Aboard the Windblade (closed for Ambrosia_64)

Pix

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Ensign Corbin Nash was a proud man. He stood at over six feet and was of a quite burly build. He had cultivated thick, trunk like arms from shoulders to hands from his years working as a Seaman in the navy. He worked his way up to Ensign, and was mere days away from being promoted to Lieutenant aboard the Water Skipper. That all came literally crashing down during the battle between the Water Skipper and the foreign enemy's mightiest corsair, the Doom Rider. The Doom Rider tooks its worst damage in any battle ever, and would most likely be in dry dock for the next half year, but the Water Skipper was completely decimated. Nearly all of her crew perished, some were take captive, as other were missing. Missing on the ocean is all but a death sentence. Ensign Nash was among the missing.

He was able to float for a couple of days aboard a makeshift raft when he was luckily found by a small merchant vessel. Unfortunately for Corbin, the stop they made was to an island, infamous for its visitors and their skulduggery. There was no way to mince words fine enough to cover up the ugliness of the island hell according to Corbin, one just had to say it. It was a pirate island.

Corbin had looked for passage out immediately, but the merchant who rescued him was not leaving for a fortnight. The only other outgoing vessels were ones that had been chased by Corbin himself and the Water Dancer. Not only did the very idea of working with the rapscallions repulse Corbin, but it would not be safe if they ever found out he helped break up past raids or even jailed some.

So, much to his chagrin, Corbin had to wait nearly a week on the island, scrubbing vomit from the floors of an inn in exchange for lodging and board, until a vessel unknown to docked. The ship was a small one, called the Windblade. He knew if he was ever going to get off of the godforsaken island, he would have to make his way on to the ship.

Later that evening, while working, Corbin struck up a conversation with a couple of rough looking sailors he did not recognize. Sure enough, they were crew members of the Windblade. After swapping some stories of working on merchant ships, which Corbin mostly made up, the sailors to Corbin they could probably get hime a meeting with the first mate to see if he could join the crew. They told him the ship was small, and the quarters were already cramped, but if he was willing to swab the decks, he could probably get on. They mentioned that as long as he didn't "fuck" with the Captain and kept his head down, he'd get along fine.

Corbin followed the sailors out to the Windblade and went to meet the first mate. He did think the ship was abnormally small, but figured the Windblade was a contract ship, toting only specific cargo for specific parties, but once he saw the first mate, he knew he was wrong.

The first mate was a man named Blevins who worked on a pirating vessel named the Squawk. It was about five years prior that the Water Skipper intercepted the Squawk targeting a royal cargo ship for a raid. Blevins was held in the brig for five days before they released him to a lifeboat due to potential water shortages.

Blevins recited the story to the two sailors and Corbin with obvious anger. Corbin no longer feared he would not leave the island, he feared he was going to be made to walk the plank. Blevins held a knife up to Corbin's throat when one of the sailors pushed Blevins.

"No blood is to be spilt without an approval from the captain, Blevins!" he yelled so loudly that it had to be heard in any part of the small ship.

Corbin gulped fearing that Blevins's hatred would force him to break the rules. He silently prayed for a miracle.
 
The crew was away on some much needed shore leave as Elise pored over the stolen maps from a Spanish envoy, comparing the trade routes of several crown ships to her intended route, wanting to hit as many as she dared before they were forced back to port to unload. A small ship could only hold so many riches, after all-but it made up for it in speed, easily outpacing the grand ole' fanciful ships the Spanish so loved.

Her candle dimly lit the room, a small, cramped quarter filled with maps and books, a treasure chest laden with neither gold nor riches but knives and swords, a small dresser tied to the wall and full of simple, manly clothing. Her bed was likewise lashed down, the luxury hardly occupied, it's owner an insomniac.

As a voice cut through her calculations Elise cursed, resolved to flog whoever the hell was fighting on deck -again-. She snatched up her Captain's hat and set it on her blond, braided hair, pulling the blue long coat on over her white, plain shirt and pants, the sabre sheathed on her hip a strange mate to the hatchet on the other side.

Blevin's prayed for miracle arrived with a door exploding open, banging against the side wall as...well, in the moonlight, what appeared to be a -boy- stalked out onto deck. He was a slight lad, clean shaven and barely taller than five foot two or three, even in his boots. His blonde hair was tucked under the back of his coat to conceal the length of it, and when he spoke his voice was oddly feminine, even in his fury.

"The -hell- is this about!?" The boy captain demanded, left hand dropping to his hip beneath the coat, drawing a glinting sabre. "Need I show you what a -real- blade looks like?!" He tipped his hat back as he spoke, revealing an awfully pretty face, for a boy. Full lips and a pert nose, what appeared to be a spattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose, the tops of his cheeks.

...actually, close up, he didn't appear to be a boy at all-there were curves beneath that jacket-! A woman!?



Elise had never seen the guy, but she had had it up to HERE with Blevins' bullshit. She was not afraid to beat his ass all over the deck if she had to-specially not if he had taken it upon himself to gut people on her deck, goddammit.
 
