Tales from the Captain’s Table Read Online Free PDF

registering astonishment. He took another swig from his tankard.
    Riker smiled. “I’m not concerned about my wife, nor about any attention she may have paid Commander Keru during their deception. The roles they were playing there had little to do with reality.”
    Klag wiped foam off his upper lip. “Can you be so certain?”
    Riker looked over at Picard and grinned. Klag’s question had brought a smile to the Enterprise captain’s lips as well, and Riker was glad to have received a respite from Picard’s earlier disapproving gaze.
    “Captain Klag, I believe that Commander Keru would be likelier to accept a romantic overture from you than from my wife,” Riker said. “Though you might be the one whose clavicle gets broken during that particular liaison.”
    Klag raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reply.
    Riker continued.
     
    “So, legend or not, I’d like to know what really happened to the Treasure of Pamplin Rock, heh,” Torr’ghaff said, leaning over his plate.
    I saw Deanna and Keru exchange a glance, and knew in that moment that something had gone very wrong.
    “The treasure is as safe as all our other booty,” Keru said. I could see the tension in his posture.
    “No matter what truce we call tonight, nor what liquor you pour us, you can’t expect me to reveal all my secrets,” Deanna said, leaning forward a little shakily. She plunked her hand on the table, as if to emphasize her point. “After all, we’re still pirates.”
    Torr’ghaff clamped his gnarled turquoise hand down on top of my wife’s hand, and leaned in closer, an angry expression on his face. “Whoever you are, you’re not Arr’ghenn, neh. The Treasure of Pamplin Rock was captured by Green Beard Grooo’lk not three quell s ago, heh.”
    Deanna seemed to sober up quickly as she yanked her hand quickly away. “My mistake. I thought you were talking about the earlier treasure. The one they never reported as missing.”
    In an instant, the others in the room had stood and drawn their cutlasses and daggers. Torr’ghaff stood as well. “Your mistake was in thinking we would be fooled, neh. Now you and your strange ship will be ours, heh.”
    As Keru stood, he grabbed the edge of the heavy wooden table and upended it away from him. The food, drink, and dinnerware scattered, even as three of the pirates jumped back to avoid being pinned beneath the table itself. Keru and Deanna had their own weapons in hand before the table had even hit the floor.
    Since my hands had been tied in front of me to allow me to eat, I quickly wrapped my arms and bonds around the throat of the pirate nearest to me, choking him from behind. He stabbed backward with his blade, but I sidestepped his clumsy slash and managed to fling him toward one of his crewmates. Unfortunately, that man was already swinging his cutlass, and the pirate I had thrown was directly in the sharp blade’s path.
    The blade nearly decapitated my opponent, and he went down with a spray of purplish blood. I whirled just as another pirate took a swing at me and blocked the blow with my forearms. I straight-legged him with a quick V’Shan kick I’d learned from Lieutenant Taurik, and the pirate went sprawling backward.
    I barely had time to see that Deanna and Keru were holding their own against their foes as I dived for my attacker’s fumbled weapon before he could recover it. Unfortunately, both of us slipped on the pool of blood from his nearly headless crewmate, and slid into each other.
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Deanna sparring with Torr’ghaff, their blades sparking against each other. I could hear Keru and several others fighting behind me, near the stateroom’s doors, but since my attention was focused on my own immediate survival, I couldn’t see how he was doing.
    Though I managed to grab the cutlass, my footing was unsteady on the slippery deck. My opponent, now divested of any weapon save his wits, swept his leg out, tripping me backward. I crashed to the deck,