Captain Thomas tugged at his bindings again. And again. Still he pulled until he felt blood dripping down his sweaty hands. Frustrated and exhausted, the young pirate slouched in his chair. Outside the din of cannon fire still carried across the unforgiving ocean. Try as he might to view the battle, the scene was out of his sight. The sun, he noticed through the windows, was now lower in the sky.
Just how long have I been trapped here? Thomas thought. Is this my fate? Will I face the gallows like so many others? God, why did it have to end this way? Thomas felt tears welling up in his eyes. Tears of self pity. Tears of fear. Tears of regret.
Cannon fire sounded again, much closer this time. The crackling noise of breaking timbers carried throughout the ship. A man screamed, swore, and then fell silent.
"Fire!" someone shouted up on deck.
The man of war lurched to starboard as the port side guns roared to life. Even inside the admiral's cabin the noise was deafening, like standing next to a thunder clap. The booming of cannons was followed up by the smell of gunpowder, which seemed to permeate every seem within the oaken hull. For Thomas, the battle outside mattered little. His battle was over. Bancroft had won. In a few weeks' time, Thomas would find himself before a judge, and then before the gallows. Such was the fate of all those who chose to sail under the black flag.
A window near Thomas shattered, showering him with glass. His heart skipped a beat, half expecting a cannonball to careen through the room. Instead, a grappling hook flew in through the broken window. The hook landed on the cushioned seating that lined the room's back. Unseen hands heaved in on the hook's line until it was secure.
"Climb! Get up there!" a man's voice cried.
Thomas heard muskets discharging, both on the quarterdeck above and on the hidden vessel below. Thomas couldn't see any masts through the cabin windows, so he assumed that the attacking vessel was small, likely a rowboat. But who did that boat belong to?
A mop of red hair entered the cabin through the broken window, followed by its owner. The intruding sailor- clad in a dark jacket with green breeches and buckled shoes, and wearing a cutlass and pistol - tumbled through the window and landed roughly on the glass-covered deck. The sailor then stood up straight, brushing off the glass shards. It was then that Thomas recognized the sailor's identity. In a heartbeat his grief to turned into elation.
"Anne!" he exclaimed, overjoyed to see his old shipmate.
Anne Bonny, surprised to hear someone aboard call her name, drew her cutlass and turned to face her opponent. She then noticed that her "attacker" was an imprisoned pirate captain.
"Thomas?" Anne asked, lowering her blade. "What are you doing here?"
"It's a long story, Anne," said Thomas. "Remind me to share it with you after the battle. Can you help me up, please? I'm tied down here."
Anne sheathed her cutlass and hurried across the deck. She then drew a knife and cut Thomas free of his bonds. Thomas quickly examined his bloodied wrists. The wounds had begun to scab over, and were no longer bleeding. Relieved that he wasn't badly injured, the Irishman picked up his sword belt and holsters and threw them on. While his equipment was still intact, the pistols, with the gunpowder soaked with seawater, were now useless. Thomas knew that it was best to wear the firearms anyway. They were expensive to replace, after all. Besides, pistols could also double as handy clubs.
"Why aren't you with the Forsaken?" Anne asked while Thomas buckled on his sword belt.
"I tried to kill the British fleet commander," Thomas answered. "Where's the Jackdaw, Anne?"
"Brace!" someone cried up on deck.
Suddenly the man of war lurched and rolled to starboard. The female pirate yelped with surprise. Both pirates were knocked off their feet, with Anne landing in Thomas' lap. Her hair landed full in the Irishman's face.
"She's off to starboard," Anne said meekly.
The two pirates heard firearms discharging overhead, along with the clashing of steel and screams of injured men. Such sounds were familiar to Thomas. They had heralded his rebirth as a pirate. He knew right away that a boarding was in progress, and that he needed to join in the fighting, particularly if he wanted to avoid execution by hanging. When Anne climbed off of Thomas, he stood up and drew his left cutlass, holding the blade in his right hand.
"Time to join in the fun," said the Irishman.
Anne, drawing her own cutlass, smiled and nodded in agreement.
