ic Torpedo Lass vs. Queen Anne's Revenge

[RocketLord]

GM

 

September 13th, 2019, 3:30PM

37°07'15.5"N, 55°57'24.5"W, the Atlantic Ocean

The cruise ship Queen Anne's Revenge

 

To travel with Queen Anne's Revenge was a luxury only the rich could afford. A giant cruise ship that toured the world, with stops in select major ports, it would at times spend weeks at sea. The ship was 1050 feet long, and 145 feet wide. It was not the largest cruise ship in the world, but it was one of them, at least. It had exactly 2500 state rooms, which, along with the ever present crew, meant that it could easily hold more than 6000 people at once. The ship were divided into 15 floors, all with an appropriate pirate theme. The dread pirate Blackbeard could entertain the kids while the parents played in the casino or used any of the cruise ships many other adult entertainment options. The two outdoor and one indoor swimming pool on the ship were always busy, with water splashing everywhere and children and adults both riding the water slides into the water, one that even stretched out over the side of the ship, the pipe being completely see through at that point in the journey.

 

The crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge were, of course, all dressed in appropriate period uniforms, made up to be pirates. Which made it all the more shocking when, on September 13th 3PM, the ship's captain sent out cries for help to anyone within range. Pirates had attacked the ship, demanding the valuables or lives of all aboard!

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

Torpedo Lass... a name that hasn't popped up in news papers for a while. For some people it even seemed Torpedo Lass vanished. Mary Masterson though was living her life up to the attempted invasion last year. Maybe it was to relax and try to live a normal life, maybe not. But here she was 20 nautical miles out from a fresh distress call. Floating at about 50 feet depth. It was hard for her to hold that location... considering she sinks like a rock and the changing temperatures and salinity of water in that location was an annoyance having to send air in and out of her dive vest.

But there it was, the call back to action.

She was aware of this themed cruise ship. She thought it was cute but not her style, but that wasn't a problem.

The problem was there were people in trouble... Pirates? In these waters?

"Always something new in this line of work" she thought as with a kick of her legs, and surged to the location of the ship at best speed, coming to a stop within visual of the cruise ship. Filling her vest to keep at the surface like an experienced diver, and also to make sure she didn't churn the water around her treading water. She pulls up her goggles to get a view of the scene around the ship. Keeping note of the cruise ship's waterline.

Edited September 13, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The ship was still in the water, its giant engines having come to a halt. The ship's waterline appeared static, showing that even if extra weight had come aboard, it was not beyond what the ship could reliably carry. As Torpedo Lass watched from afar, she would notice that, despite the call for help mentioning pirates, no other vessels were visible in the water. Smaller boats would probably have been crushed in the strong waves, so whoever these pirates were, they had to have reached the Queen Anne's Revenge through other means.

 

While Torpedo Lass could not see the top of the ship from her position, she could see people moving around the decks through the open areas and various windows. They were few and far between, but they were there. It was difficult to see at the distance, but they all seemed to be running away from something, or, occassionally, they seemed to be dressed up like pirates, carrying around cutlasses or what seemed to be flintlock pistols.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

Torpedo Lass vents her vest and heads under at a depth where the churning she would cause at her speed is minimized, until she pulls around back where she swims up to grab a rail on the stairs leading into where the cruiseship's tenders are located. Usually such boats would be set up and ready for excursions, but out at sea they're stored high and dry. The chamber where the boats are kept closed up. Luckily the stairs were down, as always, for anyone who has fallen overboard.

Climbing up was a cinch before pressing herself against a wall as she starts working on opening the door to get into the interior of the ship. A turn of a hatch lock and she was in.

Inside the tender storage she hides behind some boxes and starts coming up with a plan on how to sort out this situation.

"Obviously the pirates are dressed the same as the crew possibly. I'm starting to think heist. With this many rich people on board the safes would be a tasty target for someone who is bold enough... but how in the world did they get on? I'm going to have to get a lay of the land here..." She thought to herself.

