Disclaimer: IOOMOC
J.L.:
Chris
Weeks passed by quickly, as there was always stuff to do for the ship. Any time a chore came up, I volunteered for it and threw myself into the work. I was in the midst of scrubbing the deck when Jill and Wesker rushed up onto the deck.
"Are you sure Mr. Spreyer?" Jill demanded.
"I'm telling you, they are flying the Spanish flag!" Forrest shouted down from the crows nest. Jill looked over to Wesker.
"These are English waters...but we're at peace with the Spaniards. Why would they be cruising up so quickly on us?" Wesker questioned. Jill pulled out a telescope and went to the side of the ship.
"Does the name Ruined Pearl strike any memory?" Jill asked.
"The Ruined Pearl? That's Marcus the Blind's ship! They're the ones that sunk the Gamma Stream." Wesker shouted. Everyone stopped working.
"The Gamma Stream..." I hear Sully mutter nearby. I looked over to him.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"We're about to engage in battle, son. Of the four ships in Lady J's company, the Gamma Stream is the only one that has been sunk. That ship they're talking about, the Ruined Pearl, that's the ship that sunk it. I hope you're good with a sword." Sully said and Wesker stomped his foot on the deck.
"Cut the chatter! I want Sully and Burton on the cannons, Aiken and Frost loading them up. Grab your weapons up men! Marini, turn this ship port side and line us up! Redfield, you take Ms. Valentine and Ms. Chambers below deck and hide them." Wesker barked.
"Excuse me! I'll not be hiding for this one Wesker!" Jill challenge. Wesker grabbed her collar.
"Ms. Valentine...you will not bring your personal vendettas to this battle. I need you alive and all women need to go below deck. Now unless you've magically sprout a dick, I expect to see you follow my orders." Wesker commanded.
"This is-" Jill started but Wesker snapped his fingers. I walked up.
"Come on Ms. Valentine." I urged, leading her below deck. She followed closely as I made my way to where Rebecca was preparing the first aid.
"This is such bullshit! I should be right up there right now." Jill grumbled.
"How do you think I feel, being stuck on babysitting duty?" I questioned. Jill grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her.
"Excuse me? Baby sitting duty? Where do you get off saying that?" She demanded. A loud crack resounded in the area. Then, several loud cracks followed and the ship shook.
"Could you two come in here? I need these bottles secured down!" Rebecca yelled out. Jill and I glared at each other for a second before rushing to help Rebecca.
Jill
Minutes passed by as I waited for the cannon fire to stop. As soon as I heard the yells of men crossing onto our ship, I bolted for the armory and grabbed the closest cutlass.
"What in the hell are you doing?" I heard Chris yell out I spun around to face him, blocking the doorway.
"I'm going up there and I'm participating. Now you can join me or get the hell out of my way." I challenged. Somewhere, a man screamed out. Chris grabbed a sword off the wall and stepped aside.
"Lead the way." He said and I smiled slightly as I began to dash to the stairs. There was a pirate at the top of the stairs, brandishing a sword that had seen better days.
"Ooo, a lass what thinks she can play!" The pirate teased. I stabbed the cutlass into his gut and kicked him off.
"I haven't got time for this." I yelled and lead Chris to the deck. Joseph was already on the deck, holding his guts in and groups of people fought.
"Stay to my right Chris, and we'll clear this out." I commanded.
"Any certain way to fight?" He asked.
"Yeah, you stick the sharp end into them." I replied and we charged off, hacking into the nearest group giving Barry and Sully trouble. I heard a gunshot and felt a pain in my side but ignored it as I hacked into the neck of one of the pirates that was trying to cleave Richard in two.
"Thanks Valentine!" Richard called out as he kicked up onto his feet and went after the closest group of pirates. I ducked the blow of another pirate as Chris stabbed him in the shoulder, then sliced his foot off. Wesker charged over, decapitating a few as he ran and shot the Captain of their ship in the head, effectively ending the battle.
