Well, I'm glad to hear that people enjoyed the first part, so here's the 
next.  It does start kind of slow, but it's plot exposition-- it gets 
better later on.  Trust me.

Disclaimer: Characters and associated details are property of HB and are 
used for non-profit, entertainment purposes only.

Archiving permission granted.

THE REAL ADVENTURES OF JONNY QUEST

Synopsis:  It is, it is a glorious thing to be a pirate king...

"FORTUNE'S WIND", chapter 2

by Eric R. Umali

"Attack"

Since he was a boy, Douglas Wildey could dream of nothing but a life 
seafaring.  When he was fourteen, he signed on for a spell in the Queen's 
Navy.  Three years later, he jumped ship somewhere around Cape Horn.  
Soon after, he was aboard what he thought was a merchant ship bound for 
Madagascar.

The ship was headed for those waters, but not for trade-- for piracy.  
For the many years that followed, Doug Wildey served under many of the 
most famous buccaneers in history, working his way up from creman to 
bo'sun to quartermaster to first mate.

Then came the *Bandit Queen*, and with her, his own command.  On that 
fine ship, he sailed the waters of the Caribbean, raiding mostly the 
heavily laden ships carrying New World wealth to the old crowns of 
England and Spain.

One day, "Black Dog" Wildey's crew made port in Kingston, Jamaica, and 
settled into their favorite tavern, the Blood Rose.  After an hour of the 
usual carousing, Wildey spied a tiny hand reaching up from under a table 
for his plate.  Wildey grabbed the hand, taking with it the scrawny body 
of young boy.  The pirate looked him over.  He seemed no more than five, 
and was obviously starving.  The boy was dressed in rags and was filthy-- 
all signs of life on the street.

"Hungry, eh?  What's yer name, boy?"

"Jonny," said the boy, in a small, hollow voice.  Wildey was only human.  
By the next day, Jonny was the ship's mascot, and Wildey's cabin boy.  
The crew became his family; the sea and the *Bandit Queen* his home.

Once he was properly fed, Jonny revealed himself to be a boy of boundless 
energy.  He learned all he could from the crew-- sailing, fighting, 
fencing, anthing he could get them to show him.  Jonny soon became one of 
the most valued members of the crew.  Wildey especially loved the boy, so 
he arranged for his education to go well beyond life at sea.  Tutors of 
all kinds were "engaged" for Jonny, being replaced every so often when 
they proved too fragile for a pirate's life.

By the age of sixteen, Jonny was a match for any man who sailed the seas, 
pirate or soldier.  He made old "Black Dog" proud.  So much so that the 
young man was made first mate.

**********

Jonny crouched at the bow of the ship, he and a dozen other crewmen 
hidden from view by the *Bandit Queen*'s great prow.  He looked over at 
"Black Dog" Wildey, seeing not the bloodthristy pirate of his reputation 
but his own surrogate father and best friend.  Jonny smiled, and watched 
the British ship approaching quickly.

With the handle of his sword, he thumped on the deck beneath him, 
signalling the men in the forecastle.  Below, in the large chamber, the 
crew primed the dozen small cannons.

"Now, Jonny?" asked Wildey, his voice growing excited.

"Not yet."

Moments later, "Now, Jonny?"

"Not yet, Dog."

The great blue and white ship was nearly upon them.  Wildey thought he 
could count their cannons.  "Now, Jonny?"

"Now, Dog," he replied.

Wildey stood and shouted, "Carronades ready!"

At the fore of the ship, a dozen gun ports opened, their black barrels 
pointed straight at the British warship.

**********

"Good God, they were ready for us!" shouted Bannon.  "Ready forward guns!"

The crew scrambled to load and ready the cannons.

**********

"Fire carronade!" shouted Wildey.  The cannons roared, one after the 
other, blasting the *Questor*'s prow with shot.

**********

"Captain, they've disabled our foreward battery!"

"Helm, hard to port!  Bring our heavy cannon to bear!"  The *Questor* 
turned as its own gun ports opened to reveal the big cannons, thirty strong.

**********

Pirates began rushing to one side of the deck, as the *Bandit Queen* 
began its own turn.

"Bring us hard alongside, helm!" shouted Jonny.  *So far, so good,* he 
thought.  It had been his plan, and was working very well.  Another young 
man came running towards him and the captain.  Through the cannon's 
smoke, Jonny made out the dark-skinned face of the ship's quartermaster, 
Hadji.  He had come from the East Indies to seek his fortunes in the 
west, and had found his way aboard the *Bandit Queen*.

"Captain Wildey!"

"Hadji, good!" Wildey replied.  "Tell the men to be ready to board!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Wildey turned to Jonny.  "You go across with 'em, Jonny.  I want you to 
find that cargo."

"It's a warship, Captain-- are you sure that they're carrying something?"

"I'd stake my life on it, Jonny."

Nodding, Jonny ran off to prepare the boarding party.

**********

"Captain, they're coming too close-- we can't use the cannons."

"They mean to board us!  Ready rifles and stand by to repel boarders!"

Powder was poured and shot loaded.  A row of men stood fast at the edge 
of the deck.  Moments later, the ships were nearly side by side, barely a 
hundred feet apart.

"Fire!" ordered Quest, and the rifles answered.

**********

"Return fire!" shouted Wildey.   The ships drifted closer and closer.  
"Away grapples, men!"

Crewmen began throwing the heavy iron hooks across the gap, where they 
landed soundly on the *Questor*'s railing.  Wildey lifted his head and 
shouted, "Away boarding party!"

Most boarding parties would now come over the railings, jumping from the 
deck of one ship to the other.  Knowing this, Wildey's first mate had 
something else planned.

>From their vantage point high on the yardarm, Jonny and Hadji looked down 
at the battle.

"Ready, Hadji?"

"You first, my friend."

"So what else is new?"

With a yell, Jonny jumped out into space.  The line he held went taut, 
and he swung through the air.

**********

Jessica was out of her room with the first barrage from the pirate ship.  
She ran to the small porthole in the hall outside her father's cabin, 
where she had a view of the gun deck.  The men were desperately firing 
into the air, but at what, she couldn't see.  She, too, expected boarders 
to come over from the other ship.

Suddenly, her view was blocked.  Jessica backed away until light came 
through the porthole again.  The dark shape became the figure of a tall 
young man.  Blonde hair topped his head.  He was dressed in a black 
vest,and pants with leather boots that reached his knees.  When he 
landed, several of the sailors on deck rushed at him.

The young man drew his sword and began to charge them.  Before they could 
get a shot off, a dozen of his pirate crewmates descended the same way, 
right on top of the sailors.  More pirates rushed to the deck, which was 
soon full of fighting men.

Virtually unseen, Jonny sheathed his sword and wove his way through the 
melee, towards the aft of the ship.  He found one of the hatches, and 
disappeared belowdecks.

Of all the eyes on the ship, only one pair saw him do it.  When the young 
man descended into the lower decks, Jessica walked quickly and calmly 
away from the porthole and into her bedroom, shutting the door.

TO BE CONTINUED...