Red Sky at Night (IC)

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger nodded to Blodeuwedd and whispered. "Go ahead and peek around more while I deal with this guy. That should give you guys the time you need to figure out what else might be going on here."

"I have no interest in your gang, you know." She said with a smirk. "But when I hear a man talking about how fighting is a man's thing, well, I have to try and prove him wrong. Whaddya say. Friendly bout? One on one, end of it all we both walk away intact, though you may be a little sore in the morning." She said, flashing a wicked grin. It was a wild look, like she was just itching to fight. It wasn't all acting, though, she genuinely wanted to see just how good this guy was.

[Supercape]

GM

Under the pier...

"So its a fight ya want do ya?" said Knuckles, cracking his namesakes.

"Just for the fun of it, ya say?" he said, taking a few steps nearer her.

"Yer on!" he shouted, and with lightning speed, zipped into action, using a classical boxing style. He was a boxer, that was for sure, all feints and jabs, but he was a dirty boxer, one who had fought in the streets on countless occasions. If that meant elbows, knees, or headbutts could be added to the menu, then he was all for trying out new dishes.

He was strong, but more than strong, he was fast. And more than fast, he was all jeers, mouth and aggressive feints. Hard to pin down, and hard to predict. Whilst he did not have the strength, or the skill of Mali, he did have the raw aggression, and probably had even more experience.

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger moved in began to deflect and dodge his attacks, watching his technique. He was refined more from experience than training, she could see. This netted everything even to her, as his skill far outweighed his relatively limited training. He was a hard man, without any subtlety or trickery to his strikes.

She delivered a couple of quick, light punches to the abdomen, jabs that would hurt, but not drop him. She was having fun, though. This guy was pretty good all in all, and she knew it would take more than one easy strike to put him down. She couldn't sacrifice accuracy for power and simply drop him. Nor did she particularly want to. She didn't have a reason to put him down hard, at least not yet.

[Supercape]

GM

"Sweet Jesus" cursed Knuckles as he took a few steps back from his initial assault, rebounded by the swift jabs of the Crimson Tiger. He bit his lip and refrained from holding his throbbing ribs.

She punches like a mule kicks...but I ain't giving her any satisfaction!

He came in less quickly this time, with more grace, his fists setting up a rhythmn, pounding away at her, taking the initiative this time, until suddenly he broke from the effective, efficient rythmn, and swung his head at her in an unpredictable head butt.

"Didn't teach ya that at Kung Fu class did they!" he said, gritting his teeth.

[Supercape]

GM

Meanwhile...on the Prince Edward...

"What in Neptune is that!" yelled a tired and wet ship hand, as the funnel of water appeared besides the hauler. He was on his own, a torch by his side, and some warm and much needed tea in a flask. Night duty on deck was not exactly popular, but he did the rounds every hour, checking everything was ship shape and Bristol fashion.

As the funnel of water expanded, he dropped his tea, and ran towards the bridge of the ship, his legs flush with fear and thus suitably emboldened with speed.

"Gotta tell the cap'n! gotta sound the alarm! its some kind of cyclone!" he jabbered to himself, although well within earshot of Tsunami.

[Thevshi]

From where she crouched at the top of the water column she had formed, Tsunami heard the man calling out about spotting the column, though from what she could hear, he did not seem to have spotted her yet. Well, that could have gone better. She thought as she reached the level of the top of the aft section of the boat, forming a small bridge of water over to the top that she quickly moved across.

Once on solid surface, she let go of the water in the column, causing it all too just fall back down into the river below. She then moved to some shadows to wait and see how the ship’s captain might react to the man’s story now.

As she crouched down, she whispered into her comm. unit to Cerys. "A watchman spotted my water column as I got on board, but I don't think he saw me. They may be on alert as you try to get aboard, but hopefully things will settle down."

[Supercape]

GM

The panicked ship mate ran towards the bridge, slipping over twice on the wet and slippery deck, and punctuating the unfortunate falls with hearty marine expletives.

Upon reaching the bridge, he went to sound a horn, all the while scanning the horizon for further unusual hydro-activity.

