Crew of the Marblehead

by M48 Patton

Chapter 9

The Marblehead's anchor chain clanked and clattered as it was dragged into Ghost's Islands watery depths. Eventually it stopped once enough length had played out to guarantee the ship would not be drifting anytime soon. In addition to the bow anchor, a mooring line was tied from stern to the shoreline to prevent the ship from being able to swing at anchor.

Storm Stalker picked up the oddly shaped phone off its hook and flipped the switch to call the engine room.

“Miz Beaker, douse the engines.” She ordered.

“Dropped anchor already?” A gravely voice asked.

Trade Breaker stepped into the wheelhouse, shaking out his wings from the slight amount of ambient moisture in the air. Slamming the door shut, the pegasus captain pulled a corked bottle from beneath his wings and set it on the deck.

“Aye Cap'n, Ah—is tha' won o' Culinary's bes' bot'les?”

Trade Breaker chuckled, hanging his hat on the wheel. “Aye, I snuck it from the galley when 'e wasn't lookin'.”

Storm Stalker raised an eyebrow as she looked at the bottle. “Ain' lahk yew tae be drinkin' a brew tha' strong. Somethin' on yewr min'?”

The captain used his teeth to uncork the bottle and sniffed.

“Aye, sittin' in that blasted bed all day gave me some time ta think, an' I took a look at our current predicament. Celestia might not be after us no more, but that still leaves the Griffons, Germaneans, Zebricans, South Bay Fleet, pirates, an' whoever else has somethin' that flies or floats.” He explained. “An' they be doubly interested in us after our little run in wit' Celestia. I need to do some plannin', an' the last thing I need right now is a clear head.”

Storm Stalker laughed. “Don' be makin' a 'abit oot o' eh! Mah da was a migh'y drinker 'imself, bu' sum'tim' 'e let 'is bot'le get tae his 'ead a lit'le too much. 'Ow dae yew think Ah came aboot?”

“Ha! Must have been quite a bottle.” Trade Breaker bellowed. “Whatever he was drinkin', fetch another bottle of it!”

“Why Cap'n!” The first mate sidled up alongside her captain. “Coul' eh be yew fancy a roll in tha hay?”

Trade Breaker's cheeks flushed bright red and he neatly side stepped away from the mare.

“None o' that now!” He ordered quickly. “If'n me father could wait 'til his weddin' night, so can I. A'sides, have ye no duties to attend to?”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Aye, aye, Ah'll leave yew tae yer bottle then. Culinary shoul' be done wit' dinner soon enuff.” She grumbled.

“Miss Flowers already fed me, so don't bother waitin' fer me.” Trade Breaker called after her.

“Ah was'nae goin' tae!” Storm playfully yelled back before the door slammed shut.

---

Storm Stalker made her way down from the wheelhouse towards the galley, happening on Sun Flowers along the way.

“Evenin' Miz Flowers.” The pegasus mare greeted her. “Or shoul' Ah say Mizzuz?”

“Good evening Miss Stalker, how was Bugganville?” The earth mare nodded back.

“Ah was glad tae leave.” Storm answered.

Sun Flowers hummed knowingly. “Glad to leave shore or glad to return to Mister Breaker?”

The other mare snorted. “Pff! Cap'n's still o' the opinion tha' his honor be worth more than 'is comp'ny. T'will be many a day a'fore Ah share a bed wit' tha' stallion.”

“Would you have him any other way?”

“Aye!” Storm retorted. “Ah'd have 'im half-drunk an' on top!”

The two mares shared a guilty laugh as they stepped into the galley.

Culinary looked up as they did, a ladle in his claw.

“Ah! Ladies!” The hippogriff exclaimed. “Ya be jus' in tim' fer supper!”

“It smells wonderful, Mister Beak, and I'm sure that it tastes delicious as well.” Sun Flowers complimented the chef.

“Eh be stu, same as las' nigh'.” Storm Stalker said grumpily. “Nae nee' tae keep tellin' 'im 'e's a good cook.”

Sun Flowers was about to reply when a brown earth stallion came up alongside her and kissed her on the cheek. She yelped in surprise and cast a withering glare at the stallion who cheekily grinned back at her.

“Drip, you're lucky you married me, otherwise you would be counting stars on the deck right now.” The mare stated.

“Oh, but if I only I were but a measly bachelor!” Drip proclaimed loudly as his disguise fell away in a wave of green fire. “That I might be graced by the presence of your hoof upon my jaw!”

