World-Marleybone

[Ulysses Septimus]

Home of the Red Coats

[Ulysses Septimus]

"They started this, and since it is war they want, it is war they shall get."Octavian could still remember those words Kane had spoken when he first sent him to Marleybone.

He could not have agreed more to his words: those wretched dogs begun the war, thus they will get it. Though he was also, if his archives were correct, grateful for this, as this gave him a chance to draw more of that beautiful ruby red from his enemies.

Turning around, the captain of the Royal Guards walked from the gangplank of his ship onto the Isle of Fetch, watching the other clockworks as they cleaned off the rest of the island's straggling inhabitants.

He thought about his "father" Rooke, away in the Vortex of Trafalgar, just waiting to launch an attack once the Beachhead had been activated. Despite what others thought, he actually cared about him...

[Hannah Durante]

((Sorry this is so bleh. I'm hopefully going to get my inhaler switched out soon and praying that all my negative reactions are just this stupid medicine I'm on right now. ANYBODY FEEL FREE TO JUMP IN DON'T BE SHY OR SCURRED BY MY LARGE RAMBLY POSTS.))

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"Cutting it a bit close aren't you, Hannah?"

The buccaneer frowned as she poked her head around the corner of the war-torn building she was currently hiding behind, only to find herself quickly drawing back the second she caught sight of even more clockworks scouring the isle for any sign of resistance. This was so not good, and she was starting to feel incredibly nervous about this entire situation. She had been reluctant to get involved in the Marleybone-Valencia war in any way despite her past as a soldier for numerous reasons, but when an old family friend and her own allies had convinced her everything would be just fine, that they wouldn't ask too much of her...she'd decided it would be okay so long as she stayed as far away from Valencia's military as possible.

It hadn't gone that bad at all at first, honestly. Her duties had been contained to delivering food rations and other necessary supplies to families and units in need, and up until this point she had done quite a good job staying out of the major parts of the war zone and the Armada's hair. They wouldn't have even recognized her ship had it been resting at the docks the moment they'd blown in with a vengeance, with all the madness and chaos going on. Not that this was necessarily a comforting enough thought...

She had been so close to completing this mission, so close to being able to return to Port Regal or lay low anywhere but here so that her past experience with war and working with the Marleyboneans didn't turn into them begging for her help if things got even more desperate; for any knowledge on the clockworks they could gleam from a Valencian like her who had once fought alongside them. Everything had seemed fine on this isle too, and then....the attack had come out of nowhere, taking them all completely by surprise. She and Tomas had helped evacuate as many of the innocent civilians as they could, the very reason her ship wasn't here at the moment as the privateer was helping another one to the isle of dogs....but they hadn't been able to help everybody.

The screams, panic, crying, all of it she had heard had haunted and broken her heart. To think, the clockworks, once great defenders of justice and heroes that had helped them save the spiral had allowed themselves to sink to the level of heartless, cold-blooded murderers. There was nothing to be gained from slaughtering the innocents on this island, other than to cause outrage and shock; perhaps it was a means of inciting panic in the rest of the population to force them to surrender before more of the dogs lay dead just outside their own homes. Regardless of the reason though it sickened and made her that much more anxious. Civilians were often a casualty of war, she understood that...but to seek them out and cut them down as they tried to run away, when they posed no threat whatsoever? Especially women and children? It was heartbreaking, to say the least.

...And she felt plenty of guilt for the lives she hadn't even tried to save as she remained hidden, the ones she had heard, in excruciating detail, die only a few feet away. It was so cowardly, but at the same time she had been unable to convince herself to move from her spot and take on the clockworks. She knew at least some effective ways to certainly, but she couldn't get herself to move. If she attacked them, in the middle of a war with another power, the consequences would be dire. And if she was to help against former allies, which she still struggled with, it would do no good to rush out blindly. She had to stay put, until the clockworks had finished their goal on this island and left, and her ship had returned.

She only hoped it and her friend would not come back right in the midst of all this madness, for his own good. Though if the clockworks were further into the island or distracted, perhaps even then the two of them could mount a daring escape.

After waiting for a few more minutes, the buccaneer looked around the corner again, trying to keep a careful eye on the Armada's movements, to see if it was safe to try and head closer to where the main docks and the fairgrounds were.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Octavian leaned his weight on his elaborate halberd, his eyes searching while he slowly raised his audios to the most sensitive level in an attempt to pick up the heartbeats of livings.

The captain of the Royal Guards stiffened, his mask/face snapping with a clink of the gears in his neck toward the direction of a peculiar sound.

He could swear in the name of the Supreme Commander he had picked up heartbeats coming from that direction, just behind one of the buildings that his troopers had cleansed.

Tha-dump, tha-dump. Rapid heartbeats, the speed betraying that whoever it was or whatever it was, was afraid and very much so.

"Stragglers, huh?"He straightened, halberd now in a defensive position against his frame with his shield, and ventured carefully toward the location. 

