It was still dark when the Pearl and the Renegade set sail the next
morning. Nobody on either ship was particularly awake or happy about the
situation, but with the exception of the Turners, all were pretty well used
to early departures. On the deck of the Renegade, Julianne stood alone at
the helm looking out over the black waters.
The first few days on the journey for Isla de Muerta passed fairly calmly. With no particular sense of urgency over their mission, the two ships cruised along at a leisurely pace, sailing only by day. At night, the ships were pulled up side by side, the anchors dropped, and the crews mingled among friends, food, and drink celebrating the excitement of now belonging to a fleet. All occupied by their own drunken merriment, not one ever seemed to notice the absence of their captains, save the first mates and the Turners, then again it wasn't all that out of the ordinary anyway. And though neither Will nor Elizabeth were entirely positive what the two of them were up to, it didn't take much to guess especially considering the knowing glances exchanged between Dipst and Anamaria, and the general lack of discussion about the topic.
For the most part, Will and Elizabeth fit in fairly well with the group. Sailing on the Renegade due to its extra space, Will felt almost at home, while Elizabeth dealt the best she could. Not that she didn't love the adventure and freedom of it all, but a pirate ship doesn't exactly provide the most comfortable accommodations for a lady raised in the governor's household. Most nights, she and Will dined with Jack and Julianne in the captains quarters, sometimes accompanied by the first mates, then went out and joined the evening's festivities. After watching Julianne closely in attempt to absorb all she could, Elizabeth found that the captain spent a good deal of time talking with Anamaria when she wasn't with Jack. When she finally worked up the nerve to ask her about it, Julianne told her that she had known Ana even longer than she had known Jack and considered her almost a sister.
"They're aren't many of us out there", she had said, "we women have to stick together."
It was on the fourth day out that trouble arose. About 1:00 in the afternoon, when most of the crews were having lunch below, Julianne turned and looked over the back deck of the ship, just to take in the sight of it all. Off in the very far distance, appeared to be what looked like an approaching ship. Reaching into one of her jacket pockets, she pulled out a telescope, opened it, and looked back out over the water. Sure enough, what she saw confirmed her suspicions. Upon further investigation though, Julianne was horrified to realize the worst; the ship approaching was none other than the Caligula.
Oh bloody hell, she thought to herself as she sprung from the quarter deck and ran across the length of the Renegade.
"JACK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, motioning him to come over to the starboard side of the Pearl where he could hear her.
"What's all the fuss?" he yelled back.
"It's the Caligula", she cried over to him pointing at the oncoming ship. "We're being followed."
Jack looked in the direction where she was pointing, and all at once it became evident that he understood.
"What do you want to do?" he called over to her..
"I don't know. I mean 'e'd have to be stupid to try and take both of us on at once."
"I wouldn't put it past him."
"Neither would I", Julianne agreed.
"Well then?" Jack asked again, knowing that if there was one thing Julianne was good at it was battle strategy.
"Unfortunately, I don't think he's stupid enough to pull right up in between us."
"Agreed."
"Then I would say for you to turn your ship perpendicular to me, that way no matter which direction 'e goes he's going to be facing a line of cannons. And I'll hang back a bit, I'll fair better if he's going to attack. Besides, it's you he wants anyway."
Jack shook his head in agreement, and before running back to their respective helms, both captains gripped the other's hand for a minute.
"In my cabin!" Captain J. ordered Will and Elizabeth. When Will began to protest he was silenced by Julianne's "NOW!", and the two did as they were told. Within minutes, the entire crew of each ship had come above deck, received their orders, and were now all in position for battle. Stopping where they were, it didn't take long for the Caligula to catch up to the new fleet and pulling out her sword, Julianne watched intently trying to anticipate Cordei's next move.
The Caligula pulled up quickly, and standing up on the railing of the bow was Cordei holding on to the rigging, sword in hand. The cannon flaps were already open, and Julianne could see the Caligula's sailors in place at the ready.
