Pirates Return IC

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Alexa's eyes flashed with anger. "If we survive this madness, fine. But do not think to lay a hand on me!"

Hearing a familiar voice ring through the grounds, she looked to the source. Daniel. She closed her eyes against the memories that started to overwhelm her again. Her unexpected son. The result of what the man in front of her had done.

Shuddering she looked back at her old tormentor. "You do not deserve to live, but I will not kill you while you are still a member of the crew of the Pale Horse. Though I did not sign the Articles, I still have some standards."

 

Ricardo’s eyes widened when he saw her expression; in a moment of horrified clarity, he realized just how wrong he had been.

Daniel was not DeGrath’s offspring.

He could barely hear Alexa’s words, her promise to not to kill him as long as he was with Captain Abbot. His thoughts were jumbled, disbelieving; he had never thought he’d father a vhild… he’d never thought he’d have a son…

“Thank you,” he whispered hoarsely, not knowing what he was thanking her for. “Thank you.”

 

Saimon had already gotten quite a reputation in Port Royal. People whispered about a weird boy wandering the docks mumbling to himself, sometimes screaming, as if someone was with him; - though none were.

“Like a needle in a haystack”, Saimon mumbled to himself. When would it come? He’d wandered these damn docks for near a month now, and she just kept telling him to be patient. “Patient!” he thundered. How could he be patient? The word of the massacre in his home village would surely have travelled as far as Port Royal by now. Wouldn’t it? Saimon shivered. He could still taste the taste of the warm, thick blood, as it ran down his check when he emptied the veins of his younger sister. He shivered again. “They deserved what they got!”, he thought. They deserved it…

“Stop thief!” Someone shouted, Saimon turned and saw a little scrawny brown-haired boy run into an alley, several men breathing in his back. Soon after another brown-haired boy (or was he red-haired?) came into the picture.
"Help me up!" the brown/red-haired boy said "The thief just went over this wall! If you help me get over, I can catch him, I'm sure!" Clever boy! He’d seen the other hide behind the crates.
Saimon saw some barrels stabled on top of each other at a wall, and quickly crawled onto the roof of the house they stood by, using them as a ladder. “Now where is that little lass”, he thought. He scouted the area for a while. Suddently he saw the boy sprint toward a ship. A ship! And a fine ship to add. Instantly Saimon knew that there was something special about this ship. He could feel it in his bones. He walked toward the vessel, and hid behind some barrels and observed.

As the first cannonball hid the docks, Saimon jumped up in surprise. He’d been far away in his thoughts, and had forgotten all about the world surrounding him. People began running around in panic. A second cannonball came flying in, and hit a small house not far from where he stood. First then Saimon realized the seriousness of the situation. “Yes, you’re right. I’ve got to get away from here”, he silently mumbled to himself. Quickly he got up, and ran toward the alley he’d seen the little thief run into earlier. Silently he slipped into the shadows of some crates, drew his sword, and waited.

 

Alexa shivered, then turned away, refusing to look at the man who had been the sole cause of her nightmares.

"Don't thank me."

She looked around at the chaos and pulled herself together. "Find out what the Captain's orders are. I'm getting Daniel and Matty."

She walked towards Daniel, feeling sick at heart.

 

The Avery girl turned around on the ground and looked up at Daniel.

"The whore-son bastard is right!" She crowed. "I betrayed all of you. The information I gained was worth every grunt under the governors fat dead weight, loathsome as they were. Now, all of you Pale Horse scum will die, and you'll be the first!"

Daniel watched as she pulled a small pistol from the folds of her dress and cocked it. He saw the flash in the pan and the flame coming out of the barrel. He couldn't see the bullet, but he felt it enter right between two ribs on his left side and go through his lung and out between two ribs just under his left shoulder blade.

He felt his body lifted slightly in the air, and his knees giving way as his weight came down on them. His body landed on the left side, and he heard wet exhaling noises as his lungs were compressed. Inhaling, he could feel his left lung pull away from his chest wall as the pressure coming in from the two puncture wounds allowed air to seep into his chest cavity.

