There was a thud as Barboussa let a cannon ball thump the table, in place of a gavel. "As he who issues summons, I convene this the Fourth Brethren Court." He looked proudly at the gathering of pirates from under the brim of his impressive hat. "T' confirm yer lordship and right t' be heard, present now your Nine Pieces of Eight, my fellow cap'ns." He sounded more hostile than friendly.

Fellow? Hardly. I thought, hiding in the shadows. I was watching, waiting for the moment to reveal myself and make an entrance.

The Nine Pieces of Eight were not actual pieces of eight, as explained by Gibbs when Pintel and Ragetti inquired. Each Pirate Lord had a unique piece of 'junk' that was important to them or significant in some way. I already considered mine important. Thinking of the small jade necklace, I took it into my hand, along with my locket, containing Jack's bead and the last I had of my mother. My family and my title. Two things very important to me, hanging by my neck.

I took note of each Piece of Eight, amused by the simpleness of each one.

Captain Ammand the Corsair, a tall and well dressed man, presented a small pewter goblet. He was Pirate Lord over the Black Sea.

The 'Penniless Frenchman' as he called himself later, Capitaine Chevalle, tossed a Queen of Spades into the bowl. He held ownership of the Mediterranean.

The blind Mistress Ching gave a pair of spectacles. I wondered whether she had used them before losing her sight completely. The Pacific was her domain.

Gentleman Jocard, formerly Gombo, as Jack had informed me, dropped a pair of tobacco clippers into the growing pile. Jack had assisted Gombo in escaping slavery before he became Captain of another crew, and adopted the name Jocard. I was wary of him; Jack had also informed me that Jocard had cut out the tongue of his former master with his Piece of Eight. He lorded over the Atlantic.

Barboussa had mentioned in passing to me the uncharacteristic voice of Sumbhajee Angria. I wondered if I would hear it during the meeting as he presented a small snuff box, declaring his title of Pirate Lord of the Indian Ocean and Terror of the Arabian Sea.

Enduardo Villanueva gave a broken bottle neck, the cork still in the mouth, on a string. I was truly curious about that one. He ruled the Adriatic Sea.

Hector Barboussa, Pirate Lord of the Caspian Sea, turned and held out his hand expectantly for Ragetti, raising his eyebrows, looking intimidating.

"I kept it safe for you! Jus' like I promised!" He stuttered, grinning weakly, touching his wooden eye protectively.

The wooden eye is Barboussa's Piece of Eight? I nearly laughed.

"Aye, ye have," Barboussa smiled. "But now I need it back." His pleasant expression turned to a scowl and he hit the back of Ragetti's head. The wooden eye popped out, into the bowl.

Villanueva spoke up, his eyes on Jack, who had hung near the back, observing the swords impaled in the globe with mild amusement. I assumed each blade pierced the part of the ocean the owner of the sword controlled. "Sparrow!" He barked.

Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, turned with an innocent expression. He let his hand drift toward the Siamese coin, tied to his hair with several Moroccan beads. "Might I point out that we are still short one Pirate Lord, and I am content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us." He said. I wondered with a small smile if he was worried for me, or believed I had killed him.

I chose then to walk to the table, motioning for my crew to follow. "Pirate Lord of the South China Sea has arrived!" I announced, stabbing the globe and walking to the table, dropping my necklace into the bowl. I grinned at the assembly, all of which stared at me in shock. Mistress Ching tilted her head, a small smile gracing her lips. I had amused her.

Jack grinned, standing at my side. "Excellent, love! I will admit to liking you more than your successor."

"Don't speak ill of the dead, Jack." I said smartly, crossing my arms. "Captain Sao Feng has passed. He fell to the Flying Dutchman."

Mutterings of disbelief grew louder, loudest of all Mistress Ching, who stood. "The plague ship!" She cried in disbelief.

"Hmph," Jack scoffed, just loud enough for me to hear. "She's seen the bloody captain." I smiled and let our arms brush, wishing more physical contact would be acceptable. I was greatly wishing to kiss him.

"Hey!" I called, waving a hand. "Listen, will you? Our location is betrayed. Davy Jones is under the control of Lord Cutler Beckett, and they draw closer as we speak!"

"Who is this betrayer?" Jocard demanded, in a pleasant accent.

