"Marcus," Dan paused the speaker and used the walkie-talkie to connect to the Chief Security Officer, "Keep yourself ready, I'm almost positive that they are going to try something while we get the passengers into the Voyager."
"Roger that captain." Marcus replied.
“Old Raily," Dan continued into the radio, keeping an eye on the Voyager's course, preparing to dock next to the other ship. "Have those who are with you be prepared for the passengers when they arrive, also be ready to provide cover fire if needed."
"Already in mind," The old man said in a light tone, as if the situation didn't affect him at all.
Dan felt that the old man changed since all this started, gone was the light-hearted jolly old man, and a hard-faced veteran took his place. He felt that the situation might not be that good for the old man's mentality, but he unfortunately didn't have time to deal with that, he just shelved it for later, focusing on the problem at hand.
"I will send Jackie your way. He will be responsible for leading them to the designated corridor cluster in deck 4."
"Roger." Mister Raily kept his words brief, as if entering his zone.
Dan sighed as he tried to calm himself down. Going against the pirates was never something he or any of the crew wanted. Once they realized that they were being followed the choice was taken from them and he knew that they had to scare them off one way or another. Asking for the slaves there at the end was something he decided all on his own, but he couldn't just let them be when he could do something to help, so he acted without discussing it with the others.
Dan got himself under control first before turning to Jackie, the ship's bosun. He felt that the man might be one of those who wouldn't approve of him welcoming the kidnapped passengers into the ship. So he was a bit apprehensive about confronting him, but he also trusted the man, they spent years together and he had always been dependable when the need called for it.
"Jackie," He started, then relief washed over him as he saw the man give him a reassuring nod and a small smile, "Choose one of the secluded corridor clusters on deck 4, we will use those for the slaves. Follow Raily's commands when there, and be safe."
Inside cabins were cabins that didn't have windows or balconies. They were enclosed and if prepared well, they wouldn't need many people to keep guard over the corridor cluster the natives would be in.
"Aye aye captain," Jackie said as he mock saluted, a smile on his face. Dan allowed a small smile to appear on his face at that.
Dan again felt some guilt at putting his crew through this unnecessary risk. But he knew who he was, he would have never forgave himself if he didn't at least try.
He took a deep breath as he lightly frowned, what had happened already happened, he couldn't turn back time now. It was already set in motion, so he had to put his full attention on the current task.
Getting the cruise ship right next to the pirate ship was going well, Dan was taking his time, giving his crew the time to situate themselves in their designated positions. The plan for embarking was set by him, Old Raily and Marcus. The two men knew what they had to do, and they had the others there to help them too.
"Everything is ready on my side," Marcus sounded from the walkie-talkie.
"Same here," Old Raily added.
"Okay, get ready, we are going to reach the ship soon," Giving them that heads up, Dan coordinated with Marcus and Jackie to stop the Voyager so the pirate ship was right next to the embarkation point.
"Captain, can you do something about the fog on our side," Marcus's voice suddenly sounded as they got close to the ship, "We will need a clear line of sight to dock precisely."
Dan froze for a few seconds, he was unsure how to do so, the fog wasn't even a skill he chose. He could deactivate the fog entirely, but doing that would let the Voyager be seen by all, he didn't want that to happen, the less people knew about them, the better. Unsure of what to do, Dan just followed his guts as he caressed the board in front of him and murmured in a barely audible voice,
"Big girl, can you do something about that?"
He waited for a few seconds, unsure of the results.
"It's clearing up, thanks," Marcus's voice sounded just as he was about to give up and deactivate the skill.
"Okay, going to start the exchange." Dan hid his surprise as he concentrated on the important matters first.
"Get the slaves ready," Dan kept his voice level as he spoke through the speakers, "And remember, don't test me."
"Bring them up," The man shouted, Dan was still surprised at how far his voice got carried, must have been a skill of some kind.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Team 1 made contact with the target," Old Raily's voice sounded, giving updates as Dan couldn't see things from where he was, "They seem hesitant, anxious and sweating."
Dan could understand, the fully armed and armoured men the pirates were facing were intimidating even for him, just their full-face helmets were a sight to behold.
***
Marcus's eyes scanned the people in front of him, his AKM trained on them, ready for any sudden actions. Some of the men took a few steps back once they saw them, their hands unconsciously moving to their swords or flintlock muskets.
"Get the slaves ready," The speaker suddenly boomed with Dan's voice, making some of the pirates flinch, "And remember, don't test me."
"Hank, as we decided, you remain here." Hearing the pirate's reply, Marcus went through what they discussed for one last time, "Keep the slaves moving and have them continue to where Jackie and the others are waiting."
"Understood," The mechanic answered, his voice trembling a bit. Marcus could understand that, not everyone could have nerves of steel in a situation like this, especially not a civilian who never went through any formal training for such a situation.
"George, you will follow after me and provide support, keep your eyes open for anything and be prepared for things to turn south, don't let your guard down."
