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Post by Ludwig on Jun 5, 2012 17:32:42 GMT -5
Axis. It meant the center around which something rotates. It was a very, very important word. And it was a wonderful word to name a star cruiser fit and ready for battle, and could reach warp speeds, splitting time and space in half. It was a suitable name for a ship that could stomp hyperspace with it's figurative boot, and was riddled with lazer cannons, torpedos, and other such artillery. Yes, indeed it was a fine name for a warship, or even a pirate vessel! However, it was a name that was given to a vessel that was... well... ill-fitted for such an important title was putting it lightly. This was not to say that the Axis was not a good ship, nor to say it was a bad ship. It was just that the name, was wonderful a name as it was, just didn't suit the ship it was given to.
The Axis was a fine ship. Or was a fine ship, at one point. Years of abandonment had left it in a condition that was less than desirable. However, Ludwig Beilschmidt was more than convinced that he could salvage it. And of course, Ludwig Beilshcmidt can do pretty much anything he sets his mind to. This is probably do to the fact that he will not give up until it is done, and done correctly, even if it kills him. Unfortunately, the process attempted to do just that on a number of occassions, however, Ludwig managed to persevere, and live to salvage and rebuild another day. It wasn't very long before he was able to get the cruiser running once more.
The Axis ran smoothly. There was a rear thruster that would sputter on occasion, however it was nothing that a good hard thwack couldn't fix. Ludwig had even appointed the position of Designated Thruster Thwacker to his "first mate". Feliciano had proved himself more than capable of thwacking thruster, and it was something that Ludwig could trust him with.
The Axis also had a number of defensive and offensive mechanisms. It had sheilds, cannons, torpedos, and other such artillery and protection devices. There were a few cannons on the starboard side that needed a little fine tuning, and their aim adjusted, however, they worked fine, as long as the person firing them remembered to adjust the trajectory.
Yes, the Axis was a fine ship. It was just that once one thing was fixed, and in perfect working order, something else came apart. It was either something that had been fixed before, or was working fine, until something else was fixed, of course.
The Axis was a good ship. The Axis was a fine ship. The Axis.... was falling apart.
And that was exactly what Ludwig was thinking as he stared at a gapping ceiling panel on the upper most deck, and the wiring it exposed. It belonged to the communication speaker just a few feet away on the other side of the ceiling. Of course, there were several speakers on this deck, and not so far from this one. If there was an announcement made, people were sure to hear it. However, it was evident this one needed to be fixed. And it had to be fixed now. Why now? Because. It just had to be. Ludwig couldn't stand looking at it. And the wiring stared back at him, curled in an ever so taunting smile...
Oh that speaker wiring was cheeky, wasn't it? It was DARING him not to fix it. It was so up high! And it would have to be reconnected to the speaker on the other side! Under neath the ceiling panels!
This wouldn't do. This wouldn't do AT ALL.
Ludwig glared up at the wiring, and that warped panel. Oh, he was going to fix it. And he was going to fix it THAT INSTANT. That would show that faulty speaker wiring, and god awful broken ceiling panel! With a sigh, Ludwig ran a hand through his blonde hair, and committed himself to this task.
Climbing to the source of the problem was an easy task. So was removing the warped and buckled ceiling panel. It came loose with a sharp tug. (The thing wasn't even bolted in correctly! It was a good thing it was being replaced.) And once those two steps had been completed, Ludwig heaved himself upward and into the rather tight, and cramped space that housed the wiring.
It was only then that he realized just how tight and cramped the space was. Well, it was a fairly decent sized space, but Ludwig was not a very small man, both in build and in height. However, Ludwig was as persistent a man as he was muscular. And that was quite persistent. As well as quite muscular. Being a very persistent and muscular man, Ludwig managed to wriggle his way to the opposite end of the corridor to attach the stray wires back to the speaker.
Again, it was a simple enough task, and it was completed very quickly. The German man's lips curled into a smile of satisfaction, and he gave a quick nod. Yes, that would do nicely. Oh he showed that wiring, yes he did. That wiring thought it could not be fixed, but Ludwig Beilschmidt proved other wise! And now, it was time to move onto more important things.
