Image, Public Domain, HMS Victory. If you want to see how difficult it is to rig a full rigged sailing ship such as a Man-of-War, as the Tares boys attempted in the below fictional story, you can watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxCKGS_bLKI

Chapter 18 *** Midnight – The Broken King Galleon Rin’s eyes snapped open – the extra two glasses of water before bed had done the trick. He sat up and listened to the sounds of breathing from the other boys sleeping in the hammocks strung from the ceiling of the gun deck. He checked his wristwatch, it was just before midnight. He carefully rolled out of his hammock and onto the floor. The little light on his watch provided just enough light for him to see as he tip-toed away. The light under the door of the Captain’s Cabin had been on when he had gone to bed, but was gone now as he moved past the door. The stairs up to the main deck creaked as he put his weight on them. In the stillness of the night the creaking wood seemed loud enough to wake the dead. Rin winced at every sound he made. From the main deck, he made his way to the bow and down another set of stairs to the bathroom. They actually called it the ‘Head’ because it was at the head of the ship. Rin wrinkled his nose as he entered the head, but by now the call of nature was urgent and he ignored the stench. He sighed as he relieved himself of the two glasses of water. He finished and made his way back to the main deck, but didn’t return below to his hammock. The scenario Lord Tares had written for the Captains of Nine game called for him to ‘escape’ first thing in the morning with Mikai playing the part of a rogue pirate. Rin had other plans. He carefully crossed over the gangplank to the dock. He was only wearing his boxer shorts and the chill of the night made him shiver. He had intentionally left his clothing and shoes folded up under his bunk so nobody would get suspicious if they woke up in the middle of the night and saw his clothing gone. The blankets were bunched up in his hammock enough that a casual glance would make them think he was curled up under the blankets. He went to a pallet with a tarp draped over supplies and lifted back the tarp. An extra set of clothing were hidden here and he quickly dressed - his escape was going smooth so far. The yachts were docked next to the Broken King Galleon. He went to the silver yacht with black trim. The boat was small enough for him to easily handle in the calm lagoon, he’d only been worried there might not be enough breeze. Rin cast off the lines and pushed the boat away from the dock. Next he went to the bow and raised the headsail to give himself just enough forward motion to steer the boat out across the lagoon. The first half of his escape was done, now for the tricky part. *** Morning – The Broken King Galleon Bae yawned and shivered. “Hey, who opened the gun port, it’s cold?” Mikai propped two more gun ports open to let light in. “It’s time to get up.” Bae pulled the covers over his head. “Come on, we start the game today,” said Ceri as he rolled out of his hammock. “Wake up, Rin, it’s time for you to escape.” “No wonder we sleep on separate islands,” grumbled Bali rolling out of his hammock. “You guys snore.” “I don’t snore,” chirped Laki, the youngest of the brothers at seven years old. Mikai reached out and tousled Laki’s massive tangle of blonde hair. “Morning, little brother.” Laki giggled at the attention. Bali stamped his feet to warm up. “It sure does get cold here at night.” “Come on, Rin, time to get up,” said Massi shaking Rin’s hammock. Massi pulled the blankets back. “Hey, where’s Rin?” Bae rolled out of his hammock and landed heavily on the deck. “His clothes are still under his hammock, he probably went to the head.” The door to the Captain’s cabin opened and Lord Tares emerged. “Morning boys.” “Morning, Father,” all the boys except Massi greeted their father. Massi was treated like one of the brother’s, but he knew his place. “Morning, Sir,” said Massi. “Get your hammocks stowed. We’ll have breakfast before we send Rin on his way,” said Lord Tares. The doors to the two smaller cabins off the side of the Captain’s cabin opened and Kale and Kai emerged. “Morning, Father,” said Kale. “Morning, Father,” said Kai. “It’s good to have you boys all together,” said Lord Tares. The conversation was light and playful as the brothers stowed their hammocks, dressed, and started packing to leave. Duffle bags began stacking up against the bulk head to be carried down to the yachts. The boys were nearly finished and starting to sit down for breakfast when Kale noticed Rin’s hammock hadn’t been taken down yet. “Where’s Rin?” asked Kale. “I think he’s in the head,” said Mikai. “Maybe