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Avast Me Hearties!; Danger Room Scenario #1
Topic Started: July 17, 2015, 10:02 pm (323 Views)
Jesse
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Character: Nightcrawler
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room



Earlier:
At 8AM Saturday Morning, a message was sent out to everyone’s phones and local emails.
The Email
 
From: Kurt Wagner {theamazingnightcrawler@Utopia.org}
To: Residents of Utopia
Subject: Danger Room Pirate Simulation at 11AM

Guten Morgen fair friends,

I am pleased to announce that our very own technical maestro, Herr Silvercloud, has developed a Danger Room scenario for our training and enjoyment. Specifically, in the Age of Sail, the SS Utopia is set upon by a Spanish Man o’ War on the Caribbean High Seas. With our vessels crippled by a massive barrage of cannon fire, our only hope is to board the enemy pirate vessel and seize it from those ruthless scalawags.

Costumes and weaponry will be provided by the Danger Room, not unlike in that Matrix movie. Jonathan informs me that the Danger Room will automatically gauge difficulty to challenge us individually. As I’m a practiced swordsman, my pirates will use more ruthless tactics than a pirate versus someone who’s never swung a sword before. That said, if enemy weaponry strikes you, it will hurt. The simulation is designed to give us a shock should we get hit, the intensity of the shock gauged by how ‘deadly’ the blow would have been. This training scenario is designed to train us for unstable surfaces, frenetic, chaotic melees, and facing superior numbers…

Oh, to be fair, I’m simply excited that we get to fight pirates on the high seas, as if we were characters in some of my favorite films. I think this should be wonderful fun!

I intend to run the simulation at 11 AM this morning. I invite all whom would like to walk and talk like a pirate to join me then.

Thank you,

Kurt





Now, 10:45 AM.

Within the Danger Room, Kurt paced to and fro, filled with all sorts of nervous energy. He had a computer generated fencing sabre in his left hand, and was casually twirling in a wide circle. The room itself was in a staging mode. There were racks of pirate-themed weapons along one wall. Swords, daggers, pistols, muskets, black power bombs, etc. Along another wall were pirate costumes and accessories, along with changing rooms. Beyond that, the place was pretty stark and featureless as it waited for people to stage and signify they were ready for the simulation to begin.

Nightcrawler had been here for the last hour, getting his costume just right. A bright red bandana circled his head, pulling back his unruly hair and hung down his neck, contrasting dramatically with his dark coloration. He wore a ragged, torn, blousy white shirt with a loose fitting open, dark brown vest. A pair of tight fitting tan shorts covered his legs down to the knee and he was bare from there down, save for an anklet made from gold and mother of pearl beads. A length of his tail, just before the barb, was wrapped like a boxer’s knuckles. He thought he looked appropriately scurvy. Sure, he should lose the shirt to be historically accurate, but he was a modest sort of fellow, even though covered in fur. He hoped people would come, have fun, and find some worth in the training scenario. He’d hate to think Forge put so much work into all of this simulation just so Kurt could play with himself.

Err… play pirates with himself. Not something else. Eww.



Tags: Open
Kurt’s Costume:
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Marc
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Character: Icarus
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room


Josh arrived at the Danger Room with about 10 minutes to spare, thanks to the speed with which his wings managed to carry him through the air, utilizing every available updraft to gain height and velocity. Only when he arrived at the new-fangled building that housed the training facility did he let himself drop back to the ground, hurrying the rest of the way on foot. Some terrain was just not cut out for even leisurely flying, and cramped corridors definitely belonged in that category.

Before him, the door to what had been dubbed the Holodeck by its creator, Forge (the man with the piratey peg-leg), opened at Josh’s approach and within, he caught sight of Kurt looking decked out amazingly accurate to how people tended to imagine pirates from having seen them on film. Josh had no idea whether it was historically accurate or really, accurate at all, but he didn’t much care. He just thought that Kurt looked adorably dashing and roguish in his chosen attire.

The skill with the fencing saber he displayed, the easy grace with which he wielded it, was a sight to behold, and Josh stopped, simply watching for a moment or two. Not wanting to startle his German friend, he waited until Kurt, in his prancing and slashing routine, was facing in the direction of the door again and only then called out “Howdy! Color me impressed, why don’t’cha! Ya got some amazin’ skills there. Dun tell me ya were a sword-swallower and knife thrower as well at yer circus?” Already they had been given a chance to observe Kurt’s skills at juggling, back at the party. It seemed that the other man had been an all-rounder talent for most of his life.

