Jane jumped forward to try and grab Mordecai's leg, "Stop! We have to go now!" she glanced toward the Captain, and for the first time since seeing him, she began to worry about their escape.

Mordecai stopped, his head just below the edge of the deck. He wanted to know what was going on up there, he wanted to help the Captain... and he wanted to give those Patrolmen a piece of his mind. He looked back at Jane, and realized he was forgetting himself. He heaved a sigh as heavily as one might weigh anchor and dropped back into the lifeboat. He hunkered down and secured Carson, holding him gently but tight.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:19, Wed 25 Feb 2015.

Connor revved up the simple steering mechanism on the lifeboat, a small craft that could hardly be called buoyant, meant only to remove crew members from a failing ship and get them safely to the ground. Snapping to life a few small heat lanterns, he handed two of them to Jane, and pointed to the two nets full of bits of flight rock attached to the back of the craft, currently very cold and straining toward the sky.
"Start warming those up. We don't want to zip away once I detach us from the hull." He turned and started doing the same to the single net attached to the bow.

Meanwhile, Captain Knight was surveying his work with his hands on his hips, a little disappointed. Most of the crew had fled, slinking belowdecks or crawling under anything handy. A handful were warily approaching him, swords and clubs held in white knuckled grips. Shrugging his shoulders, Jackson missed his knives. A few flicks of his wrist would normally deal with these fellows just fine. He hadn't brought his cutlass to the 'negotiation' in the first place.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw no lifeboat in the sky. He gave a short sigh, then turned back, considering the men that approached. There were five, three with swords, two with cudgels. The ones with swords wielded the thin rapiers favored by the Patrol, and one even had a short dagger in his off-hand. The cudgels were fire-treated ironwood, the least naturally buoyant wood, and as if that weren't enough they were also studded with short metal spikes.
His next glance scoured deck around him. He found no discarded weapons. Another sigh.
"Well, gentlemen," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Think you can take on the spirit of Captain Jackson Knight? General Ribische thought so too. In case you didn't know, he's lying in a pool of his own blood. But his horrible death has not yet satisfied my need for revenge before I can pass on. I suppose you'll have to do."
That made them hesitate even more, but with glances back and forth, they still didn't turn and run.

Mordecai looked down at Carson, and at the horrible mess that used to be his arm, and realized he didn't know the first thing about how to take care of it. A little more anxious, Mordecai practically cradled Carson, hoping to jostle him as little as possible. He began to rap the bottom of the lifeboat with the butt of his axe in anticipation.

   Jane took the heat lamps and hurried to the back of the boat. With a lamp in each hand, she plunged her right and then her left into each of the flight rock nets. Not caring about the scrapes, she does her best to move the lamps through the rocks to heat them as quickly as possible.

Captain Jackson decided that dying twice in one day for his crew was acceptable. Glancing once more over his shoulder and seeing no lifeboat, he turned to engage the approaching assailants completely. Still hoping to scare them off, he raised both arms and stalked purposefully toward them, groaning and growling horrendously.
To his satisfaction, two of them fled, one with a sword and one with a cudgel. The others cringed, but came forward to meet him. Three were much better odds.

It seemed to take ages before the ropes gained some slack, the flight rocks now warm enough to sink a little. The sounds of fighting came from the deck above them, shouts and grunts and screams, weapons clanging.
Conner, after instructing Jane to stop heating and help Mordecai secure Carson, peeked over the railing. He saw Captain Jackson fighting against two men at once with a thin sword. One man lay dazed on the deck, bleeding from his mouth. Even as he watched, his Captain took a hit from a spiked cudgel; the bright red of his coat was wetly dark in several places now.
"He can't get to us," he whispered, but then he saw something that gave him hope. He turned and smiled at the siblings crouched below him. "The Cloudcutter. She's coming."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 19:29, Tue 10 Mar 2015.

Mordecai was so distracted he almost didn't hear Connor, and when he looked up and saw the Cloudcutter coming in he barely stifled a shout. As Jane started to get a hold of Carson Mordecai asked Connor "Can you see the Captain?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:02, Sat 14 Mar 2015.

   Jane wrapped her arms around Carson, holding his head against her cheek. Though she didn't see the Cloudcutter for herself, she felt a wave of relief rush through her like a soothing balm. Looking at Connor with hope in her eyes, she said in an excited whisper, "We need to get the Captain aboard."

