That's what all the charts, maps, and waggoners were in aid of. I was trying to determine where El Diablo would most likely be found. Yeah, fat chance of that! You see, El Diablo, in addition to being evil, vicious, and cruel, was also nutty as a fruitcake. A certifiable loony, and as a result, his raids and attacks never followed any pattern that anyone could figure out.

I growled in annoyance at a knock on the door. My impatience died when I heard the voice of my Love and Mate, Faranus, come through the door. But even he knew better than to simply barge in on me when I'm plotting a course, even though the cabin is as much his as mine. I tend to get rather short-tempered when I'm navigating, you see. Quite frankly, it gives me a headache. Why doesn't someone invent some sort of calculating device that can do the work for us?

"Trel, you better come and take a look at this. We got a problem out here", Far called through the door.

Well, THAT certainly got my curiosity up. My crew are all extremely competent at piracy, and Far I would trust with my life-and have done so, on occasion. Add to that the fact that he's a skilled magick-user, and you'll understand why I tossed those annoying maps and charts onto an already cluttered floor (have to get Nyghtfyre in to clean up later...), grabbed my cutlass, and dashed out into the bright Caribbean sunlight.

I went directly to my Mate's side, slid an arm about his waist, and made a quick visual check over our ship. While all was well with the Sea Fury, out there in the water was another vessel, a merchantman, clearly in gobs of trouble. Most ships I know don't come with that degree of list built into them, and those gaping holes to let the water in were a unique feature of ship design. Add to all that the sharp lingering smell of burnt gunpowder, and the sight of masts slipping below the horizon, and something told me this was the aftermath of a sea battle.

"Mange, ready a boat to go over there. Whoever attacked it might have missed something, and there could be some furs in need of help. Oi! Someone go below and drag Emil out of the sickbay! We might need his services out there. Far, Love, you stay here while I look that wreck over. Any problems develop, or if the ship that did this comes back and decides to try a piece of us, you'll know best what to do." I gave these orders, and more as the boat crew got old #2 ready, and Emil stumbled out of the ship's depths, his medical chest in paw.

I turned as I felt a paw on my arm. It was Far. "Love, I'm going with you on this one". I opened my mouth to protest, but the handsome ferret that was my Mate stilled my words with a finger to my lips.

He explained, "I know...it's risky, it's dangerous, that hulk could sink at any moment...and thats why I'm going with you. If it DOES start to go under, or if there's any other sort of trouble unseen on board, I can get us out of there faster than any mundane way could."

I knew he was right. I knew also, if he DID have to get us out be means magickal, there would be a price to pay. I almost lost him when he got my pretty little tail out of a nasty fix that came close to giving me a terminal sore throat. Since then, he's been exercising his talent and skills, building up his endurance, but, as he explained to me, there's a clear limit to how much magical force he can exert before his body shuts down. All that magickal energy, its gotta come from SOMEWHERE, after all.

Well, there's usually nothing exciting about crossing from one ship to another, and there was no exception this time. It was Far, Mange, Emil, and myself, along with the boat crew and some additional muscle. As we drew near to the wreck, I could see the shattered merchantman was quite richly appointed, with ornate carvings gracing the woodwork. Whoever owned this tub certainly had scads of the ready. We circled around the ship, checking it out, making sure it wouldn't go straight under the instant we set paws on it. From what we could see, the ship would indeed sink, in time, but not for a while. Most of the damage was 'tween wind and water (for you lubbers and landsfurs out there, that means the damage was mostly confined to the area above the waterline and below the masts), and while many of the strakes had come apart, and I was sure the ship was taking water, I was fairly sure it wouldn't go glug-glug-glug down to the briny deep with us on it. Calculated risks are part of a pirate's trade, after all.

So, I decided to take the risk, and we boarded it. Two of the boat crew stayed behind, ready to get our furry tails out of there if the need arose. The rest of us scrambled nimbly up the side of the hulk, pausing to peer over the gunnles, to make sure it was safe. No point in risking our fool necks more than was necessary.

Well, it was safe...least-wise, there was no one about that we could see. But oh my, what a mess! Shattered spars, twisted rigging and loose bits of rope, and rags of sails littered the decks, making our footing treacherous. Gun carraiges lay wrecked, with dismounted cannon laying scattered about. Must have been a fierce fight here. But where were the bodies? I knew there had to be some dead or wounded, because I slipped in what proved to be a puddle of blood.

Having scoped out the top decks and finding nothing, we entered the tween decks. Again, signs of battle and fierce struggle, small pools of blood, but no bodies and certainly nothing of value or use laying about. I was thinking of declaring this ship a total loss and heading back to the Sea Fury when a rather breathless crewfur dashed up to me.

"Cap'n! We found the main cabin...puff, puff...tried to get in, but we reckon the door's blocked somehow. Mange is down there waitin' for ye."

We all followed as the crewfur led the way, and we found ourselves in front of the cabin. I tried the door, and sure enough, the ruddy thing wouldn't budge. Odd thing...it felt a little warm. "Cap'n! Cap'n! Let me bash it!", Mange offered, and before I could stop him, he slammed himself full tilt at the heavy door. The results were predictable-Mange bounced back off the door and fell slap onto his back, and started counting stars only he could see. Mange loved to bash things, and he only took on the office of quartermaster with the understanding that he be allowed to do some bashing, but charging an oak door was a little over the top, I thought. But it did have a good result. No, the door didn't open, but I started to hear moans. Well, moans other than those coming from Mange...these seemed to be coming from behind the door, and suddenly, getting it open seemed very important.

I glanced around, looking for something with sufficent mass to break down the door. In the surrounding rubble, there was certainly plenty of items to choose from, but before I could make a selection, Far stepped up to the door, laid a finger very lightly on it, said something esoteric under his breath, and the whole door just collapsed utterly, converted in an instant into fine dust. A few rather surprised looking termites emerged from the dust.

"Did you want that door open, Love?", he aske me. I rolled my eyes at him and whispered to him, "Showoff", causing him to chuckle. Then we entered the room. Good thing Emil was with us.

The room within was spacious, that is, for a ship-board chambers, and it was richly decked out. But it, too, was a jumbled mess. A long and heavy beam had fallen, and lay in the middle of the room. Trapped under the beam was the source of the moaning we had heard...definately female, and looking something like a cheetah, from what we could see. That the air in the room was tinged with the smell of burnt fur wasn't surprising, considering the fact that the beam was smouldering slowly in places, and the figure underneath had several places where her fur had been scorched and burned down to the skin. The fact that the beam was smouldering made getting it off our mystery cat rather a problem.

There was a large bed off to the side, or rather, what was left of one, and Far dashed to it, grabbed a thick blanket, and stretched it before me. Briefly puzzled, I then understood what my mate was up to, and I drew out my cutlass and slashed the blanket into strips. We all then, even Mange, who had recovered from his battering ram attempt, wrapped those strips about our paws, took hold of the beam, and with a 3 count, heaved it off the prostrate fur.

