If you didn't read the important A/N, you know technically the first chapter of this story, you are going to be confused as hell, mostly cuz you NEEEED to know ages and I don't mention them in this story for everyone, and you need to know a little bit about who the primary crew are at the moment to storta understand.

Also I used certain spelling mistakes for a reason, either because thats the way It should be pronounced, or the slang terms are written that way, so don't be suprised if you come accross the words Gurl and Cuz and the like I did it that way on purpose. I also did alot of thinks like this Tellin' , Lettin'.

Anouther important note, remeber this takes place in the 1650's or around that time.

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Chapter One

He loved the smell of the ocean, the taste of the dirty salt water when it splashed into his mouth during a storm whilst he was yelling out orders. His job was simple; make sure everyone else was doing there jobs.

He was Lead Deck Hand, which meant most times he had more responsibility then the Captain and the first mate, sometimes even the carpenter. He had to make sure the sails were up and fixed, he had to make sure the decks were scrubbed, washed then polished, that new ropes were being made and that the existing ones were knotted to par, he even had to make sure that the cargo was strapped in tight and rotted wood replaced accordingly.

And all in all he loved his job, he remembered when he first set foot on Olympus, at the young age of twelve, learning the tides of the ocean and the life of a sailor. Of course at the age of twenty, his priority's had changed, instead of the honest life of a sailor, he was the Lead Deck Hand of Temperance, a well known Pirate's ship.

Never the less, he wouldn't trade his current job for the world. He loved the ocean, he loved the cool crisp breeze, the motion the ship made as it continuously crashed through the waves, and most of all he loved the life of a pirate; no rules.

Cept' those of the captn' of course.

What Angel hated most about his job was training the newbee's. He remembered his day's as a newbee deck hand for Olympus the way he was treated, and looked down upon, and that didn't bring any sympathy for the one's that the capn' was acquiring now.

"Get your wit's bout' you boy, act like you ain't ever been on a ship before" Angel yelled at a sandy haired boy that was leaning over the railing loosing his lunch.
"Still need the upper deck swabbed down nice n' skinny before we set sail tomorrow!" Angel set down a metal pan next to the boy, with a moldy looking sponge floating in the suds.

He would never understand why the Lindsey took on such young, inexperienced boys. They were after all, a accredited pirate ship through out the Atlantic ocean. But it served right in' well cuz no one believed the boy's when they were set on there way's a few months later.

No one on land believed that such a young one, would be taken aboard the Temperance, an' Angel supposed that's why the captain did it. Royal Navy been after them right n' proper for quite some time, and they didn't ever believe the yunngin's tales, made it harder for em' to follow them.

"How you doin' ol' chap"

Angel turned around with a smile on his face, he knew immediately who it was, he'd been a permanent member of this crew for twice as long as he had, and a better wood worker then some of the best in the larger cities.

"Who you callin' the old one here Giles" Angel laughed heartedly, taking a few of the new wood planks from his hands.

"Just cuz' I'm nearin' my fifties don't mean I feel a day like them" Giles laughed back, setting the wood down next to his makeshift wood workers shop on deck. Giles and Angel had been on Temperance together for nearly five years, and were now close friends.

"Well, I don't feel a day over nineteen, so consider us even" Angel said again, smiling.

"Not even close" Giles shot back, picking up his saw and working on the measurements. "How's our new sailors?" he asked as he started sawing into the plank.

Angel let out a frustrated sigh "New as usual, don't now bow from stern..."

"Scrub from swab" Giles finished for him. It was the same reply from the dark haired man when he inquired bout' the new deck hands, that the poor boy was required to train.

"Got that right" Angel laughed, shaken' his head "got a few of' them hangin' over the sides, ain't even set sail yet, doubt they'll be much use for a few weeks. Leavin' me and Faith to do most of the work, might even pull Xander down if need be" he let out a exaggerated sigh to make his point.

"capn' wouldn't like that much Angel" Giles said seriously "Need's him up there every-day looking for dem' Navy ships"

"I here were quite wanted in these waters now" Faith walked up, her hair pulled back like a boys, in a pair of dirty brown boys pants, and a white button up shirt two sizes to large for her tucked into her pants.

"Do you need to run around bare foot all the time Miss. Wilkins?" Giles asked, still having a since of propriety for the only women on ship, even though it had been nearly eight months.

