Chapter 21: Galleon Cove
Dragon of the Depths
One Month into the Voyage
Thunderlane was walking along the Main deck after having breakfast and noticed a large gathering of the crew, curious he walked up to and tapped one of them, a Mountain Kirin, on the shoulder with a wing.
"What's going on?" He asked after the Kirin turned to him.
"The Captain got a message from Power Gears, Head of the Outcasts' Research and Development Division, this morning. Apparently the Unicorn has a new weapon he wants us to field test."
Thunderlane raised his eyebrows but before he could ask further a loud shout rang out from the fixed speaking trumpets on the Main Mast that the Pegasus Stallion in the Crow's Nest used to alert the crew to any sightings.
"Airship off the port bow!"
Turning Thunderlane noticed something coming out of the clouds some distance away; it looked like a Schooner with its masts and sail removed and replaced with a large oval-shaped bag or balloon with metal bracing reinforcement, likely filled with an unnamed lighter-then-air gas to keep it aloft. The bags were attached to the hull by chains and heavy rope, the shroud that would hold a ship's masts in place allowed travel up to the bags. The underside had been flattened to fit what would be the ship's artillery in an enclosed turret center-forward on the flat area. Thunderlane watched as a flare when up from one of the "Signal Nests" on top of one of the masts and the Airship responded by firing their own out of the bottom a few seconds after. Soon the Airship had lowered itself to be level with the Dragon's Main Deck and ropes with pulleys were secured in between the two ships to allow the Airship's occupants to cross over on small platforms.
Razor warmly greeted a Unicorn Stallion a little smaller than Big Mac by about an inch or two with a pitch black coat, silver mane and tail with a style best described as "Tongue-in-electrical-socket", yellow eyes, and a Cutie Mark of a silver cog on a blue-white explosion with two brass pipes in an X-shape behind it form the patch on his flanks. The Stallion wore a pair of silver leather goggles with large red buckles and large blue lenses and what looked to be two long chin straps that hung to half-way down his neck, waving about as he moved, a second strap tied around the back of his head and what looked like a pressure gauge on the left side and a gold cog on the right just in front of his ears. Around his neck was a red and gold scarf with bronze edging and bronze cogs and gears of various sizes wrapped around four times with the ends tucked into a silver vest with gold boarders, center area, four metal disk on each side, and three gears of various sizes in between the belt and his Cutie Marks. On each side of the collar of the vest was a set of six blue gems in the pattern of water splashing.
On his left foreleg was a bronze and silver gauntlet with a small gear in the center, a small grey tube attached to the left side on both ends and a large glowing blue dome that was emitting a thin blue lightning bolt, which connected to what looked like a small and completely mechanical gold and black Dragon.
On his right foreleg was a silver "hoofless" glove* with a large bronze metal ring around the wrist and a large cog of the same color attached to it, and the glove reached up to his elbows where it folded into a large cuff which had the same blue gem pattern as the vest collar.
Around his waist was a sash like his scarf with a brown saddlebag decorated with silver gears and cogs of various sizes on the right held on with a black leather belt and on the left was a cutlass with a black handle and silver blade. Several cap and ball revolvers with clean and well-designed walnut bodies, with polished brass hardware and steel barrel and firing mechanisms where stuffed through small loops in the belt. A pair of silver pants and back boots completed the look.
Razor pulled the Stallion into a bro-hug which the Unicorn returned whole-heartily.
"So Gears," Razor asked as he pulled away, "What is this "new weapon" you mentioned in your letter?"
"Well Razor, before I get to that.." He turned to Gold Fire, "We tested your idea for the G82, and I'm sorry to say that while it works the black powder fouls the gas tube after only two magazines at best."
Gold Fire nodded. "I know, my brother and I did more thorough testing and got the same result." He looked a little disheartened but Gears walked over to him and patted his shoulder.
"Hey, don't let it get you down Gold. I've had my fair share of failures so I know what it feels like. Besides, your idea did give me some ideas of my own to try out."
The Longma gave him a small smile as Gears nodded back with a smile of his own and walked back or to Razor.
"So Razor, to answer your question: I've been looking at the cannons the Outcasts use on the battlefield and while they are effective I what to see if there was a way to make them lighter, easier to transport and effective with a smaller crew... and I think I found it."
