Ochil: The IC

[Bosch]

“Sorry, boss, I uh, just got back from a mission and Payter handed me your summons just moments later,” she grinned, waving the parchment in his face enthusiastically. “Sorry, I wasn’t there for the briefing, but you know I’m always up for a good adventure. Please tell me this is one of ‘em!?”

Nate looked up from the rigging he was preparing under moonlight to see Annabelle Hartz standing in front of him with a grin splayed across her face. His own face broke into a similar smile. Annabelle was a scout Nate had recruited himself and he liked to believe he was a good judge of character. So far Annabelle had been one of his best picks.

“Annabelle, Welcome.” Nate said shaking her hand and helping her aboard the Icarus.
“No need to worry about the Briefing it’s a pretty basic pick up run but Cav… I mean Head Librarian Cavalcade has requested some Librarians come along to authenticate some documents. Our contact is an Ex-scout in Baffin Bay called Jenks, says he’ll only deal with me. Sounds like not all his gulls are squawking if you ask me.”

As Nate finished his brief Dash Mover arrived on the deck.

“Who’s the Dolly, Nate?” Dash said staring at Annabelle.

“This is Annabelle Hartz. She’s a scout Dash so you respect her the same you would me.”

Dash bowed with flourish and broad smile on his face. “Welcome to the Icarus, Scout Hartz. I hope you find everything to your liking including me her Captain. Dash Mover at your service.”

Nate shook his head as if to say he gave up, the tomfoolery of younger men just reminded him of his own age. He turned to speak to Annabelle.

“Pay him no mind, these Cloud Jockeys are all the same. You’d better get down below and seek a good bunk, conditions are… cramped.”

Nate returned to his work and kept a keen eye for more arrivals.

[Bosch]

“At last Mr Lucas Greybeard, Captain of the Great Harlot’s Wrath and number one air pirate to of ever sailed the heavens. What became of you old friend?”

Lucas recognised the voice immediately but slowly finished his drink and turned to face the Infamous Captain Noel Tenderhook.

“Tenderhook. I shoulda cutta your eyes for coming here.”

“Why Lucas? What that thing with Confederate wage ship?”

“Ambush! You led me in so you coulda get pay day!”

“Please if you had known what you were walking into you never would have done it.”

Lucas pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Tenderhook’s head.

“I tolda you I’d kill you.”

“Calm down Lucas, you always did wave that thing about too much. I have a proposition.”

“Financial?”

“Is there any other type?” Tenderhook knew he had Greybeard’s interest.

“Ok we talk. Leave your boy here.” Lucas said pointing at Kele.

#
Greybeard and Tenderhook spoke for about twenty minutes just out of earshot of Kele. At different times there was laughter, shouting and hushed tones. After the discussion was over, Tenderhook walked over to Kele and explained what had occurred.

“Right my boy, the good Captain has listened to my proposal and it seems he’s decided to use you for the job because neither one of us can trust the other. We got a lot riding on this Kele.”

Tenderhook sat down beside the young Gamara.

“It’s a simple enough task. There is a man who works here called Jenks that is in possession of something very valuable, so valuable there is a bunch from Ruger coming to speak to Mr Jenks. We obviously want what Jenks has but also the money from the Scouts. The catch is Jenks has gone missing, we think he’s hiding somewhere in Baffin Bay waiting for the Scouts to arrive.”

“Now we’re not expecting you to do any actual stealing you’re too new for that. All we need you to do is hang about until the Scouts arrive then tail them to wherever Jenks’ safe house is, when you know came back here and tell us. Simple right?”

Tenderhook smiled with only his mouth and hoped the young Gamara understood the gravity of the situation.

#
Kay introduced herself causing Nate to look away from Annabelle.

“Afternoon Mr Lake. You joining us on this little adventure?”

Nate gave an easy smile to Kay as she made her way on board the Icarus. Kay was a Librarian he respected more than most not only because she had been born to a pair of Mikran Monks yet become a Librarian, a move practically unheard of, but because of her part in the fabled “Lost Expedition” which saw her team get decimated when an excavation went wrong. Despite this Kay and a scout had successfully recovered an artefact and survived the perilous passage home.

It had been on Nate’s suggestion that Cavalcade met Kay as Nate knew the girl’s inquisitive nature would be put to good use as a Librarian but he also knew Scouts could be a superstitious lot and some attributed some portion of blame for the “Lost Expedition” on the surviving members of the team. He had heard it said that Kay was an Albatross but Lake had no time for such superstition and a Librarian of Kay’s calibre would be a welcome addition to the team.


“Miss Lassiter, I never miss an adventure, regardless of size.” He said with a laugh. “Captain Mover will be giving us a brief explanation of the Icarus before we set off, but you should know your way around an Airship. I’d recommend getting a bunk early.”

Behind Kay Nate could see a meek woman make her way along the Skybridge, clearly a Librarian Nate put on his most welcoming voice.

“Hello Miss, are you part of the Expedition? Miss Lassiter and Scout Hartz would be more than happy to show you around the Icarus.”

He then addressed all the women.

“If you’ll excuse me I’ve got a lot to be getting along with so I must take my leave.”

Nate then returned to his preparations.

