Alexis Rosewood's Story

Port Draken. Some call it 'the harbor that never sleeps'. An island town far from Galatea's main cities, where merchants and sky sailors alike gathered to trade, be merry, and keep away from the Authority's more zealous soldiers. A flock of airships, from the larger merchant galleons to the small, agile swoops gathered by the piers, moored side by side in an orderly manner. A legion of Authority guards, clad in their strawberry pink coats and shouldering long muskets patrolled the area, watching the orange and purple sunset skies. No matter what, they must stay vigilant, of pirates, thieves, and drunks that could stir up trouble at any time.

Situated near the southern piers was Port Draken's main pub, the Willowy Wench's. Warm orange lights emanated from within, accompanied by the roaring laughter of the patrons from within. Wooden stools and round tables filled the interior, free of fancy decorations and pretensions. Large-breasted wenches poured ale into the glasses of frizzly-bearded sailors, their coats smelling of salt and sweat.

While some preferred to enjoy their drinks in peace, others did so with a little dance. A group of musicians gladly played a tune to accompany them, handling their guitars and violins with rapid, yet precise motions. The dancing patrons followed every beat, tapping, twirling, and nodding their heads to the song in their inebriated state.

Amidst the crowd of tall, burly men with hairy chests and gigantic chins was a tiny girl in blue, barely reaching the other sailors' chest on her toes. Her long pigtails tossed and swayed with every move, her bright face flushed red from the giant mug of ale in her hand. A three-leaved cover on her bright green scarf quickly gave her identity away... for some. Mostly her crew. Captain Himmel Valbuster, leader of the amateur treasure hunting party, the Shamrock.

"YAAAAAAA!" the blue haired girl shouted, with an open mouth smile wider than half her face, her dainty feet bouncing from the wooden floors lightly. With a blurry vision, she looked around, curious to see what the rest of her crew were doing. Would they stay by the bar and drink in peace? Or would they join her in the revelry? They were supposed to meet a client here by nightfall, minutes away... but the Captain couldn't help herself. A little bit of drunken liveliness never hurt anybody, right?

Not long after, the pub's back door swayed open, and in came a young man, his velvet red hair immediately standing out amidst a sea of brown, his slender body clad in a fine, red-orange coat. The young man briefly turned to Himmel and the revelers, and his lips curled into an amused smirk. Typical Himmel. He walked deeper inside the pub, his posture straight, his chin up, and an ever present, disarming smile on his face. His eyes darted around the area, seeking for other, more lucid members of the Shamrock crew.

Octavia, wasn't at all someone that could be called calm. Yet strangely enough the more agitated and rowdy the people around her were the calmer she'd get. She sat directly behind her captain, who had seemingly completely forgot the fact that she was there, she should've stopped them from going into a bar, this happens way too often. And she knew way too well that it was only a question about time before one of the many sailors would get themself a little too drunk, and in turn, get a little too frisky with the captain. That's why she made sure to keep a watchful eye on her while near alcohol

But Octavia remained seated directly behind the captain, quietly sipping away at a mug the same size as the captain's. She had decided to be a good first mate and make sure that Himmel wouldn't get herself too drunk, or atleast still standing. Her arm whizzed casually, the small fan constantly making a gentle humming. She recieved some looks from the sailors still not drunk enough to completely lose their ability to see. Certainly mechanical additions wasn't rare. But such a big, obviously combat focused one might not exactly be what most people expect to see on such a "Fair lady"

She peered over her mug at the small fluff of red moving through the crowd. She leaned forward and casually elbowed her captain between shoulder blades. It wasn't damaging, but it was certainly painful. She continued holding her mug to her face while nodding towards Declan. "Captain, get out of it, look who is here"

She leaned back in her chair, quickly taking another large chug. It would undoubtedly take some time for the captain to register Declan, and then some more time for her to realize that she should probably speak to him. Octavia wanted to see if she could finish her drink before that.

Kiri and Karos sat at a table near the back of the tavern, claimed by the latter in anticipation of requiring somewhere a little more secluded from the merry crowd of sailors in various stages of inebriation. Their position offered a good view of the room, even with the amount of people between them and the door. Karos kept an eye on Captain Himmel as she joined in the festivities, idly drumming his metallic fingers on the table in time with the music. There was little danger about, and the rest of the crew were nearby in case she happened to get herself into trouble with some of the other patrons.

While Karos was watching their dear captain, Kiri sat next to him, staring intently at the door. As nice as it was to sit back and have a pint of beer, the harpy was dying to know what their next job would be.

As if reading her thoughts, Karos turned his head and stated, "A watched pot never boils, you know."

"I know, I know..." muttered Kiri. "But that's not stopping you from watching the Cap'n, is it?"

"I am watching her so that things do not boil over and make a scene."

Kiri blinked. As odd as she found the usage of that expression, she could see what he meant by it after a few moments of thought. A barroom brawl would hardly put its instigators in a favourable light.

Noticing the tavern door open out of the corner of her eye, Kiri immediately perked up once she saw that familiar bright red mop of hair making its way through the crowd. "Hey look, it's Declan! He's here! Karos, mind the table, I'll be right back!" The harpy shimmied out of her seat, rushing off through the crowd to greet the Shamrock's favourite client.

"A new job as soon as we hit port eh? You never seem to change do you Cap'n?" Shana sighed as she watched the others from her own comfortable stool near the bar where the barkeep personally poured in drinks for their more, well, sophisticated patrons. A couple of years ago she would've joined in the dancing and the revelry, maybe even a little gambling to win some more money on the side. However, this night was a little different and she sure wouldn't forget the tales of those old sailors who had gone out to sea with a little too much to drink, never to be heard from again.

