The thing about most [Pirates] is that they are cowards at heart. They don’t ever fight fair, and are more than willing to run away if they believe their prey to be equal to or even stronger than them. Generally, they like to fight down. So, if you’re the [Pirate Captain] of a Destroyer class vessel and you see multiple unarmed Frigates in the distance, obviously you’re probably dealing with weaker prey.

  So, like any proper [Pirate Captain], Irwin raises the black flag, opens his sails, and accelerates towards the ships.

  Now, generally, a Frigate would notice their approach and attempt to run away. Maybe even try to fight back if there are enough of them. Instead, what happens is that the vessels all pull up a white flag.

  Irwin grimaces at the display. He raises his spyglass to look at the ships, and find that the crew is all wolven. Which makes sense considering the town of Kyoshi isn’t too far away.

  “Your orders, [Captain]?” His [First Mate] asks, having seen the white flag himself.

  Irwin sighs. “They probably have nothing noteworthy, but we should check just in case. Approach slowly.”

  “Yes, [Captain].”

  As his ship, the approaches closer and closer to the frigates, he notices a bit of an oddity to the crew. The crew is overwhelmingly filled with mostly women and children, with barely any having the [Sailor] class.

  “I count thirty bodies on a single ship.” His [First Mate] warns. “Is it a good idea to board? They outnumber us significantly.”

  “It’s fine,” Irwin says after a long moment. “They’re just women and children.”

  As soon as they arrive near the four frigates and just before the is about to get into position to board, Irwin hears the sound of a distant explosion, immediately followed by something crashing into the hull.

  Regaining his balance, he looks to where he’d heard the initial sound to find a distant Frigate shooting at him.

  Another bang from the new arrival, followed by a third, and then fourth.

  “TAKE COVER!” He warns.

  Two of the three balls strike his hull while the third misses his ship by a meter.

  “Lay the cannons. Ready a full broadside on the enemy vessel!”

  “They outrange us, [Captain]” one of his men warns.

  “What?” Irwin raises his spyglass towards the Frigate and only now realizes how far the enemy is as well as the needlessly long cannons sticking out of the ship's side.

  The cannons fire all at once this time, three strike the Demures Hull while the fourth lands perfectly on one of his three sails.

  “[Captain], what are your orders?” his first mate asks.

  Irwin grimaces as two options come to mind. Either he can attempt to rush the distant frigate and hope his hull integrity will endure, or he can attempt to retreat outside of the frigate range, while also hoping that his [Hull Integrity] endures until he can get far enough away.

  Neither option is good, with the third option of surrender unacceptable. Unlike humans, Wolven prefer to execute [Pirates] instead of taking them to prison. He’d probably be walking the plank the moment a white flag rises on the .

  Thankfully, he has a fourth option.

  “Position the ship behind the surrendered Frigates. We’ll use them as shields. They wouldn’t risk shooting their own kind.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Before the enemy vessel can reload, the repositions. Then Irwin waits to see what happens next.

  Which is nothing for a long moment. No new shots are fired, indicating that the enemy vessel does care for the lives aboard the nearby frigates.

  Even better is when the Frigate turns and starts approaching.

  “Ready the cannons!” He orders. “When they’re near enough in range, we’ll give them a broadside.”

  “Shouldn’t we look into boarding them instead?” his [First Mate] asks.

  “No. They wouldn’t approach us if they aren't confident in combat. Best to take them out of the sky. Have the cannons ready.”

  Grinning, Irwin waits patiently as the frigate approaches. Eventually, it approaches enough so that he can get a good look at the vessel.

  He frowns at the odd modifications. Especially the installed Ballistae. What idiot installs a siege weapon on a frigate?

  “They’re in range, sir.”

  “Good, rise up and fire all cannons.”

  The rises and he feels the ship shake as a dozen cannons open fire.

  The Timbergrove reacts surprisingly well by turning, avoiding most of the shots.

  But not all. “Lower the ship and rearm the cannons.”

  “Yes, [Captain].”

  With the approaching at only ten knots, he’ll have two more full broadsides, maybe even three before he’ll be forced to board.

  “[Captain], cannons are armed.”

  Irwin nods. “Rise and fire. Aim for the enemy's hull.”

  His crew obeys. The rises above the surrendered frigate, the cannons take aim, and then he feels his ship shudder and tilt. His cannons go off, but the tilt makes all twelve completely miss.

  “What's happened?” He roars.

  “One of the surrendered vessels is bumping into us, [Captain].”

  “Damnit. Quickly, arm the cannons. We need a full broa-” Another shudder interrupts him and shakes his ship.

  “Another frigate just rammed into our hull, sir.”

  “Just focus on the can-” The ship shakes again, this time causing him to trip and fall.

  “A third frigate now!”

  “Canno-”

  “The fourth frigate is moving out of the way!”

  Irwin gets up and reassesses his situation. The is pincered by three ships, restricting any attempt to fire accurately. The fourth has moved away, giving the Timbergrove an easy way to board. At this point, firing the cannons point-blank at the isn’t going to stop the boarding. It’ll just anger the Frigates captain.”

  “All [Pirates], prepare for deck combat,” He releases a breath. “We fight to the death!”

  He hears his crew roar alongside the unsheathing of their weapons. As they prepare, the gets closer and closer, right up until the ship looks like it’s going to crash. Then, it slows down and skids to the side, stopping literal inches from crashing into the .

  Immediately, his ship is boarded by six armed and armored humans, a Gemma in full plate, a masked [Mage], a monstrous Insectoid, and a kitten. Not a large group, but their equipment speaks volumes, especially the level eleven [Security Chief]. The man's equipment and posture just screams upper advanced class. His superior numbers aren't going to matter against their quality.