"Always be wary of your foes."His 'uncle' Ulysses had always taught him, "never lower your defenses, be on double alert when you don't know just what they are capable of."

Step by step, Octavian crept closer and closer, ever careful, ever ready to spring into action at the slightest hint of movement.

Moonlight and the light of the fire around the captain reflected from his elaborate mask, painting the appearance of a dark avenger straight out of the very depths of hell itself.

He would not let ANYONE stop the Armada, NO ONE will, and all who try will die by his hand.

[Hannah Durante]

"Oh damn it."  

Hannah clenched her teeth as she withdrew again, this time because she had noted one of the clockworks coming in this general direction, too close for comfort considering the fact they weren't all that far away from her position to begin with.   It was all she could do to contain her swarming thoughts to her mind and prevent a slew of anxiety-driven curses to escape her mouth and alert the soldier to her presence that much faster.   Though she truly wondered if he knew where she was or was merely doing one of the many patrols around the entire area they had done several times over, just to be thorough.

Just to be safe Hannah clenched onto the handle of her halberd carefully, while the Armada shield she'd stolen months ago still lay slung over her back.  As quietly as humanly possible she turned, backing away from the corner of the building as she kept her gaze focused on it.   From what she had briefly seen, if the clockwork was coming this way, that would be the direction he came, so she could not turn her back on it until she was safely hidden elsewhere.

Fortunately for the human woman, there was an open door on this side of the home, a back entrance that one of the families they had managed to rescue had hastily retreated out of, rather than risk their lives or freedom by running out of the front.  The second it became obvious in her peripheral vision, Hannah ducked into the home, quickly looking for any cover she could on the main floor as the secondary one had been blown apart and caved in- fortunately after the dogs had fled it- thanks to the Armada's onslaught.   It wouldn't give her too much if the clockwork decided to follow, but for the moment it as all she had, and infinitely better than waiting on the outside for any of the soldiers to come and get her.

Finally, she settled on placing herself behind a large shelving unit the family owned.  It wouldn't be a smart place to hide if she was found out, but if the soldier had no reason to believe anybody was here, it would keep her out of sight if they looked around the home.   Clockworks rarely looted, after all, so this side of the humble abode would mean absolutely nothing to them.   She was ready though should the worst come to pass, still clutching onto her weapon, as her heart began to race that much faster

Shut up, shut up, shut up! she thought, trying to will her heartbeat to relax, because if any of those soldiers got within 10 feet of her......her own heart would give her up to them.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Octavian snorted when he picked up the source of the heartbeats hastily retreat: pathetic, did they seriously expect him to believe that would hide them from him? A Royal Guard?! He's one of the most advanced types of warriors for Kane's sake, not like one of his lesser brothers!

Now he's sure it was a straggler, how they managed to escape his troops' cleansing was a mystery to him, though he didn't care.

What's important right now is to find that straggler and bring them in for questioning, as much as he hate having to do so. He would have preferred to just tear them apart on capture, but out of his respect for uncle Ulysses, who insisted on that each prisoner could hold valuable information, he forced the bloodlust down inside him.

Octavian approached the main entrance, and was just about to open it with his halberd, when a second thought entered his processor.

If he do that, then it would announce his presence, giving whoever or whatever it was a chance to sneak out of the side entrance, of which he had noticed when he approached.

But if he took the path they took, it could do one of two things-

Force them to confront him, or his troops if they try to escape through the front door.

Octavian allowed a chuckle to escape the depth of his throat, a mechanical rumble that shook his frame. It would be almost far too easy this time, not much of a challenge maybe.

Telling himself to keep his double alert mode, the captain of the Royal Guards waved his halberd in the air, summoning his troops to him.

"Royal Guard captain Caesarus," one of the officers saluted him, "your orders, sir?"

He gave a command in Latin, not wanting to risk anything, before pivoting and ducking in through the side door as well, his medium sized frame making it easier.

[Hannah Durante]

She could hear the distant sound of gears shifting and clinking swiftly approaching, and it caused her to swallow back the growing lump in her throat. On the one hand it was almost a curse to have had enough experience with their kind to know what to listen for, what to recognize as the sounds of their movement, because it meant obsessing over the fact they were coming, making things that much worse for her steadily growing nerves. On the other however....it was good only because it gave her some vague idea of if she had enough time to find another hiding place and slip out.

This time the answer seemed to be no. Something she didn't want to consider, that she hadn't wanted to happen. Inwardly, she cursed herself for having taken on these jobs in the first place. Some of the Marleyboneans were her friends sure, but she had worried about something like this coming to pass since the two powers were locked in full-scale war. Panicked, she slipped out from her initial hiding place, frantically looking all around the house for somewhere better, anything that would give her the cover of darkness. Maybe she wouldn't be able to avoid the soldiers forever, but if she could just put enough distance between them for long enough...she could possibly get out through one of the exits, barreling over any of the soldiers she had to, and make a mad dash for the docks....and hope her escape would be waiting.

