New Homeport Island (35 page)

long to build as one of Columbus’s ships? That was hundreds of
 years ago, but at least it was an actual shipyard and if you had
 told me they were going to build it without nails before I saw
 these small fishing boats I’d of said ‘fat chance’.”
Capes said in a tone of defeat, “He can’t be the captain
 and not in charge. He can’t be in charge unless something
 positive is happening and because he was convicted it is not
 insubordinate to say, I’m not sure this guy was ever capable of
 achieving results of any kind. Which just leaves us with what
Swishzel said, ‘if he’s not a captain we aren’t officers’.”  
Artimus had talked to Smity a few times trying to
 show it’s okay to talk to him but Smity maintained the demeanor
 of a man talking to a drug dealer on a dimly lit street. Artimus
 asked Smity, “So how’s the fishing going?” Smity took on a
 grimace looked down at his feet with his head cocked and
 replied, “Doesn’t look like we gonna’ starve this week.” and
 started to walk slowly away as though to signal the captain if we
 are conversing we are walking, there might be a way to imply he
 didn’t realize who he was talking to. Artimus began to walk with
 him and recognized the demeanor and true to form Smity was
 the recipient of a glare or two from those in the shade of lean-
 to’s or patrolling the beach. Artimus took this as simple
 resentment that would fall away eventually and figured he
 shouldn’t damage the social credibility of those that were most
 loyal to him before the catastrophe. So he uttered, “Have a good
 day, gunner Smity” Smity replied and managed to hold back the
‘sir’ he was accustomed to using with, “You too shipmate.” To
Artimus that was a glimmer of hope; ‘shipmate’…he was still
 their ‘shipmate’ a phrase he would have to bring back into
 common use.    

Chapter Ten
Forgotten Freedoms
 
Artimus sought to appeal to the senate and sent his cabin
 boy as a messenger. Robert Wildly stepped through the brush
 and said the wrong thing, “Your Captain needs you!” We all
 stood up and walked over to him as though he had told us to ‘go
 fornicate our own mothers’. He glanced at each of us and
Tammy said, “He’s not our captain.” Wildly stood tall and said,
“I represent the military of the united states not this damn
 island.” Michael replied, “Well, sailor when are you going to
 rescue us.” Robert replied, “You shouldn’t need rescuing…”  
Athena blurted out, “First, fuck you. Second, we are this islands
 senate and you are out of line.” Tim interjected, “What the hell
 do you want Wildly? All the food? All the water? Maybe a
 beach front home?” Wildly replied, “You sent us
 dominos…what the fuck is he supposed to do with that? Without
 a captain there are no ranks for us still in the military and chaos
 will set in.” Michelle replied, “No one’s constitutional rights are
 being violated over here, go back Wildly, go back”  
Wildly asked, “With what?” I replied, “With nothing
 from us, start working. We’re still building the boat and we’re
 better off than we were with all the games you guys are
 playing.” Wildly responded, “Look the captain has to restore
 order, and you owe him your help.” Tim shuttered and said, “He
 lost the ship; I stood bridge watches up there and saw the way he
 really is and for that I owe him?” Wildly responded, “Yes, he’s
 the captain.” Athena started to speak and Michelle stopped her
 then said, “Wildly, from New homeport Island senate, fuck off
 your insane.” Athena looked at her shocked and thought, ‘New
 homeport island?’ Athena then looked at Wildly and with a

voice trembling with sad emotion chocked out the words,
“Seconded”
Wildly changed his postured to more relaxed and said,
“Well…can I get some bread?” Michael responded to Wildly
 with a degree of threat as a response to Athena’s emotional state,
“No!!”  
As Wildly headed back we surveyed each other’s
 emotional state and decided that did in fact constitute an
 intrusion. Tommi coughed clearing her voice and said almost
 with a whisper that grew in volume, “It’s time for a wall.” Tim
 agreed, “Ya, let’s weave those pentagon type walls and coat
 them with mud.”
We had found some lime stone I recognized from the
 cement work I had done with my father in my childhood. The
 way it sucks moisture out of your hand when its powder. I had
 gathered some from the rocks jutting out on the beach and
 mixed it with sand and made a small ingot. Much like the glass
 work it was something the mason working cast was prepared to
 do but hadn’t done yet. I asked, “Have the masons found more
 lime stone?” Athena replied, “No, Rob. But, I’m sure there isn’t
 enough for a wall.” I replied, “We need the cistern done and
 we’ll need another on the hill to catch rain for the farm.”
Athena replied, “What about the wall?” I replied,
“That’s the wood workers. They’ve thrown us off of
 productivity with bullshit drama, we need to get back on task.”
Michelle replied, “That’s true, wood workers will start the wall
 and with that a cistern can be defended let’s get it done.” Athena
 and Dave Miles headed over to the rocky area to find the lime
 stone and pulverize it. Michelle, Tim, and Tommi went over to
 the tree line and started gathering sticks and branches. I joined
Athena and Dave smashing rock.  Megan started sorting rocks

