A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: PeacethatPowerbrings on 24-05-2009, 02:23:30</h2>
		<dl id="posts">
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>24-05-2009, 02:23:30</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ash laid in the hammock he had on deck as his airship slid into dock, gently enough. The crew were busy, but as Captain, he found himself with little if anything to do. His ship was large armed merchant ship, the kind that made long-haul trips across the edges of the great desert. The edge was as close as any merchanter would go, only military ships would dare go deep enough to make a straight crossing, though, even they avoided the deep desert.<br><br>He didn't take hard-work quite as seriously as some, but more seriously than most, he was one of those described as a good captain...not awe inspiring, but good to his men, and who knows when it is enough just to let them do their jobs.<br><br>His life was good, the ship was in profit after its first year, though he hardly needed the money. His father, his adoptive father had given him and his sister enough money to do pretty much whatever they wanted. In fact, it was mostly their father's companies, the many that he owned, that had built and paid for his ship, the Cloudsplitter.<br><br>"Boss..the ship's tied off..we're going for shore leave now..." said the crewman beside him, his first mate, Jerry Lorek.<br><br>"We're only here a couple days, be back tomorrow night, I'll try to find us a contract..." he said sighing. Work had been in short supply, the Southern Shore had stopped contracts, after the Keltain Fleet anchored off the coast. The Keltain were from the islands, they were communists, massively aggressive, and dangerous.<br><br>The problem was, for a ship of the Cloudsplitter's size, the best contracts were to the south, the longest route, and therefore the highest rates applied. So, when he said 'try' he meant it. He wondered if his sister was still at the university. The Federal Commission University was one of the largest in the world, and he'd always been happy that his sister was so committed to knowledge. It occured to him that it had been quite a while since he'd seen her, but he'd never thought she really paid attention to him, after all, their chosen paths were radically different, and scholarly pursuits were mostly lost on him.<br><br>He got up and walked the long distance to the bow. The ship was wooden hulled but had mostly iron fixtures and riveting. Its fin-like control wings jutted out from various places three large ones towards the aft, at the widest part of the hull, six small ones, three on each side at the bow. Other than that, the ship had two massive sails like wings, to is port side, which provided some easy propulsion, and allowed the steam engine to remain off, though, maneuvers took the propellars mounted in several places, eight in total, four at the rear and four more along the sides.<br><br>"Alright babe...time to get you some work..." he said.<br><br>They'd made the trip back empty, and he wasn't prepared to do that again.<br><br>He made his way to the gangplank, stepping off onto the cobblestone streets of Federal City, the Vanguard Federation's capitol, the city that just went on and on. Of course it was subdivided, in to smaller cities, but in reality, it was all one. One was no more than a trainride from the next, or a walk across one of the many skybridges. Heck, the city centre itself was mostly built over thin air. Floating on nothing but hope, and crystal technology that nobody but the Federal Science Administration really understood.<br><br>His ship was secure, the entire thing wouldn't budge without the crystal key Ash wore around his neck, at least, not after the engines were shut off. Besides, city criminals didn't mess around by the ports. Sailors stuck together, and his ship was as safe as if it were moored miles out, and had armed guards, which you sometimes had to do, depending on your destination, though, not in Federal City.<br><br>He made his way past the outlying port facilities and into the city proper. It was mostly dark, artifical light along the streets only turned on in the night. Everything was public, water, light, transportation, but everything was paid for one way or another. That meant the underclass spent their time on criminal pursuits which were untaxable, prostitution, gambling, smuggling, drugs, theft, while the middle class paid the taxes to keep the lights on and the water flowing.<br><br>Ash considered himself decidedly underclass, even if he hadn't been raised that way. Niether had his sister, but then again, she was a scholar, and they something else entirely, especially when the street he was walking on, and the very world itself was unpinned by mysteries that only the scholars cared to research.<br><br>He carried no sword, though at his right hip was a double-barrel sawn-off shotgun, which, as he would tell any passing peace officer, he had a license for.<br><br>Federal City was large, mostly corrupt, and easy to get lost in, or get killed in, or both, though, which came first often depended on what you were into, and everybody was into something.<br><br>First stop was the Port Authority Office, to register his arrival, second...probably the Shipping Guild.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>26-05-2009, 01:14:35</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Willow quietly fumed as she listened to Nicolai outline his proposal for an expedition to the center of the continent to the three senior advisers in the Department of Archaeology and Natural Sciences.