She orders another glass as her eyes darted across the room on the lookout for...well, she doesn't know exactly. Outside of her lookout duty on the deck, Shana wasn't too vigilant. Being just a little more relaxed in crowded places seems to serve her mood better. Acting like the locals makes the people turn a blind eye on you even more than acting tense and paranoid. Their Captain was acting TOO much like a local however. Shana could only laugh as she watched.

"Ah, here comes the landlubber." She espied their client Declan Palladion come in, standing out like a sore thumb among the rather motley crew that gathered in Willowy Wench's. After paying her drink, she made her way over to the Captain. She noticed the harpy Kiri approaching as well.

"Hey Cap'n? Guess what the tide brought in." Shana waved a hand at their client. "Cap'n is a little groggy today, as you can see. So what's next? Surely you didn't come 'ere just to tide over?"

Alexis sighed as she leaned against the wall of the tavern. She hated places like this all full of crazy and drunk people..Her own Captain included. " Wish our contact would hurry up and get here" she whispered to the small dragon robot resting on her shoulder. It was about that time when a clearly drunk man walked up to her.

"Yous gots a pretty Birdy pretty lady" he started "wants a dance wit me pretty lady"

Alexis looked disgusted " get away creep" she said

" Fine then no dance for the rude lady" the man said before turning around and falling face forward.

Alexis sighed and looked up catching sight of the contact...About time... She thought as she walked over.

If anyone stood out in the tavern more sorely than the captain and their red headed client, Tadashi would be the runner up. Unlike most of the ruffians or pirate looking burly men and revealing women, Tadashi stuck out with a eloquent suit and tie, looking like some strange noble's servant, lost and asking for directions.

However, like the rest of the crew, he was here primarily to watch the now obviously drunken captain, and watch out for their current client: Declan. Tadashi himself was sitting with Shana in the more reserved section of the bar, not really there to drink, as he was not a drinker. Being in taverns was quite the bore to him other than watching others prove to him the downsides to being drunk and unbalanced. Watching the youthful captain and master while she was under the influence was a lot more enjoyable though, as it was a side of her that he found quite funny to watch.

Unlike literally everyone else in the crew, he stayed where he was, he did not want to dirty his suit by trying to get through that drunken battlefield that was the impromptu dance hall. He felt he had no reason to babysit the captain currently since Octavia was there to do it for him, which led to less work on his side. He would let her finalize everything with the client, and when the crew was ready to leave, he would join them back to the Shamrock. With a small shake of his head he watched his crew from afar.

"Yow!" the Captain let out a little yelp in response to Octavia's not-so-gentle nudge. She stumbled two steps forward, then steadied herself with one step back, her vision still blurry from the alcohol in her system. "W-what? Who? Ohhhh!" Her wandering gaze soon caught Declan's bright red hair.

The petite captain patted her first mate's shoulder twice, then put on her best smile, showing off her pearly white teeth. "S'alright! I'm PERFECTLY sober now!" The scarlet hue on her face told a different story. Then, she stumbled once more, forcing her to hold on to Octavia's shoulders spare herself the embarrassment from face planting into the cold, ale-stained floors. She briefly looked around at her crew once more, and her shoulders slumped slightly, mildly disappointed that none of them joined her in the dance.

Kiri's upbeat, rushing form immediately caught Declan's attention as he made his way further into the tavern. "Greetings, Kiri!
You look well," he greeted her with a closed-eyed smile. The young man then chuckled as he turned towards Shana nearby. From afar, she looked like another young beauty. But up close, she seemed - and sounded - a tad older. "Good to see you too, Miss Earlstreim," he replied to her, his sharp, highborn accent coating his words. "And do not fret, I did not come here empty handed!"

Declan followed kiri and Shana's lead towards the Captain, the trio soon joined by another of the Shamrock's beauty, the doll-like Alexis Rosewood, fresh from fending off a pursuer. He then gave quick waves to Karos and Tadashi, the Shamrock's resident android and prim and proper butler, respectively. As well as the only male members of the crew.

With Octavia's help, Himmel sat herself atop one of the stools by the bar, arms folded, lips curled into a cat-like smile. She rested her back against the bar, using it as support so that she would not sway side to side like a metronome. "So I hear you've got a quest for us, Lord Decky~"

A tiny chuckle. "That I have, Captain Himmel." Declan gave a quick nod Octavia's way, then sat himself atop one of the stool next to Himmel, and lifted a briefcase onto his lap.

"You havin' anythin'?" the bartender, a large, burly, brown-skinned minotaur with shaved horns inquired.

Declan nodded his head while fiddling with his briefcase's lock. "Just water, please." the minotaur bartender rolled his eyes, then turned around to fetch said order. With a click and a whir, the redhead opened his case, and retrieved several sheets of paper. He turned towards the crew, and asked, "Have you all heard of the Far West Maelstrom?"

"Hmmm....
"Himmel's eyes darted left and right. It took a moment for her to recall, and the blue haired captain excitedly raised a finger when she did. "Oh! It's that small patch of the Untangled Ocean where a storm rages all the time, right?"

Declan nodded with approval. "Right you are, Captain." The red-haired youth showed one of the photos towards them, a sepia-toned picture of dark clouds hovering above a morning sea. Then, he showed another photo,
and another, each showing the same dark clouds, at different times of the day and taken at differing angles. "A literal unceasing storm surrounds this area, and it has been this way for as long as anybody could remember."

Declan leaned back in his stool and stroke his chin as he continued to exposition, with the merry violins and tap dancing continuing behind them. "I find it difficult to believe that this is a natural phenomenon. Whatever is inside this storm is hiding something. An uncharted island? A lost weather machine? Unimaginable secrets worthy of story and song?" Declan's eyes lit up like a child as he wondered about the possibilities.

After a brief silence, the red-haired youth cleared his throat, then claimed, "In any case, I am willing to grant your crew a handsome sum to investigate this mystery. 2500 coins up front, 5000 upon completion."

