Year 537

"Ah, there's nothing better than when a plan comes together! Your actions of stirring up the orcs have been paying off and I've finally managed to get the public to become in favor of a strong army and your training has been producing much tougher and disciplined soldiers to create that stronger army." Quintus remarks to you while he sips his wine.
"I'm certainly glad someone you finally found someone more competent than yourself. Makes all your years of failure totally worth it." Quintus' wife Nalia remarks in a bored tone lying on a couch. She's already on her second bottle of wine and it's not even the afternoon yet.

While Quintus dismisses his wife's usual emasculating remarks, you're wondering why you're here when you could be doing something more important to keep this plan in motion because its nowhere near coming together like Quintus seems to think it is. The orcs haven't even made a major attack yet. They've just been harassing a few patrols, but it's just as well since you're still trying to whip the paltry number of spirited soldiers you do have into shape so that they the orcs do attack they'll be ready for them.

You can't really complain, because you are doing something you're familiar with and good at, but the main thing that's been nagging at you is Quintus himself. You don't respect him and it's starting to become a problem sometimes.

It's not anything he's done to you either. He's practically bent over backwards to accommodate you in anyway he can. You wondered at first if it's his overly smarmy demeanor with you which at times seems fake, but that isn't it. Part of that is that he's a politician and he probably can't help but be that way as part of his personality, not to mention you've become quite a good judge of character and you believe his admiration for you is genuine.

Regardless of what his wife claims, Quintus is extremely ambitious and a hard worker which you can appreciate. He's just been hampered by the social and political climate. If he'd been born during the time of the Empire, he would've fit right in. Might've even been one of the Emperor's advisors.

Despite all this, you've been developing an increasing lack of respect for the man. Not to the point that you're ready to kill him or anything, but taking orders from him has got you questioning why? Of course you know the reasons why, because the republic is still a pussy whipped place that has long since abandoned the ideals of people like yourself and trying to take power like a strong man would ultimately only result in chaos and collapse. Ironically, you'd probably be more at home in one of the city-states in Arat where they still favor a single ruler.

What it all comes down to you think is Quintus' family. Something about Quintus' lack of admiration from his own family bothers you. If he can't reach the people that are supposed to be closest to him, how the hell can you respect him? Gets harder to when you have to be subjected to these meetings and see his family walk over him first hand. They all either criticize him or belittle him even though he's been trying to make life better for them.

His wife is a slothful alcoholic that has never a word of encouragement for him. She looks much older than she actually is mainly due to hitting the bottle so much. She's never truly addressed you directly, but her attitude seems apathetic at best.

His teenage daughter Yollanda is a red headed trollop that routinely sleeps with the sons of his senate rivals and in some cases the rivals themselves. And those are the "classier" encounters. Quintus once complained that if there was a good purpose for her bed hopping like say for gathering important information on his enemies it could be acceptable, but she has no higher purpose other than the pleasure of her girl parts. You try to stay away from her as her outright sexual advances that's she's made towards you in the past is a complication you don't desire or need. Makes Jennifer's obvious minor crush on you downright subtle by comparison.

Then there's his younger son Gelo who is an idiot. Not in the traditional sense that he does stupid things without thinking them through, no he's a dyed in the wool, born and bred moron. You imagine that his mother might've drank while she was carrying him, but who knows? By and large he's harmless, but extremely annoying. He yells a lot, breaks things and is generally obnoxious mainly because he doesn't even have a stable structure to mold him into something at least somewhat useful. You don't understand why he wasn't killed at birth. Such defective babies were usually either put to death by the family or at least sold into slavery so that they could be productive to the Empire on a minor level. It was a good policy. The only positive thing is he seems to be afraid of you and thus stays away (Often screaming his head off and runs away if you're ever in the same room.)

And that's just Quintus' immediate family, it's not even counting the other in laws and extended family that basically mooch off of him. For a man that has ruthless ideals he's a doormat when it comes to his family. Fortunately for Quintus, he seems to have a lot more luck with the general population and has been getting more support just like he's been bragging about lately. If you were Quintus, you might crave the respect of strangers as well.