for the cistern saying to herself, “A stone wall, plus a stone wall,
 and a stone floor until you have a stone bath tub that everybody
 drinks from but can’t bath in…yep, why not?”  
We pulverized the rock and put it in one of our water
 bowls. We could only use any cement we mustered as mortar.
Michelle glanced over at me sternly as I smashed rocks together
 and scraped at them and I realized there must be a better way, I
 said, “let’s use the pumice stone and sand to sand away the
 limestone instead of this monkey stuff.” then glanced back at
Michelle and she was pointing at Athena. I looked over and
Athena was bent over scrapping the rock and her ass was very
 near my face. Michelle coughed and wagged her finger. I looked
 to her and said, “Okay.”
Mitch was up on the mountain side standing watch
 again, we were all on hand to tend to the boilers which no longer
 included making paper to wrap charcoal in. Mitch said to
 himself, “It’s finally happened, those idiots over there were
 smashing rocks together trying to start a fire and the one guy
 that knew how to start a fire Indian style, is down there
 smashing rocks together looking for gold.”  
Artimus stood scheming on the beach, cabin boy had
 just returned and said, ‘no help’. So, Artimus looked back in
 there direction and realized once again they had gone native. He
 starred out at the horizon and watched the ocean roll and he
 uttered, “Now would be a good time.”
Just there on the horizon to the left of Dave’s gaze a
 pod of whale’s surface and blew their spouts. A drift of krill had
 lead them toward these warmer and shallower waters and they
 basked on the surface, in the midday sunlight. Shimmering
 rainbows hung above them from their water spouts. The fish
 darted around them in zigzags and spinning funnels. Dave

starred so hard at the horizon he became dizzy with vertigo
 waiting for a solution. As the flying fish leapt up over the
 whales whistling through the air, the birds that nest on the island
 swarmed above the whales. Dave stared blankly at a blank and
 void horizon as his mind washed away. He slowly turned to his
 right and thought he briefly saw a puff of white cloud he hoped
 to be an exhaust of smoke or steam from a ship. The whales now
 well to the left of his sight sloshed their tails to stir the krill, as
 birds landing on their backs. It was a good rest for the pod, to be
 so near land the rolling of the ocean had  a more refined meter to
 it trails of break water and swirling currents not associated with
 a flow of cold to warm, or a major current, just a relaxing roll.
Dave turned back to the pentagon and considered
 retiring for the day. Dave said to himself, “I’ll make more turns
 tomorrow.” The whales in the distance well refreshed with air
 dived sharply deep and away back to sea into a cold dark abyss,
 and Dave kicked up sand as he headed to his lean-to with in the
 pentagon.
Michelle and her wood workers had formed several
 sections of wall and slightly overlapped them in a slight wedge
 configuration and they began to coat the walls with mud. She
 left notches in the walls for viewing ports or spears, but the only
 means we had for firing any type of arrow was a sling and to fire
 one through a hole of that size would be an absurd act of
 excellent marksmanship with a nearly prehistoric weapon.
As the day past into night the rocks for the cistern had
 been selected and would be fitted as close as possible to reduce
 the amount of cement needed. The sanding of limestone was
 effective and there was a fair amount of limestone powder in
 that water bowl, it looked as though two or three days of sanding
 would suffice.  