He pulled his shirt away and saw the hole. It was quite small, with just a little blood around it, and nothing squirting. Half of his brain stood outside of himself and observed what a sucking chest wound looked like close up, the other half was screaming, "Oh sweet mother of God, that hurts!"

He left the screaming half of his brain and put his right pinky into the hole in his chest. It plugged the hole perfectly, now if he could only get his other finger in the hole in his back.

Just then his mom came running up to him, wearing a look on her face he had never seen before and didn't know how to read.

He tried to breathe in with just his right lungs, but found that wasn't so easy. He gasped to his mom, "Can you put your finger in my back? That should seal me up for a bit. Louis, the chef in the kitchen, has some cake decorating tubes and syringes on his shelf that I was thinking would be perfect for sucking out the airpockets in sucking chest wounds, like those utensils the book on surgery was talking about. I just didn't think I'd get to find out so soon if they'd work."

Just then, the screaming half of his brain asserted its right to control his body and he yelled, "Shhhhhhovels! Shirts! Shhhark!"

 

Miss Avery was swallowed up by a protective circle of musketeers before Matty could cover the few feet that separated them and end her miserable existence. She laughed wickedly at the disappointment on the piper's face and made a rude gesture as the guards led her away.

***

Matty finally became aware of someone plucking at her arm and turned to see the old fiddler, her dropped flute trailing forgotten from his free hand.

"Come with me Miss, please, I've a hidey-hole for ye. Ye can be safe there until this all blows over, but ye have to hurry!"

Matty was angry enough at the betrayal of her Captain that she wasn't inclined to accept the offer of survival, unless... He was right there in front of her, lost in the madness, gaping like a fish that has just realized it's breathing air instead of water. "You're coming with me," she ordered. A knife appeared in her hand to make her words irresistable. He followed with little protest.

Once safely tucked into a small room behind the musician's platform, Matty turned to her prisoner. The governor's face was grey and his wig was gone, exposing his scraggly hair. "So what did she tell them, 'my Lord'?" she sneered. "What did your tart tell LeBihan that brought him here so quickly?"

[ September 14, 2005, 13:31: Message edited by: Rallymama ]

 

Despite looking completely disheveled, the Governor stood up straight and puffed out his chest in an attempt to make himself look regal. He glared malevolently at Matty as she sneered at him. His hand flew out, striking her on the cheek with an open back hand, rocking her sideways and leaving a raw, red bruise.

"How dare you question me, gutter rat!" He moved to hit her again, "I am the governor - and a lord of his majesties realm - I will not be spoken to like that by some pirate whore." His hand swept back to hit Matty again, his face contorted in anger. The hand swept down again, only to be caught midswing by Three Swords.

Abbot spun the Governor around and slammed a fist into the governor's face. The blow literally lifted the Governor from his feet, sending him sailing backwards, and landing on his arse. "You don't hit my piper." Abbot said simply, "Now answer her question, before I let Matty rip your manhood off and feed it to your mistress."

Abbot's face told the governor he was serious and he gulped. "I don't know." he said meekly, "I had no idea..." pathetically, he began to cry, "How could I have known?" he wept. Three Swords turned to Matty. The bruise on her cheek wasn't bad, it was more of a mark than a bruise, and it would fade quickly

"Do what you want with him. Just keep him alive, I want to speak to him later." Abbot marched away, looking down at the town. The harbour burned, and the defensive fortifications were being battered to rubble by the firing of the Red Hand ships. The navy ships were being ignored however, considering their officers were all at the governor's ball and their crews were too busy looting to care what happened to the shipsthey proved no threat at all.

There was no way they could go down to the town under the fire of the cannons, and it would take quite some time, even if everyone was mounted. They'd have to abandon the town, but the mansion could be defended, but with what? Out of the corner of his eye, Abbot spotted two ceremonial cannon. He glanced to the gates, noting that the Red Hands could only take a single narrow path, with thick jungle on either side, far too dense for a mass of pirates.