We all made an examination of her, Emil's being much closer and thorough, of course, since he is, after all, our doc. Her marking were odd, to say the least. Her fur was sort of a golden tan color, a bit lighter than my own cinnamon coloring, except for a broad white strip running from chin to belly. There were black spots, much like a cheetah's, along her flanks, but her arms and legs were striped like a tiger's.

Emil drew Far and I aside after making his examination. "We'll have to get her back to our ship, of course. She's got some minor burns, some splinter wounds, and a possible concussion. There's also a fracture in her right femur...clean break, far as I can tell, but I can't do much more here than just wrap it up. I don't figure you'll leave her to sink with this old wreck..."

Well, I could see she didn't have any articles or items of value about her person...in fact, she was the next closest thing to being naked you can imagine. But, if she was associated somehow with the owner of this tub, there might be a sweet little reward for her safe return. Besides, I wasn't nearly so heartless as to abandon a fellow furry, and a feline one at that, in need.

While Far and I were listening to Emil, I heard Mange bark out at those still standing around the striken fur. "Ye swabs, what the divil d'ye think you're doing?! 'Vast that unseemly gawking...you and you (he grabbed them by the scruff of their necks...) get your flea-biten carcasses over to that bed, and set to make a stretcher, ye curs!"

As Emil bandaged the strange fur's injured leg, and others made up a stretcher from what was left of the bed, a sharp whistle came from the deck. As I emerged, I was met by a crew who handed me a telescope and pointed out in that direction. I trained the scope in the indicated direction, scanned the horizon, and...wait...there...masts! I watched them long enough to see they were coming this way.

I sent the furs that had stayed on watch on deck down into our boat, and ducked back into the room. "Time to break up this little party, everyfur! Company's a-coming, and I don't want to be around to play hostess, not here! Let's get our guest into boat and get back to the Sea Fury!"

A couple of burly furs took the ends of the make-do stretcher and carried it out onto deck, followed by the rest of us. Emil scrambled down to the boat while we secured some lines to the stretcher, and carefully lowered it down. Then we followed, cut ourselves adrift from the wrecked ship, and heaved our way to our own. Wasted trip, I thought. Except for our mystery guest. I wonder who she is?

Interlude-A ship drew up to the wrecked and abandoned vessel as the stately galleon sailed away. A boarding party crossed over and looked about in shock and amazement, muttering sadly and shooting occasional glances at a coyote in their midst. He was a successful merchant, a dealer in rare herbs and spices, yet though he was wealthy now, much care and sorrow lined his face, a map of past griefs and burdens. A long scar creased his face. On this ship was the one thing that made his life worthwhile, and to see that very treasure's ship, wrecked and ruined, was a blow terrible to contemplate. He dashed down belowdecks, to the Great Cabin, and saw nothing but a pile of dust where the door should be. Within, he found the bed smashed to bits, the sheeting ripped to shreds, and no sign of what he was looking for. He begged, he pleaded, he demanded an answer of the Powers, to learn who had done this thing.

The coyote and his boarding crew returned to his ship, and cut loose the ruined vessel, to drift wherever she would with the currents until the ocean would enfold her in her depths. The captain approached the coyote hesitantly. He'd seen his employer in dark moods before, but never so black as this.

"Sir? We were able to get a look at that galleon's colors 'fore she dropped out of sight...its the Sea Fury..."

"Sea Fury?, the coyote growled.

"That's right, sir, commanded by Captain Trel'la...she a notorious pirate, right enough, but I've never heard tell of her doing anything like this. She's usually fairly compassionate to wounded and noncombatants..."

The coyote fixed his gaze on where the ship the captain identified was last seen. "Can you catch up to it, captain? Can you run her down?"

"Not a chance, sir, not by a long sea mile. We could tack about all day and never catch her.", the captain sighed.

The coyote snarled. "This isn't over, Trel'la. You've taked my heart, my Aili, from me, and I'll take yours from you! I shall see you dead for what you've done to me, no matter the cost, no matter the time...I'm coming after you!" So Kickaha swore, and so he meant to do...-end interlude

Once we got back to the Sea Fury, we bustled the injured fur down to Emil's offices, the Sick Bay. Emil's mate, Seelen, was down there waiting for him, and together they had our visitor placed on an operating table. Once they had her settled, they set to work, preparing the necessary instructments and concoctions to help heal this strange fur. In the meantime, I sent Mange and the stretcher party up aloft, giving the quartermaster orders to sail to Isla Vela, one of our secret hiding places, and leaving the ship in his capable paws. Far and I stayed in the Sick Bay, to watch Emil and Seelen at work.

My mate, being a ferret, had a lot of questions about our new guest. "Who do you suppose she is, Love? What was she doing on that ship?"

"I don't know...I checked in...well, I guess those were her quarters, but I couldn't find any papers identifying her, and there's hardly any place where she could conceal any papers on her garb..."

Meanwhile, Seelen was preparing a strange cotton cone, very porous, and slipped a sponge into its tip, the sponge being soaked in a special preparation. They both explained it to me one time. Fitted over a fur's muzzle, the preparation induced a deep sleep, allowing them to work untroubled by the patient's thrashings. I regarded this device, simple though it was, to be nothing less than a miracle.

Seelen fitted the cone loosely over the fur's muzzle, then as Emil pulled out the splinters that were lodged in the strange cat's body, Seelen cleaned the wounds and stitched them closed, most of the wounds requiring no more than a couple stitches. It was strange, watching these two work so harmoniously together, Emil a squirrel and Seelen a fox, performing their healing tasks as a perfect team, not even needing words to communicate. The slightest glance, the twtich of a tail, and one or the other would be right where they were needed.

Ointment was spread onto the patches of bare skin, where the fur burned off. The burns, Emil told me later, weren't nearly as bad as first, and should heal nicely. Then, having dealt with the splinters and the burns, they turned their attention to the injured leg. Seelen flexed the leg, and Emil set it, placing the bones in their proper place, then they both worked a splint around her leg.

As Emil washed up after his efforts, he explained about his patient. "Well, she's not in near as bad shape as we first thought, whoever she is. The splinter wounds were superficial, and the burns very minor. They'll all heal up nicely. Her main problem's going to be that leg, but if she's kept off it, it, too, should heal properly. Oh, and she'll need to rest in someplace soft and airy, and I'm afraid the only place like that on this ship is..."

Far and I glanced at each other. What Emil was hinting at so broadly was placing the stranger in our cabin for awhile, which meant, of course, giving up our bed to her. Our nice, big, soft, cozy bed. I sighed, but my mate took the news philosophically. "Well, at least that'll give us an excuse to try out our new extra-large hammock, Love..." I smirked at Far and gave him a playful paff with my tail.

"Hate to ruin your plans", Seelen added, "but one or the other of you should be with her at all times..."

"What?", I hissed. "You mean to say that not only will we have to give up our bed, we'll have to be cel...cele..." I simply could not bring myself to say that word.

