|
Post by e on Oct 11, 2010 9:07:38 GMT -8
Claire nods pleasantly at both Anastasia and Elle as they declare their intentions to go their own way.
"Sure, sure. I appreciate all you've both done for us. Maybe our paths'll meet again someday. Elle, we can leave you landways anywhere you want before we part ways, soon as we pick us up another pilot."
She stares ahead for a moment thinking.
"Yeh, Tom, I agree, regards to the Bethesda... I reckon we don't want to fly her anywhere and I think it'd be only fair, Max, for you to get what you can for what's left of her. Heaven above knows you've shown us more kindness than we rightfully deserved an' I'd be glad to know you got a little somethin' for yourself outta the deal."
"We can set down quicklike on our way out and collect Boris and anything of consequence might fit the Luci. I think that puss'll be full of purrs when he sets eyes on his new bunk."
|
|
|
Post by jazzs3quence on Oct 11, 2010 12:09:51 GMT -8
Dexter ignores the others, considering. Finally, he says: "I'll head off to the village, then. Tell 'em they can have all the fish and the croc, too, if they loan us some fishing nets and some able bodies. If they don't want the croc, and he doesn't go splat, you might well have your pet, Claire, though I'm still not sure about keeping a creature that big outside its' natural habitat...
Max, now that we're all, uh, family n'whatever, I don't need to announce my visit or anything, yeah? I can just walk on in? There's not, um, I dunno, visiting hours or anything?""
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 11, 2010 14:54:09 GMT -8
"Eh, naah, ye can show up whenever ye like.. Within reason, ye ken.. But scrapin' up a whole mess'a villagers'n nets'n tradin' fer everythin'.. then hauling it all back here'n stitching it together, rigging up a mechanism ta cover the thing... 's gonna take some lime, lad. More'n we've got, most likely. But it's something' ta think about fer later, sure."
|
|
|
Post by jazzs3quence on Oct 11, 2010 15:10:46 GMT -8
Dexter stares blankly. "Um...okaaaay....I don't really think my sister's fond of the idea of dropping 20 pounds of fish guts and a live crocodile on her brand new ship, but if you really think we don't have time to spare..."
Without finishing his sentence, he strides over to the hangar door control Max indicated earlier, hits the button, then runs quickly onboard the ship out of the way of showering water, fish, and crocodile.
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 11, 2010 22:03:11 GMT -8
=======
((Ugh.. I'm sorry everyone, today just wasn't a great one for me.. I got very little sleep over the weekend and work was stupidly busy, and also just stupid. So I'm feeling a little run down ATM, but I promise the rest of the week will be more awesome.))
Ye Upkeep:
Tom: +2 CP
Claire: +2 CP
Dexter: +2 CP
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 12, 2010 10:54:29 GMT -8
A n air horn bleats for half a decond as Dexter hits the button on the console, the sound filling and reverberating in the large hangar. The lights that ring the doors flash red for a few moments and then, with a deep hum and rumble of large machinery in motion, begin to draw apart.
By then the occupants of the bay have had time to scramble under the cover of Lucifer's hull, as a not-so-miniature waterfall forms in the opening space between the doors, plunging down to the hangar floor amidst the sudden sound of rainfall. Lucifer hardly moves at all as the cascade washes over her hull, and the drains and gutters in the hangar floor greedily drink up the water.
The hangar is also flooded with sunlight and fresh air, the sky appearing high and blue far above them, though already tinged with the hues of sunset.
As the doors move closer to fully opened the promised fish begin to appear, showing as silver specks in the falling water, though mercifully any noise they make when impacting the floor is masked by the water. Only a few are left flopping, but then only a few unlucky(er) ones seem to pop in impact.
There is a collective holding of breath amongst the assembled as they wait to see if the croc will appear.. But after a few long moments, and as the flow of water from above trickles to a stop, Max ventures out and hazards a glance upwards, shielding his eyes.
"I don't see 'im... Think 'e musta got stuck up on th' rocks somewhere. Ah.. Smell that fresh air, though." He pulls in a deep breath.
The doors above announce the end of their movement with a par of hollow booms.
"Arrite.. Well it looks all clear ta me. I guess as soon as ye've finished yer business here ye'll be ready ta go."
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 12, 2010 23:35:49 GMT -8
(( Well I ain't here to guilt trip anyone, but we are so damn close to the end here, this is a fairly terrible place to stall out. -_- If this is due to a loss of impetus rather than some sort of horrible schedule juju, then I'd prefer you all let me know that, rather than just let things peter off. If you aren't excited to be playing then that's -my- issue, not yours, since part of my job is to keep everyone interested and engaged as best I can. (I've already made up my mind to never again tell anyone the module is nearing a close. >.> ) So. If the stall is due to some time CF then fine, and if it's due to peeps just not feeling motivated, that's also fine, believe it or not. But I do need to know which is which, and please be honest. PM or use the OOC thread, as you like, and thanks much. ))
|
|
|
Post by brendur on Oct 13, 2010 5:52:54 GMT -8
(( Sorry , sorry, I was in my writing swing yesterday, seems every time I tried pulling up "Post Message" though, someone called me about shipment, or Mom wanted to make sure I had Dad's birthday present, or my sisters wanted to make sure I had Dad's birthday present. Just one of those days where the universe was against me posting on this thread.))