"It's Faith, Carpenter, and yes" She said proudly, sticking one foot out and wiggling her toes, that ultimately had dirt under the nails.

"Look's like were going to have our work cut out for us again Faith" Angel replied sullenly, looking at a blond boy that was now loosing his lunch over the side. "at least he's not ruining our polished decks"

"Let off em' Angel, I'll toughen them up" Just as she said that, a newbee nearly dropped his buckets when he saw that one of the crewmen had boobs. "What you starin' at boy" She glared at him, and in a spontaneous moment, ripped open her blouse and showed off her uncovered chest to all the deck hands yellin' out "Best be getting your eye full now boys, come set sailing time, I'll be the whip on your back so much as look at me less then a man again, ya here!" She yelled at them all.

Angel just shook his head, he didn't expect less from Faith. Giles pretended to ignore her antics. But as expected all the boy's nodded there head's and went back to work as she tied the shirt in front, seeing as she'd broken all the buttons.

"How's the gurl commin' along?" Faith turned and asked Giles in the sweetest voice as if nothing out of the normal had happened.

"Got a few more planks to replace below decks in the bellows, other then that she's more then ready to go, the wood around the cell's though is going to need replacing soon" Giles replied in a equally normal tone, taking Faith in stride.

"Which means were ganna be needing new bars" Angel pondered to himself, making a mental note to tell the captain later.

"Quite right" Giles replied. Picking up another unfinished plank, that needed sizing.

"Here, I'll carry those down for you" Faith said happily, picking up some of the finished planks "Might even get that nice looking first mate to help me" She said with a bright smile.

"Thank you" Giles replied distractedly.

"Faith, Wesley is near old enough to be your father" Angel gave a small smile to the small mercenary, they'd had this argument many a time, since she stepped her pretty little foot on this boat.

"Yet young enough to be my brother" She shot back, working her way to the stairs that would lead her down into the bellows. Giles just furrowed his brow in confusion at the young woman, he would never understand what she saw in the first mate.

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Wesley was in his personal quarter, mapping out there next rout. The captain wanted to head on over to Nigeria seeing as this was the time for heavy Ivory trade, but Wesley knew better, the storms on the way over wouldn't be worth the risk and wanted to convince Lindsey to head to Spain for the spring, then move back down the coasts when it would turn spring in Nigeria.

Of course they would still hit storms, but not quite so many. Besides Spain had a new Gold and linen trade starting up soon out of one of the lesser known ports, and new ships were always the easiest to capture, rob and set free.

They carried as much as they could, like imbeciles that felt they were invincible to a pirates caress, and they carried nothing but expensive valuables and maybe a few pounds of sugar. No, new traders were the most nieve and easy of all, yet the most profitable for the trade he was in.

Then he heard a light, yet steady knock on his door.

"Come in"

And the dark haired brunette poked her head in with a large grin on her face, before practically bounding into the room.

"Hey you, Feel like poundin wood into place?" She asked casually.

"Wh-what?" Wesley finally looked up from his maps to the woman standing before him, holding a few planks under one arm and a hammer in the other. He hadn't listened to a word she said, and was rather confused by the large smile on her face.

"Wanna pound wood, ya know, give you a break from dem' lines and pictures" She repeated, she couldn't help herself, she always got this way around the first mate, she didn't know what it was about Wesley, by all means Angel was more her type, but she thought of him as a brother almost, not a attraction; no that title was held for the bumfoundled man sitting before her.

"You mean maps Faith" Wesley corrected her. She rolled her eyes.

"I know what they are, dosn't make them any less boring"

"I still have work to be done" Wesley protested a bit defensively

"I have work to be done to, and I'm tellin' ya now, mine takes priority, don't have the planks in..." she lifted her arm holding the planks for emphasis "by time we ship out, ship sinks, then your pretty little lines and pictures will be under the ocean" She paused for a dramatic effect that she didn't need, she just loved toying with the permanent, and temporary crew "See how much good they do ya' then"

"How many?" Wesley asked, setting down his pen and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Can't you get Angel or one of the deck hands to help you?" He asked again, looking strait at her, as if that thought had just come to mind.

"New deck hands today, Angels trainin them, can't scrub the deck worth a spit, much less nail in planks as deep as the bellows, sink us in a heartbeat, and twelve" She replied, sticking her chest out a little bit in pride, a cocky smile on her face.