Himmel took a moment to consider this, then, with a pout and an accusatory squint, she leaned forward and replied to their client, "This sounds risky. And crazy."

A pause.

Then, a catlike smirk.

"I LIKE it!"

Declan's smile widened as he held back a chuckle. Himmel was never one to shy away from perilous tasks. Whether she was brave or foolhardy, however, depends upon one's opinion.

Himmel leaned back against the bar again, wobbling slightly along the way. The captain took a quick sip from her mug, then looked at the rest of her crew, raising her voice slightly so that the boys at the back could hear her more easily. Not that she needed to. "I say we take it! Any questions or objections?"

As he said, their client didn't come around empty-handed. Along with a new quest, he presented a hefty deposit upfront with the balance supposed to be given upon completion. Their Captain was quick to agree, as expected. Turning to the crew,
she asked if they have any questions about the quest.

"Got one." Shana was among the first to speak up. "Around how many ships have gone out to this patch of sea lad?" She asks about the history of this quest. Seems a bit redundant but Shana had her reasons. "Depending on how many lads have gone out and those who ended up in good o'l Davy Jones Locker, we may have some competition."

She mentioned the last bit in a small whisper as to not alert the other patrons to their lead. She didn't want any unnecessary confrontations as much as possible, considering the fact that they're dealing with uncharted territory.

"Ah, but of course I'm all down for it mates since the booty's nice. But hey, Cap'n asked." Shana flashed them a smile as she turned to the others.

Octavia didn't win the little bet she had put on herself, suppose the captain was a little more sober than she had imagined. She helped her lumber over to Declan and begin her questioning about, well, the quest. She leaned against the bar the same way as Himmel, attempting to finish her drink. She wasn't all so interested in the conversation, she only held her part of making sure that the captain doesn't do something too stupid.

She took a big swig of the brown liquid, quite satisfied with herself, until suddenly a a big rugged sailer backed directly into her. He was apparently picking a fight with some other patron, unfortunely he smacked Octavia's keg directly out of her hand, sending it graciously spiralling away in the distance. Just as this happened Declan took tone about the mission. The tipsy man was still pretty much pressed against her as the details about the mission was dropped.

In both a hurry to chime in with questions and a will to avenge her beer she swiftly kicked the man in the heel, causing him to fall backwards and loudly smask the back of his head against the bar. She took a step over the mean and leaned towards Declan, placing her un-mechanized hand atop Himmel's head. "You are way too hasty Himmel, You'd accept if he so told you to crash the Shamrock directly into the Authority headquarters." She then gave a mean look towards Declan "And you sweety, sure know how to take advantage of that." She swung up her right arm, poking the fancy man's temple "This is an investigation, and dangerous at that, we have no idea what to expect, so we ourself expect to be payed accordingly to that.Half now half later~" She then gave Declan a suprisingly warm smile

Tadashi looked back over, and with a little wave his way, Tadashi returned it with a small bow and a polite wave. Declan was the closest thing to Tadashi to people he was used to, somewhat polite, charismatic, somewhat noble, or at least in terms rich. However, Declan reminded Tadashi too much of his other noble master, a somewhat blind girl heavily interested in the mysterious of the lost technology of a time long gone, but Tadashi wasn't in the mood for lamenting right now.

It appeared the others were discussing, and they would possibly need someone who wouldn't have some threatening undertone in their voice while debating, where Tadashi would come more in handy. On his graceful dodging of drunks across the room, he meets up with the other crew, right before dodging a stumbling sailor, courtesy of Octavia, flashing her a look she wouldn't even see as she was staring Declan down. That posture and stare down was enough for Tadashi to figure out the job was either highly dangerous or highly stupid, he assumed both considering it was Declan. He remained by the captain's side, and listened intently to whatever was being said, no reason to speak up yet.

Kiri beamed brightly as Declan greeted her. It was always a pleasure to see him, the bringer of jobs that were rarely dull accompanied by generous sums of money. Looking back to where Karos was sitting, she beckoned him over with a winged arm and listened to the young noble's proposal with the rest of the crew.

She had heard of the Far West Maelstrom many times. Or more accurately, seen it on many maps. The eternal storms there were quite a source of inspiration for mapmakers. Ominous vortexes, shoals of sea monsters, and blankets of storm clouds were a common sight on sea charts. As much as Kiri found Declan's excitement infectious, even she had some reservations about this job.

"Octavia's right, we don't even know if there's any treasure there to begin with," she reasoned. "And how are we supposed to get in there when so many other ships got torn apart?"

Meanwhile, Karos stood beside Kiri and observed the situation, much like Tadashi was doing. If he was called upon to speak, he would provide his opinion, but he would most likely be mirroring the concerns that the rest of the crew had already voiced.

Declan turned to Shana as he answered her question frankly, "Twenty known missing cases, but presumably a lot more went unreported." He knew better than to lie to someone with her life experience.

Himmel watched as Octavia fended off a drunkard, then made her way to Declan's personal space, taking a moment to press a hand against the Captain's head. "Huuuuu...," she grumbled slightly as she took in Octavia's criticism. "I don't know, Octavia... crashin' the Authority Headquarters sounds kinda fun! Just imagine the look on their stuffy faces! Hee hee heeeee..." Himmel glanced to the ceiling as she became lost in her own alcohol-induced daydreams.

Declan leaned back reflexively, feeling the fair lady's finger on his temple. Warmth spread through his face as she smiled so close to him. "H-heh... you caught me, Octavia. My dastardly plans have been exposed," he half jokingly stated. True, Himmel could be a tad reckless ... but at least he knew that she had people like Octavia and Kiri to keep her sensible. "Very well. 3750 coins upon acceptance, and 3750 more once you return with results."

