There it was. A whole island that supposedly fell from the sky. Even the concept was preposterous enough to doubt what she was hearing. If it weren’t for the many independent primary recounts of the happening, she wouldn’t have believed it. What a mystery. And for it to happen here, in the North Blue. Surely this would draw the attention of the world… This was the start of something big. It was only this feeling that she was entirely convinced about.
~Three Days Prior~
They had a new visitor to Chimney Island. Such an ‘esteemed’ guest was out of the norm. Virginia always knew there was some larger picture of the revolution, but it was hard to keep that in mind when the action that she saw was insulated to these northern seas. This guest was none other than Captain Taylor Mosa of the Revolutionary Army. Apparently she originated from the East Blue, but where exactly she was based and where her influence as a Rev Captain extended to was not common knowledge, at least to Jin.
You might think that there wasn’t much to be seen in this meeting of allied forces. They all sought out the glorious revolution, after all. The truth was, the Army as a whole had been fractured for a long time. There was no true chain of leadership that led from the top to the bottom. This woman had the title of Captain, similar to Captain Kane. But what that meant where she came from, she was unsure of. Captain Edith Kane was the overall leader of the North Blue Revolutionary Army. Maybe she was the same in another Blue?
So their meeting was a little bit complicated. They were on the same ‘side’, yes, but whether they had the same morals and policies was unknown. The way they operated could be completely different. Jin didn’t even know whether to properly call them allies. All this knowledge lay with Captain Kane, though. She seemed to have a better idea of what was going on. But as usual, the Captain kept her cards close to her chest.
Captain Mosa had travelled to the North with the intention of investigating an island that had fallen from the sky. One that people were calling ‘Yoruba’. She had sent a scouting party ahead to survey the island and report back. Apparently she had found enough motive to put a meaningful amount of resources toward the expedition. Not only that, but she also got in contact with Edith. So here they were, meeting to see exactly what the guest captain wished to say.
The meeting had an apt atmosphere, what with being atop Chimney Island’s active volcano. A smooth plateau was positioned on the lip of the crater. It didn’t look natural, the way the coarse, porous igneous rock formed a perfectly flat surface. On this plateau was a fold-out table and two chairs. These had been brought up by Jin and set up so that they looked out over the bubbling liquid rock. She could feel the heat, even though they were hundreds of metres away from any lava. This geothermal activity was the major reason for Chimney Island’s temperate climate amid the frozen islands of the North Blue.
There were two reasons why this spot was chosen. Firstly, Captain Kane had made the decision not to reveal the secret base to the visitors. Secondly, this position was a natural barrier of sorts. This volcano was high. Its crater soared above the clouds. Getting here was no easy feat for the average hiker, and it took multiple days for even experienced travellers. But for those that exceed the usual strength and endurance of humans, shortcuts could be made to reduce this time down to even a single hour. As part of Jin’s conditioning, she was taught to run directly up the mountain, even overcoming vertical sections.
The reason that this natural barrier was needed was to restrict who was coming to the meeting. From the North Blue Revolutionary Army, it was just Jin, Lieutenant Andre ‘Grey’ Fields and Captain Kane. Kane wanted as few of Mosa’s people present as possible, but was sure that the woman herself would be able to make it here. Of course, the same effect could have been achieved by just asking Mosa to attend alone. But that would set some sort of expectation of a distrusting atmosphere. It was just like Kane to pick the indirect route to set an advantageous stage. Jin saw that Fields hadn’t noticed her intentions and had asked if this was necessary. Jin herself had begun picking up on the little things that Kane did. It was the delicate finesse that the Captain used which she had grown to admire.
A flicker of cloth and shadow came from behind a craggy outcrop. “What have we here, a cozy little get together?” Captain Mosa appeared on the plateau, hands-on-hips. She stood there, taking a heavy breath of air and taking in her surroundings. She had wide, bright eyes and a toothy grin. “How quaint of you to put this together for little old me.” She strutted her way over to the crater rim and peered down into the centre of the volcano. “Whew! It certainly gets warm around here, doesn’t it? And I went to all the trouble of packing my winter coat!”
