North Atlantic Ocean, Year of Our Lord 1710

A galleon steadily made its way through the Atlantic on its way to the Americas. To the naked eye, it seemed like a typical merchant vessel medium-sized and moderately crewed. It didn't even have much in terms of cargo not having anything of value like rum, sugar or tobacco or even treasure of any kind. But the truth was this vessel was anything but typical and it came down to its passengers, two of them in particular. To ensure the safety of the pair, the ship's voyage was laid out with utmost secrecy and the couple travelled under false names. In fact, among its crew were 100 mercenaries and 28 cannons to protect it. Everything seemed to be planned out perfectly, so the passengers felt safe a secure but as anyone knows the best laid plans never survive reality.

Unbeknownst to the passengers on the galleon that they were within the sights of a hunter. One that was giving chase and slowly gaining on them. But this wasn't just any pirate vessel, it was none other than the dreaded Walrus, the ship of the most feared and successful pirate captain in the Caribbean, Joseph Flint. A huge black East Indiaman taken from a spanish captain and converted to suit the needs of its new owners. As a former slave ship, the Walrus was designed to be faster than most Merchant vessels. Once in Flint's possession, he refitted the ship by ripping out the unneeded superstructure to make it lighter and make space for more guns. Armed with 40 cannons and 4 swivel guns, it was one of the most powerful pirate ships around. But more dangerous were the men who crewed it. A rougher crew could not be found like the pirates of the Walrus. All of them were experienced sailors and killers, vicious, cold and hardened. One had to be to sail with Flint, soft was a foreign concept aboard the Walrus.

Once a respected captain in the Royal Navy, Flint was a rising star in the admiralty known for his brutal yet effective methods when fighting the Spanish. However, parliament considered him too brutal and so was passed up for promotion several times. These slights embittered Flint and he began planning to turn rogue. The final straw was when his progeny Lieutenant James MacGraw was recruited by Lord Thomas Hamilton. Thomas, along with Parliament member Peter Ashe wanted McGraw's help in convincing Parliament to grant pardons for the Pirates of New Providence. Unfortunately, McGraw ended up having an affair with Lord Hamilton and his wife Miranda. The affair was discovered by Thomas' father Alfred who reported it to the admiralty. Thomas was put into an asylum while McGraw was dismissed and exiled along with Mrs. Hamilton. Shortly before, Alfred approached Flint trying to get him to testify against McGraw. But Flint had refused and for that, Alfred spoke to the admiralty who forced Flint to resign. Flint left but not before striking the one man breaking his nose.

Together with Flint, MacGraw and Miranda fled to New Providence Island, there they met a seasoned pirate named Hal Gates and convinced him to be allowed command of his ship. With MacGraw as his first mate and Hal as his Quartermaster, Flint became a pirate of unparalleled success making more money than any other captain. Over the years they would gather the fiercest men in Nassau for their crew.

William 'Billy Bones' Manderly the Bosun, David Pew the Navigator, Nic Allardyce the Surgeon and his assistant Benjamin Gunn, Tom Morgan the Pilot. Job Anderson the Master Carpenter, George Merry the Master Cooper, Dick Johnson the Coxswain, Old Jim Carver the Sailing Master, Sebastian Frakes the Armourer, Nicholas Irving the Accountant, William O'Brien the Master Gunner and Black Dog their Interrogator.

They had been tracking this ship for months without refitting or careening, now their tedious search had ended, and the final chase had begun. From the poop deck, the captain eyed the vessel before him through his spyglass making sure it was the right ship. Once he was certain of this, he gave the order to overtake her. From below, his cabin boy climbed up to the top and stood beside the captain armed with a boarding axe and wearing a balaclava.

"Is that the ship?" The boy asked.

Flint lowered the scope and nodded, "Aye Roger, that is the Maria Alayne."

"And we're certain that he's onboard?"

"Aye, our source confirmed it."

