“Another round!” Gilda called out, slamming her hand on the worn and splintered wooden table and holding her now empty mug up to the sky.

A meeker looking man wearing a striped shirt made his way through the crowds of people sitting down around the other tables of the belly of the ship. He poured Gilda a drink from a large pitcher he carried, then walked toward another raised mug on the far side of the room. Gilda drank deeply from her mug, then gave a content burp.

“Not too bad!” she proclaimed to the group sitting beside her, who responded with a wave of cheers. She looked toward the girl sitting next to her. “How you like yours?”

Alice took another experimental taste of her drink, licking her lips. “Not as nice as my family’s cider back home. Lot stronger though.”

“Well, enjoy it while it’s in the mug, kid! You’re one of us, and that means getting shit-faced before fights!” Gilda called out, slapping Alice’s back, then throwing an arm around the girl. “Tonight, you’ve got some adult responsibilities to share with us!”

“She’s pretty far gone already,” Will remarked from Gilda’s other side. “Been a while since I’ve seen her like this.”

Alice shrugged, seemingly taking it in her stride. Even if she was huddled away from the rest of the crew. “She’s not being all grumbly and snarly so much, so it’s kinda a win-win fer me.” She drank more rum, more than last time. “Not gettin’ drunk though. AJ wouldn’t think it was a good idea.” Frowning, she clutched onto her mug a little tighter. “She’s gonna be so pissed…” she murmured under her breath.

“If we don’t all die tomorrow,” GIlda chimed in, grinning as if she told a fantastic joke. She finished off her drink yet again. “Another!” she bellowed with a belch. “That’s why we gotta get you hammered tonight, girl! You need to experience being so wasted you can’t walk one time before biting it!”

“Am I gonna have to carry you to your room again?” Will wondered out loud, taking a deep swig from the massive tankard he held in his beefy hands.

“Why are ya even asking that? She smells worse than Dash does whenever her favorite sports team’s won,” Alice pointed out. “Or lost. Y’all don’t know her but she could drink a lot of ya under the table.”

“Bullshit!” Gilda replied, the glaze in her eyes briefly vanishing. “Nobody outdrinks the cap!” She crossed her arms in front of her. “Not on my watch! Where the fuckin’ bitch at? I’ll do her under the table!”

“Er, miles and miles away. Inland. I don’t think yer gonna be meetin’ with her for a loooong time,” Alice drawled out. She looked to Will, asking, “She’s not gonna pass out, is she?”

“No. Unfortunately,” Will remarked. “She usually can hold her own more than you’d expect from a woman her size.”

“My size?” Gilda snapped out, lobbing her gaze towards Will. “I’m bigger than all the fuckers here. Gonna be a king some day…” she drunkenly mumbled. “King with tits. Fuck this whole place.”

“It’d be a queen. That’s a king with tits, Gilda,” Will informed her. The giant man gave a shake of his head, finishing off his drink, then rose, walking through the crowd.

“Bullshit!” Gilda announced, not looking toward the empty spot Will did not occupy anymore. She turned to Alice. “You get a load of that fat guy’s shit? It’s like he wasn’t even around when I was a landlubber at Kvaan.” She laughed at the word. “Landlubber. Like we’re fuckin’ peg-leg pirates and shit or something.”

“I thought ya stole one of your crew’s fake legs fer a laugh,” Alice said, failing to hide a smirk. “Was pretty funny though.”

“I wish we had peg-legs. He just has a fuckin’ prosthetic.” She threw her hands to the side. “Where’s the fuckin’ laughs in that?” She grinned at Alice, giving a tap to the girl’s mug. “Join in the fun, kid. We’ll make a pirate outta you yet.”

The girl grumbled, drinking from her mug while rolling her eyes. “This is gonna be my only one, ya hear?”

“Then we’d better top off your mug!” Gilda replied, throwing her arm around Alice’s neck and rubbing her knuckles across the girl’s crimson hair. “Because the one-and-done crowd need something as hard as gasolene if they want my respect!”

“Gilda!” Alice cried, wiggling and struggling to try and escape the captain’s grip. “That kinda hurts, y’know!”

