"All hands to stations!"
Switching gears, the captain's demeanour was suddenly serious, but the grim mood wouldn't wipe that disgusting smirk off her face. Frankly, her people had long lost hope of ever seeing her without that godawful grin.
This crew was professional and well-practised, so most were already at their stations, just awaiting their captain's permission to get started.
"Reef the topsails, but keep her flying!"
As she barked instructions, all six sails on the ship slightly furled, black fabrics rippled in the air, catching less of the torrential wind. As the black flags folded, the engraved skull symbol became slightly veiled.
As seamen were running about the three masts, adjusting the sails, she whispered to the man who'd been patiently standing by her side. Her words were barely audible, out of earshot of anybody else, and looking slightly reluctant, she said:
"Lieutenant, go activate the engine and the thrusters, oh and call the priest up." she spoke from the side of her mouth, as if she was speaking a forbidden curse.
The man was slightly plain looking, apart from his tall frame, his face looked a tiny bit saggy with bags under his eyes an overall bleakness to him, but this was juxtaposed by his ear-to-ear smile showing off his pearly whites as he replied to his captain, dimples visible, dark eyes somehow brimming with teasing joy.
"Whatever you say, Abby!"
"Hey! You're meant to say "Aye aye, Cap'n." She pouted at him as the lieutenant ran off with a wink and a tongue sticking out.
Visibility was getting poorer by the second, the rain, the wind, the waves, all she could see was a painting of blue with the occasional splash of gold or black from the ship breaking it up.
Once again, switching gears back, she yelled out.
"Brace!"
The ocean curled open, its mouth unhinged and ready to swallow them like it were a leviathan; the ocean was a creature in its own right, perhaps even more dangerous than the one in pursuit.
The sailors cowered at their stations, they lay there under the shadow of the colossus waves, awaiting the impact.
The captain dubiously looked up at the rising rogue wave. Damn, that'd considered a tsunami on Earth…
"Bow forward! Make her bite the storm like she's got teeth! The Queen's Resurgence won't fall to some waves!" Laughing in the face of the ocean's wrath, she redirected the bow of the ship to face perpendicular to the wave.
The thrusters activated, drowned out by the torrential storm and the crashing waves, the faint roaring was still heard in the background of the ocean's raging cacophony, yet as a subtle bass in the grand orchestra.
Metallic thuds rang on the deck as the lieutenant returned with an old man wearing a black robe and tightly clutching a blue book. On his chest hung a pendant, it was of a silver-blue alloy and shaped like a hydraulis, an old pipe-organ musical instrument that used water to produce sound.
"Ah, finally ye've arrived, what took you so long, priest?"
Even though he'd just arrived on deck, the old man was already fed up. "Maybe, if you didn't force me to wear these archaic clothes, child, maybe then I wouldn't have taken so long, don't you think, hmm?"
"Bahahaha, remember you have to call me Cap'n on my ship, anyways, short of time be us."
The Lieutenant chuckled, hearing this, "Abby, you sound like Yoda, not a pirate."
"Agghhh, whatever, shush shush, just get started, just start!"
Captain Abigail's face was scarlet as she prodded the priest on, and she waved her hands at her lieutenant as if she could swat his words away.
With a sigh and a shake of the head, the priest deliberated on how he'd let this child drag her along on these crazy adventures of hers.
He stepped forward, gripping his silver-blue pendant with one hand while flipping open the book with the other.
"𐤁𐤍𐤔𐤌𐤕 𐤈𐤄𐤌
𐤏𐤌 𐤆𐤍𐤄 𐤕𐤌 𐤅𐤁𐤓𐤆𐤋
𐤉𐤍𐤕𐤍 𐤔𐤓 𐤏𐤁𐤓"
To most, these ancient chants were incomprehensible, yet the divine essence would be so enchanting that they'd nevertheless lean in for a better listen.
Captain Abby, however, nearly instinctively covered her ears and groaned from the familiar passages.
"By the breath of the deep, the harmonics of tide and steel—let the Song of Passage begin."
As the priest continued onwards with his chantings, a low hum resounded on deck, then a visual resonance took place between the book, the priest, and the pendant. They began to glow a blue not unlike the blues that surrounded them, the hum began communicating with the ocean, which roared back.
This sound was… serene.
A gentle pond with lilies, tiny stone fountains, newborn fish and tadpoles would find sanctuary here, the perfect place to enter this world.
That was the image that emerged in the minds of the sailors as they listened.
It was a fragile ensemble, bound to be swept up by the grand orchestra.
Yet unexpectedly, the ocean began harmonising. Yes, it was only a minor compromise, but the surrounding ocean calmed itself ever so slightly, and the forthcoming rogue wave shrank.
But now was not the time to be relieved; the upcoming task was still daunting. But at least it was manageable now.
Lip bit, hands steady on the helm, Captain Abby narrowed her eyes. The storm might be howling, the skies might be splitting—but her mind was silent. Focused. Precise.
