Aftermath
By: L'Morgan
Disclaimer: I guess I really do need to remind you all that anything and everything related to Pirates of the Caribbean, their characters and settings are all the property of Disney - Disney - Disney - nobody - but -Disney ---- I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-and-giving-back. Only Disney can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. NOT ME!
************************* For all the wonderful reviewers out there - there are not enough words to say thank you! You have made this a wonderful experience - thank you, thank you, thank you one and all!
Summary: Port Royal lies in ruins.. The battle has been waged and won... But - what possible dangers could still lurk nearby?
Chapter 23: Gale Forces
Reynolds made his way down a steep ravine that wasn't really all that deep, and then rounded a large rock. He looked up and could make out the moon to his left, fairly high up in the sky. He listened, and then frowned deeply. Now the ocean seemed to be on his other side, the right? Or was it directly ahead? He turned around and retraced his steps and came to an abrupt halt. The rock was there - but the ravine beyond it seemed to have vanished! He swallowed dryly, slowly turning in a circle.
The trees seemed incredibly close. Closer than a few moments ago - but no, that was impossible. He stood silently, eyes and ears straining. Now he couldn't hear the ocean at all - but - was that he distant, faint sound of a drum? Drums? That was no military cadence was obvious. No, not at all. This had a slow, pulsing, tone. It was a deep sound, low and rumbling almost. He had never heard such a kind of drum - and he definitely would prefer it stop now.
He decided to not let his imagination run away with him, shut out the noise and continued on in the direction he had been going all along. He wound his way around through the brush and under the trees. Vines hung down and seemed to constantly be in his face. Something screeched loudly nearby and caused him to jump severely and hurry forward to the next dark outcropping of growth.
He held onto the tree with one hand, the other to his chest, willing his heart to calm. He took slow deep breaths, using a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his face. He looked back where he had come from and froze, his heart nearly stopping.
Behind him was a solid wall of very large rocks. One beside the other, vertical and tall, almost as if they were standing guard.. Only rocks yes.. But minutes ago there hadn't been a rock in sight! A wall of them at over 9 feet in height and 4 feet in width - a feature like that wasn't something he would not notice! He had come through that way just moments ago!
The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up as he backed away, eyes wide and staring. He bumped into a tree, creeping backwards, then another, then reached a small clearing, looked once and ran across it as fast as he could. He grabbed the first large tree trunk he came to, shaking now as he looked back. No rocks in the clearing all of a sudden - thank God. He wiped his sleeve across his forehead and tried to tell himself it was his imagination and nothing more.
He turned to go, pushed away from the tree, and froze. His heart nearly stopped and he barely stifled a scream of terror - just before him, not 5 feet away, stood the wall of rocks. An identical wall of rocks. Exactly like the other wall of rocks. He gasped and looked behind him and find an even more terrifying sight - the clearing - the clearing was now no more - in its stead stood an impenetrable wall of thick brush and trees so close together that passing between them would be impossible.
He was trapped between an impenetrable wall of jungle, and a very large wall of rocks. He whimpered without realizing it, then turned and fled in the only direction left open to him - the same direction that led to the insistent, heavy beat of now closer drums.
~ * * ~
Ana frowned mildly as she held their course steady under the starlit sky. She understood why Gibbs thought it was best they pick up their goods in the cove after dark - but she would have rather just gotten it over with and left this whole island behind them once and for all. She spied the galley cook heading for the Captain's cabin with a tray full of dishes and cups and so on. She turned the wheel over to Cotton, pointing out the course and then followed the cook.
She found the door ajar and half way open and stepped inside quietly. Jack was awake and now sitting up in the bed with a pillow behind him as he sat against the headboard, making a face of dismay at Gibbs who sat on the side of the bed, very subtly preventing the Captain from leaving said location by his presence there alone.
"We haven't picked it up yet? What have we been doing all day?" Jack asked and the older sailor shrugged.
"Oh - just makin' sure the repairs ain't changed how she handles - checking for leaks - seems about as seaworthy as you can ask for, to me Jack. Those landlubbers in Port Royal did a really good job for us it looks like." He said casually as he uncovered the large cup of coffee on the tray and the pirate accepted it with a grateful look.
He raised an eyebrow at Gibbs as the man situated the tray across his lap. "I think I'd rather get up." He observed and the older man seemed to ignore his remark as he smiled at the tray.
"Now why be in such a hurry so quick like Jack. Lookit here - eggs even - just the way you like 'em. ham - smoked ham even - fresh today as a matter of fact and ah yes, fresh teacakes - even have marmalade, ye see?" he asked as he uncovered each dish and Ana had to restrain herself from laughing at he look on the pirate's face.
"What did you do Gibbs - raid the food stores of that town before we left?" he asked warily and Gibbs smiled and shook his head.
"People been bringing us things right and left Jack - says they want to show their appreciation for our help. Didn't feel right to tell 'em no, we won't accept it. Especially when it really is a treat for the boys. Some of em from the town wanted to help with the repairs to the Pearl, some of them brought baskets of food - I knew you wouldn't want us to be rude to them for no reason." He said and the pirate sighed.
