The Insanity of the Caribbean
Disclaimer: I do not own Pirates of the Caribbean, any of the original characters, or places. I do however, own Neptune's Curse, her crew, and the little merchant guy. I'm not sure if I own the Lieutenant or not. To be safe, I think I will say I don't. (I wish I owned a nice cottage in the Caribbean though.)
Chapter 4: Of Commodores and Cats
"Neptune's Curse? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that ship." the Commodore confessed. He was rather disappointed that it was not the Black Pearl, and embarassed that he had been uninformed of this new threat until now..
"Neither was I, until it attacked my best ship. Only the cabin boy managed to get away. From what I hear, Neptune's Curse and her bloodthirsty crew hang about a small unpopulated island." the merchant replied.
"And what small unpopulated island would that be? Could you perhaps point it out on a map?" Norrington asked, pulling out several maps. The merchant nodded and began sorting through the various maps. Several he was able to put aside immediately, but others he had to study closely. Norrington waited patiently. Then he waited impatiently. He was just about to question the merchant on the existence of the island when the merchant picked up a map and pointed.
"That's the one Commodore." the man said. Norrington examined it closely. He recalled this island. Oh yes, quite well indeed. This was the island that rumrunners had used as a base. He had, of course, put a stop to that. It was also the same island he had found Elizabeth (and Jack Sparrow) on when she had been missing half a year ago. Norrington nodded.
"We can get to this island in three days if we travel lightly and swiftly. Then we will see if your pirate ship is there and put an early stop to those pirates' careers," Commodore Norrington informed the eager merchant.
"Oh thank you sir, thank you so much! I really appreciate this!" the merchant said happily. Norrington wondered briefly what would have happened if he had said he couldn't do anything. He decided not to think about it.
"It's my job to ensure the safety of the good people in the Caribbean. I would think less of myself if I did not help you." Commodore Norrington replied, dismissing the man with a nod and calling his Lieutenant.
"Yes sir? What is it that you wanted?" the Lieutenant asked.
"I need you to ready our fastest ship, we're going pirate hunting." The Lieutenant grinned happily, glad for a chance to do something other than simple fort checks. To tell the truth, Norrington was as well. Little did he know that this trip would be different than any other trip.
Later...
The Champion was ready to set sail. The Commodore was rather proud of his newest ship. It was relatively small, built for speed, with the newest, lightest cannons the Royal Navy could afford. True, it was untried, but Norrington felt safe taking it out on this run. After all, Neptune's Curse was a fairly new threat, thus unorganized. With this thought in mind, Norrington made sure the Champion would be ready, yet light.
The Commodore also had another goal in mind. He wanted to see if he could gain any information on the whereabouts of Jack Sparrow and the Black Pearl. A ship couldn't just disappear completely, could it? And Jack Sparrow, contrary to popular belief, was mortal, and would die just as easily as any other man. Commodore Norrington smiled his grim little smile. Jack Sparrow would be brought to justice, as well as this... Neptune's Curse and her crew.
It had been Norrington's ambition that had gotten him such a high rank (and maybe his high ranking family had something to do with it). But it was his ambition now that drove him to lighten the ship. It was his ambition that had planted the idea to go out to sea during storm season. Ambition was not a bad trait. It was curiosity that killed the cat, not ambition. But, Commodore Norrington was also mortal, and unlike a cat, he didn't have nine lives. Ambition didn't kill the cat, but would it kill the Commodore?
Please review! I love reviews (the Grim Reaper does as well. hint hint). They inspire us to continue writing. You DO want us to continue writng, don't you?
(checks last chapter's reviews) There were NO REVIEWS last chapter! No quotes :'( But if you review this chapter, the Grim Reaper will give you TWO free quotes! How do you like that?