&nbsp; He was speaking in ringing, confident tones about the benefits such an expedition would entail, everything from rediscovering lost artefacts to formulating brand new theories about the history of the world.&nbsp; <br><br>Though her face showed only mild interest in what Nicolai was proposing as his own work and ideas, Willow's hands were fisted in the concealing material of her thick, heavy skirts.&nbsp; She had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to hold her temper from flaring in an unseemly display... she kept imagining what it would feel like to leap to her feet, pull one of the long pins holding her hat to her piled hair free, and stabbing Nicolai repeatedly with it.&nbsp; <br><br>The three advisors murmured their approval of such an expedition, declaring that they would bring it up at the next budget meeting, and praising Nicolai for his innovation and vision in theorizing such discoveries to be found.&nbsp; Theories that <em>she</em> had proposed to Nicolai as they'd lounged in bed after a very energetic lovemaking session.&nbsp; Theories that <em>she</em> had logged hours researching deep in the dusty libraries, sorting through hundreds of useless files before she found the proper storage crystals.&nbsp; Theories that Nicolai was now going to claim credit for developing, damn him to the deepest pits of hell. <br><br>And if she went before the board and claimed intellectual property theft, the men would only look patronizingly at her, pat her on the head, and tell her that one day her turn too would come, that she needn't seek to gain attention and prestige by clutching and grasping at a <em>man's</em> ideas.<br><br>Misogynistic, myoptic, maladjusted, mulish, magisterial <em>men</em>.&nbsp; <br><br>With all the dignity she could muster, she gathered her skirts and stalked through the corridors of her beloved Natural Sciences building, her heel clicks echoing angrily back at her from the walls.&nbsp; &nbsp;On days like this, she wondered why she bothered with this university.&nbsp; The administrators and senior instructors were invariably men, and their money invariably went to proposals made by men.&nbsp; For all its forward thinking, the university was tragically behind the times in regards to their female students and staff.<br><br>She paused in her furious stalking, blinking as she realized that there was nothing to truly stop her from employing a ship and a crew, and mounting her own expedition to the center of the continent, a expensive feat that would have staggered and stalled many people without access to benefactors and investors.&nbsp; But Willow was wealthy in her own right, as her foster father had spared nothing to his adopted children, Willow included.&nbsp; There was nothing stopping her from heading directly to the Shipping Guild and inquiring about suitable airships and their average wages.&nbsp; <br><br>She could be standing on the site, with the proper permits, having already made half a dozen discoveries by the time Nicolai cut through all the red tape choking University investments and made it to the ruins she'd proposed as the most likely candidates for ancient artefacts.&nbsp; That mental image tickled her so much she immediately turned on her heel and sought the nearest exit. <br><br>She was going to go to the Shipping Guild immediately.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>26-05-2009, 02:31:50</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The shipping guild was a great structure, on the south easternmost side of the circularly Federal City. It looked vaguely like a Fin, forward edge towards the vast wasteland that was the desert, which the mountains bordered directly.<br><br>It back edge was towards the city, being one of its taller structures. The university, and its lavish gardens and terraced lawns, and of course, libraries and various other buildings was to the west. To the east was the utterly huge Federal Military Headquarters, and below it, on a lower peak, all to itself the military docks, with ships so utterly gargantuan, it was a wonder they flew at all, all praise to the military, of course, for keep the skies clear of pirates, hostile enemy ships, and smugglers. Plus, of course, the ships that weren't built due to the massive requirement for crystal by said Military.<br><br>Ash had no great love for the Fleet, though, they did their jobs well enough, the Vanguard Federation had yet to be attacked sucessfully in recent history, and pirates were gone from the Federation's skies. On the other hand, he still had to arm the Cloudsplitter, not hard, as large as she was, but the permits...oh god, permits for everything.<br><br>The Federation didn't give a damn what happened any more than a hundred miles from the edge of the mountains, and so, for a long-haul shipper like him...that mean pirates became a very real threat. Of course, they would mostly hit smaller ships, the Cloudsplitter had sixteen two-gun swiveling cannon mounted on her broadside. Plus, the obligatory long-guns. Artillery cannons, three-barrels, all mounted at the aft of the ship, under the engine room. Not wonderful for air-to-air combat, but...if a pirate took one look at those, he'd quickly rethink what kind of ship he might be looking at, and the danger of attacking it.<br><br>Ash took the lift, holding the brass coloured handrail as it took him up the glass tube that ran up the back edge of the Shipping Guild.<br><br>The moment he was inside he made his way over to the main desk, the massive crystal displays showing the wealth of the Guild. They showed arrivals, departures, captains, available crew for hire, and of course, ships which were looking for cargo.