"Goddam pirates!" Nathanius bellowed to no one in particular.
Wrenching the controls to pull up and right, away from the smaller ship to his port side and above the larger cannons of the ship in front of him. Once his new angle was arranged, he set the auto pilot to continue in the same trajectory, and flipped the cannon rail levers to slide both cannons to the port side.
Nathanius dropped from the command deck onto the main deck, the pirates seemed uneasy of their footing as the ship lurched upwards, and Nathanius knew he had to act fast before they took his ship.
He was close enough to one pirate to shove him backwards and drop him flat on his back as the aft cannon rolled over him, crushing the life from him. The other man was running for the crew deck.
No time to waste, Nathanius thought to himself, But gotta distract em first.
Grabbing for the fore most cannon, by that time already locked into firing position by it's clockwork gears, he yelled after the second pirate, "Get back here you bastard!" and pulled the firing pin. A deafening boom followed immediately by a cloud of grey smoke told of the destructive force of the cannon as the shot whipped through the air at the smaller ship.
Nathanius then gave chase to the other pirate already on board the Rapier