Book One - Chapter Six: A New Plan

After the destruction of the Wicked Wench, Captain Jack Sparrow sought assistance from the only man he figured he could trust now that he had been officially branded a pirate, his father. His father, Captain Teague, was not the least bit disappointed by his son; in fact, he found the whole story to be rather humorous. Piracy had long since been a family tradition and Jack Sparrow's sudden urge to be decent had only proven how hypocritical the gentry truly were. They claimed his son a pirate while they kidnapped free souls to be sold for profit, burned and sank a friendly ship with raised white flags, and murdered innocent people. Captain Teague was by no means a man to be preaching virtue - it was doubtful that he even knew the meaning of the word. Regardless, he looked at his son's situation with a nose for his own gain, which is what true blooded pirates do best and do quite often in all circumstances.

"Listen, Jackie boy," said Captain Teague, "you won't be gettin' no charity from me. I've got my own hide to be watching. You were captain and you made your choices. Ain't no one but you who's to live with it now. If I was to put you on my ship, the crew would think me soft, and I can't be worrying about you and your lot when I've got the Monchris needing to be dealt with. You turnin' to your pirate blood ain't going to clear the way for you. You want to sail this route, you need to get the respect."

"I know, and I intend on getting it," Jack Sparrow said to his father. "But I've lost my ship, I've got no crew, and no second step in mind. I just want to re-establish my captainhood. If there's anything you can give me…"

"Jackie," his father sighed, "you command piracy, you earn it. It can't be given, especially by me. You earn your place with a good captain, that's one thing, but as your father and a follower of the code, well, it wouldn't be natural."

Jack was ready to count his plea as a lost cause, knowing that his father was not to be easily swayed over anything, and especially not over the pirate code.

"There is something," Captain Teague mentioned as though it was an afterthought though he had been meaning to say it all along. "In our last encounter with the Monchris, they had managed to smuggle some of their men onto our ship. We caught hold of most of the yellow bellied scum, but somehow at least one was able to weasel off with a very important chest. I've been sailing high and low for these insolent mongrels, but to no avail as of yet. You get me that chest, Jackie, and I'll get you a ship."

Jack Sparrow dwelt on this thought while being somewhat puzzled.

"Won't I need a ship in order to get to their ship wherein lies said chest?"

"Aye," his father replied.

"Aye, and how do we know that said chest is still aboard said ship or that the contents have not been already removed from said chest?"

"Chest was locked."

"And it would be entirely impossible to get past said lock?"

"Aye."

"Right. Well, assuming that I can get hold of a ship and a large enough crew to man said ship, find the Monchris, and attempt to come to terms with them -"

"There'll be no terms. Monchris don't like terms. They'll blow you clear out of the water."

"Ah. How do you expect this to be accomplished, then?" Jack questioned his father who had been very vague about the whole ordeal.

"I have no expectations. If you get me that chest, I'll give you a real ship. If you don't bring me that chest then you'll be left to your own devices, now won't you?"

The proposal was not a very favourable one. So much so that Jack was ready to dismiss the whole thing as being utterly impossible. That is, until his father continued to mention the details.

"The Monchris have been relentlessly amassing some of the greatest treasures ever carried 'cross the ocean. They seek out known ships of the royal fleets, merchant crafts and of course the finest of the pirate fleets. Members of the Brethren have decided to go against them, but only those who have had a run in with them. We can't be unified enough to take a full stand. I want my chest, Jackie, and the code forbids me to bring down another pirate outside of my lordship. You're a free man, you can do as you please without violation of the code since you are not yet an established pirate. Sail under your own colours, get yourself the respect, the booty, and I'll see that you are fairly rewarded. It is the least I can do for my own flesh and blood."

Respect from the Brethren was hard to come by, even for those with years of experience. Though it would seem cheap to come across piracy by his father's hand, Captain Teague's plan was capable of overcoming that issue. But how to get the ship? How to get the crew? Thus Barbossa was approached.

