Atlas led Star into the Armory, where Zenith was busy looking over the various firearms used by the Outcasts, making sure they were all ready to use and moving any that needed maintenance off to the side. She had just finished checking over a Hand Cannon when the two entered and Zenith greeted them.
“Star,” Atlas began, “This here is Zenith; the Dragon’s Fleet Gunnery Master and the one who looks after the firearms aboard the ship. She makes sure they work perfectly when they need to. She’ll be teaching you about the firearms the Outcasts use and how to properly use them.”
Zenith smiled at Star. “A pleasure to finally meet you properly, young Star. Ready to try your hoof at shooting?”
“Oh-ho,” Star giggled. “Just like in the stories of soldiers.” She immediately went for a long row of pistols.
But before Star could get half-way, Zenith caught her firmly by the tail. “Remember," Zenith said in a firm tone. "Those aren’t toys."
“Right, they’re very dangerous tools,” Star remembered, stepping back from the weapons carefully. “And must be treated with great care… and sensitivity.”
“Exactly.“ Zenith said, and she picked Star up and set her on the table before picking up a pistol and bringing it over. Star immediately noticed it wasn’t a flintlock, rather it was a revolver; a weapon she had read about. Though...
"Revolvers?" Star noted. "Aren't those for cowponies?"
“Curious huh? Well Star; this here is a “Percussion Cap”, also known as a “Caplock,” or “Cap and Ball” Revolver. The Outcasts retired flintlocks early in our history as percussion cap weapons have several advantages over flintlocks: They’re easier and faster to load, more weather resistant, less complicated, and more reliable. Plus they can hold up to eight shots at once, though six is the most common choice. I’ll show you how to load these later.” Zenith then went over to another shelf and picked up a rifle before setting it on the table, allowing Star to get a better look. Like the revolver she had only read about this kind of rifle, a bolt-action rifle, in her stories.
“As with the flintlocks,” Zenith began, “Muskets were retired once we got these rifles; this here is called the “G82 Bolt-Action Rifle”. Officially it’s called the Gewehr 82, the word Gewehr is Germane for “Rifle,” but everyone just calls it the G82 as not many can pronounce the word right. Now the G82 is among our most common firearms, only beaten by the revolvers, and comes in both a single-barrel and double-barrel version.” Zenith went and got the latter form.
“Now besides the obvious twin-barrels and the modified bolt to work the action, there isn’t really anything different between the two forms. These rifles are fed through an internal eight-round tube located under the barrel, with a ninth round in the chamber and the double-barreled version holds a total of eighteen rounds; nine per barrel. Are you following me so far?”
“Like an explorer follows a guide,” Star replied, having been watching with rapt attention.
“Okay, now that you know the two basic firearms I’ll show you the heavier items, but first the rules of gun safety.”
From there Zenith taught Star the four rules of gun safety, stressing how important they were, followed by showing her the hand cannons and other heavy weapons which also included a Gatling Gun. Star paid close attention to the lessons as Zenith showed her how to work the revolver and rifle, as well as showing her how to handle them when firing.
She then waited while Zenith picked out a few weapons for her to try, and led her over to a firing range. Eagerly, Star lined up her shot with the first weapon - a hand cannon - and assumed her Night Fire persona.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, ya filthy animal,” Night Fire told the target, before pulling the trigger… and getting hit in the face by the recoiling cannon. She clutched her nose. “I’m okay!” she insisted, even as blood appeared under her talons. “I’m okay… look!” She let her bloody nose show as she switched back to Star Wing. “I’m the Red-Nosed Alicorn!”
Zenith couldn’t help but snort some laughter at that, before she showed Star how to properly brace when firing high-recoil weapons like the hand cannon.
Star still gave the hand cannon an intrigued look.
##
Much later, Zenith found Star back at the firing range, two Cap and ball revolvers in hand.
“What are you doing, Star?” Zenith asked, noticing that the revolvers had bayonets attached under the barrels in a way that would still allow the built-in ramrod to be used as normal.
Star looked back, assuming her Night Fire persona with a grin. “My image, my friend,” she replied. “The recoil on those cannons is some strong stuff. So, I figured, why not take advantage.” She pulled up a chart. “Watch this… I’m gonna make a weapon, where I can throw it… you see?” She indicated a dotted line heading to a drawing of a target with X-ed out eyes and a dopey smiley face drawn on it. “And the recoil will knock it right back to me.” She indicated a dotted line curving in an arc back to a picture of herself, drawn as an oddly sexy dragoness with a far bigger bust than she could ever hope to have in reality.