he ate too much ice cream last night. I’ll go check.” Breakfast had been brought out in canisters and left on the dock. Kai carried them in and scooped eggs, bacon, and hash browns onto the boys’ plates. Mikai returned and bounced down the stairs. “Rin’s not in the head,” he shouted. Lord Tares looked up from his plate. “That boy has a talent for getting lost.” “I think it’s more than that,” said Mikai. “My yacht’s missing.” Lord Tares slammed his fork down. Eggs jumped off his plate and spilled onto the table and the boys flinched. Kai slapped his forehead. “Oh no.” “What?” asked Lord Tares. “I saw him drink two glasses of water before bed,” said Kai. “I should have realized he was up to something. I used to use the same trick to wake myself up after everyone was asleep and sneak out to visit my girlfriend.” “He cheated and escaped early?” said Lord Tares. “This is a pirate competition,” said Bae in defense of Rin. “Cheating is kind of expected.” Lord Tares held a warning finger up and Bae lowered his head. “Kai, how long does it take for that water trick to work?” “About two hours,” replied Kai. Lord Tares stood. “Then he left last night between 11 and midnight, and that means he has an eight hour head-start. He would have to make a colossal sailing mistake for us to catch-up with him now, and I don’t think he will. He’s got a clean run all the way to Altain Island.” “Is the game over?” asked Bali. “Not yet,” said Lord Tares. “Kale, prepare my yacht to be towed behind the Broken King. Rin can do 7-9 knots in one of those yachts, so that means he’ll make Altain Island in three and a half days, but the Broken King can do 12 to 15 knots. We’ll catch up with him on the morning of the third day, and he didn’t take the rogue pirates with him, so he’ll be exhausted and making mistakes by then, that’s when we transfer to the towed yacht and sink him.” “Umm…Father?” said Kai. “This is just a game.” “I know, I’m not going to crush an 11 year old, that’s not what this game is about, but I am going to sink his boat and make him swim the last quarter mile to shore.” “That’s not fair, he won,” said Bae. “Father, there’s only nine of us,” said Kale. “How are we going to rig the sails?” “It can be done,” said Lord Tares. “The older boys will rig the main topsails, and the younger boys will rig the lower mainsails, and I’ll help.” “Who’s going to be at the helm while you’re in the rigging?” asked Kai. Lord Tares turned his head to little Laki at the end of the table. Laki had a mound of eggs on his fork ready to shove in his mouth. He grinned and threw his arms in the air and eggs went everywhere. “I’m a pirate!” said Laki with delight. “Oh, well there you go, if a seven year old endorses the plan, what could possibly go wrong?” replied Kale sarcastically. “Seems fair to me,” said Kai. “We’re going after a 24 foot single mast yacht carrying two cannons with a 196 foot Man-of-War with three masts and 124 guns.” Lord Tares grinned at his son’s humor. Lord Tares turned his head to Bae and Mikai. “You two go get the cousins, they’re working on the Silver Pearl today. Have them dismantle the paintball cannons from the other boats and attach them to the Broken King, but leave the cannons on the yacht we’re towing. “Sounds good,” said Kai. “I’m sure the Lothans won’t scream bloody murder.” Lord Tares laughed. “Knock it off, Kai, we’re pirates. Rin’s first move was to cheat, so the gloves come off.” Kai pursed his lips and nodded. “Anyone want to make a wager on House Lothan putting a bounty on our heads.” Bae’s anger reached the boiling point. He pounded his fist on the table. “This is completely unfair. Rin beat us fair and square, but you’re going to try and take that away from him. You wait and see, Rin is going to flip this on you, I don’t know how, but he will.” “I’m not going to attack him with the Broken King unless he forces my hand,” said Lord Tares, becoming agitated at Bae’s outburst. “When we get close, we’ll transfer to the towed yacht and take him one-on-one; that’s fair.” Bae stomped towards the stairs with Mikai. He stopped and looked back at his father. “If you say he won right now because he made a good escape on his own and there’s no way to catch up with him, nobody will laugh at us. But if you do this, I promise you that Rin is going to turn this into the most embarrassing defeat for us ever, and all because YOU forced HIS hand.” Lord Tares waited until Bae was gone, then turned to Kale. “We continue with the game as I’ve laid out, get my yacht ready to tow?” “This isn’t going to end well,” said Kale. “The Lothans could pull the Trade Agreement.” “Obey or get off the ship,” said Lord Tares. Kale bowed his head. “Yes, Father.” Kale turned away to get the yacht