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The BlackJack pirates 3

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-this chapter is pretty good, if I do say so myself. But either way, enjoy.

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I'm alive. I can't say it's a pleasurable experience, being as I'm stuck in the infirmary while the ship is getting repaired. This island is measly, really just a big rock jutting up out of the water, but nobody has been able to find Sunny day or Riktor. Even if they did find them, I don't know what I'd do with them. They were the leaders and founders of a mutiny, but before that they were some of my closest friends among the crew mates. The rule we live by demands that I have them hanged, but I want to forgive them. If I forgive them, I set a bad example, potentially inviting another mutiny. But I'm not sure if I can bring myself to have them killed. "You ok captain? You need anything?" Asked Nuttania, disturbing my thought and asking the same question she asked me five minutes ago. She's been without sleep for two days because she's been fretting over me. She dozes off every couple of minutes and wakes up with the question again. "You need to go get some sleep Nuttania" I put on my most persuasive smile. I read in some book that humans risk death after three days without sleep. I don't know how that translates to squirrels, especially one as small as Nuttania, but I was concerned for her. "Captain, I can't just.... Just........." she had fallen asleep mid sentence. This was going too far now.

"Captain, I still don't think this is a good idea" Aloe muttered, putting a drop of poison into Nuttania's drink. "One drop to help you sleep, two to keep you under. Three drops and you've gone too far, for then your soul she'll reap." I recited the old rhyme. This poison has been around for a long time, and a lot of people have screwed that up, killing their intended patients. Our doctor is the best, and I had complete faith in him, but he was still apprehensive about doing it. He made absolutely sure that there was only a single drop, going through several steps before it even went into her drink. "Mmmmmm-UHH" Nuttania startled awake, falling back in her chair. She looked at Aloe, then to the poison and the drink in his hand. She looked hurt. "You tried to use that sleeping poison on me?" She had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Nuttania, but you need to get some sleep, you're killing yourself" I told her. She was a total wreck without her sleep. She left the room, not saying a word. I went to go after her, but I didn't get an inch before pain flared and my wounds reminded me again that I was broken.

~ How could he do that to me? Of all the things... That he's........ AH! I woke up again. Oh god I'm tired, I haven't slept in days. So many emotions keep getting in the way, waking me up before I got the chance to rest. I could feel myself drifting, before I snapped awake again. It was terrible, not being able to sleep. But I couldn't bear to face the dreams that awaited me. It was only a matter of time before... Before......... It's dark, there's a storm raging around me and the rain soaks me to the bone. It's cold, so very cold, out here on the deck. I'm shivering and I need to get warm. I search everywhere, but it can't find a source of heat. There's nothing to warm me, let alone to break up the dark monotony. It's so depressing here, and it makes me just want to lay down and let the world slip away. Then he wraps his arms around me, his fur warm and seeming to suck away the cold and the rain. Just being close to him makes me feel warm and full of life. He's wonderful beyond compare, that man. I stand up on my toes and I still can't bring his face to mine, but somehow I manage to kiss him, and he pushes me up against the mast, his kiss is intense and full of passion. "Thank you captain"

AH!!! I woke again with a start, and found myself leaned against the main mast. It happened again, that dream. What the hell is wrong with me? He's the captain! How can I think of him like that, when I know I could never have him. He could have any woman he wanted, so why would he settle for that flat little squirrel in the background... I couldn't take it any more, having to keep dreaming of him, to dream of loving him. Maybe if I'm lucky the poison will let me sleep, without dreams or distractions. Just the bliss of silence. I could only hope for that, as I trudged back to the infirmary. I slowly picked up my spiked drink, much to the surprise of Aloe and the captain. They watched me silently as I brought the cup up to my lips. Maybe it's time for me to just give in...

~ Nuttania, that poor kid. She took the sleeping poison, so I could only hope she was going to get better. The poison helps you sleep, in the right concentrations. One of the best things, depending on who you ask, is that it gives people dreams. Dreams so vivid they can pass for reality. Being bedridden gives a guy time for thinking. The mind can contemplate almost anything, but mine kept going back to my relationship. I love Tazza, everybody knows that by now, but she just doesn't seem to notice me. I've become a completely non-romantic entity to her, like her brother, or a lamp. There's Janet, but she's not relationship material. Collie is nice, but she likes women, so that's off the table. Carol already has a husband back home. None of the crew mates are suitable. Then again, I suppose it's not all that important. I've got the ship, the crew, friends. I'm happy, so what more do I need in life. But I still felt empty inside. I had done well up until now at cramming those emotions in a corner and moving on with my life, but my more-than-near death encounter had reminded me that nobody would really miss me when I'm gone.

