The Last Pirate (Please comment pals)

[mad orc]

Prologue.

Sweat trickled down his hardened face as the battle raged around him. Both ships were now on equal footing. Both had been damaged equally and both had included an equal number of casualties. But there was one big factor.

The captain of the French ship probably didn't know it, but he was no match for his counterpart, Captain Samuel Morris of the 'Valentina'

Presently, Captain Morris brushed off the sweat from his forehead and shouted "Muscle up men, concentrate grapeshot fire."
The sailors immediately obeyed like domestic animals. They knew that their shrewd captain, who had sunk a dozen ships before had a plan in mind.

Actually he didn't. Not at least at the present moment. But what he did know was that the improved grapeshot that the Valentina had acquired a week before was the latest cutting edge technology and would surely be able to kill a lot of the enemy crew and do a lot of damage. He knew perfectly well, that in this endeavour, he was making his ship and his person vulnerable to heavy cannon fire from the enemy.
Nevertheless he continued to pace up and down on board, he believed in leading from the front.

Suddenly someone shouted from the west end of the ship " We got him, we got him, the enemy captain has fallen".
Excitedly, Captain Morris ran towards that man. However thick smoke from the firing made everything invisible. There was no way to confirm.

But then suddenly some deckhand on the ship shouted "Look, they are raising the white flag. Its over. They are surrendering!"

Captain Morris probably didn't know it then. But he had partaken in one of the last naval battles of the Napolenic wars.
The age of Napoleon was over .

 

[mad orc]

Please comment
All comments are appreciated and will be responded to.

 

[mike the knight]

Its a fairly intruiging start ,I am curious what a pirate will do in this changing world

 

[mad orc]

Its a fairly intruiging start ,I am curious what a pirate will do in this changing world

Thanks so very much for commenting.
This is not a Vic2 AAR
Rather it's a novel that will use Vic2 as a resource.

 

[mad orc]

Chapter 1

Samuel yawned and stretched his arms in a gesture of utter boredom and gloominess. Taking another sip of his drink hardly helped. The young man from Europe wouldn't stop at all. He was informing him of boring political developments in Europe which were a few months old.

"And you know, even as the people watched their emperor being marched dishonourably to his present home in Elba, they cried like children. Isn't it amazing !" exclaimed the man with a swift moment of his arms in an attempt to make the situation more dramatic.

"Yes it is indeed sad for tye French how he has to spend the rest of his life in Elba. But we British have atleast given him his life and some of his honour. Had he been fighting against perhaps the Russians or the Turks, he would have been in a coffin by now." said Samuel.

The young man nodded. Then started sipping his drink. Samuel was relieved. The man had at last decided to take a break from his boring gossip.

They were sitting in a saloon in San Juan. The owner had got this quirky idea of offering private backrooms for richer patrons to relax in. It was a pity that out of sheer loneliness, Samuel had invited this gossip machine inside.
Samuel actually didn't like the huge line wars of Europe in general. They were a waste of men and money to him. He always believed that the best kind of war is the one fought in the new world. Discreet and surgical attacks on key targets with the use of the element of surprise. Those were his forte.
Ever since he had been abonded as a kid in the streets of Nassau, he had done the same. He had fought for everything. From his daily meal right to getting a job on his first ship and from sinking his first enemy to becoming a respected and feared privateer Captain.

Presently, he heard a knocking on his backroom.
"Come in" he shouted.

The door opened to reveal his long time assistant and comrade in arms Richardo. Despite having lost an arm back in '09, Richardo continued to faithfully serve Samuel.
"There are three men outside Senior. They want to meet you" said Richardo.

"What kind?" asked Samuel.

Richardo smiled and replied "Certainly not savages, but they don't look like honest gentlemen either."

"Ok, tell them I will call them in" said Samuel.

Richardo nodded and went out.

It was half an hour more after the young man finally excused himself. Richardo then sent the men in.

One look at them and Samuel half guessed their intentions. But he decided to keep quiet initially. He always let the other person make the first move.

"Happy 34th Birthday Captain Morris." said the first man. He was wearing an expensive coat in a shabby way and looked like their leader.

Samuel smiled and nodded. "Have a seat" he said.

The first and the second man sat down. The second man looked younger than the first man but of a similar social class.
The third man had a non-existent expression on his face. He was also younger and was dressed in gentlemanly clothes, but his belt and holster indicated that he was a fighting man. He did not take a seat but instead stood in attention.

"I am Jose Diaz, this is Manuel Carranza and that over there is one of my fighting men Fransisco Mina" said the first man.

Samuel smiled and nodded.

"Isn't it a fine evening Captain. It's been comparatively so peaceful, this year 1814, compared to the decade and a half before!" said Diaz.

Samuel cleared his throat and said "Let's drop the niceties shall we, I know that you are here because you want something from me. Speak clearly."

