Chapter 7 -Reunion

Bella Dizzy came up from below deck on the Judith Prosperous. She had just finished packing up the remaining medical supplies from sick bay to transfer onto the Blood Galleon. The damage the Judith Prosperous had suffered was not any serious damage, but the mast was a cause for worry. It had been struck by a cannon ball and there was a large piece missing. Although the mast had not fallen, it would not be able to sustain the stress of her sails on the high seas without major repair, it looked like the whole mast would need to be replaced, but luckily, since they were already at the Kalmorni Island, the crew wouldn't need to sail her anyway. The only thing that remained would be to dock in the morning, once the crew had a chance to rest. Most of the crew had been transferred to the Blood Galleon, the only ones who were staying on board the Judith Prosperous would be a watch crew to make sure no one snuck on and stole anything in the night. The treasure in the hold was to heavy to transfer and it wouldn't be worth the trouble, since it would all need to be brought back in a few days. Bella Dizzy tossed her satchel over to Cannons McGee on the Blood Galleon, the two medics had their work cut out for them. There were many wounded pirates after the battle with the Royal Navy that just ended. Bella Dizzy crossed the plank between the two ships and began looking for Skully One-Eye to inform him that all the medical supplies were now on the Blood Galleon. She saw him on the bow with Barron von Black and Kittie. Suddenly there was a faint whistling in the distance that was steadily growing louder.

"GET DOWN!! CANNON FIRE!!" screamed Skully One-Eye.

The whistle turned into a scream as the shot came closer. There was a massive fireball as the shell smashed into the stern of the Judith Prosperous, opening a gaping hole. The Blood Galleon rocked as the shock wave struck it. Flames from the explosion set fire to both vessels. Kittie sprang into action, using her magic to put out the flames on the Blood Galleon, but the Judith Prosperous had been spun around by the blast, and was too far away for her magic to work. The damage mast was splintered by the explosion and both crews watching horror as it toppled into the sea. Panic and chaos was spreading through the crews.

"What in blazes was that?" shouted Barron von Black, "Oy, Ironfist, do ye see anything?"

Skully One-Eye stood staring at his ship, his mouth open. Part of the hole in her stern was below the water line and she was starting to list.

"Ironfist! DO YE SEE ANYTHING!?!" repeated Barron von Black, looking up into the empty crows nest, "DAMMIT WHERE IS HE? FLAYBLADE, FIND IRONFIST NOW!"

"Are you alright Captain?" asked Bella Dizzy, overcoming her shock and running up to Skully One-Eye.

"I...ah...I...ship..." was all Skully could muster under the circumstances.

"MAN THE GUNS! BOARDING PARTIES PREPARE TO FIGHT!" Barron von Black was shouting orders to both crews, "WHERE THE HELL IS IRONFIST?"

"Here sir," said Ironfist, running up from below deck, "I was getting a drink."

"GET UP IN THE CROW'S NEST AND SEE IF YE CAN SEE SOMETHING!"

"Aye, Captain," said Ironfist, climbing the mast. "Ye'll get yer's one day ya bastard," he added under his breath.

"WELL DO YE SEE ANYTHING?"

"Aye, Captain," he called down, there's a ship to the west, about six miles out."

"Six miles, that's too far for a cannon ball to travel. Galearm, head for the ship, we'll see if they can fight the Blood Galleon and her crew."

There was a loud groan from the Judith Prosperous. She was about half underwater and had stopped sinking. The water around her was clouded with sand, it appears in the twilight hours, the crew had failed to notice how shallow the water was. Although she was still on fire, the ship had sunk far enough that waves were cascading over her and slowly putting out the flames.

As the Blood Galleon moved closer, the ship became easier to see over the glare of the sun. Barron von Black's eyes widened as he saw the immense size of the vessel that was approaching him.

"BRING HER TO BROADSIDE AND FIRE!" shouted the Captain.

*****

Lurg watched as the Blood Galleon approached. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"Don't waste and shots on her body," he told the master cannoneer, "She's got a mithril lining, target her rudder, its the one unprotected point, we'll disable her and take the crew alive. Arm the grape shot cannons, that should convince them to surrender. No one takes a shot with out my order. Understood?"

"Aye sir."

"No one is to harm any of the pirates unless they board this vessel is that understood?" Lurg addressed his crew, "I want as many of them taken alive as possible. Barron von Black and Skully One-Eye are to be taken alive at all costs. I'm sure my father wants a chance to torture them before they hang and I won't be the one to deny him that. There is also a woman on board that is a princess of Spain, her safety is a priority."

"AYE SIR!"

Lurg walked over to Commander Darius at the helm and overheard the end of his conversation with a deckhand.

"Very good. Signal the Blood Galleon."

"Aye, Commander."

The deckhand ran to the bow and launched a small glider into the air, once it had gotten up into the sky, the small compartment containing kerosene exploded sending a small ball of fire hurtling into the sea.

"What was that about? Why are you signaling the Blood Galleon?" demanded Lurg.

"Don't worry Admiral. We have an operative on board the Blood Galleon, he's going to help us secure the ship."

*****

The Blood Galleon was now close enough to fire on the Hyperion. Her cannons fired but the cannon balls fell into the sea, leaving nothing more then the echo of a hollow thud as they bounced off the sea hull of the behemoth.

"Blimey," said Barron von Black, "Have ya ever seen anything so massive. She's beautiful."

"WHAT!?" said Skully One-Eye, having finally regained his composure, "BEAUTIFUL? ARE YE MAD? That thing destroyed me ship!"

"Aye, that she did, but she's still beautiful, even if she is against us."

The two ships pasted by without the Hyperion returning fire.

"Why didn't they shoot at us?" asked Bella Dizzy.

"HAHAHAHA, its the mithril! They know they can't break through," laughed Barron von Black.

Just then the Hyperion turned sharply at ninety degrees and fired a single shot into the stern of the Blood Galleon. Her rudder splintered and the ship started to veer off course.

"DAMMIT! How could they have known the rudder wasn't protected?" questioned Barron von Black, "THROW DOWN THE ANCHOR! PREPARE TO BOARD THE ROYAL VESSEL!"

"I would belay that order if I were you," came a familiar voice from the Hyperion.