She walks over to another door. "Just coming at these guys won't work, they've scattered among the decks like a disease. I need something to get them... wait!" She grinned. "Life boat deck. Head up there and deploy a life raft. That should set off some alarms. They'll send some people down to check things out certainly."

"First to the engine room though... gonna have to see the situation there. Can't cut all power... but making sure the crew is okay there can give me a foothold on this ship, and people who can give me more information."

She slowly opens the door, looking for markings she was trained to find that point in various directions... namely to the Engine Room, and the nearest muster station for abandoning ship. She started to have a suspicion those spots might be watched more closely.
 

Spoiler

Note: The ship has markings that while a normal passenger wouldn't notice, a crewmember would that marks out where various crew-only spots would be that are important to the ship's functions. Torpedo Lass has been in the US Navy twice in her life, and the second one (in modern times) she was one of the go-tos for boarding operations. The muster stations on the other hand are far more obvious 'natch.

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The markings weren't exactly difficult to find. The ship was so large that it had plenty of maps on the walls, even if some of them appeared to have been defaced, cut apart by the pirates, no doubt. No, the difficult part seemed to be in evading the pirates that seemed to be roaming all over the ship. As Torpedo Lass had expected, they were dressed much like the crew, but their weapons seemed real. Not just mere rubber swords and toy guns, but actual cutlasses and, strangely, what appeared to be actual flintlock pistols. It appeared to be both men and women, dressed in almost stereotypical pirate costumes, and yet, there were something slightly off about the costumes. Not things like modern pants or anything like that, but rather, where the crew's costumes seemed almost cartoonish, these seemed all too real. Some had peglegs, some eyepatches, others had hooks instead of hands, or were missing teeth or other body parts. Men and women both, they certainly stood out.

 

As could be expected, the engine room were in the bowels of the ship. From her current position at the 7th floor, Torpedo Lass would have to reach the bottom to get to her current goal. According to the map she found, there were muster stations on all floors. One not too far from her current position, at the starboard side of the ship.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

It wasn't exactly what she was expecting... The polish of a theme ship compared to these... apparently real pirates was uncanny... But exploitable. She knew some had eye patches, while some did that to have a eye ready for nightvision at sunset, some legit didn't have eyes. The gate of a peg-leg while still ok for mobility wasn't the most stable... The hooks for hands though and the almost abysmal hygene? Yeah, something was up with this group. And how did they get aboard?

No matter, It would make picking out the crew easier... look for the clean costumes.

As for her costume, a red, white, and blue drysuit and red dive vest wasn't the best of ideas... maybe the person who was making her a new costume could make a camo or stealth mission version of her costume...

Being lost in thought almost cost her, a crew man was about to come face to face with her.

She pressed up against a corner impression, just enough to hide her, but if the guy turned his head right... thank god, eyepatch. He stomped away, seemed he was more there than the others... he sniffed the air a few times and looked to his right again like he was thinking about something, shrugged and moved along. As she was heading down the stairs to the last bit of travel to the engine room itself she came across another pirate looking over some more modern equipment they stole, arguing with a crew mate.

Funny thing greed... clouds your vision. Arguing over a couple stolen life vests and smart phones from someone's quarters. The phones were wisely locked. She just hoped they would trigger the man-overboard beacon on their own and cause a little ruckus. Although her plan would make a lot more noise.

Torpedo Lass finds a door to the engine room. Taking a breath, she prepares herself for an ambush behind that door, putting her back to the wall, she turns the handle and opens the door. In three seconds, this goes from slow to fast. She prepares her mind to assess her cover.
 

Spoiler

The way she's opening the door is something a tactically trained boarding party would do. Back to the wall at the side of the door where the hinge for said door is, and pulls. If anyone is watching they're gonna come out that way. Wait three seconds, then slip in. Her strength is more than enough to move that door with a couple fingers once unlocked. If it's a classic bulkhead seal door.

 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The door moved slowly, without a sound. It seemed that the crew had at least managed to keep the hinges lubricated. Couldn't go around opening creaking doors with passengers paying handsomely for the trip, after all. It seemed that no one noticed the open door, at least for now.