~ Riktor and I have been hiding out under a rock. Literally. We dug a big area out under a boulder and we've been in here for hours. Where we tried to kill eachother earlier, now we've bound together to survive. The captain is alive, we heard that much from some people who passed by a while ago. If we're found he'll no doubt have us hanged or worse. The captain went into a rage, for the first time ever, and there's no way of knowing whether he'll stay that way. So much changed in so short a time, and so many things now conspired against us. But then I had an idea, a genius idea, one so brilliant and at the same time stupid that it couldn't possibly fail. But first we have to get off this runt of an island.

"This plan is fucking stupid" Riktor muttered, walking beside me. "Agreed, but it's the only one we have" I sighed, knowing full well this was a terrible, terrible plan. When we got past the tree cover and onto the beach, we knew there was no turning back, because four separate people immediately raised the call, and four more surrounded us with pistols and swords. Rather than kill us on the spot like Riktor figured they would, they put us in irons and had us hauled to the ship. So far the plan was going accordingly. People who served under us only days ago were now our imprisoners. The irony of that, and their sense of superiority, was enough to make me burst out in laughter.

As we stood before the captain, guns pointed at our faces and swords at our throats, he stared at us somberly. His expression radiated sadness, though for what purpose I was unsure. "Leave us, they are of no threat anymore." He sighed, a sigh full of misery. I would expect that from him, being stuck in a bed for the next month or more. "Captain, I advise against that, these men aren't to be trusted." Aloe urged, his fingers drumming apprehensively. The captain made a point of ordering them out, in no uncertain terms. "Jeez Captain, you look like crap" Riktor muttered. "Well, sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug" he laughed, which quickly degenerated into coughing, which brought him obvious pain. He never bothered to explain what a windshield was. Only when he had recovered did he speak to us, and even then he barely did. "Rules would dictate that I have you hanged" he sighed again. "But I don't know if I can" he said. I was shocked, to say the least. He was clearly torn up about the subject, and in that I saw our chance. "We could stage an escape" I suggested, shrugging my shoulders for effect. He seemed to seriously consider that option, and I knew then that we had him. "I can't get out of this bed to help you do it, so we'd have to find somebody to do it for me" he said. He tried to sit up, but collapsed again with a groan and not a few obscenities.

~ The dream. I wasn't sure what to make of it. I wasn't sure if I liked what had happened or if I was horrified. I mean, I know I liked it. I blushed. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. The poison hadn't stopped the dream, instead it had made it all the more real. Every detail was lifelike, and if I hadn't known any better, I would have though it were actually happening. In the dream, the captain took me, right there on the deck, and... I don't want to talk about it... But it made me realize something. It made me realize that, no matter how much I tried to deny it, I was in love with the captain, and all I wanted was to be with him. It was when he almost died, I realized it then too. I realized that I couldn't live without him. I felt better, much better now that I had slept, but I still felt terrible about the captain. I decided to go check in and see him. Er, see how he was doing I mean. When I got there however, he was talking to somebody. I don't know why I did, but I leaned my ear against the door to hear what was being said, and I was shocked to say the least. He was talking with Sunny and Riktor. "-that I have you hanged." The captain seemed saddened by something. "But I don't know if I can" he said. The next part of the conversation was a discussion about letting them escape, a conversation I wish I had never heard, because when I did I lost control of myself. I barged into that room and almost shouted. "You can't do that, they tried to kill you!" I told him. All three of them were surprised to see me, but none so much as the captain. Or maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. "Nuttania, how much of that conversation did you hear?" He asked. "Enough"

"You're an idiot" I said to him. His whole plan was stupid! These two needed to be hanging from a yardarm! Since when did I think like that?. Here I was, condemning these two to death. What was wrong with me! Was I letting my feelings for the captain change me? "Well what would you have me do Nuttania? I can't kill them. I just can't" his eyes pleaded for some way, any way out of the situation. "Maybe... Maybe they could do something good, something so great it would overshadow their crimes" I offered. It seemed like a good idea, maybe it could work? "But what could they do that would outweigh a mutiny?" Darn it. If there's something they could do that's bigger than a mutiny, I don't know what it is. It was either that or letting them go, and I despised both of those ideas.

