//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Where did they go, George? // Story: Where Have All the Dragons Gone? // by Alden MacManx //------------------------------// Monday, 11 September 2017, Nashville Street Pier, New Orleans, Louisianne The crew of the Mississippi Voyager gathered under a shed at the Nashville Street Pier, a crew that had seen some alterations since arrival back in New Orleans six weeks before. A new gasifier had been installed, one improved over the older model. The ship itself had been overhauled, the forward two cargo cans having been widened by three feet to help accommodate vehicles, along with a drop-down ‘second floor’ to add capacity. It would still be a very tight fit for vehicles. Sonar and Radio both got comprehensive overhauls, as had the electrics and weapons. The four ‘surprise packages’ had been inspected and found fit. The crew had some changes as well. First Officer Julia Crowne had been transferred to the Mississippi Star, as its Captain. She was replaced by a female Abyssinian, one who had spent time Before as a harbor tug pilot. Her name was Esther Lindley, a fastidious white-furred Abyssinian who had passed all of Howard’s qualification tests and had been signed on as Third Officer, with Carroll Milsap moving up to First and Harry Bell to Second. Engineering had two additions as well, an Ornithian female who was an auto mechanic Before, and a young earth pony apprentice who could handle machinery and wanted to learn how to run the riverboats. The two, Liz Ruiz and Dexter Potter, were aboard to train on the engineering gear because the Chief Engineer and the Welder, Frack and Bernie Larson, would be leaving the crew after the current run, the reason being that on the way back down from Kansas, Bernie had tested pregnant, and they were willing to make one more run before returning to Maasvlakte for the birth of their foal. The last new addition is a young unicorn mare from Amsterdam, Jessica van Alten, who was a doctor Before, but a newly-graduated one, and thought studying under a more experienced doctor abroad could only be of benefit. The WSU approved of the plan, because they needed reps on each of the riverboats, and the numbers willing were quite low. A journeyman doctor could be spared for a time. Another person who would be aboard, though not as a crewman, was a friend of the crew, Ambassador Ivan Pestov, the gargoyle who was assigned to Saint Louis to watch over the dragon/unicorn pair, Casimir and Coronavirus. After said pair flew to Lecompton to visit the Starbush and her tenders, they readily changed their ways and willingly went along with the ‘new regime’, losing all sullenness and co-operating with the Saint Louis group with enthusiasm, to the point where little Rosa happily climbed up Casimir’s back for ‘flying lessons’. Queen Marie looked over the assembled ponies and others, the only one not present being the cook, Jason McTerry. “Good afternoon, all. This mission briefing will be kept short, because I know your chef is cooking dinner, and one thing I enjoy is an informal dinner with ponies. I don’t have enough of them…” she concluded to a collective smile and occasional giggle from the crew. “Your job this time is to go up the Ohio River, to make contact with the dragon-controlled cities of Evansville, Louisville and Cincinnati. Ambassador Pestov will be in charge of negotiations, and he knows my wishes in this matter. My main concern is, will the dragons, despite their recent setbacks, want to invade Louisianne? Can they round up sufficient numbers to do so? I hope not. “Another thing to discover is, are there more settlements we don’t know about? Maybe up a side river? That is why your bays three through five have been loaded with ‘trade goods’, items that  a struggling group of ponies could use to get up on their hooves. “Captain Crane – you are in charge of the expedition. You are expected to heed advice from Ambassador Pestov, but you keep in mind the ship and crew come first. Same with you, Ambassador. Work together, but the Captain has the final word. I want information and you will get it. “To the rookies – heed the crew, because they have been out there. If the Captain and First Officer or Chief Engineer decide you’re not good enough, they do have the authority to put you off anywhere. Who knows, you may wind up on another ship. I’m not going to apologize for taking your First for the Star, Captain Crane, but our trustworthy executive talent is a very shallow pool. “Any questions I’ll handle over dinner. When we dine, damn protocol! Just be yourselves, okay?” Marie concluded. “Let’s eat!” The Captain went to the Queen’s side and escorted her aboard the Voyager, where the Lounge was laid out for a buffet dinner that would cater to all the different species. After said dinner, the Queen left relaxed and happy, and the crew knew what was wanted, and expected, from them. How Jason made the mint juleps that the