<br><br>"Cloudsplitter, Federal License, 8244-91," he said handing the man the octagonal crystal that functioned as his key.<br><br>"Ahhh, Armed, Super-Heavy Freight Class, Six Cabins, running empty I see," he said, handing Ash back his key, "has to be hard finding work...nobody has that much needing moving now do they?" he asked, laughing a little.<br><br>"I run fast," he said, "half-load will keep me in profit."<br><br>"I see why you got your Guild license..." he replied.<br><br>Suddenly the crystal displays shifted down, New Arrivals showed the Cloudsplitter, as did the ships for hire, it was top of the list, as it had the most cargo space of any up.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>03-06-2009, 04:57:02</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Willow paid the driver his fare, scanned from the bank crystal she went nowhere without, and stepped cautiously onto the walkway leading up to the main doors of the Shipping Guild.&nbsp; The minute she was out, a couple loaded down with baggage swarmed to the carriage and immediately clamoured for his service.&nbsp; With some distaste at their tattered and travel-weary appearance, Willow immediately took a few paces forward, as much to give herself some room from them as it was to give them some room from her.&nbsp; <br><br>The Shipping Guild did a brisk trade in their business, and despite the day and the hour, was just as busy and crowded as it would have been in the middle of the most frenetic day of the week.&nbsp; Ships of all design, some sleek and elegant, others boxy and awkward-seeming, hovered in the sky, loading and offloading passengers and cargo as the tower attendants gave them the clearance.&nbsp; As always, just like when she'd been a child, she stood in delighted wonder, for a long moment watching the aerial dance of ship and crew.&nbsp; She'd memorized the shapes and configurations of the largest and most cutting-edge ships, a habit gained in childhood she'd never quite shaken.<br><br>The very rude elbow of a gentleman in a bowler hat into her ribs brought her attention firmly back down to earth, and she gasped in surprise.&nbsp; The man blinked owlishly at her, then readjusted his monocle with an embarrassed flush to his round cheeks.&nbsp; "I say," he stuttered, offering a hand to her in case she required assistance straightening herself up. She didn't, but the gesture took a lot of the insult out of his inadverdant action.&nbsp; "My sincerest apologies, my lady.&nbsp; Forgive me; my attention was on the sky, and not where it should have been."<br><br>She waved away his concerns with the barest amount of civility and attention polite society dictated she should display, then scanned the sky again.&nbsp; She was almost sure she'd recognized one of the ships up there, half hidden by a spire.&nbsp; She strained her eyes, raised one hand to shield her vision from the glare of the late afternoon sun.&nbsp; But the ship she'd thought she recognized, if there truly had been one, was gone again, drifted beyond the range of her sight and directly into the glare of the sun.&nbsp; <br><br>She gave it a moment longer, then dropped her hand and excused herself from the gentleman, still spewing apologies and pardons, and proceeded inside the Guild proper, to make her way towards the postings of available ships, rates and cargo spaces.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>04-06-2009, 07:11:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Ash sat in the captains' lounge a kind of bar, but with suitably exquiste seating. Contrary to its name it was open to anyone, but captains drank&nbsp; free, which Ash was doing, only his drink of choice happened to be milk, alcohol had always put him off.<br><br>Truth was, he'd never had much fun drinking, so he went for a cooling, tasty beverage instead, hence the milk.<br><br>He looked down to the main room, through the outward-sloping glass windows. He spotted the person that looked the most out of place immediately. No passenger or sailor, and certainly not a captain. Of course, he'd recognize the walk and the hair, and the features he could make out anywhere.<br><br>Willow. His twin, and the only person he'd really ever fully understood. Well, when they were younger anyway. Heck they were inseperable then, sleeping in the same bed, sneaking into bed together to fend off a nightmare. Studying together, playing together. <br><br>He knew she was a scholar or some such thing. Their interests had diverged somewhere along the way, Willow being the more academic and he the more...whimsical. Though, the difference was minute, as, but for seeing an airship from their window in their adoptive father's house, he would probably have gone to the university with her.<br><br>Ever since then, he'd always wanted to go to the sky, and he had. He grabbed his drink and rushed over to the door, waving his hand over the overly sophisticated door-crystal and waiting for the glass doors to slide away before rushing down the stairs.<br><br>He couldn't imagine why she was in the guild, but he couldn't wait to say hi. He was planning to visit, but it was always such a trip to go across the city to the university.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>07-06-2009, 02:40:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She heard the footsteps thundering down the stairs, and even before her name was called out, she was turning with a look of utter delight on her face.&nbsp; She'd know the sound of that tread anywhere, anytime, no matter how much time they'd spent apart.&nbsp; No matter how much they'd grown separately from each other.