Realistic or Modern Wolves of the Sea

[Soviet Panda]

"That sounds about right." Connor said after glancing towards Freya, also noticing the orange tabby. Cats were considered good luck in some places. "Move you sons of dogs! That man has stolen from me! Which means he stole from you! Do you want enough gold to break a horse's back in the cart? Then get after that Brig!" His shouting continued, and one of the crew started a little sea shantty. "He brought him down with a golden chain." went the refrain (or near enough). Was this an omen from his crew's own mouth? Or was their greed influencing what they said? Oh well, there would be no gold without that mal fragment.


(Welcome aboard Mr. Tiddels. )

 

[mrXenox]

Liam turned the helm and pointed the bowsprit at the mouth of the harbor. The brisk wind was now coming from directly behind him and filled the square sails of the Seawolf as it flew across the waves. He breathed a sigh of relief after he cleared the harbor and spun the helm around again, going east, sailing at a beam reach. Just to be ready, he decided to prepare for a fight, "Beat to quarters, load all guns and cannons, open the arms lockers, but don't run out the guns" he commanded. As a last addendum he shouted "I want men in the tops with muskets also, send up our best shots" He breathed out again, knowing that he was now as prepared as possible for a fight.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Prepare the front cannons! Chain shot! Load starboard (left side) Cannons with grape shot! Prepare for broadside!" Conitnuing to shout his orders, and gesturing extravagently all the while, Connor strode up to the helm, took the wheel, and directed the Sea Dragon in close enough to fire the chain shot. He couldn't sink them, the fragment was on it, and having no sails would certainly keep them from getting away.

 

[mrXenox]

Liam turned the wheel and pointed his ship about thirty degrees from the wind, that close hauled, she should have a significant advantage in speed. "Run out the stern chasers, load with chain shot" he commanded, and his crew pushed the two twelve pounder cannons to the gun ports at the stern. His men took aim and set the burning slow match to the touch hole at the breach of the cannon. With a thunderous report, the two guns went off, one slightly after the other, and sent the chain shot whirring into the distance.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Seeing the chain shot whirl it's way towards his ship, Connor jerks the wheel to the right, hoping to avoid them. The lead the brig had on him gave the chain shot plenty of time to reach him, but he sadly misjuged it, one clipping a sail (don't know what the thing that actually holds the sails up are called, nit the mast but the beam connected to the mast). "Return fire!" he barked out needlessly, for the cannoneers were already linkng up a shot. Lighting the fuse, they cover their ears, wait for the boom, then go about reloading it.

 

[mrXenox]

(They're called spars) Liam cringed as the chainshot reached his ship, any course change would slow Seawolf down and lessen the chance of escape, so he stayed on course and let the shots land where they may. His instincts kicked in as one of the shots severed a backstay and the taut piece of rigging made a loud snap as it broke and snaked to the deck. "Return fire" he commanded to the men at the stern chasers behind him, and they fired the guns again, sending more chain shot flying at the Sea Dragon.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Hold steady lads! They'll soon know what it means to steal from us!" He was thoroughly getting caught up in the chase. A backstay had been cut, good, his mast will just topple faster. Seeing another salvo of chainshot being fired, he braces himself for what may happen, he didn't need to give the brig anymore chances. There was a hit on the jib and a bit of the front was hit, and another that flew clean over, knicking the tallest mast slightly as it past. Without having to be told, another salvo of chain shot was sent rocketing their way. He had a feeling they were closing, or maybe it was just the adrenaline getting to him.

 

[mrXenox]

"Run out the larboard battery" Liam shouted as he spun the helm around. The crew pushed the eight guns of the larboard battery through the square gunports in the hull. The ship turned to larboard and Liam waited until the Sea Dragon was directly abeam before shouting "Fire!" In rapid succession, all eight guns fired their chainshot at the rigging of the Sea Dragon. The wind was coming from the starboard beam now, and Seawolf started to pick up speed, soon East point would be between them and the Sea Dragon.

