Calmly, Cheng Li nodded. “We must cut short this training session.” Her eyes met Cate’s in the midst of the melee. The captain gave a signal that Cate immediately understood and acted upon. Across the deck, swords fell and the drumming of footsteps softened.
Barbarro turned to Cheng Li. “Is there any way we may be of assistance?”
Cheng Li smiled softly. “No, but thank you. We have the optimum trained crew at the ready.”
Minutes later, the other captains had assembled their crews and begun the swift return to their ships. Meanwhile, Jasmine had gathered up the key personnel of
“Are you certain that
“Yes,” answered her trusted deputy. “It has broken away from the other key ships of the Vampirate fleet, and, when last tracked, had moored on the shore. Intel believes that the Cowboy is on a mission to recruit land- based vampires to his crew.”
Cheng Li shuddered at the thought. He had to be stopped. Kill two birds with one decisive stone.
Bo Yin, standing at Jasmine’s side, spoke now. “If we leave now, Captain, we can be in position by 0600 hours.” Bo, Cheng Li realized, was another example of metamorphosis. She had transformed herself into a key member of the team—matters of navigation and liaison with tracking and Intel were her specialty, under the watchful mentoring of Jasmine.
Cheng Li nodded gratefully at her talented and committed crewmates. “It seems that the moment we have been anticipating has come. Jasmine, instruct the navigators of our target coordinates and tell them to make haste. Bo, I want you to maintain an eye on the rest of the fleet. We don’t want any nasty surprises! Cate, I will of course leave you to go through the weaponry allocation and checks. Plenty of aconite solution tonight, if you please!” Now Cheng Li turned to face Connor and Moonshine. “We three will, as discussed, lead the vanguard attack. Jasmine and Cate will follow. Talk to your teams. Ensure they are ready for what lies ahead.”
“Yes, Captain!” declared Connor and Moonshine in unison.
Addressing the whole group, Cheng Li had but one final set of instructions. “After these preparations are concluded, please ensure everyone who is not on duty returns to their cabins and gets a few hours’ rest. We’ll reconvene on deck at 0400 hours, ready to commence Operation Scrimshaw.”
Connor smiled to himself. It had been his suggestion to name this mission after Molucco’s beloved pet. He thought that his former commander would have appreciated the touch.
“Wait!” Moonshine Wrathe broke from the ranks and stood at Cheng Li’s side. The captain seemed momentarily disconcerted as Moonshine began to directly address the rank-and-file members of the crew. “I want to thank you all for joining me tonight on this mission to take back my ship, the legendary pirate vessel,
Connor watched with growing interest as Moonshine continued, his eyes bright, his voice strong and surprisingly sonorous. “If fortune smiles upon us and grants us this much wished-for victory, I pledge to stand each and every one of you brave pirates a tankard of grog at Ma Kettle’s Tavern tomorrow night.”
There were cheers at this. Connor shook his head. Pledging tankards of grog and intoning the sacred name of Ma Kettle were easy wins. Nonetheless, he was impressed. No question, Wrathe junior had inherited the family gift for working a crowd. As if to prove his point, Moonshine’s expression changed and a sudden hush fell upon the deck. “Make no mistake,” he said, his voice lower than before but no less potent. “This mission is not simply about helping me take back what is rightfully mine. This is about tipping the scales of victory in this war. It was a war we didn’t want, but which we had no option but to engage in. Tonight, every last one of you will play your part in turning the tide and firing a shot right into the heart of that dirty Vampirate fleet.”
He had spoken with such vigor that his face was red and dotted with beads of sweat, but his eyes shone star-bright as he reached for his sword and raised it aloft.
Across the deck, each and every pirate mirrored Moonshine’s gesture. Connor found himself reaching for his own sword and saw that Cate, Jasmine, and even Cheng Li had done the same. The deck of
“To victory!” cried Moonshine.
“To victory!” echoed the crowd in unison. The troops began stamping the deck boards as they continued the cry. “Victory! Victory! Victory!”
Connor watched, fascinated, as Moonshine lowered his sword. Once more, the crowd was hushed, as if they were his puppets.
“Thank you,” Moonshine said, turning, “but, most of all, thanks to Captain Li for agreeing to join me in this fight. May our actions tonight prove a decisive moment in this war.”
Back in Cheng Li’s cabin, Connor, Cate, Jasmine, and Moonshine joined her in drinking to victory. They slammed together their glasses of cuttlefish grappa and drank to a successful mission.
As the fiery grappa slipped down Connor’s throat, he glanced across at Cheng Li’s clock. It was a full ten minutes ahead of his watch. He felt a cold wave of panic. Which was the correct time? Had he missed his rendezvous?
“I have to go,” he said, suddenly striding toward the exit. “I’m expecting a delivery.”
As the doors banged shut behind him, Jasmine’s eyes turned curiously toward the captain. “A delivery?” she inquired. “At this time of night?”
Cheng Li nodded. “That’s right! We arranged a special courier earlier. For some of Master Yin’s aconite potion. We’re running low—remember?” Her dark eyes seared into Jasmine’s, eliminating any possibility of challenge. “Thank goodness Connor has his wits about him.”
“Time I was off, too,” Cate said. “There’s a passage from Marcus Aurelius I always like to read before I go into battle. It helps me to center myself.”
Cheng Li smiled. “
Cate nodded. “I’m impressed,” she said. “How did you know?”
“Just a guess,” Cheng Li said. “Those words have great resonance for me, too.”
“Come on, Cate. I’ll walk with you,” said Jasmine, her eyes glistening in the candlelight.
As the twin doors of her cabin swung shut once more, Cheng Li turned to Moonshine. “Just us captains, then! Care for another glass of grappa?”
Moonshine shook his head. “You know the old saying, Captain Li. One shot keeps you sharp, a second keeps you up all night. I intend to follow your advice and avail myself of a power nap before action commences.”
Cheng Li nodded, impressed by his newfound discipline.
Moonshine rolled his empty glass between his palms. “You’re an amazing role model, you know,” he said. “The way you are with your crew—and them with you. I want to be just like that when I have my own ship.”
Smiling, Cheng Li brushed aside his flattery. “All being well, this time tomorrow you will be in possession of your ship. But, make no mistake, there’s something of a journey between inheriting a ship and forming a solid crew.”
“I know,” Moonshine said, with genuine humility. “I’m just at the beginning of my piratical career. But I’m eager to learn from the greats… like you.” His eyes glanced from her to the portrait behind her. “And your dad.”
Cheng Li nodded. There seemed to be no stopping Moonshine once he was on a roll.
“I meant what I said out there,” he continued. “I’m so grateful to you for agreeing to help me. I know your relationship with my family—my uncle especially—has been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, so I especially appreciate —”
“This has nothing to do with your uncle,” Cheng Li said briskly. “You came to me as one pirate captain to another, asking for help.” She glanced up at the portrait above her desk. “Sometimes our inheritance can be a mixed blessing. All my life, I have lived in the shadow of my father’s reputation.”