With a grunt, Ludwig pushed himself backward, and found that he escaped the tight and cramped space rather easily! Well, that's what he would have liked to have found. Instead... he didn't move much at all. Again, he shoved against the ceiling panels, in an attempt to work himself free. Again, it was fruitless. And again. And again.
...Ludwig Beilschmidt was a very persistent and muscular man. Ludwig Beilschmidt, Captain of the Axis was also very, very... stuck.
".....Scheisse."
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Post by Gilbert on Jun 5, 2012 17:43:04 GMT -5
Gilbert hadn't been doing anything in the engine room. Honestly. And nothing was broken that he knew of. Really! It was exactly how he had left it. Which was exactly how it was before, seeing as Gilbert hadn't stepped foot in the engine room. Nope.
He walked down the hall with a beer in his hand (NOT the last beer in the refrigerator because Ludwig had forbade him from taking the last one. But no, that's TOTALLY not the last one and if Ludwig ever asks it was Vasch that took it), wondering what that chick with three breasts he had slept with two weeks ago was doing at that very moment. Probably sleeping with someone else. Oh well, it was completely worth the strange rash on his thigh.
He turned a corner and thought he heard his brother's irritated voice coming from not far ahead of him. Thinking Feliciano had set yet another small fire to a room in the ship, he crept forward. Oh, this would be good. He could just feel it in his bones.
Who would have thought that he would ever in his life run into the lower half of his brother hanging from the ceiling on the uppermost deck for a second time. Oh, this is just simply too, too good.
He wondered, how long should he stay quiet? Ludwig couldn't see, he had no idea that he was here...He figured he could just stay quiet until Ludwig came down, and then the first thing he would see was his fat face. Ah, the look on his face, it would be glorious! He'd stumble through an excuse, and then Gilbert would laugh and then hang it over his head for the next ten years, just like he did before. He wouldn't drop that time when Ludwig fell through that hole in the lower deck at the first run through the ship.
But, staying quiet would require patience. And patience...wasn't really something that he had. Well, Gilbert had patience, it was just...selective patience. And when it came to making Ludwig's face red, patience did not exist.
"Let me guess. Second speaker on the left. The red wire is short-circuiting. You went up to fix it. Got stuck. It's been approximately three minutes and forty-two seconds since you considered yourself "stuck" up there. Again. Isn't this the second time this has happened to you?" he asked, as casually as he possibly could (but Ludwig at this point knew his every tone, and this tone was along the lines of "you know I'm going to ridicule you about this and carve it onto your gravestone"). He was grinning. Gilbert just lived for moments like these.
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Feliciano
New Member
Designated Thruster Thwacker
Posts: 11
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Post by Feliciano on Jun 5, 2012 17:55:29 GMT -5
Feliciano was running down the hallway of the ship after giving the rear thruster a good thwack. Having been happy with the job he had done he was going back to tell Ludwig that what he asked had been completed.
He stopped short when he heard thudding from, what he didnt know then to be, Ludwig stuck in the ventilation shaft and his attempts to get out echoing down the hallway. He got scared and tears sprung to his eyes before he started running around in a full blown panic.
He called out for the one person he knew would protect him, "LUDWIG HELP!!!!!!! THE SHIP IS HAUNTED!!!!!" He ran as fast as he could and bumped into Gilbert, falling back on his rear. "Ve~" He shook his head to clear it before standing up and rubbing his hurt bottom.
He looked up and actually saw who he ran into before throwing his arms around him, "GILBERT HELP!!! THE SHIP IS HAUNTED AND-" He stopped short when he saw Gilbert grinning and a pair of familiar German legs hanging from the ventilation shaft, "... Is that Ludwig?"
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Kiku
Axis Crew
Nō aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu.
Posts: 7
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Post by Kiku on Jun 5, 2012 19:10:50 GMT -5
Normally, no one would really be happy to be on a ship that was literally falling apart, but Kiku wasn't exactly normal. He adored it. It kept him busy, kept him working and tinkering with things. He loved being busy, loved tinkering, and loved being on this ship, even though it seemed like the ship would fall apart at any minute, either from seemingly everything falling to pieces oooor Feliciano exploding something again.