At least the imitation battle angel armor she was wearing would provide additional protection to go along with her decent pain tolerance, though it would also probably cause quite some confusion or interrogation among the clockworks if they felt in the mood for conversation. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know what they would think if they found out she was a Valencian in the midst of Marleybone during the war. It would certainly look bad for her, she knew that without a doubt.

Her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach as she swore she heard talking outside- something she couldn't understand and whispered. It had to be the clockworks, and they were closing in. She didn't have time to keep standing around like this! On complete impulse Hannah ducked into the dark kitchen area, moving as far back as she could, desperately looking for a window. Naturally, none were here...this was potentially a dead end.

"....No, it...it won't end like this." She muttered to herself as she spun back around, remaining in this spot nonetheless. She wouldn't go down or in like this, not here, when she wasn't doing anything truly wrong or against Valencia's military! She would get out of this and away from here, no matter the damage she had to sustain to do so. If she channeled enough of her strength, it should be possible to break through the group of clockworks long enough to run away. Maybe not without taking damage herself as they lashed out to prevent her from just up and leaving, but so long as there wasn't a ridiculous horde of them Hannah was confident she could pull it off.

..She'd had to before, after all, and her only other choices here did not seem better roads to travel.

[Kestrel Orne]

“By the Spiral itself…”

This was absolute chaos. Not even in the daily war that was Monquistan politics was this much carnage present. Not in spilled blood, anyway. Words were the choice of weapon back home, and family honour the price to pay. In Marleybone, the result was much more serious than any wounded pride could possibly be. Even a glimpse at the growing shipwrecks around the isles of Marleybone warranted that much.

He was just worried that his friends would be caught in the midst of the storm.

“Por favor, Hannah…”

Tomas hadn’t been in favour of leaving her behind while he commandeered her ship, but the Valencian had insisted. There were more lives at stake, after all. And he hadn’t been able to argue with her. Now he just hoped that nothing had happened to her while he’d sped the refugees back to the Isle of Dogs, where a few select warehouses had been turned into impromptu barracks.

It was certainly easier to carry a poleaxe than the mace. Especially when one had to be light on their feet and free to move in order to avoid getting caught. Besides, a blade would work faster than a heavy chunk of Monquistan iron. And it didn’t drag him down as much when he pressed against and under the sides of ruined homes on his way back to where he’d left her.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Octavian winced when he felt the floorboard creak under his weight: granted, his kind, the Royal Guards, were a lot less buff in build than their brothers the Dragoon, but that still did not stop him from causing at least some noise when he moved.

The captain scanned his surrounding area, noting how it is extremely unstable, thus it would be unwise for him to be swinging around his halberd. Should it knock over something important, well, things won't end pretty.

Octavian flicked his wrist, causing the polearm to collapse back into it's compact rod form, which he promptly stored back into his belt as he drew his Dragoon's Sword from its sheath on his back.

He scanned his area once again, this time to note his location.

It seemed that he was in a sort of living room area, though he could see hear a very faint trace of heartbeats coming from another part not far from him, heh, pathetic almost.

Octavian issued a command for his system to put on stealth mode, which would silence most of his movements as he made for that area, his audios locked on the pulsating sound.

He entered a moment later, blocking the only exit with his armored frame. They were trapped, like a turtle in a jar, now all it takes would be to take the turtle out and hopefully not get bitten by it.

Octavian turned his head, surveying his surroundings thus allowing a full view of his elaborate volto mask, so much different than the usual bauta of the marines or the fragile look of the musketeers.

[Hannah Durante]

There was no easy way out now, as the floorboards creaked not too far away. They had started advancing into the house now, though since she had only heard the one instance, it seemed not all of the outside troops had followed. At least there was that much, to give her a bit more confidence she wasn't so trapped that all hope was lost. One clockwork shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle, even if they proved to be a difficult adversary.

The noise she had been relying on to track the mechanical soldier's movements through the house suddenly disappeared however, and the buccaneer furrowed her brows in both frustration and worry at this revelation. Well, that wasn't good either, and it came as quite a surprise. Most of the clockworks had no ability to muffle the noises their joints made, except for perhaps the elite, but the lesser soldiers had always been consistent with such sounds- sometimes it was even possible to determine class, based on them. Now? Well, she was fighting blind she supposed, unless she could remain concealed long enough for the clockwork to lose interest and leave.

She had no such luck. Moments later the soldier appeared, a model she had never seen before- not even during her time serving in the Polarian war...and he was standing between her and the exit; bulkier than a musketeer model, which meant she would have to use more physical force to get past him. Just by looking him over, Hannah could see he was not quite as delicate as they were, and even worse the mask he wore indicated he was an officer.

...As if she didn't have enough problems already. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, and Hannah wasn't sure which course of action it suggested to go with. She didn't want to make things horrible for herself, but at the same time she wasn't so sure she could trust this soldier not to try killing her in cold blood.