"Quintus, why am I here? I'd like to get back to my job." You remark.
"But that's precisely why you're here my Eternal friend! Your job! Since the army problem is well on its way to being taken care of, I think its time to move on to our navy."
"Navy?"
"Yes, you do remember we have one such as it is. I'd like you to have a hand in making it stronger as well."
"And just how the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"I dunno, you told me you were the military expert. Just do it the same way you did with our army I suppose. Stir up the pirates of the Delerg islands so they start attacking our costal towns en masse and the people demand a stronger navy."
"Quintus, I'm glad you're excited about the plan, but the first part of it isn't even ready yet. I don't feel the soldiers are even ready yet. They've been in a few skirmishes, but nothing that is really going to test them. And there's still the matter of the orcs. They're riled and I have noticed large tribal gatherings as if they're preparing for a large attack against a bigger foe, but by and large they're still disorganized and in some cases still attacking one another."
"But surely you've trained some of the soldiers enough that they can perform these duties in your stead? Delegate responsibility to the more talented ones?"
"I have, but its a slow process from them to train their fellows as well as I trained them and I still wouldn't trust any of them to do what I'm doing with the orcs, or at least not do it and live. Quite frankly I need more time with them and diverting my attention to your navy is just a distraction."
"But the senate is going to dismantle it!" Quintus exclaims.

"Oh please will you stop whining in front of the help Quintus. It is soooo undignified. You don't have to try to impress me anyway; I always knew you weren't man enough to help my brother out with his shipyard. If the senate does dismantle the navy and his shipyard goes under because of less business, well he can always live here. No big deal." Nalia remarks taking another long swig out of her wine bottle.

Quintus has no words he just throws his hands up and looks to you for help, but what can you do short of killing his wife? And you're fairly certain he doesn't want that no matter how much she gives him grief.

You suppose you could see what you could do with the naval situation, but the main problem is you have practically no experience in such seafaring things. You dare say the average sailor has much more experience than you do about such matters. Sure you'll be assisted, but without the actual experience you'll still have a disadvantage that you don't feel comfortable with.

On the other hand what exactly does the republic need with a powerful navy anyway? As far as you know they don't have an enemy trying to invade them from sea and they don't have contact with a big nautical trading partner. They just send merchant ships to travel along the southern coast to the Usksha Emirates. If the pirates got too out of control, they could just send large shipments through the desert.

You try to strengthen the navy

While the military definitely still needs your attention, you've got the ball rolling on that aspect already. You can see that Quintus really wants this navy build up to happen for several reasons and there are still pirate troubles after all, so you might as well see what you can do on this front.

"Alright, we'll get the navy strong again, or whatever it was before I showed up." You remark.
"Good, good! I'm sure we'll make improvements so quickly that I'll be able to convince the senate that the navy shouldn't be dismantled. So, I guess you'll want to get started immediately, so you should make your way to Waveview, it's the largest of our port towns where our most experienced sailors are and most of the shipbuilding takes place. In fact Admiral Jarred Plickus should be there right now." Quintus says.
"Wheeee! My incompetent husband finally managed to convince one of his goons to actually do what he wants for a change. This calls for a drink!" Nalia says and finishes off her bottle and grabs another one nearby.

You leave before you insult Quintus' wife, well actually you leave before you do something worse than just insult her.

You make your way to Waveview and then to seek out this Admiral Plickus. After asking a few passing sailors and shipwrights they direct you towards one of the larger ships and say he's aboard that one. The admiral apparently likes to spend all his time aboard his favorite ship.

From afar the ship looks impressive, but when you're up close it looks less so. You expected the pride of the Nalin fleet with the admiral aboard it would at least look more presentable. With as many noticeable "patches" they've nailed into the hull, they might as well have just built a new ship.

The rest of the crew direct you to Admiral Plickus' cabin when you finally board the ship where upon you find him fast asleep. He looks so damn old, you half wonder if he was alive during the time of the old Empire. (He's human though so you know that isn't the case) When you finally manage to wake him up to interact with him, he's not exactly young of mind either. You honestly don't know why this man is still commanding anything, let alone a fleet.

Frustrated you leave the cabin call for the captain of the ship.

"Yeah, I'm here." A bearded man little older than you replies.
"I'm here? What the hell kind of answer is that?" you answer back in a threatening manner.

The captain suddenly realizes who you are exactly and makes more of an effort.

