974. Chapter 974

After Captain Kate and the Sorceress

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Je ne regret rein, except not owning Castle. Rating: M, here and there. Time: 18th Century

"Damn!" Kate screamed. "It's going to ram us and set us afire if we don't do something. Esposito, man a longboat and equip it with grappling irons and ropes. We'll have to pull it away from us. As the longboat was being lowered, Kate jumped into the boat and took her place at the tiller. Rick, Alexis, Priscilla and Ryan joined her.

"Rick, you and the girls shouldn't …." She began.

"Yes, we should." He yelled back.

They pulled up almost next to the fireship which was now a wall of fire, towering over them. Kate could feel the heat from the ship. It was almost enough to set their small boat on fire. If a mast should come down on them, or the powder magazine blow….Kate pushed that thought from her mind.

"Throw the grappling irons over the bowsprit." She screamed. The sailors complied at once, and luckily, the bowsprit was not on fire. "Now row like your lives depended on it, because they just might."

Very slowly the fireship was towed away from the Sorceress. Kate was just starting to relax when a round shot whizzed over their heads. She could see a pirate craft headed for them, its oars moving rhythmically as it headed to them.

"We can't cast off yet." Kate yelled. "It could still drift into the Sorceress."

She was trying to think of how to save her ship and herself, when the pirate ship suddenly veered to port, seemingly not under control. In a few minutes, they cast off the fireship to burn itself out as it drifted towards shore and headed back to their ship.

When they came back aboard they found a smiling Ryan there to greet them. "Are you all alright?"

"We're fine. Something happened to the pirate that was shooting at us, otherwise we'd be dead."

"The something that happened were rifles, Captain." Ryan said, raising his own rifle. "I liked the one I got so much, that I equipped some of my men with them. The cannons couldn't shoot because they were blocked by the fireship, and muskets hadn't the range, but our rifles cut down the pirates at the ship's wheel and kept everyone away."

"Very good, Ryan. Now get to work on the other ships." Kate ran to the quarterdeck.

With the fire of the two ships concentrating on the fireship, the four pirate ships had closed on Sorceress, seemingly ignoring the Witch of Endor. They were now close enough that their powerful, but short ranged carronades do serious damage to the Sorceress. Kate felt her ship shudder as a heavy cannonball ripped through it. She tried to block out the screams of the men who'd been wounded. A ragged broadside from the Sorceress smashed into the lead pirate ship, but didn't stop it.

"Look!" Castle cried. "The quartermasters at the ship's wheel are falling. Ryan and his riflemen are doing their work."

"Damn!" Kate yelled. "They're drifting towards us. And the crew is massing on deck. They'll try to board us. Gunners! Load with grapeshot and cut down the boarders before they board us. L'Anie get you're warriors ready to board." She saw Ryan's second in command looking at her. "Lieutenant O'Toole, get your boarding party ready."

O'Toole smiled wolfishly and gathered the marines who weren't up in the rigging and any sailors not manning the guns and quickly armed them.

Kate went to the railing and looked down at the pirate's ship. One last blast of grapeshot from the Sorceress swept the deck nearly clear of pirates. Kate drew her sword.

"You're not going to lead the boarding party, are you?" Rick asked.

"Of course." She turned around and yelled. "Boarding party away." Then leapt down to the deck of the pirate ship. She was quickly followed by Rick, Alexis and Priscilla and then the rest of the boarding party, led by Lieutenant O'Toole.

Later, Kate only remembered vignettes of the fight. A pirate sitting on the deck, trying to stuff his intestines back into his stomach. A marine being shot in the head with a musket at close range. Alexis calmly firing her pistols into the mass of pirates as Priscilla reloaded for her. A huge pirate waving two swords around and roaring defiance until three sailors shot him. She remembered the look of surprise on the man's face as he fell.

Then it was over. The few living pirates were all badly wounded and the unwounded were swimming for their lives to the other ships.

Kate was shocked to see blood on Alexis' breast. "Alexis? Where were you hurt?"

Alexis looked at her mother curiously, then looked down at herself. "Oh, dear." She said. Then began examining herself. Then she smiled. "It must be someone else's blood, Mother. I'm unwounded."

Esposito called over from the Sorceress. "Captain, the Witch sank one of the bastards and the other two are running. It's over."

Kate looked around her. "We've taken a small warship, but we've lost too many men. Damn them!"

"The Sorceress has taken damage, and I'll bet the Witch has as well."

"Longboat approaching from shore, Captain." Called a lookout.

The longboat contained Princess Jasmine and as many of her guards as could be crammed into the boat.

"This is outrageous! That you have been attacked by pirates in our harbor." She said, loudly.

"These were no pirates, Princess." Kate replied. "Pirates like unarmed merchant ships. No pirate would attack two warships."

"You've taken another ship and you have casualties." The Princess said, looking around her. "There are sailors in port who've left our navy when they didn't get paid. You could replace your lost crewmen here."

"Good sailors would be able to sail any ship with a little experience." Esposito said. "We could replace the marines who died with some of the Princess' troops, if she'd allow it."

