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<m key="abiword.date_last_changed">Fri Sep 18 01:36:47 2020
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<m key="dc.date">Fri Sep 18 00:00:21 2020
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<p style="Normal" xid="5"><c>“Hey, boss! I think I see something!”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="1"><c>“Whereabouts, lil’ G?”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="2"><c>“Right over there, by the cloud! See?”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="3"><c>Said boss was quick on the draw, extending his telescope and taking in the sight of the freighter airship. He immediately noticed the colours and flags the vessel was flying, smiling to himself as he saw the ship fly into the clouds, disappearing from sight.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="6"><c>“Ohoho-</c><c props="font-style:italic">ho~!</c><c props="font-style:normal"> Looks like we’ve got ourselves some sky pirates, lil’ G!”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="9"><c props="font-style:normal">“Ooh, sky pirates?” The squat little hedgehog’s eyes lit up at the mere mention of them. “Please tell me we’re gonna catch ‘em, boss!”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="10"><c props="font-style:normal">“Oh my dear sweet little Grubber,” the commander collapsed his telescope, fixing his loyal subordinate with a wolfish grin. “I’m offended that you’d even </c><c props="font-style:italic">ask</c><c props="font-style:normal"> that question in the first place!”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="11"><c props="font-style:normal">“C’mon, yes or no?”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="13"><c props="font-style:normal">Chuckling, the tall, armoured, green-skinned commander kneels down to his excited subordinate’s level. “Take us in, fast and furious.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="14"><c props="font-style:normal">“Yes, sir!” With stars in his eyes, Grubber all but jumped at their airship’s steering wheel, wasting no time in turning the ship towards their target and flooring the throttle.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="15"><c props="font-style:normal">His boss, meanwhile, moonwalked with a purpose towards the railing of the bridge. Spinning in place, his armoured hands slammed down on the railing like a judge’s gavel, the engine of the airship roaring to life at the same time in perfect, practiced sync wit one another.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="17"><c props="font-style:normal">Instantly, the entire crew of storm creatures stopped what they were doing to look up at their commander.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="16"><c props="font-style:normal">“Alright ladies,” he announced, smiling as widely as ever. “Show of hands, who’s been bored waiting for some action today?”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="18"><c props="font-style:normal">He got an immediate response of near-universal hand raising accompanied by some deep hurrahs.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="19"><c props="font-style:normal">“Feeling’s mutual, boys. But don’t worry,” His grin darkens, his voice darkening in similar fashion with malicious delight. “We’ve got ourselves a code 10-54 in progress.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="20"><c props="font-style:normal">The response from the crew was immediate and heartening. Exclamations of joy and similarly malicious chuckles broke out among them in equal measure, the excitement spreading through them like bubonic wildfire. And there was at least one of them in the back performing some very aggressive pelvic thrusting.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="21"><c props="font-style:normal">“Positions, boys. It’s showtime.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="22"><c props="font-style:normal">The crew needed no further motivation; with a loud hurrah, they scrambled into action, working quickly to turn off or douse the deck lights before getting into their positions, with most of them disappearing below deck.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="23"><c props="font-style:normal">The commander, meanwhile, moved to a better spot on the bridge of the airship, telescope extended, ready to track down his foolish larcenist prey. Immediately upon entering the cloud, the magic running through the hull of the airship began to charge and churn the cloud around them, beginning the rapid transformation into a full-blown storm cloud. The wind rapidly kicked up in intensity, and rain soon followed after, taking only seconds to graduate from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="25"><c props="font-style:normal">Thankfully for all those above deck, their commander had sought fit to install some extra enchantments into his ship for the express purpose of shielding them from the rain; but even without them, it never once stopped him from tracking down his quarry.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="26"><c props="font-style:normal">And sure enough, he was shown the first hint of their presence. Thanks to the darkening of their surroundings, he could see the lights of their ship through the cloud cover, aided further by the rain refracting it a little further. Difficult to spot under regular circumstances, but to one as trained as he was, it may as well have been a bright, flashing neon sign reading </c><c props="font-style:italic">‘please arrest us’</c><c props="font-style:normal">.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="27"><c props="font-style:normal">“Found ‘em,” he calls out to his still excited driver. “Steer to two o’clock for a hundred yards, then take us down a couple hundred more.