He gave a wave of his hoof towards the crew of his Airship and they carried several medium-sized crates over, two of which Power Gears opened and began to use the items within to build something new to them all: The base was a tripod with a small wheel on one of the legs and flip-up and down handles on the other two which caused quite a few of the crew to compare it to a wheelbarrow, with a rotating section that curved upwards on one side with a wheel sitting sideways on top and a second larger wheel on the left side (both of which had a knob on them) of the curved section which held a 3.404 m or 11 ft 2 in tube attached to it on top, the caddie the tube was in having a handle on it as well. The tube itself had one end flared to resemble the dome under the neck of a bottle and indeed the tube actually bore a close resemblance to a bottle with a greatly extended neck and most of the body cut off. The flared end had a small handle on the right side while the left had a handle that went straight up before curving horizontally towards the front with a ball on the end with a half-circle at the base, on the back was a horizontal bar that reached both sides with a round peg in the center and four large holes cut into the back plate that seemed to reach the firing chamber.
On the top of the tube were three braces with the most forward one being smaller, these rings were holding what looked like a Gardner gun with a long barrel that had been shrunk down to smaller that the tube it was on was bigger and attached to the left side of the middle brace was what looked like a spyglass that had been bent into an "L" shape with the shorter end sticking outwards at an angle. Razor waited until it was set up, which was done surprisingly quick, before turning to Gears.
"Okay Power Gears, what is this?" Razor asked gesturing to the item in question.
"This Razor is what I call a "Recoilless Cannon"."
At Razor's and the rest of the crews' raised eyebrows Gears elaborated;
"Well as I said before; while the cannons we used in land battles are effective they're heavy, take some time to reload, and take several to man them, which leads us to the Recoilless Cannon. So the fundamental idea behind this weapon is that you give up the idea of having an actual sealed chamber, and instead you perforate the cartridge."
One of the Minotaurs that came with Power Gears walked up and set down a crate which Gears opened and pulled out the apparent projectile for the weapon, which he then reassured them that it was a dud, remembering a past incident that resulted in Razor being very angry with him, though thankfully no one was hurt other than both Razor and Gears being covered in black soot.
"As you can see, the casing here is covered in many small holes," Gear continued explaining, running a hoof over the holes as he did so. "So you accept that when you fire, half of that energy is going to go to pushing the projectile out of the front and the other half is going to go to just venting out the back through those four holes. It's not exactly 50/50, but you get the idea."
Those around him were giving various reactions with most being confusion, noticing that Gears went on.
"The reason you do this is you can save a lot of tremendous amount of weight by not trying to contain all of the pressure and force it all to push the projectile out the barrel. You get eight pounds of powder, which is what this uses, you can throw this 22-pound projectile downrange at about 500 meters or 1650 feet per second, fast enough to be thoroughly effective in most roles with the right kind of warhead, most of which we'll still working on. And then you can mount the whole thing in a smaller package that weighs less than five hundred pounds like this instead of a much larger one like a 68-pounder or 110-pounder cannon. The Recoilless Cannon is smaller than either of these and is able to be moved around much more easily than those two, plus only needing three or four crew to operate."
Seeing that his audience was starting to get what he was saying Gears moved to the back and angled it so all of them could see it.
"So the way it actually works is very simple: This is basically a breech-loading single-shot cannon. The first thing I'll point out are these four holes in the back, these are where the gas, flame, and smoke is going to vent when the weapon is fired."
He reached out with his blue magic and gripped the handle.
"To open it, you just push this handle here down," He did and turned it towards the barrel, causing the back section to also turn and swing open. "Like so." Power Gears began showing off the back including the case extractor and the four sets of locking threads.
"And you place the projectile in and close it, Now something I should mention is that the projectile has rifling pre-engraved on it so when loading you have to twist it just a bit for it to make sure it lines up properly with the rifling in the barrel, lock it closed and it's ready to fire. Now this next part is very important: As obvious as it might be, do not stand behind this weapon when it fires as it releases a massive back-blast of fire and anything caught in that blast will be fried to a crisp. It's also for that reason we can't use these on ships."
Sounds of agreement came up as Razor looked at the Gardner gun with some interest.
"And this here?" He asked gesturing to it.
