《The Tyro Captain》


 Chapter 1

    July 31st, 1715, Caribbean Sea


    Rain pelted down against Silas¡¯ face. Lightning split the sky and a loud clap of thunder followed. The huge waves crashed against the hull the large galleon, sending everyone on deck rocking back and forth slightly. One of the Spanish soldiers came up from below deck and said something to another that Silas didn¡¯t understand. He¡¯d picked up a few words and phrases in Spanish but nowhere near enough to speak fluently. He leaned over to Alonzo. ¡°What¡¯d they say?¡±


    Alonzo was one of the few fortunate people to be bilingual. ¡°They¡¯re gonna move us down below decks, there¡¯s a hurricane coming.¡±


    Silas looked up at the sky. ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll give us an opportunity to get out of here.¡±


    Alonzo laughed. ¡°And how do you expect us to do that with these?¡± He gestured behind them to the ropes around their wrists. Two of the soldiers on deck started walking towards them to get them. Suddenly, a third Spanish soldier emerged from the hold, cutting down both guards. He walked over to Silas and Alonzo and cut the ropes binding their hands together. He helped them up to their feet. He recognized this soldier, he had brought them food countless times and Alonzo had a few conversations with him. He said something to Alonzo in Spanish and Alonzo gave him a reply before they both nodded and the soldier walked off.


    Silas looked at him, full of confusion. ¡°So what now? What was that even about?¡± He asked.


    Alonzo leaned down and picked up the sword and pistol off of one of the dead soldier¡¯s belt and put them on his own. ¡°We¡¯ve gotta get to one of the gunboats escorting the fleet, they¡¯re fast and more maneuverable, we¡¯ll be able to escape in them.¡±


    Silas nodded. ¡°Well the two of us can¡¯t operate a ship on our own.¡± He opened the trapdoor leading below decks. ¡°There are a few prisoners down here I think.¡±


    Alonzo followed close behind as Silas went below decks. They moved quietly, swords in hand. They eventually got to the captain''s quarters where they had 5 other prisoners tied up. They moved hard and fast, taking all the soldiers out in a minute or so. They untied the prisoners and helped them to their feet.


    ¡°Come on lads, we¡¯re getting out of here.¡±


    Once they were all above decks, they ran to the side of the ship. ¡°There!¡± One of the other pirates pointed at a gunboat within reach of the galleon. Silas jumped onto the rail of the ship grabbing a rope in his hands.


    ¡°Alright come on let¡¯s go.¡± He swung forward and once the rope extended as far as it could go, he let go and dove into the water, swimming a few yards before grabbing onto the side of the boat. He grabbed one of the soldiers by the collar of their uniform and threw him overboard. He then leaped onto the ship. Grabbing his pistol and blasting one of the other soldiers in the stomach. Alonzo placed a well aimed shot in one of the soldier¡¯s head. They dumped the bodies over and everyone climbed aboard.


    Silas grabbed the wheel. ¡°Come on lads move it! You two man the cannons.The rest of you on the sails. Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±


    The sails opened up and they got moving. Silas looked over to his left to see the pirates from earlier on the brig sailing away. He spun the wheel in the opposite direction. One of the other Spanish gunboats started following them. But the rear cannons made short work of them.


    ¡°Rogue wave to starboard!¡± Alonzo called out. Silas spun the wheel again, their backs were now to the wave, he hoped they¡¯d be able to outsail it, luckily they did. By now they were clear from the Treasure Fleet, now it was just a matter of surviving the storm, which was looking harder and harder.


    ¡°Waterspout!¡± One of the crew members pointed off the right side. Silas turned the wheel as hard as he could, but the small ship just kept getting pulled closer and closer. The small ship was no match for the strong winds and it sent the whole crew overboard.


    Silas coughed up some water. He opened his eyes only to see a musket pointed right at his head. He looked around to see he was on an island with a crew of British soldiers.


    The captain walked over to him. ¡°Ah look who¡¯s finally awake. I guess scouring these wrecks wasn¡¯t a complete waste of time.¡± He looked at one of the others. ¡°Load him up, we¡¯re setting sail for Kingston.¡±


    The soldier nodded. ¡°Aye sir, right away.¡± Silas was going to protest only to find that his hands were once again tied. He was loaded up onto a schooner and set down on the deck. He watched as they loaded up crates off supplies salvaged from the wreck of the fleet he had escaped from. Eventually, they got moving and set sail.


