MISSION #5 - Cargo Run

[lucetimods]

Who: Trafalgar Law (2nd Officer), Sanji (Cook), Azusa Miura (Cook's Mate), Adele Blanc (Doctor), The Hulk, Daisy, Anakin Skywalker, Asbel Lhant, Buffy Summers (Marines), Arsene Lupin III, Selphie Tilmitt, James Norrington, Mikage Celestine, Rogue, Nami, and Kurt Wagner (Sailors)
What: MISSION # 5 - Cargo Run
When: April 17th to April 21st
Where: Open Seas
Summary: A group of Luceti volunteers join a crew upon a massive ship headed out to sea, into cultist-infested waters.


It may have been nine in the morning when the group of Luceti volunteers were transported out through the tunnels, but at the shipyards the time difference meant that it was nearly midday already. A meek member of the Malnosso lower management led them along the docks, avoiding and scolding people as they got in his way, as he tried to go over the same details already present in the mission description. He was a rather pathetic looking little purple man with drooping ears, a hairless head, and webbed fingers. He apologized for his slipping over words. He explained it was difficult thinking straight in sunlight. Whenever he would stop to try and think, he'd look up to see The Hulk, shrink away a bit, and then hobble on quicker to the ship.

He was visibly relieved when he found Specialist Davis didn't look too busy, allowing him to pass off the Luceti volunteers and allowing him to get on his way. He's a new face to this particular group, but not to Luceti in general, having worked with them previously on the incident with the third floor. This odd looking group doesn't seem to have him looking too impressed. Especially when he looks at the ones who don't even seem to be fighters. But he directs his attention to Trafalgar with a few short words: "You. We'll talk once we're on board. You get your people settled for now."

With that, he and a group of other MSF Soldiers went to board the ship. The Tyr's Revenge was far larger than the ship than the one on the draft over half a year ago. It was a sailing ship, but despite its antiquated look, there was a central cooling tower in the center of the ship, which it derived its steam power. Where it used this thrust was not immediately obvious without a look at the back of the ship. (They would find out later that it was enough to propel the boat in a calm and was simple enough to avoid being blocked by Shifting, but was not as effective as a good strong wind.) Despite being crewed at around five hundred men and women, it was at least spacious enough for the crew to put in pairs. As a second officer, Trafalgar was afforded his own cabin, but the rest were sorted away into small rooms with two sets of hammocks on each side. The Luceti volunteers were kept together and it gave them some privacy, though each were pre-assigned rooms and the Malnosso didn't seem too picky about who ended up with who.

They had about an hour to get comfortable. In an hour, they'd be casting off.

----

Okay, time for your notes. First off, you will be able to interact with Specialist Davis for the mission. He won't be very talkative (unless you're his second officer), but he might answer some basic questions. He'll be around during the fighting too. Although he prefers to use firearms (think something like a P90), he'll demonstrate super strength and advanced reflexes (think Spider-Man) in battle. Some of the other MSF Soldiers will display some slight superhuman ability like him, but the vast majority of them are normally powered highly trained soldiers. For the most part, they won't talk to people from the enclosures much and prefer to keep to themselves. In general their only duty is security, so they won't be doing much in running the ship unless absolutely necessary. There will be about one hundred and fifty men and women. Most will be human, but there may be a few deviations among them (like odd skin colors, weird hair colors, eye pigmentations, pointy ears, and so on). Although a good number of them will use guns, some out of them will be using melee weapons like swords and spears. All of them will have some secondary weapon in case of a Shift that jams their guns.

The people from Luceti, along with the volunteers, will be doing the day to day work of the ship. The volunteers will be as they are described in the Nitpicker's Guide. For the most part, they're not nearly as skilled at fighting as the people from Luceti or the Security Forces, so when attacks come, they'll defend themselves but not be very good at it. Most of them will be human, with a few variations. Very, very few of them will exhibit any special abilities. In general they'll be friendly enough, though some from different enclosures may be more jaded and bitter. There will definitely be talks of escape and mutiny among some of them, whereas others will be more cooperative or too fearful of attempting a mutiny.

