Flight of Fancy: IC (Mature) {Currently Closed}

[Tapewolf]

Jakob glanced at Shax, a quizzical expression on his face.  "That guy wasn't a passenger, with clothes like that.  Didn't look like crew, either.  I'd have said some kind of deep engineering or maintenance guy who isn't customer-facing, but they'd have known the load-bearing capacity of the vents."
"No," he mused.  "I'm not sure was supposed to be aboard at all."

He glanced again at the Rhino, wondering how long it was going to take to get the bloody ordeal over and done with.  "Think they might be smuggling dissidents?  Political prisoners?  Might that be what this ruckus is all about?"

[Angel]

Before Kenyan was done scanning the room, he heard a ruckus of metal falling and bodies crashing together. He squeaked out a rodent curse and then ground his teeth shut...then he heard Xyrtia's voice. Oh no...

He turned to his friend, using more nonverbal cues than sounds to tell him what had happened. <One of my friends may be in trouble. We have to follow her, now. She smells like feathers and the room you found me in.> He looked around, not seeing any new light in his part of the vent shaft. Wherever Xyrtia fell out must not have been that close by, but it certainly wasn't far away if he could still hear her. He let the rat off of his shoulder. <You see better in the dark than I do. Don't let us fall like she did, my friend, please.>

[A Madman Person Guy]

The boarding ramp of the Flame of Freedom

The demoness sighed, and for the third time made a gesture of tugging with her well-manicured claws at one heavy gold earring, turning her mottled dark gray face to her darker, shorter companion. Taller than the man behind her by some margin, the wolfess stood about half a head higher than the main body of the crowd folding into queues before the guards stationed at the embarkation ramp. Patience, she thought to herself, but didn't quite chuckle at her own sarcasm. Oh, the name suited him alright. But for someone so competent, sometimes he had the sense of context and subtlety of a doorknob.
   "Your complaints are noted, Miles. You are entirely free to leave and make your own passage; your pay will be docked, but I will refund your travel expenses," she said, folding a pair of thick arms inside a well-tailored jacket. "However I am going ahead."
   Behind her the man, a primly dressed wolverine, stiffened. There was a look of affront on his face for just a fraction of a moment. She didn't spot it though, because she hadn't turned to look at him as she spoke. And he didn't rise to the challenge, but simply took a relaxing breath, and continued as though nothing had been said.
   "Perhaps I might also suggest... refraining from further, ehm..."
    The wolfess scowled. He was not going to mention anything more. Not within earshot of the guards, and not now. People were talking and milling about a bit, but despite complaints they had still adopted that typical public transport demeanor, where you hushed your conversation and lined up without fuss. Never mind that this was supposed to be a pleasure cruise. Her eyes darted around a couple of times, and her ears flicked.
   "If there is any trouble, then I suspect it's only going to be about something you brought along in that case of yours," she said, garnering another ruffle from the wolverine. "As though we needed it. They specifically mentioned contraband. And, if you'll note, those guards are wearing different uniforms from the others we saw on the airship." She sniffed, and then clacked her teeth. Another practiced gesture, a fake 'tell' that she'd ingrained into herself, which was meant to say that she'd come to some sort of conclusion.
   "Something political, perhaps?" the wolverine suggested hesitantly. Oh good, so he wasn't entirely blind then. She huffed something from the back of her throat. Then, her eyes darted back to the side again for a second, and she spotted something. That was him, wasn't it?
   "Stay in line. And when you get aboard, go to the cabin," she said, ignoring any further questions from the wolverine. First rule of management; if you can't fix it yourself, sit on someone else, she thought.

"Hey, you there!" The voice was a full alto, coming from somewhere slightly above Jeremiah. Pushing her way through the crowd with the same difficulty that a bowling ball encounters when meeting up with some pins, a woman stepped up to the frog. "I saw you at a table earlier. What exactly is going on here?"

[Boog]

The Boarding Ramp of the Flame of Freedom

The guard looked mortified at Xephelon's revelation that he was, in fact, a customer. "Oh my gods and ancestors sir I am SO sorry!" The man sputtered and gestured to a liveried flamingo, one of very few members of staff that wasn't presently being questioned or corralled by police. "FRANCIS, get this-" There was a moment of panicked examination of Xephelon before the guard winced and took a shot in the dark, "-Man's luggage to, ah, HIS rooms immediately! Sorry sir, minor customs debacle has us all a little disorganized."
The brisk march to his rooms was interrupted, however, by police. A female bobcat with a specialist badge stopped them about three hallways in, undead control amulets angling at her neck; the actual undead were nowhere to be found, apparently the antimagic field was keeping them out. Xephelon's own suit was starting to feel a little sluggish.
"Where are you taking that construct? All procedures are suspended until our investigations are over."
"I'm just seeing a passenger to-"
"Passenger?"

--

Jeremiah fixed Melodie with a grin, pocketing the tip. It was generous enough to have bought her a wink and a bow, too, but she seemed like she wouldn't appreciate the unprofessionalism. "Thank you kindly Miss. Need anything else, ask the staff for Jeremiah Ac'Gregor."
With that, he was gone in the crowd, body language immediately going from outgoing showman to unnoticeable slouch; in a lot of ways he liked his work, but sometimes he got a customer who was absolutely exhausting. It was creature women, he figured. Not to be biased, but he never met a creature woman who wasn't absolutely overbearing. Not always bad, but god did he need a rest before the next one...

