The above image is a painting done by Frank Vining Smith, circa. Late 1800’s – Early 1900’s. Smith is considered the last of the marine painters. This painting hangs at the Mariner’s Museum in Virgina.

Chapter 20 *** The Broken King Pirate Galleon, late afternoon. Lord Tares pushed the door to the Captain’s cabin open and stepped inside. Bae lay in a hammock hung from the ceiling and surrounded by all the medical machinery the doctor had airlifted onto the ship. “Is he dead yet?” asked Lord Tares. Bae gave his father a weak smile. “I’m not dead.” Lord Tares went to Bae and started to lift the blanket. “Well, Doc, what’s the story, are the family jewels broken?” Bae yanked the covers down and turned red. “Father!” Lord Tares chuckled. The doctor looked up from a clipboard full of test results. “I can’t explain it, there’s no swelling, rupture, hernia, or even bruising. He appeared to be in a great deal of pain for about twenty-minutes, and then he was fine.” “I can explain it,” said Lord Tares. “He’s at sea.” The doctor frowned. “You’re referring to the Legend of the Baestars. There’s no scientific evidence to support the theory that a star forty trillion miles away, or an inanimate body of water is protecting him from injury.” Lord Tares shrugged. “I can give you at least a dozen incidents that should have killed him, yet here he is still being a thorn in my side. Sorry, Doc, but not everything can be explained by science. So, is he fit to go back to work?” “I’ve run every test I can, he’s healthy,” replied the doctor. “Very good, come on Bae, your fans are waiting.” Lord Tares waited for his son to get up, but Bae only returned an exasperated expression. “What’s the problem?” asked Lord Tares. “I don’t have any pants on, get out,” replied Bae in a hushed voice. Lord Tares laughed and turned back to the door. “Good luck, son, you’ll need it.” Bae sat up in the hammock. “What?” Lord Tares closed the door behind himself without explaining. Bae heard his father outside the door talking to someone. “Those are fancy, can you order them online?” Bae heard his father say. “I don’t think so,” said a man’s voice. “Terrible shame, I do like the cut of the collar,” replied Lord Tares. “Send him up as soon as he’s dressed.” Bae cocked his head to the side, listening. The man Father was talking to sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place the voice. Bae glanced at the doctor, he had turned around and had his back to Bae. Bae rolled out of the hammock while trying to keep the blanket wrapped around himself. While he was injured and the doctor was examining him, the rules of modesty were suspended, but now they were back in full force. Bae grabbed his clothes and pulled the blanket over his head and dressed quickly under the blanket. Once he was properly clothed he pulled the blanket off and tossed it back on the hammock. The doctor was still turned away and pretending to be busy with some task. “Thanks, Doctor,” said Bae. The doctor didn’t turn around while he spoke. “If you begin to feel any discomfort or pain, you tell me immediately.” “Are you staying?” asked Bae. The doctor set his clipboard aside. “Yes, I’ll be remaining aboard.” Bae opened the door and slipped out to the gun deck where he and his brothers had been sleeping and eating. Five West Fleet sailors in gray fatigues were sitting at the table with a haphazard stack of paintball muskets piled in front of them. Bae’s jaw dropped as he recognized the men. Bae faced the highest ranking of the men. “Oh my gosh, you’re Major Thomas of Shark Team 3,” Bae exclaimed. Major Thomas waved at Bae. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Come on over and have a seat?” “Yes, Sir,” said Bae, going over to the table. “You certified me as a rescue diver during the Naval Junior Cadet Summer Camp two years ago. It was the hardest course I’ve ever taken, even harder than the scuba course.” “You’ll forgive me if I don’t remember you personally, though I have heard of several of your rescues, particularly your participation in the rescue of the capsized ferry off Tares Island, and recently your rescue of Master Rinathian.” Bae shrugged. “It’s okay, there were over a thousand cadets at the summer camp from all over the world. I’m planning to go back for my re-certification training next year. Who’s teaching the course this year?” “Shark Team 4,” replied Major Thomas. “That’s Major Gains’ team,” said Bae. “I read everything the Shark Teams publish. I have a thousand questions on some of the new techniques you’ve come up with, especially how you pulled off the rescue of that downed submarine. Gosh, it was 250 feet down.” “That was actually Shark Team 6,” said Major Thomas. “There was a misprint in the article, but I’d be more than happy to discuss rescue techniques with you. