Sailors of the Blue

by Orion 141

Dead Men do tell tales

The crew of the ship was proving to be very different from the Maiden's crew, and not only on the account of it being a Pirate ship. Pip was currently trading blows with the very person Grace had warned him about. Pointer was a burly man, not huge but he still hit like a boxer from Pip short stay in Canterlot.

Maple had warned Pip about winning and losing this fight. If he wins, the crew would respect him, but win too quickly and they'll suspect something is different about the pair, but if he held back too much, Pointer would knock him clean out. And right now it was looking a tad bit bleak for this naval rook.

Pip wiped away yet more blood from his mouth, it's copper taste becoming all too familiar in past days. His breath was ragged, though that was only an act, he was royal navy for celestia's sake. With a slight shift of his foot, he was ready to end the fight. Pointer charged straight for him, he was only a few feet away but he would gain a lot of power if he struck, Pip needed to make sure that didn't happen. Pip blinked for only a moment and stuck first, hitting only thin air, by the time his eyes opened he was already reeling from the miss, while Pointer gave him a swift and powerful punch to the stomach, lifting Pip off his feet and knocking all the wind out of him.

Pip dropped to one knee and spit out more blood. He looked up at the smiling Pointer has he raised his fists back into a guard position.

"I would have warned you, but it's a hell of a lot funnier seeing you hit the deck. I was once part of the Navy, the royal Navy." Said Pointed has he back up from Pip, who only stared him down. He needed a plan, if Pointer was going to fight like a sailor then Pip knew exactly how to beat him.

Getting back to his feet, he charged Pointer. This failed, just as Pip had hoped. Pointer grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to the deck, then hoisted himself on top of the sailor to begin beating his face in. Once Pointer was on Pip's chest he want to work, he slammed his knees into Pointer's back, catching the man off guard. He planted his feet onto the deck, and thrusted forward to the right, effectually sending Pointer onto his chest, removing the pint and allowing access to his already injured back. Pip clenched his fist and slammed it into the base of Pointer's spine, resulting in a satisfying popping noise and scream from Pointer.

Jumping to his feet, he back away from Pointer who rolled onto his back. The man had a look of pain across his face but confusion was deeply rooted in his eyes, and Pip knew it. Pip raised his fists into the same guard Pointer did earlier, he had to only used moves Pointer used. With the guise of copy-catting his opponent, he was going to win this fight.

Pointer got to one knee, one hand behind him holding his hurt back, the other wiping away drool that had from on his lip. He smiled and got to his feet, matching Pip's guard. The two men squared off for a few long seconds, gauging each other. Pointer was the first to strike, a blessing to the crew who had quickly grew tired of all the standing around. He fired off two quick but weak right jabs, a big mistake in Pip's book as he blocked both with ease.

Pips mirrored Pointer's attack, hitting him in the left cheek with his last throw. Time slowed, Pip watched as Pointer's eyes began to close from the pain and shock of the hit. Pip pooled all his strength and released it in one punch, he came down and up, intent on scoring a direct hit to Pointer's jaw and knocking him out. He swung, time slowly returned to it's normal pace for Pip, he fist was about to connect before it suddenly stopped. Pip froze and looked Pointer in the eyes. Pride filled them and a smile spread from cheek to cheek, Pip felt the pain of Pointer's grip on his wrist. With one motion, Pointer delivered a powerful left hook to Pip's cheek, sending out a power cracking sound as it connect, while he did this he pulled on Pip's arm towards the blow, further increasing the power.

Pip was left baffled as Pointer worked, he kept his grip on Pip's wrist and turned around, pulling Pip over him as he did so. He slammed into the deck with a mighty 'wack'. He lay there motionless for a mere second before he rolled to the right, just missing getting his face smashed in by Pointer's fist. With a quick jab, he dropped Pointer to one kneel and introduced him to his knee.

Pointer's head whipped back and his body fell limp on the deck, a line of blood trailing in the air has he fell. Pip pondered a moment about if he killed the man, before laughter broke his thoughts.

"Hehe.... he.. he... By gods boy. That was a good fight." Pointer pulled his head up and looked at Pip with a bloody smile. He offered his hand to the boy. Pip pulled him to his feet. "Aye, good fight. You're the first man to ever best me. I'll follow you, so long as you say what O'Malley says." With that the crew cheered. The best fighter on the ship had declared his loyalty to the First Mate, this was as good as any victory for Pip, he knew the crew would follow.

Maple was only clapping with a sideways smile on his face, Pip knew that face, he had something to say, and he was going to like it.

"Captain wants to see you sir, in her quarters in the mapping room." Pointer broke away with a scowl on his face, but it quickly disappeared as quickly as it came. He pointed his thumb toward the back of the ship, the way he was facing. Pip gave him a look before turning around. As he passed members of the crew, they had mixed reactions to him. Some who saw the fight smile and nodded to their First Mate, other gave him a long stare before returning to work.

---

Grace lean back in her chair, a smile across her face as she curled her locks around her finger, her eyes were closed, she was at peace. A with the clanking of iron, that peace was broken, she cracked one eye open to see if it was Pip entering her cabin, and it was. Pip was covered in blood and his left cheek looked to be puffing up. His stride was proud and he had swagger when he took his seat opposite to her.

With a smile she pulled her legs off the desk, which had fallen asleep from the position. She opened a draw on her right and pulled out an ink well and quill, placing them on the desk before pulling out a paper, placing it on the desk.

"Know why Pirates pirate?" Asked Grace as she wrote Pip's name down on the top of the paper and filled out the rest of the information she knew. Pip didn't respond for a few seconds, that got her worried.

"Gold." It wasn't a question, it was his answer. So he wanted gold, and he would get gold if he plated his dice right. Grace looked up and handed the quill to him.

"Mostly, on this ship. We search for a way to free ourselves. We all have a bounty on our heads for one reason or another. The gold we pillage is divided and when we have enough, we're sailing for home. On this ship we're not looking to get rich, only to buy the most expensive gift on Earth." Pip took the quill from her and jotted a few words down, she caught a few as he quickly wrote, the words slaves, murder, Admiral, and desertion were the most striking.

"And if a crewmen is in it to get rich?" He asked the same question that everyone asked.

"We toss them over board and they pray another ship comes by. We had no place for a idiot. Only politicians get rich, or the lucky. Not outlaws, we either get free or get dead. Simple as that." Pip handed her the quill and she placed it with the ink well in the draw before closing it.

"Ah, okay then." He answer was different from the rest, but not from Pointer, Maple or even Dicky's answer. That was concerning to her. She took the paper from him and strode over to the stack of paper on the other side of the room, placing his at the top.

"We'll be at Maui before long, much sooner than I'd had hoped. If you and Maple wish to leave, that would be the place to do it, the governor is a powerful... Man... He'll help you get a few jobs around the area, build a rep, even give you a ship if he likes you. Just don't fuck him, if it mean a few coins or bodies tossed in the ocean, it's worth it." Grace finished by looking Pip in the eye, an eye filled with salt of the sea, but nothing Grace could read. He imply got to his feet, dusted off his legs and walked out the door. Grace pull open the drawer holding her papers, ink and quill. Without even moving her eyes from the door, she pulled out her father's flask, and took a swig from the liquor inside. "This is it."