Roger grinned, "Good, we can end that bastard for good. Should I get Darby?" Flint paused for a moment and gave a curt nod and the boy rushed to retrieve him. Flint raised his spyglass and continued to track their prey. His grip on the spyglass tightened as painful memories came flooding back. McGraw now going by the name Darby, came up on the deck. Flint handed him the scope and McGraw looked through it, seeing the ship, his cheeks paled with rage.

Flint ordered the men to fly the Union Jack which allowed them to get closer to the target then as they got within striking distance, they readied the guns. Once their ship was in position, at Flint's command, the crew took aim and fired. The salvo of chain shot struck the rudder and the masts disrupting their ability to maneuver and leaving the ship dead in the wake of the Walrus. But the Maria Alayne was not ready to give up so easily and revealed its hidden armament of 12 pounder cannons. they fired a salvo and several shots struck the Walrus, injuring some of the crew.

As they were reloading the Walrus closed the distance and the pirates swarmed the Deck with Roger in the lead swinging his axe. They threw grenades into the gun ports to disable the gunners giving the men above to make their way below deck. The vessel's crew and complement of mercenaries engaged them fighting as hard as they could. Though many pirates were killed, but even they were overwhelmed by the swarming attackers

As the pirates dealt with the rest of the crew. Flint, Roger and McGraw searched the ship. Below decks, the trio came upon a locked door. As Flint put on a balaclava, Roger lifted his axe and started swinging, bit by bit the heavy door was chipped away until with one final swing the doors swung open revealing who was behind the door as Flint and Roger entered the room.

The pair was an old man obviously a lord judging from his periwig and a young woman who looked to be either his daughter or mistress, though Roger heavily suspected it was the latter. Roger chuckled, "after weeks of searchin' we finally got you. How frustratin' it must be. All that time, all that careful plannin', taking every necessary precaution to evade capture. In the end, it was all for nothin'." He walked forward seized the man's hand the inspected the rings on his finger. He focused on one with a red cross etched on it and wretched it off painfully causing the old man to cry out. Roger inspected the ring in the candlelight and smiled, "May the father of understanding guide you...To the afterlife."

"Assassin scum," the old man spat angrily, "if you're going to kill me just get it over with."

Roger scoffed, "who said I was an assassin? In any case, as temptin' as that offer is, I must decline. You see my lord our captain wishes to see you first." With that McGraw stepped into the room

"McGraw." The old man gasped; his brave face morphed into one of fear.

The former lieutenant smiled, "Alfred Hamilton, so you do remember me 'my lord', I cannot help but be touched." He put his hand over his heart to emphasis his point. He then lowered one hand while the other pulled out a curved dagger. "I, of course, remember you."

The old man tried to keep a calm face though he was genuinely terrified. "What do you want from me James."

McGraw looked around in confusion, "surely I've made my intentions plain My Lord, I mean to avenge myself upon you for what you did to me, for what you did to Thomas. Back in England, I was at your mercy, but you are not in England anymore and as you can see the positions have been switched." He then lifted up his bloodied cutlass to Alfred's neck emphasis his point.

Alfred's bravado wavered and he fell to his knees, "please McGraw, don't do this. I have wealth, you know this, let us live and it's yours."

McGraw scoffed, "see the world we live in 'my lord'. Now you respect me, because I'm a threat, that's the way things are. You must have felt so powerful when you ruined my career and threw your own son to the wolves. Now here you are on your knees like a street urchin begging for the mercy you never showed. "Tell me, 'My Lord' do you still feel powerful? Here your titles mean nothing and there is no king and there is no parliament to protect you."

"Please James," Alfred continued to beg, his hands up over his face and tears in his eyes. "You're a good man, my son knew this, and that's why he chose you. Thomas wouldn't want you to do this."

The mention of his former lover's name enflamed McGraw and he pressed his blade to Alfred's neck drawing blood. A whiff of the air told everyone that the old man had soiled himself. "The dead don't want things my lord, and soon neither will you."