"Yes, well then" Wesley thought about it "I guess I could lend my assistance" He agreed with a heavy huff of breath, standing from his seat and stretching. "Could use some time away from this desk I suppose"

"So where's the Captain wantin' to head off to now?" Faith asked as they started walking past the kitchen.

"Nigeria, I want to deter him to Spain though, seems more logical given the weather we would be facing, and as you pointed out, only have new deck hands" Wesley supplied, she shook her head at him, ask a simple question and he gives you the entire back story.

"Hey Lorne!" She yelled cheerily as they passed the kitchen "What's for dinner, O' gifted one"

"Slop as usual peaches," Lorne yelled right back "Might wanna go on shore tonight for dinner, be awhile before you get that luxury again cupcakes"

Of course slop meant the usual, salted meat, most likely mutton, some stale bread, and some hot beans with warm water to down it with. When they were out in the ocean, it was either eat with the crew and eat what they ate, or don't eat at all. Tonight though, she was ganna swipe a purse and get some good grub. Probably lamb with lemon sauce, a small salad, and potatoes, maybe even swipe enough coin to purchase some red wine to go with it.

Everyone had quite a few misperceptions about her. She remembered her first day on Temperance it wasn't the first ship she had been on by any means, but it was the first less then honest ship, and the first ship that the crew found out she wasn't a man as she posed to be.

The captain didn't seemed to worried about her bein' a woman though. She remembered him saying something along the lines of 'proved your worth, and aint worth holdin' your gender against ya, after all, we are pirates and we ain't got no special boundaries like them propers do'.

She was mighty happy to not have to tape her breasts down anymore, made her feel a little more free, and she didn't have to cut her hair as short as a mans anymore either, though she still kept it tied back.

She could hold her own in a bar fight as well, Angel had found that out the hard way. They were in a Kat house, of course she was dressed like a man again, she never could go on land like a woman, them city folk ' propers' would force her into a dress by any means necessary. Had something against a woman in mans drawers.

Never the less, a bar fight started and Angel got popped good in the jaw by a drunken swagger. Didn't take long for Angel to drop a load on the house commoners, kept trying to push Faith behind him to protect her, well she damned right pushed him out the way and gave a black eye, missin' teeth, and bloody nose to the first man she saw, and that wasn't the worst she bestowed in that particular fight.

Angel never tried to protect her in fights after that again.

He came away with a nice slash from a dagger on his arm, it was nice n' deep to. She had to sew it up with some of the string used for the sails, didn't bode well with him while she was doing it, but he didn't hit her none. Had a few broken ribs as well that she had to wrap, and a nice bruise on his left cheek that lasted damned near a week or more.

She came back to the ship with a small tear in her shirt and not another scratch otherwise.

She wasn't lyin' to the Captain' when she first met him and said she was a mercenary. She could wield bout' damn near any knives and sword better then some of the best sword fighters, and could fire any pistol with the accuracy of one of them British army men.

She could load a cannon faster then most, and could fire it just as quickly. She could climb the ropes faster then Xander, which wasn't saying' much, but in half a blink she could be up in the ropes higher then some of the strongest, fastest climbers.

She had the strength and fierceness of a panther, she also had the agility and grace of one as well. Letting' you know she was a force to be reckoned with, yet every inch woman.

She fit right in to the pirates life. Yet Wesley was quite the opposite.

He pitched a hissy fit to a tee when he found out they were lettin' a woman stay aboard and have chores of a man no less. She didn't take a liken' to him then, thinkin' him to much like one of them propers.

Yet, she changed her mind right quick when she was him in battle with one of the ships they was stealin' from. He put up a nice outer shell or propriety around the crew and captain', but you get him in the middle of the job and he wouldn't think twice about slitting your throat if need be.

She guessed he just liked to keep some since of his upper-classness that he used to have when he was a banker back in ol' Germany. And he never would speak of what got him into this life to begin with, but he was good at given' solid orders when the captain was gone, and setting them up with the best of jobs.

He also new all the politics that most weren't privy to, despite his new "pirates" status, he always seemed to be in the know about every countries political issues and exactly how to exploit them to the very last drop.

He was useful, yet it didn't seem the pirates way of life didn't fit his life as well as it did the others and her.

She had a crush on him none the less.

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Please Read and Review and I'll return the favor, I wanna know what you think so far...In the next chapter you'll be meeting Pirate Xander, Captain Lindsey, and get to know a little bit more about pirate Lorne and a few of the "new" Deck Hands.