New Homeport Island (36 page)

courtyard and said, “I need to officially recognize your senate, in
 case we get rescued or your boat gets us out of here.” Michael
 said, “You kinda’ already did that when these other guys got
 exiled over here.” Artimus gave a half wave of the hand and
 pulled his hand against his thigh to remind himself not to gesture
 too much and said, “I don’t think it was supposed to come out
 that way, I didn’t even know they’d been sent away.”
Artimus looked around for something to sit on and
 seemed to briefly consider the glass working kiln until he
 recognized what it had been used for and stared at it in a daze.
He said, “I need to gain some authority from you guys, to
 maintain them in a military structure. Some of them lack the
 maturity to have survived on trip to a bar without the navy’s
 mentoring. And, I mean I have to be able to fire one of you if
 things get bad.” He then used a stick and poked around at the
 glass flakes left in the kiln bowl. Tim said, “Rob’s the
 governor.” I interjected, “The senators are appointed by their
 working cast through a majority…a vote” Athena interjected,
“Well that might be…” And Michelle glared at her stopping her
 amid speech. I looked at Athena and asked rhetorically, “Divide
 and conquer?”  
Artimus said, “Ahhh…what about censures and
 such?” I replied, “I think were just too few to worry about
 filibusters and majority/minority” Artimus inquired,
“Misconduct?” and started laughing before he could complete
 the word then asked, “What kind of representation can these
 clowns get?” I said, “There should be a trade authority.
Preventing anyone from starving someone or gouging them no
 matter how unpopular they get.” Artimus said, “oh alright, I’ll
 tell them I got them that.”

Artimus strolled around the cobblestone courtyard
 again and glanced at the boilers, looked down then looked at the
 cabanas. He commented, “Looks like I’ve got a lot of work to
 do. Have a good one.” and headed out back to the military camp.
Athena asked, “Why do I get the feeling he’s up to
 something?” I replied, “We are way past ‘up to something’”
Mitch added, “Way past” Michael nodded with a funny smile
 scratching his chin looking at Athena like she was an airheaded
Barbie doll and said, “Way past.”
Joseph asked, “When’s that door going to get built.”
Michelle replied, “It’s going to be a gate, we’ll have something
 of it up tomorrow.”
Artimus returned to the landing site and prepared to
 make his announcement with a harrowing tale of expert
 negotiation and well placed arguments on both sides, as each
 conceded to concessions and a hard bargain was struck and a
 near civil war was abated , having spoken on their behalf he
 demanded no acts of aggression were made or threatened.
Artimus said, “I’ve just come back from my meeting
 with the senate. Many things were discussed and decisions were
 made. I have to tell you it got heated. As Mr. Elper became
 aware they thought we weren’t catching any fish, but we were
 instead taking advantage of them as I’m sure we all regret and
 the still we built here, we are still attempting to repair. We just
 aren’t getting things done. I think we need to start as they
 apparently did with some solid footing, they have a cobble stone
 courtyard.” As Artimus continued in his speech Master chief
Hauldbalm leaned over and whispered to Randy Brosuer, “I was
 in the bushes and followed him, I saw their wall and was just
 testing it gently, but I heard what was said over there and he is
 making all this up. It almost looks like he’s in on it with them,

but they are the only ones getting anything done and they aren’t
 taking anything from us but we’ve taken plenty from them. I just
 realized standing outside that wall that this is how he works; it
 was the same thing on the ship.” Brosuer whispered back, “So
 what do they do?”  Hauldbalm looked at him befuddled and
 asked, “You mean for us?” Brosuer said, “Ya” Hauldbalm
 replied, “Nothing, they take care of themselves over there with
 hard work. They don’t owe us we owe them.” Brosuer said,
“What about the chain of command?” Hauldbalm got irritated
 and said, “That is what got us here in the first place and given
 your role in the trial you were the last person I expected to try
 and stay in the ‘I out rank work’ category.” Brosuer with his
 arms folded seemed to be brushing flies away from the elbow
 nearest the master chief as he uttered softly while nodding,
“okay, okay, okay”
Artimus drew near the end of his speech stating
 clearly as though he were still in charge, “I won’t have you
 making me a liar and go to war, with your shipmates. They were
 your friends and they are just trying to survive, and if I were still
 a captain that would be an order to you and them, but I expect
 you’ll still stand for what is right and in this case, obvious.”  
Were it not for his somewhat obvious, or at least
 obvious to some, manipulations this might have been an
 acceptable management technique. But, he had a tendency to
 disgrace people that were about to receive a medal with an
 equally disgraceful ‘initiation’. He once tried to award a sailor
 with the medal of valor, the initiation was to have a three gallon
 bucket of horse semen dumped over the sailor first, the medal
 was refused and it is rumored that man returned with Dave’s
 wife’s head in a box, and showed it to him then disposed of all
 the remains. This was Dave’s karma; that is, both his fate

