Chapter 35: Two Ships Passing By In The Day
It proved to be a trying, difficult week for the Deliverance crewfolk, that last week in Havana before the Fugro Symphony pulled out. Difficult not only in aiding the Fugro’s crew in tech work around the city, but in turning over control of the Deliverance to the Havana Maritime Authority. The first five (Frick, Fred, Frieda, Frack and Fran) worked closely with Raul the Harbormaster, Elisa the Radio Operator, and their assistants. Fran was thorough in removing personal data from the computer, instructing others on how to use the computer, and programming one tablet and one laptop to operate the boat remotely.
All the medicinal herbs they had collected were turned over to the custody of the Fugro Symphony’s medic, Lillian Shepard, for safekeeping, including the nineteen poison joke bombs left over from the Creature’s attack, which were handled with EXTREME care, for sure! The cooler with the vacuum-packed herbs and petals soon found a home in the Fugro’s dispensary, the medic almost drooling at the thought of boosting potion production to undreamed-of heights.
Gradually, all of the Deliverance personnel, passengers and crew, moved their possessions to berths aboard the Fugro. Tina and Harry shared a cabin, as did Fred and Frieda, Frack and Bernie, Frick and Foster, and Fran, Michie and Capo.
Fred and Frieda looked at their cabin after unpacking. “Our home for a couple of weeks. Think you can put up with the workload?” Fred asked his wife of forty-plus years.
“Oh, I think so,” Frieda replied, putting a wing around her husband. “I look forward to seeing the children again from Pensacola. I’ve chatted with some of them a couple of times. They miss our teaching them.”
“They will have another chance, Maw. Think you can handle being a teacher as well as a librarian?” Fred asked.
“I think so, Paw. No real school boards to have to put up with, nor obstructionist town councils who constantly tried to cut the library budget. That one time I was hospitalized for two weeks from exhaustion trying to keep the place going by myself showed them just how important a library is!” Maw snapped with a little rancor. Being in the hospital was not fun. All the kids coming to see her while she was hospitalized WAS fun. It also convinced the Town Council to allow her to hire a full time aide and two Council Folk volunteered Saturdays for several years.
“I’m sure Captain Skinner would like a volunteer little-wrangler to keep the kids out from underfoot. Interested in the job?” Fred asked.
“I think we both are, Paw. Will keep us both busy at sea. Feel like adopting one or two of the kids?” Frieda asked, sounding more than a little wistful.
“Don’t get too far ahead of things, Maw. Let’s see what things are like over there,” Fred cautioned.
“Good point, Paw.”
In another stateroom, Frack and Bernie placed their saddlebags. “Ready for another ocean voyage, Bernie?” Frack asked.
“Yes, so long as I don’t have to drive, nor have to squint half the time. That hat you got me at Key West has been a big help,” Bernie admitted.
“Seeing as you’ve been wearing it ever since, I’m just glad you like it,” Frack said as he gave the thestral a gentle nuzzle. “I’m just glad we can have some time ALONE together.”
“Same here,” Bernie replied, leaning into the nuzzle.
Next door, Frick and Foster put their saddlebags up. Frick also took the time to plug in his laptop, tablet and phone, using a power bar and an adapter thoughtfully provided by the Fugro’s steward. “In a way, I’m happy not to be in charge any more, but, I’m going to miss that little boat,” he sighed as he pulled up some pictures on his tablet.
“Ah know what you mean, Frick,” Foster said from his bunk. “Ah was sheriff for twenty-five years, and welcomed the challenges that came with the job. But, aftah the Event, ah found that not havin’ to worry about the parish was a bit of a relief. Don’t mind havin’ seniority, and ah DEFINITELY don’t miss the responsibility. Ah have to say, in the tahm we sailed together, you did a damn fahn job, pickin’ people to get the job done and stayin’ out of their way.”
