William Brand

August 2, 1704 - Aboard the Heron "They've taken him away..." William began. "...this assassin. This solitary fool. They've taken him ashore. A French Lieutenant, name of Turcotte was here. He has gone with the body and the boat which bore it, and I fear he will return with papers granting him permission to search the Heron. You can't have thought that I was so remiss in leaving you aboard the Watch Dog if any true danger existed? Merchants tha..." William waved a dismissive hand at this unfinished thought, squinting into the bright sun coming through the stern windows. "He'll come again, this Turcotte. Of that I am certain...and where shall we send you next, what with so many neighboring and distant eyes upon us?" William allowed a pause for her to answer, but then took it back all at once. "Captain, I leave you to your patient. I must go and secure some safeguards for her protection." He left the room and his departure was abrupt.

William's face altered only slightly, turning from one of checked anger to irritated surprise. "The auction of the Maastricht goods is to take place amidships and no merchant coming aboard the 'Dog will be given the freedom to explore the 'Dog unchecked. My marines are most studious in their office and they guard the frigate jealously, a point recently affirmed in their wanton attack on your attacker."

August 2, 1704 - Aboard the Heron Luc Otkupschikov, finding himself not needed as the minutes past was obliged to leave, but William called him back just outside the Ward Room. "Mister Otkupschikov, a word if you please." William stood at the door for a moment, and in that moment he said nothing at all, as if distracted by too many matters at once. Then he looked up and said, "My many thanks for your forthrightness in all the matters put to you during questioning." "Of course, sah." Luc returned soberly. "And my added gratitude for your propriety as touching Miss Ashcombe." William added. "It seemed...proper, Sah." "I would , however, like to know why it that Miss Ashcombe finds herself aboard the Heron." William's tone was neutral, but Luc had known his share of men and there was no mistaking William's mood at present. Still, Luc felt that he had no need to worry on the matter. "Her request, Sah." "Thank you, Mister Otkupschikov. Please wait for me amidships." "Da...Aye, Sah." Luc knuckled off a salute then added. "Sah...there is another matter." William raised a solitary eyebrow and Luc decided to keep the news of brawling recruits for another time. "Nothing, sah. It will...keep." William only nodded and entered the room once more. ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

August 2, 1704 "No." William said flatly. He turned to look at Luc and his demeanor was not friendly, though his present mood had little to do with Luc at all. He was simply in a bad mood and wearing the face of the passive, stony and removed captain that he often reserved for times when his mood was foul, but controlled. He stood apart from the others with his hat off at his side. Quiet. Distant. Being Russian, Luc was not unfamiliar with such stoniness, so he kept his peace and remained...available. William turned his attention back to Miss Ashcombe, but his expression never changed. He watched as Dorian poured a dram of something dark. He watched as Dorian fetched it to the wounded woman. He watched as she attempted the strong drink, but his mind was everywhere but here. It was with the new recruits who had been introduced with haste, rather than care. It was with Turcotte as he climbed the hill to Fort Royal. His thoughts were on the merchants who would be aboard the Watch Dog within hours. His mind dwelt on assassins past and present. They were by themselves all minor things, but they added up into one foul mood just the same. He couldn't help it. ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

A very good choice, sah. May I present our shrimp, lobster, scallop skewers...

August 2, 1704 To say that Leftenant Raul Turcotte was not pleased would have understated his rage to a fault. He was feeling as murderous now as the dead man in tow might have felt just an hour previous. He could not stomach correction from anyone, but to be so treated by privateers was unforgivable. He fumed and it took him the better part of the distance from the Heron to shore to calm himself. He did this by counting backwards in three languages. Quirion Charron rowed silently all the way to shore. He could see that any interruption in the Lieutenant's 'counting' might be too much for the young hothead, so he kept his peace. He admired the young officer, despite his inexperience, for the lad was often taking on the worst of duties for the sake of advancement at all costs. Quirion did not respect him for this alone, but this willingness to do all had placed the Lieutenant in several situations beyond his years and he had risen to almost every task, this most recent notwithstanding. The boat made landfall and Turcotte exited so fast that Quirion had to call him back. "Pardonnez-moi, lieutenant!" Turcotte turned about impatiently. "Bring the body and yourselves" he spat in French. The counting had not worked well. "But, Lieutenant...there was blood in the boat." "Don't be absurd!" Turcotte hissed. "There would of course be blood." "This blood was in their boat, Lieutenant." Turcotte sobered and a smile slowly returned to his face. It seemed that he wasn't the only man looking for advancement. "Merci, Charron. You are a thorough man." Before four bells of the Afternoon Watch ~Starboard Watch on Duty~

