“Perfect”

Thames stood upon the bow of his ship, The Julianne. It was a vessel of finely crafted aquatic excellence. Fast enough to chase down smaller ships but large enough to not go down easy. The noon sun brightly illuminated the unraised sail and the reflection from the sea covered the bottom of the boat.

As he admired the ship a woman called to him from the edge of the dock. She had a uniform just similar to his own and carried a saber at her hip.

“Thames get down here!” She called out in a familiar tone. Thames looked down at her and gave a sly smile. She angrily gestured for him to come. Thames shrugged his shoulders and made his way over to the plank.

“You have literally no reason to be over here!” The woman said, slightly annoyed.

“I was just making sure everything is in order on the ship.” Thames responded only being slightly truthful. “Plus how’d you even know I was over here then?”

“It’s my job to keep track of a lot of people, you being among that list.” She then flicked him a rolled up paper. “Olsen’s called for you.”

“The rear admiral? Is something going?” He asked as he opened the rolled up paper. It was a report he’d made to the rear admiral nearly a week ago. It was about a band of pirates that had been pillaging docks up and down the coast. It was highly unusual but more importantly it was extremely problematic. Thames had requested to initiate a hunt for these pillagers. He’d been under the impression that his request had been ignored. He never personally brought it up with the rear admiral.

“He wants to talk about something with you.” The woman filled him in. “Meet at his office.”

“Of course.” Thames responded as he re-rolled up the report and stuffed it in his pocket.

Thames had been feeling somewhat uneasy for a while. The water had been calm for quite some time. Maybe some ripples would end up being made.

*****

Thames stood in front of the door to the rear admiral’s main office. As he opened the door he saw the rear admiral leaning over a large map sprawled out on his desk. It was a standard map of Tarthe aside from the large gray portion that lay on the far right .

As the rear admiral noticed Thames walk in he stood up to face him. He was a relatively older gentleman with hair much more gray than someone like Thames. Despite this he stood straight and with an air of dignity. He wasn't rear admiral for no reason and his head was sharp as ever.

“Captain Cadeni, I reckon Miss Kay called you over? I wanted to talk with you about something.” The old man gestured for Thames to come closer. “Do you know what right here?” He asked, pointing to the gray part of the map.

“Nothing. More ocean.” Thames said blankly, unsure of how to respond. Most maps didn’t include that part of the sea and Thames had never sailed that far east before.

“Yes, somewhat correct.” The old man responded. “But there’s a reason no maps depict. Every single one of the ships that sail into those waters doesn’t return.”

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“What’s this gotta do with my report?” Thames asked, wondering what the old man was trying to get at.

The old man looked up from the map. “Those pirates that have been attacking our docks. I had the young captain Eret chase them down after the last attack. They chased the pirate all the way to the edge of the map.” The old man pointed to the gray part of the map. “That’s where they ran off to. You know as well as I that we can’t keep letting them escape. After the next attack I want you to chase them down to the ends of the earth.”

“Sir, I’ll prepare my men '' Thames immediately understood the weight of this request. He was being asked to go into what might very well be a death trap. It’s likely that he might not return just like the rest. Still Thames was a prideful man. When it mattered he valued his duty higher than his life.

The rear admiral gave him a quick nod and dismissed him. He probably chose Thames knowing he’d do it without question.

As Thames stood outside the rear admiral's office he realized he needed to prepare. He struck out to gather his men.

*****

“Is everyone here Lieutenant?”

“Yes Captain.” Lieutenant Andrews responded faithfully. Standing before Thames was his well-trained crew of 25 men. All about to be sent on what equated to a suicide mission into the unknown.

Well if they were going to brave the unknown the best thing they could be is prepared.

“Everyone! I want those barrels loaded onto the boat by sunset.” Thames gestured to a large collection of cargo that sat on the dock. It was enough food and supplies to last them months.

“Yes Captain!” They collectively agreed. Like a finely tuned machine the men moved to load the barrels onto the ship. As the crew loaded the barrels, lieutenant Andrews approached Thames.

“What is going on exactly Captain? Why are we suddenly preparing for an extended voyage?” He asked. They’d been on land for quite a while. Something changing that was somewhat unexpected.

“You know those pirates that have been attacking our ports?” Thames answered

“Of course. Highly unusual for them to leave the safety of open waters.” Andrews responded

“Well the rear admiral’s ordered me to chase 'em’ down next time they dare attack.” Thames turned away from Lieutenant Andrews and back to his working crew who were moving some red barrels. “Be careful with the red ones!” Thames shouted at his men who’d been hastily throwing the cargo onto the ship.

“What’s in the red ones?” Andrews asked curiously.

“Gunpowder. Lots of it.” Thames turned back to Andrews. “ We gotta be prepared next time those pirates strike. We're gonna blast 'em with all we got.”

“You think they’ll attack soon?”

“Maybe. It's been a while since their last attack. They could attack tomorrow for all I know. What’s important is that we stop them then and there.” Thames looked worriedly at the crew of his ship. Every single one of them had people who cared for them. If they were forced to give chase, all of them could end up at the bottom of the sea.

“Well we’re up to the task, don't worry” The lieutenant said confidently thanks.

“Thanks.” Thames looked out toward the sea. It was a dangerous life and he was no stranger to danger. In fact he willingly accepted it. It was bringing others along that frightened him. Still he had faith that they stood strong as a unit. Thames was their captain and so they trusted him to lead in the best way possible.

“I trust you can make sure everything is ready to mobilize.”

“Of course Captain.”

“Well then I'm off. I got a whole hell of paperwork for all this stuff.” Thames gave a short wave and walked off.

*****

The light of the lantern illuminated the papers on the Thames’s desk. It was already close to midnight and he was just about finishing with his work for the day. He felt himself getting drowsy.

‘Mabye I’ll just sleep in the office.’ he thought silently to himself.

He leaned back in his chair. The wooden seat wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world but at this point he didn’t care. He closes his eyes and felt himself drifting off into the land of dreams.

BOOM!

The sound of cannon fire shook Thames awake. He jumped up startled from the sudden noise.

Boom!Boom!Boom

The cannons continued to fire. In a stupor Thames raced over to the nearest window. His window offered a good view of the dock.

Just outside he saw an ocean of flames light up the harbor. People ran panicked through the streets.

An attack was happening!