Little Sparrow
Summary: "Now up is down," was the last thing any of them heard before the rush of water drowned everything else out. Later, waking up on a random, deserted island, they almost immediately notice that something was not right with their Captain. Sparrington, Salazak, Willabeth, maybe others mentioned.
The next day, trouble found them yet again, as it was wont to whenever Jack Sparrow was somehow involved. Thankfully, it wasn't in the form of the Empress and Sao Feng, nor was it military or privateers or, heavens forbid, Davy Jones. However, it was pirates again, flying flamboyantly under not only a pirate flag but also a Spanish flag that had both Frederico and Jack spitting out the foulest curses in said language that they could think of as the ship - a big one, twice as big as the Black Pearl; a former Navy ship by the looks of her - hoisted the jolly rodger in announcement of an attack.
Needless to say, the Caribbean Pirate Lord was nowhere near impressed that he had to deal with this sort of shit twice. A year is all that was needed for all respect of the Code to vanish along with Jack in the Caribbean. Sparrow was tempted to just pepper them with lead or let the mermaids have a decent meal out of them, but he knew better than to let that happen. His own crew will be uneasy from the sight, not to mention how sick he would feel himself. And an outright battle just won't do as the ship was big.
"She's almost as big as the Mary," Frederico, as though he were reading his thoughts, said to the Captain. "And she lays low in the water. The Wicked Wench had once already escaped a Spanish galleon. Surely escaping another won't be too big of an inconvenience for you."
"If she's anything like the Dauntless," James cut in, looking out at the ship that was indeed closer in size to his fallen ship than the one Frederico and Jack were talking about. "Then she has frontal cannon to attack any fleeing or charging ships and she's low in the water because of ammunition." He met Jack's and Sanchez's eyes individually and dipped his head at the Pirate Lord. "The Black Pearl could always outrun the Dauntless' cannons, especially with such favorable winds. I agree with Mr Sanchez. It is better to avoid a fight like this."
"Except we can't." Sparrow pursed his lips, glaring into the distance as he studied the ship, cataloging every detail of her and comparing it with what he knew. "I know this ship. It's the El Arquero, captained by Hugo Gomez, if I remember well. Armando told me his ship was named that way because it was designed with giant crossbows meant to sink into ships and stop them dead in their tracks. The reach of the crossbows is supposedly enough to cross a galleon five times and more, if the wind resistance isn't too great. And we're already in reach." He frowned in thought and turned to a grim faced Frederico. "Gomez was a Navy captain like Armando. Since when is he pirating about?"
"It turned out he had always been dealing under the table, as they say. He never held any loyalty to the Spanish throne and his entire crew were disguised pirates. He waited for the Capitán to be stationed elsewhere or outright taken care of before he acted openly on his betrayal." The Spaniard said in a voice tight with anger and a rush of it overwhelmed Jack for a quick instant before he reigned it in, overcome with a form of guilt. It was his doing, then, that Gomez could prey on pirates, merchants, messengers and Navy ships alike, since he had revealed his treachery only after the greatest threat to his kind was removed from the picture. Had he ever been found out as a traitor while Salazar and the Silent Mary still sailed the seas, he'd be dead in about a month or two.
He was snapped out of his current train of thought by a brilliant idea. A brilliant, risky idea but it couldn't be any more crazy than nearly sailing straight into the Devil's Triangle. That had been suicidal, this would be critical to his ship but she seemed as eager for action as the crew was, even though it was obvious that the ship was quite a bit bigger and better armed. But Jack had things that the other ship didn't, advantages he could use against them. But if he wanted his crazy plan to work, they would need to time it all so precisely that no one would be allowed to be late for even a second.
The two Navy men next to him all but saluted when he straightened his back and started yelling orders in an authoritative voice, a habit from their former way of life that they had not yet rid themselves of. A habit of discipline that they shared with Gibbs, Groves, Gillete and two more lads of the new crew members they had picked up in their last port.