Corbin was astounded by the brashness of the boy who had just appeared, or young woman. He still was unsure, but his years in a proper royal society, rigid military structure, and the general knowledge of the sea, he was dumbfounded to think a woman could rise to rank of Captain of a ship, even if it was a privateer ship. He had no prejudices against women himself. He always thought they weren't so docile and frail by nature, and respected the quiet hardships they had to endure, but he also thought the sea was only a place for men of hardened stone, not for women. He was wary of the captain.

Blevins was too as he dropped his knife and opened his mouth as if to plead with his captain but thought the better of it and walked away sullenly.

Corbin watched as the first mate shuffled away defeated and then turned to the mysterious Captain and saluted. "I assume you're the captain of this vessel," he should ave not said assume and definitely should not have said what he said next, "even though I would never have expected someone...like you...to be a leader of men, even if they are pirates."
 
Elise stared him down, but Blevins wasn't her first mate for nothing-he took the wiser route and walked away, leaving her to deal with whatever damage he had done to some poor sod from shore-turning to find herself being saluted, Elise frowned at the tall man.

She did not know him, and half assumed he'd wandered in by mistake. Surely he wasn't a recruit, if Blevins had been prepared to slit his throat.

Sheathing her blade, Elise was about to ask if he owed her first mate some gold when he spoke, earning him the grumbled "I sure as hell ain't the cabin boy-" before he spoke on-at once rubbing her ego all KINDS of wrong.

Her pretty features formed a scowl as her eyes snapped to his face. "Someone like me?" She asked in a 'what is that supposed to mean' fashion, crossing her arms beneath her chest, eyeing him. "Are you insinuating something, lad?" She inquired, calling him lad despite being noticeably younger than he, at twenty two.

Elise tipped her head in the direction Blevins had slinked away, still frowning. "Cause I'm pretty sure the 'fairer' sex saved your hide, just now."

She moved to circle him, choosing to ignore the slight for now. Her father had raised her on the ocean, and the ocean was her home. She was born to be out here, born to trouble the Spanish, and born to lead. Nevermind she was a woman. Nevermind if there were those who felt she belonged in a dress milking cows-she was a pirate, and she'd take on any man who dared to suggest otherwise.

Respect was earned, and Elise had sure as hell earned the right to bear her status.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on my ship?"
 
"My apologies, madame," Corbin bit his tongue knowing she probably would not appreciate the pleasantries and formalities, "...I mean, Captain. I thank thee for the courtesy."

The two sailors who had brought Corbin aboard from the bar were now filling the air, heavy with humidity and the sound of waves crashing against objects in the harbor, with raucous laughter. Corbin felt as if hed had not floated and been rescued and dropped on an unfamiliar island, but rather had died and woken in some nightmarish hell. All of his naval training and cultural knowledge that served him so well in his former civilization would only serve to his detriment. And he could not succeed by feigning bawdiness, because the captain would probably see right through him.

"I, uh," Corbin struggled, "I am Ensign Corbin Nash of the Royal Navy. I served faithfully for three years on the Water Skipper, before...before she was lost to us. I found myself marooned on this lawless, island port and your...crew members offered me a chance to meet you to prove my worthiness to join your esteemed...crew."
 
Elise's arms dropped the minute he mentioned being an Ensign, a hushing motion with one of her delicate hands. "Shh! Holy-this is a pirate ship!" She hissed, her eyes flying from him to the approaching pirates.

And Blevins knew, no -wonder- he had been about to cut the man's throat. Still, she felt for this Corbin, if his story were true. Elise stood back, gestured towards her cabin. "We'll speak in my quarters, Nash." She said quickly, and if he indeed moved as she bade, he would find himself in a candle lit, book and map filled room that smelled, faintly, of roses.

Elise closed the door behind him, the slight spattering of freckles visible in the candlelight as she removed her hat, pacing towards her desk. "My ship has no room for passengers, Nash." She said seriously, removing her jacket, more feminine in appearance without it, her blonde hair braided down her back. An Ensign-gah. "And my men would just as soon feed you to the sharks than suffer your presence."

Blue eyes cut to him, a troubled frown on her lips. "But -I- am in charge, and I have no qualms with the British. I can take you as far as an English port in the Caribbean as it's already on my route-and if you are a spy-I can dare say no one would believe you anyway."

She folded the map she had been working on, retrieved another. "Until then-it's my show. Understood?"

Her compassion was surprising, but before he could get any ideas about her being a weak willed woman she was also being incredibly business like. Elise Summers was an odd mixture of things, for certain.
 
Nash stood stoically as he listened to his soon-to-be boss giving him the rules of the road, so to speak. He found the lady pirate to be quite intriguing. She handled her crew member moments earlier with all the sharpness of an old salt, but she had all the tact of noblewoman when she pulled Nash into her cabin to keep him from further agitating any other members of the crew. And inside the cabin, Nash was more than a little puzzled at the surprisingly pleasant scent in her quarters and the intelligence she displayed.

He listened to her rules and understood he needed to pull his weight, if only for a short amount of time. The willingness to bring him to a royal port, posing a danger to her and her crew was astounding. In fact, Nash was a bit shocked he hadn't been thrown overboard yet, he was after all, kind of the enemy to her and her crew, if only indirectly.

"Aye aye, Captain," Nash said agreeably, "I'm an experienced crewman, and can add my expertise wherever you need me."
 
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