This place is crawling...

[captntruesdale]

The HMS Dignity pulled into the port and the ropes were thrown to the dockhands. The gangway was pulled out and rested on the pier below. A division disembarked and stamped their feet - to get rid of the swaying motion they had become accustomed to - and then fell into ranks of three. The captain and her second-in-command saluted each other and the Captain disembarked leaving the Lieutenant to take command of the ship.

“Parade! Attention!” barked Captain Truesdale. Parade did so. “Alright, you’re finding a place to sleep, doesn’t matter where as long as you are back here in the same state as you are now the day after tomorrow at eight thirty. When we come back I want the front rank to take charge of restocking the food, the second rank to take charge of medical and third rank munitions. Parade! Fall out!”

Warrant Officer Andrews joined her Captain as she walked towards the town.
“Heya Nakia.”
“Hey Georgie.”
Captain Truesdale and Warrant Officer Andrews knew each other from university and, although Truesdale was Andrews’ superior officer while off duty they were simply two young friends mucking around just as others their age do (but not too much).
“Where’re you going for tonight?” asked Georgette Andrews.
“The cleanest place I can find. Although here I don’t think that’s an option.” They laughed. “Wanna crash with me then?”
“Yeah sure.” Replied Andrews.
They looked about them seeing the shabby people of Kyoshi totter about and limp here and there, probably robbing each other blind, and swapping trash for less expensive trash.
“Awh, this place is crawling! I can’t wait to get back on the ship.”
“I know me neither. It was the flip of a coin that decided me or Roberts. I’m sure he spun it. We should have done it best out of three but ah well. He’s done Kyoshi before. I’ll give him time to get himself ready.”

They walked and talked for a while until they reached an inn which looked just clean enough to house only the snobbiest of vermin and they went in. Once inside they saw that it wasn’t as bad as it looked outside and they signed in and paid for their room for one night.

At 10.30 and after finding the shower water was dirtier than they were, they decided to go downstairs and have a drink.
They ordered, saw what they would be getting, and cancelled it.
“Well where now?” Asked Andrews, there was still a mild sense of their rank difference but neither of them picked it up.
“I suppose we could oh look wasn’t that some of our lot? Petty Officers Sander, Redding and Heap wasn’t it?”
“Think so. Will we join them?”
“Aye let’s go.”

They caught up with the other officers and discovered they were heading to a pub, with absolutely no intention of getting blocked. Of course not Captain.
“You know you can get drunk if you must tonight. We’re off duty. Just as a friend I would prefer if you didn’t make utter fools of yourselves.”
“Great I was looking forward to a good piss up!” Said Redding with the general agreement of the others.

As they approached the pub the doors were flung wide and ten lads and a girl came crashing out.
“And you p-ple!” Remarked the man last out of the door, swaggering to keep his balance. He was of medium height with course black hair and beard, drink was dribbling down his front. “Youse … youse is a crowd o’ bastards… dn’t e’n get me srted on yez bunch a …”
“I will not tolerate your behaviour and this disgusting language. Especially to an officer of the Royal Navy. You will step away from this door and leave before I go back on duty.” Truesdale spoke sharply to the man.
Truesdale could sense the other officers tense-up. They knew when their Captain was angry it was going to be bad.
“Youse a fuckin’ woman! What the fuck d’youknw?”
The crowd outside the pub officers and pirates alike froze.

[Katara]

