FLUFF: Jammers: Turn 1 Chapter 1 Part 2b

IC:(cont from part 2a)

         Grigree follows Radick over to the pile of stones.  "'Inventory
the catapult ammunition?'" Grigree mumbles to himself, just barely within
Radick's earshot.  "Ya mean all twenty rocks?"

"Listen, when you are working on a ship, you do what you are told. You make
nice with the officers and you keep your nose clean. The captain is right,
she gave an order and we disobeyed and questioned. That kind of behavior
can not be tolerated. Of course if she were to abuse her authority then it
would be a different story - give her time to see our talents, then she'll
come around to letting us do more." Radick says.

         Grigree looks up, a bit surprised.  "I know, I know.  But I would
have given us latrine duty for a week.  Maybe she's starting to like
us already," he says with a small nudge of the elbow and a smile.

"You have a point there, but I would guess it is because she is a fair
captain. I'll tell you one thing, I hope not to wrong her again." responds
Radick as he struggles to stack the catapult shots.

So,  with the Captain watching from the quarterdeck with her hands on her
hips the _Flowfish_ eases out from the docks and heads into the wildspace
surrounding the Rock.  It's obvious that the older hands have worked
together a long time,  the run like a well oiled machine.

The ship's first destination is the House Moune farming asteroid Torik's
Luck,  a trip of about 5 days at this point.  From there it's a two day hop
to the second asteroid,  Finagle,  and six back to the Rock.  With a 12 hour
stopover at each a 14 day or so trip.

Lt Sabbagh makes use of the time well,  assigning you all to watches and
battle stations fairly quickly.  The ship's routine seems fairly straight
forward.  There are two sailwatches,  who rotate 12 hours on,  12 hours
off.  The veterans are in one,  the PC sailhands in the other.  The
veterans do little during their shift,  as the course alters very little.
They take turn's standing watch and otherwise occupy the time.  During the
PC's watch Lt Sabbagh and Bosun Cudak seem to be ever present,  and the
course changes course constantly to give practice in sailhandling.

After the first day Lt Sabbagh and Lt Sands do not take the helm,  instead
the three PC helmsman take 8 hour shifts.  The helmsmen are required to
sleep immediately after their helmshift (they're tired anyway) and start
their "free" time by memorizing spells.  One of the officers is always on
the bridge,  checking the course and keeping an eye on things,  though they
seem to have no set schedule.  Leera,  Holland,  and Raken were apparently
hired as helmsmen.

When off duty everyone except the bosun and officers takes turns on galley
duty,  helping the cook Abigowia,  and latrine duty.

Battlestations are fairly simple.  The Captain is on the forecastle,  Lt
Sabbagh is on the sterncastle,  and Lt Sands on the bridge.  The veterans
are assigned to the two rear ballistae and sail handling duties.  Billy and
Radick are assigned to crew the light catapult.  Off duty helmsmen are to
join the Captain on the forecastle,  and everyone else is to assemble on
the maindeck ready to repel boarders or become boarders themselves.

Over the five days it takes to reach Torik's Luck you get to know a little
about each other,  and a little about the rest of the crew.  For the most
part the veteran hands are friendly but somewhat cliquish.  They tend to
spend more time with each other then with any of you- partially because of
how the watches were arranged.

Billy gravitates towards the veteran deck hands, talking about his life with
his adopted father on the galleon "Triloshane", evidently feeling
comfortable around humans. They are polite but keep their distance as with
all the other new hands.  He diligently learns the use of the light
catapult, practising with Radick when the occasion arises,  using chamber
pot bombs as ammunition. When he has free time, Billy usually hangs around
in  the rigging,  literally staring out into space.

During Leera's first shift at the Helm, Holland stands by her and says,
"If you would like, I could give you some pointers and basic theories of
the Helms.  I have had awhile to learn them."

Leera smiles as she replies.
"Certainly, I would greatly appreciate anything you would care to
share."

Holland seems happy to talk with her, "It is hard to explain what the
feeling is like when you are sitting in a Helm.  Your consciousness
expands to include the entire ship.  It is as if the ship is an
extention of your own body.  You can feel people moving around as well
as damage to the ship.  The damage doesn't hurt you physically but it is
quite discomforting."

Holland thinks for a second and then continues, "The best way to
describe the physical feeling is like when your arm falls asleep and you
get that pins and needles feeling.  That is what your entire body feels
like when Jamming.  Another thing that I personally like is you can see
outside of the ship in all directions for as far as your eye can see.
It is wonderful to gaze upon the stars this way."