Imminently, the captain of the ship arrived. He looked old, maybe in his mid fifties at best, but more likely pushing sixty. He had a grizzled white stubble to complement a grizzled white hair. For all that, he looked in good enough shape for a man of his age. Perhaps he was not as fast or as strong as he once was, but the captains cap didn't mean he wasn't fit and active on his ship.

"A tornado? What in God's name are you talking about?" he yelled at his deck hand, before snatching up his binoculars and scanning the horizon.

"Too dark to see out there anyway, what with this rain on top of everything. But you don't get typhoons when the sea and wind are calm like this, sonny!" he reprimanded his ship hand with a stiff, iron voice. He had an american accent, but one that had been peppered from travels around the world and sounded, if anything mid-atlantic.

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd really wanted to stay and help her friends, but it was something that Mali had to do herself, pausing only to wish her friend good luck she moved past the huddled group towards the ship the cop mentioned was interested.

She briefly thought about the last time she’d been on a ship, and how that had gone, or even the time before. She gave a tight little smile to herself, obviously she and ship’s just weren’t meant to mix.

Rather than move via the gangplanks, which would probably be guarded, she got out her grappling gun and used it to climb the side of the side and onto the deck.

“Giang I’m on the ship, where are you now?â€

[Thevshi]

Tsunami remained in place in the shadows an air vent that extended up from the roof she was currently on, listening to the exchange between the watchman who had spotted her and the ship's captain. Thankfully the lack of anything to confirm the watchman’s story had the captain doubting what the man said.

Hearing Blod’s message over the comm., the Asian teen moved back slightly behind the air vent, glancing around a moment before whispering back. "I am next to a port side air vent on the roof of the aft tower. Things appear to be defusing, as the ship’s captain is not believing his watchman's story."

[Supercape]

GM

The Captain stroked his short clipped beard, looking out at the sea. Perhaps it was his years experience, but he didn't like to take chances.

"Stay there. If you see anything, sound the alarm..." he told the ship hand. He reached to the locked gun cabinet of the bridge, and pulled out a pump action shotgun.

"I don't believe you saw what you said you saw" he explained. "But then I'm not a man to take chances...."

He strolled out of the ship, lifting his face to the sky, feeling the rain on his face. Even as he did so, the rain became heavier and darker, and a roll of thunder could be heard.

A faint smile crossed his mouth.

"Hmmm..." he murmured to himself, taking a flashlight from his pocket and walking down the deck, shotgun cocked...

[Tiffany Korta]

Moving up onto the top of the superstructure Blodeuwedd made her way to the rear of the ship to meet up with her colleague. With the concealment of her ring and her natural skills she was totally unnoticeable but all but the most skilled of people.

As she did moved she paid attention to the crew moving around on deck, especially the Captain who seemed especially keen on catching any intruders. It suggested that they were either security or they something to hide.

“I’m on my way to you but the crew is looking for someone, anyone, is there anything you can do to distract them for a bit. I don’t want to have to try and take down an entire ship…â€

[Thevshi]

"I believe I can do that." Tsunami replied when Blodeuwedd asked if she could create some sort of distraction. Turning her attention towards the front of the ship, the Asian teen focused past her normal senses, focusing instead on the water out to port side of the ship's bow. She then reached out with her powers, taking control of more than ten tons of water and lifting it up into the air, not as the small column she had made when getting herself up, but as an enormous mass of water.

After rising it up about thirty feet into the air, Tsunami released her hold over the water, allowing it to crash back down into the river.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The captain turned suddenly at the sight of the water rising and crashing. 

 

"That ain't any storm. There ain't nothing natural about that..." he said, clutching his shotgun in one hand and the rail of the deck with the other. He leant out to scan the sea fearlessly, as the rain started to come down more heavily, matting his hair and beard. 

 

"And I seen plenty of years on the sea..." he muttered. 

 

"Tonight, of all nights. What is this? Some trickery from Atlantis?" he yelled at the open waters, which churned and frothed still from the collision of waters. The ship rolled deeply from the crashing. 

 

"Son. I think we are going to have trouble tonight..." he yelled at the frightened deck hand "best get the crew ready. Get the ship ready. We ain't fully loaded...but...." he tailed off, stroking his beard. 

