More stories by plasmoidmonkey

[Hebes24]

I really liked that flashback. It gave the characters some good background. Great work.

[plasmoidmonkey]

453 A.D.C.
Eighth Day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Ten thousand alabasa was a lot of money. The kind of money that could keep the Spirit and her crew running for quite a while. But now, Ikellin wondered if he should have pressed harder for fifteen. Or maybe twenty. There was a very good reason why Diramel was willing to pay a boatload of pirates that much money: It was one hell of a job.
Or, to be more precise, the job was hell. There had been no rest for the pirates when the battle in the large cave was over. Unfortunately for them, Ikellin had been wrong about their pass on body disposal duty. Like their Diramali allies, they were all handed piles of burlap sacks to stuff the corpses into so another group from the surface could retrieve them, take them back up above ground, and then burn them. Cremation underground would only cause asphyxiation by smoke inhalation even though the stagnant air was already suffocating enough without it. To further complicate things, every fifteen minutes or so for six hours after the battle a small band of demons who were late to the party would make their way back into the cavern. They were quickly dispatched, but it soon became an incredible nuisance.
But, eventually, the place was deemed secure. The majority of the pirates, Deep-men, and Diramali soldiers were sent back up to the surface and a replacement group was sent down in their stead. Ikellin had no complaints, even if he was going to have to head down again. He was the captain, after all.

The Spirit’s mess hall was not exactly bustling with activity. The majority of those who had been fighting, finally grasping the futility of trying to get any hot water to wash up, simply stumbled to their bunks and collapsed into them. Those who had managed to peel themselves off of their mattresses definitely deserved a good meal, and even if it was no different from the fare that they ate almost every day, Rolf delivered.
“Well Ike, your cook is definitely better than Vagig.” Rheves said as he continued through his plate of eggs and spiced calamari. Ikellin chuckled tiredly.
“Vagig Toogig? He’s still alive? That son of a gun was old back when we were on the Sun Thief.”
“Eighty-three and still kicking.” Cirrine added. “But it hasn’t improved his grub in any way, shape, or form.”
“Worst five years of my life.”
“Yes, Azi, I’m pretty much everyone here knows you hate me. No reason to rub it in.” he turned his focus to Ikellin. “So, Ike, you never did tell me how Shym’s adapting to life as the cabin boy.”
“He’s no cabin boy anymore. Gave him full crewman privileges.”
“What? It hasn’t even been a moon yet.”
“The kid’s a prodigy. No lies. Absolute dead-eye with a rifle. Took down a Diramali scout ship with a single shot to the chamber.”
“That should be impossible…unless he’s part Ao Na or something.”
“Now that would be impossible. Ao Na barely have any sex drive with their own species. No, he’s just incredibly talented.”
“But still…I’ve never heard anything about anyone being able to do that. You’d need to be lucky as fate itself to make that shot with formal training, much less being self-taught.”
“And I’m guessing he’s self-taught.”
“Yup. But of course, he only told me he had basic gun skills. Gyp.”
“He’s a shy kid. Good enough reason he wouldn’t tell you. He’s just a very lucky prodigy.”
“Well, I could use a bit of his luck right about now.”
“We all could. But I’d say we already got some of it. No casualties for the entire shebang.”
“Speaking of which.” Megas said as he drained his mug of coffee. “Any news on our payment?”
“He said we’d get it after the mission was totally complete.”
“Sh’ït. Well, there goes the ‘take it in advance and cop out’ option.”
“You’re just going to have to get used to it.” Cirrine said around a piece of hardtack biscuit. “We’re going to be at this for a while.”
“Don’t remind me.”

[Hebes24]

“Sh’ït. Well, there goes the ‘take it in advance and cop out’ option.”

Haha...Pirates. Funny line. Good Chapter!

