Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[Snowy_One]

"A wise archer is one who does not engage in melee combat. Stick to the bow. My dad said that when I started to learn archery. He is not dumb by any means. If you can keep them off me, I will be more than glad. I do not wear armor as it impedes my movement and draw, so I am poorly protected. If they target you, it will be a good thing, no offense intended. Also, just so you know, I do not aim to kill, only disable. I... Refuse to kill opponents. Yes, it has caused trouble in the past, yes, I am aware it means they might return, but I still cannot do it."

[Mercakete]

"Harr, I was wonderin' about that seein' as th' captain seems t' delegate things t' ye a lot. A tour would be nice, aye. I basicalla can figure where everythin' is, but best t' know b'fore I need to, aye? Will we all be sleepin' in th' fo'c'sle 'r somewhere else? I have me own hammock, by th' way," Gytha informed before remembering she hadn't introduced herself to Filat yet, "By th' way, me name's Gytha! I'm a meriner, usualla harbor in Fairgale up until recentla when I met up with Raquel in Sergio. Good t' meet ye."

And now it sounded like Raquel was going to talk to the captain. Well, at least they were on their way. Those wind mages blowing the sails gave Norbert an idea, though. It was a bit risky, but he was willing to try it and give it some practice when the opportunity arose. For the time being, he'd just mill about a bit longer.

[ReformBlade]

"I myself have no qualms if someone shows mercy, but if it comes back to bite us later, someone is going to have to finish the job... Now, I won't be brutal, but... are you against others killing? I think I know the answer since you're here, but I just want as clear a picture as I can get." Davod folded his arms like a transformer across his chest and leaned to the side slightly. "I mean, to put this in perspective, if my life is in danger due to someone attacking me, I'll try to stop them, yes. If the only means is killing, I will take that option. I hope that won't make you think less of me, Miss Robin...?"

[Phoenix]

Filat

"It's nice to meet you, Gytha, though I wish it were under better circumstances. I'm Filat ... err obviously, heheh. Anyway, the captain was ... concerned about a random mercenary bunch sleeping with-sleeping alongside the crew, especially the women," he paused, glancing over at Veronika for a split second. "... but it would just be cruel to have everyone out here. What if a storm comes in?" he asked rhetorically before continuing. "... so I think we'll work out a compromise of some kind."

Bogdan

"Well, I'll be back shortly, I guess. I might as well talk with him now since I don't have anything else to do." Raquel said to those nearby. She noticed the instant she began to walk toward the aft deck that her balance was slightly off. It was a very familiar feeling from the Al-Lyrae, but still took her by surprise. Annoying as it was, she managed and made her way to the captain's cabin. Fortunately she still remembered where it was, and it was more or less as straight walk.

Once she reached the cabin, she just stood outside the door for a moment. She had to regain her composure, apparently having lost it somewhere along the way. She figured that the only things he would have been interested in speaking with her about at this point was either the mission parameters, or her incredibly poor performance as a leader. The former was too stressful to think about with so many unknowns, and the latter was so embarrassing that just imagining it made her cringe. Eventually she got up the courage to at least knock on the door. "Come in." came the captain's now familiar voice. Seeing that it was her stepping through the door, the captain put both of his elbows on his desk, leaned forward, lined up his fingers together revealing several different rings, and put on his business face. "Have a seat."

And so she did. It feels like ... like I'm in trouble with my father or something. "I ..."

"What ... was that, out there? Will you just hire anyone who comes along; no questions asked?"

"Well that's what I've been doing but I ... I can't afford to turn away people willing to help me ... not unless I recruit the strongest warriors in the world or something ... but that won't ever happen."

"I won't pry. It does not matter what you so desperately need help with. You are going to fail if you cannot control your people when it matters most. What if a dragon offered to help you one day? What would you do in a situation like that?"

"I'm from Ursium so that's ... barely even help normally. It's more like a death sentence. But if our enemies weren't operating just out of Ursium and they had a main base somewhere, I'd want the dragon's help. There's no way I could have convinced Zel though .... That's why I should have seen this issue with the dragon eggs coming."

"Heh. Don't rely on strength and numbers alone. They might both be pitted against you one day. In the end, what you should really be building up is loyalty. I will just be cold and honest for a moment; you are a terrible leader. It is a miracle that your group functions at all, but your enemy--if they are truly worthy of such a title--will find a way to destroy you through that weakness sooner or later. Hiring enough muscle to get the job done but lacking the ability to command will see you dead. Quit focusing on power and focus on leadership. That is the only advice I can offer, and the only chance you have if your enemies warrant such desperation."

