a/n: I'm takin a quick reprieve from my other fic right now to write a quick fic about the origins of Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. The chapters will each be a one shot except for the first one which will be a two depicting his run in with the East India Trading Company and subsequent meeting with Davey Jones 13 years before Dead Man's Chest. As of right now I'm not sure how many one shot chapters these will be.
Disclaimer: I don not own Pirates of the Caribbean.
Chapter 1: Branded
The salty sea air was a much needed reprieve for a young Captain Jack Sparrow, who had just recently become the captain of his ship the Wicked Wench after some decidedly tense negotiations with little shrimp of a man, Cutler Beckett from the East India Trading company. Jack adjusted their course slightly as his thoughts turned to the said negotiations.
Two months ago of the coast off England…
Jack swaggered into his captain's quarters with every intention of taking anything that wasn't glued down and he could easily hide on his person that was until someone cleared their throat rather loudly behind him. "O bugger," Jack muttered under his breathe as he turned around plastering his best smile, which was more of a smirk, on his face.
Standing in front of him was a man of fairly short stature, but carried a regal air about him as if everyone and everything had always answered to his beck and call day and night. His powdered wig was perfectly placed on his head and not a wrinkle could be seen on his smartly pressed suit which was much too flamboyant for Jack's taste. Despite all this Jack could not, for the life of him, remember who this fellow was. Shrugging Jack tipped his hat to the gentleman, "G'day mate. I was just 'bout to leave this fine establishment of a ship you have here."
The man was not amused at Jack's demeanor, the frown that played at the corners of his mouth was enough proof of that, "Jack Sparrow, I presume."
Jack jumped at the man's polite and crisp way of speaking, and made a mental note never to trust this man, especially since the last statement was just that, a statement and not a question. Jack's smirk never left his face as he answered, "Aye mate, what can I do for ya?"
The man strode pass Jack and took a seat in the captain's chair much to Jack's chagrin, "I wouldn't be doin' that mate, the captain don't take kindly to people bein' in his quarters when he's not here."
The man folded his hands on the table before addressing Jack again his maddeningly 'proper' way of speaking, "Then just what were you doing in here I wonder? Eh, Mister Sparrow?"
Jack found himself at a loss to say mentally kicking himself at getting caught in the act, "Ya got me there mate."
The man's frown deepened, but then he did something that Jack wasn't expecting, he smiled. The smile immediately put Jack on his guard, for it was tight lipped and didn't seem to reach the man's eyes. "Perfect. We need a man like you who is lacking moral standards to help us in trafficking some questionable items for the Company."
Jack is taken aback by the man's words, "Er, company?"
The man's smile stayed plastered on his face as he adjusted himself in the chair, "Forgive me I forgot to introduce myself, I am Cutler Beckett an agent of the East India Trading Company, and we have a proposal which I think you will find very agreeable, Captain Sparrow."
Beckett waited a moment to let the comment sink in and when he saw Jack's eyes widen slightly at the title, he continued, "You are to sail a company ship to the northern coast of Africa, you may pick your crew if you wish, you will have eight months to complete the transaction, two for the sail to Africa and six for the sail to the colonies. The payment is 100 guineas."
Jack seemed to mull the offer over in his mind, on the one hand he didn't trust this 'Cutler Beckett' on the other 100 guineas was an offer that he couldn't refuse, not to mention the Captain part. Captain Jack Sparrow. Oh yes, he liked the sound of that. Jack raises his hand, "I'll take the job, do we have an accord?"
Beckett looks at Jack's hand as if he was a leper and pushes a pen and paper to Jack, "This is how the company does business, Captain."
Shrugging Jack takes the pen and quickly scribbles something illegible, to which Beckett frowns in distaste, "Very well Captain, you shall sail as soon as possible, I trust you will make all haste to complete this job," Beckett rolls up the piece of parchment with Jack's signature and gives a slight nod before waving a hand to dismiss him.
Jack takes no offense as he leaves the quarters, humming a jaunty tune to himself, Captain Jack Sparrow, yes it fit so well.
Present…
The spray of the sea brought Jack out of his reverie that and the cry from the crow's nest, "Land Ho!"
Jack nodded and guided the ship to port, now he would get the first half of his payment and be on his way to the colonies with his newly acquired ship. Grinning to himself Jack could never have predicted how wrong that statement was.
On Shore…
Jack stood speechless at the spectacle before him, rows upon rows of people of a different color stood in front of him with Cutler Beckett standing at the lead the tight smile once again on his face, holding a sack of coins out to Jack, "As promised the first half of payment."
Jack gazed at the sack then at Beckett then at the sack again, "And they call me heartless. I refuse to be a part of this! Savvy?"
Beckett's smile was gone in a flash and he advanced towards Jack menacingly, "I suggest you take the gold Captain Sparrow, or you'll be charged with stealing a Company ship and sailing it under a crew not of the company's. And we shall have no course other than to brand you as a pirate, savvy?"