(OOC For the sake of brevity I’m going to skip to Mover’s speech and get the bird in the air. Late comers can write themselves in later.)

With the Icarus full of anxious Librarians and Scouts, Nate Lake gave Dash Mover the nod that they were ready to depart. Mover who was sitting in the quarter deck spoke into a brass funnel that would carry his voice through the ship along a network of brass pipes so he could be heard in all parts of the ship.

“Evening everyone. I’m Captain Mover but most people just call me Dash. I’ve never really been one for speeches so I’ll keep this short, besides most of you Scouts will have been on an Airship before while you Librarians have probably read about one. You know in a book or something.”

“The Icarus is special though because it’s the fastest damn boat in the sky and it makes use of some bits of Library tech you won’t see out in the clouds. Nate here seems to think it’ll take three days of straight flying to get to Baffin Bay and five to get back thanks to these high winds. I’ll have you there in two and back in three and a half.”

“The Icarus is designed for the transport of Scouts as such you’ll find a lot of provisions here you won’t on other Airships. For example we have custom made Skyhook plates so you can get aboard in a hurry if you have to or take the Gatling guns mounted on the bow and stern of the ship. Engineered by the Library and I’ve never seen ‘em jam. The Life Balloons can be found in most rooms and I assume you’re all familiar with ‘em if you’re not learn fast. Things I’ll save your life. ”

“Living areas can be divided up as you like, we got enough space for everyone here to be comfortable. In my experience it’s best to put the snorers in one room. The Galley is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner but I reckon eating a live pigeon would taste better than anything that’s come out of there. The Bridge is the only section off limits to you mugs.”

“That’s all I needed to say. We’ll be off shortly.”

After a few pre-flight checks Mover sounded the loud horn on the Icarus signalling that they were to cast off. As soon as they were free of their tether Mover put the power on and sent the Icarus soaring toward the clouds.

[Xartarin]

Lithia was trying to sneak by without causing issue, but apparently Nate had caught her. Nate started talking to her, and she was answering a bit too quietly to be heard. "I am part of the expedition, yes... I already know Kay, and, um," Nate announced he was leaving and headed off to go ready the ship. "Ah, alright, um..."

Before she could say anything more, a voice came out of the ship's messaging system. It was the captain boasting about his super fast special boat at first, but he went on to explain the 'life balloons' and living quarters. This wasn't the first airship Lithia had been on, but apparently it was the fastest and most well-armed. That didn't exactly make her more comfortable. Someone was expecting trouble. But maybe the head librarian just wanted the fastest ship, and it was just a coincidence that it was heavily armed. Hopefully.

A loud horn startled Lithia and she ducked slightly out of reflex, but it got her to quickly scramble up the rest of the catwalk and onto the ship proper. There was a slightly overwhelming amount of motion around her as scouts rushed to ready the ship for take-off while librarians headed to their quarters or tried to stay out of the way. It was probably best to stake out some living space at this point, so she started trailing some other librarian that was headed below deck. Then maybe I can check out one of those life balloons, just in case, I guess, Lithia thought as she kept her head down. For now, setting down her backpack and sitting somewhere were her first priorities.

[Anneyong Haseyo]

"Why, Miss Hartz," Kay said, mock surprise in her voice, "I daresay the ship will wait until you're finished getting dressed. Unless you're that eager to depart, of course."

The grin was quickly wiped off her face as she turned from Nate to the lithe librarian standing before her, the same all-knowing grin on her face that made Annabelle want to smack it clean off. Well, it was more the comment that was the main reason for her imaginary act of violence toward Kay. She glanced down at her outfit, finding nothing wrong with her steel boned under bust corset. It was in a deep mahogany red with a few brass buckles; underneath was a modest (according to Anna’s standard) cream blouse. It was one of her favorite outfits in fact. She eyed Kay with her practical attire consisting of a wool hat and a brown coat over whatever was underneath. The woman could care less considering it was probably something that was appropriate for the mission and, in all honesty, boring.

Anna cleared her throat and smiled a sickly sweet smile. She crossed her arms, the act emphasizing her assets even more, before speaking.

“Hello, Katherine. I am fully dressed,” she answered, her voice overly honeyed with the pretense of pleasantries, an unspoken pretense that both Kay and her both mutually agreed upon. Anna paused, debating about whether to make a reprisal about the librarian’s own clothes but decided against it. It was common knowledge that most librarians, like Kay, could care less about what they wore. Instead, Anna chose to stick with the truth.

“And for the record, when my team and I are out there saving your asses, Mikra forbid, if anything goes wrong, I doubt you’ll care whether we’re there fully clothed or butt-naked,” she paused, with a growing smirk on her face, “Now that I think about it, the latter seems almost appealing considering the reactions you page sniffers will have.”

She turned back to Nate at the sudden appearance of another man, a Captain Dash, not really caring whether Nate had noticed her little exchange with Kay. It wasn’t like her disdain for the librarians was a secret or anything.

Dash bowed with flourish and broad smile on his face. “Welcome to the Icarus, Scout Hartz. I hope you find everything to your liking including me her Captain. Dash Mover at your service.”

Annabelle, held back a snort of laughter, nodding her greeting in response.

