Tyranny of Steel

Honoria stood at the ramparts of her makeshift walls. Over the past few weeks, she and her crew had used the resources at their disposal to fortify the mountain village which they conquered. Using the local population as slave labor, they were able to rapidly construct superior defenses as a timber star fort.

Since the establishment of the fortress, she had issued patrols from the mountain pass down to the beaches below to secure supply lines, with the crew maintaining control over the Iron-Clad sloop of war.

There had been several attacks on the village since Honoria and her crew established control, but with superior armament and defenses, these hostile forces who had once ambushed her crew during their long treck were easily defeated.

Although they had brought ample supplies to ensure their survivability in this foreign land, munitions were running low after repeated assaults by the enemy and the supply caravans which had transported potatoes en masse to the ship had become more burdened under the onslaught of native war bands.

It was becoming abundantly clear that any attempt to establish a permanent settlement in this region would require thousands of soldiers and a constant supply of munitions from the Fatherland. An effort that Honoria was unsure whether it was worth the cost.

The Pirate Queen sighed heavily as she turned to her first mate, Melissa, who had been by her side throughout the entire ordeal. She knew they would soon be overrun by the enemy ’s attempts to drive them from these lands.

Honoria only hoped that their limited contact with the natives would spread disease like it had in New Vienna, and in doing so, wipe out much of the local populace so that future colonization efforts would not end in vain.

”Melissa, it is time to withdraw from our position. We have transported enough of these strange vegetables to our cargo hold. I hope they will be worth something to our King when we finally return to the fatherland. ”

Melissa nodded her head in silence. She agreed with her captain. Casualties were higher than expected, and the crew was growing more discontent by the day. They were dangerously close to another mutiny attempt.