Katara had spent her night surrounded by beer. It was certainly a change from all that rum, but she couldn't say the effects were any more pleasent. Within a couple of hours, the crew and the captain had drunk themselves into stupidity, and yet they were still asking for more. And more. And more...
"Tommy, lad," she whispered, pulling on his sleeve. "It's late. Real late. We gotta go."
"Fuck off, Kat... ra," he snarled, slurring slightly as his eyes unfocused and refocused. "Why'd choo come anyway? Yez such a bore!"
"I've got a bit of sense," she muttered darkly, prising his mug of beer from his slackened grasp. "I'll get you out of here, at the very least."
"Awk, no, wee lass," he grinned, grabbing onto her arm. "D'you know what ye need? A drink! A wee drinkie. That's nice... tha's right..."
"Leave the lass alone!" called Lyle, staggering over, pushing three mugs of over-flowing beer onto the wooden table Tommy was sumped over. "She... hic... ain't got no time for scum like you!"
"Hi, Lyle," murmured Katara, lifting the beer from the table. "I'm giving this back to those nice people over there at the bar, yeah?"
"Awk, no!"
"Spoilsport!"
"Stupid assholes," she muttered, moving quickly through the dense crowds.
The bar was a hellhole. Okay, so it was relatively nice by Kyoshi's standards, but it was still right from the fiery depths of hell. The stench of stale sweat mingling with alcohol, and the drunken cries of ugly, crude and stupid men was overpowering. It was dingy, and dark, and incredibly warm. Katara could actually feel the sweat dribbling down her brow. It was disgusting. This place made her sick.
Oh, speak of the devil. Raiku was vomiting in a corner.
The bearded man at the bar was watching the band of drunken pirates tentatively, who'd just started into a rousing chorus of, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me!" He looked slightly agitated to see Katara coming towards him.
"You're a responsible, young lass," he said, slightly desperately. "You with them pirates?"
"That I am, sir," she replied, pushing the beer mugs towards him.
He brushed them impatiently aside. "I want them out. Get them out. I can trust you to do that, right?"
"I've been trying to get them out for the past couple of hours!" she cried. "They won't listen."
"Do it!" he cried, "Now!"
"Sir, I- "
"You fucking asshole, choo' insulting me girl?"
The great Captain Guillmore was swaggering up, a total wreck. Slumping over the bar, he banged his mug down angrily, as though he was making some kind of statement.
"That girl there," he said to the tap, although he seemed to be directing his words at the barman. "That... yeah... weird circle things in her hair... She's my property, see? You insult my property, you insult me!"
"Sir," said the barman in a voice of forced calm, "you cannot speak to me in that tone of voice, or I shall be forced to ask you and your crew to leave my pub."
Katara could almost see the cogs that were whirring in this little man's brain. Crafty bugger. Then again, it was the obvious thing to do. The crew were out of control. Currently, Blade and Frankie were tossing a sheep (though where in god's name they got the sheep from she'd no idea) back and forth.
"Fuck you!" spat the Captain, his head swivelling around so his eyes actually met the barman's. "I got me gun- I got me fucking girl- me crew... what choo' got? Beer? Hah!"
"Captain Guillmore," Katara intervened quickly, placing her hand on her captain's shoulder. "Please consider the effect of your words."
"Feck off!" he growled, rounding on her. "Speak when yer spoken to, wench!"
"The girl's more sense than you!" replied the barman stoutly. "Sir, you are quite clearly drunk!"
"Blocked! Bloody pissed! Totally freakin' zonked out of my skull!" The captain leaned forward, swaying slightly. "S'all yer fault. Why'd ye gimme me beer? Heh? Where is my beer? Wench!" His eyes snapped to Katara again. "Gimme my beer!"
"No, Captain."
His bloodshot eyes widened slightly. "What choo say, wench?"
"My name is Katara, sir, and you've had enough of that bloody drink." Her heart was pounding; her ears ringing slightly. She was standing up to the captain. Why was she doing that? Why?
"I say when I've had enough," he growled, staggering to his feet and leaning threateningly towards her. "An' I say, it ain't yet!"
"No more, sir!" cried the barman. "I refuse to- "
But before the barman could finish his sentence, Captain John Guillmore let out a inhuman cry and leant across the bar, grasping the barman about his neck. Immediately, the poor man's eyes began to water, and the screaming around the bar began.
Smiling cruelly, the captain began to squeeze harder, dragging the poor little man across the bar on his belly towards him. How else had the captain managed to get the job? He was a man of incredible strength.
"Captain!" cried Katara desperately, moving forward, but the captain shoved her aside.
"Fuck you, mate," the captain whispered, his face a picture of strange, delirious excitement. "I'll see you in hell."
At that very moment, a large, beefy hand rested on the captain's shoulder. The captain let go of the little man abruptly, turning slowly to face up to an immense looking giant, with a shiny bald head and an ugly expression.
"I think you'd better leave, sir."
His voice was deep, and calm- almost friendly, but it sent a shiver down Katara's spine. She stood back slightly, aware that the rest of the crew was watching the captain and this strange figure of bulging muscles apphrehensively. Even the sheep had stopped baaing.
"No fucking way," said the captain nastily, squaring up the great rock.
"Then you leave me no choice," said the man...
Not wanting to face up to this strange, and powerful being, the rest of the crew made a dive for the door, just about managing to squeeze out. They fell into the dirty streets, filling the air with drunken yells of fright.
Once outside and lying in the dirt, Katara spun around and watched in awe as- in a feat of amazing strength, the rock quite literally picked up the captain, took five paces across the bar and threw him out the door.
Katara stumbled to her feet, watching the captain warily as he stumbled to his own and finally stepped outside the bar. He was muttering darkly, brushing the dirt off himself, when his eyes caught something else. Katara followed his gaze...
"Good god," she said aloud. "It's the bloody Navy!"
The captain was before a smallish woman, who had a crowd of Naval officers around her. This woman... Katara couldn't quite describe it. She was... small, but of solid stance and seemed to have an aura of power about her. Her eyes were cold as she surveyed the captain, and suddenly, a new terror gripped Katara's heart, one that the rock from the bar could not have match in a lifetime.
"And you p-ple!" spat the Captain, staggering forward towards them. "Youse … youse is a crowd o'bastards… dn't e'n get me srted on yez bunch a …"
By all accounts, her captain really was an idiot.
"I will not tolerate your behaviour and this disgusting language. Especially to an officer of the Royal Navy. You will step away from this door and leave before I go back on duty," the woman spoke sharply to Katara's captain, and Katara, for all her fear of this strange new threat, felt a slight thrill. Thank god- someone was actually telling the captain where to go!
Sort of.
Now that made her captain angry.
"Youse a fuckin' woman! What the fuck d'youknw?" The moment the words left his lips, Katara knew she had to try and intervene again.
"Sir," she cried, striding forward and quickly and firmly putting her arm on the captain's shoulder. "Come with me, sir."
"Fuck... off..."
"Sir," she repeated again, firmly, trying not to let her desperation show through. The captain swayed slightly, his eyes still fixed on the strange female figure of authority.
Katara tried a change of tack.
"Please, miss," she said tentatively, looking pleadingly at the Navy officer. "He's out of his mind- he doesn't mean what he says. I can get him back to our ship- "
"Fuck off, you stupid little bitch!" yelled the captain, bodily grabbing Katara, and shoving her to the side. He faced up again to the woman, whose face was a frozen mask.
Katara got to her feet once more, feeling a sense of shame settle over her. She knew what was coming. She knew, and there was nothing in God's name she could do about it.
"Ye fucking insulted me, ye wench," spat the Captain, his hand slipping to his side, fidgeting wildly. Suddenly, his hand closed around the prize, and he slowly began to pull his gun out...
"Now," he snarled. "Yer gonna fuckin' pay."

