Thread: The Skies Wasn't The Limit (ghastygoo & Libertine)

There were stories once of the world, land masses further then the eye could see. These masses connected by water not by sky. The thought of travel by air was but a dream and the ships of now could only tread the sea. But to see the sea now, to see the world that has once been is now the dream. What was once land is nothing more then a dark and dismal bank of fog, anything that ventures below never rises again. What land is left now remains among the clouds. Floating islands, cities chiseled and formed into these masses are all that is left. But human's are tenacious in nature, and regardless of the forgotten cause that made the world what it is today, they have survived. Through desperation and technological marvel humans have found a way to fly. In the same way the islands now float in the skies ships now soar. There are many theories, magic, essence, the flow of the world. Whatever one called it this energy was harnessed by man, it became the stable in their daily lives. This energy powered lights, made ships fly, makes pistols fire. Truly a wonder and in this day and age those who can unlock it's secrets rule the skies. So where does that leave us? Islands scattered across an endless sky, flying ships trading among the islands and floating land masses? Cities and Nations scrambling to assert their dominance over the skies? It was only a matter of time before crime entered the scene, only a matter of time before pirates took to the skies. And with pirates comes a a navy, or some sort of government to try and restore order. The age of sky piracy is in full bloom, the constant dance of pillaging and cannon fire ever alive. And it is in this era that two pirate Captains will meet, and what is to follow could very well change the world once more. It was like any other day really, hiding amongst the clusters of land mass. For pirates there were only a handful of options in getting booty. There was pillaging an island, not always the best outcome and if the Imperials had a station there it would only result in trouble. There was attacking an Imperial ship or even another Pirate ship, but taking on a fully stocked and armed battle ship wasn't always the best move. Even if you won there was always collateral damage to take care of and then the hassle of dealing with the victim crew and ship. So the last option of course was to attack merchant ships, ships designed for transport and not combat. If you were lucky then you could find a particularly bold ship that decided not to hire protection. And for the Gale Pirates, they might of just been that lucky. A lone merchant ship was on it's way from gods knows where to who cares, what mattered was that the ship was moving along by itself through the sky. The Gale Pirates's ship nestled nearby between some land masses, slowly coming out the ship was of moderate size. The Gale Pirates had some renown in these parts of the skies, mostly dealing in merchant endeavors the Pirates always seemed to get their share of booty between islands. The ship was fitted to be more agile in the air, a lack of sails replaced with propellers provided maneuverability over raw speed. There was however two large fin like sails that protruded out the sides of the ship once it was clear of the land masses, almost like a bird's wings. And like any good ship it had it's array of cannons. One larger one in the front and a rotatable triple cannon just above. The ship was maned by a crew of a good thirty men. Ten of them of course were full on sailors meant to keep the ship flying. The other twenty were pirates, of course sailors in their own right but when the fighting started they were accustom to being apart of the boarding party or manning the cannons. But all thirty of the men called only one Captain. The leader of the Gale Pirates, Andrew Solclef. He had been born into pirating, and once he was old enough had branched out to find his own crew and ship. Truth be told his ship was very much an older model of the Imperial Gliders, only retrofitted and modernized. But how he got his hands on one of those was a story for another time. Standing at the helm he couldn't help but smirk as they soared towards the merchant vessel, cannons at the ready. He stood tall, a good six feet and two inches. Strong broad shoulders tailing off into a built frame of a body. Nothing of course overly muscular, not like some of his deck hands that were more muscle then man it seemed, but definitely enough to be in shape and strong for the life of a pirate. Short brownish blonde hair cut to just an inch on his head. His eyes a shade of blue just darker then the skies around the ship. Like usual the man was dressed in Black pants, a pair of matching black boots on his feet. A belt held ready both a sword and a pistol at the sides, and near the back two daggers fixed to cross one another. His top of choice was a loose fitted long sleeved white shirt with the emblem of the Gale Pirates along the back. The emblem being a skull turned to the left with several swirling lines around it as if it were in a tornado. Of course the emblem on his back was covered by the large overly elaborate luscious dark green coat that was hanging from his shoulders. Obvious golden tassels and trimmings along the shoulders and sleeves. The buttons a gawdy display of gold. Once we are in range lets fire the boarding chains and reel him in. Andrew would say, having no intention of really leaving his ship. These snag and grabs had become rather simple as of late, his men able to board and deal with any resistance and come back with the precious loot. It had been ages since the Gale Pirates had to deal with Imperials, and rarer still other pirates!