The red-haired youth then looked to Kiri to address the harpy's concerns, flashing her his calm, closed-eyed smile, "You need not worry about that. As long as you bring me results, be it exotic or mundane, I shall be content.". Declan nodded, then fiddled with one of his blood red bangs as he postured, "Tis' not the treasure that I seek, but the knowledge of what lies behind the storm. Gold, silver, precious stones - All are transient objects. But knowledge is immaterial and everlasting!"

Declan hopped off the stool, then pumped one fist, "Besides, think of it! The G.S.S. Shamrock, unmaskers of the Far West Maelstrom's mysteries!... Has a nice ring to it, if I may say so myself."

Himmel squinted and smirked, countering his point, "Heeee... it's a bit of a mouthful for me, but... it WOULD be nice to have our names in the new history books..." Himmel glanced to Kiri, then pondered for a bit, arms folded, lips pursed in deep thought. Kiri certainly raised some vital concerns. They need a plan. A really good plan. Solid as a rock. Her eyes lit up when one such plan struck her, and she whirled to face her engineer Karos, both of her tiny fists pumped as she suggested with complete conviction, "I know! Let's just build a shit ton of lightning rods on the Shamrock!"

Declan raised one brow in skepticism. "Would that really be enough?" It seemed like something others would have tried before. Others presumably lying at the bottom of the Untangled Ocean.

Himmel flashed a cat-like smirk, then placed both hands on her hips, puffing out her lacking chest. "Well, it won't be the only thing! The Shamrock, unlike most steamships, also has a secondary wheel under deck, so our helmsman won't have to expose ourselves to a potentially sparky death." The blue haired girl winked, then continued, "Besides! Between me, Karos, and Alexis, you have the finest mechanics this side of Galatea! We've made sure the Shamrock is one tough cookie, I assure you!"

Declan leaned back and smiled, mildly satisfied. "Heh. Of course. You certainly built that vessel to last, Captain Himmel." Himmel's eyes twinkled in the face of a compliment, and she clutched her cheeks as she giggled, "Muyoheeheehee, that's right! Praise me, praise meeeee!"

Suddenly, a thunderous noise came from outside. A noise which immediately silenced the entire pub for a few seconds. Himmel and Declann turned towards the window with cautious eyes.

"What was that?" one of the patrons whispered.

The door swung open with force, and a skinny, sweaty man bellowed into the pub, "THE PIRATES ARE COMING-!". The man was barely able to finish his sentence before a bullet pierced his back, and out his sternum, knocking him dead to the ground.

"PIRATES?!" The entire bar went into disarray. Gamblers reached to pocket their spoils and cards, diners scrambled to finish their soup, and pub wenches shrieked and scattered into hiding. The more sober sailors stood up and retrieved their guns and blades, and Himmel looked to her crew and wordlessly encouraged them to do the same.

Cannon fire boomed outside, scattering the dust and sand from the beach. Outside, the Authority's Pinkcoats fell one after the other, and pirates raced towards the pub, brandishing their cutlasses and flintlocks.

"Scurvy-ridden seadogs!" she cursed, chugging the last of her ale, before tossing the mug away and reaching for her maul, previously propped against the bar and kept under Octavia's watchful, sober eyes. The armed sailors knocked down the bar's round tables, using them as cover against the approaching pirates. Stray bullets flew through the air, puncturing doorways, smashing through glass, and taking out lamps.

With her dragon pistol in hand, Himmel joined the sailors, providing suppressing fire to strike back at the approaching pirates, her maul sheathed on her back. Even with two hands, the captain struggled from the recoil of the blunderbuss rounds, nearly falling over a couple times, still feeling lightheaded from the booze. She glanced to the rest of her crew with furrowed brows. With all the bullets flying around, it would be difficult for the more melee-oriented crew members to move in the open, to put it mildly...

Meanwhile, Declan ducked under another round table, reloading his twin-barreled revolver, and occasionally coming out to lend his assistance. Firing two bullets at once ensured that he was able to instantly down a pirate nine times out of ten, but it also meant that he needed to not be careless with his aim, lest he ran out of ammunition early.

"AGH! UGOH! GYAHH!"

Pirates came barely armored and with low quality equipment, and the more careless ones quickly dropped dead from their shooting. But a particularly fat, hardy pirate rushed in, with a large, broad, and thick blade in hand, using the weapon's sheer size to block several shots on the way in. Three gun-wielding pirates huddled behind him, using him as convenient cover. Flashing a smile filled with crooked teeth, the blade-wielding pirate dashed in and swung his sword sideways, smashing through a series of round table covers and the sailors behind them, spraying their blood all over the entrance. "HA-HA!"

Himmel holstered her pistol, then gripped the shaft of her maul. But she was too far. Too slow. The blade-wielding pirate held his blade up horizontally, then leapt towards the roundtable where Declan stayed, prepared to bring the blade down like a guillotine...

Alexis let the captain and first mate do the talking though she was about to add her two coins about how flying into a storm sounded like suicide when a man burst in yelling about pirates. Then as if on cue all hell broke loose.

Alexis quickly ducked behind cover drawing her revolver. She aimed and fired dropping one pirate, another shot another dead pirate. It was then that she saw the fat one charging....
The dragon bot on her shoulder came to life flying toward the face of the fat blade welder it's claws slashing into one of his eyes. The fat pirate wailed and began to swing his blade madly in half blind rage. The gunners turned their aim on Alexis forcing her into cover her dragon bot ceasing it's attack on the fat one to fly over and blow fire into thier faces two managed to duck but the third got a face full of fire and ran screaming out of the tavern.

"Bloody Pirates!" Alexis yelled as she rose up to fire her revolver at the fat one her dragon bot keeping the gunners at Bay for now...