"Not likely anyone among us." Barboussa said.

Elizabeth finally spoke up, standing to Barboussa's right. "Where is Will?" I had been watching her search the crowds for him. I raised an eyebrow at Jack, silently asking him.

"Not among us," He said. I rolled my eyes, cursing William Turner II. Elizabeth looked severely disappointed, whether in Jack or Will I wasn't sure. Probably both.

"And it matters not how they found us." Barboussa interjected. I agreed; the point was to keep them away. "The question is, what will we do now that they have?"

"We fight!" I said immediately, feeling my temper rise as the Court erupted into laughter. Jack chuckled hesitantly at my side, and I shot him a glare. He shut up immediately, studying his nails.

I saw Lizzy nod out of the corner of my eye, supporting the decision. Hmph, she'd have to work harder to earn my forgiveness.

Mistress Ching spoke up, spreading her arms. "Shipwreck Cove is a fortress, a well supplied fortress. There is no need to fight if they cannot get to us!" There were murmurs of agreement.

I rolled my eyes. "We'll all kill ourselves within the bloody month."

I don't think anyone heard me because Hector opened his mouth, but Jack made a choked sound that might have been suppressed laughter.

"There is a third course," Barboussa said, his eyes glinting. I groaned, turning and leaning against the table.

"Pray tell?" I said sarcastically, knowing exactly what he was to say.

He ignored me. "In another age, at this very spot, the First Brethren Court bound the Sea Goddess Calypso in her bones." He spoke as if to school children. It was enough to be comical. "That was a mistake." He said, returning to his usual devious appearance.

About a hundred or so eyes widened at him. I leaned away from the table, wishing this would end already.

"Oh, we tamed the seas for ourselves, aye, but opened the door for Beckett and his ilk. Better were the days when mastery of seas came not from bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but the sweat of a man's brow and the strength of his back alone. Ye all know this t' be true! Gentlemen, ladies," He was concluding his monologue. "We must free Calypso."

There was a moment of silence before the room erupted.

"Shoot him!" Ammand demanded, standing angrily.

"Cut out his tongue!" Jocard suggested furiously. Ah, so it is a habit, then?

Jack spoke up, more out the fact he wasn't center of attention than the fact he had something to say. "Shoot him, and cut out his tongue!" He paused before continuing. "Then shoot his tongue! And trim that scraggly beard," He gestured at Barboussa's facial hair, frowning. I snorted.

Tai Huang, standing behind me, put in his opinion. "Sao Feng would have agreed with Barboussa!"

"Which is why I vote aye," I said, smiling slightly at Tai Huang and then at Barboussa. Tai Huang grinned back. Sao Feng and I shared that one opinion: Calypso should be at her full potential, not jailed. Although I believed that of all humans. "But I also, still, wish to fight."

I wondered what I would be at my full potential.

"Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now." Gentleman Jocard pointed out. An excellent point, actually.

Chevalle put in his word. "And it's not likely her mood has improved." He said.

I wondered what Tia Dalma would think of this, discussing her as a powerful God. She'd either be smug or furious, I decided.

"I would still agree with Barboussa, we release Calypso!" Villanueva said loudly. I had the feeling some of these pirates were more brawn than brain. Not a shocking revelation.

Chevalle stood angrily. "You threaten me?" He demanded of the Spaniard.

"I silence you!" Villanueva shouted back, standing as well.

All Hell broke loose.

"This is madness!" Elizabeth gaped, thoroughly disgusted. I ducked out of the way of a bottle.

"This is politics," Jack explained.

"Certainly different than Port Royal. Politics didn't even exist there, in my valued opinion." I said.

"And meanwhile our enemies bear down on us." Elizabeth said in exasperation.

Barboussa sighed, gazing at the brawl. "If they not be here already."

A sudden thought occurred to me.

How far can I reach?

"Jack." I said quietly.

"Hm?" Distracted from the 'show', he turned to me. I took his hand silently, under the table. We had, I think, silently agreed to keep the relationship a secret from the Brethren.

Closing my eyes, I tried to relax. "I'm going to try something."

I took a deep breath and pushed out with my senses.

Yes, I could feel the auras of each pirate. It made my head hurt; there were plenty.

I strained my recently acquired skills, knowing they were rough and I had not practiced. But regardless, I could sense faintly the Endeavor and Flying Dutchman.

