Author's Note: I send out a huge apology for being so annoying in my last notes. I really don't want to annoy anybody, I was just noting how I felt about my own writing, but I really don't mean to annoy anybody, and so I'm very sorry for doing so. Especially TheFrogKiller, who's continued to be a huge help for my writing in so many ways.

In other news there is one thing I could use an opinion on. Sooner or later the Abaj plot line will draw to a close, and after that, this whole lifetime. Olose is immortal, but everybody around him is not. These characters have to die and Olose has to live on. What I want to know is whether people want me to end the story at the end of this plot arc, with Olose living happily with Arcadia and the rest of his life a mystery, or whether they want me to continue his adventures as Vana'diel takes shape further, eventually reaching a climax in modern FFXI with Olose meeting the heroes of the FFXI Chronicles (as he did in that story). So basically, I don't know whether to end this story at the end of this plotline, or keep it rolling to tell the whole of Olose's story.

Any opinions anybody? Let me know by review or e-mail! (If you readers are out there…).

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

CHAPTER 19

WAR

Ship's Log 27: I received the first package from Arcadia, and can finally begin to focus on dealing with Abaj. But, unfortunately, this will have to wait. Matters have taken a turn for the worse for Vana'diel in general. Bastok has been expanding rapidly over the past few months, and San d'Oria is beginning to feel threatened. They've begun to push back the advances of Bastok, and in retaliation Bastok has declared war on San d'Oria.

Everybody is tense. Everybody is afraid that Seblina is going to get caught in the crossfire, after all, it is between the two nations. And it seems increasingly likely that there is going to be a naval conflict on the waters. Jobs are down, everybody is frightened to travel, and the air seems heavy.

I can only hope Arcadia is alright. Hopefully they'll avoid Tavnazia. Just because it's a hume city doesn't mean it's affiliated with Bastok.

We have our own concerns anyway. Sailors are claiming they've seen the Bastok fleet amassing. It looks like the war is spreading to the sea, and when it does, it'll be carnage for every ship captain and crew in the land.

The tavern was unusually empty, and silent. Everybody seemed tense, curled up like a spring waiting to snap. Olose was sat, flicking through the paper's Arcadia had sent him, looking for any exploitable information on Abaj. But even he knew it was futile, with war hanging over them as it was, it was pointless trying to follow anything. Travelling anywhere was dangerous, permits were in constant use to be able to do anything and both of the nations were under martial law.

Olose decided that there was only one place without pressure. The sea. Out there he always felt free, and knew it would be the best place to go. Of course, he knew in actuality the seas were just as dangerous, with the Bastokian and San d'Orian navies populating them, but the feeling of freedom was there, and he felt that was all that was needed. His crew's moral was at an all time low.

He got up, deciding he had to lead the crew out of Seblina. They could sail to Norg, they'd be safe there until the war blew over. He began heading out of the tavern when Suse burst in, looking frantic.

"Come quick!" She cried. "They'rrrre herrrre!"

"Who are? What are?" Olose asked in confusion, stumbling after her. The two ran out of the tavern, and Olose's face fell. Ships. Hundreds of them. Bearing the symbol of Bastok proudly, sailing by the port. Some were drawing in as others continued on their way. Troops began to filter into Seblina. "They must be trying to establish a foothold here." Olose guessed, half explaining to Suse as he went. "A military location this close to San d'Oria would be invaluable. They could launch multiple strikes from here both at sea and on land. San d'Oria wouldn't stand a chance."

"Well, what are San d'Orrrria going to do?" Suse asked, sounding innocently confused by all the talk of war.

"Retaliate. They can't let Bastok take Seblina. It means this place is going to be turned into a war zone." Olose answered. Suse gulped.

"What arrrre we going to do?" She asked in panic.

"Leave." Olose stated. "We'll get to the ship and head for Norg. Where's Nadia?"