He didn't react much to her presence yet though, which made Hannah believe perhaps he didn't see or hear her. If she was careful, maybe...just maybe, she could wait him out. Or, maybe there was another way out of the kitchen she hadn't yet seen she could slip into. Warily she began moving through the kitchen, taking a few steps closer to the clockwork officer, only so that she could get into the middle of the room and attempt to look for another way out. Otherwise, she would have to come up with a pretty stellar plan B, and quickly.

[Ulysses Septimus]

Octavian, if his face could move, would have smiled, but it couldn't, so he just settled for silence. 

He knew someone was there, and he had seen her too, but he kept that to himself. Octavian just stood there, Dragoon sword poised and ready, every joint in his frame calibrated to jump into action at the slightest movement of his target.

The captain of the Royal Guards gripped his large shield tightly, and close to his frame, braced for impact.

His stance was those of a defensive buccaneer, and almost an exact mirror of his "father" Rooke's when he was ready to execute his signature technique of "Overprotection"

If his target decides to charge him, he would shove them back with his shield and hopefully subdue them without too much trouble, then take whoever it was back to his ship and finally to Cadiz when Rooke finished his part of the mission.

Octavian tensed even more when he sensed the straggler moving closer and closer to his location, hmm, so they decided to take the approach, huh? Let them do it, even if they could get pass him, the troops stationed outside would stop them.

[Kestrel Orne]

In retrospect, this may have rivalled nearly being condemned in Zenda when Gortez made his ‘triumphant’ return. Though Tomas would have chosen to live that over again. The guards there tended to let the prisoners not sentenced to death do as they would in their cells, not shoot them on sight alone.

He was so preoccupied with avoiding detection that he failed to see the bodies of those left behind until he’d stumbled over them. Upon seeing the lifeless forms, Tomas felt his gorge rise, and struggled to keep it down as he scrambled back to his feet and out of sight in a narrow space between what had once been two houses. Unable to even dry heave lest the noise draw any attention, he forced the feelings of disgust and guilt back down. There would be a time for that later. For now…

His heart sank as he realized that there was quite a gathering of Armada troops hovering around a particular house. Surely not a good sign, nor very wise to barge right into. The Monquista’s gaze darted around as he tried to assess the situation and the best way to approach it without getting himself killed.

Unless he, of course, intended to do just that.

[Hannah Durante]

The more she inspected what she could of the kitchen, the more it seemed her luck, much like that of the residents of this isle, had taken a dramatic turn for the worst. Hannah bit her lip as it became painfully clear that there was only one way out of this particular room...and the clockwork was standing right in the middle of it.

Even if he didn't notice her right at the second, there was no way she could slip by him unnoticed. For one thing there simply wasn't enough room or cover to do so, and for another she was a buccaneer. Sure she could utilize at least some amount of stealth as she'd had to during the great war, but it just wasn't her style and the more of it that was required the worse at it she was.

It was a shame that the one type of enemy she held too much fearful respect for to charge as violently and impulsively as she would any other was the one currently blocking her; making things far more complicated than they should have been. For a fleeting moment Hannah considered grabbing something large and flinging it at the clockwork to distract him long enough to shove her way past him....but while she was convinced it would work on this one, the point remained there were so many of them currently outside that if her ship wasn't back and she couldn't get away fast enough, it would do her little good. Neither would attacking him outright, she knew the sort of hell and punishment that drastic move would bring.

It seemed she was left with only one option here no matter how stupid it felt to indulge in...and that was attempting to appeal to the clockwork on some, any level she could- to hope her past was something that would help rather than hurt her here, even though she paranoidly suspected the latter. Only barely suppressing the urge to suck in a deep breath as a calming measure, Hannah forced herself to lower her weapon slightly, trying not to look too threatening for the moment as she attempted to get her body to stop protesting this desperate move. It took a few minutes, but eventually she was able to force herself to move, emerging directly into the clockwork's line of sight.

If she could appeal to him, or simply keep him distracted long enough for some kind of opening, or hell even Tomas, to present itself...then everything would be okay. However unlikely she found that to be. She locked eyes with the cold, lifeless voids that served as the officer's, feeling her muscles already tensing up once more in apprehension of some kind of attack. This was definitely a longshot plan.

"I...I think you may have the wrong idea here, sir." Hannah began as she found her voice, attempting anything to seem like she was completely harmless, not a threat at all, though she wasn't sure clockworks like this responded to respect like a living being might. Not to mention she knew how...suspicious it looked for her to be hiding in here. "I can assure you, I am not a threat to you or your goals here, so there's no need to waste time on an insignificant like me."

If this worked, she would thank her lucky stars. If not, she wouldn't be surprised.

[Ulysses Septimus]

The captain of the Royal Guards almost burst out laughing when she came into his sight, barely managing to suppress it. He actually knew her, he really did, thanks to the memories uncle Ulysses had provided him with.

