[OL-FB1] Disturbance in the night

[Franco Clarke]

Erwin stood on the deck of an unfamiliar ship in the middle of a battle. The cannons fired and the deck rocked, but the officer in front of him stood steady. The man had a straggly red beard, and had a patch over one of his eyes. He had a bicorne hat atop his head and was wearing the uniform of Corrington's navy.

He spoke with a cool voice, layered with malice 'Good morning Commander Erwin Clarke, how nice of you to join me on my ship'

The man unsheathed a long slender sword and leapt at him. Erwin raised his sword and stumbled back, only just managing to block the attack. The officer stepped to the left quickly and then slashed again. Again, Erwin barely blocked the blow, and fell back again.

'Your fighting technique is sloppy and unrefined' the man said, thrusting his blade at Erwin 'but there again what would you expect from a merchant playing-soldier'

Erwin dodged but the sword caught his coat tearing it.

'It's a shame your skill betrays you, you hide your true nature quite well' the Officer went on taunting, feinting right and then jabbing left.

The blade grazed Erwin's thigh, drawing blood. If he didn't do something he was going to die by the hands of this Corrie. Erwin swept forward, extending his sword toward the officer's one good eye.

Suddenly something exploded. Erwin flinched and his sword merely scratched the officer's cheek. Erwin looked over to see the Colombe erupt into flames off the starboard side of the ship. Taking advantage of Erwin's distraction, the officer flicked his wrist and sent Erwin's sword spinning across the deck.

Erwin took a step back and found himself trapped up against the stern of the ship.

'You need to focus more, your distraction has cost you greatly' the officer gloated pointing his razor sharp blade at Erwin's neck 'You will be destroyed, and your precious merchant fleet will shortly follow!'

Erwin grimaced 'I may die, but you will not win, for as long as you act with such cruelty, good men will always resist Corrington!'

The officer smiled 'A charming sentiment, but I'm afraid history will not see things that way when Corrington rules the seas!'

Saying this, the Officer plunged his sword toward Erwin's chest.

Erwin awoke. He was in his cot at the fortress of Breshaun. The battle hadn't taken place at all. But something was wrong. The drumbeat of action stations rolled through the night.  Erwin got up and pulled on his uniform. As he ran to Stingray, he wondered what could be the problem.

Beside the vessel, he caught up with Private Collins who was already standing to attention as the crew prepared the ship for action. Standing by the gangplank was a junior officer, resplendent in his floppy tri-corner hat.

As Erwin rushed up he hailed him 'The governor requests your immediate presence, we have a situation'

Erwin frowned and followed the man calling over his shoulder 'Collins, I trust you can finish the preparations for Stingray! I shall return as soon as possible'

After a short walk, they entered a large house on the edge of the Naval Sector of Breshaun. Erwin had never been in this building before, since it was one of the fleet captain's residences, and thus off-bounds without an invitation.  He wondered what could have caused the alarm to be raised. At the end of the corridor an open door spilled light into the hall, between a huddle of figures. The young officer announced Erwin's arrival, and the crowd parted to let the Governor through.

Erwin stood to attention and saluted. The governor addressed him quickly and directly 'Commander, we have a situation, and apparently you are the man we need'

He signalled for Erwin to follow him into the room. As he passed through the crowd, he noticed they all outranked him significantly. So what service could he provide that they could not?

The room he entered was lined with tables, with scattered chairs in-between. Large windows lined the far wall, one of which lay shattered on the paved floor. A chest had been overturned and its contents strewn across the flagstones. Broken glass glinted among the papers which had been in the chest. Obviously someone had been looking for something.

'This building is the main design shop for our shipyards here in Breshaun. A few hours ago, somebody broke in and stole secret plans for our latest warship, plans which could do a great deal of damage if they fell into the wrong hands. I guess you can see the problem'

Erwin nodded 'Yes sir, I will do anything I can to help, what will my role be?'

The Governor continued 'We have very little experience in this field, however, since you handled the Londa case so successfully, we thought that you might be our best bet.'

Erwin replied 'Sir I must inform you that I only aided an agent of the King at Londa Bay, I may have difficulty retrieving these vital plans.'

'Of course I understand, but by the time we had requested the king send an agent, the plans could well be lost'

Erwin saluted 'Then with all due respect, I request to be able to begin operation at once.'

'Indeed, time is of the essence, we have deployed the fleet to monitor traffic coming off the island, but there is too much traffic to ensure we find it that way.' The governor handed Erwin a slip of paper with his stamp on it 'This should ensure that you get any help that you need'

 

Sorry, but this story ended up being very long, with not all that much happening hopefully, subsequent parts will be less long-winded. The build here was another experiment with a small interior scene, and I think it came out slightly better than previous ones.

I also did a few more night photographs, which I think should be clearer now.

[blackdeathgr]

Nice story and the disturbed office/broken window is top notch! Hm, you are full of great ideas recently...!

[Puvel]

Great story, that 2nd night shot is brilliant! Looking forward to the rest of the story

[Capt Wolf]

Excellent story, and you've nailed the night shots! You're getting really good at those. And thank you for posting fully lit pics of the build as well.

[Ayrlego]

Great story, not too long at all! And nice builds to go with it!

[Franco Clarke]

On 07/11/2016 at 5:53 PM, blackdeathgr said:

Nice story and the disturbed office/broken window is top notch! Hm, you are full of great ideas recently...!

Thank you, that scene was really what inspired the entire story really.

On 07/11/2016 at 7:32 PM, Puvel said:

Great story, that 2nd night shot is brilliant! Looking forward to the rest of the story

Thanks, I am just finishing the next part now. I'm glad you like the second shot, that was my favourite too!

On 07/11/2016 at 8:35 PM, Capt Wolf said:

Excellent story, and you've nailed the night shots! You're getting really good at those. And thank you for posting fully lit pics of the build as well.

Thank you, I will always try to take fully lit shots, since the night ones aren't so good for details.

[Bregir]

Great work! That shattered window and knocked down chair really sells the whole break-in thing really well, and the interior shot is by far your best night shot so far. (And one of the best lego-night shots I have ever seen! The light is just right, and illuminated the important details!)

 

[Franco Clarke]

On 14/11/2016 at 10:17 AM, Bregir said:

Great work! That shattered window and knocked down chair really sells the whole break-in thing really well, and the interior shot is by far your best night shot so far. (And one of the best lego-night shots I have ever seen! The light is just right, and illuminated the important details!)

 

Thank you, I am pleased that you liked that shot too. From what I have found, it is easier to light smaller scenes than larger ones, perhaps because the walls reflect light inwards again?