Seventeen #4
I was behind cover, but I wasn't in a good spot on the bridge.
When he peeked around the corner to see me, I fired a shot to move him back, and as he did, I jumped up and dove over the low wall and back down the stairs, getting shot once in the leg as I did.
I had to use another healing spell, and this time I ran all the way to the back of the deckhouse, then carefully made my way up the back stairs, leading with the gun.
There was a crewman there, but he was looking towards the front to see what the captain was shooting at.
Rather than shooting him, I drew a sword and cleaved his head from his shoulders, killing him instantly.
Moving up quietly, I dragged his body out of the way, then grabbed his rifle, fired six shots, and yelled out, "Die, you bastard! "
The captain came charging down the passageway, slipped in all the blood, and tumbled down the steep stairs. Jumping down myself, I landed right on top of him.
I relieved him of his pistol and jumped up and down a few times before dropping to my knees, pulling a dagger, and driving it through his eye.
Taking a deep breath, I dragged his body out onto the deck, then that of the other crewman. Then I did a careful search of the entire ship to be sure I had killed everyone.
That done, I turned the lights back on and restored power to everything.
Then I pulled the throttle back to Ahead Half, went back up to the bridge to make sure we were on the right course, and spent the next couple of hours searching bodies and tossing them over the side.
That done, I went around and cleaned up some of the mess, mainly on the bridge and in the passageway.
When the sun finally came up, I checked my location, did an inspection of the ship, and then went down to the galley to get some food.
I started to feel the portal while putting some water on to boil—I was in definite need of caffeine.
Coffee in hand, I went back up to the bridge and lined the ship up for the portal.
When I got there, I just sailed right through.
I was probably going just a little fast—normal transits are at Ahead Slow, but I didn't feel like running down to the engine room, as there wasn't anyone else around.
Once through, I climbed the ship up to a higher altitude, and after setting it on a heading for Mangan, I locked the wheel.
That done, I went off to the bed I'd cleaned to get some sleep.
After I woke up and checked the ship's course, I decided to search a few cabins and see what I could find, more out of boredom than anything else.
I had a six-day flight to Mangan at the speed I was going, and the fuel tanks were low enough that I was afraid to push it any faster.
I'd also have to schedule regular naps because there was just no way I could stay up until I got to Mangan.
Two days out from Mangan, as I looked out the windows of the bridge, I saw a military ship closing on me from the portside, so I went to the radio room and gave them a call.
"Unknown ship, unknown ship, please identify! This is the Lassen Guard, please identify!" I heard as soon as I turned the speaker on.
"Lassen Guard, this is the Wolf's Bite, I am on course for Mangan for a refit. What are your intentions?"
"Wolf's Bite, we are going to board and perform an inspection."
"Understood. Can I maintain this speed and heading? Or do you need me to slow down?"
"Your speed and heading are acceptable. Do not attempt to maneuver."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
I watched as they came alongside, positioned their starboard wing over the deck, and a five-man boarding team slid down and onboard. Opening the window and leaning out, I waved. "I'll be down in a moment. Welcome aboard!"
"Where's the rest of the crew?" the officer in charge called.
"Isn't any. It's just me!"
"What?"
"Give me a minute, and I'll come down."
"No! Stay up there, we're coming up."
"Fine by me!" I said and pulled my head inside.
Less than a minute later, there was a lieutenant looking me up and down.
"You're the only crewman aboard this ship?"
"Yes, sir, that's correct. I took this ship as a prize, and I'm flying to Mangan to get it refitted into a cargo ship to add to my company."
"You took it as a prize?" he asked, looking a little skeptical.
"Lieutenant, this ship was a pirate ship. I have a distinct dislike for pirates, so I snuck aboard and, first chance I got, killed them all and took the ship."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"If you search the ship, you'll find there's nobody else on board. The ship is a bit of a mess, and the captain had a log in his quarters of all the ships he took, along with other even less tasteful things."
"How in the hell are you sailing this vessel by yourself?"
"Slowly," I said with a shrug and cast a charisma cantrip before continuing.
"I'm a licensed ship captain out of Portland on Juntura, though the shipping company my stepson runs with my son-in-law on Mangan can easily verify my identity.
I spent a couple of years working in the engine room, so I know how to handle that.
Yeah, I need to run back and forth a lot, but until I put in at Mangan, there's not much I can do about it. "
"What's your name?" he said, getting out a pad. "Jenson, take Hobbs and Ted and search the ship."
"Yes, sir!" Jenson said and immediately left.
"Will Taylor. Oh, I'm also a champion, and I work for the god Feliogustus."
"Wait, what?"
"I'm a champion. My god is Feliogustus."
"Can you prove that?"
"Sir, they have a temple in Mangan. Want me to call the ship and see if they can raise them on the radio?" the remaining crewman said.
"Let's wait for Jenson to finish searching the ship first."
It wasn't long until the others came back.
"Ship's empty, Lieutenant, and she's obviously a pirate ship; there's line guns down the starboard side. There's also quite a few bloodstains. Somebody obviously killed the crew down in the crew berths."
"Cary, raise the ship and see if someone can contact that temple and find out if they can describe their champion."
"Lieutenant, did he tell you he's a champion?" Jenson asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Can I see your ring?" Jenson asked me.
"Sure," I said and held out my hand.
"Umm, sir, he's what he says he is."
"Because he has a ring?"
"Well, the ship's chaplain could come down and tell us, he'd know for sure, but this ship does look like a pirate vessel, yet there's no pirates on it, and about five years ago there was a champion—a Junturan champion—sailing around in a disguised fighting ship, taking out pirates."
"Fine," the lieutenant said with a sigh. "Let me go talk to the captain on the radio."
Ten minutes later, the lieutenant and Cary came back.
"The captain's going to send over an engineer and a helmsman. We're going to escort you to Mangan and make sure you arrive there safely.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," I protested.
"One man sailing a ship this size is a hazard to navigation. The only reason you're not being fined is because it was a pirate ship."
"Oh, guess I can't complain, then."
"Also, the captain said he wants to hear the story about you 'fishing for a pirate ship with an anchor', whatever that means?"
I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Tell him the beers are on me when we get back to port!"
"Apparently, you're well known to the port authority in Mangan, Champion."