Enrique O'Rackham

"I wouldn't hoist the Union Jack now that it's been bought by the East India Trading Company. If you're smart, you too should not." 
 Enrique O'Rackham is the infamous Captain of the Midnight Blade, and appears in several woks (such as POTC: The Pirate Wars) as a recurring character. He is generally shown defending the Caribbean from the EITC and Jolly Roger. Most of Enrique´s life, apart from the War Against Piracy, is unknown, although it is known that he served aboard Hassan ben Sahid's corsair ship, the Scimitard, along with Tobias Sharksteel and Pondshot; he later travelled around the globe, most notably visiting China and India. O´Rackham later in his life became the Lord of the Aegean Sea in the 5th Brethren Court.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Enrique was born in Belfast, Ireland in 1709. His father was a merchant known as Josez, who died of a grapeshot when Enrique was seven, and from who he got his Spanish name. Not much is known about his mother, except the fact that she was Irish, and died in childbirth. In 1732, Enrique had been living in the streets for nearly half his life, and, seeking a better life than the one he'd get in his homeland, he secretly embarked on the God's Hand, a British warship that headed for the Caribbean.
However, his presence in the warship didn't stand secret for long, after he was found by cadet James Hawkins. Here Enrique's wits came to the test, as he convinced the cadet not to give him in. Hawkins, who was not much older than O'Rackham, had joined the EITC for pretty much the same reason as him. Soon the a great friendship was established between the two boys.
However, upon arriving at Port Royal, problems arose. Finding that Hawkins had been hiding a stowaway, the dreaded Captain of the God's Hand - Lieutenant Claude d'Arcis - killed the young cadet on the spot. O'Rackham fled for his life, and sought revenge on the EITC.
Circa 1740, Enrique was said to have sailed under the command of the Arabic corsair Hassan ben Sahid, raiding on settlements along the northern African and eastern Spanish coasts. It is also hinted that there he met Tobias Sharksteel and Pondshot.
Unfortunately, Sahid's infamy grew to alarming levels and began to be chased by the Spanish Armada. He was eventually forced to beach his ship, the Scimitard, in the Andalusian coast; here, Enrique, Tobias and Pondshot separated. They would, however, meet again 6 years later.
At some point between 1732 and 1745, Enrique himself tried to join the Navy as a cadet, and was accepted. However, his alliance with the redcoats was somewhat short-lived: he realized the enormous influence the EITC had on the King's Navy, and subsequently deserted it.
After deserting the Navy, O'Rackham roamed the West Indies throughout 1745; it was during these travels that he met Edward Hullmartin and Davy Sternrat (Hullmartin would then become his second-in-command aboard the Midnight Blade).
In 1746, at age 37, he returned to Padres del Fuego, coinciding with his friends Pondshot and Tobias Sharksteel.
WARINING! MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE PIRATE WARSFOLLOW!
==The War Against Piracy ==
===The Meadow Bros. ===
Around 1745, Enrique - aged 36 - returned to the Caribbean, for he still had a grudge for the East India Trading Company. His early investigations of the Company's activities made him suspicious, and so he hired the Meadow Brothers - Matt & Mark - to investigate further.
Their perilous investigations at Kingshead revealed that the Company was stacking up enormous gunpowder arsenals to use on pirates.
=== ===
===Battle of Padres del Fuego ===
Enrique and his crew assisted the Battle of Padres, where they suffered heavy casualties, but were able to fend off the invaders with the help of the Marceline Guild. Aided by his friends Pondshot, Tobias Sharksteel, Edward Hullmartin and Davy Sternrat - among others -, they managed to resist the hordes of Undead Spanish that had erupted from the caves, while surviving cannon-fire from the EITC. A warship led by Captain Steadman was destroyed by Tobias Sharksteel. Surviving pirates were later aided by the Marceline Guild.
====Rescue of the Governor====
Some time prior to the Battle of Padres, Elizabeth Swann, the daughter of the king´s governor in Port Royal, seeked help on a family affair regarding her long-lost father, and was decided to pay good coin to those who helped her. Enrique and the crew of the Midnight Blade accepted her quest; after a long search and chase, Weatherby Swann was "retrieved" from the clutches of the East India Trading Company, in the heat of a fierce sea battle.
===Injury and Retirement===
During the Battle of Tortuga, Enrique was grievously wounded by a grenade explosion; he suffered a severe leg and hipbone injury and was left with a limp, predictably for over five years and even then with lasting effects. Unable to step on the field of battle ever again, and unwilling to yell orders from behind the wheel, he abandoned piracy and settled in a modest home in Padres del Fuego. He left his third ship, the Midnight King, dry-docked and most of his possessions (including, but not limited to, his swords, guns, charts and sea-chest) abandoned in his cabin. It is rumored Samantha O'Walker, an old flame, heard of his self-imposed exile and promptly joined him there; on ocassions the two can be seen together in Padres, in Ratskellar, and at times too in Las Pulgas wherein he aids his friend Goslin Prymme keep the Undead at bay.