They were here.

"Damn." I whispered, opening my eyes and coming back to reality. Jack watched me curiously. The entire affair had only taken a few seconds.

I shook myself. "We need to wrap this up. Barboussa!"

He grudgingly obeyed and climbed atop the table, shooting his pistol.

He yelled something about 'boons'. Jack released my fingers. "What did you do, love?"

"I probed the area, if you will," I said. "Davy Jones was until a moment ago, in Shipwreck Cove. His ship along with Beckett's and several others wait outside, kilometers away, but near. They are taking their time." I smiled wryly. "They don't realize they have a traitor, as well."

"Excellent! Excuse me," He ducked by me, preparing to work his magic. I smiled fondly.

"Whose boons?" Jack asked, peering at the cannon balls Hector held from between his legs. "Your boons? Utterly deceptive twaddlespeak, says I."

Barboussa rolled his eyes and stepped down, gesturing with his gun arm. "If you have a better alternative," He said venomously, "Please, share." If it was actually possible to glare daggers, Hector Barboussa had just come close.

Jack smiled brightly. "Cuttlefish."

That confused even me. We all stared at Jack, skeptical.

"Eh?" Jack asked, turning and gesturing for the crews of the Lords to form a path. Jack often needed to move while he made one of his elaborate speeches. I hated it when people went on and on, usually, but I enjoyed listening to Jack. "Let us not...dear friends, forget our dear friends, the cuttlefish!" He stopped beside a good looking Chinese man from Mistress Ching's crew. "Pen 'em up together and they will devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, innit?" He asked, then realized his 'mistake'. "Or, fish nature...so yes," He placed his hands on Ching's shoulders as if speaking exclusively to her. Her body guards rested their hands on their weapons. "We could hole up here well provisioned and well armed and all of us will be dead within the month." He stood, speaking to the hulk on Mistress Ching's right. "Which seems grim to me any way you slice it."

He turned and moved again. "Or," He began, finding himself facing the broad chest of a man twice his size. Jack made a small noise and squeezed around him. "Or, as my learned...colleague so naively suggests, we can release Calypso!"

I could read Barboussa's thoughts on his face. Colleague? Naive?

"And we can pray that she will be merciful." Jack said sarcastically. He bent to Villanueva's level. "I rather doubt it." He stood again, swaggering around the chair the Pirate Lord sat in. "Can we pretend she is anything other than a woman scorned by which fury Hell hath no?" He looked at us all pointingly. "No, we cannot! Res ipso loquitur tabula in naufragio, we are left but with one option." He empathized this by holding up a finger. "I agree with...And I cannot believe the words are coming out of me mouth..." He seemed to be struggling to speak. I raised an eyebrow teasingly, catching his eye. You can speak Latin?

"Captain Adeena." He said finally. "We must fight."

I grinned triumphantly, as everyone looked at me.

"Ye've only ever run from a fight!" Barboussa accused Jack, scowling.

Jack appeared offended. "Have not!"

"Have so!"

"Have not!"

"Have so, and you know it!"

"Have not, slander and calumny!" Jack finalized. Good, I had been about to myself. Those two are like an old married couple, honestly. "I have only ever embraced the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions."

We all looked at him like he was mad. Well, half true...

"I submit, here now, that is what we all must do." He said sagely. "We must fight...to run away!" He gestured over his shoulder.

I furrowed my brow, unsure of what exactly he meant. Did he mean run away from the fight, or fight so we could run?

"Aye!" Gibbs agreed. Well, he usually went along with Jack anyway.

"I still vote to release her..." I muttered to Barboussa. The corner of his mouth lifted. "Although, I am not letting Beckett free without a battle." His grin fell, though I saw the reluctance in his eyes. He agreed with me! Ha!

This meeting truly was a battle of opinions, wasn't it?

"As per the Code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the Pirate King." Barboussa said smugly, across the table to Jack.

Jack frowned. "You made that up!" As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, he paled a bit, as if he had said something he severely regretted.

Barboussa jumped at whatever had miffed Jack, smirking. "Did I now? I call on Captain Teague, Keeper of the Code!"

Jack face fell and he stiffened, meeting my eyes.

Oh, I realized, my face flushing.

I'm about to meet Jack's father.