The Octonauts and the Pirate Ship Predicament (complete)

Chapter Four

It was Kwazii who found his voice first. "We be the Octonauts, matey! We were just, um, looking up at your ship and wondering whether it was populated by, er, pirates?"

There was a silence, then Kwazii could almost hear the smile in the male's voice when he spoke next. "You're pirates too?"

"No, not exactly," Kwazii replied. "Just me. But this is my crew, and my friends."

"Well welcome on board, pirate and pirate's friends," the male said. He sounded friendly enough to the Octonauts' ears. They waited a moment, then a rope came swinging down with an old tire attached, landing with a splash in the water. "Grab on! Two or three at a time, please."

Kwazii whooped and grabbed onto the tyre, gesturing for the others to follow him. The Captain, with a smile, jumped on beside Kwazii, and Peso, with a gulp of fear, followed them on. There was a pause and then the tyre shot upwards in the air, travelling right up to the deck in a matter of seconds. Kwazii whooped again as he flipped off the tyre onto the deck, landing perfectly. Peso looked terrified from the recent experience of being carried up very fast by the tyre. He knew what Kwazii had meant now about unorthodox methods of getting onto pirate ships.

As the rest of the Octonauts joined them on the next ride up, looking dazed from the speed of the ascent, the owner of the friendly voice made himself known, stepping forward out from the cabin. "Hello. I'm Hector."

"No way..." Kwazii murmured in awe. "Hector?"

The handsome cat bowed slightly. He had black fur and piercing blue eyes, with an eyepatch over one eye. "The very same. I assume you've heard about me from your reaction."

"I was just telling Peso about you this morning," Kwazii said, still awestruck. "You're, like, the biggest modern day pirate hero that ever lived. It's an honour, sir."

"Oh no need for any of that nonsense," Hector smiled. "Just call me Hector. What's your name?"

"My name's Kwazii."

The older cat's ears pricked in interest. "Grandson of Calico Jack?"

"That's me!" Kwazii exclaimed excitedly.

"My father travelled with Calico Jack for a while," explained Hector. "That's why I vaguely know him."

"That's amazing!" Kwazii said enthusiastically.

Hector laughed lightly. "So please introduce me to your fine crew, Kwazii Calico."

"This is Captain Barnacles, our captain of the Octopod."

The captain smiled warmly at Hector. "Good to meet you, Hector. We've heard a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope!" Hector joked.

"This is Peso, our medic, Shellington, our marine biologist, Dashi, our photographer and driver and Tweak, our engineer," Kwazii introduced. "We're a crew that studies ocean life and makes sure creatures are safe."

"Sounds very interesting." Hector's eyes fell on Tweak. "You're an engineer, are you?"

Tweak smiled. "Yup. I keep the Octopod shipshape and invent things for the Octonauts to use on missions."

"So you're good, then?" Hector questioned, still with that inquiring but polite smile on his race.

Tweak laughed lightly. "I suppose so, if you put it all together."

"Tweak's an excellent engineer," The Captain added in. "We're very lucky to have her on our crew."

For a split second, the smile faded slightly on Hector's face. "You are indeed." Then the dazzling white smile returned and Hector smiled even wider. "I apologize for what may seem like strange and intrusive questions. It's just that our ship is falling apart and our engineer is having a little - trouble maintaining it all."

"We saw from the Octo-Pod," Dashi said. "Your ship looks a little - worn."

Hector laughed. "What a polite way of putting it. It's basically falling apart. It was my father's ship before it was mine, but it's suffered a little since then."

"We can see," Kwazii said.

Hector smiled politely again. "But don't trouble yourself with our difficulties. You are our guests, after all. And you must meet my crew!"