Sea of Ambiguity

The rumble of thunder and steady patter of rain gently woke me back into a revelation of paranoia and discomfort, yet dreams of a cold mead and warm bread lingered on. Caught in a storm on the run from The Enemy. Plagued by the unknown terrors of The Black Sea. Stories like these don't exist for they are hardly ever survived, but if I am to die it will not be idly. My second in command, James, was waiting at the helm looking onward towards clearer skies. "Do you see any change of behavior in the clouds?" I asked. James turned and threw a spyglass, "There are grey skies northeast, we should be out of the storm within the hour." I surveyed the perimeter checking for other ships but I still could not see anything. We'd been in the dark for what seemed like two days and there had been no sign of anyone, friend or foe. Still, I held hope for other survivors, and kept vigilant for The Enemy. All looked well on the main deck but the cannons below had not been loaded yet so I made my way there. Not many people escaped so we didn't have much help but James and I weren't the type to surrender, especially not to The Enemy, driven by their "divine rights" they say, lacking all compassion for others ways of life. I was hauling up one of the last few cannonballs into the chamber when I heard the rain lighten on the upper deck. As I made my way up I saw blue glow into my line of sight and was quickly relieved to have clarity of vision. Hope and aggression brushed my mind as I thought to check the perimeter once more, and as I saw a spec on the far side of the storm to our right, neither hope nor aggression were entertained, for paranoia had taken their place again. Even with the spyglass I could not identify the ship but as far as I knew we were the only ship out of our harbor, so if any ship were to have followed, it's more than likely hostile. "Two days! Two days in the dark and a ship is at our neck just a mile out! If they haven't already seen us they surely do now." I thought in silent frustration of the situation. The time would come for conflict. "Go ready yourself for battle and check the cannons. We will sail straight and keep watch of this ship. It could be plotting a course this way as we speak." I kept the ship as steady and straight as possible while looking though the spyglass and after a few minutes I saw the other ship steer towards us. I wanted to believe it was one of our ships, but it was unmarked and didn't have a flag of any kind. There was no doubt it was getting closer, and fast. Friendly or not, turning towards the ship was the best course of action. I was prepared for the worst, and the more I considered the worst, the more I considered doing as much as I could to defend my ship. I suddenly felt some kind of primal instinct to defend everything on this ship. They would take nothing. They would have nothing but death and destruction if they got close. They wouldn't have a chance to get close. The cannons were ready. I was ready. There was no time for questions. James would be the first in danger if they fired first, but he trusted me and I knew when the time came he would fire on my mark. "Prepare to fire cannon one left side!" We were moments away from being in firing distance, and in this moment one must be sure; sure that nothing will stand in the way of certainty. You never know if the first shot could be the last. "Fire!"