Summary of RP Narrative:

Dateline Roatan: A small patrol of ironclads, led by the embittered LCDR James Montgomery Messmer, FWE, is returning from long range patrol in the waters near Dismal Swamp. The patrol consists of Two Kotetsu, a Lavanco and a Tyrann Mortar Boat. This was the patrol mentioned at the end of the Punishment Fleet post. Messmer has ordered a return, perhaps earlier than usual, as his coal bunkers are getting low. Ammunition supplies are full. Messmer is a complainer by nature and a bit of a stick, but he is still a professional, and he would not have his patrol endangered by running low on fuel. The patrol discovers a small landing party at Althorn Point flying the flags described flying on “the Object” in Lamunda’s report. There are humans about, but also some form of sea creatures, in shiny bubbles of water that are floating .. moving fast.. on the water. The mer people attack viciously upon sight and engage using a very rapidly firing pistol at close range. There are rapid fire guns mounted on the tower as well. Messmer formulates a battle plan on the spot, and it’s not bad. Tyrann to hold back and engage the artillery at a distance. Kotetsus and Lavanco forward to engage close. And thus, the battle is joined.

QA NOTES:

I enjoyed playing with the Armada crowd. This is my kind of thing, setting up a scenario and turnign it into a battle. We all had a blast, everyone was very sportsmanlike and nobody had to be “called down” for anything. The perfect battle no matter what the result, in my opinion.

Setups: Armada had a tower to defend. We put up targets to shoot at that were ICS enabled. I’m not sure if that worked or not, the guns should stop firing when the target says “destroyed”. As I did get an IM from Viv saying “Guns out” both times, I assume this worked well as a means of counting victory for our side.

Wrath had their Mortar Ship to defend, which didn’t go down either time. We improvised a “Forward Observer” as best we could. The other ships did go down, though, far quicker than I would have liked, and part of that is the nature of the mer-weapons. They do fire a tad to quickly and as the firing target is so small and fast moving it’s almost impossible to hit them. An ICS ship just can’t react quickly enough in Second Life. My suggestion might be to have someone with a mouseviewing ICS gun along to engage mers with. I have also spoken with Jasper about the pistols and Viv about the bubbles.

Communications were by shouting and IM. If we fight another one at Lilliput, I’ll attempt to use the state channel if possible, as it’s critically important for action to cease when the HOLD!!! order is shouted.

Victory: Outcomes were pretty straightforward. We gave the first battle a draw, as our last vessel other than the mortar went down before HOLD was called, and the second one was a Wrath victory as the tower, a gun, the phalanx, and the other side’s ironclad were all dispatched before we lost our third non-mortar ship. All present agreed to these results in good humor.

In sum, The Wraths greatly enjoyed this event and are willing to host more in the future. I am already speaking with Viv about a projected round two and will follow up on it. I wish to thank everyone who participated for showing up and enthusiastically participating in good spirits and sportsmanship. You all make it a pleasure to work on these events.

Hotspur

Proud to roleplay with grownups!

The moon shone brightly on the waters of the Blakes Sea as the Retribution Task Force gathered steam. I looked down the hatchway at CDR Bellambi and the duty navigation officer. They seemed worried.

“Everything shipshape, Commander?”

“I’m worried about the wind, sir, it’s picking up. We have not way of determining if this will affect the location of the Object.”

“We shall do the best we can, Commander, with what we have. It’s a miracle we even have a bearing on this Object. You’ve done a credible job, Commander. I’m giving the order.”

I wasn’t worried. I was gleeful! We had not seen action of this sort in many a month. I leaned out the control cabin of the borrowed Tyrian and pulled the lanyard on the steam whistle. Once, twice, then two together quickly. MAKE STEAM! Follow in battle line!

Slowly the fleet of somewhat groggy officers (recently toasting Lamunda’s success in escaping severe career damage in court martial) brought boilers to the true operational pitch, and formed a long battle line. I wish we had air cover for this mission, but I would not risk one of Jonas’ airships for spotting fire with the wind picking up. I would regret leaving him home in a few hours, but at the time I was blisfully ignorant… aye, and perhaps a tad overconfident.

Lavancos trailing, and Kotetsus on flank, with the mortar ships in the center– always delicate hulls, those.

