Turn 63

[Brief retread of previous turn, happens in this format.]

    A few days later they encounter another ship, the rastipede vessel _Profit_, inbound toward Bral. The two ships exchange news. Ibn Fadil notices a peculiar atmosphere about the vessel, suggesting that the journey has been made in a state of some tension, and suddenly recalls the rumor heard on Bral about the Arcane being difficult to find these days; rastipedes often work closely with the tall, blue-skinned people. Attempts to question them on this result in the rastipede suddenly forgetting how to speak Common with any clarity.
    Ibn Fadil politely forgets he asked any such question, thus allowing the conversation to resume as if nothing had happened.
    Val notes the change in tone and conversation after that, making note of it for future reference in his log. Curious... He also warns the rastipedes of their encounter with the krajen and the approximate area it happened, in case the beast is still lurking about.
    Some weeks after that, as the _Distraction_ prowls along the edge of the sphere looking for a portal into the Flow, the alarm sounds again, alerting the small ship to a far greater danger this time.
    "Oh hell. I just got to sleep," Emmett mutters, dragging himself out of his bunk and pulling on not just his clothes but his armor and cutlass. Operating on a premonition, he grabs a javelin as well before clambering onto the weapons deck.
    "Hammership aft, closing fast, captain," Yestin reports grimly, his gaze fixed out the rear port on the weapons deck. "Alais is on helm," he anticipates the next question. "I think it's the _Magnus_."
    "The _Magnus_?" ibn Fadil asks in astonishment, having arrived on the scene in good time to hear this. He edges in to peer out the rear port too, obviously thinking hard as he tries to fit this in with everything else he knows.
    Val sees the Zakharan's expression and his curiosity is piqued. "What is it?" he asks, trying to remember the significance. It takes him a moment before he recalls the name. "Oh damn," he says as realization dawns. Val looks at Yestin to see what the giff's reaction is. The broad, purplish-grey face is hard to read right now, his small eyes tight. "Okay everyone, stand ready in case this gets ugly!" Val says as he checks the gears and lines for trimming the sails and wings. "Yestin, man those cranks and lines, and be ready to do what Alais instructs," he orders the young giff. Best to keep that one out of sight for the moment, he thinks to himself.
    "Oh, that's just great. How long have they been following us?" Emmett wonders aloud, setting up the ballista to fire on the ship who, judging from their history, is not here to share tea.
    "Let's see what they want, shall we?" Val says as he readies a standard hail on the flags. He has a feeling things will start to move quickly once he runs the signal line, so he pauses to make sure everyone is ready...
    Before Val s can start a hail, Alais turns the ship into the steepest 'dive' he can get. "If we're under them," he surmises "they can't use their weapons, and we're more maneuverable although I suspect they might be faster."
    As Alais swings the _Distraction_ down to try to get under the approaching ship, Emmett struggles with the ballista, and Valarin messes with the flags, ibn Fadil can be heard muttering angrily to himself in Zakharan as he tries to keep his eyes on the _Magnus_.
    In response to Alais' maneuver, the pilot of the other ship puts into a slow roll, trying to get you back in their sights.
    "Ah, to hell with this," Val mutters, casting the flags aside as he scrambles to give a hand to Yestin with the lines. The hammership's maneuvering answered the question of intent as far as he was concerned, and it wouldn't do to snap a mast while trying to evade the larger, heavily armed vessel.
    "Alais, keep at it, they've changed course to follow!" he bellows. "Emmett? How're we doing up there?"
    The ballista loaded and ready to go, the Half Man now stood ready to raise the read shield. "Give the order and I'll raise the shield and open fire. I think it's pretty obvious they mean to ram us. Alais," he yells out to the pilot, "The turret on this thing gives me a full arc of fire - as long as we're level or below them, I can find a shot!"
    "The problem being that their midships catapult is also on a turret, and can do the same. Do we want to run or fight? I'm going to need a decision fairly soon. I suggest running, myself. With the right maneuvering I should be able to get us far enough away to jump back to spelljamming speed."
    Alais straightens out the dive and banks in the direction the hammership is rolling, trying to get their bottom above the smaller ship again.
    Val looks sidelong at Yestin, trying to gauge what the young giff might be thinking about all of this. Decisions, decisions...
    "Emmett!" Val hollers back while securing a line, "Can you disable the hammer from underneath? At least enough to buy Alais some time?"
    "Disable? No. Give them something to think about? Yes. I'm raising the shield now!" Using the winch one handed, the half man quickly clears the ballista's field of fire, getting ready to take a shot as soon as one opens...
    And it does, and he does. With the advantage of a much larger and slightly slower target, the bolt thumps into the hammership's hull.
    A dozen more hits like that, and they'll be getting somewhere. The _Magnus_' return fire flies off harmlessly into space as the battle continues; Emmett and the others can see motion on the bigger ship as it corkscrews after them.
    

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