The cold. The Sun-Damned cold. Linette was not used to it. She lifted the neck of her coat a little further, trying to hide her cheeks from it. Out of all the places for one of the Pseudo-Suns to burst, of course it had to be somehwere on the tail of the world. She looked behind her, at the carcass of their Sun-ship, beached in the sand like a metallic whale. It looked like a steamship, with intricate details in brass and gold depicting suns, and with a headpiece in the shape of a peacock the size of a man. And now, it was not much more than the worlds biggest paperweight.
She sighed and kicked sand in frustration. Her men were scurrying aruound the hull, trying to salvage whatevr supplies they could from the ship while the brothers from the Sun-lit Order tried to fix the Pseudo-Sun that powered the engines. From the furstrated expression on their faces, she figured they'd be here for a while. She threw her rifle on the ground and sat down on a rock, breathing in air from the coast. Where wer they? Probably somehwere close to St. Mapleville's Floe. She tried to think. They went over the Carnal Abyss, so they were probably already in the Stranger Seas. She sighed. Trying to reach Nova Vinelandia by foot would take days, and they wouldn't be able to take cargo with them. And the Count of Irons would not take kindly to her losing his weapons. If his reputation held any truth, she'd be burnt to a crips via Solar-Cannon. She looked up as some of the men she'd sent to scout ahead came back. They were running frantically, grasping their rifles. She stood up and grabbed her own.
"Halt!" She yelled. The men stopped, grabbing their knees to catch their breath. One of them took off his helmet, it's peacock feather dancing in the wind. She approached them. "Report"
"We didn't see much. It's what we heard"
"Gunshots, my lady" added the other. "Gunshots and explosions"
She frowned. Perhaps a Mapleville expeditionary force? With any luck it could be someone from IC. She doubted it. They held some territory in the Stranger Seas, but she couldn't think of a reason for them to be here.
"At ease, soldiers. Help unload. We'll mount a defensive position. We will hold here, though. We don't want to be confused with invaders. Relay this to Lieutennant. Arnauld." As the men left, she took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. The remaining Pseudo-Sun in the ship could power the solar cannon, and they had enough ammunition in the crates to last until kingdom come, but she was not looking forward for a fight.
"Join the Navy, they said" she berated herself "Easy way out of the farmlands, they said"
