Cadias

Or we could have members of the two ships realize that they're sailing in opposite directions, have an argument over where to go next, so on so forth, and avoid having to retcon.

IC: Tellus Tellus shrugged. He'd been looking forward to the warm, sandy beaches, fair weather, and other benefits Ga-Koro had to offer. Oh, well. "Whatever ye say, Gunner." Tellus climbed to his feet, miraculously defying the breeze, gravity, and the motion of the waves. He lifted the half-full bottle to his lips, paused, and then shook his head. With a wistful sigh, he set it down. "We'd best stop an' tidy ourselves up 'afore the Cap'n finds us. 'E might not be entirely pleased that we've been drinkin' on the job."

IC: Tellus Tellus rubbed his mask thoughtfully. "I figure it comes down to yer priorities. Ye see, Le-Koro is a prime choice for pirate crews and groups o' criminals- not too far off from their ol' stompin' grounds, remote, plenty o' little coves ta stow yerself away in an' set up a base o' operations. "Ga-Koro, on tha other 'and, is where yer 'eaded if yer lookin' fer work. The type that set sail fer Ga-Koro after the Islets went under were the riffraff, the 'armless drunkards and sailors who are down on their luck and who are now lookin' fer coin, drink, and a new port ta 'ang around between jobs. I suppose that Po-Koro would work fer that too, but Ga-Koro's got warm, sandy beaches, fair weather, and," Tellus added with a roguish grin, "plenty o' ladies. "So," he concluded, "if yer lookin' fer desperate coves who might 'ave a bit more information but might put up a fight in 'opes o' capturing us, I'd try Le-Koro. If yer lookin' fer yer average citizen o' Xa-Koro who'll tell ye their whole life story for a bit o' coin but might know less, I'd lay in a course fer Ga-Koro."

IC: Tellus Tellus whistled. That was quite a story, indeed. He hadn't really expected something like that to be Gunner's backstory, but, then again, nobody on the ship really knew each other. "I'm afraid me story ain't quite so interestin' as yours. I grew up in Le-Koro, and was 'appy enough. Plenty o' trees and such. After a while, I discovered that I liked workin' on ships and 'ad a taste for a bit o' adventure. I joined up with a merchant crew, who 'ad a cap'n who liked to smuggle things to make a bit more coin. O' course, that meant we dropped by Xa-Koro, may she rest in peace, quite a bit and I got acquainted with the place. Once I set aside a fairly considerable amount o' money, I quit and bought me own ship. "She was a small ship, and I sailed alone for a few years. I was able to fend off the Rahi well enough and took up smugglin', just like me ole cap'n. It was a peaceful life, and I managed to keep me illegal activities quiet enough to avoid the Guard. After a while, I realized that it was gettin' dangerous, and decided that, considerin' that I was smugglin' anyway and fightin' skills were pretty sharp, I might as well join up with some pirates. Found out that Cap'n Lohkar was known fer not bein' as bad as some o' the others and 'ere I am." He drained the last of his first bottle and started in on the second. "Speakin' o' Xa-Koro, ain't we out 'ere with the Guard to avenge 'er? Shouldn't we be gettin' underway?"

IC: Tellus Tellus paused, bottle halfway to his mouth. "Ye know, yer right," he said, frowning. "It's strange, when ye really think about it. We all live on tha same ship, but never really talk with each other, even if days o' near-silence go by. We only seem ta comment on action, or drinkin'. Hmmm." He took a moment to down another mouthful of rum. Inwardly, he winced. The stuff they kept on the ship was about as low-quality as it got.... probably to help discourage crew members from drinking it all in a week. "So, Gunner, 'ow about we start fixin' that? What's yer story?"

IC: Tellus "It'd be me pleasure," Tellus, said, disappearing into the hold with a grin and a wink. A few minutes later, he reappeared, carrying four bottles. "At first, I was goin' to only bring up two, but then thought of those poor, tempted souls, and grabbed a couple more out o' pity." With a grin, he handed Gunner two of the bottles. "Bottoms up, mate!"

IC: Tellus Tellus grinned widely. A drink after all that hard work sounded wonderful. "Now yer talkin' me language, mate! It occurs to me that we 'ave quite a bit o' rum on this 'ere ship, temptin' poor souls. What say we help 'em by removing some o' that temptation?"

IC: Tellus Having finished his task, Tellus was just about to yell, "We're all ship-shape an' ready to sail, Cap'n," when he realized that Lohkar was missing. After climbing down from the rigging, he spotted Gunner. "Gunner! Ye wouldn't 'appen to know where the Cap'n's gone, would ye? We're ready to sail."

