12-22-2016, 03:30 AM
“Unknown vessels, this is the Hell’s Bane, you’re currently on a crossing course with us, please correct your course” was the constant phrase I heard on loop as the three ships in our sight continued to sail toward the swirling vortex to our port. It couldn’t be anything other than an attack in my mind, but the rest of the crew seemed hesitant. Good on them for not being a bunch of gung-ho psychopaths, but an obvious trap was not something I was going to let slide and I made sure to explain to the captain in my usual methods.
“Yes, I’m sure you expect them to attack” Elizabeth answered, uncovering her ears after I was done talking at her. “But this is- was one of the largest carriers in the UNSMC, and those look more like fishing boats then warships.” She was not wrong. Close examination of the boats had them as civilian with large cranes with attached nets hung out across the back. But something about it troubled me, the feeling like a tickle down my neck. I’m sure my short hairs would be on end if they hadn’t been burned off repeatedly. My instincts tend to be smarter than I am, but I couldn’t force the issue beyond a side glance towards the captain and watched the ships carefully.
“I don’t like it” Was all I could come up with.
“You don’t have to” she shot back before a light blinked on the comm station.
“We are getting a response, Captain. Voice only” the comms officer finally reported, which gained an eye roll from me. Nonetheless, a little smirk appeared on the captain’s face as with a quick nod the message was patched through.
“This is the Lock Keep,” A fuzzy voice spoke over the radio, like someone trying to talk to you while going through a tunnel, “we are changing course now. Sorry for the inconvenience, Hell’s Bane” As the voice stopped, the three ships start to turn
“See, John?” I didn’t remember being on first name basis, even with the “reveal” of the name. The captain gave me a sly smirk as it seemed that the problem was solved. My eyes were still glued to the screen, a slight restlessness in my fingers as I flexed them in anticipation “Not everything is out to kill yo-:”
“They dropped something” I interrupted. Out the back of the decks, a bundle of something plopped into the water and sunk underneath the torrents of the whirlpool. And with us heading up stream, it would smash into us. “Steer us towards the edge” the words were past my lips before I realized I just gave out an order in the moment. But despite Elizabeth's stern glare, I wasn’t about to back down and apologize for that when shit was about to hit the fan. We faced each other for a second, before she shouted the order herself and the massive metal leviathan began shift.
It wasn’t a few seconds later as the side of our vision was suddenly engulfed in an underwater explosion, salt water sprayed as far as the command tower and anything not bolted down was thrown to the side as the ship buckled and swayed under the sudden displacement from the explosion. I heard the ship ready to break apart under it’s own weight, but with the near miss we avoided that watery fate. But the attackers did not see to remain flat footed and and sped towards us, massive harpoons fired into the hull as the jolly roger flew over their masts.
Without a word I ran out into the hall, yells of orders behind my back, and I was out the first hatch I could find with a weapon in my hands and molten metal in my veins.
The salty wing whipped across my neck as I busted onto a balcony that overlooked the top deck, The roar of the whirlpool was a constant drone under a stream of combat across the ship. My eyes looked to the edge where boarders charged across the surface with a hodgepodge of weapons in their hands. I stared down on them, their fate sealed as I held down the alt fire for the heavy assault rifle in my hand, and I jumped off towards the ground below. The impact boots did what they were supposed to, and the only pain was when the rifle’s mini-rockets fired and impacted into man meat right before they tore bloody chunks out of their bodies.
Before the corpses could hit the deck I rushed closer, the heavy barks of high caliber fire overtook the scream of fear from my targets. One unfortunate fucker had the bright idea to level his musket towards me, but before he could fire his chest cavity was filled with a storm of lead. His blood splattered from the exit wound on his back and sprayed across the corpse’s comrades, one of which at least had the bravery to fire a flintlock pistol at me as the other shook in their boots. The round slammed into my shoulder, my aim flew wild as as I felt the lead ball dig to my shoulder blade. But whatever victory the man thought he would take died as he swung his sword to finish me off and I gripped his fist in mine. With a thrust I snapped his arm at the elbow, a loud pop and a pained scream cut off short as I ran his own sword through his skull. The others ran, only to be cut down as I shotgun them in the back.
One group down. A lot more to go. Moving on.