      Kain emerges from below deck when the time for the new hands' first
watch begins.  When the course changes begin to show, he smiles
faintly, shrugs once, then steps lively to help make the necessary
adjustments on the sailing deck.  His hands move of their own
accord as Kain gazes over the starboard bow.  When finished, he looks
down at the knots his hands have tied,  double checks his work, then sits
upon the deck.
      After a few short moments, Kain rises, and walks to the stern
castle. Spying a loose length of rope, he sets to making a coil of it, placing
it back where he found it when he's done.  Unable to sit still, Kain
tucks his thumbs behind his swordbelt and begins pacing the deck.
      With the change of the sailwatches, Kain retires to this bunk long
enough to recover his rucksack, then returns topside.  Sitting where
he'll be as out of the way as possible, Kain tucks his right foot over his left
thigh and his left foot over his right thigh, placing a large tome pulled from
his rucksack in his lap.  Sitting with his eyes closed for what is
perhaps twenty minutes, Kain looks relaxed as he pulls himself from his trance,
reaching into his rucksack again and retrieving a lead pencil from
a small oaken box.
      As he sits, Kain's pencil flashes across a blank page of the now
open tome.  Between his meditation and sketches, Kain finishes
a self allotted hour of relaxation.
      Save for kitchen and latrine duty, Kain keeps to his routine through
the first five days of the trip, though he seems more at ease with each
day that passes.  By the third day, he has lost the slouch which
characterized his shoulders, and by the fifth day, Kain is smiling more
often than not, and has begun keeping eye contact through what
conversations he has, instead of looking around the person he is
speaking with.

  Italapate wanders around the ship on his watch, chatting eagerly with
whomever will listen.  He proves to be an avid listener, despite
appearances (it seems like he never shuts up).  His new favorite phrase
is "'Pon my soul!" and he shouts it out even when it doesn't seem to fit
into the conversation.  The veteran crewmembers avoid him like the plague
and Italapate soon finds himself on permanent latrine and galley duty.

   On his first watch, he pulls a gold piece from one pouch on his belt
and puts it into a larger one.  He bows his head, singing a chant in a
language you probably never heard before.  Then he draws the gold piece
from his larger pouch and flings it as far as he can over the side of
the ship.
  Then he smiles, pulls out two silver pieces and hands one to Talus and
one to Fidalie, who happen to be closest to him at the time.  "Here,
have fun! Try not to spend them in one place!"  Then he continues to
move toward the front of the ship ("What was that the Captain called it?
Starboard? Forcastle? Stern?")

Talus looks at the human with a bemused expression, the shrugs and bites on
the coin before stowing it in his pouch.  He is not going to refuse someone
giving him money, maybe he will get the gold coin next time.
The half-elf generally ignores Italapate whenever he goes off telling his
stories, knowing from experience that the priestly inclined rarely make
sense, and seem to talk to hear their own voices.

Talus approaches duties such as latrine duty with a marked reluctance, but
realizes that someone has to do it, and as long as everyone else has to
take their turn he will endure.

The young half-elf prefers to spend his spare time on the deck, never
tiring of the view around the ship.  He also approaches Holland, asking
about
guiding the ship, and travelling through space.

Talus spends some time each day reviewing his spellbook.

Holland makes time every day to help Abigowia with the cooking.  With
Holland's great skill at Herbalism and Cooking (and the occasional wave
of the hand to produce fresh herbs and seasonings) he entrenches himself
next to Abigowia as much as his schedule will let him, talking with and
showing Abigowia recipes that he knows of and listening to her in return
though making it clear that Abigowia is the Galley's Mistress and
Holland is there merely to help.  Their skills are,  in fact,  roughly
equal.  Holland takes great pains to learn the names of the 'old-hands' but
finds his efforts (except with the cook) to be relatively unfruitful.

Since Holland's schedule is different from the rest of the new recruits,
Holland tries to chat with them when both they and he have the time
available.  Holland makes it known that he too is from Realmspace and
has spent the last few years aboard different Jammers as a Helmsman.
Holland also explains that he is looking for an old companion that he
has lost touch with over the years.  He describes the man to each of you
(and the 'old-hands' as well) but seems let down when no one recognizes
the description.

Holland spends a lot of time laying on his bunk studying his spell-book
to relearn his spells.  Whenever he is finished he replaces the book in
his backpack and waves his hands over the pack and mumbles a few words
before leaving them.