Stepping fully into the room, Josh went over to where the costumes were readied, going through to choose what he would wear for this High Sea Adventure. If Kurt would have him, that was. “Care t’ add some aerial fightin’ power t’ yer adventure? Or ain’t Ah a good fit fer what ya had in mind?” He looked over his shoulder, an easy grin in place. “If’n mah wings are likely t’ be more in th’ way than of any help, Ah can sit this’n out. Jus’ let me know.” No hard feelings either. He might just not fit the plans Kurt had for the adventure he had set up.

Should Kurt tell him to stick around though, Josh had his costume all picked out already. It wasn’t that hard, considering he was planning on leaving his chest bare to allow his wings best maneuverability. He knew that doing so exposed the one scar on his body usually hidden beneath his clothes, an ugly remnant of his grief and sorrow. Of his inner pain spilling to the surface. It was gnarled flesh, skin rising and dipping to follow the tissue that had not healed unmarred, leaving behind a spider-web of cracked skin and oddly-knitted flesh. He was done hiding it though. It was a part of who he was, and while he had kept it covered up around the young’ins to spare them and Ma the pain of having to see where he had raised his hand against himself again and again and again, he did not feel a compulsion to keep it covered up here.

Black, ankle-length pants with wide cuffs, upturned to stand out over the laced-up boots, were cut from a flowing soft fabric. A narrow red sash, complementing his fiery red wings stood in for a belt, tied at the side, the loose ends dangling down his long leg. He held up the clothes. “So, what’cha sayin’? Should Ah get changed?” Should Kurt give his agreement, it would take Josh only a minute or two to duck into one of the provided changing rooms and re-emerge dressed about as piratey as he could envision himself. “Ah dun think Ah should try’n speak like a pirate too though.” He chuckled at the thought. “Combine th’ ARR with mah natural drawl an’ ya might end up with a pirate no one’s ever gonna understand.”


Tags: Nightcrawler, open
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Edited by Marc, July 19, 2015, 7:57 am.
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Jesse
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Character: Nightcrawler
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room



Relief flooded Kurt when someone showed up to take part in the exercise. Sure, there'd only been three hours of notice and who knew what people had planned on the island, but he was legitimately concerned that he was the only person interested in this sort of thing and had wasted Forge's time on a bit of nonsense. Sure, it was super awesome nonsense, but ultimately, he was using a huge, vastly expensive collection of cutting age technology to play Dread Pirate Roberts. Playing it with others added a thin veneer of legitimacy to the proceeding that as one of the council members, he should strive for.

"What sort of pirate simulation would we be without room for some exotic bird of paradise, eh?" Kurt answered Josh's questions with a smile that threatened to split his head in twain. Many people would find Nightcrawler's jagged toothed visage disconcerting, but he was trying to be more himself and felt more comfortable with Josh than some others on the island. "Jonathan and I tweaked the firearm protocols slightly, making flintlocks faster to reload and more accurate over distances, largely to give a bit of a challenge to all the flying folks we have on the island." Kurt paused, looked to the control room, then back to Josh, "Ok... Jonathan tweaked them, I just said, 'How do we make things better for flyers?' He made it happen. I'm fairly certain he's a sorcerer of the information age, for what he does with all this technology is magic."

Watching as his friend walked over to pick out an outfit, Kurt considered what sort of weapon Josh should carry. A brace of pistols, certainly, but reloading them would be difficult in flight. A couple of black powder bombs would make for good, effective bombing runs... but a sword. Hmm. The wings, while impressive, could be a hindrance in a duel, obstructing peripheral vision, getting caught on things, perhaps hindering the fluidity of his movements on the ground. Of course, Josh could fight with his wings. Perhaps he didn't need a blade at all. It's not like he'd be carrying a sword onto missions. Ultimately, Kurt decided that he would only make suggestions if asked. Josh would almost certainly know what he wanted.

