Author's note: Admiral Gainward's death isn't part of the plot of this fanfic, but it is part of a fanfic that I was planning to do at one point. It just kind of stuck, since I wanted to use these characters anyway. I'm also hoping the big gap between chapters doesn't affect the writing style too badly.
Chapter 4
Port Vanguard, Northlands, night:
The waves outside the small bay that Vanguard was situated in were enough to knock even very large ships around a bit. Inside the bay, on the other hand, the water was fairly calm, with less wind. It was perfect conditions for a skilled helmsbeast to show off.
Utilizing the speed it had built up from the heavy winds outside, The NDL Glory came cruising in with it's bow tilted upwards slightly. The wake the big ship created cutting through the water caused the smaller vessels docked at the port to sway slightly. However, John Elmsworth was never one for subtle entrances, unless he was on a covert assignment. Needless to say, as Commanding Officer of Port Vanguard, he didn't get many of those.
Elmsworths specialty was really commanding a vessel, but like so many commanders before him, he had been forced to take on the role of General because no one else was qualified to do so. In addition to being General of Vanguard, he was often elected as a temporary commander of the NDL fleet. The NDL hadn't really had an Admiral since Gainward's fall in battle ten seasons earlier, which had shattered the myth of the NDL's invulnerability on water. However, at times of crisis when the ships of the various NDL ports came together, they needed someone to command the fleet. Usually, they picked Elmsworth, because although he hated his duties, he was actually rather good at them. However, despite all his high level responsibilities, he still found time to play Captain of the Glory, something that annoyed the Glory's real Captain, a otter named Bruno, to no end.
Of course, since he wasn't the full time Captain, he didn't have to stick around to clean up the vessel for it's next mission. He relinquishing command to Bruno, much to the other otter's annoyance, than walked off the ship almost as soon as it had docked. He stopped in front of a female squirrel who had been watching the Glory's enterance for some time.
"Hello, Commander Rosewood. Did anything out of the ordinary happen while I was gone?"
Commander Amy Rosewood had been one of John's childhood friends, and the two of them coordinated Vanguard's land and sea forces so well they almost liked one commander in battle. Even when the lines of communications were cut off, the two could usually predict what the other was doing and take the correct action. It was something that annoyed enemy commanders to no end.
A female squirrel stood on the dock. She was older than her appearance would have suggest, however, like many NDL officers, she was still physically fit, making her perfect for the hands on operations that most NDL commanders preferred. She wore her best dress uniform - something she never wore in battle, since it was poor camouflage and made tree climbing difficult. She did, however, carry her bow and full quiver. She snapped to attention as her superior officer disembarked.
"General!"
"I've told you before, just call me John. I don't think I need any special title."
Commander Amy Rosewood shook her head at John, trying to stop herself from groaning after hearing that argument for the umpteenth time. Even after having been friends since a very young age, the two officers still had a tendency to get on each other's nerves.
"When will you ever learn, General - I mean John?"
"I don't know what you mean. Anyway, anything happen back here I should know about, mate?"
"Nothing around here. Not even any of those small roving bands of vermin have shown their heads around here lately. How about you? Did you see anything?"
"We didn't see a thing on our patrol. That bird seemed sure that Kellgan was moving his troops, and Kellgan would have to be stupid to try to bring them over land - it's hard to get over mountains, and most of the routes can be blackaded and held quite easily. So it would have to be by water - although his ships would be cramped."
Commander Rosewood snorted quietly. "If he thinks those modified freighters would ever be able to get here, he's wrong - your longbow otters could destroy them with fire arrows from well out of range."
Elmsworth sighed. "I wish that was that easy, mate. However, Kellgan would need to do to get in here would be go around the mountains. I estimate that he could fit several hundred troops on each of those ships for a short trip. We need to be careful."
"Yes, general - I mean John."
"What about Captain Densir? Has he gotten back yet?"
Commander Rosewood snorted quietly again. "He got back yesterday from Harcen yesterday, then I immediately sent him out on that route you wanted him to scout out. Even factoring in the fact the Barchetta is a very fast ship, I would say he won't be back again until sometime tommorrow."
