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Post by chamir on Jun 12, 2007 4:25:02 GMT -5
Chamir stood aboard the slowly rocking ship in the calm blue-green waters of Chameleon Bay were, lackadaisical breezes attempted to fill the sails every so often, as the golden orb of the sun paced its way overhead. At the dhows railing, gently rose an open palmed hand as the little ironclad steamboat pulled away from them. Bidding his comrades a momentary fare well and the best of luck. A daring task laid ahead for the them and the chosen waterbenders, he thought.
With Aden among them, those boarded the captured Fire Nation Naval vessel now within their employ were to speed off ahead of them towards the enemy port. Sabotaging the facilities and docked ships in whatever way they could before departing the port and rejoining the rest of them as they race with a heading towards the North Pole.
However, the thought of which spread a vicious grin upon Chamir's features, when Aden and the others depart from the port they were also to booby trap its exit with a plethora of tangle mines and icebergs.
"What I would not give, Ryota," Chamir gently nudged at Ryota. "To gaze upon the looks of those infidels' faces because so few of us can create so much trouble to so many of them." A lopsidedly facetious pout upon his face. "Some warriors have all the fun."
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Post by tsumao on Jun 12, 2007 9:10:06 GMT -5
As everything fell into place the dock became relatively silent, all was in order and everyone waited in anticipation. All of the leading officers, including Mao, stood at the pier with a long salute to their Commodore.
Their salute was long and silent, the Commodore seemed to finishing his pipe. Mao inhaled deeply the smoke erupting from the Commodore's mouth, all the while wondering if he would be stepping out of place to offer the man a pipe some time in the future. Surely it would be stepping across a few lines, but Mao wondered if he could get away with it or not.
Mao felt a great sense of pride and honor to be among these fine men. He never thought he of all people would be recommend to lead even a small unit of engineers into such a glorious event. Surely his father would be proud, Vishnu had smiled upon him indeed.
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Post by ryota on Jun 12, 2007 12:57:29 GMT -5
Ryota, engulfed in boredom as the current situation dragged onward slowly, leaned against the dhow's railing. With a small, round mirror in his right hand and dagger in the left, he had begun shaving; a matter he'd forgotten to attend to for a couple days. Since nobody informed him, he had forgotten, his mind wrapped up in more important things. He wondered if anyone thought he resembled some sort of wild animal with the wispy, pale brown tufts of facial hair he had allowed to sprout up all over his face.
He would slide the bladed end of his dagger down a well-haired area repeatedly to ensure all the hair was done away with, and as he was doing such, Chamir approached. His intentions were to leave a small area unshaven so he could grow a goatee, a look he had never before tried. The man's statements were bold and witty, and Ryota chuckled as he looked up from his mirror to Chamir, then back again. No reply was given to the tall warrior, as Ryota was bent on completing the task ahead. It would be difficult enough to shave without using any sort of lather.
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Post by aden on Jun 12, 2007 19:52:29 GMT -5
Sitting inside the steel cabin was uncomfortable for Aden. It wasn't anything he'd actually complain about, but being surrounded by walls of metal was a new and unsettling experience. Growing up in a land of ice and snow, he rarely saw so much metal. And the fact that he was sharing the relatively small enclosure with about six other tribesmen and nearly an equal number of Fire Nation sailors only made things worse.
One of the captured sailors was keeping the ship on a steady course and maintaining the proper pressure in the engines while one of the tribesmen stood at his back with a sword on his hip. Aden and the other waterbenders had gone over the plan one last time, and had spent the last few minutes simply waiting for the ship to reach the port.
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The Fire Nation-controlled port was settled ina natural inlet of water much like Chameleon Bay. However, the land that surrounded the entrance was not lined with sheer cliffs and allowed a much wider and deeper channel of water to flow through. As many as three destroyer class Fire Navy ships could possibly squeeze through with acceptable room for error.
A watch tower that also doubled as a light house was afixed to the northern side of the entrance, and a rather bored soldier sat near its peak, absently lighting and blowing out a lantern with his bending. In addition to lighting the beacon at night, his duties was also to raise a much larger signal flare if he saw any enemies. Then again, the Earth Kingdom's naval forces had been a non-issue for the better part of the last 50 years. It was a fool's job really, but it beat being on the front lines.
