Ted pockets the picture for safe keeping, and goes to investigate the contents of the bags and barrels sitting on the floor. Maybe they would provide some sort of clue as to what type of ship there were on.
The device is faintly blinking.
The barrels and bags are filled with various sorts of food.
There is a pair of wooden doors on one side of the room.
"Well, we're not going to see much waiting in here." Max moves and opens the door a crack, taking a peek outside.
As you peek out, you see a room with several crates and barrels scattered around and a set of stairs that seem to lead to the deck of the ship. You hear several voices from up above and as you look around, you notice two men in yellow naval uniforms and powdered wigs walk down the stairs, their voices tinged with a Spanish accent.
Grunting, Ted pulls his attention away from the barrels and bags. Guess if we get hungry we know where to come.
"Well, we're not going to see much waiting in here." Max moves and opens the door a crack, taking a peek outside.
Ted carefully walks over to the door as it opens and the voices of the Spanish soldiers carry through into the storage room. "Does it look like they're coming in here?" he whispers to Max.
Max strains her ears to try and listen to what they're saying - are they coming towards us?
Jen cheerfully strides out the doors and takes note of their surroundings, before jauntily waving at the Spanish men. "Hullo, chaps! You happen to know where we are?"
The two men suddenly turn and look with wide eyes at Jen, then reach to their sides, pulling their flintlock pistols out and pointing them at her while pulling back the hammer.
"Now, come on, no need for that! You wouldn't harm a lady in distress, would you?" Jen says cheerily, raising her hands in an expression of surrender.
"We have a stowaway!", one of them shouts. Suddenly, more men appear, pointing pistols and muskets at Jen.
"Hm, I suppose that could technically be true," Jen muses as a veritable flood of soldiers descends upon her. "Where is this ship going, anyways? Must be important if we're on here."
"No, stop!" Ted shouts at Jen, too late to stop her. He throws open the door, a hand ready to pull out his gun before it is quickly pulled back at the sight of the firearms currently aimed at Jen. They'll shoot me dead if I draw now. He carefully puts his hands in the air, mimicking Jen, shooting her a dirty look for putting them in unnecessary danger.
"H-Hola," he begins to say before realizing they were speaking perfect English. Wonder what that's all about? "I mean, hello! We, um, come in peace. Is this the good ship San Geronimo?"
"How do you know the name of our ship?", one of them says. "Yes, he spoke English at first. They may be spies!", another shouts.
"Alright boys, how about we all just calm down - we'll come quietly if we can just speak to your captain." Max raises her hands in a gesture of surrender.
Spoke English first? Very interesting.
Were the Spanish officers (he assumes as this point they must be on some kind of military ship) hearing them speak Spanish? It seems too ridiculous, but considering his past experience with the Doctor, Ted knows that anything is possible at this point.
"There was a picture in the storage room of your ship. We promise, we're not spies! We came here accidentally," he says quickly, still keeping his hands in the air.
"Let's take them to the captain. He'll sort them out!", one of them says as a few of the crew come forward, grabbing you and putting their pistols against your back as they start to march you up the stairs.
Max itches to check the locator as they're walking through the ship, but not enough that she'll risk revealing it. She also considers any of a number of snarky comments about having a weapon poking her, but restrains herself.
As the crew haul the three of you on deck, the smell of seawater hits your nose and the rocking of the ship is more noticeable. The sky is dark and a layer of fog hangs over the area.
Max breathes in the air and steadies herself against the disorientation of actually seeing the ground moving around. She tries to peer around, taking in as much of the scene as possible.
Ted wrinkles his nose as he tries to keep his balance as they move up the ship. Smells better than New York, at least. Ted glances anxiously at Max and Jen as the guards move them onto the deck, wondering if their mission was about to end just as it was getting started. "Hopefully their captain is a reasonable man," he mutters.
And hopefully they don't try to push our ship overboard.
The men lead you to the door's to the captain's quarters. They open to reveal an ornately decorated room, with charters and maps covering a wooden desk. Sitting behind this desk is a man in a yellow naval officer's uniform and a powdered wig, who looks up as you enter.
"We found them in the food storage. We don't know where they came from," one of the men says. The captain eyes you with suspicion as he speaks with a thick Spanish accent. "I am Captain Gaspar Castillo of the Spanish vessel, the San Geronimo, and I demand to know who you are, how you got on board, and what your intentions are."
