Sunday Week 1 of 2 vs BYU.
Allen awoke and got ready for the day. He had his best gear on. He wore a red button down shirt that had billowy sleeves. His shirt buttoned up so that his holsters wouldn’t rub on his skin. He also sported a vest, but it made his appearance too jumbled and confused so he took it off and put the holsters and scabbards back on. He had to poke another hole in his belt to make it cinch up properly. The extra slack wasn’t long enough to loop over the top and it looked goofy so he tucked it back in under the buckle. He slid 2 of the composite swords into position and admired himself in the mirror before heading out. He put on his floppy hat with the giant plume to complete his look and then went to get coffee.
The morning air was still, cool, and humid. A collection of dew was on every exposed surface that wasn’t protected, and condensation dripped off of most of the buildings. The rancid oil smell was gone, or at least unnoticeable. Perhaps he had just grown used to it. He was looking down the street toward the ocean but couldn’t see his ship. He spent one night on the land since his travels on the ship, and it took him longer to get his land legs than it did to get his sea legs. It was still early. His exhaustion from his adventures on the ship had finally caught up to him when he didn’t have duties to perform so he had fallen asleep almost immediately. And although he had slept for 10 hours, he awoke refreshed and had risen far before the sun did.
“What are you looking at?” Captain Harvey wondered aloud, causing Allen to jump. He turned to face the voice as the captain sat in an old wooden chair by the side of the road.
“Nothing.” Allen admitted. “I was looking for our ship but can’t see it from here.”
“Theres goin to be a big party today.” Harvey continued. Allen’s eyes were still making the adjustments to the blackness of the morning, but he could make more of him out than he had just a few seconds ago.
“We have been in a media blackout. How big is this party going to be?”
“Big. The Utes ere the crowd fav rite, but ye probly guessed that much.”
Allen nodded in the dim light. He looked for the cameras but saw none. He took a seat in a chair that was next to the captain, momentarily forgetting his weapons causing him to stand and make some adjustments before sitting back down.
“The others are learning from our mishaps.” Captain Harvey stated. “Turning our victry to de feet.” He pulled a pipe and some tobacco out and began packing the pipe before stowing the materials and pulling out an old style lighter. His deft movements in the dim light proved that he was accustomed to doing this, and he could probably do it in pitch darkness. The crackle of the tobacco and the sweet scent convinced Allen that this man was the true article. He took a couple of puffs in short succession before speaking before expelling the smoke from his lungs. “They put the little TV’s by their guns as well.”
Allen closed his eyes and tilted his head back in exasperation. “Well that sucks.”
“Aye. They also got yer crew to do the work. They poach yer men and conscript them against ye.” He took a couple short puffs from the pipe. The hot smoke probably burned his mouth and lungs, Allen figured. He needed to let the smoke cool as it passed through the pipe.
“Well that really bites. What else did they do?”
Harvey adjusted his posture in the hard seat while the pipe danced from where it was perched in his mouth.
“They figgered not to cut the crews. None of em. Ye er runnin on half a crew n they get to have full crews.”
“I was wondering about that. Shit.” Allen had to take a moment to digest this new information. His head sunk down to his knees and he put his face in his hands in a dual face palm. “I don’t EVEN know what to with that. What am I gonna do about that?”
“Ye aren’t in this alone.” Harvey pointed out. “Ye have the right team. Keep doin what ye are doin. Let the other lads give ye hep. Ye have a bright crew.” Harvey took another dose of nicotine before tapping the embers out on the side of the handrest on the chair and stowing it in a vest pocket. The sweet smell of the tobacco had changed to the rank smell of an ashtray as he did. Harvey didn’t seem to notice.
“I will discuss it with the lads over breakfast.” Allen stated as they both gained their feet to head into the mess hall.
Allen made himself one of the bacon egg sausage and cheese on toasted bagel sandwiches that he loved and went out to find out how long until the festivities would begin. When he ran into Rick he decided to give him another chance. He didn’t think he would ever like this bully. There didn’t seem to be anything Rick could do to make up for what he did to the women.
