Chapter 5

"Hi again!" Nora called out to Becky. "Cap'n Cardinal explained to me that you have agreed to be good while you're stayin' with us. Here's your lunch." Nora set the tray of food down and sat with Becky as she ate. "You know, the cap'n has given lots of particular rules regardin' you. He's also gotten a bit more antsy since you've been on. Therefore, I would like to know: How do you know the cap'n?"

"We were childhood friends. I hadn't seen him for seven years."

"Oy, that certainly explains everything. You know, the cap'n hardly ever talks about his past. Well, he does some nights, but his stories always seems to change slightly each time he retells 'em."

"Hm, that sounds like Jake," Becky smiled. "I don't think I ever caught your name. Mine's Becky."

"Oh, how rude of me! My name is Nora, second mate of this fine vessel."

"You're the second mate? How did you accomplish that? I thought women weren't allowed on pirate ships."

"Well, you see, I am Cap'n Cardinal's cousin. I didn't know he existed 'til I was already on my own. Once I learned that he was a pirate captain, I brought 'im the proof I had that we were related, and demanded the position of second mate. He along with the crew was gonna throw me out to sea, but I put up a big fight- hollerin', bitin', slashin' about with me dagger. I was able to earn Jake's respect that way. I fought for a good fifteen minutes until he and Scully-he's the first mate, by the way-decided to let me on."

"Wow, Jake has family! Are your parents still alive? Do you have any other relatives?"

"Yeah, my parents are, but they probably have disowned me by this time. And then there's my brother, rest his soul, and his family. The rest of our relations are no longer with us."

"Oh, I am so sorry about your brother. How did he…"

"Aw, he ain't dead; he's just dead to me 'cause he betrayed me. It's a rather long story that I'd rather not talk about right now."

"I…see. Sorry to pry."

Just then, somebody walked down the stairs. "Nora, are you down here? Oh, you are, good. The captain needs you on deck. I think trouble is on the horizon."

"Well, looks like our talk is over. See ya later!" Nora took Becky's dishes and left.

"We should begin retreating, Captain," Scully was suggesting as Nora walked over.

"Retreat from what?" Nora asked Jake.

"Mimosa is on our trail. I would rather take care of him now than have him follow us home. Nora, I want you to make sure everyone is prepared to have to fight. We are going to board the Viper. My plan is to pretend as if we are retreating, but then we'll swing around and get on the offensive." Jake walked over to Cutthroat Pitzel to give him his orders. "Keep us just out of his reach, and then when I give the orders, turn us around and head full speed towards the ship."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Cutthroat saluted. "Oh man, this is gonna get ugly real fast," he huffed once his captain was out of earshot.

Jake briskly went down the stairs and opened Becky's cell. "There's been a slight hitch in my original plan, Becky. A pirate enemy of mine is chasing us, and I need to stop him before he blows up my ship."

"Wait, who is he? Why is he mad at you?"

"There's no time for questions. I need to get you in a safer place than this. Grab a couple of things and come on."

Seeing the urgency in Jake's eyes, Becky quickly gathered her things. He brought her above deck and led her into his office. He hurriedly locked up a few drawers and cabinets and pulled a pistol out of a drawer.

"Use this if anybody comes in here. All you have to do is take the safety off, point, then shoot. Do not come out, no matter what is going on outside."

"O-okay," Becky shakily took the weapon. "Be careful!"

"I always am," he assured her. "Push that chair up against the door as soon as I leave." With that, he shut the door and locked it. "Turn this ship around and full speed! Make ready to board once we're close enough!"

Soon the Scarlett Ruby was right next to the Viper. Captain Cardinal's crew began boarding Matthew's ship, while some of Captain Mimosa's crew boarded Jake's ship. Jake immediately went straight for his former first mate.

"Welcome aboard, Cardinal!" Mimosa called as his sword clashed with Jake's. "It is so very unpleasant to run into you again! Did you enjoy watching me scourge the king's fleet yesterday?" Matthew took a step to the right; Jake followed suit.

"Not particularly! Especially since one of your crew sneaked onto my ship and tore up my main sail! I still can't believe you would actually steal from the king's ships!" Jake tried to advance on Mimosa's left, but Mimosa avoided him.

"You were going to do the same thing!"

"Yeah, but you still did it!" Jake chopped the feather off Mimosa's hat.

"Oh, that was a low blow!"

"Actually, that was a pretty high one!"

Meanwhile on the Scarlett Ruby, one of Mimosa's men broke through the captain's office door. Becky sprang up and blindly shot at the intruder.

"Ga-ouch!" he yelped. "You shot me in tha arm! Why, if I get my 'ands on yew, I'm-"

The pirate's expression suddenly changed, and he fell forward. Nora was right behind him holding a wood plank.

"That should hold him off for a little while. Oy, Becky, what are you doin' in the cap'n's office?"

"He told me to stay in here until it was over, but he broke the door down."

"Well, here. Have a sword and help me get Mimosa's men off the ship.

Back on the Viper, Allison was running up to several of Jake's men and begging them to rescue her, but they all thought that it was a trick. In order to try to show them she was honest, she showed them the root beer stash. They still wouldn't believe her and pushed her aside. She finally decided to try escaping onto the Scarlett Ruby. Unfortunately for her, Mimosa saw her running for Jake's ship. He stopped fighting Jake and chased her down. Jake took this time to get all of his crew back onto his ship and ordered Ketchum Kert Spaghetti to open cannon fire on the Viper until it sank. As it did sink, Captain Mimosa forced Allison and himself along with some of his crew into a dinghy. His men started rowing away from the wreckage while the Scarlett Ruby turned back on her original course and began sailing away.

"Coldsteel, give me the evaluation," Jake requested.

"We retrieved £300 of the king's money, six guns, 2 barrels of gunpowder, three cannonballs, and two swords. We also took twenty of Mimosa's men; some of them are in bad shape, though. Scully is beginning to take care of those who are seriously injured. And, sir, I believe your female captive is loose. Scully is keeping her busy by having her help bandage up the crew."

"That girl is no longer a captive. She is to be treated as an honored guest. Please inform the rest of the crew of this."

"Oh, yes, Captain. Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of his."

Jake walked over to where Becky was chatting with the crew as she bandaged them. Each person she took care of told her their story of how they joined Jake's crew, and each left with a smile on his face.

"Getting acquainted with the crew, I see," Jake observed.

"Oh, yeah," Becky smiled. "I'm amazed by how different all of their stories are. And, I learned a lot about how you treat your crew."

"I hope it was all positive information."

"Mm, most of it was," Becky smirked.

"And I thought I told you to stay in my office. You didn't get hurt at all, did you?"

"Well, I kind of couldn't help it when somebody broke the door down and tried to come in. I only got a couple of scratches. Nora kept me safe for the most part."

"Hm, good; I can always trust Nora to help."

"By the way, where are we going now? I heard somebody mention 'home,' but where would that be?"

"We are going to where we call home, but you will have to wait to find out where that is."