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A few hours after the Captain had left for a secured Buccaneer stronghold on the Leeds surface, Thomas could almost get some rest.

Roaming about in the Buccaneer's Bay. He gave nods to fellow Buccaneers. Little did he know something bad was going to happen planet side to the Captain.

"Oi, Charles. Did you hear anythin' from that Corsair that wanted t' buy that rubbish?"
"No, I didn't Tom, why?"

Thomas sighed lightly "Really, need to get rid of it. Have any idea what the Cap'n is doin?"

Charles shook his head and finished cleaning the mug. "No idea. Probably going to see how the resources are."

Thomas nodded lightly "Right. Well then, I hope the Cap'n will be alright."
"The Captain's going to be alright, lad. Now why don't you go take care of that...Jingles..eh? Ambrose is planetside as well."

Thomas got up and took a filled mug with him walking towards the sleeping Quarters and opened the door to Ambrose's room. Jingles stared at him.

"Uhm...Good...monkey."

Captain Morgan stepped off the ramp of the passenger transport that brought him to Leeds. As expected, because of the evacuations, getting onto the planet unnoticed was not difficult. In order to further obsure his identity, he removed his distinctive tricorne hat and long red coat before leaving Trafalgar, since it would pretty much give him away down here. Last thing he wanted was to end up on a prison ship bound for a long stay in Newgate...

As he left the spaceport, he breathed in the acrid air of the planet of his youth. Growing up on Leeds wasn't easy for anyone, but by all accounts, he had certainly raised himself up from the industrial ghettos that existed all over the planet. Even in a place like this, a man of determination and instincts could make profit, and a better life. Now, the Buccaneers as a whole were doing the same. Even though they were in space now, the majority of the Buccaneers business was still based here on Leeds, and it was to one of their main strongholds that he now went.

He went to one of the poorest parts of the city, turning down one obscure side street after another. This was a place where few outsiders ever went, and the Bretonian government took great pains to conceal. They didn't want everyone knowing the kind of squalor that some people lived in, a government sponsored near-slavery to BMM. The place he went to looked like nothing more than a run-down apartment building, like so many other in this part of the city. The locals knew better, though, and gave it a wide berth. To his experienced eyes, he could see the guards outside the stronghold, watching for potential unwanted guests, and ready to kill them before they could cause any trouble. To everyone else, though, they just looked like poor, possibly homeless people, much like the residents of this part of the city.

He walked up to the front door, confidently, since this was his place. After he knocked on the door, a little slot opened at about eye-level, and a pair of eyes looked at him suspiciously until he was recognized. The guard recovered quickly, and asked for the password. Captain Morgan smiled at him.

"What? Don't recognize your Captain? Fine, the password is 'tax exemption'. Now, open this door!"

With that, the door opened. The interior of the building was a far cry from it's unassuming exterior. It was more like a luxury hotel than a slum. This alone was proof of the Buccaneer's success. He looked at the guard. The man wasn't as intimidating as John Morris was, but few were. Besides, he had to have Morris up on Trafalgar, so somebody had to take the job here. The guard spoke to him.

"Welcome aboard, Cap'n. We missed you down here."

"I'm sure you did. It's been good up in space lately, but I wasn't about to forget about you all down here. I need to speak to Lieutenant Hawkins. Where's he at?"

"He's in his office upstairs, sir. I'll call ahead to let him know you're coming."

"Thank you."

Captain Morgan walked up the stairs, acknowledging the various cutthroats, thieves, and con-artists that greeted him. Finally, he reached the top of the stairs, and Lieutenant Hawkins' personal guard opened the door for him. Seated at the desk was Lieutenant John Hawkins.

He was an older man, in his mid fifties, and easily the most experienced member of the Buccaneer's. In fact, Hawkins was Morgan's predecessor as Captain, but he was unseated in a vote by the rest of the Buccaneers when he disagreed with Morgan's plan to go back into space and claim a piece of the pie up there. Hawkins, for his part, wasn't resentful that he lost his position, since he believed in the Buccaneers old traditions, and accepted that his time as Captain was up. Since he had experience in running affairs here on Leeds, Captain Morgan kept him as a Lieutenant, and put him in charge of all planetside affairs. Hawkins got up from the desk and shook Morgan's hand.

