The Last Stand of The Bretheren Court

Green Horn at the Helm

The memory of my father's death was fresh in my mind the next day. The first thing that went through my mind was '' How the hell do I run a ship?". My train of thought was brought to an abrupt end as Alan burst into the room. "You need to make a move and quickly." Alan said as he placed a map on the desk. I blinked as he unrolled it on the desk. "This is our position here, approximately 140 miles south of Jamaica and Port Royal." Allan stated rather matter-of -factly. " I strongly suggest that we sail for Tortuga, the crew haven't had shore-leave in months plus it's in a major shipping area so we may be able to take a prize before getting into port." I was confused. "Why is this decision so important?" I demanded to know. This just didn't make any sense to me. With a heavy sigh, Allan whispered one word to me that sent shivers creeping down my neck....."Mutiny". I was completely dumbfounded, I haven't been captain for less that twenty-four hours and now I was in danger of loosing my ship! This was not good. Being a quick thinker, I bashed out a plan; I would announce that we are sailing to Tortuga and if we came across any merchantmen, we would take a prize before putting into port. I went over this plan with Allan, who agreed that it was the wisest course of action to take.
"Mr. Allan," I said, "please assemble all hands aft, I wish to address them." I said with a hint of sternness that came naturally courtesy of Captain Morgan himself.
"Aye sir." Allan said sharply and left me to my thoughts in my cabin. The only things that came to my mind were mutiny and the black spot. "Bloody fucking hell," I thought to myself, "I need to get off this ship and fast. The longer I stay, the more likely I will be killed." As soon as I finished this thought, Allan came back in. "All crew assembled aft Sir and awaiting your address." he reported. I sighed deeply, thinking to myself "Fuck it, it now or never.", and with that I proceeded to get up and make my way to the helm. I exited the cabin and ascended the steps to the helm. The crew was assembled, whispers buzzing like flies between them. "Gentlemen, I...." I began but the crew hadn't taken notice of me. "GENTLEMEN!" I shouted loudly, hoping to get their attention, but to no avail. "Fine," I thought to myself "if that how you want to play, so be it." I casually drew my pistols and cocked them. I discharged one in the air and leveled the second in the general direction of the crew. "Oi! Shut your fucuking gobs or I will blow your brains out!" I bellowed. That most certainly shut them up. Now I had their attention. "It is my intention to sail this ship to the island of Tortuga. Now, as you all know, before any course of action is taken, the crew it's vote on it. All those in favour of going to Tortuga, say aye." A resounding cry of "Aye!" Rang out across the waves. "Very well then. Allan, hard to starboard and alter our course to sixty-five degrees north east. Make full sail." Allan looked at me, shock and pride dancing in his eyes as he replied "Aye Sir." The crew sprang to work with energy that I had never observed before, it was almost as though they worked twice as hard. I sighed with relief knowing I had dodged death, at least for the time being. I sauntered back to my cabin and decided to treat myself to a drink, or ten or an entire casket of rum. I was just about to go in for round two when I heard a low rumble in the distance. Confused, I looked out of the window just to see a spectacular column of water shoot up outside my cabin. "We're under attack!" I bellowed as I sprinted out onto the deck. Taking out the spyglass from the captain's cabin, I spotted the ship a frigate of the Royal Navy. Thinking quickly, I realized that it wouldn't be long until the frigate was along side our ship so we had no choice but to fight. "Man the cannons!" I yelled as I continued to watch the frigate draw closer to our ship. "Run out the port side guns and don't fire until you can see the main mast. We cripple this ship and sail with a prize." That was when I heard the guns onboard the Assault barked a violent answer to the warning shot given by the frigate. The salvo violently tore through the enemy vessel, carrying a shower of wooden shrapnel with it. I shuddered at the thought of it as I knew only too well the damage that cannon fire would cause. I didn't have much time to dwell on this point as a salvo fired from the enemy frigate tore through the Assault's gun deck, removing limbs and heads as they went. After seeing this, I decided that we needed to board and take the vessel. "Secure the enemy ship with grappling hooks and board her!" I yelled, cutlass in one hand and pistol in the other. The remaining crewmen complied and we all clambered across to the enemy vessel. I discharged my pistol int the chest of the nearest British sailor before carving a bloody trail through the crew of desperate sailors. I was going well until I was shot in the left shoulder by the captain. He drew his sword and lunged at me, missing my neck by a few inches. Stepping back, I took up a second sword and cringed in pain as I prepared my defense. Steel clashed on steel as the blades collided, emitting a terrifying sound above the din of the battle. The enemy captain and I dueled with a ferocity that greatly impressed those who were alive to observe it. Violent slashes and thrusts were made, the enemy captain preferred to make heavy brutish attacks where as mine were more precise, making advantage of holes in his defensive stance. Unfortunately I let my guard down because I was attacked from behind by a sailor looking to protect his captain and the enemy captain struck a deep gash across my back. Feeling the searing pain across my back enraged me and I quickly dispatched the sailor with a slash across the neck. I turned back to the captain and quickly got to work. My senses bulled by my rage, I made use of the second sword I had taken from one of the courses of n deck. I parried blows with my left and struck out with the right, moving quickly enough to cause the captain to become careless and leave his throat undefended. With a roar of pure anger and malice, I swung at his neck and watched ad his head fell from his shoulders with a bit of a splatter. I watched as it rolled along the deck as the waves gently rocked the ship. Seeing their captain decapitated, the remaining crew immediately surrendered. I allowed my crew to loot the ship, taking any and everything of value back to the assault. I rummaged through the pockets of the decapitated corpse and found nothing much of interest; some personal letters, military dispatches and a very nice pistol which I took in addition to the officer's sword. The hold of the ship contained much needed foodstuffs in addition to weapons and ammunition which the Assault was running low on. The transferred these provisions to the Assault and stowed them quickly. The British frigate was then cut loose and set adrift with nothing but her crew. We then resumed our trip to Tortuga.