Gabbit and the Red Tease

The day before, Captain Ellya captured a prisoner who led her to where Pirate Captain Goldstriker's treasure lay. The island brought its own trials and after misfortunate events with both women, the Velvet Beauty's crew absconded with two Sod Guard vessels saturated with precious metals in their hulls. She wasn't sure why the Sod Guard were working on the island or what Goldstriker supposed treasure was doing there, but her curiosity would be satiated.

Currently, the Sod Guard has five war vessels enveloping the Velvet Beauty and its floating treasure ship. Ellya changed out of her night attire and had her men on deck. She was barking at them in boiling frustration "Get to ya stations! Be ready on the cannons! I want every man to hold a sword!"

The military boats parallel to the Red Tease showed Sod Guard men running around. At the edge of each deck, men were armed with rifles and cannons for a standoff. Their white uniform and blood-red shoulder pads blinked around the surface as they prepared to board.

Gabbit tugged Ellya's shirt, unbuttoning it slightly. "Captain..." his voice faded.

"Aye! Can't ya see I'm--"

Ellya's face turned gray. She looked up at the fifth vessel, easily the largest Sod Guard ship she had ever seen. Its unbelievable size casted a shadow over the entire deck. Drawing her neck high, she saw there were at least 70 bone-white orcs with red-tattooed shoulders looking down on them. Their icy gaze captured everybody's attention as the Pirate Maiden's crew froze in place.

Almost reflective in prayer, she breathed "Oh, what in the fuckin' 'ell...."

"We should get the team together... and uuuh..." Gabbit paused. "Uuh... we should."

"Yea, I heard ya..." Ellya watched to similar effect.

The Sod Guard vessel on the left dropped a boarding ramp. The plank's wooden teeth bit onto the deck, announcing their presence. A couple dozen armed Sod Guard stood at the middle of the bridge.

One of the men in the vanguard announced "Captain Ellya! You and your crew are officially under custody of the Sod Guard. The Admiral demands your presence at once."

Ellya tiptoed to peer over the scattered men on her ship. "Oy! Why don' ya just take long walk off a short bridge, yea!? OR, ya would make things easier if ya all just took a big step to your right! The water's a bit cold, but is more welcomin' than me!"

"Captain Ellya!" The Sod Guard presented further. "This is not a request! Your crew of miscreants are to surrender at once!"

"How 'bout we just yell all day, ya twats!?"

"Captain! Ellya!"

"Oy! Tell ya daddy admiral that I ain't goin' on ya ship unless I get some assurances!"

"We assure we will not harm you or your crew if you comply!"

"Ya see? I ain't too comfortable with 'at. So, tell ya daddy admiral I ain't comin' unless I got me guards watchin' me back."

There was a short pause. The Sod Guard soldiers began talking amongst each other, passing the message. Eventually the murmuring stopped when an individual started running across the deck.

"Captain Ellya!" The soldier readied.

"What!?" She screamed back aggressively.

"We are sending your demands to the admiral."

"Well, take ya bloody time!"

The redhead took a knee and turned to her goblin. She spoke under her breath "Listen, Gabbit."

"I'm listening." His voice rustled.

"I need ya, Chad, Ooguh, and one other to get on the 2nd ship."

Conflicted, Gabbit asked "Why? And what about you and Arabella?"

"Me and Ara will board the ship and have a li'l chat with dis admiral--but I'mma need ya and the others to be on the 2nd ship, b'cause if shit hits the rutter then I know yous three be safe. They ain't never gonna sink their own gold, yea?"

"That's--that's smart, Ellya." Gabbit was letting the anxiety get to him. He was surprised to see Ellya function under such pressure, but she was right. There's no way the Sod Guard would sink the ship they stole; it was filled to the brim with gold and precious jewels.

"I know we gon' get past this together." She clapped her palm on Gabbit's wrinkly green head.

Gabbit gestured his affirmation with a determined look, then started running to collect the others.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Gabbit, Ooguh, Chad, and Feet snuck a small rowboat to get to their 2nd vessel. They rowed silently across the morning fog, which swept the waters.

Feet spouted "We sex the cap'n if we win? Yes yes yea?"

"Shhh!!!" Gabbit blew at him. "Keep quiet, Feet."

"Sorry, Grasbit... I just excited! I never get 'em chance to impress da Pirate Mitten, huhu! So what do happens?"

Gabbit recapped for the lad. "When we were on that orc and goblin island, we stole this ship. Ellya wants us to stay in this vessel because she knows we'll be safe in it. Alright?"

Chad continued to row as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Gabbit saw the frustration on his face. Chad may have well been stuck with two orcs if he had to tolerate a second more of Feet's petulant outbursts. A green hand reached out to pat Chad's shoulder, soothing his mental anguish.