You can use the volunteers and security as NPCs for whatever purpose you like! That means you can give them names and maybe a bit of a personality (that's consistent with the above) and let them get killed or need help or what have you during battles with cultists. There are also droids to be found in parts of the ship below decks. They will more or less remain stationary, but they will intervene if people poke their noses in the wrong place. Or try to mutiny.

The captain of the ship won't be seen much, but she's an older lady (late fifties) that is relatively plain and unassuming in appearance. She won't talk to the volunteers and will relay any orders through Specialist Davis, but the people from Luceti may see her about the ship to see how things are going. Most of the time she will be in the captain's quarters doing paperwork. She'll look seasick for the entire voyage. Her name is Mrs. Eugenia Fruthers, Manager 2nd Class.

Note: The volunteers are sorted randomly, so it's up to you players to figure out how you want to work that out! The Malnosso aren't too picky if a man and woman end up sharing the same quarters. (How shameless!)

Here's a run down for events on the ship over the voyage

17th - Cast off, strong wind, heading east. A fair weather day perfect for sailing.
18th - Open seas with a fair wind and cloudy skies. A land mass can be briefly seen to the north. An island of some sort.
19th - Open seas with a fair wind, darker skies. The cultists make their first attack run. About mid day, four flying ships. The Malnosso use no cannons, but prefer to immediately fly en masse once in range. However, it is necessary to bring these ships down, as the cultists are fond of going kamikaze with them. Each of the four ships carries about one hundred cultists each.
20th - Open seas with powerful wind and stormy weather. Another raid will occur early in the morning, while most of the crew is still asleep. Three more cultist ships will attack and some of the cultists will make it below decks. Mid way through the battle, the ruckus will attract a monstrous kraken from the depths. The crew will be forced to fight off the remaining cultists while a great tentacled hell beast attempts to drag the Tyr's Revenge to the depths.
21st - The last day of the voyage will see the ship needing repairs after the attacks. About half of the crew will have been lost thanks to the cultists and the kraken and they will finally make port (in the same place as the ocean draft.) In the evening, the volunteers will be returned to their respective enclosures.



You can use this post for questions and plotting!

Comments

So intellectual, Smoker. Luffy would just be thinking "...I'm hungry..."

[mikangirl]

[Two things in your favour, Smoker; one, that your hair and your jacket are white. Two, that the overhead lightning flashes and the exploding fire of one of those Third Party ships provides enough of a reflective light just here beneath the surface that she can see get an idea where you are.

The rope pulls taut just as she reaches out to snag his arm, and Nami kicks strongly back for the surface. Give her a minute and she'll have you back on the ship.

Really.]

ikr? Smoker overthinks his own death. I half want to see what he was thinking vs. Law now

[justicereigns]

[Smoker hasn't given up hope, but mostly he's unconscious. Luckily with all the currents, waves, and general mayhem in the waters from the kraken and storm, he's not actually sinking too quickly, but he's definitely not floating either. Still, he slips away.

Mm whatcha say...
That you only meant well?
Well of course you did...

Quick rescue him before more random things work their way in. It's the only way to stop the tide!]

1/2

[mikangirl]

[Oh quit it with your melodramatic bracket singing, man. Nami's got this!

Breaking the surface now, one hand wrapped in the rope, and now she contemplates how to get a man twice as heavy as she is back up onto the ship, because she's never been the strongest of people. Nami draws breath to yell for assistance, already thinking of a Plan B: if nobody hears her, she can tie Smoker to the rope and shimmy up herself. It's all good.]

Hey! Anyo--

2/3 >>

[mikangirl]

[Ever see what happens when an angry and critically wounded kraken starts smashing everything it can possibly touch with the tentacles still curling around the ship?

Nami makes this face. Possibly because there's a crunch as part of the upper ship and rail cracks and gives way and... falls towards them. There's suddenly a lot of slack in Nami's rope--]

[mikangirl]

[NOT TO WORRY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THEY'RE HUGGING THE SIDE OF THE SHIP AND ALL THAT DEBRIS MISSES THEM BY JUST A FEW FEET! 8Db

...the bad news is Nami is still tied to it. 8|

Glub.]

