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Two if by Sea; Closed
Topic Started: Jun 17 2015, 04:11 AM (31 Views)
Karas
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Level 5 Commoner
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
The docks were nice and quiet, just as he'd planned. It had taken weeks to get here and he didn't want a single goddamn disturbance when his baby finally arrived. Not that she was going to be able to actually dock at the... well, docks. She was waaaaay too big for that. She'd have to stick it out off shore for now until he could get a nice, private dock built just for her. With plenty of defensive countermeasures to keep pricks from mucking with his new toy or, even worse, scuffing the new paint. Almost like magic he could see her then, just a blot on the horizon to most. His eye whirred and clicked, zooming in and focusing to reveal his prize.

Almost three hundred meters from bow to stern, her triple turrets gleaming in the moonlight like the eyes of a magnificent predator. The USS New Jersey in all her glory came over the horizon just behind her tow vessel. Lucas could barely contain himself at the sight, he was practically salivating at the thought of finally being able to touch her. No, he actually was salivating, it had taken him weeks to prove that the deed he'd nabbed from that mobster was the real thing and even more to get them to bring her here. But she was here now, and she was all his. Once that damn tow got the hell gone, that is.

As eager as he was, the intellectual side of him butted in with the cold facts. It would be hours yet before they actually got close enough to berth her, and hours still after that until he'd get the clearance to actually board his vessel. His grumbling went unheard, empty as the docks were as he wandered through them to do something productive with his time. A worn down warehouse at the edge of the water proved a worthwhile destination.

The door stuck, but then it always did. An impatient snooper would try to shove it open and trigger the pair of scatterguns hidden in the doorframe, getting a nice spread of fiery buckshot right in the face and groin. A more clever intruder might spy them and disengage the wire trigger, tripping the magical trigger and setting them off anyway with an added bonus of the aura mine hidden in the door itself rending their soul with a storm of aura needles. Lucas mentally counted to the ten in his head before trying the door again, the trap having disengaged and letting the door swing open easily.

The lights came on automatically, revealing his newest workshop. While the one at home was crowded and cluttered, necessity dictated large amounts of space and open pathways here. He wasn't building guns here, but things that were much, much larger. The twenty meter long monstrosity that dominated the largest worktable spoke to exactly what was going on in this place. He couldn't help the wide grin as he shut the door behind him and gazed at the faintly glowing lines along the reinforced barrel of this new and improved Mark 7 gun.

“I'm going to have... so much fun with this.”
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Karas
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Level 5 Commoner
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Sweat beaded on his brow and rolled down his bare back as Lucas heaved on the line, the pulley straining under the weight of the massive gun. Even with magic and machinery, tradition and training told him that he should put his own muscle to work whenever he could. With his own blood, sweat, and tears being spilled in the manufacture and reinforcement, his own magic would take better hold, would draw even more power from the machine's rich history. He panted, gritted his teeth, and heaved again, the gun finally making the almost imperceptible shift into position and letting the weary gunsmith let go of the line without fear of damaging it.

It had been a week since it had finally made it here, a week since he'd boarded her and taken stock of her condition. The lines, as he'd suspected, were flawless. She was perfect for his needs, despite the work he would need to put into her. Much of it was being replaced by necessity anyway, and he'd paid off quite a few people to sneak her into a hidden drydock. Taking her guns apart and transporting them had taken more money, but it was about to finally be worth it.

The three-gun turret before him was massive, and it weighed as much as some of the boats that were berthed in the harbor. More than quite a few of them as well. The guns themselves were newly constructed, enshrined within the original housings and the faintly glowing lines of runes shone with the dusting from the shavings he'd taken from the insides of the original guns' barrels. He'd wanted to keep the original guns, but they would not survive the forces he intended to force them these. They would still serve their purpose, but in a different manner.

This was the last one, already surrounded by the massive array of runes and magic circles he'd need to transport it to the dry dock to be mounted. He walked the perimeter of the circle, inspecting every inch of it for any error, any minor defect. It would need to be flawless, and it was. The circle alone had taken the greater part of a day to scribe for that very reason.

Lucas settled for one more round of inspection before finally half-collapsing into the chair next to his workbench, a twitch of his eye turning the television on as he reached for the lunch his father had decided he had to make for him before he'd left. It would likely embarrass most grown men, but right now he was more focused on tearing into the turkey and cheese sandwich he'd made for him, noting with approval that he had used the honey mustard this time.

For the first time in days, Lucas relaxed and watched the television, laughing at whatever cartoon it was and enjoying his sandwich. The hardest part was over, now he only needed to refine his greatest work.
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Karas
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Level 5 Commoner
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
"Begone from my sight, to reborn anew in the place of my choosing!"

Lucas was very nearly sucked into the space the naval battery had been but a moment before, only the retaining line holding him back as the air rushed to fill the space with a thunderclap that was most likely heard all the way back in the center of the city. The windows of some of the nearby warehouses may have actually shattered, he'd skimped a bit on the noise reduction runes. But that didn't concern him, the last of the main battery was in place.

He stretched, a pleased smile taking over his face before he let himself collapse to the floor on his back with arms outstretched. The hardest parts were finally done, those glorious sixteen inch guns fully refitted and now settled into their places. He'd have to work on the five inchers next, which left him with options. He chewed his lip while he thought on it, he had considered returning the ship to its original armament in orientation.

She would gain more close-range punch, for sure. But if he was successful, she shouldn't actually need it. But the same could be said of her missile compliment, at least once he finished with the main guns' long range ammunition. The cost was another consideration, he'd have to find more Mark 28s with their mounts and pay to transport them as well. It wasn't going to be cheap.

He'd already poured way too much into this project, at least his father thought so. He'd make it work as it was, he didn't need to make him worry more about the cost.

Lucas climbed to his feet, detaching the line and moving over to the first of the 5-inch turrets and smiled broadly. The mount was completely stripped, he'd have to go over every piece of it while he worked to make sure it could take the stress he was going to introduce to it. The barrels of the sixteen-inch guns had already been broken down and melted down or ground into dust for his work, adding their own might to the smaller guns.

The phone was ringing, it made him growl in annoyance. Lucas grabbed the receiver off the hook with a huff and held it to his ear, "Einhetz Iron, Lucas speaking."

"You got a special order, won't bite unless you work on it personally. Get over here."

Lucas sighed, "Yaa, yeah. I'll be over soon as I can, the hell do they want that can't be done by an old fart like you?"

"Fuck if I know, won't even tell me. No respect from anyone these fuckin' days."

The old man hung up before he could retort so he just shook his head and hung up. His jacket came off the hook quickly along with his keys. Lucas took a moment to turn and inspect the workshop, another pleased smile before he locked the door behind him and plopped into his car.

"Better be fuckin' good."
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