“Pay him no mind, these Cloud Jockeys are all the same. You’d better get down below and seek a good bunk, conditions are… cramped.”

“Thanks for the warning, Nate,” she grinned, before turning to Dash, “And thank you for the welcome, Captain. Your ship is state of the art, I’m sure it will be well beyond my expectations. And as far as your services, well, time will tell whether they too will exceed my expectations, though I have to admit that I am liking what I see so far.” She gave him one last playful smile, letting him interpret it in whichever way he wanted, before scouring Cloudwalk for her leather carpet bag. It took her only a few moments to find the airship that she had just exited a couple of hours prior to talking with Payter, the crew unloading the last of the ship’s contents. She quickly riffled through her bag to check its contents, and with a satisfied smile, boarded the Icarus.

***********

The woman concluded that Nathan was right. The bunking conditions were particularly difficult, though not because of the lack of space, that she was used to, it was more like she could potentially be confined within said space with another librarian. The Captain’s brassy voice was heard over the ship’s system as she made her way to the furthest and most uninhabited room on the ship. Inside the cabin, she threw her bag onto a bottom bunk, eyeing the rest of the unoccupied bunks, then the door, then the bunks again, praying that no one else would come in. However, considering the amount of passengers that were onboard and the size of the ship, it was probably a far-fetched dream. Anna sighed, grabbed her note taking journal and made her way out of the room, deciding it’d be best to use her free time to explore the ship, or rather take a closer look at its gatling guns.

Dash had briefly mentioned that they were engineered by some new technology from the library and that piqued her interest to say the least. Besides, the ship hadn’t taken off yet, which meant that she could still enjoy her favorite part of being on an airship. Anna hurried to the bow of the ship, side-stepping the crew that were hard at work preparing for lift off. She caught the gun in the corner of her eye, but as the ship began to slowly rise, she hurried to the edge, grinning as Cloudwalk became smaller and the night sky became larger. The weightlessness, the biting night air, the flurry of activity around her made her sigh in content as she stood in silence watching the lift off.

[Bosch]

Captain Dash Mover rubbed the sleep out his eyes and listlessly turned the wheel of the Icarus. The trip had been largely uneventful which was just the way he liked it. The sun was setting and he would be docking at night but the cloudless night and full moon would make this an easy task for Mover.

As he swung the Icarus into one of the free berths he could already hear the raucous singing and drunken fights in the city below.

“Same as it ever was.” Mover said to himself.

With the help of some of the Scouts the Icarus was tied up and became part of Baffin Bay, a cloud of floating humanity.

Nate Lake was feeling the adrenaline already, he always felt this way when arriving in Baffin Bay, it was a dangerous place for the naive or complacent. These days Nate was more worried about the latter. He was under strict instructions that he should only meet Jenks alone but he knew it was foolish to go off on his own so he asked a few scouts to cover him as he went to the rendezvous. The rest were to stay with the Airship and the Librarians.

“I don’t want any of you crowding me, move through the crowd in a covert manner and watch out for each other as well as tails. We don’t to draw attention to the fact we’re Scouts, Scouts mean tech and tech means coin. Last thing we need is a brawl over whatever we are picking up. Jenks only wants to see me so I’ll enter the hotel alone. Everyone else just stay outside the hotel and be aware of anything suspicious. When he’s ready I’ll bring him out and we’ll all go back the Icarus.” Nate said by way of a briefing to the scouts that would be following him.

The Group then set off into Baffin to find the illusive Mister Jenks.

#

After taking a few wrong turns thanks to the ever changing nature of the chaotic floating city and the thick crowds of vagabonds lining the streets they finally arrived at the hotel Jenks was holed up in. Nate ran his hand through his hair but with two fingers stick out, this was a signal to the other Scouts that they had arrived and they were told hold position.

Like all the buildings in Baffin the Hotel Paradiso had at one time been an Airship, this one looked like it hadn’t seen any action in quite some time though. The small man behind the reception eyed Nate curiously and just grunted by way of greeting.

“I’m looking for a man called Hopper?” Nate asked using the fake name
Cavalcade had instructed him to.

“Three.” The small man said.

Nate left the reception and headed straight for room three.

The small room was really a composite of a kitchen and bedroom, it was about what Lake expected from a dump like the Paradiso. The main feature was a long, narrow floor length window on the opposite wall from the door Nate had entered through. The other feature of the room was the struts that ran from floor to ceiling to support the floors above. Jenks was sitting at a wooden table with his back to the door, facing the long floor length window. He didn’t make a move.

“Jenks? It’s Nathaniel Lake. You have something for me.”

Jenks didn’t respond.

“Jenks, I didn’t come all the way here for you to play games.”

Nate glanced around the small room and immediately realised something was wrong when he saw some blood on the galley ceiling. He pulled out his revolver and slowly cocked it.

“Jenks?” Nate walked up to the sitting man and tapped his shoulder. Jenks fell face down onto the table and looked at Nate with a dead, lidless eye. His entire face was a mess of burns, cuts and bruises immediately two things were clear to Nate. Jenks had been dead for some time and he had been extensively tortured before that.

“What in Mik…”

“Mr Lake.” A voice said from behind him. Nate spun and levelled the revolver at a small woman dressed entirely in tight black leather with a hood covering her face. The door clicked as she locked it behind her.

