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Splintered Light Chapter 2.4: Unforeseen Circumstances

Tobias didn't have to be told that he didn't have a stomach for sailing; that much was readily evident the first day out of the harbor. Fortunately the nausea finally gave way and he was able to enjoy being at sea. The Prong Horn had a fondness for travel and there was something almost magical about a journey that felt more like flying than riding in a carriage. The fanciful nature of his second long sea voyage came to an end however when he heard the announcement that lookouts caught sight of an endangered ship that had apparently been ravaged by pirates.

Throughout the boarding process Tobias stood atop the poop deck with Dr. Brownell by his side. Although he had fondly sought to comfort her at the evidence of violence at sea she seemed to have no need of such reassurance. He should have known better, of course; she was a doctor, and she was ready for such emergencies. One of her gloved hands came down to rest on the back of his as he stood by the railing, gripping it tightly. "I have to go ready the medical bay. If there are any survivors they'll need help."

Tobias turned and then shared a quiet, polite kiss with the Mouse. "Alright, Chris-- if there's anything I can do to help let me know. I'll be here otherwise."

She nodded, pausing long enough to pick up a small first-aid satchel she'd brought above decks. "If there's any big change or developments send a sailor down to fetch me... I'll cross over there if I'm needed."

The scholar felt a moment of protectiveness for the woman. "I'm certain they have everything perfectly--" Captain Jacksoni ascended the stairs to the poop deck and Tobias quickly revised his choice of words, feeling ill-at-ease about using a pet name with someone else around. "--perfectly in hand... Doctor."

The Tiger smiled warmly to them both, oblivious to Tobias' careful word choice. He tipped his wide brimmed hat as Dr. Brownell passed him, and again as he approached the Scholar. "Doctor Brownell... Master Severna..."

Tobias continued watching the events down on the deck below, leaning on the railing as he did so. The Prong Horn waited until Alistair had taken up position beside him before speaking up. "So, Captain... would you say everything is going well?"

The Tiger chuckled patiently, one eye closed as he adjusted the dial on the eyepiece strapped to his head. "It's a little early to tell, my good man, but I have full faith in my crew. The fire team went down below deck and I haven't seen anyone emerge just yet, but they should still have time... assuming all goes well."

Despite coming off as a pessimist, Tobias had to ask. "And... if things do NOT go well?"

Alistair straightened up slightly and retracted the lens on his eyepiece before turning to regard the scholar. "If things go poorly then we are as prepared as we can be. As I said, I trust my men, and the successes or failures ahead of them are theirs to win or lose."

Tobias rolled his eyes. "You sound as zen as my brother."

The Tiger reached out and clasped him on the shoulder with a gloved paw. "It comes with the territory, my friend-- the sooner you realize that there are things beyond your control the easier it is to focus on the things that are within it... and at this point remaining calm and at the ready is the best thing I can do for Karl and the men aboard the North Star."

The Prong Horn glanced to the Captain quizzically. "North Star?"

Alistair nodded, motioning to the bow of the smoking sea vessel. "The name on the side there: WMS Nordstern."

Tobias' ears went up at that, peering across the distance to barely make out the letters; there was certainly a benefit to have a vision monocle like the Captain did. What confused him was the classification. "Isn't 'WMS' the sign of a Wyranese naval vessel? Is that a military ship?"

The Tiger shook his head, still staring across the distance. "Not necessarily. In Wyra almost everything is owned by the government and most ships operate either as military vessels or a contracted freebooters. WMS could mean either Wyranese Navy Ship-- or Wyranasun Marine-Schiff, or it could be a Wyranese Sea Ship-- Wyranasun Meer Schiff... either way the abbreviation is the same."

The scholar thought about that for a moment before commenting. "That makes things pretty confusing."

Alistair laughed aloud at that, slamming his paw on the railing to accentuate his level of mirth. It was a moment before he calmed down enough to talk. "I actually think that may be one reason they do it!"

Tobias was more than ready to question that mindset but his comment was interrupted by a new voice. "Tobias, mon amie! Bonjour!"