Diaz smiled and replied "Straight to the point huh, typical of the great Captain Morris. I like that. Manuel, please explain"

Manuel smiled and spoke "We need a job done Captain. A job that requires your immense expertise of the hostile Mexican coast and your prowess on these war torn seas"

"Umm, sorry gentlemen, but you have got the wrong man. I have stopped sinking bounties nowadays" said Samuel frankly.

Manuel spoke immediately "Oh come on, you are 'The Captain Morris' Senior. Do you really wish to live a slow old merchant's life like you have been doing since these last 11 months. Wasn't your last battle in January? We know that you are bored of such a life Captain. Besides the job we are offering, while nefarious, doesn't involve killing someone. Instead it involves giving birth."

"To whom?" asked the Captain puzzled.

"To a nation" replied Manuel.

 

[mike the knight]

Now thats intriguing , from a privateer getting invovled in an independence movement

 

[mad orc]

Now thats intriguing , from a privateer getting invovled in an independence movement

Thankyou so much for liking and comjebtcommenting on my story
Please keep reading and commenting.
Your comments are like fuel to me.

Yep
It was a golden age
The last one for privateers

 

[stnylan]

Usually I find it pretty easy to suspend my disbelief, but I confess an early line I found rather jarring which has considerably detracted from my enjoyment of these posts. The offending line is:

"... concentrate fire at their crew."

Why is this is a problem? Because you just didn't "aim" at the crew. You couldn't. Oh to be sure you used ammunition that might be more likely to cause casualties - grape shot primarily - but you aimed for either the hull or the rigging, or frankly often just at the ship itself. I guess what I am saying is that this struck me as too much of a fictional thing to say.

So what would the alternative be, to get over the same information.

"You there! I said load grapeshot, not roundshot you mangy son of dog. Do it right or I'll slice you open and load your guts instead!"

I realise the above may sound very critical, but my hope is to try and demonstrate how you fell into an anachronistic pitfall, and a method of trying to achieve the same information in another way.

 

[mad orc]

Usually I find it pretty easy to suspend my disbelief, but I confess an early line I found rather jarring which has considerably detracted from my enjoyment of these posts. The offending line is:

"... concentrate fire at their crew."

Why is this is a problem? Because you just didn't "aim" at the crew. You couldn't. Oh to be sure you used ammunition that might be more likely to cause casualties - grape shot primarily - but you aimed for either the hull or the rigging, or frankly often just at the ship itself. I guess what I am saying is that this struck me as too much of a fictional thing to say.

So what would the alternative be, to get over the same information.

"You there! I said load grapeshot, not roundshot you mangy son of dog. Do it right or I'll slice you open and load your guts instead!"

I realise the above may sound very critical, but my hope is to try and demonstrate how you fell into an anachronistic pitfall, and a method of trying to achieve the same information in another way.

Thanks so much for commenting and for the criticism
I made a change

I will surely try to improve
Your post is very insightful


Thanks again
Your comments are like fuel to me!

 

[Specialist290]

This looks like it's going to be an intriguing tale. Count me as a subscriber

 

[mad orc]

This looks like it's going to be an intriguing tale. Count me as a subscriber

Thanks man.
This is gonna be somewhat like quick paced pulp fiction mixed with decent history.

Thanks so much for commenting and subscribing.
Your comments are energy for me.

 

[El Pip]

Realised I should probably post here as well as in the Award thread. As I said there an interesting start and I look forward to seeing what you do with it. It appears that the story may have echoes of the Walker Affair in Nicaragua or Lopez in Cuba, but hopefully more successful!

 

[roverS3]

@Eurasia lead me here, and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. This looks promising. If time permits, I will be following Captain Samuel's Journey. (and comment occasionally). All the best.

 

[mad orc]

Realised I should probably post here as well as in the Award thread. As I said there an interesting start and I look forward to seeing what you do with it. It appears that the story may have echoes of the Walker Affair in Nicaragua or Lopez in Cuba, but hopefully more successful!

First of all, thanks so much for commenting.
Comments are like motivation injections for me

Secondly, yep it's gonna be quite an adventure but not an all out assault.
It's about the journey !

@Eurasia lead me here, and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. This looks promising. If time permits, I will be following Captain Samuel's Journey. (and comment occasionally). All the best.

Thanks so much for liking and commenting on my story.(Thanks to @Eurasia too)
Yep, this journey will be quite violent and fast.
So buckle up.
I do at least one update per 7 days.
But most of the times I do more.
Thanks again.

 

[J_Master]

This immediately reminds me of the old Stateless General AAR, I like it.

 

[mad orc]

This immediately reminds me of the old Stateless General AAR, I like it.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to comment.
Your comment is gold for me.
Please keep reading and commenting.
I have read that AAR too. And I like it very much.

 

[mad orc]

Chapter 2

It was as if time itself had stopped. For a brief moment, both parties went silent. Samuel took another sip of his drink and stared at the men while Manuel had lit a cigar for himself and did the same from behind a curtain of smoke.

