002 - A Time to Gain and a Time to Lose

[purplexing]

Truthfully Hesaeth was not a place that Donnie had been in any particular hurry to return to. So much had happened there, such gains and losses in what he felt was comparatively a short amount of time. He'd had mixed feelings about their abandoning the resources, but he still wouldn't have questioned the decision when they had such dire threats bearing down upon them. Resources could be replaced. Lives could not.

And yet, here he finds himself again. At least he has no intention of poking around what's left of the camp itself, and he and the other Corsairs had made sure that the mines would be inaccessible in the wake of their escape. The Empire would have to start all over again, but for now it seems that they're too busy licking their own wounds after their losses from here and against Flotsam.

Their target is one of two downed ships. It's a wonder what some well-aimed guns can do. The vessel's entirety had listed to one side during its descent, driving itself into the nearby cliff-face until its starboard side had been nearly flattened.

"Considering the load capacity of those ships, I'm willing to bet they've got some decent artillery other than their cannons. Probably didn't think they'd need to pull out anything else," Donnie notes as he observes the site from the rail of their own airship while it circles closer.

The entry point is through the rear loading hatch, which had been partially open perhaps in an attempt to evacuate before the whole ship had tipped over, and after rappelling down from their ship, the real adventure begins. Footing is tricky given the steep angle, ensuring that anything not nailed down or secured has been thrown to the starboard side of the ship. Toppled crates, containers and the equipment meant to move heavy loads make up most of the 'floor' they have to navigate across, as well as some dangling machinery hanging precariously by their loading harnesses.


((OOC: Leaving it open as to whether interested parties want to thread together or individually, whichever is easier/preferred! Also, this is a salvage mission so if there's anything anyone else might be in the market for, let me know!))

Comments

[freearcadia]

He slowly draws away the tarp. "I suspected you're right - they just didn't expect the parting gifts, or had underestimated them." While the words sounds like they should be flippant, the quiet steel in the pirate's voice made it world-weary.

The object is certainly metal, and shaped - and Harlock recognized it from Donnie's repairing one of the Armors claimed in the raid that it's a piece of the armor... for the Armor. "Were they expecting to do some quick patch jobs before joining the Flotsam assault?"

[purplexing]

"Probably," Donnie nods. He just knows that the Empire thinks highly of itself enough to think anyone could pose a threat to them. He also knows it's just as dangerous to finally be acknowledged as such.

His eyes widen as he comes closer, giving the top of the lantern a turn to let more light filter rather than have it concentrated before he sets it down on the crate Harlock had indicated earlier. "That or pre-battle preparation..." he says carefully, running a hand over the metal surface. "Either way, this is an excellent find. Let's see how much more there might be."

[freearcadia]

Harlock steps aside to let Donnie have a better look at the piece, his own going over the way it's shaped, trying to map it to the armors he seen in the hangar. "It's unlikely we'll piece together a functional armor from what we'll find, but no doubt this will keep the ones we have going for a good while."

The pirate pauses. "What is the energy source for it, Ether? like the air ships?" The man asked, realizing he never really thought about it as he starts to pull off tarps, mostly revealing more crates.

[purplexing]

"Never know! These airships were deployed for battle, and it'd be too much trouble to transfer equipment like this. I guess there's the chance that they'd keep a ship open to dock damaged armors but realistically, with everything going on, everyone's bound to have their hands full that mid-battle repairs aren't feasible."

Donnie clambers onto the piece itself so he can have a better look over the edge to try and see what else might be buried in this messy treasure trove.

"Yeah, most anything is powered by Ether stones," he confirms. "Maybe there's some spare ones they use for power cores. Now those would be useful..." He squints as he tries to angle his lantern just right before leaving it on the armor so Harlock can still see, pulling out a smaller torch that he clicks on, beaming it into the dimness below.

"Hmmm, what have we heeeeere..." he wonders aloud before dropping down.

[freearcadia]

"Might be an overly paranoid commander who decided to bring these along," he wondered out loud, there's all sorts that end up in positions of command and not always for a good reason, and the pirate suspects in the empire, that's far more common than doing it for the right reasons.

