Make way for the REAL Storm King.

Chapter 6
Avast ye scurvy birds!

‘This is insanity.’ I thought to myself as I stood on the aft castle of the “flagship”. If one could call it that.

Let me clarify.
Imagine a Schooner from circa seventeen fifty, chop off all the masts, then strap a blimp’s airbag to it and stick a couple propellers on the back to push it forward, and you have the average airship of this world. They are perfectly serviceable for transporting goods, and for dropping fire on towns. But I have no confidence in them as far as ship to ship combat goes. These things don’t even have cannons. All they have is some Ballistae. And most of those are used to snag other ships with grapples so they can be reeled in and boarded.

I don’t know what it is about this world, but weapons technology seems to be stuck in early medieval or late roman era. The only explanation I can think of is that the armies of the strongest nations rely heavily on magic. That in itself is a worrying thought, because I’m laughably ill equipped to deal with that right now.

Currently we were flying on our own. The rest of the armada was following far behind at a much higher altitude to use the clouds for cover, while we pretended to be a trade vessel just going about its business. There have been a lot of raids in this particular area, and we were hoping to attract attention. If a pirate ship shows up, we’ll let them come close. Once they try to grapple us we’ll launch a signal flare so the armada can descend on it. I just hope we don’t go down in flames before they get here.

The one thing I do have faith in are my fighting forces. They are motivated and have the best weapons and armor our current level of industry can produce. I doubt the pirates are as well equipped, but you never know. I find it better to err on the side of caution.

It was hours later when the lookouts raised the alert. A ship was barely visible on the horizon, but according to them it was headed straight for us. With all trade traffic grounded on my orders, that made the probability of them being pirates almost a hundred percent.

I involuntarily tightened my grip on my spear. This would be my second real battle since the burning of Blackreef, and even though I plan to stay away from actual combat as much as possible, it pays to be prepared. That is why I have been doing combat drills with Greenscale every day since then. He tells me I have improved from dead meat to only mostly dead meat. A backhanded compliment that did little to boost my confidence.

For a brief moment I wished he were here with me. As much as I hate to admit it, I actually missed his banter and dry wit. He had more important duties at the moment however. Namely to train my royal guard.

“Orders my lord?” the captain asked as he stepped up beside me.

“You know the plan, captain. Draw them in, let them make the attempt to board, then we counter attack. I leave the boarding action in your more experienced hands.”

“As you wish my lord.”

I stood silently as I stared at the pirate ship slowly coming closer. It took nearly an hour for them to catch up to us. The captain took us through a series of maneuvers to make it seem like we were trying to run for our lives. It egged them on perfectly. Slowly they closed the gap, and finally they were close enough that I could get a proper look at their crew.

They really were parrots. Man sized anthropomorphic parrots. And they didn’t look friendly. They were brandishing an assortment of swords and cutlery. Some had a crazed look in their eyes, practically foaming at the beak. As the gap between the ships closed, a couple of ballistae and smaller harpoon turrets turned towards us.

We had ballistae of our own, but they were currently covered under tarps and nets to make them look like cargo. They wouldn’t be deployed until the last possible second.

The enemy was less patient. The moment we got within maximum range they fired. Their first shot went wide. Missing our hull by a wide margin. Their second shot however, slammed into the side of the forecastle. A single wooden bolt with a barbed iron head, fitted to a length of rope. The ship lurched slightly when the rope went taut and they started trying to reel us in.

“Wait for it.” the captain said calmly to the deckhands, eager to uncover our own weapons.

The gap closed ever further, and a second bolt hit our side. Reeling us in faster.

“Waaait for it.” the captain said again.

We were close enough that I could clearly hear the pirates shouting taunts at us over the wind. Slinging insults and promising grave bodily harm, and some choice titbits about our mothers.

“NOW!” yelled the captain.

In one fluent motion the deckhands drew back the tarps and nets. The ballistae thumped, the deck vibrating slightly as they fired. The barbed tips of their steel harpoons easily penetrated the pirate ship’s hull at this range. Their spring-loaded mechanisms extended their tips even further so they would not come loose. With a snap and a twang the steel cables attached to them went taut. Reeling the ship in closer.