"Well Razor, this was an idea I had; because once one of these fires everyone even remotely nearby will know it fired and will see just where it fired. So it's important to get the first shot on target, that's what this Gardner gun is for: It's loaded with special rounds that glow brightly even in the day, the Gunner fires this gun at the target-"
"-using the glowing rounds to get the first shot on target, allowing them to adjust so they can hit it the first time." Razor finished.
"Exactly Razor. Now the controls here are pretty simple: The Gunner sits on the left side using the spyglass to aim and using the wheels to traverse the weapon. The one horizontal one here turns the barrel left and right and pulling the knob here allows it to swing freely." Gears went through these steps as he explained them, making sure his audience was following and understanding everything. "The larger wheel on the side here is your elevation wheel, used to raise the barrel up and down, and this knob here is how you fire the Recoilless Cannon, just push it in and the cannon fires. And the is pretty much like a wheelbarrow, and finally this little lever under the barrel allows you to detach it from the base for easy storage or transport."
Razor looked over the Recoilless Cannon, actually impressed by what Gears had told them so far. Now for the field test, and he knew the prefect spot. He turned to gears.
"How many to you have with you?"
Gears though for a moment before answering. "We have five with us, and I'm willing to lend the testing crews as they are experienced with the weapon and should be able to help with the results."
"That sounds good Gears, and I know just the place."
Later that day
After bring the five Recoilless Cannons onboard the Dragon and seeing Power Gears and his crew off Razor set a course for a large island known as "Galleon Cove". Galleon Cove was a large island with several tall pillars of rock as tall as a Ship-of-the-line from keel to mast tips, named for the massive number of Galleon wrecks that littered both the island and the sea around it so the Dragon's crew had to be careful less they got caught on any of the underwater ones. Galleon Cove was also one of the places to boarder an area of the Sea of Legends known as the "Lost Wilds". The Lost Wilds was a creepy place, a harsh and miserable environment with green-yellowish seas and constantly overcast clouds, giving it a dark and gloomy atmosphere. The Islands here were considered haunted, containing the remains of many deceased sailors who tried to brave the region. The flora of the islands was largely wilted with most notable landmarks being the skeletons of beached sea monsters. Not many really came to this region and those that did often times only stayed for a short time.
As the Dragon slowly moved through the waves Thunderlane stood on the Main Deck with his front-half resting on the railing, staring off into the distance and feeling rather creeped out by the feel of the area. The magic here seemed... unstable? He couldn't really put it into words but it felt like something horrible had happened here once long ago, the strange feeling he was getting reminded him of the Merpony bodies on Blackcap Peaks, for it was similar yet it felt much more ancient.
"Aye, creepy place isn't it lad?"
Thunderlane turned around to see Zenith walking up, stopping next to him and looking out over the water. "No one knows what happened here, as far as anyone knows the Lost Wilds have always been like this. Perhaps the only ones who know are the Skeleton Lords." She chuckled as she turned to look at Thunderlane. "And they're not really a very talkative bunch."
Despite the feeling of dread Thunderlane couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"Yeah I can understand why, though what can you tell me about them?"
"Well Thunder," Zenith began. "Most Skeletons Lords, though not all, were once individuals with incredible magic powers and/or artifacts. I not sure just how it works but they somehow retain that power when they die, turning into a special Skeleton that keeps not just their powers, but everything they had in life. For this reason Skeleton Lords are considered the most dangerous of the Skeletons, but they are quite rare and most are fully willing to be left to their own devices; after all they can't really die again and when their body is destroyed it'll just regenerate later. Only a few are hostile, and they generally avoid large groups."
Thunderlane nodded, understanding and amazed. He couldn't help but wonder though why something like that happened, living past the point of dead as a animated skeleton.
Deciding for a change of subject, he asked; "Zenith? If you don't mind me asking, how did you join the Outcasts?"
Zenith gave him a small smile and answered. "It was a long time ago now, but I was a former slave to a greedy and abusive Royal, but thankfully he only use me as a punching bag... unlike a few others." She frowned there, remembering the poor souls under that Royal. "Razor and the other Outcasts freed us and I was the one to put that Royal down, there is more to it but it's not just my story to tell, and I don't want to have to go over the details. Just know that it wasn't pretty."