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time.” Bae grinned. “How did you get me out of the rigging?” “We used a litter-lift slung over the yardarm to lower you down.” “I only remember seeing my brother falling, then the next thing I remember was waking up with the doctor looking down at me.” “It was good talking with you, but we need to get up on deck, your father is waiting,” said Major Thomas. “What’s with all the paintball muskets?” asked Bae. “I don’t know, everyone dumped their paintball guns here about an hour ago,” explained the Major. Bae turned away and headed for the stairs. Major Thomas and the other four para-rescuers stood and followed him. Two of the men hurried past Bae and walked to the stairs. Bae stopped and looked at the men surrounding him. Bae sighed. “Lord Lothan sent you to protect me, didn’t he?” “Yes,” replied the Major. “We’re at sea, I don’t need a bodyguard.” The Major raised a brow. “Yes, your father told me. He said you’re the son of King Neptune and can’t be harmed at sea.” Bae rolled his eyes. “Father is exaggerating.” The Major nodded. “I figured it was an inside family joke.” “Yeah, it’s more like I’m the adopted son of the Bae Star, and King Neptune is my uncle.” “Very amusing.” The Major laughed. “What do you say that we stick with you until Uncle Neptune shows up?” The Major gave Bae a tight-lipped grin that gave little doubt it wasn’t a request. Bae returned a lopsided grin. “Boy are you going to be surprised when Uncle Neptune shows up.” Bae shrugged. “Okay, let’s go. The stairs led up to the mid-deck. The sun was low on the horizon and cast long shadows across the deck. The cousins were all crowded towards the stern where Lord Tares was standing next to the helm. Bae paused for a moment, looking for his brothers. Laki was standing on the quarter deck near the helm and next to Uncle Ken, but the rest of his brothers were mixed in with the cousins. “Something big is happening,” said Bae. “Father is wearing the Pirate Crown.” “Crown?” asked Major Thomas. Lord Tares was wearing a worn tricorne hat with the most outlandish collection of feathers pouring over one side. The colors of the feathers clashed with each other as if they were warring for position. “We were pirates,” said Bae. “There’s an upside down crown on our flag, but we never actually had a traditional crown. That’s the hat the Pirate King wears, there are nine feathers to represent the Captains of Nine, and the hat itself represents the tenth captain, the Pirate King.” “I saw on television there are only nine of these ships?” Bae leaned against the railing, he wasn’t going to admit it, but he was still feeling tired from his ordeal. “After our defeat at the Battle of Altain, the islanders took what they thought was the Pirate King’s ship out to sea and scuttled it, but they took the wrong ship. The Broken King is the Pirate King’s ship.” The Major was only half-listening to Bae, he was watching everyone on deck. He had noticed a pattern and it concerned him; each of the Tares boys were surrounded by a group of their cousins. The Major’s eyes flicked to Bae. “It must have been a massive under-taking to restore these ships.” “Sixty years so far,” said Bae. “This is the only one fully restored, but two more are almost done. We’ve run out of money to work on the other six. I think Father should rotate the three ships that are sea-worthy around to all the islands to attract tourists and sponsors.” “That’s a good idea.” The Major jerked his head towards the helm. “I think your father is calling for you.” Bae pushed off from the railing and headed towards the stern. The Major kept the formation tight around Bae. The cousins moved aside and Bae was oblivious to the stares of hatred being directed at him. Many of the cousins were holding belaying pins in their hands; the stout pieces of wood that rigging lines were tied to, but also used by sailors for centuries as weapons. Mikai was blocking the stairs up to the quarterdeck as Bae approached. “Just jump over the side, Bae, they’re going to kill you if you stay.” Bae flinched back. “What?” “Look, I’m not going to challenge you, but I can’t ally with you either or they’ll kill me too. If you jump off the ship now, that Lothan Frigate will pick you up. Kale, or Kai, or Mara, who knows, but they’ll let you return to whatever is left of your island, as long as you stay there and don’t ever leave again.” Bae’s expression was a mask of confusion. “What’s wrong with Altain?” “Just go, Bae, while you can. You’re exiled to your island for the rest of your life.” “What the heck? Why would Father exile me?” “Not Father, Kale ordered you hung, but I got him to agree to let you live in exile, as long as you leave now.” Bae shook his head. “Kale? What