"Well, I guess that means I'm off for the night."
"What are you planning to do?"
The otter general started off at a brisk pace.
"All the stuff Hallina wouldn't let me do if she was around."
"Okay, where are you planning to go?"
"For a drink."
Captain Densir had though about striking up some playful conversation about the insanity of running without lights in bad weather, but decided not to break the silence in left between wind and sea. The shrew knew he was taking a risk with his ship, but he had been in far worse, and backing down wasn't in the shrew's vocabulary. Once part of one of the Northland's many shrew tribes, he had run off seeking challenges, and he never backed down from them. Too smart for his own good, he complemented his skills as a captain with a mastery of swordplay. He dressed like a corsair, with guady clothes and a badger made rapier he had managed to acquire on the black market. He was one who would take his ship into enemy territory without a second thought, and bring it back home again. Indeed, General Elmsworth had once described the shrew as having "the most adrenaline running through his veins of any creature alive.
Of course, such an accomplished, if not respected officer wasn't out here for no reason. Commander Rosewood had given him all the reports from the Northern Defense League's aerial spies, and he knew what he was looking for. He was to find Kellgan's ships, and provide close range reconnaissance of it, and, if possible, mount a covert strike on the vessels.
Hallinna Elmsworth, John's wife and one of the crew members of the Barchetta, called out to Densir.
"Lights ahead!"
Densir night vision was good, but it couldn't hold a candle to Hallinna's sharp eyes.
"Hallinna, can you identify those ships?"
"The light pattern would suggest a large vessel."
"Then we may have our prey. Ready to do your bit?"
"Ready as always."
"All right. Agradson, slack up the sails. I'm going to try to hold our position. It will be hard in these conditions, but if we go off course I'm sure little Mrs. Sharpeyes can find us again."
"You can bet your life on it, Captain."
"I'd rather not have to, thanks, it was bad enough to have to do that once in a lifetime. Now get a move on, Lieutenant."
Hallinna checked here equipment: axe, chisel, fire starters, and her trusty javelin, in some cases covered to protect them from the water. Then, taking a short run, she enthusiastically dived into the freezing water characteristic of fall in the Northlands, head first.
Densir shivered. "How can she do that?"
Agradson answered. "I'll figure that out when I figure out why otters like hotroot soup."
"Good point. I'd say that like most otters she is beyond our help. Strange creatures. Although I think they like the hotroot soup because it helps get rid of the chill they must get from swimming in these conditions."
"That and it probably clears their heads after a night of drinking."
"You referring to Elmsworth and his Whiskey?"
"Yeah, although I wouldn't tell Hallinna that."
"Agreed. We're better off with him drunk. No practical jokes during training exercises when the bastard is hung over."
"Elmsworth isn't a bastard, Captain."
"It's an expression, Agradson."
"It is?"
Densir drew his rapier.
"Take this, you bastard."
"I'm not a bastard either- ahahahahahahahaha!!! Stop the tickling, please!"
Densir suddenly felt Hallina grab his wrist and pull the rapier away from Agradson's ribs. The small otter's incredible strength never failed to amaze him.
"You idiots! There's two overloaded vermin freighters around here and you two are making enough of a racket to mark you out to a seagull looking to loose a bit of weight."
Densir matched Hallina's dead serious expression and looked her directly in the eye.
"You didn't manage to take them out?"
"It would have taken me all night to sabotage a ship that big with the gear I have. Sorry Captain, but I really didn't have a choice."
Densir sighed. "All right, do you think they were going for Vanguard?"
Hallinna shrugged.
"I doubt they'd try a direct naval attack, and they're a bit far south for a northern landing. I'm guessing they'll try and sneak around to the area south of Vanguard, if attacking us is their intent."
Densir took his position behind the helm.
"All right, I guess we'd better get a move on and report to the General. Agradson - full sail. We're heading home as fast as we can. Maybe we'll even get home in time for a good sleep, too!"
Hallinna pulled a weary face.
"Hey, you're not married with "General" John Elmsworth."
Densir grinned and prodded some more.
"Come on now, we know you're looking forward to it. You used to always talk about how great a lover he was..."