The officer that stopped Melodie was nonplussed a moment, long rabbit ears twitching as he stared down at the leash in his hand, but a muttered command into a control amulet soon found Mel's path blocked by several figures in riot control gear, listless stances marking them as mindless undead behind their tinted visors.
"Sorry Miss, you may be delayed. I understand you're a passenger aboard the Flame of Freedom?" He handed off the leash to one of the undead and gave a smile that everyone but people who frequently dealt with the police found reassuring; to those more familiar with the wrong side of the law, it was a pretty obvious "I'm the GOOD cop" face, and it generally entailed Trouble.
"We received an anonymous tip about a possible Furrae Trafficing ring aboard the ship. I'll need a look at your registration and any identification you have, Please."
That was another Good Cop tactic. Adding a Please to the end of a sentence that was not by any means a request.

--

"Hey, you there!" Jeremiah winced, and straightened back into his Customers Stance with an almost audible click; like a puppet pulled up by its strings, or Mel's own clockwork poodle as its key was wound. "I saw you at a table earlier. What exactly is going on here?"
Jeremiah whirled around with a grin, for a moment still having that same wind-up bouncing energy to his movements, and froze when he realized he'd apparently been aiming his 'good-natured-service' grin at the speaker's clavicle. He craned back, smile freezing slightly.
It was like the rabbit from before and the snow leopard he'd just been helping had been added up into one predatory tower of a woman. Pass this one along quick, she's trouble. More than you can handle.
Thanks Cab, I got that from the horns.
"Sorry Miss, can't say public relations are my department. I just got back from helping another passenger." The police presence did seem strange to him, but the frog had reached a worrisome level of jadedness to the scrutiny of the law taking an interest in his workplaces; after that Castle to the north with the insane God resurrection and his brief service at the Skull-Palace of Screaming Doctor Berzerk, he sort of figured that was just the standard service work environment in this modern economy. "Near as I can tell there's some manner of customs dispute? Someone said contraband, I'm afraid you'll have to ask someone smarter." He gave a small chuckle, "They don't pay me to be nosy. The opposite, in fact."
God, the man just wasn't useful for anything. However, his prattle seemed to make the police dismiss him, and by extension anyone who was talking to him. It's possible Lea'd never had so little attention in a crowd in her entire life.

--

Aisha was having a little trouble getting an officer to stop for her. Most of them seemed preoccupied with trying to get the riot-suited undead to enter the airship without balking, falling unconscious or disanimating entirely. Apparently the anti-magic field was still going strong. However, she was close enough to hear the rabbit talking to Melodie about Furrae Trafficing.
More interesting, though, was the sight of a familiar Moose, amongst the upper platforms and riggings of the skyport docks, checking his watch and observing the ship...

Aboard the Flame of Freedom

Kaf and Eden's Room-

It was of course, now, that the guards showed up. Their ships liveries were rumpled, and they looked nervous.
"Ah, minor dilemma, all passengers are required to- Holy hells!" One looked about the room in shock. "What on earth happened? Is everyone alright?"

--

Singing Grin's Expensive Suite-

The cops were a pair of turtles, who swaggered in with a look of practiced boredom. One immediately set to work rummaging through drawers and luggage, while the other singled out the Pangolin.
"Are you the ticket holder for this room?"
"Ah, no sir, that would be our-"
"Found it."
The other turtle finished his rifling about, pulling a playing card (a queen of hearts) out of a sheaf of papers. The card's face had been blacked out, and extra tails added to the Qs to form a sort of x. "One of the invitations to the auction." His snout wrinkled. "Sickos."
"Right, both you boys are coming with us." The first turtle cracked his neck and began reaching for his handcuffs. "You can give a full statement at the station."

--

The Hallway-

Outside Hobbies could see police surrounding the airship, in truly intimidating numbers. What was going-?
"You there!" A kangaroo clad in police blues was advancing down the hallway, looking generally ornery. "Name and passport, now. Nigel who is this?" He barked at his companion, an anxious looking dove with a clipboard. "Start checking the guest list for a Fennec."

--

The Cafeteria

"Gentlemen!" The captain arrived with five guards, all smiles. While his demeanor seemed cooperative, Paladin could see pistols and cudgels tucked into the guards belts, at their backs. "What seems to be the issue?"
"Sir, there have been allegations that your ship is in violation of the Treaty of Montagine, which states-"
"I'm familiar with the treaty, officer, might I know who has brought these allegations?"
"We received an anonymous tip."
"Ah. So no, I may not. Is this sufficient for a warrant?"
"We are operating under a Writ of the Empress-"
"Then until I SEE this writ, you've no call to harassing my passengers now if you would please-"

This is when Xyrtia fell from the ceiling onto Shax.

The officer glanced at the bird, panicking, and the guests milling about.

He turned back to the captain.

And then, in a surprisingly humanizing moment, he smirked.

"Officers, please collect the young lady for-"
"Stowaways are a ships matter to see to." The captain's eyes were wide with noticeable alarm, sweat beaded on his forehead. "We can take care of this our-"
"Also, someone mark this as probable cause to search the ship-"
The Captain's eyes narrowed, and he gestured to his guards. And five sets of pistols were aimed at the rhino. The one on the far left shaking, slightly, held by a slightly younger guard.
The police officer looked surprised, momentarily. There was a moment of silence not unlike the one he'd commanded before as shock settled over the room. Before finally his mask of confusion broke into unbridled rage.
There was a bang, and a look of shock from the youngest guard as the rhino clutched his shoulder and fell to one knee.
The results were instantanious and deafening pandamonium as every cop or guard in the room drew weapons, some calling for backup, some already corralling passengers toward the exists. The captain stormed out with a guard in tow, shouting commands.
"FIRE THE ENGINES, SECURE THE HOLD AND PROTECT THE PASSENGERS, WE TAKE OFF YESTERDAY."
"ALL OFFICERS ARE TO APPREHEND ANY AND ALL PERSONNEL ABOARD THE SHIP, ALL ARE PROBABLE ACCOMPLICES, EVERYONE!" The rhino bellowed as his men fell in around him, frantic with conversation about getting him to a healing mage. "LETHAL FORCE PERMITTED, GO, GO!"

