Day 1 of Lost Girl AU Week: SKY PIRATES
Pirating was a good life for Captain Bo Dennis. There was fighting, money, the wind in your hair, and (most importantly) plenty of willing women and men to ravish. Even if the Captain had been any less of the prolific pirate she was, her stunning looks and ferocious attitude would have drawn people of all kinds into her bed. Still, being feared throughout the skies as an incredibly skilled sailor and fighter also was a great help to her reputation.
Currently, the Captain was standing at the helm of her ship, looking out on the great mountains of fluffy, white clouds around her. Dressed in form-fitting leather pants, a billowing black shirt and a dark vest, Bo felt very good about what had been accomplished that day. Her fleet had captured two Royal cargo ships filled to the brim with loot, and the Captains own ship, the Dahl, had barely a scratch to the mast. Out of the total five ships in the fleet, only one had sustained any noticeable damage, due to its captain, Vex, being more than a little drunk on the job. Bo frowned at the thought. Vex needed a talking to.
"Prepare for boarding!" The call went out from Bo's First Mate, Kenzi. The girl was an fantastic pirate, she could steal anything and was exceedingly loyal. That was one reason Bo kept her close by-you never know when you'll need a friendly sneak thief. Bo gave Kenzi a quick nod to show she'd heard the message.
"Permission to come aboard, Captain?" Came two different shouts from either side of the Dahl. Captain Dyson and Captain Lauren both stepped down from their respective ships. Captain Dyson was wearing breeches and a shirt open down to his navel, a common sight when it came to the man. His ship, the Thornwood, was painted blue (as were all ships in Bo's fleet) and had a insignia of a wolf on its side. Captain Lauren was dressed similarly to Bo, except Lauren had a bright red vest and sash looped around her waist. Lauren's ship, the Consano sailed smoothly to the left of the Dahl, with its two entwined snakes insignia glowing in the sunlight.
Both approaching Captains held a fist over their hearts as they approached Bo. She waved their hands down and turned to face them fully.
"What's the report?" She asked.
"It's a good haul, Captain." Dyson said, "There are several barrels of wine, as well as the usual Royal cargo collection of food, fabrics and gold."
"Good. The cut will be as it always is for you two and Evony. Vex gets nothing until he learns to be sober during an air fight."
"Speaking of Vex," Lauren began. "Evony's ship has drawn up alongside his to make sure repairs go smoothly. She, no doubt, is giving him a beating."
"Yeah? Well, I am the one who gets to deal out the actual punishment." Bo's voice was level, but both of her Captains could see she was angry about Vex's poor conduct.
"Agreed." Lauren smiled at Bo's frowning face. Bo returned the smile quietly, but was too focused on dealing with the insubordination aboard the Mesmer. She strode to the back railing and looked out at the Morrigan sailing next to the lagging Mesmer. Quickly, Bo yelled an order to Kenzi.
"Kenzi! Be a doll and call for full stop."
"Aye, aye Cap! One full stop coming right up." The call when out swiftly, and in a matter of moments all three of the ships slowed to a complete halt. The Mesmer and the Morrigan inched their way up until the were nearly as close as Lauren and Dyson's ships. Now all five ships were easily boardable and easy to exit.
"Kenzi!"
"Yes, Cap'n BoBo?"
"Signal for Evony and Vex to join us. Oh! And send Rawsett and Plinks to make sure Vex actually comes." The two crew members she named eagerly hopped up from their positions on the deck and ran to cross Lauren's ship on the way to Vex's. Bo turned back to her two other Captains. Dyson was leaning against the rail smirking and Lauren was keeping a sharp eye on her own ship. They both were pleased that Vex was going to get some kind of punishment, as he routinely caused problems for each.
"Dyson, I want you to head back to your ship and oversee the cargo being split. Send Vex's portion to me." Dyson stretched and nodded before crossing ships and yelling orders to his crew.
"And what about me, Captain?" Lauren asked.
"You stay here. I may want your counsel on this." The sound of scuffling drifted over from the left railing of the Dahl. Rawsett and Plink threw Vex down on the deck and then dragged him up the stairs to where Bo was standing, kicking and screaming the whole time.
"Let me go, you brainless scum! I will gouge out your eyeballs with a spoon. Or a fork!"
