《Steampunk Pirates》 Prologue Part 1 Just going to put the first half of the prologue here so that I can get the process started to actually get my series, as I am half way through writing the prologue and don''t want to wait for hours on it going through. Enjoy the first half, comment, follow, rate plz :D Oh and for those who question the world, know that steampunk worlds in general don''t logically work, so fuck you, just read the damn story without complaining¡­ Now, lets begin¡­ ------------------ The fluffy white clouds split quickly in front of the small wooden monstrosity known only as ¡°Cerberus¡± to those who witness its attacks, as the ship descended into the upper cloud layer. White clouds encased it completely as it slowly drifted downwards until its periscope could peek at what lay below it. The ¡°ship¡±, if you could call it that, looked like nothing more than a few decks bolted together with a few ballast tanks on the side, outstretched on two stubby fabric wings. One might even ask how the abomination flew, as it had no main balloon to speak of, nor props large enough to keep it afloat in the air, let alone at the speeds which it was traveling at... In place of the standard yellow flag of neutral traders stood an odd black flag with a skull and crossbones. This symbol only came about recently, having gained notoriety and infamy far and wide as a flag of piracy. The cause of this fame for the flag was this very ship, and all of its cruel and violent deeds. Cerberus and its crew are known to strike hard and fast, overwhelming the defences of a single ship in a convoy before dragging it to the depths below the clouds to plunder it. One might ask how a small wooden skiff, no more than twenty meters long could pose a problem for the hundred meter long convoy escorts. The bristling battleships indeed have more straightforward firepower, however they are slow, oh so slow¡­ Their guns cannot track the small skiff until it is too late. As the skiff lowered itself silently into the fluffy white clouds upon its unsuspecting targets. Below the waiting skiff were several ships, seen through a strange device called a periscope. Two of the ships below were very large, one of them was medium sized, and an assortment of smaller vessels could also be seen, ranging in size from a dozen meters to a few dozen. This particular ship group had large red flags hanging from their main masts, indicating their allegiance towards the Imperial Sky Navy. The skiff¡¯s target today was the medium ship, which actually was a large cruiser, consisting of a large metal box atop several balloons, roughly a hundred meters long, with several massive props located at the rear ten meters wide to power it forwards. Large black plumes of smoke were coming out of its engine room, leaving behind a trail a black as tar through the sky. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The shape of the ship was very bulky, the back was situated directly above the balloon, and looked very streamlined, however the front of it slipped past the curvature of the balloon into what appeared to be several decks of ship. The entire design appeared to be shaped like a sideways ¡°L¡± where the narrow part was the back, and the large part was the bulky front and the gap was the loft balloon. On its main deck, several massive guns could be seen, enough to pulverise smaller ships to bits in a matter of volleys. On smaller side pylons, several smaller ships were docked, refueling and rearming for the coming conflict with opposing forces of the Vanguard, the other large empire in this quadrant of the world. The Vanguard had been aggressive for a long time, and this pod of ships was a part of a task force sent to quell the enemy. While it may seem large, in reality this ship is not a combat ship, and is therefore only half the size of a main battle ship, which generally sit around two hundred to three hundred meters long. In the grand scheme of things, it could be said that in the entire Imperial fleet, this ship was rather small, and rightly so, for this was not a combat ship. Yes, it had guns. Yes, it had armor. Yes, it was large. But the main purpose of this ship was its massive fuel tanks, located in the front of the ship. The large reserves of hylox (fuel) would serve as the fulcrum for the Imperial attack against the vanguard, and thus this ship was very very important, warranting the assignment of two full sized battleships to its defense. That was a total of 20% of this task forces firepower. And why not? The amount of hylox this ship had was more than enough for several months of combat and movement. If the Vanguard was able to destroy it, or even worse, capture it, that would mean that this offensive would be lost, and all of the forces would immediately fall back towards more friendly space. The skiff, knowing the importance of this ship, decided that it would take advantage of this golden goose which had been presented before it on a silver platter. The battleships meant nothing to it anyway, and they wouldn¡¯t fire upon their own ship unless it was about to fall into the hands of the Vanguard. Pirates on the other hand, had a tendency to sell it back to them, just at a high price. A price that the Imperial Navy was willing to pay most of the time. So they neglected to destroy higher priced ships when it was pirates who captured them, but destroyed them no matter what when their enemy would otherwise acquire them. The skiff simply laid in wait as it armed its weapons and prepared to attack. Prologue Part 2 Small chapters for now, but the story will pick up soon... Keep on reading for more fun times!!! ---------------------- ¡°Target ahead captain, my word, look at that plume of tar it''s spewing out, it must have a full load for its engines to be struggling that much¡­¡± The engines were quiet in the sky, as the skiff drifted in the cloud layer directly above it¡¯s completely unaware prey. The crew had gathered around a strange device called a periscope located in the navigation room. It was something their captain had created to peek through the clouds towards unsuspecting enemies, and it was what had allowed them to remain undetected until the moment of attack for every single attack so far. They would enter the cloud layer, and peek through with this strange thing to see what awaited them on the other side, and their captain would make a decision. Their captain looked towards the helmsman, and spoke loudly so that the assembled crew of forty men would be able to hear him. Captain : ¡°Men, before us lays a Hylox carrier, such an opportunity has never been presented to us before, and yet I am hesitating on whether to attack or not¡­¡± He looked back into the periscope to confirm what he had seen before.