To an onlooker, it would have seemed that both men were silent. In reality, they were both regarding each other. In their minds, they were conversing.

Samuel twitched his right eye in an invisible gesture of "Are you serious?"

To this, Manuel arched his eyebrows and took a deep breath, puffing his chest. It meant "You dare question my sincerity for my fellows?"

To this Samuel smiled lightly, exposing just for a moment his surprisingly sturdy white teeth unaffected by scurvy despite many hard years on sea. It meant "Yes, yes"

Manuel now relaxed his breaths and took a light puff from his cigar. Then he released it in a confident whisp of crude dark tobacco smoke.

It was Diaz who broke the awkward silence.

"Our Mexican countrymen need you Captain Morris" said Diaz.

"Hmm, so you are freedom fighters? Revolutionaries perhaps. Like Napolean?" asked Samuel.

"Yes we are. Mother Mexico is tired of the Spanish colonial oppresion." said Diaz.

"Interesting, but as I said before, I don't take letters of Marque from unreliable parties" said Samuel.

"No Captain, we are not asking you to fight the Spanish for us, instead we need you for a shipment" said Diaz grinning.

"What shipment?" asked the Captain innocently.

"We fight the Spanish bravely Senior. One revolutionary fights as good as 5 of those oppressors, but we lack good weapons. Just look at Fransisco there" said Diaz pointing to the veteran's gun(Which had been emptied off ammunition by Richardo for safety).

Fransisco who hitherto had been silently watching the talk twitched at the sudden attention. Nevertheless he smiled.

"We are still using old matchlocks and outdated unreliable weaponry. Many of our men don't even have guns, they charge like tigers on the battlefield with whatever they can find from machetes to agricultural tools." said Diaz.

Samuel asked immediately "But what do you want from me. What shipment ?"

Diaz instantky replied "A few months ago, a loyal noble gifted us a lot of gold. Using that, we found an American seller sympathetic to our cause. He has a lot of leftover guns from the war with the English. Modern guns with better accuracy and even a couple of pieces of cannon. But most importantly, high quality reliable ammunition. We have already paid him off.
But sadly, our contact is neither well acquainted with the hostile Mexican coast nor is he willing to take the risk of capture or death....." . A violent bout of cough took over Diaz and he momentarily stopped.

"Oh drop that cigar Manuel" said Diaz in a croaky irritated Spanish.

Manuel seemed to be enjoying himself, but he dropped the cigar and put it aside. Samuel immediately noticed that Diaz was the natural leader of the group.

"So, you want me to make this dangerous shipment Senior?" asked Samuel.

"Yes, we need to make the shipment to our men on the unguarded western coast of the Yucatan." was the reply.

"Hmm, I can and will do it. But you must understand that I have no particular patriotic fervour or revolutionary hunger in me. In fact, I prefer the old order. It's more peaceful and stable, so if you want me to do this job, then I need a more practical incentive" said Samuel.

"Of course of course, we are willingly to pay you handsomely for the job. We have gold" said Diaz smiling.

6 days later, the Brigantine Valentina sailed into the quiet Danish port of Saint Thomas flying the triumphant British flag.

Though representing only a fraction of the long and perilous journey ahead, Samuel knew that this was the most important part of the journey. In these 6 days, he took time to understand the 3 men whom he was dealing with.

Diaz was an older man of the lower nobility. His wish for Independence stemmed more from the liberal revolution in Spain and the criminal mismanagement of its colonies by Spain during Napolean's invasion.

Manuel was a younger utter revolutionary inspired from the French revolution. He wanted a violent transition into a new country like walking from some cleansing fire.

Fransisco Mina on the other hand was a stern bodyguard who constantly eyed Samuel suspiciously throughout the 6 days. He apparently found trust hard to digest.

On one occasion Diaz was explaining to Samuel "Saint Thomas is a neutral port. That's why our contact wishes to deliver the good there. Also, in there we face minimal risk of trechary."
On this Samuel asked "You have told me everything about the shipment. But you constantly keep avoiding answering my main question. Until now, your promise of a large payment and the advance gold has kept me quiet, but no more. What is the exact location of delivery?" .
Diaz shrugged and replied "You will be told that in due time Captain Morris"

Upset over another poor reply, Samuel strode out.

Even as he came out, he was confronted by an angry stare from Fransisco. He was subconsciously asking "What did you do inside?"

Nevertheless as the day of the shipment dawned, everything appeared to be tranquil and peaceful.

 

[mike the knight]

Hmmm i have never seen a peaceful shipment of this kind till now

 

[mad orc]

Hmmm i have never seen a peaceful shipment of this kind till now

Yep
The reason you have never seen it is because, if there is a peaceful shipment of such a kind, then it is not worthy of a report!
Let's see how this one goes

Thankyou so much for commenting man.
You made my day!

 

[Specialist290]

The "silent conversation" at the beginning made me smile

Gun-running... Something tells me that Captain Morris's "simple, easy" assignment will be neither simple nor easy in the long run.