"SO, THE TWO OF YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD ME THERE IN THE FAITHFUL BRIDE, DIDN'T YE?" Cordei yelled at her from where he stood. "Well, this time you won't be getting' yourself out of it so easy."
"Don't you ever quit? You're a bloody idiot Cordei if you think you can take down the both of us", she yelled back.
"Oh please, don't think so highly of yourselves. Arrogance is so unbecoming a lady, Juli."
With that last comment, Julianne just had about enough of Augustus Cordei and his ego the size of the ocean itself. Without warning, Julianne took into consideration the Caligula's position with respect to the Renegade and gave the order to fire. At once came the deafening sound of 13 cannons firing in unison, and several of them hit their mark tearing holes in the side of the other ship. Cordei however seemed unfazed by this and did not call a counter attack back on the Renegade. Instead he continued to move forward without slowing down. Suddenly Julianne became aware of he was planning. By threatening her, he had drawn her attention away from the Pearl, which he now intended to smash his bowsprit directly into. Seeing this and how close he was to achieving his goal, she knew she would not get to the other end up her own ship in enough time to warn Jack to move. Please figure this out Jack, she thought to herself as she ordered her crew to continue heavy fire, ran across the deck, and swung herself by rope across the water and onto the deck of the Caligula. Landing on the quarter deck, it was only a few steps to the helm where she promptly killed the pirate who was steering, grabbed onto the wheel herself, and turned the Caligula away from the Pearl as hard as she could. At the front of the ship, Cordei saw what had happened and began running back to where she was. Fortunately for Julianne, her quick thinking first mate had anticipated her actions, and several of her own crew were now boarding the Caligula slowing up Cordei in the process.
Back on the Pearl, Jack had determined what Augustus was up to and was already moving his ship back into the lee of the Renegade just after firing a round of cannons. Now though, he saw that the Caligula was turning sharply away from where the Pearl was stopped, but he couldn't see why. Knowing that there was no way Cordei would have voluntarily backed off so easily, Jack again reversed directions and pulled the Pearl forward to see what was going on. As far back as he was, what he saw made his stomach lurch. There on the deck of the Caligula were Julianne and Augustus engaged in combat. Fury overwhelmed Jack, and he quickly ordered his men to begin firing and not let up, since most of the Renegade's crew were out of hitting range. Running with all his might, he hopped from his own ship onto Julianne's, ran the length of it, and threw himself onto the Caligula.
At the end of the ship, Julianne was performing spectacularly against Augustus, who was never much of a swordsman. Unfortunately though, she soon discovered that she had left her pistol lying on the end table next to her bed on the Renegade. Grateful for her sword fighting skills, she saw Cordei go for his own gun, and quickly sliced it out of his hand before he had the chance to do anything with it. She was slowly gaining over him when she felt something slice down her left arm. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that one of Cordei's men was behind her and she was now stuck between the two of them and would have to ward both off. Ignoring the searing pain in her arm, she assessed the two momentarily she noticed that the crewmen was not much of a fighter despite his enormous size, and she quickly sent him flying backwards with a few short fancy swipes. Turning her attention back to Augustus, she found that he was making his was quickly for his gun. Running after him she caught up before he could grab it and drew him back into engagement and away from the pistol. Backing toward the center of the deck, she began to slowly turn, swinging her sword to both her left and right at both Cordei and the other pirate. As soon as she pushed on back, the other was right at her and vice versa. Beginning to grow tired, and bleeding fairly badly from her left arm which felt as though it was on fire, Julianne decided to attempt to take out the other pirate so she would only have one person to concentrate on. Throwing herself at Cordei, she momentarily drove him backward then quickly turned and attacked the other pirate with all her might. Taking him down was easy, within a few swings and stabs of her sword the large man fell to the deck dead. Just as she was about to turn around however, she saw Cordei's blade come crashing down directly for her neck. Unable to block quickly enough, Julianne prepared for the worst.