[Tapewolf]

"FUCK," Jakob spat as the gunshot rang out.  "I think shit just got real.  That bird wasn't just an illegal, it's a fucking slaver ring!  That must be what this damned anti-magic field is for!"

"And that moron just told them to arrest or kill the crew - in mid-takeoff!" he sighed.  "I can see a lot of possible outcomes here, Shax.  The best case is that they restrain the crew before takeoff.  If they can't, we'll be caught in a war between the police and the crew.  But if the crew really are slavers, they're liable be executed.  Which means they have nothing to lose.  Worst case is that the ship crashes during takeoff because the crew are prevented from controlling the ship, or it is shot down by the authorities.  Or the police manage to ignite the gasbag with their firearms.
"Better but bad is that we get out of local airspace.  That gives the crew an advantage in that the police will no longer have any authority.  But where they'll go is another question.  They might take us hostage as bargaining chips to keep their own heads.  And then there's the question of whether they managed to refuel the ship during the stopover.  If we run out of fuel we'll drift wherever fate takes us."

[Shax]

With a shake of his head, Shax stood up, dusting himself off and wiping a small bit of blood off the bridge of his nose, which had a cut going along it now. "Slaver ship?! Mrf.... This is not good... We need to do something to prepare ourselves if it comes down to that. Do you have anything to defend yourself with since we have no magic?"

The cabbit had a small dagger back in his own room, but the problem would be getting to his room now if the ship was on lockdown. The Cubi would sit in a chair that wasn't broken during the bird incident. Shax grabbed a unused napkin from the table, holding it to the bridge of his nose to cover the bleeding. "Ugh... My head is throbbing, I can't put up with this right now. I came to relax, but I guess that isn't happening. I'd say lets leave the ship but I know the officers would not allow that, or jump from the ship as its taking off and fly out, but unfortunately, I still can't fly. My Warp Aci is back at my dorm, but I'm unsure if would even work with this magic field up." With a long hiss between his teeth, the young cabbit slammed a fist down on the table. "I can't properly think with this headache!" he groaned, snaching his water from the table and sipping it.

[Tapewolf]

"We can still wing-shift," Jakob said.  "It's clumsy and painful, but it works.  Failing that, chairs can be useful.  But I suspect that if it comes down to fighting, we've already lost.  As for abandoning ship, if I leave without that treaty it will not look good."

[Paladin Sheppard]

Ephrael looked up from where she sat as the guards entered the room "We caught a bugler! We, uh may have roughed him up some while we did so though." She said to the first guard though the door.




*************

Ducking and weaving Paladin swore as he made his way to some semblance of cover from battle that was quickly destroying the Cafeteria. His first intent was get out of this killzone and back to his room and into his armor.

[A Madman Person Guy]

The demon - there was no doubt that's what she was; she was obviously wearing some sort of patch to get rid of the wings, but the short spiky horns that mingled with her equally spiky black hair were a pointed, pun intended, giveaway - frowned down at Jeremiah with a look that suggested less disappointment and more the taste of pickled limes. It did not make for a pleasant sort of scrutiny to be under. Oh, the woman had a pretty enough face, particularly for someone her size, and her height and proximity to the frog only enhanced the impression that one could have lost a fruit basket and a small child down the front of her shirt without too much effort. But at the same time he couldn't help but notice the size of the wrists and hands coming out of the cuffs of her jacket, or the tautness of the skin over tendons as she folded her arms. And now her expression had shifted, turning even more frightening. It was now the look of someone resolute not to say what was actually on their mind, possibly for fear that the one they were addressing might explode.
  "Ah, well, I've always tried to encourage the ability to select the right things to focus on, and remember, in people. I'd say it's kind of a virtue, same way as temperance," she said in a particularly level tone. There was just a hint of a rough but melodic tang to her accent, which suggested a northeastern origin. She pitched her voice lower, and bent closer in to Jeremiah. "And it should be rewarded. I'm wondering particularly... how much you're rewarded for paying such close attention to the cards, for instance, while forgetting what people usually call that kind of behavior."
  It was a shot in the dark, technically. She'd always preferred Hold 'Em over Blackjack, because her skill wasn't reading numbers but rather people. But Miles obviously had some faculty with card counting, and while the man irked her sometimes he was at least dependable. Her amber eyes dashed about for a second, some sort of impression of tension making its way through her focus for a moment, then centered again with Jeremiah caught solidly between them.

[Kafzeil]

"Yeah it's a long story."Kafzeil muttered. "What's this about, Officer?" he asked politely.

Eden's ears meanwhile picked up...screaming? The sounds of commotion. Gritting her teeth a bit as she put on a fresh pair of pants.

"Yes, care to tell us precisely. what this is all about?" The rabbit asked, her tone one that the interloper was likely familiar with by now.

[Boog]

The Cafeteria

A glass at Shax and Jacob's table shattered as a stray bullet whizzed over the wolf's shoulder, missing him by inches.

Eden and Kaf's room

"There's been a minor incident with customs," The ships guard replied, deadpan. The other one, ruining the effect, nodded nervously. "Quaggath is not entirely known to comply with international law and there is a contingency for such events. All passengers are to be evacuated to safer sections of the ship as we attempt to leave port. Just follow instructions and stay calm, and everything will be fine." He nodded to his partner, "You handle the thief, emergency's no call for normal security measures to not be in effect."
"Aye," The other wolf demon pulled out a pair of surprisingly serious looking shackles, for standard security equipment. "Arms front, sonny. Just not your day."