When the angel had finished changing, Kurt whistled as the barechested man walked out of the dressing area. "Mein Gott. If all else fails, your beauty should be enough to blind our assailants, Herr Guthrie." He smiled, although Josh could likely feel his gaze move to the scar on his chest and mark it for later reference. "I should add a picture of you in my advertisements for these training sessions. I suspect it would increase attendance dramatically."



Tags: Icarus, Open
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Zeke
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Administrator
Character: Forge
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Danger Room



"It probably would. The vast majority of people here seem to be into guys." Forge said as he seemingly stepped out of the shadows of the room. He was hardly recognizable as Forge. A weather worn, knee length captain's jacked shrouded most of his body. Under that was a nearly white flowing shirt held close to his chest by a bandleader full of paper wrapped ammunition bundles. Striped pants of faded red and brown ended in a black boot on one foot at a wooden peg leg where his cybernetic limb normally was. Instead of his normally neat goatee, his face was mostly hidden by a thick and bushy black beard accented by a few braids clasped with silver bands. Atop his head rested a large trifold hat. The final piece of the cliche was a parrot resting on his shoulder.

"Josh, glad you came. It would have been very boring just Kurt and me against the computer." He patted the winged mutant on she shoulder and then selected a saber from the weapon wrack behind him and tied the sheath into his belt.

"All the preparations for the simulation should be complete. I might need to make some adjustments based on who shows up, but that shouldn't take long.

He was excited, so much so that he was practically vibrating with anticipation. This would be the first large scale use of his hardlight technology. He's build a smaller chamber as a proof of concept. It had made textures correctly and by moving under him, had allowed him to walk through simulations for a seemingly endless distance, but that chamber had been a hemisphere with a radius of 8 feet. This room was much larger, a radius of 150 feet and could accommodate several people spread out.

To be honest, he wasn't sure if the room would be able to handle Josh flying at full speed. It could keep a human or mutant running at full speed from reaching the outside edge, but he wasn't sure that it would be able to do the same thing to a flyer without making them feel like they were being pushed around by a tornado. Well, they would know in a few minutes if that was the case or not.

The parrot on his shoulder squawked and then started talking. It sounded like a parrot voice, but was decidedly more feminine than the one used in movies. "Squawk! The final render is complete. Squawk! Lisa want a cracker." Forge pulled a piece of hard bread out of a pocket and held it up for the bird to pick at.

"Any questions about the simulation or the holodeck?"



Tags: Icarus, Nightcrawler, Open
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Marc
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Character: Icarus
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room


When Kurt greeted him with a beaming smile and the reassurance that flyers too would be welcome, Josh couldn’t help but smile back, almost as beamingly. Not long ago, he had sat high up in a tree, his mind pondering the conversation he had shared with just that very man, and how it had affected them both. To see Kurt in such high spirits now felt like a balm to his healing heart for he hoped that at least a small drop of the happiness Kurt was displaying had been caused by Josh himself. By the words he had found.

Willing himself to take the matter at face-value alone for now, not reaching out from one big mess to the other big mess they both were deep inside still (and would be for a long time to come!), he let a chuckle fall from his lips at being called a bird of paradise. “Ain’t much exotic ‘bout this here homespun country boy.” he contested with a lopsided grin. And there really wasn’t. He was just a down-home country bumpkin with the drawl to match. “If’n yer lookin’ fer exotic an’ special, ya really ain’t gotta look no further than yerself.” His smile was open, honest. He found Kurt intriguing and, well, yes, exotic. But not in a bad way. Just in the kind of way that made him all the more interested to get to know the other man.

He did have to ponder for a moment who this ‘Jonathan’ might be but eventually realized that it would have to be the man who had introduced himself as Forge. The same man who had created all the necessary soft- and hardware for this simulation room they were currently standing in. “All them flyin’ folks, huh?” Josh chuckled. “There ain’t a whole lot, Ah dun think. But Ah thank ya greatly fer takin’ special measure t’ ensure Ah ain’t goin’ without danger or challenge.” And he loved the thought – challenging himself, challenging his abilities, putting to the test the limitations of what his wings could manage when he was being shot at or had to dive down from up high.

“Now dun go puttin’ down yer own contribution to this here adventure none!” he chided Kurt when the blue-furred man insisted on ladling all the praise and glory Forge’s way. “Without yer provision of idea an’ scenario, Ah dun think Forge’d pried hisself loose from his projects fer long enough t’ put this simulation t’gether!” Word on the little idiosyncrasies of all the island’s inhabitants traveled quickly down the grapevine, and for Forge, the word was ‘workaholic’. “He sure might be a sorcerer where them computers are concerned though. Already, Ah can see that he’s goin’ fer big in here.”

