Strolling casually onto the docks at dawn, Ara caught sight of a tall dark figure in the distance. He was against the sun, so she could only see his silhouette, but he could apparently see her because he waved and started to head over.
"Aagh!" she groaned. "Go away." He was too far away to hear her. He continued to stroll up, swaying slightly. "'Ello, Cap'n Sparrow. So sorry 'o end our meeting the other nigh', bu'… ya know 'ow i' is."
"I do luv. My offer still stands. Though, to tell the truth, I am a bi' low on the rum righ' now. Just docked this morning, as i' were. (Note: normally I hate using quotes from the movie, but it just worked here.) You and I could fill 'er up."
"I thank ya, Cap'n, but I'm 'ere on business."
"Yer gunna commandeer a pirate ship? That's not kosher, luv. Ya could join my ship. The Pearl welcomes women."
She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "And what would I do on yer boat, Cap'n. Ya understand that title is out of respect fer ya, bu' I don' consider ya above me. I'm a captain, Sparrow. I'd 'ave no place on someone else's boat."
His eyes traveled up and down her body. "I can think of some uses fer ya, luv, but I know wha' ya mean. I've killed fer my Pearl. She's my most important mistress."
She laughed, deep throated and quiet. "Yer so charming Cap'n."
He smiled. "If yer no' gonna sleep wiv me, at least let me buy ya some rum."
She shook her head and started to protest, knowing she should do what she came here to do.
"Come on," he said taking her hand and tugging her gently as he took a few steps back until she gave in.
At some pub two hours later, Ara was eating the breakfast that Jack had bought her just before he left. He had business to attend to as well. She ate slowly and thoughtfully. Ara never rushed life. She always took things at her pace, deciding at a young age that if she didn't radiate confidence, she wouldn't get what she wanted, she would end up following the orders of others. And as a young girl on the same ship as multiple pirates, she'd learned that things needed to be her way.
Before she finished her meal, her crew found her, wandering in like a bunch of lost souls, with the simpletons Raphaela had found bobbing in behind them. The man she'd first found drinking, whose name was Jones, seemed to be the leader.
"Cap'n, with all due respec', Cap'n, ya told us we'd be goin' at dawn this mornin'. And now we find ya here…We're still shipless aren't we?"
"Yes, yes we are indeed wivou' a ship, but now tha' yer all here we can ge' ta work."
"Of course, if we'd been on time this mornin' we wouldn've had this problem," Jones said, knowing that this wasn't true.
"'Tis no' a problem 'til we are here 'til tomorrow. If we ge' ou' today, I'll no' punish ya," Ara said straightforwardly, not meaning it either. Jones smiled. These two would understand each other well.
Ara scanned the various different ships at the docks of Tortuga. She had to choose between a ship of the fleet and a merchant ship. A merchant ship wouldn't draw as much attention, but a ship of the fleet could sometimes lull the navy into a false sense of security, allowing her to get closer, easier. She had tried fighting from a distance with absolutely no luck. Finally, she spotted a brig, two masts, about ninety-five feet long, and with a hundred-twenty foot high mainmast. It was a bit big, but she knew it had to be hers as soon as she saw it. On it's black side was painted the name The Tempest and the figurehead was of a billowing cloud with an intricately carved staff protruding from the top.
Ara signaled to her crew, who were waiting, spread inconspicuously among the growing crowd of pirates. Strolling down the docks, Ara got to the ship first. She walked casually up the gangplank, politely nodding to the bewildered crew at the top. It took them only a moment to recover however.
"'Ey you! Yer no' supposed to be 'ere. Unless…are ya 'ere ta see the captain."
"Ya could say that," Ara said dreamily, mysteriously. "But le' me tell ya a secret." Ara walked over to the pirate who had spoken and whispered, "I'm not 'ere ta sleep wiv 'im." She licked his ear and ran him through as her own crew ran aboard.
The fight was fast, but three of her men died, all three men Raphaela had picked out. Looking at them she said simply, "Oh well. Someone clean tha' up."
The captain had been killed, a captain Stephano from Italy, and soon after the crew had been defeated, the remaining men running off the ship.
"The ship is ours, gen'lemen. Make ready to sail. Let's be off."
"Do you think I'm a lesbian?"
"Well…I don't know…but when you make up your mind, I'll watch."