Zenith blinked as her mind processed what Star had just said, before looking at her with a concerned expression. “Star… is that really a good idea? I’m all but sure that flips off every rule of gun safety.”
“Well, if it doesn’t work, I’ll be sure to wash my filthy mind… hooves…?” She paused. “If it flips off every rule of gun safety, what should I wash out with soap if it doesn’t work?” She considered it before waving a hoof. “Nah, we’ll figure it out if it fails. Now… watch,” Star insisted, picking up one of the revolvers. Grinning in glee, she hurled the revolver at her target.
The revolver went off the wrong way and shot into the ceiling.
Star’s smile didn’t fade. “Okay-okay, that was just a test. This is why we test things; better we do this here than in the middle of a fight? Right? Right…” Star giggled as she picked up another flintlock. “Now this one’s for the gold.”
She threw it. The gun fired alright; but it fired right at them.
“WHOASHOOT!” Star yelped, tackling Zenith as the bullet zipped over their heads.
Zenith picked herself up and gave Star a glare as she picked her hat up. “Star… Why are you using LIVE ammunition while practicing this?! I get the idea behind using the recoil but why not just use the powder?!”
“Because then I'll be prepared for the realism,” Star insisted, grabbing another revolver and assuming her Night Fire form. “Can't fire blanks when on the battlefield, right?”
She threw. The gun hit the target, fired, ricocheted back… but went too high.
Night Fire reached for it, and her magic aura wrapped around the gun, stopping it in mid-air… but also causing Night Fire to revert back to Star Wing.
Star Wing noticed the change and yelped, covering herself.
Zenith raised an eyebrow with a deadpan look. “I know we wear clothes all the time, but we still have our fur, scales and whatnot covering us. So why be so embarrassed?”
“Because I’m supposed to be Night Fire,” Star replied, reverting back to her dragon persona. “Not Star Wing; being Star Wing is going to get me in trouble with the bounty hunters. Unless I can do… this!”
She threw one final time. The revolver hit the target, fired, and ricocheted back… right for her!
“THAT’S IT BABY COME TO…” Night Fire cheered… only for the revolver to zip past her clutching talons and nail her in the face, before bouncing right into her talons.
Night Fire staggered dizzily, reverting back to Star Wing as her nose started bleeding again, and her eyes rolled loopily.
“I got it!” Star cheered. She went cross-eyed and fainted backward.
Zenith face-hoofed: she understood Star’s idea and actually didn’t have a problem with it despite going against the laws of gun safety. But life of a pirate was full of unexpected twists and turns, she did know however that Star was going to need a lot of practice before she even remotely tried this in combat. She sighed before picking up Star by the scruff to take her to medical.
“Seems I’m gonna have my work cut out for me with this one.” She mused with a smile.
##
“So Star, how good are you with animals?” Atlas asked as she led the Filly down a hallway in the lower sections of the ship.
“Well, it depends,” Star replied. “Sometimes they ran from me, sometimes they attacked me. One time, they liked me… and I’m pretty sure that’s because I managed to swim my way out of a pile of dog kibble.”
Atlas stared at her with raised eyebrows.
“I had some interesting pastimes,” she admitted with a grin.
“Well Star, today you’ll be meeting the Dragon’s Fleet Beastmaster Steel Mass; he’s a minotaur tasked with looking after the various wildlife aboard the Dragon and has even raised a number of them himself. You’ll know who he is when you see him, and don’t be fooled by how big he is; while he is a powerhouse he’s got a heart as big as he is.”
“The Gentle Giant,” Star remembered. “One of the best people you can be friends with.” She skipped on her hooves. “I can’t wait to meet him!”
Soon they reached the door and Atlas opened it, to reveal on the other side Steel Mass with a Sea Wyvern Hatchling hugging him, the Minotuar smiling as he rubbed the little one’s head. Atlas laughed at the sight. When he was handling the animals he would take off the attire above the belt like his heavy coat and armor. He said it put the creatures more at ease around him. Yet, he still wore his gold-colored steel helm.
“Everytime I come down here you’ve got one of the babies in your arms, Steel. If I didn’t know better I’d say that you were their mother.”