Jin’s eyes traced her movement, drinking in every feature she could. She seemed to have plenty of confidence, even in this unknown environment. She couldn’t be much older than herself. Was this person really a respected leader of the Revolutionary Army? Jin had an itch growing. She wanted to see for herself what she was made of. What strengths did she possess? What weaknesses undermined those strengths? But from the sound of things, she would be getting plenty of time for seeing those things for herself. For now, she wanted to watch what Captain Kane would make of her.
“Thank you for meeting me here, Captain Mosa. I see you are in good spirits after your ascent. I hope your travels to this northern sea went well.” Edith didn’t react much to her entrance, but instead offered a neutral greeting and gestured to the empty chair.
“Yes, well. I’m not one for missing an adventure. We have such a juicy mystery this time. I can’t wait to see it for myself. But! Before we get down to business, I would like to thank you for your assistance. I was pleased to hear that we had such a strong ally in the north. I hear you and my beloved go back a few years. Any friend of General Kelves is a friend of mine.” The visitor unceremoniously plopped herself down on the chair.
A general of the Revolutionary Army, eh? So this was the chain of command, and her partner was higher up than her. Jin wondered what exactly this general presided over. A relationship like this was the telltale sign of nepotism, although it wasn’t always the case. It could be that Miss Taylor Mosa had not earned her position, but instead had been placed there by this general.
“Of course. This seems like it could be an important event-” Kane responded.
Mosa continued, cutting off Kane. “But he didn’t say exactly how he knew you and for how long. It’s funny, being an ally but not mentioning you by name, isn’t it?” Mosa’s eyes narrowed. Jin furrowed her eyebrows. Where was this hostility coming from? Even if she didn’t understand it, she rose onto the balls of her feet, ready to spring into action in case hostility turned to threat.
Edith closed her eyes, letting the discourse flow past her like a sea breeze without succumbing to irritation. “Yes, we worked together. We are on the same side, after all. We were never close, though, if that is what you were asking.”
“Good! He’s happily married now, for your information. To me. He’s married to me.” The guest captain seemed strangely animated. Jin watched the drama unfold, the cogs slowly falling into place. This was an exercise of marking territory. But it seemed as though that territory was uncontested. Was she sensing a bit of insecurity?
Edith sighed loudly, signalling that she had already had enough of this line of conversation. “I am glad that you have found each other. You sound very happy. Now, let’s get down to business, shall we?”
Taylor stared at Kane for a few seconds. “Yes, I was just about to suggest the same.” She produced a cylinder from her backpack. Popping it open, she slid a neatly kept map out onto the table and unfurled it. It was a chart of Lvneel and the surrounding seas. In the centre was a landmass that didn’t have any detail to it except for the edges and a few slivers here and there. “This is Yoruba.” She pointed to the landmass. “My people are currently scouting the area and beginning to investigate the island itself. We have circumnavigated the island and charted its dimensions. This is how far we have made it inland so far.” Her eyes lifted from the paper to scan for reactions in the other three. “There are two reasons why this is of importance to the Revolutionary Army. One, riches have already begun to be discovered. Who knows what else is there. People were there. Natives. A whole civilization from the sky? There is about to be a gold rush. Not only for gold, but for whatever other mysteries are hidden there. Two, it is important because the Marines have begun to move on it. If my enemy covets a prize, well it is only natural for me to want to take it away. Ah I can only imagine their sorry looks when they arrive, only to see all the goodies have already been pinched!” The pitch of her voice rose, and she pumped her arms in excitement.
Edith put a finger to her lip and mulled over the chart, nodding and mumbling in incoherent approval. “Yes, this is good. Most useful. Grey?” She called to the senior agent, to which he came over and produced a similar map, slapping it on the already chart-topped table. “This was produced as a result of our reconnaissance efforts in the area.” The region included in the chart was the same, except the detail was different. Instead of attempting to map out Yoruba, the chart held information on small surrounding points of interest like tiny islands. There were even detailed accounts of sighted movements. Marines, pirates, and everything else. Of course, they couldn’t expect to watch everything. Maybe not even half of all ships had been sighted. But what resulted was a much more conclusive picture as to what forces were at play.
Mosa hesitated, peering down at the chart. She deflated a little. Perhaps she had wanted to impress Captain Kane with her control of the situation. The wind had been taken out of her sails somewhat but she still intended to take point. “Ah yes, good! This will be most useful. I can see you’re on the ball. You are already proving to be a useful ally! So did you have a similar idea as to me about the opportunities that lay waiting for us on that island of mystery?”