The Boarding Ramp

Jeremiah was, again, not in the habit of getting dumber in the presence of attractive women. Not frequently anyway.
I hear popping.
Not now.
I really think-
I really think you don't.
Hell, she'd noticed the card counting. Technically that was his employers policy, but how much difference would that make to a demon he'd bilked out of a couple hundred marques at the tables? She seemed like a face he'd remember, but then, it was a luxury liner and casino. Most people had memorable faces. Everything gets lost to a sea of individuality, especially after his first Encouragement Shot.
"Of course I pay attention at work, professionalism is-"
She isn't going to believe that, pass her on to someone that outranks you.
Easy on the eyes, isn't she? You can stay a bit longer, she seems friendly.
Bal, you know better.
Prove it.
"Um, our motto aboard the Flame of Freedom."
Would she be likely to hold him personally accountable? Throw some demonic rampage in the middle of all these cops? They seemed well prepared, some of the undead were even starting to file up the ramp, albeit balking and haltingly.
It seemed she'd noticed them, Jeremiah tried to extract himself from her attention; he got half a slink backwards before she had him transfixed again. Damn.
"If you've, ah, had any issues with the recreational facilities I'm sure I could find someone on management staff to explain everything's on the up-and-up." He remembered something and snapped his fingers. "Actually if you just wait right here I can go get my supervisor and-!"

[Shax]

Shax gave a shriek as the glass he had just set back down, shattered into pieces before him. "Ack! Protect the passengers indeed! Already off to such a 'great' start!" Snarled the young cubi. "You think they would check their fire with all the civilians in here... Aparantly they really don't value our lives too much." Shax's attention turned to Jakob, "Are you alright? That came rather close to you."

[Tapewolf]

Jakob's eyes glowed with rage.  Trembling, he picked up a fork and bent it clean in half.  The glow faded from his eyes and he tossed the twisted piece of metal aside.

"We go," he said thickly, wrapping his wings around himself in a defensive posture and getting down on all fours to avoid further shots at head-height.
"We get out of this room, out of the line of fire," he decided, "Then we figure out what to do.  I want my diplomatic bag if I can get it.  After that, we need to take stock of our options.  Do we flee the ship, or do we stay?
"Whatever the case, Officer Rhino is clearly not competent to handle this situation, and if we can convince his men to replace him, we may get out of this in one piece.  And if we survive this, I'm going to make sure he loses his badge if that's the last thing I do.  Even if my clan has to dethrone their precious Empress and conquer this gods-forsaken dump to do it."

[Kirrin_Shadowclaw]

Kirrin blinked as the guards entered, thinking that they had arrived rather quickly and oddly quick at that, he was about to speak up, though he really couldn't get a word in edgewise with the pair speaking instead. Though as he spoke about a problem with customs, he wriggled his arms lightly to finally manage to use his claws well enough on the bindings to get free...only to be presented with a pair of shackles. He seized up for a moment. Then growled loudly, tail swishing as he worked himself to his feet and presented his arms for the guard. "Right...if you believe their lies it's not..." He muttered, the muscle of his bruised cheek twitching once or twice. He couldn't believe his luck.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha was getting more than annoyed.  None of the officers seemed not to spare more than a passing glance to the inquisitive adventurer before things seemed to escalate on the docks and around the ship.  She gave up on trying to enter with friendly means and began to form a plan for forcing entry.  Her ears could pick up quite a bit of commotion further inside the ship, and she immediately hoped that her acquaintances were at least okay.  One ear then turned dockside, where she could hear the adjacent conversation.  She couldn't stop her head from whirling around.

Trafficking?  Is that what this is about?  So it's really true, and they've already been discovered!  And yet I was beginning to wonder where the hell that moose was...

And, speak of the devil.  Thorialtor, or someone who looked remarkably like him, was stiffly watching the events from a higher vantage point.

Not making much of an effort to dodge the now-rising crowd of gawkers, the panthress shoved and hopped over a few people to get up to where he was, shouting his name to get his attention.

"Thorialtor!" she panted when she halted.  "Señor, do you know what's going on in there?  Will everyone be alright?"

*     *     *

Down in the ship itself, Jake was at first as calm as could be while not one, but two officers shuffled inside.  The pangolin meanwhile was a bit of a quivering mess, but at least he sat and kept quiet until he was spoken to.  The Gryphon listened intently however to the mutterings of the tortoises, and raised his defenses when mention of an auction came up.  Apparently, it was something quite bad, from what he could tell from the officer's reaction.

His ears flattened against his skull, though the rest of him stood straight.  I KNEW there was something off about that cat.  Were we going to be in the auction too?

Regardless of whether or not he was jumping to the right conclusion, Jake more than likely wouldn't have time to find out.  When the tortoises presented the cuffs, the pangolin backed away quickly while Jake continued to try the path of civility.

"Gentlemen, wait, you have it all wrong!  Listen, we wanted to tell you in the first place, this room isn't even ours; it belongs to a woman who calls herself the Singing Grin.  Feline, female, interesting sort of smile.  We were invited here, in fact...we had no idea what for.  We were told..."

"--WE'RE SLAVES!" The pangolin screamed, the situation having been too much for him.  "We're from the slave hold in the ship, and we were brought up here!  You've got to help, officers!  I got my chain still to prove it!  Er...wait...I thought I did...!"

Goddammit, way to stay cool.  Jake sighed.  "My spastic friend is telling the truth.  You can't arrest us.  We were already forced here in chains.  If you want proof, she's supposed to be back for us...unless someone got Singing Grin already or she got off the ship.  In which case you have to trust us.  Check the ship's dossier if you must."

