• Published 7th Mar 2022
  • 453 Views, 89 Comments

The Mississippi Voyager - Alden MacManx



The beginning of exploration along the interior American river system starting about two years after The Event. What can be found?

  • ...
4
 89
 453

Chapter 1: Under Way On Gasifier Power!

Thursday, 12 January 2017, 0800, aboard Polar Princess

Seven assorted ponies (and others) assembled in a corner of the Polar Princess’ mess decks, two unicorns, two pegasi, a thestral, a griffon, and an Abyssinian. The red pegasus with a gold mane and tail with a black rooster weather vane for a cutie mark, who has been going by the name ‘Frack’ for decades, stood up with a remote control held between some of his wing feathers.

“Okay, ladies, gentlemen, and assorted others. Now, we’re on our way to do the job we’re getting paid to do, meaning explore the inner American river system. We have all passed our qualifications on how to handle a river boat, and on how to operate a wood gasifier. Now, for some pictures of our river boat, which will be ready by the time we arrive in New Orleans, as our good Captain, Howard Crane, assured me over radio yesterday,” Frick said, clicking his remote to show a hippogriff, an unlikely mix of a white crane and an appaloosa. “That’s him, by the way, and our First Officer, Julia Crowne,” the picture changing to show a robust looking diamond dog bitch, brindle-colored with a serious expression on her face.

“Now, on to our ship,” Frack went on, the picture changing to show a standard river barge, with several cargo containers forward and a large two-story deck house aft, incomplete but with not much more to go, as well as a gangplank forward that can be raised and lowered, for rough shore moorings. “Control, crew’s berthing and a couple of offices and spare rooms on the top deck, passengers, galley and mess deck, and a very big Lounge on the lower deck. Engineering aft, with gasifier up, diesels down, and fuel on the bottom, with a proper purifier system installed. You know why we have a gasifier, right?” he asked the group.

One of the unicorns, Arnold Van Dyke, an ashen-gray fellow with black smudges and streaks here and there in his fur, mane and tail, raised a foreleg. At Frack’s nod, he said, “‘Cause we can always fahnd wood t’burn. Can’t always fahnd diesel. Use diesels when we need the powah t’buck the current, gasifier comin’ with it.”

“That’s right, Arnie!” Frack said with pride. “You, me and Bernie are tasked with making sure it works, while everyone else here has trained on how to keep it fed. That’s one reason why all of you came across to train, to learn how to keep the gasifier fed. It’s a job for all of us, along with basic seamanship on a river, which is different from deep-water ship handling.”

“Got that right,” commented the griffin of the bunch, a seagull/cougar mix by the name of Carroll Milsap. Unlike most gender-bent individuals, she didn’t change her name. “I did some sailing when I worked drilling rigs. River and barge traffic is a lot different than ridin’ out a hurricane on a drill rig.”

Harry Bell spoke up, the gray and red pegasus standing. “Having spent several years on the carrier Truman, I’m looking forward to some river sailing. Beats being seasick in a storm,” he said, his native Brooklyn accent faint but present as he stretched his legs and wings.

“Nobody ever died from seasickness,” said the group’s doctor, Lucien Macombe, a long-retired general practitioner out of New Orleans who Returned as a tan unicorn with a grayish mane and tail, a horn that was a red and white spiral, and a red stethoscope as a cutie mark. “They just wish they could.” He is also known to be a throwback to the ‘old Southern philosopher’ archetype, also known to younger folk as ‘a tiresome old windbag’. Very nice fellow, really. He’s truly a kind unicorn and a good doctor, just has to curb his tendency for being pedantic. He has to learn he’s not pushing ninety any more. Even after six months Returned, it hasn’t sunk in that he’s a young pony with more wisdom than sense, or is that the other way round?

“That’s the truth, Doc,” Harry agreed as he sat back down.

For the next hour plus, Frack led the group through a video tour of the Mississippi Voyager, getting everyone familiarized with the ship’s construction and style. Everyone has a private stateroom, but with shared baths. The rooms were spacious, air-conditioned, and had portholes to the outside. Doctor Macombe’s medical office, while small, he pronounced ‘adequate’. “I’ve been learnin’ first-aid and medical spells while I’ve been here. Looks like I’ll be doin’ some teachin’ before we sets out,” he told the group, who all nodded in understanding, which had the effect of shutting the good doctor’s mouth.

Even Jason McTerry, the black and white Abyssinian cook, who was normally silent, had something to say about the lounge, galley and mess deck. “Dang. Going old-fashioned in the lounge, modern elsewhere. I like the set up,” he said in his quiet Arkansas rasp. Fourteen words. More than he usually says in a day if he’s not working.

