Sea

"Set full sail! Ready the bow-chasers! Load chain shot!"

Somerset yelled at his crew as he walked along the ship's side. The ship's mainsails and topgallants came out, and it began to accelerate. It flew along the waves, its figurehead being doused by a constant cloud of spray. It hunted the fleeing smuggler sloop like an eagle chasing a rabbit. Gunports all along its sides opened, revealing glistening twelve-pounder guns, already loaded with round shot, ready to tear open the hull of their target. The canvass covering of the central deck was removed and a set of nine-pounder guns were lifted out of the hole and rolled to the railing. They, too, were loaded with powder and cannonballs.

The sloop was a small target. It had only one mast with a gaff mainsail, square-shaped and held by two booms along the keel of the ship, and a jib that stretched from the top of the mast to the front of the hull. It had a set of four small six-pounder cannons that were loaded by its crew, but they knew it was painfully obvious that if they were caught by the frigate they would have no escape. Even at full sail, though, it was too slow to escape the frigate.

The front of the Eagle became drenched in white smoke as one of the nine-pounder bow-chasers fired a shot into the water next to the sloop, trying to get it to surrender. When the sloop failed to surrender, the other bow-chaser fired; this time, it tore through the jib, snapping the rope and causing the sail to fall uselessly to the deck. Its crewmen didn't give up, however. They turned into the wind, taking advantage of their remaining sail to run closer to the wind.

The Eagle approached the crippled sloop like a lion chasing a wounded gazelle. Somerset stood on the bow of the deck, his clothing waving in the breeze. He raised his spyglass to his eye in a whitish glow, spotting the sloop. Its crew were desperately running back and forth, and one was trying to tie the severed rope back together with little success. He spotted one of the cannons taking aim, and focused in on it just in time to see a small cannonball fly from the gun and splash into the water just off the ship's side. With a sour expression on his face, he turned to the gun crews of the chasers just in time to hear them report, "Guns reloaded." Somerset had a small grin on his face as he ordered another round of chain shot fired. This time, the mast was split in half, with the top half dejectedly falling into the water, taking the sail with it.

"Marines, prepare to board!" he shouted as he began running back to the stern deck to command his ship. "Helmsman, bring us alongside. Let's see what treats these smugglers are trying to sneak by."

"Aye, cap'n."

The Eagle came alongside the ship, and the twelve marines on board readied their muskets as they prepared to board...