The pirates were confused. Their expressions of glee turning to confusion and concern at our counter boarding action.

I rapidly thumped my spear against the deck, thrice. The signal for my troops to emerge. They sprang forth from below decks, weapons at the ready. A total of forty men. By comparison the pirates only had about seventeen; the average crew for a ship of its size. Wedge and Biggs took up position at my sides, eyes alert and brandishing their weapons. Their presence worked wonders to steady my nerves.

I could see panic started to set in among the pirates after seeing our numbers. They were expecting a ship full of cargo, not soldiers. Their boarding lines were immediately cut. Next they tried to cut ours, but their blades and hatchets couldn’t even nick our steel cables. We had them, and slowly but steadily we reeled them in.

Finally, with a loud crack the two hulls touched together.

“Take as many alive as you feasibly can!” I shouted, pointing my spear at the enemy.

As my troops vaulted across the gap between decks to engage, I walked to the opposite side and fired the signal flare into the sky. Signaling the armada with its brilliant red flash and smoke trail. They should be here within twenty minutes at maximum speed.

The battle itself was over before the fleet even showed up on the horizon. And to my relief I didn’t even have to take part in it personally. They lost five, we lost only one, though we did sustain some injuries. All of the pirates were currently on their knees on the deck, their arms bound behind their backs and glaring at me with undisguised hatred.

“Who is your captain?” I asked. But none of them replied and just glared at me defiantly.

I strolled up to a random pirate in the line and leaned forward, looking him in the eye. “I asked a question.”

“Why don’t you ask your mother? She was blowing the captain last night.” he replied, eliciting a mix of chortles and ohhs from the rest of them.

My voice dropped a few degrees. “I suggest you choose your next words carefully.”

“Go bugger a hippogriff, monkey.” he replied to a chorus of more snickers.

“That’s lord monkey to you.” I replied, then without warning lashed out with my foot, kicking him square in the beak.

My steel toed boots easily shattered said beak, and blood began to leak from it as he fell to the deck, groaning in pain. I didn’t give him time to recover. I simply grabbed him by his filthy shirt, dragged him to the railing, and flung him overboard. His cries of terror slowly faded as he plummeted to his death. When I turned around, none of them were smirking anymore.

Part of me was concerned, because I felt little to no remorse as I flung him to his death. I suppose I could justify it somehow if I really tried, but I just couldn’t bring myself to care anymore. The simple truth is, I am a villain. Justifications only matter to the just. My goal is to conquer the world, and the world isn’t likely to take it lying down. Trying to keep my hands clean at this point in the game would be a pointless exercise in futility.

I pushed those thoughts aside for now, glaring at the crew. “He got off easy. Now I will ask one last time… who is your captain?”

“I’m the captain.” Said a heavily scarred parrot with blue feathers. He didn’t look any different from the rest of his crew. Couldn’t he have had the decency to wear a fancy hat or something? Anything to help him stand out from the crowd. It would have saved me some time.

“Well then, was that so hard? Don’t answer that! The only thing I want from you is the location of your home base.”

“Our what?”

“Don’t play dumb with me captain. You pirates have plagued these skies for over a decade. Surely you all need a place to fence your ill gotten gains and repair your ships. You will take us there.”

“Not going to happen. You have no idea what the others would do to me and my crew if I betrayed them.”

“No, but I will tell you what I will do captain.” I leaned in close. “My men and I, we haven’t had a decent piece of meat in months. And I bet you goddamn birds are close enough to chicken to make a good substitute. So you either give me what I want, or I will have your crew butchered, cooked and eaten, one by one while making the rest of you watch; until you give me what I want.”

“You.. you wouldn’t. You’re bluffing!”

I snapped my fingers. “Wedge, Biggs, go to the galley and fetch the chopping block and some butchering knives. The big ones.”

I stared coldly at the captain while they set everything up. When they put out the knives he really started to sweat.

“Last chance captain. Will you lead us to the location of the pirate’s home, or do we get to enjoy some KFC?”