[plasmoidmonkey]

453 A.D.C.
Eighth Day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

“Megas, you should probably drop that mushroom. That thing’s going to seriously screw you up if you keep fooling around with it. Poisonous enough to kill a bull Burgufg in ninety seconds.” Ikellin said as he passed by the first mate, who quickly tossed the pale blue-green fungi to the floor of the cave. Megas quickly started to wipe his hands on his pant legs, panicked.
“Thanks for telling me sooner!”
“Ah, don’t worry. That type’s not supposed to start sporing for another five moons or so.”
“Too bad that’s not the case for the rest of them.” Azi said as she held up her crystal lamp and looked at the ‘forest’ of softly glowing mushrooms that filled the chamber the pirates were walking through. They ranged from a few centimeters in height all the way up to some giants that were at least seven meters tall. The air was filled with their spores like gently falling snow. They smelled strongly of humid damp and irritated the nose, but even Gilgas had mentioned that it was a pretty amazing sight.
“Hatchoo!” Jimbo sneezed. “Ugh. Three days without a trip back up to the surface. Hell.”
“Took the word right from my mouth.” Gilgas responded. “Hey, captain, what’s next on the plan?”
“We keep moving ahead and scouting the place out. Same as usual.”
“Figures.”
The group of twenty or so pirates slowly made their way through the cavern. A bit of movement in his peripheral vision attracted Ikellin’s attention.
“Whoa. Wait up.” He held up a hand. “Something just moved in those mushrooms over there.” He aimed his gun at the patch. The rest of the pirates tightened their grips and eyed the mushroom. Ikellin inched closer.
A small demon leaped out of the patch, warbling viciously. The captain’s shotgun fired, though it missed the creature entirely. The demon tackled Ikellin and stabbed downward with a horny beak. It missed by centimeters as Ikellin jerked his head to the right, grabbed the creature by the throat and tossed it off of him, followed by another bang from his shotgun. Even before the echoes began to die away the signature howls of a demon horde on its way reached their ears.
“Scatter!” he shouted as he picked himself off of the floor. The pirates dispersed throughout the mushrooms. Ikellin thumbed a cartridge into his gun as his brain did a light-speed analysis. The cavern was large enough for plenty of maneuverability, a reprieve after three days of fighting in narrow tunnels. The abundance of mushrooms meant that the fight would be exclusively close combat. But before he could think of anything else, the demons had arrived.
Gunfire exploded throughout the cave. Due to the close quarters, there was no chance of distracting the horde with their own dead or of setting up a tactical defense. Now it was simply down to staying alive in the midst of chaos: The way pirates are born to fight.
Ikellin took down another demon. The shot tore through its gut and through the trunk of the mushroom behind it, releasing a cloud of pale green spores. The entire cave was now filled with the same greenish haze, dotted with bubbles of dampened light from the crystal lamps.
“Diet Dr. Pepper. No time to reload.” He thought to himself as he shouldered his depleted shotgun and brought out his pistol and ducked a crustacean-like claw that was swung at his head. Leaping forward, he tackled the demon to the ground and fired three shots point-blank into its chitinous face covering. The creature responded by hammering him with a heavy claw, launching him several meters into the trunk of a mushroom. It was at that point that Ikellin blacked out.

Azi saw the captain go down. Immediately she made a mad dash at the demon responsible, juking around mushrooms, demons, and other pirates like an expert football player. The demon was just pulling itself up as she shoved her rifle’s bayonet into its shattered face plate and fired a full five rounds into its head. Wrenching the weapon from the carcass, she dashed over to the spot where Ikellin lay like a ragdoll. Already a bruise was forming underneath his torn tunic. Straightening his body out, she pressed two fingers against his neck. Azi let go a sigh of relief: there was still a pulse. She dragged him off to the side of the main fighting before she raised her head and shouted into the cloud of spores.
“Captain Ike is down! The captain is KO’d!”
A pirate form bearing a lantern ran through the spores, revealing none other than Cirrine Feren.
“Oh, sh’ït.” She knelt down beside his comatose body. “Is he still alive?”
“Yeah, he’s just unconscious. Listen, can you help me get him back to the command post?”
“Wish I could but until these spores settle down…”
“Never mind! Let’s just get him out of the fight!”
Cirrine nodded and grabbed the captain underneath his arms as Azi grabbed his legs. Together they bore him to the very wall of the cavern ducking behind a mushroom, they set him down and began to look at the damage. Cirrine tore off his ruined tunic and began to feel his bones.
“Thank the gods…nothing broken. He’s going to be out cold for a while and that’s one hell of a bruise he’s got, but he’s going to be okay.”
Azi was interrupted before she could respond by the sound of their cover being torn up by its mycelium roots, replaced with a Burgufg-sized demon. It was covered in crusting scales and had a deformed mass of breathing folds for a snout. Its red eyes were located in its chest and one was twice as large as the other. Saliva dripped from the tusks of its slack-jawed mouth. With one sweep of its massive arm it knocked both Azi and Cirrene off to the side. Something that could almost pass as a hungry grin formed on its face as it eyed Captain Ikellin’s body.

