Disclaimer: Only Jackie Anahid and the Pepperup crew belong to me. Everything else belongs to the real people.

________________________________________________________

The Pepperup rushes through the unforgiving waters of the Being Sea to finish up their last string of the King Crab season. Waves keep coming at the crew, unrelenting, as they scramble to get the pots and empty them. No rough seas equals no bounty of crab. We are fishermen. We risk our lives for that great paycheck.

Before the start of the string, the five men are given a rest., except for the relief captain and deck boss. He heads up to the wheelhouse to relieve the skipper for a shower break. Gladly, the captain goes off to the shower.

After anchoring down the boat, George went back down from the wheelhouse to set out his plan. A little prank for revenge from that forty-eight hour grind. He went into the valve closet and waited. "Should be scrubbing up by now," he said with a smirk. The freshwater valve went off with a turn of his hand. George came out of the closet trying to suppress a laugh to look innocent.

The door to the shower swung open violently revealing a thoroughly amused, but pissed off captain with a towel wrapped around her. "Who's the idiot who shut off the water?!" she yelled. Her short hair was full of soap and getting into her eyes.

The crew gathered around the door, laughing at the prank, even Glenn. "That's hot. You should wear some shorts so we got something to look at," Tony remarked with a mischievous grin.

"Oh screw you guys. All of you were in on this and never told me!" She laughed and turned to go back into the shower. "Turn on the freakin' water assholes."

"Yes ma'am, Lady Captain!" piped the crew.

Work resumed with everyone in a good mood. The pots were pulled and crab put in the tanks. The numbers were high and the captain was happy.

"Hey George! Can I tell her the numbers?" asked Byron.

"Think you can handle counting greenhorn?" joked George. "I'm just kidding, go for it."

"Time for a little prank of my own," muttered Byron.

As things went on, the numbers dropped to a low average. A worried captain took a look at the incoming pot. It was filled with the little devils. She waited for the crab count.

"Twenty-four! Twenty-four!" yelled Byron into the radio.

Her eyes busted open wide and she pulled open the window. "Whaddya mean TWENTY-FOUR?! There was a shit load of crab in that pot! Are you stupid or are you fucking with my numbers?!"

"I got you good, didn't I captain?" said Byron with a grin. The other deckhands edged away from the greenhorn. Oblivious to what was happening, Byron turned back to the sorting table to find the others staring at him with irate looks.

"YOU DON'T FUCK WITH MY NUMBERS MORON! NO GREENHORN PRANKS THE CAPTAIN. WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR BRAIN WHEN YOUR WERE THINKING OF THIS?! IF WE HAVE MORE THAN OUR QUOTA WE GET CHARGED DUMBASS! THAT'S COMING OUT OF YOUR CUT!" The enraged captain stuck her head back in. Her face was reddening. A few deep breaths got rid of that. With the radio she told the Byron, "That was your last mistake. This is your last season on my boat. You're fired as soon as we dock in Dutch." After a lengthy pause she spoke again. "George, come up."

Even when a bad event happens on the Pepperup, tradition must still be done. Deck boss and skipper exchange places for the last pot of the season. With hook in hand the rusty skipper tossed it at the buoy with great aim. The pot was pulled and the season was over, but there was still work to be done.

With the captain back in her chair, she radioed them again. "Make Byron do the grunt work. I know you guys are tired so you can get some rest while we head to Dutch. I just need you guys to rotate watch over 'em. Make sure he's doing the work right and hard. If not, dock a thousand from his cut."

There was silence from then on. Just the waves crashing on the sides of the boat were heard.

__________________________________________________________________________

Once docked in Dutch Harbor, the crew unloaded their crab for the weigh in. There wasn't much of an over catch, to Byron's relief. It was early evening when they finished.

The Northwestern was docked near them and had finished at almost the same time. In the wheelhouse, Captain Hansen watched the scene on the deck of the Pepperup with his younger brothers, Edgar and Norman.

"Looks tense there man. I didn't think that Captain Jackie was such a small guy. He's gonna get creamed by that dude," said Edgar excitedly. Sig rolled his eyes at his brother.

The Pepperup's captain was standing on deck with her arms crossed and her cap jammed on her head. Byron was walking toward her. The rest of the guys were getting the gear put away.

Must be here to say his last words.

He came up with an angry look on his face. "It's totally unfair for you to fire me! George did a prank and he got a laugh out of you! Why doesn't he get fired?! I do my part on the deck! We should be treated equally!" yelled Byron.

"He doesn't get fired because he's the deck boss!" yelled the female skipper, louder. "This is my boat! I do what I want and I can tell you what to do! I'm in charge here, you don't get any say in what I do! I don't need a whiny little greenhorn that thinks he's a part of this family on board in one season!"

Byron towers over her in a menacing way. The crew know better than to fight the captain's fight. They watched to make sure that things didn't go the wrong way.

"Don't think you intimidate me!" yelled the spunky skipper.

Byron tossed a punch at her which she expertly dodged, going under his legs to come around the other side to tackle him down. They rolled on the deck trying to pin the other down.

The three Hanson brothers went out on deck with their crew for a better view of the brawl taking place on the Pepperup's deck. "This is totally epic man! That little guy might have a chance!" Said Edgar.

Her hat fell off in the tussle. Byron managed to get a pin on her, but she kicked his boys and sent him grabbing for them in a fetal position. She took her chance and grabbed his collar and dragged him up.

"Don't you EVER set foot on the Pepperup again you pathetic excuse for a guy!" She punched him in the face, leaving a sizable bump and bruise on his face. Turning her back him, she saw the Northwestern crew watching the sight.

"Get his crap and toss it on the dock." Glenn took her command and went in. All the things were put away and the crew of the Pepperup went to get their things.

"Ughhh…" Byron quietly got up and started to stumble towards his target. He tackled her hard causing her to hit her head with a bang on the wooden deck. She was still conscious, but the pain was ringing in her head. Just as Byron went in for a punch, Glenn grabbed him off his feet and tossed him on the dock with his stuff. Glenn's a big guy. Byron cowered as Glenn came up to finish him off.

"You are a stupid man." A good sock in the stomach sent the message to his brain to get the hell away and stay away from the Pepperup.

Sig and his brothers came aboard the Pepperup after seeing the tackle. The Pepperup's captain was still down and hugging her head in pain. The hand of Sig helped her up.

"That was a pretty bad fall man. You alright?" asked the clueless Captain Hansen.

"I'm fine," said the sore headed skipper as she looked to face him.

The eyes of the Hansen brothers and crew popped when they saw her face.

"You're Captain Jackie?!" Sig was thoroughly flabbergasted.

"O' course. Thought I was a guy?"

"Well, yeah! Especially with that fight!" said Edgar.

"Captain Hansen I presume?" She stuck out her hand. "Jackie Anahid."

Sig took the shake, still staring at this daring girl. She's got fire.

After the shock he grinned. "Kinda young to be a captain, aren't we?"

"Psh! You were too! I've done my research Captain Hansen," said Jackie smugly. "How about a round of drinks on me! Let's go guys!"

The crews of the Northwestern and Pepperup headed towards the bar to celebrate the end of the year's king crab season.

______________________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Only a few chapters will be uploaded here. The rest of it will be at PEPPERUP (at) deviantART. I'd rather not get notes that my plot is retarded and whatnot like that. It's just a made up story. Take your hand out of your ass if you're going to be like that. Please and thanks.