Over the side I found the source of the problem, thick metal cords hooked the pirate ships to the carrier and hundred of small ropes allowed the borders to climb on. Their focus was on not falling into the whirlpool below, so they were flat footed when I hurled myself across the gab and landed on the deck of the stolen fishing boat with chainsaw revving. As I crushed some son of a bitch underfoot, I held down the trigger and let the tool roar to the heavens and brought it down on the cord connected to the harpoon launcher. Sparks and metal flakes rained on the deck before the cord violently snapped, and the ground underneath me lurched as opposing forces split the ships apart. The many ropes went taunt, forcing the invaders to hold tightly to their lifeline above the ocean, and I was already running towards the second harpoon.
There was resistance. Little, but it was there. A man with a spear threw himself at me, the spear head punched through my side and it tasted flesh and blood. But momentum kept me going. The chainsaw gouged out parts of his gut as I swung it across him, and as he recoiled I followed through with a grab to his neck and threw him overboard.
A shot rang out as another bullet hit me, my attention on two shooters hammering away with pistols. The deck around me was peppered as I weaved around the lead shots, barely an inch away from me as I neared them with the howling blade of teeth in my hands. One held up one of his guns to block, but sparks and sawdust flew briefly before it gave way and led to the chainsaw digging into shoulder, through his chest, then out the side to let his head fall somewhere else from the rest of his body. The other guy shakily tried to get another pistol out of his bandoleer, but I was already on top of him. I pressed the chainsaw across his body as it ate into him, lifted up on the blade of the industrial tool, and then slammed him onto the harpoon launcher he was defending. His screams of pain were silenced when he was cut completely in twain, and soon after the steel cord followed suit.
The force of two large objects moving in separate direction had the effect that you would expect. The ropes that the pirates were shimmering on pulled taut and then quickly snapped in a cascade across the side. Seamen were sent down the whirlpool, and I just flew across the gap with a little help of a hanger on.
He didn’t complain much after I kicked off his head, but he didn’t have much to say anyway as he joined his comrades into Davy Jones’ locker.
The inner hallways of the ship held little resistance, the small pockets looked back thinking there would be reinforcements only to turn to find me and the remains of their reinforcement splattered across my armor. Before they joined them under a rain of heavy weaponry. I left behind hole filled walls and hole filled corpses as I found my way to where the fighting was the thickest. When I turned the last corner I did find the epicenter of the battle between the marines and the invaders.
And it seems this was some smarter and sterner stuff, as I was immediately beat back behind the corner by a hail of bullets.
A wall of heavy plates had been set up between me and the other side entrenched in a crossroad, along with a party of pirates armed with everything including a pipe from a kitchen sink throwing lead and axes my way. I let lose my own fire power in response, but blind fire only kept their heads down and eventually one of them was going to get enough balls to walk up and shank me.
While wading through their firing line had a certain appeal to it, but I already had a few sore ribs crying for no more and these bastards seemed much better if they had held out for so long. Time to see if those upgrades were worth the omnilium I spent on them. The module clicked smoothly into the long barrel of the rocket launcher like two deadly puzzle pieces, now a much more deadly whole. I ran out of the scorched corner, bullets flew pass by head I I neared, and launched rockets one after the other aimed over the head of the buccaneers.
Jeers and a few more shots were thrown at me, but the only one laughing was me when I pressed the detonation. The rockets exploded in midair, air burst shrapnel turned the sailors into sailor soup, and those that were left screaming didn’t last very long as I plowed through them with shotty in hand. On the other side I came out with blood stuck to my boots and the men who held the line now stared horrified at my gore covered armor.
Which was convenient when I grabbed one of their heads as I slammed it into the table they were using for cover, which crushed it and the front of their skull.
The others didn’t last much longer, a whirlwind of death in their midsts as I unloaded on them and those who fled did not make it far. I walked from the barricades to find that the marines and mercs that had held this position just as scared and worried at the sight of the violence I had just given.
:”Where’s the other hot spots?” asked them, their shock started to thaw but I still didn’t get an answer until I stomped my boot onto the ground.
“Transit and hanger two, sir” one finally got their since back after the little help. I flicked a bit of what I think was brains off my chest piece and viewed the map of the ship on my HUD. The laps from bow to stern paid off.