*THUNK* The little row boat interacted with a dense wood. Chad released his hands from the oars and stood up. He began feeling the hull of the treasure ship they stole. He rubbed his hands against it. "There you are..." He felt a thick twine. A thread-like creak echoed down to his fist, then he tugged onto a rope ladder.

"Let's proceed, lads." Chad shucked himself higher towards the ship.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

As Ellya's crew ensured their safety, she and Arabella were herded up a series of zigzagging boarding ramps to the towering Sod Guard flagship. The journey felt marginally safer with seven of her riflemen at her back and her own curved sword in hand. The ship they, now boarded, was colossal. Its mast reached skyward as if to pierce the clouds, its sails expansive enough to cover acres of land. The deck was a polished expanse of oak, initially appearing to be manned by hundreds of men.

However, the Sod Guard mothership was a melting pot of humans, orcs, and goblins. The humans sported their signature white uniforms with red accents, a style mimicked by the diminutive goblins who were busy giving commands to the orcs. These orcs, with their muscular frames and simpler minds, were covered in a chalky white substance, with red paint sloppily applied to their shoulders in an attempt to replicate the uniform's design.

Arabella's stomach churned at the sight of the orcs eyeing her and Ellya. The blonde's body vibrated with fear, yet there was a peculiar stirring between her legs. Unbeknownst to her, the blue liquid she had been forced to drink the day before was now heightening her sexual desires and loosening her moral constraints.

Ellya was led further into the ship. They stood on a platform lifted by the brute strength of two orcs manning a wheel, a task that would have otherwise required ten men. As they rose, both the redhead and the blonde gripped each other's hands, their eyes squeezed shut in silent prayer, hoping fervently that this would not mark their end.

The wooden floor finished ascending. The rope pulsated.

"Welcome to the Sod Guard command center, Captain Ellya." The Sod Guard spoke sternly.

The door swung open, admitting everyone into the ship's cerebral chamber. The room housed an expansive ivory map, intricately adorned with gems and copper threads. Encircling the space, glass windows offered panoramic views. In the center, they encountered the imposing silhouette of a man in a maroon outfit, complemented by gold shoulder pads, as he gazed outward. From this angle, he appeared robust and fit. His age was hinted at by the few gray hairs escaping from beneath his majestic Bernard Cap, which sat regally atop his head.

"Admiral, we've brought you Captain Ellya of the Velvet Pirates." The grunt stated firmly for his commanding officer.

The Red Tease felt a figurative polish on her shoulder. She proudly screamed in her head "The Velvet Pirates?! That sounds rather lovely!"

The Admiral spoke with a heavy timber, resembling a low note on a bass clarinet. "Ahhh, it's nice to meet you Captain Ellya." He said without turning, yet.

"What'cha want, yea?" The teen's voice scraped against his back.

"I must admit I'm honored, I never thought I'd meet the legendary Ellya so soon--or should I call you by your better known name..."

"Ah, ya. Get it over with. All o' ya call me the Red Tea--"

"The Pirate Maiden... the Cold Flame..." Ellya drank in his deep voice.

The red haired teen laughed giddy and straightened her back as she puffed her tits out from her shirt. "Ah, yea! They all calls me that!"

"Thank you for the corrections, my lady. My men have presumed to brand you with such trinketed names. I found it sophomoric to be called the Red Tease."

"The red what? Ah, never heard it." She waved her hand dismissively.

A small rattle came across the door.

The admiral boomed "Come inside, Captain Squirrel!"

Ellya and Arabella turned to the door and saw a goblin. He looked quite grisly and mean, shoving himself through the human's legs without acknowledgement. Captain Squirrel was in a red and tiny Sod Guard uniform. In his clawed, green hand... was a gray naval cap with a spot of blood. Ellya immediately recognized what this cretin was holding: Gabbit's old naval cap. She remembered last seeing it when she dabbed the blood off Chad's scrape.

The creature dropped Gabbit's old cap on a desk. "This one is dry, Admiral Goldstriker."

The admiral in a crimson suit turned around. His face lashed with scars from hundreds of battles, his eyes dead from an overabundance of blood lust, his elderly beard neatly trimmed in contrast.

Ellya's eyes shot open. Her mouth dried. Her fingers trembled.

"You-You-Ya-You're Pirate Captain Goldstriker." Ellya's body shut and stuttered.

"I was Pirate Captain Goldstriker... now, much less so." He raised his right hand, where a golden hook was in place, to emphasize the regrets of an old life.