"Now Vex, I think that is enough from you. You've been shouting since we dragged your drunken ass off the Mesmer. Shut up." Captain Evony sauntered up behind from behind Rawsett. She was wearing a light smile, but Bo could tell the dark-skinned woman was just as pissed off with Vex as she was. It was time to get to business.
"Rawsett, Plink, thank you for your assistance. Alright! Vex, are you sober right now?"
"Well, that depends on what you define as sober! I assure you I can still prefor-ack!" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Bo had a dagger up to the dark-haired man's throat.
"Let me remind you that I am the Captain of this entire fleet, which your ship falls under. I put up with a lot of shit from you, but what you pulled today was too far." Bo dropped him onto the deck with a grimace. In all his time on the fleet Vex had been one difficult asshole.
"I didn't know we'd be attacking an armed cargo ship! If I had, I wouldn't have broken out my good rum!" He laughed drunkenly with his face pressed into the wood of the deck.
"All Captains and crew members are supposed to be sober during the day in order to be ready for attacks. You violated that rule." Bo's grip around the handle of her dagger tightened to the point of her knuckles turning white. Lauren quickly swooped in and laid a hand on Bo's shoulder.
"You could always cut his annoying tongue out, Captain." Evony offered up helpfully. That was an attractive option, but Bo knew it was a little too harsh.
"Perhaps another time. Bo, I believe you have a decision to make." Lauren said with a quick look at Evony.
"Yes, I think I know exactly what Vex's punishment will be."
"Hopefully nothing to do with my face, I do love my face."
"Vex, you are to be stripped of your cut of any bounty and of your current Captain-ship. Your First Mate Bruce shall take over in your stead, until he either proves a better captain or you clean your act up. Dismissed."
"Hey! What! You can't do that! No, no-get away from me!" Vex wildly tried to hit Plink or Rawsett as he was forcibly dragged back towards the Mesmer. He managed to land a weak punch on Rawsett's muscled shoulder before the two crewman incapacitated him. Evony stood watching and let out a peal of laughter every time Vex was none-too-gently handled on the way to his ship.
"That is a good decision. I like Bruce." At some point Kenzi had join the three women at the helm and was nodding approvingly at Vex's less than graceful departure. The First Mate was leaning against the railing balancing a knife on her fingers. She winked a Bo and returned to her post humming.
"Evony, could you go insure that Vex doesn't try anything."
"Absolutely."
"And Lauren could you-Lauren? Where'd you go?"
"Bo...?" Came Lauren's voice from the right railing.
"What?"
"Bo, I think we have an incoming ship."
"Shit! We're sitting ducks! Kenzi, make ready for battle!"
"Bo!" Lauren yelled over the clamor of the crew. She pointed to a crest of clouds about a half mile away. Bo squinted through the glaring sunlight and just barely made out a dark shape. Like lighting, a red and black ship came bursting out of the clouds. It was flanked by two smaller ships of the same color and they were coming in quick.
"Bo! There's another ship coming in behind us!" Sure enough, a fourth black and red ship was gaining on Bo's fleet.
"Lauren, get back to the Consano and prepare for a fight! Signal to Dyson as well! You too need to try to protect Evony and the Mesmer until they are ready to fight!" Lauren ran off to own vessel, but Bo wasn't even paying attention anymore. She was more focused on mobilizing her own crew against these new attackers. It had been risky to stay still and keep the fleet this close together, especially for so long. Now they were easy targets for cannons.
"All hands make ready to fire!" Bo ran to the wheel and went about spinning the Dahl to get a clear shot. Dyson had already begun to engage the fourth ship and seemed to be holding his own. Lauren and Evony also looked like they were alright. Now, Bo had to focus on the opposing flagship bearing down on her.
Kenzi was rushing around yelling orders when the first shots went of. Cannon balls whizzed around the Dahl with deadly speed. The enemy ships were trying to fire at the masts of Bo's fleet. Without masts, the her ships would be dead in the water. Or sky. Whatever.
"Ready!" Bo screamed. "Fire!"
The first round of shots was mostly ineffective, but Bo felt a rush of victory when she noticed a few holes in the enemy hull. Yet, that was all but snuffed out when an answering barrage was shot back. Bo continued to shout firing orders, but was shocked when the enemy flagship pulled up close to the Dahl and started to throw boarding cables.