    The captain looked at Silas. ¡°How old are you lad?¡±


    Silas tilted his head. ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    The captain walked over to him. ¡°You seem awfully young to be a pirate.¡±


    Silas nodded. ¡°You won¡¯t believe how often I get that, I¡¯m 19.¡±


    The captain looked confused. ¡°Why not sail with the navy then? You¡¯d be keeping better company than a bunch of scoundrels and lawless apes.¡±


    Silas sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a long story. Perhaps I¡¯d be more inclined to share it if I wasn¡¯t tied up,¡± He said.


    The helmsman called out to the captain. ¡°Sir, the HMS Lawrence is over there.¡±


    The captain stood up. ¡°Pull up alongside them, see if they¡¯ve found anything.¡± The helmsman nodded and steered the ship to pull up right next to the other schooner.


    The captain leaned on the rail of the ship. ¡°Jackson, what have you found so far?¡±


    The captain of the Lawrence came up to meet him. ¡°Not much, these wrecks are pretty barren. But we did find this pirate.¡±


    Silas looked over at them to see Alonzo tied up on the deck of the other ship. ¡°Well, we found one too. How about you take this one and get them back to Kingston, we¡¯ll stay here and see if we can find anything else.¡±


    They threw a plank between the two ships and walked Silas across. They set him down next to Alonzo and the two just looked at each other. The two captains waved at each other as they separated. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at Kingston.¡±


    ¡°Captain! Pirate ship on the horizon!¡± The helmsman yelled as cannonballs slammed into the hull of the ship.


    The captain turned to Silas and Alonzo. ¡°Looks like your mates came to rescue you.¡±


    Silas laughed. ¡°Mate, we¡¯ve been Spanish prisoners for a month now. If they were here to rescue us, they would¡¯ve done it long ago.¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The British soldiers returned fire but the brig the pirates were sailing easily outgunned them. Cannonballs ripped through their sails, leaving them dead in the water. The ship pulled up alongside them, throwing hooks onto the rails of the ship and pulling them in. Both the pirates and the British were firing muskets at each other. Eventually, the pirates boarded the ship, quickly outnumbering them and forcing them to surrender. The captain of the pirate ship jumped onto the deck of the incapacitated schooner. Silas recognized him as none other than Charles Vane. He¡¯d heard stories of him but he never thought he¡¯d see him in the flesh. He was followed by a man who looked so drunk he could pass out at any moment. Silas figured that must be Jack Rackham.


    ¡°Why ¡®ello gents,¡± Vane spoke with a voice far deeper than Silas expected. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this brief for you.¡± He walked over to the captain. ¡°We¡¯re here to steal all your valuables and leave you to drown.¡± He then spotted Silas and Alonzo and walked over to them. ¡°And who might you be?¡±


    Silas stood up, getting right in his face. ¡°My name is Silas Caldwell.¡± On the outside, he looked determined, afraid of nothing. But in reality, he was petrified, he had heard stories of Vane and none of them were any good. Silas felt Alonzo put something in his hand, as he grasped it, he realized it was a piece of wood that came off the ship during the fight. He quickly started trying to cut the ropes around his hands.


    Vane smiled. ¡°Oh, a tough guy eh? That¡¯s some strong talk for someone with their hands tied behind their backs.¡±


    Silas could feel the roped getting weaker and weaker. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯m not someone you want to mess with.¡±


    This caused Vane to laugh uncontrollably. ¡°Is that right? And what makes you so sure about that?¡±


    Now was his chance, Silas felt the rope snap. He swung a right hook, punching Vane right in the face. Within an instant, he could feel the metal of a flintlock pistol against his head. Vane spat out some blood laughed.


    ¡°I like you kid. He looked to one his crewmates. ¡°Untie the other one. And bring them aboard.¡± He nodded, grabbing his sword and cutting the rope keeping Alonzo¡¯s hands tied.


    Silas, Alonzo, and Vane all sat in the captain¡¯s quarters of his ship, The Ranger. ¡°So, where were you two headed before you got captured?¡± Vane looked the two of them dead in the eyes.


    ¡°We were going to Kingston,¡± Silas answered.


