger than any Marine battleship he had seen. In fact, something so large stunned him in its ability to sail.
"You sure know how to pick a fight Captain!"
He surely did, but for one split second, Justin contemplated just how…fortunate they had been to find this vessel. Size or not, the sea was an enormous place, and this ship paled in comparison. A few miles away and they might have missed it. No, the timing didn't soot Justin, It stank of Aubrey Meador. That argument was for another time though, and Justin instead kept his slight smile on his face, admiring his new gun and hat.
Kallie had already left, and though Justin had begun to protest, he had failed to have the energy to match Kallie, instead opting for the simple solution that the crew of this ship would hardly regard her as a threat until it was too late. She was simply too cute for her own good, too naive and open for anyone to suspect foul play from her. If she had a little more common sense, she would have been the perfect saboteur.
However, at the moment, there were much bigger issues at hand, namely, how to get several people up what was a cliff face, who could together have weighed as much as a full grown elephant. As Justin contemplated it for a moment, his eyes darted over to his dear Captain, who was looking to his First Mate with a sly smile and crossed arms. For a moment they both stood there, Justin looking on curiously until Aubrey finally shifted his gaze upwards nonchalantly as if to say “Waiting on you”.
“Oh.” Was all Justin could muster at that moment, rolling his eyes in the most frustrating of ways as he rolled up his sleeves.
“Don’t you all worry yourselves, I got this one.” He continued, almost sure that not a soul was listening.
Somewhere down the line, Justin’s compliance had become less routine and more expected by his crew, but mostly by his Captain who took great pleasure in the fact that his best friend would, albeit reluctantly, do anything for the betterment of the ship.
“No really, I insist.” He said, rather loudly as to make himself heard.
Grabbing one of the ropes from the grappling hooks, he took little time in scaling the wall in front of him, pulling up with his arms as his feet pushed off on his obstacle.
“I mean, it’s an honor to be one of the first onto the hostile ship, nay, a PRIVILEGE. I find myself lucky to be in the company of such fine young men and women, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice! Like…like a pissed off crab. Or a very vicious pond turtle.”
The sarcasm floated through the air like a thick fog, so pronounced that it could be felt on the skin.
“Just promise me that if I don’t return in 10 minutes, that you’ll give up on me and sail for the nearest tropical island, where I’m sure where you can all regale your stories of how you furiously waited for a fucking staircase to appear.”
He said not another word, only mutter to himself about how inconsiderate some people can be. However, he had his work cut out for him. Getting onto the ship wasn’t the real trouble, it was more or less the getting everyone else such as Donner and Aubrey on that would be the real problem. Regardless of their astronomical weight, should they fall into the water during the climb, they would more than likely drown, or be useless for the foreseeable future. Justin knew all of this, but he still hated the idea of how he was simply supposed to know that it was his duty to figure this out, since, as usual, the Captain hadn't.
As he moved upward, he made the snap decision not to simply climb up to the deck, knowing that if he were caught midway up, it could spell disaster, and the whole scam would be ruined. Instead, he made for one of the many portholes in the midsection of the main hull, scampering up to one quickly and quietly. Holding on with one arm, the gunman pulled out his heavy revolver, holding it by the barrel instead of the grip, and made one final check to make sure that he hadn’t been spotted. With the coast clear, he slammed the grip into the glass of the circular porthole, cracking the glass. With another good swing, the glass shattered, what once used to be a fancy window pouring into what looked to be an empty bunk room. With some quick foot work he slipped his feet into the porthole and out of sight.
The moment his feet touch the floor however, his entire demeanor had changed. The dark room was only dimly lit by the orange sunlight, and Justin waited a moment for his eyes to adjust. Everything looked as though it had been ransacked, blankets and sheets askew, belongings scattered across the floor, and now, Justin had added broken glass to the equation. Still, as he listened intently, waiting for any sign of life as he holstered his pistol, taking a few paces towards the ajar door to his front, to slowly emerge into a tight hallway.