With a loud Crack!, the changeling flew backwards and cartwheeled over a table.

“Ah' ain' married tae yew, ya lousy bug.” Storm Stalker snapped, rubbing her hoof. “A'member tha' a'fore yew try tae lie tae me aboot the cap'n agin'. An' nae more disguisin' as one o' me crew neither.”

Drip slowly brought himself above the table to look at the pegasus mare. Even though he was massaging a swollen jaw with his hoof, he still held his cheeky grin as he answered her.

“I take it the captain said no again?”

The changeling barely made it out of the galley with his limbs intact.

---

Unbeknownst to the laughing crew aboard the Marblehead, their ship was being watched by a large number of pirates hidden in the rocks to the east of the bay. Outside of the protection of the spire that leaned over the harbor, the various creatures of Storm Killer's crew eyed the ship hungrily as they waited for orders from their captains.

Said captains were perched on a large boulder that gave them an excellent vantage point of the ship while hiding their clandestine observations of the Marblehead.

“Well, there she is. Now what?” Makry grumbled.

Stone Hand lowered his spyglass and turned to the group of miserable captains, blowing the rain from his nostrils.

“Storm Killer, I assume you have a plan.” The minotaur asked.

“Aye, the makin's o' won.”

“The makings of one.” Makry simmered. “Comes all this way, wrecks my ship, gets us half drowned and he doesn't even have a plan.”

“Quiet!” Storm ordered. “Ah'm thinkin'.”

Green Tea and Grif ignored them, searching for a point of entry on the ship and finally deciding on the lowest deck at the stern. It was certainly an oddly shaped ship, her deck was flat in most places with all sorts of structures built in the oddest of places. However, by far the most intimidating aspect of the ship were the many giant tubes that could only be cannons, a newly invented weapon of terrible power. And the ship carried at least eight of them, all of them far larger than anything the pirates could have imagined.

“Storm, the stern deck.” Green Tea pointed out.

“Aye, Ah see eht.” The pegasus grumbled.

Moving down from his perch, he stepped into the center of the circle of captains and motioned them closer. Lightning flashed moments before thunder clapped and nearly deafened those around, but Storm Killer did not seem to heed it in the slightest.

“Listen up!” He ordered. “This be how we take the ship.”

Using his sword, he sketched a crude representation of the ship into the shallow sand and pointed at the upper end.

“Grif, yew'll be takin' anypony hoo can fly an' take 'er bow.”

He pointed at the lower end.

“The rest o' yew will take tha' moorin' line onshore an' use eh' tae climb ou' tae the ship. Tha' or swim, the bay be calm despie' tha storm. As'oon as yew're onboard, fin' a 'atch or door as soo' as possible an' ge' belowdecks.”

“Why we goin' below decks?” Grif asked. “Wouldn't be easier to take the main deck an' keep 'em trapped?”

“Nae, tha' ship be a floatin' fortress.” Storm explained. “Accordin' tae tha 'Questrian Navy, Marble'ead'll seal 'erself up ev'ry tim' they fight. As far as 'dey know, she be impossible tae en'ter when tha' happens.”

“When did ya talk ta the Navy?” Growler asked.

Storm shrugged. “Perks o' bein' a gov'nah.”

“So, I assume our goal is to prevent the crew from closing all avenues of entry?” Stone Hand asked.

“Nae, yer job is tae stop 'em from shuttin' the doors.” Storm Killer snapped much to the amusement of the other captains save Growler.

“What of the crew?” Stone Hand. “A ship that large obviously requires a great many creatures to sail her.”

“Nae more than thir'y.” The pegasus grinned. “An' mos' o' 'em be tha former crew o' tha Gol'den Curse.”

“Impossible!” Stone Hand snorted.

“Nae, Ah be certain tha' number be true.” Storm Killer countered. “Mah daugh'er tol' me 'erself in 'er letters.”

“And how do you know that she was not lying?” The minotaur practically shouted, only keeping his voice in check as to not alert the inhabitants of the nearby ship.

“'Cause she's mah daugh'er!” Storm Killer growled. “Ah raised 'er, an' Ah know the las' thin' she'd evah do tae 'er dear ol' da' is lie tae me.”

“And what sssshall we do about the ssssship'ssss captain?” Ristophina asked, using her claws to hone her blade.

“Enough!” Green Tea slammed her hoof down. “Shall we spend the night like this? Arguing like foals? I, for one, did not come all this way just to die on this Celestia-forsaken rock!”

