Pirates Of The Caribbean Fan Fiction ❯ Lost in Translation (Pirates of the Caribbean) ❯ Code of Conduct ( Chapter 17 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Chapter Seventeen:Code of Conduct
*“Nothing in here,” Dallin said as he pulled himself out of a small crevice. Gibbs sighed to himself and looked further down the shore.
“Maybe Jack's had a bit more luck,” he replied. Cotton, Marty and Dallin stood awaiting their orders from the first mate. The sun was now high in the sky and the only real refuge from the heat were the caves they had been searching in. Jack had taken a few other crew members off to look further down the coast, explaining they would have much more luck if they separated.

“Sure this is the island?” Marty asked. Gibbs looked down at him then smirked.

“Apparently Jack knows it is,” he answered. “The lass has a book and says this is the right place.” Again his eyes slid down the rocky shoreline. “Could be here fer days. Suppose we'd better move on.” The other three turned and began heading down the beach to seek out any other caves, coves or crevices that might hold the statue they were looking for. He turned and looked back down the other direction, wondering just how long they'd be out here searching when a movement caught his attention. He saw Kaitlyn walking down the beach to the west and then looked back towards the other men.

“I'll catch up with ya,” he said to the others and then turned and headed down onto the beach. Jack had told him that Kaitlyn had gotten herself stung by a jellyfish and he thought he should at least see how she was fairing. He'd seen men have reactions to jelly stings before, it wasn't always a pretty sight.

“Heard you had a run in with a jelly fish,” he said as he neared her. She merely nodded and it was only then that he noticed she was carrying something.

“It's still stings a bit but I'll survive,” she answered and then glanced down at the statue. “Where's Jack?” Gibbs looked down at the thing then back up to her.

“Jack's down the island a ways,” he replied.

“Good,” she said, causing Gibbs to look at her oddly.

“That the statue?” He questioned wondering why she sounded relieved that Jack wasn't nearby. Kaitlyn nodded hesitantly before giving him a serious look.

“May I speak with you?” She asked. He nodded, now interested what it was she would want to talk with him about.

“Do you believe in curses?” She questioned and then watched him to gauge his response.

“Aye,” he said. “You spend enough time around Jack and you have no choice but to believe in 'em.” He could see that something was disturbing her, and again, he found himself wondering if this bit of treasure should be brought onto the ship.

“About twelve years ago Jack lost his ship to his first mate. Barbossa planned a mutiny while Jack slept. They were looking for the cursed treasure of Cortez. They found it but only after marooning Jack on a isle to die.” Kaitlyn listened intently to Gibbs, she had picked up bits and pieces about the story but had never actually been told it before.

“Now, had Jack not been marooned he woulda had an equal share in that curse. As it where, he was able to get off the island and eventually got the Pearl back. His first mate and the crew weren't so lucky. They lived with that curse for almost ten years.” Silence fell between them for a moment as they both contemplated the small statue she was holding.

“Do you,” she began then hesitated, “...believe in ghosts?”

“Never seen one myself,” he said. Kaitlyn nodded then looked towards the rocks where the other men had began searching and then back to Gibbs.

“I don't want to upset the crew,” she said. “And as much as I respect Jack, he tends to let his reputation cloud his judgment.” Gibbs nodded in agreement, understanding what she meant. “Pepe found the cave and then began acting strangely. When I dug up the statue, I turned and found a man standing there. It frightened me; caused me to drop the statue. When I looked back up the cave was empty.” Kaitlyn knew telling the crew what had happened would lead to problems for Jack and that Jack, himself, would likely brush off what she had seen. Perhaps it was the more fatherly qualities that Mr. Gibbs held but she felt as though she could tell him what she had seen.

“I've been wondering 'bout this treasure for awhile now,” he confided as he eyed it up.

“If you believe it's cursed why haven't you said anything to Jack?” She asked. Gibbs looked at her for a long moment and then sighed and shook his head.

“Jack Sparrow is a rare pirate, lass. On any other ship, the crew would have a vote to decide who be the captain and vote him out if they didn't like how he was running things. The Pearl is Jack's ship. We don't vote Jack out of his position and in exchange we don't deal with the brutalities most pirates do,” he said. “On most ships a lass wouldn't even be allowed on board and any man caught smuggling one on would be put to death. Rather than plundering merchants and privateers and torturing slaves and prisoners, Jack uses hit wits and looks for treasure most pirates wouldn't.”

Kaitlyn stayed silent while he spoke. While she had never become overly familiar with the ways of pirates, she knew enough of them to know that Jack and the crew were a very rare class of buccaneers. Unlike the navy, pirates voted all of their officers into power and would vote them out just as quickly. Many infamous pirates were notorious for brutal torture and the killings of the people they plundered and if there were disagreements amongst the crew it would be settled, not on the ship, but on land with their pistol or cutlass.