[captntruesdale]

Captain Truesdale saw the gun and watched it being raised to her head. Without warning, almost before the captain had finished saying, “…pay.” Truesdale was on him. She lunged at the man, grabbed his hand before he could cock his gun and forced it upwards, while at the same time bringing her other hand, open-palmed, on his forehead and pushed it back so that the man’s instinct was to bend back and down. She forced him to his knees and wrenched the pistol out of the confused and dazzled captain’s grasp ramming it quickly down her inside pocket, one-handed. Then, pushing further, he was on the ground.

The single, most vital aim was speed. The faster this manoeuvre was performed the less time their captain had to find that he could get out of this position. The fact that the man was drunk beyond reason helped. Not that Truesdale needed much help anyway.
Once Captain Truesdale had made her first move the Naval Officers took this as their signal. The officers were right there by their captain’s side ready to defend her, not from the stupid and brutal pirate captain, but from the surge of pirates around them as they too rushed forward. All at once, a fight broke out. Swords were drawn, fists were raised and teeth were bared.
The Navy where out numbered by more than double, but they had the advantage of not being drunk silly. And so, by organising a semi-circle formation and basically pushing swords from hands and people to the ground, they quickly disarmed and secured the pirates.

As soon as the pirate captain’s back touched the ground, Truesdale had drawn the man’s own sword and plucked another from the pathetic brawl that was surrounding her on one side. She stood behind his head and held the two swords right over left around the neck of the black bearded scum pinning him to the ground. However angry Truesdale was she wouldn’t show it. Her face had kept the same expression even when she was presented a gun the unfriendly way.
“You, sir, are arrested.” She spoke calmly, “As are the rest of you.”
Her eyes flicked from pirate to pirate, resting a little longer on the brave young girl standing alone.