If they don't believe us, I'm going to make a run for it and find my halberd.  I'm not going to be stuck this far from home in a prison.

*     *     *

And down in the slave hold, things had been quiet for the most part since a few of the others had left.  The atmosphere in the ship's underbelly hadn't changed much; though some of the young, hopeful ones were continuously watching the door and listening in the ducts for their brave comrades, the others were quiet and still, hardly accepting of any hope until they saw the sunlight for themselves.

Wallard was in the middle.  The brave ones that left were full of lots of potential, especially Jake.  But he had also been around long enough not to trust anything to mere words.

It wasn't long before jarring, faraway sounds shook the place.  Popping, slamming, maybe even faint screaming.  Then, footfalls, coming closer.

Th' hell?  I don't think it's dinnertime yet, the light-colored Gryphon thought, his eyes narrowed as he straightened and walked toward the doorway, making sure he was the first one to face the guardsmen.

[techmaster-glitch]

At the flustered guard's reaction to his words, Xephelon just gestured politely with one of his four arms. "It is no significant trouble, it is merely one of the common situations that arises when one takes a form few people know of." As the guard then started shouting to another crewmember, Xephelon then waved his hand in a reassuring manner. "That will not be necessary, I have not brought any luggage aboard. I have no personal belongings aside from this exoshell I am wearing, and this ticket I have purchased." Xephelon said as he presented the ticket that he had been clutching in one of his other arms. The Mythos then noticed that more police were boarding the ship as the guard began to lead him to his room. His three light-eyes 'blinked' in sequence. Hm. I wonder what this is all about. The local law enforcement seems to have something that's got them in a flurry...but, at least it apparently doesn't have anything to do with me.

Xephelon followed after the guard, with his four scuttling insectoid legs allowing him to keep up with the strangely quick pace the guard was setting. Xephelon figured it was just because the ship's crew were scrambling to get things sorted out. Somewhat worryingly, on the other hand, he could feel his exoshell start to slow down, and the arcane carvings of green light across his body began to dim slightly. It seemed the anti-magic field was getting stronger the more deeper they went into the ship. Xephelon tried to ask the guard about it. "Excuse me, sir, but can--" But, before Xephelon could finish his question and they could reach his room, a policewoman stopped them both.

Even though the arcane aura-sensing function of the enspelled sight that his exoshell gave him was still mostly useless with the ship's anti-magic field suppressing anything that he could see with it, he could recognize the amulets the bobcat wore on their construction alone: some sort of undead-controlling amulets, likely for unintelligent undead. After the back-and-forth between the guard and the policewoman, Xephelon cut in. "Yes, I am a passenger. Xephelon is my name, and I am an uncommon race of Mythos in this part of the world. While it does understandably share many traits in common with a construct, what you see before you is in fact the exoshell body I am wearing, and is not autonomous. This crewmember was merely escorting me to my room, as I have only just purchased passage on this ship less than an hour ago." He explained--though now the anti-magic field was starting to cause his less firmly enchanted speech-spell to fluctuate, accompanied by a significant dimming of the green lights lining his shell each time. Great. What next? He decided to voice some questions while he could. "And...pardon me, but the anti-magic field of this ship is starting to interfere with the enchantments operating my exoshell." Xephelon said as he turned his torso to the guard. "Is there anything that can be done about this? It will become quite an irritant if I must deal with it throughout the voyage." Xephelon then turned back to the bobcat. "And, if I may inquire, what is the situation with the local law enforcement boarding this vessel? I noticed more boarding after I did. It is very unusual, and makes me more than a little concerned for my personal safety. Is there anything I need to worry about? Ugh, dratted anti-magic field..."

[A Madman Person Guy]

The Boarding Ramp

"Actually if you just wait right here I can go get my supervisor and-!" The frog's words twanged like banjo strings, tense and rapid-fire. The wolfess barely seemed to be noticing him anymore though, her eyes and ears both flicking around with attention as sharp orders were called out among the guards beside them. Perhaps he'd actually be able to get away?
  A hand shot out, fast enough that there was a little snap as the sleeve of the demon's jacket displaced the air, and clasped Jeremiah's shoulder. Steely fingers digging in just a bit, her eyes locked on his. And slowly, her face melted into a very expressive smirk. 'Gotcha', it seemed to say.
  "I can see that customer service comes naturally to you," she insouciated at him, pulling him slightly toward her so that she could straighten back up, but in such a nonchalant way that she managed to make the movement seem mostly his own work. "Of course I'll be happy to wait in the boarding hall up the ramp." She smiled at him. That is to say, the corners of her mouth went up, and she showed the frog a full set of sharp, gleaming teeth. "What a gentleman. I'm sure we can work this out to mutual benefit and without any disturbances."

[Boog]

On the scaffolding, far above the Flame of Freedom

Thorialtor gave a polite nod as Aisha shouted for him, and winced at her question.
"Probably not." The look of chastisement on his face looked... Grossly inadequate. Like a man who had dropped a pie in his lap. He fell into step next to her, whispering. "There has been a bit of an issue in the plan... An agent of mine was recruiting assistance from the slavehold, and near as I can tell someone got caught." He grumbled, "I'd called in the local police hoping to pressure the slavers to take off early, ahead of schedule. This way my agents can make their move while they're still distant from civilization, but still miles from their last proper check in... But I didn't think Captain Bartholemew was in town." He sighed, "Rhinosaurus, very thorough man. Once saw smash a mythos' teeth out with his fist," as if to make his point, Thorialtor pantomimed a small boxers jab, punctuated by an almost comical "tlok" of the tongue. "Very devout member of Quaggath's necromancy-centric religion. He took the tip as grounds for a complete investigation, and... Last report I received, there was shooting inside." The man gave a heaving sigh, broad shoulders slumped, "Once, I do wish a plan would just come together without incident... I'm trying to get my people in to rescue what prisoners we can but, well, as mentioned, Bartholemew is QUITE thorough. Getting anyone apart from the small number I've sent in, without implicating myself, is proving to be... Challenging."
"Of course," The man turned and studied his nails, "If some adventurer did something... Suitably adventurous, I'm certain I could provide aide while maintaining plausible deniability..."

