Author's note: Well, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed at the lack of reviews. Is my style really that boring? Oh well. At least the practice is doing me good...

I'll try a new tactic. Review and you can have a lovely, fresh-baked e-Brownie! Even a basic "I like it" or "I hate it" helps.

Chapter Six

We loaded our guns with record speed and readied for conflict. I stood at the helm with dozens of dire forebodings forcing their way into my brain, wanting to be below deck doing something helpful rather than standing still. The captain stood watching the pirates approach, with a strange expression of rapture and horror written on his handsome features. At that moment I was afraid that when the time came he would not be capable of command.

My apprehension was unfounded, however, and when they had entered into firing range, it was we who fired first. Our shots for the most part missed the mark, sometimes by what seemed like inches. When they returned fire, the results were the same.

I had been afraid, for a moment, that I would lose my nerve in battle and be unable to fulfill my responsibilities. But I found that the reality was very different from the contemplation, and somehow, without thinking, I responded flawlessly to my surroundings; a feeling of dark elation suffused me, and I embraced it.

We fired again, and they fired almost simultaneously this time. I saw one of their shots hit us, but from my position I couldn't tell what damage it had done. We were coming closer to them - soon we would be side by side. I dreaded that moment while anticipating it at the same time. That moment would define the outcome of the battle.

Suddenly a cannon from the other ship burst unexpectedly, out of turn. I watched it, as if in slow motion; watched it sail through the air, a black spot on the blue sky; watched it find the chest of a young crewman; watched them fall lifeless to the deck together. I saw the look of fury on the captain's face, heard the anger in his voice as he gave the order to fire. And then the world became fast again.

The ship was directly beside us now. I read the name "Phoenix" painted on the side. Cannonballs, and all manner of smaller ammunition, flew furiously between us and the pirates - who were now plainly visible on the deck. From what I could tell, they were getting the worst of it so far. Good.

Nathaniel Phillips was the first to see them preparing to board the Aegis. Four men stayed at the cannons, while the rest of us readied for close combat. I left the wheel stationary, while I removed my sword from its position in my belt. Others did the same. Most of us had a sword, but those who didn't took for themselves a heavy piece of wood or metal. We congregated near the railing, trying to look as fearsome as possible - but the sight of the scruffy, fierce men opposite us was enough to strike terror into the hearts of the bravest of us.

They swung, a few at a time, across the seeming chasm that separated the ships; they were met with cold steel and with frightened eyes. I pulled down my hat over my face as low as possible. This would not be a good time to be discovered.

And then suddenly one of them engaged me. He was a burly fellow, who looked and smelled as if he'd not taken a bath in years - or perhaps he bathed in rum. I couldn't tell which. He must have been very drunk, though, because he was both ferocious and clumsy.

I had never been engaged in battle. I tried to remember Will's lessons, but most of it eluded me, and soon I gave up and fought by instinct, letting the things I had forgotten re-emerge by themselves to surprise me when I found my hands doing them. It frightened me a little, but I quickly realized that it was keeping me alive.

Luckily my antagonist wasn't very good, or maybe it was just the effects of the rum he smelled so strongly of. Either way, I was able to find an opening, and stabbed the pirate through his heart.

I turned, after a moment of disorientation, to a chaotic, gruesome scene. Three of our crewmen lay dead or unconscious on the ground, completely ignored. Two pirates lay dead as well. The remaining men were desperately slashing away at each other. After taking inventory of the surroundings, I gripped my sword tighter and headed into the center of the commotion. Couldn't be caught slacking off.

Feeling slightly more confident now, and enjoying the dangerous rush of adrenaline, I engaged my next opponent by myself. He was more ordinary, as pirates go - not too big, not too small. But as soon as I threatened him, I noticed his eyes, and wished intensely that I had chosen another. They were a bluish-grey color, and colder than I ever had imagined. They stayed locked on my face, never wandering for a second to glance at his sword - and his moves were perfect, while I had dropped to a defensive stance and was struggling to meet his steel with my steel and not with my flesh.

I felt myself weakening rapidly, and though I hadn't changed outwardly, somehow he knew and doubled the strength of his attacks. Soon I was showing signs of exhaustion. He jumped at the first opening he saw, hitting me across the head with such strength that I was amazed. I hadn't known any physical pain could be that intense. My vision was blurring...I saw him as if he was far away, coming in for the kill. I closed my eyes, waited for the bloody blade to pierce my heart. The blade never came.

I opened my eyes again to see all of the pirates returning with haste to the Phoenix. They never once stopped to glance at their dead comrades, but leapt over the railing to swim, with my surviving fellows at their heels. For one split second, I wondered; then the pain and the vertigo took over. I collapsed motionless to the gore-splattered deck of the Aegis.

...voices in an endless sea of pain...

"...be all right, Captain. The wound is superf..."

"...she's a woman. It's Rachel Hunter..."

"...knew women on ships were bad luck! It's her fault we're..."

"...one hell of an actress..."

"...her fault! She's just like us..."

"...all the Jonahs, a woman is the worst..."

...darkness.

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I opened my eyes.

"Welcome back, Rachel."

I turned my head, slowly, to see the captain sitting at a desk near me. It took me another minute to realize that I was in his cabin, lying in his bed. I tried to sit up.

"No, don't! Stay where you are."

I closed my eyes and sank back into the pillow, exhausted by the effort.

"What happened...the Phoenix..."

"We blew a giant hole in their side. They retreated, leaving us with four casualties and major damage. We dropped anchor a way south of where we encountered the Phoenix. The men have been working to repair the ship ever since."

I was silent for a moment.

"They know, don't they?"

He nodded silently.

"Are they angry?"

He nodded again, more slowly this time. "They're convinced, for the most part, that you are responsible for our current predicament."

I shut my eyes again, this time to hold back sudden tears. "I'm sorry."

Tennington looked surprised. "It's not your fault, of course. You did what you had to do."

I looked at my luxurious surroundings with slight anger, though I couldn't bring myself to be truly mad at him for his kindness. "I didn't want any special treatment."

"I'm sorry...you will be much better soon, and then you can go back to your hammock and later to work." The disappointment in his voice startled me.

"Thank you."

He nodded in acknowledgement, then spoke, a bit stiffly. "I have some duties to attend to now. Please let somebody know if you need anything."

I rolled my eyes as he walked through the door. Why did he insist on treating me like a lady, just because I had been injured? The sooner I could get back to work, the better.