"Mr Cotton, a half turn to starboard and easy as she goes. Full sails, men! I don't want to feel a gust of wind on the deck! Everything is to go into the sails. We need to be a whole ten knots faster then them! Mr Gibbs, prepare the gunmen for a fire all on my signal. Mr Groves and Mr Gillete, distribute the shots for guns. Anything that can reach further than seventy feet. Anything under it is not to be loaded. Ahmed, up the the foremast, all the way to fore topsail, prepare knives and flaming torches. I think Lee will be the best to help you. Pelt them with everything that you've got. Anyone knowing how to use a crossbow, up the fore topmast. Shoot the bejesus out of them. And yes, I do mean snippers, too, so get up there, Gary. Will, James, grab the mirrors from my cabin, on the dresser. Pintel, Ragetti, you are to help them lift them all the way to the main topsail. Barbossa, I do believe you can guide the ladies to the big mirror in there. Help Tia Dalma and Elizabeth bring it to the forecastle deck! Frederico, help them out. That glass is not to shatter, do you understand me?! Lift the hatch and use the bars to protect it, I don't care, that mirror is not to break!"
The crew on the deck and bellow immediately jumped to do as they were told, scrambling around to fulfill their tasks. The mirror groups were extremely careful while the shooting group practically flew up the rigging to get in their positions. Jack disappeared into his cabin, reemerging mere few seconds later with his bow and two quills of arrows, running over to the railing and shouting to the water. The crew didn't even blink when the mermaids surfaced but Jack did more than blink.
"Wait until we give you the light signal from above to start signing. Do it from the other side of the ship. Please don't go devouring them while we're still here. You can have some of them after we're far enough away. Keep them occupied. It wouldn't be bad if you could distract them. Actually, better yet, please try to use that cool seaweed trick to pull their cannons into the water. That'd be the best, I think. Just be careful and thank you in advance."
The crew did stop for a moment to gawk when a red haired mermaid jumped out and onto the railing to kiss Jack's cheek before hopping back but someone - most probably Barbossa, as he tended to yell a lot - snapped at them to get back to work and they forgot all about their befuddling Captain for the moment and instead focused on the imminent threat.
"Full speed ahead, mates! We can't lose even a second!" Jack called as he turned away from the mermaids that had already swam off to do as asked. The teen was already scaling up to the crow's nest when he finally called out the final order for the crew down on the deck. "Hoist the colors! Steady as she goes! Give them hell!" A round of cheers broke out among the crew and the flag reached its honored place just as Jack reached Norrington and Turner, who were doing their best to balance the half body mirrors. On the forecastle deck, Elizabeth and Tia Dalma had the big mirror ready and were waiting for further instructions with Frederico and Barbossa assisting them in keeping the giant, well made, no doubt expensive mirror that Jack thought must be from turkey upright. Above them, on the lower part of the bowsprit, stood Marty with a big pistol that looked much too big for him but he handled it well, from what Jack could see. "Mr Gibbs! Send up the bag of goodies we took off of our unwanted friends from Singapore and be quick about it!"
"Aye aye, sir!"
Jack watched him hurry into the forecastle before looking up at the two waiting men with mirrors. "James, catch the sun with your mirror while still pointing it at all. Will, you catch the light off of his mirror and send it down to the big one, savvy? You two need to get this right and do it on my command, no dillydallying or rushing. Savvy?" He stressed, giving them both a stern look before continuing up to the crow's nest just in time to see Gibbs had returned with the things he wanted and was tying it to one of the lines that would bring it up straight to the nest.
"Yes, but what will this accomplish, Jack? We need all hands on deck!" William questioned over the wind, trying to be heard as he and James watched their Captain accepting the bag that had been hoisted up by Pintel and Ragetti. A nod from Jack was all Gibbs needed to know they were no longer required there and that he should give them new stations. The old sailor then continued the basic battle preparations, greatly grateful for Theodor's and Philip's help as he no longer needed to be in three places at once. Gary was yelling things like "Yiiihaaa!" from his perch, Lee looked almost like he was meditating while he watched the fire and Ahmed was sharpening every last blade he had on his person.