“Alright, if they take transit they’re going to overrun the whole thing. You guys reinforce there, I’ll head to the hanger” And before a word or even a confirmation was said, I rushed down the hallway with my teeth bared in a unsettling smile.
“Yes, I’m sure you expect them to attack” Elizabeth answered, uncovering her ears after I was done talking at her. “But this is- was one of the largest carriers in the UNSMC, and those look more like fishing boats then warships.” She was not wrong. Close examination of the boats had them as civilian with large cranes with attached nets hung out across the back. But something about it troubled me, the feeling like a tickle down my neck. I’m sure my short hairs would be on end if they hadn’t been burned off repeatedly. My instincts tend to be smarter than I am, but I couldn’t force the issue beyond a side glance towards the captain and watched the ships carefully.
“I don’t like it” Was all I could come up with.
“You don’t have to” she shot back before a light blinked on the comm station.
“We are getting a response, Captain. Voice only” the comms officer finally reported, which gained an eye roll from me. Nonetheless, a little smirk appeared on the captain’s face as with a quick nod the message was patched through.
“This is the Lock Keep,” A fuzzy voice spoke over the radio, like someone trying to talk to you while going through a tunnel, “we are changing course now. Sorry for the inconvenience, Hell’s Bane” As the voice stopped, the three ships start to turn
“See, John?” I didn’t remember being on first name basis, even with the “reveal” of the name. The captain gave me a sly smirk as it seemed that the problem was solved. My eyes were still glued to the screen, a slight restlessness in my fingers as I flexed them in anticipation “Not everything is out to kill yo-:”
“They dropped something” I interrupted. Out the back of the decks, a bundle of something plopped into the water and sunk underneath the torrents of the whirlpool. And with us heading up stream, it would smash into us. “Steer us towards the edge” the words were past my lips before I realized I just gave out an order in the moment. But despite Elizabeth's stern glare, I wasn’t about to back down and apologize for that when shit was about to hit the fan. We faced each other for a second, before she shouted the order herself and the massive metal leviathan began shift.
It wasn’t a few seconds later as the side of our vision was suddenly engulfed in an underwater explosion, salt water sprayed as far as the command tower and anything not bolted down was thrown to the side as the ship buckled and swayed under the sudden displacement from the explosion. I heard the ship ready to break apart under it’s own weight, but with the near miss we avoided that watery fate. But the attackers did not see to remain flat footed and and sped towards us, massive harpoons fired into the hull as the jolly roger flew over their masts.
Without a word I ran out into the hall, yells of orders behind my back, and I was out the first hatch I could find with a weapon in my hands and molten metal in my veins.
The salty wing whipped across my neck as I busted onto a balcony that overlooked the top deck, The roar of the whirlpool was a constant drone under a stream of combat across the ship. My eyes looked to the edge where boarders charged across the surface with a hodgepodge of weapons in their hands. I stared down on them, their fate sealed as I held down the alt fire for the heavy assault rifle in my hand, and I jumped off towards the ground below. The impact boots did what they were supposed to, and the only pain was when the rifle’s mini-rockets fired and impacted into man meat right before they tore bloody chunks out of their bodies.
Before the corpses could hit the deck I rushed closer, the heavy barks of high caliber fire overtook the scream of fear from my targets. One unfortunate fucker had the bright idea to level his musket towards me, but before he could fire his chest cavity was filled with a storm of lead. His blood splattered from the exit wound on his back and sprayed across the corpse’s comrades, one of which at least had the bravery to fire a flintlock pistol at me as the other shook in their boots. The round slammed into my shoulder, my aim flew wild as as I felt the lead ball dig to my shoulder blade. But whatever victory the man thought he would take died as he swung his sword to finish me off and I gripped his fist in mine. With a thrust I snapped his arm at the elbow, a loud pop and a pained scream cut off short as I ran his own sword through his skull. The others ran, only to be cut down as I shotgun them in the back.
One group down. A lot more to go. Moving on.