Connor turned his face to address the siblings though did not take his eyes from the desperate fight. "He's fighting the Patrol. He's fighting two at once." He suddenly barked a hopeful laugh. "One! He's fighting one. Let's get cast off. Once he's finished that fella off we can pick him up."
Connor reached out to Mordecai for his axe. "Gimme that! I'll cut us loose!"

Captain Jackson stepped over the twitching body of the man he had just killed as he pressed the advantage of shock and fear against the other man. Unfortunately he recovered quickly and locked the Captain back into a stalemate of parry, thrust, parry, thrust. The cudgel-bearer was down, and just as well; that bothersome man had landed three hits, to his ribs, left thigh, and a glancing blow across his shoulders. All throbbed heavily. But not his many cuts from hits scored by the swordsman. Those stung like fire.
Jackson threw back his head and laughed wildly, half in the hope of unsettling his enemy, and half from the pain of life. Death was so much more quiet, comforting, painless. It was funny, if you thought about it.
He saw the Cloudcutter coming for him, and laughed harder with joy and thoughts of his bed in his snug cabin. It was unsettling his opponent, and the mistake the Captain was waiting for finally arrived. He twisted his blade around the other man's as he swung it wildly into a bad position, knocking it wide. He lunged forward and the thin blade slipped through ribs and punctured the heart. The other man looked at him with such chagrin that Captain Jackson almost smiled apologetically. All feelings of guilt vanished, however, when the falling man swiped at the Captain's legs, scoring a deep hit clear across the side of his right knee. The leg immediately crumpled.
With a strangled oath the Captain tumbled to the deck, thoroughly hamstrung.

Mordecai hesitated, he almost growled deep in his throat. He fingered his axe and looked at it, he'd never hand it over to anybody... but he felt Carson slumped against him and couldn't get up to do it himself. Come on, Mordecai thought to himself. This isn't some Patrol, this is Connor. You'll get it back. Grimacing to himself that he'd even had to think about this, he grudgingly tossed it to Connor.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:11, Wed 06 May 2015.

   Jane watched as her brother tossed his axe to Connor, her eyebrows raising in reaction to his action for a split second before her attention is drawn to the railing of the ship by their side. She wished she could do more, but holding Carson was what needed to be done, so she did it.

Connor deftly snatched the axe out of the air, and in the same motion, whirled and brought it down on the thick rope mooring them to the Maleficent. Immediately the flight rocks lifted them several feet, but because they were still warm not too much height was gained. Just enough that Connor could see the moment his Captain fell.
  "Captain Knight!" He almost leapt from the lifeboat onto the deck. Almost. But his responsibility to the three people in the boat with him, his crewmates, held him back. With a shouted oath, Connor slapped his hands at the simple controls and got them moving. "We've got to pick him up, somehow," he growled. "The Captain's injured," he shouted back to Jane and Mordecai, holding the axe out behind him so the brother could take it back. "We've got to... somehow, we've got to..."

Using the rapier as a crutch was no good. The blasted thing snapped under his weight and he was back where he started. Again, Jackson found himself wishing for his good sturdy cutlass. His other leg was just fine, but maneuvering with a useless leg that hurt like the dickens was no picnic. He was out in the open, nothing for him to grab to help him stand. There was one of the masts fairly nearby. If he could get to that and pull himself up, he could hop to the edge and fall into the lifeboat. With a growl at the indignity of it all, Captain Jackson started crawling, arm over arm, towards the black painted mast.

At the helm of the Cloudcutter, Raff pointed when he saw a flash of red on the dark decks of the Maleficent. "There he is!" and then Brax, leaning anxiously on the rail, his apron fluttering in the wind, pointed to a puttering little lifeboat that drifted into view from the other side of the enemy ship.
  "And there!" he cried, squinting. "Is that... is it Connor?"
  Alex bounded up beside him, the master gunner's single hazel eye sharper over distances than the cooks. "Aye," he growled. "With the other three behind him." A few feet away, manning one of the deck cannons, Gunny turned to look at his mentor, his usually rosy cheeks pale.
  "Why are they lying down?" he asked in a voice cracking with worry. His eyes were as sharp, if not sharper. "Do you think they're alright?" Alex glanced over at his apprentice, scratching around his eyepatch the way he did when he was worried. Then he grunted and shook his head, stepping away.

