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Splintered Light Chapter 2.2: Almost Planned Out

Captain Jaksoni had occasionally run into floating debris from pirate attacks and at least once or twice in his years commanding the Wave Rider he'd even managed to pull a survivor from the water but never before had he encountered a burning vessel left adrift to sink on its own. The experience was entirely new to him and so, after ordering the course change to intercept the compromised ship he ordered his officers to his office to discuss plans.

A number of ideas were thrown about, including just leaving the ship to burn and sink, but the nearly unanimous decision was that such a plan wasn't acceptable. Karl said it best. "The Mariner's Code says a ship in distress in unclaimed waters should be aided whenever possible, so we're helping... Captain permitting, sir."

The Rottweiler was always quick to take command and even quicker to defer to Alistair's direction. It was a constant reminder to the Tiger that the Dog had come from a military background and was used to giving orders. It didn't bother the Captain one bit, especially since Karl's orders were usually quite sound. Alistair nodded, motioning to his Gunner. "Karl is quite right. Besides, I would never forgive myself if someone were to suffer for my inaction. I called you all here to figure out the best way to lend aid."

From that point lots of suggestions were offered about what to do. A variety of plans including salvage of cargo and supplies, rescue, and both were rendered. While the general to-do covered the best way to render aid, only individual actually made a specific suggestion about HOW to do it, and that again was the Wyranese Rottweiler. "We should NOT pull up alongside the ship. If the worst were to happen the Wave Rider would be damaged."

Jacques was quick to speak up on that point. "And what would the 'worst' be, Mr. Jak?"

The Rottweiler snorted. "Lookout said he saw cannons... and that means a magazine store on board."

The Lynx needed no further clarification. "There's fire on that ship. If it reaches the gunpowder we may as well be taking a full-on broadside."

A number of objections and loudly declared comments created chaos within the small office but the Captain was quick to reign everyone in and he focused his next question on Karl. "What would you suggest then, Lieutenant?'

Despite Karl no longer being a commissioned officer Alistair always preferred to call him by his honorific, even if he hadn't served in the military for years. The Dog always responded favorably to it. "Send a small team on board and pull back until they've made it safer."

Rolf picked up on the thought quickly enough. "A small team could secure the powder stores and protect it from fire. Once that's done we can send more crew over to put out the fire and search for survivors."

The Foreman also added quickly "And gather up any leftover cargo the pirates missed."

Jacques was readily there to challenge the Goat. "And what makes you so certain it was pirates, Monsieur Zuider?"

Willem snorted. "When there's a destroyed ship out at sea it's ALWAYS pirates... unless you believe in those olden time mariner stories about Firefish."

A series of half-humored, half-nervous chuckles filled the room. Nobody among the officers believed in monster tales as far as Alistair knew but there were plenty of superstitious men on board who might; he resolved to make sure that topic didn't leave his office. Ash-Moon spoke up before he had a chance to say anything. "What are Firefish?"

The Tiger reached out and laid a paw on the Jackal's shoulder before anyone could provide an answer. "I'll tell you later, my friend-- needless to say we do NOT joke around that way with the crewmen. Am I understood?"

A series of nods flowed around the room and Jacques finally addressed his earlier point. "Pirates loot then sink. There's no reason they've had to leave a ship afloat."

Willem snorted anew. "Bah. They mighta done it just to scare passers by or maybe they left some folk alive onboard just so the sea could take em when it finally sinks. Pirates don't always need a GOOD reason to do something."

Jacques folded his arms across his chest, raising the first two fingers on one paw as he did so. "Which brings up another good point. What would a coastal runner be doing this far out at sea, and not on registered trade lanes?"

Karl took a step closer to the table, further acknowledging the Lynx's question with an assessment. "It looked like it was prepped for Cabotage."