"No, I'm glad you didn't do that. I'm really not very hungry though," he said with a mild frown and Gibbs gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Just try a few bites lad. Now I know you like eggs. A pretty young lady brought us 4 laying hens actually. Little portable cage and all for 'em. The boys named 'em a course. I figured I'd let you decide what we're gonna do with 'em. They been layin' as regular as you could please. Bein' on the ship doesn't seem to bother them a bit. Oh, and there's a goat too." He added, and at the last, the pirate choked on whatever he was in the process of swallowing and he coughed for a minute.
Gibbs grinned at him. "Sorry 'bout that. Her name's Harmony. Sweet little thing. Her milk's how come you got that cream in your coffee there." He said and the pirate looked surprised and tasted it again and nodded.
"So now we have 4 chickens and a goat? Anything else ye' want to tell me about now, before I try to take a bite of this?" he asked warily and Gibbs grinned cheerfully.
"Pretty common for a ship the size of the Pearl to have a few animals - I don't have to tell you that Captain. Gottcha' a nice case of rum though, and 50 pounds of sugar." He offered, the last as if offering pure temptation and the pirate gave him a startled look, and then tasted the eggs a bit. He then quickly took a few larger bites of the same and Gibbs looked pleased. He noticed Ana and smiled at her.
"Pretty quiet on deck still?" Gibbs asked of her and she nodded.
"Have a fog bank comin' in from the west though. I put us a little further off shore. Not too thick, but kinda damp." She said and Jack frowned mildly over his tray.
"Gibbs, bring me the chart from the desk - the one in the sixth pigeon hole from the left, third down." He said with a gesture over at the desk that had a row of pigeon holes along the top edge being 12 across the length of the desk top and 4 down in height, each containing a rolled paper of some sort.
As soon as the man rose to go to the desk, Jack was up and headed for the table with his coffee cup. Gibbs arched an eyebrow at him and Jack smiled as he pat the table expectantly. Ana watched the two of them unroll the chart and use objects to hold down the ends. The Captain brought out a magnifying glass and calipers and pen and ruler as Gibbs brought over two lanterns.
"Don't you think I know how far out is good to go in a fog bank Jack? We're not headed for Bermuda." She said dryly and he smiled back at her and reached for her arm and drew her up beside him and pulled the lantern closer.
"See the outline of the shore here?" he asked and she nodded and he pointed at one area of it that showed a small inland cove. And the shoreline beyond it.
"Those little criss-crossed stars by the shoreline - those are rocks that you can only see at low tide. The little red x's - those are rocks that are always below the water, but we'd really rather not run into them anyway. Now all these little triangular teeth together here, like a jack o'lantern smilin' that means there's a steep cliff there at the shoreline. Of course all these rocks are at the bottom of it - kinda makes sense, right?" he asked and she bent and looked and nodded. She'd noticed little markings on his charts but hadn't thought it her business to ask. Now that he told her what some of the marks meant - yeah, there were a lot of those rocks right by the 'teeth'. She looked up at him curiously
"My thinking is that any earthquake that was big enough to sink half a town, may well have changed the bottom here as well. All those little numbers, those are how deep the water is here and there. Overall, you can see how the under the water the land still slopes away kind of gradual like, then you notice that once you get out here, all of a sudden the water gets a lot deeper all of a sudden. Says 'no bottom' even? That doesn't mean there isn't any bottom - just that whoever did the taking of the measurement didn't have a long enough rope! That's an underwater canyon there, see? Just like there are above water canyons." He told her and she bent closer and squinted at them.
"Oh its' real deep here!" she observed as she traced over a few of the numbers and he nodded.
"The fog will form over the shallow water faster than it will the deeper water. That's why you have it coming from the west right now. See how that deep area is right off that cliff by a ways there? Lets' go out there if we aren't already. I don't want us trying to enter that cove when we can't see what new rocks have fallen off that cliff, if not half the entire cliff itself - not to mention if the bottom's come up. It could have done either easily. The area right around that cove is only listed here as 40 feet. That's not particularly deep." He observed thoughtfully and Gibbs nodded.
"I didn't even think about there being new rocks or the bottom comin' up Jack." He said and the Captain smiled at him.
"And you could sail these same waters for the next hundred years and probably not have to ever think about it again," he said and then looked at her and tapped on the chart near the entrance to the cove.
"The Pearl draws to a depth of 18 feet loaded like we are at the minute. We sit even deeper in the water when we have a full hold. That means there's only 22 feet of water between our keel and the bottom going in there when this chart was last updated, and that's been more than a few years. Then you have to count how much the swells take you up and down out of that distance as well. If that bottom's come up 10 feet even and has some new rocks.." He said and left off and she frowned.
"Even if a new one was just below the surface, we couldn't see it at night." She said and he nodded.
"Exactly - which is why as much as I'd like to claim those goods at night - we can't really. Well we could - but I don't like the chances. It wasn't that deep to start with here. If it had been 70 feet to start with then I'd say yeah sure - even a 20 foot change wouldn't hurt us. But approximately 20 feet is not a lot of room for a mistake. Not considering what we've seen that earthquake did as far as changing the ground levels of Port Royal. No, we need to be able to see when we try to get into the cove. Bellamy got in obviously, so we know there's a way in and out - but I'd rather be able to see it myself." He said thoughtfully.