[Hebes24]

Uh-oh! Captain's down!!

Great chapter.

[plasmoidmonkey]

431 A.D.C.
Tenth Day of the Moon of Endless Rains
Unamed island in the Idralic Ocean

The ship’s long boat pulled up on the beach of the island, right where Ikellin, Rheves, Cirrine and Mwo were standing. There were four Sanx males in the boat.
“We saw the smoke from your fire. You are stranded here, yes?” One of them asked, apparently the ship’s captain.
Mwo stepped forward to speak.
“Yes. Our ship sunk nearby three moons ago.”
“Indeed.” Though his expression was blank, his tone indicated that he was slightly dubious of the claim. “My ship is on its way south to Port Cad-Arveuh. We can drop you off there.”
“Many thanks, friend.” He turned to the other three pirates. “They can take us as far as Cad-Arveuh.”
“Good enough for me.” Rheves said as he jumped into an open seat in the longboat. “Who else is coming?”
The other three quickly got in. Ikellin and Mwo each grabbed one of the two remaining oars, set them in their oarlocks, and paddled along with the Sanx sailors.
“Were you really stranded for three moons?” One of the Sanx asked as they rowed their way back to the boat.
“Yes. Nearly eaten by sqomaks too many times to count.”
“Lucky younglings. So I suppose I am the first to tell you about the death of Buru Saph.”
Mwo raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
“He is dead?”
“Yes. Killed by a business rival. His estate has been entrusted to his son, but he has not been found as of yet.”
“Indeed.” “What was that about?” Ikellin asked. “You seemed a bit uncomfortable there.”
“My father has been killed. I must now go take hold of his estate.”
Ikellin sighed.
“So once we get to port, it’s going to be good-bye, eh?”
“A good-bye is temporary. Wherever you may go and whatever may happen to you, if you come to my home, I owe you the most gracious of hospitality. To all of you. You will all be welcomed in Huma.”

[plasmoidmonkey]