At Donnie's reply, the human pursed his lips thoughtfully - they should consider prying what's left of the stone from the ship's engine - he'll keep that in mind. "I'll keep an eye out for anything that looks like it." He watches as the turtlekin drops down, listening as he examines the crates he can access - looks like mostly ammo, and smaller pieces. He gives Donnie a few moments to orient himself during his crate check before calling out.

"Anything interesting down there?"

[purplexing]

"It's possible," Donnie concedes. There's a lot of reasons but he figures it doesn't matter too much given the ship's been crashed, so really, all they can do is benefit from the Empire's loss.

His confirmation about the Ether stones is slightly lost between the rummaging of loose articles and the distance the turtlekin's managed to slip past. There's a bit of clanging as some metal object or another goes falling even further, barely masking an excited whoop.

"Ohhh sweet, sweet titanium- can it be?!"

[freearcadia]

A smile crosses his face at the whoop, oh he is quite familiar with the tone - disbelief, excitement, elation. Whatever he found, it's gotta be good. Harlock quickly grabbed the lantern and went to follow after.

"What is it?" The man asked as he kneels, leaning in to get a look for himself, holding out the lantern.

[purplexing]

The turtlekin's shoving a few busted crates off whatever he's standing on, the lantern light reflecting a sheen of metal. With a bit more cleared off, the head and part of the upper torso of the thing can be seen. Donnie grins up at the pirate.

"We're in luck! Not only is there an entire armor, but I am pretty sure the metal is titanium, meaning this baby's kitted out for flight, commander-class, or both!" he explains excitedly, dropping down to paw at the metal. He'd like to think he's well familiar with the type after he's been working with it so much recently.

"I can't tell what state it's in, but it's still worth digging out, even if it'd just be for the pieces!"

[freearcadia]

He pulls back, swinging his lips to hop down to get a look for himself.

"Perhaps I should consider learning how to use one," He added thoughtfully, as he reaches to help pull some debris away from the armor, moving the lantern slowly to assess for damage. "Looks like some of the wood wedged itself in the joint here." Harlock pointed out. "Let's see if that did any damage there..."

[purplexing]

"Couldn't hurt. It may not be the same thing as flying a ship, but learning how to pilot an armor could come in handy, and we've been steadily building up the ones we have available."

Donnie moves over to where Harlock is, frowning thoughtfully as he inspects it. It's a pretty big piece of wood there. "Wouldn't be surprised. The joints can be pretty vulnerable, that's why I always tell people to go for those when they're up against one." He beams his torch light down where its gotten wedged into.

"Worst case is it completely severed it, if it's just pinched in then we won't need to replace any wires and cabling. I can't tell with it still there though. Let me see if I can cut it away..."

[freearcadia]

"I did wonder why did they fall on this kind of design, we have nothing like this where I am from." Harlock muses out loud as he angles the lantern to give the turtlekin the best light possible as he kneels to help steady the pieces as he cuts.

"Granted, I suppose the mechanized cavalry of of my homeworld would not be too practical with the geography here."

[purplexing]

"Is it so strange?" Donnie wonders himself as he finds a better space to brace himself while he works. "The army itself is composed of capable fighters. Having the same sort of mobility and a more superior defense, plus the added ability of more heavy-duty weaponry just seems ideal. A step between soldiers and fully-equipped airships."

With Harlock helping with the light, Donnie tucks his smaller one away, slipping the cylinder back into his belt. He doesn't really have any useful tools for a job like this, but that's where he can improvise. Holding out a hand, he literally works his magic, lines of bright magenta tracing out the inner parts of a motorized handsaw, working its way out until he grasps the finished piece. It's semi-translucent, outlines of solid energy, but when the turtlekin applies it to the wood and turns it on, the saw teeth bite easily into the wood as a physical blade would.

[freearcadia]

"Well, least in my world once heavy crossbows and guns came about, armor fell out of use," he explained as he watches him move, adjusting his hold on the piece so it doesn't move too much. "So when armies started to have mechanical units they are..." He pauses, what's word again. "More like carriages."

He had expected a tool, but when the magenta lines formed, looking as if he's drawing a blueprint, before it solidifies. It's not the first time Harlock has experienced magic in this world, but there's something about this that strikes him as the translucent teeth bite in.

