Masked Airship Pirate - Steampunk Contest Entry

Description from original post (created 2011-11-09 18:23):

Not a single man on his crew knows his name, or his origin. But only his dear wife, Isabella. She was the medical supervisor on the ship. When the masked man was shot twice in a fire fight with another ship he was rushed to his quarters. There Isabella examined the damage. One shot had hit him in the stomach, burning most of his flesh away. The other had hit him between the eyes, it was a miracle he was still breathing.
To protect his face and stomach from further harm and infection she had the engineer attach a brass mechanism onto his stomach to keep his digestive system working, and to keep his guts from spilling. Then he was to attach a mask that was worn by flame soldiers in the 4th war. It stabled his breathing and he survived. Now he leads his ship to new lands plundering and seizing more ships for his armada.