And in the blue corner, pirates! [OPEN]

[tidesnpc]

Characters: The crew of the Silvana
Content: The Silvana has met a trio of pirate ships in combat! This is an all-purpose log for people to use during the ship-to-ship fighting.
Setting: On the Silvana, durr
Time: Starting... now.
Warnings: Only what you bring with you.

Comments

[inyourmidst]

Gin was standing fearlessly on the deck as the battle between the ships raged. Here it was, his perfect opportunity to observe the Silvana and it's Captain's tactics, as well as see whether this rag tag crew would actually pull themselves together or fall apart. Surprisingly it seemed to be more of the former, proving that despite the paranoid twitchiness that had overcome certain members after the death of Morris, they were actually fairly competent when the chips were down. The deck was a flurry of activity, with a few gunners attempting to shoot down the few planes the pirates had sent in their direction.

A radio operative wasn't really expected to participate, but Gin's blood was racing just from proximity to the excitement. A shame they weren't actually going to board the other ships. Gin knew how to use the cannons, of course, but he preferred not to use them. Guns were so indirect; he preferred blades. However, he was satisfying his bloodlust by having his journal tuned to the pirate's inter-ship frequency. It had been a pain to find the right channel, but the panic and screams were very satisfying to listen to as he leaned against the deck railing in the midst of the pandemonium.

[who_said_bald]

"Told you."

Ikkaku was, of course, referring to his reply to Gin's taunting earlier. It was true, he had not come out to the deck immediately as he had originally hoped; Captain Rowe had already squashed that idea, but perhaps he had been right to order Ikkaku not to simply barrel in and start to berserk. Instead, once the battle had started, Ikkaku had simply chosen to calmly begin securing a few things around the ship, using a set of thick straps specifically designed for such occasions to keep certain objects from shifting around and potentially breaking.

It was boring being such a good little boy, though. Gin's chiding was all he needed to break away.

He did more than simply join their radio operator on the deck, though. Along with Ikkaku's voice, Gin would feel the unmistakable tip of Ikkaku's sword pressed against the square of his back. The pressure was not enough to pierce or tear, but behind the blade's edge was the pressure of an unmistakable bloodlust, pure, carnal, oozing killing intent.

"Although I'm sure you already know it, Ichimaru, I just wanna take this time to tell you how much I hate you," he began, speaking with a smile on his face.

In the distance, one of the gunners managed to land a solid hit on one of the pirate ships, inciting an enormous explosion. The air was filled with acrid smoke, the scent of warped and melting metal combined with a choking cloud of ash and burning wood.

"I'd bet anything that you're responsible for half of the bad luck that happens on our ship. You're a slimy little snake of a coward, and don't think I'm exaggerating at all when I said that I'd like nothing more..." he continued, pushing against Gin's back a little, "...than to run you through right now and then just dump your body overboard."

Surprisingly, though, Ikkaku then removed the sword from Gin, but kept it in his hand as he backed a step away.

"But then I'd just be like you, eh?" He laughed sharply, shaking his head in dismay. "Nah, I'd much rather fight you to the death instead. I want a real, solid reason to kill you, so don't slip up...not for an instant."

Huffing contemptuously, Ikkaku sheathed his sword, then folded his lean arms across his chest and regarded the ongoing battle with a completely casual attitude, the light of each explosion and cannon-shot reflecting in his eyes.

"...so anyway. What do you think about this?" he asked, lacking the anger in his voice from before, as if it were just normal conversation. "Are the cannons gonna be enough, or are we going to have to end this ourselves?"

[inyourmidst]

Gin didn't flinch at the press of the blade against his spine. In fact he even went so far as to lean back against it, smirking blatantly as Ikkaku said his piece.

He really wasn't surprised at the former Quatermaster's opinion, nor particularly perturbed by his threat. The problem with Ikkaku was that he was far too honest, which Gin tended to find laughable and amusing in turns. There was no point wasting his usual act on the man because honesty could be irritatingly perceptive in its own right and Gin's sincerity was rarely very believable. Ikkaku was never going to like him anyway, so politeness was discarded in place of openly antagonising him instead. It was more fun that way.

"Even if I slipped," Gin said, his voice just low enough for the two of them to hear over the sound of the explosion, "I doubt a senseless fighter like yourself with more brawn than brain would ever notice. Maybe you'd better call on someone like Miss Grants to do your thinking for you, hm? Until then, let's stay friends, alright?"

Outright mockery was actually a refreshing change. There were some benefits to having Madarame around. No need to hide what he thought of the man, but at the end they both understood that until there was some solid basis for Madarame to challenge him they were going to keep working together.

"Unfortunately," he said, with an small note of remorse, "I think the Ship's weaponry is going to be sufficient. It would be interesting if they tried to board us though. Tactically speaking, their ships are sunk, so their only chance of survival would be to take ours. If they could get close enough, that is, but they seem to be having trouble."

Gin gestured to one of the smaller vessels who seemed to be trying to weave through the cannon fire the Silvana's gunners were providing, without much success.

[who_said_bald]

"Che...sucks," Ikkaku muttered crossly, showing his disdain for the tedious situation with a unsightly huff. If he and Ichimaru had anything in common, it was the preference for a more personal touch in these matters, rather than hiding behind a lot of cannonade. "That means maybe one of two things...either: A) these guys just suck, or; B) our guns are too good."

