| abstract
| - Independence Harbor The land and sea meet uncertainly, salty blue ocean water giving way to thick hummocky estuary mud in a whisper of spent waves. The silt-laden waters of the Washington River snake out of the muck, pouring a fertile brown stain across the ocean. Sea birds with enormous wingspans wheel and cry like calligraphy against the sky. The long light wooden finger of the Independence Docks stretches out through a clear stretch of ocean with several small boats tied along it. It leads to a broad wooden platform of roughly split logs that's set on a patch of relatively dry ground and tethered against the lift of the tide. Upon this are some few wooden sheds and coils of rope, half-repaired boats and sailcloth. Crisp ocean scents struggle for dominance with brown organic decay and the smell of fresh wood. Jantine is coming down from the landing pad, heading in the direction of the NLS Raven. Dirionis leaves the transit, heading for the landing pad. " Hey Jan." He says as he passes. "Hey Diri, where yah headed?" Jan asks. "I'd tell ya, but i'd have to kill ya." He responds with a grin. " Why?" Jantine grins back "Just curious" he says with a shrug. Dirionis points at the Raven. " You goin' out for some sailin'?" Jantine nods "Yea, probably sail around a bit, you doing anything?" Dirionis switches his bag to the other shoulder. " Hell, you know i'm in!" He follows Jantine. "Should we bring fishin' poles?" Jantine scratches the back of his neck "You have a fishing pole? I don't.." he trails "It's a good idea, but the boat kinda took a lot of my money out of me" he says. Dirionis ponders the question. " Where the hell would we buy a fishin' pole, anyway..?" Jantine shrugs "I dunno, we could go ask around, I'm not in a hurry" Dirionis nods in agreement. "Yeah, sounds good." "Let's see if there's any in town, come on" Jan says, begining to walk towards the landing pad again "Oh wait, almost forgot, should lock up" he says, taking a key out amd pressing a button. Dirionis nods, and checks how much rayden he has on him. Birthright Parkway A straight, sloped road, Birthright Parkway is designed to transition from the low-lying areas of the Harbor and landing pad to the main city atop Independence Hill. Buildings line the parkway with faded wood facades and brass trim, almost too cute and consistant to be accidental. At the bottom of the hill is the cheery Decon building, while at the top of the hill, the Parkway T-bones into Plaindid Street. At about the middle of the Parkway, a street snakes off to the east towards a more residential neighborhood. Jantine looks around "So where should we check?" Dirionis scratches his head. " I dunno...Maybe..Hmm...Wait, does Jasper have good shopping?" Jantine shrugs "Can't say I've been there" Dirionis strokes his chin. " Lets check it out." Jantine nods "Back to the boat then!" he says confidantly, raising an arm and leading the way. Dirionis grins, bag switching shoulders again. Jantine walks over to the Rave, unlocking it as he does so, he steps on board. Dirionis tosses his bag into the raven before entering himself. ‘’’Narrator:’’’ A boat ride later… South Main Street Rustic, slatted wood storefronts clash with new-looking three- and four-story buildings here, a sign of the new pushing out the old. The road is of fresh plascrete, and hovertraffic is light. There are relatively few buildings to the east, and a wide gap between two of them has been turned into a path. To the north, Main Street continues on towards the heart of the city. To the south, the road passes through the tall city walls and beyond. Dirionis walks up the street, looking at the stores. " Here we go!" Jantine nods "Yea, lets find some fishingpoles" he says, looking around "Which store would sell them?" Dirionis strokes his chin, looking in windows. " We'll find one store...This place is in love with the water, there has to be a fishin' place somewhere.." He points. " I think theres one over there..." Jantine nods "Alright, lets head over there." he says, begining to head over. Dirionis does so as well, sure enough, a fishing hut. " Nice." He enters the store Jantine grabs two poles, and brings them over to the counter "Hey, we'd like these, please" he says, placing them ontop of the counter. The man at he counter glances up from reading a book, pushing up his glasses, the older man nods.." three thousand rayden, please." An old withered hand reaches out while the other strokes his beard. Dirionis raises a brow. Jantine cocks his head to the side "Excuse me?" he asks, giving the man a funny look. The old fisherman lets out a hearty laugh. " Just joking, me lads! Just joking!" He catches his breath, responding, " thirty rayden is all." He still chuckles a bit. Dirionis smirks at the man. Jantine just nods slightly, handing over the money to the older man. Dirionis grabs the green one, nodding to the man. The man still laughs a little. " Come on back if you ever want to talk fishing!" Dirionis turns, whispering, " lets get the hell outta here." Jantine nods "Yea, lets" as he follows Diri, taking the black pole. NLS Raven This 20 foot long sailboat has a long wooden deck, an external tiller, a small lean-to with seating for five, a tall mast, and a boom. An auxillary outboard motor is in the back in case the wind doesn't cooperate. Below, it houses a spartan sleeping room, a head, and some storage, focusing on the necessities of marine living. Jantine baits his fishing pole, and casts it out. Dirionis does the same, flinging it out. Well, Jan certainly doesn't catch anything, his line just sits there. Dirionis puts a hand on his chin, looking at the water for the