Ana had to bite on her lip to keep from smiling at him too broadly. Nobody had ever bothered to even give her a clue as to how all those charts were used or what they showed. She'd kind of kept away from them rather than get too near and be ridiculed for her curiosity. Now here Jack had pulled her closer on his own to share how he was thinking and why. Made sense even when you knew why he'd say go sit out in the water now and not use the cover of darkness to get it done.
~ * * ~
The large, tall dark skinned man with the wild hair sat in a circle with his 4 companions at eh mouth of the cave. One of them beat steadily on a small drum. None of them seemed at all bothered by the smoke from the fire that burned at the mouth of the cave. Perhaps it was because the others were so engrossed in the figures that lay in the circle of dirt before them.
There was the small stick figure of a man, tied with grasses to attach his limbs and head, and around him stood several lines of large stones, one by the other. Or on another side, small thick branches from tree. The man with the wild hair grinned and laughed as he watched two of the others place a semi circle of rocks around the stick figure of the man. All four sat for a moment, hands outstretched over the marked out circle area between them, then all began to laugh as if amused.
"We bring him here to us?" one of them asked and the man shook his head.
"No - what is to come is to be settled by the destiny and fates between him and the Sparrow. Choices will be made by each of them and the others that will determine much in the future. There is no purpose in warning any man away from that which is his destiny, or in trying to prepare him for such moments. Many powers have been at work to bring all of them to this place and time. We help keep them free to each chose their fates when the time comes. We only give 'direction' - so they meet man to man." He said and the others laughed at his use of the word 'direction' - as he moved the branches now to a different side of the stick figure and they began moving the stones.
~ * * ~
Jack smiled as he watched the sun rise finally over the horizon. It promised to be a beautiful day once the last of the fog bank burned off. Already you could see the outline of the hilltops of the island. They wouldn't need to wait for all of it to burn off to enter the cove, just enough so they could see ahead and downwards into the water. He smiled at Mr. Cotton who stood nearby the lashed wheel, his bird perched on the wheel's top and eagerly reaching out for a nut of some kind. It cocked it's head with it saw him.
"Mornin' Mail Captain Jack!" it announced very loud and cheerfully and he smiled more.
"Aye, morning mail to you too, Mr. Feather - s -" he started, barely stopping himself from referring to the beast as a 'feathered fiend' in front of his doting owner. Cotton laughed with a grin that suggested that he wasn't in the least bit fooled - but he seemed much more amused by, instead of annoyed at his Captain. Gibbs came up beside them with a cheerful grin.
"Fogs' off the water Jack - whatcha' think?" he asked hopefully with a gesture towards the bow and the pirate captain followed him in that direction with a hopeful look of his own.
And indeed, it didn't take long for them to find the way into the cove, put down the temporary docking, collect the barrels and bales left under the shelter of some trees and stow them securely in the hold. The only changed part seemed to be several large hunks of cliff facing that now lay at the bottom of the sheer drop off, instead of on its' top. At least it didn't interfere with their movement and all were relieved to get the job done sooner rather than later. They did it all so quickly that Jack suggested Gibbs bring up an extra keg of grog for the sharing - a suggestion the crew definitely approved of.
They had just cleared the cove and were leaving the last of the thin fog behind when suddenly there came a deep booming noise and they all startled. In seconds there was the splash of a cannon ball hitting the water off their port bow. In seconds the Captain bellowed the order for all hands to man their stations and men poured out of the lower decks as others hurried below to the gun decks. Gibbs shouted and yelled his instructions and quicker than one would expect the Pearl changed her tack so now her broadside faced the direction the shot had come from.
All hands stood silently, ears straining even as eyes searched the fog bank. Ana stood ready at the wheel, letting the ship drift outwards from the shore as Jack quickly crossed the expanse of the deck, eyes never leaving the fog that hid their attacker so well. Gibbs came up to him as he was passing by.
"Who do you think they be Captain?" he asked with concern and the pirate shrugged with a frown.
"Well, we know it's not Norrington - that shot was too small to be from one of his ships even if he was back after us. Can't have been more than a 7 pounder shot that one was. Might be that bounty hunter Reynolds. We may have surprised them trying to sneak into the bay under the cover of the fog, or just using here as a base for someone they've let off. I can't imagine who else would be shooting at us and then just sitting there like this." He said and Gibbs nodded with a dark look.
Suddenly there was a shout from off their port side, and as they watched, a schooner materialized out of the fog, flying the colors of the French. Her gun bays were already open and the men on the deck seemed armed as well.
"Hail there! You are the Black Pearl, we have reason to believe! We have come with orders to arrest your captain, Jacque Sparrow! If he is aboard, you must surrender him at once. We have our guns aimed at your decks. We will fire if you resist!" a man with a cone shouted over at them.
"Well I AM Jack Sparrow - and I am afraid I'm not about to take you seriously mate! We have twice the guns you do! Surely you don't expect me to just say all right, and waltz over to be taken to where ever it is you have in mind? I'm not that daft man!" Jack shouted back as he stood near the railing.
Ana frowned deeply at the other ship. She looked over at Jack who looked rather mystified as well.