"'S'right, Cap'n. 'Course, I suppose you and Far could come up with some sort of accomodation, maybe with that big leather chair (hey, wait a minute...how did they know about that?), but do you really want our guest's first impression of you both based on finding the two of you entwined in mucky passion?" For some reason, both Emil and Seelen were finding this hilariously funny.

"She'd better wake up soon...", I muttered under my breath. Then I sighed, and gave in to the circumstances. "Oh, all right, get her up to bed. Sink me, but its going to be a long wait."

So, there she was, in our bed, and Far and I were taking it in turns run the ship, sleep, and watch over our fitfully sleeping charge. She would thrash around and moan, most of her word unintelligible, but she kept repeating one word over and over that we could understand..."kick, kick, kick..." Whether someone was kicking her, or she was kicking something or someone in her disturbed slumber, neither Far nor I knew. What we did know, however, was that her unconcious struggles could worsen her condition. So, to soothe her and settle her down, Far during his watch would cast little calming spells over her, and during my own watch, I would sing to her softly. My mate had the easier time of it, for while I do have a good enough voice for singing, most of the songs I know are either pirate shanties, or rather naughty tavern songs...and I hardly thought "Gelding of the Devil" or "Oyster Nan" suitable for the situation. Fortunately, I had dragged Far off to see "Beggar's Opera so many times that I had most of those songs memorized. It wouldn't have surprised me if our guest awoke with the strains of "Over the Hills and Far Away" coming from her lips, becasue she was certainly hearing it often enough from mine.

I was on deck, running the ship. We were about a day from Isla Vela, where we would take on food and water. We were making leisurely sail, since I saw no particular need for hurry. Far was in the cabin, watching over our "roomie", and it is from him that I recieved the following account.

Our guest, you see, woke! My mate first heard some low moans, and thought she was just getting restless in her sleep again. So, he leaned over her and started another calming spell for her...which instantly went poof when he saw her eyes open.

Since the very first thing she saw upon waking was a blue ferret, its no surprise the first thing she said was a rather confused and weak, "W-who?..." Her eyes drifted about the chamber, and as she saw that it was not the same chambers she knew the last time she was awake, she started to struggle weakly. Far tried to reassure her.

"First, you're completely safe. You aren't on the ship you knew, its true...we found it adrift and abandoned but for you. You were injured, so we brought you onto ours. We patched you up, and so here you are! I'm Faranus, by the way..."

Well, I don't know if she thought it a boring conversation, or she became exhausted watching a rather bouncy ferret, or if she was just suffering the effects of her recent unpleasant experiences, but whatever it was, our guest lapsed back into sleep, out faster than a candle in a hurricane. But the important thing, as my mate instantly recognized, was that our visitor did wake up, however briefly, and was able to speak. When he told me that, we both breathed a sigh of relief, for we knew then she'd be all right, and would most likely make a full recovery.

The next time she woke, Far was taking his turn out on deck, and I was in the cabin. It was late, and dark, a very black night but for the stars glittering diamond-like far above. I had taken my mate some steamy hot tea and a cup of broth, and we cuddled lovingly for a while before I went into the cabin to take my turn watching over our guest. I put fire to the lamp-wicks, adjusted them till the light suited my eyes, and settled myself down with some old charts I had picked up at St. Kitts. I collect these antique maps because their original owners might have deposited a bundle of goodies in a sweet,tropical beach someplace, marked the location on their chart, but never got around to returning to collect their swag. So far, none of my maps yielded any results, but it was one way to pass the time.

I settled into the big chair, pulled my legs up, and covered myself with a light blanket, when I heard a low and light moan coming from the bed. I paused in my chair, wondering if our new friend was beginning to wake, or if she was just dreaming. My ears swiveled about, focusing on her, and I went still, even to holding my breath...then I heard her stir slightly, and I knew she was waking.

I hopped out of the chair, padded to the bed on soft feline feet, and sat on it next to the awakening cat, and took her paw in mine.

"How are you feeling?", I whispered. Not a very inspired opening line, but it seemed to fit the occasion. She was startled, her eyes flying open and looking about the room, then at me, wildly. "Shhhhhh...", I comforted and soothed, "It's alright, you're safe here, no one's going to hurt you. How are you?"

She put a paw to her head and rubbed it lightly, and she closed her eyes briefly before speaking.

"Tired...", she said weakly. "Tired, confused, and I hurt all over...and I...I'm hungry, too...Where am I?"

"You're on the galleon Sea Fury. We found you injured on your own ship, and since it was a sinking wreck, we brought you here. Oh, and don't try to move around too much, your leg is broken. But our doctor assures me its a clean break, and since we set it in good time, it should heal up just fine."

She smiled at me weakly. "Thank you for rescuing me. Sorry for all the trouble I've caused. Oh, and I'm Ailuro, by the way..."

Ailuro! Well, at least our guest had a name! "I'm very pleased to meet you, Ailuro, and glad to be of help. You weren't any trouble at all. I'm Captain Trel'la."

"Captain Trel'la? I don't think I've heard of you...still, thank you again for all you've done for me", she said.

My whiskers twitched. Hadn't heard...of me?! Hadn't heard of the most famous and noted pirate in these waters?! The pirate Spanish mothers scare their kits and kittens with, and adolescents dream about? As you might have guessed, I was a bit annoyed. I mean, I plunder ships, sack cities, make a complete nuisance of myself on the shipping lanes, and here this cat, scarecly out of kittenhood, hadn't heard of me? Hmph!!!

Still, I suppose it wasn't her fault. But I wondered what sort of reaction I'd get when she finds out I'm a pirate, and she's on a pirate ship. Then I realized something Ailuro said...she's hungry!

"Let me go get you something to eat. I'm afraid you'll have to settle for broth for a bit...doctor's orders, you know", I explained.

"That's all right", she replied, "I think that's about all I can manage for now. Oh, before you go, I...I seem to remember seeing a ferret...but a blue one! I guess it was just a dream, though..."

I smiled. "No, no dream...well, in a sense, it is a dream...a warm and wonderful dream. That blue ferret, you see, is my mate, Faranus. And a more perfect mate I simply can't imagine...now, you rest easy while I get your food..."

I left the cabin and gave Far a quick cuddle on the way to the galley. "She's awake again, Love", I told him. "And she was asking about you, too!", I giggled. "Oh, and I learned her name...its Ailuro. I'm just off to fetch her some broth..."

I left my mate with a kiss, and headed down to the galley. Nyghtfyre was there, the ship's all purpose domestic. She was a young bunny we had saved from circumstances dire even for her, and while she doesn't have the aggressive heart for piracy, she's good in the kitchen, and she decided freely to stay on with us. The only trouble is, she doesn't really understand carnivore tastes and nutritional needs, and the first meal she made for us was a carrot soup. With lots of carrots, and no meat. She got a spanking for that little mistake, but that's a story for another time.

"Nyght, I need a beef broth made up quick-and no games, if you please, lill bunny! It's for our new passenger, the one we took off that wreck of a ship. She's awake now, and hungry." "Oh! That's wonderful news, Mistress!", she exclaimed. She always called me mistress, even when she's...well, unrestrained.

