The BlackJack pirates 4
#4 of The BlackJack pirates
The BlackJack pirates 4
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-I have nothing to say, which is a first
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"That was... Interesting" Nuttania chuckled weakly. "Yeah" I agreed. We quickly slipped out of my room. "The pirates life is the life for me-" I could hear the men singing in their cabin as we passed by, because apparently my order to get some sleep meant nothing. Then again, usually when I tell them to hit their bunks they're practically knocked out drunk. As we passed the women's cabin, Nuttania discreetly slipped into the room, but not before kissing me on the cheek. It seems now I have a girlfriend, who would have guessed.
~ "You took quite a while in there Nuttania. Anything interesting happen?" Carol elbowed me in the arm suggestively. I blushed, and I could have sworn they saw it. How long had we been in there? "We just lost track of time" I scratched my elbow nervously. In truth, it was a very eventful half hour. Despite how I had meant for my words to sound, they picked up on a different tone. Janet whistled. "T-that's not how I meant it" I said, way too quickly. Tazza looked shocked. "Nothing happened!" I shouted, blushing a deep crimson. "Don't deny it Nuttania, it's written all over your face" Janet laughed.
~ For the past few minutes us in the men's cabins have just been sitting here, somewhat stunned. We've heard everything the women have said through these paper thin walls. Nuttania and the captain? Not in my wildest dreams would I have seen that one coming. Not with Nuttania at least. She just doesn't seem the type for it, especially with the captain of all people.
~ I still feel terrible, and my wounds flare up in pain a lot, but it's getting better, however slowly. We meet with Orville in half an hour, and for the most part I think I'll be fine, but I could collapse at any minute, or so Aloe kept repeating. In actuality, I'd probably be fine, so long as I didn't do anything too strenuous. To be honest, I'd like to throttle whoever shot me, but the guy I assigned to investigate it has turned up nothing. But then again, if I hadn't been shot, I probably wouldn't have ended up with Nuttania. But, now that I am in a relationship with Nuttania, I wonder what Tazza will think. Will she be outraged? Jealous? Or will she just not care?
"Let's do this" I said, piling the emergency council and Nuttania, who had insisted on going, into a rowboat. "Ok, so when we get there, let me do the talking. Orville is a stickler for family traditions, and he's also an monumental dick, so watch yourselves." We arrived without incident, coming aboard his ship to meet a crew of degenerates to rival Orville himself. They went around fighting and going on like a bunch of animals. That's not how a crew should be. Pirates aren't ruthless low-life's who go about killing people because we can, we're fun loving vagabonds who do what we want and have a good time in the process. The family never understood that. "Welcome to my ship, the 'Crasster.' "Orville called, swinging down on a rope dramatically. "I am Orville BlackJack" he laughed. "You can stop with the showboating, let's get this over with" Jack said. Orville put him on the ground in an instant, a knife at his throat. "And just who do you think you are? Your captain is a lowborn insult to the BlackJack family, what does that make you? you're just scum" he sneered, pressing his knife dangerously close to Jack's jugular. "Orville BlackJack, 'the bloodstained hurricane,' you are in direct violation of the BlackJack code of parley. I now have the right to kill you" I recited with my sword pointed at Orville, my voice mechanical and emotionless, one should never get emotional around Orville. He looked up at me with a wicked smile on his face. "You're a big man, but you're in bad shape. Behave yourself" he laughed. He called me a big man for the purpose of getting under my skin. The BlackJacks are purebred direwolves, but my mother was a greywolf, I'm not as large as they are. I made an effort to quell my rage, lest my blood boil me alive.
