บท 20: Battle on the Strait
The amount of fish caught was above what anyone anticipated, so a fish fry was started and with an abundance of food mean drinking and that meant a party.
"Hey Vin, pass three more fish and two beers at this table." shouted someone in the crowd
As the head of this fish fry, Vin had to prepare, cook and serve the fish with only the other who also caught something.
"Hey, that's last call." The captain shouted from the back of the mess "We're entering the Bardan strait tomorrow and we need to prepare."
All the men shouted, finished their food and drinks and the left the mess, leaving the rest of us to clean up.
"Vin, come here for a second." the Captain said before finishing his drink
He left the cleaning to the others and joined Peak at the dark table.
"I'm not gonna lie to you, depending on how tomorrow goes, we might have to fight."
The Captain's demeanor changed to match his words, with an intensity that Vin hadn't seen yet.
"Can you use a weapon?" He asked calmly
"Yes, sir. I'm good with a spear." Vin replied
"What about a sword?"
"I've used one before so it shouldn't be a problem." Vin answered "Is the Bardan strait that dangerous?"
Peak rubbed his eyes and sighed, searching for the best explanation to the question.
"If we're lucky nothing might happen but that's rare, especially during this war." Peak explained "Some pirates call the small islands around the area home and sometimes attack if they're low on supplies."
"When was the last time you faced any pirates in the area?" Vin asked
"Five weeks, I lost a friend that day."
Just remembering that day started to fill the captain with both fear and anger but he kept it to himself.
"Just get some rest in case something happens tomorrow."
That night was the quietest night of that trip and from what he was told, Vin could understand. Each ,man was in the navy for a reason and for most that reason was providing for their family, so coming home alive was their top priority.
"Hey, Revin, you up?" Vin whispered
"Yeah."
"Are you gonna stay in the navy when the war's over?"Vin asked
"I love the ocean but I don't know." He said "Being away from my wife for weeks, even months at a time hurts me."
Vin understood what he was saying but without any family, he could never relate so he laid there in silence.
That morning was similar to the other mornings except for the cautious movements of everyone working on the deck, even the captain was working the helm instead of leaving the post to Coax. Every man's focus was pulled by the loud ringing of that mast's bell and Aaron shouting "pirates". It didn't take long for everyone to grab their gear and assume their positions on the ship. The light fog kept the enemy ship hidden except for the mast so they had the element of surprise.
"Men, you know what we do." Captain Peak shouted "Do not underestimate you're enemy and protect your brother."
That quick speech was enough to raise the morale of each man and that was all they had before any fight. The sounds of oars hitting the waves and grunts from seamen come from different locals, almost surrounding the ship and only Aaron had any visibility however limited. The attack finally started with hooks being tossed on both sides of the ship, arrows also came flying from the fog aiming to decrease our fighting force.
"Stay in position." Captain Peak shouted
The pirates rushed up the ropes, intent on killing every man on the ship and plundering all the supplies. 20 men, all armed with old weapons and covered in tattered clothes surrounded, poised to attack.
"Seems like we got a loaded ship, Aye boys?" shouted a voice
The enemy ship passed by the Pandora and a man swung form the mast and landed in front of the pirates. Wearing clean leather boots, a white cotton shirt, black trousers and multiple gold rings, it was apparent that he was the captain of the pirate group.
"This ship is apart of the great Irinos naval fleet." Captain Peak shouted "Surrender or Die.
"Not if y'all die first." He retorted
One of the pirates rushed the captain, aiming to demoralize the crew but he was easily stopped by Revin. Others continued to attack with no plan and was just as easily taken down, lessen the numbers advantage they had.
"I see how it is." The pirate captain exclaimed "You four check the deck."
The ones he pointed out started running to the door before the lead was dropped by an arrow. Aaron had fired 2 more arrows killing one more and wounding another, those two shots alerted the enemy to Aaron's position but they could do nothing about him.
"I'm a charitable man, leave and we won't end your lives." Captain peak shouted "You'll only cause the unnecessary deaths of your men."
"Leaving now would ensure that, so that's a no from me." The pirate captain replied
The captain smiled seeing that the enemy captain was trying to do right by his crew but he himself also had a crew to take care of and nothing would stop him from doing that.
"Men, formation 3."
Everyone except Vin shuffled into a diamond formation in pairs of two, ready to attack on command. The pirates started stepping back but still weren't ready to surrender, they had to win this fight if they wanted to survive but the captain could not betray his country nor his crew.
"ATTACK." The captain shouted
The crew spread open the formation, leaving enough space for a pirate to fit, then walked slowly towards them with the pirates attacking in response. The pirates that ran in were quickly cut down by the front line with the bad line keeping the others at bay with spears.
"Don't falter, this is our last chance."
The pirates kept attacking wildly and being cut down, leaving bodies between the two groups leaving more of a disadvantage for the pirates.
"Jonny, use it."
A small man in next to the pirate captain fished around a small bag he had an pulled out a small device. With only seconds to act, Vin threw his spear across the ship, hitting the man in the center of his chest and knocking him overboard.
"Shit, He had the last of our explosives." The pirate Captain exclaimed
With no other surprises up his sleeves and facing a well armed force, the pirates' numbers slowly decreased to less than an fifth of their original numbers, where as the enemy captain finally surrendered.
"You are now in the custody of Captain August Peak and you all will face trial in Irinan courts." Captain Peak stated to the now prisoners
The battle ended quickly, with only a few injuries being suffered on the side of the navy which was good of Vin's first battle. The few days with the crew gave Vin something he didn't know he wanted and he hope he could continue after the week was up.
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