She pointed her hoof at the other captains accusingly.

“What is it you are so afraid of?” The unicorn demanded. “Are we not the Pirate Lords of the Eastern Sea? Have we not conquered every foe in our path? Are not we standing on Ghost Island, the eater of ships?”

“Aye.” Grif answered weakly.

“Aye!” Makry said with a bit more heart. “My schooner made it through that storm, and she ain't no Marblehead!”

“An' Grif sailed 'er!” Growler slobbered. “I'd like ta see the cap'n o' tha Marblehead make that trip!”

“AYE!” Green Tea exclaimed. “The Marblehead is a mighty ship, but her crew is still flesh and blood!”

“And so be her captain!” Stone Hand nodded. “He may be a mighty warrior, but he can't fight all of us at once.”

With a quiet cheer, the captains set about to gather the crew and inform them of the plan.

“Miz Tea, a word.”

Green Tea stopped and waited as Storm Killer approached. He waited until the other captains were out of earshot before speaking.

“Yew seem tae 'ave a way wit' words.” The pegasus remarked.

Green Tea nodded. “One has to be able convince even the most stubborn of fools in order for business to be profitable.”

“Aye, sae tell me why yew did it?” Storm Killer said. “Yew coulda' rallied 'em agin' me.”

“I'm glad to see your senses have not dulled these past few years.” Green Tea smirked, but then she sighed. “What would you say if I told you I believe your is our best chance to escape this rock?”

“Ah'd say yew're a rotten li'er.”

The unicorn let out a soft chuckle. “Then let us agree that I have aided your cause for the sake of a personal matter.”

Storm Killer sighed heavily, but walked away without another word. Green Tea sighed, relief washing across her features. Silently, her first mate crept alongside of her.

“Ye tink 'e'll ever figure it ou'?”

“No.” Green Tea answered. “He's far too much of a fool, engrossed in his own past to see what lies in front of his muzzle.”

---

Silently and swiftly, about forty of the pirates assembled at the mooring line tied tightly to the teeth-like rocks around the bay. Like acrobats crossing a rope bridge on display for an astounded audience, the quickly made their way across the watery gap to the stern deck of the ship. Those that were less inclined to balance the rope slipped into sea and paddled their way to the side of the ship where willing hooves and claws pulled them aboard.

Strange sights and sounds greeted the pirates as they climbed onto the ship, but they could not stop to observe their surroundings. Upon finding the first door to be unlocked save for a simple lever device, about half of the pirates entered the ship while the other group proceeded to climb the ladders up over the rear structure.

The main deck spread out in front of them, a tangle of crates and strange contraptions littered the deck, and above all of them towering into the night were four smokestacks that even now seeped a small amount of smoke.

“Keep moving. Look for anything that could be a wheelhouse or someplace important.” Came the order.

A thestral from Makry's crew suddenly tensed up, and she saw it.

“What is it?” She asked.

“I thought I saw something, possibly a pony.”

Makry looked around and didn't see anything, but she knew better than to discount the word of her crew.

“Get a move on.” She ordered those around her. “Start lookin' for open hatches. There's no time to waste.”

---

Trade Breaker turned the bottle upside down and allowed the last of its contents to drain down his throat, thoroughly disappointed that he had run out of booze. Fortunately, he had two more.

Uncorking the next bottle, the pegasus tipped his head back and began to drink again, oblivious to the fact that the door to the wheelhouse had just opened and closed so softly it never even made a sound. Satisfied with the amount of liquor that had passed his lips, he lowered the bottle to see Night Watch standing not a foot away.

“AH!” He yelped in surprise.

The threstral immediately held a hoof to his lips and made a motion for him to be silent.

“Quiet captain, the ship has been boarded.” Night Watch whispered.

“Boarded?” Trade Breaker asked blearily.

“Yes, I don't know how many or how they got aboard, but—”

“BOARDERS?!?!”

Trade Breaker jumped up and grabbed a lever. Night Watch, taken by surprised, uttered a curse.

“Son of a—”

HNNNNNNNNNNNNK!

Author's Note:

Sorry for the lack of updates, hopefully the next chapter will be up a bit faster.
Feedback is always appreciated.

Comments

[GamePlayer64]

It takes time to write a chapter, It's a great chapter.

[M48 Patton]

I really need to edit these chapters more before I post them. There are a ton of grammatical errors.