World Building: The Captains of the Barrow’s Revenge

02 Oct

Earlier, I described the main ship for the story I’m working on called Swift Fox and the Pirates of the Jackai. The Barrow’s Revenge has had a long history, and at some points her current captain, Captain Crena Clarendale, will state that the Revenge has been in her family for seven generations.

To mark this tradition, in the captain’s quarters nine portraits are hung; seven in chronological order in a row underneath two centered above the others. The two above the seven are of Captain Finnius Clarendale and Admiral Tilly Stillwater. They both served on board the flagship of the Royal Vulpine Fleet, the Tritan. Tilly was her captain when the Tritan A and her crew ran a foul of a particularly hard nosed Pantheran Admiral at the close of the Great Vulpine Pantheran War. She had ordered all crew to lifeboats, and had her then communications officer, Finnius Clarendale, send a distress signal to Vulpine Command. Against Tilly’s wishes, who believed captains go down with their ships, Finnius rendered her unconscious and dragged her to a lifeboat. Tilly threatened court martial, but under duress, Finnius revealed two things. The Vulpine Shipyards would most likely build the Tritan again, and the Tritan should not have any other captain than Tilly. And Finnius could not let the one Vulpine who inspired him to die so easily.

This confession grew to a close relationship, then a mate pairing. Together, they had five kits, the oldest of which was Hargrove Clarendale. Hargrove did not have his sights set on joining the Vulpine Academy, and for a while he was just a simple ship builder. But, there was an adventuresome spirit in his nature, and the call of the space faring lanes did reach his ears. When he was 25 years old, he purchased an old cargo ship decommissioned by the Royal Vulpine Fleet, called The Barrow.

For the most part, life was simple, shuttling cargo to and from ports of call. Had the Jackai not attacked his ship, things might have turned out differently. After the attack, his now famous meeting set things in motion. It was after the first encounter with a Jackai ship that his parents found out about what Hargrove had done.

He defended his actions with his parents, siting ship and crew needed to protect themselves. He pointed to the fact he broke no laws set forth in the Lupine Treaties that were written at the close of the Great Vulpine Pantheran War. And he stated most firmly that he had every right to defend his cargo from filthy Jackai. Eventually, both Tilly and Finnius agreed, but on the condition that the Revenge at least follow some old traditions set forth on space faring vessels before.

“Mid morning and mid afternoon tea. You will serve it, which will bring about a trust with the crew. Your crew’s loyalty is paramount to an efficiently running ship. Be loyal to them, and they will be loyal to you. Besides, serve tea, you’ll gain a modicum of civility that many of those cutthroats who attack vessels will never have. Be above them who would attack you, even if that were to show mercy in the face of danger.”

Hargrove took his mother’s words to heart, and passed that onto his daughter, who became the next to captain the Revenge.

Captain Millicent Clarendale would go on to become the most rough and tumble of the Revenge’s captains. She even had kits without committing to a mating pair. But she kept the oath that her father had her swear to. Cargo was never later under her watch, and with her as Captain, the Revenge even began escorting smaller Lupine and Lionid vessels. In Millicent’s captaincy, she learned several things, which she then passed onto her son, Reginald Clarendale.

“From time to time you will encounter derelict vessels. Under treaties law, you must see to it that any who may be on board are tended to, even if they may be seen as an enemy. They will be transported to the nearest port of call, and ensure that any cargo they have which is salvageable is returned to them. If they happen to be under a bounty, and someone from Vulpine authority is chasing tail, then the nearest authority will be contacted, and those individuals placed in the brig. Even there, however, you will still show them courtesy and civility.”

Reginald, as it turned out, was more interested in the romantic aspect of captain. While he wasn’t necessarily a bad captain, he wasn’t necessarily a very good one either. A lesson that his short term as captain he soon learned with his own death when they were attacked by a Pantheran Maurader. Upon his death, his mate, Sylvia Clarendale took up the rank of captain, sailing under her mate’s banner and continuing the Clarendale legacy.

Sylvia was much more diplomatic, and didn’t care much for the romantics of life in the space faring lanes. Each and every cargo and transport was important for the continued life of her and her crew.

With Reginald, she had four kits. All four stayed on board the Revenge, and she cared for them very much in between her duties as captain. It wasn’t unheard of for Sylvia to be holding a diplomatic conversation with the Admiral of a Pantheran destroyer while cradling her youngest.

“Captain Clarendale… is that a … baby you are holding?”

“Yes, yes she is. She is my youngest daughter and I’ll be damned if she won’t have some of my attention after she had a good morning cry. I am fully capable of handling these negotiations while tending to my kits, Admiral. If you have issue with that, then it is none of my concern. Now, if you will excuse me, it is twenty minutes after ten in the morning. Mr. Kellum will be serving mid morning tea shortly, which upon conclusion in half an hour, we may continue.”

“Captain, I must protest…”

“Mid. Morning. Tea, Admiral. I shall speak with you again in half an hour.”

Sylvia Clarendale granted captaincy to her oldest son, Jeshim Clarendale. Jeshim was studious when watching his mother deal with cargo shipments, the crew, and even Pantheran Admirals. He learned a great deal from her. It was under Jeshim, however, that the Revenge saw the greatest amount of fighting. He became known as the Scourge Privateer of the Lupine System, for the number of battles he encountered with Jackai raiders. The Jackai were growing much more bold, and one thing Jeshim would not see was to back down from a fight. His philosophy was a simple one.

“I will not see other merchant sailors sent back to their prides to cower. If we can hit these raiders just as hard as they give, maybe we can send a message that these shipping lanes won’t be some easy targets. I’ve spoken with too many captains who have almost quit because they fear for their lives and lives of their crew. If it means my own death, then by the Great Mother, I will be comforted by the fact that I tried to help protect these lanes from those filthy Jackai.”

His crew followed him without question, and they truly did believe that what they were doing was for the best interests of the system as a whole. Even if they had to bend a few treaties rules in order to do it. This lesson he passed onto his son, Tal Clarendale.

Tal never really wanted to be captain of the Revenge. His sights were set on the Vulpine Academy. Tal’s younger brother, Cedric, was the one who really wanted to captain the Revenge. Cedric learned all he could about life in the lanes, and listened intently to his father. But tradition dictated that the first born would be the one to take up the captaincy. So Tal made a deal with Cedric.

“You and I both know that I’d rather be in the Academy right now, Cedric. But, I know what tradition means in this family. However, I am willing to break with tradition just this once, in order to ensure that both dreams come to fruition. I’ll have you serve aboard as a deck hand, learn the ways of this ship. When you are 18, I will hand over captaincy to you, and I will join the Academy.”

On Cedric’s 18th birthday, he was ushered in as the seventh captain. Cedric was the one who took to ensuring that the complete record of the Revenge’s crew was kept current. Portraits were placed in the captains quarters to indicate the different captains of the Revenge, and even group pictures put up in the hangar to show all those who were members of the attack pod squadrons over the years. He was well liked by the crew, and grew a name for himself. When he was ready to retire, his first born kit, his daughter, Crena Clarendale would take over. Just like her father, she worked as a deckhand on the ship, learning everything she could. On her 18th birthday, she was given her title.

When Crena finally retires as captain, her portrait will be added to those that hang in the captain’s quarters.