"Santiago - have those cannons moved toward the gates, I want to defend the pathway. Matty, find ammunition, forks and knives or something, anything made of iron. And the rest of you - find weapons." Three Swords turned, looking for Alexa, seeing her attempting to seal the bullet hole from Miss Avery's shot. He hadn'teven heard the gun go off over the commotion of the crowd. Abbot swore and hurried over to her, kneeling by her son, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

 

Matty grinned cruelly as she approached the Governor and trailed her knife down the outside of his leg. He was shaking where he stood and soon a different bodily fluid stained his trousers. She snorted at him and turned to the old fiddler.

"I've a new song for you and your lads to play. What do you think of this?"

Put a wig on a pig but it's still a pig,
Wallowing down in the mud.
No matter its name inside it's the same
Even when you call it "Lord Guv!"

You can dress it up fine, that noblest of swine,
And give it a sty oh so grand
Put lace on its sleeve and soon it'll believe
That it's the best pig in the land.

But all pigs await a similar fate
One that is not kind, but dire.
Rolling in their own muck, until they are stuck,
And then by the axe they expire!

Grinning, the fiddler repeated the verses several times until he could teach them to his fellows. The tune was catchy and it would spread quickly. Matty didn't spare the weeping ex-governor another glance as she left to see to Abbot's orders regarding ammunition.

 

The Captain’s orders shook Ricardo from the cold daze that had overtaken him the moment Avery drew her weapon. The idea of losing his son was horrifying, made even more so by the fact that he had never known until now.

Avery would pay.

It took great effort to not to simply gut her where she stood, smirking; instead, he snapped at the footmen to take her out of the way. They did not argue, not after what they had witnessed earlier.

“You have no authority…” one of the naval officers began to say, an offended expression on his reddened face. Ricardo silenced him with a swift backhand that sent the man reeling.

“Authority be damned!” he snarled. “Use common sense, you piggish fool!”

Some of his fellow officers appeared like they disagreed, but the fire in Ricardo’s eyes made them stay their words. None of them had any desire to incur the wrath of the master swordsman,

Ricardo spun on his heel, heading towards the ceremonial cannons; some of the servants had already heard the captain’s order and were dragging them towards the gate. One of the navy men, a young leftenant had tagged along and was looking at the cannons critically.

”Your grace, I believe those cannons might prove hazardous when fired,” the young man spoke, “Unless there’s a very experienced gunner.”

Ricardo started at the young man’s words and turned to face him. “What did you just call me, leftenant?” he hissed, narrowing his eyes.

The leftenant did not look away, but raised an eyebrow instead. “Your Grace... after all, are you not the Duke of Alba?”

Ricardo’s face tightened. “Not any longer, leftenant…?”

”Cornwallis, Sir,” the young man said.

The name had a vague sense of familiarity, but Ricardo ignored it.. for now. “Can you find a gunner?” he asked the leftenant.

”Yes, Sir,”

“Then do so.”

The young man tossed him a sharp salute, and turned away. Ricardo gave the cannons being dragged one last glance, noticing that the fat man who was directing the servants seemed to know what he was doing well enough.

“Captain Pellew,” he spoke to the red-faced man who had apparently gathered his courage and was approaching the Spaniard again. “I suggest you make sure the ladies are led somewhere safe.”

Without waiting for a response he brushed past Pellew., heading after the footmen who’d taken Avery away… determinedly avoiding Alexa and Daniel.

 

The havoc was prodigious, and Saimon began realizing that his hideout wouldn't be safe for long. But where to go? The Inn he'd lived in since he came to Port Royal would surely be a far less safe place than where he stood now.

