The Condemned

**The Condemned** is the twelveth episode of the original Airship Pirates series

## Plot

At the Crassus Airworks just outside Verace, a fleet of raiders arrive and signatories exits. There they are greeted by Capal Crassus. In his speech, he highlights that the signatories may have heard the horror stories on how the Silver Empire condemns all its captives to a lifetime of slavery before telling them that those stories are all lies and that there are no slaves in the Silver Empire. He continues by saying that when they signed their contracts, they entered into an agreement with him and that the Silver Empire is a nation of laws and that he is just as bound by the contract as they are, before highlighting that they are expected to work, but that they will be paid for their labors, and that they will have to pay for certain neccesities such as lodging, food and the cost of bringing them there. He continues by telling them that if they work hard and long enough, they may end up becoming Capals themselves with more riches than they may imagine, before entering a room behind the balcony from where the speech was delivered. The Director commends Capal Crassus for his speech, and Crassus highlights the importance of motivation. With Crassus noticing that there are fewer signatories than first projected, the Director tells Crassus that one of the raiding flotillas never made it back. When Crassus suggest that the Royal Navy was sound to get lucky eventually, the Director brings up that preliminary reports highlights that it was not the Royal Navy that attacked the lost flotilla. Crassus then highlights that the loss of a single flotilla is inconsequential before moving on to other matters. Crassus then draws up plans to increase work with the shift managers by another six hours, with the director pointing out that the signatories are already working long hours. When Crassus asks the Director what his point is, the Director brings up that they probably will lose hundred signatories per week due to exhaustion. Crassus then tells that the losses are included in the labor pool in his calculations and that he needs ships now instead of in six months. The Director points out that the Invors will be furious about the loss of Signatory stock, but Crassus points out that he does not care what the Invors think, since he is a Capal, before the Director points out that it is the Invor's money that pays for their operations, to which Crassus tells the Director that he could be sent to work the lines himself, before pointing out that the Invors should be lucky with the fact that he is sharing any profits with them and that his vision was what brought them where they are now. He then points out that he saw that the Kingdom really was weak and ripe for harvest while the other capals thought that attacking the Kingdom was foolish. When asked if he is worried baout the Royal Navy fighting harder as they go deeper into their territories due to the rush in ship production, Crassus tells the Director that he is a lot more worried about the other capals than the Royal Navy and that they need to beat their competitors. He then orders the Director to inform the shift managers of the changes and that he needs to raise the room and board costs to offset the working hours.

That night, Lucre, an escort carrier, is in Kingdom territory en route back to Imperial territory. On board, two pilots are chatting. One of them points out that it's a beautiful night while the other points out that it was not for the town they left burning before the one replies that the town's residents should agree to become Signatories. Spotting a silhouette behind a mountain, he asks the other pilot if that is a ship. The other pilot dismisses that, pointing out that CAP fighters would have reported any ship within 100 miles of the carrier. He then points out that he is not joking, and at the same time the mystery ship, revealed to be the Shadow of the Deep, opens fire on the carrier as they pass. On the Lucre's control tower, they raise the alarm and orders fighters to launch, to which another officers tells that all their fighters are on patrol. On the Shadow, Robert Bellamy, now back, orders a second volley to be fired, which sinks the Lucre. A crewman then tells Bellamy that it is good to have him back, to which Bellamy states that the lads at South Haven seems to have come to their senses, at least for now and that this attack will teach the Silver Empire to not leave their carriers unprotected. The crewman then suggests that the Silver Empire would concentrate their forces and form convoys to protect their ships, to which Bellamy tells that he is getting it now. Bellamy then orders the crew to submerge the Shadow, before highlighting that he would like to see the faces of the pilots when they realize that they have nowhere to land and a long walk home.