It was still eerily quiet, the slight rocking motion of the ship in the darkness causing Justin to become dizzy for a moment as he peered down the darkened corridor. It was nearly pitch black save the few sources of light from the windows, but the inside of the ship already seemed to be deserted as he made a left, pushing down the hallway in no particular direction. There were no signs or indications of where he was heading, only bunk room after bunk room on his right and left, empty, and looking as though they had been abandoned only recently.
As he continued turning corners and making his way deeper into the ship, his night vision was beginning to fail him, and even the light from the windows was becoming more and more distant as he wandered around aimlessly, for a sign of something, anything that would get him up top on the deck. The darkness however had dominated the ship, causing Justin to come to a halt before needlessly advancing without a plan or sightline on his objective. He thought about turning back, but in the end, this place was just a maze, and what better place to start looking than right in front of him.
He pulled from his front pocket a booklet of matches, and with a quick snap and flash of countless sparks, the tip lit and flickered away, revealing again nothing but the same endless hallway. He sighed in frustration, yet the entire situation had already put himself on edge. These quarters, he guessed, were home to many of the workers of this ship, and sure, them being busy at the moment was fine, but who in their right mind would douse all of the lighting? The whole thing stunk of foul play, something odd was going on, this was not the way you ran a ship.
As he pressed on, he couldn’t help but draw his new pistol, the cocking back of the hammer echoing through the cold and narrow hallways. So quiet was it, that the ocean could still be heard lapping against the ship through the thick wood. Yet finally, as he pressed on, the first sign on direction came into view. A simple sign at a crossroads in the halls pointed left for Kitchens, and right for freight elevator. That was good enough for Justin, and as he lit another match he moved quietly towards his target, the way up, and out of this darkness.
“I swear to god, If I get murdered by some monster, I’ll haunt the shit out of all of them.” He whispered, referring to his entire crew rather than just his captain this time.
“Seriously, it’s always the point man he dies first, he says everything is all right, and then something comes up behind him and grabs his leg, then you never see him again until the very end of the story when you find his severed head inside of a closest or something.”
As he continued to creep himself out, he could finally hear something break the silence in front of him. The scraping of metal on metal was certainly not the most pleasant of noises, but it was welcome in this case, as Justin instantly identified it as an elevator. With a few more feet he was close enough to finally see the gate. After pressing the slightly illuminated button, all there was left to do now was to wait.
The elevator rose quickly once it arrived. As far as Justin could tell he was heading up to the Mid deck section of the ship, the lowest point to the water. This would be the best place to throw something down for the crew to climb, but as he contemplated what he could throw down, he had come at an impasse. It’s not as though rope ladders would be scattered around waiting for him. He would have to do what he did best, and that was improvise.
Once on the mid deck, he found himself sigh in relief this time, as the halls were brightly lighted and much easier to navigate. He pulled his hat brim a litter lower down his eyes however as he passed by frantic maids and workmen, all of whom seemed less than interested in the unknown young man. He was surely out of place here, but something seemed to be occupying them immensely.
“Ladies and Gentlemen.” Came a voice, loud, and easy to understand.
Confused for a moment, Justin looked up to find a mini Den Den Mushi set atop a shelf in the hall. He stopped then and there, realizing that any information at this point was better than none.
“Our apologies for the delay in all current services. We are currently occupied with a power outage on the port side of the ship in our lower deck section. We appreciate your understanding and will resume normal operations quickly. Thank you.”
The Den Den Mushi then nodded off to sleep with a click, not before Justin had a quick glance at what looked to be a cook’s face. He looked distraught and confused, perhaps even deathly afraid of the current situation. Justin could already tell the announcement was bogus. Something was really wrong, something so serious that the entire crew was in a moment of crisis. Whatever that was, Justin had no idea, but he took no time to quickly make use of the situation.
He quietly slipped outside, relived to find that for the moment everything seemed to be normal. Guests were quietly chatting and making the final use of the low hanging sun. They would most likely be heading in for dinner or other activities soon. Justin holstered his pistol back under his left armpit quickly, knowing that now was not the time for fear and confusion from the guests. This was a noble ship, no doubt there would be guards patrolling soon, Peace rout or not.