 

"Fire up the engines!" he said to the young man, who ran off. 

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger moved her head back, just in time to avoid getting hit by the headbutt. She backed off and studied him for a moment, before throwing a feint. He fell for it, his body moving to dodge the hit. As her hand moved by his head, she turned and kicked him in the stomach as hard as she could. She watched as the light went out and he doubled over. He was doubtlessly out.

 

She looked over the audience, making sure none of them stepped up. If Knuckles was the strongest they had, then it was pretty clear none of them would be able to compete with her. Still, a lucky shot could prove bad, so she stood and sized the crowd up, making sure none of them made a move. She wondered where Tsunami and Blodeuwedd were, and what they were up to.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Silence hit the crowd just as hard as Crimson Tiger's fist. Knuckles lay sprawled on the floor, out cold in front of her. 

 

A cheer, slow and soft at first, but accelerating to a din, came from the old dockers. The thugs looked angry. 

 

Angry and drunk. 

 

For that matter, so did the old dockers, who, now emboldened by the impressive victory of Crimson Tiger, started advancing - with some caution but much deliberateness against the thugs of Knuckles O'Hagan. 

 

"Take our jobs, would you?"

 

"You ain't dockers. You are just low life scum...."

 

The air sweated violence. There was going to be a royal rumble between the two dozen men, and Crimson Tiger was in the middle...

[Thevshi]

Tsunami remained where she was after causing her distraction.  While it certainly had drawn the Captain's focus, it otherwise did not appear to work quite the way she had intended.  To be sure the Captain was not busy looking for anyone at the moment, but he was also now focused on getting the ship underway.  He certainly seemed concerned about something involving the ship, but what that might be was still uncertain.

 

"Well, not sure that helped us much."  The Asian teen whispered into her comm to Blode and Crimson Tiger.  "The Captain is now preparing to put the ship out to sea."

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd thought for a few second then spoke calmly and carefully.

 

“I’m going to the hold to try and find out what so precious could you slow down the ship leaving Giang? Maybe cut the propellers off from the water or something similar I should only need a few minutes. But try to stay out of trouble.â€

 

As she spoke she made her way towards one of the hatchways into the bowls of the ship, before she entered the superstructure she pause to check in with Mali just in case the ship interfered with the comms.

 

“Mali we could use some help up here are you finished with that lughead yet?â€

[Thevshi]

"I will see what I can do."  Tsunami quietly replied to Blod’s request that she try to delay the boat's departure until Blod could investigate the ship’s hold.  The task was not as easy as one would imagine, but the Asian teen would not really know just how difficult it might be until she located the ship’s propellers and determined how much water she was going to need to deal with.

 

Turning towards the aft of the ship, Tsunami generally looked down to where she estimated the propellers would be located, reaching out to "feel" the water that was pressing against the hull of the ship.  By carefully considering how the water was interacting with the ship, the Asian teen was able to locate the propellers.  There was a lot of water to deal with, but she needed to keep the ship still for at least a little while.

Reaching out with her powers once again, Tsunami exerted her will on the water that was around the propellers, pushing it away from them to keep the ship from being able to move.  There was a lot of water down she needed to move, and the Asian teen had to exert herself more than normal, but she managed to succeed at moving the water.

"Alright, the ship is not going anywhere."  She replied quietly over the comm., her voice sounding a bit strained as she continued to exert her power on the water to keep it away from the propellers. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

"What's this? The ship isn't moving!" cursed the captain, as the engines thummed away, hitting only air. 

 

He examined the readouts on the bridge. 

 

"This..can't be happening. All systems are registering normal. The propellers are moving...but yet we stay still. This, boy, is more than coincidence. Strange storms, water falling from the sky, and now we are stuck..."

 

He pondered the issue for a moment, frowning deeply. 

 

"We can't afford to delay. Something, or somebody is sabotaging this ship. We are going to have to call in...the security...."

 

"Are you sure, Sir?" gulped the seahand. "I mean, we ain't scared of the dockers, or even Knuckles thugs. Or the police. But...him? he is...well, he ain't got a clean reputation...." he said, uncomfortable. 

