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Post by Franky on Aug 7, 2014 18:26:18 GMT -5
"You man the helm for now"" Jack said to Rizzo. "Keep a weapon handy in case everything goes snake eyes, these guys are up to something. Best you do the same Ron, but if a fight does break out you can hide below deck if you really need to." His tone showed no sign of looking down on Ron but it was clear that he held more faith in the younger brother's abilities considering his marine training. Jack looked up in surprise as the nearby East End was suddenly flung forward. Okay that did not look healthy for that ship, now she might be in trouble Watching the trimaran's crew perform the same preparations he had what no one but him would call a "good idea" "Rizzo! New plan... come get me." He released his grip on the ship but maintained it on the harpoon and a few seconds later he was suddenly pulled off of the front of the Ace. Once he was in the air he released the harpoon and spread out all his limbs to slow himself, with the arc of his flight shortened he was now sailing straight for the deck of the trimaran.
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Post by Kyubey on Aug 11, 2014 3:33:01 GMT -5
Timo's patience, along with her willingness to idly sit by and let the trimaran's crew do whatever they wanted, was running thin. After damaging her boat and pulling her forward, she was merely enraged. Now, she got the sense she was now in danger. Whatever the machines the East End was attached to were, they probably weren't friendly. Even if they were, she wasn't in the mood to deal with them in the slightest.
"Alright gang, joke's over. I'm gettin' pretty miffed right now, and unless you're itchin' for a bad case of... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Whatever plans she had were far behind her once the East End left the water. She dropped to the deck, clinging on for dear life. While she would have wanted nothing more than to whip out her weapon and open fire on the trimaran, she was now much higher in the air, and going at a much faster speed, than what was making her feel comfortable.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Timo gasped softly as the End hit the sea again, thankfully still floating. At some point during her short trip to the skies, she realized she wasn't really in a race, as much as she was currently stumbling through some kind of death trap. Still, she was ahead for the moment, so that was a plus. She kept her sails as they were, and kept going onwards. Jack and his friends would have to take care of themselves. Whether she wanted to keep participating or not, she needed the prize money in order to pay for the repairs to her ship. In times like this, it was important to continue thinking calmly and rationally.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
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Post by CJ on Aug 15, 2014 13:45:47 GMT -5
"Yes, Captain!" Rizzo said, biting his rather large front teeth lightly on his bottom lip in nervous anticipation. It seemed even he for once understood the seriousness of their situation. Though unlike Ron, who was eagerly glancing at the trap door leading below, he maintained his courage.
The boy's eyes lit up when Jack changed his mind. He seemed to register the order clearly and looked to his brother.
"Help me maneuver the ship, pirate scum!" he said jokingly.
"You dare call me scum, peasant?!" Ron spat back but quickly maintained himself. "I mean, be careful! We don't want to get ourselves killed!"
"Wee!" the boy cheered as he spun the wheel rapidly in front of him. "We're coming, Captain Jack!"
The ship raced forward as Rizzo tried to steer the Red Ace alongside the trimaran. Ron leaned over the side, looking as though he was about to puke.
"If only I was cowardly enough to suggest leaving Jack and this race behind. This is no good at all."
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Aug 20, 2014 0:21:31 GMT -5
Jack would have little to no problem of landing on the trimaran itself, probably mainly because the crew were busy manning the mechanisms, so not only was the deck clear but they weren't even really paying attention to the sky. Whereupon he actually touched down, some of the closest deckhands did notice. They stopped what they were doing at that moment, but didn't really act, instead just watching for a moment.
"Uh... hi."
"Hello.
"Yes, hello."
One of them began the cranking process to restore the flinging mechanism, and turned back to the intruder.
"Can we... help you?"
Altogether, they generally looked at a complete loss of how to proceed, since Jack landing aboard was not even on a list of things they could have expected to happen.
---
On the other side of the trimaran, the crew there gathered along the edge when the Ace, piloted by the brothers began to pull aside. Rather than attacking or otherwise attempting to hinder the smaller vessel though, as the previous opposing racers had, the crew here instead encouraged them along. Shouts, waving them along with their hands, and various other means of ushering them to victory.
"Go! Go!!"
"You can do it, almost there!"
"Don't stop now, the other ship is already ahead!"
