Chapter Thirteen- Humble Beginnings
The Blue Rogues picked their way through rubble-laden boulevards that showcased the almost demolished beauty and majesty of Nasrad. The city, which had yet to recover from the brutal Valuan bombardment, now also bore the scars of the faltering battle. Even though the areas around the walls saw the first ringings of peace, the inner sections of the city still rumbled with gunfire and the clash of swords as the last pockets of suicidal resistance fought the Nasr Army's advancing brigades.
Nasrians began emerging from their homes in droves, flooding the streets with life anew to supplant what was lost in the attack. There had been more survivors than anyone had estimated from the attack and slave-like occupation of the city by Baker's forces, and the bronzed-skin people were in full celebration. Soldiers in full uniform broke apart from their units to join in the celebration, and many sought out their families in joyous reunion.
As they passed, they were greeted with respectful or simply jovial phrases, more often than not in Nasrian. Vyse smiled bravely, nodding back to all of them and forcing himself onwards. His fight had left him tired, and the wondrous effects of the Aura of Valor began to slowly drain out of his system, sapping him of a little more strength each minute. Lawrence keenly noted the faltering leader and moved behind him to catch him if he should fall, but to his credit he remained under his own power for more than five city blocks.
Voices and screams floated in from a bombed hospital across the street from the city wall that was flooded with patients, it's windows blasted in and marble surface polluted gray but still serving it's primary purpose. Valuans and Nasrians laid equally in bloody heaps across the floors of the facility and outside on it's large porch and courtyard, as medics went around attending to everyone with Sacri crystals and Green magic.
When stocks of the life-giving supplies ran out, they passed out stores of moondust, allowing many of the critically wounded to pass their final minutes in Arcadia in a restful trance, free of the agony their vessel felt. No sign of the hostility passed between them, and enemies laid beside each other, praying to their Moon and struggling to survive.
Vyse paused, looking in a mute and morbid fascination at the broken humanity on display. The rest of his companions looked over as well, and it affected them deeply, even as Lawrence put on a stoic face, and Fina was horrified to her core. She had never seen such a dismal, hideous sight. Finally he averted his eyes and let out a shaky breath. "Come on. We have to help these people... girls, use your Green Magic." Leading his little group up to an officer who looked in charge, he nodded to him. "Sir, how can we help you?"
"Just let the Green Spells rip, sir," The officer replied with a small salute. His uniform was soaked through with the blood of others, and his face was dirty and grimy. The man didn't look like he was enjoying the scenery, either. "We stabilize em and then send them out to secondary facilities. Not only are we handling casualties of the ground fight, but we have lifeboat squads incoming from the sky full of wounded."
With no further words the group disbanded, moving along those that were critically wounded and using healing magic to stabilize many of them. Aika came to a large, burly man who had suffered a magazine explosion, and was struggling against a pair of medics. He had a big black beard, and was heavily muscled, adorned with the uniform of the Nasr Artillery Guard. "I'm fine," He bellowed angrily. "Let me get back to my guns, docs! I don't need any operations or nothin!"
"One of your caissons detonated two meters from you," One of the medics said in a most exasperated explanation. "Come on, Khazim! Just sit down and let us heal you, the Valuans aren't going to take your gun station again in five minutes!" With a tremendous effort, they finally got the large man to sit still, to their relief. They looked over as Aika approached. "New nurse?" The medic asked. "Good luck treating this one. He looks at suicide like most of us look at a paper cut."
"I just got a good fortitude," The large man retorted angrily. "Ey, hurry it up, at least, I need to get back to my post! The Valuans caught me unready once, but I won't let it happen that way next time!"
Aika grinned. "I like your attitude... Khazim, is it? You're part of the Artillery Guard, right? What are you doing in this attack?"
"I managed to slip out of the city after the Valuans bombed it," Khazim replied. "I was on duty at my gun when they came, but by the time we got the thing ready to fight, the shelling had begun and the artillery couldn't track high enough to return fire." He balled his fists. "If we had been able to hit em back we could have obliterated the entire fleet!" Aika sat next to him, closing her eyes and beginning to cast healing spells. He let out a long sigh and relaxed slightly as he felt all the pain being drained from his body like he was a cup that was gently tipped over. "How about you, missy?" He asked. "You don't look Nasrian, what're you doin' here?"
"I'm Aika, of the Blue Rogues," She said, standing up again and giving him the thumbs-up sign. "All patched up, the magic should have you back to new in a matter of hours. You shouldn't feel those burns at all any more."
"Thank you," He said. "Air pirates, huh? Well, at least you're Blue Rogues... they got honor, no wonder they wanted to help us against the damn Valuans. How many other of y'all are here?"