We picked up steam, and crossed to the East of Althorn Point, dipping our flags to the Autocrat’s office as we passed it. I could see his lone figure on the observation deck of his mansion, silently staring out to sea as the Retribution Task Force gradually picked up steam to a level that all ships could maintain at a steady head of steam, with an interception point of 1.5 hours.

I gave the wheel to the helmsmen, and went down to the captain’s quarters to use his chart table as a desk. A seaman already had coffee ready. I nodded thanks.

As we steamed south, I pondered a note I noticed in my inbox just as we were walking out the door. A large cream colored note with an odd red wax seal. Not giving it much of a glance, I stuffed it in my jacket as we were running out to board ship.

Well, I had about an hour.

I slit the wax seal, and read the message. “To the Commodore of the Fleet of Wrath Exiles, from a leading citizen in the community you refer to as the Object”

That had my attention.

“It has come to my attention that you have visited our fair city at least once in the past few weeks, and might consider doing so again, perhaps this time with a little surprise.” I winced, for this was a job I was reserving for Lamunda, but this time with several pounds of dynamite.

“If you attempt incursion to our territory through that avenue of approach, you might find it blocked next time. Or perhaps not, if you will lend an ear to my proposal.”

“There is a certain troublesome individual that has blocked certain projects of mine at Armada. You would be doing myself (oh, and Armada) a great service if, somehow, she were to go missing in the attack that surely looms. I would wish to meet with you in advance of this attack to discuss certain matters of mutual benefit to both our communities. Signed…”

And an illegible scrawl followed.

I looked at the sheet, puzzled. What the devil? Still, one should never discard a useful tool. I set that down in my portfolio and went back on deck. The moon was at its height now and the Object, what they called ARMADA, should be hoving into view.. NOW.

Nothing.

I looked around the horizon, first with the naked eye, then with the Night-Glass.

Still Nothing.

“YOUR LADYYYYSHIP!”

CDR Bellambi appeared instantly to my bellow. I was calm.

“Madame, scan the horizon. We are at the coordinates you gave us. Where’s the Object?”

For the first time in a long time, she appeared less than certain.

“Commodore, I have no idea. Based upon what we know of projected course, state of the sea, wind and tide, THIS IS WHERE SHE SHOULD BE.”

“Hmph. Well, madame, I will not waste precious coal on this fool’s errand. We’ve been humbugged, it seems. Signal Fleet orders. Set course for Port Merrimac, return to base. Leave a Tyran and a few direct fire Ironclads out on long patrol, your choice, and the body of the fleet to return home at once.”

I leaned out the control window of the Tyrann to get some fresh air. An ironclad can get rather stale after two hours underway at three-quarters turn of the screw.

I looked out at the water, in the general direction of where the Object (Armada, I must learn to call it that) should be. Was it my imagination, or were there lights UNDER the water, flashing back and forth?

I shook my head. Trick of the light, to be sure.

I sighed, gulped my coffee, and returned to the Captain’s stateroom, to finish my coffee and ponder this unusual communication I had just received. We would not bombard Armada today. But the day would come, I knew it as sure as I was sitting here.

The bosun whistle called out the long dolorous note that indicates a summoning into a court martial. LCDR Dorien Lamunda stepped in to the jury rigged courtroom, accompanied by an escort and CAPT Huszar of the BUFFALO. His back was ramrod straight; he strode forward the measured ten paces, removed his sword, and placed it, hilt first, towards the panel of myself, CAPT Somme (Operations) and CDR The Honorable Lady Bellambi (Fleet Intelligence). Boots crashing together, he came to attention as the Lady Bellambi read the charges.

“MISTER Lamunda, you are hereby under review for the incident on the tenth of the previous month, where the FWES SHANNON, under your command, was lost in the waters south of Port Merrimac, under combat. You understand that it is a procedural matter that all combat losses are placed under senior court martial review, and that the charges (if any are brought) are of a serious and substantive nature?”

Lamunda nodded. I leaned over to Somme, who was taking notes. “Witness indicates affirmative. Proceed, Lady Bellambi”

“Very good. Therefore, you answer the following review at your peril, as an officer and gentleman of the Fleet of Wrath Exiles. Please explain, for starters, the events of 10th of last month, in your own words, with no embellishments.”