Captain Jacksoni was familiar enough with the practice. Cabotage was the transport of goods or passengers between two parts of a country and usually limited to a coastal course. The thought made him rub his chin. "The Ilyseans only allow the Merchant Guild to ship... There ARE plenty of Wyranese vessels working shipping in Lehsunia, but this would be quite a deviation from any plotted courses for them."

Rolf likewise rubbed his own chin. "It's possible that the currents could have dragged it up this way if it'd been adrift long enough... but the fire would've taken it before too much time had passed."

Ash-Moon slammed a paw on the table. "Worry about why it is here later-- if it is going to burn then we have no reason to wait."

Karl picked up on the sense of urgency. "We need to reduce danger to our own, Captain. Three men should be able to secure the magazine stores and give us time for a proper rescue attempt for anyone alive onboard."

The Captain nodded. "And I assume you know where the gunner's store room is on a ship like that, Lieutenant?"

The Rottweiler didn't even hesitate, responding formally in his native language to the question. "Ja Kapitän."

The Tiger looked around to everyone else. "We'll do one pass to drop off an away team and then pull back to a safe distance. Get the ship ready for a transfer of men. Karl, stay with me a moment, if you please."

The officers all acknowledged the order and left, all except for the Dog, who remained behind at the Captain's request. Once they were alone Karl reaffirmed his earlier assessment. "Three will be enough. We can isolate the powder stores and then we can bring more men over to do a proper job of searching it."

Alistair finally took the time to raise his concern with the plan. "It's dangerous, and it won't save that ship... Mr. Severna said it's already as good as lost."

The Gunner nodded patiently. "Ja, but so long as the fire doesn't reach the magazine stores our rescue team will have more time to find anyone left alive and a salvage team can get as much cargo as we can carry. If we don't protect the powder it'll blow."

The Tiger ran a paw across the table, reaching out to grab the crew roster. "You said three men?"

The Rottweiler clarified. "Three including me."

The Captain shook his head. "I need you on board here."

The Dog declined. "There's no sign of hostile vessels so you don't need a Gunner, Sir. I do not believe it is fair to send anyone on a job I wouldn't do myself."

Alistair liked the mindset but he was more worried about losing his Gunner if the worst were to happen. "I appreciate that, Lieutenant, and by saying that you've proved to me that you'd willing do so yourself but I can't risk losing you if something went wrong."

The right side of Karl's muzzle curled up; it was the closest thing he knew to a smile he'd get from the Rottweiler. "That's why I'm needed on that ship, Sir-- to make sure this is done right."

Arguing with the Gunner would only be a waste of time... especially when Karl had such a good point. "Have you thought about who you'll be bringing?"

The Dog nodded succinctly. "Ja. I have it narrowed down"

Captain Jacksoni gave the Rottweiler permission to continue. "Who would you suggest, Lieutenant?"

Karl provided his list and his reasoning. "I'll need one strong seaman. I was thinking Reverend Fischer, Mr. Sandoval, or. Mr Lews."

The Tiger was intrigued by the Rottweiler's thought processes. "Alright... I could see either of the last two for the part... but, the Reverend?"

The Rottweiler's half-grin returned. "I trust him."

The Captain mirrored the Dog's smirk. "Alright... fair point-- for something like this trust IS important. Which one are you going to take?"

The Gunner cocked his head to the side. "That is up to you, Captain... whoever you can spare for this."

Alistair thought about the response; it was a suitable deferment of choice to a commanding officer, which WAS the Wyranese way. Regardless, he still hadn't heard the full plan. "So, you said you needed one strong man. Were those three the full list or did you have another one for your second assistant?"

The Rottwiler nodded, a clear indicator that the Tiger had anticipated his meaning. He continued without a pause. "I will need someone fast.. and... ah... agil."

It was close to the same word in Wyranese and Lehsunian. The Tiger nodded. "Agile. Alright... and you had someone in mind?"

Karl answered immediately. "Mr. Tetsu, Mr. Jibb, or Mr. Vopello."

