The Cry of Liberty

Chapter Eleven: Compass

"If you sleep all day, how do you get any work done?" Sasha sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She sent an insincere glare towards Jack, who was at his desk looking over a map. "Good afternoon." He chuckled.

"It's not my fault you keep distracting me from my night watch. You're lucky no ones caused trouble." Sasha stood and stretched, taking her time just to tease him. She searched in her trunk for clean clothes, not that they wouldn't be drenched with sweat in a matter of minutes. The brunette made her way to his side, peering over his shoulder at his map. "Isle de Muerta? What's there?"

"The lost gold of Hernán Cortés, a ruthless conquistador long ago. Legend says that the Aztec people gave him a chest of gold in hopes that he would stop the slaughter of their people." Jack looked up at her as he continued the tale. "Of course, the gold only made him greedier. They say the Aztec gods set a curse on the gold, damning all who take from the chest to an eternity of suffering."

"Sounds like a fool's errand." Sasha laughed, watching as he picked up his compass and shook it. "I've been meaning to ask about that compass. Tia said it leads the user to that which they desire most."

"Aye."

"Must be nice to know what you want." She didn't miss the frustrated mutterance of curses before he snapped it shut and slammed it on the desk.

"Captain!" One of the crew came bursting onto the room. He was an older man, never too keen on Sasha joining them on their voyage as he claimed it terrible luck to have a woman onboard. She enjoyed hearing about all of his beliefs and stories, though with her temporarily flipped sleep schedule, she hadn't had many chances to speak with him. "Captain, there be a storm brewing out on the horizon."

"Duty calls. I can handle this one." Sasha ran her hand along his back as she walked away to start giving orders. "Mr. Gibbs, I want you up here with me to secure the rigging. I'd like to hear how that story about your mermaid encounter ends." Jack watched them go, chuckling to himself when he heard her start to bark orders to the rest of the crew.

The storm passed without much incident, Sasha ensured the passengers were safe during the worst of the rocking and offered them warm food freshly made by the ship's cook. She was sitting across from Gibbs as they ate and he finally got to the ending of his story. Everyone at the table was engrossed in his story, leaning in to hear how he was saved from drowning at the hands of a mermaid.

"And as the wretched creature started to drag me below the waves, a fiery explosion hit the water, spooking her away. I seen a hand reaching in for me and it pulled me up and into the rowboat." Gibbs mimed yanking something up out of the air. "After clearing the water away from my eyes, looking down at me with a smug grin was Captain Edward Teague." Sasha's eyes widened.

"The Pirate Lord?" One of the men gasped, nearly dropping his spoon onto the floor.

"Aye, the very same. He and his boy dropped me off in Tortuga and I managed to catch a ship back to England. Of course none of Beckett's men believed me." The men cleared away their empty dishes, leaving only Sasha and Gibbs alone in the small kitchen area.

"What's he like? Teague, I mean. It sounds like you have a history with him and his son." The older man nodded, looking over his shoulder to be sure no one else could hear their intimate conversation about the Captain and his father.

"Teague is a fearsome pirate, not one soul sailing under a jolly roger who doesn't respect him, or at least knows better than to cross him. He's helped me out of a few jams and I let him and Jack go after they were captured by Lawrence Norrington." Gibbs scratched at his beard, lost in his memories. "I remember during the battle after they were free, Norrington's boy fell into the sea. Teague jumped in and saved the poor lad."

"So he has a kind side." She smiled thinking of a burly brute pirate rescuing children.

"You could say that. He always looked out for Jack when he was a young lad." He nodded. "And give him a guitar and the ladies practically melt at his feet."

"Sounds like a man I need to meet." They both chuckled.

"Aye, he's a good man. I'm glad his boy turned out the same."

"I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been on that ship." Sasha glanced down at her empty bowl and back up at him with a small smile. "Thank you, Joshamee. I can't wait to hear your next tale." She squeezed his shoulder as she left the room.

On deck, as she made her way to the bow to check the sail tie downs, she noticed Jack by the wheel. He was shaking his compass again. He stopped, looked at it, and then looked down and noticed her watching him. Jack closed it and hung it on his belt, making his way down to his quarters and shutting the door.