Unexpected Expectations
BANG
The bulkhead goes flying across the platform, whacking against the hull of the landship making a DONGGGG sound that echoes throughout the entire liftdock.
…
…
There’s an eerie silence as the dust settles around doorway, the defenders all sharing glances at each other as they tighten the grips on their hastily summoned weapons. Some hold old rusty guns, others broken swords and a few even hold pipes and other unweaponly weapons.
K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-RACKPOW
The first shots go off without warning, coming from the attacking side, a hail of suppressive fire that forces the defenders to duck behind their makeshift barricades, giving their attackers the opportunity to rush forward and set up a beachhead. Their foe doesn’t remain idle for long however, as they’re soon rushing between the stacked crates and partially disassembled engines taking pot-shots at them. THUMP One gets hit, being sent flying back from the formation and against the wall, the armour under his robes saving his life…but leaving a few broken bones behind. The victory is short lived however, as the attackers part their formation, revealing the gun which opened the battle.
K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-K-
It’s an unwieldy thing…heavy, requiring three people to carry it. But it’s well protected with a big sloping metal shield and now that its been properly deployed, ammo box, water cooler and all it can fire virtually forever.
The defenders are now stuck…
“FOR ONE KINGDOM!”
One of them shouts, lobbing over a small, pipe ridden monstrosity of a device.
Tick.
Tock.
“GET TO COVER!”
One of the attackers shouts, just bef-
DING!
KABOOOOM!
Up on the bridge of the landship, things are in absolute and utter chaos. One wouldn’t be crazy to think that theirs a gunfight happening up here too with the way everyone’s running about like a headless chicken.
“T- They found us already! I thought we’d have at least a day or two more! A few hours at least, oh god, oh god, oh god…this is a disaster we cant active it like this we need to run a test and-“
There is but one among them who’s, so far at least, remaining calm. The Bishop-Captain of course,
“SETTLE DOWN! THEY HAVEN’T BREACHED THE FIRST DEFENSIVE LINE YET!”
“You don’t know that! Did you see that explosion! That cant be good, oh no, they’ve clearly all been killed! All of them! One Kingdom has forsa-“ SLAP
“Salt-Ratchet! Pull yourself together, I- WE need you in your best state of mind right now if were to get out of this alive. Get your whiny ass back over to the device and make sure it doesn’t rip the lesser realm into tatters or something!”
“Y- Yes sir!”
It seems a firm slapping and a bit of shouting helped cool things down, everyone’s remembering that, they are in fact not in immediate danger…just, quickly racing towards it.
“Gunocker, get everyone who’s not part of the fighting in the landship and close the bulkheads! Start the engines…AND SOMEONE GET ME A ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ RADIO!”
People are rushed aboard, doors are shut, the legs are lowered, and the engines started…oh and after a bit of finagling a radio gets retrieved.
“Steel, please give me some good news…”
“Sorry cap’n, Ste……..shot in th…….Teapot-Ciga…r…taken command.”
The captain runs his head through his hands…god, things always just seem to go from bad to worse
“Bu….t don’t ya worry, I got it all unde…..c’ntr-”
An explosion rocks the liftdock, and the radio cuts out…I think its safe to say the attackers got through…
“Oh Great One Kingdom, please let us live this through…”
He whispers under his breath before leaning forwards into a speaking tube.
“Salt, you better have got your ass there by now or I swea-“
“I- I’m here sir, you better not be telling me what I think you going to tell me…”
“Yes, active it, it’s now or never…they’ve breached the defensive lines…”
Looking out the window, the captain is indeed correct, the gangways are now being stormed by groups of soldiers…it sort of looks like a moving snow drift with them all wearing their thick white robes.
“Turn it on.”
Immediately the air changes…it’s hard to say what exactly about it changes, it’s just something…a sort of energy, static if you will.
“There hasn’t been an explosion yet Salt, hold your nerve.”
Outside the attackers stop halfway on the bridge their, faces full of confusion…a confusion which quickly turns to fear as they turn around and start running the other way. And the captain, upon looking out across the bow of the ship can see why. The hull is covered in arcing blue lightning, bouncing across the hull and twirling around the unfinished barrels of the guns. A particularly big one striking a gangway, which just moments ago was full of their would-be executioners. The captain lets out a little chuc-
DONNNGGGGGG
What the hell was that, did they breach another bulkhead along the dockside…no that cant be, this sound is far louder…like a giant knocking on some great and powerful door…
“Captain, the….readings thei…r extra….inary! Were do…ing it!”
Sweat drops from the captains brow, and the rest of the bridge crew peer out the windows…it’s happening…the thing they’ve all spent the last 10 years of their life working towards.
Realm Travel…
DONNNGGGGGG
The roof swaps, changing from the nest of pipes and machinery of the liftdock to a dark starry sky, three great moons beaming down on a vast expanse of rolling green hills. Then it snaps back. The bridge is silent…they just, they j- there’s no words for what they just saw…
ZZZZAPOW
One the lightning arc’s hits the roof, causing pipes to buckle and steam, sewage and One Kingdom knows what else to start spraying down from above.
DONNNGGG-
TWANG
The view from outside the windows changes once again, for the last time and the suffocating walls of their dockside are replaced by the vast openness of the grassy steppe.
They made it…
The Unexpected Expectations, an experimental Realm Traveling landship made by a group of rebellious breakaways. I made this Landships for an RP, which sadly didn’t go anywhere but hey, at least I got a cool cosmetic landship out of it…and a story I guess. Took me about a week to get the greebling just right on this one. Oh and.
OMG Zark thank you SO MUCH for making no restriction legs vanilla, I cannot thank you enough it’s a blessing!
