Captain Spindle
by Down Iris
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I do not have any rights to nor make any money from the characters in this story.
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This takes place in the world of One Piece with a pirate captain who ate a devil fruit. It does not involve any of the main characters.
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"Lieutenant, there's a pirate ship to starboard!"
"To starboard? We should be heading straight for the Red Flags."
"No, it's not them. I'm trying to make out the Jolly Roger." The ensign looked through the binoculars for a minute. "It's the Spindle Pirates! What should we do?"
"I remember them. Lieutenant, they're known to only attack other pirate ships. I think they'll leave us alone," another ensign said.
"Their captain has a devil fruit power to put people to sleep, right?"
"Yes. They put the entire ship to sleep, then steal everything of value. They're not know to have killed anyone, and they even leave enough food to get to the next island."
"That sounds like as good-natured a pirate as you could ever find." The lieutenant thought for a minute. "Men, turn this ship toward the Spindle Pirates' ship. I have an idea that might get us out of this mess."
The other three men looked shocked. "What if they attack us?"
"As you said, they've never been known to kill anyone. The most they would do would be to take our weapons and supplies, and we don't have much on this ship, only food for a few days. I think the risk is worth it."
"As you say, sir," one ensign said warily as the crew turned the boat.
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"I see a ship in the distance, Captain!" the man in the crow's nest called.
"What type of ship?" Captain Spindle asked.
"It's a small boat, of the royal army of Flarid. It couldn't have more than a handful of men on it."
"We're pretty close to Flarid now, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Just ignore it. If it isn't a pirate ship, I'm not interested, and we don't need to anger a royal army."
"Yes, Captain."
Captain Spindle went inside and was walking down the hallway when Gladdy burst the door open. "Captain! The boat has turned toward us!"
"What?" Captain Spindle rushed back on deck. The boat was approaching quickly. "They can't mean to take on our huge ship with just that little boat. Everyone ready your weapons, just in case they have a surprise."
"It looks like they want to talk!" one pirate said. Everyone gathered on the port side of the ship, watching the boat approach. Eventually it pulled alongside them. One man stood up.
"I am Lieutenant Dan of the Flarid Royal Army. I have a proposition for Captain Spindle. May I please speak with him?" one of the men on the boat called up.
"I'm Captain Spindle," he called over the railing. "I'll listen."
"First, either could you come down to our boat or could I come up to your ship?" the lieutenant asked.
"Can I bring two of my men?"
"Certainly."
"Okay, I'm coming." He turned to his men. "Gladdy and Hans, go down first."
"Sure, Captain."
"Aye." They threw out a ladder and climbed down.
"Cover me," the captain whispered to two other men. They put their guns over the railing. He then climbed down himself, and sat with his back against the wall of the one room on the boat. His men put their guns away. Captain Spindle was always nervous about having his back to strangers because his Devil Fruit power only worked within his field of vision.
"Alright, I'm here. Now what did you want to discuss?"
"I have a proposition for you. Princess Meral of Flarid and her entourage have been kidnapped by the Red Flag Pirates. I was hoping that you could put the ship to sleep so we could extract them. I'm sure I can get permission for a reward, possibly up to a million berries, although I can't guarantee that," the lieutenant said.
"So all you want are the prisoners? Can we plunder the ship?"
"It's all yours."
"How will we find their ship?"
"I have a vivre card for the Princess. Our boat was sent out to replace a reconnaissance vessel that's been observing their ship, but I saw your ship and got this idea."
Captain Spindle laughed. "So you'll lead me to a ship I can plunder and even give me a reward, just for letting you free some prisoners first? That sounds too good to be true. I'll do it."
"Thank you! I need to run this by my superiors first, but I'm sure they'll be as eager about the plan as I am." The lieutenant got up and went into the room. Captain Spindle could hear him discussing things over a transponder snail for a few minutes, and then he came back out. "My immediate superiors agree with the plan, but they need permission from higher up. It will be a few minutes. Is there anything you want?"
"Do you have any good fruit?"
"We have some apples."
"We'll each have one." An ensign got Captain Spindle and his two men some apples, and they ate in silence for a few minutes until the transponder snail rang. The lieutenant rushed to answer it. He mostly listened for a minute, and then hung up.
He looked surprised. "I've been authorized to guarantee a reward of ten million berries to rescue the prisoners." The jaws of everyone on the boat dropped, pirate and soldier alike.