She opened up a large pot simmering on the fire. From it issued a delicious scent. "I always keep a pot of soup going, for those rainy nights, you know..."

She ladled out a bowlful of the dark, steamy broth. I took it, my paws protected by a towel. I'd have given Nyght's fanny a sharp smack, but my paws were full at the moment. So I thanked her, and went back up to deck and into the cabin, where I found Ailuro lightly sleeping. Not wishing to disturb the injured feline, I placed the bowl within easy reach, covering it with the towel to keep it warm, and to keep out any nasty crawly things. Then I slipped quietly out, discoussed her condition with Emil, Seelen and Far, and gave a report on her to the rest of the crew.

Well, time passed, as it usually does. We took on water and food at Isla Vela as planned, and thats where I ran into a problem. You see, we are pirates, after all, the scum of the sea and all that, and we exist to rob and plunder ships. But with Ailuro on board, I didn't feel comfortable going hunting, slinging shot with other ships, and possibly injuring our guest anew. For one thing, I had no idea how much she was worth. I wasn't planning on holding her for hostage against her will, you have to understand...I just don't work like that. But if, on the other hand, there just happened to be a reward offered, why then, I could see no harm in collecting it. And if there was no value to her? Well, in that case, we'd simply drop her off at some half-way civilized port, with enough money to see her well on her way, once she's mostly recovered.

Another problem was that Ailuro was beginning to get a bit restless. Far and I had absolutely insisted she stay flat for about a week or so, out of concern for her leg and other injuries. But as she healed, her desire to be out and about, even if it was just to sit out on deck, grew. Which meant that, sooner or later, she'd find out we're a bunch of pirates.

"You are WHAT?!", Ailuro shrilled. It was a sweet and pleasant day, warm and clear. Far and I, after consulting with Emil, decided to air our guest, and allow her some carefully supervised exercise. We were lounging, sipping some iced tea, when Ailuro observed, "Trel'la, it doesn't look like your crew's very active...I mean, most of them aren't doing anything!",p> And it was true. The gentry, that is, the skilled paws, the carpenter and the sail-maker in this case, were busy at their employ, but otherwise the crew was pretty idle. Some were on deck, taking the sun, others were below, watching the inboard puppet show. There was no one holystoning the decks, stuck up in the riggings turning green, or doing any other of those silly tasks that are meant to keep sea-furs busy on "regular" ships.

This struck Aili as a bit odd, all this inactivity. She wasn't an experienced sea-going traveller, but had heard and seen enough to know ships' crews are supposed to be busier than this.

"Well, you know, Aili, we're not like other ships. We're rather more casual about things, and we don't really hold with all that busy work", I mentioned.

"Say, I don't think you or Far ever mentioned just what it is you actually do. I mean, I can see this ship isn't a simple merchant ship, because its got lots of guns, but its not really a fighting ship, because I've never seen any uniforms...", Aili pondered.

Oh, dear. Come on, Trel'la, think, you silly kitty! Surely you can come up with something that sounds nice and innocent. It didn't help my concentration that I could see Far barely hiding a smirk behind his paw. It was almost as if he were challanging me, almost saying, "All right, Trel, lets see you talk your way out of this one!"

"Umm...well, what we are, Aili, what we do...we...we're ocean-going trans-shippers. What we do, you see, is we meet various ships, transfer their cargoes to ours, then we take it on to its destination. That way, its less wear on either ship. Very economical", I tried to explain.

I was congradulating myself on what seemed a plausible explanation, so I didn't see Aili's look of intense concentration as she mulled over what I said. Then the scales fell from her, and thus, her outburst.

"Looks like your brilliant ploy didn't work, Love. Nice try, though. Ailuro, we are pirates...plunderers of the oceans, sea-thieves...buccaneers", Far added.

Aili looked quite shocked. "But...but that's...that's illegal!"

"Well, technically illegal, yes. But often that wealth is acquired by its owners through means of dubious morality. In many cases, we are no more dishonest than the rest of furkind", I pointed out.

"Yes, but...my mate, Kick...what about his ships?" I should explain that during Aili's recovery, when we didn't let her out, we talked quite a lot, and found out that the "kick" she uttered while unconscience, and which had so puzzled us, referred to her mate, Kickaha. He was a merchant in a variety of rare herbs and spices, so his ships would be a likely target for us. Cut-rate spices are a sure sale.

I assured her that, to the best of my memory, which is pretty good when it comes to what ships I've taken, I've never looted any of her mate's vessels.

She was still troubled by the immorality of our line of work, not to mention the illegality of it. So I tried to explain to her that we were, in the common course of things, we were more honest than most, since we rob openly, under the protection of our own courage, and not under the shelter of laws that protect some weedy landsfur cheating their victims. Aili didn't seem entirely convinced. Well, can't convince everyone, I suppose.

Interlude

A large, grim coyote walked into the only printing office in Port Royale, and tapped on the counter with his cane. A young fox, the printer's apprentice, came running out of the back room. He wiped his ink-smeared paws on his apron.

"May I help you, good sir?", the fox asked hesitantly. He was intimidated by the figure standing before. There was a long scar running along the side of his face, and an air of grim purpose about him.

"I wish to publish this ad in the papers, and I also wish some posters made up with the same information. Here is the text of the ad."

The coyote handed the fox a slip of paper with something scrawled on it. The fox looked it over, shrugged (he'd seen far stranger things furs wanted to place in the classifieds...) He tallied up the charge, and the coyote paid in full, in gold. The mysterious coyote left, and the fox returned to the back room and started to set his type.-end of Interlude

We Brethren of the Coast maintain several small islands as postal drops, where letters, newspapers, and other such material is left for other ships. We stopped at one such island, picked up the packet that was left there, and dropped off some used papers and mail of our own.

The papers we picked up were mostly pretty threadbare...pictures, articles, and coupons clipped out, but there were a few recent Daily Look'ee's that were reasonably intact. I claimed them for myself, and let the crew fight over the rest. I shared out the booty with Far and Aili, and we all settled in for an afternoon's reading.

I was looking over the editorials ("Just say no to rum", "DuPont-Better powder for better piracy") when Far and I were startled by an excited yelp from Aili. She jumped up, rustling her paper, and pointed breathlessly at a full page advertisement.

and a lengthy description that it was our Aili that was being described.

The advertisement went on to say that a sizable reward was being offered for her safe return. All replies were to be addressed to Kickaha, Port Royale. From Aili's evident excitement, this was the self-same Kickaha that was her mate. At that instant, I issued orders to bring us about for Port Royale, full sail. This was just the thing I was hoping for...I could get Aili home, AND earn a nice bit of a reward as well. Made me feel right good, it did.

"Aili, we'll take you right home. We'll get you back to your Kick as fast as we can."

Aili smiled widely, and kissed both Far and myself. Then her face went serious, and she asked, "Trel? If...if there wasn't a reward...what would have happened to me?"

I took her paw in mine, and gazed deep in her eyes. "Aili, you MUST believe me when I tell you...you'd still be going home...maybe not quite so fast, but we'd still take you home."

