{"sf1_id":555015,"sf2_id":"0mvzQ7Xm","title":"Launching the Razor Shark","author":"Kodyax","words":5690,"posted_at":"2013-06-24T05:44:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Folf","M/F","Steam Punk","Transformation","lupursyn"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/555015-launching-the-razor-shark","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/0mvzQ7Xm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/09/6e/096ede5c-e574-4291-90d1-40e90f8dee45","description":"I have a great interest in submarines among other things and this is meant to be a kind of steam punk submarine series that will, I hope become a serialized novel. I do have big plans for where this storyline is going. I hope to be entertaining as well as you come with me on this little journey.","content":"Launching the Razor Shark\n\nGaslight lanterns whose panes are crimson colored glass illuminate  \nin grim shades of blood a sub pen of gray concrete with the fearful silhouette  \nof an octopus playing on the walls and floors to grant the area an aquatic  \nnightmarish splendor in décor. Enchanted steel bridges and staircases connect  \nthe two sides of the massive room to each other and the complex itself with the  \nrest of the complex above. Cranes for hauling cargo stand ready but idle for  \nnow.\n\nIn the pen itself is a vessel of enchanted iron black as  \nmidnight constructed in a manner as to give impression of an alien hammerhead  \nshark with an angled head like an arrow; a massive dorsal fin that gleams in  \nthe near light as if it was put there more as a weapon than anything else. A  \ntrio of enchanted glass spheres, the largest of the three is at the apex of the  \nshark's head, with two slightly smaller globes at either extreme; forming a  \ntriangle between them and looking for all the world like compound eyes if the  \nsubmarine was indeed a living thing.\u0026nbsp; The  \ntail fin is no less massive than the dorsal but contains a powerful screw to  \npropel the ship through the murky depths with side fins completing the triangle  \nwhere they would be on a natural shark but the mechanics of which are there to  \nhelp steer the ship and not for aesthetics.\n\nA ladder in a cage connects the bridgework to metal beast in  \nthe water and connects with a hatch where most whales have their blowhole amid  \nthe tentacles of a crimson kraken, much like those cast upon the walls and  \nfloors from the lanterns, a logo that is repeated on either side of the vessel.  \nInside the sub is rather Spartan with iron walls and floors illuminated from  \nabove with the same lanterns as those light the pen in which it sits. Pipes and  \nvents are everywhere keeping the interior slightly chilly but not uncomfortably  \nso, especially not if your body sports fur.\n\nThe bridge of the vessel is a spacious chamber just behind  \nthe mechanical monsters titanic central eye with alcoves to either side to  \nobserve the environment through the other eyes. The Captain's command chair is  \non a raised dais giving him a commanding view of the bridge and those manning  \nthe stations directly below him as was well as a clear view of the side windows  \nif he should so wish it.\u0026nbsp; The whole thing  \nlooks like something Jules Verne might have given Captain Nemo if he were to  \nwrite his classic model today amid the modern sensibilities about the tropes of  \nsteam punk.\n\nBelow the bridge is a fairly cramped area where pneumatic  \ntubes dominate ones view of the chamber. These tubes are rather large and can  \nbe loaded with ordinance that is also present in the form of rune encrusted  \nharpoons that glow in the near light of the area.\u0026nbsp; A control panel for launching the torpedoes  \nis on another dais with a specking tube leading straight up to the bridge.\n\nCargo is stowed in the hold as a matter of course and there  \nis plenty of room for provisions for a given voyage. Midway in the course of  \nthe cargo hold is a moon pool around which is a small arsenal of spears and  \nsuits of armor made from the hide of the dreaded dunkleosteous. Near the moon  \npool is clockwork scorpion the size of mastiff on near constant patrol.