Saimon peeked out of the safety of the crates, and saw that a small group of rowboats were on their way toward the mainland; most likely to help increase the panic, and prevent people from escaping the Port.
As the small boats neared the Isle, Saimon took a bold decision. He kneeled and silently whispered, "Grant me victory". He raised him self so he sat squat, and readied his sword.

As soon as the freebooters sat foot on land, they began pursuing what few people who were still near the harbour itself.

A group of screaming commoners ran by the alley he'd hid in, closely followed by six freebooters or so. As the last of the muggers passed by the alley, Saimon quickly jumped out and grabbed him by the neck, throwing him into the alley itself. Before the man could react, Saimon jumped on top of his chest, beating out what air he had left in his lungs. He plassed his sword at the throat of the man and hissed, "Who're you with?". The man, who looked more surprised than panicking, slowly, after realizing that it'd probably be the wisest decision, answered "I', *cough* I'm with the Red Hands". The Red Hands? "Who are the Red Hands?", as Saimon asked this he could see the surprise in the eyes of the Pirate. "Who be the Red Hands? Well naught but the most feared pirates on seven seas, we be". Convulsive spasms began running through Saimon. Was he calling him a fool? "Where are you heading", he spat in the face of the man. "Look... I know not what you may think, but I'm just a simple crewmember, I know nothing about the plans of them high-ups". Saimon wasn't stupid, and realized that the man were speaking the truth. "Is there any safe place left in this pissant port!", He screamed into the face of the pirate. "I... I'm not sure. The governor’s might be better guarded". Having gotten all he wanted from the man, Saimon cut his throat and spat in his face, "No one makes a fool out of me!". The way he'd dare look at him! Like he was some half-breed bastard child!
He cleaned his cutlass in the clothes of the now dead pirate.

Saimon had earlier seen some of the members of the Pale Horse heading toward the governor’s residence; or so had he at least heard they were. Comparing the direction they headed for, and what little knowledge he had of the geographical marks of Port Royal, he figured that the Governor’s had to be either in the jungle, or at the edge of it. Perfect! He'd grown up surrounded by jungle, and knew damn well better than any pirate how to navigate through one.
Once again he peeked out. The canons were still shooting at the harbour, which were good. He could use the havoc at his advantage.
The coast was as clear as it would get. Saimon sheathed his Cutlass and ran for it...

[ September 14, 2005, 22:41: Message edited by: olimikrig ]

 

Alexa looked at Daniel and smiled slightly. "Hush, my son, and let me take care of you. I do know what I am doing, remember? Ship's surgeon, m'lad."

She looked up briefly at Abbot as she heard his question, eyes despairing. "I need to get him inside in some proper light and with tools I can use to help patch him up." She looked down at her son, and her voice hitched.

"I was afraid something would happen to him if he joined a pirate ship. Now I see I was right to fear." She looked back at Abbot. "Please, I need you to put one finger in the wound in the front and another in the back. Just for a moment." Abbot nodded and knelt down beside her and did as she asked, sealing the wound.

Using her dagger, she cut strips from her petticoat to use as makeshift bandages. She motioned to Abbot to move his hand, and quickly stuffed the hole with one of the bandages. She did the same to the other side, then looked up again. "Would you carry him inside and put him on a table or something for me please? I need to get the air out, then bandage it up."

Her face crumpled. "I just don't know if it will be enough."

[ September 14, 2005, 21:46: Message edited by: Laiwethel ]

 

Daniel was floating through the air, no, someone was carrying him. It was the captain. He was laid down on a table and he heard his mom's voice telling people what to do.

The pain in his chest had become a burning fire. He tried to not breathe at all, which was of course impossible, but if he only took little shallow breaths, and held them for as long as possible, the pain was just bearable.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Molly come up to his mom with a basket of cake decortating tubes, plungers, and syringes. "Fat Willy told me to bring these to you, ma'am. I hope they'll work okay. Here's a bunch of clean linens too, and some beeswax, Louis said to bring it along as well. I'll pray for the little lad, he's a nice one."