It seemed just in case that wasn't enough, another sling from the mechanism might do the trick, though the others were busy loading it up again, so it wouldn't be ready to fire for a bit.
---
For the East End, the actual end was near. Already the ship had passed through the outer reaches of the bay to the island, though of course with the rest of the fleet close behind. Still, she was in first, and the docks were not so very far now. If she were to continue like this, she would be certain to win the race.
Of course, she didn't have to, but the real question was how she was going to slow down. Given the accelerated pace, she was most likely to win, yes. And of course naturally the boat would settle down to a manageable speed overtime, but time wasn't on her side. If she didn't do anything, and fast-like, the End would soon become best friends with the docks. And the stacks of cargo, and the streets and buildings beyond.
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Post by Franky on Aug 21, 2014 19:22:03 GMT -5
Jack stuck his landing as he hit the deck. At the trajectory he was flying it seemed like he should have kept tumbling forward but his hand brushed the side of one of the trimaran's masts and he came to a halt. Now that he was close up he took a closer look around at the trimaran and it's riggings. "Afternoon, I was hoping you could tell me why you tried to harpoon my ship." he said to the dumbfounded crew. He ignored their confused looks, he was used to people reacting this way to thing he did. He noticed the rest of the crew cheering the Red Ace on as it approached them, this confirmed his previous suspicions that he had no idea what was going on.
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Post by Kyubey on Aug 22, 2014 17:09:42 GMT -5
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Thankfully, it looked like the end of her trials was approaching, but right at the moment, that did not make her particularly happy. The East End was already damaged, quite a bit more than she was willing to brush off, and she wanted to keep at least most of it intact at the end of the race. It was a clever trick of the trimaran, she thought. After all, she couldn't be declared the winner if she was dead. But she wasn't going down quietly. As steadily as she could manage (not very) while still going fast enough to avoid certain doom, she scrambled to furl up the sails, cutting her acceleration.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
After the sails were up, the End wasn't about to be going any faster, but it was still going fast enough to cause some serious damage. She knew she had to think of a way to avoid this issue, but there wasn't much time to do that. Pure instinct was required. From her guitar case, she retrieved her tommy gun, and, leaning over the bow, began blindly firing forwards, aiming at the water so as to not accidentally kill anyone. It was a rushed idea, but, with any luck, the kickback from the gun, coupled with the lack of wind, would be able to slow the East End just enough to prevent it from a tragic crash, but still fast enough to make it to the finish line without any worries.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
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Post by CJ on Aug 23, 2014 0:47:26 GMT -5
"Brother!" Rizzo shouted in surprise. "They're cheering us on!"
Ron scowled and displayed his hand to the celebrating crew with an obscene gesture. Empathy and respect were still very foreign to the once Celestial Dragon.
"It's a trap! They're trying to deceive us! Jack, hurry back!"
His legs began to shake as he grew fearful that waiting for the Captain to return would somehow cause their doom. Even now, he debated telling Rizzo to break away, abandon the Red Ace at the island and run away. Sure, Jack had saved their lives, but what was the point of trying to rescue him if they'd all be killed anyway?
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Aug 24, 2014 18:41:32 GMT -5
"Well we were trying to fling you ahead to first or second place. To help you win, is the point... though it didn't really work so well when you, y'know, caught it. Still though, you might come in second if you can get back to your boat."
The fellow on deck responded plainly, even if he seemed a little disappointed. The other crew mates just milled about on the deck, either performing their basic duties, or continuing to cheer on the two smaller vessels. One of which had now gained the definite lead.
---
While it was fortunate for Timo to have been flung so far ahead, it was unfortunate that she resorted to her gun to slow down. It was after all, a terrible idea, at least on it's own. An unforeseen side effect though, which was probably rather beneficial was that her shooting scared a number of dock workers. The had been working to load cargo and such, but dropped everything they were doing and ran for cover when the shooting began. Thus, a good few cargo containers fell into the water by the docks, creating something of a buffer between the East End and the docks proper. It's not as though they were filled with pillows or anything, but the containers were of a wooden design so they wouldn't terrible damage the ship but would do a fair job of slowing it down.
Either way her ship would make a nasty impact with the docks, but nothing sink-worthy. After some time passed though, and people realized she wasn't a pirate trying to kill them all, a crowd began to form to cheer her on and hail her victory. It seemed they not only knew of the convoy and the race taking place, but were expecting it. Between all the people trying to shake her hand, ask her name to shout it out, and lift her up for all to see, it would be hard to deny that she was indeed the winner.
