The massive fire lit up the night sky with pummels of smoke curling into the air. V perched herself on the top crows nest with the newly made pirate flag dancing in the wind above her. She shrieked up at her likeness on the flag. The reflection of the light causes the images to sparkle against the night sky. Alexandria had hoisted the flag on the mast just before they left the cove. In all the excitement she forgot to mention it to the others. Tyra had her crow's nest room underneath V's perch. It needed some work but they had plenty of supplies at the moment to make it something awesome. Lyric stood on the deck watching the blaze, a stoic look painted on her face.

Alexandria walked up to her letting out an exasperated sigh. "I know this is something you wanted to happen. However if those people just moved I am sure they would have been attacked again. What good is exploration if there is no one around to appreciate it?" She knew that wasn't going to fix what happened in Lyric's past. The only good it might do is get her to giggle. Even though she hated the giggle. Seeing Lyric like this was ten times worse.

Lyric didn't speak for a moment. There was so much going on at the moment she wasn't sure what to say. How there was the fact she was the one that voted Alexandria captain. She didn't have to follow every order but this one had a point. It wasn't as if she had to set the fire since Tyra was the one that fired the shot. "I know that this had to be done. That doesn't mean I have to like it." She didn't turn to face her, not believing she could keep a straight face. There was something about her captain that made her happy.

There was a long pause on the deck. The wind and the butting of the waves against the hull were the only sounds that could be heard. They were too far away from the fire to hear the crackle of the flames. Alexandria looked around the deck admiring the new ship. It was twice the size of the old one. The mast was much stronger having room for both Tyra and V. Instead of a handle rudder there was a helm which was a great improvement. Perhaps it was time to change the subject.

"I want to know everything about the new ship. My knowledge is mostly books but you have real world experience so teach me everything since you can't crew this ship all by yourself." She moved in front of Lyric tilting her head to the side trying to get her to laugh.

Lyric closed her eyes quickly trying not to look at her. She felt like exploding in laughter since Alexandria never did anything like that before. Taking in a few deep breaths to compose herself keeping her eyes closed. "There is a way one person can sail this ship. However it would take some adjustments to the rigging to make it work. I saw it passing by one of the larger settlements. We can go there if you want?"

Alexandria wrinkled her nose a bit annoyed Lyric wouldn't open her eyes. She needed to try a bit harder. A loud crash sounded off the port side of the ship. Tyra's window opened yelling down to them. "We have a ship coming up on us!" Lyric's eyes popped open while Alexandria spun around the face that side. There was a vessel not far from their ship. Lyric ran to the rear of the ship grabbing the helm spinning it to the left.

The ship veered off as a whistling sound echoed around them followed by a splash. Water rained down around them. Tyra pointed her rifle out in the direction of the sound peering down the scope. The ship off in the distance was smoking a bit as she tried to adjust the sites to get a better look. A ball of fire erupted from the deck as a cannonball whizzed through the air. "Lyric another cannonball starboard side!" She yelled down to them.

Lyric spun the helm again, moving the ship which was responding fairly quickly. The second cannonball splashed in water not far from them raining down water onto their ship. Tyra scanned the deck for any crew members on board. Even with the light from the massive fire she was having a hard time seeing everything clearly. Taking in a deep breath to compose herself she tried listening in the ship's direction.

A few voices echoed into her ears. "What the hell is wrong with you? Have you never fired a cannon before?" It had been a long time since Tyra had heard a man's voice. He sounded older which meant he must be from a generation that favored isolation. It was crazy for him to be out in the open. The virus could still kill him.

"It has been a long time get off my back, asshole. We were told the ship was ready to be taken. How the hell is it sailing right now?" The second voice was definitely a woman's. It would seem they are after the ship. That could mean they were missing on purpose since those shots should have hit.

Opening her eyes Tyra called down to them. "We have at least one man and woman on that ship. It would seem they are after this ship." Listening to the conversation trying to get a fix on their location by the sound. A shot in the dark would be much better than getting hit by one of those cannonballs.

Alexandria looked towards the ship then back up at Tyra. "Don't shoot anyone. I want them to have to follow us. Is there a place close by we can go to meet with them?" She wanted to make sure this wasn't one of the settlers that may have been out when the attack happened. Of course there was also the chance there was another enemy out there besides the guards that attacked.