Captain Squirrel walked up to Arabella and grabbed her little hand. She looked at the gremlin. Using his claws, he pricked her finger, then pressed it to his nose.

"Mmmm!" Captain Squirrel whiffed Ara's pricked finger.

The goblin looked up at the beautiful teen's face, and smiled. She saw most of his teeth were crowned in gold.

"What in Poseidon's name are you doing!?" Ara recoiled at the cretin.

Ellya was still petrified, unable to speak as Captain Squirrel pricked her finger.

Goldstriker assuaged the two "Relax, please. As guests, this is the worst harm that shall come to you."

The Sod Guard goblin came back to Goldstriker's side. "Finished, Admiral!"

With a genuflect, Goldstriker stroked his captain's head "well done." He then fixed his posture towards his invitees. "I apologize for the small puncture, but Captain Squirrel, here, is my 2nd-in-command. It's amazing what such creatures can accomplish when you look past their undesirable exterior."

"That was quite uncalled for!" Arabella squirmed in place.

"Unfortunately, it is warranted. A shark has the ability to detect blood a kilometer in the water, but a goblin, one as well trained as my Captain Squirrel, can detect and differentiate a drop in the air for hundreds of kilometers."

"Ya Pirate Captain Goldstriker..." Ellya said with slightly less discomfort.

"It is 'you're' not 'ya'." The admiral corrected the youthful beauty.

Ellya clenched her fists and took a step forward, within lunging distance of Goldstriker. She spat at him "I watched ya take me parents away and do worse to me mother and sista!!!"

With a dose of shame, Goldstriker sighed in disappointment "I was Captain Goldstriker, but it seems my sins have a way of catching up with me."

"You took my parents from me! I watched ya do it all!" There was an audible sob in Ellya's voice.

The room quieted as they watched the Red Tease pout and stamp at the Sod Guard commander. Arabella felt nervous as Ellya's men gripped their rifles in preparation for the worst. The Sod Guard in the room also readied their hands, as their posture indicated a shooting stance.

"I'm sorry for your loss, my lady." Goldstriker apologized.

"Fuck you, scumbag!" She curdled.

"I know apologies travel so little distance, I'd hope by now I've atoned"

"Oh, by being a fuckin admiral for the Sod Guard you think that makes up for the damage!?" Ellya pushed a finger close to the man's face, her teeth armed to bite.

Goldstriker took a step back for his own safety, but he did enjoy the calming scent of roses on Ellya. "Not by being a Sod Guard, but by creating them..."

Ellya's hand lowered in disbelief. "You're full of it! Ya mean to say ya the one behind the Sod Guard???"

"Power isn't created in a vacuum, it's transferred. I thought using my authority for good could perhaps ascend my spirit from Hades' fire."

She howled at him in a gust of laughter "Really, yea? The Sod Guard be takin' up free islands and implementing their own rules. What a change, yea?"

Goldstriker's face was stagnant and calm. "Yes. And the Sod Guard were building hospitals, introducing technologies, educating children, and distributing resources. When ordinary people see the Sod Guard, they rejoice at order."

"This is all a li'l trick. The most notorious pirate in the world ain't gonna jus' give it up? So let me guess... This is some kind of way to play both sides, yea? You never lose, huh?"

"On the contrary, I'm ending pirate culture for the benefit of our people."

"Really, yea? I found one of ya vessels shoved with a shit ton of gold because we captured ya recruiter! So...if ya not a criminal then how did I come across some poor bastard recruitin' for ya pirate gang?"

Goldstriker, making his second motion, decisively planted his boots closer to Ellya. "Only a criminal can tell you where the next crime takes place."

The redhead paused her eyes.

Admiral Goldstriker added "But I'm not foolish to toss them into jail. When you go fishing, sometimes it's worth using the next catch as bait for a greater yield. After all, you're in my net."

Ellya's eyes looked into the Pirates sunken face, his eyes deeply entrenched in his dark sockets. His eye-bags were wrinkly and puffy, yet stood intimidatingly still with each brush of his words.

The rose-scented vixen took a step back. "So you're pulling up the ladda' after ya done using it? Done with your ravagin' and raidin'--murderin' and rapin'?"

The Sod Guard commander walked behind his desk with his back turned.

"You don't seem to realize that I have lived your life. Tell me, as a beautiful woman would you recommend your daughter to partake? I know pirates tend to have a nasty behavior for the rarity of beauty."

"Ya fucking sick bastard!" A venomous tone launched from Ellya's tongue.

"You should never take offense to the truth. We are what we experience."

"You're nothing more than a bloodthirsty bastard and ain't nothin' going to change that."

"You're right... Goldstriker says." He sighs in self-reflection, resting his hooked hand on the wooden desk, with his good hand splaying his fingers out to lean his weight onto the table.