\n\nAt the other extreme of the ship is the engine room which is  \njust as spacious as the bridge if not more so as the power source that turns  \nthe screw and regulates the atmosphere is housed here. It is a mass of tubes  \nfeeding a large box the size of an adult human in which energy from two  \ndiametrically opposed planes of existence are mixed and violent reaction is  \nthen harnessed for motive power as well to generate electricity for various  \npurposes. The operation of the engine is potentially very hazardous and is  \nnever switched on or off idly and a team of clockwork spiders works here  \nendlessly to monitor and regulate the engine while the crew is on shore leave.\n\nCurrently the sub pen is devoid of living souls as only  \nautomatons of the clockwork variety scurry about on various duties to maintain  \nthe pen, the sub and themselves. Stag beetles with key noses rewind their  \nfellow constructs and each other as wasps flitter about with welding torch  \nstingers to touch upon wherever they are needed. Vermin of any stripe are  \nalmost eerily absent as the mechanical insects and arachnids make sure their  \nliving kinfolk stay a stranger to this area of Warship Island.\n\nWarship Island is a manufactured place constructed of  \nenchanted concrete, glass and steel as a fortified floating laboratory within  \nthe archipelago that is home to the infamous Port Freak. Living quarters and  \nthe hydroponics to grow food are all part and parcel of Warship Island that  \nkeeps it mostly self-sufficient and independent of the city state that  \ndominates the island chain in which it is situated. In addition to being a  \nworking laboratory and munitions factory Warship Island also has processing  \ncenters and makes a brisk trade with whalers taking their raw materials and  \nrefining them into the products that make them sought out by enterprising  \nhumans, humanimals (human/animal hybrids that were created on Warship Island),  \nelves and dwarves.\n\nPort Freak is some hundred miles due north from Warship  \nIsland on Skull Island named by the pirates that first established Port Freak,  \nthe city itself was named half in jest as the pirates in question were  \nconsidered deviants on the mainland for various sundry reasons, as it looked to  \nthem like a human skull with other three major islands named Jawbone Isle, East  \nBone Isle and West Bone Isle, imagination the pirates had but not in great  \nabundance. Eventually merchant princes from the mainland organized and executed  \na coup to take over the island from the pirates but they allowed them to remain  \nas even the greedy merchant lords needed them to expand their businesses and  \ncarry out private agendas between themselves and even today the smarter pirate  \ncaptains learn early how to set one merchant princess against another to get  \nthe best deal and to camouflage their own efforts as well as a means of  \nfinancial enrichment. The Machiavellian politics of Port Freak disgust many who  \nhave to deal with them including the Kraken Oil Whaling Company who are based  \non Warship Island and are among the only ones that successfully operate anymore  \nas they have been in business long enough to know what to pursue and what to  \nflee from.\n\nWhaling is a little misleading as it encompasses the  \nharvesting of sea monsters as well as ordinary whales but the term originally  \ntranslated into something akin to a whale hunter. Sea Monsters like kraken, sea  \nserpents and weirder beasties have oils and other body parts that alchemists  \ncan turn into a number of useful products, like tough suits of armor made from  \nthe hide of the monster fish dunkleosteous. This is the main reason that the  \nalchemists of Warship Island are very keen on maintaining a good relationship  \nwith the whalers, a lot of the raw materials they bring in fuels their own  \nreactions and allows their experiments to continue on unabated.\n\nLounging in a café in a glass tower on Warship Island a  \nhumanimal warrior in a blue great coat with silver buttons in a double line on  \nhis front and silver circles on his along with the crimson kraken of the Kraken  \nOil Whaling Company at the shoulders sits at a table drinking coffee from a  \nblack mug. Like many humanimals Kodyax is a kind of chimera, in his case mixing  \nnear equal parts human, wolf and bear into a seamless whole, with russet brown  \nfur, moss green eyes and hair to match. He is alone but he does look like he is  \nwaiting for someone.