It was early morning when Tanya, who was officer of the watch, spotted a
merchantman and set sail after her. As Tanya's ship neared cannon range
with her prey, she spotted another pirate vessel, clearly after the same
target. She soon recognized it as the "Black Bird" having clashed with
it a number of times over other merchant ships they were after. Tanya
waved the Black Bird away, but it would not yield. Tanya could see that
it too was under the command of a female officer!
Tanya's father and the
other captain appeared on deck, but neither of them intervened as their
first officers struggled to outmaneuver each other and engage their
target, which resulted in a near collision between the two pirate ships.
The two female first officers cursed each other up one side and down the
other, while the merchant vessel escaped. The cooler heads of the
Captains spotted a small island very close by, and they agreed to drop
anchor there, and let the women at each other. |