I doubt they understood what the heck KFC was, but that didn’t matter. I just kept staring at the captain, trying to look as indifferent as possible. He kept glancing from the knives to me and back.

“Nice try.” he finally said. “But no-one eats another sapient being. Only wild monsters do that.”

I sighed and looked to the rest of his crew.

“So what now, tough guy?” he asked.

I pointed to a random pirate and motioned to Wedge and Biggs “That one.”

“What are you doing?” said the captain.

“Wait… stop.” the pirate protested as wedge and biggs dragged him to the block.

“It’s not going to work, just drop the act.” said the captain.

I ignored him and picked up the biggest meat cleaver from the collection of knives. “Put his leg on the block.” I said with a calm in my voice that belied the knot in my stomach. Only through great effort did I keep my hands from shaking as I carried the cleaver over.

“Wait, WAIT! I will tell you the way!” shrieked the pirate.

“Hush now. Dinner doesn’t speak.” I said coldly.

“Enough! Stop this madness!” shouted the captain.

“I could make a: “this is Sparta” joke, but you wouldnt get it.” I said with a wry chuckle that masked the unease in my voice.

“Captain, captain help me!” the pirate blubbered.

“A little more forward, Biggs. I want to chop right there at the thigh.”

“Captaaaaaaain! The pirate howled in panic.

“STOP! You’ve made your point!”

“No, captain, you called my bluff. Now I have no choice but to prove that I DON’T bluff, or no-one will ever take my threats seriously again. What happens now is on you.”

I brought the cleaver down. Once, twice, three times before it severed the leg completely. The pirates' shrieks of agony were like needles in my ears. Luckily he passed out after the second swing. I felt like I wanted to throw up. It wasn’ the blood that bothered me, it's the screaming.

“You maniac!” bellowed the captain.

I grabbed his throat with my blood slicked hand, rising anger and adrenaline lending steadiness to my voice.

“Shut up you miserable wretch. You and your kind have been attacking and plundering my ships and towns, and killing my subjects for years. Because of you thieves, my people go hungry and their homes fall apart, because you keep stealing their food and all the materials required for repairs. Not only that, but you murder the crews of my trade ships. Hard working husbands and fathers who leave behind spouses and children. How many have you killed?”

Before he could answer I punched him in the face, sending him sprawling. “There is no moral high ground here for you to claim. You scum are animals, and I will butcher you like animals to get what I want.”

I walked back to the unconscious pirate, and with one anger fueled stroke of the cleaver, severed his head.

“In the end, you’re just a small fish in a big pond who ran afoul of a bigger fish. Simple as that.”

I dropped the cleaver next to the body. “Take the captain to the bridge and take the rest of his crew to the brigg. If they resist, chuck them overboard. Once they are secure, scuttle their ship.”

“What of the body, sire?” asked one of my crew.

“Take it to the galley. No sense in wasting good meat.” They looked far too pleased with that order, judging by the eager look in their eyes.

“You’re a monster.” coughed the captain as they hauled him away.

“You have no idea what a true monster is,” I said coldly. “Me, I’m just a pragmatist.”

...

I staggered through my cabin door a few minutes later, letting myself sink down onto my bunk. I felt shaky as the adrenaline slowly drained from my system. I did not enjoy that one bit. But I had little choice.

I’m here to bring the pirate clans to heel. If the reports are accurate, the majority of them are repulsive, ruthless scum who have no respect for any authority, save their own. The only way they will even acknowledge me is if they fear me. The easiest way to instill fear is with violence. So If that means I have to personally brutalize and maim a few pirates, so be it. Though one must take care to use violence as a tool and not a crutch. It's a means to reach an outcome, but not automatically the first option if others will suffice. I think I did adequately for now.

A wave of nausea hit me and I barely managed to open the small round window before losing my breakfast. Ugh, why can’t things ever be simple.

Another wave of nausea hit me. I think I’ll pass on any meat dishes for a while.