fish. "hmm..I see some...Whoa theres a big one...He lures his bait towards it slowly. Jantine still doesn't catch anything. Dirionis sees the giant fish grab at his bait, hook piercing it. " Holy crap!.." He tugs back at the fish, at a stalemate with it. Jantine looks over "You need, uh, help?" he asks, still letting his pole dangle in the water. Dirionis starts to get pulled towards the water. " That fishy bitch!..Nah...I got it.." He pulls back, muscles flexing. Well, Jan doesn't have chance to respond before his line goes taunt "I've got one!" he cries, reeling it in, it doesn't look as big as Diri's fish, but still large enough to eat. Dirionis hefts the more than two foot fish out of the water, also punching it once its dangling in front of him. " Ya rascal!" Jantine grins as he watchs Diri "Should we try to get some more, or is this good?" he asks. Dirionis pauses, biting his lip. " Some other NLM might want some...Lets go round two...Eh, where should I put this one?..Hey!" He grabs Jan‘s PDA, handing it to Jan. " Take a picture." Jantine nods, taking his PDA out "Alright, smile!" he says, holding it up. Dirionis grins, taking a heroic pose next to the fish. Flash! The camera insert in the PDA takes the picture. "Excellent, lets catch some more!" he says, taking his fishing pole back out, and baiting it once again. Dirionis takes a quick piture from his PDA, candid. He chuckles, putting it away, and casting out again. Jantine doesn't catch anything yet, just sits. Dirionis doesn't either. He glances at the fish hes caught. Jan? Well, he's gone with a cut off "Woa..." and a splash as a large fish pulls him in. Dirionis whips off his NLM top and bottom, bringing his rod back in as he sees the fish Jan hooked, leaping down towards it. "I've got you now!" He lands on the fish, grasping on. " Dun let go of that rod, Jan! We payed for that!" Well, Jan certainly manages to hang onto the rod, and amidst all that flounding he's doing? He manages to get a hold onto the fish itself, not that he can do much with it. Dirionis wrestles the fish, trying to get a grasp on the hook. Its slippery, but he hangs on, missing the hook. " I'll get em!" Jantine still manages to hang on "Come on Diri, get him!" he says, but he looks almost like he's having fun. Dirionis laughs, some water getting in his mouth as he spits it out, coughing. He removes the hook, with a triumphant grin. " Got em!" He looks to Jan. " We have to eat the fish, in memoriam...Take the rod, go back on the ship, and pull it up...I'll reconnect the hook and help it out of the water." Jantine nods, still hanging on to the rod, he swims back over towards the Raven. Dirionis re-connects the hook. " We'll be eating good tonight...This think is larger than three feet!" Jantine gets to the boat, clambering in, he puts the rod down and offers Diri a hand "Well, this is certainly /one/ way to catch a fish" he says, grinning. Dirionis tugs the fish with him, it remains by the dock. " Here, pull this sucker up first." He starts to lift it out of the water... Jantine grabs the fish, but doesn't go anywhere with it "Man, this thing is heavy" he says, pulling on it. Dirionis grunts, trying to strain it up words, slipping a bit. " We're not...Letting it go!" The fish starts to slip, sliding back into the water. Jan strains against it "Come on, lets get this!" he says, pulling again. Dirionis is inspired by his friends words, apparently. He hauls the fish out of the water. " Now, now!" Jantine heaves, pulling the fish over the side and into the boat, he whipes his brow "Man, /that/ was heavy" he says "How are we ever going to get this home?" he asks, leaning over and giving Diri a hand. Dirionis takes a sigh of relief, taking the hand and getting aboard. " We can carry it no problem when its not struggling." He rubs his hands. " I can't wait...Hey, got a towel aboard?" Jantine grins, shaking his head "Sorry man, didn't think I'd be going for a dip" he says "I think these things should be enough, lets head back" Dirionis nods, trying to shake himself off. " Wait, I got my sweat towel in my bag. Its all good." He goes to his bag, picking it up and drying off, for the most part. " You need it?" Jantine chuckles to himself, heading over to the tiller "Naw, think I should be fine, hey, you want to head into the cabin? I've got a cooler in there with some drinks in it, take the drinks out, grab me one while you're at it, and can you get the fish in there?" he asks. Dirionis laughs, responding, " Yes, Captain!" He puts on his New Luna off duty uniform again, taking the fish one by one and grabbing some drinks. Jantine chuckles, steering the craft in the direction of Independance Harbor. Dirionis gives Jan his drink, saying, "Should we leave the fish here for now?" Jantine nods "Yea" he says, taking his drink, Independance harbor nears "So what are we going to do with all these fish?" he asks, taking a drink. Dirionis chuckles, taking a sip. " Throw em on the grill, of course!" He looks at the nearing harbor, retorting with a grin, " You smell like seaweed." Jantine laughs "You certainly don't smell any better" he says, grinning as well. Dirionis watches as they float closer to shore. " What a day." Jantine nods, bringing the boat up to the dock "Yea" is all he says as he gets up to secure the Raven. Dirionis walks with him, offering a hand as he does so. Jantine shakes his head "I'm fine" he says, securing the craft "I've had to do this myself everyother time, hey, you could get the cooler" Jan says. Dirionis nods, striding over to the cooler and grabbing it. " Lets go." Jantine nods "Yea, lets go"
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