A Pirate&#39;s Life For Me

Wellard's cheeks are still flaming red-

So it takes him a long moment to realize that the last there is an actual instruction, and not one of the nautical double entendres Jack has been tormenting him with ever since Kennedy and his wife dragged each other into the inn in Tortuga.

... It also does not help that those double entendres have firmly entrenched themselves in his mind, now.

"I am certainly not saying its unreasonable." He mutters, working on the lanyard.

Mrs Kennedy acts nothing like one of the high-born officers' wives he was used to seeing before.

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And Archie, for one, is quite glad that his lady is nothing like the ladies back in their time. He's told her that many times before. And so, it is a smiling, content Archie that's appearing from belowdecks, having just come from checking the guns, something that's become his particular baby this trip.

"Afternoon lads."

He turns his face into the fine spray that the wind is picking from the tops of the waves. He has no idea the direction the conversation had been taking just now.

"Lovely day for it, isn't it?"

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pirate_jack

"Absolutely, mate," Jack says, turning to him with a wicked grin. Sunlight flashes from the gold in his teeth.

"Lovely day for it indeed -- although it usually is, savvy?"

A beat, and he calls pointedly over his shoulder,

"Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Wellard?"

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One hand on the rigging means one hand is free to facepalm. Wellard does so.

Still blushing.

"Lovely, yes."

The lanyard eased, Wellard looks to the sky and horizon- well, it is a possible safer subject.

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Archie eyes the two, but decides that perhaps it is better not to ask. He gives Jack a little salute, and leans against the railing, glancing back where they'd just come from.

"The scuppers in your lower decks are a little fouledd, that may be why you've been flooding. You might have someone look after them, sir."

He glances over at Wellard's flaming face.

"What's gotten into him?"

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pirate_jack

"Can't have that," he agrees, frowning. "Things'll get out of trim that way."

Jack shrugs in response to Archie's question. "Could be the sun--"

"Spill the mizzen, why don't you, lad?"

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Even when he was alive, Wellard never took a tan from the sun on his pale skin.

It is certainly not the sun now, as he moves through the rigging to the mast and mizzen. Carefully, now- as the wind is

("She loves a stiff breeze." "-a bit more than a stiff breeze.")

-picking up. Wellard frowns, looking up and scanning the whole horizon. To the south east, there is a rising darkness that was not there a few minutes ago-

A storm, rising fast. A rather big one.

"Captain! Mr Kennedy! Storm sighted, East- sou'east!"

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"-damned monkey, I swear I've not had a drop of rum at all this trip because of that-" Up the stairs from lower deck, Svava arrives, wind immediately catching her hair. Jack and Archie are already at the railing, studying the horizon warily.

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Archie pulls his spyglass out of his pocket, the one Rachel had given him for Christmas, and trains it on the storm.

"Two points off the starboard bow..."

He pulls it out further, trying to get a better look...

Lightning, waves like to swamp them, cries of panic, ominous rumbling from the deep that wars with the crashing of the thunder above. Earth and sky are tearing themselves in two, and the ships in the water are caught between the two. the wall of the storm's eye just ahead... a name painted on the stern of the ship... the Interceptor II...

Archie starts, and pulls the glass away from his eye, looking at it in confusion, he shakes it a little and replaces it cautiously. This time the clouds on the horizon seem more menacing, but they are still just clouds. He's a little pale though.

"We won't want to be getting caught in that storm, sir."

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pirate_jack

"You're right about that," Jack mutters, leaping to the rail and peering out over the water towards the distant clouds.

He turns back to the crew and shouts,

"On deck! All hands on deck! Mr. Gibbs, bring her four points hard a-port! Haul forward the bow-line, and bear away!"

The Black Pearl may be the swiftest thing on the waters when running before the wind, but she's light enough to suffer for it when sailing into a storm-- and to lose speed accordingly.

The best they can hope for is to cut a sharp enough angle to catch the wind and skim past the danger before they're caught by the gale.

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bringmethatnpc

"Aye, Cap'n!" The old sea-hand begins to move about the deck, barking orders at the crew and getting things done. He's been through many a storm, and has managed to drill the crew surprisingly well on make the ship ready.

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The crew springs to action, battening down hatches and other loose items, and half of the hands climb up to the rigging to shorten sail and tighten the rigging.

The Pearl and all aboard her have weathered storms before-

There is just the hope that this one will not be the worse of them all.

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scourgeofpiracy.livejournal.com

It's not that he can't see the storm - you'd have to be blind or a fool to miss it, now.

It's more that Norrington has very little choice, if he wants to take Jack Sparrow alive, and with his effects. He has to capture that ship.

So, reluctantly but with no room for argument, he gives the orders.

They sail straight into the storm.

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Archie joins in with the crew securing everything; the guns are relatively secure, as are the stores below, but there are still loose things laying about. Valuable things. He straightens from the stand of pitch barrels he'd been tying down and walks over to Svava, calmly reaching up to touch her hair, cupping her face in his calloused hand.

