The Captain's Queen

Chapter 6: "Cargo"

Narrator's POV

March 1715

Jack didn't have much time to sober up after the British Royal Navy captured his beloved Wicked Wench. He had to helplessly watch as his crew were all shoved below the deck where he knew a vile, filthy, repulsive brig awaited them. He groaned and flicked his tongue out of his mouth before he was escorted to Beckett's great cabin.

The great cabin was essentially the same thing as a captain's cabin, just for someone a little more sophisticated. Just like Jack's cabin on the Wicked Wench, it spanned the width of the ships stern and had large windows that overlooked the sea. When Jack ambled up to the spotless window, he figured he should clean his own cabin windows more often. The windows were so clean, they made the Wicked Wench disappear. Jack's eyebrows stitched together in confusion. Where were they taking his ship?

The door behind Beckett closed which made Jack visibly shudder. He looked over his shoulder at Beckett, waiting for him to say something. To say anything. However, Beckett needed a moment to think and shed some clarity on the situation. Beckett wasn't expecting the pirate that single-handedly killed Salazar, a well respected privateer, to be a drunkard who looked like a young cabin boy.

Jack continued to curiously look around the cabin while he walked up to Beckett. Beckett's nose twitched at the cloud of rum that lingered around Jack. He found it sloppy and improper, but couldn't expect anything more from a pirate. An inebriated sailor may just fall into Beckett's favor. After all, he did catch him without a fight.

"I don't believe we've had the inescapable pleasure of meeting. I'm Lord Cutler Beckett," Beckett introduced to try to remain friendly with Jack.

Jack leaned forward and grabbed Beckett's hand to heartily shake it. "Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Captain," Beckett repeated with a hint of disgust. When he got his hand back he wiped it against his jacket. "You are not an easy man to find, Captain Sparrow."

"What be of service am I to you?" Jack asked. He ambled around the cabin, inspecting Beckett's decor and he even pulled out a few books from his bookshelf to inspect the leather covers.

"I have a proposal for you, Captain Sparrow."

"Aye?" Jack asked. He switched the books around and slid them in their improper places, hoping it would make Beckett upset later.

Beckett walked to his desk and grabbed a letter holder, bound in red leather and sealed with a wax stamp. He handed Jack the documents and said, "ten years of servitude to the King. This royal pardon is not only an act of grace, but also an opportunity to be reborn. Do you concur?"

Jack's dark eyes widened. "That's it?"

"You will be authorized to subdue and seize and take any armed or unarmed enemy vessels that are found within the jurisdiction limits of the Kingdom of Great Britain or anywhere on the high seas under the name of the King," Beckett told him.

"Upon my own vessel?" Jack asked to clarify while drumming his fingers against the thick leather.

"Yes. The Wicked Wench will be your ship to sail the seas with."

"Then where is it?" Jack asked, nodding towards the window where it should have shown the Wicked Wench anchored beside them.

"She is gathering cargo."

"Cargo?" Jack asked with a slight scoff. "We had more than enough cargo."

"This is cargo you need to deliver. Deliver the cargo. Prove your loyalty to the Crown, and you'll be pardoned."