"Give me everything you have!" Captain Bastian shouted at the merchant captain as soon as he was sure the man could hear him. "Or she'll die! I swear on my life!"
There was a commotion on the deck of the merchant as men were gathering around to see what was happening on the pirate ship. Some of them looked quite shocked - probably due to some gallant sensibilities about women being put in harm's way despite their supposed innocence. Bastian knew somehow that Amanda did not care for that hypocritical attitude, and that he would be able to use this to coax her into an even better performance.
"Please! PLEASE!" she cried out.
Good heavens, she could fake cry. Bastian knew that a trick like that was far from easy. But her eyes were full of tears and she contorted her pretty face into an expression that was sure to get all save-maiden-in-distress feelings out of the men who were watching her. For a moment, even Bastian himself felt bad, and then he remembered how he had chosen to put her into that situation. She was acting, aye, it was an act. Theater.
"For the love of gods, Captain!" the first mate of the merchant yelled. "He is going to kill her!"
"The cost of a woman's life versus the cost of our cargo," the captain said sourly, but even his beard was trembling from the emotional pressure. "We mustn't…the insurance men will skin me alive."
"Hell, WE will skin you alive!" the first mate shouted, his face all red. "Just shoot the man once he gets close -"
A shot rang out and the first mate fell onto the deck with a large hole in his head.
Bastian didn't have to turn around in order to know who had shot the man. Rowena's perfume lingered in the air. Somehow, he knew her from the scent alone - ambergris and patchouli, if he was not mistaken. Girls loved a man who knew his perfumes. Choosing to wear no artificial scents except for light cologne for parties, Bastian had quite a tender nose for anything out of the ordinary. And he could feel the woman standing beside him, anyway. He saw where her icy gaze scared the merchant crew, he knew whom she was looking towards, for the unfortunate man always cowered like a dog.
"No one will shoot him, or I will finish the sacrifice," Rowena said with a calm voice.
Had he not been on her side, Bastian would have been scared. Really, really scared.
"We need goats, whatever you have in the hold," Bastian said, letting his deep voice bellow from his chest and looking at the captain without blinking.
But the man didn't give up.
Bastian pierced the blood sacks, deflating them entirely. The blood and the viscera painted the bow red, red on top of the old blood.
Amanda let out a hollow screech that did not resemble human vocalizations in the slightest.
She fell onto the wood of the ship, looking lifeless, and the captain of the merchant vomited. It was an explosion just like the flow of blood and guts had been. Just a visceral reaction to perceived cruelty.
"Give us what you have," Bastian said with the most menacing voice he could muster. "The sacrifice is not yet complete. Many will die if you don't do as I tell you."
They were now side to side, facing the horrified merchant crew - but something was wrong. Bastian could not see the guns or the swords of those men, but they all hid their hands inside their jackets and had solemn expressions like they were preparing for something…
"Something is wrong," Rowena whispered into Bastian's ear, using a voice so quiet that only he and Amanda could hear. "They do not believe us, Captain, what will we do now?"
Obviously these men could not have heard of their little cannibal human sacrifice show earlier on their voyage. They had counted on the same trick working twice.
As the men pulled out their guns and looked like they cursed their mothers for birthing them into a world where they had to kill women, Rowena pulled out her other pistol again.
But Bastian had other plans.
Victoria and Wilda had talked about having a rudimentary understanding of cannons and gunpowder. While those two women lacked the strength to operate the cannons multiple times, Bastian had always, since learning about their skills, kept the big guns in working order and trained the women to fire as soon as they received the command.
Bastian did not want to use a word as instantly recognizable as "fire" or anything as cliche as that. He preferred to use a secret command.
"Cats, get ready!" he shouted. That was the word. When he told the cats to do anything, he referred to the cannon girls. This was inspired by the ship's very own feline, a gentleman with a penchant for destroying things.
"Cats, show your claws!" Bastian yelled as he heard the shifting of heavy cannons on the deck and saw the faces of the merchant crew turn white.
Victoria and Wilda fired as many cannons as they possibly could, using a pronged fuse that cleverly allowed them to operate every cannon at once. Having loaded them beforehand, those two ladies had demonstrated insight and independent thought.
The cannon balls hit the merchant ship, tearing into the hull, but some of the shots missed their target and splashed harmlessly in the sea.
"Ladies, KILL EVERYONE YOU CAN! GIVE NO QUARTER! RAISE THE RED!"
The red flag, as it had been with some normal world pirates, signified a policy of no survivors. It was the one thing merchants feared more than the black flag. Just a strip of blood red fabric, and it caused more panic than a hundred regular flags.
A shot cut a strand of hair from Bastian's head. He responded by taking the captain out with a single, lucky shot that hit the man in the abdomen.
Amanda got up, grabbing her own weapons.