Just as Cordei's sword was about to slash across her neck, Julianne heard a gun fire and watched as Augustus' eyes grew wide and he then fell to the ground. The blade of his sword grazed across her collarbone lightly, cutting but not deeply, and Cordei collapsed at her feet. Frozen where she stood, Captain Amaris stared in shock at the limp body in front of her, and was so dazed that she did not hear Jack's shouts to her until he was right next to her and touched her hand.
"WHAT?" she yelled startled.
"Let's go, NOW!" Jack ordered her, and immediately she obeyed allowing him to pull her from the deck. By now there was little feeling at all in her left arm, and sheathing her sword she discovered that she would only be able to swing back to her own ship with her right arm which was also in serious pain due to the cut across her collarbone and shoulder. By the time she was standing on the railing of the Caligula, Julianne wasn't sure she could swing herself across at all, and stood there looking over to her own boat in frustration.
"Jack, I can't", she said quietly turning to him with her head down.
"Come on luv, its only a short swing, you've done this thousands of times."
"No, I mean I really can't", she said again resting her head on his chest. "I can't feel my arms", she finished, barely loud enough to be heard.
Feeling her entire weight leaning against him, Jack realized the problem and instantly filled with dread. Lifting her head, he found that she was beginning to fall asleep from dizziness. Looking behind him, Jack could see that most of the Renegade's crew had already abandoned the ship, and that just a few remained holding the Caligula in place until he and Julianne could get off.
"Jules! Jules, come on, you've got to stay awake. Come on luv, stay with me", he urged shaking her. Julianne's head swayed uneasily but eventually she opened her eyes.
"Come on, grab hold of me", he told her, "You'll go with me."
Hearing him, but unable to make much of an effort, Julianne continued to lean on him and Jack could see the pain in her eyes. Gently putting each of her arms over his shoulder, he grabbed her around the waist with one arm, and wrapped the rope around his other. Saying a silent prayer to himself, he pushed off the railing and swung across the water.
Jack felt his feet touch the railing of the Renegade, and was extremely grateful when Will and Dipst grabbed ahold of his legs and pulled him down onto the deck. Dipst caught Julianne, who was now completely unconscious, while Jack unwound the Caligula's rigging from his hand and let it swing back across to the other boat. Turning his attention back to the matters at hand, Jack carefully took Julianne back from her first mate and lifted her gently into his arms.
"She gonna be alright?" Dipst asked with concern.
Jack looked at him with a worried expression but did not answer. Making his way across the boat to Julianne's quarters, the crew cleared out of his way quickly and waited in silence. Inside the cabin, Jack laid Julianne down on her bed, took off her jacket and shirt, and began to examine her wounds. The cut across her collarbone was not bad, though it started almost at her neck and ran across her right shoulder, it was shallow and once cleaned would heal fairly quickly. Her left arm however was not so well off. The gash ran almost the length of her upper arm, slicing deep enough at the center that Jack was certain it had nicked the muscle. Grateful for his own past injuries, Jack set to work. Opening the doors to the end table next to the bed, he pulled out a large bottle of rum from the stock that Julianne always kept. He poured some of it on a clean towel from the closet and used it to clean and sterilize the wounds, taking a sip of it himself every now and again to calm his nerves. Thank god your asleep, he thought to himself, knowing from personal experience how badly the alcohol burned on an open sore. As he cleaned, her left arm began to bleed again. Gently inspecting it, his fear was confirmed.
The door to Julianne's cabin flew open and Jack stepped out into the view of the awaiting crew. "Get me Anamaria", he ordered Elizabeth who was standing closest to him. She nodded and obediently ran to the far end of the ship closest to the Pearl.
"Dipst", Jack called to the first mate. "We're going to have to make a stop before we continue on to Isla de Muerta, this ship is not in any condition to go any further without provisions. Passions Cove lies about two days west of here. As long as Ana's 'ere, you might as well 'ead over to the Pearl and get us movin' out of 'ere."
"Right captain", Dipst answered and also made his way over to the other ship.
