10-25-2016, 06:20 AM
Dolphind skipped in the wake of the steamboat, chittering and jumping while the iron hulk chugged into deep waters. High up in the air, Hiro perched on a rickety platform, leaning against the smoke stack. It had been a few days since he boarded, the captain having taken a look at his fancy headwear and declared he could pay for his passage by acting as the lookout. So here he was, sighting ships, islands , and the occasional whale or two.
Puffing on a cigar, the agent of the Empire watched the blue horizon for their final stop, Cinnabar Island. He'd been told it was primarily inhabited by "pokey men" but he wasn't sure if that meant they were slow or dimwitted or whatever. He went on a dataverse browsing spree, and his peals of laughter at the goofy looking creatures sent several sailors looking at their erstwhile spotter, apparently having taken ill with sea madness.
If the Sage was on Cinnabar Island, then he would stick out even worse than he had in Costa. Hiro was hoping this would make the return trip that much sooner so he could get back home before Madotsuki started to worry. After all, the last time he'd gone out he ended up wrecked on an island for three days, although to her it had been a month. Time was screwy in the Omniverse, and Hiro had long since given up trying to be punctual across verses. Thank Omni for the Dataverse, although that still suffered from the time distortion.
Another few days passed, Hiro having gotten used to the rations of salted beef, watered down rum, and hardtack. He'd taken to sparring with the sailors in his off time, learning how to use the anti-gravs he'd "borrowed" from the garrison in Costa. Soon he was sailing through the air like a character from a wuxia film, attacking from an angle he had had no opportunity to consider before. His combat skills were all the better for it, and they'd been growing since he got to the Omniverse. He was faster now too, faster than he had been when he first discovered his increased speed in that club kitchen fighting for his life.
Back on the stack, Hiro stubbed out the last of the fine cigars he'd bought, sighting a landmass through the haze of the evening. Cinnabar, most likely. In fact, there was a very high chance of it being so, due to the collection of Imperial Navy frigates docked at the port for the diplomatic conference. Taking a deep breath, the hacker bellowed with renewed vigor. "LAAAAAND HOOOOO!"
Puffing on a cigar, the agent of the Empire watched the blue horizon for their final stop, Cinnabar Island. He'd been told it was primarily inhabited by "pokey men" but he wasn't sure if that meant they were slow or dimwitted or whatever. He went on a dataverse browsing spree, and his peals of laughter at the goofy looking creatures sent several sailors looking at their erstwhile spotter, apparently having taken ill with sea madness.
If the Sage was on Cinnabar Island, then he would stick out even worse than he had in Costa. Hiro was hoping this would make the return trip that much sooner so he could get back home before Madotsuki started to worry. After all, the last time he'd gone out he ended up wrecked on an island for three days, although to her it had been a month. Time was screwy in the Omniverse, and Hiro had long since given up trying to be punctual across verses. Thank Omni for the Dataverse, although that still suffered from the time distortion.
Another few days passed, Hiro having gotten used to the rations of salted beef, watered down rum, and hardtack. He'd taken to sparring with the sailors in his off time, learning how to use the anti-gravs he'd "borrowed" from the garrison in Costa. Soon he was sailing through the air like a character from a wuxia film, attacking from an angle he had had no opportunity to consider before. His combat skills were all the better for it, and they'd been growing since he got to the Omniverse. He was faster now too, faster than he had been when he first discovered his increased speed in that club kitchen fighting for his life.
Back on the stack, Hiro stubbed out the last of the fine cigars he'd bought, sighting a landmass through the haze of the evening. Cinnabar, most likely. In fact, there was a very high chance of it being so, due to the collection of Imperial Navy frigates docked at the port for the diplomatic conference. Taking a deep breath, the hacker bellowed with renewed vigor. "LAAAAAND HOOOOO!"
![[Image: MZSDl2O.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/MZSDl2O.jpg)