He had just been about to ask Kurt for suggestions regarding any sort of weaponry the other man might suggest to bring to this adventure when his words cut off before he could utter them and he faltered, mouth still open but remaining silent.

In his life-time, he had been called many things. A lot of them good ones, like son or brother or friend. Plenty of them bad ones, like loser or sissy or misfit. Beautiful .. well. Closest he had gotten was being called ‘pretty-boy’, and it hadn’t been in a good way. It fell right alongside sissy or fag or fairy, and those were only the less imaginative naming variations he’d heard. It was amazing how creative guys who could hardly string so much as a sentence together in English class could suddenly get when they were let free to roam the schoolyard in their natural territory as bullies of those they considered weak enough prey.

A blush tinged his cheeks the same red he wore on his wings, and he shrugged awkwardly. “Ah .. dun think ..” And then, he noticed Kurt’s gaze moving towards the scar and he froze. What would the other man have to say about this? It sure as hell wasn’t beautiful – it was prominent and ugly and showed him for the coward he was inside. Except .. Kurt moved right past it, not even doing so much as inquiring politely. Going on to simply once again come back to how his perception of .. To how he thought Josh was .. To a statement that underlined that he considered Josh to be .. Josh blinked, the blush creeping from his cheek-bones down to cover his entire body, rendering the scar-tissue all the more visible by starkly contrasting its gnarled, untinged shade to the pink hot glow all around it. He swallowed. “Ah dun .. think no one’s gonna wanna see me on no advertisements.” He forced a chuckle. “Ya dun wanna scare no one away an’..”

Except Forge, all decked out in pirate attire, approached and chimed in. Agreeing to Kurt’s assessment. Josh merely shook his head, trying to not let praise from both sides go to his head. “Ya dun know what yer talkin’ ‘bout.” he eventually decided, mumbled from between his teeth and under his breath. Though he did offer Forge a smile when the older man patted his shoulder congenially. “Ah heard all ‘bout yer magic with the room set-up.”

While Forge changed a few last settings, Josh turned towards Kurt. “What kinda weaponry would ya suggest fer me? Ah ain’t seen many pirate movies, growin’ up, mostly cowboy ones instead, so Ah ain’t very familiar with th’ possible choice Ah got fer authenticity.”

The Lisa-parrot on Forge’s shoulder announced that the program was ready, and Josh couldn’t help the giddy grin that spread across his features. This should be a whole lot of fun. It would be interesting to see how the holodeck worked. “Ah dun have enough knowledge t’ have no questions.” he admitted sheepishly. Excited? Yes. Knowledgeable? Definitely not. “Ah’m gonna leave that in yer capable hands!”


Tags: Nightcrawler, Forge, open
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Jesse
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Character: Nightcrawler
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room

________________________________________

The blue furred mutant with digitigrade legs, a prehensile tail, who regularly imploded into clouds of brimstone was familiar enough with self-loathing to recognize it in another. Self-loathing was irrational, powerful, and something that developed over time. Josh’s scar was an outward hint at the turmoil roiling underneath his otherwise perfect skin. The man was beautiful. To Kurt’s eye, that was as close to an objective fact as one could get with such a subjective topic. His features were just symmetrical enough without triggering the Uncanny Valley. While he’d lost some muscle tone from his captivity, it was returning, and what there already was, many men would kill for. Josh even had good hair.

Were Kurt a lesser man, he might envy his friend’s good looks. He might even take a bit of sadistic joy in Josh’s embarrassed discomfort at the compliments. He certainly wouldn’t notice how that damnable blush made the winged mutant even more attractive.

Thankfully, Forge’s arrival help break up the moment and gave Kurt a moment to mutter under his breath, “Einfach tief einatmen.”*

Having taken a brief moment to shake away negative thoughts and take a deep, centering breath, Kurt snapped to attention and saluted the captain, standing on his tiptoes with even his tail pointing straight up into the air like a barbed pike at his back. “Ahh, Kapitan Silvercloud. It is a pleasure to be serving aboard your vessel, sir.” He relaxed and openly looked Forge up and down. “Clearly, I need to step up my costuming game for the next time. You both are magnificent.”