"Will, go on over to the Pearl and help Dipst out, Elizabeth can stay here, I'll need her." Will nodded and he too was gone.
The first few days on the journey for Isla de Muerta passed fairly calmly. With no particular sense of urgency over their mission, the two ships cruised along at a leisurely pace, sailing only by day. At night, the ships were pulled up side by side, the anchors dropped, and the crews mingled among friends, food, and drink celebrating the excitement of now belonging to a fleet. All occupied by their own drunken merriment, not one ever seemed to notice the absence of their captains, save the first mates and the Turners, then again it wasn't all that out of the ordinary anyway. And though neither Will nor Elizabeth were entirely positive what the two of them were up to, it didn't take much to guess especially considering the knowing glances exchanged between Dipst and Anamaria, and the general lack of discussion about the topic.
For the most part, Will and Elizabeth fit in fairly well with the group. Sailing on the Renegade due to its extra space, Will felt almost at home, while Elizabeth dealt the best she could. Not that she didn't love the adventure and freedom of it all, but a pirate ship doesn't exactly provide the most comfortable accommodations for a lady raised in the governor's household. Most nights, she and Will dined with Jack and Julianne in the captains quarters, sometimes accompanied by the first mates, then went out and joined the evening's festivities. After watching Julianne closely in attempt to absorb all she could, Elizabeth found that the captain spent a good deal of time talking with Anamaria when she wasn't with Jack. When she finally worked up the nerve to ask her about it, Julianne told her that she had known Ana even longer than she had known Jack and considered her almost a sister.
"They're aren't many of us out there", she had said, "we women have to stick together."
It was on the fourth day out that trouble arose. About 1:00 in the afternoon, when most of the crews were having lunch below, Julianne turned and looked over the back deck of the ship, just to take in the sight of it all. Off in the very far distance, appeared to be what looked like an approaching ship. Reaching into one of her jacket pockets, she pulled out a telescope, opened it, and looked back out over the water. Sure enough, what she saw confirmed her suspicions. Upon further investigation though, Julianne was horrified to realize the worst; the ship approaching was none other than the Caligula.
Oh bloody hell, she thought to herself as she sprung from the quarter deck and ran across the length of the Renegade.
"JACK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, motioning him to come over to the starboard side of the Pearl where he could hear her.
"What's all the fuss?" he yelled back.
"It's the Caligula", she cried over to him pointing at the oncoming ship. "We're being followed."
Jack looked in the direction where she was pointing, and all at once it became evident that he understood.
"What do you want to do?" he called over to her..
"I don't know. I mean 'e'd have to be stupid to try and take both of us on at once."
"I wouldn't put it past him."
"Neither would I", Julianne agreed.
"Well then?" Jack asked again, knowing that if there was one thing Julianne was good at it was battle strategy.
"Unfortunately, I don't think he's stupid enough to pull right up in between us."
"Agreed."
"Then I would say for you to turn your ship perpendicular to me, that way no matter which direction 'e goes he's going to be facing a line of cannons. And I'll hang back a bit, I'll fair better if he's going to attack. Besides, it's you he wants anyway."
Jack shook his head in agreement, and before running back to their respective helms, both captains gripped the other's hand for a minute.
"In my cabin!" Captain J. ordered Will and Elizabeth. When Will began to protest he was silenced by Julianne's "NOW!", and the two did as they were told. Within minutes, the entire crew of each ship had come above deck, received their orders, and were now all in position for battle. Stopping where they were, it didn't take long for the Caligula to catch up to the new fleet and pulling out her sword, Julianne watched intently trying to anticipate Cordei's next move.
The Caligula pulled up quickly, and standing up on the railing of the bow was Cordei holding on to the rigging, sword in hand. The cannon flaps were already open, and Julianne could see the Caligula's sailors in place at the ready.
"SO, THE TWO OF YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD ME THERE IN THE FAITHFUL BRIDE, DIDN'T YE?" Cordei yelled at her from where he stood. "Well, this time you won't be getting' yourself out of it so easy."