"Roger that," The soldier answered in a steady voice and stable breathing. Marcus appreciated having someone experienced watching his back. Not to mention Old Raily who had eyes on them all.
"Okay, move out."
Marcus took the lead, jumping the small gap between the two ships. Putting himself in a situation like this was never something he appreciated. Walking into the open and standing in front of enemies who could retaliate at any second, not even taking into account magic and how it was something they needed to consider now, always seemed like such a bad idea. Fortunately, he wasn't alone, he had people behind who were there to make sure he was safe, he just needed to trust them.
Marcus's eyes kept on moving, scanning the pirates ahead. They remained in a standstill for a while, just facing the pirates silently, waiting for the natives to be brought up to the deck. Which was good for them, that gave him time to locate the key target for their plan.
They didn't have to wait for long, just enough for him to mark a few pirates as possible targets, before the first of the slaves appeared. They looked confused, hesitant and with a bit of anticipation on their faces. They might have heard the conversation between the Captain and the pirates.
Marcus scanned the natives emotionlessly, searching for what would be a trap, a plant among the slaves trying to get into their ship. Which didn't have that high of a chance of happening, what man would send himself to an unknown land without any guarantee of returning back?
A part of Marcus's mind noted the clothes of the natives, classic Victorian era get up, some of it cleaner and obviously more fashionable and of better quality than the other, showing the different standing between them.
Marcus's grip on his rifle tightened once he saw a young girl who couldn't even have been in her mid-teens appear. Her clothes were messy and a clear purple and blue mark on her face. He soon threw that out of his mind and focused on the objective in front of him, it wasn't time to let his emotions take control.
"Walk in a straight line," He shouted as he took a step forward, pushing the first of the slaves behind him with one hand while keeping his gun aimed at the pirates. He heard Hank do the same behind him, giving orders and having them jump to the Voyager.
Marcus's eyes kept on returning to a certain individual as more and more slaves appeared on the deck and changed ships. A giant of a man next to the pirates' captain. The more slaves left their ship the worse his expression became, it was clear that he wasn't satisfied with the way things turned. He also noticed how the man kept throwing glances at his captain, who just glared at him from time to time.
Sensing what might come to be, Marcus turned his gun stealthily towards the man's general direction. He had his target. He regretted not wearing something that would make communication easier, but he had to trust that old Raily saw what he had seen and was going to follow up with the plan.
Soon the last of the natives on deck jumped to their side safely. Watching the bald man's face turn red from anger, Marcus awaited the next orders while keeping his guard up, he wasn't going to mess things up at the last minute.
"Are these all?" Dan's voice sounded through the speakers.
"Yes," The captain of the pirates said as he gritted his teeth. It was clear that he was just as mad as his crewman, he was just way better at controlling his emotions.
"I don't think so," Dan continued, his words making Marcus turn up his vigilance to the max, he felt that things were going to take a turn for the worse soon. The next part of their play was coming.
"What do you mean?" As expected, as soon as Dan finished speaking, a voice shouted from the pirate ship. A smile tugged at Marcus's lips, it wasn't the captain, but the bald man next to him.
"I know that you have more slaves with you, these are just those from the ship you downed a while back," Dan answered in the same voice he had been using ever since they started interacting with the pirates, "What about the ones from the Western Continent? Where are they?"
"Don't push your luck, stranger," The pirate captain shouted back, "The Empire has no claim over those, and neither do you. I've shown you enough courtesy by handing you the beggars of the Empire, now do the same and let's end this here and now."
"It seems you have got something wrong," Dan stated matter-of-factly, "You are not showing me courtesy by handing me the slaves... I'm showing you courtesy by giving you a way out without you all dying."
'This is it,' a thought flashed through Marcus's mind.
"YOU FUCKER," the bald man shouted as his face turned red.
No, it wasn't just his face, his whole body turned red as he seemed to be letting out steam. A small part of Marcus's brain, the one not focused on finishing the threat, idly noticed how what seemed to be scales started covering his skin too.
Marcus didn't let any of his thoughts stop his actions though, as soon as he heard the man shout, he lined his sight on him and pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone beat him to it though, a millisecond before his bullet left the rifle, two shots rang out, hitting the big bald man in the chest, followed soon after by Marcus's two bullets.
"Freeze where you are! FREEZE WHERE YOU ARE!"
Once his mind made sure that the man was down, Marcus turned his weapon to the pirates' captain, anticipating a reaction from the man as he shouted threateningly.
The pirates' captain just stood there frozen, his face pale as if unsure of what just happened.
Taking advantage of his shock, Dan's voice sounded again,
"As I said, I'm showing you much courtesy. Now... Why don't you send me the remaining slaves and save us more bloodshed."
Marcus felt the pirate captain's eyes fall on him and the gun on his hands before swallowing and shouting,
"B-Bring the slaves, hurry up!" The pirate captain shouted in clear fear.
1st review 5 reviews!