"Trust me, whelp! It's an ancient Egyptian trick to intensify lightning! If done right, the ray of light that Lizzy and Tia will be sending into the crossbow sniper's eyes will be more than enough to blind them. And not just them, but everyone else on the forecastle deck and quarterdeck!" Jack pulled out some paper bombs from the bag and tied three on each of his arrows, using the rest to coat the head of the arrows before taking out some of the fireworks that had remained after Tai Hung and his men signaled a pick up back on the island. He prepared them separately and took out the last thing in the bag. A box of matches. He prepared everything before leaning over the crow's nest to peer down at the main deck, where everything seemed in order. "Mr Gibbs! Get the bombs ready! Make a big slingshot from that Egyptian cotton! It's almost as elastic as rubber! Two strongest men to hold it, two best shots to take turns aiming! Get to it!"
"Capti'n!" Marty called from the bowsprit, pointing a finger at where the crossbows were being readied. Jack looked up with a glare at the giant crossbows that would make a really big dent on his ship and glowered. She shuddered in excitement under his touch as he gave her a reassuring caress before both Captain and ship focused on the fight.
"LIGHT!" Jack yelled over the wind and James immediately arranged the mirror so it caught as much of the afternoon sunlight as it could while still being angled right at Will for it to reflect off of his mirror and down to the girls'. Judging by the commotion coming from the forefront and the very back of the ship, the crazy plan had worked and the two men could hear Elizabeth's incredulous laughter as the men on the forecastle deck and the quarterdeck of the El Arquero were blinded. Barbossa was yelling curses and incredulous praises at Sparrow from somewhere bellow as the opposing ship whirred off course as the pilot at the helm was as blinded as everyone else on the higher decks.
Seeing that the ship was still heading straight for them, Mr Cotton, as any sane pilot would do, started turning the helm, only to find it harder than usual as the stubborn ship went along with her insane Captain's crazy plan and Jack laughed. "Steady as she goes, Mr Cotton! Keep on course!" He called to the mute man before hooking an arrow in place and taking aim. The first arrow hit straight into one of the gunpowder barrels on the main deck and a huge explosion rocked the Spanish ship. Taking it as his cue, Ahmed let Lee set his daggers and throwing knives on fire before he aimed as farthest and best as he could, since the two ships were still very far away and facing each other head on instead of side to side. Jack cocked another arrow, this one with the tip on fire and aimed for the main sail.
It went up in flames as though it had been washed in rum and utter panic started spreading on the El Arquero. Finally, the first answering fire came in the form of half of the ship's cannons starting a volley, but only the cannons in the back could fire, the front ones all plugged with that strange sticky seaweed Jack had seen mermaids use to disarm opponents or drag them into the deep without getting too close. One of the stuffed cannons added another explosion and a huge hole in the upper hull of the ship. Even as he prepared another flaming arrow aimed for the flying jib and jib, Jack heard Elizabeth, ever the opportunist, telling the bombing crew to hurl as many bombs as they could into the damaged hull to blow the ship up from the inside. He laughed as that plan worked, slowing the big galleon down even more as more and more of the sail caught fire - one of the yardarms had fallen off and almost killed a group of men, but it had cleanly fallen into the water, taking some of the burning linen with it.
The two ships were still heading too close to each other when Jack finally called to Cotton to start evasive maneuvers to distance the black ship from the Spaniards, still shooting at the sails. As they started distancing themselves, he called out one extra loud "FIRE!", which was echoed by Will and James, down to Gibbs and Barbossa and finally Elizabeth's "FIRE ALL!" And so the Black Pear started returning fire to the still sputtering cannons of the El Arquero. When the mermaids started pulling the remaining cannons in the back of the ship into the sea, splintering and ripping a lot of wood in the process, they managed to drag into the water a sailor or two.