Dave Artimus lay in his lean-to within the pentagon
 speaking at a discretionary tone with Swishzel and Lees. They
 were refining his presentation and argument for the native
 senate.  
Artimus said in a officious voice, “I, Captain David
Artimus here by recognize the island senate as an impromptu
 state senate of the united states and demand to be recognized as
 the commanding officer of the military occupation of said island
 in the name of the Congress of America.” Swishzel said, “I
 don’t think they’ll go for that.”
Artimus retorted, “I, David Artimus Captain United
States Navy recognize the Island senate as a U.S. territory, and
 wish to be recognized as a captain of the U.S. Navy” Lees
 replied, “I think that whole approach is probably not so good.”
Artimus rolled over and looked at Lees and asked,
“What the fuck am I supposed to say? Hey kids it’s your uncle
Dave? Uncle Sam wants his island back?”
Lees asked, “Can you join the senate as the military
 liaison or commander in chief?” Clarkson said, “Might as well
 ask where’s the beef.”  Dave replied, “Becky you know you’ve
 never been funny right?” Clarkson replied, “Pretty funny when I
 catch you with your hand in the cookie jar, your pants down, and
 your thumb in your ass and it turns out the Admiral is standing
 right behind me.” Artimus said, “You bitch!” and jumped on her
 trying to beat her teeth in with a rock. Her yells brought Mr.
Deckly running in followed by various blue shirts. Artimus
 quickly jumped off and laid back down as though nothing had
 happened and said, “How about, ‘Senate of the island we seek
 only to be included in the survival efforts you have excelled at
 and await your orders’?”

Spayner was still recoiled from the outbreak of
 violence and uttered, “Let’s go with that.” Deckly signaled the
 enlisted to return to their posts or to head over to their enlisted
 club beneath the cliff. Lees appeared to have a headache and
 went to the water vase for more water.
Hudlow stepped up to the opening to the pentagon and
 asked, “There’s an enlisted club here? Can I use the phone?”
Artimus snarled at him, “Ya, go order us a pizza.” James
Hudlow stared blankly at Artimus and said with like a zombie,
“Okay”. Artimus watched him walk away and continued to stare
 in the direction that Hudlow had been standing in.
Artimus’s heart started pounding and racing, he felt
 dizzy and uncomfortable and uttered, “We’re all going to die
 here if I don’t fix this you fucking idiots.” then he glanced
 around at the other officers in the pentagon and said in an
 irritated hush, “Stop working against me.”
Artimus stood up unzipped his fly and urinated where
 he had been lying and said, “Once again, that is my spot.” Then
 walked out of the pentagon. Once Artimus was well out of ear
 shot Lees said, “We’ve been here for months, how is it that his
 urine still smells like bacon?”
At the boiler site the wall construction was complete
 and braces were put in place, they were still deliberating on what
 type of door or gate to design for the wall. The cistern’s floor
 stones were laid and the sand and limestone mortar were
 carefully being mixed. The slurry of sand, water, and lime were
 being stirred in the bowl and more lime and sand powder were
 in a small pile near the rocks.
Fitting the stone was troublesone, in some cases I had
 to use smaller rocks to shrink the gaps in others I attempted to
 reshape the stone. I had no means of cutting the stone or even

chiseling it but that didn’t stop me from trying. It was like a
 jigsaw puzzle made up of lost pieces in a jigsaw puzzle factory.
I ended up using pieces of the wooden planks made to fill gaps
 but left room for the mortar, the occasional odd sized rock
 would fill a bit of misfortune.
The cisterns base and first few wall stones looked like
 it would already be watertight before we even applied the
 mortar. Athena looked in for where to start with the mortar they
 had made and glanced at me with a big small. As she filled those
 gaps Tammy seemed hyperactive pointing into the cistern and
 saying, “You missed a spot” To which Tim replied, “Sure is a
 good thing you didn’t lose your glasses.” Which gave her pause
 because she didn’t wear glasses, but she was supposed to and
 didn’t think anyone knew.
Artimus stepped through the tree line and as he made
 the clearing he noticed the water level had receded. He paused
 and wondered if there was any advantage to be found in a tidal
 swamp like that and given no reason for lengthy deliberation he
 then marched on to our camp.  
As he reached the walls he stopped to admire the
French fort look of it and noticed we apparently intended to
 blend the walls in with brush so as to look less like a target and
 more of a terrain obstacle. He stepped up to the opening and
 postured himself but then realized the gesture would be wasted.
We stood up and looked at him and I glanced up to Mitch on the
 mountain top and saw him shrug then head down toward us.
Artimus glanced over at the nearly complete cistern
 and said, “I’m sorry for your loss, which one was it?” I said,
“It’s a cistern and we don’t have a lot of cement so I prefer to
 think of it as a drinking bath tub.” Artimus chuckled and said,
“Good Idea.” He walked over and paced around our cobblestone