\n\n\"Been waiting long, Captain?\" A scarlet trussed human in a  \nshimmering emerald gown with an amethyst hooded cloak that lays about her  \nshoulders accentuated with black gloves and heeled boots.\n\n\"About time you showed, Magus,\" Kodyax growls before taking  \na long draft of his mug.\u0026nbsp; \"I take it you  \nhave news on when I take the helm of the Razor Shark, Sorcha?\"\n\n\"Yeah, Kody, it will be soon, I promise,\" Sorcha says as she  \ntakes a seat opposite him. \"I am worried though.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Oh?\" Kodyax prompts.\n\n\"Pasteur has something for me tonight and I'm worried,\"  \nSorcha says with great trepidation.\n\n\"I thought you were through with that alchemist?\" Kodyax  \ninquires with a dark tone of voice.\n\n\"I am,\" Sorcha says in all seriousness and takes one of  \nKody's hand paws tenderly, \"I am assigned to you and that's that. I have no  \nregrets and I'm not going back to him.\"\n\n\"Speak of a Dark One,\" Kodyax growls as an older bald gentleman  \nin a leather labcoat of purest white that looks like it could be used as armor  \nas well as dark goggles over his eyes approaches them.\n\n\"Ah, there you are,\" Pasteur beams with pride as he walks as  \nif he owned the establishment and places a potion before Sorcha. \"Drink it,  \nSorcha, I made this especially for you. It will help you better relate to your  \ncommanding officer.\" Then he turns to Kodyax. \"When she has recovered you can  \nleave, vanguard.\" Then he turns and strides from their table as boldly and  \nconfident as he approached.\n\n\"I don't trust him,\" Kodyax says when Pasteur is out of  \nearshot. \"But crossing him is dangerous. He is too far up in the administration  \nof Warship Island to oppose directly.\"\n\n\"Although I am curious as to what I'll turn into,\" Sorcha  \nadmits as she swirls the bottle and watches it sparkle obsessively.\u0026nbsp; \"Heard anything from the mainland lately? My  \ncontacts dropped off after the meteor shower last month.\"\n\nThe meteor shower Sorcha refers to was an invasion from  \nbeyond that resulted in an influx of monsters that overran nations in short  \norder. Those who live in the Skull and Crossbones Archipelago have no idea as  \nto what is going on as survivors were driven underground a week ago.\u0026nbsp; This also means that the Kraken Oil Whaling  \nCompany will have some new specimens to hunt and learn about.\n\nCap'n!\" A wolverine humanimal with the appropriate  \nproportions of a dwarf in similar attire to Pasteur beams to Kodyax in  \nparticular but then notices Sorcha and gives her a respectful nod, \"Madame  \nMahoney, I do hope I am not interrupting much.\"\n\n\"No, Brom,\" Sorcha says with a smirk. \"Where's the entourage  \nthat were assigned to help you get last minute resources?\"\n\n\"Right behind me, unfortunately,\" Brom Blackstar says with  \nan exasperated sigh. \"I swear, Cap'n, I know the Stooge brothers mean well, but  \nthose ferrets are insane!\"\n\n\"Hey, Cap'n!\" A sable ferret humanimal in shark leather  \narmor and a bowl haircut beams to Kodyax as he gives the lupursyn a crisp  \nsalute of respect. \"We rolling soon? Me and my brothers are gettin' anxy.\"\n\n\"No set time or date has been given yet, Moses,\" Sorcha says  \nwith a smirk she tries to hide as she finds all four brothers quite amusing.\n\n\"Miss Sorcha!\" Moses Zechariah Stooge exclaims then turns to  \nhis brothers, who are attired like him but one has a wing tip hair style, one  \nparts his hair right down the middle and the fourth one is devoid of head fur.  \n\"Behave yerselves, you mugs! There's a lady present!\"\n\n\"OK, Moe,\" the wing tipped ferret says and then bows his  \nhead. \"Evening, Miss Sorcha, Cap'n.\"\n\n\"Good day, Lawrence,\" Kodyax says and greets the other two  \nby name, \"As well as Shempatrick and Karl. I trust you have been following  \nBrom's directives?\"\n\n\"Soytenly, Cap'n!\" Karl Edward Stooge, the bald ferret says  \nand salutes Kodyax.\n\n\"Indubitably, Cap'n,\" Shempatrick Donovan Stooge says in all  \nseriousness.\n\n\"We're doing our best, Cap'n,\" Lawrence Albert Stooge says  \nproudly.