Across the Universe

Run a Shot Across the Bow Pt. 1 (Pirate AU)

The waves crashed against the hull of my ship, spraying my face with the cool salty water. The refreshing ocean air blew through my hair, the long tendrils of red whipping against my face. I closed my eyes and sighed in content. I heard the sounds of my crew laughing and shouted orders in the background and smiled. Being at sea was...something else; something that I loved.

I opened my eyes as I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I turned sharply to see the familiar red hair of my first mate, Natasha. She placed her hands on her hips, gripping the hilt of her sword.

"What happened?" I asked her, without waiting for her to explain. She smirked and leaned over the side with me.

"Who said anything was wrong?" she quipped, holding her hands in defense. I chuckled and shook my head, turning around to face her and leaning my back against the side. She copied my movements and nodded her head over to our scout, Carol.

"Carol says she caught sight of something off the starboard side. A port maybe."

"Do we need to stop?" I asked her, thinking back on our supplies. It had been a while since we landed in a port and restocked our provisions, but we weren't in desperate need. Nat shrugged her shoulders and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"It's up to you, Cap'n."

I thought about it for a moment. There were benefits to stopping besides picking up supplies. I bit my lower lip and nodded my head, looking straight ahead.

"Let's stop. It'll give the crew a chance to take a break before we move on our way." I pushed off the side of my ship and began to walk in the direction of my quarters, before I stopped and turned back around to Natasha. "Send Carol to my quarters so we can plan a course."

"Aye, aye, Captain," she said saluting me as she left my sight, walking over to Carol. I shook my head at her and opened the door to my quarters and walked down the small number of steps before entering my room.

I walked over to a small bookshelf and scanned the different rolled up scrolls before grabbing one and placing it on my desk, unrolling it and placing different weighted objects on the corners to keep it from rolling back up. I studied the map and took out my compass, finding north, and tried to find our position on the map. A small knock on my door took my attention away for a brief moment, causing me to look up and say, "Enter," before looking back down at the map again.

Carol walked in and briefly saluted and said, "You called for me, Captain?"

I looked up at her and waved her over.

"Yes, Carol. Natasha tells me that you spotted land off the starboard side."

"That's right, Captain. I think it may be an island or a port."

"Very good," I said nodding and pointing at the map. "Help me plan a course and we'll change direction as soon as possible." Carol nodded and came over to the map and looked at it.

○○○

We set a course for Isle Catavan, estimating that we'd reach the port by nightfall, and the whole ship was bustling with my crew preparing to dock. Inventory was taken to see what was needed and what we could do without, the docks were cleaned and empty containers were brought on deck to be refilled or thrown away.

I looked up at the billowing sails as my crew moved around me, going about their duties. The wind was good; we might get there early. Natasha's voice barking orders snapped me back and I walked up to the poop deck, standing next to Peggy who's eyes were fixed on the open ocean in front of us. She tightly held the helm with both hands, her knuckles turning white. The wind blew the loose brown curls away from her face, highlighting her intimidated stare. Her ruby red lips were pressed in a tight line as her jaw clenched. I chuckled lightly and laid a hand on hers, startling her a bit. She flinched, blinked rapidly and shook her head, turning to look at me.