Beyond Equestria 146: The Last Free Town (Part 23, Conc. III

[2015-08-05 13:33:44] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Previously...
[2015-08-05 13:35:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost taptaps in the microphone "captain, captain... everypony knows that being a captain is overrated... now, we're aiming at vital parts of your vessels and we could destroy that portal any moment from now. THAM makes me the captain. so..."
[2015-08-05 13:35:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"...i will pretend that you are probably important zebras, even if you are not, and ask you to join in a neutral place to parlay."
[2015-08-05 13:35:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost takes a look at shatara "hey lovebird, get ready for a demonstration shot... aim for something important, i don't know, the captain's hat, okay? shoot if i say so"
[2015-08-05 13:35:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3 The Captains of the /Cutlass/ and the /Skullcrusher/ are quiet.  (Although in the case of the latter, possibly because he no longer has loudspeakers he can talk through.)
[2015-08-05 13:35:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Once given access to his system again, Captain Vespertillo cautiously offers (translated by Parley), "This is Captain Vespertillo of the /Skullcrusher/ to unknown party.  We open ourselves to parley.  But we are not foolish enough to move from this place while the Wameli control the Goblet and portal.  The Wameli cannot be trusted."
[2015-08-05 13:36:05] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost asks, "who is going anywhere? the captains wil simply leave the vessels and land on the ground below. there should be a clearance right under there."
[2015-08-05 13:36:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Unfortunately, not everyone is so reasonable.  "This is Captain Cruentos of the /Venenosa Calta/.  Captain Noble_Heart is aboard an Imperial Umbra-class ship!" a voice announces (with Parley translating).
[2015-08-05 13:36:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"We have weaponry locked on the /Cutlass/.  We demand the Wameli turn over the Griffin's Goblet to our custody.  Additionally, we demand the surrender of the U-ship to the Cruentos Family.  Refuse, and we blow your precious /Cutlass/ out of the sky.  You can pick up the pieces of the crew while looking for the Goblet in the rubble.  You have three minutes."
[2015-08-05 13:36:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
[2015-08-05 13:37:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session One Hundred and Forty-Six: The Last Free Town (Part Twenty-Three, Conclusion part III) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigolJfoANw
[2015-08-05 13:37:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- Session Begins ---
[2015-08-05 13:39:09] * Get_Lost "captain, i'm a Solaris. do you think i care? want me to demonstrate something?" then look around the ship leaving the microphone open "hey, could somepony please teleport a grenade or two on their ship? maybe if they los half their crew they'll learn their place"
[2015-08-05 13:41:12] * Get_Lost then, clicking out the loudspeaker "look, do we have a line of fire in that captain? i'd really love if somepony shot his hat off exactly now"
[2015-08-05 13:41:59] * Mitzi glances back at her weapons. They weren't exactly good for non-lethal use, considering a missed shot could result in a pile of dust blowing away in the wind
[2015-08-05 13:42:23] * Get_Lost "if you kill him it's not a big loss"
[2015-08-05 13:45:21] * CopyCat turns to Shatara. She points out the /Venenosa Calta/, whose captain had just issued threats against them and their friends on the /Cutlass/. "Shatara, could you be a dear and snipe that captain's hat off please. Get_Lost may be onto something."
[2015-08-05 13:46:00] * Bookwright "It would be really nice if we didn't kill them quite yet. We just have to offer them something really nice. Their lives is a good start."
[2015-08-05 13:46:32] * Get_Lost 2yeah okay, you take the shot. try to hit the hat, if it goes bleh, there's always the first mate"
[2015-08-05 13:46:37] * Shatara digs out his sniper rifle and sees what he can do.
[2015-08-05 13:48:52] * Get_Lost speaks again in the loudspeakers "so, mister stupid, we can humiliate you or you can just drop this bluff now... please note: nopony going against us survived this far..."
[2015-08-05 13:53:34] <Get_Lost> 
ACTION "and, uhm... let's di this, too: i'm calling roam and trading our passage in their nice city selling your ship to them, yes? i can do that, i can track you and tell them where you are and tail you, you can't run very far, they are going to get you, really. you won't be able to get rid of us, we're faster, and a lot less ugly than you... i like that! yes... i like it... giving the cruentos family to the empire, it is a
[2015-08-05 13:54:30] * Bookwright "Mitzi, I want you to get ready to show that captain your war face. Because that captain is about to experience it at extremely close range."
[2015-08-05 13:55:17] * Mitzi chuckles to Bookwright, "Dey threaten yur friends, Uh'll make dem see why dat's bad idea." She flexes her savage claws.
