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Original X-roads-2003
She raised her fist into the air.
Jamie felt an energy on the ship he had never experienced before. As the sails fell in a giant swoop he felt his heart skip a beat. The aches and pains from the countless hours of work vanished in an instant.
A trumpet blast sounded on the other ship as they approached.
“To Arms!” Capt. Naomi shouted.
The crew slid down ropes to the poop deck and grabbed weapons concealed in barrels. The Miona pulled up next to the ship. Pirates began howling and screaming at the crew of the other ship.
Jamie raced over to watch the spectacle take place.
The first shot was fired.
The Miona quickly spun towards the ship as if to ram it. Many of the opposing crew jumped ship in fear, but enough stayed to hold their ground against the pirates.
The Miona rammed into ship tearing a hole with it’s impact. The crew rushed over to the opposing ship and began fighting off what remained of the crew.
Captain Naomi motioned and a second wave of pirates flooded onboard to pillage the goods before the ship sank to it’s watery grave.
A few surrendered to the pirate queen and agreed to be crew rather than be lost at sea. The others were tossed over board with the rest of the recths to drown.
A returning crew mate grabbed Jamie by the shoulder and shook him heartily, “Looks like you’re getting a promotion.”
That night Captain Naomi dined in her cabin with Jamie. She explained to him about the fleet of ships she commanded. The Miona was her flagship, her favorite of all seven ships. She was the fastest, strongest, and best equipped of them all. She explained the inner workings of all seven ships, how each crew and leader were different. Every Captain under her command was trusted. Naomi would not reveal how she communicated with the other ships, but she did confide a small amount with Jamie.
“After I first arrived here from Threshold, I took this ship. I began raiding other pirate ships, thinning out the competition and retaining trained crew.” She nodded towards the door, “Over half these men now are from somebody else. Loyal to the core every one of them, with as much plunder as they can handle. I work them hard so they are too tired to raise a mutiny when they first arrive. Sometimes I work them so hard they are too tired to even escape.” She looked Jamie up and down.
They feasted on a meal fit for a king as she talked to him about trust and duty.