 

[Soviet Panda]

'S**t' he thought to himself at seeing the salvo of chain shot. Well, they were both moving, him one way and the Sea Dragon another, so you'd think it would be easy to avoid those shots, which it was to some extent. A few scrapped the back of his ship, but due to his rather radical maneuvers to keep his mast in tack, they were pointed in near enough the opposite direction of who they were chasing. Where the Seawolf was going left, the Sea Dragon was going right. This, of course lined him up rather nicely for a shot, if the cannons didn't have grape shot already in them. And then the wind was also working against him. Heaving the ship back around, he barks out to load the port side cannons with round shot, a couple holes shouldn't sink them.


(Going to let the others reply.)

 

[ToteMaus]

Annabelle sat in her cabin for a while. But something inside her compelled her to follow the ship. She had a strong sense for where the money was, and she smelled gold on the horizon. She strode purposely out on deck and gave the order to get ready to depart. The anchor was raised, and the massive sails of the sloop unfurled. She made her best guess as to the direction they took, and she decided to sail east.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Front Cannons! Change over to round shot! Put some holes in them!" Connor shouted, changing his tactic completely. "Disable their guns!" With an evil grin sliding across one of the cannoneers faces, let's call this fellow Jebadiah or Jeb for short, he loaded the cannon. Aimed it, lit the fuse and waited for the boom. The other one was much more neutral about the whole thing and went about his job like he was just making some toast.

 

[mrXenox]

The round shot hit Seawolf below the waterline while she was on the up roll, "Man the pumps" he commanded. Men rushed below, and a moment later he could hear the clacking of the hand pumps as they forced water from the hold. "Larboard battery, fire!" He shouted, firing one last salvo of chain shot before East Point slid between him and the pursuit. He sighed and a moment later gave another command, "Carpenters to the hold, patch her up."

 

[Soviet Panda]

(Well played.)


He couldn't do anything about the chain shot hitting, just to make himself as small a target as possible. And the damage wasn't to bad, just a mast and a few spars were worse for wear. But more importantly, that thief got away. Cursing and swearing up and down the deck, Connor expressed his displeasure at the outcome of it all. The carpenters on board knew that he may be in a better mood if everything was fixed up temporarily until they reached the nearest port, which was probably Port Royal, and so went about their job.

 

[mrXenox]

Liam sailed up the coast of Jamaica for a while before bringing the wheel around again and setting a course into the wind, towards the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Meanwhile, as the cannons were firing, the cat Freya had brought on board panicked and squirmed, wriggled, clawed and bit it's way out of her hold. But once the cannons fell silent, he came sauntering back out if his hiding place as if he hadn't hid in the first place. This cat didn't have a name, not really, but he will get the name Mr. Tiddels (no one knows how). Anyway, the first thing Mr. Tiddels wanted when he came out of hiding was a good scratch that he knew a human could itch much better then he, right beliw his ears. And the first person he saw, was Connor McKinley.


***


suddenly looking down in shock, Connor sees the ships new mouser rubbing against his leg and meowing at him. At first, he simply kicked it away. But the determination of the cat impressed him, so he eventually gave in and began to pet it. To the surprise of many, Connor included, he began to calm down by degrees.

 

[MittyMittens]

Freya's temper was just as flared up about the ship that got away. If only she knew who he was when she pushed past him into the tavern this would have ended much quicker. She shouts orders at some of the crew who stopped to stare at the captain and the cat. She sighs frustratedly but at least they'd be at another port soon where she could at least get another glass of whiskey. "God damn theif..." she mutters before looking down at the cat. "Orange cats I've found have always had the best temperament" she states at watching McKinley pet him, perhaps he'd be easier to deal with now that there was someone on the ship willing to deal with him.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Perhaps, perhaps." he replied, thoroughly calmed down. Standing back up, shouts for a course to be plotted back to Port Royal were they could finish their resupply and repair the ship. Striding to his captains quarters, Mr. Tiddels follows closely behind him and, if cats could, looked disappointed when the door was shut on him.

 

[ToteMaus]

Annabelle was just about to give up hope of finding them when she heard cannon fire in the distance. Even though it might not be the ships she was looking for, her curiosity compelled her to investigate. She steered her little sloop in the direction the sound was coming from, and soon saw the sails of a frigate on the horizon.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Sloop spotted!" Jef shouted from on top of the crows nest, were he had retaken his position. He shouted this several times, and one of them made it into the captains quarters. Hearing this, he Connor goes out to take a look at this sloop himself. Leaning over the railing, he spots it heading towards them. "Let her pass, but load some round shot just in case." he orders, not wanting to take anymore damage then he had to.