“What can I say? I am the one who raises them after all.” Steel quipped back as he brought the hatchling over to what Star guessed was its mother, during which she got a good look at Steel. She had read about minotaurs and had even met a few during her time at the castle, but Steel Mass had to be the biggest she’d ever seen. At around ten, maybe even eleven, feet tall and looked easily strong enough to bring a full-grown Hydra down with just his hands along with quite an impressive set of horns on his head that would likely make any other Bull or minotaur green with envy. Not to mention his strong, muscular looking chest and numerous scars over it.
Star always had a thing for muscular chests; something about the way the muscles rippled under the skin was incredibly fascinating to her.
Turning around, Steel noticed Star next to Atlas. “And you must be Star Wing, our newest recruit. Come to learn about the various animals we have aboard the Dragon?” As he spoke his voice seemed to have a power of its own, yet it didn’t hurt Star’s ears at all. In fact the way his voice boomed sort of reminded her of Luna’s RCV, only Steel’s voice was also quite cheerful.
“Indeed,” Star Wing prostrated herself before Steel Mass. “I, the humble Star Wing, have journeyed far and wide to learn at the hooves of the master!” She looked up with a playful grin even as she kept up her ‘awe-inspired’ voice. “Please, teach me your ways.”
Steel gave her a smile and picked her up before putting Star on his shoulder and walking into the next room as Atlas took her leave. Entering the room Star took in the sight of various creatures she’d seen on Imperator’s Grave. First was the Sea Serpents, lazily lying about, though they noticed the newcomers’ entrance. Past the Serpents were the Crabs, most of whom were sleeping, though some were doing what Star guessed was cleaning their claws. Beyond them, a few Sea Wyverns were roosting. These were not adults but clearly older than hatchlings. By Star’s guess, they were likely teens. Finally at the very back of the room was a lone creature that was curled up and fast asleep - if the heavy snoring was anything to go by. Though the distance and the low lighting made it difficult to see just what it was.
“Well Star; as you can see these are some of the creatures we Outcasts have domesticated. Most of them I’ve raised myself. I’m going to teach you how to care for them as well as befriend them, starting with the Sea Serpents first.”
“Right, Sea Serpents,” Star said with a grin. “Which are different from water dragons… right?”
Steel Mass nodded. “Yes; the Serpents can’t fly and don’t have any sort of “breath weapon” that dragons normally have. The closest animal I can think of off the top of my head to them would be snakes.”
“Hence the serpent title,” Star mused to herself as Steel set her down. She watched as he picked up two large buckets overflowing with fish, and brought the buckets over to the Serpents. Upon sighting Steel’s arrival, the serpents reared up in a manner not dissimilar to standing, their mouths wide open and tongues hanging out. Their fangs dripped as their tail tips wagged. Star couldn’t help but be reminded her of dogs waiting for a treat. The thought made her chuckle.
Steel pour the buckets into a pile, and the Serpents dove at the pile like a foal jumping into a pile of leaves. Star was unable to hold her laughter as the Serpents happily devoured the fish piles and Steel got more full buckets. Star looked over at one bucket and picked it up before carrying it over to some that hadn’t eaten yet. The group of six serpents perked their head fins in curiosity as she came forward, only for Star to not see a little bit of raised floor and tip over it, landing in a heap as the fish in her bucket went flying and landed on her.
“I mean to do that,” she said, glancing up as the bucket landed on her head. “See? New hat and everything.” Despite her joking tone, she still lay still just in case movement agitated the sea serpents.
The Serpents started sniffing her, the feeling of their exhales and noses touching her caused Star to struggle to resist giggling as the Serpents gently started to eat the fish around and still stuck on her as well as lick her, Steel watching with a smile. He then noticed a larger one; an Alpha known as a “Crested Sea Serpent”. These Serpents were named for the large five-arm head crest with red stripes on the arms and were known for being temperamental and aggressive, so Steel grew wary of Star’s safety.
Fortunately his worry turned out to be unnecessary; the Crested Serpent leaned down and sniffed Star, who kept herself still and even lowered her head, remembering such motions as methods to keep angry nobles from hurting her. Just with the nobles, it worked for the Crested Sea Serpent, who after a few sniffs just gave a dismissive snort and moved on to eating some fish.
Slowly, Star stood back up and backed out next to Steel. “Well, they seem nice,” she noted.