“How about we start the carnival off with a bang?” Allen suggested.
“What do you mean?” Rick asked.
“Well, just as the festivities are about to begin, we could fire a volley of all the cannons on the ship.” Allen explained. “Remotely.” he added.
“No.” was all that Gomer said in response.
Allen was sure that it would be cool to start the party that way. He was also sure that Gomer II would always be a Dickhead. He went back over to his friends that were beginning to gather as they made their way to the Dining Facility, and they talked about how neat today would be. The smell of good food drew them in more than anything else as Allen continued to take small bites from his overstuffed sandwich. They sat and talked and laughed as a group. The camaraderie that Allen had hoped for was beginning to manifest itself. It was exciting.
Just as the group was filing outside through the double doors some men grabbed Allen and escorted him on to the Fluor Marie and into the brig. None of the security people would tell him what it was that he did, and he could not think of what he did to deserve this, but he was sure it was Gomer calling the shots. When he got to his cell he sat on his bunk and looked into one of the cameras and shrugged his shoulders. He scrutinized his wrists where the abrasive hands of the men roughed up his skin. It was red and tender but not injured too much. He brushed himself off and looked to see if he could find a tin cup in the cell to run along the bars to make a clattering sound like in the old movies, but there was none.
“Gomer part II will always be a Dickhead.” He said into the camera. Then he lay down on the cot and tried to rest. There wasn’t anything he could do from here. Although he wasn’t tired, when he lay down, he awoke to the sound of every cannon on the ship firing sequentially. It startled him even more than the loudspeaker bugle had at boot camp. And although he didn’t mean too, he counted the 30 gunshots from the cannons. They must have been fired from remote control. The timing interval was too perfect. He could hear the activities going on outside. They sounded like everybody was having a great time.
There were carnival rides and games, and every manner of food at the party. People had come from all over the US, but they were mostly from Utah and Texas. They set Emma in the water at 12:30 pm, and she motored over next to Fluor Marie. She seemed most impressive as she floated off the launching contraption. She was nearly identical to the Fluor Marie in every way except the coloring of her simulated wooden hull. It was bright and cheery red like the Utes ship should look instead of the slight blue tinge of the pale white of the Fluor Marie Hull. The stark contrast was striking when the two ships were moored side by side on the peer. Emma seemed to have flamboyant quality when put next to the diminished grandeur of the Fluor Marie. Probably due to the sails and rigging. Her cannon doors were shut where Fluor displayed her guns proudly. She sat high in the water as she awaited provisioning. She had a look that appeared like she would tip over if she were in the high seas during a storm. The crowd was impressed with the 2 new jewels of the sea. Many of them commented on how they couldn’t wait for the show to be televised. “Why did they have to make them wait so long?” And that sort of thing.
Allen could hear the muffled crowd reactions, but little else. He waited for what seemed an eternity to be sprung from his prison. Finally he heard footfalls come down the stairs, and the characteristic jingle of keys that you might hear in any old movie jail. 2 of the men that hauled him on board and threw him in the cell opened the gate and let him out. Allen tried to think of something profound to say but couldn’t think of anything.
“Did I miss anything?” he said as the gate squeaked open. The jailers looked at one another but didn’t say anything. “Can I get my weapons back?” Allen asked as he stepped out into the bright sunlight as the irises in his eyes slammed shut. He squinted one eye, and closed the other as the third jailor handed him his gear. He slung it on and stowed his weapons at the top of the gangplank with his one eye still squinted. When he started down the gangplank there was a huge cheer from the crowd that caught him completely off guard. He jumped when it happened, and his other eye popped open and a smile was instantly covering his face. He strutted down the gangplank and into the electric crowd. They cheered him on and shook his hand. They handed him things to autograph. He was a regular celebrity. When he spotted Todd and Cindy making their way toward him, he ignored the fans and went to greet his friends. He shook Todd’s hand and gave Cindy a hug. She squeezed the air from his lungs unexpectedly. He coughed and she eased up a little so that he could breathe. The crowd went wild.
