The Ebony Celeste

[Tech Rathgen]

Tech heard the gunshots and was so afraid that if she wasn't tied up she would have just jumped right out of the bench she was in. She thought. "Hopefully I'll be saved."

Tech hoped the other two talking to her hadn't heard the gun shot. She asked with sweet smile. "So, is Sly cute? You know, if I were to compare him to you guys without seeing him just yet, I'd say you two were a lot cuter than he is. But in all curiosity, is Sly cute?"

[Jav]

"alrighty...everybody know their parts?" James asked as he readied himself for departure.

"yep, we head back out of visual range. Drop you off in a zodiac and you go to get aboard that ship. You start a ruckas and then we zip back over the horizon to 'save the day' from you as it were. I'll claim that Im a big bad assed bounty hunter that had finally gotten my man. You'll fall overboard, off the stern preferably to avoid getting sucked into the screws of the ship should they be on. Then, before we leave to retrieve your 'corpse' I'll request a membership. I think that's about it..hmm..yea that's it then we just pick you up and head home."

"sounds like a plan man"

"and I guess me and sis just sit and keep our mouths shut huh?" Danny asked his arms crossed in frustration.

"better watch that kid Jordan..he's so sharp he'll cut himself" James said laughing.

"I'll show you sharp" Danny said attacking James who was caught completely unaware.

"ew it's on me get it off get...it...off" James exclaimed in fit of sarcasm as he danced around trying to shake the racoon off of him.

"alright...alright...ALRIGHT!" Jordan said pulling Danny off of James "that's enough..dont wear him out he needs every ounce of strength he's got to do this right. Now take your sister and go up on deck and watch what the ship's doin. Tell us if anything happens."

"see you're playing a big part in this Danny" James said smiling.

Danny just smiled as his sister lead him up topside to observe the ship.

James watched them leave before taking a small device from a clear plastic bag. It closely resembled a pill from the drug store.

"this should let you track my whereabouts while I'm in the water. But dont let me drift too far it only works up to ten miles out."

"I doubt that you'd drift that far in only fifteen minutes or so."

"I know..gulp..I'm just sayin ya know? These these things do have limits" James said as he placed the pill on his tungue and swallowed it.

He let out a deep sigh "well...I guess there's not much more to do but to get this over with. "

"I guess so. You stay below so noone sees you and we'll turn around and sail out a few miles so you can depart." Jordan said leaving the cabin to join his kids topside.

[Sly]

[So you sprang towards the guy and fired? Is that pretty much it?]

Since the crane was big enough to hit the bridge tower, it also moved rather slowly due to its bulk. That gave everyone on the bridge enough time to move out of the way. The crane struck the bridge hard enough to shatter some glass and make a rather big hole in the wall.

Meanwhile, Qesun’s bullets hit their intended mark cleanly. “AAAH!” the pistol grunt screamed and dropped his gun, falling to the deck.

“CONTACT! WE HAVE INTRUDERS!” the second F4 grunt shouted, before he circle strafed to the right, trying to keep Qesun in his sights. He fired off a quick burst from his rifle.

Meanwhile, the other F4 grunts on deck started running towards both the crane and the noise of the gunshots. Hopefully the rest of Qesun's party would join in the battle now, because Qesun and Toby were both about to be surrounded. One who had a rocket launcher pointed it at the control booth of the crane and fired.

---

Sly’s eyes narrowed at the sight of the damage to the bridge. Spinning on the spot, he promptly grabbed the captain by the cuff of his jacket and drew out his pistol again, before grabbing the microphone for the ship’s PA system. He switched it on. The captain, knowing what was about to happen, started struggling violently. Other F4 grunts restrained him.

“No! No no NO! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!” The captain’s voice reverberated across the entire ship through the PA system’s speakers. A loud bang suddenly cut off the shouting, and then the body thumped as it hit the floor.

Sighing, Sly wiped the blood off his face and uniform, as he grabbed the microphone himself. “You know…I warned you not to come onto our ship. But you just had to be the heroes, didn’t you? Now people will die who didn’t need to. That’s your reward for doing this. Needless death. Get off the ship now or more hostages will die. And we have over twenty of them to go through.”