"Captain! Welcome back to Leeds. I trust your trip was a plesant one?"

"About as pleasent as a trip on a third-rate passenger ship can be. Still, securty's tight here, and you take what you can get. I've seen your reports, and I'm happy with what I've seen there, so I'm not here for that."

"What do you need, then, Cap'n?"

"I've got a plan in mind, and I'm going to need both our people in space, and the lads down here to coordinate if we expect to pull it off. I need your boys to quietly grab a passenger transport off the pad down at the spaceport, and load it up with the best fighters you can find. I can get one of our pilots to fly the thing. After that, they'll take it to.... what's that noise?"

Captain Morgan and Lieutenant Hawkins both heard a loud crash, and what sounded like weapons fire from downstairs. Lieutenant Hawkins ran to his desk and hit the comm unit.

"What's going on down there?!"

A panicked voice answered. "Sir, we've got CP's all over. They've got the building surrounded, and are coming in through the windo-- arghh.."

With that, the comlink closed, but they'd heard enough. Somehow, Leeds Civil Protection, the local ground-based BPA division, figured out where the stronghold was, and were raiding the place. It was likely that the timing with Captain Morgan's arrival was coincidental, since he didn't tell anyone but his own people on Trafalgar about the trip. More likely, they had been watching the place for a while, and were just ready to raid the stronghold when Captain Morgan arrived. Lieutenant Hawkins opened his desk drawer, and pulled out a pair of pistols. He tossed one to Captain Morgan. He knew that, with the building surrounded, and CP's coming in through the windows, he'd have a hard time escaping, if he could at all.

They made their way out into the hallway, along with Hawkins' guard, and made their way toward the elevator down to the escape tunnel in the building's basement. A pair of CP's in light combat armor ran around the corner and opened fire with their rifles. From the sound, their rifles were in stun mode. Clearly, they intended to capture as many Buccaneers as they could. They struck the guard before Morgan and Hawkins took them both down with shots from their pistols. As the CP's died, Morgan heard a 'flatline' tone come from their armor's life-sign monitors.

They went back the way they came, intending to take a different route to the elevator. As they entered into a largeish dining hall, though, they encountered a larger group of CP's that were attracted by the weapons fire, and came to investigate. Morgan and Hawkins immediately dived for cover. The chances of them reaching the elevator were pretty well gone now. They hadn't expected this many CP's. Clearly, the BPA was serious about capturing this stronghold. Since he obviously couldn't escape, he'd give them a fight that they'd never forget.

They exchanged fire for a bit, Hawkins and Morgan both managed to hit a couple CP's, but they showed no signs of letting up. After that, though, a bolt tore into Lieutenant Hawkins. The rifle itself was clearly set to stun, but it still threw Lieutenant Hawkins into the debris of a broken table. Blood pooled on the floor underneath the Leutenant's now cooling body, a long sliver of wood protruding from his chest. Captain Morgan fired his pistol a few more times, and managed to kill two more CP's. Next thing he knew, though, he felt a shock in the back of his head. As he fell, he saw the CP officer who had snuck up behind him with a stun baton. Then, everything went black.

Back in the hangar on Trafalgar, a series of expletives could be heard coming form under a Crow fighter. A few seconds later, Jack Malcolm crawled out form under it, covered in lubricants. The fighter had started acting up again, and he had to fix a leak with it squirting everywhere.

He stood up, wiped his face with a dirty rag, and looked around the hangar. Something was wrong. There it is, the spot reserved for the Dromedary they used to shuttle between Leeds was missing. He knew the Captain had took a ride on it down to Leeds to see Lieutenant Hawkins, but he thought he should have been back already.

He pulled his comlink from a pocket in his lubricant-stained jumpsuit, switched it to Thomas Anderson's frequency and said,

"Oi, Tom, when was it the Cap'n was supposed to get back from Leeds?"

Tom's voice crackled back over the comm. "I dunno, like two or three hours ago, why?"

"Because he isn't back yet."

"Eh, that old bucket probably broke down again, don' worry about it." Tom said, then went back to drinking.

Jack shrugged, figuring Tom was right. That ship did break down every five minutes, it seemed like. Still, something felt wrong.