“They think you’re the captain.” Todd announced.
“Where is the captain?” Allen asked.
“Nobody’s seen him all day.” Cindy answered.
Allen looked around but couldn’t see anything except fans. He was certain that the captain would be there someplace, but he was not.
A small squad of Utes roamed around. They had mandatory stations set up where they had to sign autographs during certain parts of the day, which seemed neat when you thought about it. Like celebrities at conventions. They would talk about their part in the show and hear about what was going on with MIT and Cal Tech in little snippets. But it only seemed neat until you were doing it. Then it was a snooze fest. But when they were not sitting and doing the mandatory signing sessions, they enjoyed the atmosphere and mingled with the fans.
There was an arena set up where combatants could sign a waiver and sword fight with the fake swords. The special effects crew had the gear set up to shoot the tagged costumes and swords with special effects, and for a small fee someone could get a DVD or a thumb drive of the swordfight activities. When Allen and Todd were there, they offered to join in the fun as well, and it boosted sales. After about an hour of watching the combatants, Cindy stepped up to help with the sales as well. Apparently there were a few BYU students that were chomping at the bit to get humiliated by Cindy again.
“Slow learners.” Todd said as Cindy prepared to humiliate another group.
She was hesitant at first, but Allen coaxed her into fighting them. He wanted to see how they moved during combat so that he could identify their weaknesses. He had made an arrangement to get a copy of the recording of any time the Cougars were in the ring. He wanted all the intel he could get. They seemed to have free access to all his crew’s actions. He wanted to bring the fight to them. A big plus was that she fought with 2 swords like he did. He would see how they react to the dual wield method of fighting. She danced around a while with them so that Allen could get his good intel, but when she had her fill of them, she dispatched them so quickly that it was sometimes not even noticed by the CGI. It didn’t take long until the Y got tired of her beating them up. They milled away from the arena and let her make her magic with the fans, which she did quite proficiently.
She made a good contest when fighting the fans. People were paying some money to get their own piece of history. Cindy would start off with enthusiasm but subdued attacks and feints, attacking with obvious moves that were easily defended, and then move into more complex moves to distract her foe. She made it look like she was doing her absolute best while giving most of them a chance to win the contest. She made it look like she was doing her best, but they would always beat her. Any bystanders who were watching would get a kick out of it. Many of them would pay to get video of them beating her. And she was a gracious loser. She would bow, fight, lose, and congratulate her foes while shaking their hand. Each contest lasted between 3 and 5 minutes. The little operation was raking in the cash while she worked on her endurance training. When she was exhausted from fighting, she was about to leave when 4 BYU students wanted to duel with her.
“I have some things I want to do. I don’t want to spend the whole day here. I’ll fight you all, but only if I can fight you all at the same time.” She said. They agreed and the contest began. The guy working the PA announced that Cindy was fighting four people at the same time they slowed and gave time for the crowd to grow. By the time the real battle began there wasn’t anyplace to fit any more fans. The big screen television that was set up had a crowd that filled the overflow area to capacity.
Cindy wondered if she should just lose right out of the gate or make a good show of it first. She didn’t expect to win, but she wanted to humiliate them. She decided to get some good practice in. She did a quick survey of the area but didn’t see her shipmates. Neither Allen, nor Todd anyway. She was already winded and tired from dueling for what seemed like the entire afternoon. She wiped the sweat from her face with the back of her left forearm sleeve, and the contest began. She wouldn’t let herself be surrounded by the men although that seemed like their tactic. They tried to circumvent her perimeter, but she backed into a wall which had the appearance of her being at a greater disadvantage. She was well aware of the wall and had practiced encounters like these many times in her head. 2 of them lunged at her from opposite sides as the other 2 in front of her stayed clear of the flailing composite swords. She anticipated the lunge, and moved in on the one to her right and poked him in the naval with her composite sword and followed through with a slash from her composite short sword. It knocked the wind out of him, and he fell to the ground breathlessly. She was mildly concerned about his wellbeing, but she didn’t look down at him as she staked her claim near a jersey barrier in front of the grandstands. The crowd seemed to compress, and cheered her on. She didn’t look up at any of them. She remained focused on the task at hand.