“Crested Sea Serpents are sort of loners and generally don’t really care about much," Steel explained. "At least on the surface. I’m not really sure how to explain their attitude. Generally speaking; if you show them respect and don’t provoke them they’ll leave ya alone. The other, regular Serpents on the other hand…”
Star then found herself being nuzzled by purring Serpents. “Can I assume they like me?”
Steel laughed. “It seems that way.”
She laughed as the serpents licked at her. “Now I know how to make sea serpents like me,” she declared happily, before getting a teasing grin. “Drop a bucket of fish on my head.”
Steel chuckled heartily at that.
After getting Star cleaned up the two moved onto the Crabs. As the smell of food reached them, they stopped cleaning their claws and started walking up. As far as Star could tell there were 4 types of Crabs, all of them the giant kind: Fiddler, Coconut, Porcelain, and Hermit (who had some rather cool shells made of ship parts). Steel laid out fish for the Crabs who started eating, Star watching next to him.
“I presume that you’ve seen the Giant Crabs before?”
“Yeah; back on Imperator’s Grave while Captain Razor was showing me the docks I saw a merchant crew loading their cargo onto one.” Star said, peering into their holding area. She noticed the raised floor, and tried to confidently side step it… only to not account for the slick patch of water on the ground. As she side-stepped into the puddle, she slipped right into the pile of crabs with a yelp.
She froze up as some of the crabs crawled onto her, looking her over in intrigue. “Steel, help,” Star whispered in fear. “I’m not wearing green!”
Steel laughed. “No need to worry Star; those Crabs only pinch on command and that’s saved for the enemy.”
Star glanced over at a crab as it moved over and away from her. She sighed in relief. “Good to know.”
Once Star was free of the Crabs, they moved onto the Sea Wyverns.
“Now I know you saw them on Imperator’s Grave,” Steel said as he fed them. “But let me give you the details; Sea Wyverns are social creatures, roaming in groups that are either family or friends as they hunt fish and crabs, and on occasion Salt Lobsters. To aid them in these hunts and to protect themselves from enemies Sea Wyverns have razor sharp teeth and claws, The sheer body mass as adults (and trust me; they ain’t lightweights), their long tails which are lethal blunt weapons, and finally their feared poison breath attack. Not many actually know this, but Sea Wyverns actually have venom glands and they can pool their venom in their mouths before firing the glob at their enemy, and they can hit a target at a fair distance, with pinpoint accuracy too. I’ve seen it first hand.”
Star watched their mouths in awe. “Whoa. Magic death spit!” When Steel Mass looked at her in intrigue, she giggled. “Sorry. I read a book once about creatures like Sea Wyverns that did something similar. They had venom that they could spit at others as well, and someone started calling it ‘Magic Death Spit.’” She shrugged. “It’s funny to say… and it was funnier to see the character with said spit react to the name.” She put on a posh mimicking accent: “We are NOT calling it ‘Magic Death Spit!’” She grinned. “Three guesses as to what they ended up calling it.”
Steel Mass thought for a moment, then responded with “Poison Breath?”
Star cackled at his answer. “Yes. That’s exactly what they called it.” She had to struggle to stop laughing so he could continue. “A-Anyway, what else was there about them?”
“Sea Wyverns are also very territorial, though not in ways one would expect; As you saw Imperator’s Grave has plenty of them flying about.” Steel chuckled. “Well… those who have tried to attack the place find themselves under attack by not just the defenders, but flocks of enraged Sea Wyverns.”
Star nodded. “Like kicking a hornet’s nest; you attack the pack, it bites back.”
Star picked up a fish and held it out to one of the Wyverns, who after giving her a sniff took the fish. It then nudged her gently before raising it head over her. With an odd sound, a half-eaten fish landed in Star’s lap and Steel burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s one thing I forgot to mention.”
“Wait, I’ve seen this in my stories!” Star said eagerly, holding up the fish. “I eat this to show our friendship, right?”
Steel nodded. “Right you are Star, been there myself and yes… the fish tastes as terrible as you would think.”
“But it’s for friendship!” Star declared. “Friendship will make it taste…” She ate the whole thing… and her eyes bugged out of her skull with repressed disgust. An adorable little whine escaped her, but she forced herself to swallow the fish, and managed to shift her hooves to talons so she could give two hesitant thumbs up. “So good…” she got out.