The sentry watched with only mild interest as the ships in the harbor, a relatively small fleet amassed from the surviving vessels of the botched Siege of the North and a collection of transports that were being used to ferry the war balloons, were beginning to cast off from the docks. As he swept his gaze along the shore, he spotted a much smaller steamship plodding its way toward the harbor. By the looks of it the ship seemed to be a military vessel. Perhaps it was a forward scout from one of the larger ships heading to the port?
The soldier didn't really know what it was doing, but it was a Fire Nation ship and nothing to be alarmed about. He sat back in his seat and let his eyes close for a short while...
Minutes later, a loud horn blasting in the harbor woke him from his stupor. Looking out into the harbor, he saw one of the transport ship heading toward the entrance to the port was blasting its fog horn loudly. The absence of fog made the sentry realize that it must be sounding the horn as a warning, but to what? He scanned the waters more closely, and it was then that he saw the source of the trouble. The small steamship was headed right for the side of the transport!
From his vantage point, the transport was between him and the steamship. The smaller vessel was cutting through the water at full speed while the larger ship was still blasting its horn and throwing its engines into full reverse. A few moments later, the steam ship disappeared from sight, hidden by the hull of the transport. And shortly after that, the sentry heard the sound of crunching metal. The soldier swore under his breath, realizing the ships had collided. That in itself wasn't too horrible, since the larger ship was likely strong enough to withstand the hit from the small steamship, but the explosion that followed certainly was enough to do some damage!
The sentry cursed once more as he watched a plume of smoke beginning to rise from the side of the transport and the ship immeditely started to turn around. The water around the ship suddenly started to ripple and spires of ice started to lift right out of the sea, punching holes in the hull and further damaging the transport. The sentry watched, dumbfounded, as half a dozen or so figures then started cutting through the water away from the battered ship and across the mouth of the harbor.
Ice started to creep over the water. Seven seperate icebergs started to form and then extended toward each other, forming a solid ice bridge across the entrance to the port. The seven figures he'd seen climbed onto the ice and were finally visible as men clad in blue. The ice continued to grow, extending further into the harbor and growing deeper as well. Jagged spikes and irregular surfeces jutted out painfull toward the inside of the port, making a rather nasty barrier for any ships trying the break free. They kept up the effort for a while until the ice was nearly feet feet wide and many fathoms thick. It was at that point that the sentry finally managed to peel his eyes off the display and lit the signal flare atop the watch tower. A flame erupted high into the sky, sending off a small flare to alert the men ashore... As if they hadn't noticed already.
Then after the ice bridge had been formed and it seemed like the fiasco was over, the men on the ice gathered together for a moment and seemed to perform some bit of joined bending. The water inside the harbor rippled briefly and then suddenly rose nearly fifty feet high before surging toward the docks. The wave spread out as it moved along the water and decreased to a little less than half that height, but the wave still hit the docks like a shockwave.
When all was said and done, the men on the ice broke a piece of the bridge of from the main barrier and began floating away out to sea. Off in the distance, a pair of blue-sailed ships were cutting their way swiftly up the shore, presumably to join them.
The sentry looked over the chaos for several minutes, and then glanced at the ground, giving serious contemplation to just throwing himself off the tower...
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Post by chamir on Jun 13, 2007 22:54:51 GMT -5
Like a few others, Chamir was straining his ears to hear across the water.
Though sailing far out of visible range from the inlet, carried by the wind was the faint sound of a horn and even harder to hear was a muffled boom.
"Seems like they have gotten started," proudly yet absentmindely stating to no one in particular. His hands anxiously tapping on the dhow's railing as they would now, expediently, have to pick up Aden and the others as they escaped from the Fire Nation controlled port.
A few cheers, hoots and ululations went up at the sight of ashen and blackened smoke slowly rising into the air. Even more were elicited as the blue sails of the dhows began to fill. Taking their crews sailing towards the natural inlet housing their foes. The dhows turning and speeding forward with the additional aid of the waterbenders. Expedient to come into view of the waterbending saboteurs creating an immense wave within the harbor and sending it towards the shore.