"The bloodstained hurricane?" Carmine asked, while Aloe gave Jack a complete check over. "It's a nickname he's more than earned, due to his ridiculous speed. He's even faster than I am, and just as strong. The only thing I have over him is intelligence, and even that just barely" I told him. Truth be told, Orville isn't even the best of the four, he's surpassed by Carver, the most brutal, bloodthirsty pirate that's ever sailed. Not the smartest, but he's faster than lightning and strong as the red god. "Ok then, I refuse to call you brother, let's get down to business." Orville said, sitting across from us at the table. Not once in my life, has Orville ever actually called me his brother. He refuses, considering me to be below him. "You are here for one reason and one reason only. Father has a message for you, and he doesn't dare disgrace himself by contacting you directly" Orville sneered. I scratched furrows into the table subconsciously. Few people push my buttons like my brother. Nuttania slammed her fist on the table "Now hang on just a second, the captain is-" "the captain? That's what you call him? That man is barely fit to captain a piece of driftwood. He'd be better off running off and working a library like his peasant of a mother" he laughed. I jumped across the table with sword in hand. "DONT YOU DARE INSULT MY MOTHER YOU SON OF A BITCH" I shouted. Orville sidestepped and propelled me into the wall with ease. "Like I said, peasant"
"Captain you idiot. What did I tell you about strenuous activity" Aloe muttered, checking my bandages. "Father has been hearing a lot of rumors that you've taken an admiral of the navy as a hostage. His message is one of congratulations." Orville spit, apparently disgusted to know that I was doing well as a pirate. "Yeah, I've been hearing rumors of that too" the admiral chuckled. He was actually having fun with this. Orville sighed. "That guy's the admiral isn't he?" "Yeah, his name is Samuel" I said, leaning back in my seat. Orville grinned wickedly. "I might just take him from you" he laughed. His men fingered their weapons excitedly, and mine did the same, although with less enthusiasm. "I wouldn't recommend that Orville, we're in a parley. It would be unwise to start a fight now" I said. The whole cabin was tense, everyone waiting and watching for someone to slip up, to give them a reason, one single reason, to start killing eachother. "Much as it sickens me, you are right. Attacking you now would be against the BlackJack code of honor, grey area that it may be" he scowled. "But once this is over, and you've returned safely to your ship. Then I have one hour until you're free game again, and I can wage war" he grinned. "War never solves anything" I said, trying my hardest to remain calm. "Wrong. War solves everything" Orville grinned. I sighed "The earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that in glory and in triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." I said somberly. "How very touching. War it is" he laughed.
"Ok men, Orville means to wage war. This is a very big deal. I won't lie to you, I'm not sure we can beat them" I announced, standing at the helm. The men booed, throwing empty cans and pieces of junk. "Yeah yeah yeah, shut the heck up" I chuckled. "Prepare yourselves. Sharpen your swords, ready your guns, do whatever the heck you usually do when we prepare for battle." I shouted. I walked with the men onto the beach, and buried a hatchet in a big tree. "What was the point of that?" Carmine asked. "The BlackJacks adopted the tradition from the Native Americans. When war is declared between tribes, the Native Americans bury a hatchet in a post, and there the hatchet shall remain until the war is over" I said. We adopted the tradition for no other reason than because father thought it was an cool way to declare war. "Ok men" I picked up a stick and started drawing up battle plans in the sand. "Here's what we're gonna do"
War. It's not a fun thing. Don't get me wrong, I like fighting, but I don't like the result of battle. It's hard to explain. Regardless of my stance on war, my plans were actually rather brilliant, if I so say so myself. The men in the front lines had swords. The rear section had swords and guns to be abandoned when they had outlived their usefulness. There were men hiding in the trees with three two-shot pistols each, ready to fire when I gave the signal. It had taken a lot of work, but we finished repairing the ship, and we had anchored it so the cannons were aimed at the battlefield, with one man per cannon to fire upon my second signal. A second group of people with swords were also hidden in the forest, ready to pop out as reinforcements. We also had John and Carmine sitting up in the top of two trees with some new repeater rifles, which apparently can fire multiple times before reloading. The rifles were expensive, but they had insisted. Against the wishes of everyone else, I had freed Sunny Day and Riktor, on the condition that if they helped us fight, I would release them to do as they please. Those two are magnificent warriors, and without them we wouldn't stand a chance. Hopefully it would prove to be worth it. Our numbers weren't exactly high, so men were spread thin, but we should do well. Despite the urging of Aloe, and pretty much the rest of the crew, I would be leading the front lines.