Over the side I found the source of the problem, thick metal cords hooked the pirate ships to the carrier and hundred of small ropes allowed the borders to climb on. Their focus was on not falling into the whirlpool below, so they were flat footed when I hurled myself across the gab and landed on the deck of the stolen fishing boat with chainsaw revving. As I crushed some son of a bitch underfoot, I held down the trigger and let the tool roar to the heavens and brought it down on the cord connected to the harpoon launcher. Sparks and metal flakes rained on the deck before the cord violently snapped, and the ground underneath me lurched as opposing forces split the ships apart. The many ropes went taunt, forcing the invaders to hold tightly to their lifeline above the ocean, and I was already running towards the second harpoon.
There was resistance. Little, but it was there. A man with a spear threw himself at me, the spear head punched through my side and it tasted flesh and blood. But momentum kept me going. The chainsaw gouged out parts of his gut as I swung it across him, and as he recoiled I followed through with a grab to his neck and threw him overboard.
A shot rang out as another bullet hit me, my attention on two shooters hammering away with pistols. The deck around me was peppered as I weaved around the lead shots, barely an inch away from me as I neared them with the howling blade of teeth in my hands. One held up one of his guns to block, but sparks and sawdust flew briefly before it gave way and led to the chainsaw digging into shoulder, through his chest, then out the side to let his head fall somewhere else from the rest of his body. The other guy shakily tried to get another pistol out of his bandoleer, but I was already on top of him. I pressed the chainsaw across his body as it ate into him, lifted up on the blade of the industrial tool, and then slammed him onto the harpoon launcher he was defending. His screams of pain were silenced when he was cut completely in twain, and soon after the steel cord followed suit.
The force of two large objects moving in separate direction had the effect that you would expect. The ropes that the pirates were shimmering on pulled taut and then quickly snapped in a cascade across the side. Seamen were sent down the whirlpool, and I just flew across the gap with a little help of a hanger on.
He didn’t complain much after I kicked off his head, but he didn’t have much to say anyway as he joined his comrades into Davy Jones’ locker.
The inner hallways of the ship held little resistance, the small pockets looked back thinking there would be reinforcements only to turn to find me and the remains of their reinforcement splattered across my armor. Before they joined them under a rain of heavy weaponry. I left behind hole filled walls and hole filled corpses as I found my way to where the fighting was the thickest. When I turned the last corner I did find the epicenter of the battle between the marines and the invaders.
And it seems this was some smarter and sterner stuff, as I was immediately beat back behind the corner by a hail of bullets.
A wall of heavy plates had been set up between me and the other side entrenched in a crossroad, along with a party of pirates armed with everything including a pipe from a kitchen sink throwing lead and axes my way. I let lose my own fire power in response, but blind fire only kept their heads down and eventually one of them was going to get enough balls to walk up and shank me.
While wading through their firing line had a certain appeal to it, but I already had a few sore ribs crying for no more and these bastards seemed much better if they had held out for so long. Time to see if those upgrades were worth the omnilium I spent on them. The module clicked smoothly into the long barrel of the rocket launcher like two deadly puzzle pieces, now a much more deadly whole. I ran out of the scorched corner, bullets flew pass by head I I neared, and launched rockets one after the other aimed over the head of the buccaneers.
Jeers and a few more shots were thrown at me, but the only one laughing was me when I pressed the detonation. The rockets exploded in midair, air burst shrapnel turned the sailors into sailor soup, and those that were left screaming didn’t last very long as I plowed through them with shotty in hand. On the other side I came out with blood stuck to my boots and the men who held the line now stared horrified at my gore covered armor.
Which was convenient when I grabbed one of their heads as I slammed it into the table they were using for cover, which crushed it and the front of their skull.
The others didn’t last much longer, a whirlwind of death in their midsts as I unloaded on them and those who fled did not make it far. I walked from the barricades to find that the marines and mercs that had held this position just as scared and worried at the sight of the violence I had just given.
:”Where’s the other hot spots?” asked them, their shock started to thaw but I still didn’t get an answer until I stomped my boot onto the ground.
“Transit and hanger two, sir” one finally got their since back after the little help. I flicked a bit of what I think was brains off my chest piece and viewed the map of the ship on my HUD. The laps from bow to stern paid off.
“Alright, if they take transit they’re going to overrun the whole thing. You guys reinforce there, I’ll head to the hanger” And before a word or even a confirmation was said, I rushed down the hallway with my teeth bared in a unsettling smile.
![[Image: oGzCtPC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/oGzCtPC.png)