The lukewarm winter winds swept up the tides of the channels and sent them crashing down upon the lower portions of the Queen Victoria and her neighboring vessels, leaving whitewater to drift around the large corsair fleet. Francis stared longingly over the ship’s cabin railing into the horizon while caressing his stubble, following the vague shapes in the distance which he knew to be the landing force of his personal army, as the small carriage vessels flew a small red flag with a single white rose and two skulls — the symbol of the Francis Carter Fleet; the terror of the English Channel. He looked back to the Queen Victoria, searching for a certain someone. Scanning over the several decks of the vessel, around the turrets and lookout posts, he finally spotted her amongst the crew, securing an ammunition crate to a pole in case of rough waters.

“Oy! Vicky! Get over ‘ere!”

Francis’ wife and partner-in-crime turned her red head to face him across the decks of the Queen Victoria, hair flowing majestically in the soft sea breeze. He was glad she was there for this. This was the biggest thing they had pulled since going all the way out to Pomerania, but even that was mincemeat compared to the heist that was about to commence. Vicky maneuvered past her crew carefully to meet Francis at the cabin deck, where he leaned waiting. He pulled out a small pair of binoculars and handed them to her, indicating that she looked over yonder to the distant fleet of transport vessels.

“They’re close to shore. Time’s almost here.”

“Aye.”

—----

Invasion of Chunguston [EN204]

The coasts of Chunguston proved a difficult land to maneuver for the invading pirates. Perhaps it was their amateur training, or maybe their sub-par arms when compared to Jerusalemite firepower; the only thing that the pirates knew for certain was that they were surprisingly outmatched, despite having the upper hand in their somewhat-surprise attack on the town.

Several dozen of the marauders found refuge behind the half-decimated ancient cobblestone walls that dotted the coast, though it was nowhere close to a tactically sound method of defending themselves from the several hundreds of Jerusalemite soldiers and aircraft which scanned the coastline for invaders. Eventually, the attack crumbled, and the remaining raiders — who were very much few in number — escaped through the seaside forests to meet with their more successful counterpart in the south.

​

—----

Sacking of Cleeve Hill [EN206]

While news was received of the defeat in the north, the pirate complement of the south did not fret, as the land ahead of them seemed completely empty, save for the occasional cottage that was placed pristinely between farmlands. The raiders made quick work of the sparsely-populated lands, pillaging it for every ounce of wealth it had — be it in precious goods or in blood.

The foray could not last long though, as news of the southern landing caught wind in the north shortly after the pirate’s defeat, and Jerusalemite soldiers were at the heels of the quietly retreating forces. It was only a few hours on land that the marauders decided to pack their things and head back to sea, where they would attach back to Francis’ fleet and prepare for the next fight that might come their way.

58.81 Fuel Stolen

172 People Taken as Slaves

$56,670,925.4 in goods taken as Loot

EN206 set to restless for 5 years

—----

Skirmish over Evesham

While the dust settled on land, things were only beginning to heat up in the sea. Portions of the Jerusalemite air force had been scrambled and were heading right for the Queen Victoria, as was the small but formidable Jerusalemite fleet.

While the ships were of little issue for the well-trained pirates, the Spitfires ravaged the fleet, scattering bullets and bodies over the waters, turning the sea red with gore. Francis had never anticipated airplanes to be his greatest foe on this incursion, but he noted it duly before ordering a fleet-wide tactical retreat back to wherever they had come from.

​

​

While the raid wasn’t seen as a total success, it certainly was not a failure. Francis had not only secured a large amount of material wealth, but had finally made himself proudly known as the Pirate King of the English Channel around the entirety of the Shattered Isles.