Jack shrugged it off, then went to take a shower.

Everyone in the Buccaneer's bay stood shocked when Anderson turned on the news.

"Couple of hundred angry Buccaneer's on that bloody liner. I'm sure the Cap'n will devise a plan." Thomas laughed lightly "Hell, lads. I'm sure we'll be seein' a bloody Liner rollin' up t' Trafalgar, and the Cap'n gettin' bein' on the bridge! It'll be a victory for us all!"

He sighed lightly wondering if any of that was actually part of the Captain's plan. "Right, Cap'n, I'll get you out of New Gate if all else fails, They'll have t' take you away from that station if they want t' trial you."

He turned away from the crowd to see a monkey...thing...staring at him. "Oi...Ambrose you need t' get your ass back from where ever you're at. Jingles is bloody scaring me." He mumbled walking over to it.

Captain Morgan woke up with a massive headache. That he woke up at all was a good sign, though. After the fight he put up, he expected the CP's to kill him on the spot rather than arrest him. Without moving his head, he took stock of his surroundings. It was a small, no-nonsense prison cell. Judging by the low-level vibrations he felt through the rack, he was probably on a prison ship. That meant he still had a chance of escape.

"Ahh, Captain, I see you're awake."

Captain Morgan turned toward the voice. It came from a somewhat smallish man, who didn't recognize, in a prisoner's jumpsuit sitting in the corner of the cell. Morgan sat up on the edge of the rack. His head still pounded a bit, but the pain was rapidly fading. He looked at the man.

"What's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing much. I was simply getting bored in here. It seems they forgot the in-flight movie."

To that, Morgan grunted slightly. "How long have I been in here?"

"About six hours. When they brought you in here, you were sedated. I heard you gave them quite a fight before they caught you."

"Not enough of a fight, it seems. You know who I am, obviously, but I don't know you."

"My name's Ethan Smith. Who I work for is unimportant, but I made a stupid mistake, and got caught in the house of a Government official on Leeds. I got through the security systems with no trouble, but apparently he had nosy neighbors. Now, I'm on the way to an extended stay at Newgate for my trouble. Probably not as long as yours, though. Now, I think I've just sat here and waited long enough. I'm ready to leave."

Really, Ethan Smith was just one alias of many that the Order agent went by. He was sent to Leeds to investigate rumors of Nomad infestation in Bretonia's government, but got careless while trying to access a government official's private terminal. Fortunately, he covered his tracks well enough that Civil Protection mistook him for a common thief. He wasn't about to tell Captain Morgan any of this, of course, but the man could still be useful to him.

Ethan stood up, closed his eyes, and began probing the walls with his fingers. He knew that it had to be here somewhere. These Prison Liners weren't built with prisoners like him in mind.

Captain Morgan watched Ethan touch the walls in several spots with his eyes closed. Morgan wondered if they locked him up with a nutjob. Still, the man looked like he had a purpose in mind.

"What are you doing?"

"This class of prison ship was built to prevent any sort of escape from the cells. So well designed, in fact, that very few people have ever pulled it off. They weren't so careful when designing the computer systems, though. I've got a neural implant that allows me to interface with any electronic system I can get my fingers near. If I'm not mistaken, one of the main network lines runs near the cells, and I'm trying to find... ahh, here it is!"

Morgan had never heard of such a thing before, but he had seen enough that he didn't discount it entirely. Still, he was skeptical.

"You can 'mind-meld' with computers? I've never heard of anyone doing that before."

"That's because implants like mine aren't exactly available on the open market, nor are they cheap. Now, give me a moment..."

Morgan waited a moment, while the man was clearly concentrating. Ethan spoke up a moment later.

"There, I'm in, and I've prevented the system from logging my presence. I've now got full control of the computers on the ship. If we're going to get out of here, we're going to need a lot of help. I'm bringing up the prisoner manifest now. Hmm... There's 134 Buccaneers aboard, along with 38 prisoners of other types. This ship has a crew of 53."

Morgan was surprised at how many of his people were aboard, compared to the relatively low number of BPA people. If they could get out, they could overwhelm the guards with sheer numbers.

"Can you unlock the doors?"