"I knows I am." Ellya quarreled.

Bowing his head in concurrence, Goldstriker agreed "I am indeed a bloodthirsty bastard, but that doesn't make me evil."

Sarcastically, she jeered "Ah, sure! Ya just a good violent man, yea? Makes a lotta sense!"

The man dueled well with his words. He looked up "Who better to stop a violent man than a peaceful person who mastered violence?"

Utterly outmatched, Ellya could only listen as the man decimated her in their exchange.

Goldstriker added "My Sod Guard could have been the largest pirate fleet in the world, instead I took good men and I trained them to fight back. I taught them how to be free from people like myself... and people like you. But not all my men begin life sinless, there's hope for people like you."

"You led me down this path." Her eyes glimmered with a tear.

"And I'm trying to lead you down another. You're a respectable woman. Accomplished at such a young age. The first to find my treasure island and live. I must ask... how did you do it?"

Ellya sniffled "Do what?"

"You went onto a goblin and orc island and lived. It took me twelve years and a lot of good men to get an agreement."

She mewled in sorrow. "I can't just tell ya me secrets." Her forearm wiped her cheek.

Captain Goldstriker leaned his weight onto his left hand a bit more, knowing they would converse for longer than he expected.

"Ellya, tomorrow is too late to start again. Let's begin anew... I'm an open book, now. You're welcome to a free exchange without deceit."

"How many fingers do you have?" She mewled.

"What? I don't understand the--"

"Ya said 'without deceit'."

Admiral Goldstriker looked down at his left hand. He looked up at the downhearted pirate teen. "I have five on my left."

Ellya's scabbard sang as the steel inside met cold air. With pent up hatred, she slammed the blade's edge onto the table -- severing four of Captain Goldstriker's last fingers.

AAAAH!!! YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!!" The calm man's demeanor disappeared with his hand.

His clawed hand hooked around his wrist, as if to clench the bleeding shut.

Ellya chortled "Oh, love! Ya lied about ya fingers!"

Captain Squirrel's eyes scuttered at Ellya, then he yelped at the door. "Dogs! Kill their men!"

The door punched open. Two orcs, both massive and pale, pounded through the door. Their muscles were so ridiculously large and veiny that their arms and legs were textured like a wet blanket wrapped over a vine-coiled tree trunk.

The Pirate Maiden's men turned around. Before any of them could raise their rifles, the orcs clapped their skulls flat. Jaws dropped to the floor, literally. Ellya's men were suppressed into a paste and gelatin. Arabella and Ellya retreated away from the chalk beasts, but Sod Guard men restrained them onto their knees.

"Get ya hands off o' me!" Ellya screeched.

"Good work, dogs." The one-handed captain woofed.

The chalky orcs bowed their heads in unison. "Yes, Glad Mural!"

Admiral Goldstriker stood with dominion over the two beautiful girls. "You two whores have no idea what ya be doin' nows!" His formal tone had regressed to that of the legendary pirate scoundrel.

Ellya sparked back with clever delight. "Aye, don't ya dare harm me or me crew! Don' forget we have ya gold! If anythin' happens to me, then we be sendin' it to the sharks."

"Ha.... ha.... HAHAHA!!!" Goldstriker cackled at Ellya. "Oh, no! Not one of me fookin' ships!!! HAHAHA!!!"

The inflamed man screamed to Captain Squirrel "Tell them to deliver the gold to Davy Jones's Locker!"

Captain Squirrel grinned deviously with his golden mouth. He hopped up a stool and squealed into a steel speaking tube. "Goldstriker says sink the wooden ship!"

Admiral Goldstriker's personal vessel grew silent, then a deafening boom shook the seas. Massive cannonballs the size of sailboats blew through the hull, top deck, and sails of the wooden vessel that carried Gabbit and his buddies. Golden confetti littered the sky, with splashes of silver recreating the sounds of heavy rain.

The goblins onboard Goldstriker's vessel oooh'd and aahh'd at the wave of pleasure ringing through the sky.

"No..." Ellya felt a bolt from the revelation that this was it. Her eyes and mouth both agape.

"HAHAHAHA!!!" The deep voice of the redhead's nemesis shifted into a sharper tone. "Oh you better get used to making that face, because there are more surprises for you, love. A girl like you... Mmmmmm.

Goldstriker lowered his face onto the side of Ellya's hair. He inhaled the aroma of the 18-year-old. "After me crew finish a good salughterin' they need a good fuckin'. Or maybe... I'll stop by once i get a bandage goin' and we'll start a new family, as a way I can apologize for takin' yours. Ey, beauty?"