"Get your dammed hands off me!" Came a cry. Olose and Suse spun around to see Nadia pinned by two of the soldiers that had leapt off the docking ships.

"Shut up!" Ordered one of the soldiers, hitting Nadia. She tried to move, but two of them had pinned her, and she was hopelessly overpowered. Lacking an arm didn't help her either.

"What's going on here?" Snapped Olose.

"What's it to you?" Spat the guard. "Stay out of this!"
"I'm Captain Sampson, that's Nadia, my first mate. Whatever you do to her, you do to me." Olose stated angrily.

"First mate? She's an elvaan." The soldier growled.

"But she's not a soldier of San d'Oria so back off!" Olose shouted. "Or are you onto butchering civilians already?" One of the soldiers turned around, squaring up to Olose and attempting to appear intimidating. Olose took a step closer to the soldier, clearly being a bigger build than him and the soldier decided to back down, signalling for Nadia's release. She walked over to Olose angrily, clenching her fist to resist striking the soldiers.

"Just watch yourself." Threatened the soldier. "We wouldn't want you to be caught in the crossfire."

"Crossfire?" Olose asked, suddenly worried.

"Yes." Smirked the guard. "The San d'Orian navy is on its way. We've beaten them here, but this town is about to be reduced to rubble. Be a shame if somebody as pleasant as yourself got killed."

"Don't threaten me." Olose's voice deepened into a powerful growl, aided by his werewolf state. The guard clearly trembled slightly. "When will San d'Oria's fleet be here?"

"A matter of hours." The soldier straightened up, trying to appear as more of an official of Bastok. "We're going to evacuate all the civilians we can. We're not monsters!"

"We'll see about that." Olose stated. "Nadia! Get the crew! We're leaving!"

"You can't go out on the seas!" Protested the soldier.

"Yes we can." Olose snapped in answer. "You won't get the civilians to safety in time. Hundreds of lives are hanging in the balance. The only chance to save them is to stop the coming battle."

"How can you do that alone?" The soldier grunted, slightly laughing.

"We'll find a way." Olose smiled, marching away.

Olose marched through the city, arriving at the Destiny. It still looked fairly new and strong after its refit, having only run a single mission since it had been placed back in the water. Nadia hurried after him.

"Captain?" She inquired. "What are you planning? We can't stop an invasion fleet! Let alone when both sides are intent on killing each other!"

"We can't win by force." Olose admitted. "We may need to employ other tactics."

"Other tactics?" Asked Nadia sceptically.

"I'm still working on the plan." Olose smirked. "Get the crew. It's not safe to leave anybody in Seblina."

"Aye aye, sir." Nadia saluted with a sarcastic smile on her face. Olose sighed, running up onto the ship. They were about to try and diffuse the war. Common sense told him it was impossible, but he knew he had to try anyway.

The Destiny was soon sailing across the ocean as fast as it could possibly move. Olose could hear the roar of cannons off in the distance, and smell the burnt gunpowder on the wind. The battle had already begun. The entire crew rushed to the deck, looking out as they saw the two fleets pounding each other, cannonballs flying and ripping apart the warships that populated the sea. The Destiny was dwarfed, every ship towering over her.

"Captain, are we going to turn back?" Phabrizoe asked as they approached. "Merchant ships are supposed to avoid combat."

"But combat etiquette says battle should not commence if a commercial ship is in the area." Grinned Olose. "We're going to cut across the middle. They should stop firing, or at least take notice."

"Isn't this plan a little risky?" Phabrizoe inquired.

"Would you have it any other way?" Olose smiled, spinning the wheel.

The Destiny tore across the waters, soaring into the middle of the skirmish, cannonballs impacting all around it. The ships instantly began to react.

"What the hell is that guy doing?" Came a cry from one ship.

"Cease fire!" Called another.

"We can't risk hitting a merchant vessel!"

"Get those god dammed civilians out of here!"

"Hold your fire!"

"Dammit! What is going on?"

