They were preparing to put to sea after reported sightings of Captain Brancusi's vessel when the runner arrived. James received the lad's note and read it, suppressing a groan at its contents. The Governor had spoken to his daughter about the wedding and she'd made a request of him. The man was completely under her pretty thumb, as was evidenced by the fact that he was begging James to sign a week-long clemency agreement with Sparrow for the wedding. The thought of a truce with the pirate galled, but James had to acknowledge that Sparrow had a sort of drunken honour and underneath all the hyperbolic stories he'd a reputation for bloodless raids. James had eviller fish to fry than that ridiculous popinjay, and knowing that Elizabeth would nag him into it anyway he hastily signed the document and ordered the lad to return to the Governor. James turned back to the ocean, the matter forgotten in the face of the task of wiping another piece of murdering, raping scum from the face of the waves.

Weatherby Swann stared at the mounds of wedding-related letters in front of him and dearly wished his friend was present with suitably dry commentary to help sort through it all. Norrington had set to sea the day after Elizabeth had informed him of her and young William's impending nuptials, returning to port twice since - once to bring a pirate crew to justice and once more to take on supplies. It had been a transparent action, but one Weatherby could hardly blame the lad for. He just hoped Norrington would send a letter soon - there were carrier pigeons on the ship after all.

The Dauntless' gun ports were open, black cannon barrels protruding from them and glistening in the setting sunlight. The whole ship quivered with tension, marines lining the decks and the Commodore and Gillette stood on deck as the ship turned, waiting and hoping they could turn faster to bring their cannon to bear than the pirate ship they were pursuing. Gillette was still waiting for the right moment, waiting for the ship to come square on to the pirate vessel when Commodore Norrington roared the order to open fire as the two ships were still slightly angled away from one another. Not all of the shots hit home, but the pirate ship was badly damaged even before she could unleash a single shot.

Seamen swarmed to obey their senior officer, trimming the sails and bringing her around far faster than the pirates could have possibly expected, the sideways motion slamming the two vessels together with a terrible crash. The marines swarmed onto the pirate ship's deck yelling fiercely, charging out of a cloud of gun smoke, led by the Commodore who seemed to ride the winds of death itself.

The pirates fought back with desperate fervour and even with one half of the battle wearing bright uniforms in the smoke and roar of battle telling friend from foe was no easy task. Unnoticed by the combatants the mercantile vessel the pirate ship had been menacing slipped away to gentler waters.

James fought like a man possessed, his heavy naval-issue sabre flashing and slashing at every foe he spied, using his greater reach and fury to terrifying advantage. A foul, bearded pirate screamed oaths at him as they shoved and stabbed and parried desperately fighting with one another, drawing the fight out as they rapidly discovered the other's impressive skill. With a final yelled obscenity from the other man James' blade found its target, swinging hard and removing his head in one sweep from the corpulent, unwashed body.

''Ee's killt the Captain!' The heartbroken wail of a young lad with bright fiery hair the same shade as the slain pirate's pierced through the battle. The shrill cry, like that of a wounded animal shouldn't have been heard over the tumult, but all of a sudden the marines took the upper hand and the fight evaporated from the pirates.

James watched from the fo'c'sle of the captured ship as the surviving pirate crew were manacled and escorted to the Dauntless' brig. His bearing was proudly upright even as he struggled to take gentle, shallow breaths and not fall to his knees coughing and choking with smoke and exhaustion. His chest burnt spitefully and he could barely stay standing for the weariness dogging his limbs. Nonetheless satisfaction warmed his belly at the prospect of one less pirate crew roaming the seas. Hopefully others would take heed.

Jack drained the last of his rum and fell back onto his bed on the Pearl. He wondered what had occurred to spur the Navy onto two fierce battles with pirates in as many weeks. Certainly sea battles weren't uncommon and the Navy patrolled regularly, but all of a sudden the Navy were appearing in unusual locations and fighting with rare ferocity. The Scourge was after earning his title all over again, it seemed.

Jack grinned broadly, then laughed as he wondered if this was Norrington's sulk about not being allowed to hang Jack at the wedding. The morbid Navy-boy would probably have thought it a fitting wedding-present and blathered on about security and service and the greater populace too in that irritatingly self-righteous way of his.

Jack grinned. He was looking forward to this.