Kane leaned back in her chair without expression. “Yes, well. This is my Blue and I do like to keep an eye on what happens here. Of course, such a happening as this would hold my interest. But as you see, most of my attention was focused at what the World Government and others wished to get out of it. I was in two minds as to whether to actually make landfall. But now that you’re here and willing to devote your own manpower and resources to the project, I am looking forward to contributing.” She ended with a thoughtful nod. Jin noticed that she didn’t usually explain her thought process to this extent. Maybe she was being more open for the appeal.
Captain Mosa clapped once. “That is excellent news! I am looking forward to our collaboration. I would like to know what you have to contribute. We are in need of a few things to pull off this job.”
“Sure. Go ahead.” Kane notioned for her to list her requests.
“Firstly we need a forward base. Someplace that’s inconspicuous, where we have a large amount of storage space. We intend on taking the bulk of our forces with us so we can’t spare many for guarding the base. Thus we can’t risk it being discovered.”
“Makes sense.”
“Secondly, we need transport. I would like our ships behind at the base and take another boat to the island. I want something we can take that will be inconspicuous enough to not be investigated but still be able to transport a heavy cargo of goods and ores.”
“I see. Shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Thirdly, we need supplies to mine said ores. There seems to be a lot of mineral wealth in the land. I want equipment to extract it.”
“...Right.” Kane stalled on this last one for a second. Now that Jin thought about it, it did seem a bit strange. Mosa knew that this area was about to become a hotspot for the Marines, right? Was she willing to risk the personnel of the Army for a mining operation? She pondered for a bit as to the implications of this. Maybe they didn’t have the opportunity to mine other places in the world. Maybe there was a specific resource which the Army lacked. It could really be anything, there was no use speculating. Mosa could have a vice for shiny things for all she knew.
Kane didn’t show any sign of reservation, though. Instead, she leaned to the side and called once more for her lieutenant. “Grey, what do you think of those goals? Achievable?”
Agent Grey cleared his throat. “Hrm well, we can certainly have a look at the options and see what we can do.”
Jin knew that her superior was playing it conservatively again. They had plenty of intel on the situation. There were plenty of opportunities. If Jin had to put a number on it, she would say that they had about an 80% chance to get everything that she wanted ready within the week. “Excuse me, Captain Mosa? We will be able to deliver what you request within the week.” Jin spoke up, taking it upon herself to push the boat out. It was a risk to over promise, but Taylor didn’t look like the sort of person that you would win over with safety.
Mosa’s eyes lit up. “Ah! Now that’s what I like to hear!” she exclaimed. It was too late for Grey to utter something out of his half-open mouth.
Kane didn’t seem phased. “This seems like a good time for introductions. This is Agent Grey, squad leader. Over here is Agent Green, his second in command. Their team will be the ones that join you on your trip to Yoruba. Take good care of them, please.”
“Good to meet you. Do you have names?” Mosa queried.
“I’m afraid you won’t be privy to their names for now. For their own safety, of course.” Kane declined the familiarity. It wasn’t going to win any favours with Mosa but it was worth it to keep the Spirit Division just a little bit safer.
Mosa did throw her nose up in the air at the response, but recovered rather quickly. “Very well. I do appreciate you and your lot joining in with the fun.”
Edith nodded. “It appears we’ve reached an arrangement that we are all happy with. That about does it for this meeting. If there’s anything else you would like to say, go ahead. Otherwise we can correspond at a later time. In the meantime, the Spirit Division here will see to your needs.”
Captain Mosa smacked her lips and looked everyone squarely in the eye. These North Blue folks sure were a shifty lot. At least compared to her usual brand of revolution. But there was nothing to complain about. She was getting a good deal here. Really, she didn’t know what to expect. She half expected to find no help at all in this northern sea. She would have gone ahead with the quest anyway. “Very well. Sounds like a plan. You have my den-den mushi line. I’ll be in contact after a week is up. Any troubles, gimme a ring.” With that, she darted over the side of the outcrop. The glint of a concealed firearm was the last thing that Jin saw as the foreign captain left. Funny, she hadn’t noticed that before.