ready to tow. The Broken King wasn’t ready to pull out of her berth for another two hours. Lord Tares took his position next to the wheel with little Laki next to him. Laki had a wide grin that he’d gotten such an important job standing next to his father; the boy gripped tight to the wheel that controlled the tiller. “Ready, Captain,” shouted Laki. “Lay aloft,” Lord Tares shouted. The boys climbed the rigging to the mizzen mast first; they would prepare the masts from stern to bow. The cousins gathered on the dock watching with amused interest. The Tares boys looked up at the tall aft mast with ghost white faces. Kale and Kai climbed up first to the mizzen royal sail, Mikai and Bae followed next and took a position at the mizzen topgallant sail, and Bali and Ceri at the mizzen topsail positioned at the half-way point of the mizzen mast. When Ceri reached the mizzen topsail’s yardarm and realized how far he was off the deck, he wrapped his arms around the mast and refused to move another inch. Mikai called down to him, trying to coax him to move. Bali tried to get around Ceri, which set Ceri to screaming like a wounded bird. Kai climbed down to Ceri to try and calm him. Bali got around Ceri and started unwinding the lines that held the sail to the yardarm. Bali’s foot slipped and in his panic grabbed the edge of the sail and pulled it down with him as he fell. Bali’s safety line stopped his fall six feet later, but the sail was opened enough now for the wind to catch and began deploying the sail on its own. The ship began to back away from the dock. Bae saw his brother fall and without thinking unhooked his safety line and leaped from the upper yardarm to land astraddle the lower yardarm in what had to be the most painful experience of his life. A collective ‘owwww’ rose from the Cousins on the dock. Bae’s face turned white as a ghost and he threw-up on Bali below him. The ship was floating free of the dock now and Laki felt he should do something, so he spun the wheel and the ship started rotating in a circle like a clock unwinding in the wrong direction. The ship continued rotating as Lord Tares ran to the rigging and climbed up to rescue Ceri. The ship spun in a circle three times as it crossed the lagoon. The bow crashed into the docks along the wall-city and rebounded back out into the lagoon. The current caught the ship and it headed stern first for the channel that would take the ship out to sea. Laki faced toward the stern and spun the wheel again. The ship stopped rotating and moved with the current, picking up speed as it did. The tide pulled the ship through the channel with the starboard side of the ship scraping along the wall. Laki heard something bumping against the port side of the ship and ran over to the railing to see what it was. The yacht they were towing was now between the port side of the ship and the opposite wall. Laki nodded to himself in satisfaction that he’d managed to keep the yacht from being crushed between the ship and the wall, though in truth, he had nothing to do with it; it had been blind luck. Once the ship was through the channel, Laki spun the wheel again and the ship rotated in circles as it drifted out to sea. Laki ran to the stern and looked down at the towed yacht; it was back where it belonged and following in a wide arc. A movement above him caught his eye and he looked up to see five parachutes headed down to the ship. Lord Lothan had known how reckless Lord Tares could be and had put a Special Ops rescue plane at fifteen thousand feet circling the castle to wait for Lord Tares to do something stupid. The five para-rescuers landed neatly on the deck of the ship and immediately went into the rigging to rescue the boys. Laki saw a sea-plane land next. He recognized the man that dived out the door of the plane and swam towards the ship. Laki ran to the side and threw a rope ladder down for the man. The man climbed up the side of the ship and over the taffrail. “Hi, Uncle Ken,” Laki greeted the man. “I’m the Captain.” “That makes perfect sense, they put their most mature man on the helm,” said Lord Governor Connelly, currently retired since Kai had come of age. Lord Connelly went to the helm and moved the wheel back to the center position. “Laki, I need you to hold the wheel right here, don’t spin it again.” “Okay, Uncle Ken,” Laki replied with a confident smile. Lord Connelly tousled the boy’s hair, then made his way to the mizzen mast. He looked up at his brother trying to pry Ceri’s arms from the death grip he had on the mast. “Of all the bone-headed things you’ve done, this takes the cake,” shouted Lord Connelly. “Hi, Uncle Ken,” shouted Bali, still hanging upside-down from his safety harness. “Bae threw-up on