During the trip, Raken spends most of his free time either conversing
with various crewmen, or simply vanishes altogether.  When on deck, he
can been seen conversing with the helmsman Holland, apparently trading
stories about gods and magic.  Holland, along with a few other crewmen,
listen intently as Raken details the various rumors surrounding the
destruction of Borka, in his homesphere.
         "The elves claim, of course, that it was their gods that destroyed
Borka, in an act of retribution.  A few of the goblins still in space
have made the claim that it was the orcish gods themselves that smashed
it, seeing that the Borkans were 'unworthy.'  Some in my order, however,
believe that it was a misused artifact that did the damage; they cannot
bring themselves to believe that either power group would have such
power to crush worlds without help.  I've even heard one tale that
states that some unnamed god woke up on the wrong side of the universe
and accidently kicked it while trying to stumble to a water world to
wash up, though I couldn't get the kender who told me that one to name
that god," he states with a small smile.  Several crewmen start
laughing.
         While off duty, he notes Leera on deck and walks over.  "Enjoying the
view?  You asked earlier for pointers in wildspace; want them now?" She
nods affirmative.  "First thing to remember: everything you've learned,
throw it out.  This is wildspace; the rules don't apply.  Even the laws
of physics, and more importantly, the laws of magic, change with each
sphere.  Magic is rarely reliable outside of the so-called "known
spheres."  Second: not everything is as it seems.  Look at this crew.
On the ground, many would be termed "monster," like our friend the
minotaur, but here, they are comrades in arms, even friends.  Every
race found in the stars has it's good and bad members.  Unfortunately,
many races are ruled by the "bad" members, creating a negative image of
the race as a whole.  Third: look to the stars," he notes her puzzled
look, "when spelljamming or on watch, always watch the stars.  When they
move, that usually indicates a nearby ship.  Planets, comets, and moons
move rapidly, but the great distances that the light from those objects
is so great that they're apparent movement is tiny.  In the vacuum of
space, there are no shooting stars; only asteroids.  If you spot a star
moving rapidly, alert someone, preferably an officer, quickly.
Sometimes its an asteroid, and some maneuvers may be needed to avoid
it.  If its a ship, we may need to maneuver quickly to avoid her.
Pirates would love a small, poorly armed tradesman like this as a
target.  Note that this does not always work; some pirates paint their
ship black to minimize light reflection and run with all lights out."

      Looking up from a half-finished drawing in his tome, pencil
held just above the page, Kain listens to the counsel Raken gives
Leera.  "'tis good sound advice Raken gives ma'am," he says,
eyes flickering once to Leera's before looking away.  "Um, and
in my short time aboard 'jammers, there's only one more thing
to add, and that's when traveling in the flow, between the spheres."
      Glancing from Raken to Leera again Kain goes on.  "Ah,
yes, that is, when in the phlogiston, fire is exceptionally bad.
Matches burn like torches, torches like a mages fireball...at least
that's what the mate on the last ship I was on said.  I trusted
him enough not to strike flint to steel and see."  Kain smiles,
perhaps the most endearing feature of his face is this smile,
standing out against his average nose, slightly large ears,
and narrow, square jaw.
      Forgetting himself momentarily, Kain says, "I begin to
love this sailing of space as I love the waters of my homeworld.
Though I do miss the song of the gulls and the smell of
the sea.  Yes," he adds, "I like that," as he turns again to
his art, scribbling the words in the upper corner of one page.

Radick enjoys the drills as it gives him something to do as he spends his
hours on shift.  Often he points out to some of the lesser skilled recruits
how they can better tie the knots and how to time the adjustments so as to
best benefit the speeds.  He always finishes with a quick smile and a
compliment. It seems to most  that while he is working the lines he is
happiest.

Radick makes a point of also complimenting the helmsman, especially Leera
as they head back to their bunks.  He seems to truly enjoy the
companionship aboard the ship, and spends his available off duty hours
working with Billy to fully become fluent in the workings of the light
catapult.  Of all the tasks he performs this is the one he does with the
least amount of enjoyment.  He watches many of the others using their time
to drill in hand to hand combat and he remembers back to many previous
journeys.  After a few days he asks Deigatt if he would like to work on
some axe-play, but he is quick to point out that the "big-guy" will have to
go easy on him.

Deigatt booms, "Mate Radick, I haccept your hinvitation to combat
drilling. I'm confident you hunderestimate your hown talents hand will be
a formidable hopponent, hat least for the first few minutes. Ha! I'm
jesting. Come, let hus bout. You have served hin your world's military,
perhaps?"

Radick looks tiny compared to the large opponent however he used his speed
and agility to duck below the big man's blade, but is forced to jump back
as the return stroke comes quicker then expected. "Mate Deigatt, I have no
experience with military, my training comes from shiphands; but let us not
talk too much, I need to concentrate or else I may end up in the dinner
tonight." The practice battle lasts a minute or so with neither opponent
getting the upper hand, although it is clear that Radick has been lucky
several times in getting out of the way, meanwhile he has yet to register a
decent offensive.  Finally Radick sees his chance and  springs back from
the next swing and uses his axe to push his opponent's blade away far
enough for him to get inside, however he is knocked to the ground as he
underestimates the strength of Deigatt as he gets caught by the backswing
which sends him to the ground, but as he falls he rolls and is out of the
way long before any final stroke could have been dealt.

Radick pauses to look at the onlookers and wipes the sweat from his brow.
He then puts down his axe and offers an arm forward to Deigatt. "More
later?" he asks while gasping for breath. "I need a drink at this time, and
I doubt our captain would condone our distracting the men from their
duties." He approaches and slaps Deigatt on the back, "You fight well, I
will watch you in combat. I have no doubt you can teach me more then the
shiphands did."

Date/Time: First half of the 4th Month, 5049 OC
I had not yet started keeping careful count of time.
--
"...And nobody is to be killed at all, if it can be helped. Keep your
tempers and hold your hands until the last possible moment!"
"But if there are many of these ruffians," said Merry, "it will
certainly mean fighting. You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just
by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo."

Paul Westermeyer,  pwestermeyer@????????.??.com