Mordecai saw the Captain crawling toward them, bloodied, and he saw also that there were more Patrol still on the deck. They were a distance from the Captain, but they must be getting over their fears by now; it didn't take a genius to see that Jackson was not invincible... even if he could be immortal. Mordecai was not watching his Captain die a second time. He began to rise, slowly shifting Carson more solidly onto Jane. "Have you got him?!" He said.

   Jane secured Carson in her arms, bracing a foot against the side of the boat to keep them as secure as possible. She nodded to her brother, "I've got him." She cradled her friends head against her shoulder, taking a moment to place her fingers against his neck and check his pulse. It was weak, but it was there.
   With her eyes on the scene before her, she began to whisper to Carson. Encouragement and assurances that everything would be alright. She didn't know if he could hear her, but it was something she could do, so she did it.

Mordecai stood, snatched the Hatchet from Connor's outstretched hand, and leapt over the side back onto the Maleficent. The moment his boots touched down on the deck he was sprinting. He was wasting no time getting to Jackson. "Captain!" Mordecai nearly shouted as he got close.

"Mordecai!" Connor's horrified shout chased him as he ran.

Captain Jackson looked up and saw him. "You fool boy!" he shouted, attempting to wave him back to the lifeboat.

Mordecai didn't slow down unti he reached the Captain, he dropped to a knee at Jackson's side and summoned his strength to get Jackson to his feet quickly. Mordecai tried to take the arm Jackson had been using to wave him away, and get his shoulder under him.

The Captain growled as he let the boy help him to his feet. "We will have words later, Mr. Lewin," he said darkly. But then his tone changed. "Having said that, thank you, and go faster."
His hurt leg would take no weight. He floundered and hopped as hard as he could, leaning heavily on Mordecai. Both his legs burned. His other thigh was bruised from a cudgel blow, and Jackson knew that if he fell, he would not get up again.

Connor slowly brought the lifeboat around again, trying to get is as close to the rail of the Maleficent as he could. He misjudged the distance though, and the rickety boat bumped sharply up against the other ship. Connor winced as he dove for the railing, his hands slapping onto it and keeping them from bouncing away, and turned to look behind him as Carson moaned into Jane's shoulder. "Hurry!" he called to the pair shambling towards him as his shoulders began to ache, and his fingers turned white from the strain of holding the little boat in place. "Hurry, Mordecai!"

Mordecai felt his feet pounding hard on the deck with every step he took to bring Jackson closer to the lifeboat, and the Captain's weight making every footfall heavier than the last. Despite the pounding in his ears and his chest he could hear shouts ahead of him and shouts behind. He could see Connor holding on to the rail ahead of him and saw the strain in his face. Mordecai pushed harder, and with a rising shout practically lifted Jackson off the deck entirely as he bounded over the rail.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:40, Mon 29 June 2015.

One of the shouts from behind came from one of the Patrolmen who had fled from the ghost of Captain Jackson. But he had hidden nearby, and watched the fight. It took him a while to catch on after being terrified by the ghost, and then the ghost's fighting prowess, but... ghosts didn't bleed. This ghost was leaking all over. The Patrolman finally decided to grow a backbone as the bulky youth helped the ghost to his feet. He snatched up a slender harpoon from a pile nearby, used to hunt large birds for food. There was no rope attached to it, but he was only doing this for show anyway. A few of his fellow Patrolmen were making shows of chasing as well.
So he roared, and hurled the steel harpoon like a spear.
Unfortunately, he had a good arm.
The flash of silver reflected in Connors eyes, and he had just started to look up at it when it struck.
Mordecai and the Captain had just leapt to get over the rail. Mordecai had the Captain's arm over his shoulder and his face was twisted with the strain of heaving the man into the air. The missile passed just under the Captain's arm, leaving a small cut.
It struck Mordecai in the side, passing between his ribs and puncturing his heart.
Jane's brother was dead before he hit the deck.

The Patrolman who threw it blinked in surprise, and glanced at his fellows to check if anyone else had seen. A few had, and were nodding in approval as the lifeboat streaked away. He allowed himself to swell up with pride. He would be getting a promotion out of this disaster. What a good shot!