August 2, 1704 - At the Heron "Capitaine William Brand." William said, rather formally. "C'est capitaine Lasseter." This small introduction shifted the positions of society only ever so slightly, for neither Dorian or William were captains of any navy but their own. Still, it had the desired effect for the lieutenant was forced to begin again. "Pardon, Capitaine. Capitaine." the young man returned, removing his hat to both. "Mes supérieurs souhaitent savoir ce qui continue ici." "Vous pardonnez, Sah... mais mon Français est...pauvre. Peut-être nous...pouvons converser en anglais...?" William said, his most polite and apologetic smile shining. Dorian tried not to smile anymore than was necessary, for William had deliberately stalled the question a second time and only Dorian seemed to understand the obvious tack in choosing one language over another. William had enough French of his own to make conversation and translators a plenty, but he called on none of these. Lieutenant Turcotte was suddenly placed at the disadvantage, for English was not his strong suit, but the young man smiled wanly and continued. "But oov course, Monsieur." Turcotte agreed. "Now, if you..." "Captain." William corrected, and Dorian had to turn away ever so slightly. The Lieutenant did not smile, nor did he correct himself this time. He simply narrowed is eyes but a little and William saw the man that would some day overtake the boy before him. "I em charged to learn what has gone on 'ere, Captaine." "I have only just arrived myself, Lieutenant Turcotte, but Captain Lasseter informs me that this man here fired upon his crew without provocation...and being fired upon they were obliged to answer with force. We have searched him and found little coin and no papers. He is, as you see, quite dead from several shots fired from the Heron here and the Watch Dog over there...the Watch Dog being allied to this ship. Captain Lasseter and I have questioned all aboard the Heron and can find no one who can say who this man is or from where he hails." This statement was not entirely true, for William had not yet questioned Miss Ashcombe, a task he meant to perform at the earliest convenience, but as it might prove awkward at present, he let it slip and made no mention of it to Turcotte. He wasn't of the mind that Jenny was involved in the matter, in fact the idea was far from him, but he was not about to let the French question anyone in his charge before he himself had done so. Lieutenant Turcotte stood a moment looking between the two captains. He did not seem to know where to go with this, so he invited one of his own to search the body as well. William made a point then of passing what few personal effects had been discovered on the man to Turcotte. He also gave him the coin. Lieutenant Turcotte held out his hand for the musket as well, and as Dorian had already had the presence of mind to make a rubbing of the maker's mark during the previous questioning, he made no effort to retain the unremarkable firearm. He simply passed it over to Turcotte without a word. Turcotte examined the effects while his man searched the body with an attention to details. The man was thorough. He found not one additional clue to the shooter's identity, but two, though the clues were not of great worth. The first was a name stitched inside the man's coat, which would later prove to be little more than a tailor's mark. A poor tailor's pride in an unremarkable garment. The second clue was only slightly more revealing. The inside lid of the cartridge box worn at the dead man's belt bore the initials 'H.P.' "We now know as much together as any strangers might know." William said plainly. Lieutenant Turcotte seemed unsatisfied on the matter. ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

