What started as a leisurely voyage was now shaping up to be a rough ride through torrential weather. The seas ran high as waves crashed upon the Luxenberg fleet. Built sturdy and strong the summoned ships were able to repel such forceful waves.
Victor who was in the captain's quarters was battling sea sickness. With every rock and sway of the ship, he grew more nauseous. The fleet was 2 days away from The Triplets, but more than likely if the weather persisted in such a nasty way they'd be delayed another day.
The winds howled as the ships of the Luxenberg fleet pioneered through the treacherous waves. The crew of each ship worked tirelessly and desperately to maintain their course and not be separated from the others. Recognising the fatigue of the men Victor and Grand Admiral Nelson decided to way anchor in between the 3 islands and rest.
After resting for 2 days all the ships captains were called to the Holy Trinity. "Gentleman we shall now begin hunting for pirates. From our last encounter, they were seen to have 30 ships in their fleet. That means we have to either pick them off in small groups individually or battle them, fleet against fleet," Grand Admiral Nelson reported.
"We can not afford to split the fleet, we should face them together," Said Victor, offering his opinion to the captains. The other captains shared Victor's opinion. They could not outrun the pirates nor could they single-handedly take on the entire fleet.
With all the captains in agreement, they would track down the pirate fleet together.
A week had passed and the pirates had not been spotted. Supplies were dwindling slowly but the resolve of the fleet remained unchanged. The seas were calmer and the winds were favourable. With the wind, the fleet was able to patrol the trade routes in good time but still did not catch a single glimpse of a pirate ship.
Coming up empty the fleet decided to reconvene at The Triplets to discuss their next plan. However, on the way to The Triplets, a man in the crow's nest spotted something on the horizon as the 3 islands came into sight.
"Pirate ships dead ahead!" He yelled in a panicked voice. 35 50-gun pirate ships emerged upon the horizon. Their black sails danced in the moderate breeze. Alerted by the pirate fleet the seamen of the Luxenberg fleet flew into action.
With the pirates closing in the crew members began to prepare the cannons and turn the ships to face the pirates sideways. The aim was to use their superior firepower to land a devastating broadside.
In no time thanks to the build and size of their ships, the pirates had closed the gap significantly. Fully prepared to deal with the oncoming wave of pirate ships the men of the Luxenberg fleet steadied themselves before engaging the enemy.
All the cannons were prepared and loaded. Awaiting the order to fire many of the crew had racing hearts. They were used to dealing with 3 or 4 of the pirate ships, not 35. Waiting until a decent group of ships were in the line of fire, Grand Admiral Nelson turned to Victor signalling him to give the order. Although he was nervous due to the overwhelming odds, he could not afford to look weak and dishearten the men.
"Open Fire!" Screamed Victor at the top of his lungs. As soon as the words left his mouth a serenade of cannon fire erupted. Dozens, if not hundreds of cannon balls were sent flying towards 15 of the pirate ships.
Undisciplined and not adept in tactics the pirates thought they could rush the ships and deal maximum damage at close range. Yet, that was their downfall. The hail of cannon balls decimated 10 ships and left another 5 sitting like a wounded duck in open water.
The other 20 ships did not falter and continued to press straight through the sinking vessels. Turning their ships the pirates began to retaliate with their own broadside. Armed with smaller cannons, the pirate's broadside wasn't as effective, however, they managed to do some damage to the hull and send cannons and crew flying.
A fierce exchange of cannon fire ensued near the 3 islands. Victor's fleet may have been outnumbered but the sheer power of their heavy guns was able to turn the pirate fleet into mincemeat.
Men on both sides were fighting hard whilst under fire. Their screams and thoughts were deafened by the roars of hearty cannons. Cool and composed, Grand Admiral Nelson was able to flawlessly command the fleet.
Victor could only watch in awe and horror. This was the fiercest battle he had ever seen up close, however, he had limited experience in the field of warfare. The naval battle raged on. While sustaining a bit of damage Victor's fleet was able to ravage the ranks of the pirates till only 2 ships remained.
Surrounded by debris and corpses they knew that they couldn't escape the cannon fire of 7 well-armed vessels. In an act to save themselves, they raised a white flag up the mast, they had surrendered.
Seeing this, the fleet encircled the ships and boarded them. With only 50 surviving members in total between the two ships they were taken aboard multiple ships across the fleet and held in their respective brigs.
After scuppering and salvaging the remains of the pirate ships the Luxenberg fleet sailed to The Triplets to begin the interrogation of their new pirate prisoners. At first, they were hesitant to speak, they were an unruly bunch that constantly insulted the seamen of the fleet.
Eventually, crueller tactics were brought into play to try and get the prisoners to talk. With an abundance of potential informants, the Grand Admiral randomly selected 5 prisoners and brought them to the deck. All the remaining prisoners were escorted to the Holy Trinity to see what would happen.
The Grand Admiral began to address the prisoners. "It is simple you pirate scum. You will either give us the information we require and we will spare your lives. Or, I will simply do this." Pulling his pistol from its holster the admiral aimed and shot a pirate square in the head.
"I will not ask again! Where is the Pirate King?! Where is your base?!" Grand Admiral yelled. The pirates still said nothing. Annoyed by such uncooperativeness, Horatio Nelson reloaded his pistol and shot another pirate in his line of 5.
An uncomfortable aura spread around the prisoners. 2 of their comrades had been executed due to their silence. Another few moments had passed and Nelson's frustration grew. Disappointed in the lack of answers he reloaded his pistol once again and shot a third pirate in the line of 5.
It was clear that he would be comfortable killing the majority of the pirates if it meant they would reveal the information he sought. Another few minutes had passed and still not even a whisper. Yet, again the Grand Admiral loaded his pistol.
The fourth pirate he pointed his gun at was a bald and short man with small gold piercings. His skin a nice caramel colour. As he stared down the barrel of Nelson's pistol, he heard a cry from the group of prisoners. A man identical to him had rushed to the front yelling for the Grand Admiral to stop.
"Please do not kill my brother, sir! I will tell you all that you need to know. Please, spare my brother," The twin pleaded. The other prisoners looked disgusted. Pirates were notorious for their greed and stubbornness, they would have happily died without saying anything if it was to damn their captors.
Pleased with such a keen pirate, the admiral fired his pistol in the air. And signalled for the soldiers to escort him to the captain's quarters. Once in the lavishly decorated cabin's quarter, the prisoner sat face to face with Grand Admiral Nelson. With a chilling smile, he began to speak.
"I cannot wait to hear what you have to say, pirate."