"Oh, just a few others and our ship, the Delphinus," She said, turning away from him and treating a Valuan pilot who had passed out on the floor, a gaping sword wound ripping through his battered teal light armor. Her hands glowed green and the Valuan's very flesh began to regrow itself, magical energy restoring the tissues in his body and reconnecting nerve cells as they formed new blood vessels to replaced that which was lost.
"Who's your captain?" Helping out, he took out a Sacri crystal from a nearby box and handed it to a Nasr trooper leaning against the wall and holding his arm limply. The man nodded in thanks as he applied the merciful crystal to the gashes across his exposed limb. "I'd like to meet that guy..." I wonder if he's in need of a man who can rassle a gun into it's place, and shoot down some Armada ships.
"Vyse." As if invoked like a spell, the brave teenager turned the corner of the building and walked up to her. He still looked fairly grim, and his mood was in no way enhanced by the wounded all around them. "Hey," She greeted him.
"I'm out of magic," He said with a sigh. "I'm just got very good at that stuff... I could only get three Sacri spells out before my magical power faded out." He looked up at the large gunner. "... Hi there."
"You Vyse?" Khazim asked. "My name is Khazim, of the Nasr Artillery Guard. I fought in the attack like you and your crew did." He reached out his large hand, which completely enveloped Vyse's smaller hand, but he didn't squeeze that hard.
"A pleasure," The teenager said with a slight nod.
"Hm... when the Valuans attacked, they caught me unready, and because of that a lot of people died today..." He looked around, crossing his broad arms across his muscled chest. "Think your ship could manage to take on a veteran gunner wanting to settle the score a little with the Imperial Armada?"
Vyse grinned, and looking like his usual uplifting self for a few moments. "That's just the kind of person we're looking for. I'm still recruiting crew to fully staff our ship. You wouldn't happen to know anyone like that, would you?"
"Oh yeah. Great guy. He'll be at the docks waiting for you later." With that Khazim quickly took his leave, presumably headed back for his gun as he had objected to the medics while being brought in for treatment. I'm a little airsick, but that should pass in time. Besides, this is my big shot to take a shot at that little shit Teodora.
Soon all of them had expended what supplies and energy they had left, and met back in front of the hospital. Working diligently, the medical staff appeared to be whittling down the number of wounded, and the number of patients began to decline back to rational levels as they set out again for the docks district to meet with Admiral Karzhai.
This time, they were drawn by the loud sound of sobbing coming from one of the miraculously spotless ramps that led up to the next levels of the wrecked buildings around them. Vyse and Aika exchanged looks, leading the group up two flights of steps and drawing nearer to the source of the crying, which was beginning to sound vaguely familiar to Fina and Aika for some reason. As the turned the corner, they saw a large woman, immaculately dressed, kneeling in front of the smoking rubble of a large building. As they came closer, Aika gasped. "You!"
Osman, infamous financier and well traveled merchant of Nasrad, looked over to them, blinking away her sorrowful tears under the cover of her deep rose-tinged glasses. "Wh-wha? Wait..." She got to her feet quickly and walked over to them. "You're that girl from a few weeks before!" I'd recognize that hair anywhere... might want to keep that one to myself... "Oh, my shop has been destroyed by the battle, I'm ruined!"
"Heh." Apparently, Aika remembered Osman just as well. "Well, I don't see how that's any of our business. Real shame what happened to you, I'd love to help, if you had some collateral and weren't such an evil band of murderous rapists."
"... I didn't put it quite so harshly," The bulbous trader noted, hanging her head in abject shame and submissiveness. "Oh, you're the leader, Vyse Dyne! Please, oh Captain, I beg of your assistance!"
Vyse frowned. "Um..." He felt genuine concern for the woman, but going contrary to Aika's wishes had awarded him much pain in the past. "... how can we help?" He asked cautiously, feeling the redhead's piercing gaze turning upon him. "If it's anything within reason, we'll be glad to do it. After all, we are Blue Rogues, and we do help people," He grunted that last part out to Aika, glaring right back at her with equal intensity.
"I don't expect you to forgive me for my contrary behavior towards your friends in the past," Osman said desperately, "But allow me to come along aboard your ship. With my office demolished and my assistant run off with most of my monies, I'm as broke as a common... beggar! If I come along with you, I can help you make lots of money while I do the same for myself! Everyone wins!"
He considered this for several moments and let out a long sigh. "Alright. We'll see how this goes. Welcome aboard my crew, but for fair warning, I think Aika is going to be watching you very closely, so no crookery aboard the Delphinus, clear?"