me, it’s gross.” “Hang on, buddy, we’re coming up to get you,” replied Lord Connelly, then looked at Bae; the boy was draped over the yardarm and his eyes closed. “Cecil, is that boy dead?” “He’s not dead, and we don’t need a lecture, Ken,” replied Lord Tares, his shoulders tensing at the use of his first name. “What are you doing here?” “It looked like you needed an adult onboard. There’s a medivac coming for Bae, and the cousins will be here in a moment to take over the ship,” said Lord Connelly. “He just needs an ice pack, and we’ve got everything under control,” said Lord Tares. “We’ll let the medivac doctor decide that,” replied Lord Connelly. “Ceri, I’m right here, I’ll catch you if you fall, now let go of the mast and let your father bring you down.” It took several more minutes to coax Ceri down from the mast. The para-rescuers hooked an extra line to Bali and lowered him to the deck at about the same time. Bae was more of a challenge to get down and required a stretcher to be rigged to lower him. The medivac doctor knelt down next to Bae. “He needs to be transferred to the hospital.” “Go ahead, get him ready,” said Lord Connelly. “I can handle this, Ken,” said Lord Tares. “And a sterling job you’re doing of it,” retorted Lord Connelly dryly. “I’m not doing this with you right now,” said Lord Tares, his anger rising. “I need to get this boy to the sea-plane,” the doctor interrupted. “He’s staying here,” said Lord Tares. “Take him to the Captain’s Cabin, you can treat him there.” “Cecil, he needs to be at the hospital, that was a hard fall,” said Lord Connelly. “Take him to the Captain’s Cabin, he’s not to leave this ship.” Lord Tares grabbed Lord Connelly’s arm and pulled him to the side. “It’s happening in three days.” Lord Connelly’s eyes widened. “It’s about time, does Kale know?” Lord Tares slowly shook his head. “None of the boys know.” Lord Connelly pressed his mouth into a frown. “That means you’re not choosing Kale.” “Tares succession doesn’t necessarily have to follow the order of birth.” Lord Tares growled at his brother. Lord Connelly sighed. “I am as bitterly aware of that as Kale will soon be.” Lord Tares’ eyes narrowed. “Are you still angry that the 9th son was chosen over you?” “It’s a hurt that never goes away,” said Lord Connelly. “But you were the right choice, I know that now, but Kale will suffer many bitter years before he can come to terms with it, and he will hate you for all those years just as I hated Father. So, who are you choosing?” “All my boys have one or two of the required traits, but only one has them all; he’s selfless, independent, fearless, and reckless enough to lead a bunch of pirates into the new age.” Lord Connelly grinned and turned his head up to the helm station. “You’re going to make me guess. Okay then, based on those traits, I’ll wager on Laki. He’s the only one here that seems to have any common sense.” “He’s in the top three,” said Lord Tares, then looked up as the cousins climbed over the rails and onto the ship from the yachts they had used to get here. The cousins took positions at the rigging ropes that led up to the sails. Lord Tares turned to the helm. “Laki, give the command.” Laki smiled broadly and his voice was as a crystal bell that rang out across the ship. “Lay aloft.” *** Afternoon - Altain Governor’s Manor Mrs. Hansson lie on the floor with Gunther kneeling over her and fanning her face with a magazine. “I told you that boy would be the death of me,” said Mrs. Hansson. “You’re not dying, Mrs. Hansson,” said Captain Sal with a glance at the woman. “But it was a terrifying moment.” Captain Sal glared at Trey still laughing and struggling to catch a breath. “And you’re not helping.” “I’m not sure what was better, the mindless leap, or the landing and puking on his brother,” said Trey, holding his aching sides. Captain Sal frowned at the large IPS Agent. “He hasn’t moved yet, he could be seriously injured.” Trey held up a hand between roars of laughter. “I hope he’s okay, but that’ll be the most watched video in the history of the internet.” Trey headed for the door. “I’m going to go see how many hits it has online so far.” “I think he’s unconscious,” said Lord Lothan staring intently at the television. Mrs. Hansson groaned and lifted an arm in the air. “I’ll be there soon, Papa.” Captain Sal gave a little shake of his head at Mrs. Hansson’s theatrics before glancing back to the television broadcast. “I’d like to know what they’re saying.” Lothan held up a finger. “I’ll tell you in a moment.” “There’s no audio, can you read lips?” asked Sal. “You don’t survive long on the floor of the trading exchange if you don’t. Okay, they’re done talking. Am I to understand that Connelly and Tares are