Olose grinned at the various voices crying in confusion.

"Hoist the sail!" He ordered, and Suse and Nadia began lifting the sail, slowing the Destiny down.

"Get out of here, now!" Ordered a galka from one of Bastok's ships.

"No can do!" Olose shouted in response. "Been hit. Taking on water. We can't move until it's patched up."

"You're going to be killed in the crossfire!" An elvaan yelled from one of the San d'Orian ships.

"Not if you stop shooting." Olose yelled back.

"We will not stand down for one pathetic vessel! Move or you will be destroyed!" Threatened a hume captain.

"Hey, maybe you could just sort this out with words while we're here?" Olose suggested. There was a low grumbling. He heard plenty of people suggesting that they destroy the ship and be done with it.

"You can't stand in our way. There are even civilian causalities in war." Came a cry, and Olose could see it his plan wasn't going to work.

"Captain? Plan B?" Suggested Trevia.

"Seems so." Olose smiled.

"We have a plan B?" Nadia muttered.

"Hoist the flag!" Olose ordered.

"You mean that one with the smiley face I made?" Suse cried enthusiastically.

"No." Olose stated, gritting his teeth. "The other flag. The one will the skull. And the crossbones."

"Oooooh, that one!" Suse exclaimed. Trevia rolled her eyes.

"Ready the cannons! Bring down the sails!" Olose ordered. Trevia and Nadia began to prepare the cannons while Phabrizoe rose the flag and Suse managed to set the sail flying again.

The reactions on the ships were all ones of hostility.

"Pirates!" Came an almost joint snarl.
"Fire!" Cried Olose, and the cannons blasted away, hitting warships on both sides.

"You're insane!" Phabrizoe decided.

"Captain! I think you have theirrrrr attention!" Trevia cried.

"Fantastic." Olose said rather blankly, trying to concentrate as he steered the ship, doubling back out of the fleet. They were all blasting at him. "Fire again!" Olose yelled as soon as he saw the cannons had been reloaded. The entire joint fleets began chasing the renegade pirate ship.

"Nice going Captain." Nadia smiled. "We've got two fleets of warships chasing us. Any idea where to take them?"

"I'm working on that part of the plan!" Olose replied.

"That's our Captain for you." Sighed Phabrizoe. Cannonballs impacted all around.

"We'rrrre not going to last long herrrre, Captain!" Trevia yelled. "We could head for the shorrrre. We have a lower keel. We can crrrrross the shallow water much easier."

"We need to run those ships aground." Olose agreed. "Once they are, they'll be useless. War diffused."

"They aren't stupid, Captain. They aren't going to follow you where they can't go." Nadia pointed out. Olose grumbled.

"Damn, this isn't exactly going to plan!" A cannonball hit the back of the Destiny, sending wooden shards flying everywhere. "Okay, I'm going to swing us across, get ready to fire!"

"Captain, we're too close to the shoreline! If you turn us to fire, we'll crash straight into the shore!" Phabrizoe pointed out, becoming frustrated that he was entirely left out of Olose's plan.

"Trust me." Olose smiled, spinning the wheel.

The Destiny arched across the waters, heading for the shore. As it turned, it opened an opportunity to fire at the two pursuing fleets. Cannonballs fired, hitting the warships, and enraging the captains of the warships even more. Pirates were universally hated on the sea, and they were now certain they'd do whatever they could to destroy the little ship. Olose spun the wheel again, and the ship creaked as it rocketed towards the shoreline.
"We're not going to make it!" Nadia cried.

"We'rrre going to make it!" Trevia tried to reassure. Suse just screamed and curled up on deck. Phabrizoe couldn't pull his eyes away from the land. Olose gripped the wheel, spinning it. The ship was beginning to turn, rapidly approaching the cliff face that made up the edge of the coast. The ship was on a collision course. Olose kept turning the wheel, feeling the rudder lock. The ship slowly began to turn. He could almost feel the shallow seabed brushing against the bottom of the hull. The ship made the turn at the last moment, the bottom of the ship scraping along the ground.

