“She’s upon us!” I hear someone yell as I come to. I open my eyes and everything is a blur. I shake my head and roll over onto my stomach so I can get on my feet again. My eyes not being a blur any more I struggle to my feet. Now standing I look around and see blood and splinters all over the deck.
I look up and the main mast is snapped in half. Cable and tattered pieces of a sail hang down. I hear men screaming a blood curdling scream and I have no idea why. Just then a wave hits the side of the ship and I fall to my knees. I then hear
“Get down! Brace! Brace for impact!” I cover my head as cannon balls tear through the hull. I quickly clamber up onto my feet and run to the railing. It is raining very hard and the fog is thick as tar. I look to the helm and the captain in draping over the wheel. He is dead. I yell for someone to take the helm; no one says anything back.
I stumble up the stairs to the helm. I fall as I reach the top step. I look up and Quartermaster Wolf has his hand stretched out.
“You just gonna sit there like a barrel of wet fish we’ve got trouble on our hands.” As I grab his hand he smiles and pulls me up.
“What do we have for a problem?” I ask Wolf. I grab the wheel and scan the foggy horizon.
“Spanish Frigate. Privateer I would assume.” I nod my head and I see her coming through the fog strait at us. Her figure head was a man in a cloak holding a head in front of him with a sword in his other hand. The name read “Demonio Guerrero” Devil Warrior. I start barking orders at what crew is left.
“She’s coming around for another broad side! Hit the deck!” she fires her three rows of cannons. Almost every cannon ball tore through our hull. As I look down on the lower deck it’s as if it all goes in slow motion. Cannons flying through the sky and landing on the other side of the ship.
I bark another order for a broad side. The men scramble around the deck to the operational cannons.
“FIRE!”  I watch as the smoke clears and the Frigates main mast starts falling to its portside.
“Direct hit Sir! She’s immobilized!” all the crew in unison
“AYE!”. I look at the ship carefully and decide to take her while she’s down.
“Trim them off the wind me trumps! Let grapples fly!” Everyone ready’s there cutlasses and grabs the grappling hooks. I look and see hooks flying through the air and landing on the enemy ship. She starts coming closer and musket fire starts filling the air.
“Keep them off our decks!” I yell as we get closer. I turn and look around us and then the ship shakes and I fall to the deck. I look up only a little bit to see splinters and pieces of wood flying everywhere. I roll over and look at the enemy ship and she is split in half. It looked as if Poseidon had taken his fist and squeezed her until she broke into.
“Sir!” I hear as I look around.
“We are taking on water and fast. The ship won’t hold much longer. What do we do?” I stand up and look at the remaining crew looking at me with concerned looks.
“Let’s save her if possible! I need a damage report NOW!” Men start running with pales and buckets below deck and before long are running back up filled with water.
“Sir. There is a massive hole in the starboard hull. We can patch it but we need to run her aground.”
“Aye.” I reply thinking of a nice place to beach the ship.
“Put some sheets to the wind!” I bark at the crew. The sails unfurl and the ship starts slowly moving forward. I look around the deck of the ship. Dead bodies lying everywhere. The deck soaked with blood and men gasping for air. Others saying prayers. The doctors working on the men who could be saved. The ones that were beyond mending were given some Rum and told God was on their side.
As day turned to night, the twilight soaked the deck of the ship. The fog had cleared and the rain had stopped. The stars were just coming into view. I had set the ships course North by North West. Men were still pumping water out if the hull. Not as much as before but still enough.
As night fell it became extremely quiet. The only things that were heard was the occasional squeaking of the rigging and a few small waves slapping on the hull. I was still keeping watch with a few other men.
“You should get some rest Sir. We will have a big day tomorrow.” I turn and look and Wolf is leaning against the railing smoking his pipe. The sweet maple wood smoke from his pipe made me think of my childhood and smelling my father smoke his pipe.
“Aye” I said. “Tis gonna be a long day tomorrow. The ship needs lots of repairs and we don’t have the materials to work with now.”
“Well sir. What are we gonna do?” Wolf said letting a cloud of smoke escape from his mouth.
“I’ve set a course to a small island only a few clicks out. We will go there and resupply in a cove on the eastern side of the island.”
Wolf walks away from the railing and over to me. He puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Aye. Sir. That sounds like a mighty fine plan to me.” He smiles as he lifts his hand off my shoulder and looks at his hand. “You got a flesh wound.” I look over and see a piece of splinter sticking out of my shoulder. I reach over and haul it out.
“Didn’t even feel eah” I say with a grin. Wolf chuckles and walks to the wheel.
“I’ll take watch from now on Sir. You get some rest for tomorrows adventure” I look at him and nod.
“Aye. Just keep her bow to the north.” He nods and blows a puff of smoke out of his pipe. I walk down the companion way stairs and into the captain’s cabin. I turn the lanterns out and fall into my cot. Thinking about what tomorrow will bring.
I awake to the sound of gulls the next morning and the sun shining through the captain’s cabin window. I sit up in my cot and rub my eyes. The sound of hammers and hatchets fill the air outside my door. I stand up and walk over to the desk in the middle of the cabin. I pick up a few pieces of paper off the desk and quickly glace at them. I set them down and pick up a bottle of rum on the desk. I take a swig and cork it. I walk around the desk to the door and open it.
I shield my eyes as I put my hat on. I close the door behind me and see all the men standing in front of me. Wolf shuffles ahead of the rest of the crew with something wrapped up in a cloth.
