The Cry of Liberty

Chapter Nine: Detour

Sasha glanced down at her compass to be sure she had the ship on the right course. They were heading to Morocco to drop off a young man who they had picked up from a Dutch supply ship. He had been sold as a cabin boy to the Dutch by his uncle in Greece and upon taking their ship, he begged to be taken to his family in Morocco. It was all a bit confusing but she had agreed to help the lad.

"Captain, there appears to be a British ship off our portside." One of the crewmen called from the main deck. Sasha unhooked her telescope from her belt and opened it up and found the boat off in the distance. "Should we hoist the colors?"

"No need, it's an old friend. Raise the sails a quarter and get the gangplank ready." She smiled as she recognized the ship. She lowered the telescope from her eye and noticed no one had moved to do as she asked. "Raise the sails now!" She shouted. She adjusted the wheel, turning the Liberty towards the Wicked Wench.

As they got nearer the Wench, she could see her captain barking orders to the sailors on board. She saw the canons drawn back after some gratuitous hand gestures from Jack. She heard him call to drop the anchor and as she neared, she did the same. The eccentric man seemed spooked at her presence as her crew set the plank so she could board.

"Fancy seeing you out here, Sparrow." Sasha greeted as she stepped on to the deck of the Wench. He tipped his hat to her.

"Ah, Sasha, good to see you back on your feet." Jack stopped her from walking further onto his ship. His crew all had their hands on their weapons, something that didn't go unnoticed by the woman.

"It seems I've come to visit at a bad time." Sasha glanced back at her men, Elias was watching everything with his hand on his pistol. "What's with the tension, Jack? Doing something I wouldn't approve of?" She pushed past him, walking slowly around the deck.

"Actually..." He grabbed her arm and pulled her close, whispering in her ear. "Beckett has changed my ship's cargo this trip. Could use your help to make sure they get to Tia Dalma healthy." Her eyes widened and she stormed below deck. She drew her sword and held it to Jack's throat as he came running down behind her.

"Jack?" She asked as calmly as she could. "Why might Beckett have given you people instead of fabrics and cloth to deliver?"

"Might be because I failed to reveal the location of a lost island for him to exploit and enslave."

"Might be? Jesus, Jack." Sasha lowered her sword and looked at the small cargo of human beings. "There goes your career with the Company." She went back upstairs and crossed over to the Liberty.

"What's happening?" Elias came to stand beside his captain as she tried to think of what the next move was.

"Jack's been forced to carry slaves for Beckett." The older man shot a glare across at the man in question. "We'll give them any supplies we can spare, especially food. Davu!" The man came running as soon as called.

"Yes, Captain?"

"I need you to take Dr. Allard over to the Wench and help him look over the captives. Tell them they can continue on to Cuba or they can make the journey on the Liberty to Morocco." She nodded to herself, satisfied with her short term solution, and reboarded Jack's ship. Sasha jumped up onto the ropes and pointed her sword at his crew. "Any of you present that are not so alright with the capture, shipment, and sale of human lives, step to the right please." His men seemed hesitant to be ordered around by not only a pirate, but a woman at that.

"You heard her." Jack shouted. Most of the crew shuffled to the right. Sasha jumped down from the ropes and held her sword over her shoulder, pacing in front of the three men who hadn't moved.

"How would you like to handle these scum handled, Captain?" She looked up at Jack.

"To the brig. I'll decide their fate later." Jack waved them away.

"See? Was that so hard?" Sasha laughed, sheathing her cutlass. She watched as Davu and Allard climbed the stairs with a couple of the captives who wanted to venture to Morocco. They nodded to her and helped them across the gangplank. Once the extra supplies had been moved to Jack's ship, Sasha shouted across to her first mate. "I'll see you in Cuba, Elias. I trust that they'll get there in one piece?"

"Wait just a minute, Sasha." Jack grabbed her shoulder and spun her to face him. "Am I to understand you will be joining us?" As he asked, one of her men brought over a trunk of her clothes and returned to the Liberty, taking up the gangplank.

"Is that a problem, Captain?" She challenged, removing his hand from her. "I'm guaranteeing safe passage, given the nature of it. You run across Gentleman Jocard without me, he'd have this ship sunk in a heartbeat."

"And with you here, he wouldn't?" She just nodded and waved as her ship and crew began to sail away.

"You're stuck with me, Jackie." She removed her hat and put it in her trunk, picking up the heavy box and looking at Jack expectantly. "Orders, Captain?"