    Vane nodded. ¡°Well the best we can do is Nassau, we just left from Kingston so I wasn¡¯t planning on returning so soon, we¡¯ll set a course, drop you two off and you¡¯ll be on your way.¡±


    Alonzo tilted his head. ¡°You seem in a hurry to leave.¡±


    Vane stood up. ¡°Nassau is too far up north for my liking. The bigger and better scores are down south.¡±


    Luckily, Vane was true to his word and dropped Silas and Alonzo off at Nassau. As his ship was pulling away he walked up to the bow of The Ranger. ¡°Oh, and one more thing boy!¡± He called over to Silas. ¡°I¡¯d get rid of those rags if I were you, no pirate captain would be caught dead in those.¡±


    Silas nodded. ¡°Thanks for the advice.¡± Vane nodded and left. Silas looked over to Alonzo. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to the tavern, I need a drink.¡±


    Alonzo laughed. ¡°Silas, I couldn¡¯t agree more.¡±


    Silas and Alonzo sat across from each other, both with a tankard of rum in their hands. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Alonzo asked.


    Silas sat thinking for a moment. ¡°Well we don¡¯t have a ship, and there¡¯s no way we have enough money to buy one. So we¡¯re stuck here.¡±


    Alonzo nodded. ¡°We could join a crew.¡± He suggested. Silas shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯d take us years to get the money for a ship. Our only option is to steal one.¡±


    Alonzo raised a brow. ¡°And who would we steal it from? Everyone here is one of us.¡±


    Silas stood up and looked at the docks, particularly a schooner flying a British flag. ¡°Not everyone, British merchants often stop to sell sugar. While they¡¯re off making sales their ships are left practically unguarded.¡±


    Alonzo grinned. ¡°And where are we going to get the crew to sail her?¡± Silas thought for a moment. ¡°Well there¡¯s plenty of men around that would fit the bill. The only problem is that with the recent surge of British troops most of them have been taken as prisoners.¡±


    Alonzo nodded. ¡°So if we free them then there¡¯s no doubt they¡¯ll sail with us. But there is still one problem.¡±


    Silas tilted his head. ¡°What?¡±


    Alonzo looked him up and down. ¡°Vane¡¯s right there¡¯s no way they¡¯d respect you dressed like that.¡±


    Silas grinned. ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s time for a change in wardrobe.¡±


    After a while, Silas had finally picked something out. It had a white undershirt with a green vest and a brown coat. He also bought him and Alonzo a sword and pistol. As he put the coat on, he felt like this was the beginning of a new chapter in his life, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, he didn¡¯t know. As he came out Alonzo smiled. ¡°Now you look like a captain.¡±


    Silas handed him a sword and pistol. ¡°Well first mate, it looks like we have some work to do.¡±


    Alonzo nodded. ¡°Indeed, let¡¯s get ourselves a ship.¡±


    Silas hid in a bush near the door to the Old Fort. Alonzo strolled up to the road, grabbing the attention of the two British guards standing watch, giving Silas the chance to sneak by. Luckily, there were plenty of struts sticking out of the side of the fort, which Silas used to climb along the side. He eventually made his way to the battlements, his fingers gripped onto the ledge, he didn¡¯t want to climb up quite yet. He shimmied along the side, and as he poked his head up he saw it was clear so he climbed up. He hid behind the corner of a wall and peeked out slightly, scanning the courtyard of the fort. He spotted a few pirates being escorted into a small building, which Silas assumed was the prison. He crept along the battlements, silently dispatching soldiers as he moved.


    He stood above the prison and as quiet as he could manage, jumped down onto the roof. He looked around to see if anyone noticed, luckily it seemed nobody did. He slid off and sneaked around the side. He poked his head around the corner to see a guard standing watch at the door. He whistled to try and get his attention and slid a little further back along the wall. Once the guard got close enough, he drove his sword through the guard''s stomach and dragged him behind the back of the prison. He checked once more to make sure the coast was clear and went inside.


    The prison was a lot bigger than it looked on the outside, mainly because it went downwards underground. He moved through quietly, still dispatching guards. Unfortunately, the last one saw him and he had to use his pistol to take him out. Once the prison was clear he untied all the pirates, there weren¡¯t that many, but there were still enough to sail the ship. He helped them to their feet. ¡°Come on let¡¯s get out of here, just follow me, we¡¯re stealing a schooner. The pirates picked up the weapons of the dead guards.


    More guards came into the prison, with swords drawn. ¡°I could have sworn I heard a noise, spread out.¡± It didn¡¯t take them long to find the escaped Pirates.


    One guard turned to another. ¡°Go sound the alarm, quickly!¡± He nodded and ran out the door. Sparks flew as swords clashed together. The guards were quickly dispatched and they ran out the door.


    Once they got out bells were ringing and guards were running frantically.


    ¡°Come on this way!¡± Silas ran up on the battlements, pistol in hand. They ran across the battlements, making short work of the guards. As stood at the battlements above the door, Silas looked over the edge, Alonzo had engaged the two guards standing watch.