---

The F4 grunts with Tech were about to respond when they heard the crane smashing into the bridge…not to mention the captain’s execution. The other hostages heard it too. Some just fell silent and looked blank. Others began to cry. Meanwhile, the grunts looked at each other rather grimly, before glancing at Tech.

“Sorry…time to go to work,” the shepherd said. They stepped outside the door. But before the shepherd left, he said “And I think what you just heard Sly do answers your question. ” Then he slammed the door.

[Qesun Vendak]

[Distractions don't have to be fancy ]

One man down and another firing at him. About the only things helping QJ at all were the speed he was moving and the darkness. His vest now had holes that he'd want to address after he got through this. How many times over would their aim be off enough to keep him alive?

"No! No no NO! PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”

BANG! [Thump]

Qesun's attention was caught by that, and then by the captain's threats. What just happened began to course through his head. Even he figured that they wouldn't be so quick to shoot people. He also wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He got his foot caught in something and was face flat in no time, QJ's weapons sliding ahead of him with the momentum he provided them. '****, gotta get up, can't stay' He began pushing his way back up again.

-----

Toby knew they'd be focusing on the crane as soon as it did anything. He popped out on the side nearest the cover he came from, the crane blowing open halfway there. He skittered to safety, hopping no one noticed him, breathing hard and thinking 'Oh ****, that was nearly me!

-----

Back on the deck access, the crew was suffering some shock.

"Man, I don't know if I want to go through with this," One stated.

"Toby and that other guy are out there, man, we really going to keep them hangin'?"

"They're giving us the chance to leave. We should take it before we're full of as--" The crane Toby had been in explodes, cutting him off for a sec. "...Not like there's much of them to save anyway.

Several of them headed back down to the boat.

The captain just shook his head. "As if they'd simply let us turn around. Fine, go back to the boat. Let them shoot you at sea. The rest of you, lets go.

The 8 left with enough balls to go anyway, or thinking there was no turning around, charged up the deck. Granted, with not much planning going on. They kinda spread out from there, shooting at any pirates who they could see moving, finding cover as they could. The captain tried to coordinate them, but often did it by shouting, and others didn't always listen. 2 went towards the bow, 3 (including the captain) went sternwards, and the last 3 went towards the center of the boat, seeking cover from any equipment there. Anyone not with them went back to the boat.

[Tech Rathgen]

Tech knew the shepherd was right. She had just learned what Sly does for a living. She doesn't really like being cooped up in this darkness and tied up for that matter, but she could still be seen in the darkness fairly well.

She felt sorry for the captain, despite she didn't know him that well. What was certain was that she had absolutely no idea what time it was, she could have been talking to the kangaroo and the german shepherd for hours. She just didn't know.

She felt, not afraid, but she felt a little confused as to who was going to sweep her off her feet. A gentleman or someone who had just... shot someone. It really clouded her mind.

She thought about what Sly had done to the captain and she knew what to think of him. He seemed bent on world domination or, at least, female domination from her stand point. She felt afraid of whoever might have held her in their arms. She hoped that Sly hadn't held her, but if he did, hopefully he won't be able to see her blue eyes.

She knew that where ever she was going, she was going to live there for the rest of her life. She was going to be someone's possession and she probably won't ever see her family again. All she knew was that she had to keep her cool and not scream or cry.

Tech thought it through aloud. "I guess I'm ready to be Sly's little playful baby for the duration of my life. It's too much to bear. I better be ready for it one way or the other. This is going be one crazy night. One final note, there's not a way in heaven that I think Sly is cute now. He's just a jerk like all the other guys I've come across."

Then as she quieted down, more bullets were coming through out the ship. All the hostages were afraid and many cringed at the thought that Tech was still even talking. One hostage spoke up.

The hostage named Haunt Legrain asked Tech. "What's your name girl?"

Tech wouldn't normally respond to girl, but from the impression she received from the german shepherd and the kangaroo made her assume that she was the only female hostage, so in all respect she replied. "My name is Tech Rathgen."