Although the woman had a contrasting personality to Jin, she didn’t find her unpleasant. What she did feel, though, was something entirely different. Competition. Virginia now wanted to know exactly why this person was a leader in her organisation. Was her body strong? Was her mind sharp? How about her character? She was only a few years older than Jin, but she already held a position of command. Was that supposed to mean that she was superior in some way? There may come a time where Jin would judge this captain for herself.
Jin’s focus shifted back to the present, realising that her own captain had been calling her a couple of times. “Agent Green. Eyes on me, please.”
“Yes sir. Sorry, sir.”
“You’ve made a promise and set an expectation. You had best keep it.”
“Grey, you are in charge of the division and have the authority to see things out as you see fit. Also, just a word of advice to both of you. These are our allies, yes, but they are not us. It would be best to follow Captain Mosa’s command as long as it remains reasonable. You do have my blessing to act independently wherever you feel it is necessary. I want you to take care of yourself and each other before you help them.” Edith Kane’s eyes levelled with the two agents. They returned her eye contact. “We have done a lot of work to remain hidden in this Blue. As far as we can tell, no one is aware that there is even a Revolutionary Army aligned faction presiding in the North Blue. Let’s not throw away our hard work for a little treasure.”
Jin nodded. She could see how the new revolutionaries could prove problematic if they caused too much of a fuss. Their approach to the information of the appearance of the new island showed just how different the groups were. Kane was mainly surveying who was going where to see what would happen, all while remaining hidden. Mosa wanted to get in the thick of it and take her share of resources from the island. It seemed like a big risk to Jin. But Kane thought it worthwhile to involve herself. The captain was one person’s judgement that she did wholeheartedly trust.
Jin had just one more question. She pondered it aloud, hoping it would be answered by her superiors. “I have been so wrapped up with things here that I almost forgot about the wider picture of the Revolutionary Army. Would you mind telling me what you know?”
Edith Kane stood and walked over to the edge of the plateau, looking down on the rest of Chimney Island. “Of course.”
~Present Day~
She had spent the last three days travelling to and around the waters around Lvneel. And plonked right in front of her was an island that had no business being there. She really couldn’t see much out of the ordinary from this distance. They definitely didn’t want to go any closer in case they drew attention. Jin could only imagine the mind-bending realisation of the onlookers as they watched the sky fall. This wasn’t somewhere that they were going just yet. The mystery island from the sky would have to wait for another day. But soon, she would have her feet firmly on that foreign soil.
For now, Jin had the responsibility of living up to her promise to Captain Mosa. A boat. A base. Mining equipment. This is what she was after. If they couldn’t find any better places, they could always go for Lvneel itself. However that was not her first choice. The kingdom that resided there was strongly affiliated with the World Government.
‘Dirty pigs’ is what Agent Nikolaj ‘Red’ Kosak called them. He said that these sorts of kingdoms were made up of the worst people outside of the Celestial Dragons. “The World Government needs power structures like the Valkys Kingdom to prop them up and control the common folk. They are more than happy getting fat off of licking their master’s boot while watching that boot commit countless atrocities.” It was one of the rare subjects that Agent Red ever got serious about.
Agents Red, White and Yellow had already been in this area since the first information about Yoruba came through the pipeline. Helping gather information and act as leadership while on mission. Grey and Green joined them after the meeting, bringing with them the task of fulfilling Mosa’s wishlist. After consulting the others, Jin decided that there was one opportunity that was above all the other options. That opportunity lay with an organisation named the ‘Freeminers Collective’.
The work the others had done on the surrounding factions really was superb. Learning about the Freeminers was interesting to say the least. The conversation between Jin and Agent Sofia ‘White’ Fors went something like this:
Jin: “So these Freeminers.They are a mining company which have landed on a small outcrop of rock far off the coast of Yoruba. The rock outcrop also fell from the sky at the same time. This resulted in a miniature island about a kilometer squared. They have now set up shop there and are digging into the rock and prospecting it for riches. They are likely to have everything we need for our Yoruba mission. Am I correct so far?”
Sofia: “Yes.”
Jin: “And this Freeminers company are a particularly good target because they live outside the law. The owners have small bounties on their heads for a few small crimes. This means that they are unlikely to seek marine intervention and instead will probably have a fighting force on site.”