Neither option was very positive in his eyes. If the first were true, a straightforward fight with them wouldn't have been much fun anyway, and if were the second, then all their pirate raids would be the same way from then on. Hopefully, it wasn't a combination of both.

Launched by the stunning explosion of an escape vessel from one of the pirate's ships, a small, smoking piece of metal landed just beside Ikkaku's feet. He didn't even flinch as the shard of steel flew towards him, simply standing there with a bored expression, and once it settled on the ground, he shifted his stance, then kicked it off of the deck.

"It's pretty damn uncivilized, if you ask me!" he said, raising his voice to no-one in particular.

THREADJACK, HOPE YOU DON'T MIND? 8D;;;

[knitter_gwen]

Gwendal had actually been on his way to the deck before he decided to stop and writing in his journal, to inquire about the situation above. He'd preferred to be briefed at least a little on what was going on. So far, all he knew was that there were three pirate ships ready to attack.

He hadn't actually been on the ship long, a few days at most, and only barely knew the crew members. Gwendal never made it much of a habit to familiarize himself too quickly until he knew the situation first. But already they were going to be under attack and so, he would have to find out who these people were and what they did, along with the enemy side.

His sword clicked at his side as he strode next to the silver-haired man. "Can you tell me what has been going on so far?" Gwendal asked immediately, his eyes moving about, taking in the situation.

[ooc: Yay, he's finally here! Doing homework though so I may be slow as I do this. Are the ships already firing though or just, you know, glaring at each other? xD;;]

PFFFT, OF COURSE I DON'T, BB. 8D

[inyourmidst]

Gin turned, raising an enquiring eyebrow at the newcomer. There weren't too many members of the crew who he hadn't yet met (and quietly analyzed for his plans) so this had to be one of the newcomers...apparently one who liked to get right to the point. Gin spread his arms and gestured to the open expanse of the deck.

"Well I would say that either the Silvana's reputation has failed to do the negotiating for us, or else the average IQ of pirates has dropped sharply over the last few months," he said grandly, a hint of whimsy in his movements. "It looks like they've decided to stand their ground. Sort of a shame for them, I think."

Professional interest caused his eyes to be drawn to the sword at the man's side, but the weapon seemed to be of the ordinary variety; not a manastone in sight. "You know, most people find it polite to introduce themselves first," he added, his tone carefully balanced between rudeness and playfulness so it was difficult to tell which he was being.

[OOC: The ships are just starting to exchange fire, so expect there to be duck-and-covering shortly. 8D And don't worry, I'm attempting to tag from work, so my replies will be kind of sporadic also. XD;]

Hee! Sorry, fell asleep here and I has school in a couple hours D8

[knitter_gwen]

No, there wasn't any manastone in his sword. Gwendal never felt the need to extra mana since he's already got so much inside of his own body. However, that didn't stop the man from ever contemplating on getting one or two. Maybe later, though.

"Hm, I don't think reputation can be all that reliable, example being the ships in front of us," He noted.

When the silver-haired man added the extra line about introductions Gwendal, took it in stride. Whether he was being rude OR playful. "I apologize, I am Gwendal von Voltaire."

[ooc: Okay, thanks! So these are like normal seaships that fly, right? Like on Treasure Planet?]

Apparently we both have fail timing then. XD Or maybe just fail timezones!

[inyourmidst]

"Gwendal von Voltaire," Gin repeated, adding an unnecessary note of contemplation to his voice as though needed a moment to recall it from memory. "Oh yes, I remember. Our new strategist. Your timing is either extremely good or incredibly unfortunate."

In lieu of offering his own name, he let his smirk widen slightly. "I see you decided not to hide below after all. Well, as you can see, you have a perfectly good view from here."

One of the planes from the pirate ship buzzed low overhead, followed by a brief hail of gunfire that sent other members of the Silvana's crew scrambling for cover. Gin seemed relatively unfazed. "Although it will probably get noisy very shortly."

[OOC: And forgot to answer your question. orz All ships mentioned are airships, so they're run by steam engines and generally have propellers out the back, but for the most part they look like regular ships, yes.]

XD Indeed. I be PST.

[knitter_gwen]

"Hm," Gwendal snorted dryly. "I'm still trying to figure that out."

However, Gin's next remark let Gwendal know exactly who he was talking to. Not that he would make a comment about it. Instead, he looked away to observe. The blaze of gunfire didn't surprise him. He was wondering if the ships were ever going to get into battle, considering negotiations seemed to have failed.

Gwendal just blinked at the scrambling crew and gunfire and sighed. "Noisy, indeed."

[inyourmidst]

Gin shot him a sly, sideways look. "Although on a ship like this, I'm not sure how much stratergy is really requred. Superior size and firepower seem to be able to do most of the talking. It leaves those of us who aren't manning the weapons without much to do."

He sighed dramatically, leaning against the deck rail. "The captain seems to have decided that shooting them out of the sky would be sufficient, although I do believe there would have been some merits to a boarding party. Claiming their ships rather than destroying them could have been profitable." And more enjoyable, although Gin supposed he shouldn't complain. He was here to see how the Silvana's firepower measured up to other ships...it just didn't have a lot of personal satisfaction in it for him.

[knitter_gwen]

"No, I don't suppose there is..." Gwendal murmured, watching the action. It was pretty sufficient and no strategy was really involved. Just shoot at them. Still though...

"I think boarding has merit as well, but if the Captain doesn't want to, then I won't force the issue," Gwendal shrugged.