Chapter 38: Next Assignment
Jack Sparrow was enjoying rum, when once again, Nathanael Greene strode into the room. He sat down at Sparrow's table, and without preamble, spoke. "I heard about Port Royal. Excellent job."
"Thanks, mate. Though I doubt you've heard the full story."
"Let me think...you sank the Agonizer, pitched all their cannon off the cliff, blew their powder magazine, and got away disguised as women." He regarded Jack's rather amusing expression. "Did I miss anything?"
"Remarkably, no." Sparrow looked at Greene. "Well, General, I doubt very much that you're here only to congratulate me on a job well done."
Greene sighed. "Indeed I'm not." He began. "You are aware that we are in the midst of negotiations with France regarding an alliance."
"Aye; I've seen French and American ships trade cargoes down here. Never once robbed them, incidentally."
"Which we appreciate. At the moment, Doctor Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee are in Paris, further expanding the deal."
Jack looked as if he were thinking. "Franklin I can see; the French love him. Deane, too; he's been there for a while. But Lee?"
Greene shook his head. "I know. He's a sanctimonious fool who thinks of nothing but his own self-importance. If anything destroys the negotiations, it'll be him."
"I see. Go on."
Greene opened a map of the Atlantic. "The French have agreed to supply us with two million francs each year we are in active war. We're also working on shipping French arms to the U.S. The problem is that the British do not allow the American ships to leave ports, leaving us only the opportunity to depart under cloak of night."
"I see you point. What d'you need my services for?"
"We would either like you to escort the French ships to the Caribbean, or harass the British Navy enough that they lose focus on the French. Considering the size of your fleet, both would be better."
"So you're aware of our recent additions?"
"I was informed that your daughters took the Leviathan. We were worried about those two ships, but with one under your command, those fears are for naught."
"Good, then. Might I suggest something else?"
Greene looked bemused. "Certainly."
Jack leaned forward, and gestured on the map. "I'll send a few ships to guard the French shipments, and I'll also send James Norrington to harass the British forces around France."
"You have James Norrington? I didn't know about that." Greene looked pleasantly surprised.
"Sorry I didn't inform you sooner. With those two groups set, then, I'll take the rest of the fleet and harass British emplacements on the American coast. That sound alright to you?"
Greene smiled. "I think I can take that to General Washington. You'll have to work with John Paul Jones, you understand."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Can't I work around him?"
"I doubt it. There isn't much that happens in our waters that he doesn't know about. But I won't inform him of your coming, if that's what you'd prefer."
"Thanks very much. One other thing," Jack said as Greene began to rise.
"Yes?"
"I'd like some black paint and black thread delivered to Boston. That port is still yours, is it not?"
"Yes. May I ask what for?"
"For the Black Sun; my daughters' ship. They'd prefer that to the current outfit."
"A fair point. Well, I shall see your supplies to Boston. I shall need where you're sending them, so I can send advance notice to their places of deployment. So who is going where?"
"Admiral Norrington will take the Dauntless, the Britannia, the Flagrant, and the Artemis. You will take up position where your services are needed, and harass the British as you see fit." Jack Sparrow walked around the cabin's table, discussing deployment with his captains and advisors.
"The Implacable, the Elizabeth, and the Polaris will follow him to the French coast. They will then take convoy duty with the French ships that come here to the Caribbean, and escort them back home as well until given otherwise orders. That clear?"
"Inescapably," Bootstrap Bill said, smirking.
"Meanwhile, the Neptune, the Valiant, the Black Sun, and the Black Pearl will ship off for Boston, and assist the US Army as needed. Are there questions, people?"
John raised his hand. Jack braced himself. "Go ahead, John."
"There's something I don't get."
"This is news?" James asked, grinning widely.
"Be quiet, you. When you said that we'd assist the US Army 'as needed', what do you mean by that?"
"Whatever they need; weapons smuggling, getting food for them, getting real outfits with boots, the occasional siege of a Brit-held city, and assistance on the ground if they need it," Jack said, gesticulating somewhat wildly at times.
"You mean be a common soldier." It wasn't a question.
"Sort of," Jack rocked his hand a little. "Think of it as joining the Marine Corps."
John regarded him. "Need I remind you, sonny, that I quit the Marines?"
Jack's grin was one a Cheshire cat would envy. "No place like home." He opened the doors. "Greene's advance notice went out last night. I'd like you all to arrive the same day." Noting that no-one moved, he shouted at the top of his quite large lungs, "SNAP TO!"
They moved.