"... I guess I could try. Thank you ...?"

"A young woman like you should not be in a position like this, but you must have your reasons, so take my advice and grow stronger where it counts."

[Mercakete]

Gytha nodded at Filat's reply. "Aye, I was thinkin' th' same thing. Like most crews, ye probabla don't have any women among ye, 'r at least very few. Well, I'm sure we'll know where we're sleepin' by nightfall. In th' meantime, how 'bout showin' me around? Ye can explain any ship rules Captain Bogdan has in place as ye do. Like I said, I move quickest to a task when I know where it is, heheharr. ... Oh, n' might want t' tell ev'ryone else where th' galley n' head are at some point," she suggested, figuring those were kind of important to know the locations of.

As he was idly looking around, the pegasus rider noticed the very mage he was meaning to talk to standing around and letting his hair be blown in the wind, seeming quite blissful. He was a tough one to spot given how practically everyone and everything was taller than him, but it was unmistakably Ranyin. So, with Rizen following behind, Norbert walked up to the short, Kigenese mage and greeted him. "Hello there, Ranyin. Sounds like we're going to be working together again." It was nice talking to the little man again. After all, he was one of the first in the group he became friends with. They actually got along right off the bat, which in and of its self was fairly unique.

Riz recognized the person Norbert was talking to as the little human that used to ride her sometimes along with her human. So this is where he'd gotten off to. She absently wondered if he'd start riding her with Norbert again. Probably.

[Rothene]

"Hello Bert! Yeah, would be nice working together again," replied Ranyin lazily as he felt the sea breeze roll off on him. The Kigenese mage derived some joy in imagining himself being extremely light an be carried by the wind...almost like flying.

[Mercakete]

"Speaking of which," Norbert began, "Seeing those wind mages putting wind into the big sheet thing on this boat over there" he indicated the mages that were filling the sail with wind magic "gave me an idea. Anything that flies relies on the wind to carry them. If you don't have wind, flying gets a lot harder and you can't go as fast or as far as if you're being carried by a wind current. You can use wind magic, right? So I got this idea. How about you make some gusts Riz can use to fly faster and with less effort? You'll have to be careful not to actually hit us with an actual spell, but it could really help us out in a fight or if we have to travel a long ways or get somewhere quickly. It'll take practice, I know, but as long as you start out with smaller spells, I'm pretty sure we can learn to coordinate well without Riz, you or me getting hurt. So, what do you think?" Well, that was it. Now to see what Ranyin would say, though Norbert guessed the little mage would be wholeheartedly for the idea.

[Rothene]

Ranyin's eyes lit up at Bert's suggestion. Concepts of using his wind magic to enhance Bert's performance in combat did intrude on his thoughts...but they were largely smothered by the opportunity to ride on Riz more.

"Sure!" Ranyin blurted out immediately, "I doubt I won't be able to manipulate the wind properly to suit your needs. Although we might have to practice a bit sometime with me riding along to know how much magical strength is too much for Riz or you to handle." Chance~

[Mercakete]

Exactly the sort of reaction Norbert had expected. Perfect. "Hahaha! I knew you'd like that idea!" he laughed. It certainly was nice to talk to Ranyin again. "Alright!" Norbert balled up his fist as he confidently thought about the challenge ahead. It certainly was exciting.

"We should practice during the daytime for sure, but the winds are pretty strong around here, especially with those mages blowing at those oversized blankets so we can't practice it right now. Too much of a chance of crosswinds. So maybe we can try the actual coordination tomorrow. I think we should start with you being on the ground, though, unless you can handle flight while using your magic. I don't know how that works, really. Hmm if you need to see how things go while we're in the air, though, I could take you with me for your testing. After you get a good idea of how the magic effects us, we should practice with you on the ground for a while and when we get good at it with you on the ground, then I can take you up again and we could practice flying together with your boost. Sound good?" asked Norbert. He wanted to make sure Ranyin didn't break or something, after all, and this was pretty experimental as it was.

Edited April 16, 2012 by Mercakete

[Rothene]

"Sounds good," said Ranyin grinning. The short mage could not wait to be flying again.

[Phoenix]

Filler

Filat scratched the side of his cheek softly with a single finger for a moment. "Mmm one thing at a time." he replied, thinking about everything else he had on his plate, already. "I'll need a minute to make sure these guys are working and not ogling, and then it should be safe to explain the rules and show you around ... I think."