With a quick lean over the railing he spotted the Flight below him, giving a quick wave to gain the Crew’s attention to make sure they were ready. To cover the action, he then quickly pulled out his pack of cigarettes, while eyeing around him for anything to throw down. There was an anchor that he could surly drop, but the size of the anchor could mean disaster if it hit any part of the Flight, it was simply too massive. Ropes were in short supply in this section of the ship, we would have to go to a higher level just to gain access to the sails, and he didn’t want to push his luck. However, as he turned around, taking drag from his smoke and leaning back, he spotted a life boat on a pulley system. That would be the best option as he moved towards it, smiling sweetly as an elderly couple passed by him, to occupied with each other to even notice.
The boat was large, large enough for all of the crew to hop in and pull themselves up with the ropes in one go. Even so, getting the boat overboard without being noticed would be next to impossible, so instead, he would simply have to risk it.
“Excuse me sir.” Came a voice from behind him.
Justin turned nonchalantly, keeping his cool as he raised his eyebrows in attention. Clearly these were the guards he was hoping not to run into. How they had appeared without him knowing was a mystery, but they must have come out one of the side doors when he had smiled at the elderly couple.
“Yes?” Justin replied, taking a drag.
“We are currently dealing with a situation in the ship. For your safety we would like you to return to your room and keep for ticket with you at all times.” He said respectfully, easily mistaking Justin for a guest. Justin had noticed before how all of the staff had uniforms and armbands in the corridor before.
“Oh I see, but I don’t have a ticket sir.” Said Justin with a smile, leaning back on the life boat as he took another drag, tipping his hat to the guard.
Two guards were enough for Justin to worry at this point. He had no intention of letting them get in the way at this point, there was far too much danger for them to see the flight right over the deck right now and alert the entire ship. For the moment he would have to dispatch them. His comment however, had agitated the guards a little more than he had expected, and many of them were slowly reaching for pistols on their hips.
“Well then you’ll have your service armband then, and your break stamp in your employee booklet?” replied the guard, his tone much harsher now.
“Nope.” Replied Justin, reaching into his jacket under his left armpit.
So fast that it was impossible to see, Justin pulled his small revolver from his Jacket, a gunshot slamming over the calm that was the Mid deck as the pullet rocketed through the guard’s left kneecap, and with the simple twist of Justin’s wrist and a pull back on the hammer, another shot rang out, this one blowing off the second guard’s trigger finger.
They hardly had time to scream in agony as Justin Kicked out at the guard in front of him, sending him end over end off the railing and out of sight. The second was already gripping his hand in pain as Justin made a few quick steps in his direction, his left hand curling into a fist as a hay-maker slammed into his jaw, sending him onto the deck and out of consciousness.
Screams were already erupting from the guests as Justin went to work, knowing he would have precious moments before the ship went on alert and the Flight was spotted. At the moment however, he hoped that the confusion would be to his benefit, so for extra effect he rang out two more shots into the air, scattering what was left of the population on the deck as he pulled the life boat free and began to lower it down to the Flight.
The progress was much slower than he would have liked however. The boat may have been solid oak, but from this height it would shatter into a million pieces once it hit the Flight. Yet fate seemed to always be in Justin’s expense. The shots had already sounded the alarm, causing a large foghorn sounding and many people beginning to become frantic in other sections of the ship. He could already hear hysterical screaming all over, and at about halfway he let go of the rope, calling out the Aubrey.
“Catch!” he yelled, his tone very desperate as he heard a door slam open to his right.
Two more guards emerged with Pistols drawn, spotting Justin just a second to late as he emptied the two shots he had left, catching one in the shoulder and the other right in the center of his shin. They toppled over in pain, the force of the bullet propelling them backwards.
Surprised by a moment by the power of his new Pistol, Justin smiled coyly for a moment before he looked back down to the Flight, addressing his crew.
“Let’s Go! I don’t intend on having a firefight up here!” he shouted, pushing back a few paces as he swung out the wheel of his revolver, the empty cartridges clattering on the deck.