The man who was injured left the arena, and the other 3 looked even more determined. They didn’t have the look of people who were playing a game. Now they looked like they were out for blood. Once again, they tried to circle her. Once again, she got up to the wall, except this time the wall was shorter, and sloped. She was completely aware of its dimensions as well. She waited for a few moments for them to reveal their hand, but they were waiting her out this time. She didn’t want to be surrounded so she did the same as before, but she had to move a lot further to close the distance with the apprehensive man to her right. Her sword caught this man in his left upper chest, but the short sword caught him hard under his right arm. The slash seemed to hurt the fellow. Cindy was concerned about his wellbeing as well, but once again she ignored him to stay in tune with the rest. It was a good thing too. They both jumped at her before the wounded man could get out of the way. She put her back on his and rolled over him putting him in between her and the remaining 2. He wasn’t appreciative of the move, and he let out a groan when she did it. Only then did she look at the man who was grabbing at the sore area under his arm. She hoped she hadn’t done any permanent damage to him. It looked like he must have pulled a muscle or something. She hoped she hadn’t hurt a rib. They take forever to heal, and it hurts teh whole time it takes to do it. She would worry about it later. The fans had mixed feelings about the contest now, but the majority were still rooting for the underdog. They still assumed it was her, but it was becoming obvious that she was going to be victorious. The 2 remaining men got to either side of her as a medic helped the wounded man off the field.
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“Parlay!” Cindy yelled as she sheathed her short sword, and then the long sword. One of the men put his sword down as well and came to shake her hand but the other was enraged. His fury had control of him, and he lunged at her with his sword. Cindy didn’t have time to pull either of her composite blades so she dodged the main attack, and he swung with the fist on his off hand as he went by. His left fist caught her just above her shoulder and glanced off, but not before pulling some of her hair out of her scalp. She reached for the part of her head that lost the clump and looked at her hand instinctively to see if there was blood but there wasn’t. She turned and kicked him in his left kidney with her right boot before she even realized it. He grabbed for the spot with both hands as his torso contorted into a disfigured angle. She rushed to his aid but he was furious with her, so she picked up his sword and left the arena. Half the crowd cheered as the other half was stunned. Cindy wanted to view the recording to see if she was in the right or not. She apologized to the men she defeated as they simultaneously apologized for their teammate. She may never get used to winning. It seemed to be the hardest part.
Allen missed all the action. He was milling about and checking out the booths. He went over to the sponsored booths for the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. They had a big banner stating that this was the most successful program that they had ever sponsored. When they noticed Allen walking by, they all recognized him and wanted to talk. Allen was curious how they could have information indicating a show’s popularity when the show hadn’t even begun to be televised. They told him that the viewership was closely monitored, and that since the commercials began viewership had nearly doubled from the previous summer season.
“That’s cool, but it doesn’t answer my question. It could be any number of things.” Allen reasoned. They were excited to talk about other things, so Allen indulged them, and gave up on finding the answer. He figured that they just said that for better advertising. Perhaps it was effective. He wondered about that.
There was plenty of good food to be had. The week of crappy food made it seem even more pleasant. The party continued to follow a schedule. When the sun was about to set people gathered around the ships to watch the show. The Utes did the fight song, and then did it again with some of the fans from the U of U. Everybody seemed to be having a great time. And then when the sky was faintly glowing from the scattered sunshine from the sunset off to the west there was a light show followed by a fireworks show. The fireworks came from just behind, and directly in front of the Fluor Marie. It was an awesome spectacle for the eye to behold. It went on for ten minutes or so, and then the port cannons fired followed by the starboard cannons, and then again with the port cannons. It was deafening, and impressive.
