The Stars have Aligned; View of Redbeard

The night was quite advanced and some might even call it the brink of morning, as Redbeard and his crew enjoyed themselves under the moonless night. They had finished their Escort duties and for the coming weeks they would get to enjoy some reprise as they would be waiting for the Risuners to have their business done before duty would call once more. Some of the younger ones of his crew were about to hit the harbor, in search of a place to release some of their pressure that had accumulated over the travels.

“Ya lot better be be'aving or the Lass is gonna 'ave ya 'ead on a plate if ya make a mess with them local folk!”

“Aye Papa, we be on our best behavior and be back for bed in time.”

“Papa my ass you little rascals!”

The crew had a hearty laugh at the exchange, and the young sailors made to leave the ship into town. Redbeard and his more veteran sailors instead opted to have a relaxed night of drinking and stretch their old bones. They had plenty of time to enjoy themselves, after all, so why not give the body some time to breath first.

Or so Redbeard thought at least. His hopes would be once again be shattered however as he turned and some imaginations seem to play a prank on him as he saw shadows dancing in the mist of the night.

“Ale or Rum, Captain?”

“'uh? Ohh Rum, but gimme a second?”

Not keen to dismiss these shadows as mere imagination, he took out his spyglass for a closer look. What could have been hand waved as a prank of his mind before now took a more definite shape. His experience as a Sailor for decades made it very clear what those shadows would be, even if he did not get a proper shape of them with the mist, and one particular large shadow awoke a bad premonition within his gut as to what he might be seeing. He remembered Elaine's dismay as she heard from the Black Fleet that they failed to request for a proper handing over of the escort duty towards the Marina Stellar.

“SHIT!!!” As he put aside the spyglass from his face in a motion that made it almost seem like he wanted to throw it away, he could not help but curse. His crew could just look at him in utter confusion, and even those heading into the harbor could not help but turn around, looking at their usually calm Captain with a raised eyebrow.

“Capt-”

“UNTIE THE PRIMA VISTA! NOW! T'IS AIN'T NO JOKE! OUTWARD BOUND QUICKLY!”

Knowing their Captain not to joke on such matters, the Crew immediately got into gears.

“Steve, wake up the rest! Marko, ye and the rest up 'ere prepare sails and stuff!” Redbeard quickly shouted orders to the man on board before turning to the young ones halfway towards the harbor.

“Ye lot, untie the moorings, cut them ropes if need be and then 'urry on board!”

Not even replying to their Captain's orders, everyone worked as fast as possible to get the ship ready. What felt like an eternity later, the Prima Vista finally got moving and as they moved aside, the crew would quickly learn that it could not have been any more narrow.

The night turned to day as shells and rockets lit up the Sky, illuminating the pride of the Marina Stellar for all to see. On instincts drilled into them, the crew began manning their battle stations.

“'old Fire! If t'e chosen of t'e stars be t'at bad a shot, t'en t'ey been on the bottom of the sea long time ago.” Redbeard held his crew back and some of the tension finally started to wane. Based on what he saw, he understood fully well that a message was being sent before his eyes.

“What now Captain?”

“Put down anchor, and gimme me Rum, might as well enjoy t'e show.”

Finally relaxed at the demeanor of their Captain, the crew returned to their initial plan and shared their alcohol with the young ones who now were stuck on board with the rest. They sat down and celebrated as a second salvo began lighting up the World once more.

While the Crew enjoyed the sight, Redbeard could only groan inwards.

“W'y always around me?”