Queen enjoyed so much, nobody knew. That was between him and Her Majesty. Tuesday at ten, after a last-minute supply top-off, including fuel and water, the Voyager headed out, going northbound through the stagnant bayou the lower Mississippi had become after its course was diverted two years before. Thanks to the yard time and drydocking for hull inspection, the converted barge was able to move two knots faster than before. The new matching screws, taken off a pair of salvaged tugboats, helped in that. They were able to reach North Point by sunset, enabling them to drop supplies and overnight there while doing a full systems check. As hoped for, there was very little that needed tweaking. The shipwrights in New Orleans were learning more with every boat they built. Privately, Howard was jealous of Julia, who was commanding the Mississippi Star, the newest of the riverboats, but he was proud of his ship and crew. Their next stop was just up the river, in Natchez, just long enough to drop some supplies to the group that was left there six months before, a colony that had grown from five to ten, thanks to a load dropped off by the Ranger. After dropping the load, the ship proceeded to Memphis, docking on Saturday for a long weekend there, both to allow the doctors time to confer, and to link up with the Ranger, coming back from Kansas City with a load of potions, meteor metal, and a few other choice goods from upstream. Not that the Voyager needed anything, but it’s always a good idea to top up supplies on hoof when the opportunity comes about. You never knew when you would need them. Plus, the Ranger was crewed by friends of the crew of the Voyager, and meeting up was rare. It was decided that if two ships happened to meet up, a ‘gossip stop’ of up to three days was allowed to do some cross-pollination of ideas and observations. Next stop after Memphis was New Madrid, Missouri. Not because there was any real need to stop, but Frack knew of a granary there where they could load some barrels of grain into hold number two. Plus, it was a good way to check if the stored grains were still good. The sealed barrels were just fine. The silos, however… has anyone ever witnessed synchronized puking before? Doctor van Alten spray-painted several large ‘do not open’ symbols on the silo doors. Everyone else had moved off to recover, and were too shaky to work the spray paint cans. One of the benefits and drawbacks of being a unicorn, right? 28 September 2017, 1100 hours, Cairo, Illinois The ship, instead of veering left to follow the Mississippi to Saint Louis, turned right, to follow the Ohio River north and east. Captain Crane lowered the ship’s speed to half-power, before calling an all-hooves-and-hands meeting in the Lounge. “Now, we are heading into unknown territory. We are going to limit forward speed to half-ahead, as well as docking every night. The person in Control has to be extra-vigilant, watching for any river obstructions, be they trees, rocks, cargo containers, wrecked hulls, and such. “Another thing we have to do is watch for dams and locks. We’re going to have to figure out ways to open and close the locks, otherwise we’re not going any farther upriver. I would think our mages will bear the brunt of opening and closing the doors, but I can hope the task is going to be easier than I’m thinking about. I know we’ll be hitting one before we reach Evansville, and another just outside Louisville. “Our sailing time will be daylight-only, unless I change it personally. I know days are getting shorter as winter closes in, but that’s something we’re just going to have to deal with. “Ambassador Pestov, can you tell us what you have learned about the dragons living upriver?” Howard asked. “Yes, I can, slim as it is,” the hulking gargoyle said as he stood up, all seven-feet plus of him. “What we do know is that since Casimir and Impedimenta called in to Vladimir after Zvezda became the Starbush, there has been no answer to any calls made by either of them to the other three links in the comm chain. What that means, nobody can truthfully answer. That’s one reason why we going on this trip. I learn much from Casimir and Coronavirus about how the dragons maintained their pecking order, and maybe the knowledge will be useful. Why they not answer? We find out, da?” “That we will, Ivan,” Chief Officer Milsap said from where she stood, next to Howard. “We will be cruising from one hour past sun-up to one hour before sundown. If we find a place to dock, we will. Otherwise, we anchor mid-stream. That’s purely elementary safety. One other thing the deck officers will be doing is as good of a sonar scan of the bottom as we can manage. Once maps are made of hazards, we can pick up some more speed.” “We should be arriving at the first set of locks either late tomorrow or early the day after. How we’re going to operate them, I just don’t know right now. We’re just going to have to go up and look. Every time