Swiftly sailing to pick up their comrades, the fleeing waterbenders and the dhows were seemingly unchallenged as they made treaded into enemy water. The departing fleet Aden and the others had slipped past were now too far away to bother turning back now. And the port was tossed into such chaos and disarray that they were hardly given retaliation for their intrusion. Instead they were entreated to a cacophony of commanding barks, metal being rended by icebergs and foghorns as ships attempted to avoid one another whilst the dhows swung closer to the adrift comrades.
"A tragic day unto their egos," Chamir haughtily voiced, nudging Ryota "Is it not?" Even pointing to a human looking figure that had somehow fallen off the watchtower.
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Post by ryota on Jun 13, 2007 23:55:07 GMT -5
Such an impressive display of the ocean's might... pondered Ryota as he observed the Northerners in combat.
Beforehand, Ryota had joined the numbers shouting sounds of victory, high-spirited in knowing his brethren had triumphed. Fainty echoed sounds would almost escaped notice, if not for the careful attention paid by nearly every tribesman on board the Water Tribe vessels. No distinct voices disrupted the flow of sound in the distance, making it favorable for all to hear the onslaught no matter how faint its sounds may have been. All were intent on hearing, listening for silence broken...
Tumultuous events ensued, the Fire Nation's port and fleets desecrated. Chamir nudged Ryota, shifting his focus elsewhere, even to where Chamir's finger was pointing. Ryota firmly grasped his sturdy fingers on the railing of the dhow and turned to his comrade. He nodded in response, "I'd hate to be in their place right now. Even more than than before."
Ryota wore a confident smile as things transpired. This was surely a blessing from Tui and La.
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Post by dian on Jun 14, 2007 12:56:18 GMT -5
Sometime before the attack...
"Congratulations gentlemen!" Dian smoothly slid the pipe from his mouth. Addressing the available free hands on the main deck, he slowly strolled between their columned ranks towards the command bridge. "We have been granted a great honor of outstanding significance!" holding his head high. "Not only for those of you who have 'sailed' under me before the Northern assault or even those 'sailing' with us now. No. What we do together is of massive import to this war," he prideful began to beam.
"Our path to glory does not make us just mere instruments sounding the last hurrah for the Water Tribes. Putting an end to a small swarm of gnats that has manage to plague this very bay for months, I'm told. No. Our task shall further prove the superiority of our people's immense prowess!" His fist clenching before his face. "As these ironclads have proven. As the war crawlers have proven. As the war balloons shall prove. We are rightfully entitled to rule over this world. Guiding it into a new era with these hands of ours. Yet continually the others fail to understand that, questioning a preordained and destined authority. Sadly, enforcing us to withdraw an iron fist kept in check by a velvet glove."
"Sometimes I believe it is a shame for them to understand the matter of our authority. The order we intend to bring into this world of chaos. A chaos further inclined by the confused young Avatar. Much like them, even he may not understand that we of the Fire Nation stand as a shining beacon upon the hill, intending to enlighten them. But generations from now once we have wrought peace upon this world, their children and the new Avatar will understand."
The commodore finally made his way up the iron stairs. Turning back to address the hands on deck. "But for now... for now we must subdue the sadly confused people of Earth and Water. A chance we missed with those from air... For now the way to peace must be paved by the efforts of stalwart men of war. For the sake of a better tomorrow we sail shall north! Glory unto the Fire Lord! Victory, Fire Nation!"
Cheers and war cries erupted from his ship. Soon joined by the same chorus from other ships in his fleet who were also given the same speech. Dian slid the pipe back into his mouth. The bronze dragon huffing and puffing smoke as Dian's second in command began to bellow orders. The small fleet of ships--destroyers, frigates, corvettes and transports--began to disengage from the port's wharves. Slowly disembarking out of the natural inlet that held the port. The return North had begun.
((Dian Tun has left the thread))
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Post by aden on Jun 14, 2007 16:50:13 GMT -5
Aden and the other waterbenders stood fast on their little ice craft. Feet were securely anchored to the surface by more ice, and they all put in a joint effort at pushing the craft rapidly away from the port. The young waterbender was somewhat exhillerated by the near perfect execution of the attack. He had been a little worried at first when the steamship did little more than dent the side of the transport, but the captured sailors had rigged the engine to blow and the result was perfectly effective.