\n\nBrom shoots his Captain an exasperated look that would cause  \nSorcha to just lose it if Kodyax wasn't already glaring at her as this is no  \nlaughing matter. The Stooge brothers stand at attention to their captain,  \ncutlasses by their sides ready to fight at a moment's notice but only at the  \nCaptain's say so.\u0026nbsp; Unfortunately the  \nquartet are as inept as they can be belligerent and loyal, which is precisely  \nwhy Pasteur assigned them to Kodyax since Brom volunteered to serve under  \nKodyax against Pasteur's wishes.\n\nIn another area of Warship Island Pasteur Lafayette is  \nadjusting dials near a large mirror on the wall to observe Captain Maelstrom  \nand his crew of misfits. Of all the persons he gazes at remotely, it is his  \nformer underling and lover Sorcha that garners much of his attention as well as  \nhis ire. She was assigned away from him after it was learned by his colleagues  \nin the upper management of the company that he was taking advantage of her as  \nwell as poisoning her mind into being an obedient, submissive servant.\n\nMuch of the damage was done to Sorcha's mind but she had not  \nfully latched on her loyalty to Lafayette and quickly made the connection with  \nKodyax. In fact the bond grew far more quickly than anyone, even Lafayette  \nhimself could have predicted. Out of jealousy and spite, Pasteur made his  \npotion, and especially potent version of what had been used to create the  \ninitial humanimals before they started breeding true.\n\nNight is falling fast and soon Captain and his first mate  \nretire to their shared quarters. Other members of the upper management are  \nstill worried about abuses but Kodyax has shown restraint, which allays their  \nfears. What they don't know Is that it is Sorcha who is the aggressor when it  \ncomes to what happens in bed as her mind has latched onto the notion that the  \nbest way to sow loyalty and ensure his loyalty in return is to have sex with  \nhim and thus turn him into her lover.\n\nSorcha strips herself in a teasing fashion in front of  \nKodyax which gets him excited to say the least and hamper his ability to get  \nundressed. Underneath the blue greatcoat is a blue vest to match his blue  \ntrousers and a scarlet ruffled shirt. But underneath all that is nothing as  \nKodyax has a special catheter in his cock to catch urine and keep his pants  \nclear of mess at all times.\n\nKodyax approaches Sorcha from behind once he is entirely  \nundressed and wraps his arms around her body to grope at her breasts as she  \ndrinks the elixir that Lafayette ordered her to imbibe. The potion has a  \nchocolaty strawberry flavor to it which makes it all too easy to drink as  \nKodyax kneads her nipples in as sensuous a manner as he is able to accomplish  \nwith his oversized hand paws. Sorcha moans and falls against his front, making  \nsure his blood engorged phallus impales her crevasse and slides against her  \nclit moaning in ecstasy all the while.\n\nThe fact that this isn't the first time the two of them have  \nbeen intimate makes it easier for the potion to do what it needs to do to her  \nmagically. She can feel a warming sensation spread all over her body from the  \nelixir but concentrates more on her own inner walls which clench and unclench  \nat his invading member as she enjoys herself in the process. It does do a  \ncurious thing though, the potion that is, in that all the conditioning and semi  \nenchanted conditioning her mentor put into her to make her so submissive breaks  \nin her mind and she almost forgets the relationship she had been building with  \nthis male she is mating with as she momentarily is in a daze on the bed.\n\n\"Sorcha?\" Kodyax asks as he slows down his fucking of his  \nlover to inquire about her in a somewhat worried tone. \"Are you alright?\"\n\n\"I,\" Sorcha starts to make a quick rejoinder but almost  \nimmediately thinks better of it. \"I don't know, Kody, but please don't stop on  \nmy account. The sex is actually kind of helping me clear my head a little.\"\n\n\"You're sure?\" Kodyax asks with concern ringing in his tone  \nof voice.\n\n\"Yeah!\" Sorcha shouts back cheerfully.\n\nKodyax does indeed continue to ramrod his shaft in her box  \nwhich physically feels as good as it ever did for the human female. Mentally  \nhowever, is a far different story. Conflict rages as her newly freed  \nconsciousness wars with many of the habits her mind has developed since she  \nstarted this relationship with him.