[Snowy_One]

"I will not think less of you. Do not worry. If I did, I would not approve of almost anyone here who fought."

[Mercakete]

"'Course. Just find me when yer ready," Gytha replied. She completely understood that being first mate meant having a lot of responsibilities and her request could wait. They'd just set sail so it'd probably take some time to make sure the crew was doing what it was supposed to before he'd have any relatively free time.

[Ether]

"Oh... no, I'm not a soldier. Such a thing would have never been allowed in Sanctuary, since I'm a woman... to be truthful, that ambush in the desert was my first actual fight..." Faatina replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with a shy grin.

"Though I think I have a decently level head... that's what people told me back home... I guess all we can do for it is to try and keep them in line when things get crazy, huh?"

[ReformBlade]

"Yeeeah!" Fist pumped into the air, Aneda felt the need to be energetic about it. "I knew you were gonna get the picture, you seem smart!" Hand on her hip, Aneda went on. "And whaddaya mean that was your first fight? You seemed fine to me. Everyone makes mistakes, but that's what these teams are supposed to compensate for here. Make up for each other's shortcomings. For instance, Gabbie and I are sturdy enough to take a hit and dish it right back out. So we can basically cover for each other while the other goes wild! Gameplay Mechanics explained! From the looks of it, we're gonna be on the front lines, so we better be at our best, OK? If you need any help, let us know. What benefits the team will benefit all of us..."

"Good... That's good." He sighed, not knowing what else to say. "Uh, where is the third person... I think Mireille was the name... right?"

[Ether]

"Well, I mean, I sparred with my brother but... I never actually fought someone who was trying to kill me, someone who I was trying to kill... it's a lot different from a sparring match... but I think I'm getting the hang of it. So it looks like I might be depending on you guys at times. I'll do my best to make sure that you can depend on me, too." Faatina replied with a smile.

"You do seem to have a lot of energy though."

[Acacia Sgt]

Now they were on their own, at least until they catch up with the Dark Utka. Gytha was quick in wanting to lend a hand, something not shared by everyone. Understandable, even the captain only expected them to fight, but didn't minded any volunteers for the other stuff.

John went back to were Gil was, standing, ready to take flight at any second. <Well, time to take to the skies hopefully.> He thought.

Sophia in turn was now near the Dauntless. Considering the mariners would be getting busy all around the place, she figured it was best to be out of the way. I wonder if we will make it before they reach another port. She wondered. Hopefully it won't come to that.

[Phoenix]

Leverager: Intercept Course

"Will do." Filat replied to Gytha, making a mental note to give her the tour of the ship once the men were properly seen to. The wind mages kept at it, and the Leverager sailed northeast in pursuit of the Dark Utka. If they could just close the distance somehow, they could catch them on the same day. It was a longshot, but Captain Bogdan still had one iron left in the fire. He hadn't told Raquel what happened to her old friend.

Dark Utka: Light the Way

The Dark Utka sailed for Tremere port with full sails and the crew scurrying around the main deck. The captain was standing around like a boss near the helmsman. The pair of scouts in the crow's nest were on the lookout for any ships in the area. They needed to be ready for a fight. They only seemed to be preparing for battle against other ships, however. The real threat was already on top of them. It was a painfully taxing strategy, but it was only a day and a half to Tremere. Reign took the risk, and informed Captain Bogdan of his contingency plan before setting out. They needed a way to slow the Utka down in case they left first, and Reign would see to it.

Into the water ... across the docks ... to the starboard side of the Utka to avoid detection ... secure self to ship ... don't drop tome ... wait for chance to strike .... his thoughts were broken up into segments and barely focused as he recalled the events leading up to his current predicament. The water wasn't freezing, but he was cold nonetheless and having trouble hanging onto the iron hooks he had used to secure himself to the ship. Only his head was above the waterline, a necessary precaution to avoid being spotted, but it was a nightmarish position to be in with how often he would be splashed in the face by the rising and falling waves, each threatening to not recede and drown him. It kept him awake during the hours of being pulled along for the ride, but it also became nearly unbearable after so long. Eventually he turned around to see nothing behind them but a distant mainland; so distant that nothing but the most basic traits could be made out ... or maybe he was just dead tired at that point. Either way, it was time for some sabotage. Slow them down ... and leave a big signal for the Leverager ... got it. he concluded as he began trying to pull himself up a little higher out of the water. It was proving to be incredibly difficult, with only one free hand, though. In the end, he couldn't get out of the water and was too tired to play the secret agent afterward, anyway. Plan B was a go.

