Post by KitClairvoyance on Jan 29, 2008 15:44:33 GMT -5
A short story for Goosh. Courtesy of team Purple for his joining as a Karmageddon mercenary. Rated T for romance.
Interested in having your own story? Head over to our public board on the Splatterboard.
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Goosh's request form:
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The Deckhand’s Ghost streamed towards its quarry with its sails (22 in total) unfurled and caught full of wind, propelling the class-five frigate at a steadily increasing speed to gradually close the gap between the two ships. Standing on the ship’s bow was her captain, Charles Vance. The veteran pirate stood with one leg on his ship’s main deck, the other on her forward railing with a telescope against his one good eye. In his sights was the ship that they had been pursuing for two weeks now, the HMS Lutine. The Lutine was a Magicienne class frigate, 200 tonnes lighter than the Deckhand’s Ghost, she would have been able to outrun her pursuers easily had she not lost her mizzen mast in a tight skirmish just three days ago.
A feeling of pride swelled within the yurble who stood beside Vance. Goosh surveyed their prize-to-be, admiring her finely crafted hull as she limped away as fast as she could from the Deckhand’s Ghost. At the head was a solid-bronze unicorn, standing proud with its forelegs reared up in splendour and its horn pointing diagonally upwards. Soon, that ship would be his.
Satisfied with their progress, Vance lowered his telescope. “’s a fine ship, ain’t she?”
“Very. That unicorn would fetch a good price too.”
Goosh smiled as Vance stroked the yurble’s thick hair affectionately. Ever since he had joined the Deckhand’s Ghost, he had longed for this day when he would get his own ship to sail alongside Vance. The only thing remaining now was to capture it, something they had done a dozen times and more. As the wind picked up, so did the light feeling within Goosh. At last he and Vance would be able to work alongside each other as equals, partners, the way they were meant to be.
Vance grinned as he saw the yurble’s delight. “’haps we ought ta below decks t’ celebrate? till be another good four ‘ours before we catch up w’ ‘em.”
Goosh caught the glint in the captain’s eye and started to agree when a shout came from the ship’s crow nest. “Captain! The Lutine, she’s banking starboard fast! I think she’s coming around for a broadside!” Immediately, he felt a cold surge of adrenaline as he turned to see the HMS Lutine veering to her right. The celebrations would have to wait; it was time to capture their prize.
As soon as Vance heard the shout, he began barking his orders to the crew, not that they needed to hear the orders anyway. Each crewmember of the Deckhand’s Ghost had been through the same drill over and over, which was what made them so successful at their craft. That is, if piracy could be considered a craft at all.
A tense air settled down on the crew of the Deckhand’s Ghost as Vance kept her on a straight path right towards the Lutine’s broadside. Above them, the crewman in the crow’s nest began yelling distances to the Lutine, counting down the metres before they came in firing range.
“450 meters!”
Goosh kept his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. Even though the boarding wouldn’t take place until after at least one exchange of broadsides, he felt safer with his weapon in hand.
“400 meters!”
The yurble’s eyes rested on Vance, admiring the man who stood at the bow of his ship, even though they were practically running straight into a broadside. The effective range of the Lutine’s cannons was about 300 meters. The Deckhand’s Ghost however was fitted with shorter-range carronades, which delivered a heavier blow.
“350 meters!”
By running straight onto the broadside, the Deckhand’s Ghost presented a smaller target profile to the gunners aboard the Lutine. Combined with the Deckhand’s Ghost’s smaller turning radius, this allowed them to come in close enough to deliver a devastating broadside of their own.
“300 meters!”
Vance gritted his teeth as they entered the Lutine’s effective range. A long silence hung in the air, too long a silence. Bringing his telescope up to his eye, Vance looked towards the Lutine, wondering why they hadn’t opened fire.
“250 meters!”
A tight knot stuck itself in Vance’s stomach as he realised that the Lutine was still turning. They weren’t preparing for a broadside. They intended to ram their ship into the Deckhand’s Ghost. Immediately, he snapped orders to turn the ship starboard, but the wind that had carried them so close to their quarry was against them, accelerating them towards the Lutine.
“200 meters!”
Goosh scrambled to the front to stand next to Vance as he watched in horror, the Lutine facing them head on with its unicorn pointed straight at them. If it came to a collision, the Lutine would probably fare better than the Deckhand’s Ghost. At least they had something to use as a battering ram.
“100 meters!”
As the two ships drew closer to each other, Goosh placed a hand in Vance’s. The crew of the Deckhand’s Ghost had all armed themselves, prepared for a head-on collision.
The first sign of collision was the sound of strained wood as both ships met. The sound hung in the air as the crews of both ships braced themselves. Then came a the sickening sound of wood splintering as the Deckhand’s Ghost’s hull gave way under the pressure. Goosh was thrown off his feet as the ship rocked wildly, sending the yurble tumbling backwards. When he looked up, he saw Vance staring defiantly at the horn of the unicorn as it tore through his ship before impaling the captain right through the chest, far too quickly for any of them to have done anything.
Staring in disbelief, the yurble staggered over to the body of Vance that hung limply from the horn of the unicorn as both crews rushed forward into battle. He touched the feet of the one he loved as tears began to well up in his eyes. For a moment, all he could do was to suppress the tears from pouring out. They killed him. They killed his dreams. Taking a deep breath, he drew his cutlass and leaped into the heart of the melee.
Interested in having your own story? Head over to our public board on the Splatterboard.
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Goosh's request form:
Persona description/personality: Standard Pirate Yurble attire, as always. >> I've always had a bit of trouble deciding Goosh's personality. He's kind of all over the place. Loyal, eager, tendancy to be mischevious. Somewhat flirtatious, though I'm not sure if that adds at all to the character. xD You know me.