“You’re right,” she answered, relaxing her hand. Instead, she stuck a finger in her mouth and quickly brought it to Alice’s ear, twisting it inside. “This better, dweeb?!”

She winced, desperately flailing around even more like a bird trapped in a cage. “Eugh, Giiiiilda!” she whined. “I know you’re a pirate but a person’s gotta have standards!”

Will returned, a small keg held under his armpit. He cracked open the top with one hard pull of his meaty fingers and took a deep pull from it, pointedly ignoring the captain’s shenanigans.

“Nah,” she replied easily, finally stopping her torture, returning to her drink. “Standards are for people that like to pretend they’re better than you.” She glanced at the half-empty cup Alice held. “Will! Give our lil’ friend some love!” she loudly barked, making the giant briefly flinch. With a shrug, he brought the keg he held over and topped off the girl’s drink.

“That’s right,” Gilda agreed, holding her cup out to the two. “Toast!”

Alice held back a resigned sigh, drinking more of her rum to make it seem like she was making at least a little effort.

“What are we toasting to?” Will questioned, tilting his head.

The captain paused. “Fuck,” she finally said. She lobbed her head towards Alice. “The fuck we toasting to?”

“I think ya should toast to yer crew,” Alice said, gesturing to the rowdy riot going on in the room. “They’re gonna fight fer ya, soon enough.”

“The crew it is!” Gilda answered. She rose, putting a foot on the table. “Toast time, you knob-suckers!” she roared, looking around the room. The noise died down and hundreds of eyes fell upon her.

“To you soppy cunts!” she called out, raising her mug high. “A bunch of inbred, flea-ridden shits. But a bunch of shits that get the job done! And tomorrow's no different! So tonight we eat, drink, and fuck to our heart’s content!”

Saying this, she downed her drink and plopped back into her chair amid an almost deafening cheer of the others. Will gave her some drink from his keg and she happily complied, looking over to Alice. “You eat and drink all you like, ignore that last bit, though.”

“Glad you got enough sense in ya to say that…” Alice grumbled, resting her head on her hand.

“Who gives a shit about cents? We’re gonna be rolling in dollars after tomorrow!” Gilda replied, the girl’s comment blowing past her.

“Dollars?” Alice frowned thoughtfully, looking past Gilda to Will. “We gonna be making some money outta this?”

“Well, we aren’t doing all of this for free, Alice. We don’t have a vendetta against the princess or anything. It’s business.”

“That fuckin’ admiral though. That’s pleasure,” Gilda growled out. “I’m gonna enjoy that.”

Ignoring Gilda’s remark, Alice spoke on, rubbing her thumb on the mug. “Ya think… maybe I could get a cut? I will help! With what I can do… it’s not much but I’ll try. I just wanna go back home with something that’ll help the farm.” She took a quick swig of her drink. “That’s all.”

“You know what? Why the fuck not? We’ll be swimming in it when we all get paid! You work like an adult, you drink like an adult, you’ll get fuckin’ paid like an adult!” Gilda announced, slapping her back. “That right or what, you sack of shit?” she asked Will.

“Completely,” he agreed, pointing a meaty finger at Alice. “Work for your cash, then it’s time to get trashed!” Will boisterously laughed at his joke, then stopped once he saw Gilda wasn’t laughing.

“I don’t get it,” she said, blinking.

“It’s a rhyme. I’m sure you’ll get it next… time,” Will answered slyly.

Alice allowed herself a little chuckle, yet her face was still set in hard thought. “It’s just… what can I do? I mean, I help out on the farm but that doesn’t mean I’m like…” She gestured towards the burly men downing rum with each other. “Them.”

“Have a few more and it’ll come to you,” Gilda answered with a grin, once more raising her empty mug. “When in Rome, kid!”

Alice gave her a skeptical look, raising her mug to her mouth. She started to drink, at first steadily, then gradually getting more and more into it, her expression relaxing.

“Tasting better too now, ain’t it?” the older woman asked, nodding sagely.

“Yeah,” Alice said, giving her rum a lazy eyed stare, “kinda is.”

“Damn straight. Damn straight,” Gilda repeated. “You keep having ‘em, and things start making sense. Even this guy,” she remarked, slapping Will.

