MAW

I woke up during the bustle of departure.
We were finally on our way to liberating the Imperial Navy.

“Bosun, pipe, All Hands! Weigh anchor and make sail!” Triton's voice boomed across the deck.

The piercing whistle of the Boatswain's call echoed throughout the ship in the early hours of the morning.

There was no shouting, no chaotic scramble. The last few days of renovation had seen to that.
There was only the thud of hundreds of bare feet on timber, the groan of the capstan as burly men leaned into the bars, and the steady clank-clank-clank of the anchor chain being hauled from the depths.

High above, Tulote, Cassandra were within the crow's nest, while sailors swarmed the rigging.

“GOOD MORNING, YOU GUYS!”

“GREAT DAY FOR SAILING, DON'T YOU THINK?” Cassandra shouted back while waving.

Tulote looked out through a spyglass, I thought not to disturb him any further.

At Triton's command, canvas fell from the yards in great white sheets.
With a series of sharp cracks that sounded like pistol shots, the sails caught the morning breeze.
The Obsidian Maw heeled over slightly as it awoke from it's seemingly eternal slumber.
The deck canted beneath my feet, and I felt a shudder run through the entire vessel as she began to cleave through the waves.

Tulote scaled down the rigging and onto the deck.

“Seeing how things are, we should make good progress to reuniting the Imperial Navy with the rest of our forces.”

“Things have been in our favour, and that's been wonderful!” I said.

“Let's just hope that it continues like that”

“Yeah, how are you doing, though?”

“I've been doing alright, just practice my sword skills at sea.”

“Nice!” I continued, “So I've always had a question.”

“What is it?”

“So you know how your father's sword, well mine now, has a name? The Gladius Nobellus? I've wondered, does your sword have a name too?”

“Oh, this old thing? Yeah, she does! In fact, all of my siblings had named weapons, although their names have been lost to my memory, I am ancient after all.”

We both laughed at him being ancient.

“Anyway, my sword's name is Flamma, my dad created it for me shortly after I came in existence. As you can see the name is pretty fitting HAHA!”

“It sure is, I've never seen a sword light itself on fire before!”

“Trust me, there are many things you're yet to see!”

He placed his hand around me.

“Arda I've been thinking. I know I don't have a lot of time left, and even in all my prowess, I can't tell when I'll pass on. I've just wanted to tell you thank you, you know? You remind me a lot of Aquarius. Your need to protect the innocent, and uphold peace and justice despite the price, and that Arda, that is very noble.”

I hugged Tulote.

“You're not going anywhere, man, you're not.” I continued, “And, I appreciate you and your kind words man, we'll get through this! We will!”

“You guys look so cute together, you should just kiss and marry already.” Cassandra said.

We chased her about the deck with our swords in hand.

—

Life at sea fell into a rhythm. The crew was divided into watches, ensuring the ship was manned at all hours. 
The days were filled with the ceaseless work of a first-rate ship.
The Boatswain and his mates oversaw the constant maintenance of the rigging, while the carpenter's crew checked the new planks for any sign of weeping.

As Master at Arms, my duties were clear.
Twice a day, I drilled the men on the spar deck, slowly turning even the farmers, labourers, and artisans among them into a credible fighting force.
We practiced with cutlasses and boarding pikes, their grunts, and the clash of steel becoming quite the familiar part of the ship's soundscape.

Tulote, in his role as Quartermaster, was the ship's administrator, ensuring every barrel of water, every pound of salt beef, and every round of shot was accounted for. 
He had a natural head for logistics, I mean he was Lord Regent of the Imperium after all.

I often saw Yui, the cabin boy, darting across the deck on some errand for either Triton, Tulote or some other high ranking member of the crew.
His small face set with a seriousness that was both admirable but very heartbreaking.
I decided to strike up conversation with him. 

“Hey Yui!”

He didn't respond.

“Cabin boy!”

He then stopped what he was doing and reported to me immediately.

“Cabin boy reporting for duty, sir!”

“Why didn't you respond when I called your name?”

“No one calls me by my name at sea, sir!”

“Ah, and you can stand at ease, Yui.” 

I would be lying if I said I wasn't hurt by that. I know it was the way of the sea, but it was hard to not imagine that I was talking to one of my children when I spoke to Yui.“

“Do you have parents, Yui?”

“Never, sir, I don't know if they're dead or alive, but either ways, I wouldn't like to see them.”

“Why's that?”

“Life is hard being alone sir, I've been locked up for petty theft, and it was all for my sister. So I took to sea.”

“Where's your sister now Yui?”

“Dead sir.”

“WHAT? Son! I'm so sorry.”

“It's alright, sir, I promised her that I wouldn't cry.”

That broke me.

“Hey, how about I take you under my wing? Teach you a few things?”

His face lit up, the child was still in him.

“Really sir?”

“You bet!”

I taught him how to defend himself properly, and gave him his own dagger. I even taught him how to cook a mean chicken curry.
We soon became father and son in all but blood.

“I see you've taken a liking to the kid.” Cassandra said.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

His childlike nature piqued more each day.
He hadn't lost his grit, but it was nice to see him acting childlike at times.

I taught him man code, like never urinating in the middle urinal (yes they had urinals on the ship) and the universal nod code for all men among others.
It was fun, and it seemed Tulote and Triton took up a liking to the boy as well.

—

On the third day out, with the sun high in a cloudless sky, a call came.

