When Hugo returned to the docks with Gibbs and Billy in tow, the dozen pirates who had been laboring on the hull immediately swarmed him.
"Master Hugo, how went the parley? The Captain didn't take a strap to ye, did he?" one of the younger sailors asked, his face etched with worry. They had all watched Barbossa drag Hugo away in a fit of manic energy and feared the worst for their new leader.
"It went well enough," Hugo said, a small, knowing smile playing on his lips. He climbed onto a stack of seasoned oak crates to gain a bit of height and clapped his hands for attention. "Listen in, brothers! I have news that'll make the silver of the Trinidad look like pocket change!"
The shipyard fell silent. The mention of a score bigger than the Spanish bullion they had just recovered was enough to make any man stop his saw mid-cut.
"Our Explorer is about to embark on her maiden voyage," Hugo announced, his voice carrying across the yard with a new, resonant authority. "We are going to a place more dangerous, and more rewarding, than the Razor Reef. We are going to the heart of the Royal Navy, and then to the edge of the world itself!"
"Another treasure hunt?" Billy shouted, his eyes wide. "Are we chasin' another mountain of gold, Master Hugo?"
"We are chasing the key to a new age," Hugo replied. "But before we set sail, our lady isn't yet perfect. She lacks her 'teeth.' She lacks her 'armor.' So, starting today, our mission is to arm her to the very gums!"
He turned to Gibbs. "Gibbs! Take four men into the town. Here is a list of specifications for Dutch linen and hempen stays. I want only the highest grade Tortuga has to offer. If a merchant tries to sell you seconds, tell them it's for the Navigator, and if they lie, I'll personally measure their neck for a noose. Spend what you must, I only want the best."
Gibbs took the parchment, his single eye gleaming with excitement. "Aye, sir! Only the finest for The Explorer!"
"Billy!" Hugo barked. "You're in charge of the hold. I want enough salt pork, hardtack, and fresh water to sustain thirty men for two months. And the rum... I want it sourced from the same distillers the Spanish Navy uses for their officers. If we're to sail into hell, we'll do it with a warm belly and a clear head."
"Consider it done, Master Hugo!" Billy grinned.
As the crew scrambled to their tasks, driven by a renewed sense of purpose, Hugo turned his attention toward the most chaotic section of the Tortuga black market. He didn't just need supplies; he needed the "Medieval" firepower he had glimpsed in the System's blueprints. And for that, he needed Barbossa to open his private vault once again.
Hugo returned to the Sea Serpent shortly before noon. The guards at the cabin door were Barbossa's old-guard loyalists, and they eyed Hugo with a mixture of suspicion and a strange, newfound fear. They let him pass without a word.
Inside, the cabin was a tomb. Barbossa was hunched over his desk, his fingers tracing the rim of the Aztec coin as if it were a rosary. He looked grey and hollowed out, a ghost in a silk coat.
"I need the capital, Hector," Hugo said, getting straight to the point. "The men are moving, but the merchants won't trade for promises."
"More money?" Barbossa croaked, his voice cracking. A flicker of his old miserly self flared up. "I've already given you enough to buy a dozen sloops, lad! My hoard is bleedin' dry!"
"I'm doing this for your soul, Captain," Hugo reminded him, his voice cool and detached. "Cannons, specialized ammunition, and a crew that won't run when the Royal Navy opens fire... none of it is cheap. Do you want to keep your gold, or do you want to keep your sanity?"
Hugo paused, deliberately heading for the door. "If the cost is too high, I can stay here and finish my repairs at my own pace. I'm not the one the whispers are calling for."
"No! Stop!" Barbossa lunged toward a heavy iron-bound chest beneath his bunk. He fumbled with the keys, his breathing ragged. He hauled out two massive leather pouches and shoved them toward Hugo. "Here! Five hundred doubloons! Take it! Just... just get the girl. Get the coin. Make it stop!"
Hugo weighed the bags in his hands. They were heavy, the weight of absolute leverage. He felt a surge of dark satisfaction. He was using Barbossa's stolen wealth to build a ship that would eventually outclass the Sea Serpent in every conceivable way. He was using Barbossa's influence to recruit a crew that was slowly learning to answer only to him.
"This will suffice for the first battery," Hugo said, tucking the gold into his belt. "But I need more than weapons. I need to recruit. I need men who know how to handle the advanced rigging I'm installing."
"Recruit whoever ye like!" Barbossa waved a dismissive, trembling hand. "Take the whole harbor for all I care! Just lead me to the island!"
"I will," Hugo promised.
As he walked out of the cabin and back onto the sun-drenched deck, Hugo looked at the pirates of the Sea Serpent. They were watching him, waiting for orders, their loyalty shifting like the tides. He realized that Barbossa wasn't just giving him gold. He was inadvertently handing him the keys to his entire empire.
Your gold, your ship, and soon, your men, Hugo thought as he stepped back onto the pier. They're all becoming part of my system.