Book One – Chapter Two: The New Captain

The family had only just settled into their new home when Barbossa was required to set sail. Amelia wrapped her little arms around her father's neck, refusing to let go. Barbossa kissed his daughter goodbye and promised her that he would return to her swiftly. Victoria was too upset to embrace her husband and with tears in her eyes she cried, "Must you go so soon?"

"Must make a livin'," he replied. "You'll be well comforted while I'm gone. The neighbours seem to have warmly taken to ya and little Amelia. I'll be sailin' home again before ya know it."

Without much further ado, Barbossa left his family once more for the port that waited to take him to his new captain. He had heard very little about the captain, other than he was quickly becoming a personal favourite of Mr. Cutler Beckett. This information alone was a satisfactory reason for Barbossa to be so optimistic about his new position and he was very eager to meet this new captain. The East India Trading Company had been very good to Barbossa, and if this new captain was to be anything like his last one, Barbossa was certain that another promotion would come his way.

Barbossa was anxious all the way to the pier. He examined each ship and dingy that he walked past, imaging how great a vessel his new position entitled him to. He was not the least bit disappointed when he first set eyes on the new ship he was to be sailing. The ship's light coloured wood gleamed in the sunlight. From where Barbossa stood, none of the riggings seemed to be worn or the sails weathered. The trimmings were perfect, even the paint along the ship read Wicked Wench as though it was Holy Scripture. Barbossa removed his hat and stood for a moment in awe of the vessel before him. Although there were crowds of men running about and restocking the ship's supplies, the glow of the ship created a stilled serenity around it. This was a ship worthy of Barbossa's hand.

"Beggin' yer pardon," Barbossa called to a young man coming off the ship and passing by him. "I be lookin' fer the captain of this here ship."

The young man laughed, "Well, you wouldn't be wrong in asking me, now would you?" He removed his hat from his head and placed it over his heart. "Captain Jack Sparrow, at your service," he said with a small nod.

Barbossa also gave a little laugh, being apprehensive about this boy stating himself to be captain. The young man seemed like he was still only an adolescent and his accent revealed him to be of no greater education than Barbossa himself. When it finally became clear that the young man was not going to stop the ruse, Barbossa became sterner.

"Beggin' yer pardon?"

This caused the young man confusion as well. Assuming that the man addressing him must be hard of hearing, he repeated his statement in a plainer but louder tone.

"CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW."

Barbossa nodded impatiently and said, "I heard ya the first time."

"And you are?" the young man asked, expecting some common courtesy yet hardly receiving it.

"Hector Barbossa."

"Ah, Barbossa, of course! From the MaryLiberty. Yes, I recall Beckett's letter mentioning you. Highest recommendation you have there, sir. Welcome to the Wench. All of our procedures are standard to the Company. You should be quite familiar with them, I have no fear of that. Keep your nose clean, I may soon be looking for a new quarter master."

In any other circumstance, a captain telling him that he might be considered as quarter master due to his high recommendation would be the greatest honour, but Barbossa felt slight offence to this youngling telling him to "keep his nose clean" as though he was the child present. It would be different if this Sparrow fellow seemed to be of decent birth, but he seemed very plain. Although the young man was in uniform, he did not don it with the gentlemanly pride that Barbossa had seen in real officers and captains. Nonetheless, if this was to be his new captain, Barbossa would fulfil his duties as he was commanded to do.

He was welcomed to the crew and was quickly shown the ropes of the ship and had his duties outlined for him by a variety of veteran crew members. After slowly becoming acquainted with everyone else, Barbossa realized that not only was the captain a great deal younger than himself, but also a great deal younger than most of the men aboard the ship. This was a matter that could not help but irritate Barbossa. On every spare occasion Barbossa would inquire as to the other men's thoughts of the captain's inferior age, but, to his surprise, the response was generally the same, no one seemed to care a great deal about his age. So long as Jack was approved by Beckett and the East India Trading Company, no one was to question his authority, despite his youth.

Once they were at sea, it did not take long before Barbossa began to see Captain Jack Sparrow as actually being the man in charge. Barbossa addressed him as "Captain", as was necessary for a man of Barbossa's position, and showed him all of the standard curtsies, but part of him still felt that the captain was not as qualified to be heading the Wicked Wench as a more experienced man may be. With the age factor always in the back of his mind, Barbossa rose to every occasion in which he could show-off seemingly more expertise than his young captain. For how ever many times those occasions arose, however, even more occasions were presented for Captain Jack Sparrow to show his knowledge for geography, navigation, ship handling and negotiations. Each time the captain out-shined his doubter's expectations Barbossa gave a nod and then proceed to disregard the incident. Despite the subtle power struggle between the two, the captain and Barbossa found themselves getting on very well with one another. They both shared the same common views: the sea was freedom and the Company was the means by which to attain it. So long as they had this understanding of one another, the rest did not matter.