---
Jack could still return to his vessel, probably no issue involved there, but the race was more or less over. The best they could do was try to pull for second. Once the trimaran and the Ace reached the docks as well, it was only a matter of time till the rest of the fleet began to catch up and pretty soon the harbor was filled with ships. Still though, while the winner of second place would also get plenty of cheer and congratulations, most of the focus was on the winner. The celebrators now included the various crews and merchants of the other ships in the fleet as they left their ships, but two distinct groups stood apart. The first was the Navy escort, the marines and the commanding officer, as she stood apart and watched them with ire. The other was, oddly enough, the crew of the trimaran who had remained on their boat and just maintained a basic level of passing interest. For whatever reason though they seemed generally preoccupied.
Either way though, the day belonged to the winners, and they were free to revel in their victory as they wished. That is of course, if they could make it through the crowd to do so.
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Post by Franky on Aug 31, 2014 16:09:55 GMT -5
Jack moved over to the side of the Trimaran that the Ace was pulling up alongside. Looking back he saw he still had quite a lead on Toulouse. "You should be careful, you could wreck a less sturdy ship flinging it around like that. But why have one of us win? You held the lead for most of the race" Jack said turning back to the trimaran's crew. Jack didn't know what to think about this ship, He didn't know all the details of the race, having shown up uninvited, but he was pretty sure the harpoons weren't supposed to be part of it judging from Timo's reaction.
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Post by Kyubey on Sept 1, 2014 19:14:30 GMT -5
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAoh how about that, I made it."
Timo breathed a sigh of relief after the East End roughly crashed its way to a stop, a bit roughed up, but alive. If she had known the race would be so intense, she never would have entered at all, and as it was it felt more like she had stumbled her way to a win rather than earn it on her own merits. That being said, whether she deserved to take first place or not, there she was, at the docks, with the townspeople not allowing any room for doubt. It was a bit amazing to her, that she was suddenly the center of attention like that, and she wasn't quite sure she liked it. Gingerly stepping off the End, Timo wanted to just quietly accept her prize money and slip away to do what she had actually come to accomplish in the first place. Unfortunately for her, it didn't seem like that was an option.
"Hey cool it, guys. I ain't that great."
She pulled her hat down in front of her face, trying to make herself seem as small as possible, and noticeably shied away from anyone trying to grab her or pick her up. Normally, she had no problem with crowds, and could slip through them with ease, but it seemed she wasn't comfortable with being the focus. It wasn't so much out of shyness, as much as it was her not being used to the experience.
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Post by CJ on Sept 4, 2014 1:31:53 GMT -5
"Captain! Don't believe their lies!" Ron called out from the Red Ace.
"Hush, Ron! He's busy talking to the strange people!" Rizzo shouted.
The brothers waited eagerly to see what next order Jack would give them. With the glory of winning the race gone and over with, they didn't have much to look forward to.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Sept 7, 2014 2:32:06 GMT -5
There was at least one person Timo couldn't slip so easily, as the firm grip of a hand bearing a knuckle duster caught her arm. The person in question was only about average in stature and height. Dressed in white pants, a black tank top with a Dead Panda Society logo, and snakeskin shoes she didn't look much. It was the white coat with epaulets hanging on her shoulders and the kanji symbol for justice which made her stand out though, if not the championship belt around her waist.
"Hold fast you. As the presiding Navy officer over this merchant action, it's my job to present you with the... reward, for winning this unofficial contest. It's tradition, so... Royal!"
She clearly was not at all pleased with this situation. She didn't like merchants, she didn't like their traditions, and she didn't like babysitting them or upholding said traditions. Still though, for more than just her sake she had to keep up appearances and do her duty. Nothing said she had to like it though, and the sour look was plain to see.
"Oh where is that... ROYAL! Get here you sorry excuse for a- oh there he is."
Emerging from the crowd and looking like he didn't want to be seen at all, El Royal stood with his pristine suit sullied by soot. In his hands was a fancy looking box, more for style than function, but the way he handled it made clear that it was important. Or rather, based on the looks of everyone else as well as the plain to see manner in which he didn't want to give it up, it was valuable.
