DitD 45 pirates

“Captain, a word.” Hlam said quickly and quietly. I followed him back to the war room and I sat down at the head of the table. “Captain, I’m growing concerned that we can’t return to our own time.”

“But the thingy… you said time travel.” I said frantically. I leaned in towards Hlam and said, “is it only capable of backing up.” Aurora moaned. “I just asked that!”

“That’s not what I mean. I mean that we can travel backwards and forwards but not to our own time. It’s a slight deviation on the butterfly effect.” Hlam said excited.

“So we can travel backwards and forwards but not backwards and forwards?” I asked. 

“Yes… and no…” Hlam said. “Right now your brain is Einsteins cat.”

“Einsteins cat?… Oh, you mean Schrödinger’s cat?” I asked. 

“Again, yes and no. Einsteins cat was similar to Schrödinger’s cat but with explosives instead of acid. Makes it more fun.” Hlam pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil. “So when we travel back in time we are entering a different dimension.”

“Because time is a dimension of space.” I said proud of my basic physics knowledge. 

“No you buffoon. Because when we travel back in time we are where we weren’t before. Because we didn’t exist back in pirate times and…” Hlam said being interrupted by my laughs. 

“Pirate times sounds like a horrid publication for news. Or are you talking about the golden age of piracy?” I snorted. 

“Shut up, you may learn something.” Hlam said annoyed. “Because we were never in the 1700’s, we can’t therefore be in the 1700’s. But since we are we must be creating the standard time paradox. However that paradox is solved by my time travel device being a time and dimension device. So we can never return to our time and dimension.” Hlam said. 

“So this new dimension… will it rain doughnuts?” I asked. 

“No you idiot, it’s just like ours but it’s possible that Spain rules the world.” Hlam said. 

DitD 44 pirates

  “Right! We are off. We will go over the haul when we are far enough away from our enemy.” I called out. I stood at the wheel and stares off in the distance. My hope was to gain more respect from my crew with my stoic stance. I kept one hand on the wheel. 

“Captain, Sharp cliffs approaching on the port side.” Ossley called from the nest. 

“right.” I called back and steered the ship slightly to the right. “Prepare the bubble!” I yelled.

Gragh ran out from under the quarter deck. “Oy bilge rats, run up the sheets and switch on the genny! Double time!” He yelled. We slowed to a stop just beyond the cliffs when the green light ignited. I flipped a switch and the bubble kicked on. The blue hue surrounded us and the ship began to rise with the waves pushing us upward. I pushed the speed lever forward and pulled back on the wheel. We pulled into a cloud and I set the autopilot to keep us hidden the cloud. 

“Bring forth the booty.” I called out. 

“Let’s go, you filthy grog runners!” Gragh yelled out. 

A few men approached Gragh, “Sir no offense but do you intend to use colorful insults to call for us the entire journey? We have been talking and we aren’t sure that is the best way to motivate us.”

“I’m sorry, do you want a nap time with milk and cookies?” Gragh asked. 

“I don’t know that an appeal to extremes or reductio ad absurdum is necessary. Unless that was a serious offer?” One of the individuals asked. 

“Not serious. We are pirates not the kind Royal Navy. We need to be tough. Tough skin and tough fighters.” Gragh replied.

“Ok but we are people with feelings,” another said. 

“And a bedtime story for you tonight. You want sweetness then join the royals but if you want a fair vote and fifty percent of the haul then deal with how I call you.” Gragh replied. 

“I can see we are at a stalemate, we will talk later,” the first one said. They ran back into the crowd that had gathered around the chests that were grabbed off the Spanish ship. 

I walked down from the quarter deck. “Open it guys. Let’s see what we pulled in.” I said as I approached. 

“We don’t have a key sir.” A person in the crowd said quietly. 

I shot the lock and it fell off. “Shit, I thought that only worked in the movies,” I said to myself. A few others used pry bars to smash the locks open. Then they opened the chests. I expected jewels and gold but found only cloths. 

“Our first haul is ladies dresses,” someone in front of a chest called out. A shot was heard slamming the deck just before Ossley landed. 

Her barrel was smoking in her hand, “Just call it dresses idiots. This is an all inclusive vessel.”

“Aye!” They called out. 

“We sell our goods and get money for it. What good fortune that these dresses be fine in quality.” I said. “Belmar will use his silver tongue to get the best price and we will split the booty evenly among us all.”

DitD 43 pirates

 

“Gragh, have a skeleton man the sheets. Wouldn’t want to overshoot our target.” I said. Gragh jumped right to work gathering the men required. “Ossley man the wheel so I can lead the charge.” Ossley grabbed the wheel. I placed cannon fuses under my hat.

“Ummm Captain, I can do much better for you.” Hlam said and scurried below decks. We were starting to get close. 

“HLAM, ANYTIME NOW!” I yelled. The ship began to glow bright red and black smoke billowed behind us. “HOIST THE COLORS OF BLACK!” The sky darkened and rain began to fall around us. The black flag with red crab and shell of a skull was hoisted to the top of the ship. I heard screaming from the other vessel which had a Spanish flag. 

  “EL DIABLO HA VENIDO POR NUESTRA ALMA!” I heard one of them cry. 

“ME RINDO, ME RINDO!” Another yelped. 

“DESPIDE A LOS IDIOTAS!” Yelled the Captain. A few canon shots came from their ship. 

“RETURN FIRE!” Gragh yelled. Our canons let loose the fury held inside. The canons for the Spanish ship bounced off Aurora. But our cannons tore through the Spanish galleon with ease. Splinters of wood flew from her and her main mast was damaged and fell backwards onto the Captain and his wheel. I walked over to a rope and grabbed on with all my might. I leapt and swung onto the Spanish galleon. Black smoke trailed behind me as I sailed past the guide rails and fell onto my back. Some of my crew followed me over with a few falling overboard while trying to swing. I popped up and pulled out my sword. Luckily the Royal Spainish Seamen were frightened enough to not even move. 

“Grab what you can lads and bring it back to the boat.” I called out. A large man with an axe came at me. I moved out of the way of the axe and started a fake laugh until he elbowed me trying to pull his axe out of the wood deck. I swung at him and he moved finally breaking the axe free and my sword sliced into the railing. I pulled the sword out just in time to miss another swing from the man with the axe. I heard a blackpowder shot and he fell face first onto the deck. I pulled out my pistol and aimed at the crew of the Spainish ship. “Anyone else?” I saw three of the Spain gain their nerve and stand up. Then I saw the last of my crew cross back to our ship. “My mistake!” I grabbed a rope and jumped back unto the Aurora. Ossley had just got it moving and we sailed away from our first score. 

  “Great job Ossley, you killed the man who was attacking me and got the ship moving just in time for my return.” I said. 

“I was trying to hit you and leave you behind. That was embarrassing.” Ossley replied. 

DitD 42 pirates

 

“CAPTAIN! ARE YOU SEEING THIS?” Ossley yelled. In front of us was a us Army Flying Fortress from 1943ish. I took evasive maneuvers but it was too late we were going to collide with the thing.

“BRACE!” I yelled out and everyone grabbed the closest solid object. Aurora groaned. “I KNOW WE ARE IN THE WRONG TIME!” She groaned again. The ship passed through the airplane like a ghost. Moreover the planes pilots didn’t even appear to have noticed us. “HLAM, A WORD IN MY CABIN” I yelled. 

We walked towards my cabin before we got to the door another yell from the crows nest startled us. “CAPN, you may want to keep watching.” I turned around to see a rocket from the 1960s and a A-10 warthog. That flew by us. 

“Hlam, what’s happening here?” I asked. 

“That’s a valid question Captain. It would appear that we are in another dimension.” Suddenly the spirit of saint Louis passed underneath Aurora. “Based on our collective experience and my calculations we are in a transportation dimension. It’s very likely that these crafts some how came to this dimension and either were lost forever or departed this dimension shortly after their arrival. Thus causing those on board to not notice they slipped dimensions. I would hold on as my machine my slip us out at the right time. If you notice Captain all the encountered vessels are on a collision course or traveling against our direction. This is likely because the leaped forward through time unlike us.” Hlam explained. 

“CAPTAIN!” Ossley yelled.

“What!” I yelled back.

“wasn’t me Captain.” Ossley yelled.

I glanced over my shoulder to see a doppelgänger Aurora and her crew were mooning us. “Prepare the cannons!” I yelled. 

“You want to kill yourself captain.” Hlam said grabbing my arm. 

“Belay that order.” I said. Suddenly the ship sped up again. When I came too this time all I could see was white. I could barely see the ship around me. I walked forward with my hands out stretched. Suddenly my hand struck something hard and too fast to control. And the ship and all of her crew began to free fall. Aurora groaned. “Well then do something.” The ship kicked the bubble back on and then suddenly off creating a slightly softer landing. I stood up and looked around. There didn’t seem to be any ships around nor was there any planes in the sky. 

“LADS!” I yelled, “KEEP YOUR WITTS AS WE MAY BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AND TIME.”

Gragh climbed the steps holding a cutlass and pistol. “You may need these.” He said handing me the bundle. “The gun has the appearance of black powder but actually has a 15 round magazine stored in the butt. And the sword is a vibroblade with the ability to cut through solid steel. Power is in the hilt, Sir.” I grabbed the bundle. 

“Captain! Off the starboard bow!” Ossley called out. Belmar ran over to the port side of the ship while I grabbed a spy glass to look off the starboard. 

“Belmar, what in the name of god are yeh doing?” Gragh inquired. 

“I’m looking.” Belmar replied.

“Get your head out of your butt, that’s the wrong way you daft idiot.” Gragh pointed out. 

“I’m checking… to make sure… no one is going to sneak up from behind.” Belmar stammered. 

“What a bloody fool.” Gragh said under his breath. 

“Speak up quartermaster, you wouldn’t want the second in command to not hear you… would you?” Belmar said. 

“Shut your mouths or I’ll demote you both.” I whispered sternly as i looked through the site. Ossley was right, a big ship was headed our way. It looked to be heavy in the water as the ship sat with its bottom row of cannon ports an inch off the surface of the water. “There she is lads. Our first catch of the day. A fat hog loaded to the gills.” 

A deafening silence came over the crew as Ossley slipped down a rope from the crows nest. She ran up to me and placed a sword against my neck. “What in gods name did you just call me?”

“Not you, the ship off the port bow is loaded up. Probably to it’s maximum weight limit.” I said putting two fingers around the blade to gently move it away from my neck. 

“Oh… Aye.” Ossley said turning towards the crew. “FAT HOG LOADED TO THE GILLS LADS!” The crew cheered.

“To your posts, you filthy dogs! Fill the cannons and your pistols! Send them to hell from which we came!” Gragh yelled. 

“I didn’t come from hell,” Belmar said. 

“Get on the swivel gun on the port side you daft idiot.” I said with annoyance.