They say humans are endurance hunters. Not the fastest or strongest predators, but just stubborn bastards who can keep chasing you down until you grow tired enough to make a mistake. Then we’ll strike.
-Excerpt from ‘The Conquest of Humanity’ by Professor Filligrump
Rose slammed into the deck and had the wind knocked from her lungs. Gasping for breath as her vision faded in and out, she saw stars dancing in her eyes and struggled to her feet.
Loud claps of cannon fire echoed out constantly, and the ship shook under her feet. Splinters flew in every direction as holes were torn in the ship and geysers erupted every second as errant cannonballs smashed into the ocean.
With every passing moment she felt the ship slow. It was a bad sign that she could notice the changing speed. Looking up as her vision returned to normal, albeit a little fuzzy, she saw Felix clutching his head nearby.
Trent was nowhere to be seen, having vanished from the bow, while Yasmin had raced off after him and Nasar stood in silent vigil. Someone was attacking them, but why?
The previous encounter with the aggressive pirates made sense—Yasmin had beef with them and they’d chased her down after being tipped off by that bastard governor. Two attacks in one day was awful luck.
Holding onto the wooden railing of the ship as she climbed the stairs back to the bow, Rose cursed when she saw who was attacking them. Five ships, led by one so large it dwarfed Liberty. The mast rose almost twice as high and she could see at least three decks of guns.
Worse, each of the five ships flew the flag of the Minenblum Royal Navy and the flagship had an all too familiar crest—Commodore Saff had found them once more. The man was utterly relentless in his chase, despite taking a severe beating from Trent the last time they met.
She stumbled as more cannonballs tore into the ship, one whizzing past her head and blasting a chunk of the foremast out. It held firm, but she knew it wouldn’t last much longer.
Squinting her eyes, she saw a familiar scene unfolding on the choppy ocean. Trent was walking on the water, striding out to meet his foe—the arrogant Commodore.
They kept walking until they were just a few metres away from each other and then stopped. Neither made the first move just yet. She saw the Commodore’s mouth moving and Trent standing still. Based on everything she knew about the man, she guessed whatever he had to say was self-serving and utterly tedious.
Yasmin was rushing up behind and would soon reach the two men. However, when she’d covered two-thirds of the distance, a tendril of smoke shot straight through her and the ink at her feet evaporated, making her tumble headfirst into the ocean.
She quickly recovered and stared daggers at the new arrival. The naval officer retreated immediately and she watched Yasmin crack her neck twice before racing after him.
Nasar stood beside her, watching the scene unfold in silence. His face was impassive, neither angry nor excited. The moment he saw Yasmin engage the naval officer, he sighed and with a single step, disappeared.
The plank beneath his feet snapped in two and he reappeared dozens of metres away from the ship, walking across the ocean like it was his backyard. Like Yasmin, he was racing towards Trent and the Commodore to intervene, but he barely made it halfway when something fell from the sky like a meteor and splashed into the sea before him.
Three tendrils of water exploded upwards, aiming for his vital points. He pulled out his chef’s knife and carved them into even slices before kicking at the waves.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
A man rose from the waters and smiled at him, before rushing off. The lanky chef had no choice but to follow his new opponent.
Looking back towards Yasmin she saw the woman facing off against a pair of naval officers, another member of Saff’s crew having joined the first. Rose wanted to help but she couldn’t even walk on the ocean yet, let alone take part in a battle of that calibre.
She tried to use appraisal on the three officers, but each time it ended in failure and a sharp but brief headache assaulted her. It wasn’t a wasted attempt though, as she did receive a couple levels to the skill.
Skill up!
Appraisal 1 > 3
Knowing she was far from being able to help the more capable members of the crew, she decided to focus her energy on something she could do—keep Liberty running and try to take down the naval ships so they couldn’t provide backup.
She rushed back to the main deck, where Felix was finally getting his bearings. Grabbing the boy, she motioned downwards and he nodded. They hopped into the hatch and immediately got to work.
Rose still had a headache from Trent tossing her into the mast earlier, but she grit her teeth and bore the backlash, knowing it was nothing compared to what those three would be facing. Looking through a hatch in the gundeck, she saw that the four ships following the flagship had peeled off, two to port and two to starboard, making a beeline for Liberty.
Not good. Turning to Felix with a grim expression on her face, she placed her hands on his shoulders. “Felix, you’re a damn good friend. The best a girl could ask for,” she told him with utter certainty. “I know you were hesitant to become a pirate at first; that you only joined because you wanted to stick with me. But, you’re one of us through and through,” she added with a smile.
“I can’t guarantee we’ll make it out of this alive, but what I will say is that they’ll need to sacrifice at least a hundred men to take us down—no, a thousand!” she cried with fervour and a wild fury burning in her eyes.
Her mood was infectious and the previously glum and serious youth visibly brightened at her remark. He chucked and replied, “You’re damn right, Rose. Maybe I did join the crew on a whim, following in your footsteps. Now though I’m one of the Ascendant Pirates. Becoming the best means making sacrifices and leaving countless corpses of your enemies in your wake. I’m ready,” he declared solemnly.
After that, they shared a look of understanding and then rushed to grab sacks of gunpowder and spare fuses. Loading cannonballs one by one, though carrying three or four at a time, the pair made their way around the entire gundeck, loading almost thirty cannons alone.
Once all the cannons were loaded and she had heaps of spare gunpowder and cannonballs laying around, Rose took out Sunsplitter. Apologising to the majestic cutlasses for using them as fire starters so regularly, she started to rub the edges together as fast as she could manage.
The instant she saw sparks, she directed them towards the first fuse. Felix was doing the same with an actual firestarter kit. Rose was quite envious and shelved the idea to ask him for one afterwards.
She covered her ears as the first cannon was fired, but rushed to the hatch to see how much damage it would do. Flames licked the air from the iron barrel and her eyes could just track the sailing black ball as it made its way towards the naval ships to deal lethal damage. Rose never went for half-hearted shots.
Seconds later the first of her blasts reached the closest starboard ship. It tore a hole in the hull just below the bow.
Too high to start leaking water, but perfect to knock the ship a little off balance as much of the navigation was down underneath the ship’s crest. Seeing her effort had borne fruit, Rose started rushing up and down the row of cannons with gusto, refilling the powder when needed and keeping the smaller piles of cannonballs stocked.
While she’d crippled one of the navy ships, that still left four gigantic vessels bearing down on them. Sharing a look with Felix, they continued the endless task of loading and firing the cannons, hoping it would be enough to dissuade their enemies from continuing the assault.
If only. They continued to bear down on Liberty. On a day with a tailwind or a breeze that favoured them, they would’ve left these fools in the dust.
Her and Felix continued to blast the cannons and both managed extraordinary damage to all the attacking ships. One of the ships suddenly groaned and creaked. Rose heard a series of splitting noises and then the worst off of the naval ships suddenly crumpled and started to sink.
They’d managed to pick off some of the chaff before they even arrived. However, before they could celebrate, she heard a familiar metallic clang. Where have I heard that before? she wondered.
With a frown she immediately dropped the bag of gunpowder she was holding and started racing towards the deck, hoping against all the odds her suspicion was wrong.