Matt Dovey
Vyse stood still, radiating mute respect as he stared at Captain Drachma's grave. Not long after the sinking of Soltis, the old fisherman had passed away painlessly in his sleep, happy and content. Vyse had soon named his new wooden ship after the old Captain, as he had yet to decide on a name for it at the time anyway. Vyse was now looking at the gravestone, but remembering the Captain, who had helped them so much, taught him so much, shown him the way so much... Without Drachma, Vyse reflected, I wouldn't be where I am today, nor who I am today. Casting his eyes downward to the dew-soaked grass. He felt the sun start to warm on his back, and looked up, his shadow being cast over the gravestone. He stared again, thinking it strange how he still stood in Drachma's shadow in many respects; the old man's cunning, bravery and comradeship were all still with him so much of the time. He read the inscription through again, like so many times before, even though he had written it himself: "He never stopped pursuing his dreams and goals, and found something far better than he could have hoped for in the end."
Fina began to recover slowly over the next couple of days, awaking after a day of sleep. She was still frail, but was not completely incapable; she would often sit behind the rooms to face the lake, or even at the top of the island looking out into the sky. She became restless, but her fatigue would soon overtake her, and she would return to her bed. Vyse and Aika attended to her continually, looking after her, but she craved independence, a characteristic which was becoming more evident as time went by - she seemed determined to be useful in herself, and not rely on others for anything except their friendship.
It was three days after the sighting, and Vyse was sat outside the meeting room, leaning on the rail and looking across the island. The rest of the crew was asleep, but Vyse's head was still buzzing with worries and theories. He had become increasingly restless over the past few days - he had no leads, no clues as to what came out of The Vortex or where it was now, only that it was powerful, almost as powerful as a Moon Crystal, potentially. He was mulling over the possibilities and not really watching the island, engrossed in his thoughts, when a huge bang jerked him from his contemplation. He stood upright in a shock, and looked down at the plaza, where the fountain was in pieces, as if struck by a great explosion. As he watched the fire take hold on the grass, he saw something streak down out of the corner of his eye, hitting the rock face to his left before exploding again. The impact with which the projectiles hit ruled out moonstones, they didn't explode like this, which meant that as unbelievable as it sounded right now... they were being attacked!
The cleanup began next morning. No-one was hurt, apart from a few bruises where people fell out of bed from shock. The damage extended to the fountain and the surrounding grass (the fire had been put out quickly), various impacts on the rock face and the tent that had previously been Kalifa's. The rebuilding work was not huge, but the camp was not moving now.
An unexploded torpedo had been found, and Brabham was looking over it now. He seemed puzzled, and was being very careful with the weapon.
"Well Cap'n, I'm darned if I can find any explosive in it, blow me over if it doesn't look like it's already been disarmed."
"Hmm... can you open it then? There might be something inside that could give as a clue as to who did this."
"Sure thing, Cap'n, won't be a minute," grinned Brabham, already reaching for a screwdriver. He ran the tool along a seam that was invisible until it was pointed out, or unless you knew it was there. He moved it slowly, until it suddenly caught slightly. With a satisfied smile, he jammed the screwdriver in, then levered open the torpedo. Taking away the upper casing to the head of the torpedo, he revealed the inside of the defunct weapon.
"There ya go Cap'n," he smiled up at Vyse, before looking down again. "Huh? What's this?" He reached inside the torpedo, and pulled out a small, folded square of paper. He opened it out slowly, and began to read it, his head moving from side to side as he scanned it. "Uh, Cap'n... I think it's for you."
"Huh? Oh, pass it here then," blinked Vyse, slightly confused. He took the paper carefully from Brabham, and began to read.
To Captain Vyse, the Blue Rogue;
I'm sure this letter finds you in good health, as much as I hope that my little surprise for you caused you considerable actual harm; however, I realise this is unlikely. Therefore, be warned; I am not defeated as you thought I was, nor am I weak, as I expect you think I am. I am where you cannot reach me, where you cannot stop me; and I shall fall upon you with all the fury and vengeance of the moons themselves, the very moons I sit next to now. I shall take my rightful revenge upon you, Vyse, and I shall ensure the world knows my name! I, Admiral De Loco swear this by the moons themselves. I am coming for you now, Vyse, and you will not be able to stop me!
Yes, as certain people guessed in their reviews (despite me asking that guesses on who it is in the prologue NOT be posted), it's De Loco. He's a cool character to get inside of, all twitchy and psychotic and twisted as hell. Plus, I got fed up of it always being Ramirez as the bad guy; he's dead, people, learn to be original and make a different nemesis for Vyse. Anyway, it'll be a couple of weeks before this gets updated again, I'm going to be slightly busy this next week (I'll spare you all the details), but I know where the story is going, I actually have a plan for the plot and stuff.
Well, enjoy :)
#~~Matt