“So am I gonna get a gun, or a cutlass?” Alice asked, leaning more on the table.

“What if I said both?” Gilda answered with a wild grin. “One in each hand.” She swung her mug blindly and pointed her finger to the air. “Kakaow kakaow!” she said quietly, taking another drink.

A goofy grin appeared on the girl’s face. “That sounds like it could be cool.”

“Of course it’s cool. I thought it up,” Gilda replied, smirking. “Acting like I don’t think of cool ideas. Shit.” She cackled, her aggressive tone bordering on goofy.

“Ya startin’ to sound exactly like Dash,” Alice replied, snickering to herself as she drank more rum.

“Nobody sounds like me. You’re looking at a motherfucking OG.”

“A wut…?”

“Original Gilda, kid. Nobody’s touching this.” She cocked a thumb at her chest.

Alice promptly prodded her in the arm.

“Looks like she just did,” Will commented, drinking thoughtfully.

“Lucky I like you kid. I’ve broke fingers for less,” Gilda said.

“Ya wouldn’t do that,” Alice said, waving her mug around. “I’m jus’ full of, er, rogue charm or somethin’.”

“Rogue charm, huh?” Smirking, Gilda wrapped an arm around Alice. “Maybe you’re right, you little shit. You broke the rules enough I shoulda gutted you and tossed you overboard, but here you are.”

Alice didn’t freeze on the contact, like she might have before. Instead, she became even more relaxed. The laughs and shouts of the other crew didn’t seem nearly so bad anymore. “Yeah… thanks. For not, y’know, guttin’ me like a pig.”

“You’re welcome, kid,” Gilda answered. After a moment, she quieted up a bit. “Hey, Alice…”

“Yeah?”

Gilda looked at her for a long while. After a moment, she shook her head. “Nothing, drink up, kid.”

“Maybe I won’t ‘til ya tell me what’s up,” Alice said stubbornly.

She shrugged easily. “Your loss. I was gonna share something after you finished off that mug and one more, but… if you don’t think you can make it…”

“Hey! I’m a farm girl; I totally can do it and more!” Alice defiantly stated, picking up her mug with both hands and greedily drinking the contents.

Gilda snapped her fingers, bringing another mug to Alice. “Talk a big fucking game, hick. You sure you’re not shitting me?”

Alice readily took the mug and chugged down the rum, some of it missing her mouth and pouring down her chin, onto her chest and legs. Completely finished she slammed it down on the table. “Heeeell no!”

Gilda looked at her and crained her head back, howling with laughter. “Hell. I almost think we should pay you just for doing this tonight, what you think, Will?”

“She’s handling it better than you even, Gilly,” Will remarked, the casual name the only hint as to how the drink was affecting him too. “I bet she could even beat you in a contest at this point.”

“Yeah right,” the captain dismissed with a sloppy wave of her hand, spilling more of her drink onto the table. “She couldn’t even match me two to one right now! She’s a snot-nosed braaaat.”

Alice stood up on the bench, grabbing Gilda by the shoulders and shaking her about. “Yeah? Well, you’re a… a…” Whatever insult Alice had in mind was forever lost, for her eyes suddenly closed and she fell down onto the table, out cold.

Gilda gave the girl a small poke on the shoulder. “Alllllllice,” she drawled out, “don’t you wanna play no more?”

A drunken mumble came out from the girl. She stirred a little but by the look of it, she was down for the count.

“Not bad,” Will remarked. “That was what… four?”

“Fuck off, Will. She did fiiiive,” Gilda said proudly, shuffling to a stand, polishing off another drink, then getting a refill. “Pay up you big moron.”

Grumbling, Will reached into his pocket and handed Gilda a few crumpled up bills. “Where does it all go, I wonder?”

“Farmers have big stomachs,” Gilda answered, throwing Alice over her shoulder, nearly toppling over from the sudden weight. Will rose, catching the two, then, after a moment, putting his hand at Gilda’s waist.

“Ever tell you about back on mainland? Before alllll-a this,” she gestured out to the crowd as Will divided the waters, walking the two women past the others and towards the stairway leading to deck. “That farmboy?”