With Hector Barbossa now onboard with Jack Sparrow's plan, it did not take long to figure out that Jack barely even had a plan. Jack knew his first step and he knew his end goal, all else was to be played out as fate intended it to be. The first clue was when Captain Jack Sparrow requested that they use Barbossa's dingy for the first of their trip. At first Barbossa assumed that it was just to get them to the ship that Jack had mentioned he now had. What was not expected, however, was that they would both be using the dingy to float over to the larger mainland where a new ship was to be found.

"I thought that you had a new ship?" Barbossa questioned his captain.

"Will have," Jack replied as though it was a foolish question that Jack had to answer over and over again already, "a ship, I believe I said. We will have a ship once we commandeer one of these."

"Commandeer?" Barbossa repeated as a request for clarification.

"Aye! Commandeer! We might borrow one of these fine vessels and be on our way from here," the captain replied in full earnest.

This was not to Barbossa's liking, however, Jack assured him that this was the beginning of a successful career in piracy. The first true act of piracy was to come about your own ship, like an initiation into a secret society. Jack did not mention anything about the Brethren Court of pirates of which his father was a member. He felt that the explanation would only be required if they were to actually succeed in apprehending the Monchris and bring back the booty to his father. Also, it would depend upon whether or not Hector Barbossa would stay on as long as that. The other crew members Jack was capable of tracking down had refused their former captain and some even attempted to kill him on the spot. This was his first agreement and Jack was determined to use Barbossa as far as Barbossa was willing to go.

Commandeering a ship was not as difficult as Jack had assumed it to be. Barbossa had come up with a convincing plot to walk onto one of the naval ships as though they were assisting to load it up. Once on board, they would seek out the captain in private as though to discuss a concern with one of the crew members. Once they had the captain in private they would hold him at sword point and tie him up, using him to command his crew from behind his door. Once they were to have set sail, they would have the captain order a meeting in the galley, below deck. Barbossa and Sparrow would then barricade the crew in the galley. From there, they could roll explosives in with the crew. Whether or not the explosion would be fatal or not would be irrelevant, it was mostly needed to destroy morale, but not enough to destroy the ship. From there they could sail it as they pleased, pressing members of the crew one at a time, and letting the others walk the plank if they did not submit.

Jack did not entirely approve of the plan, but since it seemed as though Barbossa had managed to think out a plausible way to be successful on this fool's errand, he was willing to go with it. As fate would have it, however, they did not need to exercise Barbossa's plan or even a version of it. As the two of them were ready to pick up some of the crates and barrels to load onto the chosen ship, they happened to be recognized by a crew member traveling along the dock.

"I'll be damned," Barbossa said in a happy amazement, "if it it ain't ol' Bootstrap!"

Jack followed his line of sight and saw the very man whom Barbossa was referring to, Bootstrap Bill Turner. Jack had not seen the man since they recovered from the sinking of the Wicked Wench, neither had Barbossa. It was highly convenient. Although Bootstrap did not in fact have his own ship, he was scheduled to secure one as a deckhand in two days. That ship was anchored and empty, except for the couple of guards who stood watch over it. When Bootstrap approached, the guards questioned him. He replied that his captain had permitted the captain of a favourable merchant craft to be shown the stock that was currently stored on their own vessel so that he might pass the word on to his patrons whom he would be seeing in London at a much sooner time than their own ship.