Black Skull Island was an aptly named place. A black rock formation that, when viewed from a distance resembled a large, horned skull. The small island only had a single settlement whose name nobody seemed to remember. It was here the pirates gathered to unload their ill gotten gains. The stolen goods were then repackaged and sold as legitimate goods through a number of trade ships whose captains were the unscrupulous sort.

Staring through the spyglass I spotted well over three dozen airships dotting the skies over the town. The town harbor housed another dozen or so actual sailing ships. Cloud cover was minimal, so they would spot us soon, if they hadn’t already. I lowered the spyglass and turned to the captain.

“Signal the fleet. Form the ships into two equal numbered lines. Have the second line take up position above and behind us to provide cover. I want our biggest ships to target their lead vessels for boarding. Their priorities are the frigates. Everyone else, target the envelopes on the smaller ships. If they try to swarm us with numbers, do your best to bring them down.”

“By your will, my lord.”

“Enemy has begun to move.” one of the lookouts called.

I raised my spyglass to get a better look. Several pirate ships were moving into a roughly cross shaped formation. One or two others were actually fleeing the island. The rest of them were still hanging stil, but that wouldn’t last.

“Send out our messenger. Tell them the Storm King demands a meeting with their leaders.”

While I stood waiting on the deck my brain was afire with ideas. All of these ships were so… primitive. With barely any firepower to speak of. Designs were coalescing in my mind. Some directly copied from the compendium, others my own imagination, using the technical knowledge inside the compendium to fill in the blanks and make something purely fictional into an actual functional reality. Once this business was done I would put them to paper and start working on the future flagship of my armada. Something actually deserving of the name.

My mind finally snapped back to reality when the captain addressed me.

“My lord, they are sending an envoy ship,” he pointed.

One of their largest galleon style ships broke away from the formation to approach us. A banner of parley fluttering in the wind.

“If they so much as sneeze in our direction…”

“We will send them down in pieces, my Lord. Rest assured.” the captain replied.

I would most definitely not rest assured. Trusting your underlings to have everything in hand without at least double checking? HAH! That’s an easy way for beginning villains to get killed.

The Galleon reached our position and carefully lined up besides us. A gangplank was hoisted into place for their representative. I waited silently as a trio of parrots stepped across. The one in the lead looked like a scarlet macaw. The second had mostly pale cream colored plumage with green head and tail feathers that reminded me of a cockatoo. The third looked like a sun conure.

“So… you are the mighty storm king. Frankly I expected you to be taller. I am captain Darius, these are captains Celaeno and Parveen. We speak for the pirate clans. Your messenger said you’re here to negotiate a deal with us. Do enlighten us will you.” Said the macaw. His voice sounded smug and smarmy. Seemingly unconcerned with facing down a full fledged invasion.

“I hope you are more reasonable than the last captain I had words with,” I replied. Trying to sound as unimpressed as possible. “When people are being willfully unreasonable it tends to irk me. And things that irk me tend to end up dead.”

Their talons inched a little closer to their weapons, but then they thought better of it.

“You came an awful long way and brought such an… impressive entourage, just to talk to us. What do you hope to get out of this?” the one called Celaeno asked.

“More than you like, less than you fear.” I quipped, but they just stared at me unamused. “I want the pirate clans to work for me.”

“Keep dreaming.” snarked the one named Parveen. “We’re pirates. We work for no one but ourselves.”

“And how has that worked out for you so far?”

“Pretty well actually,” Darius shrugged. “We’ve gotten some really good booty over the years, and no one has gotten in our way.”

“Until today. Because now... I am here.” I said, gesturing at the rest of the armada. “The previous king may have turned a blind eye to your antics, but I won’t. The days of you raiding my trade lanes without repercussion are over.”

They scowled at me, but I shrugged it off and continued.

“I’m not an unreasonable person though. I won’t expect a bunch of buccaneers to just pack up and leave. That is why I want you all to work for me, as privateers. You will receive a letter of marque and you are free to raid and pillage at your leisure so long as you leave my settlements and trading vessels alone. I will even allow you to fence your ill gotten gains and repair and restock your ships in my territory, for reasonable prices.”