Even through the brutality of it all, the code of conduct amongst pirates fascinated Kaitlyn. Despite being nothing more than thieves and brutes, often regardless of their race or nationality, every man on a pirate ship was given and equal vote on all matters and each man's individual rights were respected. Jack's ship was nothing like most pirate ships. His crew seemed content respecting his decisions and avoiding the savagery that took place with most pirates. They had certainly never set out to plunder a ship and then torture and kill the merchant sailors while she had been with them.

“I suppose you're right,” she said. “We should let Jack know that we've found it.” Gibbs let his gaze fall upon the small gold statue again and then nodded in agreement. He was far too old to be setting out with a bloodthirsty crew and he trusted Jack's judgment in most cases. Hopefully, they could simply get the statue sold and move on. Both turned and headed down the east side of the island to find the rest of the crew so that they could finally take the Ángel de la Muerte back to the Pearl.

*
Jack let his eyes slide across the seemingly endless horizon of sea that lay before him. The crew was strangely subdued since they had set sail from Arigate island, despite having found what they had been looking for. They were nearly three days out and he knew he would need to find someone in the market to buy the statue so that he could split the money up between the crew properly. He couldn't quite put his finger on what felt amiss but one thing that had him curious was Gibbs and Kaitlyn's sudden bond. She seemed to be talking to him more and more when she wasn't with Ana Maria. In fact, Jack had barely spoken to her since they had set sail.

“They're attached, mate,” Jack said with a smirk. Pepe cocked his head and gave another slight tug on Jack's beads before reaching up towards his head. “Don't even think about it.” The monkey's paw halted less than an inch from Jack's hat. Since they're return to the ship, Pepe hadn't left his side, even when he went below deck to sleep, which Jack found quite odd. The monkey always insisted upon sleeping in the cabin with Kaitlyn.

“We'll need to be getting you your own hat and effects soon, mate, so you'll stop trying to steal mine,” he mused quietly. Pepe gave him another curious look, as if he truly were trying to comprehend what was being said, and then snatched Jack's hat and took off in a dead run.

“Bloody monkey,” he cursed to himself. “Gibbs!” Gibbs turned to see Pepe rushing down onto the deck and then make his way across, obviously heading towards the crow's nest with Jack's hat. He grinned and headed up to the helm.

“Problems, Jack?” Jack gave him a sarcastic look and then motioned towards the helm.

“Not at all...I was just wonder if you would be so kind as to take the helm while I liberate me hat from a certain crew member.”

“The monkey's a member of the crew now?” Gibbs asked in amusement while moving over and taking the helm.

“He is the smartest one on the ship, eh? Besides myself, of course,” Jack retorted.

“Aye, that's why he got yer hat in the first place,” Gibbs pointed out. Jack just turned to survey the problem and could see that Pepe was already up in the crow's nest, as was his hat.

“Really need to work on that,” he muttered to himself as he turned and sauntered down onto the deck. There was no way in hell he was going to stand down there and beg the monkey to bring his hat down and the last thing he intended to do was shoot it, so he decided to head to the cabin for Kaitlyn. Maybe she had some magical fruit that could coerce the monkey down. He knocked and waited and then knocked again before finally hearing Kaitlyn tell him to come in.

“I found the pages that I was telling you about, I-” she stopped when she looked up from her book. “Oh... Jack...”

“Sorry to disappoint,” he said suspiciously. Kaitlyn quickly closed the book and laid it aside before standing.

“You didn't, I was just expecting Mr. Gibbs,” she answered. “Is there something you needed?”

“Your monkey borrowed my hat,” he said with a smirk. She held back a giggle and nodded slightly, still not sure why he had come for her, so he continued. “And he... relocated it... to the crows nest, as it were.”

She couldn't hold back her giggles anymore and she covered her mouth, trying to silence herself. Jack had to assume that he was the only pirate in the entire Spanish main to be robbed by a monkey, mocked by his crew and laughed at by his lover all within a quarter of an hour. At least it had to be a record, he was sure, only he could accomplish. She finally forced herself to take a deep breath and calm her laughing.

“Thank goodness he hasn't figured out how to use a pistol,” she said then walked past him to the door. “He just might take over the entire ship.” Jack smirked at her quip and then waited for her to leave. Once she had gone, he wandered back across the cabin and picked up the book she had been reading. The pages she had been prepared to tell Gibbs' about were marked and he began letting his eyes scan the script. It spoke of the Angel de la Muerta and the many rumors regarding the supposed curse that was upon it. He stood there reading accounts of men that had sought it out and had gone mad in the process and others that disappeared altogether, many believing that they had actually found the island but never left alive.

'Nothing but nonsense and tall tales,' he mused to himself. There had been no signs of any other ships having been at that island and abandoned, nor had they found any evidence that anyone had died there. An abrupt knock at the cabin door startled Jack back to thoughts of reality and away from thoughts of curses.

