To be a pirate or a king's man?

Chapter 2 - Black Cats At Sea

Chapter 2

Three hours into his watch, Sam saw the glint of something shining off the port bow. It glimmered for second, before disappearing. He took the watch telescope and focused it on where the glimmer had been. A ship was on the edge of the horizon, the glimmer had been its own telescope, maybe looking for a place to hole up for the night. As a precaution, the Hurricane’s own lights were extinguished every night, but the moon was behind them, so the silhouette may have been spotted by the other ship.

Sam looked through the telescope again, and sure enough the other ship was slowly turning towards the Hurricane. It was too far away for Sam to get any clear ideas, but the other ship looked quite large, and behind it loomed the dark clouds and occasional flashes that indicated a sea storm. Maybe the other ship was simply trying to find a place to hole up against the storm, but on the sea it was every ship for itself, and the other ship wasn't flying any colours that Sam could see. He raised a cry, “Ship and storm off the port bow! All Hands to stations!” The other ship was at full sail, skipping through the waters ahead of the storm and using the winds to reach a speed that looked like about ten knots to Sam’s eye.

Mr Tyler stormed out of the officer’s cabin, grabbed the telescope off Sam without a word and looked at the other ship, assessing the situation. He licked a finger, testing the wind. The other ship was now close enough that he could read the colours; a skull and two chalices. "Battle stations! Half-sail to the edge of the bay, those pirates are not getting in here! Face them with the port side! It's a Man o' War!” he roared, his voice booming across the deck. Already deckhands were unfurling the sails on the fore, main and mizzenmasts to half length, pushing the ship towards the entrance of the bay.

Sam ran down to the gun deck and began to load one of the cannons on the port side whilst a cabin boy fetched shot and powder from the ship’s store. James came up next to him and helped load the cannon. “What is Tyler doing? We’ll be dashed against the edges of the bay by the storm, and if that ship has a ram then we’re screwed!” He yelled. The storm was getting closer, and wind howled through the decks, going through the gun ports and whirling around the men, whipping words away.

The Hurricane had reached the edge of the bay, a narrow opening with rocks on either side. James was right, Sam realised. The storm would blow them against the rocks unless the ship dropped all anchors and stayed put, but that would limit their maneuverability against the ma o' war, which was a huge and heavily armed ship. The hurricane only had one gun deck, besides the poop deck, whereas the other ship looked tall enough to have at least two.

The cannon was loaded and Sam and James shouted at the same time “Cannon ready!” as several similar cries went around the ship. Twelve cannons against a storm and a large pirate ship, thought Sam. He didn't fancy their chances.

Through the gun port, he could see the other ship. It was a huge brig, bristling with cannons on both sides. His heart sank as he saw the red triangular flag being hoisted on its mast. The ship would neither give nor receive quarter, though it didn't look like it was expecting any. “Fire!” yelled Bo’ sun Tyler, and Sam touched the taper to his cannon, trying to cover his ears as twelve cannon shot blasted from the HMS Hurricane’s gun deck. Noise blasted their ears and the powder monkey who hadn't covered his ears in time screamed as the noise tore into his head. The other ship was hit in the prow as it began to turn. Sam and James hurried to reload, thanking God that other ship didn't have a ram. As it turned, Sam noted the name on the prow; Black Cat. Bad luck to see a black cat at sea, he thought despairingly, certainly seems true for us.

The storm was just fringing on the bay now, the waters twisting and turning beneath the two ships as wind howled around the masts. Both the Hurricane and the Black Cat had stowed sails to stop the winds from tearing the masts out, relying on sheer firepower and dexterity to get them through the battle. Lightning flashed overhead and the sea roiled and crashed against the hull of the ship as a cry of “Fire at will!” was sounded by Tyler. The cannons fired again, tearing at the sides of both ships as all of the cannons from each ship fired. A wall next to Sam exploded and a splinter a yard long whirred just millimetres past his head before embedding itself in a man behind him.