The Boarding Ramp

Jeremiah winced, and gave an experimental wriggle to get out of her grasp, but no luck.
Damn demons.
Liturgically accurate.
Not the time. Well, she just wanted to get at the boarding ramp, that should be no trouble. "Absolutely, right this way, Miss." The grin snapped back into place, properly. She obviously didn't seem to want revenge for some perceived slight at the card tables. Hell, maybe she tipped well.
He started back toward the ship...
The frog's unnatural innocuousness seemed to hold firm this far, and soon they had reached the boarding hall, surrounded by officers and arguing, confused waitstaff. The ships guards were nowhere to be found, and more cops seemed to be pouring in.
"Ah, things appear to be in a bit of chaos, but I'm sure I can find somebody to see to you, I'll need just a moment to find someone who's not-"
That's when three more officers came around a bend in the hall; a rhino with captains pips on his lapel, barking orders and clutching a bleeding shoulder, while a tiger and an alligator supported him by the shoulders.
"PUT OUT AN ALL OFFICERS IMMEDIATELY, AND WHERE THE BLEEDING HELL ARE MY TECHNICAL MAGES? GET THIS ANTIMAGIC FIELD DOWN NOW!"
"We have to get him to a healer." The tiger was speaking to a nearby, hurrying aide, "And get all these people downtown for processing, this is officially a siege situation."
"ANY PASSENGERS THAT CAN BE TAKEN ALIVE ARE TO BE SENT TO PROCESSING IMMEDIATELY!" The rhino possessed an unnatural vivaciousness, even as his shoulder continued to drip on the floor, "IF YOU SEE A TICKET, YOU SEE A GODDAMN SUSPECT!"
"Sir, your injury! Stop straining your-"
"YOU!" Oh god, the Rhino had seen Jeremiah, "THIS MAN'S IN SHIPS LIVERIES, WHY THE HELL IS NOBODY TAKING HIS STATEMENT?!"
Welp. There goes the invisibility.

Within the ship, a little past the boarding hall

"We received an anonymous tip that someone was operating a furrae trafficking ring out of this ship," The bobcat scowled; the demonic guard was starting to look nervous, "... And selling to the passengers. You'll need to give a complete statement and reason for your-"
... The distant sound of firearms reached their hallway. For a moment all was still and quiet, the pause of furious contemplation...
For the second time today finding himself the single unluckiest man in the world, the demon scrambled about his person for a pistol. The bobcat reacted first, her own firearm up and aimed at the wolf's face. The hardening of a demon's skin MIGHT turn aside a bullet, but it depended on the demon's reflexes, and at this range there was no way the officer could miss the guard's wide, nervous eyes.
"... You may want to step down this way, sir." The bobcat said to Xephelon, teeth bared. "Slowly."

Singing Grin's Luxury Suite, or, Gotta Love The Shining Armor

The turtles looked at each other a moment, snouts crinkling.
"They could be lying."
"They're probably lying. What we CAN prove is that they sure as hell ain't dressed like slaves."
"Yeah but look here." The first turtle held up the pangolin's wrist, gently, with a practiced ease that implied experience with special victims. "This one's still got marks on his wrists."
Then they heard the gunfire. Both looked up, toward the cafeteria.
"... Good enough for me. C'mon, both of you. Lets get you out of here, let criminal processing figure it out."

Kaf and Eden's rooms

"Easy way to prove this. Ma'am, you said this man was a thief? Did you see what he'd taken?" The guard moved forward to frisk Kirrin.

The Cafeteria

It was hard to believe that thirty seconds ago this had been a reasonable crowd of people, awaiting statements by the authorities. This place was bedlam. Some of the passengers had gone to hunker down behind the makeshift fortifications of tables that the ships crew was defending, while others had either gone along quietly with the police or had been dragged off by them. In another corner of the room there was a hamster in a Vermali Military Uniform organizing some of the other passengers in another fortification, trying to calm people down and keep people safe, but overall the whole room was a screaming mess of people trying to get out and either being cut off by more of the fighting or being successfully taken away by one side or the other.

The slavehold

Ugh, it was the fat wolf demon again. This time he looked alarmed.
"You dumb slobs." The man had a cadre of heavily armed, anxious looking demons with him, "Who the hell let onna ya out, huh? Someone on staff? There's men DYIN' upstairs cuz some little bird got impatient, we need some fuckhin' answers."

[Tapewolf]

"We're stuck," Jakob pronounced, looking at the mobs and pandemonium building up around the exits from the dining area.  "We might be able to make for the toilets and hide there until things calm down, but I imagine they're pretty full of others doing the same thing by now."

So saying, the wolf crouched down and morphed his wings into a protective shape, wrapping them around himself like a crude sort of tent that protected him against stray rounds.

"We may have to wait it out until we're arrested or the ship takes off."

