James Norrington could hardly contain his excitement. Not quite fifteen years old but already six feet in height; all dark hair, green eyes and stumbling graces, he was the latest addition to the crew of the Vanguard; the latest in a series of midshipmen full of wide-eyed innocence and unlimited enthusiasm.

He knew his high spirits were approaching danger level. He had no wish to tumble overboard through careless misjudgement; nor did he desire to appear crass and foolish through an inability to control his emotions. He knew that he needed to calm down and as he stood between the bunks in the quarters shared by the quartet of midshipmen, a memory of his older brother brushed against his mind.

"You're over-excited again, Jamie," Jack's voiced murmured in his mind as if blown in on a sea breeze, "here, do what I do, Jamie. Are you listening to me, Jamie? Yes? Alright. Stand up straight. Good. Cross your legs over so your feet are the wrong way about... of course you can balance, Jamie!" James sucked in a breath, realising how much more difficult it would be to maintain this position aboard ship than it had been when Jack taught him the technique six or seven years ago. In his imagination, his brother's eyes sparkled with a smile. "Not to worry, Jamie," he imagined Jack would say, "just keep going: do your best. Ready for the next part? Okay, arms out straight in front of you, the backs of your hands together. Good. Still balancing? Even better. Now, lift your right arm over your left and interweave your fingers; bring your hands down, then in towards your chest and up again. Good. Hold it there. See that knot in the cabin wall? Concentrate on that and count to two-hundred, then go pay your respects to your captain."

James rested his green eyes at the level of the imperfection, and began the slow count whose purpose was to calm him down. The memory of his brother's voice faded as he worked his way from ten to fifteen, and by fifty he found he was growing used to the intricate shifting of weight necessary to maintain balance on a gently moving deck. At one hundred it seemed as if his boyish bounce was a physical substance, draining into the wooden deck through the soles of his feet. At one hundred and fifty, his cabin-mates entered unannounced and regarded him with some alarm.

"What's this?" wondered a red-haired lad a couple of years older yet a couple of inches shorter than James.

"Must be our new cabin-mate," realised his blonde companion.

"What's he up to?" the third enquired, curiously inspecting the motionless youngster.

Undaunted, James continued his counting, blocking out their hypotheses on his possible religious inclinations or family background; making the small dark patch of wood the focus of his world. In less than a minute he reached his target, unwound his limbs from their unnatural configuration and turned to face them with a calm smile.

"Good day, gentlemen," he greeted them in a voice as soft and warm as summer honey, "my name is James Norrington. My apologies if I appeared rude to you just now; I was in the midst of a mental exercise which once begun is unwise to terminate prematurely. It was not my intention to ignore you, my senior officers, and had I realised that you were approaching I would have postponed my indulgence. As I am sure you are aware, however, the strictures of life occasionally necessitate unwelcome decisions. Poor recompense though it is, I offer you my full, humble and heartfelt apologies."

It was not often that Christopher Gillette found himself lost for words, but a speech of such unexpected gravity and equanimity from one whom he had been on the verge of ridiculing found him in that state. He just about managed to croak out his name and those of their fellow midshipmen before shaking the newcomer's hand and recalling that he should offer to show the way to the Captain's cabin.

Thus it was that from his first moments as a member of the Royal Navy, James Norrington garnered a reputation for maturity beyond his years accompanied be an eccentricity which was perfectly allowable in such circumstances of possible genius.