“Aye?” He called out. Kaitlyn wouldn't knock on the cabin door and he couldn't imagine why anyone else would be coming for him. Ana Maria thrust the door open and he instantly knew something wasn't right.

“You're needed on deck,” she said briskly and turned and headed back out herself. Jack tossed the book aside and followed quickly. The sight of a second ship was unmissable. He knew he couldn't have been in the cabin for more than half an hour reading, so this was not a chance meeting. This ship either knew they would meet up with them or had been following them, though he doubted it was the latter. For a moment he stood taking in the situation, trying to decide on a course of action and then he walked over to Kaitlyn who was standing with Dallin and Cotton.

“Take the monkey and stay in the cabin,” he ordered without hesitation or further explanation. He didn't wait for any arguments, though he doubted there would be any. Rather, he headed to the helm to relieve Gibbs.

“Just came out of nowhere,” Gibbs said as soon as Jack approached, but he didn't receive an answer. Jack was busy eyeing up the ship. Almost on cue, the ship's flag was lowered and in it's place a pirate flag was hoisted.

The crew instantly began scurrying about, knowing that there was little they could do to get the ship to a safe distance, even if the Pearl was the fastest ship in the Caribbean. Most pirates weren’t forgiving and would likely fire upon her to stop them, leaving the crew in a worse predicament in the long run, not to mention that Jack wouldn’t risk his ship in the first place.

“Cap’n?” Gibbs asked expectantly. He knew well that they’re ship held little of value on it and trying to flee would be suicide. Jack watched intensely as the other ship grew nearer. His strength was his ability to talk and fighting was a close second when it was necessary. He wouldn’t risk his ship and angering a ship full of pirates would only lead to unnecessary deaths for his crew.

“Let ‘em come aboard,” Jack said abruptly. “See if we can’t…negotiate…some sort of an accord.” Gibbs stared at him blankly and then nodded and turned to issue orders to the crew. As dangerous as it was to allow a rogue crew full of buccaneers onto the Pearl, he knew how well Jack could articulate offers that most couldn’t refuse. Either way, it was a better plan than allowing the ship to be rendered useless and then having them push their way on board.

Jack left the helm to another crewmen and then made his way down to the deck where Ana Maria was anxiously watching the other ship.

“You’re just letting them come aboard?” She asked incredulously. Jack nodded and scrutinized her for a moment before looking back out at the ship, himself.

“Aye, I recognize the ship. I'm in a bit of debt to the captain…,” he confided. Ana turned to look at him and then shook her head angrily.

“Someone’s gonna get killed,” she predicted.

“You’re talking to Captain Jack Sparrow,” he reminded her with a smirk. “I think it’s best if you wait in the cabin.” He almost cowered, waiting for either an instant tirade or a good slap for even suggesting it. When he didn’t receive it he tentatively glanced over at her. He could see that her mind was thinking over his words and probably trying to decide why he had said them.

“Is that an order…Captain?” She asked, her voice heavily mirroring the indignant look she was giving him.

“Aye,” he said then looked at her. “Don’t need ‘em knowing there are women aboard." She glared at him for a moment, obviously contemplating ignoring the order and then turned and headed towards the cabin, where she knew Kaitlyn and her pet where already safely hidden.

Jack knew he would have explaining to do once he had squared away his problems. The fact was; he knew Ana Maria was probably more qualified to fight beside him than most of the men. However, the other crew held strict to the pirate code of conduct, one of them being that women didn’t belong on pirate ships. If they saw that Jack not only had a female crew member, but a rich woman on the ship, he wouldn’t stand a chance negotiating.

“What's going through yer head?” Gibbs asked as he stopped beside Jack and waited with everyone else. This could easily turn into a dangerous and bloody fight and casualties where likely if that were the case.

“You play the hand yer dealt, mate. Sometimes the only way to win...is to bluff, savvy?” Jack said coolly. Already Jack knew he wasn't dealing with a group of mindless scallywags. The very fact that they would fly a neutral flag until another vessel grew too close to get away, proved that. The infamous Blackbeard, himself, had stooped to similar lowly tricks. Though his crew would usually act as though their ship had been dismasted in a storm or had sprung a leak. The sight of a ship in distress would either draw honest sailors to their aid or greedy pirates that sought to get what they could before the ship sank. Either way, it always ended up the same.

However, Jack was personally familiar with Captain Ackhart. He had spent his early days as a privateer, hiding behind a letter of marque and reprisal to do his plundering, even though he held no real loyalties to the crown. After that he had taken to the life of a buccaneer. He was a captain because he wouldn't hesitate to kill, but money was more important than death and that was what Jack was counting on. You couldn't get money from a dead man.

Since the Pearl's crew made no attempt to flee or fire, the other ship simply anchored along side them and soon many of the crew were boarding Jack's ship.

“Hope yer right about this, Jack,” Gibbs said warily as they watched Ackhart board and start surveying the crew.

“So do I..”