"YES!" Olose cheered, repositioning the ship so that it was still fleeing from the enemy fleets. The ships continued to chase, but were staying out further than the Destiny that was in too shallow for them to pursue. "Phabrizoe! Your up!" Phabrizoe ran to Olose.

"What do you need?" He asked.
"Think you can land your most powerful ice spell in front of the fleet?" Olose asked, grinning.

"What?" Phabrizoe cried in disbelief.

"It'll force them to turn towards the shoreline." Olose explained. "They'll run aground."

"We need to gain on the ships first." Phabrizoe answered. "Or else I can't get it far enough on the right side to make them turn in shore."

"We need more speed!" Olose yelled to his crew. "Dump everything that's not needed!"

The crew began working frantically. Nadia quickly started throwing the cannonballs they had on deck overboard. Trevia disappeared below deck, reappearing with food barrels which she quickly unloaded. Suse preoccupied herself throwing any little items she could find overboard, like pieces of paper and writing instruments, which was very sweet, but utterly useless.

"Captain! We're still not fast enough!" Nadia told Olose.

"Dump the cannons! If this works, we won't need them!" Olose explained in answer.

"And if it doesn't?" Nadia asked, worried.

"Then we're all doomed." Olose answered. "Do it!" More cannonballs whizzed at the little pirate ship, one hitting and causing wooden shards to fly everywhere. Nadia and Trevia quickly threw the cannons into the ocean. The Destiny began to pull ahead of the other ships. Phabrizoe had been chanting for some time, preparing an incredibly powerful spell.

"Phabrizoe! Now!" Screamed Olose. Phabrizoe unleashed his spell, and the entire ocean before the war fleets became coated in ice. "YES! FANTASTIC!" Olose cried at the top of his voice as the ships scrambled to avoid their impending doom by hitting the newly formed ice. They turned inwards, towards land, some hitting each other, others running aground and ripping to a stop. The entire fleet grounded to a halt, crippled on the rocks. "YEEHAH!" Olose yelled at the top of his voice. Any ships that had avoided the trap narrowly avoided collision, and the crews had become so confused and panicked that the Destiny easily sailed away, heading back towards Seblina.

Olose ran down from the wheel smiling, looking over the unusually barren looking deck.

"We did it!" Suse cried triumphantly.

"What now, Captain?" Trevia asked, remaining calm, but a smile flickering showing her joy.

"Well, those ships are out of action. They're gonna have to work together to get out of that." Olose explained happily. "Bastok will be forced to pull out of Seblina, they don't have enough ships there to hold it. Everything should be quite on the naval front for a while. Bastok and San d'Oria will just have to fight their wars on land."

"We're going to be famous, Captain, you know that?" Nadia began. "We stopped a war, got two fleets of ships to chase us, and took them all out, technically speaking, all in this little ship. Tales of us will spread across the land. We'll be known as the greatest pirates of all time! And we didn't even pirate anything!" Olose's face fell grim.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." He said.

It took a good two weeks before Abaj Tuh heard of the exploits of the Destiny. At first he was mildly amused, until he heard the name.

"Captain Sampson." He repeated, his aide listening closely. He looked over a copy of the Vana'diel Tribune which had run an article on the battle. "Captain Olose Sampson."
"It could be coincidence." His aide suggested.

"Silence fool. Of course it's not coincidence." Abaj snapped.

"Sir, with all due respect, the land is at war. Can this grudge not wait?" His aide asked as politely as possible.

"A fair comment." Abaj admitted. "You're fired." Abaj rapidly drew a sword and thrust it through his aide before his aide could react. "Olose Sampson must die. I am the last of werewolves, not that pathetic swashbuckler." He began to smile. "I wonder if Arcadia has missed me." He pondered, his subjects looking on curiously.