In the tangle of arms and legs, it took everyone in the boat a moment to realize what had happened. Connor, afraid to look, concentrated on piloting the lifeboat in a beeline towards the Cloud Cutter. He had seen the harpoon fly. All he could do was get them home as fast as he could.
Captain Jackson was laughing breathlessly as he tried to rise under Mordecai's dead weight. "You... fool boy," he wheezed as he finally got an elbow under himself and pushed up. His smile vanished when he saw the film of death over Mordecai's eyes, the slackness in his face. The Captain swallowed, dread making his heart sink, blood draining from his face until he was once again as pale as death.
The boy was lying mostly on his front, as was the Captain, their legs bent up against the edge of the boat. The Captain reached out and put his hand on Mordecai's shoulder, pushing firmly but gently. Mordecai slowly rolled, revealing the short length of silver rod embedded in his side, at a downward angle. The very tip of it was protruding just below his breastbone. The Captain swallowed again. The angle... it must have destroyed the boy's heart. A little blood leaked from the wounds, but not much; no heart beat it from it's veins.
Captain Jackson looked up into Jane's blue eyes as his filled with tears.

   With a cold, frozen feeling sitting heavily in her chest, Jane looked at Jackson's expression and realization sent the world into muffled silence. She slowly tore her gaze from the Captains' and looked at her brothers' body, seeing him, but not seeing him at the same time. She couldn't hear the boat, and couldn't feel the wind. Still cradling Carson in her arms, she sat motionless with disbelief on her face.
   Jane looked back up at Jackson, tears running hot down her cheeks and her mouth partly open in a voiceless moan.

In moments, they were beside the Cloud Cutter. Crew members rushed forward, shouting with concern and relief, securing the little lifeboat to the side of the ship. Raff bellowed orders from the control deck as he piloted them away from the Patrol ship as quickly as possible. Hands reached out to help Connor, to gently lift Carson from Jane's grip, to guide them from the last vestige of their ordeal back home. After the others saw Mordecai's body and the tears of the Captain and Jane, a brittle silence fell.

The Captain refused all helping hands, and tried to lift the dead boy alone, but his wounded leg wouldn't even support his own weight. Gunny and Beau jerked forward when the Captain stumbled, Beau steadying him from the deck of the Cloud Cutter, and Gunny jumping into the lifeboat to help manage the body. Beau's dark eyes were locked on Mordecai's dead ones, a deep sadness in the lines of his face. Gunny's nose was already red and running, his eyes puffy and bloodshot as he sniffled. The Captain grudgingly allowed them to help.

Andrew and J.J. held Carson between them. Andrew's head was twitching, the tick in his neck almost making his whole body shiver with grief. J.J. just stared with his huge blue eyes, face almost blank. The Doctor hovered behind them, watery eyes flicking from Carson's arm to the Captain's many bleeding wounds, and occasionally to Mordecai's limp form.
Brax came running up and plucked Jane from the boat with his long, strong arms, and cradled her to him like a baby.
"Oh no," he moaned as he saw the others trying to help the Captain carry Mordecai's body out of the lifeboat. "Mordecai...

Wesley was standing in the doorway to below-decks, weeping silently. Dirk stood near him, a piece of rope turning over and over in his hands. His eyes were firmly on the deck; he didn't seem to really understand.

Alex was standing nearby, manning one of the small cannons in case the Maleficent decided to give chase. His eyepatch was facing them, but the set of his jaw betrayed his emotions.

   Jane held onto Brax with an iron grip and buried her face in his shirt as sobs racked her body. Helpless moans left her throat unbidden, and something in her chest stopped feeling.  She was barely aware of the deck swaying as the ship turned and stated to move. She closed her eyes and put her shaking hands over her ears, the image of Mordacai's lifeless body refusing to leave vision. Maybe she hadn't seen what she had thought she'd seen..
   She opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, looking for Mordacai with a fearful expression.

Gunny, Beau, and the Captain were just placing him on the deck. Captain Jackson stayed on his knees beside the boy, eyes lowered as silent tears dripped down his face. The doctor knelt on Mordecai's other side, reaching out to touch the exposed tip of the harpoon that killed him.
"There's nothing that could have been done," he whispered. "He died instantly." A deep sigh escaped him as his shoulders slumped. But he immediatly straightened, looking at the Captain. "But there is something that can be done for you sir, and for young Carson. Boys," he said, turning to Gunny and Beau. "Help the Captain to my quarters please."
Then he got up and collected Connor, who was standing in a daze, his various wounds crusted with dried blood. He shot Jane a concerned look, but left her with Brax and went to Andrew and J.J., telling them to hurry along and bring Carson too.
Wesley stepped up to Mordecai's body as the silent Captain was led away.
"Alright, lads," he said sadly, his hunched shoulders making him seem smaller than he was. "Let's move Mordecai somewhere where he will be comfortable until we can organize the funeral."