MASSIVE HYLOX TRANSPORT
LEVEL : 86 Ship Class : TransportCREW : 150 / 280 POSSIBLE
FUEL : 9166% (Overcapped) (Tanker)DAMAGE : 0.00%
WEAPONSHull Points : 1500/1500
Large : 5 "TRI-LAX" Heavy cannons (2 F, 2 B, 1 bot)Damage Type : Kinetic, long range
Medium : 12 Medium double cannons ( 6 F, 4 B, 2 bot)Status : In Convoy
Small : 20 Small repeating cannons, (6 R, 6 L, 4 bot, 4 top)Captain Skill : Ensign
Small cont : 6 small scattershot batteries (1 F, 1 B, 1 R, 1 L, 1 bot, 1 top)Crew Skill : Recruit
Convoy Priority : CORECrew Complement : 120 Pilots, 30 Marines
Chance to leave behind : 0.00%Combat Capability : Medium Low
!!!!WARNING ATTACKING THIS SHIP WILL AGGRO THE ENTIRE CONVOY!!!!
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. He paused for a moment, before looking towards the other enemies which had caught his. He did not bother to look in depth at their information, and just glanced at their levels.
Atlas Battleship ¡°Cloxia¡±
Level : 171 Ship Class : Main Battleship (S)Crew : 850/ 1000
Fuel : 95.7%Damage : 0.00%
Combat Capability : Medium HighHull Points 5000/5000
Status : In ConvoyCaptain Skill : Captain Rank 1
Convoy Priority : ESCORTCrew Skill : Third Rate
Vessria Battleship ¡°Fuira¡±
Level : 211 Ship Class : Main Battleship (M)Crew : 1150/ 1500
Fuel : 81.2%Damage : 0.00%
Combat Capability : Higher, MK 1Hull Points 8000/8000
Status : In ConvoyCaptain Skill : Commodore Rank 2
Convoy Priority : ESCORTCrew Skill : Second Rate
The second one he set his sights on made him cringe, but he took a deep breath, a higher combat rank shouldn''t appear here, but even if it did, he would be able to outrun it. As long as it cant hit him, his ship would be safe. He turned towards his crew, a smile on his face thinking of the big payday ahead. ¡°Men!! TODAY IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE!!¡± He was answered with a loud cheer from his men, as he shoved the helmsman away from the wheel and plunged his ship below the cloud layer. His men ran towards the guns on the front of the skiff, now battle hardened and ready for anything the world could throw at them. A grin came to the captain''s face at how much they had changed since he had picked up his loyal crew on that fateful day when he came to this world. His eyes locked onto the enemies below him as his mind drifted back to that time 2 years ago when he awoke in this world from his old one. ------ Like I said, this is just a teaser, Next chapter is when he comes into the world and from then on its an RPG. Chapter 1, A Spire to be greater He woke up to a pounding head, calling him back from his deep sleep due to the throb emanating from deep within his head. He sleepily opened his eyes to a brightening sky and groaned as he sat up. He took a few deep breaths to wake himself up as his hand came towards his eyes and rubbed them, quickening the process. Involuntarily he yawned a moment later, and then opened his dazed eyes slightly further, catching a glimpse of the world around him. His half open eyes caught a sight which sobered him up almost immediately, as the college student found himself atop a small squarish shape of rock, with nothing but clouds and sky all around. ??? : ¡°What the fuck?? Where the fuck am I???¡± Words came from his mouth, as he slowly got up from his sitting up position. His mind was garbled, but his base instinct and curiosity awoke an urge to find out where he was. A moment later, he was awake, more or less, and looking around cautiously. He got down on his hands and knees, and crawled closer to the edge, wondering if he was isolated on some mountain, or if he just couldn''t see the things below him because of his current location. He approached slowly and carefully, eyes always vigilant of the skies around him for anything that might resemble a threat or salvation. However, his careful figure was disrupted a moment later as he peered over the side of the platform, as he found nothing between him and well, anywhere. As far as he could tell, he was perched atop a spire with fog and clouds all around him, no other land in sight, including below him, as the part he was looking at faded away a few dozen meters below his current location. He pondered for a moment on where he had once seen a picture of something similar to this spire, but could not remember, and dismissed it from his thoughts. He backed away from the cliff face, and once he was a significant distance away, he stood up and started to walk around to find out what else was on the island. After a few minutes of looking further around on the rock, he found a small cave which descended. He was a bit fearful at leaving the light outside, and heading into the dark depths of the cave, so he decided to complete his exploration of his little outcropping before going further down. A few more minutes passed as he wandered around in a complete circle¡­ Yes, a circle, there was nothing else on the spire except a few hundred square meters of dirt and rock. He took a deep breath, and steeled his will before descending into the deep dark depths of the cave. After a few dozen steps in, the cave curved downwards and towards the right, spiraling down like a ramp. ??? : ¡°Strange¡­¡± He