I could practically hear the gears in their heads turning, and see the greed in their eyes. I’d given them the carrot.

“Of course there are a number of provisos to this deal.” I continued. “I don’t know about you and your crews, but I take a very dim view on rape.”

The two female captains nodded almost imperceptibly. Darius just scoffed.

“I also understand that casualties are inevitable in conflict. Im not some stupid idealist who thinks everything is sunshine and rainbows. But needless cruelty and wanton slaughter on the other hand are a waste. So if you take my offer you will conduct yourselves according to my standards.”

“And if we decide to decline your generous offer?” asked Parveen. “I mean, what's to stop us from killing the lot of you and carrying on like we always have?”

Now came the stick.

“You are free to try, however, if you go down that road I will be forced to reduce your armada and this island to ashes. Those of you who survive the battle will be hunted down and butchered like livestock to feed my army. And before you call my bluff on that, I suggest you speak to my prisoners, who I will turn over to you once this conversation is concluded.”

The smugness didn’t leave their faces entirely, but my words did give them pause. I could see them exchange quick glances when they thought I wasn't paying attention.

“What if we have some demands of our own?” Said Darius.

“If they are reasonable requests then we can discuss them. If you want to be exempt from my guidelines, sucks to be you. These are my terms, and they are non negotiable. You have thirty minutes to decide. Those who wish to be privateers must strike their colors before time’s up. Those who fail to do so will be fired upon the moment time runs out.”

I looked each of them in the eyes as I gave them some last parting words. “I’m creating a new world order. You can either get on board, or get crushed under my bootheel.”

They lingered for a moment, then turned and walked back across to their own ship.

We released our prisoners into their custody and waited for them to leave. The captured captain whose name I never bothered to learn glared at me with murder in his eyes. His crew on the other hand was filled with uncertainty and fear. Good, hopefully they would spread it around to the rest of them, and this whole affair will be wrapped up without further complications.

Bah, who am I kidding? So far this whole affair has been one complication after another.

……

“How much longer?”

“Five minutes left my Lord.” Said the captain.

“If they plan to try something it will happen soon.” I said. Never taking my eyes off the enemy fleet.

A few ships had clustered together. Most likely belonging to their most influential captains.

“Looks like you were right, boss,” said Wedge.

Several ships were breaking away from the rear of their formation. A half dozen or so by the looks of it.

“They’re running.” grunted Biggs. “Cowards.”

“Always eager for a brawl aren’t you, Biggs?” I smirked.

“Brawls are fun.” he shrugged.

“I prefer to handle things without...”

“Incoming!” came a shout from the front.

A ballista bolt impacted the prow. Shattering part of the railing. More bolts came sailing our way. Aside from the runners, the rest of the pirates had apparently decided to attack us.

“They’re firing on us.” Said the captain.

“I can see that, captain obvious!” I snarled. “All craft, return fire!”

The deck vibrated as our gunnery crews returned fire. A dozen ballistae all shooting as one. The rest of the armada followed suit. The air between the two fleets was soon filled with deadly projectiles of wood and steel.

“Concentrate fire on their envelopes!” I yelled before ducking down. A bolt the length of my body passing overhead. It shattered against the deck of the aft castle, tearing a splintered furrow into the wood. “As soon as they are in optimal range, switch to our special munitions.”

My little trump card. These munitions are ballista bolts with a hollow tip. Said tip has been filled with a chunk of magmasite crystal. As it turns out, if you smash a magmasite crystal with enough blunt force they will create a small but intense blast of fire. I found that out the hard way when I experimented with the stuff. Nearly singed my eyebrows off. We don’t have too many of them, since magmasite is too expensive to waste on mass producing these bolts. Hopefully what we have will give us the edge in this battle.

“Signal the ships, both flanks forward. Try to encircle the enemy. Concentrate fire on the center of their formation to try and scatter them. With any luck a few of them will panic and crash into one another.”

Another bolt sailed past, tearing into our envelope. Luckily it didn't cause significant damage. The outer layer of them is covered in toughened yeti hide, and the inner gas pockets are segmented so that if one pops they don't drain the entire balloon at once. Still it's best not to poke too many holes into them.