Tom steps to the side as a particularly large carp falls victim (pun intended) to gravity, ending it's life on the high note of a pulp grenade. Yum. He takes in a deep breath of fresh salt air and finely misted fish, smirking as their take off draws near.
"M'goin to make a quick check round the livin quarters, see iffin there's anythin down there we can take with us."
That being said he heads off the ship and down the stairs, beginning a sweep of the rooms and workshops below.
|
|
|
Post by jazzs3quence on Oct 13, 2010 6:59:20 GMT -8
(( for myself, I've been somewhat disinclined because Dex has less to do, really. He can make decisions, and potentially step on his sister's and the captain's toes, which is sort of out of character anyway, or he can bumble around and be random. As much as I like random, there's only so far you can go with it before random becomes repetitive. ))
Dexter, now aboard the ship for the first time, stares around in awe and starts babbling excitedly to himself as he traces conduits along the walls and hypothesizes about the more arcane functionings of the ship. He's completely useless for a good while, unresponsive to anyone in his stunned technology trance.
|
|
|
Post by e on Oct 13, 2010 8:40:16 GMT -8
"We're about ready to take her up and out, so everyone who's comin' find their way onboard. Anastasia, would you like a ride to the village or shall we send someone to see you out the door?"
Claire moves onto the Lucifer, five steps behind her brother. She caresses the side of the ship for a moment as she steps inside. A deep feeling of satisfaction and pride warms her as she looks about and takes in the interior of their new very old ship, which is quite striking.
She takes a quick time to get acquainted with the bridge, the bunks, the furnace compartment and storage hold, breezing through each in a whirlwind tour and ending back at the bridge. Claire's smile is big enough to color the whole front end of the ship.
"Well, now, today is a good, good day. Are you ready to show us what you can do in the sky, eh Luci? It's been a long while, but I have no doubt you're better'n ever."
She expects to take off as soon as everyone is ready.
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 13, 2010 10:09:50 GMT -8
Tom's search of the living quarters turns up little of value, the area was mostly cleared out when Max abandoned it in the first place, years ago. The machine shop and part storage yields better results, as there are several large crates and metal bins full of parts, many of which he can't make heads nor tails of, though logic would dictate they are replacement bits and pieces for Lucifer. They seem to be cast from the same darkish metal.
Back on the airship in question, Anastasia considers Claire's question. "Actually, if you can drop me back at Max's little farm that would be perfect, all my things are there."
"Actually." Max chimes in. "I was thinkin' I'd close up th' base after ye lot fly Lucifer out. Close th' hangar doors'n shut down th' generator. If ye're quick enough ye can open th' main gates from the control room'n then slip out before they close up again. Should leave it sealed up good. After that I can just hoof it back 'ta my plantation. lil' walkin' never harmed me none."
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 13, 2010 22:51:13 GMT -8
==========UPKEEP==========
Tom: +2 CP
Dexter: +2 CP
Claire: +2 CP
|
|
|
Post by brendur on Oct 14, 2010 6:12:48 GMT -8
Tom snorts and kicks up a bit of dust in slight annoyance as his scavenging comes up short. Ah well, after today's prize it was hard to say they'd come away from this empty handed, they'd made out like bandits and he knew it. He emerges from the living area near gray from all the dust he's been through. Shaking himself in a manner not too far removed from a dog, he skirts the boarding stairs to the Lucifer trailing the dust cloud behind him. His usual mad "whatever-may-come" grin has found it's way back onto his features as he heads for the deck calling out as he does so.
"The hell are we waitin fer then? By God n'Jaysus let's see this bird FLY!"
|
|
|
Post by e on Oct 14, 2010 19:37:01 GMT -8
Claire nods at Anastasia.
"Surely we can do that. I think some of our things are there too besides."
She tips her hat at Max.
"Sounds like you got it figured then. Thank you for all your help and for showin' us around the base. You let us know if we can do anything for ya, when we get around back here. Oh, and good luck with that girl of yours!" Claire grins at Max. If anyone can handle that crazy gal, Max'll be up to the task.
"Take care of yerself, now." She nods at him in farewell before turning her attention to the ship and preparations.