    ¡°Come on, the wall is just slanted enough to slide down.¡± He slid down the wall and the rest followed. Silas stuck his sword right through one of the guard¡¯s backs, the other got a pistol to the face from one of the other pirates. They ran through the town toward the docks, shoving past anyone in the way. They had a mob of guards chasing behind them. As they got to the docks, they climbed aboard the ship as fast as they could. Silas took the British flag down and grabbed the wheel.


    ¡°Raise the anchor, let¡¯s get out of here!¡± He looked at two of the pirates. ¡°Man the rear cannons, get those guards off our tail.¡±


    They nodded. ¡°Aye, sir.¡± Gunboats had weighed anchor and were chasing after them.


    Alonzo looked four of the others. ¡°Get off your asses and man those broadsides! We can¡¯t let them follow us.¡± The quickly ran over to the cannons. The other four were on the sails, two at the foremast and two at the main mast. Silas swung the ship around, hugging the shoreline, to make sure he couldn¡¯t get surrounded from all sides. They were sinking a few ships, but they just couldn¡¯t shake the last one, a schooner. Eventually, they had no choice but to go into the open ocean.


    ¡°Sir, the powder!¡± One of the men said, pointing to a small powder keg.


    Silas nodded, grabbing it and heaving it into the water behind them. ¡°Get me a rifle!¡± He barked.


    The man primed and loaded a musket and tossed it to him. Silas took aim on the keg and waited for the ship to brush up against it and he fired.


    The blast tore a hole in the hull near the bow, and it sunk down to the depths of the ocean floor.


    Silas looked at the crew, there were 12 of them in total, including him and Alonzo. He smiled and walked along the deck. ¡°So lads, a new chapter of your life is about to begin. A life filled with prizes, plunder, adventure, and as much rum as you can drink.¡± He grinned. ¡°Maybe more.¡± He stood at the wheel once more. ¡°By the way, we haven¡¯t been properly introduced. My name Silas Caldwell, but you can call me Captain Caldwell. And this here¡­¡± He placed his hand on Alonzo¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is Alonzo Van Bilton, your first mate.¡± He looked out at the open ocean. ¡°So lads, do you want to make some coin?¡± He smiled as he was greeted by the cheers of the crew. ¡°Then weigh anchor and loose the sails. We¡¯re getting out of here.¡±

 Chapter 2

    ¡°Look, alive lads! We¡¯re here.¡±  Two of the crewmen threw ropes on the dock while another two jumped on the dock to grab them and secure the ship. Silas looked out over the bustling town and sighed. ¡°Well Alonzo, I¡¯m not gonna lie. After what happened on the Treasure Fleet, I wasn¡¯t sure that I would ever be able to lay eyes on Kingston ever again.¡±


    Alonzo nodded. ¡°Boy ain¡¯t that the truth.¡± The two of them jumped onto the dock. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go find the others. I¡¯m sure us sailing into port without a flag is going to attract some attention.¡± Alonzo said, looking around.


    Silas nodded. ¡°Yeah, good thinking.¡± He turned back to the crew. ¡°Alright lads, watch the ship, we¡¯ll be back in a little bit.¡± He said before the two of them turned back and went on their way.


    Silas and Alonzo opened the door to the small tavern and walked in. Three men sitting at the bar turned around as the entered and stopped before smiling. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned, I wasn¡¯t sure we¡¯d see you again. Get over here you two.¡± One of the men said.


    Another one nodded as the two men joined them. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna lie you two. When we saw you get surrounded by those Spanish soldiers, we thought you were done for. What happened anyways?¡± He asked.


    Silas laughed. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s quite the tale. After you three bruisers abandoned us, we were brought to the Treasure Fleet. We were there for a quite a while until a hurricane came, we used it as an opportunity to escape, we took over one of the gunboats and sailed away just before the Treasure Fleet was smashed against the shore.¡±


    One of the men spit out the rum he was drinking. ¡°The Treasure Fleet was destroyed?¡± Silas nodded. ¡°Aye, it was a bloody mess. Anyway, the storm eventually destroyed our ship. And when I came to, there were British soldiers scouring the wrecks who took me, prisoner. They were going to take me to Kingston where I assume I¡¯d be rotting in a cell for the rest of my life. Luckily they met up with another ship that had Alonzo held prisoner. So they put us together and we went on to Kingston. But then the damnedest thing happened. The ship was attacked by Charles Vane.¡±


    One of the men looked at him with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Really? How did you know it was him?¡±