Jasmine smiled wolfishly. "I shall buy red cloth in the bazaar and have the tailors make up uniforms just like your Irish soldiers. No one will know the difference." She looked around. "Your ships are damaged as well. We shall help repair them."

Jasmine looked at the horizon, noting that the sky was lightening in the east. "We should go talk to my father. He has been resting well since Lord Rodger's medicine was given him. He'll give orders to have this done."

When they arrived at the dock, they found a guards officer waiting for them. Be bowed to Princess Jasmine. "Your Highness, Prince Hassan is here. He wishes to speak to you. He says it is urgent." The officer pointed down the beach where a group of soldiers had gathered. They could also see the bright clothing of civilians.

When Princess Jasmine approached, accompanied by her friends, a chubby man in a saffron robe ran up to her and prostrated himself before her. "I beg, you, Princess Jasmine, I tried to stop the young prince from coming here. I did."

Jasmine knelt by him. "I do not blame you, babu. Hassan must learn to be a man and that will require that he leave the safety of the palace at times."

"Sister, over here." Hassan called.

They all went over to stand by the prince.

"I came to look at the dead pirates that have been washed ashore when I saw this one." He pointed to a corpse lying on his back with a gaping stomach wound. "Note his light complexion, reddish hair and blue eyes."

Jasmine nodded. "He's a European. We know that Prince Venkoji, may his Maratha soul rot in hell, has hired many European renegades."

"But I recognized this one and asked Ambassador Sassani to verify my conclusions."

Sassani, the Persian ambassador, stepped forward. "I have seen this man last year when a delegation from Venkoji came to Malabar. He's called William Owen and he's an officer in the service of Venkoji. He deserted from the army of the English East India Company and rose quickly in Venkoji's service. He was a man of intelligence and daring, and would do anything, absolutely anything, to increase his wealth and power. This was not an attack by pirates, but by Venkoji."

Princess Jasmine said something in a language that Kate and her friends did not understand. Sassani replied in French. "I agree, Princess. Venkoji had begun his attack where you were weakest, with your navy. Or rather, your lack of one. Now he needs to attack your friends." He smiled widely. "Of course, as a diplomat, I can offer you no help in this matter. It would be very undiplomatic of me."

Jasmine smiled back. "I understand completely."

Sorenson frowned, then smiled. "Does that mean that…." He was stopped when Alexis kicked him in the shins.

After having the Sultan issue the appropriate orders, shipyard workers swarmed over the Sorceress, the Witch of Endor and the captured pirate craft, which they renamed Lady Kate. Former sailors from the Sultanate's defunct navy filled out the crews of the three ships, and more. In addition, over a hundred of the Princess' guards volunteered and came to the ships dressed in the red coats worn by the Irish. One red-coated marine stood out, however.

"Princess Jasmine? Do you intend to sail with us?"

The princess doffed her tricorn hat and bowed to Kate. "My brilliant brother had an idea. I believe that this vessel, as well as the Witch of Endor, and Lady Kate, are privately owned vessels and not ships of the French Navy, am I correct?"

"That's correct." Kate said, not sure where this was going.

"Then I wish to hire your ships for the Malabar Navy, and hire your officers and crews, of course. That way France will not be officially involved in this little war."

"I think we can arrange to lease the Sorceress and the Lady Kate for, say the sum of one rupee. I'm, sure Captain Sorenson won't ask for more than that."

"Good. And I have something else that may be of assistance. If we could go to your cabin for some privacy? And ask Captain Sorenson to join us."

In ten minutes, Sorenson joined them in the great cabin of the Sorceress. They gathered around a table and Jasmine removed a set of papers wrapped in oilskins from inside her red coat. "I have some information of interest to us. Venkoji took a Dutch East Indiaman just three days ago, filled with spices from the Spice Islands, as well as silks and porcelain from China and some furs from Siberia. He has added to this trove jewels and other valuables that he wishes to sell to buy more modern European weapons for his troops. The captured Dutchman is at Mangalore. I happen to have charts showing the best way to enter the harbor there and a diagram of the forts there. Please note that there is a very narrow channel that a ship can use to avoid both the sandbars and the fire of the shore batteries. One could attack the harbor and take the ship and escape if one were quick enough."

They all peered at the charts.

"Odd." Said Sorenson. "These all seem to be written in Persian."

"Persian is not an uncommon language in this part of India." Princess Jasmine said.

"Still, one would think…"

Both Alexis and Priscilla kicked Sorenson in the shins this time.

Four days hence the inhabitants of Mangalore were treated to the sight of one of their own pirate craft running from two European warships. The citizens gathered along the waterfront and cheered the valiant pirate captain who was bringing his ship successfully into port and leaving the Europeans to wait outside as they had no means of entering without risking getting stuck on a sandbar or coming under fire from the forts covering the narrow channel. Admittedly, the forts were old and crumbling, and the guns neither well-made nor well maintained. One could also admit that the gun powder they used was not of the finest quality. One could further admit that it was of rather poor quality. But given the narrowness of the channel, they were perfectly capable of defeating any European ship that blundered into the harbor.