“Ahhh yes, weapons!” Kurt whirled with a flourish toward the wall of prop weapons, clapping his hands before him and rubbing them together as he strode up and down the wall, humming thoughtfully. “Pistols are good for a volley, but if you’re flying around quickly, they’ll lose their powder charge or fall out of your belt. A sword is a serviceable weapon, but is best on the ground. For an aerial assault you want something with… Ahh ha!”

He grabbed two different weapons, vanished in a puff of smoke, then reappeared in front of Josh with a BAMPH! “This first weapon is a solid, practical sort of weapon, commonly used in nautical warfare, even if you don’t see it much in the films. A Boarding Axe!” He held it forward, “Two and a half foot shaft, spike on one end, axe head on the other. Good for cutting rope or smacking rival pirates. Not as defensive as a sword, but more punishing.”

“Alternately, this wasn’t often used as a weapon, but is a vital piece of any shipboard kit. A Gaff Hook! 4 foot long wooden shaft ending in a large, sharp, yet strong hook. Commonly used to snag ropes or pull fish aboard, the reach this weapon would afford you seems handy for a flyer, and it doesn’t weigh much more than an axe.” He offered each of them forward, “Grab one and maybe tuck a sword into your belt, and I think you’ll be ready to throw down with some scurvy do….”

Kurt was interrupted by the parrot… the talking parrot. His eyes wouldn’t have been wider if the holy mother herself had just appeared on Forge’s shoulder. “It… it talks.” He looked to Josh, then pointed to the parrot. “It talks. Did you hear that?” He leapt into the air, did a full 360 degree turn and landed easily on his feet. “Even the parrot talks! This is the best day ever!”

“Let’s do this thing, my friends. If anyone turns up late, they can appear in the ship’s hold, grab some weapons, and come up to just us in the fray. And if it’s just us three, then, by God, we will show our enemies what for!” He drew his blade and held it up into the air, posing for a moment, before blinking and looking at the other two men. “That was a bit much, yes? A bit over the top?”

________________________________________

Tags: Forge, Icarus, Open

* 'Just take a deep breath.'
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Jesse
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Character: Danger Room
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room

________________________________________

Once Josh had a chance to select his weaponry, it was time to play a game. The simulation was activated and a certain parrot began a countdown in a lovely, feminine voice as massive cerulean numbers flashed in the air.

10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1

The world dissolved into flurry of light. Jagged points of color, slashes of brightness. Their new world wasn’t built gradually, but rather came crashing down upon them as all those random bits of light snapped together, forming something new and wondrous.

The salty air was thick with smoke, both the earthy scent of burning wood and the acrid smell of spent powder. Cries of the wounded and shouts of anger made it hard to hear the water lapping against the ship’s hull, but they could feel the ship’s gentle to and fro swaying underneath their feet. Their ship, a agile cutter, was agile no more. There were a half dozen fires across the hull, many crew members were injured, the sails were savaged and burning and the hull had been punctured by numerous cannon shots. They were taking on water and things were not looking good.

Their woes had been laid upon them by the massive Spanish Man-o-War pulling up alongside them. The Spanish privateers would board their vessel, finish off survivors, plunder what loot might be had, then escape back to their ship and sail off into the night. At least, that was their plan.

They’d picked the wrong ship if they were looking for an easy target.

Forge was in the cutter’s aft castle, hands on the S.S. Utopia’s wheel. As the captain of this here vessel, the holographic sailors under his command would follow his orders. Not far from the wheel was a swivel gun he could use to fire upon the enemy, although the Man-o-War was much taller than the cutter, so he did not have a fabulous view of the enemy deck.

Icarus was in the crow’s nest and had a marvelous view of the enemy vessel and just how many more Spaniards there were than Utopians. There were a pair of muskets in the crow’s nest, primed and ready to fire.

Nightcrawler was balanced precariously on the mast’s crossbeam, his bare toes curling around the rounded wood reflexively. His position was elevated enough that were he to run and leap, he could make it to the enemy vessel without too much trouble.

Enemy pirates began shouting for surrender as they aimed muskets at the Utopians. It was much easier to pirate when your targets didn’t fight back.