 

At the other side of the heavy door, Torpedo Lass would spot railing, with a hole for a small set of stairs that led further down, into the engine room itself. While it was difficult to see what was below from her current position, the engines themselves were massive, and the noise was almost deafening. A single pirate stood leaned against the railing, looking down at whatever was down below. He had a flintlock pistol in his hand, lazily held in his hand that rested on the railing. He had a cutlass hanging from his belt by his side. Dressed much like the other pirates, he at least didn't seem to have any missing hands or feets, or any other major marks. Obviously not having heard Torpedo Lass opening the door, he reached back with his free hand, absentmindedly scratching his bum, before calling out to the people below. "Why're we always the ones gettin' stuck in places like this, Jimmy? I wanna find a lass and have some fun!" 

 

The response was drowned out by the noise.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

"Why not a party?"

The pirate quickly turns around and gets greeted with the crispest of superkicks landing under his jaw. All he manages is a scream as he falls down to the floor below. Knocked out.

Torpedo Lass vaults over the rail to the floor, for her such a fall was nothing. "YOU WANTED A LASS, BUDDY? YOU CAN'T HANDLE ME!"

That's when she sees the other four pirates. She just nods as her eyes flare up. And with a grin she says. "I'm Torpedo Lass, pleased to meet you." She takes a fighting stance that will allow her to answer an attack from any of her four future dance partners.

Edited September 23, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The pirate fell and landed on the floor with a loud *THUD*, motionless before one of his four friends. They looked down at him for a moment, then up at the shouting Torpedo Lass, obviously not having expected something like this to happen. They were positioned around the large engines, with some distance between them, three members of the crew looking up at Torpedo Lass, equally confused about what was happening, but at least recognizing a rescue when they saw one.

 

"Get 'er!" a pirate yelled, quickly raising his rather old looking flintlock pistol and taking a shot. The loud *BANG* sent a small bullet flying past Torpedo Lass, ricocheting off the wall behind her before harmlessly falling somewhere, while the other pirates lost all interest in the crew members, instead turning their attention fully to Torpedo Lass.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

She was still grinning. She turned around, snapping her finger and an arc of greenish blue plasma flung forth from her fingers and slammed into a pirate standing near one of the crewmembers, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

She took a sliding step to the right, her eyes still glowing as she further planned out her next moves. There was still three pirates, but now she had their attention. "Eyy, you so certain you want to be messin' with this sailor, mate? Fightin' pirates is my specialty. If you knew what was good for ya, you'd be wantin' to parley right about now!"

Edited September 25, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"She got Jimmy! Get 'er already!" the pirate closest by shouted as Torpedo Lass' blast of plasma took down another of the pirates. The engineer nearby dove to the side to stay out of the way, but still looked thankful for Torpedo Lass' actions, at least. 

 

"We have taken down bigger and better than you, lass!" another of the pirates shouted as the two farthest away took aim and fired their flintlocks and fired, the bullets once again going far and flying around the engine room before coming to a rest. 

 

With a grunt, the nearest pirate grabbed his cutlass and ran towards Torpedo Lass, quickly swinging the sword, only to pass by her. At least it seemed like she was much too fast for them.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

"How about Master Chief Mary Masterson, US Navy?" She quips when the swordsman comes in for his swing, skillfully moving her body like a trained fighter letting him cut nothing but air, as he does she does a quick snap that seems much louder than it should with an accompanying directed pulse of greenish light at the Cutlass wielding pirate.

 

She then points to the other two in front of her pointing their pistols at her. "Stand down and surrender. No more games."

Her smile changed to a serious expression. She had to keep it toned down, the civilians in this engine room were too close... but she has a plan. A good sailor always has a plan.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The pirate took the hit head on, but he only smiled. "Gonna take more than that, lass!" Then he moved, quickly stepping around Torpedo Lass to get out of the way, letting both of his friends fire their guns. The bullets went far past her, with little chance of hitting, but at least they created an opening for the first pirate to kick towards the hero's legs.

 

"We've faced worse than yer, lass! You stand down and we'll let ya stay pretty!"

