"Keep your wits about you, and remember to never pick a fight with Skakdi. Mata Nui be with you."
These were the last words Turaga Koeti said before waving goodbye. The cargo vessel set off for the island of Rangi Motu shortly thereafter. The docks were usually busy with Matoran unloading resources from incoming ships, but on the day of departure only a single vessel had someone behind the wheel, and only a skeleton crew was still at work. Apart from this handful of Matoran, the Turaga was alone on the docks. His dark gray Miru - usually wearing a jolly smile - looked almost mournful as they left. The Turaga of Earth kept watch over the ship as it grew ever more distant, before finally turning back towards his home village. From this point on, he knew he could not offer them any help. Instead, he trusted them to keep watch over each other.
With the small ship propelled forwards by an efficient water pump engine, the course was kept steady and the voyage went by at decent speed. It was a nice and seaworthy vessel, but had no commodities beyond a place to sit down. For the five Matoran aboard, the limited space and the pump's droning tock-tock-tock noise gave them the impression that the journey would be long and boring.
As the island's silhouette became visible through the thin mist surrounding it, however, the weather took a turn for the worse. The sea suddenly got rough, with waves several meters tall lifting the ship high before dropping it down, and heavy rain was bearing down on deck. The dome protecting the one behind the wheel from the elements was covered in running water, reducing sight ahead to a blur. Only the flash of lightning would occasionally give enough contrast to spot the shoreline ahead. Huddled together in the room below deck, four other Matoran could do nothing but wait out the storm. The floor rose and sunk with the waves, and occasionally the crack of thunder could be heard through the hull.
Then, calamity. While drawing near the shores of Ranga Motu, the vessel suddenly struck the sharps rocks of a reef concealed by the sea. A meter-wide gash was torn in the metal below the waterline, and the ocean began pouring in. Even with barely a kio left till landing safely, the journey looked like it might end prematurely at the bottom of the sea. Luckily, the boat had enough speed and bouancy to reach the shoreline. With no time for a proper landing, it soon ran aground on a beach, with the loose sand plugging the hole and preventing any more water from getting in. The Matoran on board found themselves up to their waist in water, but otherwise safe.
Rain was still pattering down on the dome protecting the boat's driver from the weather, making it hard to see much else than sand, water, and what appeared to be lush jungle ahead. Through the blur of the rain, something large and silvery-white appeared to be moving slowly around the beach on four legs.
The boat is stuck, but you can tell that you've reached your destination. What do you do?
One of you took the wheel. Who was it? You've kept your feet dry for now, and have a view of the outside.
The rest of you are below deck, with water splashing around you. If you exit the ship, there is currently heavy rain and strong wind. Below deck you are shielded from the weather.
Info about the boat:
- The wheel is a pair of handlebars that can be rotated left and right, with a solid lever for controlling speed and a switch for dropping and raising the anchor of the ship.
- The controls have a seat with space for a single being, and are sheltered from the elements by a transparent dome.
- In the space next to the seat is a hatch with a ladder leading down below deck.
- Behind the control room is a flat deck with simple railing and little else. It has its own ladder leading below deck as well.
- The boat could comfortably fit six of you below deck, though if you had another person it would have felt a bit cramped with all the gear your brought.
- The seats are in the back next to the engine, while near the front there's a storage crate and the two ladders side by side.