Before The Dawn

Chapter XVIII: Of Accords and Pursuit

By FalconWing

The stillness reigned for a good minute until Jack recovered and cleared his throat. Instantaneously he was the focus of two crews worth of interest as the men from both sides tore their gazes off the two men lying dead and favored him with their attention instead.

"Well, whelp, I can't fault the initiative, though a little bit sooner would have been appreciated."

"It wasn' him tha' threw th' sword. T'was me."

Jack turned in surprise as Big Dan stepped forward. Looking back, he saw not only that Will was indeed nodding in acknowledgement of Dan's statement but that the lad still had his sword clasped loosely in his hand. Under closer inspection, the sword imbedded in Brock's chest was of too poor a quality to be one created by such a swordsmith as Will.

In response to this revelation Jack spun to face Dan once more. His eyes narrowed as he studied the other man, but Dan did not waver under the scrutiny and Jack nodded decisively.

"If you'll accompany me to me cabin, Captain Dan, we can have a bit of a tête-à-tête as I believe there are still a few wrinkles in this here situation to be ironed out, so to speak. Regardless of the fact that Clavell was a gormless bastard and that in doing as ye did you saved me life, I still can't say as I'm particularly happy with you conducting a mutiny aboard my ship – let's just say I've had some rather unpleasant experiences with the process myself. There is also the small matter of the number of prisoners being held captive in the bowels of your own ship there.

"Meanwhile," Here he turned to face the men and raised his voice so those at the back could hear him. "You mangy dogs get to work. I want the unconscious awoken, the dead lined up for a sea burial at dusk and the decks scrubbed."

"Tha' goes fer those o' the Jolly Roger as well," Dan added when his crew looked to him.

Satisfied, Jack walked over to Clavell's body. Bending down, he picked up the pistol beside it and weighed it in his hand for a moment. Then abruptly he tucked in his trouser waistband and turned on his heel, swaggering back across the deck. He motioned for Dan to follow him and swaggered down the stairs from the quarterdeck. Ushering Dan in before him, he entered his cabin, throwing a parting glance over his shoulder to check that his orders were being carried out and to instruct Anamaria to take temporary command.

However this little chat was not to be, for no sooner had they taken their seats that the doors flew open again and Gibbs poked his head in.

"Cap'n, there's been sails spotted on th' horizon headin' righ' for us. Looks like th' Dauntless."

"How long until they reach us?"

Gibbs paused. "Abou' fifty minutes," he said thoughtfully. "Give o' take five o' so."

Jack nodded. "Make ready to leave and we'll do so when Captain Dan and I are done here." Gibbs opened his mouth to protest but Jack cut in smoothly. "We won't be long. If the dear Governor believes either of us to be in possession of the civilians, he's hardly likely to fire on us."

There was nothing for Gibbs to do but acquiesce. "Aye, cap'n."

After the door had closed behind the man, Jack turned back to Dan. "Every moment we waste is a moment that the Dauntless is gaining and despite it being two against one, I'm sure you don't fancy facing her do you?" He waited for Dan's agreement, then continued. "Good choice. We've lost enough good men today, the both of us. Now I've got a deal for ye, mate. You give us all the captives you have in your brig and we'll lead the Dauntless off for a merry little chase, while you get away. Savvy?"

"Savvy." Dan grinned and accepted the offered hand. "I don' preten' t' know wha' ye wan' with all o' those people or why ye'd wan' the Dauntless after ye, bu' I'm sure ye've go' ye reasons an' anyhow, they're yer business. 'Sides, I'd gladly accept th' chance t' get away."

"Good man." The gold in Jack's teeth wasn't his only feature that glittered; his eyes danced with amusement as he stood. "Now that we've got that over with, how about we go and liberate ol' Norrington and his fellow prisoners?"

– – – – –

Not a moment after the cry of "sail ho!" came from the crow's nest than a sailor appeared at the door.

"Captain Gillette, there's been sails spotted on the horizon, sir. We can't be certain, but Macaroy thinks there's two ships. One has black sails and he thinks it's the Black Pearl."