Once granted entry on board, they settled below deck, taking their time to devise a good plan. Barbossa utilized pieces of his plan which he figured would assist them. The first step, however, was to ensure that they could set the ship to sail by themselves without having the whole of the royal guard set on them. The two guards had to be dealt with effectively so as to avoid anyone from sounding the alarm. Captain Jack Sparrow determined to report an issue to the guards, saying that it seemed that there had been tampering with the cargo and he demanded a full explanation as any captain would on behalf of another. One guard agreed to go and view the conditions below deck while the other remained at his post. Jack knew that this would hinder his plan since this guard would surely notice Bootstrap sneaking around to get the ship ready to make way. It was an impossible task for Bootstrap to accomplish on his own. It would take both Jack and Barbossa to bring up the anchor alone. With this in mind, Jack casually began to discuss the sea life with the remaining guard. The guard had admitted to not being very ship savvy and yet had always had a desire to know first hand what it would be like to have that kind of adventure. In the spirit of the conversation, Jack offered to give the guard a brief tutorial of ship handling. Starting with simple instructions as to how to properly control the helm, to which of the riggings were in control of what. Bootstrap came to his post of raising the anchor with the unexpected help of both the captain and the guard. Of course the guard was a little concerned that they had brought the anchor up, Jack reassured him that it was not enough to allow the ship to be displaced and that it was really much easier to drop the anchor than to raise it.

With a few other little tasks accomplished, Jack raised the question as to what had happened to the other guard and that obviously there must be something amiss since he had yet to return to his post. Jack agreed to follow the guard below deck, knowing that Bootstrap could now get the ship in motion. Below deck Barbossa had both guards bound and gagged which he happily left to help his mates on deck. They would be released but not until they had managed to sail far enough away to avoid immediate detection. The alarms were sure to be sounded by morning if not by that evening.

Barbossa suggested that they head towards another port where it would be possible to upgrade their numbers and supplies but Jack had his own mind set on venturing out to sea. Barbossa quickly remembered his common complaint about his former captain, the part where navigation was left to an abstract and generalized description which made one wonder if there was even a final destination in mind. Nonetheless, Jack's orders were followed. They were not sailing out in open water for long before naval fleets began to follow them, tracking down the pirated ship. They had yet to get close enough to fire at them with much accuracy. At this point the fleet could not even get close enough to issue a warning shot.

Jack voiced his contentment, yet it was misunderstood as his being glad that they had managed to stay so well ahead of the naval ships, when in reality, he was thankful that the chase had begun. The captain had them sail around, playing cat and mouse until some of the smaller ships gave out to seek help from a larger and better manned naval ship. When this larger ship appeared, Jack requested some background on it. Bootstrap was able to tell him that this ship must have already been out and had been asked to change course for this pursuit. When the captain inquired as to the destination the ship originally set out for, Bootstrap could not give any precise answer. He suspected that the ship, seeing how prominent a ship it was, must be destined for Port Quin at least. With the assurance that this oncoming ship still had a long way to go before reaching its final destination, Jack felt confident enough to let this be the ship to stop them. Without giving any explanation for his order, Captain Jack Sparrow asked for their commandeered ship to be brought to a halt. This confused and worried his shipmates who felt certain that this had turned into a suicide mission. Their captain, however, told them to comply with the officers of this on-coming ship. It seemed like it was a very large and important ship, a prime target for the Monchris.

"Told ya we should've gathered our numbers," Barbossa grumbled. "We've no chance of fightin' 'em now."

"Aye, and we shouldn't want to," Captain Jack Sparrow replied.

"Ya mean fer us to be caught?"

"We're at sea, my dear man. They have no solid prisons at sea," Jack said.

"Captain, they have officers and they have a brig. It is prison afloat until they can get us into a proper one," Barbossa reminded him hastily.

"Aye, a proper one, which is a far ways out yet," Jack imagined aloud. "There's a chance for us to be captured yet."

As far as Barbossa was concerned it was a guarantee of being captured. The captain had yet to explain his plan about waiting out on the naval ship until it fell victim to the Monchris, which was exactly his intention. The navel ship approached, saw that this rogue ship was at a standstill and gave the pirates a warning to come peacefully or be blown out of the water. The three men submitted and were brought over to the naval ship's brig while ropes were being cast to allow the merchant ship to be towed back to a proper port. This was more than enough of an easy target for the Monchris, who did not disappoint.