muttered a word unconsciously, as normally rock doesn''t curve like this naturally, or at least not into a spiral shape like this. He took a few turns down in the darkness, on the smooth stone floor, cold to the touch of his bare feet, and then saw a small piece of light illuminating the next turn. He thought that this was even more strange, he had descended into the cave wondering if it lead anywhere, and had resolved himself to walk in darkness by the feel of his hands to see where it lead, but already after only a few dozen steps he already had reached the cave¡¯s exit. He walked two more turns before a large circular doorway was shown to him at the end of a hall that the cave had lead into, the ¡°ramp way¡± was now bright by the sunlight streaming in from outside the doorway, leading him to believe that this cave lead to a lower portion of the mountain. He got to the doorway and froze, his gaze landing on the wooden floor underneath the door. He crouched down and peered into the next room, finding a ¡°u¡± shaped room with about six meters of floor on either side of the ¡°u¡± and a large gap in the middle, like a harbor of some kind. He peered through the doorway for a few minutes, but found no trace of human life, so he boldly walked into the next room. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ??? : ¡°Who are you??¡± A female voice called out from behind him to his left side, startling him as he spun around. His eyes fell upon a woman, she was pretty enough, with strange purple hair, a top hat and raggedy clothing. She had a medium sized bust, a nice ass, a copper skin tone and long legs. She wasn¡¯t fat, nor was she exactly a perfect personification of beauty. (Cough xianxia cough wuxia) There were a few strange things about her however, the first thing, she was in a metal cage, locked with a large padlock of some kind. The second, inside her cage, she was chained up to the walls, her body spread out like an ¡°x¡±, upside down, so that her head is at the bottom, and her legs are in the air. Man : ¡°Who are you??¡± The woman paused at the question, tilting her head to the side, which looked beyond strange due to her positioning. Her face contorted for a moment, as her eyes lost focus and she stared off into nowhere for a few moments before she looked back at the man as if having come to a conclusion. Woman : ¡°I don¡¯t have a name¡­ What about you?¡± The man seemed shocked by her answer, but if she didn¡¯t want to give him her name, he might as well not give her his. Man : ¡°First, if you don¡¯t have a name, what do you want me to call you?¡± The woman had a face of shock, as if not expecting the question, then seemed to pause and think again. Woman : ¡°I dunno¡­ I feel like a Ralph today, or maybe¡­ Steve? How about...Carlos??¡± Man : ¡°Those are all men¡¯s names¡­¡± The woman once again looked shocked at the man''s comment, as she shook her head in disbelief, then turned towards him. Woman? : ¡°Well fine then, what do YOU want to call me?¡± Man : ¡°Can you really not think of one? Then how about Trixie?¡± The woman paused for a moment, before a smile came to her face. She repeated the name a few times, engraving it into her brain, before she nodded, which still looked weird as she was upside down still, and looked back at the man. Trixie : ¡°Ya, I like that name..Hehehe¡­ I like you, what¡¯s your name?¡± The man gave a slight sigh at how eccentric this woman was. Bound in chains, upside down in a cage, alone on a spire in the sky, without remembering her name, she can laugh like that. Or perhaps she really does remember and is just conning him into a false sense of security so that he will free her. Man : ¡°Call me George Washington¡­¡± Trixie : ¡°George? That''s a nice name¡­ That last name is weird though, I have never heard one like that before.. Where did you get it? Lotifath? Kioren? Nopeplet?¡± George Washington : ¡°Really? Never heard my name before? I think you are lying¡­¡± Trixie seemed shocked at his accusation before making a pouty face and puffing up her pretty cheeks. Trixie : ¡°I don¡¯t lie!! I have never heard of a name like yours¡­¡± George : ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t remember it, like you don¡¯t remember your own name¡­¡± Trixie just looked at him, but he turned away, further inspecting the room that they were in, searching for something of use to him. George : ¡°So Trixie, why are you locked up in here?¡± Trixie : ¡°I can¡¯t remember¡­ George, what are you doing?¡± He paused his rummaging through a pile of junk on the side to look at her, she was staring at him with curious eyes, not even seeming to mind that she was currently upside down¡­ in a cage¡­ on a deserted mountain¡­ probably left for dead, with no memory of why or who she was¡­ He gave a hefty sigh before returning to his browsing. Trixie : ¡°HEY!! DON''T IGNORE ME!!¡± She pouted angrily as he just kept doing what he was doing, until he stumbled upon a large key, thrown in a pile of junk. It was a few centimeters long, just the right size for the keyhole on the padlock holding Trixie in the cage. He turned back towards her, hiding the key from sight, debating if he should unlock the cage or not...