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Jonathan breathes a sigh of relief. Anything was better than having to stand at attention for someone you'd rather avoid. And it's been so long since his skills have been put to the test. Turning to face the distant ships, the Quartermaster took out his collapsable spyglass from his jacket and aimed it. "Bloody 'el!" he proclaimed. His heart sank when he saw the Cross of Saint George upon the mast. He did not want to fight his own country, but he was no longer in the navy. He was a traitor.

Such thoughts soon faded, and an extremely wide grin appeared on his face as he continued looking through the telescope. "Hello, dear brother," he commented to noone in paticular, folding back up his spyglass and replacing it back in his pocket. "We meet again, at last." Almost in a single-minded goal to reach the captain's cabin, Jonathan almost pushed the two women and the mopgirl aside without barely a thought. "Graves, Ma'am," he said in a surprising tone after knocking upon the door.

Rachel listened to what Jonathan had said to himself... She then finally realized the naval vessels in the water, "this is not good," was all she could say. Two Naval Galleons and a Supply Sloop weren't something one wanted to get involved with, unless you enjoyed dieing.

He was looking at those Navy Ships and said 'hello, dear brother' did that mean that his brother was in the Navy where Jonathan had become a traitor? And why did the Dementia have the luck to run into three Navy ships that were under the command of Jonathan's brother...

Was it a coincidence, or was Jonathan still working for the English Navy? But if there were Navy Ships out here, could they have hit Divvytown? Could their crewmates that got left behind be dead thanks to those bastards? And was it all Jonathan's fault that that was a possibility? She followed the man, keeping far enough behind to hopefully not be noticed by Jonathan.

"Would it be important enough if I personally knew the commander of the fleet, and his tactics?" Jonathan replied as a challenge. He then casually turned around and started walking toward the hold where his hammock was. "But it is your ship, your orders," he remarks coldly with a shrug. "But do not be surprised if you find that The b*****d and The Conquerer can far outmatch the Dementia in speed and firepower." He stops to open the door to the lower decks and turns his head, "After all, I have served on the flagship for a great number of years of my life."

The urge to draw her sword and behead the insolent man right there and then was almost overpowering in its intensity, but so was the very real threat of death to her own self. Katherine knew there was nothing she herself could do to save her ship or her life from this situation, and a bloody massacre was sure to follow if she tried her usual battle plans. Worse, if the english bastards caught her alive there would be a swift trial and a hanging awaiting her in London.

Feel the hangman's noose tighten around her throat spurred Katherine to make the decision that would cost her immeasurable pride, but could save her ship. "Graves." She called after the quartermaster, not looking at him. It was unbearable to call on the smug b*****d, seeing the look on his face as she did so would be too much.

For all his arrogance, for all his presumption and rude ambition, Jonathan Graves was right. Without his intimate knowledge of the galleons, they didn't have so much as a fighting chance. It was a slim hope, but if she ignored him then they would have no hope at all. Sighing, the captain turned to face the quartermaster.

"What do you know?"

Katherine did not appreciate the dressing down, especially not from such a lowly bilge rat as Graves but still she tolerated it. Having thrown her lot in with his, Katherine could not back down from her decision now or she would risk losing even more stature before her crew.

She took the proffered spyglass with distaste, internally grateful for something else to look at than Grave's ridiculous hand gestures. She may often act like a child but it still wounded the captain's pride to be addressed as such. As she observed the three ships, the english quartermaster's words began to make horrible, but sound sense.

It was an excellent battle plan, though it smacked of navy thinking. Actually having a strategy was rarely something Katherine thought worthwhile, but it was so tragically obvious that this was their best option that she was ready to punch the man just for being so damnably correct.

Swallowing her irritation, Katherine handed him back the spyglass and turned to address her crew, many of whom had been standing close by to observe the interaction. "You heard the man. Jump to it!"

Katherine turned to leave Jonathan Graves with some relief, leaving him to mutter to himself like the madman he clearly was. She wasn't happy with the situation, but she resigned herself to the fact that there was no other choice to be had. The captain was just settling in for a good bout of self pity when the quartermaster's voice stopped her again.

Gritting her teeth, Katherine listened to the man's request and nodded stiffly. "Fine, do as you wish. Just get me and my ship out of this alive." It occurred to her that this command might be better followed if others recognized that Graves was now the one on whose shoulders their fate rested, so Katherine once more raised her voice to be heard over the bustle on deck.

"Mr Graves here is now our out Tactician. This position is temporary, but I expect you all to follow his orders as though your worthless lives depend upon it. Which in fact they may well do."

Lowering her voice so that only Jonathan could hear her, Katherine spoke once more to emphasize her point. "Temporary, Graves. Don't go getting any ideas, just use it wisely."

As she addressed the quartermaster, Katherine noticed over his shoulder that they were now on a parallel course with the twin galleons, in a frighteningly head on course. She hadn't realized that their little chat had taken enough time for the heavy ship to veer about, but it was now abundantly clear that in an even shorter time they would be in range of cannonfire.

Glancing once more at Jonathan and hoping he was correct about their range, Katherine did something she had done a bare handful of times since she had left her father's knee. She prayed for her life.

Your captain has chosen to attack the ship! You quickly pull up alongside the smaller vessel. The real battle will happen on the decks, hand to hand. With grappling lines thrown across, you are ready to board. What are you waiting for? Attack!

A quick review of rules:

1. You MUST roll a ten sided die at some point during the battle.
2. You do not have to roleplay, but it is encouraged. You can rp any part of the fight.
3. The battle will last 24 hours. If you do not roll within this time period, you will not be counted as having participated in the battle and you will not get a share of the booty.
4. If any of your items give you a dice roll bonus, you must state which item and how much in red somewhere in your post.
5. All other normal RP rules apply.