[A Madman Person Guy]

As the frog turned instantly cooperative, the wolfess released her grip, and made a quick nod that seemed to indicate satisfaction. She was about to fall into step behind him, when she seemed to remember herself, and her head spun about, looking over her shoulders. Now where has he gone? she thought. Typical. A small stroke of luck, but now she couldn't spare the time to look. She fell into step just behind Jeremiah, eyes still panning about.
  There was a sudden furious exclamation, and her attention was drawn toward it. A guard captain was barking pained orders and making a stir. She prodded the man in front of her in the back, leaning a bit forward again and speeding up her walk, while looking just a bit downward and trying to affect an air of preoccupied temporary blindness.
  "Don't look," she mumbled out of the corner of her mouth. Putting her hands together behind her back, she felt at her right wrist, fingers tracing the outline of something slim and cylindrical within one sleeve. "And walk faster. We don't-"
  "...THE HELL IS NOBODY TAKING HIS STATEMENT?!"
  Crap. He'd spotted them. Or, possibly, just the frog. The man didn't exactly seem entirely composed at the moment. She didn't falter in her stride, but she felt her resolve starting to shake nevertheless. Every passenger was a suspect of what, exactly? Those who had been on or off the ship? And where had Miles got off to?! The little weasel couldn't have just disappeared. If he were here, he could have at least provided a distraction.
  "Just keep walking!" she hissed between her teeth at Jeremiah, studiously ignoring the rhino and his attendants. Something was happening here, and she wanted a vantage position to watch it. She really didn't want to have to spend time sitting and being bombarded with banal questions over a table in a claustrophobic room by some moronic buddy-cop duo. It never ended quickly or well enough. They never knew how to treat a lady with dignity - or anyone else for that matter - and last time she'd had a devil of a time getting the metal splinters out of her knuckles.

[Shax]

Shax wrapped his wings about himself, headwings formed and wrapped softly around his own head. He saw Jakob grab and bend the fork, eyes glowing "Jakob! Get ahold of yourself. We don't need to let emotions get the best of us!" The cabbit's foot kicked over the table, ducting down behind it and dragging the wolf with him. "As for now, we just need to stay low and keep behind cover... The chaos is just going to get worse for the moment, lets just stay out of the way. We will have our chance to flee." For a healer, Shax seemed a tad experienced in situations like this. "Are you injured? Did it graze you at all?" Shax asked, looking over the other Cubi.

[Tapewolf]

"I am unhurt," Jakob said sullenly.  "But I may need to be restrained if that idiot comes near me.  But yes, we wait until the ship takes off or we are given an opportunity to surrender safely."

[techmaster-glitch]

Xephelon's exoshell appeared to be shocked still at the bobcat's first words, while inside his fleshy body was quivering. And I just wanted to have a nice field trip of studying... "A...trafficking ring? On this ship? But...oh, so that must be why the anti-magic field is excessively overcharged..." The exoshell buzzed out. The sound of firearms then rang through the hallway from distant parts in the ship, and Xephelon immediately knew that he was going to have a very interesting rest of the day. And not in the good way, either. By the gods, how did he keep ending up in situations like this?!

The two others in the hallway then went to a standoff with each other, with the bobcat policewoman managing to get the drop on the Demon guard, getting her weapon up and pointed at the Demon's head before he could move or draw his own. And with the policewoman's command, Xephelon figured that working with the authorities was the smartest thing to do from here on out. What frustrated him to no end was that the anti-magic field was still up, and not only was it beginning to interfere with his exoshell, he didn't think he could work any magic-infusions, not even through the channeling-crystals in the hands of his exoshell. At best, he might be able to construct the spell for a basic weak energy-ray in one of the crystals, which would be something though still not anything that would make much of a difference...though, the Demon guard didn't have to know that.

The exoshell began skittering sideways away from the Demon guard, while Xephelon brought two of four of the exoshell's spindly arms up and spread the radially-clustered fingers on the end wide, revealing the small crystals embedded in the 'palms'. Xephelon pointed them at the guard, while he slowly strafed towards the bobcat to get closer to her side. "I am appalled at knowing that this wondrous vessel I hoped to study and learn from is being used for such crass purposes. You have my cooperation, authority, and I offer my skills to help resolve this situation, after present company has been dealt with..."

[Tapewolf]

Jakob's eyes widened.  "Officer Rhino... what if he's one of the buyers...?  He stormed in here, he knew about the whole thing... he knew before we did... he's operating entirely outside normal police procedure, and sparked what is liable to turn into a full-scale war, or several, depending on how many ambassadors get hurt or killed...
"With that kind of backdrop, no-one will be any the wiser if the actual slaves go missing or are 'killed' in the chaos... He'll end up with them all and he won't even have to pay!"

[Yugo]

There were few things Kaela hated more than being bored, and right now, she was bored. She had been stuck sitting on the dock for nearly six hours now, and the only interesting thing she had found to do in that time was kick over to the nearest tavern for happy hour. The beauty of the luxury liner Flame of Freedom had long grown stale, and between the bustle of city crowds and the shouting of police she had elected to move to the side and have a seat on her bag. A luxury suite. Hot baths. Gourmet food served up by professional chefs. An obscenely expensive and overly fancy bar. None of that, no ma'am. This vacation was going to take place out on the pier with nothing to do, and this vacation was off to a rotten start.  Kaela watched people pass her by. It was a cosmopolitan city, all things considered, and being a little bit drunk made the minutes pass a little bit more quickly. There were Creatures and beings of every type, and she imagined most of them were wondering the same thing she was. Just what the hell was going on?

A familiar black-furred figure jogged by, cloak billowing in the breeze. Kaela furrowed her brow and grinned wolfishly.
   
"Well, hello," she mumbled in a husky voice, standing to her feet and slinging her pack over her shoulders.
   
Kaela gave thanks for her height as she pushed through the press of bodies near the ramp, scanning the horizon.  "Excuse me, ma'am. Sorry, sir. Coming through. Excuse me." She peeked between the wings of a particularly upset demon and sidled out of the crowd.  There she was, Kaela thought. She hadn't seen Aisha in years. Wherever that panther is going, there's bound to be something a hell of a lot more fun than this, Kaela thought.
   