It surely was. Only a world noble would travel in such extravagance. It was as if an entire palace had been fitted inside of a ship hull, and Justin wasn't sure if that wasn't the case. It was surely huge, and as he looked straight up to the first walkable deck, he estimated the height at no less than a good 3 stories tall. Of course, from this angle, it was impossible to put the girth of the ship into perspective, making this larger than any Marine battleship he had seen. In fact, something so large stunned him in its ability to sail.
"You sure know how to pick a fight Captain!"
He surely did, but for one split second, Justin contemplated just how…fortunate they had been to find this vessel. Size or not, the sea was an enormous place, and this ship paled in comparison. A few miles away and they might have missed it. No, the timing didn't soot Justin, It stank of Aubrey Meador. That argument was for another time though, and Justin instead kept his slight smile on his face, admiring his new gun and hat.
Kallie had already left, and though Justin had begun to protest, he had failed to have the energy to match Kallie, instead opting for the simple solution that the crew of this ship would hardly regard her as a threat until it was too late. She was simply too cute for her own good, too naive and open for anyone to suspect foul play from her. If she had a little more common sense, she would have been the perfect saboteur.
However, at the moment, there were much bigger issues at hand, namely, how to get several people up what was a cliff face, who could together have weighed as much as a full grown elephant. As Justin contemplated it for a moment, his eyes darted over to his dear Captain, who was looking to his First Mate with a sly smile and crossed arms. For a moment they both stood there, Justin looking on curiously until Aubrey finally shifted his gaze upwards nonchalantly as if to say “Waiting on you”.
“Oh.” Was all Justin could muster at that moment, rolling his eyes in the most frustrating of ways as he rolled up his sleeves.
“Don’t you all worry yourselves, I got this one.” He continued, almost sure that not a soul was listening.
Somewhere down the line, Justin’s compliance had become less routine and more expected by his crew, but mostly by his Captain who took great pleasure in the fact that his best friend would, albeit reluctantly, do anything for the betterment of the ship.
“No really, I insist.” He said, rather loudly as to make himself heard.
Grabbing one of the ropes from the grappling hooks, he took little time in scaling the wall in front of him, pulling up with his arms as his feet pushed off on his obstacle.
“I mean, it’s an honor to be one of the first onto the hostile ship, nay, a PRIVILEGE. I find myself lucky to be in the company of such fine young men and women, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice! Like…like a pissed off crab. Or a very vicious pond turtle.”
The sarcasm floated through the air like a thick fog, so pronounced that it could be felt on the skin.
“Just promise me that if I don’t return in 10 minutes, that you’ll give up on me and sail for the nearest tropical island, where I’m sure where you can all regale your stories of how you furiously waited for a fucking staircase to appear.”
He said not another word, only mutter to himself about how inconsiderate some people can be. However, he had his work cut out for him. Getting onto the ship wasn’t the real trouble, it was more or less the getting everyone else such as Donner and Aubrey on that would be the real problem. Regardless of their astronomical weight, should they fall into the water during the climb, they would more than likely drown, or be useless for the foreseeable future. Justin knew all of this, but he still hated the idea of how he was simply supposed to know that it was his duty to figure this out, since, as usual, the Captain hadn't.
As he moved upward, he made the snap decision not to simply climb up to the deck, knowing that if he were caught midway up, it could spell disaster, and the whole scam would be ruined. Instead, he made for one of the many portholes in the midsection of the main hull, scampering up to one quickly and quietly. Holding on with one arm, the gunman pulled out his heavy revolver, holding it by the barrel instead of the grip, and made one final check to make sure that he hadn’t been spotted. With the coast clear, he slammed the grip into the glass of the circular porthole, cracking the glass. With another good swing, the glass shattered, what once used to be a fancy window pouring into what looked to be an empty bunk room. With some quick foot work he slipped his feet into the porthole and out of sight.
The moment his feet touch the floor however, his entire demeanor had changed. The dark room was only dimly lit by the orange sunlight, and Justin waited a moment for his eyes to adjust. Everything looked as though it had been ransacked, blankets and sheets askew, belongings scattered across the floor, and now, Justin had added broken glass to the equation. Still, as he listened intently, waiting for any sign of life as he holstered his pistol, taking a few paces towards the ajar door to his front, to slowly emerge into a tight hallway.