"We come with Lewis Reynolds, Captain Jacque Sparrow - we are to bring you back to Hispaniola if you please." the captain of the other ship called back.
Ana's eyebrows shot up and she nearly gasped and turned quickly to the pirate. Jack's knuckles on the railing seemed to have gone white, but otherwise he looked no more than mildly annoyed.
"Well no mate, actually I don't please at all! Now I strongly advise you move that ship of yours away - go back where you came from and tell them I was disinclined to acquiesce to your suggestion." He said firmly.
"Surely you realize that is not one of the choices we can pursue here! You have another suggestion perhaps? " came the shouted answer.
"Aye! I suggest YOU prepare to surrender! Strike your colors and your safety is certain!" Jack yelled back.
"Surrender yourself Captain Sparrow, and we will let your crew go in peace! It is only you we are looking for." Came the reply back from the man, and now Jack scowled at them.
"Look - I will give you until the count of 20 to strike your colors - or I will take your ship. Which do you prefer?" Jack called back commandingly. Ana could tell he was quickly losing patience with this nonsense.
She happened to be looking up and saw the glint of metal in the crows nest of the other ship. A man carefully peeked up, aiming a musket. The woman pirate looked from the man in the crow's nest, along is line of sight to find Jack himself as the target.
"Jack move!" she shouted furiously, even as she ran across the short space between them. She tackled him hard at chest level even as the shot rang out. They fell to the deck; his head connecting solidly with the deck as he instinctively grabbed her rather than try to break his fall. She rose to her knees, shaking hard, scowling at the pirate beneath her.
"Gibbs! Sink that bastard!" she screamed furiously, and in a few seconds there came the sound of the cannons firing a hard broadside at the ship. Railings crunched, splinters and wood flew, men were tossed in the air and 2 holes easily large enough for a man to step through suddenly exploded right at the water line of the schooner.
Quickly Ana checked the pirate captain for evidence of a gunshot wound, then rose to her feet and with another sailor, drug him around and out of the line of fire as shots rang out from the deck around them, aimed at the man in the rigging who had dared such insult. She knelt to pat him on the cheek firmly, then shook him, yelling his name and he suddenly startled awake with a gasp.
He bolted to sitting upright, seeming confused even as he struggled to his knees. "Jack - that was way too close!" she scolded loudly as she helped him up.
"Aye, but thank ye anyway! They still won't strike their colors, the bastard?" he demanded hotly as he rushed right back to the railing and she followed.
"Gunners mates! Drop the rears! 50 degrees arc!......... Check... fire when ready!" he yelled commandingly and in a moment the cannons again went off - the recoil making the Pearl shudder particularly hard. The smoke billowed quickly out over and along the water. The shots arced up into the air, and while one fell short and one went far, the others dropped straight down into the schooner. The loud crunches happened as they landed, and Jack grabbed her and pulled her down.
"Down on deck! Take cover!" the pirate yelled, and in less than 5 seconds there came a huge roar and the shock wave of an explosion as at least one of the balls reached the powder room on one of the lower decks as it dropped straight down from the sky.
The sky lit up even brighter than daylight as the noise and sound blast swept them. When they finally dared to look, it was to find not a ship there anymore, but now bits and pieces of floating wreckage and flame with no sign of survivors.
Slowly the crew of the Pearl rose, and seeing the results of their efforts, let up a happy cheer as Gibbs came over to where Ana and Jack stood surveying the destruction before them. The older man grinned as he pat the pirate on the back and Jack gave him a rather rueful look and then shrugged.
"Think Reynolds was on that ship Gibbs?" he asked and the older man shrugged.
"I would've expected him to show himself if he was, Jack. Maybe he was already on shore someplace?" he suggested and the pirate nodded with an unhappy look.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Lets' get back to Port Royal and make sure he isn't causing trouble on my account. I suppose I should inform Norrington that we just happened to find a French vessel lurking in the fog off Port Royal - they are at war with France, right?" He asked and Gibbs smiled and nodded and then headed off to make it happen.
~ * * ~
Reynolds stumbled out of the jungle and into the very outskirts of Port Royal not long after noon. Hewas trembling and shaking with fear, jumpy at the slightest sound, and more than just a little spooked by his night of confusion. Perhaps something he had eaten had caused him to have hallucinations?
It did not take him long to overhear the townspeople talking about the pirate and his ship - it seems the man had blasted apart some kind of French vessel he found hiding in the fog just off their shore! The town was abuzz with the news and everyone seemed freshly enamored of the pirate and his crew. Reynolds silently cursed the man to hell. Now he had no ship to take Sparrow back to!
He thought for a moment. Ahhhh - well there were other ships to be had. It would just take a bit of 'extra persuasion' to get the Commodore to allow him the use of one. He stepped into a quiet alleyway and checked the shot in his gun and smoothed down his hair and straightened his clothes. Alright - if Sparrow was going to make this difficult - well - he could play that game as well as any other.
With his jaw clenched tight he set off across town, headed for the Governor's mansion. If there was more than one way to pluck a chicken, it should be even easier to pluck a Sparrow!
**********************************
Only two more chapters to go? Awwwssss!!!