    Silas chuckled. ¡°Oh trust me, Miles, if you were there, you would¡¯ve known it was him. But he gave us a lift back to Nassau where we got a crew and stole a schooner to come back here.¡±


    One of the men smiled. ¡°So you¡¯re a captain then are you Silas? Is that what the new outfit is about?¡±


    Silas nodded. ¡°Aye, I figured if I¡¯m gonna be a captain I might as well look the part. Surely you¡¯d know all about that wouldn¡¯t you Sam?¡±


    Sam ignored him. ¡°Well if you¡¯re gonna be a captain, then I¡¯m gonna teach you how to take a ship properly.¡±


    Silas gave him a look. ¡°I know how to take a ship, Sam, we took all kinds of ships together, remember?¡±


    Sam nodded. ¡°That¡¯s true, aye. But there¡¯s a huge difference between joining a raid and leading one. So come on, let¡¯s see this ship of yours.¡± He turned back to the other man. ¡°Parker, I¡¯ll meet you later.¡±


    Parker nodded. ¡°Aye, have fun teaching the amateur.¡±


    Sam laughed as the three of them arrived at Silas¡¯ ship. ¡°This is your ship? It¡¯s puny.¡± He couldn¡¯t contain his laughter.


    ¡°Oh sure, laugh it up now. Because soon enough, I¡¯ll be the most feared pirate in the West Indies.¡±


    Sam finally stopped laughing. ¡°Well have you named her yet?¡±


    Silas shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t intend on keeping her, there are bigger and better ships out there.¡±


    Sam shrugged. ¡°Alright, I guess that¡¯s fair. Let¡¯s set sail shall we?¡± They all got on the ship and set sail.


    Silas smiled as he inhaled. ¡°You smell that, boys? That¡¯s the smell of possibility.¡±


    Sam sniffed. ¡°Smells like sea salt to me.¡±


    Silas laughed. ¡°Oh come on Sam think about it, this is the beginning of a new chapter.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Sam looked at him. ¡°That¡¯s true, aye. Becoming the captain of a ship is a notable experience in any man¡¯s life. Especially when someone becomes a captain at such a young age as yourself. Tell me, Alonzo, why didn¡¯t you step up and become captain of this ship?¡±


    Alonzo shrugged. ¡°I just thought that Silas would do a better job than I would that¡¯s all.¡±


    Sam nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll buy that.¡± He looked over to Silas and handed him a spyglass. ¡°Here, that''ll come in handy. Now, find us a ship to take.¡±


    Silas nodded and opened up the spyglass, putting it to his eye and scanning the horizon. ¡°There, a British merchant¡¯s schooner.¡± He pointed slightly to the right as he collapsed the spyglass.


    Sam nodded. ¡°Alright, good eye. Let¡¯s take her then, shall we?¡±


    Silas looked at the crew. ¡°Whaddyou say, lads?¡± They all cheered and Silas nodded. ¡°Good that¡¯s the answer I want to hear. Now load the cannons!¡±


    They went in to get closer, eventually, they were practically right alongside them. Silas looked over at the merchant¡¯s ship. ¡°Fire!¡± He yelled. There were several loud booms as the cannons unloaded their shots into the hull of the ship. Silas then got a little bit of distance between the two of them.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to fire sir!¡± One of the crewmen shouted. Silas angled the ship so it was parallel to the merchants¡¯ ship. Once more he gave the order to fire. And the shots all connected. However, by this time the merchants had their cannons loaded and were returning fire. Everyone ducked down and braced themselves as the cannonballs smashed into their hull. Silas spun the ship around so they were facing the merchants head on. ¡°Load the chain shot!¡± He yelled. As they got closer and closer he waited. Until finally the crew gave the word. Silas told them to open fire and the shots tore right through the merchants¡¯ sails, leaving them immobilized. ¡°Ready the grappling hooks men!¡± Two of the crewman grabbed the hooks, ready to throw them. Just as they were about to smash into the merchants¡¯ ship, Silas spun them around, once again making the two ships parallel with each other. ¡°Now! Grappling hooks away! Bring up the sails! Prepare to board lads.¡± The hooks caught themselves along the rails and they started pulling the two ships together. Silas drew his sword and pistol from his belt and ran to the side of the ship, Sam and Alonzo joined him.