"I can do better than that. I'm going to open every door on the ship, including the armory. First, though, I'm locking the crew out of their systems so they can't call for help, fly to a friendly base, or use the ship's systems against us. Next, I'm taking us off the Trade Lanes so we can do this at our leisure."

Captain Morgan smiled widely. This was going to be easier than he thought. He had one question, first, though.

"If we can, my men are going to keep the ship. What is it you're wanting from this?"

"Besides my freedom? Safe passage to Trafalgar. I can make my way from there. Spending a few years in Newgate is not a part of my life plan."

"Fine, then. Safe passage to Trafalgar it is. Now, open the doors so we can get started."

Ethan smiled at that. "Aye, sir. Opening the doors now."

As soon as the doors opened, Captain Morgan ran out into the corridor. A surprised guard didn't have a chance to react at all before Captain Morgan slammed his head against the wall and took his rifle. Morgan then took aim, and shot another guard who was also patrolling the ship's cell block. He shouted down the hallway so everyone could hear him.

"Time to move, lads! This ship is going to be ours!"

With that, prisoners came out of every cell, most of them were Buccaneers, but even the others looked ready to help. He looked at Ethan, who had came out of the cell behind him.

"Where's the Armory at? We need to get these men armed."

Ethan pointed down the corridor. "That way. There probably won't be enough weapons for everyone, but there will still be plenty."

The group of prisoners made their way down corridor, killing the occasional guard they came across. The ship's crew was clearly confused and unable to coordinate, since they were locked out of the ship's systems. Finally, they made it to the Armory, making short work of the two guards who were protecting it. They began distributing weapons among the various prisoners. By the time they were done, most, but not all, of the prisoners were armed and ready to fight. They looked to Captain Morgan for orders.

"Lads, I want you to break up into several groups and begin canvassing the ship, taking down all resistance. Keep your weapons on stun, they use less energy that way, so we'll be less likely to run out of shots. We'll also be less likely to damage the ship that way, and I've got plans for it. One group will come with me. We're heading up to the bridge."

Morgan was treated to assorted versions of "Aye, Cap'n!". The leaders among the Buccaneers began to seperate the prisoners into groups, each of which went off in another direction. Morgan then led his group into a running firefight all the way to the bridge. His superior numbers, and the lack of locked doors on the ship made this go a lot easier than it otherwise would have. Finally, they were on the Bridge itself. After a fierce firefight that ended with most of the bridge crew unconcious on the deck, the prison liner's Captain stepped forward with his hands in the air.

"I'm Captain Clark of the Botany Bay. What are your terms for surrender?"

"Unconditional, Captain, especially since I already have you in custody. Your people made a mistake trying to lock me up. And I think I'll be keeping your ship. It's rather nice."

Morgan motioned to his men to bind the Botany Bay's Captain. Some of his other men had moved to take posistions at the various bridge consoles. The ship was now his, for the most part. He then turned to Ethan.

"Ethan, I want you to give us access to the all the ship's systems."

Ethan nodded and walked over to one of the bridge consoles. "Done. You are now in full control of the Botany Bay."

"Excellent! Give me internal sensors, I want to see what's happening down below."

Captain Morgan reviewed the sensor screen. He was impressed with what he saw. Most of the ship's crew was out, except for a group that holed up in the engine room. Somehow, they managed to get the door down there to lock, and his men couldn't breach it. That was fine, though. He had other options now.

"Activate riot suppression systems in the engine room, then open that door."

One of his crew members moved to comply. One by one, he saw the remaining members of the Botany Bay's crew fall unconcious. Captain Clark was watching the entire scene. He looked furious.

"What's the matter, Captain? Your crew isn't dead. Not yet, at least. Comm, open a channel to the rest of the ship. Helm, set a course back to Trafalgar, and engage when ready."

"Aye, Captain. Internal comms are now open, you can talk when you're ready."

"Very good. Lads, this is Captain Morgan of the Bretonian Buccaneers. The ship is now ours. As of right now, I'm rechristening it the Leviathan. Round up all the ship's former crew, and put them into the aft cargo bay, then contact me when you're done. Also, I understand that not all of you are Buccaneers. Those of you that wish to join us, may do so. Those who do not will be dropped off at Trafalgar and allowed to go your own way. Keep in mind, though, that while you're aboard the Leviathan, my word is law."