Carroll then raised a claw. “One thing I didn’t see on the boat, and that’s weapons. We’ve been training on some while in Maasvlakte, but I don’t see any mountings. Where are they?” she asked.

“They were not seen on the video because we are bringing them with us. What weapons that are suitable that she had she has put on the oceangoing ship, the Havana Trader. The WSU has a surplus, so one of our jobs before setting out is putting the guns up, plus a couple of surprises that we should keep to ourselves until needed. The secret weapons are going to leave some nasty surprises,” Frack explained.

“Torpedoes can be fun!” Bernie said with a smug chirp. One by one, the lights came on over the other five.

“How many launchers?” Carroll asked.

“Two forward, two aft.” Frack reported. “They’re not super sized, but enough to rattle some cages. There will also be grenade launchers, one forward, one aft, and we have a plentiful supply. Those will be obvious, with a third over Control with a remote control feed. I’ll be handling the installation and wiring of that one. Bart gave me the third degree until I got everything right.” After a snort, he went on. “It’s like he’s copying MY D.I. act! Plus, the three machine guns, two on deckhouse, one forward.”

Bernie giggled. “How does it feel, having that shoe on the other hoof?” she teased her mate. Frack’s expression was all she needed to see.


Wednesday, March 1, 2017 0800 Nashville Avenue wharf, New Orleans, Louisianne

Ten rather bewildered ponies (including one griffon and one hippogriff) were herded onto what, to them, looked like a cross between a river barge and an old-fashioned riverboat. The words ‘Mississippi Voyager’ were painted on the side of the boat, and carved into a wooden sign hanging from the second deck over a shaded patio that had several tables and benches, along with some doors leading in. They were being ‘guided’ by a green unicorn wearing a black sash with one stripe and a ruby necklace, a brown and white earth pony wearing a black sash with no stripes and a small emerald necklace, and a pink and yellow earth pony and a blue and green pegasus, who wore gray sashes and a very small ruby. Each of the troopers were armed with more than one billy club and a long knife each, with hilts that had seen action. “Captain Crane!” the lieutenant shouted. “Your passengers have arrived!”

A window opened on the second deck and a black-billed, red-feathered hippogriff head poked out, wearing a replica of a Confederate Navy officer’s hat. “Thank you, lieutenant! My first will be down in a moment!” the captain shouted down.

“Standing by,” the lieutenant called up, watching over his prisoners, who were milling about a little. One earth pony mare was hovering protectively over two foals, an earth pony filly and a pegasus colt, both very young.

Soon, a diamond dog female trotted down a flight of steps along one side of the deck house. A very big, very wide diamond dog carrying a clipboard whose facial expression did not convey any joy whatsoever. “Attention, prisoners! I am First Officer Julia Crowne, and will be in charge of you until such time as we leave Louisianne. I will now call the roll, and when I tell you which cabin you are in, you are to enter the deck house through the lounge and mess room to the corridor, then to your assigned cabin.”

She then held up the clipboard. “Kravitz, Ruth, Eli and Gilda! Cabin One!” she barked. The earth pony mare with the foals stepped forward. “Your destination is Memphis, and the WSU colony there!”

After the three ponies went inside, “Collins, Norman P!” she called. When the hippogriff stepped up, “Cabin Two! You are going to Natchez, with four others, to establish a trade base!” She went on like that until the last name was called and assigned, then she looked down at the lieutenant. “Forms, please,” she snapped.

The lieutenant drew a clipboard from his saddlebags, and a pen. Julia read the form, signed at the bottom, then took the copy. “Prisoner transfer complete. Dismissed.” she told the squad.

The lieutenant, sergeant and two privates saluted in unison, then turned and left the boat, the First watching them go. Once out of sight, she sighed and relaxed some. “Damn soldiers…” she muttered. “Never did like them.”

With a sigh, she went into the Lounge. What she wanted was a beer, but by Captain’s order, the liquor cabinet is only open from noon to midnight, and anyone who let themselves get crocked while underway is going for a swim. Instead, she went to the pastry bar and selected a couple of fresh beignets before pouring a cup of coffee.

When she sat down, she heard a faint thump and felt a breeze. Looking, she saw a mini of Johnny Walker Red next to her coffee cup. “Thank you, Jase,” she breathed as she quickly opened the top, poured the contents into her coffee mug, then put the top back on before setting it back on the table. Even though she watched, she still didn’t see the cook come back and take the bottle off before the Captain noticed. “Fast, quiet, and accurate. Best sort of shipmate.”


Promptly at noon, Captain Crane let out a toot from the ship’s horn. “Cast off all lines!” he said into the speaker system. Both his First and Second officers hauled in the gangplank, then went to handle the lines, one going forward, one aft.

“Engineering, ready to answer bells?” Crane asked.