A hand fell on Aisha's shoulder. "Excuse me, love, I seem to be lost. can you help me?" Kaela smirked, her eyes bright and cheeky.

-------------------

Milla had found her daily performances since the Flame of Freedom's initial departure simply exhausting. Who would have known there would be so many high-class socialites eager to talk and flirt under the pretense of complicated dancing? She had reveled in the gapes of awe directed at her as she had wandered the halls. A succubus, they would whisper! There had been more than enough lords and ladies eager to speak with her, and eager to be seen speaking with her. According to some at the Academy it had recently become quite fashionable to be seen in the company of a succubus of her clan, and that was the reason, she believed, that she had received her invitation at all. A succubus performing in a grand ballroom? How progressive!
   
It had been her intention to enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine in the upper deck cafe. Police had been up and down the ship now, and with each one she came to they insisted on identification and background. A signet ring, an eyeshadowed wink, and leaning to give a generous view of her ample chest had been enough to see her through, for the most part. Others were less weak-willed or of the wrong persuasion, and for those she produced her VIP pass, a golden card emblazoned with her name.
   
Milla had barely arrived inside the cafeteria before all hell had broken loose. With the judicious use of skulking, she had managed to slip out of the line of fire, unnoticed and unseen. With guile and speed she slinked from table to table before finally making it to a very animated grey and pink duo.
   
"This appears to be quite the altercation," she said with a smile, brushing a wispy strand of hair from her face. Her voice was earthy, and her accent was thick and glottal. "You look like the rough-and-tumble sort. Would you care to escort a lady out?"

[Tapewolf]

"Right now we're having enough trouble escorting ourselves out," Jakob said, glancing around at the newcomer.  "But you're welcome to tag along.  Succubus, right?  Shield yourself with your wings, I was nearly hit by a stray bullet earlier.  In case you missed the memo, we're in a shooting war between the local police, who want to arrest everyone on the ship - or at least, the ones who don't get killed in the fighting - and the ship's crew, who are trying to protect us and get the ship in the air, but seem to be running some kind of slaving ring.
"Meanwhile, I need to get my diplomatic bag from my room if I possibly can.  Then I can sensibly decide whether to stay aboard and cooperate with whoever wins, or get the hell off the ship, and presumably turn myself into the authorities for questioning.  In short, we're in a hell of a pickle, Miss... Nact'Larn...?" he finished, giving the succubus a more thorough appraisal once he thought it was safe to do so.

[Yugo]

   Milla folded her left wing over her shoulder, and an errant round whizzed directly at where her exposed head would have been. There was a flash of light and a shower of sparks as the bullet ricocheted away from its feathered surface. "I see that," she muttered, a little shaken. She tried to lower her profile as best she could, folding her headwings over her cheeks.
   
"Slaving ring?" Milla furrowed her brow. "Seems as if we do not have many allies here." Another bullet thudded into the table beside them. "Yes, I am Nact'larn. Milla Nact'larn von Kassel. You'll forgive me if I don't curtsy, given our predicament." The bird cocked her head to the side and smirked. "And you? A grey incubus? I know you, although I am not famliar with your companion. You were on the VIP list. You must be Jakob Pettersohn," she said, intoning each syllable with a precise pronunciation. Ya-kob Pay-ter-sohn.

[Tapewolf]

"At your service," Jakob said.  "It's so refreshing to find someone who doesn't pronounce it 'Jacob'.  But I digress.  We're caught between the police, who seem to be trying to turn this into a full-scale war and will if any diplomats are harmed, and the crew.  One group wants to interrogate us and doesn't care if we die, the other group wants to protect us but are, for want of a better word, somewhat evil.
"The idiot rhino has cornered them, and since they risk decapitation, they are liable to do anything to escape that sorry fate.  I don't trust the police either, for that matter - they appear to be assuming that all the passengers and crew are guilty by default."

"As for my companion, he is Shax of Jin's clan," Jakob continued, suddenly wondering as he spoke, if the two clans were actually on good terms or not.

[Yugo]

"It's a shame the local authorities could not handle this situation with more tact and grace, deplorable though the accusations may be," Milla mused, flinching as another volley of gunfire echoed in the cafeteria. "As loathe as I am to admit it, it may behoove us to simply flee the ship. If the crew are indeed trading in people as livestock-" The succubus turned up her nose at the notion. "-then I would rather not assist them." She peeked over the barricade for a moment. "And with the situation escalated so quickly, the police are as liable to murder us in their panic as they are to help us."

Milla glanced past Jakob with a friendly smile, eyeing the pastel-colored cabbit. "But we have a member of Jin's clan with us. How unusual!" Another round struck the wall behind them, and Milla brushed stray chips away from her shoulder. "Your grandmother would be quite upset to find you outside of the Academy walls, given how perilously thin her children have become." She turned and gazed at the prostrate bodies that were starting to pile up on either side. "If this fight winds down and magic is restored, can you heal the wounded, Shax of Jin? They may need your help."

[Tapewolf]

"That may be," Jakob said, "But I'm not sure they deserve death for it.  It's not like that has acted as a deterrent - if anything, the threat of execution has only made everything worse by making them desperate.  If we do flee the ship, the police will take it as evidence of our own guilt as buyers.  And if Officer Rhino is a buyer himself, we'll make lovely scapegoats to cover his own involvement.
"And if we do prove our innocence and get turned loose, the crew are the only ones who can fly this thing.  Evil or not, we need them, or we'll be stranded on this shithole of an island."