Captain Spindle smiled. "I guess all that's left is to find the boat. Let's get going. Gladdy, go back to the ship and inform everyone about what is happening, and then direct them to follow this boat. Hans and I will stay here. Tell everyone to stay on our ship until I give the signal to board the Red Flags' ship." Gladdy climbed back up to the ship and soon both vessels were on their way.
"So why were the princess and the others kidnapped?" Captain Spindle asked.
"For ransom. The Red Flags are demanding one billion berries and some other conditions for their return," the lieutenant said.
"I imagine a measly ten million berries seems tiny in comparison to one billion berries."
"Yes, it would be very hard to scrape up that much cash, but that would have been possible. It's the other conditions that are the real problem."
"What are they?"
"Various things, but all related to gaining power over the government and the citizens. Of course, we couldn't allow pirates to have free reign in our country, even if the princess was at stake, although it pains me to say that. I'm sure she wouldn't want to return to a country partially controlled by the pirates who captured her."
"That makes sense." Captain Spindle paused. "I have another small condition. After you rescue the princess, I'd like to talk to her."
The lieutenant considered that. "I'm sure she'd be happy to talk to the man who saved her. Oh, and are you going to take the ship?"
"I have no interest in the ship itself."
"I see the ship ahead!" an ensign cried then.
"Are we close enough for you to put them to sleep?"
"Just keep sailing towards it. I don't know my exact range, but if I keep trying as we approach, it always works before any cannon balls are fired. Also, I'm not good enough at aiming that I can avoid putting the prisoners to sleep, especially when I don't know where they are located. You'll have to bring them back to this boat while they're asleep and I'll wake them up here."
"Got it," the lieutenant said. They approached the ship, which had its sails furled. An ensign threw a rope up and climbed up. He dropped a rope ladder down, and another ensign tied the boat to that. All the soldiers climbed up carrying rope, and Captain Spindle and Hans waited on the boat.
They waited fifteen minutes and were wondering what was going on when they heard a gunshot. That startled Captain Spindle as he didn't know why it had been shot. He was sure none of the pirates could be awake, and he didn't know why the soldiers would shoot a pirate that was already asleep.
Soon the soldiers appeared over the edge of the railing. One ensign hurried down to the boat as another lowered a woman down tied to a rope.
"What was the gunshot for?" Captain Spindle asked.
"The lieutenant shot the lock off the prisoners' room. Well, we weren't sure it was the prisoners' room, but it was the only one we could find with a lock on it. And our guess was correct."
The ensign untied the woman from the rope and carefully laid her down on the deck of the boat. Four other people were let down, three soldiers and another woman. The first woman wore a much finer dress than the other, so Captain Spindle figured she was the princess. She was rather plainer than he had imagined a princess to be.
The lieutenant returned to the ship. "Can you wake them up now?"
"Certainly." Captain Spindle blinked purposefully, and the five prisoners woke up slowly. "They may be confused for a minute," he said.
"Ouch ouch ouch!" one of the soldiers exclaimed, and clutched his shoulder.
"What's going on?" another asked groggily.
The princess opened her eyes and stared at the sky for a few moments. Then she sat up and looked around. The lieutenant knelt beside her.
"Lieutenant Dan!" she cried, and hugged him. The lieutenant blushed and awkwardly patted her back as she clung to him. Finally she let go. "You saved me!"
"No, the one who really saved you was Captain Spindle here." The lieutenant pointed to him.
"Hello," Captain Spindle said simply. Princess Meral smiled at him at first and then looked confused.
"Aren't you a pirate?" she asked.
"I am indeed. But your lieutenant there requested my help in exchange for a reward. Oh, that reminds me." He looked up to his ship, where Gladdy and several other pirates were looking over the railing. "Gladdy, go ahead and plunder the ship!" he called.
"Yes, Captain!" Gladdy called back, and then all the pirates disappeared from the railing. The ship moved next to the Red Hats' ship and pirates started to board it.
"Now, princess, I would like to talk with you for a moment if I can."
The princess looked confused again. "I suppose so, but what do you want to talk about?"
"I really just want to have bragging rights that I talked to a princess, no big deal."
"I'm really nothing special, but alright then."
"So how did you get kidnapped?"
"We went to a city in the south for a yearly ceremony, so I could get out and meet the commoners, which I like to do. We were all in our hotel suite when poison gas was pumped in and we lost consciousness. When we woke up, we were tied up in a small room. We didn't know where we were except we could tell we were on a ship from the rocking."