After the party was winding down the Utes boarded the ship and started to raise sails. When they were ready for the ship to be shoved off it drifted out a way before the small influence of wind pulled at the sails and masts and dragged her out to sea. The big guns sounded again as they left the calm of the harbor, and they were underway.
Monday Week 1 of 2 vs BYU.
The Fluor Marie moved up the coast toward Florida. The steady west wind kept her sails filled during the night. She was inside the combat boundary by more than a nautical mile by 11:00 pm. They trimmed the sails and moved to the south to await Emma on her journey eastward. They turned toward the center of the combat area and waited. The trap was set, and the crew went to bed. No conflict could take place in the dark of night, and the Fluor Marie had every advantage. Emma would be docked points for running her big Caterpillar engine and docked more for not being in the zone by midnight. They were not in view as the sun lit up the sky. Captain Harvey expected that they would lag by a couple of days. When the sun was peeping above the horizon Allen peered at it through the tinted glass of the sextant and noted the time. Then he went down and looked at his almanac to see how far east they had travelled. They were 15 miles due east of the island of Galveston. When it became apparent that the Y wasn’t going to make a showing, they hoisted sails and began making way east again. Their angle was slightly south. They were making good time. They were doing 6 to 8 knots as they crossed the gulf. Allen tried to get better at judging their speed by the angle of the wake. It held steady so he had a good bearing on how fast 7 knots was. There was also a characteristic splashing sound that helped, but it was unreliable since the waves came at them at different speeds and angles all the time.
They enjoyed bacon and eggs, biscuits and gravy, sausage and ham. Just about everything good about breakfast. Allen was happy they were eating good again. He enjoyed some of everything and a few cups of coffee.
Gomer had them running around the boat and practicing ship stuff all day. There weren’t any opportunities to practice with the swords. Cindy took it upon herself to whack at a practice dummy anyway, but before she had worked at it for 5 minutes she was thrown back in the brig.
They decimated the target boat with nearly every volley as they sailed east. Ricky had them move the target further away and recalculate. They were quickly getting the cannons dialed in. The optics on the cannons were fine tuned as London made a tiny adjustment here and there, and by the end of the day they would be right on the money. Each person got a chance to shoot the cannons and get some good hits. This would get the algorithm for the unmanned cannons to shoot real accurately when the undersized crew was working on other things. The camera ship came along side, and they fired a couple of volleys at it for good video.
The engagement area moved daily. Only the first one was set for midnight, the rest were set for sunrise. They hurried along into the night. They had to get about 110 miles by sunrise. That would be at an average speed between 5 and 6 knots.
At dinner time they had Chicken and dumplings, veggies, and cheesy bread. Rachael volunteered to bring Cindy dinner before Allen got the chance. He still planned on visiting before bed time.
“I guess they’ll be cutting the crew this weekend then.” Todd said.
“Naw, I thought they told everyone.” Allen interjected. “They aren’t cutting the crews.”
This caused mixed feelings for the people at dinner. Some were happy that they weren’t getting cut, but most of them realized the implications of not cutting back the crews.
“That’s bullshit.” Shupe said, and everyone agreed. “So, we have like 14 people, and they all have 20? How is that fair?”
“We are being punished for getting out early.” Allen explained what he had heard from captain Harvey earlier. “Did you notice how bright and red the BYU ship is?”
“Yeah.” everyone murmured.
“That was to be our ship, and this theirs. The shipwrights were falling behind on this ship so they changed it up at the last minute so that we would have a disadvantage.”
“Why?”
“When we started to do well in boot camp, they got mad.” Allen explained. “When we figured out that the swords were crappy and we built our own, they wanted to punish us for getting an edge on the competition. When we suggested that we get muskets, they decided to punish us. When we got rid of Gomer, we were punished.” Allen continued. “And they are watching what we do so that they can copy us. The cannon targeting systems that we had to put on while at sea, they got theirs on while at dry dock, and with the help of the shipwrights. And the shipwrights. They got mad that we found a way to still get out early. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t make the others eat crappy food.” That comment caused everyone to murmur discontent. “Now let’s have the best fighters on the show. Cindy cleans the floor with their finest. These people have loyalties to these other schools. They don’t want us to kick their home teams in the chops.”