Once Star had “accepted” the offer, Steel led her over to the last one which shifted as it woke up and turned to look at them. Star paused, her eyes wide for she was looking at an honest-to-Faust Sea Dragon.
Steel saw Star’s eyes light up with… well, stars. Her jaw didn’t just hit the floor, but likely made a bid for the bottom of the sea. “It… he…? She…? They’re… so… BEAUTIFUL!” she managed to get out, her Night Fire form taking over as she stared up at the sea dragon.
Steel smiled at her awe. “This one’s a she, and a hatching; having only hatched just before we found you. Sea Dragons are one of the apex predators of the Sea of Legends that aren’t Leviathans, though there are some who classify the larger-than-normal ones that. Sea Dragons on average grow to be twenty stories tall and full-grown Sea Dragons are highly feared for their rampages that are able to destroy large areas and ability to tear even the largest ships to splinters. Sea Dragons are armed with powerful crushing jaws, thick limbs able to help them move on land as well as through water, a terrifying breath attack of scaling water and blazing steam, and a long tail able to crush even small islets with ease. Now I’ve never seen it myself, since wild Sea Dragons live in the depths, but I’ve heard stories of some Sea Dragons firing a beam of pure lightning at targets, and if you know what lightning bolts can do it doesn’t take much to imagine what that beam can do.”
Star - or rather Night Fire - listened with awestruck wonder, before hesitantly creeping towards the sea dragon, trying not to appear threatening.
“Hello,” Night Fire offered carefully to the sea dragon. “I’m Night Fire.” She paused, turning to Steel. “Can I talk to her like this? Or… am I just insulting her unintentionally?” She glanced back at the sea dragon with worry. “I don’t mean to offend you,” she said quickly. “I just… really like… you. You’re very pretty. A-And I don’t mean that like… uh…” She glanced back at Steel. “I’m making a complete fool of myself aren’t I?"
Steel chuckled as the Sea Dragon made a light rumble and leaned forward to give her a nuzzle, showing that there were no hard feelings.
Star squeaked as the dragon nuzzled her. “Sorry,” she said. “I’ve just… always loved dragons.” She gazed wistfully at the sea dragon. “Ever since an ambassador from the Equestrian Dragon Lands stood up to the nobles on my behalf, I’ve always seen them as these wonderful guardians. I always wanted to be like them.” She glanced down at her Night Fire form with a chuckle. “As you can probably tell right?”
Steel adjusted his helmet as he tossed some fish over to the Dragon who happily chowed down as he continued. “Well, wild Sea Dragons are a bit different from the dragons you knew; for starters, Sea Dragons are extremely territorial, to the point where if they encounter another Sea Dragon in their territory a fight is all but certain, often to the death. On the other hand; the ones around Imperator’s Grave as well as this one here were taken as eggs and raised by the inhabitants. These Sea Dragons are not as powerful, but are far safer to be around-” He was cut off as the Hatchling suddenly reached forward and pulled Star in her Night Fire form over and started to groom her with a rough tongue.
“A-As I can tell, right?” she said, giggling in utter glee as the sea dragon groomed her.
“Yep, funny enough while the raised Sea Dragons are not as powerful; they are able to get along with others that have been raised and form packs which are arguably more dangerous than their wild counterparts. As for how we get the eggs; that’s a very difficult and dangerous job as the eggs only appear during mating season, the only time Sea Dragons can be in each other’s company without tearing each other apart, and during that time they do not like company.”
Star chuckled. “Yes, making eggs is a very delicate process, and they don’t need others intruding or stealing their ‘secret recipes’ right?” She winked, hoping he found her joke a little funny.
Steel chuckled. “Yes indeed, and to protect their young as the hatchlings are quite vulnerable to predators during that time. They may be territorial, but Sea Dragons actually mate for life and are devoted parents. Family units visit each other fairly often when they can.”
Star smiled and leaned back next to her new sea dragon friend. “Well, at least you’re friendly,” she said happily, licking the hatchling back… and regretting it from the taste of seaweed and how rough the scales were. Regardless, she didn’t stray from her new friend. “Does she have a name?”
Steel thought for a second, then smiled. “Yes actually: her name’s Sea Jewel.”
“Sea Jewel,” Star mused, hugging the sea dragon. “Well, Sea Jewel, it’s good to meet you. This is the start of a beautiful friendship.”