“Coming from you, Foster, I can and will believe those words. I just took the best of what I had learned and put the knowledge to use. Everyone made it to their destination safely, we helped out a bunch of people along the way, and none of us were hurt for long. I’m going to spend time here in the cabin while we pull out. I don’t want to look back now,” Frick said as he rolled into his bed. “I’m tired.”
“I know the feeling, Frick. I’ll stay with you. I can use a nap,” Foster said. Frick wasn’t listening, having fallen asleep as soon as he stopped talking. Soon, Foster was asleep as well.
Down the corridor, Fran, Michie and Capo looked around the stateroom they were assigned. “Bigger than the cabins on the Deliverance, right?” Fran asked the kitten.
“Room to play on the floor, yeah! Now I can use my colorin’ books! You will help me read them, right?” Michie asked, looking up at Fran.
“Of course I will! Learning another language is easy if you start early. Eager to start?” Fran asked, putting her suitcase down. She had already put her bicycle and cart up in a cargo hold. The cart is big enough for Michie and groceries.
“What about Capo? Where will he stay?” Michie asked, looking around the cabin.
The scarlet macaw perched on a rail at the end of one of the beds. “Here now! Better perch later!” he squawked.
“That works,” Fran said as Michie dug into her little carry bag, pulling out a coloring book and a box of crayons, setting them on the table before scrambling up into a chair. With a smile, Fran sat down after pulling the other chair over. Together, they opened the coloring book and Fran started teaching Michie Spanish, the macaw ‘supervising’ his little ward’s progress.
The Fugro Symphony sailed from Havana Harbor at noon on the sixth of July, twenty-sixteen, destination Pensacola, estimated arrival time morning of the eighth. With Frick sound asleep during the departure, it fell to Fred to call ahead to the leader of the Pensacola colony, Deacon John Doyle.
“Day after tomorrow, eh? We will be ready and waiting. Which pier are you going to be using?” John asked.
“From what I have been told, Palafox Pier. Somewhere around there. If there will be any changes, I’ll call you that morning. Going to leave the hideouts ready for any future users?” Fred asked in return.
“Already have. We’ve left notices in places with salvage, at the airport and train station as well, all directing folk to the basilica. Tomorrow, we will glean all the fields, shut down and service the generators, and leave this place ready for use. We’re also leaving several radios here, with world-band transmitting capability, to call out. Hopefully someone will hear them,” John reported.
“That’s the general idea, Deacon. It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s the best we can come up with. Kids ready to head out?”
“You better believe it, Fred. I’ve got them all looking forward to Rotterdam. I’ll have to admit, some of them can do with stable homes. What are the odds?”
“Better than average, John. We can use the voyage to compare notes, and do some research with the Fugro’s crew as to who’s open to the idea. They know better than we do,” Fred said.
“True, that is. Be ready for a loud welcome when they see Uncle Fred and Aunt Frieda again! Plus, the earth ponies have been putting in overtime on the fields, so we’ll have a big crop to donate!”
“Appreciated, but not required, as I have said, but I know for sure you want to do so to give thanks. I’ve made sure the WSU understands that. Bring all you’ve got, it won’t go to waste!” Fred told his fellow clergypony.
“See you Friday, Fred! Our best to the rest!” John said before hanging up.
Fred chuckled as he cleared his phone before dialing Tarpon Springs and Will Sutton. “I’m going to enjoy seeing the kids again,” he said to himself around the stylus he was biting to dial Will. “Contacts… scroll down, down, down… Will! There we go!”
Fred had a nice conversation with Will, giving him their ETA and the go-ahead to bring along four goats, along with fodder for three weeks. Will said he will also bring all the butchered goats he will have accumulated as a donation to the crew, to be told in return that it wasn’t necessary, but welcome.
Fred’s last call of the day was to Joan Tucker, in Saint Petersburg. She said that she would be ready, intending to spend the day before arrival harvesting, gathering and storing medicinals, and vacuum-bagging them. “Hold off on the poison joke until we get there, okay? Best let the unicorns handle that stuff,” he cautioned.