    As soon as the two ships were close enough, Silas sprung forward, blasting one of the soldiers on board in the face with his flintlock. The rest of the crew followed close behind. It didn¡¯t take long for the soldiers on board the ship to surrender. Sam leaned into Silas¡¯ ear. ¡°Now watch and learn boy.¡± The crew had put all the merchants on their knees in front of them. Sam stood up straight and smiled. ¡°Good afternoon gentlemen, my name is Captain Watson, and this is my crew.¡± He started moving among the merchants. ¡°As you can probably tell, we¡¯re here to steal your goods. So this can go one of two ways. You can either cooperate with us and we can all be on our way, or we can kill you and leave with your goods anyways.¡± The merchants all looked at each other.


    One of them stood up, his hands still tied behind his back. ¡°You filthy pirate, you¡¯ll hang for this!¡± Sam smiled and nodded to Silas. He nodded back and put his pistol to the merchant¡¯s head.


    ¡°Look, mate, I¡¯m feeling generous. So I¡¯m gonna give you one more chance to cooperate.¡± The merchant simply spat in Sam¡¯s face. Without hesitation Silas pulled the trigger, sending the merchant¡¯s corpse crumbling to the ground.


    They started loading the supplies from the merchant¡¯s schooner onto their ship. Silas looked at Sam. ¡°Is that everything?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°I reckon so.¡±


    Silas looked out at the sea. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going then.¡± He said as he went to take the wheel.


    ¡°Captain! There¡¯s brig heading this way, they¡¯re flying British colors!¡± One of the crewmen hanging on the rigging yelled. Silas looked over the stern and cursed under his breath. Before he could say anything, the brig fired chase cannons at them, tearing right through the main mast which sent it tumbling down onto the deck of the ship. He looked over the deck at the crew.


    ¡°All right lads. Prepare to be boarded. There¡¯s only one way out of here and that¡¯s on that brig. So get ready!¡±


    Everyone grabbed muskets and swords waiting for the brig to pull up alongside them. As soon as they were in range, they started shooting. Silas looked at the deck of the brig and he noticed a barrel of gunpowder. He grabbed his pistol and took aim. Luckily for him, he hit it, which caused an explosion, sending British soldiers everywhere. ¡°Come on, lads, let¡¯s get ¡®em!¡± Silas grabbed his sword and jumped onto the deck of the brig. The crew followed behind him. They all cut down soldiers one by one eventually Silas made his way to the upper decks where the captain was barking orders. As soon as the two made eye contact they rushed toward each other, swords locking. The two went back and forth, both going on offense and defense. They got into a sword lock, which allowed the captain to fling Silas¡¯ sword out of his hand. But as he moved in to make the last blow, Silas grabbed the hilt of his sword turning it around and plunging it through his chest.


    Upon seeing their captain fall to the ground dead, the crew of the brig all surrendered. Silas looked at them from the upper deck. ¡°All right gentlemen here¡¯s how this is gonna go, you¡¯re going to either work for us, and live the life of a free man, or we can kill you, take your pick.¡±


    To Silas¡¯ surprise, all of the remaining soldiers all stood up. He smiled. ¡°Excellent choice. All right then lads, welcome to the crew. Now weigh anchor, we¡¯re setting sail for Kingston.¡±


    As they started to sail back Sam climbed up onto the upper decks. ¡°So it looks like you got your wish.¡±


    Silas looked at him, confused. ¡°Pardon?¡± Sam sat on the rail of the ship. ¡°Earlier today, you said you wanted a bigger ship, well it looks like you got your wish. So are you gonna keep her?¡±


    Silas looked up and down the deck. ¡°I reckon so, aye.¡± Sam smiled. ¡°You thought of a name yet?¡±


    Silas nodded. ¡°Actually I have, I¡¯m calling her The Morning Star.¡±


    Sam nodded. ¡°A fine name for a fine ship. Let¡¯s head home then.¡±


    Silas smiled. ¡°I couldn¡¯t agree more.¡±

 Chapter 3

    Silas handed a large pouch of coins to the harbormaster and heading back onto the deck of the ship. Alonzo emerged from below decks. ¡°So? How¡¯d it go?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re gonna bring in a few more cannons and strengthen up the hull a little bit.¡±


    Alonzo nodded. ¡°Good, that¡¯s gonna come in handy.¡±


    ¡°Aye, now let¡¯s go, Parker said he had a proposition for us.¡±


    The two men stepped into the tavern, but as they headed to where everyone normally sat, there were two large men in brown privateer¡¯s robes. Parker was leaning against one of the wooden beams coming down from the ceiling. ¡°Who are they?¡±


    Parker shrugged. ¡°No idea. They were there when I got here, I don¡¯t really care that much.¡±


    ¡°Well, I do,¡± Silas said as he walked up to the two men. He tapped one of them on the shoulder and he swung around. ¡°Excuse me, I think you¡¯re in our spot.¡±