 

Like the bullets and blades, the kick got nowhere close! Torpedo Lass were simply too fast for these pirates, and maybe they were starting to understand that!

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

It wasn't that she was fast. It was all about positioning, and more and more she was gaining dominance. "Think I'm worried about my looks?" She quipped over the sound of the engines.

She saw her next target and did a jump forward to close the distance to another target, which was tremendously easy with the muscles in her legs and decided her landing point was going to be a crisp flying kick to the face of yet another pirate.

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Torpedo Lass' mighty kick connected with the pirate's face, sending him flying to the other end of the room. One more down, just two to go. The pirates might be brave, but they certainly weren't smart. Maybe there was a reason they were the ones that had been stationed down here, or maybe they were all just that dumb.

 

The remaining two pirates piled on Torpedo Lass, swinging their blades and cutting through but air. She was fast, she was tough. Much too fast and tough for the likes of these pirates, it seemed!

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

She was showing more and more for how tough she is, her greatest asset was her mobility. But this fight was over. Her eyes flared up with a phosphorescent blue-green energy.

"SIT DOWN." She shouted as she moved her hands, firing off two bolts, one for each remaining pirate...

Edited October 9, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

The fight was over. It had all happened so fast, flashes of steel vs. the pure power and grace of Torpedo Lass. The bolts of blue-green energy collided with the pirates, sending them flying back, sprawled on their backs on the floor, as unconscious as the other two, leaving Torpedo Lass standing with the two crew members.

 

"That was awesome!" the one that reached Torpedo Lass first, a man in his mid-twenties with short black hair shouted, either not caring or not thinking that others might hear them. "You were all BAM! and POW! and they just went down!"

 

The other was maybe a few years the first's senior, but he at least seemed to have some more sensibility. His long blonde hair was tied into a tight bun to stay out of his face. "Thanks for the help, miss. I'm guessing you're here to help, right? Anything we can do?"

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

She rotated her arm to loosen up her shoulders. "Can you close off the engineering section from the rest of the ship? Lock it down? If you can that will make it harder for them to deal with a complete engine shutdown. I'll let you know what that part of my plan entails, but once I ask..." She scratched her head. "Have you had any contact with the Bridge?"

"That might change my plan a bit if it's possible to listen in on what is going on up there."

"For that matter, are there corridors where engineers can move freely through the ship without coming into contact with passengers in the common areas? Those might be useful."

"Finally I'm gonna need some chains... I'm going to restrain these four. They might work out to be part of my plan..."

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Sure, there's locks, but they won't hold for long. Gotta make sure crew can escape if the ship's sinking, right?" the younger of the engineers explanined, before the other joined in.

 

"No word from the bridge for a long while, but they tried to warn us before those goons came running in here. There were some sounds of struggle, and now here we are."

 

The younger engineer had already run off, coming back carrying some chains. "These should do, yeah?"

 

As for the last message, the engineer just shook his head. "No such things as secret corridors, I'm afraid." He gestured to his clothes, which had a bit of a subdued pirate style to it, but with a big ENGINE CREW on the back. "We're usually all out in the open here."

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

 

Every plan shot down... Well at least these four were going nowhere. She takes the chains and makes sure they're secured and set up in a way for easy carrying over her shoulders. Making darn sure they were disarmed of any knives, firearms, or other weapons.

"Okay... with the ruckus I'm going to start? I don't think this section will be of their most interest. They're going to want to deal with me and call whoever that they can to assist. I want you guys to keep listening in on the bridge. I'm eventually heading there. If you hear me say "everything is going according to plan" shut down the engines and the power."

She puts her makeshift package over her shoulders. "I'm gonna toss a life raft over then send these guys off in it. No worries I'll grab them back up once I sort things out here. Also I'm BETTING that'll set some man-overboard alarms off on the bridge as well as activate the raft's distress beacon getting the attention of the US Navy or the Coast Guard. These pirates I wager don't want people escaping. This will just complicate matters. Seeing a distress signal will bring help faster."

She grins. "Anyways start securing this area as best you can. And don't worry, this ship isn't sinking with me aboard. Keep the power on as long as you can."