“Engineering ready to answer bells on the gasifier,” Bernie reported. She had chosen to be up in Control while departing, so she could see how ‘real sailors did this’, in her words.

Once the First and Second Officers reported lines free, the Captain advanced the throttles slightly, moving the Voyager clear of the pier before giving the ship more gas. Slowly, she built up speed, running through the stagnant waters of the lower Mississippi River. He checked his instruments, a habit learned from over fifty years of handling river tugs. His control and instrument panel was in fact taken from a tugboat. “Got to admire the build team. From barge hull to river boat in five months,” he said appreciatively as the boat moved through the water.

“Built right, tight and solid. I helped out some, checking welds. Welding is not easy to do right as a pony, unless you have a lot of skill,” Bernie commented.

“Which you do have. I’m glad you’re on my team,” Howard said, one eye on the instruments. One display he does pay attention to is the sonar. Snags, rocks and wrecks can be a problem, despite Voyager’s stout construction. What with all the changes to the lower Mississippi River in the past year plus, even Howard’s fifty years of experience on the river would not be very helpful.

“What’s the plan for us, Captain?” Bernie asked.

“Here up forward, I’ll take the first watch, then Julia, Carroll and Harry. Depending on what I see about the river through the sonar, we could sail through the night, but I'm not sure if that will happen. Looks more like I will drop anchor about an hour before sunset, send out some wood choppers, and wait until morning to sail. I won’t go over five knots forward speed until we pass North Point. Too much chance for debris down here,” Howard explained, all the while watching out the windows or watching his instruments.

“While aft, it’s Frack, me, Arnie and Lucien to tend the fires. You did say you want us to run the gasifier until we reach North Point before switching to diesels. How long before we reach there?” Bernie asked.

“Sometime tomorrow, more than likely. We’re in no particular hurry down here on the lower part of the river. Once past Old River, we’ll switch to diesel and do a more thorough test. Safer that way, in my opinion,” Howard said.

“You’re the boss. Want lunch sent up here?” Bernie asked.

“Please, with a pot of coffee.”

Said lunch, several fish sandwiches, were brought up by the First Officer ten minutes later. “How she handling, Howie?” Julia asked.

“As good as I can ask for, Julie. Sonar’s good, engines working, gasifier doing its job, power flowing, water working, sailing smoothly. Been a long time since I had a ship that worked in all aspects,” Howard said, a wing reaching up to touch the sapphire gem around his neck. “Thank the Queen and her engineers.”

Julia did the same move, brushing the silver chain around her neck, the sapphire gem hidden in the cleavage of her prodigious bustline. “Thank the Queen, yes.” The Second Officer also had a sapphire gem necklace, which in their cases showed that they worked for Queen Marie Laveau, in a ‘special’ capacity. The three can speak to each other telepathically, the Captain being able to call the Queen on his own hook, but needs justification. The other two can reach the Northern District commander, Colonel Forest. “Enjoy it while it lasts. Want to go through the night?”

“After some thinking, I figure why not? I want to keep the speed of advance down to about five knots while here on the lower river. Above the diversion, we can put on more speed,” Howard explained as he took a bite of the fish sandwich. Not for the first time, he silently thanked whoever it was that got the quick, quiet black and white Abyssinian assigned to the Voyager project and not the Havana Trader. He knew the need of having a good cook on board, even on a tugboat.

“How’s the bottom looking so far?” Julia asked, looking at the sonar display, having a fish sandwich herself.

“So far, so good. Once we clear New Orleans, that’s when we have to be real careful. I know the Queen has been cleaning the river, starting from New Orleans and Baton Rouge, but I don’t know how far that project has come.” Howard said as he kept to the right. “At five knots, we should be at North Point by tomorrow afternoon, if we don’t stop. Let me check something.”

He picked up the handset for the boat’s intercom, set the switch for engineering and spun the crank. It was only a few seconds before someone answered. “Frack,” he heard.

“Frack, this is the Captain. Given our wood supply, if we kept our speed like it is, how long before we will have to pull over and chop wood?” Howard asked.

The answer was very fast in coming. “Two days, give or take a couple hours. We’re set to go from wood to diesel power within two minutes of the word being passed. Much faster and there’s too much chance of a whoopsie,” Frack reported.

“Thank you, Engineer. Make plans to steam through the night. Increasing forward speed to six knots. This should get us to Natchez by tomorrow night,” Howard said.

“You got it, Captain!” Frack replied cheerfully before hanging up.


“Hello, world! This is Captain Frick on WSU radio with today’s world news!” Frick said into the microphone in the studio.

However, his companion in the studio, Capo the red macaw, decided to interject. “That’s Captain Screwball!” he squawked, followed by a whistle. “Get it right!”