"Ah yes. Miss Timo, our esteemed victor..." the enmity was detectable through his smile, "...as the first to reach the destination of our voyage, you are hereby rewarded the standard prize. Five hundred thousand belli, and a waiver for fully-paid repairs and restocking towards any damages sustained, or supplies lost during the race."
El Royal held out for her to take, the prize box, or at least he opened it to display the gift-wrapped prize since he didn't want to actually give up the physical box itself. Everyone clapped either way though, even if they would have probably jumped at the chance to steal the prize for themselves, were it not for the marine officer standing right there with a mean look and meaning looking pair of fists.
"Well good job anyway, congratulations and all that."
---
"You should be careful, you could wreck a less sturdy ship flinging it around like that. But why have one of us win? You held the lead for most of the race"
"Hey, don't get on my case so much, I'm just following orders. You want to talk serious, the Captain is the go-to guy for that."
The person that looked to be most in charge responded to Jack, though even then he didn't accept responsibility. If he was to be believed, then someone else was handing down orders from up top. Otherwise the rest of the crew went about their business as usual, until another person walked aboard.
"I'm sorry Jack, did you have a problem with anything?"
It was Toulouse, proceeding about as normally as he ever had. He spoke to Jack as he went past, but spoke with some of the crew nearby individually.
"One of the ships, Jacks here actually, wasn't thrown ahead. Was there some kind of interruption or something?"
"Ah no, he actually stopped it from catching, the line."
They cleared up the details and the crewmate saluted before Toulouse moved on to speak with another.
"So what were the odds on the girl winning? Jack here was close as well..." he was handed a clipboard filled with numbers and bets, and as he spoke, he looked up to address Jack in person once more before his gaze returned to the papers. "...oh, and congratulations on coming second, by the way."
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Post by Franky on Sept 12, 2014 21:01:26 GMT -5
Jack's usual smile was nowhere to be found as he walked up to Toulouse and the group of sailors next to him. He snatched a hold of the clipboard and slowly pulled it from their hands. He looked it over. "...So you were never trying to win. You were running the numbers this whole time... and you fixed the race." With the trimaran already docked the brothers could easily get the Ace right up beside it, it didn't look like Jack was hurrying back as he suddenly seemed very preoccupied with Toulouse and his crew, and he didn't look happy.
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Post by Kyubey on Sept 28, 2014 1:39:06 GMT -5
It was fortunate for all parties involved that Timo forgot to take her weapon with her as she stepped off the boat, as she hardly, if ever, let herself be too far from it. If she had taken it with her, she would have fired it as soon as the Marine official grabbed her arm. A cold sweat beaded on her forehead. For a smuggler, usually, such an action could mean a variety of things, and they were never good. For one who respected her own space as much as she did, it was even worse. She wondered why she even bothered to participate in the race at all. Mostly, she wasn't expecting to win, and the sudden attention, she realized, could contain more danger than benefit. If this woman was so set on keeping her in one place, she figured it could only mean that he knew about the very legally questionable objects she was paid to bring to the island. Had someone tipped them off? Or was she just being set up to begin with?
As soon as the officer clarified that she was just presenting her with the prize, however, Timo eased up, if only on the surface. It was possible there was still a trap, there was always possibility for a trap, but on the chance that there wasn't, she wasn't going to give them anything to be suspicious over. She did try to yank her arm away, though. Whether she felt safe or not, she wasn't about to let herself be held.
"Uh, thanks. It's a real pleasure. Bein' here tonight. And everything."
She reacted to Royal with the same restrained disdain he was giving her. She thought she had left him behind earlier, and wouldn't have to deal with him again. She was wrong. Her situation, it seemed, did not get any safer at all.
"Well hey there, bossman. Ya sure came here quick, after gettin' your ride trashed an' all. Lemme just take that off yer hands..."
Cautiously, but still fast, she moved in to snatch the prize away, wary of any foul play. If nothing else, money was money, and after all she went through to win, she was going to make sure it was worth it.
"Always good doing business with you."
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Post by CJ on Sept 29, 2014 22:05:46 GMT -5
"Who cares what they were doing!" Ron shouted in his continued cowardice. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Hush!" Rizzo snapped and threw his hand over his older brother's mouth. They eagerly watched on, wondering what exactly was going on. The usual happy Jack wasn't looking too chipper.
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