I stood at the helm of the Cassius, staring out across the ocean to the setting sun, salty wind blowing my curly blonde hair into my face. Annoyed, I ran my hand back to try and keep it out of the way. It was about time to get it cut. The crew behind me scrabbled around the deck to move the ship back to shore. Our patrol was over and we wanted to go back for a nice meal. "Lieutenant!" I heard Charlie yell above the sound of boots on wood as I turned. "There's another ship!"

Confused, I looked where he was pointing. Sure enough, far in the distance, there was a large ship coming towards. For what, I knew not. As far as I was informed, common ships were not permitted to sail in this part. It was reserved for Royal Navy patrols only. "We are going towards it," I told the crew. "Slowly."

Being one of the smaller ships of the navy, I was always cautious when approaching an unknown ship. Our two ships began drawing closer to each other. My heart raced in my chest and I began sweating, not only because of my stifling uniform. I had yet to become experienced in the art of negotiating with other ships. My ascension to the rank of lieutenant was only as a payment for a favor. 

There were sounds of dissent throughout the ship as the crew began whispering among themselves. Charlie reluctantly came to stand by my side. Though he was young, only nineteen, I had come to trust him as one of my closest crewmen. "Sir, I-The crew wished to know if you were aware the ship is one of our navy." Upon hearing this, I looked more closely at the oncoming ship. We were only a league or so away, allowing me to get a general idea of the type of ship it was. Sure enough, I discovered we were sailing towards a ship nearly identical to the Cassius.

"I was not informed there would be one of ours coming here today," I said to no one in particular, squinting into the sun.

"Perhaps it slipped the Commander's mind," Charlie offered, leaning over the edge of the ship.

"Perhaps," I agreed absentmindedly. Though I would never admit it to the crew, I was feeling anxious. Why had I not been told another ship was expected? It was unlike the Commander to forget anything.

Over the course of ten minutes, our two ships were close enough to be able to yell across. With the intentions of being able to hold a conversation, I motioned for the other ship to manuever to allow us to pull in beside it. They complied, and I told the crew to lower to gangplank onto the other ship. Written in long gold letters on the white hull was Saorsa. Interesting name for a ship. I didn't know of any in the navy with the name, but it was a large navy and I was not overly familiar with all of its ships.

I was puzzled as someone who must have been the captain of the Saorsa walked onto the Cassius. With a couple long, confident strides, he was on the deck. His uniform was not one I was familiar with. "Excuse me," I said, approaching the man, "I was not informed of another ship passing through here. If you cannot provide any proof that you have been granted acess, I am going to have to ask you to find an alternate route. I am sorry for any inconvience, but I must follow my orders, sir."

"I don't think we'll have a problem here. You see, we're just passing through," he said with a sneer. I recoiled as I realized the members of the other crew were running across the gangplank brandishing weapons of all sorts.

"Pirates!" I yelled out to my crew, hoping they would be fast enough. Before I could focus on defending myself, the captain of the pirates was behind me, holding a long, thin sword to my neck. He pressed, drawing a thin line of blood. Laughing, he addressed my own crew. I looked to see that they were similarly trapped. The pirates outnumbered us.

"I'll give you a one time offer. You give us everything you have. Rations, weapons, money. We let most of you go to run back to your king. A few, of course, will be kept aboard my Saorsa. Refuse, and we will not hesitate to kill all of you and take what we want." He looked around for any sort of reaction. I too tried to see what my crew wanted. Ultimately, it was their choice. Instead, I found them all looking to me. 

"I am truly sorry to disappoint," I began after some hesitation, my Adam's apple bobbing against the edge of the sword. "We have no food or gold. This is merely a patrol." I cringed, dreading what was about to come.

"The second option, then."