"Cease fire! Prepare for hostile boarding!" She could barely get the words out before the attacking crew started cross the divide between the two ships. Bo gave up on the wheel and shouted for Kenzi to take over. With a practiced motion she drew her sword and leapt into the fray. The most important thing to do was to figure who the other Captain was and beat the living shit out of he or she. A grizzled man halted her progress with a dangerously close slash at her stomach. She caught his second slash on the hilt of her sword and kicked the man in his thick gut. He doubled over and she dispatched him with a sword pommel to the back of the head.
A quick look at her surroundings showed that all the other ships in her fleet were being boarded as well, and there was fighting going on on each deck. There was no doubt her Captains could hold their own, but the sheer numbers of this new crew were worrisome. It was in that moment of distraction that Bo felt cool steel against her throat. She was pulled back against the soft leather of someone's clothes and held still by the gleaming dagger at her throat.
"You've passed a little too close to the Western Border. Unfortunately for you, that means I'm going to take all your cargo. Call off your crew and your other ships, and we'll see if this doesn't get bloody." Said the voice behind her. Bo snarled and twisted in the hold, but that only resulted in it getting tighter.
"You've got some balls attacking me." Bo ground out.
"And you've got some balls for sailing so close to my territory. Now, call for surrender, or this might get messy." The voice chuckled in Bo's ear.
"Try me." Bo stamped down on the foot of her captor and followed up with a hard elbow to the stomach. Her attacker fell back and Bo had just enough time to get her sword up to parry the dagger slash falling towards her face. With a grunt, she pushed back against the dagger and put a little space between her and her combatant. For a brief second she took in the woman in front of her. Blonde, tall and decked out in braid filled with feathers, this woman was stunning. The setting sun was glinting off of her light blue eyes like tiny diamonds. This woman was also armed to the teeth. Twin long daggers were held comfortably in each hand and a sword was secured around her hip.
"Who are you?" Bo asked angrily.
"The name is Tamsin. Too bad we had to meet this way." The blonde woman smirked. Before Bo could breath she was blocking a strike at her neck and then another at her leg. SHe tried to put some distance between them to utilize her longer sword but Tamsin kept getting back in her personal space. They traded blows halfway around the deck, neither being able to gain the upper hand. Bo was so focused on the fight that she didn't realize the sounds of fighting had died around her. Tamsin stopped one last slash before she glanced around and smiled.
"Sorry to break it to you," The blonde laughed. "but I just stole all your stuff."
"What?" Bo whipped around to find half her crew downed on the deck and the other half struggling to intercept the last of the Dahl's cargo being loaded on to Tamsin's ship. Tamsin herself made a quick exit, but not before shouting back at Bo,
"This was fun! Let's do it again some time!"
In the blink of an eye, all of the boarding cables were removed and the entirety of
Tamsin's fleet was pulling back, leaving Bo's own ships in disarray. The black and red flagship threw up its sails and sped away with the others on its tail.
It wasn't until half a minute later that Bo could shake herself out of her shock. She ran up to the helm and found Kenzi nursing a swollen hand. Bo helped her First Mate up and made sure to send her to get her hand bandaged.
"As soon as you're bandaged, send out a message to Lauren, Dyson, Evony, and Bruce. Once everyone is back in some kind of order, we're setting sail." Bo said while trying to gauge the amount of damage done to her crew and fleet. At least she could be assured that her other Captains were okay, if one of them had been injured or worse, a red flag would've gone up. Knowing them, they were probably just as ready for revenge as she was.
"Destination, Captain?"
"We're going after her. Tell them, as soon as they're able, to prepare to sail after the enemy ships."
"Aye, aye." Kenzi shook out her bandaged hand and gave orders to three crewmen for sending the message. Bo strode over to wheel and stroked the pommel of her sword. Tamsin's flagship was a shrinking black smudge on the pink and orange-hued clouds. The sun would be down completely soon, and if they wanted to catch up, all five ships would have to move quick. Bo smiled at little at the thought of the the fight to come. This time they were prepared and this time her crew had something to fight for. The chase was on.
Also, if anyone caught the reference in the name of Bo's ship (other than Trick's bar) YOU GET A COOKIE! Hope you liked it!