Which is what it sounded like.
Seeing as he just ran through some nearby hallway screaming about the ship being...haunted? Well that was new. Kiku shimmied himself out from his spot working inside of a vent, installing something that cleaned the air in the ship a little better so it didn't smell like beer and whatever else was lurking around in the ship. The Japanese man peeked around the corner, eyes curious, after all, the crew on this ship were his family, and...well...as loud as annoying as they could be sometimes, they were still his family.
He came around the corner, following the sounds of talking to the upper deck, and happened upon an interesting sight. Feliciano was talking to Gilbert, who had a beer in his hand (Probably the last one on the ship) and Ludwig's legs were dangling out of the ceiling.
Oh.
Well then.
Kiku blinked, wiping his hands on a rag before folding it into a square and tucking it into a pocket, "I suppose that would be Ludwig?" He asked nonchalantly, "I suppose I should have told him that I was going to come in here and fix it after I was finished in the vent...I guess I'll have to apologize to him for neglecting to tell him..." He said lightly, "So...do we have any plans of removing him from the vent?"
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Post by Ludwig on Jun 5, 2012 19:31:00 GMT -5
"I'm not stuck." The statement echoed rather indignantly through the ceiling compartment, before filtering down with a metallic tinge to the small crowd that had already begun to gather below him. Granted, it was a crowd of the few people Ludwig trusted, however, it didn't make this any less embarrassing, nor did it mean he was any more up for admitting his fault.
It was a pride thing.
"This wiring is tricky." Ludwig's excuse was lame, at best. But it was believable. For that, he was thankful. Being a bit flustered did very little for coming up with alternatives. He grumbled something else unintelligible, before shifting slightly, as if to make it seem he was still fiddling around with something.
Well, this was a pain in the ass. He rolled his eyes skyward, and began to rack his brain for possible solutions to this predicament. Sucking in hadn't worked... Perhaps if he slipped out at an angle... one shoulder first... Or if he just pulled himself all the way in?
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Post by Gilbert on Jun 5, 2012 19:47:08 GMT -5
"Oh, I know it is," Gilbert said, still with an amused smile, and when Feliciano came and hugged him suddenly, he seemed hardly phased. He just kep tlooking up, patting Feli on the head. "Yeah, it's Ludwig. This happens all the time, dont' worry. He'll either break down and ask for help or he'll...just say up there," he said simply with a shrug, smiling when Kiku walked in as well and nodded.
"Kiku, it might be a while. Would you like to go and fetch a few of the portable chairs so we can have a seat?" he took another sip of his beer before humming a little bit. "Ludwig, you know you're too big. You can always ask, y'know, every other person on this ship who can fit except you." He glanced at Feliciano, momentarily picturing him up there, working with wires and hardware. "Well...almost every other person on this ship."
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Feliciano
New Member
Designated Thruster Thwacker
Posts: 11
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Post by Feliciano on Jun 5, 2012 20:20:50 GMT -5
Feliciano smiled widely, his eyes closing as he let out an amused laugh. Gilbert implying he was the one other person who shouldn't be up there went right over his head as he tugged on Ludwig's pant leg,
"Yeah! Next time just ask me! I'll do it! I'm good at the jobs you give me! I haven't blown anything up in a long time since I became the thruster thwacker! So just ask me!" He gave a small salute and another laugh before tapping his chin as he thought about ways to get his best friend out of his predicament.
He bounced on his toes as he got an idea, "I know! I know! Lets all grab his legs and pull really hard! He'll have to come out eventually and if part of the ceiling breaks it won't matter because the rest of the ship is a hunk of junk too!" He didnt even realize that he was insulting the ship and he wasn't trying to make anyone mad. He was just being his normal self and trying to show that there was a bright side of the situation.
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Kiku
Axis Crew
Nō aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu.
Posts: 7
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Post by Kiku on Jun 5, 2012 20:44:18 GMT -5
Honestly Kiku was JUST about to go get a chair and some tools to shimmy another board out of place so Ludwig could just slide out or something, but got a little...caught up staring at Ludwig's legs hanging out of the ceiling. His head tilted ever so slightly, watching his captain while he was stuck in the ceiling.