\n\nThe independent streak Sorcha possessed before beginning her  \ntraining with the Kraken Oil Whaling Company is not really as accepting of the  \nwoman she has become and wants her to assert herself more as she is effectively  \nsleeping with her superior, which the Amazon portion of her mind scoffs at as  \neven having a chance of being accurate. That portion of her brain has been  \ndormant for far too long as far as it is concerned although the current mindset  \nis far from weak and submissive, even to Kodyax, but this is because he allows  \nand even encourages her to be her own person, a fact the strong female portion  \nof her psyche has trouble reconciling or even acknowledging. Tonight she is  \nbeing very submissive to Kodyax, a fact that has him concerned as he wonders  \njust what Pasteur put into that potion.\n\nAmazon Sorcha reels when Kodyax elicits a roaring howl as he  \nclimax as First Mate Sorcha moans loudly and proudly as she orgasm as his cock  \nbounces around inside of her pussy. Practical Sorcha then asserts herself in  \nher mind as this normal for when they make love as Kodyax pulls out when he can  \nand flips her body onto her back so his muzzle can access her tits. The sheer  \nunselfish pleasure that Kodyax gives Sorcha once he is momentarily spent  \ncatches the feministic amazon side of her by complete surprise as she did not  \nthink any male was capable of such tenderness.\n\nIn her own mind the three aspects of her own psyche reach a  \ncompromise which really doesn't change a thing as Kodyax lets her be herself as  \nmuch as possible. He wants her as his lover honestly; without magical  \ncompulsion of any sort. Although his reasoning is sound if a little selfish: if  \nshe is given free reign to make her own choices within the confines of what  \nthey know they should be doing then even when the brainwashing wears off she  \nwill still be with him as he has been a lover to her and not a superior officer  \nusing his position to make a sex slave out of her.\n\nThey fall asleep together, her held closely to him and it is  \nin that time when sleep masks all pain a body goes through that the change  \noccurs. Coral colored fur covers her body as she takes on the characteristics  \nof both a wolf and a fox which both compliments and contrasts with Kodyax as  \nher hair becomes magenta in hue.\u0026nbsp; Her  \neyes have always been green but now they are laurel green specifically as white  \nlines form the silhouette of a burning heart on her thighs and a pentagram on  \nher arms just below the shoulder and tribal feathered wings on her back.\n\nKodyax awakens first and beholds Sorcha with a smirk on his  \nmuzzle as the form her new body has taken is not entirely surprising to him. He  \nlays out her clothes before donning his own uniform as Sorcha lazily reaches  \nfor him in vain. Annoyed at his absence, Sorcha rises and goes to wash up  \nbefore donning her daily attire.\n\nSorcha almost screams when she sees the folf in the mirror  \nstaring back at her and has to take a minute to realize that the humanimal  \nreturning her gaze from the looking glass is her new form. After a good five minutes of admiring her new  \nbody, Kodyax walks into their bathroom to yell at her. He is tolerant to a  \ndegree but tying up the lavatory is not an area where he has a great deal of  \npatience and in this it's not so much a matter of gender as he needs to use the  \ntoilet and the shower in that order.\n\nThe belligerent bluntness in which he states his needs gets  \nSorcha out of his way in rather a hurry although she waits till she hears the  \nshower go on before she acts to have a little bit of payback as she steps in  \nbehind her mate to surprise him. Or at least that was the plan, but she forgot  \nthat she has tried this before on him and he's ready for her. Exactly how clean  \nthey get is a matter of debate as Sorcha tests out how different sex with  \nKodyax is now that she is a humanimal as opposed to when she was a human.