Ted steps forward to address the captain. "Hello Captain Castillo, it is an honor to meet you," he says, trying to come up with a good lie. "We came aboard your ship not as enemies, but as friends. We are seeking..." He eyes the powdered wig for a moment before taking a gamble, "An enemy to the Spanish crown! He calls himself the Doctor."
Maybe that'll save us from being thrown overboard, he thinks to himself. Or at least buy us some time.
The Captain squints at Ted. "Do you really expect me to believe such a simple lie? I should throw you overboard right now."
Max looks at the captain in alarm "Please don't. We're just looking for the Doctor, we were told he may have been this way." Max realises that what she's saying makes little sense. but she's panicking a little and bluffing doesn't seem to be working.
"Now listen here. I don't know anything about this Doctor nonsense. All I know is that I have 3 mysterious strangers on board my ship. 3 strangers, I might add, who sound like they've just escaped an asylum," he says as he scowls at you.
Jen clears her throat, oddly composed for her usually eccentric demeanor. "Excuse my companions, they've been through some rather traumatic experiences as of late. You see, this 'Doctor,' fellow that they have been mentioning is a dangerous criminal that we have been hunting. He's eluded us for almost a year now, you see, and we've hunted him across Europe. We had almost given up hope of finding the bastard who stole my inheritance," her fist clenches and her voice tightens, for dramatic effect, "and killed my father to boot as well. Then we caught word that he was fleeing across the sea-the coward!-and seeing as all of our funds have already been either wasted or stolen upon the endeavor of finding this man, we were forced to stow away upon your good ship, in one final hope of finding this dastardly scoundrel. Please forgive us for this trespass, but we had no other choice!"
The captain looks at Jen, and his expression seems to ease up. "You seem very assertive that that is your mission. My apologies for not believing you before. Your companions just spat it out so hurriedly that I was inclined not to believe you. We shall drop you off next time we head to port."
Ted quietly thanks his lucky stars as the captain begins to soften. "It's quite alright, sir," he says. "As I'm sure you can imagine, it's been a stressful mission for all of us. We appreciate your understanding."
Ted glances at Max and Jen for a moment before asking, "Would it be alright to have a look around the ship? Supervised, of course," he adds hastily. "We do have reason to believe there may be some clue to his whereabouts here."
"I suppose there's no harm in th-," he begins to say when suddenly loud explosions are heard. Soon after, the ship shudders. There are screams from the men outside, some screaming, "Fire!", others screaming, "Pirates!"
The captain springs up from his chair, pulling out his flintlock pistol. "It would seem we are under siege! You are not indebted to me, but I beg you to help us fight off these brigands!"
Ted struggles to keep his footing as the ship rocks back and forth from the impact of the cannons. Pirates! He couldn't believe they were being attacked by actual pirates!
"Of course we'll help you," he says excitedly, ready to follow the captain to the deck. "Where do we need to go?"
Max giggles in a slightly hysterical fashion. "Pirates...okay then"
Outside, chaos ensues as crew members run around, frantically grabbing weapons and trying to fill buckets with water as another ship looms beside the San Geronimo.
Max looks around for some sort of weapon, she's not exactly a fighter, but it'd make her feel a little more secure.
Ted removes his gun from his holster, careful to avoid letting the crew of the San Geronimo get a good look at it. His gun was a little more advanced than their weapons, and after his last attempt at bluffing he really didn't want to have to answer more questions. He moves to the side of the deck where the pirate ship begins to approach and prepares to defend himself.
Jen stutters a little bit. "Pirates? Pirates. Oh, oh dear. Alright, um, I suppose I can help with any wounded, although I'm not exactly the most able fighter."
As the battle ensues, a sudden explosion from below deck sends men and wood splinters everywhere, coating the deck in debris as the ship begins to split in half and sink.
Max lets out a little scream as the ship buckles beneath her "If lose the blue-box thing we can't get back!" she shouts to the others, and tries to dash back towards where the TARDIS was left.
The explosion sends Ted falling to the ground. With a grunt, he pushes himself back up and puts his gun away, afraid to lose it in the sea.
"If lose the blue-box thing we can't get back!" she shouts to the others, and tries to dash back towards where the TARDIS was left.
Ted watches with terror as Max begins to rush back to the storage room, and quickly follows after.