Aili smiled. "I KNEW it! You and Far may be pirates, but you're still good furs...all of you..."

A few days pleasant and quiet sailing brought us into Port Royal, with out any incident, unfortunately. As we got closer to port, Aili became increasingly excited, until we had to threaten to tie her down. The threat only had the effect of sending her into a bout of giggles that left her helpless.

We tied fast at the docks, and I decided to send the entire crew on shore leave, excepting a small skeleton crew to guard and maintain the ship. They'd get their turn for a blow- out carouse later.

I decided it would be safer to leave Aili on board with Far while I went in search of her mate. I had an address to look for, and I knew the town, so I ventured forth, thinking no harm. I strolled along Lime Street, paying no attention to anything but the addresses on each building and my own dreams of golden rewards. So it was I didn't notice the figure that stepped out in front of me until he spoke.

"Where's Aili? Where's my mate? What did you do with her back on that ship?" a cold voice demanded. I finally noticed the speaker, a tall coyote, a scar running along his muzzle, and a cane in his paw. His other paw was resting casually on the sword he carried. Form all appearences, this was Aili's mate, Kickaha, but he didn't seem at all happy to see me. I thought I had better explain.

"Sir coyote, we have..." I got no farther, because my eyes went wide as Kickaha drew his blade and came on his guard quite expertly. This was certainly not the welcome I had expected, and I had no idea what this crazy coyote was up to, but he had drawn steel. I drew mine in turn and took up my stance.

"You...you pirates! Always robbing, always looting, always hurting! Its about time someone did something about you! You took my Aili from me! Can you give her back to me? Can you?!" He was almost ranting, but I had no time to discover what bee got under his bonnet, as he charged me without hesitation, his blade clashing against mine. I went into pirate mode, and studied his style as I defended myself. He knew what he was doing with his sword, that was certain. But he had a limp that would hinder him, if I could take advantage of it. He was also very strong, which meant he might have a good endurance. All in all, I was in trouble and I knew it.

Then there was no more time for words or thought, as we well and truly mixed it up. Both swords were a blur as they rang and hissed against one another. I essayed an attack, against which he defended. He ventured an attack, which I fended off. Thrusts and parries were traded. I had the greater skill, but he had the greater strength, so we were well matched. Passers-by paused briefly to watch our duel, but swordfights are very common in Port Royal, especially along the waterfront.

At least one of those passers-by seemed more curious than the others about the fight. I caught a flash of blue, but I was too busy to pay it much heed, and continued with the deadly work at hand. Then I heard a voice, a female voice, shout, "Kickaha! What are you doing?!"

Kickaha did a very creditable imitation of a beached fish with his mouth gaping open in astonishment. Rushing up to him was Ailuro herself, and she was certainly in a fine state. "Kick, what are you doing, fighting with Trel'la? She saved my life!" You crazy coyote, put up your steel..."

The coyote didn't sheathe his blade, but I didn't mind, as it was dangling quite uselessly by his side as he gazed at the feline. It fell from his grasp and clanged to the street as he took a step forward, then another, and Kickaha and Aili were in each other's arms.

I was hardly less astonished than the coyote. I had left Aili on the Sea Fury. How did she get here? I left her with Far, and surely he would not have been so careless as to...

"I'm very sorry, Love, but I just couldn't keep her on board." I jumped in my surprise. There was Far next to me! That flash of blue I saw while fighting Kickaha...it was my mate. "I tried to keep her on ship, Love, but she just wouldn't stay put. So, instead of letting her wander all over town by herself, I decided it would be best if I escorted her. Good thing, too...you just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you, Love?", Far explained.

Kickaha and Aili must have been doing some talking while Far was explaining things to me, because the next thing I knew, there was the coyote kneeling before me.

"Captain Trel'la, please accept my sincerest and deepest apologies. I thought Aili was lost to me forever, that I'd never see her again...I just focused on revenge. I'm so very sorry for the trouble I've caused". The coyote was profouse in his apologies. I could certainly understand his situation. If something happened to Far...well, I'm sure I'd not be fit to be let out. So, I accepted Kick's apologies without hesitation.

"Captain, there's just one thing I'd like to know...", the coyote inquired. "Aili's told me you rescued her, but she hasn't said how. Just how did it all happen?"

"You want the whole story, Kickaha? Well, its a little bit involved to go into out here in the street. Look, the Fractured Frog is close by, why don't we go there and I'll tell you everything", I suggested.

Kick looked shocked. "The Fractured Frog? But only brigands and sea thieves frequent...oh..." The coyote realized what he was saying, and looked very embarressed. I've heard that humans turn red when they find themselves compromised. If Kick were human, he'd be turning red now.

"But Kick...I am a brigand, a sea thief...a pirate. Besides, the Frog isn't really that bad...they've even started cleaning the tables...and you do want to hear how I saved your mate, don't you?"

So we found ourselves seated in a dark booth in the Fractured Frog; Aili, Faranus, Kickaha, and myself. The tavern was not too busy, but then, it was early for most of the regular patrons. We got ourselves settled down, ordered our drinks, then I commenced enlightening Kick on how we came to save Aili. The feline took long sips of her drink and shivered as unpleasant memories rose to the surface, and she huddled close to her coyote for comfort and security. Kick himself was full amazed.

"You're right, Trel'la...a ship being so utterly cleaned out like that is very rare," Kick observed after I had finished. "I've taken my loses from pirates before, and they generally leave some of the crew on board...and Aili was saved only by a blocked door and your own timely arrival. Trel'la, Far...I owe you so much...this is a debt I can never repay. But who could have done this?"

I shrugged. I hadn't the slightest idea. But apparently Far did, for he said, "I've been doing some thinking about that. Consider that we have a pirate that leaves behind no bodies, no wounded, probably heaves everyone over the side, is vicious...sound familiar?"

I mulled over the points my mate was ticking off. A name came to me, a name of evil repute. "Love...are you thinking it might have been El Diablo? Do y'mean to tell me we were that close to catching up with that crazy nutcase?" I groaned in dismay as I thought on the reward money that thereby slipped out from between my fingers.

Aili had no idea of who we were talking about. But Kick's face transformed utterly on hearing the name of El Diablo. His face went dark with barely suppressed rage, and his eyes burned hate.

Aili looked at her mate in concern as he sat shaking in his anger. "Kick? Kick, what's wrong?"

The coyote calmed himself enough to explain. "Aili, I never told you how I got this scar and my limp." The coyote ran a finger over the long scar that creased his muzzle. His face clouded at the dark memories as he bagan his tale.