“SAIL HO!” The cry from the lookout perched in the foremast topgallant crosstrees was sharp and clear.

Every head on deck snapped up.

“Where away?” Triton bellowed, raising a brass spyglass to his eye.

“Two points off the starboard bow! Two ships, sir! Bearing down on us fast!”

I joined Triton, Tulote and Cassandra at the quarterdeck rail.
Through my own glass, I saw them.

They weren't imperial ships.
They were smaller, sleeker, with a predatory look about them.
Their hulls were a dark, chitinous material that seemed to drink the light, and their twin masts held sails the colour of dried blood, cut in an unfamiliar, aggressive pattern.
They moved with unnatural speed, cutting through the waves with minimal wake.

I could sense the faint demonic energy from them with my powers. 

But it was nothing like I've experienced before.

“That's a demonic design, no doubt.” Triton said angrily.

“Reconnaissance,” Tulote murmured, his knuckles white on the railing. “They're probing. Trying to see who we are.”

“Well then,” Triton grinned, “Let's give 'em a proper introduction. Mr Hero, Arda sir, beat to quarters!”

“MEN TO BATTLE STATIONS” I shouted.

Instantly, the organised routine of the ship vanished, replaced by the controlled chaos of battle preparation.
Marines, under my command, secured the upper decks.
Hatches were closed, mess tables stowed, and sand was scattered on the decks to provide grip and soak up the blood to come.

Below, on the three gun-decks, Was Cassandra, she was with the gun crews.
They (the gun crews, not Cassandra you weirdo) were stripped to the waist and sweating in the heat, heaving ropes to run their cannons out.
The Maw's sides bristled as over eighty heavy wooden port lids swung open on each side, revealing the black muzzles of the cannons within.

“They mean to harry us,” I noted.

“Ay, you know your ships, lad!” Triton said, smacking me on the back.

We watched the enemy ships begin to split up, intending to approach from our bow and quarter, where our broadsides couldn't easily bear. A classic tactic against a larger, less manoeuvrable ship.

“Aye, they think we're a fat, slow merchantman,” Triton chuckled. He turned to the helmsman. “Steady as she goes. Let them get cocky.”

The demonic ships closed the distance, firing their bow-chasers. 
Cannonballs, likely smaller 9-pounders, skipped across the water.
A few slammed into our hull with heavy thwacks, sending splinters flying but doing no structural damage. 
Another shot ripped through the mizzen topsail, tearing a neat hole in the new canvas.
The crew flinched, but held their positions.

“Hold your fire!” Tulote said.

“Master Gunner, lay the guns for the waterline. Load with Terracane round shot!"

The command was relayed down the decks.
The gun captains adjusted the elevation of their cannons, their faces tight with concentration.
The demonic vessels grew bolder, seeing out lack of response.
The lead ship swung wide, preparing to rake our bow.

It was a fatal mistake.

They underestimated our speed and experience.

"HARD TO PORT!" Triton roared.

The helmsmen spun the great wheel.
The Obsidian Maw responded in kind.
She turned with the ferocity of the historic second-rate Neptune.
Her bow swung, almost instantaneously, like a modern tank turret.
She turned her flank to face them.

The lead demon ship found itself no longer off our bow, but directly abeam of us.
It's captain's error was now clear on his face, visible even from this distance.
He was perfectly placed to receive our full, starboard broadside.

Triton let the silence stretch, his eyes narrowed on the enemy.
He waited for the Maw to settle from her turn, to begin the slow, downward roll on the swell of the waves.
Firing on the down-roll ensured the shot went low, towards the enemy's hull.

"FIRE AS SHE BEARS!"

The Master Gunner fired the lead cannon on the main deck, and a split second later, every other gun captain on all three decks pulled his lanyard.

The world dissolved into a single, rolling thunderclap that was heard and MOST DEFINITELY felt deep in the bones.
A thick wall of acrid white smoke instantly obscured the view, and the entire ship was driven sideways several feet by the sheer force of the recoil.

For a moment, we were blind and deaf.

Then the smoke began to clear.

Where the lead demon ship had been, there was only wreckage.
The coordinated impact of over eighty heavy connonballs, from 24-pounders on the upper deck to the monstrous 42-pounders on the lower, had completely annihilated it.

The chitinous hull had shattered.

Masts, sails and bodies were thrown into the air, now raining down into a churning patch of ocean filled with splinters.

It had ceased to exist.

The second demon ship, which had been moving to follow its partner, faltered. Its sails slackened as its crew stared in horror at the empty space where their flagship has been.

Panic seized them.

It turned sharply, desperate to flee.

"Reload!" came the order, though it was hardly needed. The gun crews were already sponging out the barrels and ramming home new poweder and shot.

"Shall we pursue?" The helmsman asked.

Triton, Tulote and Cassandra all convened with me.

"I say we don't, let them send the bulk of their fleet to deal with us, so it takes some pressure off the imperial navy." I said

"I'd rather we destroy them though and gain the element of surprise." Cassandra countered.

"While that is good Cassandra, our main prority is making sure there is an Imperial Navy to save, so we need to take as much pressure off them as possible."

"When you put it that way, it makes sense." Cassandra said.

"So it's settled then?" Triton asked

"Yeah" We said.

Triton reported to the helmsman to let him run.

He turned from the rail, a look of grim satisfaction on his face."

"Let him tell them that Aqaurius Legacy, the Obsidian Maw lives again."

We pressed on.