Lamunda’s singsong islands accent rose somewhat as he recounted the events of the sinking of the Shannon. He had admirable poise for this situation, but I have a sense for these things, and I knew he was nervous. As he damned well ought to be.

Lamunda recounted the events as he had witnessed them– from his perspective. How he had encountered “The Object” (now known to be a pirate’s den called “Armada Breakaway”) far to the South. How it appeared to be the flotsam of many sea wrecks, and how his first instinct was to lend assistance of a humanitarian nature.

I interjected at that stage. “All very commendable, Mr. Lamunda. Now, pray tell the court.. How far away were you when you hailed the structure?”

“About five cable lengths, sir”

“As close as that, eh? And your narrative states (glancing at Somme to confirm) that you could clearly see figures, quote, “Swarming all over the upper works” of this Object, yes?”

“Correct, sir”

“So you mean to say, you were within hailing range (certainly within speaking-trumpet range) of this Object, and they gave you no response as you approached under flag?”

“Again, Correct, sir”

“Hmmmm.. Did this not give you pause to wonder?”

“Of course, sir. I came to the conclusion they didn’t speak our language, sir.”

“Quite possibly a conclusion I might have arrived at. OR, perhaps, they wished to stall for time as they were luring you into range, could that be another interpertation?”

Lamunda looked sick. “Yes, Sir”

“And what were CAPT Huszar and the BUFFALO doing at this time? “

“I had command of the patrol sir, and signaled I would approach the Object under a flag of parley, whilst CAPT Huszar would remain 8 more cables outward.”

“Out of range of most cannon, very prudent, sir” I snapped.

He continued. “We approached under white flag of parley, not seeing any obvious gunports on the structure. As we rounded the eastern edge of the Object, many gun ports in the oddest locations opened up, revealing guns of assorted calibers and bores. They commenced a steady bombardment of the SHANNON, which had steam up and cannons loaded, so we engaged them back quickly”

“To what effect sir, to what effect? How well did a Wrath Ship of recent design do in this situation?”

He looked downcast.

“Not well, Sir. We managed to stove in the wooden wall of one of the structures, and unseat at least three cannon, and start a fire, but the structure was too large, with two many intersecting fields of fire, and their cannon were too high up for our guns to bear”

“How long were you engaged?”

“It would seem an hour, sir, but we returned fire for ten minutes as we were reversing out of the sort-of harbor they have there.”

“That bears up with CAPT Huszar’s account. And where was he?”

“Steaming to assist, sir. He had the Object under fire quickly. However, when the giant Fear Engine showed up, we knew both of us were outclassed in gunnery, and we should retreat to keep our ships.”

“Did you engage the other ship?”

“It was more a matter of it engaging us, sir. The Shannon had taken many hits already, and when the Fear Engine’s shell hit us beat the juncture of turret and frame, that put paid to the structural integrity of the hull. We started to take on water fast, and when seawater poured into the engine room, I knew she was lost.”

“Yes, I heard there were some scalding injuries.. how many?

“Two sir”

“Yes, one of them Cadet Asturias, the Autocrat’s nephew, I hear?”

Again, he looked miserable.

Somme got him to recount the evacuation of the ship, which was well done, I thought, considering an enemy ironclad was bearing down upon him and the ship was rapidly foundering and in flames.

CAPT Huszar, his usual laconic expression far more worried and animated than usual, gave his testimony, which confirmed Lamunda’s words.

CDR Bellambi inquired into the structure, what can be discerned about power sources, forms of motive power, and most especially the caliber, number and range of their weaponry. She took copious notes.

I banged the gavel. “You may retire to outside until called for, MISTER Lamunda.”

Lamunda about faced and walked outside with Huszar, his sword still on the table, hilt first.

I turned to confer with the other court martial board members. Somme pointed out the cost of the Shannon, Lamunda’s youthful age and less experience than Huszar, questioning his command in this situation. The Lady Bellambi nodded, looking worried. I know she has a soft spot for these younger officers from the post-Middlesea era. Lamunda is particularly popular amongst the younger crowd, being friendly and energetic. It would be a damned shame to ruin him.

“Call them in, Bosun”

The whistle blasted and Lamunda returned under escort, other officers trailing behind.