453 A.D.C.
Eighth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

When Ikellin came to, he noticed four things. The first was that he was alive, the second that it was pitch black, the third was that he hurt all over, and he fourth was that he was being dragged along by the right ankle.
Just moments after he came around he heard gunshots from behind him and felt his foot drop to the ground. The demon snarled as the bullets imbedded in its flesh with dull thunks. Ikellin was pulled back wards into the light of a crystal lamp as the demon crumpled to the floor.
Standing above him were Rheves, Jimbo, Gilgas, and Shym. Ikellin sat up and held his head in one hand.
“Ugh, what happened?”
“You got knocked out and hauled away for dinner.” Rheves answered.
“How did the fight go?”
“We had to fall back to the command post, but we were able to hold them off.” Gilgas said. “We lost Go Bel and Hijonn.” He added sadly. Ikellin bowed his head reverently for his dead crewmen.
“Anything else?” The captain said after the short pause.
“Multiple wounded, though nothing extremely serious.” The second mate continued. “Mostly scrapes and bruises, with broken bones here and there. Megas broke his leg but still insists on taking charge in your absence.”
“Hmm.” He stood up. “Well, I’m pretty Diet Dr. Pepper grateful for what you just did, though it seems I lost my shotgun and pistol. And my shirt.” He patted the brims of his boots. “Ah, still got my trench knives.” He took them out, straightened up, and observed where the group was.
The tunnel was a good three meters wide, but what it was made out of sparked the captain’s interest. It felt like rock, but it looked like worn metal. Engraved designs that covered the floor and walls were practically smoothed out and unnoticeable. The whole place looked man-made, and yet natural at the same time.
“This place just keeps getting weirder.” He muttered to himself. “Well, no reason to stand around. Lead the way outta here.” Rheves, Gilgas and Jimbo had just barely turned around before Shym pointed down the tunnel in the opposite direction.
“Hey, uh, what’s that light down there?”
Barely visible at a bend at the far end of the tunnel was a steady orange light. Strangely enough, it did not seem to be moving closer or farther away, but rather stayed in the same spot.
“Nobody else has come down this far, right?” Jimbo asked, confused. “How could there be a torch?”
“Well, a demon couldn’t make it. They’re not smart enough.” Gilgas answered. “Besides, it’s too steady to be a torch.” He looked to Ikellin. What should we do, captain?”
Ikellin stroked his chin.
“If it’s not one of ours and it’s not a demon, then it definitely warrants investigation. Unless somebody cares to disagree.”
“You just got knocked out, dragged around by the ankle for an hour and a half, and you want to go investigate a mysterious light?” Rheves said, shaking his head and smiling. “For a moment I’d thought you’d lost your touch.”
“It’s settled, then.” Ikellin stepped over the carcass of the demon.
The light still did not move when they reached the bend in the tunnel, but it was definitely brighter. Dulled noises could also be heard from farther down. As they passed the bend, the five stopped in their tracks.
The tunnel opened up into a massive chamber that was a good two hundred meters in diameter. Like the passageway, it was made of the same smooth rock-metal, and looked as if it were an artificial structure that simply had decayed into the natural cave. The passageway opened up on a rim at about the middle height of the cave, with a path that wound down to the floor. Several other passageways branched off elseware on the rim. But the center of the room held the pirates’ attention.
Floating roughly halfway between the floor and the domed roof of the cavern was a large, ball like object that was giving off a bright like, much like the sun. After so long in the presence of only crystal lamps, the pirates’ arms jumped up to shield their eyes. This explained the source of the light, but the source of the noise was stranger still. On the floor were several hundred demons, and all of them were staring at the shining object. Many were moving in odd motions, as if they were trying to dance, and some were making odd repeated vocalizations, as if they were chanting. But yet neither of these activities seemed organized enough to really be called dancing or chanting: they were more like chanting and dancing before chanting and dancing had been created. Whatever the case was, the pirates had been noticed: Dozens of demons, noticing the new scents in their midst, looked up at the five pirates on the ledge.
“Oh bloody sh’ït.” Ikellin swore. “RUN!” The pirates turned and bolted back down the hallway as demons began to scramble up to the rim in pursuit.
The pirates sprinted down the tunnel wildly, the roars of their pursuers echoing behind them. They had gotten around forty meters down the hallway, which had now widened to a medium-sized chamber, and stood right before a natural bridge over the chamber’s deep chasm when roars began to emanate from the distance ahead of them, freezing them in their tracks. The pirates were cut off on both sides.
“Diet Dr. Pepper!” Jimbo snarled as he looked over his shoulder. “This is it, people.” He cocked his pistol. “Let’s give them hell.” Ikellin solemnly nodded as his gave his trench knives a fanciful twirl before setting them in iron-fisted grips. The other pirates readied their weapons as well.
“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” Ikellin said as the roars got closer. “Time to go out like pirates.”
At that moment Shym pushed him off the bridge.

[plasmoidmonkey]

453 A.D.C.
Eighth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Daz Dax looked around the cavern, tensely awaiting another demon to leap from the shadows. None came, so he took the time to reload his rifle. Poggo the Qxill jumped up next to him.
“SoIguessthat’sitfortheseguyshuhDax?”
“For now.”
“BahIcouldeattheseguysforbreakfasttheydon’tscaremeonebit.”
“I’m sure they don’t.”
“Why’dSketachaassignusdownhereanywayshouldn’tacoupleofflyboyslikeusbeoutonpatrol?”
“We lost our ship. We’re no use up there, so Command sent us down here. That’s the way things go.”
“Whatever.”
A demonic roar sounded very close by. A nearby Diramel soldier lifted his lantern to show a brutish demon with a spindly neck and stubby fingers limp towards them. It had been shot in the foot, and yet still had its eyes fixed hungrily on the soldiers. And if it was hungry, it was still deadly.
Before anyone had a chance to shoot it, Poggo jumped through its legs, sprung up on the other side, clambered onto its shoulders, wrapped his legs around its neck, whipped out two daggers, and began stabbing the demon repeatedly in the neck. The creature thrashed its arms for a second or two as it gurgled in its own blood before crashing to the ground.
“You are a sick, sick, little frog thing.” Daz said as Poggo straightened himself up. Even after working with Poggo for a year, he still found the Qxill’s overkill fighting tactics to be somewhat disturbing. Poggo shrugged.
“ToeachhisownIsuppose.”