is going on? You know what, never mind, I’ll ask Father myself, get out of my way.” Mikai raised his hands up and moved aside. Bae angrily pushed past him and up to the stern where Lord Tares was standing. Lord Connelly was standing off to the side at the railing with Laki. Lord Connelly had his hand on Laki’s shoulder, and Laki didn’t look comfortable. Bae’s anger started to rise. He looked up at his father, but Lord Tares was only staring blankly at the sea. Bae walked past his father to Laki. “Are you okay?” Bae asked Laki. Laki’s eyes flicked to Lord Connelly’s hand. Bae glared at the man. “Uncle Ken, please take your hand off Laki.” Lord Connelly smiled, but not a pleasant smile. “You have your own concerns to worry about. I’ll worry about Laki.” “I’m not going to ask you again, remove your hand,” said Bae between clenched teeth. “I suggest you remove your hand,” said Major Thomas, his own hand dropping to his sidearm. “Do you know who I am, I’ll have you hung,” snarled Lord Connelly. The Major took a step towards Lord Connelly. “I don’t care if you’re the Queen of Sheeba, remove the hand or I’ll break it.” Lord Connelly snatched his hand away and Laki darted to hide behind Bae. Laki looked up with relief. “It’s a mutiny,” said Laki. “They think I’m a baby and don’t know anything. Uncle Ken said I’d have to go live with him.” Bae turned back to his father. “Were you going to let Uncle Ken take Laki? You know he’s been trying to get his paws on Laki since Kai got fed up with Uncle Ken’s crap and threw him out of the Cataline Manor, now Uncle Ken wants to move into Laki’s manor.” “Bae, you wound me with these baseless accusations,” said Lord Connelly. Bae looked back at Lord Connelly. “Don’t touch my little brother again.” Lord Connelly glared at Bae. “You’re a hot-head like your father.” “Better than being a snake like you,” Bae retorted. Bae turned back to his father. “What’s going on, is it a mutiny?” “Surprisingly enough, yes,” replied Lord Tares. Bae scanned the crowd below the helm. “They’re not doing much for a mutiny.” “They’re working up the courage,” said Lord Tares. “Well, let’s get this over with, no sense in putting it off.” Lord Tares kept a hand on the wheel as he faced Bae. “My time is finished, it’s your turn now, Bae.” “My turn for what… hey, where’s Massi?” “They made him walk the plank,” said Lord Tares with a shrug. “What?” “Don’t worry, your Lothan friends in that Frigate following us plucked him out of the water,” said Lord Tares. “It was the best walking of the plank I’ve ever seen. It took twelve of the cousins to take him down, and he still took three of them over the side with him. That boy can fight like a wildcat.” “Father, what is going on?” asked Bae. “I hereby relinquish the Pirate Crown to my chosen successor.” Lord Tares whipped the tricorne hat off his head and slammed it down on Bae’s head. “You are now the Lord Tares, House Lord of the Noble House of the Tares Pirates, and I am once again just Lord Cecil, retired 9th son of Mulati Island.” “Are you going to live at my house now?” asked Laki. “Yes, I’m coming home,” said Lord Cecil. “Yay, Fathers going to live with me,” shouted Laki, then came up on his tippy-toes so he could see Kale over the helm railing, and stuck his tongue out, “because I didn’t mutiny,” added Laki. “I’m the good son.” The tricorne hat was far too big for Bae and it fell over his eyes. He pushed it off his head. “What the heck! I don’t want to be the House Lord!” shouted Bae. Lord Cecil pushed the hat back down on Bae’s head and tipped it back so he could sort of see; Bae had to push the feathers aside to peek out from under the hat. “We’re supposed to finish the Captains of Nine game to choose a successor.” “I’m afraid your brothers forced my hand. Mara started a coup, and Kale started a mutiny, so the game was pointless to continue.” Bae looked out at his brothers and cousins, this was too surreal, this couldn’t be happening. His father had moved away from the wheel, forcing Bae to place a hand on the large wheel to keep the rudder steady. Laki was talking excitedly about how he was going to show father all his favorite places on Mulati Island. Laki didn’t really understand yet that Father had grown up on Mulati. Bae glanced at Lord Connelly. The man was staring at him with an amused expression. Bae narrowed his eyes at his Uncle as the man motioned with his index finger for Bae to come over to him. “Laki, take the wheel,” said Bae. Laki happily complied and shouted. “I’m the Captain again.” Bae went over to Lord Connelly and glared at him. “What do you want?” The man shrugged. “You’re in a bad spot, your brothers will be up here soon to take the crown from you, and probably hang you.” “So, you want to gloat or something,” said Bae. “I don’t