"Sir, come look at this," Gillette called.

Norrington was trying to sleep, to make up for two days of working on the ship with little rest at night. Sparrow had been conspicuously absent ever since the "mutiny," not that Norrington minded, though it was curious that the pirate had managed to remain invisible for so long. The ship wasn't particularly large. For some inexplicable reason his outburst against Sparrow still bothered him almost as much as the pirate's actions. Or maybe it was the reason behind his reaction that bothered him. Maybe Ruby had looked a bit too much like a certain governor's daughter held at gunpoint to be used as Jack Sparrow's leverage.

Norrington joined his lieutenant in the small corridor. Gillette was kneeling next to a small hole in the floor of the ship, with a roll of parchment spread across his knee. He glanced up when the Commodore approached. "I think I found Sparrow's map," Gillette said, looking immensely perplexed.

"What sort of map is it?" Norrington asked.

"Not much of one." Gillette held up the parchment, displaying that it was completely blank.

Norrington frowned and took the map from his lieutenant. "How did you find it?"

"Nearly tripped on a loose floorboard," Gillette replied. "Knocked it out of place, and when I tried to replace it, I saw this underneath."

Norrington turned the map over to be sure that there was nothing hidden on its reverse side. There wasn't. He sighed in exasperation. "Surely I will never fathom pirates and their inane squabbles. This map is completely useless."

"Not if you know how to use it." Ruby had appeared at the base of a staircase. She looked at Norrington for a moment, then moved closer and took the map from him. "It's like Jack's compass," she said. "Special."

"What do you know about this map?" Norrington asked.

Ruby briefly examined the map's edges, then reoriented it and, very deliberately, pressed her thumb into the lower right corner, then stated her name, "Ruby Calderon."

The blank spaces came alive. Ruby's thumbprint appeared, as if stamped in black ink. Other lines faded into view, forming a map of lines and color that were startling lifelike. Ruby dragged her thumb across the page, pulling the thumbprint along. The surrounding scenery moved with the thumbprint, as if the print were a fixed point on a rotating globe. Ruby lifted her finger, leaving the thumbprint in the center of the map. Next to Ruby's thumbprint, her name appeared in smooth calligraphic handwriting. Another thumbprint appeared next to it, bearing Darius's name. Whitney Crane's name and print floated on the image of the island the ship had departed the previous day.

Norrington absently reached for the map, but Ruby pulled it out of his reach. "Don't," she said. "It won't work if you touch it."

Norrington withdrew his hand. "Forgive me," he said. "I've never seen anything like it. How does it work?"

"It reads your thumbprint. Your name is the password, so no two combinations can be the same and it can't be forged."

"What are the other names?" Norrington asked.

"Anyone whose location might be of interest to me."

"Not ours?" Gillette commented.

Ruby raised her eyebrows. "You're both standing right next to me. I can see where you are."

Norrington still stared at the map. "Does it work for anyone?"

Ruby handed the parchment to him, and as soon as he touched it, the images vanished. Norrington hesitated only briefly, then pressed his thumb to the edge of the map and spoke his own name, as Ruby had done, then watched the map come to life. He concentrated on keeping his hand steady as he brought his own mark to the center of the page, and his eyes glanced around at the same scenery, but marked with different prints and names than Ruby's map had shown. A mark for Jack Sparrow showed that the pirate was still on the ship somewhere. The island of the pirate village was cluttered with prints bearing the names of the men who served under Norrington, and on the other side of the island, Lord Cutler Beckett's name appeared.

"I can see why this map is so valuable," Norrington said. He slowly rolled up the parchment, watching the images fade as he did, then gave it to Gillette. "Put it back just as you found it. There's no reason Sparrow should know we've found it."

Gillette obeyed.

Norrington watched Ruby as she walked away, and thought that this sort of map could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands. And then he caught himself wondering whose hands, exactly, were the right ones.

Lieutenant Groves sat on the ground in the shade of a particularly leafy tree, obeying Anamaria's instructions to stay out of the sun even though he was feeling much better. After his fever broke he had slept soundly through the next morning, and woken up feeling well enough - and hungry enough - to join the men for lunch. He had even managed to smile and graciously receive Briggs' enthusiastic greeting.

The sailors and the pirates were still getting along. The huts were all but finished, and Groves noted with approval the quality of the work that had been done. About half of the men had now gone down to the beach to mend the longboats, and Groves supposed he and Anamaria would soon have to come up with new tasks for the men to work on. He counted six days since the Commodore and Gillette had departed with Sparrow. It seemed so long ago, since much had changed since then, but at the same time it felt impossible that so much change could have taken place in so little time.

Anamaria came over and sat down next to the lieutenant.

"To what do I owe this visit?" Groves asked.

She handed him a canteen. "I thought you might like some company."

Groves took a drink of water. "It has been a bit lonely these past couple days." He handed the canteen back, and glanced up at the sky. "I think tomorrow might bring us a bit of a break from this heat."

Anamaria nodded, and also drank from the canteen. "It's about time it rained."

It was true. The grass was dry and prickly, and anyone who walked along the dirt paths sent puffs of dust trailing into the air. Groves glanced over at Anamaria. She was gazing off across the village, frowning just slightly, though he couldn't tell if the frown was from some troubling thought or from the sun. He thought he ought to make conversation. After all, she had come all the way over to sit with him.

"I don't believe I ever properly introduced myself," he said, catching her attention. "Lieutenant Theodore Groves. I've been in the navy for eleven years now, in Port Royal for seven, and hearing promises of promotion for two."

Anamaria smiled slightly, accepting the invitation. "I've been on Jack's crew ever since he and that blacksmith showed up in Tortuga. He promised that ship would be mine when he got the Pearl back, but Barbossa destroyed it."

Groves winced slightly. "The Interceptor. Yes. The Commodore was livid."

She just shrugged. "It was a good ship." She looked back out at the village. "Jack's a good captain. No matter what you say."

"Actually," Groves said, hesitating only slightly. "I once said I thought Sparrow was the best pirate I'd ever seen."

Anamaria looked back at him, amused. "When?"

"When he stole the Interceptor," Groves admitted, glancing down at the dry grass. "Given the circumstances, such a comment was in poor taste, and the Commodore told me as much. It was a clever trick though, with the ships."

Anamaria nodded absently and squinted up at the sun. "I think we'd better bring the supplies indoors tonight. It's likely the rain could start before morning."

Groves agreed, and stood. His ankle held him, though a bit precariously, but he still used the crutch just to humor those who continued to express concern. "How long do you suppose until your captain returns?"

"Could be tomorrow, could be in a month," she replied. "There's no telling with Jack. That's how he gets to be the best pirate you've ever seen."

Sorry for the wait, but finally you got to see what's up with the map. :) And yes, I based it a bit off the Marauder's Map from Harry Potter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. Your reviews are always so very much appreciated!