"As a Curia Crystal," She chirped, grabbing the small bags she did have and saying, "Well, then, let's be off. Being out in the heat is bad for my complexion." Although she did not voice it, Aika was of the opinion that Osman must have at some point been on the Red Moon for her complexion to have reached it's current state.
Surprisingly enough, the newly increased party of air pirates made their way through the last few streets to the gatehouse of the city walls without any further incidents, and passed outwards onto the large marble platform that made up Nasrad's extensive docks.
Ample proof of the city's turbulent prior month of battles and events played out across Vyse's eyes as he looked across the docks. Enormous gaping holes in the masonry made several routes impossible to cross, and entire dock sections had been blown clean into Deep Sky. Most of the structures along the side of the wall and the wall itself showed severe fire damage. Nasr troops had secured t he docks, and now a smattering of military and civilian sailors moved around them.
Standing next to a familiar sailboat anchored to either side of Nasr Army assault transports was Admiral Karzhai and his guards, and Doc and Maria. Vyse, Aika and Fina all did a double-take at the sight of the free ship doctor and his personally adopted orphan charge.
"Hey," Doc said with a small wave.
"Doc," Vyse remarked, "I really wasn't expecting you here. This place just had a huge battle, you know."
"Oh, yeah, I know," The doctor nodded. "I heard about the coming fight a few days ago and decided to head this way and offer my medical services to both sides. War breeds a lot of injury." Vyse was put in mind of the hospital they had helped, and the teenager agreed with him. "For my part, I'm not surprised to see you here. Wherever there's trouble brewing you're sure to be in the thick of it, heh."
"Hello, Maria," Aika said, looking down at the small blonde girl with a kindly smile. The child's only reply was to attempt to sink deeper into Doc's jacket, giving no other sign she had heard the redhead speak. The air pirate sighed, backing up and looking over to the others again.
"The fight is over, and our capitol is once again free," Karzhai said with a nod. "It won't be an easy war ahead of us. The Armada's got twenty times our force and now not even the Barrier Reefs nor the North Straight will help us repel them. But we're never gonna give up, that's for sure. Everyone... thank you for your assistance. The Delphinus and her crew played a critical role in driving off Baker's fleet."
Vyse smirked. "We were just glad to help out. Plus, I'm sure friends of Nasr will be welcomed in your skies- we're planning on setting up a base north of here in the abandoned island chains."
"Of course. I'll dispatch a ship with supplies and men to assist you if you want it." The Admiral smirked in satisfaction. "Hm... we've still got a lot of work, here, too. Why don't you all stay the night in the city, and allow the people to properly thank you for your heroic deeds?"
Remembering mostly his explorations in womens' fashion in Ixa'taka, the teenager blinked in alarm. "Uhm... no offense, but we've been off our mission way too long, and I'd rather just keep on moving along. Besides, we've got a lot of stuff to do, too. Maybe we'll stop by later, though."
"I understand," Karzhai replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, there's many other matters for me to attend to, and the good Doctor here wishes to talk with you for some reason. May the Red Moon always bless your righteous path." With a formal bow, he led his entourage away into the city, and up towards the wall's gatehouse.
"So, what else is up, Doc?" Vyse asked. "Need us to catch some more moonfish? How is that bird thing doing, anyway?"
"It's doing splendidly," The man replied. "Apparently it can store energy for months and eats whenever it can, using a surprisingly small amount of chemical energy. That way it can survive eating such a rare and evasive source of food. Anyway, I was wondering if we could join your crew."
The abrupt shift in subject caught the teen off-guard. "Huh? Our crew? But, Doc, you got your own ship already. Why'd you want to join our band of ragamuffins?"
"Heh. The Sacres is literally nothing compared with the Delphinus. I don't even have weapons- It was never a problem before, because everyone understood that they would probably need me some day and thus I was pretty untouchable. Lately... well, things are changing. I've gotten robbed twice in the last month alone. The Valuans are starting to really hammer down on me with taxes whenever I approach them, and monster populations are starting to increase. Moonfish are becoming harder to find each month, and even though the bird is good at surviving, I'm still starting to worry. If we go with you, we'll get protection and we'll get to new places faster, increasing our chances of finding moonfish.
That's what we get out of it, now here's what you get. An experienced Doctor for when your acts of suicide start to sting, and to advise you on things relating to health and science. We can probably fit my ship in your ship's lifeboat hangar, so you'll get another sturdy craft. What do you say?" He looked over at Vyse.