have time for you.” Bae started to turn away. “I can solve this for you,” said Lord Connelly. “Unless you have an army to hold my brothers off, go jump in the ocean,” said Bae. “I want to be House Regent,” said Lord Connelly. Bae raised a brow in disbelief. “Wow, you’re a work of art.” “Laki was Cecil’s second choice, and I was going to try and champion his cause, but I forgot how fast the Baestars heal. I thought you’d be laid-up for at least six weeks, which by then I would have had Laki’s position secured.” “You’re not going to be House Regent,” said Bae. “I’ll choose a goldfish to be House Regent before you.” “Bae, listen to me. I’m sixty-five years old and I’m broke, your father wouldn’t give me an allowance, and I have no properties or income. I live in a horrible one room state-owned apartment over the harbor.” “I’m not feeling sorry for you,” said Bae. “If I’m Regent, I’ll get an allowance, and I’ll be able to live at the Tares Mansion,” said Lord Connelly. “You’ll never see me, and I’ll never get involved in any of your affairs. You can have your man, Tath, wrap an anchor around my neck and throw me in the ocean if I do. I only want to be able to see Laki sometimes. You may think the worst of me, but I do care for him.” “You don’t care for anyone but yourself,” replied Bae. “You’ve got one minute, tell me how you would solve this little problem I have.” Bae waved at the angry crowd of cousins working up their courage to rush the helm and take the crown for the brother they supported.” “Come here,” said Lord Connelly. Bae took a step closer and the man started talking. Bae’s jaw dropped open as Lord Connelly laid out his plan. Bae began laughing so hard that his father came over with a concerned expression. “What have you done now, Ken?” asked Lord Cecil. Lord Connelly took a deep breath. “Do you miss them?” “Yes, I do.” “So do I.” Bae looked back and forth between his father and uncle. He knew what they were talking about and wondered what it would be like if all his brothers but Kale were gone. He had never really liked Kale, but if he were the only brother left, would he tolerate Kale as well as father tolerated Uncle Ken? “You’ll never be Regent, because I’ll never be Lord Tares,” said Bae, “but I’ll give you a small allowance and a house to live in on Altain Island, and I can’t guarantee Laki will want to see you.” “Fair enough,” said Lord Connelly. “Bae, what have you done?” asked Lord Cecil. “Your Uncle can’t be trusted.” “I told you this would flip on you if you tried to cheat Rin,” said Bae, turning away and going to the railing looking out over the cousins. Bae raised his arms to get their attention. They quieted somewhat, the way a storm quiets before it strikes. “I am not the legitimate Lord Tares,” Bae shouted. “It’s about time you come to your senses,” shouted Kale. “Give me the crown.” Bae spread his arms out. “You could come up here, beat me up, take the crown, make me walk the plank, or even hang me, and it would do you no good. You still wouldn’t be House Lord.” “What are you talking about?” Kale shouted angrily. “Father said he cancelled the game,” Bae shouted back. Kale was getting inpatient. “Make your point, little brother.” “Father can only cancel the birthday Captains of Nine games because they’re practice, but this Captains of Nine game has been a contest for the crown since the start, and Pirate Law says the contest must be played to the end.” Bae gave everyone a moment to whisper among themselves. “This changes nothing,” shouted Kale. Bae pointed out beyond the bow. “Rin is still at least eight hours ahead of us, and he’s still playing the game, because the game never ended. This was his initiation into the Tares Family. He only has to make it to North Beach and he is a full member of the Royal Family.” Kale’s face drained of blood as realization of the danger dawned on him. Bae could see that Kai also understood what this meant, but Mikai didn’t see it yet. “So, how does that change anything?” shouted Mikai. “As a full member of the family, Rin has the right to compete for the crown, and if he gets to North Beach before any of us, he’s the next Pirate King. Rin has already won, he will get to North Beach before us. I’m only keeping his hat warm.” “I can challenge him to single combat,” shouted Kale. Bae shrugged. “He’s a minor, he can have a champion fight for him, and he has the unlimited resources of the Lothan Federation to call upon. He can easily find the right champions to fight each of you in your own specialties. And if you attempt a rebellion, or a coup, he can bring West Fleet in and crush you. Only the strongest pirate can be the Pirate King, and Rin is the strongest pirate.” Lord Cecil turned to his brother standing calmly against the railing. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you? You cause chaos everywhere you go.” Lord Connelly smiled. “Revenge is best served cold, and this is a delightfully chilled dish.” Lord Cecil flipped a hand at his brother to dismiss him and lifted his voice in command to the cousins. “Lay out the sheets,” he shouted to bring all the sails to the wind for maximum speed. The cousins hesitated only a moment as their loyalties to the Tares brothers shifted back to the ship. The fight was no longer between the brothers, but now to catch up with Rin’s yacht and prevent him from reaching North Beach. Lord Connelly stood. “I’m going to go take a nap, let me know when dinner is ready.” Bae watched his uncle walk away, then went to stand next to his father. He studied his father’s face and tipped his head to the side. “Are you mad?” asked Bae. “Gimme that.” Lord Cecil snatched the tricorne hat off Bae’s head and put it back on his own. “Are you Lord Tares again, Father?” asked Bae with a grin. Lord Tares glared at Bae and raised a warning finger. Bae shrugged. “I don’t want what isn’t mine,” said Bae as he looked out at the sea. “We need to talk about that disgusting streak of honesty you have,” said Lord Tares. “It is not a cherished trait among pirates.” “I wonder what Rin is doing right now,” replied Bae. *** 100 feet behind The Broken King Pirate Galleon, early evening. Rin tossed the game controller aside and turned the television screen off, it was getting dark and he couldn’t risk the glow from the screen attracting attention. The games were already getting boring, and there was still two days to go. He stood and stretched, then went over to the counter and pulled down a jar of peanut butter from the overhead storage. The bread was open and the first couple slices of the loaf stale; he’d forgotten to close the bread wrapper earlier. He tossed the stale slices aside and found a fresh slice, spread some peanut butter on the bread, and shoved it in his mouth. He really wanted something real to eat, but it was way too dangerous to cook anything. The ship was sailing with the wind and the scent of cooking food would travel forward to the galleon. He walked forward to the closed companionway and peeked out the little window. It was still light enough for him to see the big ship in front of him towing the yacht. The plan was going perfectly, nobody suspected a thing. The pirates had been painfully easy to predict, and to be honest, he felt like he was cheating because they really weren’t very smart. The first part of the plan had been to take Mikai’s yacht and hide it on the other side of the castle. That would make them think he had escaped in Mikai’s yacht and was hours ahead of them. He had then made his way back to the row of yachts docked next to the galleon where everyone was still asleep. He knew Lord Tares would cheat, he would have to cheat to catch up with him having an eight hour head-start, but he also knew there was no way Lord Tares would leave his own yacht behind. So he had hidden aboard Lord Tares’ yacht, and just as he had predicted, they had towed the yacht behind the Broken King. He laughed quietly to himself at the thought that they actually believed he would try and sail a yacht alone three-hundred miles to Altain Island. The exit from the castle had been terrifying, and he’d almost abandoned his plan. Something had gone wrong on the Broken King and it had spun around in circles as it left the castle. It was a minor miracle that the yacht hadn’t been capsized. He made sure the curtains were pulled tight across the window, checked one last time to make sure he hadn’t left any lights on, and then went back to Lord Tares’ cabin. He jumped up on the bed and stretched out. He wasn’t tired, but there wasn’t really anything he could do without attracting attention. He thought about the next part of his plan and went over it in his head. He had to make sure everything was thought out ahead of time. There couldn’t be any mistakes or he’d lose the game. They would make it to Altain Island, and of course wonder why they hadn’t caught up with him. The most likely thing they would think would be that they had passed him in the night and got there first. So, they would drop anchor and wait for him, but that also meant that after they dropped anchor, they would come back here and get the yacht ready to chase down his phantom yacht. The danger would be if he didn’t move at the right moment. There would be people in the rigging, so they would see him when he cast off the line and raised the sails. That would be the tricky part of the plan. He would have to be fast enough that he could get away before they noticed and swam back to the yacht. Rin closed his eyes and let sleep come. He dreamed that he had once been a great pirate.