Even though Tadashi was always the over cautious one of the crew, he also noted how reliable the crew was in these situations, so he trusted them to get them out of this job safely, or at least with small casualties. Tadashi was looking towards the door when that man had entered, screamed his piece, and then promptly died. A small high class curse from under his breath, and Tadashi flipped over the nearest table closet to himself and the crew.

Tadashi could only really fight defensively, and only with a very limited range weapon. so providing the cover for himself and the captain, he stayed to cover next to her, watching carefully for any pirates coming their way. Both pirates and sailors were dropping like flies, and the sudden fat pirate charging in like a reckless, cocky, idiot was not helping Tadashi or his fellow crew. He gave a nod of approval from Alexis for taking out the pirates site to possible save their client... Again. He felt quite useless so did the best he could kneeling next to the captain, looking pretty.

Scavenging off one of the either dead or injured sailors, he picked up several single shot flintlock pistol's, not something Tadashi was used to, but it is not his first time. He started taking aim next to the captain, doing his best to stay out of her way, and began taking shots at pirates, some missing completely, some merely grazing a pirates arm, or side, only enraging that pirate to head towards Tadashi and the captains table. Tadashi did his best to make quick work at the closest pirates, since they were bigger targets.

Kiri's brow furrowed, slightly annoyed that the main point of her question had not received a satisfactory answer. While she appreciated Himmel's suggestion of simply bolting on enough lightning rods to make the Shamrock resemble a large, airborne porcupine, part of her felt that the solution might not be quite so simple as that...

The harpy's train of thought was suddenly interrupted by an alert being sounded by one of the locals. Pirates! The tavern became frantic as non-combatants ran and hid while the rest drew a motley collection of weapons. Karos held out a small rod that extended into a spear, the tip glinting in the light, and took up a defensive stance in preparation for the onslaught. When the pirates burst through the tavern doors, Kiri sought cover behind the mechanical man. Being inside a building meant limited space for her to fly around in.

A particularly fat pirate with an equally large blade caught Kiri's attention amid the chaos. Dangerously close to cleaving Declan in two, he was only stopped by Alexis's robot dragon, providing a brief distraction before zipping away to spew jets of fire elsewhere. Kiri took advantage of this opening, leaping into the air and towards the bloated brigand, aiming a flying kick with her talons outstretched.

Meanwhile, Karos charged into the thick of the invading mob. He had little to fear as bullets and sword blows alike harmlessly clattered against his armoured form. He did not bother to use non-lethal force. Those who raided innocent towns deserved no such courtesy. The glow of fire alerted Karos to a pair of pirates who had been set alight. He hurriedly fought his way towards them, to deal with them before the fire could catch on anything and threaten to engulf the tavern.

Octavia kept her smile for Declan, the man was always very resonable in the end. She used her grip on Himmel's head to raise herself again, with the smile still on her lips she looked out at the clear, blue... pirate filled sky outside the bar "Ah shit"

With a not nearly as delicate swear as Tadashi she started making her way across the tavern to the other side. People were starting to scream and a firing line was set up, she didn't wish to remain at the same side as the rest of her crew, in these situations they did well to support eachother, but Octavia didn't wish to be supported, she likes fighting on her own, especially against shit-gobbling pirates. She observed as the battlefield developed, soon two firing lines had been established, she observed the pirates as they blasted apart the bar tables, with some luck she could've engaged them with her blade, with her mechanised arm she could've protected herself from their inital barrage and get enough time to start striking people down. But her expression soured as she stared at their own forces, the only reason they were really hitting anything was because they could just blindly fire towards the enemy and still strike something, she'd be blown to bits by her own army of drunkards.

She sighed and headed towards the table which Declan was under, her mood being slightly increased by the thought of messing with him in the middle of battle, then time froze as the giant pirate was about to cleave the table into two finely cut pieces, along with Declan. Luckily her crew was dependable and saved the red haired pompous man, with an agile slide she appeared directly next to Declan, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and following his vision out over the pirates. "Phew, that was quite close, maybe even close enough for a raise..." She suddenly lowered her head as the part of the table she had previously been by got blastered apart by a blunderbuss. She then immediately popped her head back up in the same spot, by some miracle still holding her top hat "And that was even closer, wonder which pirate clan this is..."

She suddenly switched her vision to the Shamrock's magnificent Engineer simply plowing his way through the pirates, she was pretty sure that he could handle this invasion by himself, these pirates seemed to be from one of the smaller clans, poorly equipped and not nearly powerful enough to nail the dazzling bot. She pulled Declan closer, nodding towards Karos. "I'd go and help him, could probably use him as cover from the pirates, but well-" She then nodded towards their own firing line which was shooting Karos just as much as the pirates were "-I believe we got an army of the worse shots thise side of the ekvator"

"Ayayay! When it rains, it sure as hell pours!" Shana sighed as she immediately ducked for the nearest cover she could find in order to avoid incoming fire. Pirates poured in, probably to try and take advantage of the fact that most of the patrons had their guard down to being tipsy or smitten with the serving ladies. The more combative ones among them immediately retaliated and the fight soon erupted into full-on chaos.

"Aah!!!" Shana winced a bit as a splinter of wood from the table she ducked under flew towards her eye when one of them pirates took a shot at her. Not sparing a moment to waste, she immediately retaliated by sending one of her treasured knives straight between the guy's eyes.

"I'm not paid enough to do this Cap'n!" Shana yelled teasingly though it was pretty hard to hear anything admist the gunfire and the sound of bottles shattering and tables breaking. Their engineer Karos charged ahead, almost taking out the entire pack single-handed. True to her own style, Shana immediately scales up to the beams and rafters of the tavern, not to avoid fighting but to try and see if she can claim the head of whoever planned this whole thing.