Captain Morgan sat back in his chair, waiting for his orders to be carried out. Finally, he recieved word that the ships crew were all confined to the cargo bay as ordered. He asked for a view from the camera in the cargo bay to be put on the main screen. Morgan then looked at Captain Clark.

"Now, Captain, you might find this interesting. I suggest you watch what happens next." Morgan turned to his crew. "Open the exterior doors of the cargo bay, and vent those men out into space."

When the doors opened, the effect was clearly visible on the screen. All 52 men in the cargo bay were blown out into space. Once that was done, Morgan looked back at Captain Clark. The man looked ready to commit murder. Understandable, since he just watched his entire crew die.

"Don't worry, Captain. We've got something special planned for you." Morgan spoke to the men guarding Captain Clark. "Take Captain Clark, put him into an enviroment suit, and strap him to the ship's keel. He'll love the trip through the Jump Holes on the way back to Trafalgar."

Captain Morgan smiled at the now terrified Captain Clark as the two guards dragged him off the bridge. Just then, the sensor officer spoke up.

"Captain, I've got several fighters on sensors... They're Buccaneers, sir!"

"They're a little late for the party. Comm, open a channel."

Morgan waited a moment while the channel opened.

"This is Captain Morgan of the Leviathan. You lads are a bit late, I think. Take up escort formation for the trip home. Morgan out."

He had a feeling that the Buccaneer's Bay was going to need to be restocked after tonight.

"We came as soon as we heard Cap'n." Thomas said over the Comms to the Leviathan. "Quite a good catch eh? She's a beauty. We'll let's get her back t' Trafalgar and docked. Probably take some red paint and scribble out the words, Botany Bay. I'll get a prospect t' do that."

Thomas laughed lightly has he entered formation with the Leviathan. Before the ship however started moving across space, He could see a couple of people in space suits tying someone to the keel of the ship. Thomas grinned wildly at what the Captain was about to do. "Oi, Good call there Cap'n."

Jack Malcolm pulled along the other side the Leviathan in the Blood Bak.

"Looks like we got excited for nothing here Cap'n." Jack said grinning. "Theres about 60 guys with Pulse Rifles and armor in my hold waitin' ta' blast you outta there.

Laughing at how much the small freighter was dwarfed by the Leviathan, he said,

"That could be a base! Might not have ta' pay rent to the Junkers anymore, eh?"

Captain Morgan stood in the cargo bay of the Leviathan. They had completed the move from the old Bay on Trafalgar, and now were presently lying low in one of the smog clouds of Leeds. Though they had much to celebrate, including the Captain's freedom, and the capture of the Leviathan, they had a more solemn duty to perform first. Gathered before him was every Buccaneer not on Leeds, except for the very few required to run the ship. On the floor of the cargo bay, there were 23 coffins containing the bodies of those who died to bring this ship under Buccaneer control. The crew were looking at Morgan, waiting for him to speak.

"Events such as this are easily the hardest duty that any Captain must face, but I face it gladly, knowing that our great traditions are what's allowed us to survive uncounted trials. Lads, we've won a great victory these past few days, though that victory was not without an equally great cost. We face death on a regular basis, but rarely does she visit us with such losses as we've faced over the past week. In addition to these 23 men and women before us today, we have also lost numerous people down on Leeds, including Lieutenant John Hawkins, who was among the greatest of us. Though we will thrive and prosper because of their sacrifice, we will not forget them."

Morgan paused for a second before continuing.

"Eternal darkness from which we sprang, we commend to you the bodies and spirits of our fallen comrades, that they might find their way to eternal rest."

With those words, the entire crew began to sing "Hoist the Colors", the traditional dirge of a Buccaneer funeral. Nobody quite remembered it's origins, though it was at least as old as the Buccaneers themselves, but it captured the moment well.
As the crew sang, the chosen pall bearers began placing the coffins, one at a time, into the cargo bay's external airlock. As each one was placed inside the airlock, the interior door closed, and the coffin was ejected into space.

As the song finished, and the last coffin ejected, the entire crew fell silent for a moment before the Captain dismissed them to their various duties. Now that the sad duties were done, it was time to look to the future.