To Be a Time Lord

Chapter 5 - The Curse of the Black Spot

The Curse of the Black Spot, part 1 -

The Doctor was banging against a hatch from below deck on a pirate ship. He seemed to be terribly excited to be meeting the crew aboard. He finally managed to push it open to find a group of men staring back at them in shock. The apparent Captain pointed a gun at him.

"Yo ho ho", the Doctor greeted with a grin, "Or does nobody actually say that?"

They were taken to the Captain's cabin and the man himself took the word upon the Doctor's sporadic explanation, "We made no signal."

"Our sensors picked you up. Ship in distress", the Doctor explained, earning him a slap to the back of his head from his wife.

"Sensors?"

"Yes. Okay, problem word. Seventeenth century-", before he could talk himself into anymore of a hassle the Oracle took the words.

"We have incredibly advanced equipment on our ship. I assume you haven't gone ashore in a while. We've moved far beyond your wildest expectations, Captain."

"That big blue crate?"

"Oi, watch it", she complained, feeling insulted for the Tardis.

"That is more magic, Captain Avery. They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?", a boatswain told him.

"Well, er, I want to say multidimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there. Look, I'm the Doctor. This is Amy, Rory, the Oracle. We're sailors, same as you. Ooo ar", the Doctor said and the Captain pointed his revolver at him, "Except for the gun thing. And the beardiness."

"Why did you get rid of the beard before I had fun with it?", the Oracle asked him quietly, making him blush.

"You're stowaways. Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed", Avery reclaimed their attention.

"Now, what do we do with them?"

"Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality."

The Doctor smiled for a moment but that was quickly interrupted when they were all restrained and brought on deck where he was the first to be pushed to the plank. The pirates laughed.

"I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description. Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard", the Doctor mused, testing out jumping positions.

"Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill. Take the doxies below to the galley. Set them to work. They won't need much feeding", Avery demanded.

Amy and the Oracle were pulled towards the galley under their protests. "Rory? A little help?"

"Yeah. Hey, listen, right? They're not doxies", he tried.

"I didn't mean just tell him off. Thanks anyway", Amy groaned as they were pushed away.

"If you're lucky you'll drown before the sharks can take a bite", Avery told the Doctor.

"If this is just because you think I'm a captain too, you know, you shouldn't feel threatened. Take my wife first. I'm just her first commander. She's in charge. And we don't have cool boots. Or hats, even", the Doctor called back.

"Time to go."

"A bit more laughter, guys?", the Doctor asked and the crew obliged.

Below deck the Oracle found a crate of cutlasses and Amy had found a hat and coat, fit for a pirate. As Amy got dressed the Oracle picked up a cutlass, "Really?"