Chapter One: It Was A Dark And Stormy Night
It was a dark and stormy night. Thankfully, it would not be so for much longer. The storm was all but finished, and sunrise was less than half an hour away.
Admiral Alfonso took out his hand mirror and checked his appearance. It was still immaculate, as it should be, especially on such a glorious occasion as this.
"Fire concussion shells at the girl, but try to avoid hitting her ship. We need her alive, after all."
Alfonso didn't care much for his current flagship, the Taurus. It was much too ugly. Thankfully, the Cygnus would finish construction by the time he returned to Valua.
Alfonso checked his reflection again. Still perfect. Good.
"Vice-Captain, come with me. I wish to inspect the girl…personally."
"Captain, the Valuans have just taken the girl onto their ship."
"Excellent," said Dyne Inglebard, captain of the Albatross. "Boarding parties, get ready, we'll want to do this one quick. Take us up, Briggs."
"Aye-aye, sir," replied the vice-captain and helmsman. "They won't know what hit them."
"Sir! It's an emergency! A ship is rising from the clouds off the port side! The flag…they're Air Pirates!"
"What?!" exclaimed Alfonso. "How did they get so close to my ship? Clouds or no, aren't you paid to find these braggards BEFORE they get close enough to board us?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir!" cried the guard. "It's still dark, visibility is poor!"
"Bah! All hands to battlestations! Guards, on deck! Don't let them inside! Vice-captain, you're with me! Carry the girl!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Albatross and the Taurus were now firmly attached to one another. As the Taurus's guards reached the deck, a figure wielding a pair of red swords slid down a rope from the Albatross's crow's nest and landed in the middle of their lead squad's formation.
The soldiers had been trained well. They were more than fast enough to alter their formation into a loose circle, tight enough to prevent the newcomer from sneaking up on them, but loose enough to permit them to avoid being snuck upon by the other pirates they knew were coming.
What they were not expecting was that their opponent was a youth, barely even sixteen, if even that. He wore a blue tunic with detachable sleeves, brown boots, and a red bandana. His brown hair partially obscured his right eye, but it was obvious it had an eyepatch over it. He also had a scar on his left cheek, so perhaps he wasn't a complete pushover after all.
The teen stood up, grinning. "Hi there. You must be the guards of this vessel. My name is Vyse, of the Dyne Blue Rogues. And in a few minutes, I'll be relieving you of all your valuables.
Whoever this kid was, he was way too overconfident, and while Valuan soldiers should remain wary of all possible threats, he needed to be taken down a peg. "Air Pirate scum! Don't you know we're Valuan Imperial soldiers?
Vyse just widened his ship-eating grin. "Of course. That's why we picked you. You guys have the best stuff."
"Heh. You're still attacking us by yourself. You may be brave, but you're also stupid. We'll be tossing you overboard shortly."
"Wait for me!" Another figure launched off the Albatross. The guards altered their formation once again, this time forming a half-circle away from the pirate ship. The newcomer was a girl just as young as the boy wearing leather armor that, in traditional pirate style, was rather revealing without skimping on protection. Her weapon was a large green boomerang. "Vyse, you left without me! I can't let you have all the fun!"
The girl stood up and deadpanned, "Oh, hey. I'm Aika. I'm with him. And we're robbing you."
The guards had had enough by this point, though. "You'll pay for your insolence, scum! Kill them, and toss their bodies into Deep Sky!"
The squad rushed towards their opponents, who somehow managed to dodge their blades. The last thing the squad leader saw was the hilt of a cutlass between his legs and moving swiftly upward.
"Resistance…is futile. Drop your weapons and surrender your ship."
That's what Vyse wanted to say, but he managed to get as far as "is" before the rest of the guards had poured onto the deck. "Imbeciles. You two may be good enough to take down a single squad of Valuan soldiers, but do your really think you can take down nine?
A burst of gunfire rang out. "I'm sorry, I think you miscounted. I only see eight squads up here."
Dyne Inglebard and his squad reloaded their rifles. "We'll take care of these guys. You two, head to the bridge and shut down the engines."
"Aye-aye, Dad," replied Vyse, who bolted toward the emergency hatch that Aika was pulling open.
As he and Aika jumped down into the ship, he heard his father shout after him, "When we're out here, it's 'Captain!'"
Reaching the bridge of a Valuan battleship from the nose's maintenance passages was more of a chore than Vyse and Aika expected. Eventually, they made it to the secondary cannon room, and found a surprise.
"Well, well. Air pirates have decided to…infest my ship."
The two looked up to see an immaculately-dressed and highly decorated Valuan officer on the walkways above, accompanied by a soldier…carrying an unconscious girl. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alfonso, the oldest and most cherished son of one of Valua's most distinguished families…and an Admiral of the Imperial Armada.
Vyse chuckled. "Well, well. I never thought someone of such…stature would stoop to kidnapping."
Alfonso merely smiled. "You're quite observant, for a Rogue. However, I'm afraid I do not have time to chat. I have urgent business to attend to. If you'll excuse me, I must be going."
The two Valuans disappeared from sight, and the Rogues immediately raced after him.
The lifeboat bay doors opened up to a beautiful Mid Ocean sunrise. Alfonso wished he had time to appreciate it. "Conditions are perfect, sir. We should depart with haste."
"I agree. However, I'm afraid I need to make some minor adjustments to the flight plan."
"What do you mean, sir?"
Alfonso pulled out his rapier and leveled it swiftly at his vice-captain's neck. "W-what are you doing, e-excellency?!" stammered the officer.
"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow anyone to believe that an Admiral of the invincible Imperial Armada lost a flagship to pirates in a fair fight. I'll need a scapegoat, and unfortunately, you're the only one I have. I want you to know that you have served me well. May the Moons have mercy on your soul." With that, he shoved his vice-captain off the edge of the launching platform.
Alfonso knew he would hear the screams in his nightmares for months, but regrettably, it had to be done. He sheathed his blade and turned around to get the girl, but to his horror found that the two pirates had already arrived.
"So, this is how Valua treats its people." Vyse brought up his blades and walked forward. "After seeing you murder an innocent man in cold blood, I cannot allow you to walk away. Draw your blade, Alfonso."
Alfonso didn't waste any time. He knew full well that his swordsmanship was subpar. He immediately dashed for the lifeboat, and before the Rogue could reach him, he took off. As he flew away, he shouted back, "You will rue the day you stood against the Armada! We shall meet again!"
"Well, he was a coward, but he was a coward with gold."
The Blue Rogues were bringing as much loot as they could off the ship. They wouldn't have too much time before the guards woke up, but based on what was on board, they wouldn't need it. Vyse looked at Aika as she continued, "The guys back home are gonna be impressed with this one. We haven't had a catch this big in some time."
Vyse looked over towards the girl lying in the stretcher as she was handed over to the Albatross. "I wonder what Valua wanted with her. She sure doesn't look like she's from around here."
"That's for sure. I've never seen anyone dressed like that. I wonder where she's from…"
A/N: Wow, this is only the beginning and already it's long as crap. On a side note, I know Alfonso's game version was utterly incompetent, but come on, even a blue-blood nobleman has to have some talent to become an Admiral.