Disclaimer: I guess I really do need to remind you all that anything and everything related to Pirates of the Caribbean, their characters and settings are all the property of Disney - Disney - Disney - nobody - but -Disney ---- I-just-borrowing-to-play-with-and-giving-back. Only Disney can make money on anything to do with Pirates of the Caribbean. NOT ME!
************************* For all the wonderful reviewers out there - there are not enough words to say thank you! You have made this a wonderful experience - thank you, thank you, thank you one and all!
Summary: Port Royal lies in ruins.. The battle has been waged and won... But - what possible dangers could still lurk nearby?
Chapter 23: Gale Forces
Reynolds made his way down a steep ravine that wasn't really all that deep, and then rounded a large rock. He looked up and could make out the moon to his left, fairly high up in the sky. He listened, and then frowned deeply. Now the ocean seemed to be on his other side, the right? Or was it directly ahead? He turned around and retraced his steps and came to an abrupt halt. The rock was there - but the ravine beyond it seemed to have vanished! He swallowed dryly, slowly turning in a circle.
The trees seemed incredibly close. Closer than a few moments ago - but no, that was impossible. He stood silently, eyes and ears straining. Now he couldn't hear the ocean at all - but - was that he distant, faint sound of a drum? Drums? That was no military cadence was obvious. No, not at all. This had a slow, pulsing, tone. It was a deep sound, low and rumbling almost. He had never heard such a kind of drum - and he definitely would prefer it stop now.
He decided to not let his imagination run away with him, shut out the noise and continued on in the direction he had been going all along. He wound his way around through the brush and under the trees. Vines hung down and seemed to constantly be in his face. Something screeched loudly nearby and caused him to jump severely and hurry forward to the next dark outcropping of growth.
He held onto the tree with one hand, the other to his chest, willing his heart to calm. He took slow deep breaths, using a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his face. He looked back where he had come from and froze, his heart nearly stopping.
Behind him was a solid wall of very large rocks. One beside the other, vertical and tall, almost as if they were standing guard.. Only rocks yes.. But minutes ago there hadn't been a rock in sight! A wall of them at over 9 feet in height and 4 feet in width - a feature like that wasn't something he would not notice! He had come through that way just moments ago!
The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up as he backed away, eyes wide and staring. He bumped into a tree, creeping backwards, then another, then reached a small clearing, looked once and ran across it as fast as he could. He grabbed the first large tree trunk he came to, shaking now as he looked back. No rocks in the clearing all of a sudden - thank God. He wiped his sleeve across his forehead and tried to tell himself it was his imagination and nothing more.
He turned to go, pushed away from the tree, and froze. His heart nearly stopped and he barely stifled a scream of terror - just before him, not 5 feet away, stood the wall of rocks. An identical wall of rocks. Exactly like the other wall of rocks. He gasped and looked behind him and find an even more terrifying sight - the clearing - the clearing was now no more - in its stead stood an impenetrable wall of thick brush and trees so close together that passing between them would be impossible.
He was trapped between an impenetrable wall of jungle, and a very large wall of rocks. He whimpered without realizing it, then turned and fled in the only direction left open to him - the same direction that led to the insistent, heavy beat of now closer drums.
~ * * ~
Ana frowned mildly as she held their course steady under the starlit sky. She understood why Gibbs thought it was best they pick up their goods in the cove after dark - but she would have rather just gotten it over with and left this whole island behind them once and for all. She spied the galley cook heading for the Captain's cabin with a tray full of dishes and cups and so on. She turned the wheel over to Cotton, pointing out the course and then followed the cook.
She found the door ajar and half way open and stepped inside quietly. Jack was awake and now sitting up in the bed with a pillow behind him as he sat against the headboard, making a face of dismay at Gibbs who sat on the side of the bed, very subtly preventing the Captain from leaving said location by his presence there alone.
"We haven't picked it up yet? What have we been doing all day?" Jack asked and the older sailor shrugged.
"Oh - just makin' sure the repairs ain't changed how she handles - checking for leaks - seems about as seaworthy as you can ask for, to me Jack. Those landlubbers in Port Royal did a really good job for us it looks like." He said casually as he uncovered the large cup of coffee on the tray and the pirate accepted it with a grateful look.
He raised an eyebrow at Gibbs as the man situated the tray across his lap. "I think I'd rather get up." He observed and the older man seemed to ignore his remark as he smiled at the tray.
"Now why be in such a hurry so quick like Jack. Lookit here - eggs even - just the way you like 'em. ham - smoked ham even - fresh today as a matter of fact and ah yes, fresh teacakes - even have marmalade, ye see?" he asked as he uncovered each dish and Ana had to restrain herself from laughing at he look on the pirate's face.
"What did you do Gibbs - raid the food stores of that town before we left?" he asked warily and Gibbs smiled and shook his head.
"People been bringing us things right and left Jack - says they want to show their appreciation for our help. Didn't feel right to tell 'em no, we won't accept it. Especially when it really is a treat for the boys. Some of em from the town wanted to help with the repairs to the Pearl, some of them brought baskets of food - I knew you wouldn't want us to be rude to them for no reason." He said and the pirate sighed.
