Legal Note: I do not own any of the characters associated with Pirates of the Caribbean. I do not have any legal right to use them or any other proprietary words originating from these movies. This story was done just for the fun of it. Not for profit. If you like it please tell me. If you don't like it please tell me why with particulars but not excessive detail.

Summary: Captain Norrington meets Captain Jade. It is certainly NOT love at first sight.

Captain Jade

Captain James Norrington awoke from a nap to a pounding on his cabin's door. Pinching the bridge of his nose he stood. This had better be good. He'd had a headache for the past three hours and the nap might have banished it but the pounding at the door surely meant that it would only get worse.

"Yes?" he called out rather louder than was needed. "What is it?"

"Cap'n," Mr. Gibbs called from beyond the door. "Yer needed up on deck, sir."

"I will be there directly, Mr. Gibbs," Norrington sighed. Yes. His headache was certainly going to get worse. He buttoned his frock coat and donned his powdered wig and hat noting as he did that the wig would need another powdering this evening. Damned climate was rotten for maintaining appearances.

Norrington emerged on the main deck to find half the watch standing near the mainmast in a semi circle. Mr. Gibbs strode up with what the captain took to be a puzzled expression.

"What is going on here, Mr. Gibbs?" Norrington demanded. His tone said that if there was some foolishness or other it would be dealt with harshly.

"Sir," Gibbs began uncertainly. "I'm not quite sure what to make of her."

"Her?" Norrington snapped. "Her who? Speak up man."

"Well, sir, she just rowed up in her dinghy and climbed aboard, sir."

"She?" Norrington was getting exasperated. "She who?"

"Says her name's Jade, sir," Gibbs said lamely.

Norrington took in a long breath and let it out slowly. Being angry with Mr. Gibbs would serve no purpose at this time. Clearly Gibbs was flustered. After all, he did not like women aboard ship. That was one of a long list of things Gibbs felt would bring bad luck. Squaring his shoulders and pulling the hem of his coat to smooth out any wrinkles Norrington strode resolutely toward the knot of men. At the center of their attention was a young woman of middling height with jet black hair fashioned into a profusion of what the locals called dreadlocks. Braided into this rat's nest were a great many colorful beads and silver oddments. Her eyes, which were of an unusual shade of green, were kohled heavily and not well. She wore a man's tattered grey frock coat that was at least three sizes too large for her slight frame. Instantly Norrington's headache became three times worse than it had been. Here was a child playing at sailor and now he would have to deal with nonsense.

"Avast there!" yelled the young woman. "Ye be the cap'n o' this here boat?"

"I am Captain James Norrington of His Britannic Majesty's Royal Navy commanding the sloop of war Interceptor," Norrington said with what patience he could muster. "Whom do I have the... honor of addressing?"

"I be Cap'n Jade," the young woman said fiercely.

"Captain Jade?" Norrington looked around as though he were searching for something. "Captain of what ship?"

"I'm in the market, as it were," Jade said with a hint of a smile.

"Then you should inquire of the shipwrights or the merchants." Norrington felt worse now than he had when Gibbs had pounded on his door. The sun in this part of the world was devilishly hot and under all of his fine wool his skin was prickly with sweat. He just wanted a long bath in cool water. That would make his headache go away. Perhaps a dousing under the deck wash pump would help?

"I'm here to commandeer this vessel," Jade said boldly.

"I beg your pardon?" Surely he had miss-heard the girl.

"I'm a pirate," she declared. "We don't buy ships. We commandeer 'em! Arrg!"

Casting a glance about he could see the puzzled looks on the faces of the the sailors gathered around the mainmast. Looking to Mr. Gibbs Norrington raised a questioning eyebrow.

Gibbs leaned in and whispered, "It's true, Cap'n."

"I know it's true, Mr. Gibbs," Norrington said stiffly. "Have you ever heard of this... Captain Jade?"

"Oh," Gibbs flinched under the cold eye of his officer. "Aye, sir. She's got quite the reputation."

"For commandeering ships?"

"Well... No, sir," Gibbs said uncomfortably. "It's mostly for annoying people."

"So I can well believe." Norrington turned back to Jade. "You can not commandeer this vessel, young lady. You will have to find another."

"That's CAPTAIN!" screamed the girl at the top of her lungs.

"Yes," Norring said pinching the bridge of his nose again. "The dreaded Captain Jade. Infamous buccaneer."

"So ye've aheared o' me," Jade said with a wickedly pleased smile.

"Actually, no," Norrington said in a dry voice. "That was sarcasm. I really don't have either the time or patience for this today, young lady. Please debark and find some other vessel to annoy."

"I'll not be going anywhere, Cap'n Snorington," sneered Jade as she drew her sword and poked him lightly in the chest.

Completely driven to the very end of his patience Norrington leveled his most withering gaze on the girl. She blanched slightly but her sword remained. Norrington was a gentleman but really, this was too much to ask of chivalry. He counted to ten slowly before he spoke.

"Mr. Gibbs," Norrington's voice was very calm and level but there was an edge to it as hard as a coffin nail. "Deal with this person."

Jade pinched the bridge of her nose as she sat up. The pounding in her head was enough to rouse her from the stupor she had been in but the rocking of her little dinghy was making her stomach do flip-flops. She opened her eyes to discover that night had fallen and the stars were out. Man! Her head hurt something fierce. She reached a tentative finger up to touch the spot that hurt the most and found a lump the size of a pheasant's egg. How had that happened? Maybe she'd fallen in the boat? She blinked a few times but the vision in her left eye was still unclear. She touched it lightly and winced when her finger brushed the swollen bruise. Someone had punched her! She tasted blood in her mouth and spit. A tooth clattered off the gunwale of the dinghy and plopped into the water. Damn! That was one of the gold ones.

Jade peered through the moonlit darkness around her. She found that she was just outside the harbor with a gentle wind driving her back toward the docks against the tide. There was another ship under sail headed in too. A black ship with black sails. Now that was a ship worth commandeering! She began rowing to intercept it completely ignoring its open gun ports and the skeletal crewmen who manned her.

AN: Before anyone tells me that Gibbs was not a member of Norrington's crew at the time of Curse of the Black Pearl, please note that the harbor outside of which Jade was floating in her dinghy was not Port Royal. This story takes place before the body of CotBP.