"You, did you really think I would believe you?"Octavian mused, "I know who you are, Hannah Devereaux, and I know exactly what you've done in the past..."

His Dragoon sword slowly lowered, but not enough to create an opening for attack. "You worked with the Resistance, and ran away when it was revealed... Am I right? You ran from your duty, from your oath to Valencia."

Octavian paused for a moment, then continued, "Uncle and father both told me much about you, Hannah, about what you fear and how you fight..."

He almost laughed in glee when he sensed some more fear, holding it back just ever so slightly.

"Commander Kane wants you to return to Cadiz, and face the consequences... Since you fled your post, which was already unforgivable, and you aided the Resistance."

Octavian approached until his blank mask/face was merely inches away, "Now, why are you here? Why are you here in the middle of a war zone, where you know we are here as well? What are you doing here? Serving the Resistance again?"

He was ready to snap into action, if he sees anything suspicious.

[Hannah Durante]

Her heart plummeted into her stomach at the clockwork's words. As she'd feared, this measure of complete desperation had backfired on her horribly, though even she hadn't seen the full extent of how coming. Somebody...Somebody had actually been angry and spiteful enough to spread information about her to soldiers like him, and it was an incredibly disheartening thing to hear spat back in her face. It meant nothing good with the way these soldiers were programmed, and the clockwork only confirmed it with the rest of his tirade, along with the way he came closer; his face hovering only inches away from her own.

"Wh-what?! No! If you truly knew about my past, you would know all the things I did, how much I helped you all! I didn't...You don't know the full story, you're got it all wrong just like whoever told you all of that. I swear!"

Unnerved with his close proximity with everything he was threatening, Hannah took a tentative few steps back, just to try and leave some space between them even if it wasn't much.

" I didn't...I'm not part of the resistance, I just, some friends of mine they- I only left because of these misconceptions and to stay out of your way, so they wouldn't try to force me in too deeply because of our friendship!"

It was half-true, anyway. She had aided her friends in the resistance for sure, helping deliver things here and there for themselves as well as giving them rides when necessary once their ships had been flagged as suspicious...but it was harmless in her mind. Friends were supposed to help each other after all, it was one of the staples of Valencian society, and she'd never actually participated in any of their raids or activities against the clockworks- she'd made sure never to go that far, for her own good as well as the duty she'd held back then.

..But on the other, the fact any of them had lumped her in with their lot and felt she was involved more than that wasn't the main reason she had fled her home, her post, everything she hadn't wanted to have left behind. The truth was she was terrified of Kane, of what he had steadily become, the measures he and the clockworks were willing to go to- their efforts and decrees had become far more suffocating than comforting and helpful and when he had practically isolated Valencia from the rest of the spiral....she had panicked. Anything had seemed better in those horrifying moments than being trapped home when the clockworks were paranoid and already suspicious of some of her activities as it was. She'd known there would be penalties had they decided to pursue their new, more twisted views on 'justice'...but she hadn't thought she was worth the effort. She'd told herself day after day they would forget so long as she stayed out of their hair, but that had obviously been foolish. After all, they wouldn't be satisfied unless they controlled all of the spiral, and once the pirates were gone, they would have needed somebody else to hunt down...

Her heart began pounding more frantically than ever with the threat of Cadiz looming in the air. It was a nightmare, when she was perceived as being on the wrong side. She had seen conditions, prisons, torture, heard about even worse. She shook her head rapidly the more she thought about it, waving her free hand dismissively; as if in some vain hope of stopping this from exploding into what it threatened to.

"Why should you be so drastic with me?! I admit, I left my post....but would I not have been replaced by one of your kind anyway? What harm was there in it? I did nothing against him- I'm not the person you should be hunting, it's those pirates! How can you even justify wasting time on me when they are still out there in great number, and with this war going on?"

She was reaching, but she was desperate to convince the clockwork to just let her go as unscathed as possible. She had to stay away from Cadiz, she had to.

"I'm here for friends, that's why." She answered honestly. "They asked me to help deliver rations and aid to civilians, help move them out of the war zone. I take no part in this war beyond that, I cannot fight against Valencia- I do remember my oaths, I still abide enough by them! I have no tie to the resistance, what little I had was left behind in Valencia."

This time, it was all truth, though she had a hunch it wouldn't much matter to the officer before her. Now she truly needed an opening to get past him....unless she wanted to risk that much more by engaging him in battle, which she hoped to avoid if at all possible. If he was this against her when she had not laid a single hand on him or his men here, she could only imagine what he would think then.

[Kestrel Orne]

After all the stories he’d been told, Tomas was actually surprised at the holes in the mechanical soldiers’ defences. They had certainly been ordered to maintain a heavy defence at the front of the house, but there was other ways in. A side door, and some broken windows besides that. He’d already spent a lifetime making himself unnoticeable to others, and sneaking past a few focused Armada troops wasn’t too difficult. They were too concentrated on the front door to even notice him slide into the open side entrance. He only wondered why they had left it so for a moment, when voices peaking up amid the chaos outside prompted him to stay close to the wall.