There were a few things wrong with this picture that didn't sit right with Tyra. She would rather just kill them now and take their ship. That way they could use the supplies for themselves. Letting them live could increase the chance of them getting attacked by others. Of course she needed to see if there was a place they could meet this other ship. Scanning the area with her rifle all she saw at the moment was the burning settlement. There wasn't another island, at least not within her sight. Of course it was also dark that made it hard to find things at times. She wished her night vision was better.

"I don't see anything close by. Are you sure you don't want me to take them out? We could get so much from their ship." She moved her attention back to the ship at least keeping an eye on their deck cannons which have been silent since the crew members on board started talking to each other.

Alexandria didn't want to make a mistake in the dark. There was no good way to fight them at the moment. There was also the fact that the information they possessed was far more valuable than their ship and supplies. "If you get a clean shot to wound then do it. No killing, I want the damn information they might have."

That was an answer that Tyra could work with. It would be hard to get a clean shot at the moment but if one presented itself there was going to be blood. Clicking her tongue, peering down the sight and listening as well. There could be another conversation that could help her locate them. It was interesting they could work those cannons without giving away their position.

Walking over to Lyric picking up the spyglass next to the helm. She extended it, peering through it trying to see anything. Alexandria knew Tyra had better vision but if she could figure out how to just shift her eyes that would give her night vision. That would be something she made a mental note to train on when all this settled down.

"Lyric, do you know anywhere around here we could go? There has to be somewhere we could confront them without having to have a battle at night." Alexandria let out an exasperated sigh, closing the spyglass and placing it back next to the helm. She kept her eye on the ship waiting for Lyric to respond.

"Well that settlement is a hub in this area. There aren't many other places around this area we could make it to in time." Lyric adjusted the helm a bit trying to keep the ship weaving instead of going in a straight line. The cannon fire had stopped for the moment but she wasn't going to take any chances. They had just got this ship and there was no way in hell she was going to give it up.

There had to be something they could do so that things didn't have to end in the other ship's destruction. Since there were no islands nearby, maybe they could dock and fight that way. Of course the ship would have to agree and come alongside them. Alexandria didn't want to risk bringing them on board. Tyra would be at a disadvantage. The only close quarters fighter was Lyric. Taking in a deep breath she closed her eyes trying to think.

Tyra kept listening, trying to hear any type of sound from the ship. It had gone silent for the moment. They could be hiding in an area with lead or some other type of heavy metal. She could still hear through it but not with all the sounds from the water. She was about to start shooting into the ship when a voice finally echoed into her ears.

"We need to do something or the prize is going to get away. The people on board seem to know what they are doing so we can't scare them into stopping." The voice was that of the man. It would seem that either the ship was the prize or there was something on board. Not wanting to sink the ship could mean a few things.

"Well if your guards had done their damn job we wouldn't be chasing the ship right now. Why the fucking hell was the settlement burning? Did you tell them to do that? They have yet to report in. What kind of operation are you running here?" The woman was firing off questions like an automatic rifle. Tyra was sure now that they were part of the attack on the settlement. Now all she had to do was figure out what it was they were after. The ship or something on the ship.

"What if we try to dock with them? Maybe they will be dumb enough to let us on board. If we go back without the prize we are all going to be killed. I for one don't want to have to fight my way out of a walled city." The man was speaking again trying to calm the woman down. There were still no other voices coming from the ship but the two she was hearing at the moment.

Looking down at Alexandria and Lyric she wondered if they would go for just ditching the ship. It was a nice one but dealing with the walled cities wasn't something any of them needed at the moment. She was apart to call down to them when the man's voice drifted over the water.

"If you stop we could discuss why we are firing at you. There really is no reason to be running. What do you say? We will give you anything you need." Tyra narrowed her eyes finally seeing the man standing on the bow of the ship with what looked like a makeshift horn. She waited to see if any other words were spoken that the others couldn't hear.

There was just silence but she had to tell them what she heard. Leaning down from the crows nest she called out. "They are trying to get the ship or something on the ship. This is a ploy. What do you want to do, captain?"

Alexandria thought for a moment, turning to Lyric. "How many could you handle on your own if we had to fight?" Lyric finally responded with her familiar giggle. "If I am invisible at first, a max of five."

A smile crept over Alexandria's face. "Well then Tyra give them a shot over their bow. We will meet with them, get the information we need and then kill them.”