Acquired Tastes. Ch. 1
Disclaimer: PotC belongs to the good ship Disney. Dammit. I just pirate around the edges 'cause it's fun.
A/N: Anything that doesn't match with things said or done in
Curse of the Black Pearl will be because I messed with the canon. Or
because I screwed up.
"Lighten sail! Move ya bloated bilge rats!" The deck sprang into life, any mutterings concerning the parentage of the source of the orders low enough to be officially 'unheard'.
Bill joined in trimming the set of the mainmast sails as the ship veered from her original course, briefly glancing over to the figure at the wheel with a sigh. He'd wager his next share that this little escapade was going to cost them a first mate. Caspian was a solid right hand, fought like a man possessed and had a knack for breaking in -or simply breaking- troublesome crewmembers, but he didn't deal well with runs that weren't meticulously planned. An attention to detail that was both a blessing and a curse when dealing with the captain.
His thoughts on this carried him the length of the ship to the quarterdeck, receiving a nod as he leant back against the railing.
"Jack, why exactly are we making this crazy monkey-assed chase?"
"That's Captain Jack if you please" came the automatic, but unconcerned reply. "And we're making this 'minor side trip' because we can".
"We could also turn around and find any number of nice, fat shallow-hugging targets until normal shipping season starts" Bill pointed out.
Jack grinned "Aye mate, we could. But ye forget, this is the Black Pearl we're on. Fastest ship in the Caribbean. How's the rest of the world to know that if we don't let her prove it? Wouldn't want to ruin the lady's confidence; 's bad manners".
Bootstrap shook his head. Fidelity to a woman was not generally a defining trait of pirate captains, especially women who happened to be made of wood. But then Jack never had been one for conformity.
"You know Caspian's spitting tacks over this one" Raising the original point of this conversation.
Jack waived a dismissive hand. "Man worries too much, he just needs a good scrap to cheer him up. 'Sides I planned this one out and everything"
"You have a plan?"
He got a look of mock affront "Mate, I always have a plan. We head north for a few days, pick up a favourable wind, pile on canvas, then swing down and catch 'em like stranded fish".
"And if our catch involves a 'minor diversion' hurricane, this being storm season?"
"Will you quit fussing like a madam Bill and trust me" Jack half-growled in exasperation, eyes glinting with confidence in his ability to create mayhem. "It'll work. The Pearl'll stand up to anything, she's the stoutest-"
"Ship in the Caribbean" Bill finished for him. Yep, definitely an unnatural love affair going on there.
" 'Sright. So seeing as how it's going to be a busy few days, you'd best be sortin' out yer duty shifts" A light but clear dismissal. Bill took the hint. His and Jack's friendship had been the reason he'd turned down the position of first mate on the Pearl, crews lasted better with a neutral voice to the captain available. The friendship had lasted though, backed by an unspoken agreement that Bill followed orders like any other crewman. Quartermaster suited him fine, although crew turnover was rather high even by pirate standards; plenty decided that there were better rewards to be had with less madness elsewhere. Given how Jack had gotten the Pearl though it was chaos defined that partnership.
Well maybe they'd get lucky with the weather, finish this chase and be back in a couple of weeks. Bill snorted. And perhaps gilded letters of pardon would fly out of the captain's…hat. The haul had better be bloody good; the Pearl wasn't provisioned for an extended open water haul. Why Jack had decided to get hell-bent on catching this one quarry…
The aforementioned (Captain) Jack Sparrow watched him go with a grin. Bill was a good man and ally. And he was probably right about the mate, but few ships braved the Atlantic at this time of the year unless hefty profits were involved. There still would be hefty profits; they were just going to be 'redirected' slightly. Almost believable enough to ignore the other reason that only raised its head when Jack was forced to be honest with himself (this possibly happened slightly more often than he was honest with anyone else). He hated to lose. And the captain of the hunted vessel had shown an irritating knack for shaking pursuit, a ship as swift as the Pearl (his Pearl) should have made short work of her yet despite Jack's best efforts they hadn't been able to catch her before she'd swung out to open sea. Yet.
His hands caressed the polished wood of the wheel unconsciously as the hat was slung across it briefly to haul a scarf that might once have been blue over the unruly mane of tar black hair that not even dreadlocks could fully contain. Well maybe another 'trinket' couldn't hurt.
"Now Gods" he mused, hat replaced to its rightful place. "Stand up for bastards"
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A/N: Hope you like, many bonus points (and virtual cookies) will be awarded for anyone who can give me the name of the text the final quote is from. Hint: It would have been written by the time PotC is set. If you can give me the character name, you're a legend.