“Agreed.” Shupe said. “But why did they get us and BYU in the first place? We are good, but we don’t have the prestige of MIT or Cal tec. Why were we invited to the dance in the first place?”
No one spoke for a long time. Finally, Allen stood up and stowed his tray. The rigging from the ship crackled as they powered through the waves toward Florida.
“Ummina go check on Cindy.” Allen said as he moved out of the galley.
“Me too.” Rachael and Todd said simultaneously, but the rest of them got up and followed.
“That is a good question.” Cindy said. “Maybe one of the financiers is a Utah or BYU alumni.”
“I don’t know. But they sure are stacking the deck against us.” Fish said.
“It’s my fault.” Allen admitted. “I keep looking for every advantage, and fight to get what I want. They are trying to keep me down, and you guys are just getting punished for my sins.”
“Maybe.” London said. “But we wouldn’t need to be knocked down if we weren’t on top. Why are we in the big show anyway?”
The sound of heavy footfalls approaching made the students wary. Maybe it was Rick coming to ball them out for talking to Cindy, or some other infraction that they weren’t aware of. Captain Harvey came through the doorway with a tin cup of something in his hand and approached the students.
“The 2009 sugar bowl.” Harvey stated as he found a place to lean against the bars of one of the cells and took a drink from his oversized cup.
“Sir?” Travis asked.
“The 2009 sugar bowl. That’s why the U is here.”
All of them were surprised to see the captain. He had been illusive since the first time they saw him. Most of them were afraid of him. He was an ominous figure of authority that was not to be confronted.
“I don’t understand. What does the sugar bowl have to do with the show?” Rachael asked. Her confusion overcoming her fear of the captain.
Captain Harvey took another sip of his drink and brushed his mustache with the back of his hand and coughed a couple of times.
“In 2008 the University of Utah was undefeated in football. Champions were chosen by the BCS at the time, and the school’s record was important, but not necessary to be champions. The system wasn’t rigged, but the best schools in the country had a tendency to stay the best because they claimed that the schools in the west had an easier schedule so they could have easy wins. Schools in the east had hard fought wins that carried more clout.” Harvey took another sip of his drink. “Well the Utes were undefeated that year. They were the only undefeated team in the nation, but they were denied the opportunity to play for the championship because they had an easier schedule during the year.”
“Did they have an easier schedule?” Rachael asked.
“Perhaps, but it didn’t matter because they were denied this opportunity. They were pitted against Alabama to play for second best.”
“And Alabama is always tough.” Cameron stated.
“Exactly. The U was the underdog going into the game even though they were the only undefeated team in the nation. If they would have lost to Alabama it would have validated the system of coaches voting for the teams that they feel are best. But they didn’t. They decimated the crimson tide causing everyone to question the BCS rankings for college ball. It embarrassed a lot of people who were convinced of their superiority. It wasn’t long after that until they changed up the system for defining who was champions.”
“So, they invited the U to this contest because of that?” Rachael asked.
“Not exactly. But they needed to have an underdog team to compete against the great MIT. They chose Cal tec for their immediate adversary, but they needed to represent an underdog that didn’t really have a chance. When Utah was suggested, they agreed that they would be the team.”
“And BYU?” Rachael asked.
“The U of U and BYU have been rivals for a long time. And BYU has fans all around the globe because of the Mormon church. The two schools seemed custom made for this contest. They were well underway to showing how much better MIT and Cal tec are than your two teams, but you kept getting the upper hand. Pulling ahead against all odds. They want their schools to win, but you keep messing it up with your unconventional thinking.”
“Meddling kids.” Allen murmured to the laughter to everyone.
“Exactly.” Harvey agreed. “I have taken it upon meself to shut down the video transmitted from this ship. They will get our video feed at the end of the week when we meet in shanty town.”