Ikellin groaned as he picked himself up off of the smooth stone floor.
“Okay now, who did that?”
“That was me, captain…ow.” Shym grabbed his sore shoulder with his hand said as he righted himself.
“Never mind who did it, what just happened?” Rheves said, not moving from his position on his back.
“I, uh, kinda saved your lives. Pushed you down a ramp.”
“Ramp? What ramp?
Shym grabbed the crystal lamp from the ground and held it in the air as he pointed to a gently sloping ramp that spiraled up and out of sight, presumably ending right next to the bridge they had been on just a minute before.
“That ramp. You guys didn’t see it when we were on the bridge.”
“You just never cease to amaze me, kid.” Ikellin said.
“Uh, yeah, but where are we?” Gilgas asked. Shym turned away from the ramp and let the lamp’s soft light illuminate the bottom of the pit.
The area was circular, possibly thirty meters across. It was made of the same smooth rock-metal as the passageway far above and the room with the glowing object, but there was something else.
Half of the floor space was taken up by a large metallic object. It appeared to be a low platform that over the years had melded with the floor. A semicircular wall about a meter tall stood on top of the platform. Behind that was a quarter-sphere that rose ten meters into the air, making the whole thing look somewhat like an open-air auditorium. The lantern light reflected off the object eerily. The pirates walked closer to investigate.
“What is with this place?” Rheves said as he walked up onto the platform. “What the hell is up with this place?”
“Rheves, we’ve established that it’s weird down here and we have no idea what the hell is going on. Can we quit repeating ourselves and stating the obvious?” Gilgas grumbled.
“Well, I don’t see you giving any explanations, Gilgas.” Jimbo responded.
“It’s too bad Megas isn’t here.” Ikellin said as he peered up at the top of the shell. “He loves this kind of stuff. Wait…” Ikellin looked down at the floor and stroked his chin as he called to mind a particular tidbit. “Archaics.”
“What?”
“Archaics. Megas was blathering on about them a couple moons back when he had one to many zrabali to drink. They’re supposed to be this really advanced race that went extinct millennia ago. I thought he was just drunk. Guess he wasn’t.”
“Knowing Megas, he was definitely drunk.” Rheves leaned against the wall. As he did, a shining white object materialized out of thin air. Rheves practically leapt out of his skin as he jumped back from the wall.
The object looked somewhat like the control console of an airship, and yet somewhat like a pattern on a Sanx wall-hanging at the same time. It hovered about seven centimeters above the wall, at a slight upwards angle.
Rheves cautiously reached out a hand to touch to object. His hand passed through the object as if it were thin air. As he drew his hand back, another object appeared above the console, this time a cloud of mist in the rough shape of a humanoid creature.
There was a faint humming as a slot opened up in the wall and three metallic bars floated out. The bars made one revolution of Rheves’ head, bathing it in white light, before returning to their compartment.
“Language banks updated.” A strange, genderless voice said. The pirates looked around to find the source, but there was no one else there besides them. “Hello. I am the main computer for Facility Eight of Installation South. You may call me Bygone Sanction.”
“What did it just say?” Rheves asked the others. “All I caught was its name.”
“Um, okay… Where are you, Bygone Sanction?” Ikellin asked the voice.
“I apologize. My holoprojector is malfunctioning, so my form is rendered unstable.”
“Oh, so you’re that mist over there.”
“Correct.”
“So, what exactly are you?”
“I am an Ennams¬i-class computer brain, set as the central intelligence for this facility.”
“Thanks. That helped us a whole lot.” Gilgas said sarcastically.
“I do not understand. You say that my answer was of beneficial use, but your brainwave readouts show incredible confusion.”
“Never mind him, Bygone. But you can answer our questions about this place, right?”
“I will try to the best of my abilities.”
“Okay…what is this place? And why are you here?”
“We are currently in Facility Eight of Installation South. My purpose here is to oversee this particular part of the Installation. I can tell you no more. I am sorry. My memory banks are corrupted. Please make another query. I will attempt to answer it to the best of my ability.”
“How long have you been here?”
“I cannot say exactly, but my internal diagnostics indicate that it has been approximately seventeen million, four hundred eighty one thousand, six hundred and seventy five planetary rotations since my last activation, which rounds out to forty seven thousand, eight hundred and ninety five years.”
“What? How can you possibly be that old…that’s older than every civilization in the world…”
“I apologize. I do not recognize your input. Please make another query. I will attempt to answer it to the best of my ability.”
“This is getting nowhere.” Rheves said. “What do you know about the demons in this warren?” He asked Bygone Sanction.
“You are referring to the roughly three million biosignatures with broken genetic coding, correct?”
“I guess.”
“I know nothing about them.”
“Do you at least have any way to stop them from reaching the surface?”
“I do not know. Facilities One through Seven are offline, and the Installation’s teleportation matrix is in negligible condition. It is possible that I could trigger the Installation’s self-destruct function, but I am not sure.”
“That would work,” Ikellin said. “But there are non-demons down here as well…”
“So you wish that all stable biosignatures be given adequate timing to flee?
“Yes.”
“It might be possible to arrange such a transaction. I will work on a solution posthaste. I will contact you when I have found it.” The mist dissipated and the console faded.
“That made…absolutely no sense whatsoever.” Rheves said, scratching his head.
“Tell me about it.” Ikellin answered, still looking up at the spot where Bygone Sanction used to be.