"Guys?" Vyse looked back. Although he was the Captain, like all good commanders he consulted his crew when making decisions. They all agreed with the idea, especially that of having someone with a better bedside manner than Aika doing their healing. Fina commented that she had a very good bedside manner for her, which led to much embarrassment. "Alright, it's settled then. Fina will never reference her sexual congress with Aika again unless directly asked. Anyway, where were we... welcome aboard, Doc." He shook hands with the older man.
Doc chuckled. "I'm sure we'll fit right in. Maria, isn't this great? We'll finally have strong people to protect you, and we'll get to find more moonfish." She nodded ever so slightly, and it was almost imperceptible. "Maybe having other kids her age around will help her... I really hope so."
Vyse's radio activated, crackling to life with a puff of static and yielding the distorted copy of David's voice. "Delphinus to Vyse. What's the hold up? Are you all being held hostage or something? We're awaiting your arrival." The ship was indeed visible, hovering over the city like just another vigilant sentinel, it's profile outlined by the blazing sun directly behind it.
"We're coming," The teenager replied. "We've got some new crew, too... all we're waiting for is that gunner who-"
"I'm here!" Running up the dock to them was the large Khazim, who had in toe who much smaller Nasr gunners who were dressed in full uniform. "Sorry, Cap'n! I had to get my crew together. Anyway, we're ready to get up to the ship now. And see the guns. Heh."
"Alright. All aboard. Doc, it's your ship, you drive." The Blue Rogues all piled aboard the small skiff, Osman seated delicately in the back of the pilothouse on the ship's only bench while Doc, Vyse and Luke stood at the helm, the girls were up front with the bird that had just emerged from it's large cage, and Khazim and his men sitting on the main deck next to the rigging of the sails.
The Sacres slowly rose from it's hovering position, it's sails catching a good wind and proudly puffing out. The small fins to either side of the ship's rounded hull began to flap, pushing them forward into the air and straight for the waiting flagship and into the sun. Although his stolen Valuan airship was admittedly impressive, Vyse had missed being aboard a good, old-fashioned sailboat for a few weeks now. Most air pirates preferred the sails to the propellers, one of the larger reasons being that Valuans never sailed, ever.
It was a very brief flight, and all too soon they drew close to the Delphinus. The larger ship rotated around, turning to present it's left side and opening the large steel doors to it's lifeboat hangar. Doc's prediction was proven true when they fit into the opening, although the masts made it a tough squeeze and they quickly drew in the sails. Landing under it's own power on one of the magnetic rail tracks vacated by the used-up skiffs, the Sacres's fins came to a halt as it's engine powered down.
David was waiting next to the door that led back into the ship, leaning against the wall. "Welcome back," He called out, his voice echoing slightly in the broad metal chamber. "The kids were getting so hyperactive." He nodded to Marco and Pinata, who ran out from next to him, followed by Belle and her girls.
"Vyse! We kicked some serious ass," The Valuan urchin declared proudly. "I handled the throttle for David, too. Did a real fine job, just like a sailor should."
"I helped with the minor repairs," Pinata said, bouncing up and down energetically. "The whole crew pitched in, everyone did their part. The ship's good as new now, sir, and we've all just been waiting here for you."
"Awesome job, guys," The captain encouraged, looking back. "Everyone, meet the newest members of our crew. That's Khazim and his men, they're Nasr Artillery Guards who've agreed to come help us. This is Doc and Maria, we came here on their ship, and that's Osman. She's a famous businesswoman."
"Greetings," Osman said loftily. "I look forward to making insane amounts of money with you all."
"Heya," Belle said to Khazim, walking up to him. "You're a gunner, too, huh? That means we're going to be working together! This is so cool! You're a really big guy, Mr. Khazim!" The two girls behind her giggled.
Khazim found problems focusing on her cute face, as his eyes strongly pulled downwards and tried to focus on her large, bouncy assets. "Um... yeah. Awesome." Damn, this ain't a gunnery crew! It's a child pervert trap! He forced a confident smile and struck a muscular pose, making the girls all make noises of astonishment.
"Hm..." Doc also looked at Belle, although his mind was mostly clean, only worrying about the practical aspects of such a sight. We're going to need a lot of tissue and extra plasma infusions if those girls get too energetic... He looked over at Marco and Pinata, who were failing to get a conversation out of the rather intimidated little Maria. "Hey, guys, go easy on her. She doesn't really talk much anymore, but she's a really nice girl. Maybe you two could show her around?"
"Good idea, Doc," Marco nodded. "Leave it to us! C'mon, Maria, let's show you the ship. It's pretty damn kickass, if you ask me." With that, the reluctant blonde in tow, the two special boys marched off down the hallway.