Daniel saw his mom look scornfully at the kitchen utensils, but he had thought that with a little modification, the cake decorating things could be usefull in certain procedures, and if anyone could make do with imperfect tools, it was his mom. He tried to think of what his chances were. The bullet had gone in and out, and if she got the air bubble out of his chest cavity and patched the hole, he'd probably be coughing up a little blood til the inside of his lungs healed, but he should be okay.

Lots of people survived wounds like this, he told himself, but the possibility that he wouldn't be one of them put a dark shadow on his sunny prognosis. With an effort, he grabbed his mom's hand and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you, mom," he whispered.

 

Leftenant Cornwallis rounded a corner only to find Captain Pellew involved in yet another argument. "Mister Santiago told me to make sure the ladies were taken to safety," he was explaining.

Matty snorted in response. "Well, the term 'ladies' would exclude me from your little round-up even if I didn't have other orders from Captain Abbot himself!"

"Still, Miss, I must insist that you join the others in the salon."

"Miss Matilda?" Cornwallis interrupted smoothly, seeing anger flare in her eyes. It was intriguing to see a woman wear an expression other than a simper. "How lucky to find you. I pray that you are able to assist me, and that our tasks take us to similar destinations?" He suppressed a smile as Matty shook off the Captain's hand and joined him.

"So what was it you needed, Leftenant?"

"To free you from that boor," he smiled, "and to know where your navigator, M. Vendelin, has got to."

"I'm not sure - do you think he can draw us a map out of this mess?"

"No, my dear, but he was talking to Old Solomon while we were dancing. Part of what scrambled the old man's brains was standing a bit too close to the cannons during his term of service. I was hoping he might remember enough to resume his duties for the evening."

 

The two gentlemen who Daniel had spoken to earlier in the evening came up to Alexa, who was getting ready to operate on her son.

"I beg your pardon, madam, but please allow me to introduce myself and my esteemed colleague. I am Mr. Jensen, doctor to the governor and his household, and this is Mr. Arthur, chief surgeon on H.M.S. Matilda. I went and got my doctor's bag from my chambers, and you are welcome to whatever you need from it. Should you require an extra hand, either of us would be most pleased to assist you." The first gentleman finally finished his introduction.

"Absolutely right," the second gentleman said. "The boy was quite polite and astute when he spoke with us earlier this evening, and when he put that little tart in her place, he showed good spirit as well. It would be a shame for him to have to die for uncovering her treachery. The two us of have dealt with more than a few gunshot wounds in our day, as I'm sure you have as well."

The two gentlemen did look quite willing to help, but they also looked more than a little inebriated.

 

The two gentlemen who Daniel had spoken to earlier in the evening came up to Alexa, who was getting ready to operate on her son.

"I beg your pardon, madam, but please allow me to introduce myself and my esteemed colleague. I am Mr. Jensen, doctor to the governor and his household, and this is Mr. Arthur, chief surgeon on H.M.S. Matilda. I went and got my doctor's bag from my chambers, and you are welcome to whatever you need from it. Should you require an extra hand, either of us would be most pleased to assist you." The first gentleman finally finished his introduction.

"Absolutely right," the second gentleman said. "The boy was quite polite and astute when he spoke with us earlier this evening, and when he put that little tart in her place, he showed good spirit as well. It would be a shame for him to have to die for uncovering her treachery. The two us of have dealt with more than a few gunshot wounds in our day, as I'm sure you have as well."

The two gentlemen did look quite willing to help, but they also looked more than a little inebriated.

 

Three Swords layed Daniel down gently on the table and stood back so Alexa could look at him. Swiftly, he lit some extra lamps and placed them closeby. "Stay with him. I have to see to the defences, I'll return when I can."

He turned to leave when the two doctors entered and began to speak. Three Swords nodded when they'd finished, "Get started then gentlemen, and bring sow more tables in here. There will be far more injuries before the day is done."