 

"No, he hasn't..." agreed the captain. "But then we ain't so clean ourselves. And neither is our cargo, and our employers are certainly not. And this guy, well, he came with the deal. To protect the cargo. Don't worry, I have made provisions if he gets out of hand..."

 

He picked up the radio on the bridge and altered the frequency. 

 

"Devil Ray! Get down to the propellers! See what's stopping up from moving!" he said with a firm voice. 

 

Out at sea, a disturbance in the churning waves, a disturbance in the storms and rains, indicated movement...

[Thunder King]

Crimson Tiger looked around herself, and sighed. This was annoying. She could take the whole group down, but she didn't want to get too badly separated from her allies. That, and she didn't want these guys risking injury.

 

"Hey, look guys, do you really want to do this? I mean, this is getting out of hand, and we all know that if you fight, the police might show up. They'll likely just arrest all of you instead of who you want to be arrested. So you'll end up spending a night in jail. You also might get hurt. is that what...you...want...?"

 

It was obvious, then, that her efforts were wasted.

 

Oh, well, and she didn't want to do this, but they gave her no choice.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The dockers and Knuckles thugs paused slightly whilst they listened to Crimson Tigers words. There was a palpable tension in the air, a shuffling of feet, a clenching of fists. 

 

The dockers were just about ready to back down when it happened. 

 

"Go home to mommy, loser!" came a muffled call. 

 

The tinderbox was lit, the dynamite exploded. Suddenly, Crimson Tiger was in the middle of a messy and crowded brawl - more like a rugby scrum than a fight. The cramped nature of a swarm of bodies, arms and legs, flying this way and that made formal martial art training less than optimal. All the while, screams and calls of machismo, fuelled by alcohol and ego's rebounded around her ears...

[Thevshi]

Tsunami was still hidden in the shadows of some of the mechanical equipment on the roof of the aft section of the ship, focused on holding the water away from the ship’s propellers.  As she did so, the Asian teen sensed something moving in the water, closing in towards the ship, and more specifically headed towards the propellers. 

While maintaining her control over the water below, she tried to get an idea of what it might be that was moving, and realized it seemed to be someone swimming in the water rather quickly.

 

"We may have a problem."  She whispered into her comm. for Blodeuwedd.  "There is someone swimming very fast in the water towards the ship’s propellers.  There is not much I can do about it without releasing the water I am keeping away from the propellers, but they may not be able to do much about that anyway."

[Tiffany Korta]

Blodeuwedd halted in her progress towards the hold when she caught the Captain talk about their protections. That  meant that the cargo was definitely suspect, but now they had another problem to deal with.

“It seems that they’ve hired Devil Ray to protect whatever this shipment is. I’ll try to shut the engines down but if you need to let the ship go, the sudden movement of the ship might catch everyone by surprise. Just let me know first before you do, if you can.â€

Then with a sudden burst of movement she made her way towards the bridge of the ship.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Devil Ray took a quick look at the propeller, and the vacuum it was helplessly spinning in. He needed to break quickly to avoid getting caught in the propeller - which may have led to a messy end for the armoured mercenary. 

 

Turning his attention upwards, he propelled himself to the surface, and through the air, landing with a dull boom onto the aft of the ship. 

 

"Captain...something...or somebody...is keeping the water from the propellers. You aren't going to be able to sail..." he said, a slightly distorted voice sounding into his radio. 

 

He scanned left and right...and left again...

 

"You!" his voice crackled, as he pointed out Tsunami to his left, crouching. 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Meanwhile...at the Bridge...

 

The Captain fingered his shotgun as he heard Devil Ray over his radio. 

 

"Understood...I'm sure you can manage..." he said with a leaden voice, before flicking off the radio. 

 

He turned to address the frightened sea hand who had first alerted him to the danger. 

 

"The man is dangerous, as I am sure you know. Expensive, too. But our employers are not short of resources, and not tall on morals..." he said, almost sighing. 

 

"Devil Ray is not an honorable man. And this world has become dishonourable, curse it. I am only content on the Sea. There at least, things are straight and true. The ocean may be harsh at times, but she never lies...she is what she is..."

 

His face was furrowed with anger and concern. 

 

"Tonight, I shall make sure that we have some honour!" he said, slamming his left fist down on the bridge.