"Do you have a middle name?"

"It's Katherine."

"That's a beautiful name. Strange, but beautiful. So, what made you become a hostage?"

Tech prepared herself to explain her thoughts on the subject.

[Nail Strafer]

[Absence rule]

The other F4 grunt was now moving to stand over Qesun and execute him like the captain...until a lucky shot from his crew went right through his head, causing him to fall down on top of Qesun. His would-be attackers were now starting to shift their attention towards the oncoming crew, which would give him enough time to get up...that is...if the dead body falling on him didn't slow him down too much.

---

It was mostly the same for Toby...although one grunt...a jackrabbit, raced after him, SMG in hand. He paused for a moment to fire off a quick burst of automatic fire.

---

The attack from the boat took pretty much all the F4 grunts by surprise, since they were concentrating so much on Qesun and Toby. Just like that, five...six F4 grunts went down. However, the ones who had survived the first wave of bullets were now starting to take cover and shoot back. It looked like those towards the stern were starting to form themselves into a firing line, to prevent the intruders from making it to the bridge.

Meanwhile...a sniper wolf had taken up a position in the hole that the crane had left...laying down to make it hard to see him. He was now training his sights on the oncoming attackers with the sleeping dart guns they'd used to jack the life boat earlier. Except this time, it was fitted with a scope. He took a moment to assess which person was the most dangerous of the new attackers...and fired at the lion captain. He looked to be trying to order the others around, so maybe taking him out would cause confusion amongst the group.

---

Sly's eyes narrowed a bit more. These people...they were not taking him seriously. Even though he'd threatened to execute the entire crew of this ship. Well...everyone but the girl. Sly at least wanted to get out of here with something of a consolation prize...

Anyway, if killing the hostages wouldn't make them listen, then perhaps he needed to do something else to increase the pressure. He removed something from his pocket that looked like a keychain, and pressed a button on it.

---

In the back of the room, Tech and Katherine would hear a faint grinding sound. It was coming from one of the male crewmembers...a mongoose...who looked to be wiggling up and down against something. Then his hands finally broke loose...and he revealed himself to be holding a knife.

"Don't mind me...just keep talking," he whispered. "It'll cover the sound..." And then he made his way to the other crewmembers to cut their bonds as well. He smiled a bit as he worked. "Thought they'd never close that door..."

[Jav]

[Sorry! I've been at the hospital with my grandad since friday and we just got back the day before yesterday. We went to Nashville yesterday to drop off my brother yesterday and that took all day. Srry I totally forgot that it was my turn ;;]

[Qesun Vendak]

QJ just about said a prayer there before he got lucky. Now, how many times he could rely on Luck to save his ass was a different story. Now that he'd taken action, there was no turn around. If he tried anything but 'win,' they'd shoot him. If he didn't 'win' fast enough, others got shot needlessly. It was turning messier by the second. And the situation with the dead guy on top of him didn't help. None the less, things were pretty damned clear now. Do or die. These guys wouldn't waste a sec making him like the captain of this ship, or anyone else they had killed. And he'd be damned if that's how it ended for him.

He squirmed enough to where he could get into a position to kick the body off of him, the corpse landing to the side with a wet thump. Qesun pushed up and tossed himself into a run again, heading strait for his nearby weapons and scooping them up. He so prayed for cover, but that commodity was a rare one on this ship. Instead, he pushed on towards the stern, beginning to make his way to the next bunch of 'baddies' more or less ahead of him. Non-fatal shots were no longer a part of his mindset. He took two shots at the next one down the line, simply aiming for the center mass, perhaps a shot at a lung or the heart. He only drove on harder when he heard Toby.

-----

Toby took a slide for the closest thing possible to being 'cover,' one of the stair ways, when he saw heard the pirate coming. While some shots found themselves deflected, several rounds still found him, a few in the left shoulder and arm, and a few in the right side. By far the most painful one, though, was the one nearly severing his tail. He cried out from this hit before fumbling forwards, pushing himself back up with his good arm before trying to continue his run.

