Interning on the Aronnax

The Thing About Pete

A/N: Hi! Oh, man, I completely dropped this, sorry! I've got another chapter ready to post soon, then I'm unsure. I have a bit more Star Wars to get out of my system first, heh...

But! Don't worry, I'll never ditch Interning, I'm having too much fun. ;P Also, has everyone seen that season four of The Deep has finally been confirmed?

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"There's two things you need to remember about Pete." Finn held up one finger. "First, he's harmless."

Fontaine blinked. "Finn, he almost harpooned me!"

"'Almost'," Finn repeated. "Besides, most pirates greet each other by throwing something at each other. It's only polite."

Fontaine raised an eyebrow.

Finn grinned and held up another finger. "Second thing to remember about Pete: for everything he says or does, there's ten things he's hiding. He wasn't trying to hurt anyone; he just wanted to see how you'd react to a threat."

"Why?"

Finn was pacing in circles, as he'd been doing since Fontaine returned. He acted amused at the whole ordeal, which helped Fontaine's nerves, even if it was rather annoying.

"Pete's not the biggest or strongest guy around," Finn said. "He can't take most people in a fight, so he uses words and tricks to fight."

"So... he's harmless?"

"Maybe harmless is a bit strong," Finn said musingly. "But he's not out to hurt anyone. Mom taught us how to fight, but made sure we knew that there's plenty of ways to win without hurting anyone."

"Like scaring us away from the treasure," Fontaine said in realization. "But why would he act so friendly at first?"

"He was probably hoping you didn't know that there was treasure. Would've been an easy in-and-out if you hadn't," Finn said.

"I didn't realize subtlety was a pirate tactic," Fontaine said with a grin.

Finn grinned back. "It normally isn't, but Pete always was unique like that."

"Do you think he'll be okay? Hammerhead wasn't too happy to see him." Fontaine didn't appreciate the harpoon, but Finn's reasoning made sense -after all, how often did Hammerhead shoot things at the Aronnax?- and Pete was Finn's friend.

"He'll be fine. But, yeah, they didn't part on the best of terms. Pete swore to get revenge one day, is what I was told," Finn said.

"You weren't there?"

"Not really." Finn touched his head. "I'd lost a lot of blood from an attack... Maddie helped me sneak on deck when I heard Hammerhead was going to kick Pete off the crew. When we got out there, Pete drew his sword... everything else is a blur. I think one of the crew carried me back inside. Nobody would tell me what happened after, just that Pete wouldn't ever come back. I didn't think I'd ever see him again..."

"Do you think he found a new crew?"

"He has to be part of one," Finn said. "No way could he have gotten a submarine since he left the Dark Orca. But it's strange that his new captain wouldn't just rush in. Maybe he found a like-minded crew."

"Do you think..." Fontaine hesitated to question Pete, but he was still a pirate, with a crew of presumably pirates behind him. "Do you think Pete's a threat to us?"

Finn made a few more laps in thoughtful silence before stopping and facing Fontaine.

"Maybe not a threat, but I doubt this is the last we'll see of him. The Cap'n's one of the fiercest pirates in the ocean. Anyone who faces off against the Cap'n like that is going to have to back themselves up with actions."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning," Finn winced, "The Aronnax is going to be dealing with the Dark Orca and Pete's new crew."