~ I don't know how long it's been, maybe a few days, maybe years. My name is Lucas C. Booth, apprentice sniper of the BlackJack pirates, training under John, head sniper. But that's all too formal. Long story short, my middle name is Carmine, and that's what everyone calls me. I can only hope that things are going well on the outside, but there's no way of knowing. It's horrible here, floating in this empty world of dreams. Nothing to do but think, and I'm not a thinker. All I ever do with my head is calculate wind speed and direction, factor it with trajectory plus velocity, and... That's not important right now. God, I wonder how the captain is doing. Are we on the sea? Are we docked somwhere? Or are they all out at some bar drinking and having fun without me? I wonder if they even care that I'm gone. _What am I talking about, of course they do, we're the BlackJack pirates! _We stick together.

~ If I'm right, this new concoction of mine should wake up all the crew mates that are in the comas I put them in. If I'm wrong, they'll all die horribly, but what's a slight chance of death to stop the pursuit of science! Besides, the BlackJacks are gamblers, It's practically in the name! A little on this ones tongue, a bit on his, one for him and some for the rest of them. Then I got out of there, rowing my dinghy as fast as my arms would allow. I took great care with Carmine. He's special, that one. So many things do I have planned for Carmine, so many important things. Why? Because I'm the greatest pirate captain in the whole world, the ace of hearts, second of the four patriarchs of the family, Orville BlackJack!

*an excerpt from the journal of Orville BlackJack

~ It's been ten days since we got here. My wounds have healed to a degree that I'm able to sit up without passing out, but it's still labored and painful. The good news is that the comatose crew mates have finally woken up. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, I'm excited, but there are just so many things going on around here that are weighing on my mind. The crewmates that woke up are all uneasy and bored out of their skulls, which I can understand after they had to float around in their dreams for what felt like years. It's not fun, I knew from experience. Things were so much easier when we started out. We did whatever we wanted, we had laughs and we had fun. Heck, we were our own country for a few weeks! But now there are so many things I'm expected to do, so many responsibilities, so many problems. We're stranded here until the ship is repaired, we're almost out of food, the crew demands a hanging, and Nuttania! Don't even get me started on Nuttania. She comes in here to check on me every couple of hours, but she's been acting crazy! She avoids coming near me whenever she comes in here, she always jumpy when I try and talk to her, and to top it all off she won't even look at me! The only time she looks at me is when she thinks I'm not paying attention, and even then I can't make heads or tails of her intent or her expression. "Why am I so bad with women!?" I shouted, rather unintentionally. "Ahem" the admiral did the awkward attention getting cough thing. There needs to be a word for that. "Sooooo... Wanna tell me what's going on captain?" Asked the admiral, sitting down in a chair next to my bed. The admiral, in addition to being an admiral, is an excellent person to talk to, and is also an admiral. Did I mention he's an admiral? The other crewmates will listen to you and then go blab everything you said ten minutes later. But him, no matter how drunk he gets, keeps things to himself. I suppose in that way he's a better man than I am.

~ "A lot of things are weighing on me right now Sam" he said, sighing heavily. The captain only calls me by my first name when he's depressed. Though technically my name is Samuel, not Sam. "It's about Nuttania" he sighed again. "You mean that shy squirrel with the pink fur?" I asked, not entirely familiar with the crew yet. "Yeah. Hard to believe her fur is natural. The point is, she's been almost completely avoiding talking to me and I have no idea why" he said. I'm a great guy to talk to, and usually I'll have some important input to add, but this time I figured I'd just listen. He went on about how Nuttania wouldn't even look at him unless she thinks he's not paying attention, and how he had no idea why. I saw right away what was going on, though I wasn't sure it was my place to tell him. But I figured he should know. "It's obvious what's going on. She clearly has a thing for you" I told him, and then high tailed it out of there. I had work to manage. Keeping an eye on the people doing repairs, managing the collection of lumber from the nearby forest, not to mention making sure nobody is slacking off. It's a full time job, but it has an upside. I get to feel in charge again, something I haven't felt since I sort-of joined this crew. I miss being in charge, that much I'll admit, but it actually like it here. Or, as much as I can be expected to like it. I kept a special eye on Sunny and Riktor, just to make sure they weren't planning anything. Much to my surprise however, those two were wonderful workers. They worked quickly for people with chains weighing then down, they didn't slack off, and they didn't shrug their work to go get drunk... Much... I couldn't say I was entirely happy with the captain's decision not to hang them, but I will admit that the results were excellent.