The import of these statements caught his attention enough so that he didn't comment on the foolishness of the phrasing – after all, there was only one ship in the entire Spanish Main, perhaps further, that was both foolhardy and confident enough to sport the distinctive black sails. But for once in his life Gillette held his tongue and got up to follow the man out onto the decks.

Through his spyglass it soon became obvious that not only was the larger ship definitely the Black Pearl, but that the second, smaller vessel was also crewed by pirates. Turning to Lieutenant Groves, who was in his opinion much too lacking in the ambition department to ever make it very high in the ranking order – he cared too greatly for others, that one – he beckoned the man forwards.

"Have the cannons ready and loaded and I want the men armed." He allowed his lip to curl scorn. "These filth are about to learn what it is to call upon the wrath of His Majesty's Navy."

"Yessir." Groves turned to leave, but then paused and turned back, unsure. "But sir, there are two of them and as well equipped as the Dauntless undoubtedly is, do you not think they may be too powerful for us to take?" At a frown from Gillette the man subsided and retreated to issue the orders.

The next fifteen minutes was spent setting up the gunnery and piling on sail in an effort to pick up the pace as much as humanly possible while Captain Gillette strolled up and down the quarterdeck. The other ships grew closer and closer and yet despite the fact that they must have sighted the Dauntless, neither ship were showing any signs of movement other than the frenzied scurrying of the tiny figures aboard them.

They were almost within range of the long nines when Governor Swann bustled up onto the deck. "What's going on? You can't really be thinking of use the cannons. My daughter could be on board one of those ships, as could my son-in-law, the Commodore and all of the other captives! If you so much as harm one hair on any of their heads I'll have you out of the Navy so fast you'll leave your hat behind, Captain."

Gillette blinked. Where had this sudden determination come from? Oh, he was the same blustery, irritating Governor as always, but where earlier there had been edginess, there was now determination. Maybe the man had found the drinks cabinet and thought to fortify his nerves.

But however much he wanted to wave away Swann's resolve, whether it stemmed from alcohol or not, the Governor did in fact have the influence to see a mere captain on his way. And, much as he hated to admit it, the man was right. If either of these ships did have those people on board then he really couldn't afford to fire at them willy nillly.

He opened his mouth for a retort that would save his pride but he never got the chance.

A cry from one of the sailors brought everyone's attention back to the two ships. The smaller one had already opened its sails and begun moving quickly off in the opposite direction. The Black Pearl, too, had opened its sails, but if anything it appeared to head almost straight for them, which Gillette new was impossible of course; not even Jack Sparrow could hope to avoid the consequences of bringing one ship where he could have had two against a titan like the HMS Dauntless.

But it seemed he was to be proven in the wrong twice in as many minutes.

The black ship just kept coming and while as it approached it could be ascertained that Sparrow wasn't heading directly for them, it was still close enough to that it made Gillette wonder just what had Sparrow feeling so cocky as to act this foolishly – he had always held that the man had a few screws loose, but this was just plain stupid.

Pursing his lips in disdain, he retrieved his telescope and scanned the other ship. Focusing on the helm he felt his eyes widen and breath quicken. "Governor! Come quickly! It's your daughter!"

As Governor Swann hurried towards him, Gillette took a second look to be sure. But yes, there was Jack Sparrow standing at the helm, one hand keeping the ship steady, the other fluttering about in the air in a ridiculous fashion as he spoke to someone. And there to his side and behind him was Elizabeth Turner nee Swann and while he couldn't see any form of restraints, he knew that there must be something keeping her from struggling.

Then, even as he looked, Sparrow reached to his left and hefted his own spyglass, putting it to his eye. Almost immediately he lowered it again and even from this distance Gillette could see the cheeky grin alight on his face as he waved merrily towards the Dauntless.

Gillette scowled and slammed the telescope shut, stalking away and completely ignoring the Governor, who had just arrived at his side frantic and flustered – in other words, back to his usual self.

Seeing Groves, he gestured the man over. "Lieutenant, tell the helmsman to pursue Sparrow. I want every bit of canvas we have up, every sail open and I want it done now. He won't be getting away this time."