Thomas hurried over to the cabin's door and heaved on the knob. Finding it locked, he delivered a kick to the door, landing his foot beside the knob.
"What's going on in there?" someone asked, clearly annoyed.
Admiral Bancroft's steward, who had been keeping watch outside, opened the door, only to find the edge of Thomas' cutlass pressed to his throat. Defeated, the steward raised his hands in surrender.
"Smart," Thomas muttered as Anne rushed past the two men. Thomas swiftly followed behind his shipmate, leaving the steward alone in the aft cabins.
Anne led Thomas up through a short series of ladderwells leading up to the main deck. In truth, Thomas didn't need any guidance to navigate through this vessel. He was quick to notice that the Resolute's interior layout was very similar to that of the Prince. He also noticed that the route Anne was taking would lead the two pirates amidships, away from the quarterdeck.
"Anne," Thomas called. "Stop. Let's head this way." He motioned for Anne to follow him.
Thomas led the pair up through a hatch that led directly onto the quarterdeck. The Irishman squinted as sunlight filled his eyes. The melee, started after the Jackdaw rammed the man of war, was raging all across the main deck and quarterdeck. Pistols fired, blades slashed, men screamed. Dozens of sailors, marines, officers and pirates were engaged in combat. Which side appeared to be gaining the upper hand was unclear. The Jackdaw was off to port, her own starboard side facing the Resolute. A half dozen lines secured the pirate vessel to her much larger foe. The Mary was one hundred yards to the north, making for the Resolute's exposed starboard side. The Jackdaw's whaleboat - from which Anne had climbed aboard the Resolute - was off the man of war's port quarter, her crew rowing back to their mother ship.
Joining in the melee, Thomas drew both of his cutlasses and charged a nearby Lieutenant, stabbing the young man in the back. He fell to the deck bleeding and groaning. Anne fired her pistol at a midshipman, who yelped in pain from the wound. Another officer, clearly the ship's Captain, drew a pistol, took aim at Thomas, and pulled the trigger. His weapon misfired. Surprised, the Captain dropped his pistol and grabbed hold of his saber's hilt, but before he could unsheathe his weapon, Thomas was upon him. The Irish pirate swung his right cutlass at the Captain's neck, but the officer ducked and rolled to the left, dodging Thomas's attack. The officer then stood up and succeeded in drawing his saber. For a fleeting moment, the two captains stood motionless, eying one another. Then Thomas attacked, swinging his right cutlass in a downward sweep. The Captain redirected the attack with a skillful parry from his saber, but Thomas countered by thrusting his left cutlass forward, stabbing the hostile Captain in the stomach. A pained expression appeared on the British Captain's face, then he collapsed to the deck, whimpering.
"Send them to Davy Jones!" a familiar voice shouted from amidships.
Thomas turned, and saw that the voice belonged to Edward Kenway. He and a number of pirates were fighting amidships, trying to force their way down to the upper gun deck. Edward had both his cutlasses drawn, swinging madly at nearby British sailors and marines. One marine leveled a musket at the Welsh pirate. Kenway knocked the musket aside, the weapon discharged, and the marine ended up with a cutlass in his chest. Ignoring the dying marine, Kenway withdrew his cutlass and continued fighting.
"Edward!" Thomas called from the quarterdeck.
Edward stole a glance at the young pirate. "Behind you!" he shouted back, motioning with his arm.
Thomas turned on his heals just in time to see a blade whistling towards his throat. The pirate leaned backward, dodging the blow, and found himself facing Admiral Bancroft. The British Templar stood before the Irish pirate, smallsword at the ready. Thomas likewise entered a combat stance and raised his blades, ready to face his adversary.
"Is this how you repay your host?" the Admiral asked with disdain.
"I was never welcome aboard!" Thomas spat back.
Bancroft leapt forward and thrust his blade at Thomas' chest. The Irishman skillfully blocked the attack and made to counter... until Bancroft kicked him in the crotch. Thomas groaned and squatted with the sudden agony, leaving himself open to attack. Bancroft delivered a dropkick to Thomas' left leg, causing the young man to tumble onto the deck.