derived from his personality traits, and just a manifestation of
 his passive aggressive ‘intensity’. He was an ideal candidate to
 command a Spruance class destroyer.
Once Artimus finished his speech Gunners mate Smity
 asked the crowd, “Is that not your Captain?” QM2 Koleson
 responded, “I think I can answer that.” Artimus’s entire body
 braced and he held himself back in a manner befitting a man,
 then turned and walked away.
Chief Casius said inquisitively, “Maybe we should
 give him a second chance?” To which Chief Carl quickly
 responded, “Fuck you.”
For Artimus it was now or never, he would put it all
 on the table and do the unthinkable. He would head over to the
 beach front beneath the cliff and enter what had become the
 enlisted club, an act of flagrant disrespect to the privacy and
 dignity of the enlisted man. To imply the need for formality and
 respect for station in that type of social environment was an
 intrusive abuse of rank. As he turned the corner and saw the
 enlisted there their eyes went wide, this is where they go when
 they are on the verge of killing an officer. Their fists clinched
 and Artimus knew that that one piece of obscure tradition and
 etiquette not being adhered to might cost him not only his
 political play but perhaps an eye or a lung as well.
Artimus avoided making eye contact and announced,
“I’ve just spoken with the senate and things could get worse. I
 knew this is where you relax and I’ll be brief…I’m just going to
 say it; I am offering to be your captain again. I think it should be
 made a vote over on the beach head.” Then he turned and
 walked away listening for the sound of gorilla enlisted storming
 him from behind. He headed straight to the pentagon to once
 again piss in ‘his spot’. His shifted contextualization’s were

intentional, even if misplaced. He had in effect started a rumor
 in the enlisted club that there was talk of restoring him as
 captain, he had made his negotiations seem dangerous and
 heroic, he had made a play for power and had not yet revealed
 that there was to be a trade authority, he had implied he accepted
 his loss of authority, and that doom lies on the horizon. All in
 total a typical Navy captain of the sunken ship variety, but he
 was banking on increased productivity under his stewardship
 and he was in fact found guilty at trial, by his own crew, of
 criminal neglect. For this Captain, that was a ‘winning’ formula
.
It didn’t take long for the agitation in the enlisted club
 to set in. They returned at such a hurried pace it looked as
 though they would break into a run and start a tackling assault of
 the first people they came across.
‘Why did you send him over there?’ was their first
 question and it seemed like their second question though mixed
 with doubt and insecurity, reducing their assertion to near
 gibberish was, ‘What are we going to do without him?’  
Branson asked, “What is he doing now?” Milson
 responded, “Well boats, it seems he won’t let us die after all.”
Branson pointed at the judges table and asked, “What are
 those?” Milson smirked and said, “That’s what he got for us.”
Branson and Cair walked up and stirred the dominos after
 flipping the face down and selected the middle tile then
 commenced a game of dominos.
Cair said, “I know this sounds silly but as far as things
 he could get us this is pretty good.” Milson replied, “I got the
 winner next game.” Branson looked at him with a blank
 psychotic look and asked, “You play dominos?” Milson said,
“I’m better at pool, but ya.” Branson laughed and said, “You