Gilgas turned to Jimbo and nodded. The Jopikki nodded back. The pair both drew their pistols, and pointed them at the captains.
“Turn around.” Gilgas said.

Enjoy.

[plasmoidmonkey]

Well, given that it's almost been a month without posts, so I will post the whole shebang of what's left and call it quits.

453 A.D.C.
Eighth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Ikellin looked at the guns, than at Gilgas, then at Jimbo, than back at the guns.
“Don’t think of doing anything.” Gilgas snarled. “I will shoot if need be.”
“Bad time for a mutiny.” Rheves reached for his rifle. Ikellin motioned for him to stop.
“No. I’ll handle this.” He looked back at the two mutineers. “I could have expected this from you, Gilgas, but Jimbo? Come on now.”
“I’m just in it for the money he owes me.”
“There are better ways than this.”
“Quit the gabbing.” Gilgas said. “Hands up now, or I will shoot.” He clicked the safeties off on both his pistols. “I am Diet Dr. Pepper serious.”
“No.”
“Then it’s your funeral.” Gilgas pulled the trigger. A gunshot rang out. The pistol flew out of his hand and across the room. Ikellin, Rheves, Jimbo and Gilgas all looked at Shym. The Sabadesu held a smoking gun in his hand, a smoking gun pointed right at the second mate.
Gilgas swore between his teeth as he glared at Shym, but he didn’t move his other gun from Ikellin. Jimbo’s, however, had dropped to the floor. His hands were shaking. He had taken Gilgas’ word that he wouldn’t harm Ikellin, and was paying the price for doing so. His mind was a tumultuous mix of emotions, but mostly fear and shame. This was something not even Ikellin had seen: Jimbo losing his cool. The Jopikki took a hesitant step back, then another, before simply fleeing beyond the lantern’s light.
“You cowardly piece of sh’ït!” Gilgas called after him. Then he locked his eyes back on Ikellin. “The only reason you’re still alive is because you have your precious ‘prodigy’ by your side. If it weren’t for him, you’d be pushing up daises.”
“Come on, now, Gilgas.” He said, almost like a father disciplining his son. “Power won like this never lasts.”
“Shove it! I deserve to be captain and you know it! You’re soft! A wash-out! And you should know that wash-outs end up dead!”
Another shot rang out. Gilgas crumpled to the floor and let out a scream as blood poured from his left leg.
“I guess it was necessary.” Ikellin said. Shym nodded, and then pointed his pistol at Ikellin. Rheves quickly aimed his own rifle at the third mutineer, but again, Ikellin motioned for him to restrain from action.
“He’s my crewman.”
“And another mutineer.” The other Marudem growled. “I’m not going to just stand around again.”
“This is my business, Rheves. I’m his captain.” He looked to Shym. “Don’t do what you’re about to do.”
“Sorry, Captain.” He said, not angrily or full of hate like Gilgas, but with calm and serenity. “I’m actually serious about this, unlike those two idiots.”
“I don’t know if I should be threatened or flattered that there are so many people who want to kill me.”
“Threatened. You should know: I don’t miss.”
“And what do you suppose you’ll accomplish from this? You think a crew will follow a boy as young as yourself?”
“No. Of course not. I’m too low-key for that kind of thing anyway. But there are plenty of people out there who would pay through the nose for a pirate captain’s head. I have to admit you were one of the easier ones, Captain.”
“Don’t get your hopes up just yet. I’m captain for a reason. Just put the gun down, Shym.”
“Not going to happen.”
Ikellin said nothing, he only shrugged and bowed his head.
“That’s better, Captain. Don’t worry: I’ll aim for the heart.”
What happened next was nearly indescribable. Ikellin sidestepped a fraction of a second before the bullet was shot, dashed forward, pushed Shym off balance with his elbow, tore the weapon from his grip, and fired a point-blank shot up through the bottom of the Sabadesu’s lower jaw.
Ikellin stood over the dead body of his former cabin boy. Though his face was blank, his eyes expressed the unbearable sadness of killing one’s own crewman. Rheves looked at the body, then at Ikellin, stunned at what just occurred.
“Great gods…you killed him.”
“Even as a mutineer, he was still my crewman, and no captain should have to kill a member of his own crew.” Ikellin said, his words expressing the guilt of his action, even though it was an action of self-defense. The Marudem walked over to Gilgas, who sill lay holding his bleeding leg. “You know…you were just lying to yourself, thinking you had the guts to pull off a mutiny. And for that, I’m giving you a second chance, Gilgas.” He said to his former second mate. “But not on my ship. When we get paid and get out of here, I’m going to send you off to some miserable little dinghy that can barely keep itself afloat and hopefully never have to see you again. With luck that’ll remind you of your place. But don’t think I’m not considering leaving you down here.” He looked out into the blackness beyond. “Jimbo…I know you’re still out there, and I’m not leaving without my best mechanic.” The Jopikki crept out of the shadows into the lamplight, head bowed in shame, saying nothing. “You’re pretty Diet Dr. Pepper lucky I know you well enough to trust you to come back on board the Spirit.”
“Um, excuse me,” Bygone Sanction’s voice echoed through the cavern. “If I am not interrupting something important, I believe I have found a solution.”

