THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - T-ISLAND SCREENPLAY

 

 

 

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To Blackbeard's mind, and that of his good wife, Mary Ormond, there way of life was no worse, and possibly better than the English pirates of which he was one, privateer. But he did not cotton to slavery and slave trading. The couple believed the organized manner of such trade was a crime like no other. To routinely cash in on the lives of free humans in a triangular trade of which the Devil could not have bested. He waged war on those British Kings and Queens, to his last dying breath. Fighting for the freedom of native Africans. Possibly, one of the most misunderstood human rights activists in history.

 

 

To Blackbeard's mind, and that of his good wife, Mary Ormond, there way of life was no worse, and possibly better than the English pirates of which he was one, a privateer. But he did not cotton to slavery and slave trading. The couple believed the organized manner of such trade was a crime like no other. To routinely cash in on the lives of free humans in a triangular trade of which the Devil could not have bested. He waged war on those British Kings and Queens, to his last dying breath. Fighting for the freedom of African and other native captives. Possibly, one of the most misunderstood human rights activists in history. 

 

The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in January 1711, created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of the national debt. To generate income, in 1713 the company was granted a monopoly (the Asiento de Negros) to supply African slaves to the islands in the "South Seas" and South America. When Queen Anne died in 1714, all bets were off. Blackbeard no longer had faith in any British good intentions. His wife, Mary, was never captured and continued to preach against anti-slavery.

 

 

 

 

<<< PROLOGUE

 

 

Aye, heave ho, and listen well, ye landlubber! Gather 'round, for I be tellin' ye a tale o' blood, gold, and treachery on the high seas!   


THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE - A SCENE

EXT. OCRACOKE INLET - DAWN


The murky light o' dawn creeps across the still waters o'
Ocracoke Inlet. Two small sloops, the Ranger and the Jane, ghost silently towards a larger, rakish vessel anchored nearby – the Adventure. LIEUTENANT ROBERT MAYNARD, a stern-faced man in the King's colours, stands on the deck of the Jane, his gaze fixed on the pirate ship. His men, a rough-looking bunch, clutch their cutlasses and pistols, their eyes gleaming with a mixture o' fear and avarice.

MAYNARD
(Low, to his FIRST MATE)
Remember the
Governor's words, lads. Blackbeard's got a hoard fit for a king, tucked away like a kraken's treasure. Spotswood wants his share, aye, more than his share. And we be the ones to pluck the black-hearted devil from his roost.

The Adventure sits low in the water. A few figures can be seen on deck, looking none too alert.

FIRST MATE
Looks like half his scurvy dogs be ashore, carousin' like there's no tomorrow. Just as the spyglass said.

MAYNARD
Aye, Teach be a fool for the drink and the wenches. His weakness be our strength. They outnumber us in steel, and their
Adventure likely sports teeth we ain't got. But we got surprise on our side, and the hunger for gold in our bellies.

EXT. OCRACOKE INLET - CONTINUOUS

The Ranger and the Jane draw closer. Suddenly, a gruff voice booms across the water.

BLACKBEARD (O.S.)
Ahoy there! What be yer business, creepin' 'round like shadows in the mornin' mist? Show yer colours!

On the deck of the Adventure, BLACKBEARD, a fearsome figure with a long, black beard intertwined with slow-burning matches, leans against the rail, a pistol in his belt. A few of his PIRATES, bleary-eyed and clutching tankards, peer over the side.

MAYNARD
(Calling out)
This be the King's vessel! We've come for Edward Teach, the pirate! Surrender in the name o' the Crown!

Blackbeard lets out a hearty, mocking laugh.

BLACKBEARD
Surrender, ye lily-livered swabs? Blackbeard don't surrender to no man! Prepare to taste steel, ye dogs!

Blackbeard barks orders to his men. The sleepy pirates scramble to action, some heading towards the ship's unseen cannons.

MAYNARD
(To his men)
He's for fightin', lads! Just as we expected. Remember the plan! Most o' ye stay below! Let the old devil think we be easy prey!

The Adventure begins to maneuver, heading for shallower waters.

EXT. OCRACOKE INLET - CONTINUOUS

 

The Jane, heavier than the pirate sloop, runs aground on a sandbar with a sickening groan.

SAILOR ON JANE
Captain! We're stuck fast!

Blackbeard roars with laughter.

BLACKBEARD
Ha! Caught ye like a crab in a pot! Now ye'll feel the wrath o' Blackbeard!

The Adventure swings around, its hidden cannons now bearing on the helpless Jane.

MAYNARD
(Grimly)
Blast and damnation! He's got us pinned! Lively now, lads! Everything that ain't fightin' iron goes overboard! We gotta lighten this tub!

The sailors on the Jane frantically heave barrels, ropes, and anything loose over the side. The Adventure's cannons erupt in a deafening broadside, sending splinters flying and tearing through the Jane's rigging. Men cry out in pain.

MAYNARD
(Unyielding)
Hold steady, ye dogs! We ain't done for yet! Prepare to ram, ye hear me? Ram the black-hearted bastard!

EXT. OCRACOKE INLET - MOMENTS LATER

 

With a splintering crash, the Jane slams into the Adventure's midsection. Blackbeard, momentarily stunned, watches as the decks of the Jane appear almost deserted.