"NO, WAIT-," Alfred pleaded but before he could finish, McGraw raised the cutlass and brought it down on the old man's face. Alfred crumpled to the floor and McGraw let out all his anger hacking at his body, again and again, he kept hacking ling after the man was dead and didn't stop until he was out of breath.

McGraw then turned to the now trembling woman and raised his cutlass. But before he could deal the killing blow, his blade was blocked by Roger's axe. McGraw turned to him furious before the boy said calmly, "we have bleed and sweat too much to come out of this venture empty-handed McGraw. The crew needs some compensation for this grueling voyage, so we might as well get something from it." McGraw snarled but lowered his sword, Roger turned to the sobbing woman, "what is your name?"

"Sarah," The woman stammered, "p-please," the woman begged, "don't kill me, my father will ransom me."

"And pray tell who might your father be?" Roger asked amused

"Sir Alaster Carew," Sarah replied, "he's a member of Parliament."

This piqued the interest of the pirates, so Flint came forward and lifted her up. She grasped his arms with a trembling hand. "I hope you're telling the truth," Flint growled, "for if not you will be getting well acquainted with the crew."

They took her outside and presented her to the crowd along with Alfred Hamilton's corpse. "Gentleman," Flint announced to the crew, "Today is not only a day of pay but a day of revenge. revenge for all our brothers that have been hanged on the word of this man Lord Alfred Hamilton. He came here to 'civilize' us and exterminate us." This received snarled from the assembled pirates who took their time to spit on the corpse. "But I say," Flint continued, "we can let him, or WE CRUCIFY HIM." The pirates roared their approval. "It's been a grueling venture but after months of pursuit, here lads, stands our payday!"

Of the entire crew of the Maria Alayne, only Sarah and her chambermaid were left alive. Lord Hamilton's body was strung up on the bowsprit for all to see. After looting the ship of everything including the guns, a message was sent to London with the ransom for Sarah demanding 300,000 pounds sterling. Flint sent the chambermaid as an intermediary to ensure the ransom was made. Before setting her free, McGraw took her aside. "When you meet with Peter Ashe or Admiral Hennessey again, I want you to tell them what happened here. Tell them James McGraw finally came for him. Tell Hennessey that he should have killed me when he had the chance. Tell them that Sarah, I want them to know it was me." The woman nodded in agreement and once the ransom was delivered, she was released, shaken but otherwise unscathed.

After that business was done, Flint and Roger confronted McGraw who was looking at the burning wreckage of the Maria Alayne. "How are you holding up?"

McGraw gave a sincere smile, "after five long years, it's finally over." He took a deep long breath and sighed, "rest now Thomas, now you can rest."

"What will you do now?" Roger asked

McGraw shrugged, "I honestly don't know, I became a pirate so I could hunt down Lord Hamilton. But now that he's dead I guess I'll return to Nassau, back to Miranda, work on the farm and live a quiet life."

Flint nodded, "well if you change your mind, we'll be glad to have you."

McGraw smiled, "keep my share of the prize Captain, Hamilton's death was reward enough."

"As you wish Darby," Flint replied. He then turned to the helmsman, "Set a course for Nassau Mr. Morgan, time to head home. The men have earned their shore leave."

As the Walrus headed for port, Flint spoke privately with Roger. "Word of our actions will spread Captain," Roger noted. Flint nodded, "killing a member of parliament, the crown will not take this lying down."

"There is also the layer that we must keep out identity's a secret," Roger added. McGraw has turned coat but as far as the crown is concerned, you and I are still the king's humble servants."

Flint nodded and stroked the walls of his cabin. "The Walrus took a beating from the ship plus she hasn't been careened or refitted in months she will need a good long time before she's ready to sail again."

"No matter, this was worth it, Roger assured him, "In the meantime, we can use that schooner we captured a few months back the Octavian and our work can continue."

End of Sequence.