"All hands!" the captain's strong voice echoed across the deck of the ship, "All hands on deck!:

There was a mass scramble as all the crewmembers scurried to huddle on deck, just below where their captain stood on the quarterdeck. The captain leaned on the intricate wooden railing and smiled a little, watching all the people gather below. Ah, look at the lasses, the captain thought, I can't believe how privileged I am to lead such a crew. You see, the one strange thing about this crew was that, well...there was not a single man aboard. The navigator, the bosun, the gunner...everyone including the captain was female.

The captain turned to her first mate, who stood beside her, and chuckled. "Can ye believe we're finally settin' sail?"

The first mate grinned and nodded. "Aye, it seems so unreal, Captain. Hard to think we only just topped off the roster yesterday."

The captain looked out once more upon the huddle. "Thirty souls, all eager to pillage, plunder, and follow us to the ends of the earth..."

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to be continued....