Sometime during his self-imposed exile, Enrique was visited by his friend Johnny Trueskull, who warned him of a coming calamity and tried to persuade him to rejoin the fight against the Undead and the EITC. Enrique, however, refused to return to the life that left him crippled: and this, he said, he did not out of fear but out of common-sense: for he new he'd found a peace on Padres no other shore could anymore lend him.
Enrique's fate after the War on Piracy and 1750 is, for the moment, unclear.
==Friends and Relationships==
Note: Probably most - if not all - of the people listed below will appear in the Pirate Wars
Pondshot: Probably Enrique's most trusted friend; Pondshot, Edward Hullmartin, Tobias Sharksteel and Enrique O'Rackham met in a mysterious expedition they don't talk about. Pondshot took part in most of Enrique's battles, but later sought greater power, which led him to a confrontation with his old friend, O'Rackham. The outcome was - Pondshot disappeared in Raven's Cove forever...
Edward Hullmartin: Whenever Enrique wasn't aboard the Blade, Hullmartin was. An expertised sailor, quick-witted strategist and excellent gunner, Hullmartin usually takes care of the Midnight Blade when Enrique is on land - some even say he's better than the captain of the Blade. Hullmartin also showed skill with weapons in the Battle of Padres. What became of him after the end of the War Against Piracy is unknown.
Samantha O'Walker: Enrique's first love interest, their relationship went far but in the end, O'Walker somehow 'disappeared' and Enrique did had to do what he could to forget her.
Sarah Swordscarlett: Enrique and Sarah met at Port Royal and she fell in love with him technically a minute after. Enrique, however, noted that they were just friends - and so, although heartbroken, Sarah stayed at his side.
Snow: Enrique seems to have a knack for names with 'S'! Snow and Enrique met in a Tortuga graveyard, and after travelling across the Caribbean, they expressed their feelings for each other and well, that was love!
==Traits and skills==
Enrique O'Rackham is often seen as a serious, slightly melancholic character and a nonsense-hating person; his reluctancy to talk about his past just adds more mystery to his persona.
O'Rackham's personality was greatly influenced by his former captain, Hassan ben Sahid; he was known to emulate Sahid's naval tactics using a light, manouverable ship; O'Rackham's first ship, the Midnight Blade, was a Moroccan galley - not much unlike Sahid's, the Scimitard.
Despite his apparent reservedness, Enrique is much more open and far less dark with his close friends and good acquaintances. He is known to play cards with several of his friends "[...] in dark, tedious or idle occasions [...]" and even hunt with his old friend, Tobias Sharksteel, on which occassions "[...] Sharksteel always won given his ampt skill with the hand cannon [...]".
Enrique is a terrific swordsman, even in retirement; he was trained by a Spanish sword-master, who taught him how to use a basic cutlass with much skill. Through the years, however, he mixed his style with other techniques, including Asian sabre-handling; he usually favors a broadsword, because of its ability to hit multiple targets.
He usually used a repeater, a surprising gun which gave him the upper hand in many battles. He also used a dagger when longer blades wouldn't do the trick.
Enrique O'Rackham was an able sailor and a quick-witted strategist, often thinking ahead of his enemies. His first ship, the Midnight Blade, was a modified galley from Morocco; however, this fast vessel was sunk in a (currently) unknown battle, and after the ship's demise, O'Rackham purchased a frigate and christened her the Midnight King, after his first nao.
After his injury in 1748 and ensuing retirement from the account, as pirates call their trade, Enrique has become somewhat sullen when reflecting upon his adventures and struggle against the Company, but has learned to enjoy the tranquility of his more modest life.
===Summarized traits.===
*He's a skilled swordfighter.
*His ship, the Midnight Blade, has taken part in numerous battles, including Padres'.
*His sailing is somewhat unorthodox, still he can sink a Bulwark with a Light Sloop.
*His aim isn't the best, still he posseses several kinds of firearms.
===Appearances===
*Enrique is a recurring character in the upcoming book, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Pirate Wars
*The tale of Enrique's youthful years is related in XaviCommander's account in Pirates of the Burning Sea, which takes place some 21 years prior to Pirates of the Caribbean Online. However, this creates an incongruency: for if O'Rackham was born in 1709, then in 1720 he is hardly 11 years old. Enrique's role in PoTBS, however, has been confirmed to take place in 1726.
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