"I don't think Ludwig-kun would appreciate me just standing here, watching his legs, Gilbert-kun."
That was another thing Kiku loved about being around here, never a dull moment. Be it Feliciano being his normal, perky self and cooking WAY too much pasta or sleeping on the bridge again or Gilbert getting into some kind of trouble, usually ending in a good laugh. Usually anyway.
"I don't know if that's a good idea Feliciano-san." Kiku muttered softly, "We may hurt Ludwig-kun..." The Japanese man tilted his head again, finger pressing against his lips while he thought, "Ah, it may just be best to let me get my tools and a step ladder..." He stepped forward, aiming his yell towards the vent, "Don't worry Ludwig-kun! We'll have you out in no time." He said reassuringly. He assumed Gilbert and Feliciano wouldn't help him and just wandered off to get his tools.
He found his roll of tools easy enough, but locating the step ladder was another problem. Seeing as it was one of those things on the ship that just...never seemed to be where it belonged. The Japanese man sighed, wondering if Feliciano had gone through with his plan and the three of them were lying in a pile on the floor, at least one of them hurt.
He paused.
Better grab the first aid kit too.
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Post by Ludwig on Jun 6, 2012 16:00:22 GMT -5
Well, this was going from bad to worse really quickly, wasn't it? Again, Ludwig shifted, and pulled himself a little further into the duct. Or at least, he attempted to. It didn't work very well. Perhaps he was stuck more-so than he thought. He heaved a sigh, and resisted the urge to bash his head repeatedly against the paneling beneath him. It was a really, really appealing notion, though.
Ludwig had to hand it to his self-control. Though it was possibly the scenario that had begun to reel in his mind, as if Feliciano's comment had hit the play button that aided in refraining. Oh, Feliciano could do any job he handed to him, alright. He could do any job -disastrously-. The look of sheer and undeniable horror on Ludwig's face went unseen except by the small conglomeration of led lights and wires on his side of the paneling. They seemed to flash at him with more intensity in agreement. In fact, there were sirens blaring louder than a fog horn on the inside of Ludwig's head at the faintest idea of trusting Feliciano to this incredibly delicate situation.
“I'm. Not. Stuck,” the German repeated, his voice more of a bellow than anything, now. The walls of the vent might have even shaken a bit. “And I swear to god, Gilbert. If that's my last beer in your hand, I will break your rib again, and on purpose this time.” If his brother could jab at the last time he found himself caught in a cranny, well Ludwig could prod right back.
But of course, Kiku would accept no excuse. “Kiku. I'm not stuck- Kiku!” But the asian man had already toddled off by this point. Ludwig was not one to give up that easily. At all. After all, he wasn't stuck... He was -not- stuck.
…Alright, he was stuck.
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Post by Gilbert on Jun 6, 2012 20:27:10 GMT -5
"Feliciano, it's best to just not touch him," he said with a small chuckle, casually sipping at -his- beer (not Ludwig's!). He glanced over at the smaller Italian and smirked. "Feliciano. Go...go to the main bridge. Underneath the Captain's chair is a small tool kit. You know, the red one? Yeah. There's, um, a laser in there that can help us get him down. DON'T turn it on. Just bring it to me. Okay?" He patted him on the head and then sighed, looking back at Ludwig's lower form.
He went forward and tapped his ankle for a moment, glancing up. "Really now." He took another gulp of the beer. "You know, the first step towards recovery, Ludwig, is admitting you have a problem," he said with a smirk.
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Feliciano
New Member
Designated Thruster Thwacker
Posts: 11
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Post by Feliciano on Jun 6, 2012 21:03:24 GMT -5
Feliciano nodded and saluted, "You can count on me!" He took off running to the main bridge and ended up getting distracted by the smell of food coming from the kitchen. He went in and added some Italian flair to the dishes they were serving (completely ignoring the fact that they were not Italian dishes at all and we not meant to be) before going back to his task.