"Alright, let's finally get underway," David suggested. "I just got a message from Gilder." He held out his gloved hand to reveal a roll of parchment. " 'David- hope everything's been ok with you all. Been busy evading Clara, I think we're finally free. Meet you at Crescent Isle. - Gilder'. Wow, usually it takes the Claudia longer to outrun Clara, she must be feeling generous this month."
Vyse smirked. "Alright. I'd love to see Gilder again. Hang on, where's Enrique?"
"In the infirmary," David replied. "Poor bastard only got worse and worse when we pulled some pretty crazy turns in the battle... he hasn't even eaten in thirty-six hours but he's still puking up... something. Doc, maybe you should have a look at him. He's really looking bad, airsickness usually isn't this horrible." Doc nodded, grabbing his bag of tools and heading off. "Uh... I'll show you where that is. Go ahead up the bridge and get us going, guys."
Aika, Fina and Vyse went up to the bridge with Luke and Rodgers, who helped them man the controls. Vyse looked around the large compartment and his crew, taking in a deep breath. He was feeling much better for some reason. "Man, are we big damn heroes, or what? I'm starting to really like this ship. Delphinus... full speed ahead!" The engine kicked up to full power, and the propellers in the back of the battleship began to spin quicker and quicker.
Pulling away from Nasrad and it's fleet, a single transport pulled up behind them and began to follow them. Aika noticed this. "That must be the engineers that Karzhai promised us. They'll be really useful in founding our base." Looking at the Nasrian flag flapping proudly off the rust-red bow of the corvette, she gasped. "Hey, we totally forgot!"
"Forgot about what?" Luke intelligently asked, looking up from the throttle that he had been idly testing and moving about at variable speeds.
"The flag, for the ship!" Aika sighed. "Man, we were so busy checking out the ship, and then we visited home, and then we freed a country from enslavement... I didn't even make out a design yet."
Vyse blinked. "I got mine done." He nodded to the back of the bridge, where, sitting next to the captain's chair on the raised altar was a roll of blue with a wooden stick in the middle. "Go unroll it." Aika walked back there and found two rolls. She looked over at Fina.
"I mostly completed mine, as well," The timid Silvite admitted. "I thought I had heard the name Delphinus before... it was an old sea creature that eventually evolved into an air-based animal that you know as a Dolphin before becoming extinct. So I designed it around that."
Unrolling both of the flags, Aika looked them over. Both had a rich and deep blue background, but any similarities ended there. Vyse had made the traditional white skull with an additional skyglass fashioned very similar to his. A notched cutlass blade flowed out from it like the skull was a hilt, and it sported a pair of short wings. Aika chuckled. "Hey, this is a pretty cool drawing, Vyse. The skull thing's a little overdone, though."
"So sue me," Vyse replied. "Meh. I put a lot of thought into it. Skulls are tradition, you know. The rest of the symbols should pretty much speak for themselves. It's all straightforward, and tells people exactly what the Blue Rogues are about."
Rodgers nodded, looking it over. "I like it. What did Fina make?" Aika turned to the other roll and grabbed it, spreading it across the royal-red carpet for all to see. It had a cute creature with a long, soft beak and wings, smiling, in the center of the blue background. It seemed very uplifting and gentle, which was a mirror image of Fina herself.
"I thought skulls were a little too scary for our flag," She spoke, growing redder with each passing second at such public scrutiny. "So I drew a Dolphin with wings. It might not make anyone afraid, but it shows how we're good people."
Luke smirked. "Forces of evil beware, we're very cute and nice and fluffy. Yeah, Galcian's going to love that."
"Come on," Vyse said, as Fina bowed her head in embarrassment. "I think it's a pretty nice thing. Blue Rogues are about being more than armed robbers, that's like the whole point, and she really put a lot into it. Give her some respect." He looked around. "Aika, we can hold off a decision until you finish your own flag, and then we'll get everyone to take a vote. The flag with the most votes wins. Sounds fair to me."
The redhead nodded. "You just watch, I'll make the best flag yet. Muahah..."
0-0
"It's very..."
"... Yeah."
"It's different."
"I like it!"
"The hell? Are we air pirates or porn stars?" Aika's flag, unlike the other two, had a maroon-red background, and several golden coins along the borders. In the inside was a very beautiful redheaded woman, completely naked, but covered by long swords and more gold, of which there was a mountain in the background. Her only article of clothing was a small bandanna, which had a blue skull on it. She was winking flirtatiously. The banner was on display in the mess hall, beside Vyse and Aika's designs, and the entire crew were assembled and seated, discussing the three options.