Abbot marched outside and into the night. The cannons had been wheeled over the garden and set up so that they faced the gates. He reassured himself the Red Hands would have to take the path to the gates. The forestry would hopefully force them to do so. Abbot looked around. The garden was filled with the noblemen and officers, each one bearing their own blade and each one supplied with a pistol or musket from the governor's own collection.

Three Swords searched each ones face. The noblemen looked scared enough, and he wasn't sure if they'd stand, but most of the officers looked steely enough. Their courage might transfer onto the others and the noblemen might still stay and fight. Abbot walked quickly across to the cannon, there was enough powder - from where they'd got it, he had no idea, but it would last until the Red Hands passed through gate and then some.

The gate itself had been torn down and cast aside so the cannon could fire through the space. A shout interrupted his overlook of the defences, "They're coming!" Abbot looked up, looking down on the town. He could see a mass of Red Hands flooding out of the town and taking the road to the mansion.

 

When Ricardo saw the captain exit the house, there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The captain had been helping Alexa…

“Captain,” he called as he approached, trying unsuccessfully to keep the worry from his voice. He couldn’t lose his son now, not this soon… “Is… How bad is m… how bad is the boy’s wound?”

He didn’t bother to berate himself for almost slipping, nearly calling Daniel his son in front of the captain… the anxiety welled up within him in a way he had never experienced before.

 

Alexa glanced scornfully at the two doctors who had offered their assistance, assessing their condition. Albeit drunk, they might be able to help, especially if more injured came in. "Fine. Bring me what you have for proper equipment, then stay out of my way until more injured are brought in."

She turned back to her son, and got to work, frantically trying to patch the hole the wench's bullet had caused. She clasped Daniel's hand briefly.

"Daniel, my son, don't leave me. I don't think I could stand losing you. Just keep fighting to survive." Alexa's voice was soft, pleading, desperate.

Pulling herself together somewhat, she continued working, ignoring what was happening around her.

 

Saimon ran as quick as he could. He could hear the voices of the pirates; it sounded as if they were heading his direction. Had they seen him as he ran? Chances were that they had, but Saimon knew that they would not be able to reach him before he arrived the Govenor's mansion.

Breathless Saimon finally got to the walls. They were rather high, maybe 10 feet or so. he looked around to see if there perchance would be any plants he might use as a ladder. A tree not far from where he stood leaned over the edge of the wall. A branch that looked to be thick enough to hold his weight reached approximately 8 feet above of the wall. It would be a long jump, but he really had no choice.

Determined Saimon crawled up in the tree. He sat down with each of his leg on the two opposite sites of the branch. steadily he laid his upper body down, and grabbed the branch with his hands; using them as the source of interprise, he slowly progressing..
As Saimon reached the wall he jumped.

It was a hard land on the other site, and the air was immediately pushed out of the lungs of Saimon.
"Halt!" A voice suddenly spoke. slow Siamon rose and drew his sword, though he knew that if it came to one-on-one combat with a somewhat experienced swordsman, he wouldn't stand a chance...

[ September 17, 2005, 21:11: Message edited by: olimikrig ]

 

"I don't know, Santiago. Daniel's a tough boy, but he's taken a bullet through the lung. If he survives, he won't be the same again. For one, he won't have the same energy." Abbot said, "Best stay out for a little while before you go in there. Concentrate on the battle ahead." Abbot walked away, heading into the back gardens, looking for any alternate ways that the Red Hands could use to get in. As he moved forwards, he caught sight of a very tall native, getting ready to drop into the grounds.

"Halt!" Abbot ordered as the young native dropped down from the wall. Abbot's sword swept out from it's sheath as he stepped forwards. The young native's blade came out as he turned to face Abbot. The man's hand was against his chest, he must have hurt himself as he came down from the wall. Three Swords looked at that hand and he could see there was no Red Hand tattoo upon it, but as far as Abbot knew he could be a Red Hand spy. "Who are you? Answer well, or I'll run you through."