“I remember,” Will answered. “I was there and told you your mother would be pissed.” He slowly guided them up the stairs, pausing when it looked like Gilda was going to vomit, but in the end she held it down.

“Wasn’t she?” the woman said with a wide, challenging grin. “Getting drunk with a commoner. Fuck she didn’t like that.” The Kvaat shook her head, scowling and waving towards the night sky that grew with every step upwards they took. “Well fuck you, mom! I don’t even give a shit!”

Will said nothing, knowing that any words would just piss her off more. Finally, Gilda drunkenly grinned again.

“But yeah. I knew the lil’ shit would take a beating before going down. She’s gonna be dead to the world for a long-ass time.” Gilda lifted and lowered her shoulders, giving Alice a gentle shake.

“Long enough to avoid the fighting and then some,” Will agreed. “Might even still be drunk when she wakes up.”

“Good!” Gilda exclaimed, nearly toppling over. “She’s an annoying cunt when sober. Better like this.” Her stupor faded briefly as she thought. “Better she doesn’t wake up if it goes to hell, either. That’s the Goddamn truth, Will.”

“We’re not her family, Gilly—”

“Well no shit,” she snapped, pointing a waving finger at the man. “But—”

Will pushed the finger away. “But,” he emphasized. “If this is her last night, if this is all of ours last night, I hope we were a good replacement for her, at least.”

“I know I was,” Gilda slurred out, finishing her mug and then chucking it overboard with an exaggerated roll of her arm. “You just kept sitting there like a big sack of shit going ‘eeyup.’” She rolled her eyes. “Coulda joined our conversations.”

Will opened up the cabin door and guided the two inside. He lay Alice gently on the bed, then stepped out.

“Hold the fuck up,” Gilda barked, already half-naked as she changed for bed. She stepped out to join him and for a minute stared up at him while he stared down at her. Finally, she leaned into the massive man, hugging him tightly.

“You get hurt tomorrow, swear I’ll fucking kill you,” she warned. Will reached up, putting a hand on top of her head.

“Same to you, Gil. But I won’t get hurt. Because someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble. You’re like your father in that regard.”

She broke away from the hug and shrugged. “Get some sleep, you old geezer.”

He grinned. “The ‘old geezer’ still has some party left in him.” With that he turned and waved over his shoulder, before heading below decks once more.

Gila watched him leave, then returned to her room. Seeing Alice sprawled out on her bed, Gilda sat down briefly on the floor. After another beat, she rose.

“Fuck it,” she said under her breath, joining Alice on the bed. Looking at the girl for a moment longer, she gave her a small hug too, then a maternal kiss on top of her head.

“Sleep tight, kid,” she drowsily announced, pulling Alice tight against her. “We got you covered.”

Standing on the deck of the Crystal Chaser—Lew’s chosen name for the captured Ire Wind—the captain found himself calm and awake, despite a late and worrisome evening before. He had questioned Alexander for hours, double checking the plan, asking for as many specifics as the man could offer. When offered the promise of leniency for him and his crew, the man had proved surprisingly plient.

Lew had found out that Alexander and his men had once been a merchant vessel, traveling between the Somani isles and Torani. After the Queen had effectively lost her mind, scuttling his business and bankrupting him and his men, they had turned to piracy more or less as both a sign of protest and to make ends meet. They had proven only mildly successful and had fallen in with the Admiral to hopefully make a big enough score to retire from piracy.

With the potential payout from the capture of Princess Luna, they had felt this was there chance. So they had been assigned as scouts, the one-time Ire Wind being one of the smaller, faster ships. They were to keep an eye on Luna in preparation for the primary assault the next day. Lew had allowed him to order one of his men to report back that all was well and set for the attack.

With Luna’s permission, Lew had offered them relative pardons, provided they offered their services to the true Crown. When things had returned to normal, they would be required to serve at least five years within the Royal Navy, after which they would be free to go on their way. The men had agreed readily.

So, here he stood, dressed in borrowed clothes from Alexander--they were too short on the arms and legs, and a little itchy, but should suffice--and standing at attention amongst the pirate crew. The plan was to approach the Admiral’s flagship, presenting Luna from the deck. They would radio, announcing a lucky break in that they had captured her when she led an assault on their camp. Once they had approached the ship and tied off to it, they would board in a blitz assault, attempting to take the ship by surprise.