BLACKBEARD
(Grinning wickedly)
Aye, that's done it! Their cannons have chewed 'em to pieces! Grappling irons, me hearties! Let's pull 'er close and finish 'em off! A fine prize for a Saturday mornin'!

Grappling hooks fly across the narrow gap, biting into the Adventure's hull.

Suddenly, shots ring out from the seemingly empty deck of the Jane. Two of Blackbeard's men fall, clutching their chests. The pirates on the Adventure return fire, felling four of Maynard's exposed crew.

BLACKBEARD
(Bellowing)
What sorcery be this?! No matter! To 'em, me lads! Board 'em and send 'em to Davy Jones!

Blackbeard, a knife clenched between his teeth, swings himself onto the deck of the Jane, the smoldering matches in his beard trailing smoke like a demon from the depths. His remaining crew follows close behind, their cutlasses raised.

But the few men left on the Jane's deck throw down their weapons in fear.

BLACKBEARD
(A cruel grin spreading across his face)
Wise ye be! Pick up yer arms, ye cowards! No need for foolish bloodshed.

His gaze falls upon Maynard, the tallest and best-dressed of the bunch.

BLACKBEARD
Bind this fine fellow! The rest o' ye look like drowned rats. No fight left in 'em.

Blackbeard turns his attention elsewhere, a fatal moment of distraction. Suddenly, a signal is given.

MAYNARD
(Roaring)
NOW, YE LANDLUBBERS! SHOW 'EM WHAT FOR!

From below decks, a swarm of thirty Royal Navy sailors erupts onto the deck, pistols blazing and cutlasses flashing. The air fills with the roar of gunfire and the clash of steel. A brutal, close-quarters fight ensues.

Blackbeard whirls around, his eyes widening in fury as he sees the trap sprung. He charges towards Maynard, cutlass raised. The two men meet in a furious exchange of blows. Maynard, despite his less fearsome appearance, proves a skilled swordsman.

Shots ring out, hitting Blackbeard. He stumbles, but his rage keeps him on his feet. Maynard presses his attack, his blade finding its mark again and again.

MAYNARD
(To his men)
Don't kill him yet! We need what's locked away in that black heart o' his!

MAYNARD
(Pressing his sword against Blackbeard's throat)
Tell me, Edward Teach! Where be yer ill-gotten gains?

BLACKBEARD
(Spitting blood)
This tub be too small for the likes o' my treasure!

MAYNARD
Aye, that it be! Then where, ye dog? Tell me, and I might just let ye live!

Maynard strikes again, but Blackbeard, with a final surge of strength, slashes Maynard's leg. Maynard retaliates, his sword piercing Blackbeard's arm.

BLACKBEARD
Yer fancy steel won't do ye no good!

Maynard, losing his temper, fires another pistol shot, hitting Blackbeard in the side. The pirate knows his end is near. His men are falling around him, the deck slick with blood.

BLACKBEARD
(Gasping)
The secret ... goes with me....  to the Devil and the the depths! I curse ye all!

With a final, desperate lunge, Blackbeard attacks
Maynard, his cutlass drawing blood. But Maynard is relentless. He delivers a fatal blow to Blackbeard's neck. The notorious pirate slumps to the deck, to all intents a dead man.

Maynard, panting, twists his blade in Blackbeard's arm. A gruesome grin spreads across the dead pirate's face.

BLACKBEARD
(A gurgling whisper)
Dead men... tell no tales...

He falls silent.

The remaining pirates, seeing their fearsome leader dead, throw down their weapons.

MAYNARD
(Wiping blood from his brow)
Bind the prisoners, lads. Now, let's see what secrets this devil took with him.

Maynard heads towards
Blackbeard's cabin, a grim determination on his face. The hunt for the treasure has just begun. The Queen Anne's Revenge scuttled.

FADE TO BLACK

 

>>> SCENE 2

 

 

 

Edward Teach, the pirate Blackbeard, fights with Robert Maynard aboard the Endeavour, at the Battle of Ocracoke in 1718

 

 

 

    

 

 

Blackbeard ordered grappling irons to pull the Adventure closer to the Jane. Maynard's plan was sprung and working well. All the Navy men had to do was play dead for a while longer, then call for their ship mates below, like a spider's web catching a fly.

 

The Spanish stole from the Aztecs, the British stole from the Spanish. Along the Gold Coast of Africa, the Royal African Company exploited the river Gambia, then turned their attention to slavery, to run the plantations that produced white gold: sugar. Men seemed not to be civilised, shipping some 31,000,000 million people in barbaric slave-ships, across the Atlantic to Caribbean and US east coast colonies. With such atrocities by Dutch, Portuguese and British governments, piracy might have seemed relatively tame in the morality code league tables.


    

 

 

Blackbeard was one of the most feared pirate captains operating in the Caribbean Sea. When he resumed pirating, the British made it their business to capture him as an example to other would be renegades.

 

 

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.


 

 

John Storm and Elizabeth Swann get to Treasure (Skeleton) Island

 

 
 

 

  THE BATTLE OF OCRACOKE 1718, LIEUTENANT ROBERT MAYNARD CAPTURES, TORTURES, AND BEHEADS BLACKBEARD, BUT FIND ONLY A PARCHMENT MAP - TREASURE ISLAND - BLACKBEARD'S CURSE & PIRATES GOLD

 

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