Silver Spirits

"You know that type of fish who attracts other fish with a pretty bobbing light and when they get too close it eats them?" Simon asked. Ben shot him a sideways look as he leaned against the ship's railing.

"Yes," he said. "What of it?"

"I think one crawled on land and took over this ship."

Ben snorted with laughter. "You may be right."

"She's going to kill us all, you know that as well as I do. The bit of map we found was the beginning of the journey. Once Scarlett realizes she's moved on to the parts of the map she already has, we really will be drinking gin with Davy Jones."

"Quite so," Ben said. "What we need, Simon, is a way to ensure our charming hostess needs us around a bit longer so that we have more time to devise an escape plan."

Simon watched his friend with an arched eyebrow. "I know that look. You're scheming."

Ben shot Simon his signature devious half-grin and pulled something out of his pocket.

"An aether chamber from a ray gun?" Simon's forehead scrunched in confusion.

"I came across the gun while in town with Scarlett, and took the liberty of removing this before her henchman took the gun from me."

"And what is this going to do to help us?"

"Naturally when you're shot with the plasma it rips a nice hole through you. However, if ingested in small doses, it causes severe nausea, muscle weakness, fatigue and disorientation until it leaves your system."

Simon's eyes widened in delight. "You're going to poison the pirates. That's brilliant. What happens if you ingest it in large quantities?"

"You die," Ben said. They shared a look. Neither of them were murderers, although as Scarlett had pointed out, if she were dead that would solve a lot of their problems. Ben shook his head after a moment.

"There isn't enough here to wipe out the entire crew. We'll have to settle for making them ill."

"Which will accomplish what?"

"I'll get into Scarlett's state room and study the rest of the map. Once I have it committed to memory, I'll destroy it."

Simon nodded and the two of them made a casual stroll in the direction of the galley. Most of the crew was too distracted trying to deal with the newest members to pay them much heed, and Scarlett was having a word with Percy in her state room. Simon and Ben had little difficulty slipping into the galley, where Ben could already smell dinner cooking. The ship's cook was, other than Captain Rose herself and sweet Emily in the brig, the only other woman aboard the Silver Spirit. Although at first glance you wouldn't know it. She was tall and sturdy for a woman, with short graying hair and a face lined and tough as old leather left in the sun.

"What you two think you're doin' in 'ere then?" She gave them both a stern glare as she shouted in a thick Cockney accent.

"We had to come see what that delicious smell was," Ben said. Simon nodded beside him and went to stand beside the cook while she stirred a huge pot of stew.

"You think my stew smells delicious?" The cook actually lost her mean scowl.

"Of course!" Simon said cheerfully. "Would you mind terribly if I tried a bite?"

"Well I suppose that can't hurt anyfing, now can it?" She grabbed a ladle and scooped out a huge dollop of stew, slapping it in a bowl and handing it to Simon. The stew actually did smell good, and Ben felt a twinge of guilt as he unscrewed the cap on the aether chamber and sprinkled a few drops into the pot as her back was turned. She waited eagerly for Simon's reaction as he carefully tasted the stew.

"Slightly tangy, yet robust," Simon declared. "Truly, you are a masterful chef, Ms...?"

"Oh you can just call me Cook," she said. Simon gestured at Ben.

"You must try this," he said, thrusting the bowl at Ben. He accepted the bowl and took several hearty bites.

"It's fit for the queen's table," he said sincerely, returning the bowl to her. He would definitely need to find a way to make this little poisoning up to her. She seemed pleased with their approval but ushered them out of the galley, muttering about how her cooking was so under appreciated.

"Now we wait," Ben said. He and Simon remained at the railing for the remainder of the afternoon, staring out over the waves and reminiscing about past voyages. When dinner was served and Scarlett took her bowl into her state room, Ben seized his chance. He approached the door and knocked.

"Come in."

Luck was in his favor that night. Scarlett was poring over the map while she ate.

"What do you want, Griffith?" she asked, barely looking up.

"I wanted to thank you for allowing Simon and I to remain topside this evening. The fresh air does men good."

Scarlett scowled at him. "You are entirely too polite for your own good."

"You're probably right."

Scarlett took two more delicate bites of her stew, and that's when Ben's plan unfolded. It started with one man complaining that his stomach didn't feel well, then another, and soon the entire crew was bent over double retching.

"What in the blue blazes?" Scarlett stood and strode for the door, her steps faltering as she swayed on her feet.

"Easy now, Captain." Ben caught her around the waist and steered her out onto the deck, lowering her gently into a pile of grain sacks.

"Stop it," she commanded, her speech slightly slurred as her eyes grew unfocused. "I don't need your damn help."

She blanched, and then staggered toward the railing as she retched. Ben grimaced.

"Well isn't this lovely," Simon remarked, carefully wading through the green-faced and moaning pirates. He was grinning though. "A symphony of sickness," he declared. Ben shook his head and slipped into Scarlett's stateroom. The crew would be out of commission for a while, but time was still of the essence. As Ben plucked the map off the desk, the hulking form of Percy appeared in the doorway, looking clammy and pale but still capable of wielding his weapons.

"Stop right there," he ordered. He sagged against the doorframe and Simon seized the opportunity to sneak up and give him a solid whack on the head with an oar retrieved from one of the life boats. Percy went down with a thud.

"Bloody Goliath," Simon said. Ben settled into Scarlett's chair and began studying the map intently while the pirate crew was safely distracted. He spent just over an hour muttering coordinates to himself until they were etched on his brain, until Simon whispered to him from the doorway.