She scanned the crowd but she couldn't find anyone matching her own mental description of who might fit the bill. Most likely these fellas all just came barging in, hoping to take out the patrons with numbers alone. "Shit!" Giving up on that plan, she descended back down, taking two unwary pirates with her before heading over to Octavia's firing line, picking up a couple of revolvers along the way.

"Hope you don't mind if I hang around here for a while matey; situations like these ain't exactly my forte." Shana asked jokingly as she checked the remaining rounds on the salvaged guns before shooting back with the troupe. "Hey, what say we drag the Cap'n and the lad and blow this joint? Make it out with the least damage and avoid the Captain's tab at the bar eh?" Shana jokingly asks as she exchanges fire with the opposing side, occasionally ducking when bullets are heading her way.

Declan instinctively raised one arm to shield his face as the fat pirate descended, only for Alexis and her dragon bot to rescue him from a bloody fate. He watched in stunned silence as the doll-like girl proceeded to attract the attention of the other pirates, all the while shot glasses shattered, wooden splinters scattered, and pewter mugs ricocheted into the air around them.

As the fat pirate continued his rampage, partially blinded and completely incensed, Kiri came swooping into the scene, drop kicking him in the face and tearing off a huge chunk of his bloated visage. The pirate fell on his knees, dead and bleeding, his blade falling to the side and clattering.

"GYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Declan glanced over to Octavia, once again getting comfortable in his personal space, then back to the scene ahead. His eyes twinkled as he saw Kiri's agile form gliding through the air, like a fearless sparrow... So awestruck by the sight was he,
that he could not deny Octavia's sly request. Not that he was ever able to... "Ri..right.. a raise. I'll discuss this matter with your Captain once we get out of this..."

Then, Shana came to their side, proposing a rather explosive plan. Her tone was joking, yet her reasoning was sound, causing the red haired youth to furrow his brows in worry, tugging at his neck scarf as he pleaded, "I...really wouldn't advise that, Miss Earlstreim. You do that, and it'll be on me to pay for reparations." Declan glanced aside, and mumbled, "...And I'd rather not get yet another earful from my old man so soon..."

Karos' white-hot spear tore apart the pirates like butter, dwindling their numbers in mere seconds, their fearful yelps and shrieks of pain loud, yet fleeting. The knightly robot quickly attracted the pirates' attention away from Alexis, taking some heat off the dragon-wielding damsel. Their low caliber bullets harmlessly bounced off his armor, scuffing the metal at best.

Himmel shot side by side with Tadashi, and be it by luck or skill, she still managed to be more accurate than both the butler and the nameless, drunken sailors assisting them, taking out one, two, then three pirates periodically ducking in and out of their own fallen table covers. She glanced to the pretty butler by her side, and couldn't help but give a teasing smile at his lack of success. "Geeze, Tadashi! You make my drunken shooting look good!... Gotta admit, I'm rather flattered, hee hee."

Then, an idea came to her mind. They may not have Karos' durability, but both could fight up close much better than they were at range... "Hey, Tadashi...", she whispered. With her back against the fallen table, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a flash grenade. The captain's shoulders shook up and down as she stifled a giggle, then winked. "...On three. One.... THREE!"

The grenade ticked steadily as it arced past Karos' shoulder, giving him a split second of a warning to prepare. An overpowering explosion of light followed, blinding the pirates who continued to pour through the doorway... as well as the sailors on their side who weren't aware of Himmel's tactics. For the rest of her melee-oriented crew, however, this was a perfect opportunity.

"ARRR! W-WHAT THE?!"
"ME EYES!"
"WHAT THE HELL, WOMAN?!"

"HEY KAROS!" An upbeat voice called. "You didn't think we'd let you hog all the fun, did ya?!"

Himmel's tiny form leapt out of cover, then stood by the much taller Karos, handling her over sized maul with one hand, and carrying her pistol with the other. The effects of the flashbang receded, but the pirates remained dazed from staring at the explosion directly. "YAAAAAAAAA!" The Captain dashed towards one dazed pirate, and brought down her hammer straight into his face. A gratuitous crunch followed as the force of the blow dunked the pirate straight to the floor.

Some of the other pirates began to recover, but Himmel stepped towards one, and swung her weapon from her petite hips, knocking the scurvy dog towards the wall. She then twirled the weapon, back stepped, and launched one more pirate upwards with a mighty golf swing. The pirate shrieked like a little girl before his body smashed through the ceiling, scattering splinters and leaving behind a man-shaped hole behind.

"W-what are these guys?!" the pirates whimpered. They had the advantage, but the Shamrock crew was rapidly catching up. "OVERBOSS! HELP!"

Shana's sharp eyes quickly caught a mountainous form approaching in the distance. Judging by the sheer size of the creature, it was either another robot of their own, or....

SMASH!

...A minotaur.

Brown skinned, with long, raggedy dreadlocks and beard, a pair of downwards-facing horns, and a twin-headed labrys axe in hand. The Pirate's Minotaur Overboss stomped into the scene, demolishing the front doorway of the pub and knocking over many of his own men. The beast stood even taller than Karos, clad in rugged iron armor from head to toe.

Himmel's sky blue eyes widened at the sight, immediately losing her bravado and hiding behind Karos, once again using him as the crew's personal mobile cover. "EEP!" She glanced to the beast's axe. No way in hell would the likes of herself and most of the crew survive a direct hit from that weapon...

The remaining pirates, fewer than eight, huddled behind their Overboss, who snorted and glared Karos' way. Those with sharp eyes and a tactical mind might notice, the Overboss was heavily armored up front, but less so on his back... likely why the pirates positioned themselves as such, half of them carrying rifles and pistols, the other half brandishing cutlasses and broadswords.