“Got that right! I’ll have everything packed and ready to go before you tie up. Pull in at the big pier south of the airport there and I can meet you. I can lead a team back for second pickings!” Joan said over the phone. “Will be nice to see you again, Fred! My best to everyone, and don’t let the bat know I have a case of both whole mangoes and mango puree set aside for her. Let it be a surprise, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan, Joan! See you soon!” Fred said before hanging up. Not half a minute later, Frieda came into the cabin.
“I’ve just inspected our cargo area, back aft. Would you believe Eduardo stuck a second TEU container in with the one he already promised us?” Frieda reported, still a bit startled.
“What’s in the second, Maw?” Fred asked, putting his phone back on its charger.
“More of the same, plus about twelve cases of mixed liquors from a distillery and eight barrels full of rum that had yet to be bottled. Also, I found a box labeled for Michie.”
“What’s in it?” Fred asked.
“Don’t know. Have not looked. But I do know all of our grains, flours, kitchen goods and whatnot are all safely under lock and key here. We worked hard for that food, and I wasn’t about to leave it all behind!” Frieda declared, raising a claw high.
Fred chuckled as he moved in close to hug his wife. “Beyond doubt, love. I didn’t check before leaving, but did those eggs we brought from Key West hatch?”
Frieda nodded. “I talked to the leader of the co-op yesterday. All twenty-four hatched out, from both Naples and Key West, bringing some more diversity to their flocks. Gustavo said there would be something special from him in the cargo, but he didn’t specify, and I only inspected the second, not the first,” she explained.
“Shall we go inspect before helping at dinner?” Fred asked, putting a foreleg around Frieda’s paw, leaning in for a kiss.
“Sounds like a plan!” Frieda said with a pleased giggle before leading Fred to the storage area.
That evening, at dinner, Captain Skinner sat down with Frick, Fred, Frieda and Foster with a roster of questions about their first stop. “Now, I know I have more than enough accommodations for everyone we plan on picking up, but I want some assurances from you aboot their behavior,” the hedgefog said to the group.
“Ask away, Captain. In this instance, you are our benefactor, and we want to stay on your good side,” Frick said seriously.
“Can ye make sure ye can keep the younger ones from gettin’ underfoot?” Edgar asked.
Fred handled that question. “Tomorrow, I would like you or one of your officers to escort Frick, Frieda and I around, to make clear where the kids can go unescorted, where they can go with an escort, and where access is forbidden unless specifically asked for. Once they board, we will meet with them, escort them to their quarters, and once settled, bring them back here for instructions.”
“We are counting on the respect they have for us and for their leaders to not cause trouble while aboard,” Frieda added. “We spent a month with them, and we’ve already been informed that they are eager to see their aunt and uncle again.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, okay?” Edgar said, pointing a finger at the Deliverance group, a faint crackle of electricity coming from the digit. “When we get back to Rotterdam, I will be in charge until Captain Pradeek gets back from his expedition, Captain Lorelei intending to head out three weeks after we pull in. Get the kids to behave and I will do all I can to find them good and proper homes.”
“Captain, I can assure you we will do the best we can. We love those kids, and want to see them well-adjusted to these unusual circumstances. Let’s find them the best possible role models and take it from there,” Frick said.
Foster spoke up then. “As the only one aboahd with any soaht of parentin’ experience, ah can assure you that while we was there, the kids needed someone to look up to, an’ Deacon Doyle did the job adequately, as did the three ladies aboahd. Ah’m wantin’ to see how they turned out mahself,” he drawled, sipping some of the shipboard coffee and trying not to grimace.
“I hope they took to their lessons well, Sheriff,” Captain Skinner said. “I won’t administer discipline, but I will provide it as needed and let the Deacon dish it out. May I not have to,” he finished sipping from his tea mug, which was a lot better than the coffee.