[2015-08-05 13:56:39] * Bookwright "We're gonna wait for Shatara to take his shot, and as soon as he does I'm gonna teleport us both over there, okay? This is gonna be risky, but I don't see any other option."
[2015-08-05 13:57:33] * Bookwright puts a hoof around Mitzi's shoulder (just one, they're too broad to manage both) and closes his eyes in focus, waiting for the crack of a rifleshot.
[2015-08-05 13:59:30] * Mitzi pats Bookwright on the head with the flat of her palm. "Yur friends eez Ur friends, we'll make dem soree dey threaten dem."
[2015-08-05 14:00:35] * Get_Disconnected offers the mic to copy "hey sis, i think that now the good cop would be a good idea"
[2015-08-05 14:01:51] * Shatara carefully takes aim, bracing the slight-modified silent pony sniper rifle, controlling his breathing as he lines up the hat in his crosshairs...and adds some arcane accuracy just in case, as he carefully squeezes the trigger. The rifle doesn't make much of a sound, but the high-powered .30-caliber bullet forcing its way through the air faster than it can get out of the way
[2015-08-05 14:01:51] * Shatara does,producing a crack that follows the bullet all the way through the unwary skipper's chapeau.
[2015-08-05 14:04:13] * Bookwright opens his eyes, focuses on the distant captain, and releases pent up magic in a honey-colored flash.
[2015-08-05 14:04:57] * Bookwright appears on the decking next to the zebra captain, Mitzi with him. The jukebox gun is out, and it's hovering next to the captain's face. "Show him your war face, Mitzi."
[2015-08-05 14:06:03] * Mitzi bares her fangs and growls, on arm raised, claws poised to slash downwards, while the other is behind her in case she needed to catch anypony who might jump on her in surprise or panic.
[2015-08-05 14:06:12] <Mitzi> *one arm
[2015-08-05 14:06:36] * CopyCat takes the offered mic from Get_Disconnected and flicks it back on. "As We were saying," she says just one moment after Shatara's shot and Bookwright's teleport. "There really is no reason for you all to fight like squabbling foals."
[2015-08-05 14:07:14] * CopyCat chuckles lightly into the mic. "Unless you wanted to go the way of that Leviathan."
[2015-08-05 14:09:13] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Captain Cruetos appropriately flinches, then dives for cover, looking about and shouting at his crew.
[2015-08-05 14:11:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3He looks up to see Mitzi (and technically Bookwright too, but he is totally focused on Mitzi!) and his eyes go WIDE.
[2015-08-05 14:15:17] * Mitzi growls at Cruetos, "Yu want threaten Ur friends again?" Her claws aren't metal, so they don't gleam menacingly, but they still look wicked and extremely deadly at the ends of her bulky arms and chest.
[2015-08-05 14:18:22] * Bookwright tries to grin threateningly.
[2015-08-05 14:19:36] * Bookwright isn't nearly as threatening as he would like to think he is, but with Mitzi right there it doesn't really matter.
[2015-08-05 14:19:52] * Mitzi is significantly more threatening
[2015-08-05 14:21:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3For a moment, Captain Cruetos is caught, trapped between the horror of facing a terrifying monster from Equestria and the horror of losing face before his crew.  Unfortunately, Captain Cruetos has not been a pleasant or virtuous captain, and has not gathered a crew that he is willing to fall before.  His response, behind the bravado, is for survival.
[2015-08-05 14:23:34] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Captain Cruetos hehs, swollowing hard, and takes a step back.  He speaks (in zebra -- without Parley, it isn't clear what he is saying, but it has the tone of saving face) and makes a gesture of reconciliation.
[2015-08-05 14:24:46] * Get_Disconnected sends parlay to the away team
[2015-08-05 14:25:29] * CopyCat smiles, which couldn't be seen but could be heard in her voice... if it weren't being rebroadcast through Parlay. "Captain Cruetos. Would you like to Parley?"
[2015-08-05 14:25:36] * Mitzi smirks, very familiar with submission gestures. She got the feeling that she could be the captain now, if she really wanted to. Just like when she had made herself alpha to those raider dogs.
[2015-08-05 14:32:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi's keen ears pick up the sounds of a soft, mechanical hiss from Captain Cruetos' pirate armor somewhere beneath his pirate coat.  In less than a breath, his sword is in his tail, and there is a horribly loud double-crack of a battle saddle shot.
[2015-08-05 14:53:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The blast sends Bookwright flying.  His body is limp as it crashes through the railing and over the side of the /Venenosa Calta/'s deck.
