Bon voyage

[hot_mes]

Who: Three ships a-sailing! (from here Law's crew of 8, Curufin's boat, and Floki's boat)
What: hunting for Door fragments and having adventures
Where: wherever the wind takes us, baby
When: August 14-September 19, a little over 4 weeks at sea
Warnings: unknown besides violence, sass-mouths, and general assholery. Will update as needed.

The first round of texts alerted everyone involved that the ship was finished. Law's plans dictated something alike to a brig sloop, only the final product came out a bit smaller thanks to limited resources. Twenty-five meters long and 6 meters at the beam, two masts, square-rigged, with a half-cabin in front to serve as forecastle and a larger cabin aft to store Kaiba's technology and provide shelter for the galley. Spoilers, he's named it the Corazon. Law's only order at that time was to prepare: pack a single bag and nothing more, make arrangements with your pals staying back, and show up to help load supplies at XX:00. The second text came on the 13th, dictating that only god-provided supplies the captain wanted were a map, a compass, and the boxes from Tranquility. Nothing else was worth his time, or his attention. The morning of the 14th, they're off!

The alliance of three ships includes Curufin's elvish longboat and Floki's Viking ship, so that anyone not capable of getting along could still be along for the trip while safely sequestered out of each other's way. Along the way they will stop off on any island with vegetation and animal life signs, to resupply both food and water, and anyone up for fishing is welcome to have at it. When it comes time to go diving for the fragment they've discovered, difficulty and adventures await.

Your captain has only two rules: your crewmates are your life so no killing each other, and if he gives you an actual order you obey it. Aside from that, there are no orders, just a mild suggestion that you not piss off the captain. He won't care if you piss each other off so long as we can all pitch in together to rig the sails, raise anchor, and get those fragments. Everything else, enjoy yourselves.

On September 5th, an anomalous reading at coordinates uncovers Null Sentries which attack the ship.

On September 7, through the 15th, there is a massive storm after which the ship will limp to one of the small islands just a few days away from the city, so they can make repairs and resupply for the last leg home.

[ooc: make your own toplevels! make multiple toplevels! prompts by day, by phase of the journey (embarking, hunting, searching for the fragment, returning), new prompts whenever you get a new idea, whatever. We're pirates, there are no rules. Jump between the three ships, meet up on an island where we've stopped, come get fed by Sanji because he's the best...
]

Comments

[abyssalarcana]

What they've done doesn't really matter. I just need to get back. These creatures aren't as strong as they think they are.

[Amamot can fix it. Considering he's the one who granted her just about everything she can do, she does truly believe that. Maybe going back through the Door would reverse it all anyway but it doesn't seem like a necessity.]

But - understanding the Door would be helpful no matter what. It's old, and powerful, and having felt what I did from that one little piece of it makes me want to see it restored. It's like how you were wondering about everything being connected, right? It's - I don't know how to explain it. It's a feeling I have.

[She could probably explain it if she wanted to but it's easier to pretend she can't. Talking too much won't help her here. He already knows enough about what she is to a point where any sane mortal shouldn't even want her around. She doesn't really want to dig herself a deeper hole.]

[hot_mes]

[sane, or moral mortal? Law knows plenty, all right, but he knows enough to know that in the grand scheme it doesn't matter. He won't worry about demons opening portals to his world until it actually happens.]

Same. If what Kate-ya said is true, I really want to see what happens with it. If restoring it gives it control over itself, restores its sapience or makes it more alike to a sentient being rather than a burst of energy...

[no matter how wary the other gods are, he really wants to see this. Never minding their constant "but there might not be anything there" being instantly negated by the fragment he handled. There was something there, all right.]

...Name was right. It gave us the information and it was not in error. Fuck the gods for trying to dissuade us from going.

[abyssalarcana]

As much as I hate them, I know it probably wasn't out of a desire to be malicious. They're paranoid. They don't want to die.

[Nothing ever does. That bite of anger in his words, though, brings a smile back to her lips, and she raises her glass to look at what remains of the wine before emptying it.]

But they've done nothing to make me trust their judgment. A panicked animal isn't in a state to make good decisions. It's hard for me to see why anyone at all would listen to them.

[hot_mes]

[he tosses back the rest of his glass as well, all in one go. What can he say, he doesn't tend to savor]

There are a lot of altruistic sorts around. Part of the reason I chose the crew I did: we may all be assholes but at least we get shit done with no debating the morality of it. The justice and fairness crowd are the ones more aligned to the gods, and I'm not surprised that a lot of them stayed off the sea.