As the various ports of call came and went, Barbossa discovered that despite Jack Sparrow's captaining skills, the captain's personal habits were a blemish to any possible noble reputation. The most disheartening features of Captain Jack Sparrow sprang forth from just about every port of call where a tavern could be found. Barbossa was no stranger to indulging in a pint or two, but his young captain would out do his crew tenfold, and not in a stylish manner either. He would delegate his duties almost immediately after mooring and quickly acquaint himself with the closest bartender. More appalling still was his insatiable desire for female company but at the cheapest price. If the woman asked for too much up front, Captain Jack Sparrow would quickly look elsewhere. If the woman seemed liable to bartering for her services, the captain would accept the challenge. The most favourable of instances for the captain, however, was when his reputation and title did all of the wooing for him and he could easily embellish his own successes for the promise of having a girl or two on his knee. Sometimes he would prove himself to be quite successful in his ability to produce a full night's worth of companionship. More often than not, however, Captain Jack Sparrow was dealt the firm fist of rejection, usually bestowed by the husbands of his pursuits. It had become a rather comic ordeal for the crew who had learned that their captain's game never played out the same way twice else it would not be worth pursuing so eagerly. Barbossa prided himself on keeping his discretion. It would be a lie to say that he was never tempted to taste the fruits of the beautiful flesh that would occasionally hang on his arm, but he always intended to return to his wife and child as the same man each time, one who lived for them more so than for himself.

Out on a return voyage, the Wicked Wench was caught in strong storm winds. Captain Jack Sparrow did his best to ensure that every man aboard manned a well needed post, either securing the cargo or the ship itself. One of the sails caught loose and folded into itself, making the ship harder to steer against the force of the winds. The captain ordered his best men to see to the sail, but the wind proved to be too treacherous to be of any use among the rigging.

"Captain," Barbossa called out, "we best angle her as best we can. We've no hope of controllin' her as we are. We'll have no chance of avoidin' obstacles ahead. It's too dark and too fierce."

Captain Jack Sparrow would not accept defeat over his own ship.

"Barbossa," the captain ordered, "take the helm and keep her east bound. I'll not be out done by this tempest."

So saying this, the captain abandoned his post and climbed parallel the mast, hanging on to keep from being blown out to sea or knocked back onto the deck below. He could reach the sail but untwisting it proved to be a two handed job, leaving the wind to try to carry his body up an off of the beam his feet stood upon. He clung tightly onto the sail while his legs whirled around without support. Having no other choice at this point, the captain swung his legs back and forth to propel his body forward. He managed to gain enough force to swing himself back towards to the beam, however he could not help the angle at which he approached it, hitting his shins rather painfully. Luckily, however, he managed to quickly recover and straddle one leg on each side and brace it firmly with his knees while he sorted out the sail and the ropes that needed to be fastened down. Once completed, which was an amazement to the captain himself, he held on tightly to the beam, laying his stomach down along it. It seemed as though the captain was trying to catch his breath, when in reality the adrenaline that got him up to the sails had left him and he needed to strategize a way of descending without falling victim to the harsh winds around him.

"Are you alright, Captain?" the crew shouted up to him.

Captain Jack Sparrow heard them, but did not immediately show any signs of an answer. Then, in a sudden jolt, the captain shouted down, "Port side! Hard to port side!"

The crew below looked out the port side and though it was hardly distinguishable they did see fragments of small rock islands poking out of the torrent waves. Barbossa heeded the call and did as his captain commanded. The sudden shift caused a rumbling affect that nearly shook the captain off. With the new impending danger ahead, Captain Jack Sparrow slid his way along the beam and took hold of one of the ropes he could slide down. Once back on deck, the captain joined Barbossa at the helm. It seemed that they had managed to avoid the rocks. The captain laughed unexpectedly.

"Captain?" Barbossa asked.

"Head round. The main island is close by. It has an inlet we can safely anchor at and wait out the storm," the captain instructed.

"You certain of this?"

"Positive. I vaguely remember being here before. At this I think this was the place."

These words were not very encouraging to Barbossa who remained at the helm. He had a decreasing tolerance for his captain's navigational commands, mostly because they were never adequately explained. Barbossa therefore imagined himself to be in charge of the situation at hand. He figured that he could have handled the decision making process much more effectively. The one thing, however, that he knew he could not have done such as the captain did, was man the riggings himself and by himself in or out of a storm. It was not a discouraging thought though. Barbossa figured that if he were captain that would be one of the tasks to delegate, a captain was most valuable for his logic, not his acrobatics.