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Captain
Sir Henry Morgan was a pirate, and privateer, ending up as the Governor of
Jamaica. He was buried at Palisadoes Cemetery, then Port Royal was washed
into the Caribbean Sea, the result of an earthquake and tsunami. Not to be
seen again for 300 years.
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SCENE
1
EXT. PORT ROYAL WATERFRONT - DAY
The vibrant, if somewhat faded, waterfront of modern PORT ROYAL, JAMAICA. Small fishing boats bob gently in the turquoise water. Tourists stroll along the pier, buying trinkets and sipping on cold drinks. The air is thick with the salty tang of the sea and the faint scent of grilling fish.
MARTHA (60s), a local fish vendor with a warm smile, chats with a TOURIST couple from Ohio.
MARTHA
...and you see that old stone wall over yonder? That's all that's left of the old fort. This whole place, you know, it used to be the richest, wickedest city in the world.
Pirates and gold everywhere!
TOURIST 1
Wow, really? Like in the movies?
MARTHA
Even wilder, they say. Then the earth just… swallowed it. Boom! Gone. Nineteen sixty-two, that was. Big earthquake, tsunami. Took most of it down to the bottom of the sea.
TOURIST 2
Nineteen sixty-two? I thought that was a while ago…
MARTHA
(Chuckles)
Oh, no, darlin’. Sixteen ninety-two! A long, long time ago. We still get little shakes now and then. The earth remembers, you see.
Suddenly, a low RUMBLE begins to vibrate through the ground. It starts subtly, like a distant truck, but quickly intensifies. Glasses on a nearby bar counter begin to CLINK.
TOURIST 1
What’s that?
MARTHA
(Her eyes widening slightly)
Uh oh. That’s… that’s a little more than usual.
The ground starts to ROLL noticeably. Palm trees SWAY more violently. People stop walking, a look of unease spreading across their faces.
YOUNG FISHERMAN (O.S.)
(Shouting from a nearby boat)
Hey! What’s goin’ on?!
Water in the harbor sloshes against the docks. A few small items fall from market stalls.
TOURIST 2
Is this… an earthquake?
MARTHA
(Her voice a little shaky)
Looks like it, darlin’. Just a little tremor, hopefully. Nothing like the big one.
The rumbling peaks, a deep GROWL emanating from the earth. For a few tense seconds, everything seems to hold its breath. Then, just as quickly as it began, the shaking starts to subside. The rumbling fades. The water settles.
People exchange nervous glances.
YOUNG FISHERMAN
(Calling out again, his voice still tense)
Everything alright ashore?
MARTHA
(Taking a deep breath)
Seems so, Mikey. Just a little jolt. Nasty one, though.
TOURIST 1
(His face pale)
That was… that was scary.
TOURIST 2
Is this… is this normal here?
MARTHA
(Trying to sound reassuring)
Happens now and then. This whole area, you know, it’s a bit… restless under the sea. That Gonâve fault line, they call it. The one that caused all the trouble way back when. Still grumbling sometimes.
OLD MAN (O.S.)
(Walking slowly towards them, leaning on a cane)
Felt that one good. Stirrin’ things up down below, I reckon.
MARTHA
(Nodding grimly)
That’s what I’m worried about, Mr. Isaiah. Stirrin’ things up. All those old buildings down there… the cemetery…
She gestures vaguely out towards the harbor.
MARTHA (CONT'D)
They say some of it’s been rising a bit lately. Since that last little shake a few weeks back. The scientists were talkin’ about it. But the government… they got other things on their minds. Sargassum, the heat… never listen to the scientists about the rumblin’ under the waves.
OLD MAN (ISAIAH)
The sea remembers too, Martha. Just like the land. And it don’t forget.
A small news drone, with the logo of a local station, BUZZES overhead, its camera pointing down at the waterfront.
NEWS REPORTER (V.O. - distorted by the drone)
…reports of a moderate tremor felt across the Port Royal area… initial assessments suggest no major damage… authorities are monitoring the situation… residents are advised to remain calm…
Martha watches the drone disappear into the distance, a worried look on her face.
MARTHA
Calm, they say. Easy for them to say. They ain’t got their history sleepin’ right under their feet.
She looks out at the seemingly peaceful surface of the harbor, a shiver running down her spine.
CUT TO
INT. SUBMERGED PORT ROYAL - DAY
Sunlight filters weakly through the murky Caribbean water, illuminating a ghostly cityscape. Coral grows haphazardly on the brickwork of sunken buildings. Schools of brightly colored fish dart through what were once doorways and windows. The scene is both beautiful and eerie, a silent testament to a lost world.
An OCTOPUS, its skin a mottled brown, glides gracefully over a large, ornate stone structure partially buried in the silt. This is the MAUSOLEUM OF HENRY MORGAN, its carvings obscured by centuries of marine growth and sediment. It has been hidden from human eyes for over four hundred years.
The recent tremor has clearly had an impact. Patches of mud and silt drift slowly through the water, disturbed from the seabed. The mausoleum, or at least a significant portion of its upper structure, is now more exposed than it has been in centuries, the churned mud having settled somewhat around it. Intricate carvings, depicting cherubs and perhaps a coat of arms, are now faintly visible.
A SHARK, a REEF SHARK with inquisitive black eyes, circles the mausoleum cautiously. It's not aggressive, more curious, its movements fluid and silent. It nudges a loose piece of coral attached to the stone with its snout.
Other FISH, parrotfish, angelfish, and damselfish, swim past, seemingly unconcerned by the emerging structure. For them, it's just another part of their reef habitat.