“May we not have to,” Frick replied. “With your permission, I would like to check out our cargo stowage. It’s been hinted that we were given more than we agreed to, and I would like to check it out.”
“I’ve got no problem with that. I do know my engineer wants to get together with you sometime before moorin’ to ask about your folding wagon. Truly ingenious, she said,” Edgar admitted.
“Just some Cornhusker ingenuity and the need to bring it along, but where?” Fred said. “Took some guessing, but we got it done. Served us well and we’re not giving it up.”
“I can see your point, sir,” Edgar said, nodding in understanding. Items crafted with one’s own hands take on a whole different meaning than something picked up at a store.
Friday, July eighth, twenty-sixteen, after breakfast but before lunch, the Fugro Symphony came within sight of the barrier island south of Pensacola, Florida. Frack and Frieda made a suggestion to Captain Skinner for them to go ahead of the ship and make sure the group was ready to go. The Captain approved, once they were able to tune one of the ship’s radios to the portable radio frequency the Deliverance’s crew used. Once that chore was done, the pair flew ahead to meet and greet the Pensacola crew, who they last met six weeks before.
To be sneaky, and also taking advantage of the moderate cloud cover, the two landed on a cloud that was heading towards the Basilica. Frieda took her phone out and called the Deacon.
“Aunt Frieda! You in the neighborhood?” John asked cheerfully.
“The ship’s just clearing the inlet now, should be mooring in about an hour. Mind if Frack and I drop in?” Frieda replied over her satphone.
“Drop in? Are you two pulling my wing or something?” John asked rhetorically.
“Who, us? See you in a couple of minutes, John!” Frieda said before hanging up and stowing her phone. “Let’s dive, Weather Eight!”
“Let’s do it, Gunner Eight!” Frack laughed as the two dove from the cloud to the basilica’s roof, where they were met by the entire winged contingent. Once down on the parking lot, the rest of the Pensacola group met them, and a good five-minute hug fest ensued before the Deacon called everyone to order.
“Okay, everyone, we’ll have plenty of time to do more meeting and greeting later. Right now, teams one, two and three hitch up and start going down to Palafox Pier. Mister Frack will accompany the teams. Team Four will assist me in making sure the shelter is ready for the next refugees who need it. Aunt Frieda, will you join Team Four and I in doing so?” John asked.
“It will be my pleasure to help, Deacon. Have you been raiding every grocery within five miles?” Frieda asked with a laugh at the three wagons full of goods.
“No, every third one!” John said with a smile as six of the seven earth ponies lined up to get hitched to the wagon, the adult earth pony, Karen Pitt, supervising. The wagons built there were designed for two ponies to pull then, because the kids were not as strong and durable (or as big) as the one adult. Sharing the load helps.
Frick watched over the hitching up. “I like the way you’ve broken down the loads and ponies, Karen. The two smallest with the lightest load. Well done,” he said in approval.
“It took a week or so to figure everything out, but we managed. We pushed the fields the last two weeks to have a good harvest to offer for our passage, plus, a good stock of canned goods. The basement pantry is full of non-perishables, and we have flour and grains in airtight containers,” Karen said, holding up a hoof as Frack opened his mouth. “I know, it wasn’t necessary, but we have our pride, too. Doing this makes us feel good.”
“Well I know the feeling, Karen,” Frack said gently as he looked down the line of wagons. “All ready to roll?” he called out to the ponies, which amounted to about three-quarters of the population.
“Let’s do this!” Karen called out. The line of wagons started moving down Palafox Street, Frack coming up with a marching song that was totally appropriate for nine-year-olds and up, the kids joining in. It was not quite a mile to the pier, where the kids were able to see the Fugro Symphony approach.
