"Under whose authority?" Norrington questioned. "Certainly not Governor Swann's?"
Norrington glanced at the man, who shook his head, seeming just as surprised as he was.
Beckett was a figure of great influence, but he was not a member of the navy. He didn't have any right to be arresting anyone, let alone a commodore.
"By the authority of his majesty, King George the second. His majesty has been dissatisfied with his navy's efforts in dealing with the pirates that have haunted our seas for some time now. He assigned myself to deal with the issue," Beckett's voice turned cold. "Which reminds me, there is also the matter of releasing the pirate known as Sparrow Jack. Only days into your promotion and you've already abused your authority to release a dangerous man from navy custody."
Even the sea seemed to quiet for a moment as those words settled. Norrington caught the gazes of a few local soldiers, men that he trusted and who trusted him in turn. They all turned away, though some looked ashamed to do so. He could not blame them; this was quite the mess he'd found himself in.
His case certainly wasn't helped by the handful of less than law abiding sailors standing behind him on his ship. At least none of them had a bounty as far as he knew.
The other ship pulling into port behind them, though, was a much greater concern. They definitely didn't have bounties, he'd remember if they did, but he was almost positive that they were pirates. He might have mistaken them as some sort of traveling circus before they raided the base of another pirates group, but he wasn't so dull that he wouldn't know what they are after they did.
The soldiers flanking Beckett were moving in now, no doubt taking his hesitance as a possible flight risk.
He glanced over his left shoulder and met eyes with Anamaria. She didn't look it, but he could almost feel her nerves drawing taut.
"Alright, alright," Norrington huffed with false confidence. "No need to get hands on, I know the drill."
Norrington stepped onto the dock proper and saw the two soldiers relax slightly. They were still ready to grab him if he made a run for it, but otherwise seemed content to let him walk on his own feet.
"I'm sure this'll be cleared up in no time," Norrington said to no one in particular. He didn't have much hope that that was actually true; he saw the look in Beckett's eyes and knew he was out for blood.
"Yes, I'm sure it will," Beckett smirked the smuggest smile that Norrington had ever seen in his life. "Put him in irons."
The soldiers, now flanking Norrington, hesitated after hearing the order, despite them not even being his own men. Slapping manacles onto a commodore before parading him through his own town would be humiliating. If Norrington really did work his way out of this, then he could make their lives very difficult and they both knew it. Not that Norrington would punish any upstanding soldier just for doing his duty.
"You heard me," Beckett reiterated through clenched teeth, piercing them with a sharp look.
They swiftly moved to do so. After all, disobeying direct orders would have far worse results than whatever Norrington could hypothetically put them through for following them.
*Vooooooooom!*
Rolling waves of pure dominance crashed over the docks. Norrington managed to keep his feet under him, but pretty much all of the rank and file soldiers collapsed to their hands and knees, gasping for breath.
Light footsteps echoed like thunderclaps in his ears as they approached from behind.
"So what's this about, then?" the voice of a woman reached him.
Norrington struggled to turn and regarded her with unconcealed fear. Despite her short stature, she was surely the devil herself.
"Arresting a good navy man like him? What has the world come to?" she tutted in mock disappointment. "And who's this guy ordering this travesty of justice? He doesn't look like a soldier to me."
"I- I am Sir Beckett, and you w-will stop this at once!" Beckett tried and failed to stay composed. Norrington was frankly shocked that he could still speak under this pressure.
"Stop what?" the woman shot a toothy grin at Beckett. "I'm not doing anything."
"Y-you-!" Beckett's growl sounded more like a whimper.
"You seem like the merchant type," the woman interrupted. "What company do you work for?"
Beckett apparently took this as an opportunity to posture. "I am a r-representative of the East India T-Trading Company!"
"Is that so?" the woman's amusement grew. "I wonder what sorts of goodies they move about. Maybe you can enlighten me?"
Beckett's expression twisted in confusion, and Norrington felt much the same. However, Norrington caught the implication just a second before Beckett did.
"Are y-you threatening the East India Trading C-Company?! Laughable!" Beckett barked a fake laugh.
"Of course not," the woman placed a hand over her heart. "I would never do such a thing!"
"But… I imagine anyone who can incapacitate an entire navy fleet like this would have no such compunctions…" the woman made a show of looking around.
Beckett's incredulous look slowly turned to dawning horror. A merchant's worst nightmare was painted in his mind; a group of pirates capable of this, dedicated to hunting down a single company, even one as large as the East India Trading Company? It wouldn't just be a loss of profits, it would lead straight to bankruptcy!
"I-it would seem that th-this was all just a b-big misunderstanding…" Beckett looked positively apoplectic.
Norrington realized all at once that Beckett wasn't remotely afraid that she would kill him. He thought the King's authority protected him even from merciless pirates; it might even be true to an extent.
However, Norrington knew better. To this woman, Beckett might as well be a pig waiting to be slaughtered. If he made too much of a nuisance of himself, then she wouldn't hesitate to lop off his head.
Fortunately, the woman seemed to understand what kind of man Beckett was. She knew threats against his life wouldn't work, because he wouldn't take them seriously until they were actually carried out. Instead, she threatened something he cared deeply about that wasn't nearly as untouchable as he thought he was.
"Really?" the woman's eyes widened in faux surprise. "Wow! You're a much more honest man than I pegged you for, being willing to admit to your mistakes like that!"
The pressure vanished so suddenly, as if it was never there to begin with, that Norrington almost toppled over before he could readjust.
Most of the soldiers didn't even try to stand again just yet and those who did did so with wobbly legs.
Beckett, to his credit, stood up and brushed himself off like nothing happened, though Norrington could see a slight tremble in his frame. "I do hope that you keep to yourselves, lest I have to come back to Port Royal and finish what I started."
Norrington saw the woman smile and return to her ship, where her crew were watching the event lazily.
"We'll discuss your career, Norrington, but your charges will be dropped," Beckett practically spat out.
With that, Beckett turned on his heel and marched away, his metaphorical tail between his legs. Norrington wondered how long it would take for him to bite off more than he could chew, and choke to death.