"Don't you ever quit? You're a bloody idiot Cordei if you think you can take down the both of us", she yelled back.
"Oh please, don't think so highly of yourselves. Arrogance is so unbecoming a lady, Juli."
With that last comment, Julianne just had about enough of Augustus Cordei and his ego the size of the ocean itself. Without warning, Julianne took into consideration the Caligula's position with respect to the Renegade and gave the order to fire. At once came the deafening sound of 13 cannons firing in unison, and several of them hit their mark tearing holes in the side of the other ship. Cordei however seemed unfazed by this and did not call a counter attack back on the Renegade. Instead he continued to move forward without slowing down. Suddenly Julianne became aware of he was planning. By threatening her, he had drawn her attention away from the Pearl, which he now intended to smash his bowsprit directly into. Seeing this and how close he was to achieving his goal, she knew she would not get to the other end up her own ship in enough time to warn Jack to move. Please figure this out Jack, she thought to herself as she ordered her crew to continue heavy fire, ran across the deck, and swung herself by rope across the water and onto the deck of the Caligula. Landing on the quarter deck, it was only a few steps to the helm where she promptly killed the pirate who was steering, grabbed onto the wheel herself, and turned the Caligula away from the Pearl as hard as she could. At the front of the ship, Cordei saw what had happened and began running back to where she was. Fortunately for Julianne, her quick thinking first mate had anticipated her actions, and several of her own crew were now boarding the Caligula slowing up Cordei in the process.
Back on the Pearl, Jack had determined what Augustus was up to and was already moving his ship back into the lee of the Renegade just after firing a round of cannons. Now though, he saw that the Caligula was turning sharply away from where the Pearl was stopped, but he couldn't see why. Knowing that there was no way Cordei would have voluntarily backed off so easily, Jack again reversed directions and pulled the Pearl forward to see what was going on. As far back as he was, what he saw made his stomach lurch. There on the deck of the Caligula were Julianne and Augustus engaged in combat. Fury overwhelmed Jack, and he quickly ordered his men to begin firing and not let up, since most of the Renegade's crew were out of hitting range. Running with all his might, he hopped from his own ship onto Julianne's, ran the length of it, and threw himself onto the Caligula.
At the end of the ship, Julianne was performing spectacularly against Augustus, who was never much of a swordsman. Unfortunately though, she soon discovered that she had left her pistol lying on the end table next to her bed on the Renegade. Grateful for her sword fighting skills, she saw Cordei go for his own gun, and quickly sliced it out of his hand before he had the chance to do anything with it. She was slowly gaining over him when she felt something slice down her left arm. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that one of Cordei's men was behind her and she was now stuck between the two of them and would have to ward both off. Ignoring the searing pain in her arm, she assessed the two momentarily she noticed that the crewmen was not much of a fighter despite his enormous size, and she quickly sent him flying backwards with a few short fancy swipes. Turning her attention back to Augustus, she found that he was making his was quickly for his gun. Running after him she caught up before he could grab it and drew him back into engagement and away from the pistol. Backing toward the center of the deck, she began to slowly turn, swinging her sword to both her left and right at both Cordei and the other pirate. As soon as she pushed on back, the other was right at her and vice versa. Beginning to grow tired, and bleeding fairly badly from her left arm which felt as though it was on fire, Julianne decided to attempt to take out the other pirate so she would only have one person to concentrate on. Throwing herself at Cordei, she momentarily drove him backward then quickly turned and attacked the other pirate with all her might. Taking him down was easy, within a few swings and stabs of her sword the large man fell to the deck dead. Just as she was about to turn around however, she saw Cordei's blade come crashing down directly for her neck. Unable to block quickly enough, Julianne prepared for the worst.
