Short Stories for the Bored and Under Amused

Fight for the Seas

The crew had had smooth sailing all the way across the Mediterranean sea, with little to no human contact. This is how it should be. A beautiful frigate, named the Mary Pallan,  could go almost anywhere. It had, in fact. No other ships could go as fast or as far as the Mary Pallan. She was a living legend among sailors, always outrunning storms or, when she couldn't, being able to sail straight through them and come out the other end in one piece. The sailors called it "a great honor to work on that ship." There were a few things that most sailors didn't know about her though. She boasted thirty-three cannons per side, instead of the usual twenty-eight that other frigates had. She had the best captain, who also happened to be the youngest captain, that anybody could find. His name was Jaden. He had no last name, as he was a former orphan slave. He didn't like his conditions, so he killed all of the owners on the plantation that he was working, and fled to the coast. Forty miles away in Grey-Board, he stowed away on the Mary Pallan at 16. The crew didn't find him until they were halfway across their voyage and were attacked by pirates. Jaden didn't feel like waiting around for his death, so he went up onto the deck to join the fight. He picked up a dead sailor's cutlass, and flew into a killing frenzy. He alone accosted for so many pirates that they retreated out of pure fear and fled the ship, back to their own. Jaden almost pursued them, but the sailors of the Mary Pallan held him back. He almost killed them too. What they saw in his eyes terrified them beyond belief, but they nevertheless held him. The dying captain had seen what this young man could do, and promoted him to first mate, as the previous one was taking the captaincy. A few years later, the new captain disappeared at a port city, never to be found again. Jaden was promoted to be captain at only age 18. Or so they say. Now, three years later, the Mary Pallan was in the most dangerous part of the Mediterranean sea, and it was about face it's worst enemy. Pirates. "Sir!" the lookout called. "They're almost upon us! And they're armed to the teeth, they are!" "I see them," the captain called, his smooth voice carrying easily over the sounds of the sea and ship and crew. "Down sails, out oars. Ready the cannons to be fired." There was no need for the first mate to relay Jaden's orders, as the sails were already on their way down and the oarsmen had grabbed the oars before Jaden had finished his command. Lacking a drum on which to beat a cadence for the oarsmen, the first mate went to the prow to call a brisk but steady pace for the rowers. "What ship is it?" Jaden asked, wondering if he would recognize the name. "I can't see, sir, but I can tell that it's a brig! It looks bigger than standard and they aren't ridiculously difficult to obtain," he added. "Thank you," the captain replied. "Keep me posted on their movements." The lookout yelled "Aye sir!" and climbed farther up the mast to get a better view on the brig. "Anything that's not tied down, do so!" Jaden yelled to the crew. "We don't want anything rolling around that shouldn't. Load the cannons but don't reveal them. When we get close, move some of the ballast to the bow." The crew scrambled to obey his orders. They were anxious for the coming fight. "Captain! I can read the ship's name! It's the Wizard of Minds!" The lookout yelled, panic evident in his voice. The Wizard of Minds was a well known, infamous pirate ship. It was on the Pirate Hunter's top ten most wanted list. It was damn near impossible to find, and even harder to beat. It had extra armor added to it, taken from defeated enemy warships. It's one purpose was to be fast, to raid, to pillage and plunder both ships and towns up and down the coast. And it was headed right for the Mary Pallan. The only advantage that the frigate had over the Wizard of Minds was the experience of the crew, the size of the ship, and the amount of cannons per side. Standard brigs only had 13 cannons. The Wizard of Minds was not standard, however, and boasted 20 cannons per side.