"But sir-" Honestly, did the man have to argue with everything he ordered. Groves was no longer his equal; his job now was to listen and obey. That fact didn't seem to hold him back though. "The Black Pearl is by far the fastest ship of the two. We'll never be able to catch her." Gillette did not like the inflection of awe he put into the pirate ship's name, or the tone of his voice.

"Lieutenant Groves, are you flouting my orders? I said I want it done now. If the Black Pearl does prove too fast for the Dauntless, we shall simply continue on to Port Royal, for that indeed seems to be Sparrow's heading. Is that clear?"

"Yessir."

Groves inclined his head and left, leaving Gillette to smile in satisfaction as pristine white sails snapped open overhead, speeding them onward, after their prey.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

I'm sooooo sorry about taking so long to update. Looking back, I can't believe I let it stretch out for that long. Please accept my most profound apologies on the matter.

Just to let you know, this is the second-to-last chapter, there will only be one more. Now, I was thinking about doing a sequel and I have a few ideas – both for that and for a separate story altogether – but I wanted to ask what you guys thought first. I certainly don't want to overdo it, or have a disaster where the last two where a complete let-down (like the Matrix). So let me know what you think about the sequel idea please – whether you would want one or not.

Anyway, on to other things, a huge thank you to Beregond'sGirl for beta-reading this for me (please note that any mistakes are likely to be ones I have made after she has gone over it and all blame should be attributed to me).

Reviewer's Thanks

Oneiriad: Never fear, more Norrington next chapter, I promise.

Ellennar: Yes, it is very convenient that most baddies just love to hang around and gloat before making the kill, thus giving the prisoner or person under threat an ideal opportunity for escape.

Missa5: Thanks for the review. No, Jack didn't get shot. In the last sentence I said that Clavell fell to the ground. Sorry if that wasn't clear enough.

She1dmaidenofrohan: Yes, Anamaria really is a great character and just has so many facets her personality – mainly 'cause we don't actually see that much of her.

OpraNoodlemantra: No need for the scary music. Clavell and Brock are well and truly dead. And we will get more from Norrie and the others soon.

Crazydominodragongirl: I knew someone would kill me if I left it on the cliffhanger, thus the non-cliffhanger. Besides, I've already given you guys enough cliffies for a lifetime in this story, eh?

Williz: I'm thrilled you like my story even though there isn't so much of Will and Elizabeth. Good to know that even big fans of other characters still read and enjoy my fic.

Alaawya: Thanks for reviewing all those chapters! And, come on, how on earth could I have killed Jack?! I'm not that horrible… I think. Lol.

Jack E: I swear I will give more information on the conditions of the prisoners – perhaps through Norrie – next chapter. I swear on… well I'm not sure what to swear on, but I promise, k? Thanks so much for the review and your thoughts.

BlackJackSilver: I'm really pleased you find my story interesting and engaging, as I enjoy yours so much. Thanks for the review!

Savvyness: Yes, well like I said earlier, I wouldn't be so mean, nor do I have a death wish. And, there will be more Norrington.

MiRoRmInX: Well, I think you may be the only person who would actually want a cliffhanger, so you're the exception. I've already had enough cliffhangers in this story, anyway. And man, you really need to update soon.

Heldin: Hey I do that all the time – go to write a review and then discover that everyone else has written virtually the same comments that I've just made. At least I now know I'm not the only one. Lol.

Beregond'sGirl: Wow, just a wee bit of a sugar high there, eh? laughs I think I corrected or changed everything you pointed out. About the italicizing ship names, etc, I may go back and change them all later, but as I haven't done that in any previous chapters I think I'll just leave it for now. Everyone knows what I mean and plenty of other people do that too. I will be sure to think about that in any future stories though. (By the way, I left whelp in there up the top because everyone knows immediately who he is talking to without me having to state it.) BTW, while cartoons do have many pirate ships as having black sails, not many actually did because it made them immediately distinguishable as pirates by those who would bring them to justice.

Well, I'm terribly sorry those were so short, but it's almost been four weeks since I updated and I figured you would prefer a quicker update than really long responses. Thanks for all the reviews though guys. It really is enormously appreciated.

Love y'all…

FalconWing.