It was still eerily quiet, the slight rocking motion of the ship in the darkness causing Justin to become dizzy for a moment as he peered down the darkened corridor. It was nearly pitch black save the few sources of light from the windows, but the inside of the ship already seemed to be deserted as he made a left, pushing down the hallway in no particular direction. There were no signs or indications of where he was heading, only bunk room after bunk room on his right and left, empty, and looking as though they had been abandoned only recently.
As he continued turning corners and making his way deeper into the ship, his night vision was beginning to fail him, and even the light from the windows was becoming more and more distant as he wandered around aimlessly, for a sign of something, anything that would get him up top on the deck. The darkness however had dominated the ship, causing Justin to come to a halt before needlessly advancing without a plan or sightline on his objective. He thought about turning back, but in the end, this place was just a maze, and what better place to start looking than right in front of him.
He pulled from his front pocket a booklet of matches, and with a quick snap and flash of countless sparks, the tip lit and flickered away, revealing again nothing but the same endless hallway. He sighed in frustration, yet the entire situation had already put himself on edge. These quarters, he guessed, were home to many of the workers of this ship, and sure, them being busy at the moment was fine, but who in their right mind would douse all of the lighting? The whole thing stunk of foul play, something odd was going on, this was not the way you ran a ship.
As he pressed on, he couldn’t help but draw his new pistol, the cocking back of the hammer echoing through the cold and narrow hallways. So quiet was it, that the ocean could still be heard lapping against the ship through the thick wood. Yet finally, as he pressed on, the first sign on direction came into view. A simple sign at a crossroads in the halls pointed left for Kitchens, and right for freight elevator. That was good enough for Justin, and as he lit another match he moved quietly towards his target, the way up, and out of this darkness.
“I swear to god, If I get murdered by some monster, I’ll haunt the shit out of all of them.” He whispered, referring to his entire crew rather than just his captain this time.
“Seriously, it’s always the point man he dies first, he says everything is all right, and then something comes up behind him and grabs his leg, then you never see him again until the very end of the story when you find his severed head inside of a closest or something.”
As he continued to creep himself out, he could finally hear something break the silence in front of him. The scraping of metal on metal was certainly not the most pleasant of noises, but it was welcome in this case, as Justin instantly identified it as an elevator. With a few more feet he was close enough to finally see the gate. After pressing the slightly illuminated button, all there was left to do now was to wait.
The elevator rose quickly once it arrived. As far as Justin could tell he was heading up to the Mid deck section of the ship, the lowest point to the water. This would be the best place to throw something down for the crew to climb, but as he contemplated what he could throw down, he had come at an impasse. It’s not as though rope ladders would be scattered around waiting for him. He would have to do what he did best, and that was improvise.
Once on the mid deck, he found himself sigh in relief this time, as the halls were brightly lighted and much easier to navigate. He pulled his hat brim a litter lower down his eyes however as he passed by frantic maids and workmen, all of whom seemed less than interested in the unknown young man. He was surely out of place here, but something seemed to be occupying them immensely.
“Ladies and Gentlemen.” Came a voice, loud, and easy to understand.
Confused for a moment, Justin looked up to find a mini Den Den Mushi set atop a shelf in the hall. He stopped then and there, realizing that any information at this point was better than none.
“Our apologies for the delay in all current services. We are currently occupied with a power outage on the port side of the ship in our lower deck section. We appreciate your understanding and will resume normal operations quickly. Thank you.”
The Den Den Mushi then nodded off to sleep with a click, not before Justin had a quick glance at what looked to be a cook’s face. He looked distraught and confused, perhaps even deathly afraid of the current situation. Justin could already tell the announcement was bogus. Something was really wrong, something so serious that the entire crew was in a moment of crisis. Whatever that was, Justin had no idea, but he took no time to quickly make use of the situation.
He quietly slipped outside, relived to find that for the moment everything seemed to be normal. Guests were quietly chatting and making the final use of the low hanging sun. They would most likely be heading in for dinner or other activities soon. Justin holstered his pistol back under his left armpit quickly, knowing that now was not the time for fear and confusion from the guests. This was a noble ship, no doubt there would be guards patrolling soon, Peace rout or not.