“You do that to Jenks?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Unimportant.”

“He was a scout, that makes him family and makes you not long destined for
this world.”

“May…”

Nate didn’t let her finish instead he didn’t stop firing the revolver until he heard a click. When the smoke cleared she was standing in exactly the same position completely unhurt. In the wall behind her Nate could see holes as if the bullets had bent around her.

“Neat trick.” Nate said dropping the empty revolver.

“My turn.”

In an instant two long knives fell out of her sleeves and into her palms as Nate reached for his cutlass. By the time he had it ready she was already launching into her first attack. Nate took a step back and parried but the woman’s assault was athletic and relentless, it was all Nate could do to stop the knives from slashing him.

Suddenly she dropped low and executed a perfect Jubra sweep sending Nate tumbling to the ground. The sword clattered from his hand and he knew better than to reach for it. Suddenly she was straddling Nate with the long knives held high, ready to plunge deep into his chest. The old man wasn’t finished yet though and was able to get his hands around her wrists nicking his left arm on the long blades in the process. The woman was momentarily shocked by his speed and strength, Nate took the opportunity drive his head into the woman’s chin and toss her off him.

Nate struggled to his feet while the woman was still holding her chin. For good measure he drew his foot back to deliver a swift kick to her ribs. This was a mistake as the woman let go of her chin and grabbed Nate’s foot the second before it would have connected. With a grunt she pushed back and sent Nate crashing onto the table and Jenks’ body. The woman was already in front of him by the time he sat up and threw a left hook which connected. He followed with a right but she was too fast and blocked the blow with her left arm. Nate knew what was going to happen next but was powerless to react in time. Before he could snatch his arm back the woman had her right arm on the other side of his arm and in a swift move dislocated Nate’s elbow.

Screaming in pain but amped up on the adrenaline he grabbed the woman’s head with his left arm and drove her into one of the wooden struts supporting the floor above. She connected with a sickening crack and slumped to the floor. Nate quickly turned his attention his arm and laid it flat on the table beside Jenks’ body, then with his left fist he punched joint back in place. For second he thought he would pass out from the pain but it passed. He hoped someone could hear the fight as he didn’t think he’d be able to hold out much longer.

He turned his attention back to the woman in time to see a heel flying towards his face. The blow spun him and suddenly his right arm was heavy. He looked down to see the woman trying to get him in an arm bar. Again it was a classic Jubra move Nate thought, attempt to disable the opponent by focusing attacks on a particular limb. She was light though so Nate lifted his arm and bashed her against the pillar but still she held on. Nate then tried putting her through the table which finally gave way the third time he drove her into it. That broke her grip.

Without missing a beat the woman rolled away and Nate gave chase but stopped when she turned with a revolver pointed directly at him.

“Too much for you?” Nate panted.

“Out of time.” She said casually.

“So you’re just going to shoot me?”

“Yes.”

So she did. Eight rounds went into Nate’s chest and sent him staggering back. Wind ripped through room as the bullets pass through Nate and shattered the window behind him. Nate stumbled backwards but was able to brace himself in the window frame, like a cat avoiding a bath. His chest was tight and burning as blood pumped out of him.

“I think you… you might have nicked me.”

The woman holstered the revolver and walked towards Nate.

“Apologies. Don’t think of this as death, it’s a dream and now it’s time to …”

“Mikra’s goat! You want to bore me to death? Do me courtesy of shooting again.”
Nate smiled grimly. His vision was fading fast and his shoes where already slick from his own blood.

She reached down and took the skyhook from Nate’s belt. He really wished she hadn’t done that as now he was utterly helpless.

“Very well. A trophy.” She said as she pocketed the device. Nate just grunted the last verbal exchange had taken a lot out of him.
The woman made a tight fist and pulled it back, ready for the killing blow. As she did so Nate noticed a chain around her neck and with the last of his energy he reached out with his left hand, grabbed the necklace and snapped the chain it was on.

“A trophy…” Nate rasped before his foot slipped in his own blood and he started falling.

With the wind whistling in his ears he jammed the necklace into his glove and clenched his fist in the hope when the other Scouts came to claim his body it would still be with him.

He looked up at the Paradiso framed against the night sky and was reminded of the airships above Ruger. A good enough view to die too he thought.
Then darkness.

#

The woman watched as Nate plummeted and landed in the shallow water a few hundred metres off the bay. He was surely dead and she could see a dark puddle of blood already forming around him. She had no time to pursue the necklace but she was confident they would learn nothing from it. Most Ochilians wouldn’t recognise the mark of The Order and even if they did it was too late. Still she knew she would be punished for her carelessness, but it was worth it to kill a man of Nathaniel Lake’s calibre.