[purplexing]

"Sounds pretty gutsy of people to ditch armor completely. Even some armor is better than none against crossbow bolts and bullets," Donnie opines. "You mean like airships? Or the ships you use to sail through the star seas?"

He might be able to shortcut it, but seeing Donnie's magic ability in action speaks plainly of how the boy's mind processes things. He goes about it like he's building the actual object, slotting each mechanism into place. In afterthought he pulls his goggles down as sawdust and a bit of splinters begin to fly, but it's clear that the turtlekin's mystic tool far surpasses one made of physical material as it makes short work of the piece of wood.

The length of it that Harlock holds soon loosens, free to be disposed of. Donnie pushes his goggles up to study what's left, letting the saw dissipate in motes of pixelated light so he can free up his hands to grasp the remnant of wood and wiggle it free.

[freearcadia]

"Hm..." He mulls over the question. "Well, armor was expensive and time consuming to make, and guns replaced melee weapons entirely, so it was several centuries before people figured out how to make armor that can stand up to gunfire. The ones I'm thinking of, they're closer to armored carts - like the ones drawn by horses." Harlock clarified.

As Donnie cuts, he watches - it's strange that this is the first piece of magic that actually intrigues him, he seen and felt their effects. Perhaps it appealed to the practical side, or that it seems more telling of the caster than others he'd seen. He tosses the now loose board aside. Once the remaining piece was pulled free, he grabbed the lantern, holding it up so it's light will shine into the joint.

[purplexing]

"Ooh... but...powered to move themselves? Interesting. Is it hindered by the terrain?"

Donnie pulls the wood free, letting it join the other piece Harlock discards before leaning in to look once the light is adjusted.

"Well...I don't see or smell anything leaking..." he says carefully. "However it does look like it got a bit pinched, so movement may not be as up to speed as it should be. If it still powers up, maybe it can unbury itself and save us the trouble. Let's see if we can get the hatch open." Hopefully it's not pinned down.

[freearcadia]

"Depends on how they are built - many of them have," he gestures vaguely. "Well, means of moving over mud and rough ground. They are slow but heavily armored and armed." With that, he starts to grab, and push away shattered crates, discovering a length of taut rope over part of the armor.

Wordlessly, he cuts it, figuring it would be faster than trying to find where it's tied and undoing the knot. There's a good chance he thinks that the hatch would be tied down along with being locked.

[purplexing]

"Whenever we're back in the library I'm going to have to ask you draw some of those out," Donnie says with a grin. He loves learning about the machinery of Harlock's world.

Distantly, something else falls in the darkness, perhaps caught somewhere along the other end of the rope when things got turned on its side. The turtlekin winces at the sound, hoping it's not anything too important. "Oooh... getting that open is going to be a pain at this angle. Okay, let's hold on that one for a moment. I'm going to see if I can get in this armor. Now...where is the manual release for the cockpit..."

[freearcadia]

"Of course," he nodded, glancing over to the sound, he holds up his hand in a 'just a moment' gesture, before picking up the lantern, carefully stepping his way towards the source of the sound while Donnie focuses on getting the cockpit open.

It's probably just something falling over, but better make sure it isn't a nasty surprise instead.

[purplexing]

The turtlekin gives a distracted thumbs-up, distracted as he paws around for the release... Ah! There it is! He wriggles between things to get into a better position to haul it open so he can slip inside.

The good news for Harlock is that it is indeed something that's just fallen over. As he approaches he can see the keg lying on its side, still rolling slightly from side to side as it settles. The cork's popped loose from when it had fallen over, a dark liquid pouring steadily out. Oil perhaps. ...which...shouldn't be a problem so long as there's nothing to catch fire, right...?

[freearcadia]

"Shit." He mutters under his breath as he kneels, examining the liquid.

"Careful, there's some spilled oil." He called out.

[purplexing]

There's a beat before a slightly muffled, distant shout of "What?" in response. Well, it sounds like Donnie's made it inside of the thing at least. In hindsight he hopes that nothing's blocking him from pushing the cockpit open again in case he can't power it up.

The angle's a little weird, but he can still get into the right orientation, feeling slightly giddy at being inside one of the armors for more than just a quick maintenance check. Fingers run over the internal console, flicking switches and setting levers as he tries activating it. Slowly things begin to hum around him as the armor powers up.

"Yessssssss..."