"No, I'm glad you didn't do that. I'm really not very hungry though," he said with a mild frown and Gibbs gave him a sympathetic smile.
"Just try a few bites lad. Now I know you like eggs. A pretty young lady brought us 4 laying hens actually. Little portable cage and all for 'em. The boys named 'em a course. I figured I'd let you decide what we're gonna do with 'em. They been layin' as regular as you could please. Bein' on the ship doesn't seem to bother them a bit. Oh, and there's a goat too." He added, and at the last, the pirate choked on whatever he was in the process of swallowing and he coughed for a minute.
Gibbs grinned at him. "Sorry 'bout that. Her name's Harmony. Sweet little thing. Her milk's how come you got that cream in your coffee there." He said and the pirate looked surprised and tasted it again and nodded.
"So now we have 4 chickens and a goat? Anything else ye' want to tell me about now, before I try to take a bite of this?" he asked warily and Gibbs grinned cheerfully.
"Pretty common for a ship the size of the Pearl to have a few animals - I don't have to tell you that Captain. Gottcha' a nice case of rum though, and 50 pounds of sugar." He offered, the last as if offering pure temptation and the pirate gave him a startled look, and then tasted the eggs a bit. He then quickly took a few larger bites of the same and Gibbs looked pleased. He noticed Ana and smiled at her.
"Pretty quiet on deck still?" Gibbs asked of her and she nodded.
"Have a fog bank comin' in from the west though. I put us a little further off shore. Not too thick, but kinda damp." She said and Jack frowned mildly over his tray.
"Gibbs, bring me the chart from the desk - the one in the sixth pigeon hole from the left, third down." He said with a gesture over at the desk that had a row of pigeon holes along the top edge being 12 across the length of the desk top and 4 down in height, each containing a rolled paper of some sort.
As soon as the man rose to go to the desk, Jack was up and headed for the table with his coffee cup. Gibbs arched an eyebrow at him and Jack smiled as he pat the table expectantly. Ana watched the two of them unroll the chart and use objects to hold down the ends. The Captain brought out a magnifying glass and calipers and pen and ruler as Gibbs brought over two lanterns.
"Don't you think I know how far out is good to go in a fog bank Jack? We're not headed for Bermuda." She said dryly and he smiled back at her and reached for her arm and drew her up beside him and pulled the lantern closer.
"See the outline of the shore here?" he asked and she nodded and he pointed at one area of it that showed a small inland cove. And the shoreline beyond it.
"Those little criss-crossed stars by the shoreline - those are rocks that you can only see at low tide. The little red x's - those are rocks that are always below the water, but we'd really rather not run into them anyway. Now all these little triangular teeth together here, like a jack o'lantern smilin' that means there's a steep cliff there at the shoreline. Of course all these rocks are at the bottom of it - kinda makes sense, right?" he asked and she bent and looked and nodded. She'd noticed little markings on his charts but hadn't thought it her business to ask. Now that he told her what some of the marks meant - yeah, there were a lot of those rocks right by the 'teeth'. She looked up at him curiously
"My thinking is that any earthquake that was big enough to sink half a town, may well have changed the bottom here as well. All those little numbers, those are how deep the water is here and there. Overall, you can see how the under the water the land still slopes away kind of gradual like, then you notice that once you get out here, all of a sudden the water gets a lot deeper all of a sudden. Says 'no bottom' even? That doesn't mean there isn't any bottom - just that whoever did the taking of the measurement didn't have a long enough rope! That's an underwater canyon there, see? Just like there are above water canyons." He told her and she bent closer and squinted at them.
"Oh its' real deep here!" she observed as she traced over a few of the numbers and he nodded.
"The fog will form over the shallow water faster than it will the deeper water. That's why you have it coming from the west right now. See how that deep area is right off that cliff by a ways there? Lets' go out there if we aren't already. I don't want us trying to enter that cove when we can't see what new rocks have fallen off that cliff, if not half the entire cliff itself - not to mention if the bottom's come up. It could have done either easily. The area right around that cove is only listed here as 40 feet. That's not particularly deep." He observed thoughtfully and Gibbs nodded.
"I didn't even think about there being new rocks or the bottom comin' up Jack." He said and the Captain smiled at him.
"And you could sail these same waters for the next hundred years and probably not have to ever think about it again," he said and then looked at her and tapped on the chart near the entrance to the cove.
"The Pearl draws to a depth of 18 feet loaded like we are at the minute. We sit even deeper in the water when we have a full hold. That means there's only 22 feet of water between our keel and the bottom going in there when this chart was last updated, and that's been more than a few years. Then you have to count how much the swells take you up and down out of that distance as well. If that bottom's come up 10 feet even and has some new rocks.." He said and left off and she frowned.
"Even if a new one was just below the surface, we couldn't see it at night." She said and he nodded.
"Exactly - which is why as much as I'd like to claim those goods at night - we can't really. Well we could - but I don't like the chances. It wasn't that deep to start with here. If it had been 70 feet to start with then I'd say yeah sure - even a 20 foot change wouldn't hurt us. But approximately 20 feet is not a lot of room for a mistake. Not considering what we've seen that earthquake did as far as changing the ground levels of Port Royal. No, we need to be able to see when we try to get into the cove. Bellamy got in obviously, so we know there's a way in and out - but I'd rather be able to see it myself." He said thoughtfully.