She turned and walked back the kitchen area and opened a cupboard, inside the entire cupboard was packed with black powder. She lit the fuses which were all twisted together and quickly made her way to the window Nate had just fallen out of. She very stealthily but quickly made her way from Jenks’ cabin, it would take about a minute for the bomb to detonate which was just enough time for her to make her escape. She still didn’t have the book in her possession but now had a better lead thanks to her interrogation of Jenks. She had also killed Nate Lake which would be a body blow to the Scouts and make her Lu-dan very happy. Blowing up Jenks hotel room would also deny the Scouts any extra leads.
The explosion sent shards of splintered wood flying in all directions and she could hear screams as people were thrown by the blast or made attempts to battle the small fires that had been created. The Paradiso’s back had been broken and was now in two halves suspended vertically from the balloons. Objects were plummeting into the bay below the city, littering it with treasure for lucky scavengers. As was protocol The Paradiso was immediately cut lose from the rest of Baffin Bay to prevent the spread of fire, leaving the broken ship hanging hopelessly in the air.

She was out of time to admire her handiwork and stole away into the anonymity of darkness on route to Severny.

[Xartarin]

There wasn't much to do for a librarian on-board. Nate and some other scouts were out to meet with Jenks and bring him onto the ship. From then, he would show them to where the documents they needed to verify were, at least as far as Lithia understood the job. The trip had been short, but long enough for Lithia to notice that the Scouts and Librarians tended to keep to themselves. Many of the librarians Lithia talked to were both excited and impatient to get to Baffin Bay, spending their time pacing around and checking over their equipment. Lithia spent a lot of the time reading in her bunk.

Baffin Bay was an amazing sight when they arrived, even in the night. It looked like Sky Haven itself, like a floating island. True, it was also a den of crime and danger, and Lithia was pretty sure she'd be mugged if she stepped off of the boat, but it was still nice to look at from the dock of the Icarus. Not all of the librarians held the same opinion, Lithia figured. She could've sworn she heard someone call it something along the lines of a "floating trash pile".

Most everyone else was checking over the ship, guarding the catwalk to keep off stowaways, helping to refuel the ship and get supplies, or simply waiting around. Only a sparse amount of people were sleeping, and Lithia could understand considering the gravity of this mission. Soon Nate would arrive with Jenks and they would have their next destination. Lithia peered over to the catwalk. I wonder if I could get off, just to be on the bay a little bit? Maybe get a drink or two, shop around... Lithia thought, but shook the idea out of her head. A souvenir would be cool, but I can't just leave the ship! That scout captain guy will be back any minute. Besides, it's not... boring or anything. I'm on a ship in the sky docking at a port made of ships in the sky. Everything is completely exciting!

There was a thunderous crash that shook the ship and deafened the ears. Lithia fell over, dazed and confused. For a few brief moments, Lithia had thought it was an earthquake. Discarding that idea, Lithia grabbed the railing and pulled herself to her feet, and looked the way everyone else was staring. The smell of smoke filled the air. The flaming wreck of the Hotel Paradiso drifted slowly from the rest of the dock. It was hard to tell against the dark night sky, but some people on the ship started yelling about seeing bodies fall. The shattered building rained down pieces as its two halves hung in the air and burned.

That was the hotel that Nate and Jenks were at, Lithia was sure of it. Her legs felt weak and shaky, and she could hardly stand despite not being able to look away from the wreckage. Finally she pulled her gaze away, and tried seeing what the captain of the ship, or some high-ranking scout, or even Kay might do. Some kind of rescue? An investigation? Something? Anything?

Well, at least the extravagantly destructive assassination meant the document was probably legitimate.

[Vinsanity]

Upon his captain meeting Greybeard, Kele expected a much warmer conversation between the two with how his captain was speaking about him earlier. However, this wasn't how these types of people operated. There was always something to fight about and/or complain about, along with honor...yeah there was none of that in the lives of these air surfers. It was a reality Kele was beginning to see more and more, and it was a reality he didn't ever want to succumb too. He made sure he kept his memories of his Gamara days close to him, reminded him of how true warriors and people should live. This life that these air pirates shared in Kele's eyes seemed pathetic and near worthless of actually living.

The two captains exchanged words and kept Kele in the room while they did so. Kele's job was too make sure nothing came close that could be potentially dangerous to his captain. Although he didn't approve of the pirate life, nor did he think it was worth much, his captain was the only connection he had to getting back home. If getting back home was even a possibility, something Kele questioned every day. The two ceased conversation after they simmered down and began laughing, which to Kele made no sense due to the fire he saw earlier. His captain dismissed himself from the table where he was at with Greybeard and walked over to Kele and shared with what they were talking about.

---------------------

“Right my boy, the good Captain has listened to my proposal and it seems he’s decided to use you for the job because neither one of us can trust the other. We got a lot riding on this Kele.”

Tenderhook sat down beside Kele.

“It’s a simple enough task. There is a man who works here called Jenks that is in possession of something very valuable, so valuable there is a bunch of scouts from Ruger coming to speak to Mr Jenks. We obviously want what Jenks has but also the money from the Scouts. The catch is Jenks has gone missing, we think he’s hiding somewhere in Baffin Bay waiting for the Scouts to arrive.”

“Now we’re not expecting you to do any actual stealing you’re too new for that. All we need you to do is hang about until the Scouts arrive then tail them to wherever Jenks’ safe house is, when you know came back here and tell us. Simple right?”

-------------------------

Kele nodded his head as he would of done with whatever his captain asked of him. As stated earlier, his captain was the only connection he had to getting back home. A place where he desperately wished he was back at. Kele got up from the table and walked out of the room, he left the ship and kept his eyes scanning Baffin Bay.