"Here they come!" Jack shouted. We charged, swords brandished and guns ablaze. Men on both sides went down before we even made contact. I didn't see Orville anywhere. Our men clashed, sword upon sword. I ducked a swinging blade and cut down a young ferret. A bullet whizzed by my ear, burying itself in the sand. Men on my side were doing well. Or they were, until Orville charged in. He jumped out from behind his men and cut down four of mine in a heartbeat. Then he was off again, dropping men left and right. Janet cracked two peoples heads together, before knocking another to the ground. Carmine and John were picking men off one by one. I called out to the tree dwellers, "on my signal... Unleash hell!" And they fired into the crowd of Orville's men, dropping them in droves. Jack jumped over one man and slashed him from behind. Sunny parried a sword and Riktor cut the man down, working in tandem. Denmure and Kenmure did much the same, albeit on the other side of the battlefield. The shooters in the trees ran out of bullets and, along with the people who had been hiding back there, charged out of their hiding places and into the fray. I whistled, a loud sharp whistle that could be heard all around. Cannon blasts exploded among Orville's crew, sending some flying, and others to the ground. Then Orville popped in again, cutting down three more of my crew. In that moment, my men started retreating.
"Captain, what now?" Janet asked, referring to my now retreating crew. "My center is giving way, my right is retreating, situation excellent, I am attacking" I laughed insanely, my BlackJack bloodlust kicking in. I charged into Orville's men, and is started smashing them like a bull in a china shop. Two down on my left, another on my right. One behind me, three at my front. I went on and on, attacking and putting down man after man, until a single shot rang out. I turned, just in time to see Nuttania fall. I froze, like my muscles were made of lead. And in that moment of hesitation, Orville struck. I hit the ground like a sack of oranges. I barely managed to spin to my feet before the Orville's sword stabbed into the sand where my head had been just an instant ago. Orville's men were retreating too, which didn't make sense considering mine were already doing that. "Come on you sons if bitches! do you want to live forever?" Orville laughed insanely. I looked around, and most of my men were on the ground bleeding, but also watching me and Orville intently. The same of Orville's crew. Some of our crew members were still standing, but they too were watching. It was just me and Orville now. I looked around again. My men were on the ground, bruised cut and bleeding, some of them may have even been dead. Then I glimpsed Nuttania, laying on the ground, looking up at the sky with a blank expression on her face. It was then, that something in my brain just snapped. I looked back at Orville. I was pissed. I was pissed, but I forced myself to think, to be logical. I become one with the battle. Deep breath. Everything into place, everything perfect... Attack!
I shouted at Orville, and I swung. Sparks in the air, steel clashing with steel, blood in the sand. Orville retaliated, and sparks again flew as his blade glanced off of mine. I spun, and he brought me to a stop with my blade against his, and his inches from his face. "You'll have to do better than that" he laughed. His sword slashed down, a gash opened up in my arm. "First blood is mine" he grinned. "Last blood counts for more" I slashed him across the chest. I ducked a side sweep, he parried mine. He spun, I ducked, his blade put a hole in my captains jacket. "dammit" I growled, slashing. He blocked my blade again, spinning out of the way and barely missing my throat. Be calm, observe, find a weak spot. He was flawless, not a gap her nor there. I was about to deem it pointless, until, there! I stabbed, right through his defenses. He shouted, and then he fell to his knees, my sword in his chest. "Well" he said, and blood trickled down out of the corner of his mouth. "It seems you aren't totally useless after all" he chuckled. "In fact, I'd even say you did rather well, since you managed to beat me. I never thought I'd see the day" he said. He collapsed, and as he slipped into unconsciousness, he genuinely smiled "I'm proud of you... Brother"
~ I did everything in my power, everything I could possibly have done. But in the end, those proved to be his last words. Nuttania on the other hand, would make a full recovery. But as for Orville, well, the captain lost it. Ignoring his wounds, much to my dismay, he started smashing everything in sight. Throwing chairs, smashing walls, breaking boxes and destroying everything he could get his hands on. If he were strong enough, I've no doubt he would have smashed the entire ship. I'd only ever seen the captain mad once before, but this was on an entirely new level. It was a serious mix of rage and grief, an emotion much greater than the sum of its parts. What I've seen, and what I've heard the captain say over these months I've sailed with him, led me to believe he hated his family. But seeing how he responded to Orville's death, I don't know. His last words, maybe those were the game changer, or maybe something else was on the table. The captain calms down and goes into his room every so often. Then he comes back out and starts breaking things again. I actually snuck into his room a few hours ago. He's got Orville's captains coat and hat set up where his usually is, on a tailor's wooden mannequin. It's become an object of pride for him, but also one of grief. I feel sorry for him.