August 2, 1704 - At the Heron "I did not send her over." This was all that William said for the moment, though he looked equally surprised that she should be on the Heron, having already sought sanctuary aboard the Watch Dog. His brow furrowed and he searched the dead man once more. This search yielded no additional evidence to the man's purpose. The man himself was rather plainly dressed, but not so plain that he might have been a man of some worth about in clothes for the working day. He was some several days unshaven, but this might served to demonstrate nothing for he might have been on the hunt for some time or in the habit of less grooming. His hat was in good shape as hats often were if well cared for. In the end there was no clue strong enough to denote anything apart from the fact that he had fired upon the Heron or the Samson. "She was injured...?" William asked, returning suddenly to the subject of Miss Ashcombe. "Appears t' have fallen." William plucked up the musket which was also of French make. It was a good looking weapon. Well cared for. Clean. He sited down the barrel and passed it to Dorian and said, "Suicide." "Aye." Dorian agreed, looking about the bay and the many onlookers, for the man had fired with no thought for his immediate neighbors, nor had the man considered cover enough for his own safety. "Daylight in 'n open boat..." William nodded and then shook his head at the fallen assassin, if assassin is what he was. "He'd have had little cover even in the dark." "Revenge...?" Dorian offered. "Perhaps." William wondered aloud. "But against whom?" They called for those that had been in the Jollywatt, almost at the same time. Every man who had been aboard the Samson was asked to look at the body and answer to his identity. Not one man who had come over or any other person aboard the Heron could say that they knew the man or had ever seen him. Luc was questioned several times, having come nearest to meeting his end, but Luc could only say that he 'couldn't say' whether he had been the intended target or no. By now enough time had elapsed that a boat from Fort Royal was inbound. "Damn and Hell together." William muttered. ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

I would recommend either Pirates in Paradise or any of the Lockhouse events, but if their tastes are more "piratey" than history, then perhaps even Piratecon would serve. Still, you did say reenactor, so I stick by my first two suggestions.

August 2, 1704 - On the Cul du Sac Royal Three Bells of the Afternoon Watch "Ahoy the Heron!" William called and he was soundly answered as he made his approach. Eric Franklin raised his hat in the air from the rails of the Watch Dog and William made his intentions to go aboard the Heron known at a distance with a gesture in the cutter's general direction. "Wot news, Captain?" Dorian shouted from the Heron, but William was close enough by then that the news was as plain to him as any other man, despite the great many questions that could not be answered. "I have none, but this corpse." William returned, looking perplexed and not a little angry. "I had thought to ask you the same." The boats were all near enough now that several of them tied up alongside the Heron. William stepped from one small boat to the other and bent over the fallen man even as he ordered the remaining men meant for the frigate sent onward to the 'Dog. The dead man was shot some six times. Three musket balls had found almost the same target right above his heart, a testament to the firing drills conducted by Pew, Eric and even Bill. One ball had passed through the man's left eye and the remaining two had struck him in the guts. "And who are you, sah...?" William asked the cooling corpse. Dorian was making his way down the side of the Heron. "Who is he?" William shook his head, but said, "French, by the look of the garments." This conclusion was of course ambiguous, being too obvious to be conclusive. Martinique was French and any man there might have such clothing, French or not. In fact, many of the men on the frigate and cutter did have such clothing. Still, William saw no reason to reason it out any other way, for as they searched the body they found French coin, a French pistol, and all manner of minor clues of the same national origin. "This is an ill omen." William said just loud enough that only Dorian might here it. "What the devil happened?"

The fort does provide firewood.

Gravy...I think I'll stay the night.

Choking down bad prose.

August 2, 1704 William tried his best to discern what had happened on the Cul du Sac Royal. The distance between the docks and the Heron was not significant, but it took some time to arrive there. Too much time in William's estimation, though it was not so many real minutes. As the boat crossed the distance a bell began to ring from the promontory where Fort Royal lay. It was the precautionary alarm of a Fort always on the watch for troubles and additional bells of urgency sounded from the various ships about the bay as crews of merchants, frigates and small boats all craned their necks to see what had happened there. "Good gods." William thought, and it vexed him that he would most likely stand face to face with officials from Martinque before the day was over. "What bloody fool would shoot at the Heron in broad daylight?" he wondered, for a dozen ships or more lay upon the water at anchor, everyone of them armed with guns great and small. Many boats were now rowing towards a seemingly empty boat adrift on the water. As they approached they could see that men of the Heron, Navarra and men which William did not recognize were all crowding about the unkown boat. A man from the Navarra's cutter stepped into it to investigate the body there even as men from the Watch Dog arrived. Conversation flew between the many boats as they gathered and it was learned that a single man, acting alone, had fired upon the Heron for reasons unknown. William looked beyond the boat to see what might be taking place at the Heron. It was obvious, even from this distance, that someone had fallen or been shot in a small boat from the Watch Dog. The Heron's crew were all gathered at the rails and even Dorian had arrived there, glass in hand. William could just make out Luc and the Dutchman, Scymmelpenninck, but few else. "Damn." William cursed and then he shouted out a flurry of orders. "Lash that boat there and tow it to the Heron!" he called, and a man of the Navarra made as if to protest, but William cut him off before he could offer any. "Off with you!" he called, and strangely enough, the men departed the boat at once, returning to his own. His orders obeyed, William, the recruits and the corpse laden boat made their way to the Heron.

