The sea was calm, but the sky was in a foul mood. The sky was clear but the winds pouring from it were far from happy. Liara stood on the deck of the ship and soaked it all in. The winds caressed her armor and sent her hair flying every which way. It felt absolutely lovely. Having not flown in so long, this was the next best thing to the red-headed beauty. As the sun blazed overhead - giving her armor a blazing hue - the woman turned towards the Marine's Bastion. Enies Lobby. She hoped the ground party was doing alright. But Naga had tasked them with causing some waves out here while they had some fun on land.

Liara looked at her crewmates that had stayed behind to man the ship. She smiled a bit.

This was going to be fun, indeed.

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• tagged: Uroboros~
• notes: Equipment: T2 Armor & Bastilla Shards 1 & 2

Liara smiled gently at Mea-chan's machinations with the cannons. The young doctor had shown a strange proficiency with them, which Liara attributed to the Kuja genes running through her veins, so since then the little doctor was the go-to for canyoneering. Liara had gotten some pointers from Naga so she could help the young doctor if the situation warranted it. She was still confident in Mea-chan's abilities though.

The sound of footsteps alerted the knight to someone else's presence. She was greeted with green hair and an iron mask. Was that...Locke? Liara raised an eyebrow at the woman she now trusted with one of her most valuable secrets. Her outfit change wasn't exactly a bad one, but the mask hid her beautiful face and immaculate skin, something that should be flaunted for the world to see! Liara smiled at her a bit as she made her way over. "Hai Locke, it's good to see...the new you", she said before chuckling a bit.

More footsteps this time. And their owner was none other than the Rubber Bandit himself. She saw his usual red attire and goofy smile and it couldn't help but make her grin a bit too. His happiness was infectious. When her crewmates were all assembled, Locke posed the question as of what their captain actually wanted them to be doing. Ike chimed in with his usual banter making Liara shake her head. "What he means, is that Naga wants us to commandeer an enemy vessel. She told me about a old Kuja hunting tactic where the huntress would use a decoy to draw the enemy's attention so the huntress could shot safely. It's brilliant, really." Liara turned to the ocean again and scanned the waves for ships. It didn't need to be anything fancy, just something that resembled their ship.

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• tagged: Uroboros~
• notes: Equipment: T2 Armor & Bastilla Shards 1 & 2

Liara had to admit to the cleverness of Locke's answer. How can you track someone if you don't even know what they look like? Liara was sure that there were ways, but she imagined them being tedious and time consuming. Something the marines were renowned for steering away from. At the greenette's hesitance in her participation, Liara's brow wrinkled a bit. She knew that the biggest hinderance to oneself was admitting defeat before the battle even started. The redhead reached out a bit and placed her armored hand on her crewmates shoulder lightly. "You most certainly are not a burden and we absolutely need you here. You and I are going to be the boarding party while Mea and Ike will guard the ship. Your fighting style most suits mine. Don't worry. Just stick close to me and you'll be fine."

While Mea spoke to Locke, Liara turned a bit and scanned the windy horizon once more. Being so close to Enies Lobby, there were bound to be ships of all different shapes or sizes heading back and forth from the port. All they had to do was find a light caraval... When Mea mentioned that she was going to sink the ship, Liara looked back at her. "Hold on, Mea-chan. Instead of sinking the ships, we need you to cripple them. Aim for the masts. Try and shoot holes in the sails so the enemy ship can't move. Once you do that, I want you to defend the ship with Ike. Try and stay below deck so no one tries boarding through the portholes or cannon blocks."

For the next couple of minutes, Liara intently watched the sea. As they skimmed through the waters at a liesurly pace, Liara ticked off the ships around them. Most were either too large or looked too well-manned for them to be targeting. Locke or Mea would suggest a ship every now and then but Liara decided against it. They would know the right ship when they saw it.

And Locke found it.

Liara's attention snapped to where the greenette was looking. She watched as a sleek vessel sliced through the waves at a comfortable speed. It looked lightly manned and slightly battered. By the rough patches of salvage and shearing, Liara could tell that it had been caught in a sea storm. The poor men on that ship had to be tired, waterlogged, and weak. The perfect prey.