453 A.D.C.
Eighth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Ikellin turned to look at the misty form of Bygone Sanction.
“I have succeeded in rebooting a section of the teleportation network. I can transport you out of this facility, but I have run across a ‘snag’, if you will.”
“Oh, lovely. What’s the catch? Do some of us have to stay behind here or something?” Rheves said.
“No, no. I have sufficient capabilities to transport all four of you out of the facility. You had requested a way to trigger the self-destruct mechanism without harming the stable biosignatures in the installation. My scans show that the ‘demons’ as you called them, are pushing upwards at an increasing rate.”
“In Anamic, please!” Rheves snapped.
“Ninety percent of demon biosignatures and ninety-nine percent of stable biosignatures are headed towards the surface. I am picking up multiple fading biosignatures among both stable and unstable, indicating that a large battle has broken out. My analysis would indicate that both groups are attempting to flee the Installation.”
“Sh’ït.” Ikellin swore. “Who knows what could happen if those things got out of here… Bygone, can you get us to the surface with that teleportation thing or whatever the hell it is?”
“Indeed. You still want to proceed with the self-destruct sequence, correct?”
“Not while we’re still in here.”
“Very well.” Another slot opened on the console. A palm-sized silver ball with a small black dot on it floated out in front of Ikellin. “Simply press the activation button on this device to open up communications with me. There. The teleporter is ready. I’m afraid I only have enough power for one trip, so you will all have to go at one time. Please step on the gold tile when you are ready, and I will transport you up to the surface.” A glowing gold disk appeared on the floor. “There is no need for concern. The process is painless…or so I am programmed to believe. Goodbye.”
Ikellin nodded and threw a quick salute before stepping onto the disk. Rheves followed.
“Jimbo, get Gilgas.” The Jopikki did as instructed and dragged the former second mate’s limp body onto the disk.
In a flash of light, they were gone.