Thunderlane nodded, then asked,
"To move from that; what about you and Steel? from your interactions one would think you two are dating or something."
Zenith laughed at that. "I can understand why you'd think that. We actually have entertained the thought a few times, but our duties and other factors have kept us from going farther. But I think we are pretty attracted to each other, especially since the Steel has a heart as big as he is."
Thunderlane nodded with a smile at that; since the Traveler group had come aboard the Dragon the crew had tried hard to make sure they had felt welcomed, Steel proving despite his size to be very friendly and cheerful.
Any further talk was cut off when a loud whistle sounded off, signaling that they were on approach to Galleon Cove. Zenith took her leave after saying bye to Thunderlane who returned it and when his own way, wondering how the upcoming mission to the island was going to play out.
Later
The test Razor had in mind for the Recoilless Cannons was a siege on a Skeleton Fortress; the place was land-locked so the Dragon would be unable to get it's own weapons in range, forcing the Outcasts to deploy a ground force.
The ground force consisted of a total of eighty units, or four full "Armies";
For Infantry Units there were six Deckworkers with one hundred and sixty individuals per group, and each one carrying Polearms of various kinds, six Marauders with same number of individuals per group and armed with Swords of various types and four Deck Smashers with sixty individuals per group. These three units were supported by six Abyss Guard with sixty per group as well, four armed with axes and shields and two carrying axes and pistols, the same double-barrel twenty-shot kind used by the Tide Gunners.
For Missile Units there were four Gunners with one hundred and twenty per group armed with Rifles, four Buccaneers with the same number and armed with 8-barreled Volley Guns, and two Marines also with the same number. Supporting these units were three Grenadiers with the same number and armed with Hand Mortars that allowed them to stay behind the rest of the troops and arc their shots over the firing lines.
For Weapon Teams (thirty-two per group) there were three types; two from the Deck Gunners type an one from the Deck Defenders type: The Deck Gunners included two Deck Swabbers (armed with hand-cranked Gatling Guns) and two Deck Pounders (armed with long-range, armor piercing, breech-loading swivel guns), while the Deck Defenders had two of the new Deck Crushers (armed with the new Recoilless Cannon).
For Flying units there were the Flying Cavalry which had two Deck Shockers (twenty-four per group) which were young Sea Wyverns joined by four Deck Wings (also with twenty-four), older but still young Sea Wyverns carrying Gunners armed with Handcannons in their claws.
Supporting the army were three Abyss Knights (twelve per unit), which were Abyss Guards mounted on giant Coconut Crabs and armed with polearms. Four Giant Porcelain Crabs (also with twelve) with two mounted Gunners armed with Blunderbusses on their shells and two Wreck Golems (one armed with Cannons and the other with Rockets. Joining them were Four Ship Mages and for Artillery there was three Cannoneers (four per group) armed with 68-pounder cannons, two 100-pounder Cannons (two per group), four Rocket Nests (five per group) and finally two Thunderhammer Cannons.
Finally forming the "Officer Core" were seven Healers, two Gunnery Masters, and Razor himself.
Said Kirin watched from the air as the army moved into position, according to the plan made before-hand; the first row would consist of the Gunners in the middle with Cannoneers in the middle and on the ends, the Buccaneers and one Marine Group on the flanks, and the three Grenadiers spread out to maximize their coverage. The second row held most of the melee-focused units with the Deck Smashers in the center, the Marauders behind them and the Deckworkers on the sides with the Abyss Guards supporting them. These units were ready to charge forward should the enemy get too close to the gunline.
The Outcast Army had positioned themselves on a small hill so the ranged units could have clear lines-of-sight, like the Weapon Teams with the Deck Crushers in the center and the Deck Swabbers and Deck Pounders on the sides, and the two 100-pounder Cannons on the ends. The Rocket Nests sat in a row on the curve of the hill and sitting behind them were the two Thunderhammer Cannons, both clear of the back-blast of the new Deck Crushers' Recoiless Cannons.
The Crab-mounted units and the Wreck Golems covered the flanks, the latter ready to blast any targets while the former waiting to counter any possible Calvary charges. Above the army but out of the way of the arcing weapons the various flying units waited as below the Healers were ready to move to where they were needed as the two Gunnery Masters prepped their gear with one in charge of the Artillery and the other in charge of the front row. Finally Razor hovered above the center, spyglass in hand as he studied the battlefield.