Claire looks around for Elle and when she finds the pilot, she tips her chin up toward the exit and declares, "Soon as yer ready, let's take her up and out!"
|
|
|
Post by jazzs3quence on Oct 14, 2010 19:49:38 GMT -8
Dexter skirts into the bridge, anxious to see the hangar doors and the inside of the volcano from a new angle. Once they're in the air, he says "Don't forget to set down on Max's beach to pick up that cat of ours..." and then starts searching the ship for new reading material (or anything else interesting).
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 14, 2010 23:03:04 GMT -8
"Yeah yeah yeah! Let's GO!" Heloise cries, whirling her hand over her head as she jogs to the aft engine room. Elle makes her way to the bridge and takes up station at the helm, hesitating a moment before laying hands on the dark, smooth wood of the wheel. "Engines and everything are go, give 'em juice whenever you like" Heloise's voice calls through the speaking tube. Elle nods and lays hands on the throttles, dialing in the vents and then calling up the engines. They find their pitch and rise immediately, setting a rolling vibration through the deckplates. There is a slight groan as Lucifer shifts on her landing struts and comes free from the ground for the first time in decades, hovering in ground effect as the windscreens mist over and run with blowing water. Elle finds the controls for the struts and retracts them, the efforts of the motors felt but not heard over the song of the engines. Elle eases the throttles up a little more and the engines respond eagerly, effortlessly, and the ship rises, the view out the windows growing lighter as she climbs towards the sun. Down below, Maximillian Savage watches from the far edge of the cargo bay, a hand over his eyes to shield out the wind and water. Though it had passed through his thoughts more than a few times in the last several days, he had not been able to decide on how he thought he might feel at this moment, if it ever came. As his ship rises, setting his clothes and hair whipping in her wake, he finds he's still not sure.. Or rather that it's so many things at once he can't choose one. Lucifer climbs further and into the stream of afternoon sun, becoming all black in silhouette, surrounded by a nimbus of light. It's not too bad, though. Or not as bad as he's feared. He manages a smile. It was probably the right thing to do. Probably. And that made it alright, for him. Lucifer rises up and out of her hangar, metal walls giving way to black stone. The two upper control rooms swing into view, visible from the side but well hidden from above. A large green crocodile slips past the windscreens as well, wriggling from side to side amongst a clutch of black boulders. (Of Gustav's remains there is no immediate sign, save for a darker patch on one of the flat black rocks further up the slope) Elle treats the ship gently, moving her hands deftly from control to control to ensure a smooth and even ascent, mumbling softly to herself as she tries to stay a few steps ahead of what needs to be done to keep the ship level and happy, getting a feel for her. Even in a near-hover she seems to move with a certain sort of grace. Down below, the ship's tune is little more than a slight hum as it hovers high above. Max walks over to the hangar controls and flips them to the closed position. The doors boom and begin scraping their way towards one another, on their way to forming a ceiling again. He waits and watches patiently. After this he still has has plenty of work to do, and a long walk ahead. He wonders if he will see Lucifer's new crew again before they pick up their things and leave. He reckons not... And that's just as well. He liked the last view he had of her just fine. It would last him a good long time. Till he saw her again, whenever that would be. The ship crests the black sides of the volcano and the world comes into view. The island lays beneath them in all it's green fecundity, and the ocean around lies green and grey beyond, stretching toward the endless horizon in every direction.
And one for the road ((With your all's permission I'm going to end the module here, and we can take the trip pack to Max's place and the sorting out of Bethesda as granted, I think. Personally I think it's more dramatic to halt things here rather than play out the drudge work.There will be one or two more updates however, to add stuff I don't have time to type tonight, Including a final upkeep. So keep your eyes on the thread for a few more days. Once it's all wrapped up, it'll be Archived. ))
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 17, 2010 19:19:45 GMT -8
-Some time later-
" 'Ey old man."
Maximillian turns, jamming his spade into the soil of his field. He holds up a hand to ward off the afternoon sun, though he already knows who's there. That voice, so much like his own, could only belong to one person.
" 'Ey 'lil girl."
He wrings his knuckles out amid a chorus of soft pops. "See yeh made it back." He looks her over, a little warily. He'd been expecting this visit, but wasn't really sure what would happen when it came.
"Yeh, well..." The edge of Emillianna's mouth rode up and she shrugged eloquently. "Thing'r two came up. Nothin' I couldn't ride through, though."
"Mmmn." Max observed. He rummaged around in his back pocket for a moment before finding what he wanted. "Smoke?" He held out the crushed packet of cigarettes.
"Yeh, hells why not?" She walks to him without fear and plucks a rolled cig with two fingers then digs for her own lighter, firing it with a soft clink. Max watches her moves closely. She's armed. Not with her usual ridiculous elephant gun, but a pistol. Smaller but still plenty big enough. And of course her ratty, omnipresent cutlass. He shifts a little on his feet to let the weight of his own pistol reassure him, but finds it cold comfort at best.