Octavia enjoyed the expression on Declan's face, listening in on Shana's suggestion. But she wasn't much for it, at this rate there would probably be pirates swarming everywhere, here they at the very least got some kind of defensive position along with a couple of men who again, at the very least knew how to swing a cutlass "I respect that greedy request, but I'm not really feeling like leaving any of these pirates with their guts still safely stored~" She had turned her head to look and converse with Shana, and the moment that she finished her slightly terrifying remark an earkilling blast, along with an eyekilling flash just as bad appeared behind her. She spun on the spot taking in the development, a new, much more sincere smirk crept up on her

"Oh, oh! Thank you captain..."

Her smile grew increasingly more sinister as the large sword suddenly unsheated out of the top part of her arm, reflecting her smile in it's blade. Soundlessly she let go of Declan, took one step up ontop of the table's side, showing her famed balance before diving straight onto the nearest pirate like a ferocious harpy. Her sword pierced straight through the poor mans neck and kept going until it poked out of his lower abdomen. The man slumped together just as quietly as Octavia, the captain was already chasing off the rest with her savage club, she was quite scary with that thing, with a smile she brought her blade up to her face, assuming almost one of those fancy dueling stances.

Just in time as she sidestepped a large piece of wood that was sent flying from an even bigger pirates entrance, the piece meanly nailed a sailor in the forehead, decking him in the process. Octavia couldn't help but smile, she watched the minotaur loom over her Engineer and Captain. She took a couple of long steps around the side of the minotaur, like a queen who had just entered a room filled with people, she threateningly swayed her blade in circles while her arm methodically whizzed louder. "Crew! If you don't mind, I would so love to take the first audience with this-" The first part of her sentence was loud and clear with a certain amount of charm, her eyes then flashed as she stared at the giant axe with a smirk "-huge, stinking pile of pirate filth!" She pointed her blade directly at the creature, clearly trying to taunt him into attacking her

If it was one thing that Octavia held the most pride in, then it was the fact that she atleast thought herself to be the strongest melee combatant of the crew, it hadn't been tested but she atleast believed so. Sure Shana's hand to hand combat skill would prove difficult, Kiri's complete superiority in speed or just the pure bulk of Karos would all prove one hell of a challenge, but until they proved her wrong, she would gladly take on anything. And there was always that slight, weak thought in the back of head, the crew had her back, she couldn't possibly lose.

Tadashi's pride did take a small blow at the teasing from his captain, and he felt he couldn't just excuse it as trying to flatter the captain at this point, but he sighed when she took out the flash grenade, giggling like some school girl being complimented. Even with her mind half downed by alcohol, it was still a better plan than uselessly shooting at pirates from this table. Activating the mechanism's under his sleeves, his two twin blades show out from under, shifting up into his grasp, notifying the captain that he was ready.

Looking to the floor behind the table, Tadashi waited for the grenade to go off, and hearing the Captains more cute than intimidating war cry, he jumped up and surged forwards with her. However, it was not like Tadashi had much chance to fight himself, as the captain and their somewhat sadistic first mate Octavia were already racking up the pirate body count. He was admiring the view before he spotted movement from the door after one of the pirates called for help, and knew all too well how big of a mass that was coming to them would be. He side stepped from a piece of door that went flying from the Minotaur, and stared at the huge thing and his even bigger axe. Direct confrontation would be bad, and the crews resident robot would not survive the hit from it, so Tadashi felt agility would be more useful in this situation.

He came to a similar conclusion that his back was the weak spot, however, his remaining goons were guarding it quite well. They would most likely have to work together, and one would start with a distraction, which his thoughts were cut short by Octavia already volunteering for that role. He spotted her face and her movements and knew she was going to be cocky again, which he admired her confidence, but also did not want her to get wiped if she accidentally took one misstep. For safeties sake, Tadashi took the Overboss's other side that Octavia was not one, hopefully to draw out the remaining goons or possible be the distraction, as he was a lot more composed right now in comparison to the other battle hungry crew mates. The others on the crew may be better combatants when it came to shooting, strength, and in some sense, acrobatics, but Tadashi had confidence in his guile, strategic thinking, and also his agility to move and dance around opponents, and slowly cut away at their life using his favorite set of knives. Tadashi was already looking for the crevices in the Minotaur's armor, looking for the weak points to possible get his blade underneath and through, as he would be easily able to dodge that heavy weapon the towering monstrosity was carrying. However, to not fully dash on Octavia's enthusiasm of trying to take it alone, he held back and waited for the fight to begin on either her or the Minotaur's go.

"Oh bloody hell..." Alexis muttered as she saw the Minotaur there was no way in hell she was getting close to that so she ducked down sneaking silently to flank the pirates. Moving to where she could get a good shot at the other pirates when the Captain, first mate and others drew the Minotaur away. She and her dragon bot waited silently. When the Minotaur charged she and her dragon bot would attack hopefully keeping the other pirates busy or dead so the meleers would only have the Minotaur to fight.

Declan peeked from under the table, watching as Octavia joined Karos and Himmel, skewering one pirate and letting another die from an unfortunate stray wood-shanking. His wide eyes darted between them and Kiri, and muttered to himself in conclusion, partially in awe, partially out of fear, "... The women in this crew are terrifying." He felt a degree of pride swelling within him. He was their employer, after all.

The Overboss' pupils shrunk in fury in response to Octavia's taunting. The beast took a deep breath, and let loose a bellowing roar, "GNAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" He took a heavy stomp to brace himself, then charged forward, dragging his gigantic axe across the floors and scattering bright orange sparks in its wake. At the last second, the Overboss swung his blade from the ground upwards, delivering a gargantuan slash straight towards Octavia, scattering sparks, splinters, and a strong if harmless gust of wind along the way.