~ The admiral had dropped a huge bombshell on me. Nuttania, a crush on me? It was almost absurd, I mean, what would Nuttania see in me? I'm a rugged, graceless bum. For the most part I'm broke, save for a vault on an uncharted island I filled with gold that I stole from Carver. I'm a horrible choice for a relationship. But all the signs are there. But how to know? Sure there were a bunch of methods of figuring that out, but the only idea I had was to just ask her. She'd be here to check in on me any time now. So I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. Any time now. Any minute now. Any second now. Oh come on! "Captain?" She asked, nearly scaring me out of my skin. I had been staring off into space for the past few minutes apparently. "Nuttania, I need to ask you a question" I said, my eyes studying her carefully, looking for any sign that the admiral was right. She jumped slightly when I spoke to her, and her gaze was always on anything else but me. "What do you think of me?" I asked her, and she just sort of shut down for a second, like she had somehow run out of power or something. "W-well, w-what do you mean, I-" she said. "Well, you're the captain. Y-you're a good leader, you're strong a-and you like to have fun, you're smart, and-" she was really getting into this, her words came with more ease now. "you go out of your way to help others, you're caring and-" she cut off mid-sentence "I-I'm gonna go and uh... Check on the captain" she stammered, exiting the room as quickly as her legs could carry her. I couldn't fault her, the captain was in pretty bad shape, he needed someone to look after him... Hey wait a second, I'm the captain!

~ The storerooms have been empty of food for the past three days. The only reason we haven't starved is because we've been able to gather surprising amounts of food from the island. While we have no shortage of food, we ran out of alcohol yesterday, and everybody has been bored and depressed. Never before have I seen the crew without alcohol to fuel them, but it was a sad sight. Someone had actually raided my stash, so even that was empty at this point. "Need... Booze..." Phil croaked, crawling sadly along on the deck. At this point the repairs were crawling along slower than Phil, but I had an excellent idea. "Ok boys, I've got an inspirational speech for you" I called out to the crew. "Inspirational my ass" every single one of them groaned in unison, which was actually very impressive. "How about this then. The faster you get the ship repaired the sooner we get to shore and buy more rum" I shouted loud enough to be heard by all. They all blinked a few times, and then they all started moving so fast I thought they'd break the sound barrier. I love this place.

~ I may not like the guy, but the admiral does an excellent job at getting the crew to do work. Not as good as the captain, mind you, but you couldn't ask for someone better under the circumstances. My manacles aren't comfortable, and they slow down my work, but they make the other crew members feel safer around me. To be honest, the captain's idea of making us do manual labor was smart, very smart. It gives us a chance to change our ways, a chance to do better next time. I know there was the plan to form our own pirate crew, but I was gonna miss this place, and I was gonna miss these people. These drunken, ridiculous people.

~ "When we get back to shore, I'm getting a cat. I shall name him Sissel, and he shall wear a red bandanna" I said, sitting up against the headboard of my bed. I can still feel the sutures in my lung, every time I breath. They don't hurt like they did at first, but they're still mildly annoying. Not because of pain or anything, but simply because they gave me a sensation that rubbed me the wrong way. "Why in the world would you want a cat?" Asked the admiral, leaning back on the two legs of his chair. "Why in the world would I not want a cat!" I laughed, which devolved into more painful coughing. When I am unable to laugh, it's a dreary existence. I'm a carefree person, I'm supposed to be running around laughing and having fun, I can't be expected to sit around and be serious all the time. "One reason you wouldn't want a cat, and this is just a small thing, you're a canine" he sighed. That was a point I had not considered. Eh, I'm gonna risk it. Where's the fun in life if you don't do a few stupid things. "Hey, captain" Carmine interrupted, walking into the room without so much as knocking. Rude. "One of the men found this letter tied to the mast. We're all trying to figure it out" he handed me a seemingly blank envelope. I say seemingly because I hadn't turned it over. When I did, I almost died again. The envelope was branded with a skull and crossbones, and wedged in the skull's eye, was the ace of hearts. This is my brother's mark, and it could mean any number of things. But before we get into that, you have to know about the BlackJack family.