He entered the main bridge and started to look for the tool kit he was ordered to locate, but found that he couldn't remember where Gilbert had said it was. He searched all over before deciding he needed a rest. He slumped down in Ludwig's captain's chair and smiled, his eyes closing as he sighed happily.
"I see why Ludwig loves this chair, its nice and comfy! I hope he doesnt find out or I'll be in trouble!" Feliciano let out a soft chuckle and swung his legs, shocked when he felt his left heel hit someting metallic sounding. He peered under the chair and saw the took kit he was ordered to find. He grabbed it and started the long trek (really it was only a minute run but he is Italian afterall) back to where Ludwig was stuck.
He rounded the corner to where the two German brothers were and waved the took kit around as he approached them, "I found it! I found it!"
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Post by Ludwig on Jun 7, 2012 19:40:11 GMT -5
By this point, Ludwig had already composed himself enough to sort out a solution. With enough of a stretch, he could reach the ends of the bolts holding the panel in front of him in place. Sure, he would be unscrewing the wrong end, and with his bare fingers, but it was better than leaving his fate to... Feliciano.
Whom Gilbert had just sent off to fetch a lazer.
Now, Ludwig knew his brother had some -brilliant- ideas, however this one was so terrible, he couldn't even allow it to be labelled such in the facetious sense. He groaned inwardly, and began to twist the bolts faster.
Then, his brother's voice reached him. And he could hear that smirk tinging the edges of his every word. Ludwig rolled his blue eyes, and pushed the bolt downward. It clattered at Gilbert's feet with a small "tink!".
"I'm... fine." the younger German grumbled. They both knew Gilbert was right. However, Gilbert would have to tug a bit more to get him to admit it. "...I've got it. Don't worry."
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Post by Gilbert on Jun 8, 2012 19:54:48 GMT -5
Gilbert hardly moved when the bolt landed at his feet - in truth he hardly saw it until it had hit the floor, but when it did, he frowned and bent down to pick it up, eyeing it with his good eye before looking back upa t him. "That's really not a good idea, you know..." He sighed a little bit and glanced over at the door before gently tugging at his ankle. "Yeah, I'd say you're definitely stuck."
A minute later Feli returned and Gilbert smiled at him. "Thank you," he said. He was honestly surprised that the man returned with the requested item - and, frankly, that he returned at all.
He took the device and aimed it at the ceiling. "Above you is a metal pipe. It should be sturdy enough to hold you for a few seconds. Hold on to that. I'm going to cut away at the metal, alright?" Without waiting for a "yes" or "no what are you even thinking right now" response, he pushed the button and turned the thing on, starting to melt the metal around Ludwig.
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Feliciano
New Member
Designated Thruster Thwacker
Posts: 11
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Post by Feliciano on Jun 9, 2012 9:26:50 GMT -5
Feliciano watched with intrigue as Gilbert used the laser to melt the metal around Ludwig to get him out.
"Wow Gilbert, that's so cool! I didn't know we had a tool like that on board! Can I use it some time?!" Feliciano began to think of all the ways he would use it and got excited at how helpful he could possibly be with it, conveniently not thinking about all the damage and destruction he would possibly do with it.
"I won't have to be the thruster thwacker anymore! I could help in other ways! Wouldn't that be awesome?!"
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Kiku
Axis Crew
Nō aru taka wa tsume wo kakusu.
Posts: 7
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Post by Kiku on Jun 10, 2012 21:08:10 GMT -5
By the time Kiku returned to the area with the others, Gilbert was already melting away at the metal around Ludwig. Kiku blinked before frowning a bit, glad he remembered to grab the medical kit. It wasn't that he didn't trust Gilbert, on the contrary, Gilbert was one of the few people Kiku actually DID trust, it was just...that was a laser, and that was melt centimeters from Ludwig.
And.
Well.
Kiku worried about Ludwig.
"Worried"
Regardless, Kiku walked closer, standing next to Gilbert and watching while the other worked, step ladder forgotten next to the entrance to the room, and first aid kit held tightly in his arms, just in case of course.
"Are you sure this is the best course of action Gilbert-kun? I found the step ladder..."
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