[2015-08-05 15:09:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The captain follows it up with an stunning flurish of sword strikes at Mitzy, briefly becoming a dervish.  When the dance is done, the zebra captain drops to his hooves on the deck behind Mitzi, panting hotly, his mane falling into his eyes.  He looks up and is both astounded and terrified to see Mitzi is still standing.
[2015-08-05 15:10:47] * Mitzi is far more concerned when she sees Bookwright go overboard, rather than the whirling dervish strikes landing all over her body. Being cut up and bloodied only makes her look more fearsome, growling and barking savagely, murder in her eyes.
[2015-08-05 15:13:10] * Get_Disconnected is sitting on the ship's deck, her visor turned blue and has a lot of numbers running on it. then, suddenly it flashes green while all sorts of alarms start displaying on it "yes, good kids, let's have some fun..." somewhere in the bowels of the ship, the maintenance bots decide that the best way to keep the ship running is to destroy everything mechanical on it
[2015-08-05 15:20:47] * Get_Disconnected mutters "told you so..."
[2015-08-05 15:24:04] * Mitzi pounces on the zebra captain, roaring furiously as her claws sink into him like hot knives through butter. Armor, bone, flesh, nothing stands before the claws of a full matured Hellhound. Several of his limbs and a good chunk of his entrails are cast over the deck and off the side of the ship. His head and skull are crushed, and what remains is reduced to a blood paste in her fury.
[2015-08-05 15:25:04] <Mitzi> His hat is spared by virtue of having been shot off by Shatara already.
[2015-08-05 15:25:44] * CopyCat 's expression freezes on her face. She /feels/ Bookwright's pain as he gets blasted off the Cruetos ship. If she had a better link with Mitzi she might be feeling vengeful anger at this point, but instead she only feels a mounting panic.
[2015-08-05 15:26:16] * Mitzi turns around and flicks her claws, spattering the nearest zebras with their captain's blood. If any of them wanted to try what he pulled, she would gladly give them the same. That said, she was never the one to make the first move, so she leaves it to them.
[2015-08-05 15:28:03] * CopyCat switches the mic off and turns, wide-eyed, to Shatara. "Shatara! Bookwright is falling!" She yells unnecessarily, since their eagle-eyed sharp shooter would have seen it clearly.
[2015-08-05 15:29:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Cruetos pirates stare, their expressions a mix of horror and violence, as they see the monster from beyond their lands brutally tear apart their captain.  The first mate raises a weapon-clad hoof, on the verge of giving the call to gang-attack Mitzi -- perhaps what the Captain couldn't do with power alone they could do with vastly superior numbers.
[2015-08-05 15:30:03] * Mitzi snarls for a moment before coming to her senses. She dashes to the edge of the deck to look for her fallen friend, ignoring the potential threat.
[2015-08-05 15:30:05] <Mare-Do-Well> 3That call is cut off by a metallic explosion from the rear of the /Venenosa Calta/.  The first mate turns, as do many of the crew, and watches as each of the engines on the pirate airship die.
[2015-08-05 15:33:11] * Shatara ulps, leaving behind the sniper rifle and diving over the deck towards the falling pony.
[2015-08-05 15:34:38] * Bookwright dreams of flying. Or perhaps just falling with style.
[2015-08-05 15:38:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Not everyone on board the Cruetos ship has the temperament to wait for the First Mate's orders or to be distracted by the events in the rear of the ship.  Two of the crew run to mounted minigun emplacements, swiveling the weapons around and opening fire at the hellhound.
[2015-08-05 15:45:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The spray of bullets is more loud than effective, and sends half the rest of the crew scrambling for cover.  One of the miniguns jams towards the end of the assault.
[2015-08-05 15:49:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi is watching as Shatara dives for the falling Bookwright.  She sees the griffin catch him in her talons... then feels fire tear through her back as she is attacked from behind.  She stumbles, turning... and her eyes fall to the mutilated corpse of Captain Cruetos.  And to something visible in the remains of his armor.
[2015-08-05 15:50:38] * Mitzi groans with the effort of supporting herself. She had the endurance to keep herself upright, but barely. She lumbers over to the captain's corpse, her instincts telling her she should check the thing that caught her eye.
[2015-08-05 15:51:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi remembers that soft hiss she had heard before as she spots what looks to be an auto-injector (from the looks of it, it was jury-rigged from the remains of pony power armor) with a single dose of flash remaining.
