[Funkduder]

The captain desk was unusually messy according to first mate, Shmee, who was also in charge of the ship’s log. Even to the men on board the The Jolly Roger, knew that many battles lay ahead of them, and if they were to survive to drink once more, they had to make sure that the captain, and they themselves, were in good health. The captain who sat behind the desk slammed his hands on the desk. He was frustrated, faced with a choice that proved to be haunting him even as he took pleasure drinking his special brand of whiskey.
Tacked to the wall, there were two letters, and almost as though there was a line between the two letters which extend on to his desk, papers were scattered about. Situation were played and replayed. The potential of certain allies and the ability to persuade them was marked on packets contain every bit of information he had on each person who would play a role in the upcoming and inevitable war.
The letter on the left, from the Kingdom of Wonderland, promised forgiveness, and reinstatement as captain of The Wasp. “It was the Jolly Roger,” remarked the captain. Could he trust those buggers? “I’ve out-smarted them again and again over the years? Are they really that forgiving?”The letter on the right was from The White Kingdom in the north, was a promise of power, and true land and all the riches he could possibly want. “It’s too good to be true, even for an infamous captain. Who would win between the two? Who should I side with?”Then Averad turned his mind to Red, the infamous red mirage, who was supposedly more skilled with any weapon than any of his men despite being a woman. “Where was her alliance going to lie?” he thought. He pondered these thoughts heavily when the ship rocked, abruptly, as if they hit a reef.
“Captain!” First Mate Shmee rang in. “Some sort of iron net has been caught on our rudder!”
“Lower the sails, and get a crew down to untangle the anchor,” said Captain Jaquez.
Shmee moved out of the cabin and the Captained followed, grabbing his sword and pistol in the process. “Standard protocol,” he reminded himself.
Walking out to the bow, he borrowed the navigator’s telescope and looked forward. The wind brushed against his ears and blew the ends of his coat behind him as Averad spotted land ahead of him. The flag hoisted on the shore gave evidence that this was a port of Wonderland, a decent place to raid, due to the crisis at hand. The Red Queen will not notice so long as their own flag remains lowered.
“Captain!” Shmee cried. “There’s a ship approaching from the rear!”
“Come Shmee. It is time we have a nice chat with the ones who may have trapped us in this Iron net,” The captain said, handing the telescope back to the navigator.