"I want them lined up and I want them executed. Someone get Ms Chambers up here for Mr. Frost and Burton. I see that you just couldn't handle being below deck Ms. Valentine, so if you'd like you can figure out which of these bastards killed your boy and kill them." Wesker shouted. There were only five pirates left alive, all foul mouthing us. I walked over, grabbing the nearest one and lifting him up.
"This one. I recognized him." I hissed and sunk my cutlass to the hilt deep into his gut. That's when the pain in my side intensified. I dropped the dead man and grabbed my side.
"Shit, when in the hell did they get you?" I heard Chris gruff as I fell into him. I moved my coat aside and lifted my shirt up enough to see the wound right above my hip, blood soaking the top of my pants. Chris held me up, applying pressure to the hole.
"How bad is it?" I hear Rebecca ask.
"I'm fine...Joe's gone." Barry grunted as he wrapped the gash on his arm up.
"Jill's been hit." Chris said. I looked up at him, then over to Rebecca making her way to me.
"Damn it! This is exactly why I ordered you below deck! Aiken, execute the rest. Sully, I want Frost wrapped up and prepared." Wsker commanded as Rebecca motioned for Chris to pick me up and take me below deck.
"I can walk." I protested.
"Not on my orders." Rebecca chided.
Chris
Jill slept soundly, the effects of the rum Rebecca had administered to her running through her system. I watched over her working, avoiding the deck of the ship at all costs as the rest of the crew threw the bodies overboard, including Joseph's. The sudden reality of the situation had hit me, that there was a good chance that I could die on this trip.
"There...all stitched up. She's going to be in some pain for a while, but she's lucky the bullet didn't pierce anything important. I'm pretty sure it went clean through her." Rebecca spoke as she sat up, wiping her hands on a towel.
"Does she normally disobey Wesker?" I asked.
"No. Her lover was on the Gamma Stream when it sank...that's why we don't have a sister ship with us." Rebecca answered.
"Chris, above deck now. We've got some clearing out of the Ruined Pearl because we set it aflame." I heard Richard say from behind me. I turned around to help him out.
Jill
When I woke up, I realized that my clothes had been changed and that my side hurt. I lifted up my shirt to see my wound stitched up.
"Finally awake?" I heard Rebecca ask. I sat up, looking over to where she was standing in the doorway.
"Yeah..." I muttered.
"Well, stay away from activity on that side please. Once that heals up I'll remove those stitches." Rebecca ordered. I nodded and swung my legs over to the side of the bed to get up.
"So...Joseph...he's really..." I started.
"Yes. Jill, you really should listen to Wesker next time. I don't think any of us could handle you dying." Rebecca said. I bit my lip and stood up.
"You know...if Chris and I had not gone up there...it could have been worse." I replied.
"I know. Still...you should think next time. Wesker's busting Chris all over for not keeping you down here." Rebecca said. I grimaced, and made my way for the deck. It was night out, Marini steering the ship and Forrest up in the crow's nest. Chris was scrubbing the bow of the ship so I made my way to him.
"Hand me a rag." I ordered. One hit me in the face. I glared down at Chris, glaring back up at me.
"You're nothing but trouble." Chris grumbled out.
"You don't have to be a dick, I know that." I replied and knelled down next to him to help clean the deck.
"Why did you do it?" He asked.
"These men are family, Chris. Do you have any family?" I asked.
"I have a sister." He answered.
"Could you let your sister get into trouble without rushing to save her?" I asked.
"No." He answered.
"It's the same for me and any of these boys." I replied. Chris stopped cleaning and look at me.
"Is that why you're here? Sailing, I mean." Chris asked. I stopped scrubbing for a moment.
"I'll let you in on a secret, Redfield. My mother's the only family I've got left alive. She wants to marry me off to some Duke now. Naturally, I'm not too keen on that. My father raised my brother and I to be explorers just like he was and I could never be content with being some trophy. I know that my brother is probably no longer alive, but as long as I keep looking, there's a chance I might find him and I get to continue having these adventures." I explained.
"You can't run forever." Chris said.
"Trust me, I know." I replied. Silence coated the air for the longest time as we scrubbed.
J.L.: