"I'm going to my cabin for a few minutes," he remarked, "get us out to sea."
      "Aye, sir!"  The Ax Man answered.
      The Ancient One went to his cabin and checked his logs.  They were accurate.  They showed the last entries he had made before his ship had been lost.  The only recent entries were the remarks that he had entered harbor and was taking on supplies.  "1840," he muttered,       "China. Of course!  The Opium Wars."  He recognized that date, something very important was about to happen.  He went back up on deck.  "We ARE in China," he informed his companions, "at the beginning of The Opium Wars.  In three days four Chinese ships, pirates, will join The Chinese Cause, will attack a British convoy. The British escorts will destroy them before they do too much damage to the merchant ships.  But they will be heavily damaged doing so.  If those Chinese ships had not been stopped, if they had destroyed the merchantmen and the British troops on them, the British would've lost a major engagement that would've probably changed the course of the war.  It could've given the Chinese time to rally their forces to properly arm.  They could have very easily driven The Europeans out.  I would lay odds our visitors from beyond intend to interfere with that battle.  And we'd better make sure they don't."
   "How are we going to do that,"  The Ax Man asked, "with a cargo ship?"
   "Because this isn't a cargo ship," The Ancient One answered.  "She's actually a privateer. You'll see when the time comes.  Chop Chop!"  The Ancient One snapped, "Prepare the main mount, but do not deploy weapons until we're ready."
   "Aye, sir!"  the Chinaman answered.
The crew quickly went to work.  They cleared boats from the midsection of the ship, moving them to the stern revealing a rotating platform beneath the boats. They quickly removed what looked like wooden railings from the sides of the deck.  In a few minutes they had assembled a gun mount.  When they had finished this task they returned to other duties.
   "Incredible!"  The Ax Man muttered.  "Why do you call the Chinese man Chop Chop?"
   "Because he's a member of The Tong," The Ancient One answered, "or, was.  Whenever he gets angry he takes out his hatchet and cries 'I chop chop!'"
   "Men!"  Durga muttered.
   "What's wrong with that?"  The Ax Man answered, "It's a very logical nickname.  From the look of that guy I wouldn't want him trying to chop on me!"
   "Nobody would want him chopping on them!"  The Ancient One agreed. We've got several days of good sailing. I don't see why we shouldn't enjoy it."
   A Scotsman approached. "Lamb stew for supper, captain!"  he announced.  "Cook wants to know if the officers are to sit, or should he feed the crew first?"
   "Seaman!  Take over!"  The Ancient One cried.  "Officers, to my table!  Let us eat.  Then let the first shift eat then relieve the others so they can have their turn."
   "Aye, captain!"  many voices answered.
   The Ancient One withdrew and the rest of the officers followed him.  They went to his cabin and enjoyed a good meal.  
   "Fresh provisions," The Ancient One remarked when they were done, "makes for a good voyage."
   "Aye, sir!"  everyone answered.
   The rest of the officers departed and The Ax Man came up to The Ancient One.
   "Explain one thing to me," he asked.
   "What's that?"  The Ancient One inquired.
   "I don't know a thing about ships, yet I'm giving these guys orders and seem to know exactly what I'm doing. How?"
   The Ancient One smiled. "You're using the inherent knowledge in the body you now possess," The Ancient One explained.  "He's an able seaman, knows his trade very well.  You're drawing on that knowledge."
   "Cool!"  TheAx Man answered.  "Really cool!  I just hope in some of your other lifetimes your closest friend wasn't an undertaker!"
   The Ancient One looked at his companion and tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn't, he just lost it and began to roar with laughter!  The other officers looked curious, but didn't inquire to what was so funny.
   "To your duties, Mr. Cutter!"  The Ancient One ordered.
   "Aye sir!"  The Ax Man answered, "Aye, sir!"