Back at the basilica, John led the six with him (Anne Jones and her two children, and all three Abyssinians) in doing another pass-through of their basement habitat, ensuring all was neat and tidy for the next group. There were two plastic barrels full of clean water (with a little bleach added), along with a fully stocked pantry full of canned goods with not one, but four can openers available. Several sealed containers held wheat flour, corn meal, pasta, and other dry goods with desiccant packets included. “We wanted to leave those who come later with a good, well-stocked shelter. Hopefully, those who come later will pay it forward,” John explained as they completed the inspection, also checking the window seals were intact, to keep water out.
“Let us hope, John,” Frieda said as the Deacon shut and locked the door, leaving the key in the lock.
“All we can do, right?” he said, stepping back and spreading his wings some.
The kids were suitably impressed with the Fugro Symphony, and the crew of the Fugro were equally impressed by the kids’ behavior. After being shown their cabins, the kids were given a safety lecture by the Captain, with Renee Noir assisting in the explanations. Then the kids offered to help unload and stow the load from the wagons, which broke down to the smallest wagon with fresh produce, the middle wagon with personal possessions, and the largest with cans, boxes and jars of food. When the loading was done, the wagons were turned over, set next to the statue in the park and tied down.
Captain Skinner did not waste any time, raising and stowing the gangplanks as soon as loading was done and set course to their next destination, Tarpon Springs. That pickup will be done at sea, because the inlet is too small for the Fugro to enter, and the two there, Will Sutton and Sue Butler, will meet them offshore the next morning in two boats, bringing their worldly goods, four young goats, and enough fodder to last three weeks. He was hoping for some goat’s milk, but with two young nannies, he figured there would not be much.
The overnight cruise to Tarpon Springs was uneventful, and at eight o’clock in the morning, the ship came to a halt a quarter-mile offshore of Anclote Key, which is about five miles out from the shore. One phone call and an hour later, a motorboat approached the ship, towing two more small craft behind, one with an earth pony and four goats, the other with several tubs of grass and grains. After loading, the small craft were abandoned as the Fugro set sail for Saint Petersburg. Plans were to actually moor there the night of the ninth and sail midday on the tenth, because Skinner wanted to get as many medicinal plants from Sunken Gardens as they possibly could. One thing that made Captain Skinner quite happy is that the pair brought two gallons of goat’s milk, filtered and kept cool. Fortunately for him, not many aboard like goat’s milk.
It was only a matter of a few hours for the Fugro to get to the Port of Saint Petersburg to moor there. They moored for two reasons, those being sending Frick’s folding wagon to Sunken Gardens to harvest all they could, and sending it to the Dali Museum the next day, the Museum being very close by to the Port. As before, Frack and Frieda flew ahead, Bernie joining them this time, to help Joan pack and to visit a while before the wagon arrived.
The wagon made it there an hour later, pulled by Fred, and accompanied by Frick, Foster, Fran, Michie, and two crew members of the Fugro with telekinesis, they being the Second Officer, Mia Haraldsen (a reindeer) and the Engineering cadet, Zach Wilkins (a unicorn). At the Gardens, the unicorns and reindeer set to gently uprooting poison joke plants and placing them in sealable boxes lined with topsoil Joan had ready. The others loaded the wagon with Joan’s goods and as many other plants, fruits, vegetables, and whatnot they could get in. After a couple hours of work, the wagon was packed to its limits, Michie gleefully riding on Joan’s shoulders as they walked back to the Fugro, Fred handling the load without any difficulty.
That evening, Captain Skinner brought all the adults to the mess deck for a lecture on why he wanted to go to the Museum, saying the WSU desires to collect art works and put them into secure storage, so as not to lose fine art to history and decay. Finding the Dali Museum so close by, he figured on raiding it to see if anything tradable still existed in decent condition.
Joan raised a hand. When the Captain nodded her way, she suggested, “The Museum of Fine Arts is up the road. You may want to check that place out.”
Bernie raised a wing. “The Saint Petersburg Museum of History is across the street from Fine Arts. There are a few other museums within walking distance as well,” she said when called on.