On the deck of the Dark Utka, the captain continued to oversee his grunts. He would turn back to see if they were being followed and wouldn't find anything. It was a good feeling to have escaped the Leverager so easily. He was about to pat himself on the back but put the congratulations on hold when a streak of fire came flying up from the stern of the ship and set the mizzen mast and every sail attached to it ablaze! The captain cursed himself for not investing in fire runes like the cool privateers, and then he began to desperately search for the culprit by sight like everyone else.

Reign snickered at the sound of screaming above him. It wasn't necessarily the wisest way to approach this, setting the sails on fire without a direct line of sight ... he could very well set the whole ship on fire and kill the dragons along with himself if he wasn't careful or the crew couldn't put out all of the fires. Still, though, it was a lot safer than trying to set them on fire while being in plain sight. He summoned another fire spell and sent it around the ship as best he could to avoid having his location approximated; they had to know there was a fire mage screwing with them by this point. That was the final spell he could get off though, as the strain of maintaining the spell long enough to make it travel along the route it had caused him to drop his tome. Down it went, the last clue of where it was coming in the form of a heavy object bumping his foot. "... c-c-crud." he muttered as the sound of igniting sails reached his ears. At least he set the overwhelming majority of them on fire. The increased panic of the crew was also a tell tale sign of the damage. Now he only had to sit back, and hope the Leverager caught up before he drowned or something.

Leverager: She Has You Now

Four hours later, the Leverager scouts spotted a trail of smoke leading up into the sky and informed the captain. He made his way onto the main deck and pulled out a spyglass to see it for himself. Raquel arrived just in time to catch his comment. "That crazy nomad actually pulled it off. I hope he survived. We could use the extra firepower."

"What? Nomad? Do you mean Reign? Reign's on the Dark Utka?!"

"He said he was going to try to slow them down for us in case they left before we did. He seems to be a man of his word, that one."

Raquel was stunned by the revelation. "W-why didn't you tell us about it?!"

"His request. Take it up with him if he survives. <MEN, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!! HELMSMAN AND GUNNERS, CATCH UP TO THEM AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN AND THEN USE THE CHASERS TO STRAFE THE MAIN DECK!!!"> he said, first to Raquel and then shouting off orders in Neviskotian. "Get your people ready; this is what you were hired for ..."

Edited April 17, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Well, the tour went well. Filat showed Gytha where everything was and told her the ship rules, as per request. When she'd asked him if there was anything she was supposed to do, he'd simply asked her to inform anyone from the group anything she could answer that they had questions on. It freed up his load, after all, so Gytha accepted the task and didn't really do much other than walk around until the call came in. There was a bit of a problem, there, though. The mariner could tell that the captain was giving the crew orders and the crew immediately busied themselves with their assignments. Only, the orders were in Neviskotian and Gytha only spoke Common. Instinctively, she wanted to ask Filat what the captain had said, but he was likely busy with coordinating the crew so she didn't want to bother him. Looks like I'll have t' wait fer orders from Raquel. Forgot I wasn't th' onla one hired. So, she impatiently began waiting for the merchant's orders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Norbert wound up spending most of his time flying over the Leverager on Rizen's back. Since the wind generated by the mages was pushing the ship so quickly across the water, it was difficult to keep up, but Norbert wanted to get used to the wind currents while there weren't people trying to kill him. It was good pagasusmanship exercise. He hadn't had flight practice quite like that before. The winds were very strong and whirled about almost unpredictably. He had to lean into his turns much more than usual, too, and Riz had to fly incredibly fast to perform the maneuvers while keeping up with the speeding vessel. He and Riz called it quits after around half an hour of practice and both were exhausted. They rested, had a snack and some water, then Norbert decided that the next time they'd be in the air would be during the fight. He was a little uncertain about flying in these unfamiliar currents but if he had to, he'd take refuge in the air as usual, and if there was somewhere he had to go quickly that wasn't as easily accessible from the ground, he'd fly then, too.