The battlefield was a mostly clear field with scattered rocks about and the Skeleton Fortress easily visible in the distance, and the very large Skeleton Army gathering close to it. As Razor watched he saw a Skeleton Captain, mounted on of all things a Skeleton Boar, raise its sword and let out a shout before the Skeletons charged. Razor smiled as his own army readied itself.
"Here they come, let the battle begin."
Besides watching the advancing Skeletons, Razor was also acting as a spotter for the Outcasts' Artillery, and the spyglass he was using projected to a map held by the Gunnery Wight leading the Artillery. Every time Razor "marked a spot" with the spyglass that mark would appear on the map, allowing the Wight to direct their fire to that spot. Razor marked a spot that would be in the middle of the Skeleton Army as the shots hit and below him the Wight directed the Thunderhammer Cannons, the two weapons creaking as their crews lifted the massive barrels to the right angle and the crew chefs shouted "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" though their speaking trumpets as the cannon crews covered their ears (except for the ones pulling the lanyards, who were wearing earmuffs) and the cannons fired in a mighty blast of fire and smoke as the barrels recoiled back. The crews quickly got to reloading the Thunderhammers as the first shots arced high over the battlefield, surprisingly the shots were not cannonballs; but rather clusters of barrels packed with explosives and tied together with thin rope that burned in-flight, before braking and separating the barrels several feet above the ground (and now the middle of the Skeleton Army) spreading the explosive barrels out, which hit the ground and blew up in powerful blasts taking out many Skeletons.
The Skeletons continued to charge as the Rocket Nests fired a storm of rockets, covering areas like a rainstorm as the Wreck Golems lifted up their weapon arms and braced them with their other arms, before firing. The two types of cannons soon joined with their own fire as the Skeletons entered the ranges of the other ranged units, the first being the Cannoneers and 100-pounder Cannons, their shots smashing into the skeleton ranks and traveling through many rows as the Deck Ponders and Swabbers added their own as the Skeletons entered their range. A few seconds passed then the Gunners, each group set in rows of four, aimed their rifles and fired. The distinctive "crack" of the double-barreled bolt-action rifles filling the air as the bullets flew forward like a wall of lead into the Skeletons, shattering bones like thin plaster, whispering to themselves "Son-of-gun" before firing the second barrage and cycling the bolts, repeating as they had trained. As this was happening the Skeleton Army released their cavalry: Skeletons mounted on more Skeleton Boars, these units went for the flanks but as soon as they reached the Outcast Army's flanks they were intercepted by the Abyss Knights and the Giant Porcelain Crabs, the Gunners on the latter firing as the crabs slammed into the Skeletons in a clash of blades, claw and bone. Unfortunately for the Skeletons, their rusted weapons quickly proved useless against the crab's thick chitin and heavy shells as the heavy claws crushed them into pieces and the riders continued to attack any the crabs missed.
Up above the Outcast flyers entered the fray as Razor began to cast various spells, started with one that took form of a maelstrom of black storm clouds with a Western Kirin skull-shaped cloud that seemed to be speaking sticking out from below as numerous energy spheres trailing black clouds emerged from around the skull and fired into the Skeleton Army, shattering many to pieces. The Deck Shockers flew down in quick hit-and-run attacks by using their claws and tail blades to slash at their targets while the Deck Wings moved along the sides as their Handcannon-wielding Gunners fired shots after shots into the Skeleton's flanks.
The battle raged like this for a bit but eventually the Skeleton Captain was taken down and the remaining Skeletons began to collapse as their magic bindings faded, allowing the Outcasts to moved towards the fortress. There the Deck Crushers set their Recoilless Cannons up and fired into the wall, using a round called a "Penetrator Shell". This shell used a two-stage warhead to destroy its targets with the first stage allowing the round to enter and the set the second, much more powerful, stage to blow the target apart from the inside. The wall was quickly taken down by repeated firing and as soon as the rubble finished falling the Outcast Melee-focused units charged forward with the crabs taking point through the gap. Right after the crabs got through and started engaging the Skeletons with the Marauders right with them, supported by the Healers as the Deck Smashers charged up any close by stairways to engage the Skeletons still on the wall as the flying units joined from above and the ax and pistol-armed Abyss Guards following behind the Smashers. As this was happening the ax and shield-armed Abyss Guards formed a defensive line around the gap to continue allowing their fellows through as the Deckworkers set up ladders on the other side.