[2015-08-05 15:53:27] * Mitzi isn't 100% sure what that was, but she was barely standing and it looked mediciney. She takes it and injects herself.
[2015-08-05 15:55:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi feels the ***rush*** as suddenly the entire world around her seems to stop.  Or, at least, bog down... everything not standing still is moving in super slow motion.
[2015-08-05 15:58:06] * Mitzi looks to be super surprised by this. Some kind of magic pony medicine to be sure. Still, if everything was standing still, she had time. She pulls out the one healing potion she had left, squirreled away during her escape from the Enclave. She drinks it first, before turning her gaze to the minigun. All she had to do was break it, and then maybe this would be over.
[2015-08-05 16:11:28] * Mitzi cleaves through the mini-gun and its casing with a few well places swings before sprinting to the next one.
[2015-08-05 16:15:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The pirates don't even have time to react.  As Mitzi is destroying the second minigun, the zebra behind the first one realizes what happened.  The fast that she is not dead is beginning to register as she wets herself.
[2015-08-05 16:19:25] * Mitzi still feels like everyone else is standing still. She looks ot make sure that there aren't any more guns to shoot at her.
[2015-08-05 16:23:26] * Mitzi doesn't see any guns that could be pointed right at her, but the unfriendly zebras could still be packing. She tears a hole in the deck and drops down out of sight.
[2015-08-05 16:26:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The other minigunner drops to her haunches, looking pale and a little ill.
[2015-08-05 16:28:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi finds herself in the crew bunkroom.  Several maintenance robots fly about the room, dismantling anything mechanical.  One of the bots seems to have an odd definition of mechanical, as it is removing the bolts holding the beds together.
[2015-08-05 16:29:16] * Mitzi slumps against a wall as she frowns. She hoped one of the friends with wings could catch Bookwright. She can't help but chuckle a bit darkly at the robots. She needed more medical attention, but for now at least she was out of danger.
[2015-08-05 16:29:48] * Golden_Dream inhales. Then exhales. She's been watching this whole thing play out from her binoculars, getting more and more irritated the whole time. "So I'm pretty sure we jus' killed their captain, and are process of killin' their ship. That's three damn ships we've had t' kill. Do I hear four?"
[2015-08-05 16:40:48] * Get_Disconnected prepares her first aid kit for the first wounded to arrive back from the assault
[2015-08-05 16:41:01] * Get_Disconnected "ah... i hope nopony wanted to loot that ship..."
[2015-08-05 16:44:22] * CopyCat frets on deck, waiting for Shatara to return with Bookwright.
[2015-08-05 16:44:30] <Golden_Dream> "You'll prolly wanna rebuild that thing before it turns into scraps anyway."
[2015-08-05 16:45:14] * Get_Disconnected gives an unreadable look at copycat, then half says, half asks "you look like a pony that knows something i don't know..."
[2015-08-05 16:46:07] * Get_Disconnected then, puts away the bandages and retrieves some better healing materials, sighing "they overdid it again, eh?"
[2015-08-05 16:46:20] * CopyCat nods lots.
[2015-08-05 16:47:05] * Get_Disconnected they should be back soon, i don't know how much disassembling that ragtag gallion can take...
[2015-08-05 16:47:08] <Get_Disconnected> ""
[2015-08-05 16:47:21] * Shatara retrieves the critically wounded bookpone back to the sneaky sky PTboat.
[2015-08-05 16:47:39] * Get_Disconnected whistles "woah... is mitzi okay?"
[2015-08-05 16:48:03] * Get_Disconnected then, approaches bookie with her medical stuff
[2015-08-05 16:49:34] * Bookwright groans
[2015-08-05 16:51:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay reaches the pirate ship and promptly swoops down through the whole that Mitzi made in the deck.
[2015-08-05 16:52:10] * Mitzi looks to Parley. "Hullo robot."
[2015-08-05 16:53:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parley beeps pleasantly and waits for things to translate.  None of the other robots decide to try to dismantle Parley, which is good.  And probably lucky.
[2015-08-05 16:54:17] * CopyCat bites her lip, her eyes wide as she watches Bookwright being brought onto the deck. "Oh dear!" she frets, rushing over and joining Get_Disconnected beside their fallen friend. "Th-thank you, Shatara," she stammers, before closing her eyes as a light shines from her horn.
[2015-08-05 16:55:06] * Mitzi thinks for a moment before her lagging brain catches up. She nods to Parley, "Tell stripey ponees dey shud surrender. Uh dun wanna fight dem aneemore."