The cannonballs of the Black Pearl hit low and true, endangering the Spanish pirate ship to the point where there were holes nearly at water level in the hull. The Pearl's crew cheered as the opposing ship shuddered, slowing down even more as its most integral parts suffered such grave damage. Gary was hooting as he shot down the few men on the main deck of El Arquero that tried using similar maneuvers as the Pearl's crew and Jack looked down from his aiming when he heard Barbossa calling for boarding preparations.
"Keep in mind the Code!" He called from high above, shooting at another powder barrel. "Who falls behind is left behind! Full speed ahead! We have places to be, people, and we've still got a pursuit on our tail!"
The only acknowledgment his words got was another cheer as the pirates got hold of hooks and boarded the other ship, looking for booty and more provisions. Jack allowed James and Will to go down, yelling orders down to the deck for the mirrors to be carefully lowered or else he'd have them keelhauled. Elizabeth and Frederico, no longer needed for the mirror, gladly jumped into the fray, Tia Dalma left with securing the big mirror so it won't break. Her efforts were mute, as some lucky Spanish bastard from El Arquero shot it while trying to shoot the voodoo witch herself. If he got dragged into the sea by a bunch of pearl-white, rock shaped crabs, Jack didn't inform his men about it. He was a bit pissed that his mirror was destroyed. Damn it, he'll have to go back to Turkey to get another one now. Bloody idiot got what he deserved.
Jack nearly lost his balance when a shudder ran through the Pearl due to three shots landing true, although thankfully only the railing and the wall of the forecastle were damaged. Still, he was furious and indignant on his lady's behalf, so Jack took one of the fireworks that they had confiscated off of their Singapore would be mutineers and he lit it up. Placing it like an arrow in his bow, he fired it straight and true, and the firework landed into one of the remaining functioning cannons. The collision of fireworks with powder and cannonball all but made the cannon explode and the two unlucky bastards manning it had the unfortunate to be killed in the blast. Or fortune. Jack would have done much worse had they put another hole in his ship.
In another five minutes, only the aft of the ships were in alignment and Jack called out one last warning to the crew, watching them all swinging back to the Pearl. He counted heads and was revealed to see all of the core crew was back on the ship, James, Elizabeth and Will being some of the last ones to come back. He noticed in a slight panic that Frederico was not present, but he relaxed when he saw him swing back, carrying a man back with him. So the bloke hadn't changed, then. The man would have been left behind had Frederico not hauled him back. It took the Black Pearl another ten minutes before the El Arquero was just a big smoking shape in the distance and the crew let out a victorious cheer, calls for alcohol, music and food already overwhelming the wind. It only got louder when their Captain finally climbed down from the crow's nest, the men picking the teen up and throwing him into the air above their heads, just to catch him when he fell down seconds later.
Jack couldn't help but laugh along with them, silently comparing this victory and the last one he had achieved. The Wicked Wench's crew had been in awe of him more than they had felt relieved to have escaped with their lives. They had given him offerings as though he were some heathen god or powerful sea spirit that had shown them mercy by sparing their lives and smithing their enemies. They had almost reverently called him 'Captain Jack Sparrow' and they had shown nothing hut respect and the fondness born of years serving with him. The cabin boy had died in their eyes that day, a legend born out of the ashes. The feat he had made that day might as well deserve some of that treatment, but it had made Jack feel isolated from the men he had served with for a little over three years. He wondered if that awe ever abated until they went their separate ways or if it had stayed until their deaths.
These men saw a miracle worker, yes, but they were already used to the legend that was Captain Jack Sparrow. They had not blinked at the crazy orders he was giving them. They had just acted.
And as he listened to the mermaid song in the increasing distance, Jack wondered idly just what sort of adventures his older self had lived through.