“Sir…” he says with a strong voice. Obviously in deep thought. “The rest of the crew and I have been thinking and we find you the most fit to command this ship and crew.” He unwraps the cloth from the thing in his hand. It’s a sword. Its sheath embroidered with gold around the edges. He holds it out in front of me and I grab it slowly and draw it from its sheath. It’s a light sword capable of a devastating amount of damage. I sheath it and attach it to my side.
“Where did you find this sword?” I ask in wonder.
“It was the captain’s sword. We found it on his person while searching the dead.” Wolf looks at me and grins. “So captain. What’s your first order?”
I look at the crew in front of me waiting for my first order.
“Raise the colors! Unfurl mains!” The men scatter throughout the deck to their positions and the ship jumps alive. I walk up the steps to the helm. I grab the wheel and the main unfurls and fills with a strong wind from the South.
“The men found a large log afloat last night sir. They immediately started to plain it off to put on the forward mast. We tarred the bark for patches on the hull.” Wolf says walking up the stairs to the helm and pulling out is pipe.
“Aye. That was a good choice. I’ll give the men an extra ration of rum tonight for the good work they did on watch.” I say scanning the horizon.
“Aye they deserve something for what they when through yesterday. I fancy that a great idea.” Wolf says as he takes a long pull off his pipe. “So captain. What are you going to name her?” I look at him with puzzled eyes. “What are you going to name your new vessel?” I sit and look around the deck and think for a few seconds.
“I think I’ll name her the Renegade don’t it fit her?” Wolf looks at me and puffs more smoke out of his pipe and scratches his chin.
“Eah. I think it suits her perfectly sir! Couldn’t think of a better one myself.” Wolf looks at the men hoisting buckets of water from below deck. “So. Sir. Why do you think that Frigate attacked us sir? Do you think they were Pirate hunters?” I turn and look at him standing there relighting his pipe.
“We didn’t even have our colors flying. Probably a pirate thinking he could get an easy score. Or a privateer that had been following us for some time. It’s hard to tell Wolf.” He looks at me and grunts.
“What did the old captain have planned sir?” I look down at my compass and reply.
“He toke a bounty on some ship called the Royal Fortune a rouge English Man……”
“Ship on the horizon captain! Royal Navy! She’s all alone sir! It’s a Frigate!” I turn and Wolf is putting out his pipe.
“Guns out to planks! Make ready! Let the Colors fly!” I bark at the crew as they all get to quarters. As we draw closer I keep an eye on the Frigate. I see the English flag lowers down and a pure white flag reach the top of the mast.
“Sir. They are surrendering.” I hear one of the crew say unsure if it is true.
“Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary men! They might be tricking us!” I say as I bring the ship hard to starboard. As we sail alongside of the ship we see why they were surrendering. The ship has been ravaged. Dead crew laying on the decks of the ship rotting in the sunlight. The riggings are mangled and broken.
My crew look in disgust at what we have found. We grapple the ship and pull her in to look for survivors. As I step aboard the vessel the captain’s cabin door opens. I pull out my sword and ready for a surprise attack. A man crawls out of the door way. His head cut and blood running down his face. I bullet wound to his left shoulder and his leg broken. I walk over to him and yell for a doctor to come help this man.
“We were attacked.” He says with a shaky voice and griping his arm. “A Man O’ War. Flying our colors.” He coughs and a drop of blood runs down his face. “Her name was the Royal Fortune.” The man says shivering.
“Aye! Is there anyone else left on your ship that’s alive?” I ask opening a bottle of rum to let him drink off of.
“No. It was me and another young lad left alive………. But if you look up to the top sail you will see what happened to him.” He says pointing to the top mast. I turn and look. I see a young boy hanging from the mast.
“Why did he hang himself?” I say letting my eyes return to the man.
“They toke all of our powder and ball. He couldn’t shoot himself so he hung himself. He said he couldn’t un see what he had seen.” He looks to the boy on the mast and looks back at me. “She went North East.” I smile and reply
“Thank you sir. You have been a big help to our cause. Now let’s get you on my ship.”
“Bless you sir. Bless you.” The man says as we carry him below deck.
“Sir.” I turn and look at Wolf who had managed to sneak up behind me. “We should scavenge the ship sir. We could easily repair here and now and continue on the course toward the Royal Fortune and collect our prize.” Wolf says smiling just thinking about the amount of coin he will acquire from this hunt.
“Aye! Good idea mate! Might take more time for working but overall we will be underway much faster. We are lacking on food and drink but we can always fish and when it rains grab a pale of fresh water. Or make port in our pursuit.” I say opening the door to my cabin.
“Aye all around better deal sir.” Wolf says closing the door behind him and taking off his hat.
We both walk over to the desk in the middle of the room and sit down. I pull open a draw in the middle of the desk and pull out a two glasses for drink. I grab a bottle of rum uncork it and fill our cups. We both grab our glasses and toast to good luck and good coin.
“Sir.” Wolf says taking a swig off of his glass. “The men have been telling stories of you in the galley.”
“Aye. Let’s go see then.” I say as I stand up and swallow the last mouth full of rum.
We walk to the galley door and listen to the story being told.
“I’ll give you and honest opinion about our new captain boys. He is a fierce dog willing to do anything for his crew ship and a little bit of coin. I’ve been with him as we boarded a ship. He cleared the whole deck of that galleon single handedly and didn’t get a scratch. He fights like the Devil himself dressed as a man! So boys. Do you think he is fit to be our captain?”
“AYE!” all the men scream together.
“I say that’s all true but the part about my crew and coin” I say walking into the galley and smiling.
“Aye haha” the crew laughs back at me.
“I’d rather have coin more than my bilge rats!” I say laughing. The crew breaks out in laughter and toast to me being the new captain.
As the ship glides through the water I walk back to my cabin and close my door. I lay down in my cot and drift off into sleep.