Title: The Continuing Adventures of Jack and Will: Part One - Dissent

Author: Julie's Here (Formally known as Moondancer)

Pairings: only brief mentions of Elizabeth/Norrington (sorry Will/Liz fans, this is an AU after all) but not prevalent in the story.

Status: WIP

Chapter: 1/?

Category: Action/Adventure, AU

Warnings: it's AU (is that a warning?) Maybe some mild violence, we are dealing with pirates after all.

Rating: PG to PG-13

Disclaimer: Do I even need to bother?? Not mine, yadayadayada. I'm just doing this for my own amusement.

Summary: The crew isn't too happy after their captain brings onboard a new crewmember. Could Captain Jack Sparrow be facing another potential mutiny? (Takes place a few months after the movie left off.) AU.

A/N: I'm jumping onboard another fandom!

This is a non-slash (sorry slash fans), non-romance and definitely non-Mary Sue story. Any original characters will be minor. I'm planning (as long as time, ambition and interest holds out) at least two of stories chronicling Jack and Will's adventures on the high seas onboard the Black Pearl. Please note though, I'm not a pirate or a sailor (I'm a business student actually) and I've only done a tiny bit of research on both so hopefully I won't sound like too big an idiot. Also I probably won't be typing out the pirates disjointed way of speaking a) I can't do it (I'm not a pirate remember) b) I find it very distracting to read and c) even though I've seen the movie far too many times then I'm willing to admit I simply can't remember exactly how they speak. But I will try.

Reviews are cherished and constructive criticism would be appreciated.

Oh yeah, not beta-read so mistakes may be present (commas aren't my friends). If anyone knows a website where I can find people willing to beta PoTC fics, please let me know.

~*~*~*~* Chapter One - The Worst Pirate

He was doing it again, thought Jack Sparrow, captain of the Black Pearl. The captain was standing at the helm of his ship, hands resting intimately on the wheel as he watched the solitary figure leaning on the railing at the bow of the ship.

The deck was quiet save for the familiar lull of the ocean. It was dusk and the rest of the crew was below deck reveling in the ending of another busy day.

But Captain Sparrow kept watch over his precious Pearl. He loved this time, just him, his ship and the wide blue ocean. The quiet and the blowing salt air gave him the perfect chance to think.

And think he did, as he had a lot to think about. But most of his thought of late had been centered on the young man standing not too far away, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Young Will Turner, Bootstrap's son, had surprised Jack the day he'd save him from the noose. That day the young man abandoned the life he knew (and ultimately the woman he loved) to save the life of a pirate. And if it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the Pearl he might have well lost his life right along with Jack.

They'd escaped Port Royal together, taking a sickening plunge over a cliff face. The Pearl had caused enough of a distraction on the other side of the island to keep Commodore Norrington and his men busy but still managing to appear right when Jack needed her. Once Jack was reinstated to his rightful position as Captain of the Black Pearl he had promptly offered the now homeless Will a place on his crew.

And that's when the trouble started.

While Will had proved himself to be a good sailor, aided by the strength and dexterity of youth, he was a bloody awful pirate. Turned out the boy had morals and an annoying respect for the law. Morals that were only forsaken when the rescue of a bonnie lass (or a devilishly charming pirate captain) was involved.

The whelp caused Jack no shortage of grief. He flat out refused to participate in any act even remotely resembling piracy. Raid, pillage, plunder you name it. If it was illegal Will Turner, renegade blacksmith, wouldn't do it. Now that definitely had to be against the code. The lad even got antsy about any petty vandalism. And it was this behavior that earned Bootstrap Bill's son the less than flattering title of the worst pirate Jack Sparrow had ever seen.

The lad wouldn't even partake in rum! It was scandalous!

And Will was not quiet in his disapproval either. Jack would often catch the young man scowling or shaking his head in reproach whenever the rest of the crew did what they did best. When they acted as pirates.