~ Pat, he's driving himself nuts. I've tried to reason with him, but he's not thinking straight. I don't blame him. If someone from my family had died, I can't say I'd have done anything different. "Pat, just try to calm down" I said, making my voice as soothing as possible. "Please leave me alone" he said somberly, then he screamed and threw a barrel, smashing it and spilling it's content of coconuts we had gathered. Then he threw Phil... Again... We did try tying him down earlier, but he broke free and started breaking more stuff. He needed to work this all out of his system, but we all wished he could have done it in a less destructive manner. We set sail from that island a few hours ago, but Pat made absolutely certain that it was put on all our charts. Dallas took care of that, rambling on about this and that. I don't really know why he insisted on charting it, maybe it's because that's where he buried Orville. He dug a six foot hole and left the our Jolly Roger to mark the grave.
~ "Don't worry about it, you're gonna be fine." The doctor smiled, wrapping bandages around my wound. Their captain took down Orville. I'm not sure what to think. We'd all gone on so long thinking Orville was untouchable, to see him as anything else pretty much broke us. Their doctor was doing everything he could to save as many of us as possible, for whatever reason. They could easily have just left us all to die, but instead they had saved most of us. We lost only six people, thanks to this doctor. Captain Orville makes seven, actually. Their captain has been going nuts, throwing and smashing things. I'd heard nothing from Orville but jeers and insults about their captain, for him to be in such a state, just doesn't make sense. "So, you're a ferret. I haven't seen one of you in a while" their doctor said, finishing my bandages. "What's it to you?" I said. "Well, it's just nice to see new faces around here. We were stuck on that island for over a month. It gets monotonous seeing the same people all the time" he chuckled. From all I'd heard from Orville, these pirates were supposed to be weak, but I'd seen them fight, they're most certainly not. No, they aren't weak, they're just nice. It's weird, seeing nice pirates, but at the same time it's refreshing. They had offered a few of us to become part of their crew. I may just take them up on that offer. As I thought that, they broke out in song again. "We're homeward bound for Liverport town; goodbye fare thee well, goodbye fare thee well"
~ "Laaaand hoooo!" Kenmure called, while Denmure napped. We pulled up to shore, and most of the crew ran off immediately towards the bar. Pat had sufficiently calmed down, but he still moped around. Eventually we all congregated towards the bar, even Orville's crew came with us. Their men and ours immediately went into a drink-off. They held out rather well for a while, but eventually they were overcome by the sheer volume that our crew can drink. Pat sipped at his piña colada, but his heart wasn't in it. "Do you want to talk about it Pat?" I asked, sitting next to him at his table. "Not really" he sighed. I jabbed him in the arm "come on, spill it" I said. He sighed again. "I thought I hated Orville, but now I know what he was really like. He was cruel, and he was controlling, but..." He trailed off. He sighed again and slid a leather bound book over to me. I opened it, and was surprised by every word.
~ Today, my brother became a man. Yes, today he turned eighteen. He was going to be made the four of clubs, but I put in a word, no I insisted, that he be made the ace of spades. It's a position I think he deserves. He's performed amazing feats already; he's strong, he's fast, he's intelligent, and more importantly, he's kind. I can't wait to see what he becomes. He's not like the other BlackJacks. He didn't turn into an uncaring, murder loving low-life like the rest of them. Myself included I suppose. Eventually the day will come, and I'm certain that he'll be stronger than father. He'll take over the family name, and he'll change things, make things better. No longer will the BlackJack family be a bunch of murderers and scum, no, we will be a force to be recognized. Recognized not through fear or violence, but instead through our deeds. We will be organized, strong, smart, everything good pirates should be. If there's one thing I'm certain of in this world, I know he'll go on to do great things, my little brother.
*an excerpt from the journal of Orville BlackJack
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That's chapter 4, I hope you liked it.