brothers?” Sal nodded. “Yes, they are.” Lothan stood and went to the window. The morning had slipped by so quickly watching the mishaps of the Captains of Nine game. “You don’t choose your House Lord by order of birth?” “No, not always,” replied Captain Sal. Lord Lothan turned away from the window and locked eyes with Captain Sal. “Lord Tares is stepping down as House Lord, he has narrowed his choice of successor to three boys. Laki is one of them.” Captain Sal nodded. “We’ve been expecting this, the House Lord always steps down when he nears the end of his prime, and Laki makes sense, he’s still young enough not to have any bad habits and would be easily trained.” Lord Tares is not allowing the medics to remove Bae from the ship, so I’m assuming he is also one of the candidates,” continued Lord Lothan. Mrs. Hansson suddenly forgot she was dying and sat up. “Our Bae?” “Would you become the House Regent if Bae is selected?” Lord Lothan asked Captain Sal. “No, I would remain as the Altain Governor until Bae’s 5th son is placed in my arms. Bae is permitted to choose anyone other than me for Regent.” “I don’t know who the third candidate is,” said Lothan. “It’s Mara,” said Mrs. Hansson getting to her feet. “Or Kai,” said Captain Sal. Lord Lothan held up a finger. “If Bae is chosen as successor, can Mara or Kai challenge the succession?” Captain Sal let out a long breath. “Yes, they have until the Council confirms the selection to challenge Bae to single combat, but Bae would not survive against either of them. Mara is a heavy weight boxer, and Kai a martial arts expert. And the challenge has to be given in person.” “Mara and Kai wouldn’t do that,” said Mrs. Hansson. “I disagree, Mrs. Hansson,” replied Lothan. “When a throne is the prize, brothers will turn on each other. Does anyone think it odd that someone like Lord Tares, whom has proven time and again how well he can create intricate plans, didn’t plan better as not to leave Mara trapped on Maliki Island with a very angry Chief Woods, knowing Chief Woods would go after Mara?” Captain Sal slapped his hand on the table. “That sly fox planned it so Mara wouldn’t be near Bae in case Bae was chosen as successor. Mara is the third choice, not Kai.” Lothan nodded. “Being House Lord means having the necessary friends and allies to keep you on the throne. The deck was stacked in Mara’s favor, but Lord Tares has evened the playing field.” “Mara has powerful friends,” said Captain Sal.” Lord Lothan gave Sal a chilling grin. “So does Bae.” Captain Sal nearly flinched back at the expression on Lord Lothan’s face. Bae did indeed have a very powerful allie. “Some of those cousins will be on Mara’s side,” added Gunther. “I’ve got that Special Ops Team onboard,” said Lothan. “I was going to have a West Fleet Sub pick them up, but I can instruct them to protect Bae instead.” “You have a submarine out there?” asked Captain Sal. Lothan shrugged. “It’s been following Rin since he left Altain on his summer trip. You didn’t think I was going to leave his safety to chance, did you?” Captain Sal decided to ignore the obvious violation of international law by having a secret submarine roaming around Tares territory. “Okay, instruct the sub to stay hidden and send a Frigate to intercept the Broken King instead. Lord Tares will refuse to lower sails and lose time doing a ship to ship transfer, which will give us an excuse to leave the Special Ops Team onboard. The Frigate can back off and follow under the guise it will pick the Team up when they get to Altain Island. Now nobody will question the Frigate staying in Tares waters, and Mara won’t go near the Broken King with a Frigate nearby.” Trey had paused at the door to listen, and now re-entered the room. “IPS will have to stand down, we’re not allowed to get involved in a legal bid for House Lord, but Tath is a Contract IPS Agent, that rule doesn’t apply to him.” “Good thinking,” agreed Captain Sal. “We need to get word to Captain Dan and have them sail directly to North Beach. If Mara can’t get to Bae on the Broken King, he’ll be waiting on the Beach when Bae arrives, but since Bae is a minor, he’s permitted to have a second fight in his stead. We need to get Tath there to act as Bae’s Champion.” “And what if Laki is chosen?” asked Mrs. Hansson. “Will we protect him as we would Bae?” “Laki has his own allies gathering around him,” said Captain Sal. “You don’t think Lord Connelly showed up out of the blue for nothing. Laki has always been his favorite nephew. Somehow Connelly knew and is playing dumb.” “I agree,” said Lothan. “Lord Connelly was trying to get Bae sent to the hospital to get him out of the way so Bae can’t challenge Laki. The Captains of Nine game has just turned very real.”