It was a dark, warm and quiet summer night in the Caribbean. The pleasant colony of Port Royal was settling down for a peaceful evening. How peaceful this day has been, thought Commodore Norrington as he prepared himself for a restful night's sleep that night. As the Commodore lay there in his soft comfortable bed just on the edge of sleep he suddenly heard a noise. Something that really shouldn't have bothered him at all. A creek of the floorboards. Why would this noise bother him, I mean, most old houses creaked a bit didn't they? Yet something was bothering him and the sleep that he had been courting just a few moments ago quickly slipped away. Slowly Norrington opened his eyes a crack, looking around the room. The room should have been very dark but wasn't. Something glowed near the end of his bed. The Commodore felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he tried to make out what was exactly there. Peering at the foot of his bed Commodore Norrington could make out a figure about the size and shape of a man, a man surrounded with a glowing blue light. The man moved slowly closer swaying side to side. As it drew closer Norrington could make out long dark hair and heard the soft clink of the beads he could see decorating it. Now Commodore Norrington was frightened, as he had very seldom been frightened in his whole life. For before him stood Captain Jack Sparrow, and Norrington knew that that just couldn't be. Jack Sparrow had been dead low these last five years. The Admiral closed his eyes tightly. He must be dreaming, he must. Opening them again he looked to side of the bed. Sparrow was still there. In fact he was even closer. As he watched, that familiar gold tinged smile lit the dead pirates face. "Well, well, well, long time no see Commodore," Sparrow said. "What do you want, Sparrow?" Norrington asked. That's Captain, if you please, and it's not what I want Commodore luv," replied the pirate in a voice barley above a whisper, "it's what I can do for you." "And what is that?" Norrington questioned, still suspicious of any tricks. Sparrow looked down at him and said, "There's going to be a'lil raid on this fine port in just a few hours." Commodore Norrington looked skeptical, "And who would be doing the raiding?" He asked. Captain Sparrow's smile changed from friendly to sinister in a blink of an eye. "It's a ship by the name of The Blood Dagger captained by none other than me old mate Liam O'Connor." "Why was he telling him this," Admiral Norrington wondered? He shook his head. Was he loosing his mind? Jack Sparrow was dead. Looking back at the man standing by his bed. "Who are you really and what do you want?" The smile directed at him was again the friendly variety. "Why Commodore," Sparrow admonished. "Don't you know me? I am exactly who I appear to be." "B-b-but," Commodore Norrington stammered, "your dead." "That I am," Sparrow replied with a grin, "As to what I want that's simple, revenge." "Revenge?" Norrington asked. "Aye," Sparrow stated, "O'Connor is the one that sent me and me Pearl to rest in Davy Jones locker, and we can't truly rest until he joins us." Somehow Norrington believed him, about everything. Who he was, what he wanted and about the raid that was soon going to happen. The Commodore's mind began to race and the apparition of Jack Sparrow was soon forgotten.
Attack here this night? By Captain O'Connor of The Blood Dagger? The very thought sent a shiver down Norrington's spine. Captain O'Connor, Liam O'Connor, one of the most notorious and brutal pirates on the Main, was going to attack Port Royal? That man had always made Jack Sparrow look like a saint in comparison. He had to get out of here. He had to worn the fort. Quickly he jumped out of bed and dressed in his uniform and left for the fort. Arriving there he quickly set his defenses on alert. About an hour later he spied a ship coming quietly into the harbor. Very quietly, with no lights shinning from it. It showed every indication of sneaking up on the town. What a surprise they got when the fort opened up on them first. Next the Dauntless forewarned and forearmed and certainly not taken by surprise, as the pirates had intended, opened up with a broadside of her own. The pirate ship which was taken completely by surprise sank in the harbor. All the pirate crew that weren't killed in the initial attack were captured and imprisoned, including the notorious Captain O'Connor. Norrington had no doubt that on the morrow they would be keeping the hangman very busy for quite a while.
The next few days flew by for the good Commodore and his prediction was entirely correct. All the prisoners were tried and convicted of piracy, punishable by death. The hangman was truly kept very busy. During this time Norrington was busy too. He rarely made it home at all, preferring to sleep at the fort, just in case. It really wasn't until the hanging death of Captain O'Connor, who was the last to go, that Norrington really had a chance to return to his home. He was happy to be able to sleep in his own bed after all that had happened. He thought about the fantastic start of the whole adventure. Had he really seen Jack Sparrow that night? Or possibly it had all been a rather prophetic dream. Shaking his head he didn't know. Suddenly he spied something that shouldn't be sitting on his dresser. Rising from the bed he approach said dresser and stared in amazement. Sitting on the dresser was a half filled bottle of rum and a shinny bead, along with a note, which read…
Thanks mate. Be seeing ya.
Captain Jack Sparrow.