We Meet Again

[Cirice Vaisha]

Elsewhere/Middle of nowhere
13:12, misty



"If we don't catch this bastard this afternoon, I'm feeding all of you to the sharks!" Cirice's voice boomed across the deck of the Hellion. To say that she was annoyed was one hell of an understatement. She turned to her first mate with a scowl and sighed. "We've been chasing this dog for probably the last week at least. That prize better be worth all this trouble." she spoke with annoyance as she glanced back to the merchant ship sailing for dear life to get away from the pirates. "He hasn't even tried to attack us, that's what annoys me the most. Not even a damn pistol shot from their end!" she ranted on as she folded her arms across her chest.

From the quarterdeck she glared at the ship ahead of her. These men were cowards, plain and simple. Other merchants would drop fire in the water, or launch some sort of devastating projectile at her by now...these have only been sailing for the past week straight, only trying to get away at night. Pathetic.

With a click of her tongue she walked towards the helmsman and looked around. "The wind's turning. And those shoals will make sure they can't run with it again. Just stay on them until we're ready." she ordered him and he gave a simple 'aye captain' in response. He was tired, she could see that. But then again, they all were. Even her ship felt like it was starting to get lethargic on them. Finally the wind turned and the merchant ship was losing speed. A menacing grin formed on Cirice's face as she glanced at her first mate. "Run out starboard guns! Get ready to fire!" she barked and the crew roared with excitement. She walked over to the helm and took control. The merchant ship started crossing their bow to avoid the reefs ahead of them, a problem cirice didn't need to worry about. With her smaller and more nimble vessel she turned into the reefs and waited patiently for the Hellion to get a clear shot.

"Sail ho!" a voice cried from the crow's nest. Her heart sank as she looked up. "Port side, behind the prize! They're in the mist!" the lookout continued. In that moment of broken concentration, a hail of arrows collided with them. Several crew members went down as arrows littered the top deck from their prize. "That's it, I'm done with these cowards. LIGHT THEM UP!" she roared and a second later, six explosions erupted from below deck. The cannons hurled their rounds into the stern of the ship, tearing the captain's cabin apart along with the lower deck. "Keep them spitting! I want them on their knees!" she shouted, turning the ship to bring it alongside their prize before it could get away in the fog.

She wanted to get their prize and get out of there before the other ship caught up with them...

Finn Roberts

[Finn Roberts]

It was a misty day with not much to do. They have been sailing around, looking for something to snatch, without luck. Finn was in his cabin, trying to plot a course but failing miserably. He let a huff, throwing down the quill he was holding, before he got up and walked outside. The men were all working at half speed. He sighed again before heading up to the helm where Derrick was leaning against the wheel, only steering with one hand.
"Any ideas of where we can go?" he asked his friend and quartermaster.
Derrick shook his head. "Maybe we should just drop anchor and call it a day." he answered.
Finn just opened his mouth to give his friend a witty remark, when the call came from above.
"Sails! To fore!" Logan cried from the Nest.
Both Finn and Derrick looked up.
"Colours?" Finn called up at Logan.
"Merchant, Cap'n!" his lookout called down.
Finn clapped his hands together in anticipation. "Finally." he said to Derrick before turning to face the deck. "To stations, lads! Unfurl all! I want that bitch yesterday!" he ordered his men, before he turned back to Derrick to take over the wheel. His quartermaster handed over before hobbling down to the deck and making for the prow, spyglass in hand.

As all her sails were unfurling, the Queen lurched forward like a horse smelling war. Finn smiled in anticipation. They had been waiting for a prize for nigh on four days now. To say they were hungry for some action was an understatement.
"Sails!" Logan hollered again.
"Yes, man! We know! No need to become a parrot!" Finn snapped. Sometimes, Logan could be quite thick. It was not the first time that Finn contemplated throwing him into the sea. Logan was probably the only sailor in the whole Azure who could not swim.
"Aye, Cap'n! But there is another ship behind the prize!" Logan called back, taking his captain's remark in stride.
Finn frowned as he gripped the wheel. "Coulours?" he then called.
"Independent, Cap'n!" Logan answered after a minute.
"Great." Finn grumbled. On the one side, he was itching to use his newly equipped cannons with the alchemical bombs he acquired. On the other side, he did not feel like competing or parleying. He sighed. "Ready cannons! I want them fired the moment we are in range!" he then ordered.

As the two ships came into view, Finn heard the boom of cannons and saw the stern of the merchant ship tearing apart. It was really going to be a competition then. When they were in range, he angled the Queen to port so that he could give the merchant ship a full broadside.
"Masts and top deck! Fire!" Finn ordered.
The bombs did exactly what the fence had said they would. A greenish fire licked at the merchant sails as the main mast groaned before slowly plummeting to the deck below it, flattening quite a few of the enemy crew. At the same time, Finn took notice of the other pirate ship. It was an oddly familiar Xebec. He knew it from somewhere, but he could not recall from where.