-----

Fwip!

The captain felt an impact, but it wasn't that belonging to a bullet. He looked around for a moment to find it, a dart or something in his upper left side. He kind of raised his eyebrows in some honest surprise. He figured that was going to be a bullet, not a dart. Well, that's going to suck here in a minute, I'm sure.' He thought to himself as his head began to grow lighter. "Keep push-- Pushing for the br-- Bridge lads. If tha-- That can be taken--" Before he could finish, he slumps down before eventually hitting the deck.

The other men continue to push in their directions. The 3 headed across jump or run over the center pipes and begin moving towards the stern as well, with one of them covering their rear. They take some shots at some pirates as they go, but hold back afraid of hitting Qesun. They also agree that he's crazy and that they don't want to get shot up as much as he looks like he will.

The one remaining on the side they came up who had already been heading towards the stern takes cover and only takes occasional pot shots. The guy next to him shot in the chest and head, and the captain taking a forced nap, he's plainly scared out of his wits about what's going to happen to him.

Only one man of the two headed towards the bow is left. He tries to take some more careful shots at what pirates are left up there but otherwise just tries to keep them at bay.

[Tech Rathgen]

Tech and Haunt paused because of all the ruckess outside, but the two continued talking as the mongoose asked.

Tech explained to Haunt. "I went to a boat to do the first couple scenes to a movie I was doing and it was called "Those blue eyes" and it was about a girl with blue eyes who was always sad. Since I'm usually not all that happy and because I had blue eyes, I was perfect for the role.

"On my way to the next scene, I slipped off the boat because I was so damn tired and while I was asleep I could feel someone lifting me out of the water and into a boat.

"Then I felt like someone had me in their arms and I felt like I was being lusted on, but I wasn't entirely sure. My body just wanted to sleep, so I didn't really mind. Then I woke up on the bench I'm on right now, all tied up.

"I just hope I don't die."

Haunt Legrain was surprised to hear such a story. "I hope I don't die either, but maybe I could be sure I wouldn't die if I were a female like you were.

"Your story was very interesting, I feel glad you weren't taken by surprise by an army of Bad Guys. You look good enough to be a beautiful wife for someone. Even for me, that is if I live through this."

Tech asked. "How did you become a hostage Haunt?"

Haunt sighed. "I was on this ship when it was raided by these bastards."

Tech replied. "If I could Haunt, I'd comfort you, but I'm tied up like you are. That isn't a good way to get captured. So Haunt, do you think you'll live?"

Haunt smiled hopefully. "I sure hope so."

[Jav]

The distant sounds of battle could be heard from the small watercraft as they turned and departed back over the horizon. "umm...Jav,I mean James?...we gotta problem. Looks like the party already started without us." Jordan said gazing back at the distant ship. "what?" James asked from down below. "I said...IT LOOKS LIKE THE PARTY STARTED WITHOUT US" Jordan yelled. "aw ****...really?"
James quickly scrambled out onto the deck to take in the sights and sounds from the ship. After a moment he ran to the stern of the boat and began readying the zodiac. "we'll have to switch to plan B then"

"plan B being?..." Danny started gesturing for Jav to continue.
"That's top secret mister...I could tell you...but then I'd have to kill you." James finished with a chuckle as he climbed into the boat and prepared to shove off. Danny simply looked on in a stupor...."wha?" he started.

"well...wish me luck"
James shoved off with his foot and quickly drifted away as he bobbed about in the high surf. James cranked the motor and off he was to begin his epic "get back at F4" scheme. "ready or not here Jav comes" he yelled with a laugh. He was actually a pretty impressive sight; ready for war as it were. He had his trusty side arm tucked into a holster under his arm and of course no party is complete without an MP4. Sat infront of him was a large...something...what ever it was it was covered by a dark green tarp and it was big. It took up a good chunk of the bow of the zodiac. The zodiac continued approaching at high speed and was nearly upon the larger vessel. "Jav's gotta surprise for you, Jav's gotta surprise for you!" James chanted over and over as he plowed through the large swells.