 

[ToteMaus]

Annabelle ordered that French colors be hoisted, to show her neutrality. And she watched as the plain white flag flapped in the breeze from the masthead. "Bring in the mainsail" she ordered when she realized that this was the ship she was following. Her small, Bermuda rigged, sloop slowed down, as it would have rapidly passed the Sea Dragon with all it's sails. She noticed that the guns of the Sea Dragon were run out and ready to fire, and she decided to give the ship a wide berth, for now.

 

[Soviet Panda]

Connor stared at the flag through suspicious eyes. He didn't trust many flags, most of them went after pirates. And even other fellow pirate flags are a thing to be cautious of. You simply never knew who was going to be after you, especially when you had a reputation. "Keep the cannons aimed at that ship until we are out of range, then put them away and prepare to dock."

 

[The Doorman]

The Mariabelle soared across the blue waters with full sails, her beak pointed to the horizon and watching the sun drift up past the horizon, hours passing and the flame burned bright as it climbed up the ladder of the heavens, as it had every day and as it would each day that followed.


"Bout time we make our way back to the shore, aye?" Spoke the tired captain with a sluggish tongue, words slurred enough to diagnose him as drunk, though he was just exhausted, now talking to his first mate, John, who was just waking from his rest, rubbing the sand from his eyelids and trudging over to the man at the wheel. "Aye, it's been a while since we docked, cap'n..." He yawned and stretched, cracking his back in the process, quite satisfied with the action, "... F'we don't... Get back... Yer stubborn arse will be skin n' bones faster 'n..." John began to doze before jerking awake and looking about, "Ain'it a little early? Sun's still... Still on the move, t'ain't even that far above the water..." "Johnny, I aven't been up all night for nothing, an' I know it's still early, but I can smell a storm a'brewin' and we'd best keep out of it's way..." The man rubbed his darkly circled eyes, muttering something before he looked back out at the water as he fought to stay awake. Eventually as more of the crew woke he began to doze and ended up falling asleep at the wheel and Johnny had to take over as they sailed, ignoring the distant sound of cannons firing.

 

[mrXenox]

With a sigh, Liam finally decided to change course. The brief battle with the Sea Dragon had did more damage to the rigging and the hull than he initially thought, and going against the wind like this through the windward passage would be slow and tedious. He ordered a course change, Seawolf was to drop anchor in Guantanomo Bay for repairs. He didn't like the idea of spending too long there, he was well known to the Spanish for his role in the War of Spanish Succession, and the Sea Dragon could still be looking for them. Still, the hole in the hull needed patching, and the main mast wouldn't survive much rough weather without that backstay.


Liam let his first mate take the helm and retreated into the privacy of his cabin at the stern of the ship. He watched the sun rise from his cabin while he breakfasted on salt beef, hard tack, and water. A typically bland meal when at sea, he wished he had had more time in Port Royal to take on provisions. But bland food is better than angry pirates any day.

 

[MittyMittens]

Freya watches as the ship kept sailing by and showing no threat. She leans against the railing watching it curiously. "Smart move" She states out loud as she watches it pass. She turns her attention to the captain. "Anything in particular you want me to find once we're on land?" She asks before leaning down to give Mr. Tiddles a few scratches behind the ears, smiling a bit fondly before standing up and her face returning to it's normal stoic nature while on the ship. "And how long do you expect us to be staying docked?" She asks wondering if he wanted to take a break before returning to a long voyage at sea or if he wanted back on the waters immediately, probably immediately with the map still in the thieves' hands.

 

[Soviet Panda]

"What I want are enough supplies to last us a long time at see. And as soon as we get them and the ship is good enough to sail, we are sailing. Not tonight, however. There's a storm brewing, and I'd rather be at port then trying to fight it out at sea." Odd, he didn't give her a snide remark about how she should have already known that. Perhaps the cat was getting to him. 
"Plot a course for Port Antonio." he ordered before going below deck to examine everything and check the supplies he would need.