[2015-08-05 16:57:49] * Get_Disconnected as soon as copy is done, the medical mare gives bookie a double dose of healing potions
[2015-08-05 16:59:10] * Bookwright groans as he opens his eyes. "So... did we all die?"
[2015-08-05 16:59:22] * CopyCat focuses on Bookwright. Focusing on her friend, how his presence /felt/. She wills that presence back to his body. Restoring how he should be.
[2015-08-05 17:00:10] * Get_Disconnected "almost. you utterly failed at being dead... still not sure about mitzi- no wait: she's with parlay... somepony should go and get her at some point... you know, before the pirate ships crashes"
[2015-08-05 17:00:53] * Shatara blinks "Why are we crashing these ships again?"
[2015-08-05 17:02:31] * Get_Disconnected shrugs "the cruentos were being assholes, i told their robots to dismantle their ship. serves them well for being bullies"
[2015-08-05 17:03:01] * Bookwright "Right, so... not dead. Okay. Thanks for the save."
[2015-08-05 17:04:12] * CopyCat nods at Get_Disconnected, smiling as Bookwright regains consciousness. "I'll bring Mitzi back. I don't think the Cruentos ship will be airborne much longer."
[2015-08-05 17:04:23] * Bookwright "But if you guys saved me, how come I feel like I got hit with a seventy ton block of iron? I don't remember feeling like my flesh didn't fit right last time I passed out from blood loss."
[2015-08-05 17:05:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The /Venenosa Calta/ has begun to very slowly drift.
[2015-08-05 17:05:16] * CopyCat spreads her wings, casting her Shield before taking off and winging towards the ship which Mitzi had burrowed inside.
[2015-08-05 17:05:26] * Golden_Dream coughs politely. "Hey, uh. Get_Disconnected, mind calling off the 'bots before a bunch of them straight up die? Like, Cruentos captain had a kid. Jus' sayin'."
[2015-08-05 17:06:01] * Get_Disconnected sighs "oh, okay..." tries stopping the bots, putting them on standby
[2015-08-05 17:06:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The First Mate has her hooves full trying to re-establish order and take command.
[2015-08-05 17:08:04] * CopyCat calls back to Get_Disconnected as she flies off. "Tell the robots to squab the deck! We... /I/ could use a distraction."
[2015-08-05 17:08:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 3This effort is somewhat interrupted by Parley when the little bot swoops back above the deck and broadcasts Mitzi's request that they surrender.
[2015-08-05 17:09:19] * Get_Disconnected "well, i don't think they would have gone ka-bloey... they would have simply lost altitude until they landed somewhere in the jungle..."
[2015-08-05 17:10:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Meanwhile, Captain Wameli announces over her loudspeakers that maybe the /Venenosa Calta/ and /Skullcrusher/ should do what the "nice ponies" tell them to.
[2015-08-05 17:10:26] * Shatara takes off again, flying escort for CopyCat.
[2015-08-05 17:11:27] * CopyCat glances over her shoulder and looks more than a little relieved that Shatara is flying with her.
[2015-08-05 17:11:42] * Get_Disconnected "some other pirates would have gone there and took them home... isn't a pirate thing? helping the stranded ones?"
[2015-08-05 17:12:20] * Golden_Dream sighs. "No. No, it isn't. Th' opposite, really."
[2015-08-05 17:13:01] * Get_Disconnected frowns "but... they are pirates, they're, like... them against everything else... if pirates don't help pirates, who does?"
[2015-08-05 17:13:56] * Get_Disconnected "wait, this means... if i really crashed their gallion, nopony would have gone down there to take them back to the cove?"
[2015-08-05 17:14:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Captain Wameli is about to say something else when Jugeote taps her on the shoulder.  The zebra whispers something urgent while pointing a hoof towards the /Venenosa Calta/.
[2015-08-05 17:16:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Several of the crew aboard the /Venenosa Calta/ move to the railing, watching as another Equestrian invades their ship.  There is considerable commotion on deck as the magically shielded alicorn arrives.
[2015-08-05 17:27:47] * Mitzi listens to the commotion up on deck as she catches her breath, trying to get an idea of what was going on.
[2015-08-05 17:27:51] * CopyCat looks dispassionately at the Zebras on the /Venenosa Calta/. Her eyes glow with Precognition from within her crackling shield as she adds her Parley-translated voice to Mitzi's. "Surrender or be destroyed."