[justicereigns]

[Smoker starts to stir in time to see the wood falling around. He grabs a hold of the orange haired girl and wood respectively, clinging on so he doesn't start sinking again as they fall to the water. He's about to thank her -- except she's tied to something and starting to slip under.]

Fuck...

[His voice is as hoarse as if he swallowed the cigars, even if it's just the seawater, but he grabs her by the collar to try to pulls her back to the surface with one hand. He's still groggy, but it quickly becomes clear what the problem is. At least it's not a kraken tentacle, he's not sure he could fight it off like this. He does have enough strength to snap the rope, but too bad that took two hands, because he's lost grip on the wood again, just as more waves buffer them away from the ship as the kraken starts to fall, having finally been defeated by those on board. For now he's conscious though and grabbing at that wood as quickly as he can.]

[mikangirl]

[THIS DAY SUCKS, OKAY. IT JUST SUCKS.

That out of her system, Nami resurfaces with a gasp and returns the favour, snagging Smoker's collar and helping to shove him up on ...whatever this is. Wood. Railing. It's floating, good enough for her. She doesn't bother climbing up herself, but clings for dear life as they're nearly upended by the shock of the kraken whumping into the water, its tentacles sliding away from the ship and under the water, lifeless.

Between the huge waves caused by its fall and the storm, it's a wonder their wreckage doesn't splinter further and break apart. They can't afford it to; from this distance, there's no way Nami could swim back dragging Smoker's weight. Leaving him isn't an option she'd like to consider, so she rests her head on the edge of the wood and stays where she is. Less weight on top; she can swim.

...trying to push the debris back to the ship, on the other hand, is kind of laughable. They're not likely to pay attention to a lightning bolt, either. Given the storm, and all.]

Smoker. Can you get the ship's attention?

[justicereigns]

Hang on, I'm too wet to turn to smoke like this. [Abstractedly he realizes that's not normally something he'd tell the enemy, but then his enemies don't normally rescue him. Except for the Straw Hat Crew, as this is the second time they've rescued him from drowning, but they're special in general. He pulls off a leather glove with his teeth and tries to give out a large whistle around two fingers. It's loud... to his own ears, but with the Third Party battle still raging on deck, Smoker doubts he was heard.]

I'm not sure... [He shakes his head as the waves from the storm start pushing them further away.] Shit, hold on. [Smoker himself braces like a cat terrified going back in the water. If he could dry off he could fly Nami over there himself with his smoke, but between the rain, wind, and ocean -- tch. No sense cursing himself for being too weak, he'd just have to learn from it and get stronger.]

[mikangirl]

...probably just as well. [She's glancing up as a flash of lightning illuminates the sight of more Third Party soldiers flying inbound for the ship and hunches against the wood, even though they couldn't see her at this distance anyway.] We'd probably get their attention first.

[Which begs the question: what do they do? The only other thing she can think of is swimming back to the ship on her own and getting help, but she's lost her easy access to get back on board, and if she can't and Smoker gets further away in the meantime, she'll be the one that drowns.

...and she can't stay in the water forever, either. Apart from the fact that it's cold. There's a dead kraken sinking below.]

We'll have to hope they send out a search party! Someone who flies. [Or walks on air. How long will it take Sanji to notice she's missing? Maybe in that chaos, an hour at most. Putting aside the fact visibility out here is terrible...]

[justicereigns]

[He shakes off the salt water from the gloves before putting them back on, damp, and holding them up to shield his eyes as he looks over at the ship.]

Tsk, we're getting further away by the minute. See if you can find a rope from all this rigging, maybe we can lasso something to tug us in.

[He's one edge and doesn't know whether to thank her for the rescue, apologize for it, tsun, or just try to make it up with actions. The latter is his usual Modus Operandi however, which means the silence just drags on.]

[mikangirl]

{Searching - such limited searching as she can do - is pretty fruitless. The only rope she can find is the length still wrapped around her waist, and that's no help. Though it might be long enough to lash fraying bits of wreckage together.

...]

Hold on. Whatever you do, don't fall in while I'm gone. [Swimming off to that other piece of floating unidentifiable trash she can see; it's not too far away. It might do the job.]