"Sweetest, You should either go below, or tie a line on to something. Something that floats, preferably."

If the worst should happen, he wants her to at least have a chance of survival.

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"I'll get below." She nods quickly, resting her hand on top of his. Svava is still a novice when it came to sailing, and a portion of the crew would be safe below as well.

"But- Archie, yourself as well, and the others-"

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pirate_jack

"Don't worry, luv," Jack interrupts. He's at the wheel now, casting a sharp eye between the storm to starboard and the pursuit to their port-and-stern.

Both are closing, and without the headway and speed that the Pearl can make under full sail ahead of the wind, they stand a fair chance of being caught by either or both. Jack looks grim and rather focused, but tosses Svava a wickedly bright smile.

"I've sailed worse, savvy? We'll be just fine."

If they're all lucky as the devil himself, it won't turn out to be a lie.

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With a smile to Jack, and a kiss to Mr Kennedy, Mrs Kennedy heads below with some others of the crew, to keep an eye on the ballast and pumps.

Wellard and the crew aloft have almost finished with the sails- and a good thing too, as the wind speed has picked up rather a lot. With any luck, they will not have to go back up into the rigging to fix or change anything-

Usually a fool's luck. Odds are, they will be. But now, they start making their way down to the deck to fasten life-lines to themselves.

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Just a few more knots... Archie watches anxiously from below. Finally, he can't stand it any longer.

"Come on you lot! You've done all you can, get down here and make secure."

He watches them edge along the yards towards the rigging.

"Mr Wellard! Keep an eye on your men there, I don't want to have to scrape anyone off the quaterdeck this time, thank you!"

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("Its no use, he's dead, sir!")

Yeah. That would quite be a bad thing.

-There is just no time to wince at the memories of that. Frowning, Wellard studies the sails and lines that they had been all working on-

As good as they can do.

"All hands- to the deck and-

("Last man on deck gets a flogging!")

-be careful!"

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Below decks, the crew there quickly starts working to lash any loose, heavy items that could go flying as the ship gets tossed. The cannons were already lashed down, thankfully, but there was still other things-

As well as the ballast to move around as the storm turned them about, to try to keep the ship steady.

And pumps to man as well, should the Pearl, God forbid, take on water.

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pirate_jack

This time as the monkey goes scampering by, headed belowdecks to relative safety, Jack turns his head to snarl at it-- and then ignores its presence utterly as he stares off to starboard.

"Oh Mr. Gibbs, we're in for rough seas--" he says, as the other man hurries over to report, cutting over whatever Gibbs was about to say.

Jack's eyes are wide and black, the look in them wild as he spins the wheel further to port, turning the Pearl at an angle into the seas as they begin to boil around them under the onslaught of wind. "Make fast, all hands make fast, she's on us!"

Indeed, the approach of the storm looks like a solid wall of water whirling down upon them with incalculable force.

This is no ordinary hurricane.

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scourgeofpiracy.livejournal.com

The Interceptor II and her sister ships are still in pursuit, though Norrington has to pace constantly up and down the deck to keep the men doing their jobs - none of them want to go any further, orders or no.

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bringmethatnpc

"He's gone mad! The captain's gone mad!"

It's one of the younger men, a midshipman -- the older hands know better than to complain where they'll be heard in the Royal Navy, but this lad is desperate enough to try.

"Commodore Norrington, the storm -- the ship, sir, she won't take it! We've got to turn back!"

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scourgeofpiracy.livejournal.com

Norrington spares the boy a glance - and if there was any other course he could take and still keep his honour, he would.

But there's no turning back now.

"We press on", he says expressionlessly, and turns to shout at the men at the rudder.

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Madness on board both the ships, but that was little compared to the madness of the world around them.

The sea and sky started to rage, powerful, mercurial elements pushed and pulled too far

Tempus Frangit

out of their proper place

Nature abhors-

and now they were fighting back with a vengeance. With waves reaching for the sky and crashing back down upon the ocean, and the wind howling with all the voices of the damned, blowing salt spray like tears- the border between water and air was blurred-

And the ships were caught right in the center of chaos. Naught but mere toys when compared to the vastness of the world around them, mere flecks in the eye of the storm.

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Nothing to do but ride the storm, and try to keep the ship together and all the crew on board and the elements try their best to tear them apart. Orders are shouted but not heard, prayers are gasped to half a dozen dieties. It is all they can do to keep themselves upright.

At more than one point, Archie has to grab a sailor that's missed his footing and slipped. Once it is him that needs to be hauled upright. Wellard ought to be proud of the job he did mending the sails, they're holding. Holding.

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Below decks-
Hello? Can anyone hear me?
It could be worse. Much worse. There are dancing shadows, things still rattling and flailing in their lashings, water splashing underfoot, and the whole world keeps tilting crazily-
Is anyone there?
It could be worse. It could be dark as well. The crew down there realizes this, so the cold, dancing lights on the air are rather ignored in the rest of the chaos, except for the knowing it could be dark here, as well.
Please?
And it could be worse.

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