[2015-08-05 17:42:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream sees Captain Wameli wave and order, and the zebras aboard react.  She sees the /Cutlass/'s engines rev up... and clearly so does Captain Vespertillo.  But he holds his response, and soon sees that the /Cutlass/ is only moving further from the swirling vortex, getting out of the way of the /Venenosa Calta/'s drift path before the ships can collide
[2015-08-05 17:43:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 3And Golden_Dream realizes why.  The /Venenosa Calta/ is drifting forwards and upwards, the body of the ship turning slowly as it is tugged towards the event horizon.
[2015-08-05 17:48:18] * Golden_Dream jolts up. "... Oh shit. OH SHIT." She bolts over to the edge where Get_Disconnected and Shatara are. "Get, get their engines going again, and movin' in reverse! They're gettin' sucked into th' event horizon! Shatara, we're th' backup plan! Get us behind and above that there ship! And gimme as much chain and rope as we got!"
[2015-08-05 17:49:15] * Get_Disconnected "everyting on that ship was dismantled! there's no time to fix it, we have to evacuate the vessel"
[2015-08-05 17:49:54] * Golden_Dream lifts her crossbow. "Fuck no we don't. Rope first, engines later. We're towing it."
[2015-08-05 17:52:21] * Get_Disconnected "we are too small, we need help from the others"
[2015-08-05 17:52:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Flashes of darkness ripple from the center of the swirling blue-purple vortex.
[2015-08-05 17:53:55] * Golden_Dream grits her teeth as she looks at them getting out of the way. "... We don't got help. Do what you can to our engines to get them going as best they can. I'll worry about getting a sturdy enough pulling surface."
[2015-08-05 17:54:46] * Get_Disconnected "roger that"
[2015-08-05 17:55:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Cruetos First Mate is trying to talk to Parley.  She notices the little bot is beginning to float away from her, drifting upwards.  Her gaze follows up and away to fix on the vortex.
[2015-08-05 17:55:25] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The /Venenosa Calta/ drifts through the space that the /Cutlass/ once occupied.
[2015-08-05 17:57:18] * Get_Disconnected runs to the engine room and starts doing things to the engine
[2015-08-05 17:59:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Meanwhile, below the decks of the /Shadowbolt/, Xlix realizes that it actually has been left to guard itself.  With a flash of green flame, the changeling becomes a Stripless, indistinguishable from the other.  She looks both ways out the door... then pauses.  She turns back, and begins writing something on the floor.  A parting message.
[2015-08-05 18:00:46] * Golden_Dream sprints down below deck, grabs as much rope as she can, and then gets back up top and starts loading them into crossbow shots. She looks for sturdy places to tie to the ship.
[2015-08-05 18:06:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The First Mate turns to CopyCat and Shatara as their translation bot begins to drift beyond the deck.  Parley seems to realize its own danger and stops translating, beeping with alarm.
[2015-08-05 18:07:34] * Golden_Dream starts shooting bolts of rope out to the other ship!
[2015-08-05 18:07:56] <Golden_Dream> (And fastening it to their own.)
[2015-08-05 18:09:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Small, unattended objects begin to slide across the deck in the direction of the event horizon, most of them getting caught on the railing.  A bottle still containing a fifth of rum rolls over another bit of debris and between two of the bannisters.
[2015-08-05 18:09:31] * CopyCat wraps Parley in a TK field and brings the floating bot beside her. "Mitzi, do you wish to return to our ship now?"
[2015-08-05 18:09:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Instead of falling over the edge, it continues to fly, lazily twisting in the air before it touches the edge of the vortex.  There is a flash as the bottle crumples in on itself in a physically impossible way and vanishes.
[2015-08-05 18:10:12] * Mitzi hears a friendly voice and climb/jumps back up onto the deck, looking very bloodied. "Uh'd like dat."
[2015-08-05 18:10:19] * Golden_Dream shouts over the radio. "EITHER YOU OTHER SHIPS HELP, OR I DESTROY THE GRIFFON'S GOBLET FROM HERE. EITHER IS FINE."
[2015-08-05 18:10:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Captain Wameli responds immediately, ordering the /Cutlass/ about.
[2015-08-05 18:12:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The red and black pirate ship pulls closer, the engines fighting to keep it on course.  Shatara sees Jugeote amongst the zebra pirates throwing ropes over to the /Venenosa Calta/.
[2015-08-05 18:13:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A few of the ropes don't quite make it to the deck, instead being pulled as if by invisible talons towards the center of the vortex.
[2015-08-05 18:14:38] * CopyCat nods at Mitzi, then starts ordering the zebras on deck. "Look alive, you wretches! Fasten those ropes to your ship or be lost to the Void. Your lives are in your own hooves now." With that, she floats Mitzi in her magic and flies the short distance back to the /Shadowbolt/ iwth hellhound and Parley in tow.