This was an ideal job for Kele, one being he was of Gamara blood which meant stalking prey was one of his many specialties, along with tracking it. It was dark, and Baffin Bay was bustling with noises coming from all types of directions. It was a floating city of scum, although a beauty to marvel at when entering, it fell short on everything once walking on it and seeing what existed from ship to ship. The night sky was quite bright as were the ships that kept Baffin Bay awake all hours of the day. It was when he was about 100 yards away from the ship to where he left his captain was when he saw a ship that didn't look as though it quite "fit" in with Baffin Bay's appearance. This was enough for Kele to at least check it out and thats exactly what he did.

By the time it had docked and became apart of Baffin Bay settling in on its own space, Kele arrived close enough to see who would be departing from its decks, and far enough to still be blending in with the traffic in Baffin Bay. He noticed a few figures depart from the ship and although Kele still had not confirmed if these were the ones he needed to follow, he honestly just had that Gamara hunch. The lads that were exiting off the ship just seemed timid, and on edge, which usually meant that there was something to be on edge about. Kele knew that although Baffin Bay was a good reason for anybody to be on edge, it wasn't enough for the typical pirate. He knew this because he had been living with them for awhile now, and every single one of them wanted to actually arrive at Baffin Bay, as if it was a reward. Not these characters, they seemed to almost fear what Baffin Bay had to offer them and that was enough for Kele to decide that he would follow them. Besides if they weren't who he had thought them to be, then all he really did was waste time, and to Kele this mission wasn't personally that important.

The individuals by the time they did arrive to their destination showed Kele that they definitely did not belong or even may have ever even been to Baffin Bay. Which only concreted his hunch, they took too many unnecessary turns and moved through the crowd with a rigid movement, rather than the movement of a pirate. Kele saw only one man enter what he came to the conclusion as was the meeting place of who they called "Jenks". Which the ship that the man entered was being used as some sort of hotel, this allowed Kele a good reason to just walk in without suspicion, and due to the fact he was Gamara which could be detected by anyone with half a brain because of his skin color, it would mean he had good reason to be going to a hotel in Baffin Bay. Since Gamara were scarce it was only logical that Gamara would need a place to rest, rather than joining the crew on a airship.

Kele walked a few yards behind his target and as his target approached the front desk, Kele actually stepped up right behind him, sort of forming a line. He could over hear the man asking for "Hopper", and then he could hear room "3" from the man at the front desk. Kele not to look suspicious followed right behind his target who took off down the hall and asked the man at the front desk if there was a room available tonight. Kele kept his eyes on his target who he saw eventually enter a room. The man at the desk proceeded to answer Kele's question, the two engaged in conversation about the facilities and what the rooms had to offer, because in essence it was Kele's way of stalling, he didn't want to leave just yet, but he needed a reason to still be standing when the man walked back out.

This plan was stopped short after hearing gun shots down the hall, although normal in Baffin Bay, which was maybe one of the reasons the guy at the front desk didn't really pay to much mind, it meant a lot more to Kele, he wanted to run back there and see what happened to his target or the man his target was meeting, but he remembered what his captain said. His only objective was to tail and bring back the information he gathered. Kele although taking every ounce of energy said "Thanks" to the man behind the desk and turned around. He began to exit the ship, but as he did, his body was launched into the door from energy being dispersed by an explosion that occurred inside the hotel. The door broke open and had Kele now faced down on a wooden bridge that connected Baffin Bay with the air ship.

Kele was trying to gather himself, with his head pounding and spinning, a man grabbed him and forced him toward a more secure area off the wooden bridge. Once the bridge was cleared with those who could make it, the ropes were cut and the air ship was now in the air, split in two, hopelessly losing altitude to greet the ground below.

He had to gather the events that just happened and got up from where he was and made his way back to his captain.

[Anneyong Haseyo]

They had finally docked at Baffin Bay. She could hear the sounds of roars, the feverish playing of violins and drunken claps drifting from below her. It was a party and Annabelle Hartz was not invited. Nate had a select few accompany him and while she was a capable scout herself, she was wise enough to acknowledge that there were those that were even more capable than she. However, her displeasure was plain on her face as she helped secure the riggings on the ship. She tugged on a rope none too gently, mumbling under her breath about going crazy being cooped up one more second with a boat full of page sniffers. She was purposefully slow in tying up her post, spending the majority of her time trying to peek over the ship’s railing to catch a glimpse of Baffin’s alluring night life.

It was dark, save for a few scattered bonfires and inns that illuminated select places with light. There were the usual drunken pirates hobbling around and more that stood in the darkness ready to take advantage of them. Instead of being afraid, Anna felt a rush of adrenaline. It was a stark contrast to the order of Ruger and reminded her very much of Severny. The woman finally finished tying up her section of the rigging as a curious sight made her squint in the darkness.