It was risky, but both Luna and Zecora had agreed that, under the circumstances, it was probably their best bet. So they had set sail. The fleet was gathering into battle formation a little distance into the open sea, around a craggy rock formation. The call was they would see the fleet in about fifteen minutes.

A thunderous rumble alerted Lew to the souring weather above. Thick, grey clouds were rolling in. Likely they would fight in the rain. Another rumble came—the storm was moving fast.

“The heavens prepare for struggle and bloodshed. A good portent,” Luna said quietly from his side.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Lew replied just as quietly, looking her over.

The princess was wearing a large, ragged cloak, covering her leathers and weapons, but only just. Though her hands were brought forward and tied to the rail, a clever eye would note the slackness in the ropes, which would allow her to pull free whenever she wished. She stood with a slight hunch, as if tired or wounded. Lew only hoped the gamble would pay off.

“You doubt your plan so quickly?” she asked, giving him one of her usual, knowing smiles.

“It’s not that, it’s just… Waiting. I’m sure this will work, but I’ll be more pleased with it behind us.”

The princess was silent for a moment before asking, “You are thinking of your wife, the Lady Cadence?”

“Always,” he said quickly. “I will always remain loyal to Torani and thus to you, my princess. I made those vows and will never break them, or be derelict in my responsibility to them. But, by the same token…” He trailed off, not entirely sure whether to finish.

She finished for him with, “Neither can you abandon the vows of your marriage. I understand and bear no displeasure with you for it, Captain. There may come a moment when you must choose: duty to your wife or duty to your sovereign nation.”

“I… distinctly hope not, my lady.”

She tsked. “Such weak conviction. Know you not that I would support an endeavor to rescue the Lady Cadence?”

Lew’s eyes went wide and he turned to her quickly. “Princess, I couldn’t ask—”

But she cut him off, saying, “Nonsense. It only makes sense. Even after our victory here, we will need allies, as you said. The Kvaat, the Somani, the other independents… And the reserve of the Crystal Territories. Free from the clutches of the revived Shadow of Sombra. With these forces arrayed against my sister, we shall free Torani, now and forever.”

His eyes watering, Lew was about to give his thanks when he noticed the background rumbles of thunder had changed, ever so slightly. As his face wrinkled in confusion, he noticed that Luna had noticed the same thing.

She was the first to speak. “That sounds of no thunder I have ever heard.”

“Yeah,” Lew said, turning his head this way and that. “It almost sounds like…”

Then, near the rocky formation they were due to round within minutes, came three heavy splashes. Everyone on deck recognized them instantly.

“Cannon fire,” he and Luna said together.

Walking briskly, Lew moved to the wheel where Captain Alexander stood. “Do you know what this is?” he asked, anger in his voice as suspicions of treachery played out in his head.

The older man raised his hands defensively, saying, “Honest, Captain, this was no part of the plan that I was ever made aware of.”

“I’ll trust you for now. Helmsman,” he directed to the pirate at the wheel, “swing us further ‘round about that rock, let’s see what’s going on.”

“Aye, aye,” the man replied, giving the wheel a fast turn. A second after, the ship lurched to the right, then back to the left as the pirate turned the wheel back even quicker. The crew braced themselves as the ship made a wide arc around the turn, bringing the fleet into view.

It was chaos.

Two ships were sinking, one a floating pyre, lifeboats floating around, gathering struggling figures who had not made it in time. Three more appeared to have crashed into one another and were struggling to untangle themselves. Crew members scrambled aboard decks and across riggings, cutting and pulling and retying. The remaining ships had surrounded what Lew surmised was the Admiral’s flagship, the Indomitable, and another, smaller but still impressive ship who were also locked together in a boarding position.

“I’ll be damned,” whispered Alexander. “She did it. By God, but she attacked the Admiral!”

“The Gilda women you mentioned?” Lew asked, astounded.

He nodded. “I’d always heard she was good, but thought it was a load of shit, y’know? She’s a true pirate, born and bred. That’s for sure.”