"Aika, did you have to be so..." Vyse lost his words. "Urg. Whatever. In a strange way it does pretty much show what pirates are all about. Maybe it'll distract Alfonso next time we fight him so we can win again."
"It's very intricate," Fina said, intentionally looking anywhere but towards Aika's flag. Cupil made a long noise of disapproval, hovering over her shoulder.
"Alright, alright," David spoke up, stepping forward onto a small platform. "I'm not sure how many of you vagabonds have got your letters yet, so we'll vote orally. If you want to see Vyse's flag as our official banner, raise your hands." Khazim and his men, Luke, Vyse, and Osman all raised their hands, looking around. "Alright... that's one, two, three, four, five, seven... oh wait, Osman is only one person... six people for Vyse's design. Fina's flag?" Belle and her gunners raised their hands, as did Polly and Rodgers, and with some coaxing, a very timid Fina also raised her hand to support herself. Doc, Maria, and Pinata raised their hands, as did the ailing Enrique from a corner seat. "That's more than Vyse's. Aika's... unique flag?" Only Aika and Marco raised their hands, and received molten glares from all the women besides Fina.
"We have a winner. It's Fina's flag." David nodded. "Congratulations, then. We'll get a bigger copy of this fabricated and hung up on the bridge, and we'll also carve it into the sides of the ship when we get the Delphinus retrofitted. I'm quite sure they'll quiver in terror at the sight of our standard." He looked out the window. "Oh, look. We're approaching Crescent Isle, everyone."
The crew, having just eaten a generous lunch, had been sailing for a few hours when they finally reached the abandoned isle. It took about half as long as Vyse remembered a regular sailboat fording the distance, and their armor and speed had prevented a single monster from boarding them successfully. Everything had gone well.
Hovering off the island, Vyse told his crew to stay behind, taking Aika, Fina and Enrique on the Sacres and heading out. They docked at the peak of one side of the island's crescent,the hilltop where the remains of his beacon still sat, anchoring the wooden ship to the ground and debarking. Aika looked over to Enrique, who was nearly on his knees and looked positively terrible. "Heh. Glad to be on land, huh? What's the matter, is all this too rough for our beloved prince?"
"I fear you're right," Enrique groaned, coughing weakly into his gloved hand. "This is radically harder than my sheltered life in the Valuan Palace... I never imagined that sailing would be so rough... ugh..."
"Are you going to be ok?" Fina asked, leaning over to him concernedly.
"Eventually," The miserable royal rebel replied, groaning some more and going over to the edge of the island, bowing down and dry-heaving. "Ugh... somebody please toss me over... even Deep Sky would be preferable to this... the horror... oh..."
The air pirates looked over at several more approaching ships. Landing next to them were five skiffs full of engineers and supplies. Their leader stepped over to Vyse. "I'm Captain Cetrik of the Nasr Corps Of Engineers," He said. "Me and my men will help you establish your base, Captain Vyse."
"Heh. Looks like you've all been doing pretty good since we parted ways." Everyone turned at the very familiar, sly voice, and saw Gilder walking up the hillside towards them. He was wearing a teal variant of his regular jacket, but otherwise looked similar to how they had seen him last. "Good to see all of you again."
"Gilder!" Aika smiled. "Heya! We got hung up in a few things. You know, wars, homecomings, that sort of stuff. What've you been up to?"
"Clara," The pirate replied in a disgusted tone, his usual tone when discussing Clara-related matters. "She's always tenacious in the pursuit, and I'd rather be chased by Ramirez and his entire fleet than that stalker-woman... yeesh. I'm just not ready for her eternal love yet, especially since it'll probably lead me to eternity..."
"Took you long enough." Vyse looked over at the unfamiliar, aged voice, and found two old men walking up the other side of the hill towards them. One of them was a tall and wiry man with a long gray beard and intelligent eyes which scanned over everybody. "We've been waiting a while now, me and Izmael." Izmael was a short and stocky dwarf-like man with a tool belt slung across his chest and a nail suspended between his teeth.
"These are the guys who you're all going to learn to love over the next week," Gilder announced. "Meet Brabham, the best engineer in history. Period."
"Howdy," The taller old man said with a chuckle, idly stroking his beard. "Pleasure to finally meetcha, Cap'n Vyse. Gilder's told me all about you, and I heard some stuff from others, too. That's a mighty fine ship you got. If you'll let me, I'd love to work on it... tune it up... fit some more armor... general upgrades! It'll be the best in the world when I'm done with it."