@Cirice Vaisha

[Cirice Vaisha]

The sound of cannon fire erupted from the other side of the ship and Cirice saw the damage it caused. One thing was for certain now, this ship wasn't going anywhere. The problem now was that they had competition...and from the sound of it, competition with more guns than she had. She sighed in annoyance as she maneuvered the ship around the prize, ready to take on the new arrival.

But as they came around and started lining up their shot...Cirice recognized them. She recognized the ship's figurehead, its flag...and that smug captain by the helm. Her face contorted into a scowl as she walked over towards the railing. "Finnegan Roberts, you son of a bitch!" she shouted at the top of her lungs at him and his crew. "Fire a warning shot over that fucker's head." she ordered her first mate and a few seconds later a shot was sent over the quarterdeck of the Phantom Queen. Her cannons were at the ready and her first mate was by the helm, ready for if he wasn't in the mood to chat. But right now Cirice had a thing or two to say about the opportunistic captain. "This is the second time you try and hijack my prize, fuck off already! This is mine!" she shouted at him, her golden eyes glaring at him. And from this distance, he didn't have an excuse to say he couldn't hear her. If he tried that, he'd get an arrow in the head.

She walked over to the helm and resumed control, turning the ship a little to make sure all her guns were on target. The Queen was big, but she wouldn't let that deter her from sinking him if he wanted to steal her prize.

[Finn Roberts]

A very familiar voice hollered from the now more familiar ship. "Oh great." he sighed. "It just keeps getting better and better. Derrick!" he then called.
Derrick hobbled all the way back to the helm. "Is that who I think it is?" he asked with a surprised frown, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.
"It seems so. The whore on the rock is back." Finn answered him with a scowl before handing his quartermaster the wheel. He then walked to the railing as well.
"Did you miss me?" he called back. In answer, he got a bomb flying over their heads as a warning shot.
"Oi! Don't provoke her!" Derrick snapped as he ducked low.
Finn ignored him and kept his attention on Cirice. "That much, huh?"
She continued with a few more insults. Finn snickered. "Any more love you want to give?" he then answered back. She always did have a way with words. "Care to give me some more on the deck?" he offered. "I'll be waiting for that sugar!" he then added.

He turned to his crew. "Hooks away!" he ordered, drawing his swords. The men immediately started reeling in the merchant ship. He turned to Derrick.
"I don't need to tell you to keep an eye on her." he said.
"I'll blow them out of the water if they try anything." his friend answered. "Send her my love if you meet her on deck." he added with a naughty little grin.

Before long, the ships were hull against hull. Before the boarding plank was even dropped, Finn was leaping over to the other ship, embedding his swords in two merchant crew members as he landed on the deck. He then quickly recovered and dispatched two more that were coming at him. By then, his crew was on deck as well. He almost felt sorry for the merchant crew. They had no chance between the Queen and the Hellion. That did not stop him from gutting another man, though. All the while he kept an eye out for Cirice.

@Cirice Vaisha

[Cirice Vaisha]

Cirice glared at him with vicious intent as he mocked her. "Why don't you come over here and let me show you some love?!" she shouted back at him. "Fuck sugar, I'll be shoving salt up your arse! You hear me, Roberts?!" she screamed, her crew watching with cringes on their faces as their captain screamed away. Naturally, he didn't let that stop him and proceeded to board the merchant ship.

Though something else was brewing in Cirice's mind. With only a skeleton crew on the Queen...it might present her with a different opportunity for that treasure. She looked at Derrick and flashed him a wink. "Drop starboard anchor." she ordered calmly with a smirk.

The Hellion groaned as its anchor dropped, yanking it into a completely different direction towards the stern of the Queen. With it tied down, it had no means to get out of the way. The anchor was cut and the Hellion's ram was driven into the stern of the Queen, shoving it away from the prize ship and cutting Roberts off. Cirice turned the ship hard to the left and brought her guns to bear. "FIRE!" she roared, and in an instant the stern of the Queen was lit up. The gun deck was torn apart and the steering mechanism was shot to hell. To add further insult to injury, she parked the Hellion beside the Queen under the level of its guns and launched an all-out boarding of Finn's ship. She cleaved her way through and quickly got face-to-face with Derrick, sword and axe in hand as she moved to back him into a corner. "You fight, I'm taking your other leg and feeding it to you." she threatened him, holding her sword level with his chest as the rest of her crew commandeered the Phantom Queen.