Jack hated this man, no, loathed this man, for tricking him into this position. Worse he almost hated himself for being tricked. Thinking quickly, Jack began to formulate a plan. Nodding Jack took the gold from Beckett and placed it on his trousers flinching from the haunted stares he was receiving from the other company present. Beckett in turn also nodded, "I knew you would come around."
Beckett then turned to a weasel of a man, "Tell them to load the cargo, I want it done by nightfall."
The weasel man nodded and began barking orders as Beckett turned back to Sparrow, "I look forward to meeting you in the colonies."
The corner of Jack's mouth twitched at this statement, but all he did was give a nod to Beckett and about faces heading back towards his ship. The weasel man appears beside Beckett, "Should I keep an eye on 'im."
Beckett gives a curt nod and the weasel man disappears.
Later that night…
Jack is lying awake fully aware that stored below were living breathing humans. Some captain he was, he couldn't even choose his own cargo. Jack sat up suddenly and went out to the deck. "All hands! Back to port!"
After a few confused looks shouts of "Aye, aye Capt'n" went throughout the ship.
Back in the African Port…
Beckett watches from a distance as Jack Sparrow 'discreetly' unloads the precious cargo which Becket had entrusted to him. "So that is your course Sparrow, how… disappointing."
On the Wicked Wench…
Jack had just finished unloading the would be slaves when a blade is pressed to his neck, none too gently either, "Agent Beckett would like to have a word with ya."
Jack is once again mentally kicking himself for getting caught, but puts a smirk on nonetheless, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of having the Agent's company on this fine night."
That was the only witty comment Jack was going to get in for a while for as soon as he said that the butt of a pistol slammed into the back of his neck, effectively knocking him out.
A few hours later…
Jack groggily came to, only to find himself handcuffed to a chair, with Cutler Beckett standing in front of fireplace with a roaring flame, Jack could tell there was a flame there because of the shadows licking the walls. "Tell me Captain, what ever could have possessed you to double cross the Company?"
Jack grinned for a moment as he discreetly pulled out a tiny pin that he kept in his sleeve at all times for instances such as this, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, I do what I want, savvy?"
Beckett spins about to face Jack, brandishing a red hot branding tool with a letter 'P' on it, "I told you Captain, that the refusal of trafficking the cargo makes you a pirate in the company's eyes."
Jack's eyes widen as Beckett slowly lowers the brand towards his right forearm, just before the brand touches fleshy he looks away quickly squeezing his eyes shut, though Jack looks away he can't escape the sound nor smell of his own flesh burning, nor indeed the pain. Clenching his teeth in agony he waits until Beckett removes the brand from his forearm, "I'm impressed Captain, most men would let out a cry of despair after that."
Jack's trademark smirk once again flits across his face, Jack wasn't going to let this bastard see how much pain he was actually in, as he goes back to picking the handcuffs, "You forget mate, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow."
And with that Jack frees himself from the handcuffs and jumps towards Beckett viciously kneeing him in the groin. With a cry of pain Beckett goes down and Jack notices another brander in the fire, smirking Jack grabs the brander out of the fire and turns towards Beckett who is starting to recover, "One thing 'bout payback you should learn mate. She can be a right bitch."
With that being said Jack presses the brand onto Beckett's ass, amid the howls of pain from Beckett Jack hears someone burst through the door, Jack whirls around brandishing the brander like a sword be fore jumping onto a nearby window ledge. Looking at, but not really seeing the five men, excluding Beckett, in front of him, Jack glances down to see that the see is washing onto rocks at leas thirty feet below, thinking fast Jack turns back to his captors deciding on a catch phrase to use on anyone who dared to come after him, "Gents, today will be the day you remember as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"
As soon as Jack finishes his speech to the dumbstruck men, he jumps out of the window to the frothy seas below. One of the men rushes to the window to look down and shakes his head, "The man must be mad, there's no way he could have survived that!"
"Oh, he better have, because I want to kill him myself!"
The men turn to Beckett who snarls out, "I want his ship sent to the depths of the sea, he'll have no place left to run to!"
The men snap a salute and quickly exit the room to carry out their orders.
Where the Wicked Wench was…
Jack couldn't believe it, his ship had been blown to the depth by Cutler Bloody Beckett, now what was he to do, bodies are strewn about the sea and from the looks of it Jack was soon to be one among them. Just as Jack is pondering how to get out of this mess, a ship explodes out from the waves to sit buoyantly on the sea near the wreckage of the Wicked Wench. And also just as suddenly a monster is standing forebodingly over Jack. The monster is sporting an anthropoid for a beard, and a claw for a hand. Lighting a pipe the monster looks Jack in the eye, "Do you fear death?"
a/n: since this is a two shot I'm only going to say that reviews are appreciated here and say that the second part will be coming very soon.