"I'm Izmael. Ba-bam," He declared, spinning around confidently. "Carpenter and engineer m'self. Need something built? I'll build it. Don't need nothing built? Why, I'll build it anyway."
"I've called in some favors with them. Brabham is going to finish the work on the Delphinus, including hull reinforcement to crush through reefs and engine enhancement for speed boosts and so you can ford sky rifts, just like a Spectre." The old man nodded happily, looking positively overjoyed to be working on such an advanced piece of technology. "Izmael's going to build your base and port."
"That's right," The dwarf nodded. "It'll be a work of art when I'm done, let me tell ya. Hm... before I get started, I'm going to need some funds to cover labor and supplies. Ba-bam! I think about 75,000 ought to do it! What a bargain for a home base!"
"And for the retrofit to the ship, it'll set you back 25,000," Brabham chuckled. "Ship parts ain't cheap, and I need to hire on professional shipwrights to help me with the work."
"So in total..." Vyse blinked. "100,000 gold?" The figure was a staggering amount, and almost beyond comprehension for the young pirate captain who had grown up amongst a very modest home town and surroundings. "Dang."
Gilder smirked. "Well, it might look big, but I think we can whack it down some. The Delphinus has a bunch of royal items, like that carpet on the bridge, that will fetch a few thousand a piece, especially on a Nasrian imports market... I know a guy named Ulric, he's a great merchant and an excellent fence. Just leave the items with me and I'll cover... say 15,000."
"Alright," Aika nodded. "That's a little bit off... I wonder how much we have ourselves. Enrique, is there any like stored treasure onboard the ship? I looked all over but I might have missed something."
"Yes..." The prince groaned weakly, "There are some monies stored onboard... 30,000 in gold coin, from my personal account... it's all that I have, now that the Armada's frozen my other assets. You can... ugh... have it all... oh, Moons..."
"So that's 45,000 off," Gilder sighed. He thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers in inspiration. "Hey, Vyse, Admiral Karzhai's thankful to you, right? And he's pretty much the de facto Nasultan until a new one is chosen, right? Which means he's responsible for Nasr's coffers... I'm sure a nation so grateful wouldn't mind funding a little project, huh?" He smirked, then turned to Captain Cetrik. "Send a message out to Karzhai for 65,000 in Arcadian gold. Please."
Aika giggled. "Oh, I'm sure the Admiral's gonna love that. Well, he can afford it better than us, at least. Ok... so we have the expenses covered, so the work can begin."
"Right." Brabham nodded. "Bring the Delphinus to the island, and get me two teams of engineers and plenty of supplies. I think the modifications should only take about a week or so. Heh, looks like you're stranded again on this island, Vyse."
"I can use the Nasrian Engineers' stuff and get workin' today as well," Izmael announced. "I'll clear out a campsite for you all to use while we work on the living quarters and dock first. It'll take a while to make a good base, so I think you should fix your ship up first, and then go on whatever adventure you're all on, and when you get back next time I should have the basics ready to go. Ba-bam! Time to get serious..."
0-0
The first day, Brabham began laying the additional armor frame onto the ship, with most of the Blue Rogues and Nasr engineers to help him, while Izmael set out to begin clearing out the forest. For several long hours they toiled, until the sun began to set, and the two old men both called it a day. Gilder stayed with them to help, and the large group of pirates and engineers were all around a large bonfire in the center of the island, where Polly and Brabham were cooking their food.
Vyse smirked as he bit into his food, watching Enrique simply devour his fare. "Once you're on solid land that emptied belly really gets to you, huh? I guess it must be too harsh out here in the wilderness areas for you, my Liege."
"Hey," The blonde protested, blushing slightly. "It's not very funny, you know. I couldn't even help my friends in battle because I was dieing on the deck."
"Right..." Aika looked around. "Hey, where'd Fina go?" The timid Silvite girl was nowhere in sight in the dark night enveloping the formerly abandoned floating island.
"No clue." Vyse said. "You think something's wrong?"
"There she is, on the hilltop." Next to the demolished beacon stood a single humanoid figure, framed by the distant and faint silver moon that cast an odd gleam onto her. "C'mon, let's go talk to her, guys." Enrique and Vyse followed the redhead, silently slipping out of the big group and making their way up the hill. Their footsteps crunched against the basic layer of gravel that had been paved out as a path by Izmael, and she easily heard them coming, turning around to look back. "Yo," She said when in talking distance.
"Enrique, Aika, Vyse..." She paused. "What is it?"
"That's what we were going to ask you," Enrique said, standing up more or less fine now that he had had a few hours of time to recover on solid ground. The prince smiled. "You just vanished on us, Fina, and were not joining in the festivities down there with us."