“This changes a great many things,” Lew grumbled. “We have to help her! Rouse the men, change of plan--radio the pirates, telling them you’re here to assist. Then line ourselves up to where we can remove as many of those circling ships as possible. We’ll break through and board the other side of the Indomitable.”

A chorus of, “Aye, ayes,” echoed along the deck as the crew scrambled to their battle stations. Lew hurried back to the princess, saying, “I’m going below decks to organize the strike. You’ll need to remain where you are until we attack.” She nodded, distracted, the glint of battlelust reaching her eyes.

Taking the ladder belowdecks, Lew began yelling new orders, sending some of his men to ready the guns and others to prepare for boarding. Eventually, he found Mac and Zecora, waiting together, and approached them.

“Change of plans, you two,” he said grimly. “Ready up--we’ll be boarding as soon as we can. And Mac?”

“Eyup?” he asked, uncrossing his arms to rest them against his pockets.

Lew clasped one of the big man’s shoulders and looked him in the eye. “The ship that Alice is on? It’s already engaged with the Indomitable. We’re going to move fast to get in there. I’m going to go with the princess after the Admiral, but I want you and Zecora to focus on reaching that ship and saving your sister.”

“Lew. You sure ‘bout this? I ain’t a crack shot, but I can help.”

The captain nodded. “I’m sure. This is important. And even though she’s the enemy of our enemy, I’ve no idea whether we can count this Gilda as our friend. Saving the only hostage is priority, then. Besides,” he added, his voice becoming somewhat emotional, “I’d want to get over there as quickly as I could and save Twila if she was the one captured.”

He gave a nod of his own in return. “Then I’m in. I ain’t gonna let her get hurt.”

“I know,” said Lew. He looked to Zecora. “I just want to say thank you, again, Zecora. And I’m sorry--we brought this trouble here, and you’re fighting right alongside us. It’s more than we could ever repay.”

Zecora gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “What it did to bring together my tribe? It brought us unity, more than I can describe.” Her grin slyly came. “As for a way for your men to repay? Perhaps I’ll someday figure a way.”

Lew nodded. “Well, plans only last until you meet the enemy but… Keep this big lug safe for me, would you?” He cocked a thumb at Mac. “His sister would kill me if anything happened. And she’s a formidable one...”

“I’ll keep him in mind. Fear not, Lew. I’ll save him from any bind.” She gave a push of her finger to his shoulder. “Now a favor I ask of you. Keep your queen safe too.”

“That is the job, after all,” he said, cracking a smile. “Reviews are next month, wouldn’t want to blow my raise!” Wishing the odd pair luck yet again, Lew took his leave and headed deeper into the ship, down to the lower hold.

The captain stepped into the hold and stopped, taking the entire situation in, thinking on what, if anything he should say. There before him were his men, his charges… He shook his head. This wasn’t some movie, he decided. There would be no need for speeches. Just the trust of a captain in his men, of soldiers in their leader, and of friends in each other.

Lew approached his men, a few dressed as pirates having come from abovedecks, but most in the midnight blue and silver trimmed finery of Luna’s Royal Guard contingent. The Crystal Chaser possessed a large, open storage room that they had emptied to fit nearly half of his men within. The rest were on the smaller ship they had commandeered a few days before, renamed the Moonbeam. At that moment, the Moonbeam was five minutes behind, playing backup. Soon, they would be playing catch up, radioed about the change of plans.

The soldiers in front of him were calm, most double checking weaponry, some snacking on a ration bar. A few noticed him and gave him a smile, or a wave, or even a grim look, as fit their various personalities. Each man or woman, an entire life. A past, present, and future.

And for some, that future would be all too short.

That was the one aspect of his career that Lew could never get used to. Expectant, planning around it, moving on, yes, those were easy enough. But he knew each face and each name. And he remembered each one fallen. Thankfully few, due to living in peaceful times. But with the end of those peaceful times, he dreaded the growth of that list.

He said nothing. There was nothing to be said. They already had their orders; the timetable had simply moved up. Now it was up to the sailors above and their ability to get to the Indomitable before they were discovered.

May Elondrie watch over us all, he prayed, heading back up top to ready the attack.