The fleets closed, and pretty soon our special rounds were put to action. The first volley hit one of their leading frigates. Several bright bursts of fire blossomed across their envelope, before the entire thing exploded in a ball of fire, sending flaming debris everywhere before the remains of the ship below dropped like a stone. Several of the enemy ships panicked, veering away from the flaming balloon as its remains drifted down in burning pieces. Their sudden manoeuvre sent them crashing into other vessels, just as I had hoped, causing significant damage to their hulls.

Their faster schooners separated from the edge of their haphazard formation, engaging our flanking ships in a running gunfight. One of them miscalculated their ascend, and they crashed, hull first into the envelope of one of my ships. The both of them went down in flames.

More and more bolts struck my ship. Clearly they hoped to win this by taking down the Storm King himself. Well, two could play that game.

Scanning the skies, I looked for Darius’ galleon. It wasn’t that hard to spot, being one of the biggest and most flamboyantly painted ships.

“Captain, adjust course and take us in. Bring us alongside that ship!” I shouted

“But sir, we’ll be targeted by their entire fleet.”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, captain,” I said as another ballista bolt tore a hole in our hull, big enough for me to stick my head through, “we’re already being targeted by most of their fleet. If we fly straight into them they might be more reluctant to shoot us for fear of hitting their own.”

I then turned to the deck crew. “Port side, prepare boarding lines! Starboard side, ready special munitions. Anything that tries a counter boarding action once we engage, you turn to ashes!”

“We could just retreat to the back of our lines and...” said the captain, but I would have none of it.

“And what? Look like a coward? No captain. As sound a strategy as that is… not today.” I shook my head.

Not today. Today I had to make a stand

I am a villain. You don’t see the likes of Darth Vader cower behind his forces. I just need to be smart about it. Pick my battles. I choose this one.

Our ship surged forward at full speed, straight down their proverbial throat. Several support craft followed suit, providing covering fire. A series of bolts struck our envelope, causing the ship to yaw slightly as the lifting gas escaped, before the captain had a chance to compensate. Our course sent us directly into an enemy sloop. Its smaller hull breaking apart upon impact with our reinforced prow. The screams of its crew as they plummeted to their doom echoed in my ears.

With a groan of stressed material, the captain got the ship back on course. Darius’ ship was dead ahead. I could see her gunnery crews hastily turning their ballistae in our direction. Our own crews opened fire the moment we were within optimum range. Our steel bolts tore through her like a knife through butter. Several of its turrets were torn to shreds by the violent impacts. One of her crew was slammed overboard, impaled by a chunk of splintered railing. Then we followed up with boarding lines.

“Soldiers, with me!” I yelled as the lines snapped taut and began to reel in the galleon. “Crossbows up! As soon as we make contact, fire a volley!”

The hulls slammed together, the wood creaking and splintering in places. A rapid staccato of twangs sent our crossbow bolts flying. Our reward was a series of pained shrieks as they found vulnerable flesh to pierce.

“TAKE THEM!” I bellowed before making a run for the railing. Wedge and Biggs actually overtook me, vaulting the railing with weapons raised. I jumped after them, landing on the enemy deck with a thunk. I almost slipped and stumbled slightly, and it nearly cost me my head as a cutlass sang past my face, causing me to flinch.

’Don’t think, just act.’ Greenscale’s instructions echoed in my head.

I brought up my spear, slamming the blunt end between the legs of my assailant; eliciting a pained caw from the pirate. I followed up with a quick punch to the face. My gauntleted fist cracking across his beak hard enough to send chips of it flying. He took a swipe at me with his blade, it impacted my chestplate and skated off. Leaving a series of scratches in the polished steel. Quickly stepping back out of his range, I brought up my spear, making a series of quick jabs towards his eyes. Just as I planned he brought his sword up to shield his face, leaving himself open. With a quick adjustment of my grip I rammed my spear forward, stabbing him twice in the gut. With only a dirty cotton shirt for protection it meant the end of him.