There was the faint sound of Hannah’s voice first, before the apparent officer responded. So she was speaking to it. A bit of a worry came to mind, following the ideas that certain individuals had been throwing around upon the revelation that the young woman was Valencian, and where her loyalties may stray, but that was pushed aside. Especially at what the clockwork officer stated near the end of his speech.

Even in these dire circumstances, Tomas couldn’t let them just take her.

But Hannah was voicing a rebuttal. So instead of acting, he stayed his hand. Almost hoping against hope that there would be some shred of decency in the officer’s treatment of her following her reasoning. However, if he didn’t...

Even if they did know her, the Armada had nothing on him. They had thus far failed to reach Monquista, and besides, his homeland would scarcely claim him anyway.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Your words, I fear, holds little to no credibility with me,"Octavian replied in his monotone, "you are not like my uncle--whose trustworthiness had been verified-- and I know how humans have a tendency to lie..."

When she took a few steps back, the captain of the Royal Guards allowed a low laugh to escape his throat. "Is that fear I sense? Fear of the punishment you will receive from abandoning your post?"

He paused, letting it sink in as he hissed, "Father would like to know, is this how he had trained you to be during the Polarian War? Is this how you repay him?"

Meanwhile, outside, the Musketeer officer Albinus Crassus' mask/face snapped toward the source of the sound.

Another one, his processor concluded.

With a click, the officer snapped into his 'ready' stance, his rifle loaded.

Granted, he wasn't built for direct confrontations, but at least he should try...

[Hannah Durante]

Though she was still very much afraid, anger steadily began settling in as well; indignation at the accusations that were being launched at her. Granted the move she had made had been perhaps a little too drastic, but she hardly felt that she deserved this kind of treatment- as if she was no better than the other criminals they hunted down! It was hurtful, infuriating, and disturbing all at once.

The final straw came when he mentioned his father. Hannah had no idea who this so-called 'uncle' was, but she knew who he meant by that esteemed title. Really, there was only one being that would fit into such a role by the looks of this soldier's model, particularly with how he spoke about him. Her anger consumed her immediately, spreading throughout her entire body.

"You dare to act as if I did not do most everything that was asked of me?! I did exactly what the general- what all of them wanted. I was a good soldier, I did my best, but evidently nothing is good enough for the likes of them anymore since I could not abide becoming a slave for too extreme of measures."

She finished it off with a huff, feeling just a bit drained. It would not matter to the clockwork, they would not listen to reason and certainly lacked any shred of empathy whatsoever.

"But even then.." She finally continued. " I did not make myself your enemy, I did nothing to your officers and I stayed out of your way and I have told nobody anything compromising. Doesn't that count for anything? If not, I implore you, at least have enough mercy to punish me in another way- anything but that!"

The buccaneer had nearly added that her loyalties lay with Valencia still, as they always had, but decided against it as she wasn't sure if she would be able to stop herself from wondering whether Kane's loyalties were the same....or to only himself.

[Kestrel Orne]

So much for diplomacy. The insistence of the mechanical officer’s questioning, along with the aggressive nature he was moving with, made the sides of Tomas’ mouth raise slightly in a brief snarl. It was in that expression that he most greatly resembled other Monquistans, even if his species was not theirs. Too distracted by his mixed feelings of anger, disgust, and intensifying anxiety with the sounds continuing outside, now was not the time to dwell on such things.

It seemed that Hannah was insistent on trying to make a deal with the Armada officer. He was reluctant to let that continue, with how well it had failed to serve her so far, but… interfering would potentially make it much worse. Tomas found himself stuck between wanting to help, and not wanting to harm the situation further. His grip on the poleaxe tightened for a moment as he considered.

Lighter and quieter than his usual mace, the weapon could give him a bit of an advantage, especially with the clockwork’s attention focused on Hannah. If the hit landed, it would lodge in his back, weakening his armour if not dealing a damaging blow. If the officer managed to get out of the way, maybe he’d take an arm or leg. Neither way would it hit the Valencian woman, with how she’d drawn back from her confronter.

After that, Tomas wouldn’t have been opposed to disarming the officer, perhaps more literally than intended.

But he didn’t. Couldn’t, and it wasn’t his choice it make. Besides, the ever present seed of a thought persisted, they were very close to asking Hannah to turn against her home, and she wasn’t so like him that she could.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Oh and tell your little friend to back off, or else uncle may be forced to interfere,"Octavian immediately sensed the presence behind him: he must admit, being a Royal Guard officer has its perks, "not only that, being convicted of assaulting an Armada officer... You know what happens to those that committed such a crime, don't you?"

"Captain Octavian Caesarus,"a familiar voice spoke, "why are you still wasting your time talking, when you could have just taken her back to Cadiz?"