She draws on the cig, the tip briefly matching the shade of the setting sun. She holds her breath for what seems like a minute before letting it spill out like a falling tide, more than just an exhalation, a sigh. It has some meaning, but Maximillian doesn't know what.
"...So they took 'er, yeh?" She glances to him with her one eye. "...Ye let 'em take 'er. So I couldn't have 'er."
"Aye."
No sense lying, the truth is there for anyone who knows that to see. Silence gathers in the wake of his word, long and still enough for him to count the waves that roll in against the shore down by the beach.
"Yeh gonna try ta kill me?" He asks abruptly, unwilling to let silence stand between them any longer.
"Thinkin' 'bout it." She says tightly, her eyes on the horizon. "Kinda feels like I should, yeh?"
He shrugs but remains silent. She never liked his answers and always found her own anyway. She'd decide, and then perhaps she'd shoot him down. Or he her. She was fast but so was he, probably more than she knew. And he wouldn't lay his life down for her. Not for her or anyone.He'd shoot her if he had to, though it make his heart clench at the thought.
As for her, he knew what she decided would have nothing to do with him as her father. The result would be determined solely in the tight maze of her thoughts. He had never, ever been able to puzzle the way her mind worked, other than the barest inklings. It was a machine she was not the master of.
And so he speaks, knowing it would not sway her. "I'm glad ye came back, Emi, even if it was fer this." If one of them was about to end here, let it be with nothing unsaid between. "I missed yeh."
"Missed yeh too, old man." She licks her lips, rolling the cig a quarter-turn in her mouth. Eyes on the horizon. "Somehow." She snorts.
"Ye know I love ye, child. 'n spite of everything on yer side an' mine. I'm sorry things got ta be the way they are."
"I know." Her mouth twists, clamping down on whatever came next. "It ain't easy. I know I ain't easy."
"Yeh. Well ye can be kind of a bitch, truth be known." He smiles and she laughs, the sound hoarse but still one of the most beautiful things he's ever heard, as it always has been.
"Well then." There's a note in her voice that makes him tense. She'd decided, one way or another. His eyes narrow slightly.
"Yer a bastard, Max. 'an I mean that." There was real hurt in her voice. "But I ain't gonna kill yeh." Half a grin creeps across her face, and she spits the stub of her cigarette onto his field. "Ain't sure I could. Not yet, anyway. Maybe I'll give it a few years. Ye ain't gettin' any younger, ye know."
"Mmmhmm." He take a pull on his own cigarette. "Well, stop on by when ye wanna take yer chance... Schedule's pretty open from now till doomsday."
"Uh-huh. Well I got some shite ta do, but 'm sure I'll be back, by 'n by." She tries to met his eyes with her one, but finds him looking out into the horizon. "Thanks fer th' smoke."
"Anytime." He glances over, but finds only the black circle of her eyepatch.
"Well," she says. "Oughta get flyin'." She stretches, joints popping.
Max nods in resignation. "Yeh. Ye be careful, 'lil girl."
She snorts. "Shit. Ye know I'm never careful." She slaps him on the back and her hand remains on his shoulder for a moment before she draws him into a brief but fiercely tight hug.
Releasing him just as abruptly she turns and begins making her way away across the field, one hand in the air in a farewell wave.
He stands and watches her walk away, not waving back because he knows she won't turn to see it.
|
|
|
Post by Gravedust on Oct 17, 2010 19:55:06 GMT -8
===== IT'S THE FINAL UPKEEP!!==========(Da da da daaa! Da daa da da-da!!)CLAIRE:
+ 50 CP mod bonus + 5 Renown + 3 Infamy DEXTER:+ 50 CP mod bonus + 3 Renown + 4 Infamy TOM:+ 50 CP mod bonus + 3 Renown + 3 Infamy (If you're wondering about why you picked up some Infamy.. Remember Infamy is based on peoples' perceptions of you, not necessarily your actual actions. Since this was a pretty isolated incident, only the crew of the Stormchild is really talking about it.. So the renown and infamy in this case is based purely on some.. uh.. storytelling that some of them have been doing.) If anyone would like a post-campaign recount of their character sheet, just let me know. Y'all have got some serious CP piling up, but you don't have to spend it before the next mod if you don't want. ...But the max point buy limit is going into effect beginning with the next mod so if you want to spend a lot I suggest you do it now.
|
|
|
Post by brendur on Oct 18, 2010 6:01:54 GMT -8
(( Oh I would definitely like a recount so's I can start spending like a mad man. Thanks by the way for running the mod so far for us, I know it hasn't been easy with a bunch of kooks like us behind the stars of this campaign. Also, I considered that a Final Fantasy fanfare would have been apropos to close this mod out, but I like this one so much better. Roll them credits! www.youtube.com/watch?v=24AXZrwRmpk ))
|
|