Sofia: “Correct.”
Jin: “So these guys are bandits who mine?”
Sofia: “I believe they call themselves ‘libertarian’.”
It wasn’t long before they were all en-route to confront the Freeminers. They had a reliable assessment of their force. There was no reason to wait. Jin could tell that Grey was uncomfortable with this brazen approach. After a conversation with Jin, he had agreed that this was the best way forward. Basically, Jin’s reasoning was that if he had reservations about her methods, he was probably in for a rude awakening when Captain Mosa assumed command. Now that was going to be a whole different deal. At least while they operated as the Spirit Division, they could rely on their highly developed protocol. It would be sooner, rather than later, that Grey would have to get used to chaos.
A few hours later, they neared the Freeminer Collective base. The sun was beginning to ease into its lazy slide behind the horizon, painting the sky and sea with warm hues. The sunlit the chunk of rock up as well, showing a rippled red and black colour. Although they were spies, there wasn’t much of a sneaky approach this time. They sailed ahead, right in view of the docks and a couple of ships that were attached. It was quite a remarkable setup. They had already constructed a sturdy wharf attached to the outcrop. It seemed to be doing the job, keeping their ships out of the swell of the otherwise open sea.
The second thing that Jin noticed were the boats. They did have masts for sails, but they also had cylinders which jutted out vertically. They looked similar to some pictures in the books she had read as a child. Project Frostbite had nurtured her young brain with a healthy dose of the sciences from all over the world. This did, in fact, look like a combustion-powered vessel. A steamboat, they had called it. Now that she thought of it, she had seen them once or twice come in and out of the Chimney Island harbour.
This was no time to let her thoughts wander. Upon reaching about one hundred metres out, a large booming voice echoed over the water. “This rock has been claimed by the Freeminers Collective! We are exercising our right to self govern and participate in the free market as we see fit! Keep out!” It was a little figure that perched on the end of the wharf. He had a metal cone device which amplified his voice.
Jin flexed her body, preparing herself for the confrontation. She called to the crew. “Take down the sails. Let us drift toward them. Get ready for battle but don’t make any sudden movement.” She stood on the bow, clearly in sight and then shouted. “We wish to make a deal!”
“No outside business is wanted! Leave or we will be forced to defend ourselves!” The man on the wharf answered. Behind him, a couple of guys wheeled out a large cannon, pointing it toward the revolutionary ship.
“Please do not fire! We have a lot to offer!”
“No deal is wanted! Off with you!”
Virginia stepped down from the bow. “Grey, take over for me. Delay them while I make my move.” Andre nodded and took her place. He began to shout out about how they were desperately in need of supplies, but the Collective was having none of it. Meanwhile, Jin moved to the back of the boat, taking a moment to take her headset off and put it inside the cabin. She would retrieve it later. Where she was going, she couldn’t take it.
Without a second thought, Jin stepped off the back of the boat. She took a big breath of air before plunging into the cool sea. She immediately began Moon Waltzing beneath the surface, propelling herself forward at extreme speed. Before long she arrived below the wharf. She changed direction, shooting straight up. Holding her elbow out in front of her, she smashed through the wood, the dock exploding into splinters.
The three men that stood on the edge didn’t have time to comprehend what had happened. The green-haired agent landed on what remained of the wharf, holding the man with the loudspeaker by the scruff of his collar. Spitting out a little seawater, Jin said; “Our deal is compulsory. Now, do you want to do business or not?”
The man looked at her with wide eyes. His head twitched from side to side, looking at what had just happened. The cannon along with the two men had fallen into the water. The rest of the Collective in the area were stunned at what had just happened. Finally, he found his voice. “Wh- what did you need?”
“I need everything. And I need you to leave.”
The stunned look only lasted for a few more seconds. “You’re going to rob us? After all the work we have done to live off the sweat of our own brow? We have too much pride in our lives as an independent collective. We will fight you with everything we have got!”
“That’s not a good idea. Especially for you.” She raised him off the ground.
He grinned and then raised his voice. “Men! Driveaway these bandits! We shall protect what we have, just like we have always done! Forget about me. I choose freedom over my life!” He wailed away in a very convincing call to arms. At that moment, Jin only thought about this guy’s strange motivations. He was a businessman, but he spouted rousing rhetoric like a politician. This Freeminers Collective seemed rather interesting.