[2015-08-05 18:15:20] * Mitzi looks like she is in need of immediate medical attention. That said, the sight of Bookwright on death and breathing gives her a fair bit of relief.
[2015-08-05 18:15:46] * Shatara dives into action, helping to further secure the straggling ropes.
[2015-08-05 18:17:21] * Golden_Dream starts to tug on more ropes. "Shatara, you're a fuckin' dearheart. But as /soon/ as the engines are going as good as possible, you better be at th' helm again. We're gonna have to /gun it/.
[2015-08-05 18:17:25] * Bookwright "Well, I feel like I've been kicked by a seventy ton mule, but I'm alive, hale, and hearty." he says to Mitzi. He looks on as Golden_Dream et al get on with the business of saving the other airship.
[2015-08-05 18:18:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Captain of the /Skullcrusher/ watches.  The threat of the destruction of the artifact is a heavy one to him.  As useful as the Cruetos Family has occasionally been, they are often more trouble than they are worth.  Today illustrating that point quite firmly.  Endangering the /Skullcrusher/ and his crew for them is unappealing.
[2015-08-05 18:18:16] * CopyCat leaves Mitzi in Get_Lost's expert care before returning to the /Venenosa Calta/. From the deck, surrounded by her shimmering shield like a beacon of light amid the chaos, she assists Shatara and the zebra by grabbing ropes with her magic.
[2015-08-05 18:18:26] * Golden_Dream shouts at Mitzi. "Mitzi, good t' see you in th' realm of th' living, but you and Copycat get t' th' business of securin' our fuckin' stuff!"
[2015-08-05 18:19:02] * Mitzi stands up, wobbling a bit. "Dat might be hard. Uh can barely stand on dis flyeen boat wen Uh'm not bleedeen."
[2015-08-05 18:19:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 3However, Captain Vespertillo firmly believes that with the Leviathan destroyed, Roam is going to come for them all like an unstoppable tsunami.  Today's victory has bought them time, but the "Last Free City" is doomed if they do not move, and move soon.  He is counting on the Griffin's Goblet to provide that escape...
[2015-08-05 18:20:28] * Bookwright wishes he could help. He has a spell that might be able to help the foundered airship, but he's too exhausted to use it, and is of the opinion that their efforts are sufficient.
[2015-08-05 18:20:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...so the threat of its loss weights heavy on his decision.  Finally, with a shout, he orders the /Skullcrusher/ to come about.
[2015-08-05 18:21:24] * Golden_Dream shouts back, "Which is why you're not th' one securin' ropes or pilotin' th' ship! Get down there, act big an' stern, and make sure th' folks in our ship ain't in any danger and our stuff is secured. Move!"
[2015-08-05 18:22:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3From the safety of CopyCat's side, Parley translates.  The zebra crew of the /Venenosa Calta/ leap into action as if their lives depend on it.  Because, they are convinced, they do.
[2015-08-05 18:25:28] * Mitzi starts to lumber her way below decks, Golden_Dream's urgency pressing on her to tough it out for now. She isn't quite sure what does and doesn't need securing though
[2015-08-05 18:26:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3One of the ropes that missed strays far enough to brush against a wisp of energy from the event horizon.  It crumples, dragging the /Cutlass/ towards the vortex.
[2015-08-05 18:27:25] * Bookwright "Quick, cut that line free!"
[2015-08-05 18:27:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The pirate airship's engines strain as two zebras, one of them Mwana, rush to cut the line.
[2015-08-05 18:27:59] * Mitzi uses her best judgement and gets to work
[2015-08-05 18:27:59] * Shatara urgently calls out to Jugeote to cut the offending line.
[2015-08-05 18:28:33] * Golden_Dream screams out- "Shatara, if she's busy, take out yer' gun and fuckin' snipe it free!"
[2015-08-05 18:29:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Jugeote nods to Shatara and turns.  That line is being dealt with, but Jugeote swiftly moves to haul aboard one of the others that threatens to do the same, calling others on deck to do the same.
[2015-08-05 18:30:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Below the deck of the /Shadowbolt/, Get_Lost's tinkering pays off.  The engines of the ship begin to purr more smoothly than they have in an age.
[2015-08-05 18:32:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The /Skullcrusher/ moves into position above the /Cutlass/, its shadow falling across the ship's foredeck.  Captain Vespertillo shouts down to Captain Wameli, then begins to lower their anchor.