________________________________________

Tags: Forge, Icarus, Open
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Marc
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Character: Icarus
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room


Josh’s blush intensified a smidge more when he realized that Kurt was looking at him. Like .. really looking at him. Not that he’d call it checking him out but .. well .. err .. uhm .. Josh’s brain faltered and stumbled a bit, his mind occupied with the blush that was doing some serious work on his usually so fair and pale skin-tone. He had to look like a tomato grown in a field near a nuclear powerplant by now – all glowing red and shiny!

He heard the words Kurt uttered, likely in his native tongue (as to Josh’s ears, it sounded somewhat like Ayn fuck teef ayn aht men. which either showed that Kurt had lost his marbles or was not meant to be understood by an English-speaker at all), and wondered what they might mean. Did they have anything to do with the scrutiny Kurt was putting Josh under?

Shaking his head to let his long hair fall forward, shielding him a bit from the intensity of the other man’s gaze, he wondered again what Kurt was seeing. If he was finding fault. If he would find fault if he knew more about Josh. Knew of the reason for the scar. Knew of the deception Julia had helped him uphold. Knew more about the facets Josh hid away on a regular basis. There weren’t many Catholics in the region where Josh had grown up, what with the area being more of a Protestant strong-hold with roots going all the way back to wandering preachers and the quacks that accompanied them. But there were a few, enough for Josh to know a little bit about the doctrine the flock was supposed to follow. He sighed, touching a hand to the scar that marred his chest. How much could Kurt know about him without finding enough fault to turn away from him?

Weapons. Weapons? Ah, yes. Weapons. He had inquired about what to potentially carry around as a pirate. Kurt explanations were sound, as were the two suggestions he had to offer. An axe or a hook. He liked the axe, and with it, he could at least honestly say that he had swung one before while working on the farm. Fire wood for the winter didn’t cut itself.

“Ah’m gonna take two of ‘em axes. They are small enough t’ carry ‘round an’ familiar enough t’ not let me slice of mah own leg in a foul swing.” he chuckled. Adopting two small axes and placing one into a loop of his belt that clasped over it and held it securely in place, he gave Kurt and Forge the thumbs-up to let them know he was good to go. He might not know how to throw down with some scurvy do nor be completely certain what a scurvy do even was, but as it sounded unsanitary and uncouth, his guess was that such might be the enemy pirates and the time to clash was nigh.

First though, he had to swallow a laugh (well, a giggle, really) at the overexcited way Kurt was reacting to the parrot. Ok .. now that? Was cute as all get-out, and he was not talking about the parrot either.

His blush wanted to come back at that thought and he valiantly battled it, almost missing the appropriate moment to physically declare his readiness for some throwing-downage but eventually, he raised the axe he was holding on to in his hand so that his blade met Kurt’s high up in the air. “To a good what-for!” he exclaimed, giving Kurt a cheeky grin that totally said ‘naeh, you are golden!’ when the other mutant asked if his reaction to Lisa-parrot had been a bit much.

The smirk turned into a face filled with concentration as Lisa-bird began counting down the seconds for the adventure to start. Once 0 was reached, a flurry of light shot through the room, aligning and dancing and building until they were .. on .. a .. pirate ship. A real ..

“Wow.” he breathed. There was scent and motion and sound and everything so very real that he could have sworn that he was on a real ship, in a real ocean, going about his day doing ship-py things. Like trying to hold on to his breakfast and not stumbling as the waves rolled. Into the fires that burned. Uhoh .. fire. On a ship. With no place to go. That was never a good thing.

He was standing high above all that was going on around him, as look-out in the crow’s nest. He saw Forge on the deck below, while Kurt .. Kurt was doing an insane thing with his agility and his .. “Wow.” Josh breathed again. But now, he was in danger, as were they all. The crew of the Man-o-War was readying to launch an attack, something Josh didn’t want for Kurt to get injured in.

“Muskets!” he called out, and then “Incoming fire! Watch out below.” With that, he grabbed a hold of one of the muskets that he had been provided with. “Surrender?” he yelled back at the enemies. “We dun’ even know what that there word means!” And with that, he brought up a musket, aimed it and fired! He’d take to the air in a moment, finding the way the ship moved underneath him somewhat disconcerting but for now, he wanted to make sure the other Utopians were aware of the danger they were in.