I rose to my feet to give the verdict.

“MISTER Lamunda. It is the opinion of this court that you did behave recklessly on the day of the tenth of last month, in approaching the so-called Armada Breakaway Object, and did engage the enemy without intelligence as to his strength or intention. As a result of your decisions, a ship was lost, and almost a crew. This IS a matter that the court will take seriously. However, there are mitigating circumstances, humanitarian concerns, and none of the court assembled can clearly state that you did NOT act in accordance to standard orders for patrolling the Blake’s Sea. My only fault, and it is a serious one, is that you placed your crew and ship in jeopardy by approaching the object too closely, and falling for what was clearly a ruse. We have lost a ship. You will take this lesson to heart. I am, therefore, docking you a month’s pay, less meals and uniform allowance. You will, however, retain your rank and full responsibility of a Commander in the Fleet of Wrath Exiles.”

His face lit up, involuntarily.

I reached over, and reversed his sword.

“You are out of uniform, LCDR Lamunda. Your sword is returned to you. Always bear it with honor in service.”

Tears welled up in his eyes as he gazed at the hilt reversed. He reached down, and swiftly returned it to its scabbard, and saluted, his voice cracking.

“Th.. Thank you, Sir”

I saluted back. “Excellent effort pulling them off, Dorien. Try not to lose any more ships, lad. Now, off with you! We have a bombardment to plan, GET TO YOUR STATION, sir! We will meet to discuss your assignment shortly.”

Lamunda’s sad countenance was replaced with a grin as he about faced and marched out with Huszar and some of the other young officers. I studiously avoided noticing the very loud cheering from several young officers congregated outside as they noticed the sword on his belt and epaulets still on his shoulders.

Somme smiled. “You always were a tad soft-hearted, O’Toole. Let’s hope you don’t have a soft head, too!”

“Oh, he’s shaping well. Neat trick to pull the crew off like that, under fire. We’ll make something of him, yet!”

CDR the Lady Bellambi nodded. “he is shaping well, as are all of the officers of this generation. We have put down good roots hear in Roatan”.

I grinned at her. “We shall allow them exactly two hours to buy Lamunda drinks at the Officer’s mess and tell him what a clever fellow he is to escape the Ogre’s wrath. After that, it’s every captain to his ship and get steam up. We’ve lost a lot of time on this, and I mean to sail as soon as the tide breaks tonight! Is the Reprisal Fleet ready?”

She nodded. “Fully loaded, extra mortar rounds, extra rounds, full coal bunkers, fires banked for quick steaming”.

I looked at Somme and Her Ladyship. “Tonight, we will sally forth and give them something to encourage them to ply their trade in other waters.”

It’s May and we’re back from our monthly sebaticle. We have several events in store for you this week, on Wednesday we’ll be resuming our weekly Flyby event out of Gulliver at 7:30pm SLT. And then on Thursday we have two events for you, the first is our latest series; European Roulette, which has a different event each week. This week we’ll be doing a Balloon rally (Using Cubey Tera’s latest creation primarily, though any hot air baloon is welcome) for the European rotation at 11:30am SLT on Thursday. You don’t have to be European to attend of course, but we hope running an event at this time will make it easier for our friends across the atlantic to come and join us.

And of course on Thursday night at 7:30pm SLT we’ll have our regular Iron Melee event, were people gather and blow each other up in their ironclad of choice down at Port Merrimac. So welcome back, tell your friends, and join us all this week for a little fun in the skies and on the water…

• Flyby @ Gulliver Airport 7:30pm SLT Wednesday – SLURL
• European Roulette (Balloon Rally) 11:30am SLT Thursday – SLURL
• Iron Melee @ Port Merrimac 7:30pm SLT Thursday – SLURL

The focus of this post however, is on the Artificial Isle estate covenant (Which you can see in About Land or on the site here). The covenant has recently undergone a significant rewrite, if you were familiar with the old doc you’ll find it largely to cover the same issues but with different wording. All lease issues have been removed from the covenant as the lease terms documents handle those fine, and the covenant is now more of a behavioral guideline. There are also some new specifics events that take place in the estate, by they general or combat oriented events. There is also new language more explicitly granting liberty to visitors who wish to take pictures and/or film machinima. The covenant as always is mostly common sense matters, but it’s spelled out for the sake of clarity should there be any confusion.