[2015-08-05 18:36:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3It occurs to Mitzi that closing the vortex could solve the problem.  Shooting it with magical energy worked last time.
[2015-08-05 18:37:21] * Mitzi does remember shooting at a vortex thingy, but that also resulted in the entire leviathan collapsing in on itself. Still, from the sounds of it, they were all going to get sucked in and crushed like that door, and all those little objects. She slips back up to the deck to take a quick look at how the ships are faring
[2015-08-05 18:38:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Captain Wameli and her First Mate work to attach the anchor to something suitably solid.
[2015-08-05 18:43:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Unattended objects and loose bits of the /Cutlass/ and /Venenosa Calta/ fly off behind them.  The vortex flashes with each bit of debris it swollows.  It seems to be growing a little each time it does so, because the pull is definitely getting stronger.
[2015-08-05 18:44:37] * Mitzi frowns as she sees the ships struggling. If that thing got too much bigger, they'd never get away. She pulls out her tri beam rifle with a bit of a resigned sigh, hefting it.
[2015-08-05 18:46:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The /Cutlass/ and /Skullcrusher/ begin to work in tandem, pulling on the /Cutlass/ and /Venenosa Calta/ in a chain.
[2015-08-05 18:47:25] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara keeps the /Shadowbolt/ moving in perfect sync with the other two ships.  Since they cannot properly see the /Shadowbolt/, it is all up to the griffin to make sure they are working as one.
[2015-08-05 18:50:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright watches the vortex.  It is definitely bigger now, and those black flashes are growing more common.  He's never studied anything like this before, but he is well aware that this portal was originally created through chaos magic.  And even the best sustained pony magic can be fickle... there is a reason sky busses need flux regulators, after all.
[2015-08-05 18:51:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3In Bookwright's estimation, the event horizon will continue to expand until it is too unstable to maintain itself, then collapse dramatically.  And, in his estimation, that won't take long.
[2015-08-05 18:53:47] * Golden_Dream pauses her frantic crossbowing and tying in dumbfounded awe at what Mitzi is doing. "Mitzi, what- What?"
[2015-08-05 18:54:16] * Mitzi has none of Bookwright's knowledge, but sees him looking at it too. She lowers her gun a bit and calls to him, "Eez dat ting gonna stop?"
[2015-08-05 18:54:22] * Bookwright feels his eyes widen. He runs to find Shatara. "Shatara! How fast can you get us going? We need to be moving a lot faster! That vortex is gonna get bigger until it implodes. It's probably going to implode soon. We /really/ don't want to be near it when that happens."
[2015-08-05 18:55:55] * Bookwright runs to the railing and shouts at the next ship over: "That vortex is gonna implode and make a really big bang and soon! Run your engines harder! We have to get as far away from that as we can before it collapses!"
[2015-08-05 18:57:19] <Mitzi> me hears Bookwright shouting. Get bigger, then collapse. But the bigger it got, the harder it would be to get away from it. But if it collapsed sooner, the bang would be smaller, right?
[2015-08-05 18:58:04] * Bookwright "Parley! Relay that message! We can't anchor here!"
[2015-08-05 19:01:08] * Shatara tries to give it all he can without tearing the towees bows off.
[2015-08-05 19:06:13] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara pours on the speed, the other ships doing the same.  The event horizon continues to grow.  The wind picks up, air being pulled into the vortex, sounding like an angry growl.
[2015-08-05 19:07:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The other pirate ships are also fleeing the area, heading in the direction of The Silos.
[2015-08-05 19:08:10] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Unburdoned, they race ahead of the group of four ships, becoming black shapes in the darkening sky.
[2015-08-05 19:12:01] * Mitzi hesitates on actually using her gun. The ships might be able to pull away on their own, and she could make things worse if she did this at the wrong time.
[2015-08-05 19:12:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Working in perfect unity with the /Cutlass/ and the /Skullcrusher/, Shatara pilots the /Shadowbolt/ away from the increasingly erratic event horizon, hauling the /Venenosa Calta/ to safety.  They are nicely beyond its reach when the vortex collapses with a sky-rending howl... followed by complete silence.
[2015-08-05 19:13:12] * Bookwright stares in bowel-clenching horror at the spot in the sky where the wound in reality used to be.
[2015-08-05 19:13:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3It is, oddly enough, the last clear memory anyone aboard the /Shadowbolt/ has of the event.  Or anything that happened in the next few days.
[2015-08-05 19:13:50] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- End of Session ---
Fallout: Beyond Equestria 146: The Last Free Town (Part 23, Conclusion III)