scourgeofpiracy | (no subject)

(no subject)

It's not the first time he's found himself, in dreams, in a place that's lost to him in reality. That time was in the office that now belongs to Cutler Beckett, but in this dream...

...in this dream, he's aboard the Endeavour, whole and undamaged and there as she'll never be again.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A single nod, more of acknowledgement than agreement.

'Your options were rather limited at the time,' he says. 'And so you took the decision and accepted the consequences. From what I know of you, Mister Norrington, you are quite adept at doing so -- and in many respects it is a worthy character trait. But nevertheless, even if you accept the consequences of your actions, you have no guarantee that they will be what you expect.'

"Is that so." Norrington looks up at him, finally. "I'm already, let's say... considering if I might have made other choices. And coming up rather short, in the circumstances."

The commodore gives him a look reminiscent of a schoolmaster faced with a recalcitrant pupil.

'Do elaborate, Mister Norrington. I may be many things, but omniscient is not one of them.'

"I made a promise, to a certain lady of our mutual acquaintance", Norrington tells him. "And while I could, perhaps, extricate myself from the current situation... I doubt I could do the same for her father."

'Ah.'

Quietly, more of an exhaled breath than an actual word.

Then:

'And how do you intend to assist him?'

"In any way I can." His voice is sober. "I told Elizabeth I would protect him, if it's in my power."

The commodore does not reply for a long moment. He seems to be weighing Norrington's words; one can almost hear the delicate sound of a settling balance in the silence.

'Your current employers -- our current employers, for that matter -- know the cards in your hand, and they likely have a far better idea than you do of precisely how those cards may be played in any given situation. There may come a moment where your only recourse will be to change the rules of the game as best you can...if it is in your power to do so.'

Norrington looks at him carefully.

"Changing the rules... an effective strategy, where it's possible. Would you have any suggestions, sir?"

'None as concrete as I would like,' he admits, with a slight shake of his head. 'It will very likely depend on how matters progress from here on out. But one thing to keep in mind is that in a game where all of the players are mercenaries, every action is reckoned in terms of prices to be paid or prizes to be won...and as such, a move that takes neither into account can come as quite a surprise, strategically speaking.'

He places a hand on the top-most navigational chart on the desk. At his touch, the blurred lines resolve themselves into a sharp, perfectly drawn map of the Caribbean waters nearest to Port Royal -- a map that Norrington could almost certainly draw with his eyes closed.

Norrington considers this, giving the map a cursory glance - because yes, he does know it like the back of his hand.

"I shall remember that."

And he will.

The map remains clear and perfectly drawn as Commodore Lyon lifts his hand, and proceeds to adjust the cuffs of his dress coat. 'A sensible man once said -- or rather, will say -- that corporations have neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be condemned, and therefore they do as they like. But that alone does not make them invulnerable...and it certainly does not make them immortal.'

It is at that moment that the faint clang of a ship's bell rings out, the echoes drifting into the cabin from somewhere in the heavy mist that surrounds the ship.

Dark, inscrutable eyes meet Norrington's. 'I believe you have the watch, Mister Norrington.'

Norrington doesn't look away.

"I believe you're right. Go well, Commodore."

He touches his hat in a small, polite half-salute.

'Go well, Mister Norrington. And I wish you good fortune, in your endeavour.'

The ship's bell tolls again, more loudly this time. And as the echoes fade away, he is no longer there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only