“How do ye know aboot all that, ladies?” The Captain asked.
“We both grew up in this city,” Bernie told him. “Museums you want, museums we can find for you.”
“Miss Tucker, Miss Verstappen, after we finish this meeting, can ye two join me in my cabin with a map for some talk? If there be enough to salvage, I may extend the stay another day to get all we can,” the Captain said. “If Captain Frick would be good enough to loan the use of his wagon for a couple of days, that is.”
“I don’t have any problem with that, Captain Skinner,” Frick called out from where he sat. “Just wish you had a truck or two.”
“Aye, so do I. Just no place to ensure they stay dry when crossin’ the ocean. The ship no be built for it. Now, the other two in the fleet can. We’ll search what we can, and next time one of the others come this way, maybe they can spend a couple of days raiding. For now, we do what we can,” Skinner replied to Frick’s statement. “If there be nothin’ else, meetin’ adjourned!”
Captain Skinner did meet with Joan and Bernie that evening, plotting what to do. Deacon Jones was called in, as well as Captain Frick. Together, they came up with a plan of attack. Skinner grouped all the fliers together, then split them into three teams, one each going to the museums highlighted as being nearby, said museums being the Dali, Fine Arts, and History museums. The fliers are to go in, survey the sites, and decide which pieces to salvage, the groups being coordinated by his Second Officer. Another group, led by his Chief Officer, will take some unicorns and earth ponies out to pick up the salvaged items, using the wagon. The smallest group is to go back to Sunken Gardens, to fetch Joan’s small yard cart and look around for anything missed the day before. That group consisted of Joan, Lillian Shepard (the ship’s medic), six of the kids from Pensacola, and Sue Butler from Tarpon Springs.
The day spent salvaging did wonders for the Fugro’s crew, getting out, ‘looting’ museums, and most importantly, getting to meet and learn about the new people aboard. Each of the children found at least one crew member to bond with, and the crew found the children to be agreeable. Instead of two weeks of chaos going across the ocean like they expected, the crew looked forward to spending the trip getting to know the kids better. The evening was spent finding places in empty staterooms to store the ‘rescued’ items, the kids happily pitching in to help. No pieces of art were damaged, shattered, or marred in the rescue.
Mid-morning the next day, the eleventh of July, two thousand sixteen, the Fugro Symphony set sail from Saint Petersburg, looking forward to an uneventful cruise to Belfast, then on to Maasvlakte. That hope lasted until a little after noon, when a signal came over the radio. “Mayday, Mayday! This is the MV Polar Princess, out of the Port of Tampa, destination New York,” said the voice of a young lady. “Coordinates are twenty-seven degrees thirty-three decimal one minutes north, eighty-two degrees forty-eight decimal six minutes west. All hands aboard have been changed into different sorts of creatures. Can anyone hear and help us?”
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MV Polar? At least they shouldnt have to be too worried about running into things, if its armoured enough up front to handle near 2 metre thickness floating ice? Then again, I suspect if I looked up the coordinates given, theyre only 2 miles, vertically from the last ship that claimed to be able to handle the conditions?
And maybe something wants a rematch?
If you look up coordinates, it's outside Tampa Bay.
Rematch? Possibly. consults ch. 36 and 37 notes Time will tell!
11134540
My apologies. Given the name f the ship and its final destination, I wrongly assumed it was more in the Grand Banks region, rather than Marie Celeste.
11134549
She's named that way because she has a high capacity for refrigerated cargoes. Hence, Polar Princess. My first idea was Arctic Queen. I like Polar Princess better.
wow this story is just so awesome.
and to think i was starting to thing this was winding down.
11134647
you old fart i knew you had something planed.
I wonder what will happen once one of the big cruise liners like the Norwegian Epic Returns with over 2000 passengers and almost as many crew? Hopefully not a repeat of the SS Morro Castle disaster in 1934.