Hallina's tail hit Densir hard in the side of the face. Densir rubbed the bruise.
"Hmmm. No sense of humour in that one."
Chapter 4
Port Vanguard, Northlands, night:
The waves outside the small bay that Vanguard was situated in were enough to knock even very large ships around a bit. Inside the bay, on the other hand, the water was fairly calm, with less wind. It was perfect conditions for a skilled helmsbeast to show off.
Utilizing the speed it had built up from the heavy winds outside, The NDL Glory came cruising in with it's bow tilted upwards slightly. The wake the big ship created cutting through the water caused the smaller vessels docked at the port to sway slightly. However, John Elmsworth was never one for subtle entrances, unless he was on a covert assignment. Needless to say, as Commanding Officer of Port Vanguard, he didn't get many of those.
Elmsworths specialty was really commanding a vessel, but like so many commanders before him, he had been forced to take on the role of General because no one else was qualified to do so. In addition to being General of Vanguard, he was often elected as a temporary commander of the NDL fleet. The NDL hadn't really had an Admiral since Gainward's fall in battle ten seasons earlier, which had shattered the myth of the NDL's invulnerability on water. However, at times of crisis when the ships of the various NDL ports came together, they needed someone to command the fleet. Usually, they picked Elmsworth, because although he hated his duties, he was actually rather good at them. However, despite all his high level responsibilities, he still found time to play Captain of the Glory, something that annoyed the Glory's real Captain, a otter named Bruno, to no end.
Of course, since he wasn't the full time Captain, he didn't have to stick around to clean up the vessel for it's next mission. He relinquishing command to Bruno, much to the other otter's annoyance, than walked off the ship almost as soon as it had docked. He stopped in front of a female squirrel who had been watching the Glory's enterance for some time.
"Hello, Commander Rosewood. Did anything out of the ordinary happen while I was gone?"
Commander Amy Rosewood had been one of John's childhood friends, and the two of them coordinated Vanguard's land and sea forces so well they almost liked one commander in battle. Even when the lines of communications were cut off, the two could usually predict what the other was doing and take the correct action. It was something that annoyed enemy commanders to no end.
A female squirrel stood on the dock. She was older than her appearance would have suggest, however, like many NDL officers, she was still physically fit, making her perfect for the hands on operations that most NDL commanders preferred. She wore her best dress uniform - something she never wore in battle, since it was poor camouflage and made tree climbing difficult. She did, however, carry her bow and full quiver. She snapped to attention as her superior officer disembarked.
"General!"
"I've told you before, just call me John. I don't think I need any special title."
Commander Amy Rosewood shook her head at John, trying to stop herself from groaning after hearing that argument for the umpteenth time. Even after having been friends since a very young age, the two officers still had a tendency to get on each other's nerves.
"When will you ever learn, General - I mean John?"
"I don't know what you mean. Anyway, anything happen back here I should know about, mate?"
"Nothing around here. Not even any of those small roving bands of vermin have shown their heads around here lately. How about you? Did you see anything?"
"We didn't see a thing on our patrol. That bird seemed sure that Kellgan was moving his troops, and Kellgan would have to be stupid to try to bring them over land - it's hard to get over mountains, and most of the routes can be blackaded and held quite easily. So it would have to be by water - although his ships would be cramped."
Commander Rosewood snorted quietly. "If he thinks those modified freighters would ever be able to get here, he's wrong - your longbow otters could destroy them with fire arrows from well out of range."
Elmsworth sighed. "I wish that was that easy, mate. However, Kellgan would need to do to get in here would be go around the mountains. I estimate that he could fit several hundred troops on each of those ships for a short trip. We need to be careful."
"Yes, general - I mean John."
"What about Captain Densir? Has he gotten back yet?"
Commander Rosewood snorted quietly again. "He got back yesterday from Harcen yesterday, then I immediately sent him out on that route you wanted him to scout out. Even factoring in the fact the Barchetta is a very fast ship, I would say he won't be back again until sometime tommorrow."
"Well, I guess that means I'm off for the night."
"What are you planning to do?"
The otter general started off at a brisk pace.