"I was working off the last of my apprenticeship to Mr. Braithewaite, a kindly old human who taught me the trade of a merchant. It was my first major voyage, from the Carolinas down to Bermuda, and I was loving every minute of it. We were carrying a cargo of rice, cloth, and indigo, so we were looking at some profit at the end of the trip. We were running down along the Turks when we spotted another ship coming for us. Before any of us knew what was what, they had fired on us and boarded, and it was swords out. I didn't know much of fencing then, and was just barely managing to defend myself when their captain, a large and wild wolverine charged me, traded blows, and I felt his blade sear its way across my muzzle. I lost all awareness, and next I remember, I was on their pirate ship. It was not pleasant...they...did things to me...tortured me...they broke this leg, and its never healed properly. One night off St. Kitts, I took my chance, and slipped off that cursed ship. I never thought to survive the swim to the island, but there were some palm logs floating by, and I managed to get to the beach with them. I've survived, prospered, and loved, but never have I forgot the name of the fur that did this to me...El Diablo. I thought all pirates were like him, but you, Far and Trel'la, have shown me otherwise."

My mate and I were lost in thought at this doleful story, and Aili was in tears, which Kick kissed away. Then he turned to me.

"Captain Trel'la, I hereby and at this moment offer you a commision to go forth, seek out, pursue, and capture or kill this infamous pirate, El Diablo. If you do not accept, I'll think no harm, but I will find somefur who will, so it might as well be you. What say you?"

I glanced at Far, but he just shrugged, as if to say, "You're the captain, its your call..." Well, we didn't have anything better to do, and there was that reward for El Diablo. I sighed and thought, "Well, there goes shore leave...", and I accepted Kickaha's offer.

"Thank you, Trel'la," the coyote exclaimed. "I'll have the papers drawn up quick...we can haggle over sharing out the prize money later, but you'll be getting the bulk of it. For myself, I just want the satisfaction of seeing El Diablo swinging from a gibbit...or seeing his cursed head on a pike! Aili, we'll have to find a good place for you to lodge until we return."

"That's not necessary, Kick," Ailuro responded, "I'll be coming with you."

Kick looked at his mate aghast, his whiskers twitching nervously. "No, Aili, no! It'll be a long hunt, with a hot fight at its end. And you've been through so much already! Its dangerous, Aili, and I'd feel much better knowing you were safe..."

Aili was having none of it. "Now listen, buster, if you think I'm going to let you go chasing off after mad wolverines, going into who knows what sort of trouble, without me to watch over you, you can ruddy well think again! I'm going with you, Kick, and that's all there is to it!" Kick opened his muzzle to protest, but shut it when he saw Aili's determined look. Far settled the bill, and the four of us headed back to the Sea Fury, Kick planning on drawing up the legal papers of the commision while on board. It took a bit of time to round up the crew from the haunts and hells of waterfront Port Royale, but we had everyfur together and the ship underway before nightfall.

Far whispered something in my ear, I nodded, and turned to Kick and Aili, who were standing with us on the quaterdeck of the Sea Fury. "Umm...Kick, Aili...", I began, "it occurs to us that...well, with everything that's happened today, you've had no time nor chance for a proper reunion. We're offering you our great cabin for the duration of this cruise."

Aili started to protest, but I raised a paw to cut her off. "Don't worry about us, we have a spare cabin we can use. Now you two just go on in, make yourself at home in there...just don't break anything in your...exertions" Kick smiled, Aili embraced both Far and myself, then they vanished into the cabin for the night, paw in paw. As for Far and I...after I had checked to make sure the sharp end of the ship was going in the correct direction, and the night crew understood their instructions, we sloped off to the spare cabin. It had been a long day for all of us.

They say time flies when you're having fun. Time wasn't flying for us on the Sea Fury. ays were drawing into weeks, and we had no sign of El Diablo. Since we were not taking any other ships, the crew was getting just a bit restive, despite Kick's promise of an extremely generous reward. The crew wanted action, and they wanted it yesterday!

So, you can be sure my ears perked up and my tail twitched when we spotted some wreckage floating by. Spars, bits of planking...nothing much to look at by itself, and they could be relics of a storm, since it was hurricane season. Far extended his magick, and assured me there had been no storm through these waters recently.

As we sailed on, we encountered more wreckage. A suspicion was forming in my mind, as it seemed the debris was forming a trail, leading us to...where? I needed to know where all this flotsam was from, and if what I was thinking was indeed correct. I told my mate what I had in mind, since he'd certainly be involved, and he agreed.

Thus it was, next day, we dropped a boat and retrieved some of the wreckage. I had it gathered in a dripping pile amidships, and assembled the entire crew.

"Right, you all know whats going on," I addressed them. "We're going after El Diablo, and we've not stopped to take any other prizes because we can't afford the loss of time." That, and the fact that I didn't want to offend Kickaha by practicing the trade while he was aboard. "Up until now, we've seen never a trace, not a hint, of El Diablo. But now we've got all this junk floating by," I gestured to the pile of debris, "and I believe its a trail leading us to our prey. But I could be wrong. It could just be wreckage from some idiots that doesn't know these waters. We need to find out the truth. Far's agreed to find out what happened to all this planking with his magick, so we may know just what we're following."

Far selected a piece of wood randomly from the pile. He sat crosslegged and cradled the planking in his paws, bending over it. Kick and Aili watched with rapt attention, never having seen my mate perform any magick. Even I, who had seen similar feats before, could not forbear watching my mate, partly out of fascination, partly out of concern. Far explained to me once that magick, like piracy, has its risks.

A haze of blue energy surrounded Far as he concentrated. He traced out patterns on the wood with his claw-tip, and uttered words in a language I could not understand. A fog appeared in front of my mate, and in it drifted the image of a large ship, engaged in battle with a smaller vessel. The scene was not very clear, but unmistakable was the blood red banner of no quarter flying over the larger ship. Of all the pirates, and all the nations of the earth, I knew of only one that flew such a flag consistently-El Diablo. My suspicions were confirmed...we were on the trail of destruction left by that crazy wolverine and his ship, the Vulture.

A sea breeze dissipated the fog and the image. Far groaned, and I was by him in an instant with a tankard of clean, cold water. He swallowed it greedily, then looked out beyond to where yet more debris floated by.

"Its a trail, right enough," he spoke quietly, weary after his excersions. "Follow it, and you're bound to catch up to El Diablo."

I gave my mate a quick kiss, then bellowed orders. "Right, you furs, get your flea- chewed tails moving! Mange, send some aloft, I want full sails! Now we know how to find El Diablo, I don't want to lose him!. Helm, your course is that trail of flotsam-follow it! Kick, whistle us up a wind to fill those sails, would you?"

The crew flew into action, some scrambling up to unfurl our sails, spreading every inch of canvas to catch the wind, others preparing the big guns for action, and even those who could do nothing better helped by singing shanties.

"Far, Love, about how far away is the Vulture? Could you tell?" I asked my mate. "I'm afraid not, Love," he replied. "We could spot El Diablo three minutes from now, or three days. I got the impression he was close, but how close..." Far shrugged.

Well, there was nothing for it but to wait and run our course along the trail, and hope for the best. So we sailed on. Day fell into night, and on we went. I took the wheel myself, not wishing to miss any sign, any hint, of our prey. Then, just as the sun was peeking over the eastern horizon, the lookout shouted, "Sail ho!"