    The man scoffed. ¡°What are you gonna do about it boy?¡±


    ¡°You really should watch what you say to me, I¡¯m not exactly one to be trifled with.¡±


    The man rolled his eyes before turning around and resuming his conversation with the other man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± Silas grabbed him by the collar and spun him around again, but only to get punched in the face and sent across the tavern.  The musicians stopped playing as the two men stood up and started walking over to Silas. Alonzo came up behind one of them and smashed a bottle over his head, sending his body crumbling to the floor like a sack of bricks. The other man swung around trying to hit Alonzo with all of his weight, but he rolled out of the way. By now, everyone in the tavern had gathered around the fight, all of them were cheering for one side or another. Silas ran up to him, drilling his fist in his shoulder blade. He backed up, shaking his fist furiously, he had a lot stronger shoulders than he expected. He swatted Alonzo away from behind him before moving back to Silas, crouched down next to him, only to get kicked in the head by Parker and knocked unconscious before he even had a chance to react.


    Before long, everything had returned to its usual mood, the musicians started playing music again and everyone resumed their conversations. Silas, Alonzo, and Parker all sat down at the bar. Silas looked at Parker with a smug grin on his face, only for it be quickly wiped away by a stern scowl from Parker. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot to learn boy.¡± Silas tossed a few coins onto the counter and the bartender slid a bottle of rum over to him.


    ¡°We¡¯re pirates Parker, we do what we want, and if I want to start a fight in a bar, then that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. Now about this proposition, you have for us.¡± He slammed the bottle down on the counter after taking a big swig.


    Parker sighed. ¡°One of my contacts tipped me off about a royal convoy on the way back to London, carrying a significant amount of coin.¡±


    Silas¡¯s interest was peaked. ¡°How much gold are we talking about here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say at least 10,000 pounds.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the catch?¡± Silas raised a brow.


    ¡°The problem is that the convoy is well guarded. The coin itself is on a frigate, and that frigate is guarded by two brigs and a schooner.¡±


    ¡°So you want me as extra muscle is what you¡¯re saying?¡± Silas grinned.


    ¡°Muscle isn¡¯t the word I¡¯d use, not by a long shot. Are you in or not?¡±


    Silas and Alonzo looked at each other before nodding. ¡°We¡¯re in, when are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°Now, we¡¯re going here to wait for it so we can attack the convoy.¡± Parker pulled out his map and pointed at a spot.


    ¡°Well, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s get going.¡±


    Silas pulled the Morning Star up alongside Parker¡¯s ship, the Silent Vesper. ¡°You ready for this Silas?¡± He asked.


    Before he could reply, Silas was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing from the crow¡¯s nest. ¡°Convoy on the horizon sir!¡± Their spotter, Dalton, called down.


    ¡°That¡¯s our cue, let¡¯s get moving.¡± Parker grabbed the wheel of his ship. ¡°Let the mains free!¡± He bellowed. The main sails on his ship dropped down and he started slowly gliding across the water, Silas followed behind him. They appeared from behind a small island, coming at the convoy from behind. As they inched closer and closer to the frigate, the schooner escorting the convoy was quickly torn to splinters by their broadside cannons. Silas crashed into the frigate with his ram before pulling away before they could shoot at them. Silas spun around to face one of the other brigs, which was approaching them fast. He veered the ship to the right, only barely scraping past the ship, and unloading a barrage of broadside shots as they passed. Parker was unloading a wall of chain shots into the frigate¡¯s sails, leaving them dead in the water.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°The frigate¡¯s incapacitated!¡± Silas shouted. ¡°Let¡¯s take care of these two so we can board them.¡± The four ships weaved around each other, like an intricate dance, firing off volleys of cannon fire at every available opportunity. Finally, both ships started descending to the bottom of the ocean.


    The two ships pulled up alongside the frigate, throwing grappling hooks against the rails of the ships. The pirates started exchanging gunfire with the British soldiers on board. The soldiers were quickly outnumbered by the pirates, they couldn¡¯t fight an attack on two sides. Slowly but surely the pirates started leaping onto the deck of the frigate, clashing swords with the soldiers. Silas and Parker fought their way onto the upper decks where the captain was barking orders at his crew. Before Parker could react, Silas leaped forward, thrusting his sword toward the captain¡¯s chest, he slid to the left, swinging his sword down toward Silas like an executioner¡¯s ax. He blocked it, but the captain pressed down with all of his strength. Silas drove his knee up right into his stomach, the captain staggered backward gasping for breath. Silas quickly ran his sword right through the captain¡¯s chest, he crumpled to the ground in a limp pile as Silas drew his sword out. As the captain¡¯s body landed on the deck with a thud, the whole ship went silent. The British soldier¡¯s all looked around at each other and one by one slowly start putting their hands up.