A Gamara? What’s he doing at the Bay? She thought, edging toward the ship’s edge to get a better look. He was like a sore thumb that towered over the crowd of drunken men, his silvery white hair glinting in the faint moonlight. He was obviously sober as his movements were careful and clandestine, which intrigued her to say the least. Ah, probably another one of them pickpockets, she thought, about to dismiss this odd sight. However, as soon as he made the same turns as the scouts were making, she jetted off the ship, without a moment’s thought. The fleeting notion of Nate punishing her for disobeying orders gave her pause for a few seconds before she decided to ignore it. Her hand, felt around for her revolver at her waist, as she kept her distance behind the Gamara who entered a building. She did not see Nate, but the familiar faces of her fellow scouts position around the hotel told her she was in the right general area. She could only assume that Nate had entered it.

Anna crouched behind a barrel, the acrid scent of unwashed bodies and vomit, almost making her gag. However, she remained in her position debating whether or not to tell the other scouts about what she saw or go in there herself. Then there was always the chance that the Gamara was coincidentally going to the exact same hotel, but she dismissed the thought, choosing to follow her gut instead.

Above the wild din of Baffin’s night life, Anna picked out the distinct sounds of gunshots coming from the hotel. The look of alarm on her face mirrored that of the other scouts who were milling around the hotel as were their orders. They eyed each other, sending clandestine hand signals basically asking whether they should desert their post and go in after Nate. With a frustrated growl, Anna left her hiding place and marched toward the hotel only to be stopped by a large, bald man with deep set blue eyes and various tattoos marking him, whom she immediately recognized as a fellow scout.

“What are you doing here, Hartz? You’re supposed to be back on the ship,” he hissed, intentionally barring her way to the hotel. She tried pushing past him, but her small stature against his, made her efforts futile.

“Devries! You don’t understand! I think someone’s following Nate and- “ A scream escaped her throat as a loud explosion resounded coupled by the impact of Devries’s body knocking her down. They both landed with a hard thud against a couple of crates, her head rebounding against a hard surface. She laid there for a few minutes, pinned by the larger man, her vision blurring a bit.

“Devries!” she moaned, trying to push him off her. The larger man emitted a low groan and shifted enough for her to kick him off. The woman took a few gulps of air, now tainted by the scent of burnt wood and gun powder. She coughed, immediately wincing at the effect it had on her throbbing head. Still, the woman forced herself up, conscious enough to realize that Nate was in the building that had just exploded into pieces of drift wood that fell into the bay. She stood, taking a few moments to stabilize herself as a flurry of movement surrounded her. Her ears were still ringing as she stumbled toward the mutilated airship.

“Stop!” she cried, as various men made motions to detach the flaming hotel from its docking place, “Nate’s still in there!” The men continued to work, despite her frenzied plea. However, a familiar figure caused her to turn sharply and despite her better judgment she barreled toward the Gamara, stepping in front of him and pulling out her gun all in one motion. It was probably unwise, for she could clearly see by his build that he could easily overtake her if he wanted, but her mind was clouded by the chaos of everything that had just happened, her suspicions, and her worry for Nate.

“You!” she screeched, her voice a few decibels louder than normal, due to the ringing in her ears. She trained the gun at him. “I saw you following Nate. What did you do to him!? Is this your doing!?” She felt blood, or sweat, or maybe both trickle down her face as she glared at him.

“You better answer me,” she growled.

“Anna! We need your help!” Someone called out for her, but she refused to turn, still locking eyes with the tall man before her.

“We found him!” Her face fell and without another thought she ran off toward the scout that was beckoning her over leaving the Gamara behind. Perhaps he did have a hand in the explosion, perhaps he didn’t, but all she could think about was finding Nate and making the gut wrenching feeling in her stomach, like something wrong had happened, go away. She followed the scout down a steep incline toward the shoreline, running past him at one point when she saw where a group of them were gathered.

“Nate!” she exclaimed.

Her footsteps faltered as the scouts turned toward her, allowing her to catch a glimpse of a limp body laying in the surf in a lingering pool of red.

“Anna, we need you to inform Mover of what just happened.”

She stood frozen and made no motion that showed she had heard them. Instead, she stood a few feet away from them, not daring to step any closer.

“Anna?”

“Leave her be. She’s in shock,” came a reply. The same voice called out to a group of scouts who had just arrived. He sent someone else to inform both Mover and Calvacade about what had just happened. The scouts were equally as confused as she was at the death of their brother as they stood around the body. Someone had dragged it out of the surf and onto the shore, but Anna remained in the surf watching the remaining traces of Nate's blood being washed away. He was more than a fellow scout to her. He was the reason why she was able to get out of Severny and gave her a new life. Despite their professional relationship, he was the only one that she felt had cared for her. Never had she experience the loss of someone that she remotely cared about and her body did not know how to react. Instead, she sunk into the shallow water, with sobs that wracked her body.

[Pax]

Fate was always a tricky beast. The moment you take your eyes off it, it started to guide you on your path. When you finally look at it once again, you see what it has done and you question why you didn't do anything to stop it.

Ohanko looked up at the sky, his vision dominated by the view of Baffin Bay. Many came and went to the city. The majority of them, pirates. Yet, he was the only one that saw the city from the underside. Like a big wooden cloud, the city meandered in the sky as ships came and went, dropping off cargo and taking on supplies for the next adventure. Ohanko could do little but marvel at the stories that could be held up in that Wooden Cloud.