  Regardless, this is a major blessing in disguise. None of them seem to be Wolven. All he needs to do now is find the [Captain].

  “Where is your [Captain]!” He yells to the boarders.

  The cat hops aboard a barrel. “Right here,” It speaks.

  For a moment, Irwin’s mind freezes as it attempts to comprehend what’d he just see. After a blink and a long stare, a screen pops up.

  “[Captain] of the Timbergrove, I wish to surrender in your care.”

  “Surrender?” The cat blinks, then looks aghast. “What do you mean surrender? I just boarded you!”

  “Yes. I am surrendering.” He moves to lower his sword down.

  “Stop!” the cat yells. “If you put that sword down, I’ll fucking skin you alive!” the cat warns. “Now why the fuck are you trying to surrender?”

  Irvin pauses the descent of his sword. “Because your crew is stronger than us.”

  “You don’t know that. You haven’t even tried to fight us. Maybe we’re all show and no skill.”

  “Da,” the [Security Chief] nods. He taps his massive armored biceps. “Is not big Russian muscle under armor. Is only squishy fat.”

  “See.” The cat grins. “We’re actually really weak underneath our armor. You should try to fight us.”

  “[Captain],” the [Chief Physician] tilts her monstrous head at the cat. “My confusion grows. I am under the assumption that boarding involves slaughter and violence, but I was not informed that prey must be persuaded to resist violently.”

  The cat sighs. “Neither was I. Now be silent while I speak with this sorry excuse for a [Pirate].” The cat returns its attention to the [Pirate Captain]. “Irvin, you can’t just surre-”

  A frigate crashes on the opposite side of the at the same elevation. Immediately, four wolven armed with light armor and a cutlass board the ship.

  “Crew of the I am [Captain] Ren of the I come to support you in battle against these scoundrels!”

  Color drains from Irvin’s face at the sight of a Wolven.

  “We are surrendering to the Irvin yells.

  “No you’re fucking not!” The cat growls at the [Pirate Captain], then shifts its attention to the new arrivals. “Ren, don’t listen to Irvin, he’s a filthy liar.”

  Ren’s eyes widen in surprise at the sight of a talking cat, but immediately comprehends the situation when the job pops up in his vision. “[Druid] Quasi, rare is it that your kind understands the deceptive nature of these vile scoundrels. It will be an honor to fight alongside someone of your wisdom.”

  The cat rolls its eyes. “I refuse your assistance. Please kindly take your honor back to your ship and allow me to handle this situation.”

  Ren’s eyes widened in surprise, followed quickly by a grin. “I thank you for your honorable concern for my safety. But I cannot in good conscience leave you to fight these criminals on your lonesome.” Ren unsheathes his katana. “If I am to die fighting a just cause, then my ancestors will smile upon my honor.”

  Irvin, seeing the unsheathed katana, kneels down and drops his word. “I surrender! Please accept my surrender.”

  Quasi groans. “Oh my fucking god, pick that damn sword up you damn coward! I’m refusing your surrender!”

  “Noo. Please! Have mercy,” Irwin lowers his head.

  “Are you fucking begging? Seriously? I’m just asking you to fight the people boarding you.”

  “I won’t cause problems! I swear.”

  “You're causing me problems now!” The cat growls, outraged at the turn of events. “I’m trying to goddam level myself and my crew. How the hell am I going to do that if you surrender the moment we board your ship? Just grow some goddam backbone. You’re a damn [Pirate Captain] who’s probably slaughtered numerous innocent people over the course of your career! Now pickup your weapon and stop sniveling.”

  “Mercy, please.” Irvin begs.

  “Do not listen to his empty pleas, honorable [Captain]. Such scoundrels always lace their words with venom!” Ren warns.

  Another bang shakes the boats as another Frigate crashes at the Demure. Three armed wolven boards.

  “Ren, I have come to lend you my arm against these dishonorable [Pirates].” The new arrival frowns, “What is happening here?” The wolven [Captain] of the new frigate asks.

  “Ichiro, I welcome your blade.” Ren raises a finger at the cat. “[Druid] [Captain] Quasi Eludo wishes for honorable combat against the [Pirates], but the dishonorable [Pirate Captain] Irvin refuses. He speaks lies of surrender, going so far as to relinquish his blade and beg for mercy.”

  “A [Druid]? Despicable vermin!” Ichiro unsheathes his katana. “The cutthroats know the kind and honorable nature of [Druids]. They wish to avoid death by pleading upon such care and kindness.” Ichiro growls at the [Pirate Captain] and then shifts his focus on the cat.

  “Honorable Quasi, do not be waylaid by their dishonorable lies. Any mercy you offer them will not be reciprocated.”

  Quasi groans even louder. “Who the hell are you?”

  The wolven smiles. “I am Ichiro, [Captain] of the . I will join you in honorable combat against these heathens.”

  Quasi raises both frontal paws to his head and then covers his face.

  “I just want to fucking level?” He removes his paws and glares at the man. “Why cant you be a fucking normal [Pirate Captain].”

  Irvin lowers his head down further down to the floor. “Mercy!” He begs.

  Boriss nods approvingly, then glances at Quasi. “Is good fancy bow, yes?”

  “Uuuughhhhhhh.” Quasi groans. “Fuck this day and these damn cowards. Irmgard, I need to go vent. You’re in charge.” Quasi hops off the barrel and rushes back to the Timbergrove. As soon as he disappears into the ship, Irmgard turns to the sniveling mess of a [Pirate Captain.

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