    Silas sheathed his cutlass in his scabbard. ¡°Alonzo, with me, we¡¯re going to search the hold.¡± Alonzo nodded. He kicked down the trapdoor leading into the ship and the two men descended into the ship. They looked around as the investigated the hold, it was covered in gold. But as they went lower and lower into the ship, that quickly changed. As they reached the bottom level of the ship, they saw four men chained to the wall. Silas and Alonzo looked at each other. ¡°Well are you just gonna stand there and watch all day are you gonna get us out of here?¡± One of them said impatiently, he looked young, younger than Silas. He had a very slender figure, his dark brown hair was tied back into a small ponytail, and his blue eyes burned into Silas¡¯s soul with pure disdain. There was something about him that seemed familiar, something he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on.


    Silas and Alonzo unchained them and helped them to their feet. ¡°So what¡¯s your name?¡± He was mainly interested in the one that had snapped at him.


    ¡°Roman Benett, why do you care?¡±


    Silas paced around him in a circle. ¡°And why are you here?¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you think?¡±


    Silas laughed. ¡°I like you, Roman, what do you say about joining the crew of the Morning Star.


    Roman raised a brow, his eyes locked intently on Silas. ¡°Who exactly are you?¡±


    Silas did a mock bow. ¡°Captain Silas Caldwell, at your service.¡±


    Roman was quiet for a moment, staring out the small hole in the hull. ¡°Alright, seeing as how I don¡¯t really have much of a choice, why not?¡±


    Silas, Alonzo, and Roman all emerged from the hold of the ship, Parker stood waiting for them. ¡°Well, what¡¯d you find?¡±


    ¡°We found this one, he¡¯s joining my crew. But other than that the gold¡¯s all there,¡± Silas replied.


    Parker nodded. ¡°Alright good, let¡¯s load it up and set sail if we hurry we can make it back to Kingston before dark.¡±


    They loaded most of the gold into Parker¡¯s ship since he had more room in his ship. The two ships slid into the port in Kingston. They strode onto the dock as the sun started dipping behind the horizon. ¡°So how are we splitting the gold?¡± Silas asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re not,¡± Parker said. ¡°Whatever you have in your ship is what you''re keeping.¡±


    ¡°What?! I thought we were splitting it evenly!¡± Silas said, his brow furrowing.


    Parker shrugged. ¡°I never agreed to that. Just because we¡¯re friends doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m gonna show you any favoritism, Silas.¡± He turned around and started heading back to the tavern. ¡°Let this be a lesson to you kid, you always negotiate your cut.¡± He said as he walked away.


    Silas let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Whatever.¡± He looked over at Roman. ¡°Hey kid, why don¡¯t you come with us.¡± He rolled his eyes before following them into the town.


    ¡°Why are you dragging me along with you anyways?¡± He asked.


    Silas smiled. ¡°Because I like your grit kid, you¡¯ve got potential. You remind me of myself actually.¡±


    Roman scoffed as they entered the tavern. Sam, Miles, and Parker were all sitting at their usual spot, laughing about something.


    ¡°So Parker duped you did he?¡± Sam asked as they joined them.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say duped, more like cheated,¡± Silas replied, shooting a glare at Parker.


    ¡°This is business Silas, and here, cheating is the business.¡±


    Miles was focused on Roman. ¡°So who¡¯s this then?¡± He asked.


    ¡°This is Roman Benett, I found him as a prisoner on the ship we took and decided to bring him with as part of my crew,¡± Silas answered.


    ¡°He looks awfully young,¡± Sam said as he stood up, walking over to Roman. ¡°So how old are you lad?¡±


    Roman backed up a bit. ¡°That¡¯s none of your business, I¡¯m just as good a pirate as all the others,¡± He said, scowling at Sam.


    He leaned in with Silas. ¡°I see why you grabbed him,¡± He muttered.


    ¡°See,¡± Silas said, smirking. ¡°I make good calls.¡±


    Sam scoffed. ¡°You¡¯ve still got a long way to go before you¡¯re gonna prove anything to me, Silas.¡±


    Silas raised a brow. ¡°Is that a challenge?¡± He asked.


    ¡°If you wanna see it as a challenge then, by all means, go right ahead.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, old man, you¡¯re on,¡±