I have been this way, others worked the locks. Now, it’s our turn,” Howard explained. “Here’s hoping we’re up to the challenge.” Arnie van Dyke, the soon-to-be Chief Engineer, asked a question. “How did the dragons make it down from Cincinnati? There were what, six flatboats they had built and sailed down the Ohio with.” Ivan handled that question. “They had powerful dragon with them. Telekinesis or teleporting can answer that. Not far, one boat at a time, passes obstacle. Take time, can do.” “We’ll find out when we get to the first lock, which should be in about two days, taking our time. This first pass, caution is called for. We’re in no hurry,” Howard told the crew. “Ah can accept that. Once we get to the first lock, maybe we can fahnd out somethin’,” Arnie drawled.  “That’s right. So, let’s get started. Upstream at half power!” Howard declared. 30 September 2017, 1000 hours, Smithland Locks & Dam, Ohio River The Voyager was stopped at the lock and dam, most of its crew out trying to puzzle out how to operate the locks manually. They were down in the lock works, tracing out systems. One thing that had been found was that the hydraulic lines operating the doors had been messily severed, hydraulic oil pooled over the floors. “Well, ah can figure out how they all operated the doors,” Arnie Van Dyke drawled as he looked at the wreckage. “How do you figure that, Arnie?” Howard asked, being in the works with his crew. “They used unicorn magic to open and close the doors aftuh severin’ the hydraulic lines. Open doors, pull in, close doors, use manual bypass valves to raise or lowah the water level, then operate the doors. If the pressure is roughly equal, it won’t be too hard to move the doors,” Arnie told the Captain. “Plus, they had a dragon with them. If unicorn magic wasn’t enough, dragon strength will.” “Good point,” Esther said, looking around the lock works. “We’re going to have to find the manual bypasses for up and down. It’s opening the doors from the downstream side that’s going to be hard.” “Ah can gimcrack somethin’. If not, we’re goin’ to have to find a town to raid foah parts,” Arnie said quietly, looking all around the works. “What do you have in mind, Arnie?” Frack asked. “Cables, a pulley, and using the forward winch. Mount the pulley up on the sahd, stick an eye on the upstream sahd of a door, run cable from door to pulley to winch, then pull the door open. This is after the watuh has been raised or lowered. Once we get the door moved some, and the levels settle, finishing the job will be easy-peasy,” Arnie reported in his usual slow drawl. Howard looked at Frack, who looked back at his captain and gave a slight nod. “Make it so, Mister van Dyke. See if we have the materials aboard, and form a working party. Let’s see what you can organize,” he commanded. “Sho’ nuff, Cap!” Arnie said with a smile, his horn sparkling a little as he thought. It wasn’t until the next day that they managed to get through the lock, a quick trip to Paducah was called for to get parts needed, one of which is a dinghy for Arnie to stand in to weld eyes on the upstream side of the lock doors. The procedure did work, but was slow. As Chief Officer Milsap observed, “Practice makes perfect. By the time we get back to New Orleans, we’ll have this worked out.” Three days later, after traversing the IL-IN-KY lock and dam, the Mississippi Voyager arrived at their first city of interest, Evansville, Indiana, the home of the dragon known as Nikolai, his unicorn aide Getafix, and a colony of about thirty beings of mixed types. What startled the lookouts was the complete lack of smoke from fires over the city. Ivan took flight with Chief Milsap to scout things over. “I was informed that dragon colony was in town, close to the LST boat. Good central place, because ship was easily made working with little work. I see no traces of any ponies here. Fields to north look untended for some time. Investigate ship, Captain?” he asked Howard over the radio. “Go ahead, Mister Pestov. We need to find out where everypony went to. Investigate and report back, you and Chief Milsap. We’ll pull alongside and try to tie up outboard of the LST,” Howard told the Ambassador. “Away party yes says, Captain,” Ivan acknowledged before slinging his radio. Looking at Carroll, Ivan pointed to the deck of the ship. The mismatched pair glided to a landing on the deck close to the superstructure, Ivan landing with a loud thump. While gargoyles could fly, they are not the best at it. “Where the hell did everypony go?” Carroll asked after landing.  “Bog knows, we don’t. Not yet. Let us head inside, da?” Ivan puffed, pointing to a door that was dogged shut. “Sounds like a plan,” Carroll agreed as she approached the door. She reached for the locking handle, and it moved before she could. “What the?” Ivan’s arms lit up as he focused mana for a spell as the door slowly swung open. “Chief, careful!” he called out as Carroll quickly backpedaled.