She might not be able to shove salt up his arse...but she could definitely rub it into his wounds with this scenario. She had his crew and ship hostage...and a healthy distance between them and the disabled merchant ship. If he wanted to swim over, he was going to have a hard time with the amount of bows and crossbows on both decks. "Oi Roberts! I hope you like it up the arse, 'cause that's the only love you're getting from me!" she hollered out to him, not taking her eyes off Derrick for one second. "How you doin' sweetheart?" she said with a calm and friendly tone as she flashed him a menacing grin. "It's been a while. You finally single?" she teased, twirling her tomahawk in her right hand while holding him at the tip of her blade in her left hand. "By the way, I was hoping you'd teach your captain some manners after all this time." she continued to chat as she watched him. Her crew was on high alert, keeping an eye on the merchant ship and the men on the Queen.

Cirice waited patiently for Finn, listening for any answer from him on this situation. He knew she would kill everyone on his ship. She expected he'd try something equally crazy to get to her.

All in all, this was one hell of a reunion as far as she was concerned!

@Finn Roberts

[Finn Roberts]

Finn was pulling his sword from another man's belly when he heard the crash of the Hellion ramming into the Queen. All he could do was watch as Cirice bombarded the stern. There was nothing Derrick could do at this range as the Hellion was so much lower than the Queen's top deck guns that were still manned. His jaw clenched as she boarded the Queen. And then she did something that she should not have done - she held Derrick at sword point. In an instant, the playful man was gone and in his place stood the man that stroke fear in the hearts of sailors. Instead of answering her or rushing over there in one way or another, he turned to look at the now pirate controlled merchant ship. A sinister smirk spread on his face.
"Frank!" he barked, turning to his second mate.
"Cap'n?" Frank replied as he jogged closer to his Captain.
"We still have the foremast, rudder and the bombs on this ship. She may not be fast, but she can still move. Give the order quietly to unfurl the jibs. I want the rest of the hands on the cannons and ready to blow that Xebec out of the water." he ordered quietly. He then walked over to the rail. She would soon learn what happens when you rub Finnegan Roberts the wrong way.
"Smart move, Vaisha! But you boarded the wrong ship. The treasure is over here! Not in Derrick's peg!" he called back at her, more to keep her attention on him as his men quietly served out his orders. "I really thought you missed me and wanted to dance." he added as the schooner beneath his feet started moving as the foremast caught the wind.

Frank deftly angled the ship in such a way that the now deserted Hellion would get a full broadside without damaging the Queen any further. Finn lifted his chin, his blue eyes flashing in anger.
"Fire." he ordered softly. The few cannons on board boomed in unison, incapacitating the Hellion in one blow.
"Now what, Captain? I'm sitting on your money and you can't go anywhere. Why don't you stop being a coward, get on those rowboats and come and say everything to my face?" he called, his voice stern and devoid of all affection. In the meantime, his men have loaded the next set of bombs and were ready to fire at his command.

@Cirice Vaisha

[Cirice Vaisha]

Cirice was patient. She quite literally had years to waste on this little venture as she stood and watched Finn. She didn't need to hear what he ordered to know what was going on as she saw men scramble to get to the foremast. Was he seriously going to try and fight with that piece of junk?

It appeared so.

Cirice chuckled and shook her head. "I'll give it to him, sweetheart, he's creative." she quipped to Derrick before glancing at one of her men. "Take some men over and tighten down boarding ramps and hooks. Then unfurl all sails, swing this bitch about. I want this raft between us and that ship permanently." she ordered and they scrammed. While bigger ships might have had trouble pulling something like this off, the Hellion had time to spare. The little vessel quickly had its sails unfurled and moved forward. Both it and the Phantom Queen groaned loudly as wood was strained, but soon the Hellion was turning and dragging the Queen along.

By the time Finn got into position, the Queen was sitting between him and the Hellion once again with its captain flashing him a nautical mile-long grin. Unless he wanted to sink his vessel first, he wasn't going to get a clear shot on the Hellion. "I'm patient, Roberts! You know that! And if you plan on starving us, just keep in mind that Derrick is already look like a snack over here!" she called out to him, flashing Derrick a wink. She took a step back and leaned on her sword as if it were a cane, watching Roberts. "Let me know when you're ready to surrender that treasure to me!" she called out to him then glanced at Derrick once more. With the space between them, his crippled arse wouldn't be a threat.

"No need to be so stiff, Derrick. This is all in good fun. I just want my treasure, it's as simple as that. You're welcome to tell Finny that." she spoke with a casual voice. "In the meantime, how's the pickings been? You also hit a rather rough patch? Or is it just our bad luck?" she chatted away with him, keeping Finn in her eyesight as she did so.