\n\nPasteur himself knocks on their door to yell at them for  \nover usage of water which taxes the purification plant for the whole island  \nwhen the sounds of sexual congress embarrasses him enough to slink away  \ndejected and in his own room does his best to spy on them using the mirror as a  \nscrying surface. The amount of steam makes it difficult but he can see the  \nsilhouette of two humanimals in the shower which means that Sorcha survived the  \nnight and didn't miss a stride in the interim of her transformation. His  \nscreams of consternation can be heard pretty much throughout Warship Island and  \nthose that recognize it give a smirk as the bastard is apparently upset that  \none of his pranks didn't go exactly as he planned.\n\nA flying saucer, much like those attributed to the Nazi  \nGerman prototype and George Adamski's visions lands in a clearing on Warship  \nIsland near the defensive turret in the back of what would be the main deck of  \nan actual ship on a special dais constructed to receive it. The craft itself is  \nonly slightly larger than a scout zeppelin's gondola and it slowly descends  \ninto its own hangar where an honor guard of men and women with red skin,  \nflaming hair and horns on their heads in black leather armor stand at attention  \neach with a rifle not unlike the Winchester models used in America from the  \nclose of the civil war through the era of the wild west but featuring a ring of  \nblades near the end of the muzzle like an elaborate bayonet. A door opens up and a large male human in a  \ngladiator harness with golden pauldrons, platinum blonde hair, golden eyes and  \ngolden feathered wings carrying a golden ankh staff steps out of the airship  \nwith great authority in his stride and aura. The honor guard salutes him and  \nshouts \"Hail, Phoebus Helios!\" as one to greet him as he arrives.\n\n\"Where is Lafayette?!?\" President Helios demands to know. \"I  \nwant a status report on the progress on the Razor Shark now!\"\n\n\"We did magic message ahead for him to meet us here,  \nPresident Helios,\" a man whose skin looks like it could the consistency of mud  \nsays.\n\n\"Pasteur's busy, Lord President,\" Brom says with all  \nreverence. \"I can fill you in if you like.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Brom Blackstar isn't it?\" Phoebus asks to which Brom just  \nnods. \"You were still a dwarf last time we talked. How are you adjusting to  \nyour new form?\"\n\n\"Well enough,\" Brom admits. \"But I know you are more  \nconcerned with the Shark than how the formula has effected me.\"\n\n\"More than likely,\" A woman with platinum blonde hair and  \nskin the color of a storm cloud says in a giggle.\u0026nbsp; \"How soon can the sub depart on its trial  \nrun?\"\n\n\"She's ready now,\" Brom states, \"Professor Lafayette gave  \nMiss Mahoney an elixir yesterday. Haven't seen her yet to see if she's drunk it  \nor not.\"\n\n\"And Captain Maelstrom?\" President Helios asks pointedly.\n\n\"Chomping at the bit to take command, sir,\" Brom says in al  \nconfidence.\n\n\"Excellent!\" Phoebus says with a broad grin.\u0026nbsp; \"Now I want to find the good professor and  \nhave a few words with him.\n\nIn the general mess hall Kodyax and Sorcha are eating a meal  \nwhen President Helios walks in. Everyone rises to their feet as one to salute  \nthe President and he motions for them to sit down. Phoebus then makes a beeline  \nfor Kodyax.\n\n\"Captain Maelstrom!\" President Helios beams. \"And who is the  \nlovely humanimal lady you have with you? I might think Sorcha would be  \njealous.\"\n\n\"And might that be, Lord President?\" Sorcha asks with a  \ngiggle.\n\n\"First Mate Mahoney?\" Phoebus asks incredulously to which  \nSorcha just nods with a grin. \"Well, that's quite interesting, since when did  \nyou make the switch?\"\n\n\"Professor Lafayette had me drink a potion last night and I  \nwoke up this morning looking like this.\" Sorcha reports honestly.\n\n\"PROFESSOR LAFAYETTE!!!\" President Helios bellows as the man  \nhe has been wanting to talk to tries to sneak in for breakfast. \"Front and  \ncenter!\"\n\n\"You wish to see me, Lord President?\" Pasteur asks with as  \ninnocent a tone as he can muster.\n\n\"On what authority did you demand that Miss Mahoney become a  \nhumanimal?\" Phoebus growls in inquiry with a tone that indicates that Pasteur  \nbetter give him a straight answer if he knows what's good for him.