"Ben, I think some of them are starting to come to."

Ben rose and stuffed the map into his pocket. He surveyed the scene before him, and it was not pretty. The deck was going to need a thorough cleaning, and men were still rolling around on the deck groaning and muttering nonsense due to the temporary delirium. Some were simply passed out. Ben found Scarlett curled up on the grain sacks where he had put her, still conscious but just barely. Her face was pale and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Ben sighed.

"All right, Captain. You can't be seen in this state." Ben picked her up and carried her to her quarters, gently lowering her into the bed and fetching a damp cloth to dab her forehead.

"What are you doing in my room?" she demanded hoarsely, some of her strength returning.

"You're dreaming," Ben said. He removed her boots and covered her with the blanket before returning to the deck. He and Simon hauled Percy's sleeping form out of the doorway and propped him up against the side of the ship.

"They should all be recovered by dawn," Ben said. He pulled the map out again and studied it a bit longer before feeling completely confident he remembered every bit of information. Then he crumpled the parchment into a ball and tossed it overboard, along with the ray gun chamber.

The crew rose with the sun, and Simon and Ben pretended to be just as groggy as the rest of them. Scarlett came out of her room looking mostly back to her own self, although still a bit ashen. One of the new recruits tried to ask her something and she snapped at him to shut up and go away before she shot him.

"How long do you think it will be before she notices the map is gone?" Simon whispered. Before Ben could reply, Scarlett came stalking out of her state room with murder in her eyes.

"Which one of you ugly sea rats dared to go into my state room without permission?"

"That long," Ben whispered back to Simon.

"The culprit best come forward immediately or I'll start chopping off everyone's fingers," Scarlett seethed.

"It was me, Captain." Ben stepped forward and waved at her. Her eyes narrowed.

"I thought I'd take a gander at the map while everyone was sleeping off that dreadful bout of food poisoning."

Scarlett's mouth fell open. "You!" she hissed. "You poisoned my crew!"

"Yes. But as you can see they're all accounted for and ship shape," Ben replied. Scarlett fairly flew down the steps from her state room.

"Give it back," she demanded. "You son of a bitch."

"I'm afraid I no longer have it."

"I don't believe you."

"You can search my pockets if that's the case."

Her eyes were spitting sparks. "You need to curb your habit of destroying maps," she snarled. Ben smiled.

"No need to fret, dear Captain Rose. I remember every detail of your map. If you wish to see this treasure hunt through to the end, you will need my crew and myself to do it."

Scarlett stood glowering at him with her fists clenched for a few moments. There was dead silence on the ship. Deciding he didn't want to give her time to decide killing him would be worth losing the treasure, Ben continued.

"I needed some leverage to protect my crew," he said. "However I am deeply sorry for the great discomfort I caused you, and I apologize profoundly to Cook, for ruining her excellent stew."

Scarlett seemed so taken aback by his apology that she said nothing. Just stared at him in confusion still laced with fury.

"Come on then, Simon. Help me clean this place up a bit, would you?" Ben had suggested Scarlett buy some large motorized mop buckets with sensors that would allow them to follow the mop of their own accord, and could dispense water through a small spout to make cleaning easier. She had bought three, and Simon and Ben each took a mop and pressed the start up button on the buckets.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Scarlett asked, by now looking completely dumbfounded.

"Swabbing the deck," Ben said. "Its current state is our fault after all."

The crew gaped from Simon and Ben to Scarlett and back again, perplexed by this strange turn of events. Even Percy, who had a nice egg sized bump on his head, looked unsure of what to do. In the end Ben and Simon were left alone; no one else was keen on cleaning up the mess on the deck.

"Bring the rest of his crew up here," Scarlett told Percy. "They can all make this barge shine. They may as well earn their keep."

Ben could tell when his crew were brought up that they were expecting to see a firing squad waiting for them. They were stunned to find a shirtless Ben and Simon whistling while they mopped the vomit-soaked deck.

"Don't just stand there wasting my time," Scarlett told them. "Get to work."

No one complained; even Emily, who had never had to clean anything in her life and the smell was...less than pleasant. She tore the sleeves off her dress and tied part of one on her head like a small bonnet to keep her hair out of the way. Then she joined Ben with the third bucket and mop and set to work. Ben felt a surge of pride for his little sister and gave her an encouraging smile. He and the others regaled her with tales of their many adventures to keep her mind off the fact that they were surrounded by pirates polishing guns and sharpening knives; and generally just acting very much like intimidating pirates.

"Ben, look!" Emily pointed excitedly. "Dolphins!"

A pod of them were swimming alongside the ship, occasionally jumping out of the water and making their strange squeaking noises.

"They're showing off for you, Em." Ben winked. Emily leaned on the railing and looked over at them in fascination. By late afternoon the entire ship was gleaming from stem to stern.

"Now you can all go back to the brig where you belong." Scarlett sneered but none of his crew seemed fazed. Spending a day out in the sunshine had done them some good. Scarlett stopped him as he prepared to follow them below.

"You think you're clever, Griffith. But you're treading in dangerous waters here. Don't cross me again."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I am sorry that I had to resort to poisoning you, but I didn't have much other choice. It was quite lovely spending the day topside with my crew, so I'd say some good came out of it."

"Stop being so cheery and polite!" Scarlett stared at him in exasperation. "You're a captive on a pirate ship. Damn well start acting like it."

Ben suppressed a smile but the amusement still reached his eyes. "As you command, Captain Rose." He bowed slightly and then followed his crew down to the brig.