@Finn Roberts

[Finn Roberts]

He had to hand it her - she was innovative. She had him now. Aside from blowing up his own ship, there was not much else he could do. Finn rested his hands on his hips with a huff while he tried to find a way around this. If all else fails, he could always just get a new ship. Even with his peg leg, Derrick was a good swimmer. Finn could easily pick him up in this hunk of junk.

Meanwhile, on the Queen, Derrick had resigned his fate for the time being. While he knew Finn would try and find some other way rather than admit defeat, he as Derrick knew better. He leaned back against the stern rail that Cirice had backed him into. He listened as she gave the order to put the Queen between Finn and the Hellion.
"The Queen's not a raft, sweetheart. She's a right side better than your buoy." he told Cirice calmly while all the ships started moving. He listened as she taunted Finn a bit more, before finally turning her attention to him.
"You shouldn't provoke him like that, darling. He's not pleasant when he is in a bad mood. I don't want to see him harm your pretty face." he told her.

She made some small talk while Derrick knew very well Finn was over there thinking of some devious way to get rid of her. He smirked.
"It's been on and off lately. We had to brave the Narrows not too long ago just to get a job in time. Why have you been so scarce? It's been dull here." he answered her. Shenanigans aside, it was nice to see her again.
He could almost feel Finn's frustration on the other side. He had to talk to the man, before his friend decided to do something stupid.
"Sweetheart, let me talk to him. You know he is crazy enough to blow up his own ship just to spite you." he said. He sincerely hoped both captains played along, or this could get ugly.

@Cirice Vaisha

[Cirice Vaisha]

Cirice chuckled at Derrick's comment, glancing back at Finn before looking at the cripple. "It's not my pretty face you have to worry about. You forget, I'm older than half your crew put together. This isn't my first scrap with another pirate." she quipped right back with a friendly tone. He asked about her whereabouts and she merely shrugged. "Been looking for greener pastures. So far we haven't found anything. And, naturally, once we got back, we had to compete with little fishes thinking they can swim with the sharks. You'd be surprised how many pirates we sent down after they thought we were simple merchants or the like." she chatted away with Derrick.

Then came his suggestion. She raised an eyebrow and scoffed at his suggestion. "You? Talk to him? Please, you're my only leverage and you know it. Besides, you two are likely to sink a city with the amount of wits between you two once you're together." she stated, lightly shaking her head. "No, I'm not letting you talk to him. But I'm not unreasonable. If you can get him to stand down, I'm willing to negotiate for the prize -more than half, naturally- as well as the return of you, your ship and what's left of your crew to him. You two might be a thorn in my side, Derrick, but it's better than being a pain in my arse. We're perfectly fine where we stand now with each other." she explained to him, shifting her weight onto another leg as she sheathed her sword. Her axe was slipped back onto her belt as she looked at him. "Well? What's it going to be? Are we going to bicker like children or talk this over like adults?" she continued as she glanced over to Finn.

"Better hurry up, he looks like he's gonna glare a hole into both ships' hulls any moment now." she quipped with a giggle, nodding to Finn who was standing like a sentinel. She smiled and waved a friendly wave at him, just for a cherry on top of.

@Finn Roberts

[Finn Roberts]

Derrick listened as she gave her ultimatum. At least she was in a reasonable mood. If there was one thing he'd learned from their previous expeditions, it's to not piss off Cirice Vaisha. Or Finn Roberts for that matter.
"Well, darling, yelling at him from here is better than nothing. Drop anchor. I'll get him to make parley." he said. He then walked over to the larboard rail and hailed his friend.
"Oi! You better get here, before you go and do something you'll regret! What good is a captain without a ship?!" he called.

Over on the merchant ship, Finn listened with a frown as Derrick performed his quartermaster duty to a tee. Of course the man was right - he knew very well that Finn would have blown up the Queen and then would have cried about it later. He sighed.
"Frank, get us over there." he said in resignation.
"Yes, Cap'n." Frank replied before bringing the dilapidated schooner around. Soon, they docked with the Queen.
"Stay here for now. If you need to move quickly, you move and you send that Xebec to the Locker, even if you have to hit the Queen as well. Got that?" Finn ordered Frank softly.
"I'll make them rue the day they crossed us, Cap'n." Frank replied equally soft. Finn nodded before marching over to the Queen's helm.
His jaw was clenched and his eyes were flashing as he approached the quarterdeck. Before he could pull his swords, however, Derrick barred his way.
"Calm down. You know she cares too much to actually do us any harm." he said.
Finn looked at him and once again, the man was probably right. He removed his hands from his swords and looked over at Cirice.
"You have balls, I'll give you that." he said, still slightly strained, but no longer bent on killing her.

@Cirice Vaisha