1 day later, Noon, Trinity Oasis
~Cassius’ Perspective~
I walk onto Averill’s ship, the Shining King. The crewmembers nod in respect at me as I walk to the frigate’s captain’s quarters. On the other side of the island known as Trinity Oasis, my ship, the Delta, floats peacefully in the water alongside 4 others. The ship bustles with activity.
I show Averill’s second-in-command the badge that denotes me as a captain in the Shining Pirates. He nods and steps aside, allowing me to walk through the door. I walk in and stop as a blond haired man looks up from his desk, his rugged, yet young looking face, looking at me.
“Captain Kestos,” he says. “Take a seat.”
“Averill,” I respond. I sit across from him, looking him in the eye. “What do you want?”
“Simple. I got your letter, and I must say you have been very vigilant.”
“With the fucking tensions hitting the roof again, yeah, of course I am.”
Averill sighs. Few can talk to him in such a way and get away with it. Me and my crew earned his respect and he earned ours.
And given what me and my crew went through, what we did, before we joined the pirates, few things intimidate us anymore.
“Sage is an insane woman,” begins Averill. “She’s the embodiment of the greediness that the AG’s propaganda brands us pirates as. And she’s damn smart at that. She hasn’t done anything that solidly declares war on us, and she can claim that she killed the scouts because she felt threatened. We’re helpless as she prepares for something that could get a lot of people killed.”
“We all know this,” I respond. “Get to the point, what do you want?”
“You know me, Cassius. I don’t like sending the people who obey me on dangerous and lethal missions. I hate it. But this time, I have no choice.”
He leans close to me. I begin to feel uncomfortable.
“Cassius, your crew must directly attack the Emerald Skull Pirates.”
The air freezes. I feel the blood drain from my face.
“What?” I respond.
“You heard me. We’ve been backed into a corner. And those scouts? Their last report said that it looked like a lot of Emerald Skull Pirate ships were gathering.”
I realize what he means.
“No,” I begin.
“I’m afraid so,” says Averill. “Based on what the scouts reported, we’re looking at the largest gathering of pirates in 25 years. The last time that happened-”
“The party responsible wiped out the Patch Pirates,” I respond.
Averill goes somber. I stay silent, allowing that to sink in. I look at his gauntlets. One has the symbol of the Shining Pirates. And the other…
Averill goes by many names. But what very few know, a secret known by only his most trusted captains, is that he’s the last of our precursor, the Patch Pirates.
I stay silent. Averill may be way older than me, but we met in a bar and formed a sense of friendship before me and my crew joined.
“Well then,” I say. “I’m in. And I have an idea.”
He looks up in surprise.
“What is it?” he asks, interest written all over his face.
“Give me and my crew a few days. In those days, gather as many of our ships as possible and gather them near Oblitesco. When we’re ready, I’ll send you a letter.”
He grins at me. The plan sounds mad, but I’ve played with worse.
“It’s rough, but after a bit of fine tuning, we could make it work,” he says. “Let me get the other captains. And tell your crew. We will meet at 3.”
I nod.
“Understood, Captain.”
End of Chapter VIII