It had been awhile since the scholar had last heard the soft-but-confident tone of Sister Aurelie but he recognized it immediately. Turning, the Prong Horn was pleased to see both the Cat, and Aodhan, the Sister's long-time friend and confidant. Captain Jacksoni was all smiles. "Oh? You three know one another? Now I wonder if perhaps there were reasons beyond 'more income' that Rolf suggested taking on some passengers."

Sister Aurelie approached Tobias and offered him a kiss on either cheek. The Prong Horn then disengaged with the Cat and offered out a hand to the black Wolf accompanying the Sister. "Hello again, Aodhan."

The Wolf accepted the hand, but then yanked Tobias forward and completed the greeting with a hearty embrace. "Hello, my friend. You're looking well."

The Prong Horn stepped back, working to avoid blushing at the overtly familiar expression of greeting and smoothed out his tunic, pausing to pick a piece of black fur off of it. After composing himself, he nodded and addressed Aodhan's comment. "Yes, thank you. As are the two of you."

Sister Aurelie's eyes focused past Tobias; he realized that the Cat must have just noticed the burning ship. "Mon Dieu... so THAT is why we changed course!"

Captain Jacksoni nodded. "Correct. We are rendering what aid we can before continuing on our way. May I suggest you return to your cabins? If we bring injured aboard then there will be utter chaos on deck, and I think you would be safer down below."

Sister Aurelie raised a paw. "On no, Captain-- if people require help then I would rather be here to lend aid. All Sisters Divine strongly believe that we are servants to those in need, and I hold true to that belief."

The Tiger nodded in thought, then glanced to Aodhan. The Wolf offered a polite smile. "You'd waste your time to try and talk us out of it."

Captain Jacksoni's muzzle quirked up just a little into a wry half-grin. "I COULD order you back to your cabin."

Sister Aurelie locked gazes with him. "But you won't."

Alistair relented with a smirk. "But I won't."

Aodhan nodded, and stepped up by the railing to join Tobias and the Captain. "So why are we at such a distance?"

The Tiger opened his muzzle to respond, but, just then, a large, spiraling projectile of shining red light launched off of the deck of the other ship and shot forth into the air. It hung at the top of its trajectory for several seconds before bursting into an even brighter ball of flame, and slowly began to descend back toward the water.

From down below on the main deck Tobias heard his brother. "There's the flare!"

Alistair leaned forward on the railing, paw rising to slide the lenses over his eye back into place; he adjusted the dial on the side with a half-twist. He relayed what he saw in a shout to down below. "Mr. Lews is on deck! Close the distance!"

Ash-Moon was ready for the order and began shouting out some of his own. He walked up and down the line of sailors, assisted by Rolf as they began readying for boarding. The Foreman directed the sailors who held boarding planks while above in the rigging the Snow Shoe Hare in charge of the riggers started them on preparing ropes. Careful maneuvering brought the Wave Rider up close to the North Star and the boarding crew readied themselves to cross over to the damaged ship. Tobias got an even better look at the damage as they drew nearer.

The scholar was not at all familiar with naval warfare but the tremendous destruction rendered to the North Star left him surprised that it was still afloat. He couldn't help but ask. "How could THAT much devastation be done to a ship without it sinking?"

The Captain was apparently also quite interested in reviewing the damage to the vessel. "Very little marring at the waterline is how... it looks like the vast majority of the damage was to the masts, rigging, and deck. It's like whoever was attacking was trying to avoid sinking it. Wow... they must have had a REALLY good gunner guiding the cannons to do so much damage to the decks with so little to the hull. Makes me think they were trying to kill the crew so they could loot in peace."

Tobias continued watching the other ship as more and more sailors crossed over to join the Great Dane standing on deck; Aodhan and Sister Aurelie took the opportunity to head down to assist aboard the Wave Rider's side. The Prong Horn was far too distant to hear the discussion but the Dog was motioning toward mid-ship and pointing downward. If the gestures were any indication there was something of importance going on down below... and the scholar didn't miss the fact that there was a good amount of blood on the Great Dane's fur. "I'd better go get Dr. Brownell... that doesn't look good."