One point I want to make clear though is in regards to enforcement of the covenant and representation of Artificial Isle. No person or organization has any kind of authority over nor can they represent the interests of Artificial Isle except ZATZAi Asturias, and those listed at the end of the covenant. With the exception of authorized event organizers for a particular event (Who are not listed in the covenant) no person not on this list has any authority in the Artificial Isle estate (Save Linden Lab employees), nor can they represent the interests of Ai.

We have on occaision over the years had issues with people who represent themselves as in a postion of authority at Artificial Isle, and/or representative of Ai. Please do not be confused by these people, and should anyone try to mislead you in this way please contact us about it (With transcriptions of the event if possible) as this is a matter we take seriously.

It is our hope that this new covenant will be more clear for visitors and residents that read it, if you have any questions of concerns please let us know.

It’s the fourth week of the month, and it’s time for our monthly sabatical here in Artificial Isle. There will be no regularly scheduled events this week, but we’ll be back the following week in May. So relax this week, take in the scenery and stay safe our there everyone.

AETHER SALON. Presented by Jasper Kiergarten (on his CSS Hunley build) and Hotspur O’Toole (the History of Submersibles to the 19th century) Slides and link to transcript are HERE.

(Bookworm Hienrichs took some photos, here they are)

I was very happy to be part of the Aether Salon program, along with Mr. Jasper Kiergarten. The program was very well attended, and the questions quite lively and fun. It’s a rare day that YHN gets a chance to expostulate on a subject he holds dear like this. I enjoyed participating and hope to do so again at some point in the future.

Jasper quails a bit at the large crowd

As some of us might (at first) have trouble filling out a roster for battles, and as there are many people serving in the diverse and variegated fleets of other nation-states in the Steamlands, let it be proposed therefore to create the rank of

RESERVE CAPTAIN

as a post for a naval officer serving in a fleet from any other land, should he or she be willing to temporarily assist your fleet with the execution of a battle.

Reserve Captains have all the rank, responsibilities and duties given to a regular Captain, but will only wear the uniform and flag during the course of a battle when they are needed.

Using this method, when future “nation versus nation” battle scenarios are being consdered, a Commodore might more easily fill out his ranks for a single engagement.

Please respond with your thoughts on the matter.

Your Servant,

Hotspur O’Toole
Commodore
Fleet of Wrath Exiles

Three Rounds of combat were held Round One had the Red Team clustering at Gregory Light and Blue attacking, Round two the same but with reversed color assignments, and Round three, we just winged it.

In all three cases, Blue met with a decisive victory, with one blue team member alive at the end of Round One, Two in Round Two, and ALL in Round Three
.

The Teams concept went over splendidly. A single person acted as command liason in all instances (usually the local Commodore on hand) who would convey battle on instructions.

The big hang up in terms of time was affixing the correct flags to the boat. I promise, I will create a tutorial on how to accomplish this.

Even for a graphically challenged chap like YHN, the evening went very well indeed, with one stunning exception when I went aground at Gregory Rock

Lessons Learned

• Deploy the Vendors ahead of time, so..
• People can get their flags up ahead of time
• Don’t shoot boats that are fighting with rifles. It’s not sporting.

Tonight at the Oceanside Lounge, Mac McWinnie will be performing live on stage. With a high-energy rock n roll, alternative rock, blues, and punk with powerful vocals and an acoustic guitar performance that is sure to please. Mac performs originals and covers and his music is available on CD from his website. He’ll be playing your favorite rock and roll music along with originals you’ll love.  Come Smoke with Me (aka The Pot Song) was featured on Houston radio station KLOL’s 4:20 break.

Mac also is a songwriter/composer, writing arrangements for songs such as “This Wine” and “Peace”, as well as the lyrics for “Come Smoke With Me”, “Whole Lotta Smoke” and “Right Here Right Now”. And Mac’s former band, The Cleveland Steamers, can be found on myspace, and pre-sales for their upcoming SLCD will be on sale at the show!

We hope to see you there tonight, the drinks are on the house (Well the virtual drinks are anyway)!

Mac McWinnie @ Oceanside 7:30pm SLT