IC: Tellus "Aye, aye, sir!" Tellus continued working hard at getting the ship ready to sail. "Come on, the rest of ye lazy layabouts! Let's get goin'!" As far as Tellus could tell, only he, Gunner, and Lasina were following orders. He could have sworn that they had more than four crew members, counting the Cap'n.....

I normally don't post in the blogs, but I can't resist. XD Personally, I like Star Trek for the episodes that make you think after you see them, wondering if the tough choice the characters made was the right one. You don't find many of those in Doctor Who or Star Wars. On the other hand, that means less action, which Doctor Who and Star Wars have plenty of. And, at the end of the day, I guess people like action over well-written episodes that leave you thinking.

IC: Tellus Tellus nodded. "Aye aye, Cap'n!" With that, he began the task of getting the ship underway.

IC: Tellus Tellus may not have agreed with distrusting people on sight, but what's-his-face had a good point. Either way, they had yet to do anything other continue to stand around talking. "Well, I tried," Tellus said, to nobody in particular. "Guess we'll be 'ere fer a while yet."

IC: Tellus Tellus frowned. "Maybe nobody trusts 'im, but I don't distrust 'im. Besides, we're in the middle of the ocean, for Mata Nui's sake. Ye can't just tell people to leave when there's no way for 'em ta go." 'E makes Gunner look cheerful. An' that's sayin' somethin'.

IC: Tellus Tellus had emerged belowdecks, after downing a mug or two of rum. He watched the proceedings on the deck of the Fowadi with renewed interest, but couldn't help but think that they were wasting quite a bit of time. "'Scuse me," Tellus yelled, "but it seems ta me that we're all wastin' time by sittin' here talkin'! I'm shore that what yer talking about is very important an' all, but per'aps our time would be better spent if we got underway, then talked while we're coverin' some ground?"

IC: Tellus No response came to Tellus. He simply stared at Lasinia for a moment, then said, ".... I think I need a drink." He promptly went belowdecks in search of some rum. That was the most unexpected, awkward one-sided conversation he'd ever encountered. Hands down.

IC: Tellus Tellus grinned, an expression far from uncommon for the cheery Toa of the Green. "Aye, I reckon that we'll put a dent in their pretty Guard boat that they won't soon forget, should it come to that."

IC: Tellus Tellus paused for a moment, staring across at the other ship. "I think it'll work out, at least fer the time bein'," he said. "After all, we want ta avenge our 'ome, and they want ta remove a threat much larger than us. There'll probably be a problem or two, but we'll put up with 'em." He smiled grimly. "O' course, things'll get interestin' after we fight whoever destroyed Xa-Koro, assumin' we don't die and win, or find them at all. The 'Vika is a pretty temptin' target, and it may be that the Guard'll decide to try and bring justice to us ruthless pirates." He chuckled, smiling. "But o' course, we won't 'ave ta worry about that for a while. For now, it should be smooth sailin'."

IC: Tellus Tellus smiled, taking a more optimistic view of the situation than Gunner might have. "Aye. Perhaps it's a good thing. When they find out that we're out fer revenge, and they probably will, a bit of unpredictability might just save us all." Tellus didn't bother to go into further detail about who they were.

IC: Tellus "Aye," he said, thoughtful. "Makes sense." He paused. "Do ye think he might get bent on revenge?"

IC: Tellus "Aye." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Is it just me, or is the Cap'n actin' a bit.... different lately? Since Xa-Koro? I mean, it's probably not a bad thing, but...." He trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say, or what to think. Like he'd said, Tellus figured that the difference (which was, he acknowledged, barely noticeable) was probably nothing- the Cap'n grieving, maybe? Maybe Gunner would know.

IC: Tellus First, Tellus had jumped when Floria had appeared right next to him. Then, he'd jumped when Gunner's sword had been thrown in his general direction. Before Tellus could recommend to Gunner to calm down, Floria made her excellent point about Xa-Koro, and before he could comment, Lasina had put on the mask. Must be gettin' old, if I'm so slow. He almost told Lasina that putting on the mask had been a bad idea, but decided against it. She had already done it, and he very much doubted that it'd matter either way. "So, do ye think that we'll really end up workin' with the guard?" He chuckled at the thought. "Ye know yer in trouble when criminals and the law lay aside their differences ta stop ya. I'd 'ate ta be whoever took out Xa-Koro, may she rest in peace."