Unfortunately, Ohanko was to be stuck ground-side, looking up and wondering. He sighed as he looked to his side to see Tempest, sitting in a meditative position, unmoving. Ohanko inched forward with hope in his heart, trying to worm his way a little farther away from the figure when its head darted up and looked straight at him. Ohanko sighed wistfully, his hope of escaping his fate was still just a hope.

He looked up at the Wooden Cloud once more and simply let his mind wander as his eyelids droop. Everything was quiet, the woods chirped softly with the calls of insects and a breeze sizzled through the branches and leaves, blowing the earthly scent of dirt and bark into his nose. His lips curled into a smile as he closed his eyes and started to doze off.

Ohanko was yaked out of his trance by a deafening boom. The forest quieted under the blow of unnatural thunder and Ohanko scrambled to his feet, trying to find the source. He looked around to find nothing and then looked up to see that a piece of the Cloud was on fire. He was filled with an emotion he could not describe accurately, a mix of horror, excitement, and interest. He was content to simply watch one of the ships go up in flames and when he noticed bits and pieces falling to the Earth not far off, he broke into a run toward where the wreckage fell with the knowledge that he could find some salvage for himself.

He darted through the trees toward where the wreckage fell. Through the leaves he could see the burning ship being separated from the cloud and somewhere in his mind he could see a sort of symbolic meaning in the action, though he could not place what it stood for.

Ohanko broke through the tree line and found himself trekking towards the beach. The tide ebbed in and out quietly as Ohanko stepped over the brush and washed up seaweed. Luckily the burning ship hadn't been farther over the ocean and the wreckage was close enough to start washing up onshore. Ohanko started to paw through what had made its way onto the sand already and found little in the ways of value, mostly splintered wood and singed clothing. He found a small jewelry box and pocketed it when he looked out in to the water to find a strange shape, unlike the wreckage he was looking through. He stepped into the water to try and get a closer look as the shape started inching closer and closer, pulled in by the tide.

He gasped when he recognized it as a body. He had not expected one, thinking they would all be incinerated by the explosion that had woken him up. He watched the body's progress before it got caught on a stone or something and stopped moving closer. Ohanko went to get a stick to fish the body out with when he heard a booming shout.

"HEY!"

Ohanko froze and looked up to see some figures running down an incline, toward him and the wreckage. He dropped the piece of waterlogged timber he had picked up and went back into the trees. Hiding as the men started to go through the wreckage themselves. A commotion started when they found the body. They hurriedly dragged it out of the surf and instead of looking through its pockets, they simply stood around it and stared. For what reason, Ohanko knew not. More of them came, one of them being a woman but all of them gave the body the same solemn treatment, not touching it, but staring.

Ohanko looked to his side to see that Tempest had followed his behavior and was quietly crouching in the bushes. He smiled a bit at the lanky figure before starting to walk off, there was nothing worth salvaging left. And when Ohanko took his eye off it again, Fate placed a branch under his foot. Ohanko stepped on a brittle branch, letting off a quiet crack. For a Scout and for the stunned Gamara, this was just as noticeable as a gunshot. Some of the Scouts in the group whirled around and looked into the trees. There was an observer and if he had seen something, he may know something.

Ohanko was stunned at the branch. It was the only one he could see from where he stood and it was under his foot. An echo of an old voice rang in his head. "Fate" it said. Shouts were thrown his way "Freeze!" and "Come on!". A trio of men were running toward his position, guns in hand. He looked at the Tempest, still crouching and was broke from his shocked stupor.

Ohanko burst out of the trees with his hands in the air.

"Stop! STOP! Don't come any closer!"

His Gamaran accent filled the air as he tried to ward off the men, waving his hands in the air wildly. The men paid him no heed and kept on running, harder now that they could see their quarry clearly.

"PLEASE STO-"

Ohanko was tackled to the ground by one of the men. And gasping for air as the man he was pinned to the ground, all he could do was whimper as the bushes started to rustle. He tried to look back toward the trees but couldn't bend his head far enough. His eyes were panicked. He did not want this to happen, he did not plan this. He whispered desperately at the man. "Please run." The Scout smirked and kept Ohanko's arms pinned as he straddled his stomach.

It was at this point that Tempest burst out of the bushes with unnatural speed. The Scout's partners exclaimed as the tall figure barreled towards them, they shot and missed before Tempest threw them out of the way with elbows and fists. The flew and lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious and bruising. They were not its primary target, only obstacles. The Scout that pinned Ohanko had time to get to his feet before Tempest reached out and grasped the man's throat. He coughed and sputtered as he was lifted by the tall figure, clutching at the vice-like hand around his throat.

The Scouts on shore were pointing at them, some of their rifles were already aimed. Ohanko got to his feet and pulled on Tempest's arm.

"Stop, stop! Put him down!"

Its hand loosened and let the man drop to the ground. He curled up into a ball and struggled to breathe. His eyes were wide and his jaw open as he clawed at his throat struggling to take in air. Ohanko shouted at the Scouts on shore, "Don't shoot! Please" The Gamara unhooked his bows from his back and laid them both on the ground before unslinging his quiver of arrows and doing the same. He tried to get Tempest to disarm himself but the figure did not move.

Ohanko held up his hands and got to his knees, showing he was giving up while Tempest simply stood next to him like a statue.