ain’t got a chance…you don’t have your cowboy boots on.” Cair
 snickered and covered his mouth just before he bent over with
 laughter as if he were holding in his dentures. Branson looked
 over at the crowd watching the group that had stayed exclusively
 at the enlisted club since it started with the exception of getting
 food and said, “If he’s still a captain then I’m still a first class.
Deck division, quarters in the morning for work detail! Consider
 today a Sunday.”
Ensign Clarkson had a huge smile draw crossed her
 face and glanced at Swishzel. Swishzel glanced around at the
 crowd and noticed everyone seemed to accept the order. Then he
 glanced at Ensign Lees and he too was grinning ear to ear.
Artimus heard what was said from within the pentagon
 and his cabin boy stepped in and asked, “Sir, did you call for
 quarters in the morning.” Artimus sighed a sigh of relief and
 replied, “Here, let me explain a few things to you. Come sit in
 my lap.” Wildly gulped loudly and followed that order.  
As Clarkson headed to the pentagon to inform her
 captain she saw Lieutenant Capes dart out of the pentagon
 toward her and he asked, “You weren’t going in there were
 you?” She asked smugly, “Why?” Capes answered, “Their doing
 professional development again.”  Becky scoffed, “I thought he
 agreed it was just a delirium of fever?” Koleson standing nearby
 interjected in a comically feminine inflection, “He’s had more of
 those than you realize.” Jane stepped up and retorted, “Oh
 bullshit you bitch. It’s just sexually, he’s evil.”
Once again we sat at the end of our day in the boiler
 site tallying our day of survival. The fishing was done and once
 again successful, the water had been made, we had finished the
 cistern but waited the drying of the cement, and had built a wall.
We started setting ourselves up to fall asleep next to those we

trusted and were comfortable with and drifted to sleep by the
 faint light of the boiler fires. The gate for the wall would be up
 soon and this time I caught an interloper. I had hoped at first it
 was another boar, instead a female of the militant camp had
 apparently been practicing our sleeping ritual of ‘safe comfort’
 for weeks.
Atrisia slipped in and lay beside Tommi and took her
 hand. Tommi whimpered and rolled over turning her back to
Atrisia and Atrisia nuzzled in with a sigh of contentment.
Tommi began to dream; She was on a wooden ship
 dressed in coveralls and from the decks she hear a rumble
 bellow and the Captain yelled for her to investigate and report,
 but the captain was not Artimus it was Capes. She replied, “Aye,
Aye sir.” and rushed down a short wooden stair well striking
 below. From the glow of the kerosene lanterns she saw a hull
 plank kick in, in such a way that it should have broken or spilt
 water and a wooden barrel fell over and rolled to her.
As the barrel approached her she felt a Hot breath
 against her ear and just before she turned to look again the hull
 planks jumped inward, this time spilling some sea water. Tommi
 gasped and tried to run but her legs were intangled in a coil of
 line that had fallen on the deck. She reached up to a net in the
 overhead and pulled up to free herself from the line. As she did
 her shirt pulled tight and lifted exposing her midriff to the warm
 breeze that now filled the inside of the ship. She briefly
 considered that there may be a fire and realized this was not the
 destroyer she had served on but another ship. She pulled hard on
 the net and the buttons of her shirt popped off revealing her
 breast and warm drips of water landed on her nipples feeling
 like warm wax.

The hull smacked again and the hull planks broke sea
 water spilled in and began to flood the ship. There in the murk
 dark waters was some sort of creature swimming around and
Tommi yelled, “Shark!!” She heard mummers from the deck
 above her and realized they hadn’t heard her. She kicked at the
 line around her boots and knock her boats off and the line fell
 away, but her hands were now trapped in the net. As she
 struggled she realized she had forgotten her belt and feared one
 of the men discovering her predicament, the very notion of
 being caught that way made her body tingle down her spine. She
 decided to flip upside down and use her feet to free herself from
 the net, but could not manage to get her feet that high and the
 creature in the water was alerted to her by her movement. She
 saw one dark eye press up against the hull. The creatures body
 was slick and shiny black, it was so large it blocked the hole in
 the hull stopping the water. She thought, ‘that must be a whale’
 but then there was a shrill and tentacles slid up through the water
 and wrapped around her naked legs. Tommi quivered in fear,
 feeling a slimmy black tentacle slithering up her leg feeling for a
 path along her leg to take her down. Tommi moaned short and
 soft sighs as the octopus slammed the hull again.
The tentacle had reached the upper slop of her hip and
 began to entwine itself around her thigh. She felt the suction
 cups biting at her ass. She whispered to herself, “Don’t let it go
 in, don’t let it go in.” She cried out, “Please!!” and the tentacle
 released then slapped up again sharply at her ass then slid down
 like a tongue between her buttocks right against the soft
 sensitive anus. Tommi let out shuttering breaths and moaned
 loudly, she knew one of the men would hear, but she needed
 help and it was time to sacrifice her pride to save her life.