[Katara]

Katara had watched the brawl before her unfold quietly; almost with a bitter triumph. It was an extreme case of, "I told you so," and besides for the fact that her crew and herself were now being taken captive by the Royal Navy, she was quite pleased with herself. Katara liked being right. There wasn't anything wrong with that now, was there?
Maybe now the lads would listen to her more often.
Tommy was clucking to himself as the pirates were rounded up like cattle. The Navy was a foreboding bunch; and this was only emphasized by the fact they were now armed with each of the pirate's weapons. Except for...
Maybe they wouldn't notice.
Katara jabbed Tommy in his back. He stopped making the strange noises- ones she put down to a combination of drunkeness and fright; but his head drooped, echoing the queue of captive pirates. They recognised defeat.
Katara eyed the woman who'd turned the captain's own sword on himself with a sort of petrified respect. She liked this woman very much; and was very impressed by her- but if she could do that to her captain... Katara shuddered involuntarily. She was no match for the likes of this woman and that... that was scary.
Suddenly, there was a voice behind her.
"Hey, what's that?"
They were pointing at her boomerang.

[captntruesdale]

Truesdale had just sent off W.O. Andrews to find more Naval Seamen and some sort of binding material, when she heard Sander's alert. Her head whipped round and she saw that he was pointing at the girl's back. Heap reached out an arm but before he could get his hands on whatever was there, the girl turned to face him. Truesdale understood the problem, as the awkwardly-shaped sheath on the girl's back was not empty. Instead a sharp-looking blade could be seen only just poking out. Heap walked round behind her to make a second grab but the girl just kept right on turning to face him.
Heap sighed, "Captain she won't let me take it." he said to Truesdale.
Truesdale approached the silent and determinded girl. The two Petty Officers took a step backwards to make sure the Captain had no further instructions for them before they strode over to help with binding the pirates. The Captain looked the girl in the eyes and spoke calmly but firmly.
"What's your name and age?"
"Katara, I'm 16 almost 17." The girl replied.
"OK, Katara. You know why I have to take this don't you?" Truesdale had not applied a patronizing voice. Why would she? The girl was practically an adult, she could obviously look after herself, so why apply an irritating voice to undermine that?
Katara nodded.
"I understand that this means something more that just a weapon to you. Doesn't it?"
Katara nodded again.
"So, can we compromise?"
Katara almost squinted, caught herself on then applied a blank face.
"If you give this to me now, I will personally see to it that it is not lost or misused, and if, by some chance, we find you not guilty of piracy and you are set free, I will give it back to you just as you give it to me now. However, if it is found that you are guilty ..." Truesdale hesitated, as much as she lothed pirates, she believed that no-one should die as a punishment especially those who would change with a second chance. But it wasn't her who made the law, she just enforced it. "... Well I will still give it back to you and it will be with you to, wherever you pirates believe you go afterwards, if at all."
Katara had kept a mainly blank face but there was a hint of a frown there. Yet she did not speak.
"Does that seem fair?" Truesdale asked.

[Katara]

Katara struggled for a few moments with what the captain had just said. She knew what she wanted to do- and that was shout, yell, scream and make a fuss. She wanted to take her boomeraang, toss it in the air to the battle cries of her crew and wage war on their captors. But this was what Katara wanted to do. What she wanted was never what she got. Besides, she knew it was crazy to try and take on all of these people but...
She still wanted to. Maybe she would... She could go down fighting... She could... could...
"Yes," Katara replied meekly, forcing herself not to cringe at the sound of her quiet, submissive voice.
And that meant only one thing...
The man who'd she'd kept turning from held out his hand. Katara stared down at it stonily for a few seconds, with the strange feeling it was almost leering at her. A horrible oppressive silence enveloped her skull; the noises of the pub and the late-night wanderers fading into blackness. She stood still for a few moments, just staring...
She had to give it to him.
No, I don't.
Katara, hand it over for god's sake! Don't be thick!
I don't...
You do.
Sokka...
Isn't here.
But he...
Do you value your life?
She felt a thrill of terror at that. When her father had died, she remembered clearly the hollow feeling in her chest as she watched her brothers carry his body out of the room. She remembered the masses of black as people flocked to mourn for him. She remembered the strangled cries of pain and loss as they pierced the otherwise silent air. And she remembered the look on Sokka's face...
He didn't cry... That's what made it worse.
She couldn't do that to him again. Especially over... over the thing he'd given her. The boomeraang meant something more than... just a weapon, as the Captain of the Navy had realised. The boomeraang symbolised her brother. She just... she just didn't want that taken away.
But it wasn't worth her life.
So she handed it over and fell silent once more.