Genre:...Dunno. Make it a heart-pounding romance. Or maybe a limerick. :3
Anything to be specifically included: Not that I can think of. x3
Keywords: 'Shonen-ai' 'unicorn'. xDDDDD
=3 I enjoy giving people of choice. >> My old English teachers were very creatively stifling.
Genre:...Dunno. Make it a heart-pounding romance. Or maybe a limerick. :3
Anything to be specifically included: Not that I can think of. x3
Keywords: 'Shonen-ai' 'unicorn'. xDDDDD
=3 I enjoy giving people of choice. >> My old English teachers were very creatively stifling.
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The Deckhand’s Ghost streamed towards its quarry with its sails (22 in total) unfurled and caught full of wind, propelling the class-five frigate at a steadily increasing speed to gradually close the gap between the two ships. Standing on the ship’s bow was her captain, Charles Vance. The veteran pirate stood with one leg on his ship’s main deck, the other on her forward railing with a telescope against his one good eye. In his sights was the ship that they had been pursuing for two weeks now, the HMS Lutine. The Lutine was a Magicienne class frigate, 200 tonnes lighter than the Deckhand’s Ghost, she would have been able to outrun her pursuers easily had she not lost her mizzen mast in a tight skirmish just three days ago.
A feeling of pride swelled within the yurble who stood beside Vance. Goosh surveyed their prize-to-be, admiring her finely crafted hull as she limped away as fast as she could from the Deckhand’s Ghost. At the head was a solid-bronze unicorn, standing proud with its forelegs reared up in splendour and its horn pointing diagonally upwards. Soon, that ship would be his.
Satisfied with their progress, Vance lowered his telescope. “’s a fine ship, ain’t she?”
“Very. That unicorn would fetch a good price too.”
Goosh smiled as Vance stroked the yurble’s thick hair affectionately. Ever since he had joined the Deckhand’s Ghost, he had longed for this day when he would get his own ship to sail alongside Vance. The only thing remaining now was to capture it, something they had done a dozen times and more. As the wind picked up, so did the light feeling within Goosh. At last he and Vance would be able to work alongside each other as equals, partners, the way they were meant to be.
Vance grinned as he saw the yurble’s delight. “’haps we ought ta below decks t’ celebrate? till be another good four ‘ours before we catch up w’ ‘em.”
Goosh caught the glint in the captain’s eye and started to agree when a shout came from the ship’s crow nest. “Captain! The Lutine, she’s banking starboard fast! I think she’s coming around for a broadside!” Immediately, he felt a cold surge of adrenaline as he turned to see the HMS Lutine veering to her right. The celebrations would have to wait; it was time to capture their prize.
As soon as Vance heard the shout, he began barking his orders to the crew, not that they needed to hear the orders anyway. Each crewmember of the Deckhand’s Ghost had been through the same drill over and over, which was what made them so successful at their craft. That is, if piracy could be considered a craft at all.
A tense air settled down on the crew of the Deckhand’s Ghost as Vance kept her on a straight path right towards the Lutine’s broadside. Above them, the crewman in the crow’s nest began yelling distances to the Lutine, counting down the metres before they came in firing range.
“450 meters!”
Goosh kept his hand on the hilt of his cutlass. Even though the boarding wouldn’t take place until after at least one exchange of broadsides, he felt safer with his weapon in hand.
“400 meters!”
The yurble’s eyes rested on Vance, admiring the man who stood at the bow of his ship, even though they were practically running straight into a broadside. The effective range of the Lutine’s cannons was about 300 meters. The Deckhand’s Ghost however was fitted with shorter-range carronades, which delivered a heavier blow.
“350 meters!”
By running straight onto the broadside, the Deckhand’s Ghost presented a smaller target profile to the gunners aboard the Lutine. Combined with the Deckhand’s Ghost’s smaller turning radius, this allowed them to come in close enough to deliver a devastating broadside of their own.
“300 meters!”
Vance gritted his teeth as they entered the Lutine’s effective range. A long silence hung in the air, too long a silence. Bringing his telescope up to his eye, Vance looked towards the Lutine, wondering why they hadn’t opened fire.
“250 meters!”
A tight knot stuck itself in Vance’s stomach as he realised that the Lutine was still turning. They weren’t preparing for a broadside. They intended to ram their ship into the Deckhand’s Ghost. Immediately, he snapped orders to turn the ship starboard, but the wind that had carried them so close to their quarry was against them, accelerating them towards the Lutine.
“200 meters!”
Goosh scrambled to the front to stand next to Vance as he watched in horror, the Lutine facing them head on with its unicorn pointed straight at them. If it came to a collision, the Lutine would probably fare better than the Deckhand’s Ghost. At least they had something to use as a battering ram.
“100 meters!”
As the two ships drew closer to each other, Goosh placed a hand in Vance’s. The crew of the Deckhand’s Ghost had all armed themselves, prepared for a head-on collision.
The first sign of collision was the sound of strained wood as both ships met. The sound hung in the air as the crews of both ships braced themselves. Then came a the sickening sound of wood splintering as the Deckhand’s Ghost’s hull gave way under the pressure. Goosh was thrown off his feet as the ship rocked wildly, sending the yurble tumbling backwards. When he looked up, he saw Vance staring defiantly at the horn of the unicorn as it tore through his ship before impaling the captain right through the chest, far too quickly for any of them to have done anything.
Staring in disbelief, the yurble staggered over to the body of Vance that hung limply from the horn of the unicorn as both crews rushed forward into battle. He touched the feet of the one he loved as tears began to well up in his eyes. For a moment, all he could do was to suppress the tears from pouring out. They killed him. They killed his dreams. Taking a deep breath, he drew his cutlass and leaped into the heart of the melee.