She hops back up to where she came in and starts to take a different route to a nearby muster station where she thinks she spotted a couple life raft canisters mounted to the side of the ship.

 

[RocketLord]

GM

 

"Will do, Ma'am." The younger engineer snapped his heels together and did a quick salute. "We'll keep everything running unless we hear otherwise."

 

As Torpedo Lass left the room, she saw few pirates patrolling, but it was easy enough to slip by them, despite her makeshift package of unconscious pirates. The life rafts were easy enough to find, but getting them free would take a moment, and it was clear that the pirates were patrolling this area as well. So, of course, Torpedo Lass would once again have to make a choice. Get the lifeboat and the pirates in it as planned, but risk getting caught, or just leave the chained pirates behind.

 

She would have to make a quick choice, too.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

She was staying the course. Knowing that a couple of pirates might intercept her will just make things sweeter. All she really needed to do was to get a raft in the water and the Bridge should start having alarms going off in regards to just that. Heck... at this point she can work with things as they go. She had to do was get this can into the water and let the raft pop out... Unfortunately that would take a bit of time.

She didn't let herself get lost in second guessing. Fair or foul in a few moments she's switching from infiltration to a loud and proud old-fashioned fight.

There was a nagging shadow of doubt in the back of her head, though... there was no ship they arrived on. There was NO WAY they could get out here in anything smaller than a large sail yacht. IF there was no ship how did they get here?

No... stick to the plan. And if that changes, improvise. The bigger picture will reveal itself soon.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Pure luck, or actually some accidental planning? Didn't matter, no pirates showed up while Torpedo Lass worked on freeing the life boat and getting it ready for her group of prisoners. It would be simple to get them out in the water now, if they stuck to the life boat, at least. Alarms were probably already going on at the bridge, so if the pirates had someone stationed there, which they probably had, then they would at least know that something was up. 

 

She could hear sounds coming from all around her. People running. Lots of people running. Many more than what could have gotten here without some kind of ship or transportation, just like she had mused about moments before. She probably only had moments before things were about to get busy.

[The Sailor]

Torpedo Lass

"No... don't put the prisoners in... leave them here, unbound and knocked out." She thought suddenly. She pushed the raft into the water then hopped down on to the raft after pulling out the crowbar she was using to keep her chain bundle set. It was easy to toss the chain to the side once that knot was undone. Once on the raft she looked up and calculated a jump trajectory for the bridge. Then went for it. Launching herself up about a couple thousand feet well above the cruiseship. When she came down it was an easy landing. The maintenance hatch was close, but she was going to wait...

She quieted her breath, waiting for the sound of shouting... commotion...

"Who's the real pirate now." She whispered with a smirk under her breath. "If whoever is leading this whole escapade is on the bridge it shouldn't be a stretch that if I clear out the pirates that they won't have much leadership. That and I would have access to the radio. There's no armed security on this boat... and it'll probably take some time for the Navy to bring a ship to bear that can assist... I can be in only so many places at once... better to make a statement. Break the back of this operation and the rest might surrender peacefully."

She wasn't kidding herself. This might get nasty quick. But something hope is always there. This will be her operating point where she could jump to the bow or stern with ease. She pulls out a GPS from a pouch on her vest and switches it on, the hardware ID should ping off of someone's computer high-up. She pockets it, leaving it running.

She takes a deep breath and starts working with the hatch. Once the pirates start getting agitated down below where she left the prisoners, she was going in.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Sailor

[RocketLord]

GM

 

Oh, there was commotion alright. As Torpedo Lass catapulted herself into the sky, up and above to the roof of the ship, she could see several pirates running towards the group of tied up pirates she had left behind, shouting and cursing all the while. Oh, they knew that someone was here now, but since the four pirates were still out for the count? Well, it might be a while before they found out.

 

The roof didn't seem to have any pirates stationed on it, which made sense on the moving vessel. It didn't take long to find the hatch and get to work on opening it, and she could hear voices from below, but then, something else caught her eye. Up ahead, there was a chain secured around a small post on the roof, the chain itself stretching up, into the sky...