[abyssalarcana]

[There's a little bit still left in the bottle but Caedra is in no real hurry to finish it off. She's content to just slump against him for now.]

You did well. I'm sure they all thought we were doomed, too. I think we still need to decide, though - what do we do with it, or any others we might find, when we get back?

[hot_mes]

I've had that planned since before we even started drafting ship blueprints. [sneaky captain is sneaky] I was always going to deliver it to whichever location seemed most capable of handling it, either the lab or the clinic. Now that I've seen one for myself, I'm leaning toward the lab. It isn't a body that I can heal, it seems more technological in nature.

The only thing of concern to me between here and there is not allowing anyone else to abscond with any fragments. Any and all that we find go to the same location. If the lab wants to cooperate with the gods to repair the fragments, that's on them, but they first need to have all of them.

[abyssalarcana]

If they want to cooperate with... What, so you're willing to go through all of this work just to give these up to someone else, who may or may not want the same thing we do?

[Her reply is flat. Unimpressed. She shifts a little in her seat, as she considers the ramifications of what he's suggesting.]

Who works at the lab?

[hot_mes]

[not surprised by the reaction, he still smirks widely]

Consider it malicious compliance. In this situation, I will make sure the entire city knows exactly where those fragments are and who has access to them. Their own prejudices and suspicions will ensure that nothing can be done in secret with them.

Alphys-ya may be one of the altruistic types, but she is completely transparent. She won't do a single thing to screw anyone over. Everyone else I've run into, there, is too interested in making scientific breakthroughs to consider hiding anything.

[his smirk fades, then, as he feels the need to impart an important fact he's only come to learn after touching the damn thing]

These things are beyond my skill, and I'm the most skilled doctor here. I know enough about their physiology to know that my skill and ability can't actually do anything to them. They're noncorporeal. These fragments may be physical, but they share characteristics with the noncorporeal beings. Someone at the lab may have the right skill set, and if they didn't, we are at the mercy of the gods to get it done. [he gives Caedra a sidelong glance] But I would rather have them in the city, and under the scrutiny of multiple people, than still out here in the ocean. With the whole city aware of what's going on, they can nag the gods to make sure something is done.

[abyssalarcana]

[It's not at all how she would do things, but she sees his reasoning. Anyone who held one of the fragments hostage would have to be able to do so against most of the city, and possibly against those false gods themselves - and doing so in order to make demands about their use wouldn't guarantee that anyone who agreed would actually follow through. Having them all in one place means it will be easier to know if any are missing, or if any go missing, and achieving that sort of high-profile theft would be difficult for anyone currently in the city.

She still doesn't like it, though. She probably never will.]

I want to make sure that what we want carries some weight. We're the ones who went out to retrieve these fragments. I won't allow them to be handed in to people who ultimately decide not to use them. That has to be part of the terms of their storage at the lab.

[hot_mes]

Naturally. [like it ain't no big thang] I wouldn't have it any other way. If anything, I'll set Kaiba-ya on them. He seems just as intent as we are to get out of here.

[not even a speculation, he's seen the young man's determination. It can be very useful]

[abyssalarcana]

Good. I'll be holding you to that.

[In case there was any doubt. She trusts him a little more than she trusts most people, or at least she trusts that their goals both mostly align, but she also knows that things can change and so can people. In fact, she expects them to.]

And... thank you, for keeping me informed of your plans. I appreciate it. It helps.

[hot_mes]

[he's not worried]

Helps more than me getting possessed by a Door fragment, I suppose.

[abyssalarcana]

[She laughs and grins up at him, all tall and cute and hatless.]

Yes, please do try to refrain from that again while we're out here. You can go berserk on those people all you like once we hit the islands.

[Mmm. Now there's a fun idea.]

[hot_mes]

Don't tempt me, I just might.

[nah the main crew isn't annoying him much...but those other two ships. He'll have to see how he feels after they get back.

Anyway. Glass empty, air cleared, he sets the glass down and pushes himself up, wincing a bit at the lingering dampness of his pants. Ew.]

I'd better go and make sure everyone listened to orders. At least now we know what's possible, so if anyone else starts acting oddly out of nowhere...

[abyssalarcana]

[She's glad he took that as a joke because she will really and truly consider weaponizing the fragments if it sounds like it might work in her favor.

Especially with someone like Rey.

But Caedra lets Law get up, of course, even if he was very comfortable to lean against.]

Go on, then. I'll be around if you need anything.

[In the meantime though she'll just sit here. Phew. All she needs is an hour and she'll be back to her usual self, but until then, she'll gladly remain a slug in this chair.]