""Oh shit, you're that Eternal. Apologies sir. We didn't know you were coming. My name's Len." The captain says desperately attempting to straighten himself up.
"By the status of the admiral it seems like he still doesn't know I'm here, let alone who I am."
"Yes, well the admiral is getting on in years, but the senate doesn't seem to care. I believe two of his sons are on the senate in fact."
"Figures. If he's here, then they don't have to take care of him at their own home. (Sigh) If this is supposed to be the best the fleet has to offer, I'd hate to see the other ships up close." You say.
"It's um, well I dunno what to tell you sir, except the truth. It's true, the fleet isn't given much attention; in fact you'll probably find our cargo ships kept in better condition because of our trade with the usksha."
"And that's fucking stupid for the sole fact that you need to defend those same ships from pirates. That means warships that don't look like they're on the verge of sinking themselves!"
"I agree sir, and I've tried to make due with what I can, but spending on the navy has been cut a lot over the years. In fact I heard a rumor that the senate was going to dismantle the navy altogether."
"Well not now they aren't. I've been told to try to get something done with this sorry excuse for a fleet."
"Oh? Well I suppose that would be a blessing, sir."
"Glad you think so, because as of right now, you're the new admiral of the fleet."
"I am?"
"Well I assume you're the next most competent and experienced sailor if you're commanding this wreck. Is that not the case?"
"Well I don't like to boast sir, but I am indeed the best captain that the Nalin fleet has to offer…such as it is. But trust me sir, that I routinely make forays into the Delerg islands in the hopes of whittling down some of those pirate bastards."
"Good, shows you're at least proactive."

After a bit of explanation of what you want done to shape up the navy, you tell Len that you're going to go talk with the shipyards and have them to start concentrating on building new warships.

"Didn't you want a demonstration?" Len asks before you leave.
"Demonstration of what?"
"Of whether I'm really up to this task. I mean I think it's a great honor that you've placed so much responsibility on me, but I'd still like to prove myself to you. Come with me on a patrol. I mean this might be my last time in a long time since I'll have to be organizing stuff for a while."

You think about it for a while and you can appreciate the fact that Len wants to show you that he's up to the tasks you've set before him.

"Okay, but what about the ex-admiral?" you ask.
"Him? Bah, we patrol with him on board all time, he never even wakes up despite the cannons. Let's set sail." Len says.

Soon you're on your way towards the islands of Delerg. That still seems odd to you. Wasn't a place you visited a lot, but the idea that that swampy landmass is now just a cluster of islands is still a little weird.

You find that being on the open water isn't quite as bad as you thought either. You sort of had a minor concern about this whole navy thing at first, but going into battle on the water will certainly be a new thing you can experience and you're sure this crew will appreciate the extra magical firepower you can bring.

You do ask Len about going on patrol alone and wouldn't it be better to bring more ships, but he mentions how half of them are being repaired and some are pulling shore defense duty elsewhere. He mentions that pirates usually try to run rather than fight anyway and that while this ship looks horrible, it's a lot more durable than it looks and certainly more than anything the pirates have.

"The major handicap is speed and maneuverability, usually they can outsail us if they really want to get away, but our firepower prevents most from escaping before they get that far." Len laughs.

A few days pass and you're finally in Delerg waters. You see several islands nearby, but the fog is making it harder to make out anything in the far distance.

"Is it always this foggy?" you ask looking out across the limited foggy view.
"Not always, but this is actually a good thing. This will allow us to sneak up on the pirates."
"Or allow them to sneak up on us if we aren't careful." You say.

"Funny you should say that…" Len says and then two gunshots are heard and a painful sensation in two parts of your back. You gasp and your upper half falls over the side of the ship.

"Damnit, I told you idiots to aim for the fucking head!" Len says
"Sorry sir, can't see for this fucking fog." A sailor answers.
"Nevermind all that, help me throw him overboard!" Len replies.

As you're gasping for air and trying to move to do something to defend yourself, captain Len and his treacherous crew grab your limbs and throw you overboard.

"Sorry Eternal, but the smuggling business is too profitable for me to start making enemies out of my business partners. And with you around breathing down my neck with this navy shit, I'd never get anything accomplished." Len says as you plunge into the water below.

Under normal circumstances, you might've been able to heal yourself of the two big bullet holes in your back that also caused severe internal damage, but floating in cold water, with limited mobility and a profuse loss of blood is a deadly combination.

You eventually lose consciousness and the merciless sea does the rest.