A dozen calculations danced behind those storm-lit eyes: wind vectors, hull resistance, the pitch of the deck, the lag between engine surge and rudder response. She traced the path through the chaos.
The Queen's Resurgence was now approaching the rogue wave. Merely 60 feet now, still a monster, but not a disaster.
The crew scrambled below, securing every loose object before the ship hit the wall.
Screaming like a madman, the blonde lookout retreated to the ground level. he'd been keeping an eye out for more signs of the leviathan, but there were more pressing matters now.
The old priest was also on the move, he had to head below deck alongside the rest of the non-essential crew. His old body was too frail to withstand the waves, and he was exhausted from the ritual.
The captain looked over her crewmembers, smiling at the thought of how well-trained they were.
Well, now it's time for me to show off
At the prow, the ship's figurehead—a regal, robed woman of sculpted grace—cut through the storm. A guiding spirit. A watchful guardian.
Their wayfinder.
The ship seemed to lean, almost as if testing the wind's force before surging forward. The ocean was a beast, it roared at their defiance. Captain Abby stood at the helm, her eyes burning through the downpour. Her crew had braced themselves, and they were ready. The Queen's Resurgence would not flinch.
"Hold fast, everyone!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the tumult. "We ride this wave, or we fall with it! Bahahaha!"
The ship surged upward, metal groaning under the strain. The wind screamed in their ears as the black sails flapped wildly, struggling against the force of the gale. Every muscle in Abby's body tensed as she gripped the wheel with determination, her knuckles pale.
The crew shared her pain, fighting their own battles against the elements.
The thrusters roared to life beneath them, a deep, guttural hum that shook the ship's bones, and the Queen's Resergence seemed to defy gravity for a moment, climbing the watery mountain with the speed of a wild stallion.
As the Queen's Resurgence crested the wave, the horizon dropped away, leaving only the black expanse of storm above and below. For a heart-stopping instant, the crew was weightless, the ship hanging suspended on the razor's edge of survival. Then, with a bone-shaking crash, the Resurgence slammed into the crest, her bow diving into the hollow of the wave, sending a spray of saltwater cascading over the deck.
The crew, braced and battered, felt the impact reverberate through their bones. Some of the smaller crew members lost their footing, but none were thrown off. The ship groaned, the wood creaking like the jaws of a beast, but the Queen's Resurgence held firm.
The deck shuddered under the weight of the water that cascaded over the hull, sweeping everything that wasn't tied down. The wind shrieked, the sails flapped like thunder, but Abby's voice cut through it all, roaring orders, directing the crew, never letting them falter.
"Back on your feet!" she yelled over the chaos. "Get the bowline—furl the topsails—adjust the thrusters, now!"
Through the deluge, the crew scrambled, unwavering in their resolve. Even in the face of certain death, they knew their captain would not let them fall. And Abby? Her mind was sharper than ever—calculating, steering, commanding.
As the ship plunged downward from the wave's summit, a sliver of the storm's fury lessened, the rogue wave losing its strength. The storm wasn't over, not by a long shot, but they had passed through the worst of it. The Queen's Resurgence surged ahead, scathed, but alive.
The captain breathed, just barely, and allowed herself the briefest of smiles. It wasn't over yet, but for now, they had weathered the storm.
Once the worst of it was behind them, a barrage of bodies hit the floor, and every single person on the ship was slumped over. Perspiration and rain mixed to create a pungent smell that lingered over their bodies, chests heaving up and down.
For a while, The Queen's Resurgance carried the crew forward on her own, letting them gather themselves.
The first to get up was surprisingly the blonde boy. If there was one thing he was gifted with, it was energy.
"Ah for fucks sake Demetri, just sit still for a moment lad."
Groans broke out as the blonde boy's scurrying up the main mast broke their peace.
Captain Abby smiled as she rose second, followed by her Lieutenant.
Abigail cracked a smile, turning to her friend and Lieutenant, "Well then, that's the worst of it do-"
"DOGSHIT!"
Suddenly, Demetri's cries broke their relief.
"It's here!"
A shadow surged from the depths.
Without warning, a massive tentacle burst through the roiling ocean, breaching the surface with the sound of cracking thunder. It rose like a column of flesh and bone, water cascading from its mottled, barnacle-crusted skin. Veins pulsed along its rubbery surface, glowing faintly with bioluminescent hues—sickly green and ghostly blue—casting an eerie light across the drenched deck.
Demetri barely had time to scream again before the thing whipped sideways with a sound like a cracking whip, slamming into the mainmast with catastrophic force.
CRACK!
The mast groaned, splintered, and snapped halfway up, sending splinters and rigging raining down as the sail above folded in on itself like a dying bird. Demetri tumbled through the air, arms flailing, before the tentacle looped back and caught him mid-fall, wrapping around his waist like a serpent claiming its prey.
"DEMETRI!"