Now, with the blue sails of their comrades in sight, everything seemed to calm down. There was no sign of a counter attack being formed. The Fire Nation seemed much more intent on damage control rather than getting revenge on those who had cast their plans into disarray.
Almost ten minutes passed until the dhows caught up with the waterbenders. Aden and the others made a swift chore of boarding the ships, using their bending to lift and deposit themselves right onto the decks without slowing down from their previous pace. At that point, those waterbenders quickly joined the others in providing extra speed to the dhows as they sped past the port, where Fire Nation soldiers were cursing impotently from the shores while they tried to find a way to remove the frozen barricade.
Aden managed to catch sight of Chamir during the excitement as they passed by the partially sunken transport that had run itself aground in an attempt to salvage the vessel. Ryota was nearby, and he made sure both Southerners could hear him when he said, "This is how we do things in the North... I think you two will enjoy yourselves."
The young warrior cast them both a slight smile and then nodded one last time before heading toward the stern to help propel the ships on their mad dash to the North Pole.
((Aden has left the RP))
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Post by tsumao on Jun 15, 2007 14:49:38 GMT -5
Mao was amongst the cheering men, his roar was loud and he stood out in the crowd as one of the loudest even then. He was dressed in his work clothes but had his mask raised to the Commodore. He cheered and munched on a bag of fire flakes with his mouth wide open, rum trickled down his beard... The Commodore's speech gave Mao a great confidence boost and a sense of pride in his great nation. He was going to be freeing a struggling nation of lunatics from their oppressive rulers! Mao knew that this mission would be accomplished, and soon he would be back in The Earth Kingdom getting toasty by a warm fire.
After the spectacle all of the engineers where down in the engine rooms. The ships soon departed from the port and began on their way to complete the most noble of missions.
[Mao Has left the thread]
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Post by chamir on Jun 16, 2007 20:11:29 GMT -5
And with Aden's comment came a recommencing of boisterous rejoicing. Roars, seal barks, stomping of feet and ululations from the Northern men followed by their Southern kin. A job well done and comrades aboard with their mission accomplished, dhows swiftly turned and fled from the enemy occupied inlet. Leaving their foes of the Fire Nation naval forces reeling from the guerilla assault from which they most certainly be recuperating from for days to come.
Meanwhile their assailants from the Water Tribes, aided by the powers wind and bending, sped away with their bearing destining them to the North Pole. A return trip home for many crewing the two dhows, those of the Northern Water Tribe and Chamir, while for those of the Southern Water Tribe it would doubtless be a new experience.
Unfortunately, their voyage was not one of truely personal choice nor pleasure. The information obtained from the captured and interrogated Fire Nation soldiers obtained from the previous day had proven correct. Not only was the Fire Nation undergoing a new, planned assault upon the Northern Water Tribe a few months after their defeat led by the late Admiral Zhao, but the fleet tasked with this latest attack had left the port earlier and now far outpaced them in the distance. Eventually, with the aid of steampower that fleet fled from their sight.
Chamir could only bear down upon his lower lip with his teeth at the sight. He may not have had the chance to defend the home of his late wife, Chandrakanta, but he intended to help protect it now. A growing anxiety as the voyage north became a race.
((Chamir has left the thread))
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Post by ryota on Jun 18, 2007 0:08:12 GMT -5
He could only laugh as his newfound Northerner friend Aden tossed a smile and quip their way. Odd, because Aden never seemed to be one to smile all too often. Perhaps he was as excited about the race to the North Pole as Ryota. As he had been for a while, the pudgy Southerner was as excited as ever that the could easily win the race to the Northern Water Tribe and aid their brethren in putting the Fire Nation to shame in battle.
A brightened look in his eyes never faded. Still drunk on his own optimism, he only foresaw utter defeat for their enemy. Of course bad things would arise from a battle, a few injuries, possibly a casualty or two. Ryota didn't let himself dwell on such things, though. It would be depressing, and nobody would want a depressed Ryota running around.
Intriguing also was the prospect of seeing his people's sister tribe. He wondered what such a place could possibly be like. What he could only imagine was a place like the barren block of ice where he was born and raised. Of course it was different, but it was still all he could picture it being in his mind. Only being there would allow him to truly see for himself what the grand city was really like.
-Ryota has left the thread-
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