Tyranny of Steel
chapter-712

Malissa sat at a table in the middle of a small city off the coat of Africa. She and her crew of salty wenches had been exploring through the atlantic for some time now, charting courses for new territories in both the New World and the Coast of Africa.

For some time now the former prostitute had been acting as Captain in Honoria's stead. After all, Honoria explored and privateered on a whim, and spent much of her free time in the Capital of the Reich. However, Malissa and the rest of the crew did such activities as a living.

The fortune they had received in their exploits was no small sum, and many of the original girls had retired, replaced entirely with a new generation of privateers. Out of the original crew, only Elfrun and Malissa remained. Many of the new girls had never even met the legendary pirate queen.

While Germany may have outlawed slavery in both the fatherland and its colonies, that did not mean that the Arab world had done so. As a side job, Malissa would often travel to the coasts of central Africa, buy slaves from the local tribes, and sell them to Al-Andalus, Morrocco, Tunis, and the Mameluke Sultanate. It was a profitable business, as all she needed to trade were some old arkebuses, and the gunpowder for their use.

The Central African tribes would never have the means to replicate such advanced weapons, and thus she did not worry about them one day being used against Germany. While German laws stated slavery was prohibited in the boundaries of the Reich and its colonies, it did not prevent private enterprises like the Queen Honoria's Revenge from engaging in the slave trade. Albeit it was heavily frowned upon, and because of this, only those living on the fringe of German society engaged in such uncouth behavior.

However, today was different. Her crew had surprisingly run out of alcohol and citrus, due to a little drunken mishap that caused both a crewmember and a few barrels of liquor to go overboard. In order to fend off scurvy, the acting captain of the Queen Honoria's Revenge had taken an emergency pit stop in the Mali Empire.

To Malissa, who grew up in the Byzantine Empire, the idea that this primitive state could call itself an empire was laughable. However, for a sub-saharan African nation, it was relatively advanced. After all, if one traveled a few thousand kilometers south, they would literally run into stone age tribals. Though the Mali were rich in gold, for whatever reason, they had utterly failed to build a single city that was comparable to any of those that existed in the Byzantine Empire.

Timbuktu, the great trading city of the Mali Empire, was nothing more than a loose collection of mud bricks when compared to the grand Romano-Byzantine Architecture. Because of this, Malissa and much of her crew had an innate sense of disdain for the people of sub-saharan Africa. However, when interacting with the locals, they didn't let it show.

Thus, when their ironclad sloop of war which flew the colors of the Reich landed in a small coastal city, they put on the airs of diplomacy. While Malissa's girls were out buying the necessary resources to continue their journey into the Mediterranean and towards the Mameluke Sultanate. The woman in question was gambling with some of the locals. Malissa had ensured to buy a handful of slaves who could act as translators for the regions in Africa they contacted. For the sake of convienence, she freed them and offered them a place in her crew, which they gladly accepted.

The Game of choice was five finger fillet, as its rules were simple enough to teach anyone on short notice. Despite being a woman in an Islamic city, Malissa refused to wear a head covering. Because of this, many of the locals were hostile, but the revolver on her waist was enough to put down any attempt to harm her or her girls. More than one would be rapist had been shot in the city by Malissa's crew. This was not their first time visiting this port city, whose name was unpronounceable to a westerner.

Because of this, these men were willing to wager their fingers in exchange for one thing, a night with Malissa or one of her girls. After all, most of Honoria's crew were Caucasian women, which were completely alien to the Mali Empire, making them exotic beauties. Being a former prostitute, Malissa had no qualms about wagering her body in exchange for coin. However, despite the multiple attempts by men to beat her at her own game, they usually ended up losing a finger and paying the sum she had demanded as a bet.

Malissa nimbly wielded the knife between her five fingers with ease. The men were shocked to see how easily she manipulated the weapon without harming herself. Especially at such speeds. The man who was gambling against Malissa gulped the saliva down his throat as he doubted whether he would be able to best such skill. After completing her round, Malissa handed over the blade with a smug smile on her face.

"Try your best, boys, but I'm afraid I'm going to be taking your gold today."

After hearing the translator repeat the woman's words, the African man frowned before rolling up his sleeve and placing his palm on the table. He skillfully moved the knife between his fingers, albeit slowly at first. However, if he wanted to win the wager, he needed to pick up the speed. Thus, he increased the rate at which he stabbed between his fingers until finally he slipped up and sunk the blade into his thumb.

He screamed in agony as he gazed at the knife sticking into his thumb. Malissa simply cackled as she saw the man injure himself and scooped the promised payment that sat on the table in her pile. This was not the first chump she had enticed by a wager of her body. She had accumulated quite a bit of gold from this venture. Ultimately, she grew bored with this activity and decided to call it quits, attempting to leave with a taunting tone.

"Sorry boys, better luck next time!"

After saying this, the woman blew a kiss and trotted off. However, she didn't get far, as the bodyguards of the man she had just wagered blocked her path. Malissa frowned when she saw this and immediately questioned the man's actions via her translator.

"What is this? We had a deal!"

The man immediately screamed at the woman in his native tongue while wrapping up his bloody thumb with a tablecloth. Her crew member translated his words.

"He says that you cheated him, and he demands your body as payment, for him, and his men."

The bodyguards immediately made a move for their swords, but Malissa was a second quicker. She quick drew her twin revolvers like an expert gunslinger and fired three shots from each weapon into the six men. Their bodies hit the floor like a sack of potatoes, where Malissa turned around and pointed one of her guns at the African man's skull before making a playful statement.

"Good night, sweetheart!"

After saying this, she pulled the trigger and splattered the man's brains all over the table she was just sitting at. The onlookers who saw the slaughter were petrified. There were rumors of white women who had come to their lands and taken the lives of those who sought to take advantage of them with the power of thunder. However, until now, none of them believed it. Had they not witnessed the sight in person, they would have assumed it was a fairy tale.

Malissa sighed heavily as she reloaded her weapons, gazing down at the poor souls who had just departed. There was a hint of disdain in her eyes as she muttered, her contempt beneath her breath.

"Fucking savages..."

The translator did not exactly take kindly to these words, as she was aware of the disdain that most of her "sisters" had for the various peoples of sub-saharan Africa. However, the pay was good, and there was little danger to her life. It was certainly better than being a slave like her tribesmen who were sold to the Arabs. After saying this, Malissa gazed at the girl and smirked before commenting on the situation.

"Let's get out of here before the guards show up!"

After saying this, she fled the scene of her crime with the translator, taking all the gold that the departed had left behind for her. Shortly thereafter, the crew of the Queen Honoria's Revenge would set sail for the Mediterranean, leaving behind the African coast for the third time in the past six months.