"Did the Red Flags tell you what demands they were making?"
"Yes, they were horrible. I'm so grateful to you for saving us without my father being worried about accepting the demands. Or having the royal army storm the ship, which would have cost many lives. How did you get us out, by the way?"
"I have a Devil Fruit power that knocks people unconscious. All of the Red Flags are sleeping now."
"How very convenient! No wonder Lieutenant Dan enlisted your help."
"Okay, just one more thing. Tell me something about yourself."
"Um, well, I like books, and playing the piano, and crocheting. And I love orange marmalade." The princess blushed after she said that. "All the Red Flags gave us to eat the last five days was stale, dry bread. I tried to imagine that it had orange marmalade on it to make it seem more appetizing. I'm going to ask our cook to serve me some on the freshest bread in the castle as soon as we get back."
"That sounds good. Okay, thanks for talking with me." The other four prisoners were all sitting up listening. The one soldier was still clutching his shoulder. "Did you hit your shoulder when you fell asleep?" Captain Spindle asked him.
"Yes, but it's a small price to pay for being rescued. Thank you. And at least the princess wasn't injured."
The lieutenant stood up. "Now that we have retrieved you, I should report the good news." He got up, went into the room, and talked on the transponder snail for a minute. Then he came back out. "A ship is on its way with your reward, Captain Spindle, and a bunch of handcuffs as well as enough men to sail the Red Flags' ship."
Captain Spindle listened as the soldiers and the prisoners talked for a few minutes.
"I'm so looking forward to a shower when we get back!" The other woman said at one point. Her hand went automatically to her neck, and then she dropped it, looking disappointed. The princess, who had turned to look at her, noticed this.
"Captain Spindle, I have a request that I hope you won't find unreasonable, after your having saved us."
"Go ahead."
"They took our jewelry when we were kidnapped, and I assume it's still on the ship. You're welcome to keep mine when you find it, but they took Sarah's locket with a picture of her late mother in it, and Searg's wedding ring. If you could return those, we'd be very grateful."
"Oh, yes, please, it's very dear to me," Sarah said imploringly.
"That sounds fine. What do they look like?"
"Mine's a silver locket with a flower on it."
"Mine's a gold ring with an engraving."
Captain Spindle turned to his ship. "Is there anyone up there on deck?" he called.
A pirate looked over the railing. "Yes, Captain?" he replied.
"I have some jewelry to look out for." He described the two pieces. "Tell everyone to look for them and bring them to me if you find them. They'll probably be together."
"Alright, I'll tell them." The pirate disappeared.
The soldiers and the prisoners talked together for a few more minutes until one pirate can down the rope ladder the boat was still tied to. "You wanted some jewelry?" he asked, pulling something out of his pocket.
Sarah reached out and grabbed her locket. "Oh! Thank you ever so much! I cried when they took it away."
"I found two rings with engravings," The pirate said, holding them up. One of the soldiers held prisoner came over and looked at them. He picked one up.
"This one's mine. Thank you. My wife would kill me if I came back without it."
"What about this ring?" the pirate asked.
"You hold onto it," Captain Spindle directed. "You can go help plunder the ship now."
"Okay, Captain." He climbed back up.
Just then, an ensign with binoculars cried out. "I see the backup ship, Lieutenant!"
Soon another boat from the royal army pulled up next to the first boat. There were many more people on it.
"I have the reward here, Lieutenant," one of its crew said, holding up a suitcase. The lieutenant took it and handed it to Captain Spindle, who opened it and looked inside.
"You're welcome to count it, if you want," the lieutenant said.
Captain Spindle closed the suitcase. "No, it looks about right, and I doubt the royal army would swindle someone who just saved the princess." He stood up, and Hans covertly covered him. "I guess this is the end of our alliance. Thanks for the cash and the plunder."
"No, thank you. You probably saved many lives with your help, any other way this could have been settled. You will have the gratitude of an entire kingdom."
Captain Spindle smiled. "Oh, that sounds good. I imagine few pirates get that honor." He climbed up the rope ladder, followed by Hans. "We'll tell you when you can have the ship," he called down, and returned to his own ship. "This has been a good day, hasn't it, Hans," he said.
"Yes, very good indeed." After another half hour, the Spindle Pirates were done plundering and they sailed off into the sunset. The princess was returned safely to her father, and the Red Flags had the bad luck to all wake up in prison together.
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