[Ol vs. Nam I] That fresh lemon scent

[Captain Genaro]

The crew stood silent on the weather deck. It had been several long weeks at sea, they had long since lost their escort and the convoy was scattered. Their elation at seeing a warship flying Oleon's royal colors soon turned to dread when, after reducing the distance to a hundred yards, the stranger open fired, Oleon's ensign still flying high. A brief but violent series of broadsides tore into the side of the Scimitar, with shots destroying rigging and the hull. Almost immediately, the captain struck his colors, realizing his unarmed and undermanned crew was no match for the stranger.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

A few moments passed, and a boat was launched from the stranger. As the smaller vessel rapidly closed the distance between the two ships, a slight breeze revealed that it too had Oleon's colors. Dread filled the Scimitar as even the landsmen among them learned that no one short of a blood thirsty pirate would attack under false colors. Metallic clinks broke the silence as the boat's helmsman hooked onto the Scimitar. Moments later, a face of pure greed appeared over the rail and muttered something in a foreign tongue. With a grunt, the boarder lifted himself over the rail and proceeded to land in an uncovered barrel of tar, a last gesture of resistance by some the Scimitar. Clearly upset, the boarder thrashed for a few moments before his colleagues joined him and pulled him free.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

After giving some brief orders, the first boarder turned to address the Scimitar's crew. "My name is Captain Namystere," the boarder said in the lingua franca. "And I must inform you that, per my letter of marque, you are all prisoners of Namere." "And where in your bloody letter does it give you the right to attack us under the sacred colors of Oleon?" replied one of the crew. "Surely even backwater swine such as yourself know that's blatant piracy." Namystere walked over to the sailor, tar marking his every move. "And how, may I ask, do you expect anyone to know that it was I that attacked your vessel and not some other pirate?" Not waiting for a reply, Namystere turned to the rest of the boarders and shouted some orders. Expecting they were about to be murdered, most of the Scimitar's crew closed their eyes and prayed for a painless death. The few that kept their eyes open were shocked to see the boarders pull out bottles and brown rags. Stunned, the crew was deaf to Namystere's continued spewing rubbish about how Oleon was "trading with Namere's enemies, which justifies the capture" and watched as the boarders began pouring the liquid on the Scimitar and rubbing every surface.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

"Pine Sol" muttered one of the crew that was close enough to read the label on the bottle. "Clean up dirt, grease, & grime on nearly every surface of your home, ship, or unlawfully captured prize" read the sailor. "Oh, yes, sir" exclaimed the seaman. "No matter the mess, Pine Sol has you covered. Recommended by 9 out of 10 pirates to remove evidence on an illegal prize, Pine Sol can, in a few hours time, restore the wood to its original pre-battle condition, even removing nasty blood and tar stains that other cleaners simply can't get. And by golly if that fresh lemon scent just isn’t the feather in one’s cap.”

“Mr. Andrews” roared Captain Namystere, addressing the boarder, “would you kindly remind me who is paying your salary, myself or the good folks at Pine Sol?" After a brief pause, the boarder replied “you, sir” deciding it was best not to mention that referrals earned him discounts on purchases that he failed to pass onto his captain. “In that case, would you be so kind as to stow the idle chat and clean these marks” said Namystere. After a brief "aye, sir," the boarder cleaned the stains and Namystere continued to pace before the captured crew while vainly attempting to justify his unwarranted aggression.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

Reaching the rail, Namystere turned around only to see a most unpleasant sight on the deck. “Mr. Andrews” bellowed Namystere “pray explain why these marks are still on my deck! Clearly you did not obey my last order.” “No, sir” pleaded the seaman “no, sir I did, you see your leg and peg have tar and,” “You dare contradict me!” screamed Namystere. “If I wanted someone who would contradict me, I’d hire my mother-in-law! Now stop whining and start cleaning!” At seeing this exchange, most of the Scimitar's crew lost their sense of dread,since most violent pirates and privateers display at least some morsel of competence. Of course, the dread was only replaced by concern when the quicker members of the crew remembered that they would be prisoners in the Namere ship, and their only chance of ever finding shore relied on the sailing abilities of these very foolish boarders. Oh well, they thought, even if they were doomed to be lost in a storm or die of starvation hundreds of miles from any inhabited port, they could spend their last moments enjoying that fresh lemon scent.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

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As always, comments and criticism is welcome. Some more overall shots of the build.

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

A long beginning by Capt. Genaro, on Flickr

[Captain Braunsfeld]

Where can I get that "Pine Sol"?

I am intrigued by that fresh scent ...

[Elostirion]

What a fantastic creation, I love the multiple layers, the difference between water and the bottom of the ship is awesome, as is the whole MOC. Amazing job.

[TitusV]

Great build! The multiple levels work perfectly, and the hullside-water contrast is very good!

[blackdeathgr]

Excellent! Building-wise I really like the curving of the ships, the holes at the hull, the bell and her multiple levels and above all the greeble used as weight at the deepest level of the ship and the unconventional pieces used as sea. Story-wise i love the advertisement you made about "Pine Sol" ™.

[Mr Greeble]

I like how it's a cutaway!

[Tezclatipoca]

Good entry !

I like how you cut the ship and made different levels, showing the lower deck.

The bell design is nice too.

Good job !

[Mpyromaxos]

Nice creation! Good job with the ship multiple levels!