Close on a section of the mausoleum: A carved inscription, partially obscured, begins to become clearer as the last of the loose sediment drifts away. The letters "HENR..." and "...GAN" are just discernible.
SOUND: A faint, deep RUMBLE echoes through the water, the lingering aftershock of the tremor.
The octopus pauses on the top of the mausoleum, its tentacles exploring the newly exposed stone. It seems almost to sense the shift in its environment.
The shark continues its slow circuit, its gaze fixed on the ancient structure. It brushes against a weathered
human skull, half-buried in the sand nearby, before continuing its patrol.
The scene holds for a moment, the ancient tomb, disturbed from its long slumber, now briefly revealed to the silent world beneath the waves. The beauty of the marine life contrasts sharply with the historical significance of the emerging ruin.
FADE TO BLACK.
>>>
SCENE
3
The last occasion of such drastic seismic activity occurred at the epicenter of the Caribbean plate in June of
1692.
Damn you for Villains, who are you? And, from whence came you? The Lieutenant made him Answer, You may see by our Colours we are no
Pyrates. Black-beard bid him send his Boat on Board, that he might see who he was; but Mr. Maynard reply'd thus; I cannot spare my Boat, but I will come aboard of you as soon as I can, with my Sloop. Upon this, Black-beard took a Glass of Liquor and drank to him with these Words: Damnation seize my Soul if I give you Quarters, or take any from you. In Answer to which, Mr. Maynard told him,
that he expected no Quarters from him, nor should he give him any.
PROLOGUE:
ROYAL
AFRICAN COMPANY - King Charles
II, Royal Charter James Stuart II,
transport goods from Africa: Bloody
Triangle.
SCENE
1. THE
BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - Lt Robert Maynard, Blackbeard's
curse, beheading &
torturous interrogation on the
Adventure
SCENE
2. EARTHQUAKE
JAMAICA - Present Day - An earthquake hits Port Royal,
disturbing the sunken city & Palisadoes cemetery.
SCENE
3. BLUE SHIELD ENGLAND -
Blue
Shield, Newcastle UK, UNESCO
requests Storm catalogue underwater city UNEP
World
Heritage Site.
SCENE
3.1. SWASHBUCKLING
- John tries out Dan's VR sword fencing program, then duel with real pirate
cutlasses, Hal keeping score.
SCENE
4. HENRY
MORGAN'S DEATH - Henry Morgan has a heart attack; funeral ceremony at Palisadoes
cemetery, old Port Royal.
SCENE
5. SUNKEN
CITY SURVEY - Present Day, Swann's sensors scan the ocean bed, revealing mausoleum former Governor of Jamaica.
SCENE
6. JUNE
1692 TSUNAMI - Jamaica, June 7th, an earthquake hits
Port Royal, then a tsunami washes the pirate haven
under the sea.
SCENE
6.1. GHOSTS
BLACKBEARD & MORGAN - Spectral figures cheer on John Storm as
he searches Henry's Palisadoes crypt for clues.
SCENE
7. HENRY
MORGAN'S COFFIN - John Storm & ROV,
comes face to face with Henry's skeletal remains. Finds interesting wooden engraving.
SCENE
8. BBC
JILL BIRD - London. John
Storm's finds lost Henry Morgan's pirate remains. "And for those of you wondering,
there was no treasure."
SCENE 9. OPERATION
HISPANIOLA - British Geographical Society,
& Royal Navy fund Lord Huntington's
expedition to recover relics in the Caribbean.
SCENE
10. SHIP'S
COOK - William Gray helps John Long's cut-throats to crew for
Huntington's Hispaniola, Long a dab
hand on the galley.
SCENE
11. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOS - Huntington
(BGS
bigwig) asks John Storm for help with
shipwreck survey - meet in the Caribbean, Haiti.
SCENE
12. SKELETON
ISLAND - Intrigued by map proffered by Lord Huntington, John
agrees to switch attention to location, to coast of Panama. .
SCENE
13. SANTA
CATALINA - Colombian,
Mexican,
Panamanian,
Nicaraguan
patrols re: 'Satisfaction'
& hunt for Aztec
gold, Spanish
Conquistadors.
SCENE
14. TREASURE ISLAND -
Hurricane
Iota erased map clues, Isla Providencia.
Longstride believes location of Blackbeard's/Morgan's treasure.
SCENE
15. KIDNAP -
Black Jack
& Billy Bones kidnap
Dan, Cleopatra - lock in Hispaniola with
Tremaine. Hal alerts John to events via BioCore.
SCENE
16. DOUBLE CROSS - Maynard
pact with Spanish
Navy to blockade Caribbean to capture John & Swann. Longstride deal Aztec
Golden
Skull.
SCENE
17. BLACKBEARD'S CURSE - John retakes Swann, Hal immobilizes Black Jack and Billy
Bones and rescues prisoners on Hispaniola.
SCENE
18. MORGAN'S TREASURE SHIP - John deciphers carving
code helped Dan and Cybercore
Genetica. Dives to find privateer's shipwreck.
SCENE
19. BILLION DOLLAR DEAL - John
negotiates with Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador & Blue
Shield for % salvage based on wreck video.
SCENE
20. BLOCKADE RUNNER - Swann navigates through
Spanish
Armada & Royal Navy
blockade in stealth mode, invisible to radar.
SCENE
21. BERMUDA TRIANGLE - Pirates
head into
Bermuda Triangle, Colombian Navy in pursuit:
BBC Sky News. Never to be seen again.
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