<br><br>It wasn't proper, and it certainly wasn't ladylike behaviour, but she picked up her skirts and all but ran to welcome her twin, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs and ignoring the disdainful gasps and mutterings from the others.&nbsp; She threw her arms his neck and kissed his cheek with a delighted little laugh.&nbsp; "Ash!" she said with a brilliant smile, pulling back only far enough to be able to see him clearly.&nbsp; "I thought I recognized that bucket of bolts floating up there with the other airships!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>07-06-2009, 22:15:52</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"Willow," he said, smiling widely as he hugged and kissed her back. It had been years since they'd really been together as brother and sister, longer since they'd last lived together, but their connection hadn't faded.<br><br>"I put in today," he said, "came back empty, so I was about a month ahead of schedule....what're you doing in the guild?" he asked, curious suddenly.<br><br>"I didn't think your work would extend to such present, and immediate concerns as shipping and...buckets of bolts, which the Cloudsplitter, I'll remind you, certainly isn't..." he said, laughing.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>08-06-2009, 03:52:38</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				She grinned and bounced on the balls of her toes as if she were twelve all over again.&nbsp; "Do you remember Nicolai?" she asked him.&nbsp; "I may have written you about him.&nbsp; He was a lover of mine until fairly recently-- today recently, in fact.&nbsp; We partnered together for research at the university, and I thought we were doing well enough... until he stole my theories and presented them to the tribunal today as his own.&nbsp; You <em>know</em> how stodgy those old fossils who sit on the hearing councils are... In any case, I came looking for a ship, because I will be damned if I let Nicolai become a world-renowned naturalist on <em>my</em> work."<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>08-06-2009, 05:40:45</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				"I remember Nicolai," he said, "though the way you talked about him, I highly doubt if he'd ever be able to become famous on your theories...hell, I'm not sure anyone could...I always heard you were the only one worth talking to about them, you are, after all the only one who understands them..."<br><br>He laughed and clapped her on the shoulder.<br><br>"I'm guessing that there was an expedition planned," he said, "any word on the destination...or are you going to keep me in suspense?" he asked, smiling.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>08-06-2009, 17:20:24</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				She actually giggled, giddy at seeing her brother again -- how long had it been now?&nbsp; A year, more, with naught but the odd letter to catch each up on the other's activities?&nbsp; -- before she remembered she was supposed to be a properly demure lady of society and intelligence.&nbsp; She quieted herself with some effort, then smiled.&nbsp; <br><br>"I've done a lot more with them since we last saw each other, and I believe I've pinpointed a few spots on the interior of the continent that might fill in some of those pesky bits of incomplete history.&nbsp; The breakthrough came yesterday, actually, as I was sitting down to my morning tea and..."&nbsp; She broke off with a wry smile before his eyes could begin to glaze over at her peremptory lecturing tone.&nbsp; "I'm sorry, Ash.&nbsp; You know how I can ramble on about this.<br><br>"But the fact of the matter is, what may be out there buried in the sands may very well revolutionize the way we think of our history, and how progress our science!&nbsp; We're <em>stagnant</em> right now, dear Ash.&nbsp; There's talk in the Engineering departments that the oldest matrices, the ones that have been in use for centuries, will begin to fail within the next handful of decades, with no real way to replace the core components.&nbsp; And I will <em>not</em>," she exclaimed with a stamp of her foot, eyes flashing at the very thought, "sit demurely back and let Nicolai waltz out of the desert with <em>my</em> prize.&nbsp; I intend to mount an expedition of my own, and while he's still haggling pennies out of the University's treasury, I will be sailing eastward to the most promising of the sites I selected."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>09-06-2009, 02:00:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"The interior..." he said, "well I doubt you'll have to rush into it...there aren't many ships or captains that can, or will, go anywhere beyond the mid-desert. Plus...having a military ship make the run is highway robbery, financially..."<br><br>He laughed, at the stamp of her foot and the look in her eye. He loved his sister, but she was far more motivated than he was.<br><br>"Come," he said, "have a drink, I acutally think I might be able to say a few things that might interest you, for once, things that don't get entered into the Library."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>10-06-2009, 22:26:29</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"For a private expedition, I'm sure I'll be paying through the nose for substandard fare and not nearly enough cargo room," she said with a sniff, allowing her brother to lead her towards the bar.&nbsp; "But darling father has given us absolutely scandalous amounts of money, and I may as well find something to spend it all on.