August 2, 1704 - The Cul du Sac Royal Two Bells of the Afternoon Watch As before, William purchased the necessary extras for the recruits, and this time with greater ease and speed, so that he was finished with that business by one of the afternoon. This freed him up to pursue other matters, and following his own advice, he took two of the new recruits with him as additional protection while ashore, sending the remaining men back to the Watch Dog. His two chosen man for the afternoon were Mathew Campion and Benjamin Quigley. They were very different men by all examinations, but they had seemed most suitable for his purposes. Mathew had a bearing about him that was strong socially, while Benjamin's strength was made more apparent by the gruff and natural way he sized up everyone who passed him. It was like traveling in the company of two very different, but effective dogs. Traveling together they had just turned away from the docks bound for points inland when the echo of many discharged arms carried over the water to the piers and small boats tied up along the shore. An unusual pause followed as most of the men and women along the docks stopped their labors to look out over the Cul du Sac Royal. Most of them shielded their eyes, for the sun was high and the water bright. At first, William cursed not to have his glass with him, but when he saw the light puffs of smoke from the Heron, Watch Dog and even a third ship anchored hard by, he changed his mind at once about his errands and put into one of the longboats bound for the 'Dog.

See it with friends.

Damien Thomas as Don Alfonso Felipe de la Torre...oh man. I would kill for his wardrobe from that film.

August 2, 1704 First Bell of the Afternoon Watch Louis Morrell, Nathan Bly, Robert Elmer and Andrew Light had been given the quiet and irregular duty of manning the longboat ashore during the duties of the Starboard Watches. Having ferried the Larboard crews ashore for leave, the men had taken to trading rounds at draughts. The day was pleasant enough for shore duty and the four men had already settled into the boredom of the day when Captain Brand arrived with a surprising number of new recruits in new shirts, shoes and slops. William Brand arrived in an attitude of pure business, ordering out the longboat and renting another to ferry over those recruits bound for the Heron. With the two boats he sent Stephen Hudless, George Cosset, Samuel Milling, Nicholas Trodd, Peter Norman, Charles Goddon, John Kingsman, William DeWitt, Logan Christie, Charlie Marsh, Thomas Ried, Schuyler Janszoon, Joseph Aretineson, Valentine Duvale, Roger Reeves, Caleb Millett and John Van Baerle, all bound for service aboard the faster vessel. Of these, Joseph Aretineson looked the most grateful to be assigned to the Cutter, not because he had ever served aboard her, but because he had once dined at table with Dorian Lasseter and he had found the man both companionable and capable as an officer. With this accomplished, William and Pascal brought the remaining men down the docks to buy hammocks for them and those men already bound for the Heron. ~Starboard Watches on Duty~

It is always nice to see the various weapons hand made by individuals. I'm craving a good cutlass now.

Actually, someone linked that cartoon once before and the comparrison was made then as well.

Bo, my fellow brother in bacon, any Baconfest where you can recruit two Conservation Deptartment agents while they are just driving by should be considered a resounding success. A very good first year turnout. I believe you had as many in attendance as we did our first year. Perhaps more. I'll have to dig out the old records.

Not feeling well. Woken by my son. Sitting here at the computer and watching Braveheart at 5:00 in the morning. That's two bells of the Morning Watch for you kiddies at home.

Niiiice. You scallywags...

So my wife calls me from work and says that coworker just found a kitten in the Sam's Club parking lot and wants to know if we want to give it a home. Now, we already have two cats, so I'm hesitant to say yes, because I don't want to graduate to crazy cat people. Still, I tell her to bring the little mammal by and I'll see what I think. I'm an idiot. Kittens are evil fluff-balls of unholy cuteness. When did I become such a sucker? Anyway...long story short. I am officially a crazy cat person. Pyracy...meet Sam from the Sam's Club parking lot.

I'm albino pig man...?