The remaining Skeletons put up a good fight, but were soon defeated as their Captains were taken down and the binding spells failed. Victory belonged to the Outcasts.
Thanks to the Healers and the armored units taking the blunt of the Skeletons' attacks there were no loses, only wounded units. Razor landed on the wall as the troops below opened the vault and began to take the vast treasure horde out, he smiled at the sight and looked over to the Deck Crushers as they started to pack up their weapons; The Recoilless Cannons had performed well despite not having many targets as from his point-of-view these were more precision weapons that would likely work best against giant targets like Sea Dragons and ships, or in this castle walls. Still, as far as Razor was concerned the Recoilless Cannons would be a fine addition the the Outcasts' arsenal, they would need some fine-tuning but one should expect that with prototypes regardless of what it was.
Razor turned his sight back to his troops as they loaded the treasure onto carts and the crabs shells, he had the location of the next crystal he needed, but it would take a bit of time to get there plus the place itself. Razor looked up into the sky.
"We've made much progress since that day almost twenty years ago, but I still wonder what the future holds for the Outcasts of the Abyss. Celestia and her forces are still looking for us, same with Twilight's group, I just hope they know the dangers of the Sea of Legends."
With a quick flap of his giant wings Razor dived down to join his fellows in carrying the loot.
So after quite awhile, I think this is the longest gap I've had between chapters so far, we finally have the next chapter of High Seas. Sorry it took so long but these last few months have been, as my mother puts it: "A gong show." It has been crazy with everything going on, especially with my aunt passing away recently.
But hopefully the next chapter wouldn't have as long a wait, I hope.
Not sure what the next chapter will be, but I am open to suggestions.
Usually I'd post the information on the new Outcast units but I'm doing some updating on that front so I'm not going to do it this time. But anyway, we meet the Outcasts' head of R&D Power Gears, who brings a new weapon out. The Recoilless Cannon is basically the black powder version of the Recoilless Rifle for those that don't know.
Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time. 
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When will all three parties meet, and clear out this stupid misunderstanding mess? No offense, but this feels it's getting stretched out for a long while.
Nice to see you again, mate. And a this is another great chapter from you.
I've been busy myself with writing Friendship in the Sea of Thieves now renamed My Little Pirate. Just got to the major crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean, with a hint of Monkey Island.
11195399
None taken. Not to give spoilers but they get it sorted out in the third arc; the three groups stay spread out for a while yet but during the second arc but events during that one will bring two of them together. This is going to be a long story so the misunderstand wouldn't be cleared up for sometime yet.
11195411
You as well Regis, been quite sometime hasn't it? Nice to know about your work on My Little Pirate.
11195547
Yes it has, mate.
Hi ho, Silver
For some reason, I didn't have this under tracking; a mistake that has been corrected.
Good to see Power Gears in this; I remember him appearing in our drafting of 'Star of the Sea,' and it was wonderful to see him in action here. The recoilless cannons sound like an amazing addition, and their use against the skeletons was a treat to read.
I do kinda agree with OP that I'm very eager to see the Equestrians and Outcasts meet up and make steps towards resolving their misunderstanding, but considering the amount of characters, I'm not going to scoff at a chance to let everyone get a chance to shine.
Zenith's backstory was intriguing to read about, and her interaction with Thunderlane was very nice. I'm definitely curious to see what else gets revealed about the other Outcasts in future chapters.
Until then, thank you for sharing.
👍
11195775
I do plan to give Power Gears a chapter of his own as well as a chapter for when Razor checks out the items that letter earlier in the story listed.
While there wasn't much screen time for him I think it's clear he's very good at engineering, especially if that mechanical gold and black Dragon is anything to go by.
Glad you liked the land battle, seems I am improving on that front.
As I said to OP this story is going to be a long one so it will be awhile before the misunderstanding is cleared up, but I can say this: something will happen in this arc that brings two of the parties together.
This arc is going to have a fair bit of that.