With a quick lean over the railing he spotted the Flight below him, giving a quick wave to gain the Crew’s attention to make sure they were ready. To cover the action, he then quickly pulled out his pack of cigarettes, while eyeing around him for anything to throw down. There was an anchor that he could surly drop, but the size of the anchor could mean disaster if it hit any part of the Flight, it was simply too massive. Ropes were in short supply in this section of the ship, we would have to go to a higher level just to gain access to the sails, and he didn’t want to push his luck. However, as he turned around, taking drag from his smoke and leaning back, he spotted a life boat on a pulley system. That would be the best option as he moved towards it, smiling sweetly as an elderly couple passed by him, to occupied with each other to even notice.
The boat was large, large enough for all of the crew to hop in and pull themselves up with the ropes in one go. Even so, getting the boat overboard without being noticed would be next to impossible, so instead, he would simply have to risk it.
“Excuse me sir.” Came a voice from behind him.
Justin turned nonchalantly, keeping his cool as he raised his eyebrows in attention. Clearly these were the guards he was hoping not to run into. How they had appeared without him knowing was a mystery, but they must have come out one of the side doors when he had smiled at the elderly couple.
“Yes?” Justin replied, taking a drag.
“We are currently dealing with a situation in the ship. For your safety we would like you to return to your room and keep for ticket with you at all times.” He said respectfully, easily mistaking Justin for a guest. Justin had noticed before how all of the staff had uniforms and armbands in the corridor before.
“Oh I see, but I don’t have a ticket sir.” Said Justin with a smile, leaning back on the life boat as he took another drag, tipping his hat to the guard.
Two guards were enough for Justin to worry at this point. He had no intention of letting them get in the way at this point, there was far too much danger for them to see the flight right over the deck right now and alert the entire ship. For the moment he would have to dispatch them. His comment however, had agitated the guards a little more than he had expected, and many of them were slowly reaching for pistols on their hips.
“Well then you’ll have your service armband then, and your break stamp in your employee booklet?” replied the guard, his tone much harsher now.
“Nope.” Replied Justin, reaching into his jacket under his left armpit.
So fast that it was impossible to see, Justin pulled his small revolver from his Jacket, a gunshot slamming over the calm that was the Mid deck as the pullet rocketed through the guard’s left kneecap, and with the simple twist of Justin’s wrist and a pull back on the hammer, another shot rang out, this one blowing off the second guard’s trigger finger.
They hardly had time to scream in agony as Justin Kicked out at the guard in front of him, sending him end over end off the railing and out of sight. The second was already gripping his hand in pain as Justin made a few quick steps in his direction, his left hand curling into a fist as a hay-maker slammed into his jaw, sending him onto the deck and out of consciousness.
Screams were already erupting from the guests as Justin went to work, knowing he would have precious moments before the ship went on alert and the Flight was spotted. At the moment however, he hoped that the confusion would be to his benefit, so for extra effect he rang out two more shots into the air, scattering what was left of the population on the deck as he pulled the life boat free and began to lower it down to the Flight.
The progress was much slower than he would have liked however. The boat may have been solid oak, but from this height it would shatter into a million pieces once it hit the Flight. Yet fate seemed to always be in Justin’s expense. The shots had already sounded the alarm, causing a large foghorn sounding and many people beginning to become frantic in other sections of the ship. He could already hear hysterical screaming all over, and at about halfway he let go of the rope, calling out the Aubrey.
“Catch!” he yelled, his tone very desperate as he heard a door slam open to his right.
Two more guards emerged with Pistols drawn, spotting Justin just a second to late as he emptied the two shots he had left, catching one in the shoulder and the other right in the center of his shin. They toppled over in pain, the force of the bullet propelling them backwards.
Surprised by a moment by the power of his new Pistol, Justin smiled coyly for a moment before he looked back down to the Flight, addressing his crew.
“Let’s Go! I don’t intend on having a firefight up here!” he shouted, pushing back a few paces as he swung out the wheel of his revolver, the empty cartridges clattering on the deck.