[justicereigns]

I'll try. [Dryly sarcastic tone, even in this situation, but Smoker's just frustrated at how useless he is. Almost drowning? Lame. How to thank her... He's half tempted to at least suggest she get back on board herself, but he figures if she could, she would. Oh well, it won't be too long before they finish the battle and find the two of them surviving in the water... he hopes. It doesn't take long a long time watching her to figure out what she's got in mind, so keeping still, he reaches out the best he can to help get more wood or hold things in place.]

[mikangirl]

[It's more of the railing and not too big, but Nami swims back with it anyway, pushing it towards Smoker's outstretched hands and then holding on with one hand as she tries tugging the rope free from her waist. ...could be a minute. She manages eventually, holding it up.]

Here!

[You've got a better position for tying a decent knot.]

[justicereigns]

[He also happens to be great with knots. Part of that whole being in the marines.]

[And he ties it up easily enough. That should hold come hell or high water. Or in this case, both.] Here, that's the railing, right? See any other rope around there for the other end?

[mikangirl]

The piece the other end was attached to was too heavy. [Given he had to cut the rope to stop Nami from drowning >_>;; She tests her weight against the side of the new section, and then hoists herself gingerly up.] I think this is it.

[justicereigns]

Hopefully it won't be too long anyway. [Snags a useless piece of wood for an oar, and then another for good measure. He looks up at the sky, shielding his eyes again to see if the weather will at least cut them a break soon. He shrugs out of the jacket and offers it to Nami.]

Here. You might want to wait for it dry more though. [But it'll still help her keep from getting cold he figures.]

[mikangirl]

[She nearly protests the offering of his jacket, until she realises that it won't be doing him any favours either, a devil fruit user with sea-soaked clothing. So she accepts it with a muttered thanks and peers back at the ship.

...how did the ship get so far away so quickly? She glances at Smoker and holds out a hand.] Give me one of those. We might not be able to make the ship, but maybe we can stop ourselves from drifting out of sight.

[She hopes.]

[justicereigns]

[Hands her one quietly.]

Not going to be easy in the dark. [Starts paddling, they can at least get away from the kraken corpse before more things show up to scavenge it.]

[mikangirl]

Won't be too bad. At least I've gotten used to this sky. [But yes, anything at all disrupts their raft, be it rogue wave or scavenger or one of those ships coming down, they're sunk. Pun intended. Still, that makes staying with the ship and its turbulent surroundings even trickier.]

...we'll make it back one way or another.

[justicereigns]

The sky helps you? [He's stalked enough to know she's like a weather forecaster; NO idea the serious degree of it though.]

Tch. So we will. [Determined mode get.]

[mikangirl]

[That question goes unanswered, because she's not inclined to launch into explanations while gauging the waves and their impact on the wreckage keeping them afloat, guiding them across the water accordingly... away from the ship. Because sadly the water is too damn chaotic in front of them. So Nami lapses into silence and just focuses on her job. Ship or a few pieces of wood, she knows what she's doing.

So she tries not to worry when the ship starts getting eclipsed from sight by the storm waves.]

You hammers make things so complicated.

[justicereigns]

[He's equally quiet for a bit. He can't apologize. He's tempted to ask why she bothered coming out there then, but he already knows. And he's grateful, but voicing that...]

We'll get back. Besides, pirate or not, you'd have dove over for a non-hammer too. [Almost a question, but it sounds more like an accusation.] Che, your mother's daughter.

[mikangirl]

That doesn't make me my mother's daughter. [Her tone is flat, because Bellemere is not something she wants to discuss right now.] It makes me a decent human being. Though I'm tempted to just abandon you anyway. I could probably get back on board if it were just me.

[Note how she fails to leave.]

[justicereigns]

[He's inclined to tell her to go for it then, she could probably handle whatever scavengers come for the kraken, but even Smoker knows he can manage some slightly better gratitude than that. Some. Very little.]

And do you honestly think that description fits any other pirate than your captain?

[Chomps on the cigars. Even that was giving too much away. Gratitude be damned, his pride was getting to him.] If you can make it, go, and thanks for the help. I'll get back myself. [Or drift for a long time. Still better than dying.]

[mikangirl]

[l o l so not answering that first question.] Like hell you'll get back yourself. How long d'you think you'd even stay afloat without my help?