We are an old family. Our traditions are odd, I'm part of the family and even I can admit that. Members of the family are always given a card, lower ranked family members are lower cards. The aces are the highest, except for the the jokers. There are two jokers, head of the entire family. The heads of the family are not the parents of the entire family, that'd be absurd. There is only a single deck's worth of family members at any given time, and any child born to the family that can not be given a card is abandoned outside a randomly selected home in a randomly selected town, and grows up as an orphan with no idea that it was once part of the family. We do keep tabs on them, in case we ever need to bolster our numbers unexpectedly, but the only ones that the heads are the actual parents of are the four aces. Three of the aces are the children of the mother of the family, but I was born to a 'common' greywolf who ran a library, after father got too drunk one night. The reason I was made an ace instead of being disowned, I'm not sure, but nobody is happy about it. When member of the family wish to convey a message, they send a letter with a variety of possible symbols.

Any high ranked member of the family can declare war on another member by sending a symbol of a sword. Lower ranked members must receive the blessing of one of the higher-ups to declare war. To request a meeting or to parley, a member sends a symbol of a cup, a chalice specifically. To request to be left alone, a blank letter is sent. There are a cacophony of others, but those are hardly ever used. This letter could mean anything, and that's a terrifying thing. An old friend of mine once said "I don't know what's in the box, but I love it. Unopened gifts contain hope." This is one of the times that saying doesn't apply. Both because this doesn't fill me with hope_and_ because this isn't a box. I opened the letter, narrowly avoiding a terrible papercut. Pulling the letter from its envelope, I wondered what it would contain. I was fearful, but there was another emotion forcing it's way to the surface. That emotion, I realized, was excitement. I was horrified by the possibility of going to war with my brother, but I also secretly relished the idea of going to battle. I unfolded the piece of paper, and on the inside was... A cup. We were being called to a meeting. I was relieved, and at the same time disappointed.

"That's a terrible idea!" Nuttania complained. Pacing back and forth throughout the room. The ships emergency council had been assembled, minus Riktor and Sunny. For my convenience, the council had been moved to my room. The consensus was that, as Nuttania had so 'elegantly' put it, it was a terrible idea. Regardless of that fact, the laws of the family demand that I attend the meeting. Everybody was against it except for me and Jack, who for reasons unknown, greatly wanted to go to this meeting. Perhaps he wanted to meet the brother of the captain? For whatever purpose, he was voting for my side of the argument. "I'm with Nuttania, this is a stupid idea" Tazza said. "I hate to disagree with you Miss. Tazzamen, I really do, but if I know anything about the laws of these pirates, a request to negotiate is non negotiable" Evans chuckled slightly. "Evans is right. This is an offer you can't refuse, even if it was just some random pirate. But this is a member of the family, the ace of hearts!" I exclaimed. "Not a chance in hell" Aloe took control of the argument. "You cannot get out of that bed under any circumstances, let alone go across to a ship full of pirates we know nothing about!" He commanded the attention of all. When it comes to his patients, be the men of high or low, even the gods themselves, when Aloe tells them to do something, his word is law. "Maybe the meeting should take place on our ship" suggested that guy whose name I think is Phil. "Impossible. The meeting must always take place on the ship of the one who sent the message." I groaned. I threw the blanket off of my legs and forced myself up. Aloe practically started setting shit on fire. "So help me god if you get out of that bed I will kill you myself" he threatened. I ignored him, and swung myself around to put my feet on the floor. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to fall back onto my bed and rest for another month, but I had things that needed done. It hurt, it hurt like hell. Gods I thought I'd die on the spot, but I am not a patient man, and this call to parley had given me the incentive I needed to get up out off my ass. I struggled to my feet, wobbled, and would have fallen if not for Nuttania, who put herself under me to hold me up like a support. Though I didn't notice it at the time, she was blushing. I yanked a crutch off the wall and steadied myself on it, allowing Nuttania to move back to where she had been standing. "Bring me my jacket" I commanded, and in seconds I had slipped my black leather captains jacket back on and was out the door. Aloe said stay in bed, and his word is law. But I'm a pirate, I don't need laws.