Yes, there it was, just barely seen over the horizon. It could have been any ship, of course, but I was certainly hoping it was El Diablo. I clanged the large bell that stood by the wheel, to rouse up the crew. They scrambled up from below, pulling on various articles of clothes. I took a course to tack about, catching the most favorable breeze to bring us to up to the other ship as quickly as possible. A direct course, straight on to that ship, was not possible with the prevailing wind.

My mate emerged from the spare cabin, and Kick and Aili came forth from ours. "Long night, Love?," he asked.

"Very long, but look what we've found," and I pointed out to the sails. A little more of them could now be seen. We were gaining a little, just a little.

"Is it El Diablo?" Kick and Far asked at the same time. I could only nod, since I felt the breeze change and steered accordingly. Then a thought occured to me.

"Aili, could you go down to the galley and ask Nyghtfyre to serve up a hot breakfast to everyfur? Might be a long day today. After that, Aili, I want you to go and stay in the Sick Bay...it'll be safest there."

Ailuro immediately protested. "No, I want to stay here, with Kick. He's my mate, I can't leave him!"

I was about to say something, when Kick embraced his mate. "Now, love, you'd better do as Trel'la says. Shi's the captain, after all. I know you want to stay here, but it won't be safe, and I'd feel a lot better knowing you were someplace secure. Go on, get on with you, I'll be alright."

Aili still hesitated, so I went to her. I reassured her, "Aili, I promise, we'll take the best of care of Kick. We'll make sure nothing happens to him." It wasn't entirely honest of me, because in battle, one tends to lose track of individuals, and of course, anything can happen at any time, but no point in upsetting Aili by telling her that. And my assurances seemed to work, because Aili, after a last long kiss with Kick, went below.

Soon Nyght emerged from the depths of the ship, and with the help of a couple of young assistants, she began to hand out a hot, nurishing breakfast to each and every fur. When she offered me a bowl, I waved it away impatiently...I was too busy concentrating, keeping track of the enemy, of the wind, of the current, to think about food. Then I felt a rough poking in my side, and I turned with a snarl.

It was Far, unfazed by my show of temper. He was holding two bowls of food. He thrust one at me and commanded, "Eat. You're not going to do any fur any good if you get hungry in the middle of a battle."

I sighed as I lost my concentration, but my mate was right. And this wasn't the first time he had to remind me about eating before battle.

While I ate, I summoned Emil and Seelen up from sickbay and informed them of the chase. I instructed them to make ready to receive casualties. In most of our battles the prey usually gives up after a broadside or two, but this fight would be different. We were after other pirates, who had nothing to lose by fighting to the death. We would take injuries, and some of us would be killed. I wanted our two doctors to be ready. I could only hope that I'd be ready.

Well, I'd be finding out sooner than I thought. For I could see that the Vulture was coming about and taking up a new direction. It was tacking about, heading for us. I left half my breakfast in its bowl as I sent Emil, Seelen and NyghtFyre scrambling back into the ship, and I sent Far down to check on the gun crews. Once action commenced, I'd have to rely on the skill of our gunner, a grizzled and experienced wolf. I had our sharpshooters load up and scramble to the fighting tops, platforms up on the masts where they could fire down onto the other ship, and toss grenades and smudgepots down on them. Everything was ready, decks cleared for action, and all we could do was wait for the range to close. El Diablo's ship was coming nearer and nearer.

Then a thonderous boom sounded across the waters, and a towering splash formed off to larboard. "Long 32?" my mate asked. I nodded. El Diablo had himself a long range cannon, and was using to take pot shots at us, hoping to cause damage and injury before we got within range of our own guns. Fat chance of that, with me tacking about for position, El Diablo couldn't hit us if we were the Governor's Palace afloat.

A runner came dashing up from the gun decks. He gave me a hasty salute. "Cap'n, gunner wants to know if we should return fire...", he panted.

"Tell gunner to load up, and wait for my word," I instructed. Carronades threw a lot of weight, but they're strictly short range weapons. I wanted to hold me fire until we were in the best position for an opening broadside.

The Vulture continued its fire on us as both ships danced around. Then I saw my chance, and I threw the helm hard over. I bellowed out, "Run out'cher guns!" at the very top of my voice, just loud enough for the crews manning the guns to hear, as we moved toward the enemy's stern.

Far grinned at me as he saw what I was up to. The enemy knew too, from the scrambling activity on their deck. There was nothing they could do to escape the plain and simple fact that I was about to rake their stern.

And now I had to trust in my gunner. I could see, within my own mind, the activity down in the gun decks, and the commands to prime and point the guns, as our broadside came square across the Vulture's stern.

I muttered to myself, praying that grey wolf below could hear me. "Wait for it...wait for the uproll...wait for it..." I felt the ship rise up under me. "Now! Give it to 'em, give it all to 'em! Fire!"

At that very moment, the entire side of our ship erupted into a wall of fire, and the Sea Fury moved several feet to the side as heavy iron balls flew away and smashed into the Vulture's stern at 1200 feet per second. Splinters exploded out from the striken ship as the balls tumbled and tore their way along the entire length of the ship.

And so the battle was joined. The furs up in the fighting tops added their fire to the terrible roar of the cannon. They set about shooting at each other, those in our masts and those in the enemy's, waging their own fierce little war, each trying to clear the other from the tops to be able to fire unmolested onto the decks below.

I put the Sea Fury on a course to rake the bow of the Vulture, but to do so, I had to run past El Diablo's guns, and I was sure he would not scruple at the opportunity to fire on us.

An almighty roar filled the entire world, and our breath was stolen from our lungs as fire and smoke belched from the enemy's guns. Now it was our turn to receive the deadly iron missles as they crashed into us. A cloud of splinters raged amongst the decks, tearing into flesh and ripping muscle. Screams of pain and surprise rose from below, and I could only hope that our injuries were minimal, and our guns were still being served.

Down below, despite the nightmare of blood and gore, fresh charges were rammed down the guns' muzzles, wads, balls, and wads again to seal the lot were slammed into the breeches, and as we crossed El Diablo's bow, we fired again, further gutting the insides of his ship. But I had miscalculated, and was too close to his ship, and our two galleons crashed into each other.

Far could see what was happening, and gave his commands to boarding parties. Grapnels were thrown over, tying our ships together. It seemed our furs on the tops had won out in their battle, for some of the Vulture's crews were falling from fire coming from aloft.

Far roared out, "Boarders!" He waved his sword. "Away, boarders!", and we swung and scrambled over to El Diablo's ship. It was cutlass and pistol work now, with little time to think.

At times like this, its hard to keep track of the principals involved. I could just see a flash of blue fur off to my side someplace, and Kick...well, I couldn't see him at all, although I knew he swung over onto the Vulture, as handily as any buccaneer.

And then there was nothing to do but get stuck in. Steel flickered and struck, knives flashed, pistols spat and muskets barked, and furs on both sides dropped down wounded, and, in extreme cases, dead. I found myself facing a large, muscular bear, and I caught him on the side of his neck with my cutlass, slicing through his collar bone.