Ana had to bite on her lip to keep from smiling at him too broadly. Nobody had ever bothered to even give her a clue as to how all those charts were used or what they showed. She'd kind of kept away from them rather than get too near and be ridiculed for her curiosity. Now here Jack had pulled her closer on his own to share how he was thinking and why. Made sense even when you knew why he'd say go sit out in the water now and not use the cover of darkness to get it done.
~ * * ~
The large, tall dark skinned man with the wild hair sat in a circle with his 4 companions at eh mouth of the cave. One of them beat steadily on a small drum. None of them seemed at all bothered by the smoke from the fire that burned at the mouth of the cave. Perhaps it was because the others were so engrossed in the figures that lay in the circle of dirt before them.
There was the small stick figure of a man, tied with grasses to attach his limbs and head, and around him stood several lines of large stones, one by the other. Or on another side, small thick branches from tree. The man with the wild hair grinned and laughed as he watched two of the others place a semi circle of rocks around the stick figure of the man. All four sat for a moment, hands outstretched over the marked out circle area between them, then all began to laugh as if amused.
"We bring him here to us?" one of them asked and the man shook his head.
"No - what is to come is to be settled by the destiny and fates between him and the Sparrow. Choices will be made by each of them and the others that will determine much in the future. There is no purpose in warning any man away from that which is his destiny, or in trying to prepare him for such moments. Many powers have been at work to bring all of them to this place and time. We help keep them free to each chose their fates when the time comes. We only give 'direction' - so they meet man to man." He said and the others laughed at his use of the word 'direction' - as he moved the branches now to a different side of the stick figure and they began moving the stones.
~ * * ~
Jack smiled as he watched the sun rise finally over the horizon. It promised to be a beautiful day once the last of the fog bank burned off. Already you could see the outline of the hilltops of the island. They wouldn't need to wait for all of it to burn off to enter the cove, just enough so they could see ahead and downwards into the water. He smiled at Mr. Cotton who stood nearby the lashed wheel, his bird perched on the wheel's top and eagerly reaching out for a nut of some kind. It cocked it's head with it saw him.
"Mornin' Mail Captain Jack!" it announced very loud and cheerfully and he smiled more.
"Aye, morning mail to you too, Mr. Feather - s -" he started, barely stopping himself from referring to the beast as a 'feathered fiend' in front of his doting owner. Cotton laughed with a grin that suggested that he wasn't in the least bit fooled - but he seemed much more amused by, instead of annoyed at his Captain. Gibbs came up beside them with a cheerful grin.
"Fogs' off the water Jack - whatcha' think?" he asked hopefully with a gesture towards the bow and the pirate captain followed him in that direction with a hopeful look of his own.
And indeed, it didn't take long for them to find the way into the cove, put down the temporary docking, collect the barrels and bales left under the shelter of some trees and stow them securely in the hold. The only changed part seemed to be several large hunks of cliff facing that now lay at the bottom of the sheer drop off, instead of on its' top. At least it didn't interfere with their movement and all were relieved to get the job done sooner rather than later. They did it all so quickly that Jack suggested Gibbs bring up an extra keg of grog for the sharing - a suggestion the crew definitely approved of.
They had just cleared the cove and were leaving the last of the thin fog behind when suddenly there came a deep booming noise and they all startled. In seconds there was the splash of a cannon ball hitting the water off their port bow. In seconds the Captain bellowed the order for all hands to man their stations and men poured out of the lower decks as others hurried below to the gun decks. Gibbs shouted and yelled his instructions and quicker than one would expect the Pearl changed her tack so now her broadside faced the direction the shot had come from.
All hands stood silently, ears straining even as eyes searched the fog bank. Ana stood ready at the wheel, letting the ship drift outwards from the shore as Jack quickly crossed the expanse of the deck, eyes never leaving the fog that hid their attacker so well. Gibbs came up to him as he was passing by.
"Who do you think they be Captain?" he asked with concern and the pirate shrugged with a frown.
"Well, we know it's not Norrington - that shot was too small to be from one of his ships even if he was back after us. Can't have been more than a 7 pounder shot that one was. Might be that bounty hunter Reynolds. We may have surprised them trying to sneak into the bay under the cover of the fog, or just using here as a base for someone they've let off. I can't imagine who else would be shooting at us and then just sitting there like this." He said and Gibbs nodded with a dark look.
Suddenly there was a shout from off their port side, and as they watched, a schooner materialized out of the fog, flying the colors of the French. Her gun bays were already open and the men on the deck seemed armed as well.
"Hail there! You are the Black Pearl, we have reason to believe! We have come with orders to arrest your captain, Jacque Sparrow! If he is aboard, you must surrender him at once. We have our guns aimed at your decks. We will fire if you resist!" a man with a cone shouted over at them.
"Well I AM Jack Sparrow - and I am afraid I'm not about to take you seriously mate! We have twice the guns you do! Surely you don't expect me to just say all right, and waltz over to be taken to where ever it is you have in mind? I'm not that daft man!" Jack shouted back as he stood near the railing.
