A/N: Many of you are anxious to meet the crew. Well, I didn't wanna just fill the ship with familiar faces, you'll see a couple. I want you to keep in mind that these men respect their captain and only fear him as much as a peon should fear his superior officer. Respect and loyalty go a long way, even with pirates.


Sheldon led her back up the ladder and up to the main deck. Leonard, always on the lookout for their captain, spotted him and shouted "Captain on deck!"

"That's Leonard Hofstadter, my first mate," Sheldon muttered to her without turning his head. "Perchance does he look anything like your Leonard?"

Penny stared at this Leonard. He shared many traits with her Leonard. If they had lived the same life, they would be identical. However, this Leonard was much more haggard; he'd lived a harder life.

"Yeah," was all Penny said.

"Interesting."

The crew lined up single-file. One stepped on a loose floorboard and tripped.

"Mr. Hofstadter!" Sheldon yelled.

He jogged up to him and saluted. "Yes, Captain?" He spared a glance at Penny, but his attention was on his captain.

Head held high, shoulders pulled back, arms crossed at the wrists behind him, Sheldon looked down his nose at his first mate. "What did Mr. Thompson just trip on?"

Leonard's face didn't waver, but his shoulders tensed. "Loose plank, sir."

"I thought I told you to fix that board, Mr. Hofstadter."

"The port didn't have any boards of that size, sir."

"Tut. Mr. Hofstadter, in that case you should have found one larger and cut it to fit. Not to worry, though. You will have another chance soon. We stop at the next port.

"Gentlemen, this is Lady Penny. She fell through a portal in her realm and landed on my ship. She is in need of assistance and so we will help her find a portal home. You will treat her with the utmost respect while she is in our care. You do not touch her without her permission; you do not talk to her as though she were a wench; you do not disrespect her. If you do and I hear about it you will be punished severely. Back to work!"

He caught Leonard's eye and gestured for him to come closer. "Mr. Hofstadter, could we perhaps find some better clothes for Lady Penny?"

Leonard nodded enthusiastically, glad to not be reprimanded for the loose plank. "Of course, Captain, I'll see what I can find."

When Leonard had gone, Sheldon held out his arm for her. "Let me show you the Enterprise, Lady Penny."

Penny, to her credit, stared for barely two seconds before she took his elbow. Wow. So not my Sheldon.

"You don't have to call me Lady Penny, you know? Just Penny is fine."

"Nonsense," he said. "It will help the crew to remember to respect you if they view you as high-born, even if you don't...quite dress like it. Hopefully Mr. Hofstadter can find something more suitable for the sea than your current attire."

Penny felt her natural ire and annoyance bubble to the surface, once more forgetting that this wasn't her Sheldon with whom she was starting an argument. "And just what is wrong with how I dress?"

Sheldon quirked an eyebrow at her and scanned her entire person again. It sent chills down Penny's spine, the focus behind his gaze. If he's anything like her Sheldon, he's commited every little detail to memory already. Again, she was reminded that this wasn't her Sheldon. His eyes were calculating and an air of confidence surrounded him, but something was missing and she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Your blouse isn't very modest; you'll surely be sunburned if you're not careful. Your trousers, while undoubtedly cooler than conventional trousers, also leave you vulnerable to the elements. In addition, the extra skin you have exposed will most assuredly distract my crewmen, and if they are distracted, they do not work at optimal capacity. If they do not work to optimal capacity, you do not get home in a timely manner."

"Do you have a photographic memory?" she blurted.

Her question caught him off guard. "Photographic? I do not know what that means."

"Like, when you learn something you never forget it. Like you remember every little detail since you were a little kid," she explained. Of course they wouldn't have photographs, so he wouldn't know what photographic meant.

"Indeed I do," he nodded. "Does your Sheldon also have this...photographic memory?"

"Yeah," she smiled. "He can tell you what he had for breakfast on this day twenty years ago."

"Porridge, with a pinch of cinammon from a stick my mother was able to find for a bargain two days before," he said.

"Just like that," she laughed. She was glad that she landed on Sheldon Cooper's pirate ship. At least there was some familiar element, even if some things were necessarily different.