\n\n\"I was under the impression that we were making the crew of  \nthe Razor Shark exclusively humanimal, my Lord President,\" Professor Lafayette  \nsays calmly and coolly with a collected exterior but inside, Kodyax knows the  \nhuman is sweating bullets.\n\n\"I do not know how you made that assumption,\" President Helios  \nas he takes a potion out of his pouch and hands it to Pasteur. \"Drink it now,  \nPasteur.\"\n\nPasteur Lafayette gulps hard as he knows what the potion is:  \nthe same one he had Sorcha drink. He takes and quaffs it in one huge gulp and  \nit affects him immediately. His pants rip as Pasteur Lafayette goes from human  \nto skunk humanimal in about five seconds.\n\nLafayette glares at Maelstrom as covert but definitively as  \nhe can but the lupursyn just smirks\u0026nbsp; and  \nremarks: \"You know, I do think it's an improvement.\"\n\n\"I rather agree, Captain Maelstrom,\" President Helios says  \nin agreement.\n\n\"Are we done?\" Lafayette demands to know.\n\n\"For now,\" Phoebus states with a dark smirk, \"But watch your  \ntone with me at least.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir,\" Pasteur growls in a tone of voice that is barely  \ncivil and moves on.\n\n\"We need to be careful, Kody,\" Sorcha warns her superior in  \na semi worried tone. \"We don't want to antagonize him too much.\" She looks over  \nat President Helios. \"We who will crew the Razor Coast at least. As President,  \nyou can do what you wish.\" She glances over at where Lafayette went with more  \nthan a little bit of trepidation. \"But mark my words, he will try some sort of  \nretaliation.\"\n\n\"I want the Razor Shark launched as soon as possible,\"  \nPhoebus states in a matter of fact manner, \"I will be watching him; I know how  \nhe operates to a greater degree, I know he wants to supplant me.\" He gives  \nKodyax and Sorcha a sly smile. \"I have my eye on him.\" Then he sees Brom come  \nin and hails him.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"BROM! You said the Razor Shark is ready to go if I am not mistaken?\"  \n  \n  \n  \n\"Aye,\" Brom says in agreement. \n\n\"Launch,\" President Helios orders, \"I have a crystal feed in  \nmy office, I am going to get some rather quick and I will oversee the initial  \ntrials.\"\n\nAll three humanimals nod as Kodyax and Sorcha rise as one as  \nthey exit the cafeteria and activate a magic circle that makes runes appear  \naround them and dance in a manner that displays power at work. The visages of  \nthe three fade from view in the cafeteria as a similar teleportation portal  \nopens in the sub pen. Professor Lafayette watches the proceedings with naked  \nrancor on his newly altered visage.\n\nMechanical wasps fly in formation to challenge the  \ninterlopers until their sense recognizes Brom and a look from him gets them to  \nstand down.\u0026nbsp; A trio of them buzz around  \nthe triad of the newly arrived as they move from the transport dais to the  \nbridge entrance to the Razor Shark itself wherein they part company with Brom  \nheading to the engine room and the other two headed for the bridge of the ship  \nwhere Kodyax is to be situated as ship's Captain. First Mate Mahoney establishes contact with  \nPresident Helios's office as Captain Maelstrom gets himself acclimated to the  \nCaptain's chair while Chief Engineer Brom slides into the engine room to go  \nover last minute preparations with his drones.\n\n\"Summon the Stooge brothers, Sorcha,\" Kodyax orders, \"and  \nthe rest of our crew. Also; make sure we are properly connected to the office  \nof Lord Helios. If he wants a show, I say we give it to him.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n\"Aye, aye, Captain!\" Sorcha says with glee. \"Sending out summoning signal; now!  \nThe Lord President is already very anxious to speak with you.\"\n\n\"Can we get a crystal screen established with the engine  \nroom as well?\" Maelstrom asks. \"I want Blackstar in the loop on this.\"\n\nElsewhere on Warship Island the Stooge brothers are drinking  \nwith other humanimal in a slum bar set aside for the workers of the island  \nproper and a good number of them at once see a trinket they wear somewhere on  \ntheir person light up. All those that get the signal look at each other and nod  \nas one as they rise and move towards the sub pen. The same trinkets that summon  \nthe weasels, cats, dogs, rabbits, rats and mice were designed by Doctor  \nBlackstar to interact with his own clockwork creations and sends a signal to  \nthem that the crew are friendly and should not be attacked.