"All the stuff Hallina wouldn't let me do if she was around."
"Okay, where are you planning to go?"
"For a drink."
Captain Densir had though about striking up some playful conversation about the insanity of running without lights in bad weather, but decided not to break the silence in left between wind and sea. The shrew knew he was taking a risk with his ship, but he had been in far worse, and backing down wasn't in the shrew's vocabulary. Once part of one of the Northland's many shrew tribes, he had run off seeking challenges, and he never backed down from them. Too smart for his own good, he complemented his skills as a captain with a mastery of swordplay. He dressed like a corsair, with guady clothes and a badger made rapier he had managed to acquire on the black market. He was one who would take his ship into enemy territory without a second thought, and bring it back home again. Indeed, General Elmsworth had once described the shrew as having "the most adrenaline running through his veins of any creature alive.
Of course, such an accomplished, if not respected officer wasn't out here for no reason. Commander Rosewood had given him all the reports from the Northern Defense League's aerial spies, and he knew what he was looking for. He was to find Kellgan's ships, and provide close range reconnaissance of it, and, if possible, mount a covert strike on the vessels.
Hallinna Elmsworth, John's wife and one of the crew members of the Barchetta, called out to Densir.
"Lights ahead!"
Densir night vision was good, but it couldn't hold a candle to Hallinna's sharp eyes.
"Hallinna, can you identify those ships?"
"The light pattern would suggest a large vessel."
"Then we may have our prey. Ready to do your bit?"
"Ready as always."
"All right. Agradson, slack up the sails. I'm going to try to hold our position. It will be hard in these conditions, but if we go off course I'm sure little Mrs. Sharpeyes can find us again."
"You can bet your life on it, Captain."
"I'd rather not have to, thanks, it was bad enough to have to do that once in a lifetime. Now get a move on, Lieutenant."
Hallinna checked here equipment: axe, chisel, fire starters, and her trusty javelin, in some cases covered to protect them from the water. Then, taking a short run, she enthusiastically dived into the freezing water characteristic of fall in the Northlands, head first.
Densir shivered. "How can she do that?"
Agradson answered. "I'll figure that out when I figure out why otters like hotroot soup."
"Good point. I'd say that like most otters she is beyond our help. Strange creatures. Although I think they like the hotroot soup because it helps get rid of the chill they must get from swimming in these conditions."
"That and it probably clears their heads after a night of drinking."
"You referring to Elmsworth and his Whiskey?"
"Yeah, although I wouldn't tell Hallinna that."
"Agreed. We're better off with him drunk. No practical jokes during training exercises when the bastard is hung over."
"Elmsworth isn't a bastard, Captain."
"It's an expression, Agradson."
"It is?"
Densir drew his rapier.
"Take this, you bastard."
"I'm not a bastard either- ahahahahahahahaha!!! Stop the tickling, please!"
Densir suddenly felt Hallina grab his wrist and pull the rapier away from Agradson's ribs. The small otter's incredible strength never failed to amaze him.
"You idiots! There's two overloaded vermin freighters around here and you two are making enough of a racket to mark you out to a seagull looking to loose a bit of weight."
Densir matched Hallina's dead serious expression and looked her directly in the eye.
"You didn't manage to take them out?"
"It would have taken me all night to sabotage a ship that big with the gear I have. Sorry Captain, but I really didn't have a choice."
Densir sighed. "All right, do you think they were going for Vanguard?"
Hallinna shrugged.
"I doubt they'd try a direct naval attack, and they're a bit far south for a northern landing. I'm guessing they'll try and sneak around to the area south of Vanguard, if attacking us is their intent."
Densir took his position behind the helm.
"All right, I guess we'd better get a move on and report to the General. Agradson - full sail. We're heading home as fast as we can. Maybe we'll even get home in time for a good sleep, too!"
Hallinna pulled a weary face.
"Hey, you're not married with "General" John Elmsworth."
Densir grinned and prodded some more.
"Come on now, we know you're looking forward to it. You used to always talk about how great a lover he was..."
Hallina's tail hit Densir hard in the side of the face. Densir rubbed the bruise.
"Hmmm. No sense of humour in that one."