453 A.D.C.
Eighth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Azi ran out of the tunnel into the bottom tier of the quarry pit. Even though the sun had set below the rim, the sudden change in lighting left her momentarily blinded. She wasn’t alone: Diramel soldiers, pirates, and Deep-men Sanx were flooding out of warren caves on multiple tiers of the pit, all headed for the airships on the rim above.
In the past two hours the demons had broken through every command post Diramel and the pirates had set up in the warren, sending them in a hasty and uncoordinated retreat to the surface. They had managed to block off a few tunnels with explosives to stall the demon surge, but those blockades would only last for so long before the demons clawed their way through the rubble or found a way around.
Azi jumped on a lift crammed to capacity with soldiers just as someone yanked the control lever, sending it upwards to the rim. Landing practically on top of a pair of Diramali soldiers did nothing to help the large bruises that had sprung up all over her body from her previous run in the demon in the mushroom chamber. But, she was still in better condition than Cirrine, who was still unconscious and had several broken bones. Of course, she was back on board the Spirit instead of running for her life.
The lift made it to the edge of the rim. Soldiers and pirates were hurriedly boarding their ships, and the humming of engines being started was an omnipresent noise over the commotion. Azi was just about to step onto the Spirit’s boarding ramp before she stopped in her tracks. In all of the chaos, she had forgotten that Ikellin, Rheves, Shym, Jimbo, and Gilgas were still inside the warren.
“Hey! Jaw!” She grabbed the Kvee by the arm. “Have you seen Captain Ikellin or any of the guys who went after him?”
“No, I haven’t seen either of the captains or those other guys since before we got overrun.”
“Oh Diet Dr. Pepper. Diet Dr. Pepper Diet Dr. Pepper Diet Dr. Pepper Diet Dr. Pepper Diet Dr. Pepper!” She swore to herself as she turned around and sprinted back towards the rim of the quarry. She was just about to head back down before there was a flash of golden light a meter in front of her. The light was quickly replaced by none other than the two captains, Jimbo, and a wounded Gilgas.
“Captain?” Azi skidded to a halt. “What the hell?”
“If I knew myself, I’d tell you!” he answered, pointing towards the Spirit and shivering in the sudden change of temperature. “Get on the ship first, then we’ll figure it out!”

Ikellin looked out the bridge window of the Spirit at the quarry below as the Spirit lifted higher into the evening sky. Even though the bottom of the quarry pit was cast in shadow, he could discern the swarm of demons that had flooded out of the warren into the bottom tier of the quarry. He heard the muffled thuums of ship artillery and the rattatats of machine gun fire as the departing Diramali ships opened fire on the demons below, but to little effect. There was no way they could stop them from reaching the surface.
Ikellin glanced at the white ball in his hand and ran his thumb over the black spot.
“Hello.” Bygone Sanction’s voice echoed throughout the bridge. “My scans indicate that there are no stable biosignatures left in the Installation. Do you wish me to proceed with the self-destruct sequence?”
“That depends: Are we a safe distance away?”
“Yes.”
“Then begin when you’re ready. Good-bye, Bygone Sanction.”
“It will not matter for me: I am an artificial life-form. I was never ‘alive’ to begin with. But I digress. Good-bye.”
The air filled with a low rumbling noise. The quarry and the area around it shook as if in an earthquake. The rumbling continued to grow in intensity and volume before the ground simply collapsed. The airships were buffeted by a thick cloud of dust as the rumbling subsided. By the time it had cleared, the quarry was gone, as well as a two-kilometer wide stretch of the Shilto Plate which had simply collapsed in upon itself, now nothing more than giant pit filled with rubble.
Ikellin and the rest of the pirates were speechless. The captain looked at the white ball in his hand as it disintegrated into dust.

453 A.D.C.
Ninth day of the Moon of First Frost
Soandad, the Deep South, the Shilto Plate

Ikellin patted the thick wad of a hundred hundred-alabasa bank notes in his tunic pocket.
“Not bad, not bad at all.” He thought to himself. Even though he was quite happy that Sketacha had lived up to his part of the deal, the past few days were still fresh on his mind: Gilgas’ failed mutiny, Shym’s treachery and death, the mysterious being who called itself Bygone Sanction, and the destruction of the warren.
Ikellin pushed those recent memories aside and concentrated on the now. During the whole affair in the warren, the Spirit had lost five of its crew, including Shym. There were various other wounded, but none too serious for Rolf to handle. Gilgas was currently in the brig, Azi appointed as his replacement. One of Rheves’ ships would be alerted when they got back to the coast to pick up the captain, as well as Cirrine. And the crew of the Spirit had ten thousand alabasa on their hands.
“Hey, Captain.” Ikellin looked up from his dinner to see Megas, smiling as usual even with the addition of his crutch and broken leg. “It is Friday night.”
“That it is, that it is, Megas. Big Dero! How ‘bout a song?”
The midget saluted and jumped up on the stool of the mess hall’s piano. A lively tune sprung out of the beaten instrument. Ikellin leaned back in his chair and set his feet on the table.
“Life is good.” He said to himself.

There you go. I might start another thread up again in the future, but for now, the stories of plasmoidmonkey have come to their end.

[Hebes24]

Nice one Plasmoidmonkey. Excellent conclusion, although it was too bad that Shym was a traitor. I really liked him.

I liked Bygone Sanction. Funny computer voices are always good.

Also, is your avatar a picture of Issun from Okami?