He spent some of the time on deck taking advantage of the sea's gusts and practicing with his maces before moving on to simply conditioning himself via series of stretches and workouts consisting mainly of sit-ups, lunges and push-ups, though he also got a little rolling practice in. He didn't feel confidant enough to practice rolls with his poleaxe so he just practiced with and without his maces at the ready. After that it was more resting and relaxing while he waited for them to catch up with the ship they were supposed to attack, having decided that he'd join in the fight to recover the dragon eggs. Though, he didn't think of it like that. Instead of focusing on the actual mission's objective, he chose to think about it as a simple attack. If he focused on his personal objective (helping his team kill the other guys) instead of the mission objective, he hoped he'd be able to get through this dragon-involving mess.

He was basically recovered and waiting in boredom when the captain yelled something he didn't understand. Guess they're close by. the pegasus rider figured as he readied his maces and climbed onto Rizen's back. Time to find Ranyin.

[Acacia Sgt]

John and Gil took to the sky. Due to the speed boost the ship had, they mostly trailed behind it. The view remained the same, but that soon changed.

<Hm, something in the distance?> John thought. <Is that... smoke?> That it was, rising on the horizon. <I guess it's almost time then.> And with that the duo descended back to the deck.

And not that soon after did the Captain began shouting orders. <So it is indeed their ship that caught fire. Was the captain expecting this...?> Well, nevermind that, they had to do the same immediately.

Edited April 17, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Phoenix]

Leverager: Closing In

"Uhhh everyone report in!" Raquel called out, hoping to get everyone gathered. She finally realized that she didn't have long to prepare and brief them. Worse, she didn't know what to tell them other than to get ready. The captain quickly clarified, though.

"Alright, Raquel, here is how we will take down the Utka. With her sails burned to cinders, she's got nowhere to run and her crew will fight us with everything they have left. Your mercenaries will be the vanguard, but I will send several teams in behind you to make sure you and your people aren't surrounded and cut down. You'll need to fight your way to the captain and cut him down. Without him, the Utka crew will collapse into chaos. My men thrive on that." the captain explained, sounding enamored with the thought of the enemy crew fighting blind and disorganized.

"How can we fight our way to the captain with a whole crew standing in our way?!"

"Relax. This is not like a ground war. You won't have to watch your back or worry about being surrounded by the enemy. Just kill anyone between you and the captain. They will try to fortify the ship, so overwhelming aggression is critical; hit them in force at every barricade." Bogdan explained. Immediately after the last statement, the sound of cannon fire rung out and a cannonball zoomed over the two of them at tremendous speed causing Raquel to duck down. <"RETURN FIRE, BUT DON'T SINK THE SHIP!!! AIM FOR THE MAIN DECK!!! SOFTEN THOSE LAGGARDS UP FOR US!!!"> Bogdan ordered. He quickly turned back to Raquel since he hadn't finished briefing her yet. "If the Utka goes completely on defense, you will find yourselves horribly outnumbered, so push through to the captain, kill him before the enemy tries anything desperate, and the bulk of my forces will take it from there and secure the rest of the ship."

"We'll try but ..."

"Just focus on the captain. We will see to it that you aren't flanked."

Firefight

The Leverager's chaser cannons fired at the Dark Utka, and her aft guns fired right back. Both ships were riddled with shots, but the Leverager's never struck near the waterline, and instead destroyed the various aft deck areas and killed crewmen on the main deck. Reign looked up as wooden scraps and flames fell over to the starboard side and crashed in the water nearby. "T-they're here ..." he said to himself just before another wave struck him. He wasn't ready for it and began coughing as more debris rained down over the side of the ship.

The Leverager crew had already suffered a few casualties from the shots that hit the main deck. The Dauntless narrowly avoided a hit as well. It seemed the Utka crew was aiming to soften them up, too, but the cannon fire didn't last long. The Leverager's gunners eventually grew tired of being shot at and took aim at the aft cannons themselves, managing to destroy all of them and silencing the Utka. They would be able to avoid anymore return fire right up until the Leverager came along the Utka's broadside to tried to send a boarding party over. It would be the most violent phase of the entire battle, so the Leverager's cannoneers prepared themselves as the Leverager came closer and closer to the Utka.

Leverager: Final Preparations

Captain Bogdan would stay aboard his ship and oversee the battle from there. Filat volunteered to lead one of the backup teams, but Bogdan refused, informing his first mate that he needed him to help keep the crew functioning as one unit. It wasn't going to be easy by any means. Filat didn't like the idea of the mercenaries taking on the captain of the Dark Utka themselves--he was likely to be well guarded and heavily armed--, but if the captain needed him helping to coordinate the assault, then so be it.