Tags: Forge indirectly, Nightcrawler
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Zeke
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Administrator
Character: Forge
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Danger Room



Forge couldn't help but smile as Kurt geeked out over his Lisa parrot. It hadn't taken much to get her to go along with the scenario and to function as his liaison to the program since the Danger Room AI was still in need of a personality. He was giddy and took in a deep breath as the countdown reached zero. All at once the room shifted to the ship and took full effect. He gaped the result. He knew he should have expected it, but the effect of the fully rendered and running program caught him emotionally. It was the culmination of years of work and his crowning achievement besides Lisa.

His sentimental moment wouldn't last long because the simulation was already pushing action and the invading pirates were calling for surrender. Forge glanced up at the mast and saw Kurt on his beam and Josh in the nest. He knew they weren't really that far away from him, that it was all forced perspective by the room, but he'd be damned if it didn't look and sound like they were actually that far away.

"Aye!" Forge called out after Josh's ascertain that they wouldn't surrender. "We'll fight to the last man before we give out ship up to a bunch of dirty rats like you." He pulled out a saber and stood at the top step down from the castle. "Men, keep them from getting aboard this ship. Take cover until they fire their guns, then Fuzzy and Feathers press an attack with Snotty and Four-Teeth. Everyone else set up a defensive line." Forge turned and nodded at his first mate, Clayden, who took hold of the wheel for him. With a fine wooden clopping, Forge sped down the stairs and took up a defensive position with the rest of the crew, using a barrel for cover. "You catch that up there boys?" He called up to Josh and Kurt.

Part of him was hungering for combat, to feel the sting of their simulated blades if he missed a parry. The other part, one he kept buried most of the time, remembered actual combat and the horror and stress of being in actual life threatening situations. The two parts clashed, but the overall sensation was more positive than negative and it reminded Forge just how much he missed when he spent all his time in the lab. Of course the one real world excursion he had taken out had led to him being electrocuted and Yoyo shot, so he would be sticking with simulations as a source of adventure for a while.



Tags: Nightcrawler, Icarus
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Jesse
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Character: Danger Room
Date: March 13
Time: Before Lunch
Place: Utopia Danger Room



"Oh mein Gott..." Kurt exclaimed in wonder as he gazed wide eyed at the world around them. This was madness. Pure madness. The rational part of his mind couldn't conceive of how this was possible. The salt in the air, they sway of the boat, the feel of wood under his toes. It felt so real, but it couldn't be. If this room could perform these miracles, maybe there was hope for mutants like himself and Callie. Some sort of technological marvel that would allow them to walk unnoticed among the humans without causing a stir.

In a perfect world, there would be no need for such things, but they didn't live in that world. At least, not yet.

Spanish privateers called for surrender, brandishing longarms as if daring the Utopians to give them an excuse. Josh shouted warning while the captain gave orders. "Aya, aye, my captain!" Kurt shouted in return before turning to face the muskets once more. "My apologies gentleman. The captain has ordered we fight to the last. But, being a good sport, I will allow each of you one shot before I come up there." Steel sang a song of leather and battle as his cutlass was pulled from it's sheath. "On three, yes? One..."

The musketeers fired, creating a veritable eruption of fire, smoke, and lead. When the smoke cleared, Kurt was gone, leaving only a splintered beam of wood and a whiff of brimstone in his wake.

One of the gunners blinked and looked around for the mutant, only to feel a tap on his shoulder. As he turned, the basket hilt of Kurt's cutlass smashed into the side of his chin, dropping him to the deck like a felled steer. "Is there no naval honor anymore?" He bared his teeth with a hiss at the other gunners, "Now you face the wrath of Fuzzy! En garde!"

Kurt Wagner was a whirling dervish of activity, keeping his teleportation tight and focused to give Forge's simulation time to adjust. He could feel how the room was trying to warp his perceptions, guide him where he needed to be and away from the walls. For the most part, he was careful not to teleport more than a couple of paces at a time, spending most of his time fencing with the enemy pirates and sticking to the ship's deck. He was a masterful, if theatrical swordsman, showy but effective.

Most importantly, he was having fun. It wasn't even about showing off or performing. He just wanted to be a pirate, and Forge had given him the opportunity.



Tags: Icarus, Forge
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