Hearing the Scales of the Storm

The pirate ship Coronado needed a miracle and soon.

A storm was beginning to brew, but it wasn’t the biggest problem: The ship following the pirate ship was. The HMS Swansea would normally be faster, but its rigging had been damaged in the fight with the Coronado and was slowing it down; the fight had been recent enough that some among the crew of both ships had ringing ears from the cannon fire; he grinned as he remembered the fire from the cannons. My ears are still ringing from the sound! However, the ship chasing was hardly limping and would soon catch the ship running, especially as repairs were being done in transit.

Aboard the Coronado, the situation was therefore tense. Captain Tomas Cecilio had decided to sail into the storm. It could leave the ship swamped, lightning could hit it and destroy a mast or two, and the wind could destroy its sails, but it seemed like the better of the two options. If luck were with him, the HMS Swansea would decide that following his ship into the storm wasn’t worth the risk of damage, allowing him to merely skirt the storm rather than charging straight into its heart. He exhaled from his troubled soul.

He let the crew do what they did best. They’re a good crew; they’re doing well under the circumstances. He watched the HMS Swansea creep ever closer. He sighed. There’s still hope, if only it the captain feared the storm. He motioned for Hector, the navigator, to grab the wheel so he could talk to the bosun. He stepped over to where the bosun was directing the sailors like a general directing troops.

“Diaz, how go the repairs?”

Diaz ran his hand through his hair. “It’s all superficial. Luckily, we surprised them so they were caught with their drawers down. They didn’t get a chance to fire off their cannons.” He sighed. “But their rifles did find their mark and got some of he rigging as well as decent holes in the sails. We should have the worst of it repaired within the hour.”

Tomas nodded. “Sounds good.” He headed to the forecastle, but a slight dizzy spell stopped him. He paused for a moment, and the buzz became greater. He forced it out of his mind as he felt the ship lurch from under him. His brow scrunched. Why would Hector change course? He ran to the forecastle; he saw Hector there, smiling. He seemed to be remembering something pleasant, something that fully distracted him. He pulled Hector from the wheel and corrected the course. He looked on the deck below; he saw men milling about, even Diaz. Each face was smiling, as if they were remembering their fondest memory.

He knew some of the memories: For Diaz it was no doubt one of the many women he knew, for Ernesto, young Ernesto, it was likely to be the kiss of departed mother given on her deathbed, and for the scholarly Ignazio it was probably his time with the monks of Saint Jerome. Most of the men below were useless, lost in their memories. The buzz in his head grew worse, but he seemed to hear some sort of music, drowned out by the ringing in his ears; the music was ever-increasing in volume and would likely soon overwhelm the ringing in his ears. He noticed the other men still working to switch out the rigging had also fired cannons, or near enough when they were fired.

Suddenly curious, he looked for the nearest one. “Hey, Jesus, I need you here!”

The large man lumbered over. “Aye, Capitan.”

He motioned for him to take the wheel. “Just keep it steady.” The larger man nodded as he took the wheel. He ran to the starboard side of the boat and looked over; his eyes went wide at what he saw: Three women on a rock. He swore under his breath as he noticed their tails: Each woman had no legs but the tails of large, iridescent fish tails. Not the time for wishes to come true! He looked to the heavens and ran back to the wheel. He whispered a prayer of thanks as he took the wheel from Jesus. He steered the boat around the rock, putting it between him and the HMS Swansea. The small task completed, he smiled as the rock faded into the background.

Now the mermaids were the problem of those who chase us, and they didn’t fire their cannons! He laughed as he sailed into the storm, changing course soon enough to avoid the worst of it.