Sure enough, two dozen or so employees found weapons around them. Some grabbed a stockpile of cutlasses, while some armed themselves with the makeshift weapons of pickaxes and crowbars. With the courage of the masses, they charged toward Jin. Not taking much notice, the agent tossed the person she was holding at them, knocking them over. “Alright. Let me try and sweeten the deal then.”
Some of the collective members ran toward their ship, boarding them and began readying the cannons to fire upon the new vessel. This came too late, however, as the other agents had arrived by shooting over with their own Moon Waltz. Striking out at the employees, they dispatched them one at a time. Yellow was delivering precise groin kicks to down the vulnerable males while Grey threw them one after the other into the sea below. Red was hopping from one head to the next, seemingly having great fun tap dancing on their skulls. White was cleaning up the rest by cutting off their escape paths.
“What the hell is going on here?” A voice bellowed out from the land. Jin looked over to see a large figure emerge from a hole that had been bored directly into the face of the rock. He was massive. A mass of muscle and sinew, wrapped in a tank top and seasoned with dirt from the mine. Over his shoulder he lugged a massive pickaxe. The thing must have been at least twenty kilos. It looked more like a ship’s anchor. By the description, he definitely looked like the leader of this collective.
He didn’t get to say much else before Jin was in front of him. The mountain of a man spoke up. “What the hell are you doing to my people?” His lip curled into a snarl. His voice grumbled like a distant thunderstorm.
“We are going to need all your stuff. Please leave. At least you will have your lives.”
“I fight off whatever comes to mess with me. Pirates or marines. You can fuck off.”
“Looks like negotiations have broken down.” Jin ended the conversation before Moon Waltzing toward him, readying a front kick. Just before she did though, she stopped her movement and pivoted away. A split second later, the pickaxe came down, right in the spot where she would have been. He had keen eyes to be able to react in the way he did. It looked like those dim mines weren’t a problem for him. Must be on a carrot heavy diet. He was also confident in his ability to tank her blow. He hadn’t moved, instead planning to trade hits. Jin would have lost that trade.
She next tried a feint side kick, spinning sideways as his meaty fist came across to smack her. She slipped his fist under her armpit to lock it in place, then utilised her superior speed to smack the elbow joint in the opposite direction. The elbow went snap, bending it in an unnatural direction.
However, what came next was unexpected. He roared, bearing through the pain. He grabbed her with his broken arm and wielded his massive pickaxe around the tool’s head. He raised it, intending to impale her. Agent Green’s eyes widened, realising that she was about to be done in. She needed to create space, quickly. With one open palm, she pushed against him. She summoned her strength and poured it all into one Tempest Push. The wall of air hit the man like a truck. It blasted them apart, throwing both bodies backward.
Jin struggled to her feet, coughing from being winded from the backlash of the close-range attack. The Collective leader, however, was in worse shape. He looked like he had just belly-flopped off a three-story building onto solid earth. His chest was caved in and blood flowed freely from every orifice. But still, he got to his feet. His bloody mouth spat out a few words. “This is my freedom.” He began plodding toward her. The determination really was admirable.
She recovered and spoke one last time to him. “I can feel for you. *pant* Having your own place in the world. *pant* Answering to no-one. That is a good way to live.” She rushed at him once more. This time, his reaction couldn’t match his keen eyes. Jin’s front kick connected with his chest, sending him over backward. His skull made contact with the rock and it was lights-out for him.
After seeing their proud leader being taken out, the rest of the Freeminers begrudgingly fell in line. They filed onto the revolutionary ship with just enough supplies to make it home. The miners carted their large boss onboard and left. Their freedom was fleeting. That was the rule of the seas. Only the strong get to choose how they live.
With the Collective gone, their base was now the property of the Revolutionary Army. They had a few buildings and a hole in the rock for storage, a couple of steamboats, mining equipment, and a whole lot of explosives. Virginia immediately made the call to base, which they then relayed to Captain Taylor Mosa. They now had everything they needed to begin their quest on the mysterious island of Yoruba.
An adventure lay on the horizon.
(note to mods: 1.5x NPC coin gain from trait. Also I want to try and unlock Tempest Push trait with this thread) /exit