\n\nMoe Z. Stooge leads the way down to the Razor Shark through  \nelevators and spiral staircases and into the submarine itself. Their movements  \ndo not go unnoticed as clockwork automaton folk as well as humans, yfreet,  \nundyn, sylphs, terrox and harpies alike working and supervisors to the workers  \ntake notice of the humanimals and their march to the sub pen. Those not in the  \nknow idly wonder what is going on while those in the know nod their heads in  \napproval as they surmise that the Razor Shark project is finally moving to the  \nnext phase of development.\n\nA total of twenty-five humanimals enter the Razor Shark and  \ntake up positions within in preparation for trouble as well as to get the  \nsubmarine going where it needs to go. The torpedo room is being manned by the  \ncats as the dogs suit up in the armor while the rodents aid Blackstar at the  \nrear of the ship and joining the Stooge brothers up front to guide it forward.  \nThe crew attend their stations without a word but a look to the Captain who  \nnods his appreciation.\n\n\"Conflict engine up and running at full power, Cap'n,\" Brom  \nreports to Kodyax on a crystal screen levitating in front of him.\n\n\"I have your position noted on my office astrolabe, Captain  \nMaelstrom,\" President Helios states as he looks in on another crystal screen.\n\n\"All systems are go, Captain,\" Moe says with confidence.\n\n\"Flood tanks ready and on stand by, Captain,\" Larry says  \nwith confidence.\n\n\"Warp Portal Tunnel powering up, Captain\" Shemp says with  \nconfidence.\n\n\"Captain, the drones are starting to act funny,\" Karl warns.\n\n\"Someone is trying to usurp control of my clockwork drones,\"  \nBrom explains. \"The problem is that I'm rather distracted at the moment.\"\n\n\"Open the flood tanks!\" Kodyax orders. \"Dive! Dive! Dive!\"\n\nThe Razor Shark sinks slowly but surely beneath the waves as  \nlights underwater within the sub pen itself start to alight as the walls of a  \ntunnel leading to the outside waters display glowing runes. Emerald energy  \nalights in front of the submarine as it traverses the tunnel and travels  \nthrough the tunnel to depths just outside of Warship Island. Inside, Captain  \nMaelstrom can see outside his ship and gaze upon the concrete foundations of  \nhis home through one of the side windows of the submarine.\n\nGazing through the front most aperture of the submarine  \nKodyax can see an inky black skinned octopus of titanic proportions with three  \ncrimson eyes each one the size of an average human male. Kodyax glares at the  \nalien kraken before him and orders the torpedo room to open fire. The explosion  \nof the torpedoes causes the kraken to recoil as he orders the next course of  \naction to utilize the steel fins as they were intended and cut the monster to  \nribbons.\n\nPresident Helios in his office is actually sweating bullets  \nas he recognizes the sea monster as something that could very well rip the sub  \napart. He is just about ready to call them off when the kraken itself retreats  \nwith an ink cloud released to confuse the crew of the Razor Shark. The kraken  \nloses a few arms as the ship makes a few hits as the monster beats a hasty  \nretreat.\n\nDogs disembark the ship via the moon pool and retrieve the  \npieces of the kraken they were able to shear off. President Helios orders the  \nRazor Shark to return to base as he also congratulates Captain Maelstrom on a  \njob well done. A portal opens up to facilitate this return and obediently  \nKodyax does as he is bidden with the full knowledge that he did something to  \nspook the Lord President.\n\nExactly what alarmed his superior, Phoebus, is kept from  \nthem as Helios secretly is glad it was the kraken that blinked in that game of  \nchicken.\u0026nbsp; Doctor Blackstar takes the  \nkraken parts to the alchemists as Kodyax explores the quarters that he is accorded  \non the ship itself. The fact that Sorcha \"helps\" him get settled is rather  \nobvious.\n\n\u0026nbsp;  \n  \n  \n\n"}