Thomas rolled onto his back and tried to stand, but Bancroft stepped onto his chest, pinning him down. The young pirate reached around for his cutlasses, but failed to locate them. Bancroft raised his sword, preparing for a killing thrust. Thomas froze, awaiting the strike, certain that this was the end.
Anne Bonny entered Thomas' field of vision, screaming and swinging her cutlass wildly. Startled and distracted, Bancroft turned his focus to this new threat, unwittingly lifting his boot off of Thomas. The Irishman scrambled to his feet, picking up his cutlasses. He readied himself once more, just in time to see Bancroft disarm Anne, get behind her, and force the young woman onto her knees. Bancroft held his smallsword's point to Anne's throat, ready to strike if she tried to escape. The Admiral had taken a hostage.
Thomas kept his distance, fearful of provoking Bancroft. One wrong move, Thomas knew, and his shipmate was dead.
"Let her go," Thomas demanded.
"You know I won't do that," said Bancroft. "When I took this young lady hostage, you hesitated. Therefore it's clear that you treasure her. Who is she, Thomas? Your sister? Your bed warmer?
"My shipmate."
"You lie." Bancroft pointed at Anne's cleavage. Thomas' eyes followed suit. "I see the lust in your eyes when you look at her," the Admiral continued. "Perhaps you thought she'd become your wife, have your children. Don't fool yourself. There is no future in pira-"
A pistol shot interrupted Bancroft. A wound appeared in his right shoulder. Surprised and wounded, the Admiral backed away from his hostage and clutched at his injury, groaning in agony. No longer a captive, Anne recovered her cutlass and stood up. She reversed her previous role by standing over Bancroft with her sword to his neck. Admiral Bancroft was now a prisoner.
Thomas looked to his left, hoping to spot the pistol's owner. His spirit lifted when he saw Aldo Gaiani holstering a smoking sidearm. The Mary and her crew had joined in the melee.
"Thomas!" Aldo called upon spotting his friend.
"Aldo!" Thomas shouted back. "Glad you could join us. Let's take this ship!"
Thomas rushed of the quarterdeck and into the fray. With the quarterdeck clear of hostiles, the pirates now controlled the entire weather deck. The fighting had moved below into the upper gun deck, where British sailors and marines continued to fiercely resist the pirates' onslaught. Thomas spotted a group of pirates trying to blast open the midships hatch with a powder keg. Captain Kenway, Thomas noticed, was climbing down the man of war's starboard side, further forward. Where was he going? Thomas sheathed his cutlasses, crossed the main deck, and followed the Welshman over the side. Kenway crawled quietly through a gun port below his former student.
He's trying to outflank the enemy, Thomas thought as he climbed through the same gun port.
"Down!" someone yelled.
The powder keg exploded, splintering the midships hatch. Pirates came streaming down through the opening, roaring and brandishing weapons.
"Fire!" a marine shouted.
A volley of musket shots rang out, deafening in the confined space. Several pirates collapsed lifeless to the deck. The marines, Thomas saw, had formed a defensive line across the gun deck, with the sailor. But with their backs facing the ship's bow, they didn't notice Kenway or Thomas behind them. The two pirate captains drew their weapons and struck furiously, cutting through the sailors. One shouted in alarm, trying to direct attention forward until he was killed as well. Amidships, the pirates had clashed with the marines. Blades slashed, men screamed and pistols fired as a melee ensued.
Thomas found himself facing the marines' commanding officer, a Captain by his uniform. The officer thrust a saber at Thomas, which he deflected and drove the hilt of his left cutlass into the man's face. The Captain stepped back, stumbled over a gun carriage, and ended up on his back. With fury running through him, Thomas raised his cutlasses for a killing blow.
"Surrender!" shouted the Captain, raising him arms.
Already swinging, Thomas redirected his attack into the deck, sparing his opponent. He noticed that the sounds of combat were fading out. All around him marines and sailors were throwing up their arms. Realizing that the battle was won, Thomas straightened up and sheathed his cutlasses. Cheers and jeers rose up from the victorious pirates. Elated, Thomas raised his fists and roared in triumph.
HMS Resolute had fallen.