“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.”
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