True, the weapon was imposing with its sheer size and thickness. But it was slow, and its short haft was woefully lacking in range. And the weight meant that the Overboss took several precious seconds to recover from his overswing, exposing the segments between his armor to those facing him up front.

The pirates moved to once again cover their leader's back, but then caught sight of Tadashi, in his seemingly mundane yet luxurious suit, and with no immediately apparent weapons. Two sword-wielding pirates immediately charged towards him with wicked grins, with a blunderbuss-lugging one staying back to assist his mates. "I'M GONNA CUT THAT PRETTY FACE O'YOURS, BOY!"

Suddenly, Alexis sprouted out behind cover and fired away, backed up with her dragon-bot, towards the other half of the Overboss' entourage. The pirates could barely react as a heavy revolver bullet splattered one's brains, and a stream of fire sent another dancing hysterically out of the pub. Two down. Six to go, plus the Overboss.

A lot of it happened rather quickly, from the boss charging Octavia, to the two pirates charging Tadashi, and before Tadashi lost composure, he took a single deep breath. Time for him seemed to slow, or feel like a dream, he shut his eyes for a mere moment, feeling like several minutes to the young man himself. He was in his mind, some classical song began playing in the background, Tadashi began recalling the steps, and then opened his eyes.

"....One.. Two three, one... two three... One... Two three" he had whispered under his breath in nostalgia.

He took a bow, as if to bow to his dance partner, towards the charging pair of pirates, the blades now gripped tightly in his hands. He viewed each of them closely, one farther in front of the other; that pirate would reach Tadashi first, without a doubt, giving him about one second before the second reaches him, and possibly another one to two as the rear pirate is awed by what Tadashi was going to do. He then viewed their own blades: cutlasses, the standard for any poor pirate. He looked at the pirate charging him, and examined how he was going to strike by looking at some key signs. He was right handed, his blade was raised above his head, preparing for a diagonal slash towards Tadashi's mid section, judging by the angle the pirates wrist was twisted, which was at around a 45 degree angle. With that in mind, Tadashi concluded that he would make a diagonal slash from his top right to bottom left, and Tadashi braced himself to use that inertia and force of that attack to his advantage.

Retreating the blade in his left hand for the counter, Tadashi then flipped his right hand blade around, holding it upside down for an easier stabbing motion. Tadashi made no indication of moving until right when the first pirate began his slash, and just as Tadashi predicted, he was going for that diagonal motion. Tadashi shifted his left leg like a door hing, while also twisting his upper body to his left, dodging the slash without a scratch. Right when his cutlass finished the swing, Tadashi lashed out with his free left hand and grabbed the pirate's right arm, and using the directional force he was already in the middle off, he further pulled the pirate forward, knocking him out of balance and forcing him to fall to the ground on his face. Right as he hit the floor, Tadashi took his right blade and stabbed it right into the back of his neck, into his skull, and whether that pirate was still alive after that, he was at least not getting back up to continue the fight.

Tadashi knew he only had seconds to spare, so he quickly removed the blade from the pirate's neck and quickly flicked his way to the other pirate, who for whatever reason, was going for a stab... With a cutlass. He did not know the pirates exact reasoning, but the tip was still sharp enough to cut his coat jacket, so he took one quick twirl and side step, and with a quick release of his left hand blade, he made a deep cut to the side of the second pirates neck, hitting a vein important enough to stop the pirates efforts in killing him. As the man writhed on the ground, grasping at his neck, Tadashi took a step back to not get any blood on him.

Giving a sigh and using a handkerchief to clean off a spot of blood from his hand, he gave the remaining pirates still watching him a small look. The look was both filled with confidence and intimidation, in a somewhat polite face, with deadly undertones to anyone else wishing to do battle with him. To add insult to injury to the crew, he gave one more bow, indicating the dance was now over, as if asking the pirates to applaud his show of massacring their brothers in arms.

Not holding even a inch of the same class and graciousness as the crews cook Octavia hunkered down, she had expected the big lug to go for a large sideways swing, an attempt to decapapite her which could be a good way to get behind him. Instead he gave a wide upwards swipe, carving out the floor in the process. Giving a slight startled help, unbefitting of her earlier cockiness she gave a short roll backwards, rolling straight up into the same dueling stance she showed earlier, the axe still only barely swiping past her forehead. She raised her blade as if to try and swipe at the savage, yet she listened to her better judgement and took a few slow steps back while regaining her smirk

"Hey that was a pretty good swing, guess you are much smarter than you look, now you only need to do something about the odor, the bad teeth, this straight up ugly scars and maybe just your general demeanor!" She gradually pointed at the different parts of the Minotaur as she spoke, her smirk more growing into a mocking smile. She grew cold for a moment thinking of the shameful yell she let out earlier, he's gonna get one for that.

The Minotaur couldn't become a pirate overboss just because he's really muscly and know how to swing an oversized axe, or maybe he could, but he didn't! He held some smarts in battle, not enough but some, for example, he wouldn't go for the same kind of swing twice. It was just pure swordsmanship etiquette, axemanship. Hopefully her quick remarks would be able to anger the colossal assailant enough for him to lose that small amount of wit he showed.

And it seems she was successful enough as the bull swung again, and it was that horizontal swing she was looking for. The axe came thundering towards her, which she in response dove forward holding her weapon over her head. The axe struck against her arm causing a moment of sparks to fly before the axe curved against it just slightly, following the trajectory of both her arm and blade the axe nicely stroked against her arm before the massive amount of force made the Overboss continue behind her, standing up from her powerslide she struck both her arms outwards, catching the Minotaur's knee from behind.

She stood up witha smile, crippling the rugged pirate with her strike, before quickly realizing that she now stood behind the pirates and their captain. She turns to the bloodhungry mass of corrupted sailors "Oh.. ah, Hi! Sorry about that!" She glances over her shoulder, giving a begging look towards her crew