Liara strutted over to the wheel of the ship and grasped it tightly at ten and two - just as Nicky had shown her. The redhead's eyes hardened as she lowered her gaze and threw the wheel swinging to the left, banking them into a wide turn. Her redhead went flying as they ship's bow sliced through the waves like nothing. The Knight smiled.

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• tagged: Uroboros~
• notes: Equipment: T2 Armor & Bastilla Shards 1 & 2

The crew was ready. Pulling forth the instruction and lessons that Nicky had taught her, Liara pulled the guidelines down with all her might and let the ship tighten to half-sail. Just as Mea-chan let the cannon balls fly, the Melusine would take a sharp turn to the left - banking towards their target.

With their speed reduced at the moment, it made them a easier target. However with the sails a bit restricted, their maneuverability expounded ten-fold. The port bow swiveled into the enemy ship's line of sight and while the ship was still turning, Liara let the sails out to full sail again as the ropes skidded harmlessly along the hard metal of her armor. It was this unique way of sailing that gave them the needed umph they'd need to overwhelm their opponents. Liara could feel the sea reverberating through the hull of the ship and the greaves of her armor as they cut through the waves towards the enemy ship. The Knight watched with clear satisfaction as Mea's shots found their marks with barely any misses. The enemy ship's wake in the waves quickly trickled down into nothing.

They were marooned.

The Melusine wasn't far away from them now and Liara could hear the startled cries for battle stations. Liara kept swinging the ship around in a spiral pattern around the marines. They were going too fast for the unprepared marines to get a clear shot, and even if they did manage to spare a shot off, Ike would be able to deflect it with his devil fruit powers. The marines were dead in the water and before long, all they could do was wait as the Melusine drew closer.

As they circled ever closer, Liara counted the sailors. From what she could see, she numbered them at eight so far. The vessel was most certainly not a fully manned Navy vessel. After all, this close to Enies Lobby, it had to be a scout ship, trade vessel, or a bunch of recruits. Liara did not care.

Their target was the ship. Not the marines on it.

Liara swung the ship around and called for Ike to lower the anchor. He seemed to know his place because she felt the ship jerk to a halt not even a few moments later. The Melusine sat in all it's glory next to the Navy vessel. Thankfully, the Melusine sat higher in the water than the Marines' did. This gave them an advantage. Liara quickly relinquished the wheel and sprinted towards Locke's position. The Knight could hear the Marines yelling at each other to get ready. They were probably waiting for the pirates to make a move. In a way, she felt bad for them. They couldn't have foreseen getting attacked so close to a hub of their power. It worked out well for the Uroburos though. They would be sloppy. But Liara realized something detrimental. With them being this close to Enies Lobby, they'd be able to call for reinforcements quickly...

Liara looped a hand around Locke's waist and gripped her tight. "Change of plans. I'm going to get you into the bridge area. You need to take out any Den Den Mushi you find." Once Locke confirmed that she understood, Liara drew one of her bright red whips and took a deep breath. She looked at Locke.

"Run."

The Knight and the Blade-Dancer sprinted from one end of the ship to the other and jumped. Liara held fast onto the greenette as they sailed through the air. Time flew by so quickly. They were already halfway between the two ships - over the ocean - when they began to lose momentum. Liara snapped her arm upwards and watched as her whip found one of the hard wooden lengths of the lower mast and wrapped snuggly around it. Their fall quickly turned into a glide as they rode through the air, towards the bridge. Amidst the ride, Liara leaned to the left and tucked her body around Locke. A few seconds later, her armored form smashed through the windows of what seemed to be the navigator's office. Liara quickly rolled onto her feet and entered a combat stance. The room was deserted. Not for long though.