As the Leverager made her final approach to the Dark Utka, the shadows of the ship's masts came slowly across the main deck, and the sounds of battle crazed sailors began to drown out everything else. The Utka crewmen were already taking action against the Leverager and firing shots at them from the ruined and smoking aft deck. To Raquel this was utter chaos and she couldn't tell that they actually had the advantage, but to Bogdan this was just the enemy doing everything in their power to delay his boarding party. He did note the danger of letting the shots go unanswered, so he shot back with two of his own pistols. He killed one of the Utka sailors and the man's reeling form fell into the water. The other disappeared behind the smoke. "If there's anything you people have to take care of before we capture the Utka, now's the time." he warned. "My men move in after yours. Good luck." Raquel could barely think straight in all of the violence, and now it felt as if she had just been given full command of the boarding operation. That was just a bit too much, she felt, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Meanwhile Gabbie got her lance ready and practically shoved Connor into the Dauntless, warning him not to come back out until one of the others came back to check on him. That was all the preparation she could afford. She quickly headed over to Aneda and Faatina.

Shadrak wasn't even keeping an eye out for Nadya, expecting her to show up by the time it was time to head across. He just crossed his arms and waited for Raquel to do ... something. Anything, really. "I just hope something good comes from battling these smugglers. This really isn't any of our business." he said in protest one last time.

"They're tryin' to kill us. It's completely our business, now." Gabbie shot back.

[Ether]

The fighting commenced, and well, complete and utter chaos was all Faatina could think to describe it as. Cannons and smaller firearms were being blasted from ship to ship, and luckily, it seemed that the Dark Ukta was sustaining more damage. The Captain of the Leverager did not seem too worried, which was a good sign at the very least.

'They are sending us in first, and their men are only acting as support... it makes sense I suppose, rather see a mercenary die than one of his own crewmen, even if he means us well...' Faatina noted to herself, before Gabbie had come closer to her and Aneda, readying the formation.

"Well, this is it, huh? Are you two ready?" Faatina asked, readying her lance for a charge after they were prepared to board and storm the Ukta.

"They want us to get in there and just deal some damage, right? So let's tear these smugglers apart!" Faatina finished, hyping herself up and getting the adrenaline pumping.

[Snike]

After more than four hours of staying out of the crewmen's ways in the lower halls,, Blake returned to the top deck, just in time to catch the order to assemble and move towards his commander. The objective, according to Bogdan, was to eliminate the captain of the Utka, at which point the smugglers would likely panic and become easier to wipe out. Sound strategy, but the swordsman made a note to wipe out any officers, just in case the vagrants rallied.

Around the end of the briefing, cannon fire began to ring out in the air. What followed next was a bloody exchange of artillery fire between the smuggling vessel and the privateer. The result was, luckily, a decisive victory over the Dark Utka, and so the group's vessel approached its' prey without major reproach. The time to invade the criminal's boat was drawing nearer and nearer. Blake drew his sword and silently joined Raquel as the others made their final preparations. Words could wait until after the impending danger.

[Mercakete]

It looked like people were forming up as they came alongside the enemy ship. Ranyin was already next to Veronika, so Norbert seemed to be the only one missing from his team. He remedied that in short order, riding over to them. As he did so, a thought came to mind. Ranyin's pretty short. I don't think he can get onto the other ship if they don't somehow bridge the gap... And even if they did, I don't think anyone would see him with their eyes forward to the other ship. Looks like the winds have calmed down a little, too, so... "Hey, Ranyin, I'm going to carry you over to the other ship when we get the order, alright?" he asked as he came up beside his two teammates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Initially, Gytha headed for Raquel, but on the way remembered that she'd been put with another team. Feeling a bit sour about that reminder, she simply headed for the guardrails to prepare for boarding. She didn't bother looking for the two healers she was teamed up with. For the moment, she preferred fighting alone. If they wanted to find her, she wouldn't stop them but all she wanted to do was follow any orders that came her way and take out some smugglers. And so, the mariner readied her sword and made sure her pistol was handy. These smuggling pirates were about to get hurt.

[Acacia Sgt]

And they finally caught, but even before it did the fight had already started.

''Come on Gil, time to rise!'' John said, and they took to the air once more. The smoke would hinder visibility, but for now, it wouldn't matter until it was time to board.

-----

The impending sign of chaos, it was quite different. Then again, their battlefield was limited after all. Sophia remained near the Dauntless. She figured she could gather with her teammates once they move towards the other ship.