~ That man is insufferable! The doctor went through all that work to get him better again and he just gets up and starts walking around like he's a goddamn super man! Excuse my language. He's insufferable, but I love that man. I sighed. "Something wrong Nuttania?" Tazza asked. I don't get why everyone calls her Miss. Tazzamen, the name Tazza is so much easier, which I suppose is why the captain calls her that. Some subconscious part of my brain told me it was a term of affection, but that part of my head got drowned out before it's words reached me. "The captain is such an idiot sometimes" I muttered, collapsing face first onto my bed. We have six hours until the meeting, and the captain said we all need to get some sleep, but obviously we were having none of that. All the women have their own separate room from the men. Tazza had her own room at one point, but she had insisted on being treated like the rest of the crew, so now she was stuck with us. "Hey hey hey, what part of this aren't you understanding. We are having a serious philosophical debate here" Janet said, pointing a piece of chalk at the green chalkboard. "So, men vs. women" she repeated the question she had written on the board. "Women, obviously" Carol said, swinging back and forth in her hammock. "I'm gonna say men. Women are too complicated" Janet contested. Janet being tomboyish as usual. "Ok, if you're so against your own gender, what do men have that we don't" "hey, phrasing"

~ "Typically men are tougher" Charelotte put forward. Janet looked offended. "Well, he's strong" Nuttania said, barely paying attention to the topic. Everyone went silent for a minute. "Well well well, does our shy little squirrel have a lover boy" Tazza laughed. Nuttania blushed so red you could see it through her fur. "What!? I-I do not" she stammered, making flailing gestures with her arms. The whole cabin joined in at that point, teasing Nuttania till she hid under her blanket. "I bet she has something for the captain" teased Carol. It was just a Joke, obviously, thought up for no other reason than to get under her skin, and it did, but not the way everyone expected, as Nuttania bolted upright. "How did you know that!?" She exclaimed, before covering her mouth with a squeak, and proceeding to cover herself in her blanket again and curl up in a ball. We were, again, speechless.

~ "LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU ASSHOLES!" I pounded on the door out of the captains room. All the women, save for Tazza, who had fallen asleep back in use cabin, had dragged me in here and were holding the door shut. The captain was staring at me like I was a madwoman, though he looked no better than me, standing upside down on his hands. "What the heck are you doing" I asked, not for a moment ceasing my barrage of the door. DAMN YOU MAHOGANY! "Rehab, what are you doing?" He quipped, holding in that same position for a few more moments before he fell over, groaning in what was clearly very intense pain. "Trying to get out of here" I grunted, throwing a chair at the door, to no avail. "You're not going anywhere until you and the captain have a nice long chat" the women chuckled. "Talk about what?" He asked, forcing himself to his feet again. "Nothing!" I said, a bit too quickly. He tried opening the door next, but they wouldn't even let the captain through. "Sorry captain, but you and our pretty squirrel have something you need to discuss"

"Let's just get this over with so we can get out of here" i sighed, slumping down against the door. It was obvious to Nuttania that, though I didn't make a fuss about it, every move I made was labored and painful. Nuttania took a moment to gather herself. "I wish you looked at me the way you look at Tazza" she said, unusually calmly. My mind took a second to smack itself in the face. It couldn't have been more obvious. The admiral figured it out before I did, for gods sake! Then again, he's notoriously better with people than I am. The other side of the door was silent, it was obvious that nobody was there anymore. But at this point, neither of us were leaving this room until this was over. I made myself stand up again, and for once, I didn't notice the pain.

Nuttania's dream became reality that day.

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-I imagine you can all figure out what that happened there, with that bit at the end.

• the meeting with Orville will be in the next chapter, because I like making you wait for it. :3