<br><br>"Besides," she continued, looping her arm through his.&nbsp; "Once the weight of the university's influence comes to bear, the government may as well just <em>loan</em> them a military ship, so the sooner I get going, the better."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>12-06-2009, 00:57:36</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"You have a point there," he said, "those military captains are about as crazy as the northerners, and it'll be almost impossible to find a captain willing to go into the deep desert, and harder still to find one with a crew that'll follow..."<br><br>He laughed and kissed her on the cheek.<br><br>"On the other hand," he said, "if you left right away, by the time dear Nicolai gets through the red-tape, and the university wrangles him a ship, you could already be coming back..."<br><br>He turned around on his stool, facing into the room and back-on to the bar, looking over at her sideways.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>19-06-2009, 04:25:41</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Oh, I hardly think that the fossils will hold him up that long, stodgy as they are," she said, nodding polite greetings to those they passed.&nbsp; "But sitting there, already up to my eyebrows in archaeological finds with all the proper permits and exclusivity rights... now <em>that</em> holds a great deal more appeal for me.<br><br>"But enough about me, darling," she said, with a smile up for him.&nbsp; "Tell me about your adventures of late.&nbsp; It's been awhile since your last letter, and I'm sure you've broken a dozen hearts from here to the Cape in that time."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>19-06-2009, 05:11:17</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Adventure isn't exactly my game," he said, "though now that you mention it..."<br><br>He leaned in close, obviously not wanting anyone listening in on what he had to say next.<br><br>"On the way back from the southern shore, I ran the Cloudsplitter on the outer edge of mid-desert, the storms were light, and running empty we weren't at risk of capsizing, anyway...I did happen to notice an islander ship, a dreadnougt, heading deep," he said.<br><br>The ship to which he referred was a rather noteworthy class, in fact, at any given time it was possible to see one or more of them in the skies over the city, given their status as the second largest ship class in any military service, though, only their own home country ran the larger super-dreadnoughts, so for the communist islanders, it was even more meaningful, especially given that they'd have to pass the southern tribe territories, which meant a high risk, even for such a large ship.<br><br>"Turns out," he said, "the Kals were going towards one of the desert stars, thats...a sailor term, there are places...in the desert deep in, that on clear day, from the right place look like stars on the horizon, only at night they aren't there..."<br><br>It was something he hadn't really mentioned to her before, just a sailor legend, though he'd seen one, so it seemed especially relevant.<br><br>"The desert is supposed to be empty," he said, what d'you suppose makes that light?" he asked, suggestively.<br><br>He'd found his adventure, he realized, he just wasn't sure if his sister would want to involve him in hers, or not.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rhapsody</strong> on <strong>26-06-2009, 01:29:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As always when Ash was telling her tales of the fantastic beyond her safe little city life, Willow leaned forward, drinking in every word.&nbsp; When he asked her what she supposed the lights were in that conspiratorial tone, her mind began to race.&nbsp; <br><br>"I could think of half a dozen things," she said, eyes unfocussing briefly while she was pondering the possibilities.&nbsp; "Ball lightning, tricks of the light against heat waves, reclusive inventors, top-secret government testing..." Her eyes lit up.&nbsp; "Or ancient technology waiting to be discovered! Tell me you sailed in to see what it was, Ash... I'll be scholastically disappointed in you if you didn't!"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: A New Adventure, Together Again (PtPb and Rhapsody)</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>PeacethatPowerbrings</strong> on <strong>26-06-2009, 02:14:13</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Aren't you the realistic one," he said, sarcastically, "I know this curious streak is a family thing, but islanders aren't people you mess with...especially not when its a Dreadnought they're flying."<br><br>He laughed and took a quick drink.<br><br>"Of course...never one to disappoint...I might've done a minor course correction," he said, voice going soft as he leaned in, "off the books..."<br><br>This meant he hadn't logged it with the Guild which meant two things...one, he didn't want them to know, and second, there was a reason he didn't want them to know.<br><br>"It was a spire," he said, "wide...covered with sand mostly, at the bottom, probably a mile around, got narrower quickly, sharp as a knife at the top..."<br><br>He grabbed a napkin and drew it out with a pencil from his pocket.<br><br>"This is all from a telescope," he said, "but the islanders dropped anchor three miles out."<br><br>He paused, sliding her the napkin.<br><br>"And it was perfectly clear," he said, "like ice...or glass....or..."<br><br>He left the statement incomplete fingering the key that hung around his neck. Crystal.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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