Ulysses, in his black robes and armor, as well as mask, stepped from the darkness, his hands on the dual swords strapped to his sides.

"Uncle,"the captain acknowledged without turning his blank voids away, "your words are once again, proven to be wise: abandoning their posts are not a light crime, and must face the Commander."

[Hannah Durante]

Her....friend?  But, she had come in here completely alone.  It struck her a moment later that he must have been talking about Tomas- somehow in the midst of all this madness, the privateer had come back to help her.   Momentarily she felt touched by the very idea, before it quickly turned into anxiety for what these clockworks might do to Tomas if he decided to spring into action on her behalf.   Then, both of them ran the risk of not getting out of this scrap, and at least one of them had to.   And the Monquistain was far more important and reliable to Bailey and the others than she was.

Besides, she didn't want him to have to suffer the punishment for assaulting an officer- she knew very well what it was, which was the reason she always tried to keep her friends as far away from the officers as possible.   She didn't have a chance to respond initially however, before another, this time familiar voice came to her attention.   One that, this time around, she most certainly knew.  

"Y-you?!"

Hannah grit her teeth in rage at what the assassin had to say.  Even though he was wearing an outfit far different than the last one she had seen him in, she would recognize that voice anywhere by now.    When the clockwork referred to the other human as Uncle, her eyes narrowed into fiery, hateful blue slits at what she was hearing.   So he was one of the ones who had told this officer about her?  But how did he know anything about her past in the first place?!  

She glanced from the clockwork to Ulysses's masked face several times over, feeling a maelstrom of conflicting emotions crashing through her.   Finally, she decided to address the issue about Tomas first.

"Leave him out of this, he only came to help me- he's completely harmless to you and has no ties to Marleybone!"

Hannah knew that wouldn't work if Tomas decided to come to the rescue- there were only two of them here after all, and if both of them teamed up, they would stand a fairly good chance.  But even if they did win here, the price that would be to pay would make any victory seem useless.   They were caught between a rock and a hard place here, and there was no reason for Tomas to pay for her past.    She was about to say something she had never wanted to hear leave her mouth, but what choice did she have when somebody else's life was on the line?

"...If I agree to face my punishment, without a fight, will you let him leave this isle unharmed?"

She very much intended on trying to fight back if she could, but later, when Tomas was out of danger.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"In that case, yes."Octavian sheathed his sword, though Ulysses now had both of his own out. "Though, Uncle, I must also ask... How is father faring?"

Ulysses' red eyes behind the mask shifted for a moment, changing from malicious to almost concerned for a very brief second. "Alright... I suppose..."

The Assassin had, in fact, just returned from pulling the general out of danger in the battle of Tralfalgar Vortex, with Rooke himself barely alive.

"Daddy, is someone bothering you again?"Ulysses grinned underneath the mask at the familiar voice, almost childish yet contained a dark undertone that marked a serial killer, as its speaker hopped in through a hole in the roof.

"Have peace, Cahin, I am alright."The Assassin master spoke again, softly and father-like.

Cahin, his face forever covered by the jester's mask, tugged on Ulysses' arm, "Are you sure, daddy? Do you need me to kill them?"

"No, but you will get to kill someone else later, I promise."Septimus chuckled.

[Hannah Durante]

It's okay, only for a little bit, you'll get out of this just like before Hannah thought to herself, hoping Tomas would not try staging some kind of daring rescue now, because she certainly had no intention of making it all the way to Cadiz if she could help it.   With the war zone all around them, she prayed for some kind of distraction on the way back that would prove more important- some kind of detour to deal with Marleybonean soldiers that she could use to her advantage to escape and regroup with the privateer.   And then, she would be sure to be that much more paranoid in any sector the clockworks were in.  If her crazy plan worked.

She relaxed her hold on her halberd, but made it a point to glare at Ulysses the entire time, holding him accountable for all of this.   He was probably just mad about the petty trouble she had caused at his party, and simply couldn't let something like that go.  She had a hard time believing that no matter how frustrated hKane might have ever been with her actions, that he would care much at all about having a lone straggler like her drug in right in the middle of war with a larger power.   This might have all just been one egomaniac's spiteful gesture to make her pay for being admittedly a bit too mischievous.

She had been about to say something, or ride with her temptation of taking advantage of the fact the clockwork closest to her had let his guard down in order to leave, when a third voice came from somewhere above; located in the wreckage of what remained of the home's second floor.

"What now?"  The buccaneer grumbled to herself as another player emerged, and this one....well, she couldn't say she liked the way he looked or the sound of the voice.  It was unsettling...more so than the officer and admiral hovering only a few feet away.    Her grip on the halberd tightened as he asked whether or not he could kill her, his voice most decidedly not mechanical with the sheer, sadistic emotion dripping off of each and every one of his words.

"Hey, I didn't come here looking for trouble, and I was perfectly willing to stay out of their way and leave them alone!  He is the one who gave chase."