I hacked and slashed my way around the ship, my blade meeting the steel and the flesh of the enemy. I saw another flash of blue, and a huge wolverine almost dwarfing the blue figure. El Diablo! I fought my way to the crazed pirate captain, and saw that he was locked in mortal combat with my mate. I drew a pistol and fire straight into El Diablo, right into his chest. Even above the cries and screams of combat I could hear him grunt as the heavy ball entered him, and he turned and saw me. To my disbelief, he raised his cutlass and charged me, bellowing in rage and hate. His cutlass smashed down on mine, and I just managed to turn a blow that would have surely cut me in two. I hissed as I felt steel sear across my arm.

Gods, what a monster! I had fired a pistol right into him, and he appeared quite unharmed by it, and had sliced my arm in return. I fought as well as I could, but El Diablo was fast as well as beastly strong, and it seemed he had a wrist like a steel bar.

I feinted for his leg, and his blade dipped slightly to cover himself. Seeing my chance, I sank my cutlass deep into his side. At that moment, I heard the report of a pistol, and the louder sound of a musket. I looked around, and saw Far holding a smoking Tower pistol, and Kick with a musket in his paws. They had both fired, and their bullets both struck home. El Diablo roared out again, and visibly staggered. Then Kick and Far took up their swords and joined my in the fight.

It might not seem fair, three to one, but then, you haven't seen El Diablo. And in combat, there's very little that can be called fair. We all took our tooks striking and slashing at the giant wolverine, while the fight for the Vulture went on around us. Finally, after an eternity of blood and horror, El Diablo crashed to the deck, dead. The three of us were about dead on our feet, and my arm now felt blazing. I looked around, and I could see the fight was about over. El Diablo's crew, seeing their chief fall, began to lay down their own arms and give it up. The ship was ours!

Mange came up to me for orders while Far bound my arm. The wound look much worse than it really was, but it stung like anything. I sent him and a party down into the depths of the ship to roust out survivors. They went through the holds and compartments, seeking anyfur that might have hid out there, and any treasure that might be found. Mange returned and gave his report. "Not much left of the gun decks, Cap'n...gun carriages, limbers and other truck laying about...its a right wreck down there, real messy. Not too many survivors hidin' down there, looks like they were all up here fighting. But in the holds...well, I've never seen so much blunt and treasure! Looks like they were savin' it all up..."

I had the carpenter look the Vulture over, and she reported the ship was in no danger of sinking, so I set guards over our prisoners, well armed in case the captured furs tried to take back their ship. Far and Kick helped me over to our own Sea Fury, and we took the Vulture in tow, and set our course for Port Royal.

Aili and Emil came up from sick-bay, Emil to give me the report of our own casualties and to tut-tut over my arm, and Aili to fling herslef in Kick's arms. Kick gasped as he saw his mate. She was drenched in blood. She was quick to reassure him, "No love, I'm fine, I'm fine...I was helping Emil...I just couldn't sit around doing nothing...", and the two snuggled lovingly. Far and I were doing much the same.

The dead of both ships we heaved overboard, with but one exception. El Diablo's head we took from his body, and tied it to our bowsprit, a gruesome trophy of our battle, and more important, proof of his demise.

The return to Port Royal was uneventful, but busy. We had to make lists of the prisoners, inventory the valubles, reduce the treasures El Diablo had taken in a career of blood and slaughter to a common value...all sorts of paperwork. Kick, being a businessfur, was able to provide great assistance with this task. Ordinarily, this sort of thing gave me headaches. But during all the work, a true friendship grew between Kick and Aili and Far and I.

We put in to Port Royal, and Far and I dresed in our absolute finest to pay a call on the Governor, escorted by Kick and Aili. To the Governor's amazement, we reported the successful apprehension and the unlamented death of El Diablo. We also handed over the papers that listed all the items of value of the Vulture (minus a few items that made their way into the pockets of our crew). Rewards were handed over, and prize money for the Vulture, and a share of the treasure was granted us, in addition to that which we had sneaked into our own paws.

And so the money was divided amonst the crew, and they went off for a slap up binge at the various taverns and hells of the town, which rang with the tune of bawdy pirate songs. Kick and Aili invited us to their spacious home, where the four of us celebrated in a somewhat more decorous manner, feasting on rich foods and sipping the finest of teas.

"Trel'la, Faranus...I can't begin to express my gratitude for all you've done...saving Aili, bringing El Diablo down, and allowing me to help in it. I should go on pirate cruises more often! While you're here, and whenever you're here in town, you just consider my home as yours. You were so kind as to allow us the use of your cabin on the seas, so now please accept the offer of our room for your stay," Kick invited.

Aili whispered something to the coyote, and I saw him restraining his laughter. He went to a richly appointed chest, and from it took a silk pouch. He handed it to me, and I took a quick sniff at it. I purred at the aroma, although it was something I'd never smelled before.

"I guess you'll be wanting to go on up now...been rather a busy day. But, Trel, before you tuck yourself and Far in for the night, you might want to look into the contents of that little bag," the coyote suggested.

I continued smelling it, quite unable to help myself. There was something enchanting and compelling about it. My mate was watching me with concern as I started to open the bag, but Aili stopped me. "No, no, Trel, not yet! Open it when you get upstairs!" she protested.

"Kick, what is that stuff?" Far asked. He was confused as I was beginning to act like a kitten.

"It's a rare and magical herb, Far, and it has the most incredible effect on felines. I think you'll enjoy the results, too. Its called...catnip!"

And now for the obligatory historical notes. I've decided to change ships from a barque to a galleon. Its true that in Real Life history, a galleon is about as handy a thing to sail as a tub with masts. But, the crew's expanding, I needed that fancy aftercabin back there in the stern, and anyway, galleons have a romance about them other ships don't. Besides, if its good enough for Errol, its good enough for me!

Carronades are an actual type of gun mounted on ships, mostly British, in the late 18th century. They're short and stubby little things, and very much the short range weapon, but they can throw a sizable weight of ball, and 32 pounders were very common. Now imagine, if you will, what sort of damage a 32 pound iron ball can do if slammed into and through wood at a velocity of 1200 feet per second. You get a veritable shower of splinters, long, jagged daggers of wood. Its all that splinters that did the most killing in the age of wooden ships and iron men. Despite all the romantic Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks movies about pirates, true seaborne battles were not at all a pretty sight. No battle ever is.

El Diablo d'el Mar is sort of based on Blackbeard, and frankly, I think I could have done more with him. Perhaps later, I'll revise this and actuall give him some lines. Making him a wolverine was an inspired suggestion by my supervisor at Taylor Memorial Public Library, David Allen. (See, I told you I'd mention you for that!)

I also wish to express my heartfelt thanks to George MacDonald Fraser, author of "The Pyrates" (as well as the Flashman series of books), for showing me the way.

My next story, already in progress, will be rather different from the Voyages stories. I call it "New World Awaiting", and you'll just have to wait to see what its about. Yes, there WILL be more Voyages of the Sea Fury to come...maybe we might see just how Trel'la became a pirate!

Trel'la