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="28"><c props="font-style:normal">“Got it!” Grubber did as he was told, dutifully steering the ship into position.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="29"><c props="font-style:normal">The commander, meanwhile, stowed his spyglass, it’s purpose now served. Wordlessly, without even looking his way, he takes the small speakerphone Grubber offered to him, and began issuing orders below deck.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="30"><c props="font-style:normal">“Alright, ladies. Load up two port hookshots on the double. Boarding crews, get two parties above deck and ready the gangplanks. We hit the dance floor in 30.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="31"><c props="font-style:normal">He continues observing the quickly approaching lights through the now-thundering storm cover.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="32"><c props="font-style:normal">“Half the speed, lil’ guy. Nice and quiet.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="35"><c props="font-style:italic">20.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="33"><c props="font-style:normal">Grubber complies immediately, the engine noise reducing to a fourth of what it was before. Thanks to that, and the crew’s work dousing the lights from before, they were effectively invisible in the storm, allowing them to sneak up on their foes; a rare occasion that their commander wasn’t about to pass up, let alone fail to execute by the numbers.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="34"><c props="font-style:normal">“Steady”, he says into the speakerphone.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="36"><c props="font-style:italic">10.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="37"><c props="font-style:normal">The ship comes into much better view, the deck of the vessel now visible. The commander smiled widely, scanning for the perfect opening.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="38"><c props="font-style:italic">5.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="39"><c props="font-style:normal">It doesn’t take long at all to find it.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="40"><c props="font-style:italic">4.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="41"><c props="font-style:normal">That exact moment when some of the enemy crew members look over in his direction.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="42"><c props="font-style:italic">3.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="43"><c props="font-style:normal">Seeing their eyes light up in surprise.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="44"><c props="font-style:italic">2.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="45"><c props="font-style:normal">Perfect.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="46"><c props="font-style:italic">1.</c><c props="font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="47"><c props="font-style:normal">“Fire.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="49"><c props="font-weight:bold; font-style:normal">BLAM</c><c props="font-weight:normal; font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="50"><c props="font-weight:normal; font-style:normal">Quick as a whip, the first hookshot fires off, burying itself deep into the side of the enemy ship. They barely get a chance to start shouting before the second one fires:</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="51"><c props="font-weight:bold; font-style:normal">BLAM</c><c props="font-weight:normal; font-style:normal"></c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="52"><c props="font-weight:normal; font-style:normal">Immediately after it too finds purchase somewhere deep in their holds, the teams in his ship waste no time reining in their catch, the chains snapping tight with a loud, satisfying </c><c props="font-style:italic; font-weight:normal">crack</c><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="53"><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">The very second the starboard side of their catch bumps against the port side of their own, the hooked gangplanks come slamming down, and the teams of armed storm creatures come barrelling across, taking the startled and still scrambling enemy crew members completely by surprise.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="54"><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">The commander just leaned on the railing of the deck, watching his well-trained troops doing what they do best. He did so wish he could have called the display in front of him a battle, but in truth, it was more like a slaughter. A very bloodless slaughter, ending in lots of enemy crew members tied up against the mast of their own ship in the pouring rain.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="55"><c props="font-style:italic; font-weight:normal">Ahh, warms the soul to see ‘em cleaning house,</c><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal"> he muses to himself, proud as ever.</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="56"><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">“Think it’s time we had a little talk with these hosers, lil’ G.”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="58"><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">“Be right there, boss!”</c></p>
<p style="Normal" xid="59"><c props="font-style:normal; font-weight:normal">While Grubber puts the ship into neutral and locks the steering wheel, the commander takes that time to skip the stairs entirely and just vault over the railing.</c></p>
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