The final of the three options caused Alistair's eyebrow to perk. "The first two make perfect sense... but Salvatore? Why?"

The Dog shrugged. "Viel Glück."

It was a term Alistair had heard the Rottweiler use before; while dual-colored eyes were seen as mystical in Ilyse it was a sign of good luck in Wyra. There was more to it than that, the Tiger knew. "...and because you trust him?"

The Gunner shook his head. "No, Captain... I am not sure I trust him, but I saw him climb a cargo net once almost as fast as the riggers."

It seemed like a fair trade-off; Karl knew that the Wave Rider couldn't spare one of its rigging crew for the task and so the Dog considered someone else who was just as adroit and dexterous. The Rottweiler often knew Alistair's thought processes before the Tiger did, which was certainly an indication that the Gunner wasn't as dense as most people figured him to be on their first meeting. "Alright. Then I approve all six. Choose your two men and get them to the deck. I want this done as quickly and as safely as possible, Lieutenant."

Karl offered a Wyaranese salute, paw banging audibly against his chest as he snapped to attention. "Jawohl Kapitän."

There was nothing more to be said and the Rottweiler made his exit. The Tiger remained in his office, letting the meeting play over and over again in his mind. It would be another ten minutes until they were close enough to the burning ship to start worrying about maneuvers and that left Alistair to his own thoughts... and those thoughts were many.

The Captain made his way over to a cabinet off to the side and opened it, pulling out a decanter and a glass as he talked to himself. "There's more to this than meets the eye..."

Despite the concerns of the upcoming dangerous task of securing a torched ship, Alistair's mind wouldn't stop focusing on the much less direct issue at hand: what was a Wyranese coastal ship doing so far out at sea, so far from Wyra, and damaged but still afloat? There were so many variables at work that the entire scenario seemed insanely improbable and yet, there it was, waiting for the crew of the Wind Runner to come to the rescue.

The Tiger poured himself a half glass of bourbon and crossed the room to sit down at his desk. Continuing to puzzle through the unanswered questions of the how and why such a ship would cross their path, the Captain became more apprehensive the longer he spent contemplating what strange forces could have been at work to orchestrate such an event. There was far more to the endangered ship than met the eye-- that much he knew... but what he couldn't say.

Looking down at the glass he placed on his desk he pushed it aside; whatever was coming he needed to be clear headed. He realized that there were any number of ways he could spend the time until the Wave Rider reached the other vessel and after just a little consideration he decided to settle on something productive. Letting out a sigh, Alistair stood back up and went to the hook by the door to retrieve his headgear.

The Tiger spent a moment to make certain that the collection of leather straps were positioned properly before tightening the eye-piece down over his left eye. The monocle was, in fact, a gift from one of his sisters; it had been constructed by a master Ilysean tinkerer who specialized in magnification mechanisms. While he'd spent the first few years at sea using a standard spyglass, the eyepiece was far more effective and its specific magnification could be changed by adding or subtracting a lens and then using a turn dial on the side to perfect its focus; sometimes he wished the clarity of problems could be so easily remedied.

Once the Captain's eye piece was snug and in place he grabbed his long coat and reached for the handle to the door. He lingered there for just a moment as he contemplated the actions to come: the Wave Rider's Gunner would be taking two crewmen across to a ship in danger of exploding... one that would be sinking no matter what they did, and they would attempt to secure the black powder stores before the fire got to it. He wondered if he would be losing crewmen before the day was done. Alistair didn't have an answer to that question but he did have a solution to such a busy mind.

The Tiger returned to his desk and downed the brandy in one go. No... it wouldn't do to have dulled senses, but there was no use in having an overactive, overly obsessed mind worrying about things that couldn't be helped either. With nothing more to be done, Alistair headed out to join his men on deck. He had little control over the end result of the boarding action but he resolved to oversee it regardless. He trusted his men to succeed but, if nothing else he would be available for damage control.