“Shut up, you damn talking feather duster! Well, this came in overnight. The Mississippi Voyager has set out from New Orleans and is currently past Baton Rouge, estimating to be in Natchez by sundown local time today. The Chief Engineer of the ship, my little brother Frack, left word that the ship is running just as good as anyone can ask for, and is looking forward to plenty of sailing up and down the rivers for some time to come. For more information about the Mississippi Voyager and the plans for its use, tune in at nineteen hundred WSU time for an extended podcast, where I interview Major Thibodeaux, Louisianne’s ambassador to the WSU, and over radio, Captain Howard Crane of the Mississippi Voyager.

“Well, enough tooting of my bro’s horn. In other news…”

Lexington turned down the volume on the radio in the bunker, once again marveling at the thin coat of gray fur covering the back of his hand. One thing neither he nor Amelia expected is that the mice they had been experimenting on would turn, once they became aware enough, to changing ‘The Big Ones’ into a form that could survive exposure to Earth’s unshielded environment. More changes were to come in time, but Lexington had other problems on his mind.

“Still thinking about Operation Exodus?” Amelia asked. She is his long time lab assistant, a mousy young lady who, like Lexington, is becoming more mouselike over time. Not much, just a thin coat of sleek brown fur and fingers that are a bit more clawlike.

“Yes. We need to get away from here. The HPI could conceivably follow us, and they have no real reason to welcome us back with open arms after we cut and run last year. I want to find a place where we and our little friends can thrive, build up in numbers and skill until we don’t have to worry about their continued evolution. The question is: where?” Lex thought out loud.

“Some place with plenty of fresh water, secure shelter, and a place to gather food from,” Amelia said. “There should be some place nearby that fills those criteria.”

“More than one. It’s a matter of getting everyone and everything we need there. Moving is going to be a bit of a pain,” Lex observed.

“Yes, but sooner started, sooner done, sooner we can get back to work, without having to look over our shoulders all the time. Have any ideas in mind?” Amelia asked.

“Yes. I have four spots, all within ten miles of here. We’ll have to do all trips during the day, rainy days the best. Next stormy day, I’ll take a crew over to check the first place out. These Gen-Fours are impressing me. They exceed parameters,” Lex mused.

“We’ll have to go over the genetic maps again. There’s something we missed somewhere.”

“Some more skull sweat, and we’ll figure it out.”

Unseen by the two humans, several mice watched and listened. They looked at each other, quick communication through magic bringing them to a rapid consensus. They then ran off, to tell their individual groups of the plans, and decide how to help The Big Ones.


In an old subway station in Cincinnati, a large hand turned the radio down. “So, we can expect visitors,” a deep voice rumbled.

“Not anytime soon, boss,” a unicorn with an especially frizzy gray mane, who goes by the name of Nebulous Nimbus, advised the possessor of the large hand. “We’re a long way up the Ohio, and from what I have heard, they won’t be coming up this way until the fall at earliest.”

“Still and all, we had best prepare. How goes reconstruction?”

“All on schedule. We’re getting two more buildings above suitable for habitation. The city folk are all working under Genghis’ watch, and very little punishment has to be meted out. Every hoof and paw above knows the value of a firm leader,” Neb reported.

“Yes. Genghis also knows that he cannot try to turn on me. So long as he follows my orders, he will live, and he knows it,” the creature said before sighing. “Being an underworld boss has its drawbacks.”

“Have the latest tributes pleased you, Vladimir?” Neb asked.

The large paw sunk deep into the pile of jewelry, gold, silver, and other precious gems. “Very much so, Neb. Did you bring any drill bits? They make tasty snacks.”

Neb’s saddlebag opened under the influence of his magic, pulling out a package of Ryobi drill bits, giving them to the creature. “You and I have been friends for how long now, Vlad? I know you.”

“That you do, Neb. It’s good to have one person who is not a subject, but a friend. I’m glad to have you,” the creature rumbled.

“I know which side of my toast the butter is on, Vlad. I also know who provides the butter. I’m not stupid. Anything else before I head topside?” the unicorn asked.

“No, thank you. Just make sure dinner is on time. Call if there’s any delay,” the creature said with a yawn.

“Will do, Vlad. See you later,” Nebulous Nimbus said as he headed for the stairway up out of the unused subway station.

Author's Note:

I told you I have a new series in mind, and here it is. The start of it, that is.

Posting of this one is going to be a touch more erratic. For example, Chapter 1 is up now. I will not post Chapter 2 until Chapter 3 is complete, and so on.

There will be 'side chapters' appearing occasionally, as seen here in this one with Lexington and Vladimir. They won't be in every chapter, but will pop up every now and then.

Yes, I'm still alive, somehow. Maybe someday I will enjoy it again. Until then, may I bring a smile to your face and some knowledge to your brains. If you're not careful, you just might learn something!