Around me, my men had cleared a small section of the deck, giving me some room to catch my breath for a second. My men had things well in hand, so with a firm grip on my weapon I made my way to the aft castle, and the captains quarters.

With a swift kick I opened the doors. A pirate lunged at me, but I was ready for it and my spear sank into his throat. Ending his life with a gurgle. Ripping the bloody tip from his throat I turned to face Darius. He was sitting behind his ornate desk as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“We could have avoided this you know.” I said coldly.

“Yes, but where would be the fun in that?” Darius smirked.

“You’re crazy.” I said as I stepped closer, spear poised to end him.

“And you are an idiot.” He snarled before drawing a crossbow from beneath the desk.

Pain ripped through my gut, doubling me over. My hands went numb for a second, and my spear tumbled from my grip. Fire blossomed in my stomach, and I looked down to where the bolt had punctured my abdomen. Blood started leaking from the wound.

”Shit.” was all that went through my mind before my knees gave out and I sank to the floor.

“The mighty Storm King.” Darius said mockingly as he stood up from his desk, drawing his cutlass.

“Once your men learn of your death, your armada will fall into chaos. We will finish them off, and then your precious island will be ripe for the taking. We’ll plunder it to our hearts content for decades.”

I tried to reach for my spear, but the pain in my gut brought me up short. Darius deftly kicked it out of my reach.

“I think I’ll have you stuffed and mounted. Or maybe turn you into a coat rack.” He said mockingly as he put the tip of his blade to my throat. “Or maybe i’ll have your skull turned into a drinking cup. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“You fucking talk to much.” Said a female voice.

Darius spun round, but he was too slow. A blade flashed across his throat, spraying blood everywhere. He fell down in a boneless heap, clawing at his own neck.

I looked up to my rescuer, recognising the cream and green feathered pirate from before.

“You’re… captain Celaeno.” I grunted.

“Did you mean what you said?”

“What?” I asked, unsure what she meant.

“About ending the rape, the needless slaughter. Did you really mean all that?”

“Yes,” I grunted, “I find such things distasteful. Make no mistake, I’m a villain, I’m bound to do things others will condemn me for, but I have some fucking standards.”

“You best not be lying to me.” She said with narrowed eyes as she wiped the blood off her blade.

“I have no reason to lie to you.”

“I have you at my mercy, who knows what you will say to save your own skin.”

“I see your point.” I grunted. My gut was throbbing.

Just then, Wedge and Biggs stormed into the cabin. Seeing my injured state, and the captain standing over me with her sword, both raised their weapons and made ready to charge Celaeno.

“STOP!” I shouted, “She saved my life. Stand down!”

They looked hesitant for a moment, but they lowered their weapons.

With a pained groan I managed to grab the desk, and slowly pull myself up to my feet. I couldn’t stand up straight. The bolt caused too much pain if I tried. Leaning against the desk I looked at the captain.

“You saved me, for that I owe you a boon.”

“All I want is your word, you won’t harm me, or my crew; and you won’t force us to do things against our will. If you can promise me that then…” she hesitated for the briefest of moments, “ then we will work for you.”

“Where is your crew? Why are you on Darius’ ship instead of your own anyway?” I asked.

“My crew fled before the battle started, as I ordered them. Darius refused to let me leave. Piece of shit had no respect for female captains.”

“I say he got what was coming then.” I spat as I looked down at his corpse.

A spike of pain made me double over. My breath coming in short gasps.

“I think, “ I started before coughing weakly, “I think we’ve overstayed our welcome. Come with me, captain. You will be an honoured guest until we can locate and reunite you with your crew.

“When you say honoured guest, you mean…”

“Exactly that, captain. While you will have a guard escort during your stay on my ship, you will not be a prisoner. I give you my word, and my word is law.”

She nodded. “Very well, we have an accord.”

“Good. Now let's get out of here. I need to see my chirurgeon before I bleed out.” I grunted as Wedge helped me stand.

As wedge all but carried my injured ass back aboard the flagship my mind was consumed by a singular thought.

”Power Armour. No matter what it takes, I will make myself a suit of Power Armour.”