Just as Cordei's sword was about to slash across her neck, Julianne heard a gun fire and watched as Augustus' eyes grew wide and he then fell to the ground. The blade of his sword grazed across her collarbone lightly, cutting but not deeply, and Cordei collapsed at her feet. Frozen where she stood, Captain Amaris stared in shock at the limp body in front of her, and was so dazed that she did not hear Jack's shouts to her until he was right next to her and touched her hand.
"WHAT?" she yelled startled.
"Let's go, NOW!" Jack ordered her, and immediately she obeyed allowing him to pull her from the deck. By now there was little feeling at all in her left arm, and sheathing her sword she discovered that she would only be able to swing back to her own ship with her right arm which was also in serious pain due to the cut across her collarbone and shoulder. By the time she was standing on the railing of the Caligula, Julianne wasn't sure she could swing herself across at all, and stood there looking over to her own boat in frustration.
"Jack, I can't", she said quietly turning to him with her head down.
"Come on luv, its only a short swing, you've done this thousands of times."
"No, I mean I really can't", she said again resting her head on his chest. "I can't feel my arms", she finished, barely loud enough to be heard.
Feeling her entire weight leaning against him, Jack realized the problem and instantly filled with dread. Lifting her head, he found that she was beginning to fall asleep from dizziness. Looking behind him, Jack could see that most of the Renegade's crew had already abandoned the ship, and that just a few remained holding the Caligula in place until he and Julianne could get off.
"Jules! Jules, come on, you've got to stay awake. Come on luv, stay with me", he urged shaking her. Julianne's head swayed uneasily but eventually she opened her eyes.
"Come on, grab hold of me", he told her, "You'll go with me."
Hearing him, but unable to make much of an effort, Julianne continued to lean on him and Jack could see the pain in her eyes. Gently putting each of her arms over his shoulder, he grabbed her around the waist with one arm, and wrapped the rope around his other. Saying a silent prayer to himself, he pushed off the railing and swung across the water.
Jack felt his feet touch the railing of the Renegade, and was extremely grateful when Will and Dipst grabbed ahold of his legs and pulled him down onto the deck. Dipst caught Julianne, who was now completely unconscious, while Jack unwound the Caligula's rigging from his hand and let it swing back across to the other boat. Turning his attention back to the matters at hand, Jack carefully took Julianne back from her first mate and lifted her gently into his arms.
"She gonna be alright?" Dipst asked with concern.
Jack looked at him with a worried expression but did not answer. Making his way across the boat to Julianne's quarters, the crew cleared out of his way quickly and waited in silence. Inside the cabin, Jack laid Julianne down on her bed, took off her jacket and shirt, and began to examine her wounds. The cut across her collarbone was not bad, though it started almost at her neck and ran across her right shoulder, it was shallow and once cleaned would heal fairly quickly. Her left arm however was not so well off. The gash ran almost the length of her upper arm, slicing deep enough at the center that Jack was certain it had nicked the muscle. Grateful for his own past injuries, Jack set to work. Opening the doors to the end table next to the bed, he pulled out a large bottle of rum from the stock that Julianne always kept. He poured some of it on a clean towel from the closet and used it to clean and sterilize the wounds, taking a sip of it himself every now and again to calm his nerves. Thank god your asleep, he thought to himself, knowing from personal experience how badly the alcohol burned on an open sore. As he cleaned, her left arm began to bleed again. Gently inspecting it, his fear was confirmed.
The door to Julianne's cabin flew open and Jack stepped out into the view of the awaiting crew. "Get me Anamaria", he ordered Elizabeth who was standing closest to him. She nodded and obediently ran to the far end of the ship closest to the Pearl.
"Dipst", Jack called to the first mate. "We're going to have to make a stop before we continue on to Isla de Muerta, this ship is not in any condition to go any further without provisions. Passions Cove lies about two days west of here. As long as Ana's 'ere, you might as well 'ead over to the Pearl and get us movin' out of 'ere."
"Right captain", Dipst answered and also made his way over to the other ship.
"Will, go on over to the Pearl and help Dipst out, Elizabeth can stay here, I'll need her." Will nodded and he too was gone.