"I'm sorry," Fina said quietly, looking away. "I just..."
"Just what, Fina?" Vyse took a step closer to her in concern. "You can talk with us, we're all your friends here."
"Yeah." Gilder walked up the path behind them. "Heh, I guess I really count as a friend too, so I thought I'd tag along. I could tell something was bothering you, but I didn't want to broach the subject in public in case it was something you don't want public. Spill the beans, Fina, you can't resist our attack."
Fina smiled faintly. "Thank you for your concern, everyone. I was just thinking..." She looked back at the very distant trace of the Silver Moon in the night sky. "Thinking about Ramirez."
"Ramirez?" Enrique echoed. "As in, the Armada Admiral Ramirez?"
"Apparently that's the one," The Silvite shook her head. "Ramirez, he..." She trailed off again, worry lacing her voice.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Vyse said mildly. "It's ok. We know you have a hard time coming out with stuff like this."
"No, I think it's time I gave you all the whole truth about the story. It's the least you deserve for all that you've done for me." She took a deep breath, and then began her story. "You all know that I am a descendant of the ancient Silver Civilization. Well, Ramirez is also a Silvite. He was the best warrior we had ever seen... he could channel his lunar power into his blade, making it sharp enough to cut through light itself and achieve speeds unthinkable for a regular human.
We grew up together in the Great Silver Shrine... he was my childhood friend, and my only human companionship besides the watchful and sage Elders. Such a noble and honest soul... he was nothing like the cold and heartless man who sacked Nasrad. He used to care for me like I was his younger sister...
When we heard that the Valuans were trying to bring the Gigas back, Ramirez volunteered to go down to Arcadia and stop them. He went on a quest to find the six Moon Crystals, as I have been tasked to do... I offered to come with him, but he insisted on going alone. Shortly after he started the mission, we lost all contact with him. We'd never dreamed he would join the Valuan Empire... the very people the Elders had sent him to stop.
I don't know why he changed." Fina's emotional voice touched a nerve in each of their hearts, listening to her story and seeing the anguish written across her beautiful and gentle features. "I hope that the Ramirez that I knew isn't gone... forever..."
"Admiral Ramirez..." Enrique steeled himself, contributing his own knowledge on the subject at hand. "The Armada's greatest personal fighter and a fearless tactician. He used to be Lord Galcian's Vice Captain until he received his own task fleet, but I don't even think Galcian knew Ramirez's true past."
"Fina..." Aika's words faltered.
"Fina, I'm sure we'll find out what happened to Ramirez." The indomitable confidence which was quickly becoming his hallmark flowed out from Vyse and he grinned at her. "What's important now is that we gotta keep pushing forward. Don't ever forget that." She looked over at him, listening.
"Don't give up, Fina," Gilder counseled, putting his gloved hand on her delicate shoulder. "We're all here with you now."
"Yeah," Aika agreed enthusiastically. "You're one of our friends, and Blue Rogues never leave a man, or a woman, behind." Enrique nodded in a silent agreement.
"Everyone..." Fina smiled slightly, and Cupil chirped several times. "When I came to Arcadia, I was so alone, and had no friends or allies... now I have so many wonderful people to support and help me, even to love me... thank you so much." She reached up and gently wiped burgeoning tears from her eyes. "I... I will do my best. You can all count on me."
"Alright." Vyse nodded. "Once Brabham finishes retrofitting the ship, we can start looking for the other Crystals, finally. Until then we'll work to the point of exhaustion and maybe enjoy ourselves a little at our new home. And Gilder has to help, too." The roguish rogue frowned slightly. "And no more, or very little, lesbian sex." Aika glowered.
"You take all the fun out of everything," The redhead pouted while Fina turned a little bit red. "Oh, Enrique, do you think you can get up on time tomorrow without any servants to come wake you up? Heh."
"Hey," The prince indignantly replied without thought, "I always get up on my own. I don't need any servants, you know." He smirked slightly. "I save the servants for dressing and feeding me."
Gilder laughed. "Oh, boy, we're giving him a sense of humor already. This is cause for hope. Come on, everyone, let's join the others. There's a barrel of loqua down there with my name on it... literally.. I have all my drinks stamped so others don't accidentally drink any."
"Man, if these Crystals had loqua or hot chicks in em, we would have found them already just from Gilder snooping around," Vyse noted. "Onwards, to food! To drunkenness! And this time, the nearest dancer's outfit is 4000 kilometers away."
"Nasrians have belly-dancers like 'Bellena' was," Aika reminded him succinctly, and the teenager paled quite a bit as he followed the group back down the hill.