Ana frowned deeply at the other ship. She looked over at Jack who looked rather mystified as well.
"We come with Lewis Reynolds, Captain Jacque Sparrow - we are to bring you back to Hispaniola if you please." the captain of the other ship called back.
Ana's eyebrows shot up and she nearly gasped and turned quickly to the pirate. Jack's knuckles on the railing seemed to have gone white, but otherwise he looked no more than mildly annoyed.
"Well no mate, actually I don't please at all! Now I strongly advise you move that ship of yours away - go back where you came from and tell them I was disinclined to acquiesce to your suggestion." He said firmly.
"Surely you realize that is not one of the choices we can pursue here! You have another suggestion perhaps? " came the shouted answer.
"Aye! I suggest YOU prepare to surrender! Strike your colors and your safety is certain!" Jack yelled back.
"Surrender yourself Captain Sparrow, and we will let your crew go in peace! It is only you we are looking for." Came the reply back from the man, and now Jack scowled at them.
"Look - I will give you until the count of 20 to strike your colors - or I will take your ship. Which do you prefer?" Jack called back commandingly. Ana could tell he was quickly losing patience with this nonsense.
She happened to be looking up and saw the glint of metal in the crows nest of the other ship. A man carefully peeked up, aiming a musket. The woman pirate looked from the man in the crow's nest, along is line of sight to find Jack himself as the target.
"Jack move!" she shouted furiously, even as she ran across the short space between them. She tackled him hard at chest level even as the shot rang out. They fell to the deck; his head connecting solidly with the deck as he instinctively grabbed her rather than try to break his fall. She rose to her knees, shaking hard, scowling at the pirate beneath her.
"Gibbs! Sink that bastard!" she screamed furiously, and in a few seconds there came the sound of the cannons firing a hard broadside at the ship. Railings crunched, splinters and wood flew, men were tossed in the air and 2 holes easily large enough for a man to step through suddenly exploded right at the water line of the schooner.
Quickly Ana checked the pirate captain for evidence of a gunshot wound, then rose to her feet and with another sailor, drug him around and out of the line of fire as shots rang out from the deck around them, aimed at the man in the rigging who had dared such insult. She knelt to pat him on the cheek firmly, then shook him, yelling his name and he suddenly startled awake with a gasp.
He bolted to sitting upright, seeming confused even as he struggled to his knees. "Jack - that was way too close!" she scolded loudly as she helped him up.
"Aye, but thank ye anyway! They still won't strike their colors, the bastard?" he demanded hotly as he rushed right back to the railing and she followed.
"Gunners mates! Drop the rears! 50 degrees arc!......... Check... fire when ready!" he yelled commandingly and in a moment the cannons again went off - the recoil making the Pearl shudder particularly hard. The smoke billowed quickly out over and along the water. The shots arced up into the air, and while one fell short and one went far, the others dropped straight down into the schooner. The loud crunches happened as they landed, and Jack grabbed her and pulled her down.
"Down on deck! Take cover!" the pirate yelled, and in less than 5 seconds there came a huge roar and the shock wave of an explosion as at least one of the balls reached the powder room on one of the lower decks as it dropped straight down from the sky.
The sky lit up even brighter than daylight as the noise and sound blast swept them. When they finally dared to look, it was to find not a ship there anymore, but now bits and pieces of floating wreckage and flame with no sign of survivors.
Slowly the crew of the Pearl rose, and seeing the results of their efforts, let up a happy cheer as Gibbs came over to where Ana and Jack stood surveying the destruction before them. The older man grinned as he pat the pirate on the back and Jack gave him a rather rueful look and then shrugged.
"Think Reynolds was on that ship Gibbs?" he asked and the older man shrugged.
"I would've expected him to show himself if he was, Jack. Maybe he was already on shore someplace?" he suggested and the pirate nodded with an unhappy look.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Lets' get back to Port Royal and make sure he isn't causing trouble on my account. I suppose I should inform Norrington that we just happened to find a French vessel lurking in the fog off Port Royal - they are at war with France, right?" He asked and Gibbs smiled and nodded and then headed off to make it happen.
~ * * ~
Reynolds stumbled out of the jungle and into the very outskirts of Port Royal not long after noon. Hewas trembling and shaking with fear, jumpy at the slightest sound, and more than just a little spooked by his night of confusion. Perhaps something he had eaten had caused him to have hallucinations?
It did not take him long to overhear the townspeople talking about the pirate and his ship - it seems the man had blasted apart some kind of French vessel he found hiding in the fog just off their shore! The town was abuzz with the news and everyone seemed freshly enamored of the pirate and his crew. Reynolds silently cursed the man to hell. Now he had no ship to take Sparrow back to!
He thought for a moment. Ahhhh - well there were other ships to be had. It would just take a bit of 'extra persuasion' to get the Commodore to allow him the use of one. He stepped into a quiet alleyway and checked the shot in his gun and smoothed down his hair and straightened his clothes. Alright - if Sparrow was going to make this difficult - well - he could play that game as well as any other.
With his jaw clenched tight he set off across town, headed for the Governor's mansion. If there was more than one way to pluck a chicken, it should be even easier to pluck a Sparrow!
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Only two more chapters to go? Awwwssss!!!