She offered a pointed glare toward Octavian, before staring at the jester, feeling he was the least trustworthy out of the  entire bunch.   At least the assassin seemed to have him on a leash and was not letting him have free reign here yet, though she sincerely doubted it was out of any form of mercy.  They wanted something worse, more painful, for her after all.

"...You all seem far too busy for this sort of nonsense at the moment.   I hardly think this is benefiting the supreme commander at all.   Why is this more important than winning the war for him?  Perhaps we can all just go our separate ways....you surely won't be seeing me at all around these parts while you're here.   Why waste your time?"

So she had already surrendered, so what?  Maybe she could still somehow convince these goons to take off and see her as not worth their time at all if they would feel more inclined to do far more major things for Kane.   It hadn't exactly worked on the clockwork before, but Ulysses had seemed the sort to put stock into that sort of thing.   Since he was the commander of these two obviously, all she had to do really was convince him.

[Ulysses Septimus]

"Uncle, I think we should leave now."Octavain sighed, feeling rather ignored by everyone else: he would never admit it, but he sort of want his father back already. "And you, Ms. Devereaux, come with me peacefully and no one will be hurt."

"Yay!"Cahin cheered, the dark undertone still ever present, "you're the best, thank you, Daddy!"

Ulysses chuckled again, "Now now, shall we leave?"

The Assassin and Admiral lead them outside through the front door this time, meeting up with the musketeer officer Albinus Crassus, who immediately ordered a confiscating of her weapons.

Ulysses lead the bunch aboard his ship the Interceptor: the Admiral ordered Octavian to cuff one of her wrists to the main mast, while he returned to the cabin, Octavian leaving, and Cahin hanging around the main deck.

The jester giggled and muttered things to himself, juggling his two roundel daggers as he jumped around the deck.

[Hannah Durante]

((I think Brie is going to bow out of the thread for now. She's having trouble getting in and has a few other things to focus on for the moment.))
-----

Hannah cringed at the rather enthusiastic response the jester gave, though she was eternally grateful his mind was elsewhere at the moment. He seemed so...off, in fairly unsettling ways, and the buccaneer knew that if he had been so out for blood he would have come at her anyway, she wouldn't have held back. She would have lashed out at him with everything, which would have only drug her friend in the midst of this conflict and potentially launched the armada on his tail as well. At least for now though, she could keep him safe....provided the Armada agents kept their word. Though she trusted Tomas to be more than capable of handling himself against the lesser of the soldiers on the island.

..She only wished she had listened to him when he had expressed his concern about the arrangements they had previously made, but they had been trying to do what they felt was right then- Marleybone's admiralty had done them and the inhabitants a great disservice by trying to build this isle up to hold any military value whatsoever. At least he would be safe though...the thought was a little bit comforting, even in this dark hour.

Hannah snorted to herself at Octavian's words as he grew impatient to leave. Nobody would be hurt, sure. Except her that was, but she supposed they placed little value on those guilty of desertion, despite the fact she had no doubt been easily replaced. This was hardly about justice, the clockworks merely seemed to have gained quite the addiction to punishing anybody they could in the past few years. At the very least the clockwork had been somewhat civil with her, Hannah supposed. There were far worse things he could have addressed her as, with what he believed he knew. He seemed to be the lesser of evils when it came to this particular group..at least for now, a thought she tucked away for later in case that ever proved useful.

It took every ounce of self restraint not to fight back as they shoved her along and confiscated her weapons. Instinct screamed at her to fight back, to not be taken down so easily, but she forced it into silence. There would very likely be a time for that later, but for now she would comply....until an opportune moment presented itself to get away. The best revenge for the assassin would be to make him fail, to force him to explain how in the spiral he'd managed to lose a prisoner who had seemed so helpless. It was an incredibly pleasing thought she couldn't wait to put into action, no matter how angry it would make him if she pulled it off.

She would just have to bide her time for a while first and hope for the best; biting back her rage and panic as she found one of her wrists soon being cuffed to the main mast of the admiral's ship. She watched as they left, waiting until most of them were out of sight before giving the chain an experimental tug. It was tough, that was for sure, but not necessarily impenetrable. If she played her cards right and was careful, she could utilize enough strength to weaken it throughout the journey..and hopefully break free once they had landed, as well as surprise them enough by doing so she could get away. There were some truly wonderful hiding places in Valencia she knew about thanks to her friends, that the Armada had not been any closer to finding back when she had fled.

Not wanting to draw too much attention yet in case the jester was aware of anything going on around him, Hannah stopped for the moment; sizing him up as he jumped around the deck, giggling and speaking to himself as he twirled those daggers around. She almost shuddered at the sight, that jester was so, so...freakish, was the only word that immediately sprang to mind. She hoped he would not be on the main deck for long, his presence made her even more uncomfortable than the others, though so long as he continued to ignore her, she could hopefully do the same.

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