How Jack despised those condemning looks. They made him feel right uncomfortable. So much so he could almost feel the beginning of what he could only describe as guilt. Something he'd rarely experienced before, being a pirate and all.

But so far Captain Sparrow had been looking the other way. Turning a blind eye as it were. He may be a pirate but he'd never forget what Will had done for him. What he'd given up.

And seeing Will as he was now in the midst of his daily ritual, so melancholy and lost looking it tugged at even Jack's supposedly black heart.

This was another thing that set Will apart from the others who served aboard the Black Pearl. While he worked with the crew, he wasn't really a part of it. He kept himself separate and distant. Whether it was a conscious act on Will's part or simply because the young man's heart lay miles away, Jack didn't know. But of what Jack was certain was that Will's every waking thought was surely spent on the fair Elizabeth, who was currently betrothed (if not already wed) to Commodore Norrington.

She hadn't been at the fort the day of Jack's aborted hanging. And that was as it should be. No lady as fine as she should bear witness to that. But in the few times since Will joined the crew that he'd confided in the captain, it was revealed that the lad hadn't even had the chance to say goodbye to Elizabeth, let alone tell her how he truly felt. His rescue of Jack had been so spontaneous he hadn't fully comprehended what it had entailed. Leaving Elizabeth behind and to condemn himself to live the life of an outlaw.

And so that was what caused Will to close himself off from everyone. He was nursing a broken heart.

But that wasn't Jack's biggest concern. His biggest worry lay with the rest of the crew who had become quite disgruntled. Unhappy they were with their captain for allowing a crewmember to remain aboard while he only pulled half his weight.

But what it really boiled right down to was that the majority of the crew simply did not like Will Turner. They didn't like his disapproving looks or his refusal to do certain (more nefarious) tasks. Not the way he held himself aloof like he was better than them or the favour he seemed to hold with the captain. If it were up to most of them they would have made him walk the plank weeks ago.

The grumbling had been getting louder of late. The most vocal being Anamaria.

Anamaria was a natural leader and Jack knew she chafed under his command, even after he'd made her his first mate. But she couldn't hold it back any more. Will gave her a focus for her malcontent. It was she; Jack was certain, who got the crew all riled up. But deep down he couldn't fault her. If their positions were reversed he was sure he'd be acting the same way.

But that wasn't to say it didn't annoy the beejezus out of him.

So far there had been no action taken. But Jack couldn't help but wonder if he was facing another mutiny. He wouldn't have expected that behaviour from Ana, but his experience with Barbossa had left him paranoid. While he didn't expect the crew to try to take the Pearl away from him and maroon him, he wouldn't be surprised if they all just left to go find their fortune elsewhere. Jack didn't want to see that happen.

He'd scored himself a hard working, dedicated and experienced crew. He didn't want to lose that. They were hard to come by, especially amongst pirates. He also didn't need the extra competition. With the British Navy, under the command of the Commodore, buckling down on all illegal activity, pirate crews found themselves hard pressed to find good plunder nowadays. Which made competition all the more stiff.

But on the other hand he owed Will his life. And a life debt wasn't something even he took lightly. And if Jack wanted to be honest about it he had grown quite fond of the lad, quirks and all. Not surprising really, considering he was Bootstrap's son.

Jack was certain he could make a find pirate out of Will yet. The lad had potential and his skill with a blade was unmatched. All he had to do was make him forget his bonnie lass and rid him of his nasty respect for the law. And there was only one place that he could think of to do that.

Pleased with himself and his newfound plan the captain was grinning quite alarmingly when Gibbs found him.

"What sees you in such high spirits Cap'n?"

Jack turned his grin to the older man who shared his opinion when it came to Will Turner.

"Inform the crew Mr. Gibbs." Jack said quite formally. "We be heading to Tortuga."

~*~*~*~*

TBC.

Up next: A tavern brawl, Will hears some upsetting news and Captain Sparrow makes a shocking proclamation. Oh yes, fun times are sure to had in Tortuga.