The sick bay was not far and Christine didn't delay the moment he appeared. The two of them returned to the top deck and joined the Captain so they could watch the goings-on. All eyes remained on the other ship, but Tobias was more interested in the boards used to cross over from the Wave Rider to the North Star. When they were first placed the planks had a slight upward tilt in favor of the Wyranese ship, which sat higher in the water. As he arrived at the railing he could tell that the reverse was true; the planks were actually lower in the opposing ship's direction. He pointed it out "Uh... Captain Jacksoni... the other ship is--"

The Tiger nodded. "It's taking on water."

More and more of the sailors aboard the North Star were emerging from below decks, many carrying goods, and a few carrying injured seamen from the other ship's crew. Foreman Zuider was motioning the crew back over while sailors were holding down both ends of the planks spread between the ships. Off to the side Ash-Moon was shouting for the men holding the ropes binding the ships together to pull them tight.

Tobias couldn't help but ask. "Uh... Captain? If that ship starts to sink and we're lashed to it... what happens?"

Captain Jacksoni shook his head. "The ropes can be cut, Master Severna; I wouldn't worry. Right now I'm more concerned about--"

The Tiger's words ceased coming as the sun was temporarily eclipsed and everyone looked upward, stunned at the sight of an enormous keel positioned in the air above them. It took a few moments for Tobias to realize at what he was staring, but it was Aodhan who called it out aloud. "A flying ship!"

A loud, piercing whine caught the attention of everyone who hadn't looked up due to the shadow and a moment later an authoritative voice was broadcasted out of a speaker. "Attention I.P.S. Wave Rider. This vessel is outside of the Ilysean sphere of influence and Privateer interference is neither requested nor appreciated."

Tobias continued to stare up at the flying ship; he had heard enough about air ships over the past year, especially after the enormous amount of destruction caused by one's failure in downtown Newport back in Lehsunia... but, the last he heard, the only institution that had access to air ships was the University of Progressive Understanding itself. Had things changed that much in the past few months? His own questions were stuck in his head long enough that he didn't realize that the Wave Rider's Gunner had returned, and had joined them on the poop deck. He was debating something with the Captain.

The ship's Tactician had joined them as well. "I'm telling you, Karl, no-- it's a fool's errand and a lost cause! Even if we WANTED to take a stand the cannons won't swivel to a vertical position."

The Rottweiler snorted. "We have the artillery cannon. That can fire almost straight up without a problem. We're not defenseless."

Captain Jacksoni shook his head. "They would call our bluff, Lieutenant. If we fired up at them the best we could hope for would be to bring them down right on top of us. No... engaging them is not a good idea."

The ship's tactician nodded. "Right. We should have a flagger message them."

The Tiger motioned to one of the crewman, a Boar Tobias didn't know by name. The Porcine seaman approached immediately, offering a Lehsunian salute. "Cap'n?"

Alistair spoke plainly. "Let them know we're neutral but we won't permit hostility. We're here to aid the North Star."

The Boar went to a box and pulled out two large flags: a red and a white. He went to the edge of the deck and began moving them in various patterns. Tobias stopped paying attention to the visual message as the Wave Rider's gunner addressed Christine. "Dr. Brownell... Jibb got hurt. I have Lews bringing him to sick bay. He needs help."

The Mouse turned to Tobias and they exchanged glances... and then she was gone, following the Rottweiler down below decks. The scholar turned his attention back to the airship overhead, mind fumbling with trying to come to grips with what he was seeing. Off to the side the flagger had finished relaying his message, and they all sat impatiently awaiting a response.

The one they got was less than encouraging. "The WMS Nordstern will not be acknowledged under Prize Law. The ship, and all cargo therein are property of the University of Progressive Understanding. Failure to acknowledge the bond of ownership will result in the hostility you appear to wish to avoid."

By the time the airship finished broadcasting its message Rolf was up on the poop deck with them. He moved up beside the Captain before noting "Sir... whatever we're gonna do we'd better do it quick. That ship doesn't have much time for diplomacy before it goes under. Your orders, Cap'n?"

Tobias murmured "I can't believe the UPU attacked a Wyranese sea vessel... with an AIRSHIP!"

Alistair was apparently far faster in his thought processes; in the time it took Tobias to formulate that sentence expressing his exasperation the Tiger already had a plan... and he was ready to put it into action.