Originally posted by
pedescribe
When Bones goes to fire, I keep the ship on its course.
No need - you have faceless extras to do that. I'll have you do something more interesting.
Acting on Abe's orders, the helmsman brings
Cormorant around to starboard across the
Sunflower's bows. Abe himself crouches by the larboard gun, having elevated it already he waits for it to come on target and cuts loose with a round of grape. A generous handful of iron shot sweeps the length of the cutter, splinters fly, several men fall. Moments later the
Sunflower's single port gun barks a reply and a four-pounder roundshot punches through the schooner's foresail, but does no other damage.
Cormorant heels over as she is brought about, passing across
Sunflower's stern, and amid the screaming and yelling Sean spies a smalling figure near the cutter's counter apparently rallying several panicking crewmembers. He is well within range for a musket shot and his aim is true.
Close-hauled, the
Cormorant forges alongside the
Sunflower and the grappling hooks go over as soon as she overhauls her by half a length. The enemy gunner and his crew are hard at work trying to bring the starboard gun round to bear on the schooner, so Roger yells "Boarders away!" and himself looses at the gunner. The smoke obscures his vision for a moment, then clears to reveal the fallen gunner.
Now it's hand to hand and blade to blade, with Abe and Bonney looking for suitable pistol targets. A bold cutlass-wielder takes a swipe at the massive figure of Tuck but, unnerved by the fearsome giant bearing down on him, misses. Tuck's own blow goes wild and almost severs the main halyard by mistake.
Bonney's pistol cracks and one of the
Sunflower's crew falls. Abe spies someone who looks especially well-dressed and fells him with a pinpoint shot.
Yelling and roaring bloodthirstily, Roger leads a charge, his sabre flashing in the midday sunlight, and now the
Sunflowers are crying for quarter. But something catches Sean's eye - the undersized crewmember he felled a few minutes ago. A bandana has fallen away to reveal long hair that is innocent of the tarry pigtail that many sailors affect, and the mass of hair frames a face too delicately-boned even for a boy. He cries hoarsely for Doctor Bonney, for it's held by all that never did a gentleman of fortune kill a woman and see a good day after...