Fade in:
A gray, impenetrable wall of fog. From somewhere comes the faint sound of a little girl's voice, singing, slow tempo, almost under her breath.
"Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate's life for me Yo, ho, yo, ho, it's a pirate's life for me..."
Suddenly a massive ship emerges from the grey, the Winged Victory maidenhead looming. It's a dreadnought, . Formidable, frightening, twenty-five gun ports on a side, and rail guns to boot. Chiara Vargas, the golden browned hair girl, stands at the bow railing, gazing at the seas, still singing. "...drink up me hearties, yo, ho...
Jett, an australian man who didn't know his surname clutches her shoulder, startling her. "Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You want to call 'em down on us?"
Chiara stares wide-eyed at him.
"Mr Jett"
Govert Mogens, a dashing young man, Royal Navy to the core,glares sternly at Gibbs. Standing besides him is governor Romulus Vargas, a man of obvious high station, brass buttons on his thick blue jacket. He is Chiara's father.
"That will do." Govert said. Jett turned to him
"She was singing about pirates. Bad luck to sing about pirates, with us mired in this unnatural fog...mark my words.
"Consider them marked. On your way."
"Aye, Captain." Jett sais as he walks away. "Bad luck to have a woman on board, too. Even a mini'ture one." He returns to his deck-swabbing duties, surreptitiously takes a quick swig from flask.
Chiara looked up at Govert. "I think it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate."
The man from Netherlands looked down at her.
"Think again, Miss Vargas. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag, or wears a pirates brand, gets what he deserves:... a short drop and a sudden stop."
This confuses Chiara who doesn't know what 'a short drop and a sudden stop' means. She looks at Jett who helpfully mimes: a man being hung causing her to gasp. That's when her father speaks:
"Captain Mogens... I appreciate your fervor, but I am concerned about the effect this subject will have on my daughter.
"My apologies, Governor." Govert said and returned to his post.
Chiara looked up at her father. "Actually, I find it all fascinating."
"And that's what concerns me. Chiara, dear... we will be landing in Port Royal very soon, and beginning our new lives. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we comport ourselves as befits our class and station?"
The girl nodded "Yes, father." Chastised, she turns away, to look out over the bow rail. She spoke to herself. "I still think it would be exciting to meet a pirate..."
The fog still hems in the ship; very little of the sea is visible but suddenly, a figure comes into view. A young boy, Antonio Fernandez Carriedo, floating on his back in the otherwise empty
water. There is nothing to show where he came from, or how he came to be there.
"Look! A boy! In the water!"
Mogens and Vargas spot him -
"Man overboard!"
"Boy overboard!" Chiara corrected them.
Govert nodded. "Fetch a hook! Haul him out of there!"
Quick movement and activity on the deck. Sailors use a boathook to snag the boy he the passes. Mogens and Vargas haul him aboard, and lay him on the deck. Chiara sidles in for a closer look.
"He's still breathing." Govert stated.
"Where did he come from?" Romulus said confused
"Mary mother of God ..." Jett murmured
Attention is turned away from the boy -The sea is no longer empty. Wreckage from a ship litters the water... along with the bodies of its crew. What is left of the ship's hull burns, a ragged Spanish flag hanging limply from the stern. The H.M.S. Dauntless slips silently through it all. The scene calls for hushed voices.
"What happened here?" Romulus asked
"An explosion in the powder magazine. Merchant vessels run heavily armed." Govert answered.
"Lot of good it did them..." Jett stated aware of Romulus' look. "Everyone's thinking it! I'm just saying it! Pirates!"
"There is no proof of that. It could have been an accident. Captain, these men were protection. If there is even the slightest chance one of those poor devils is still alive, we cannot abandon them!"
"Of course not, Governor." Govert replied and turned to the crew. Come about and strike the sails! Unlash the boats! Gunnery crew... jackets off the cannons!" He turned to Vargas again. "Hope for the best...prepare for the worst." He said and gave his orders to two sailors. "Move the boy aft. We'll need the deck clear."
They lift the boy. Romulus pulls Chiara away from the rail, away from the hideous scene in the water.
Chiara, I want you to accompany the boy. He's in your charge now. You'll watch over him?Chiara nods gravely. Romulus hurries away to help unstow the longboat. The sailors lay the boy gently on the poop deck, behind the wheel, then hurry off. Elizabeth kneels down besides the boy. His good looks are not lost on her. She reaches out, gently brushes the chocolate brown hair from his eyes. Suddenly, he grabs her wrist, awake now. Chiara is startled, but their eyes lock. She takes his hand in hers.
"It's ok. My name is Chiara Vargas.
"A-antonio Fernandez Carriedo." The boy replied.
"I'm watching over you, Tonio."
He clutches her hands, then slips back into unconsciousness. His movement has opened the collar of his shirt, Elizabeth sees he wears a chain around his neck. She tugs it free, revealing a gold medallion. One side is blank. She turns it over a skull gazes up at her Vaguely Aztec in design, but to her eyes, it means one thing only:
"You're a pirate!"
She glances back at the crew. Sees Gover, giving orders, moving toward her. She looks back at Antonio and comes to a quick decision. She akes the medallion from around his neck. And hides it behind her back as Govert arrives.
"Did he speak?"
"His name is Antonio Fernandez Carriedo- that's all I found out."
"Very good. Take him bellow" Govert hurries off. Chiara steals away to the stern of the ship. Examines her prize, the gold medallion. A wisp of wind, and she looks up. Out over the sea, moving through the fog, silent as a ghost, is a large sailing ship, a schooner. It has black sails. Chiara stares, too frightened to move, or cry out. The ship is obscured by the fog it as it passes but not the mizzen-top ... and there hangs the frightening skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger. Chiara looks from it to the medallion the skull on the flag is the same as the one on the medallion. Fog surrounds and closes in on the black ship except for the black flag. As she watches, the skull appears to turn and grin at her. Chiara shuts her eyes tight