Liara took the extra chance to look around the room. She preferred some kind of map of the ship's interior but her eyes honed in on a open journal sitting on a desk. The woman made her way over and brushed the broken glass off the page. "...just a regular training exercise. Twelve grunts and two overseeing officers. Unfortunately our captain for this trip is that dumbass Mitch. He only cares about twirling those damn whiskers of his more than actually teaching somebody something. Oh well... This shouldn't take long. Hopefully I'll be home in time for the Coo at least."

Liara smiled. Mea-chan couldn't have picked a better target.

The Knight moved to the door and she was pleased to find Locke ready and behind her with her ornate fans already drawn. The greenette was attentive during combat and she was handling herself well so far. Liara nodded to her partner and put her armored hand on the door. The two pirates could hear the sounds of running. Someone yelled something about securing the sea maps and the Knight smiled. Liara put up her other hand and held up three fingers. Three...
The running was closer now.
Two...
Almost there, she could hear frantic breathing.
One...!
Liara slammed the door open and she watched as the fram smashed into the face of a grunt and sent him tumbling into a pile onto the floor. Liara was sure he was out like a light. "Fourteen more to go. Be careful." Locke nodded and slipped from behind Liara and disappeared behind a corner. Liara wanted to stay with her, to make sure she would be safe, but she needed to trust Locke. This was the chance for the greenette to show her skills and prove her worth. Liara shut the door silently and headed into the opposite direction. All Locke had to do was shut down the Den Den Mushi, but Liara's task was even more simple.

All she needed to do was fight.
~~~

Liara rounded the corner and came upon two unarmed Marines. Their eyes met at the exact same moment. Liara moved first though. Her wrist shot forward and her red whip followed. The weapon flew forth and wrapped around one marines chest. She yanked him forward with all her might and as he flew towards her, she dipped low and caught his stomach with her armored fist. The other Marine was moving now. He tried running at Liara while she was busy with the first one but he didn't know that she could multi-task. Since Liara was crouched, he run up at her and attempted to kick her in the vicinity of her neck or face. Liara pushed herself off of the wall on her left and rolled over the man she'd just dropped. She yanked on the man that was still entrapped in her whip's grasp. As she fell against the other wall, she brought her feet up to her chest. She watched as her boots hit the trapped man's back and she kicked forward with all her strength. The man sprang forward and unwound from her whip as he slammed into the other Marine who was on the other side. They both made sickeningly loud thud sounds as they impacted against the wall and slide down on top of one another. They were out cold.

Twelve more.

Liara made her way down this hall and was about to round the corner but managed to catch someone as they were just about to do the same thing. She jabbed him in the neck and slammed his head up against the wall. He slumped down into a pile. Eleven.

Liara rounded the corner and was met with the sight of a man running crazily at her with a sword in his hands. The blade was high in the air and it took nothing for Liara to flick her wrist forward, wrap the hilt of the sword in her whip and yank forward. The man's forward momentum expounded and he went sailing through the air. Liara didn't even look back as she heard him smash face first into the wall behind her.
Ten.

Liara moved carefully now. These may be rookies but they wouldn't be stupid enough to travel alone anymore. The Knight was a bit worried though. As she made her way through the halls, she didn't encounter anyone else. That was, until she found three men lying in the oddest positions on some stairs. That would have been Locke. The count went down to seven. The Knight came to the end of a hallway and found a door. She expected it to lead outside, and it did. But the deck was a story below her. She didn't know what they needed a balcony on a training vessel for but she didn't question it. After all, this could be where evaluators stand so they could look over the recruits work for all she knew. All she knew is that when she peeked over the edge, she noticed someone standing at the bottom with a rifle in hand.

She didn't even think about it.

Liara unwound both her whips and flung herself over the edge of the balcony. She plummeted downwards at an alarming rate because of the weight of her armor. The sound of her landing on top of the man below her and his head smacking onto the deck of the ship was also a bit alarming but Liara ignored that as well. Nine.

Liara looked to her left and then towards her right. She spied three more men laid in piles of glass. A quick look up revealed

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• tagged: Uroboros~
• notes: Equipment: T2 Armor & Bastilla Shards 1 & 2