“Won’t that piss them off?” London asked honestly.
“Aye. Already has. They changed up the combat area to give the advantage to Emma. We won’t be able to meet the zone restrictions and still make it to Florida in time to be in Shanty town before the deadline, unless we use the engines. We aren’t going to use the engines. We are going to take the hit and bare it stoically.”
“That’s not fair.” Rachael observed.
“No shit.” Fish said. “Is this how the whole contest is going to go down?”
“Most likely. Be ready to change tactics on a fly and be on the lookout for what they may be tryin next. These men don’t have the same scruples as the rest of us. They need to save face, and Allen is kicking them in the teeth every chance he gets.”
“Not intentionally.” Allen defended.
“No, not intentionally, but they don’t like to be outsmarted. Especially by a theater major.” Harvey stated as he gave Allen a nod just as he was about to object.
“Won’t that cause the viewers to root for us though?” Titus asked.
“It will. And if we control the viewers then we will gain more sympathy for our cause.” Allen suggested.
“We don’t want to CONTROL the viewers. We don’t want to control anything.” Shupe announced.
“Control was a bad word. I meant... influence.”
“I don’t think we are making a difference. I think that the world just sucks, and we are just living in it.” Shupe added.
“Are you kidding me?” Cindy finally said from her holding cell. “Have you not been paying attention? This show hasn’t even begun, and we influence people across the globe. Just from our commercials. And those big parties that we have with hundreds of fans and followers. What drives them to come halfway across the country to see us for an afternoon?”
“That’s not for us, that’s for the show. We don’t get the credit for that. We are just cogs in the machine.” Shupe defended.
“Take care of the machine.” Cindy reminded him.
“I just don’t think that we are going to make a difference, in anything. This show will go on even if we are cut from it.” Maddux admitted.
“Nonsense.” Allen suggested. “When we garner good will toward the world, including our enemies, we have the power to change everything.”
“Bullshit. You must be pretty cocky to think that you can change the world.” Maddux stated flatly.
“Aye.” Captain Harvey agreed. “Cocky indeed. But changing the world is what we ‘ere doin.”
Few of the young engineers felt like contradicting the captain. The brig grew quiet for a few minutes while Cindy lay on her cot, and Harvey sipped from his cup.
“I’m doing this for the money. Not to influence people that piracy is good or anything.” Maddux said at last. “I just need to pay for my college and finish my degree so that I can get to work and make real money.”
“And yet you are changing the world.” Rachael said as she put her hand on his shoulder consolingly. “When you influence a single person in a good way, it changes something inside them. If you make someone happy, just one person happy, that happiness is infectious, and it spreads. That person infects another, and they infect another.”
“Until the infection that you caused circles back to reinfect you.” Fish said. “This gives you a chance to infect a lot more than just one person. Imagine infecting hundreds, or even thousands.”
“That’s not me, that’s you guys. I’m immunized.” Maddux inferred amusing the others and getting a sharp look from Rachael.
“Perhaps you are resistant.” Rachael mused. “But you are not immune. When you find out that you are a carrier you will change. “You’ll see. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Eres sumthin ye oughta know.” Harvey said as he made his way out of the brig. “They reserved the right to boot people from the show. If ye cause an infraction, or break certain rules, they will boot ye fer sure.”
They made good time, and were in the next combat zone before dark, albeit barely. They continued to cut through the water at a high rate of speed at the same direction until bed time. The personal pleasure boats that seemed to hang out near them diminished when night fell.
Cindy was chatting it up with Rachael when Allen came down into the brig. Rachael gathered the Styrofoam and plastic dishes and left Allen to spend some time with Cindy. Cindy started working the springy exercisers as he approached.
“How long you in for?” he asked as he sat in the chair that wasn’t there earlier. Cindy just laughed.
“If I get booted from the show I’m taking Gomer with me.” Allen said as he sat in the chair.
“Why would you get booted?” Cindy asked. “You are the golden goose.”
Allen laughed. “Yeah, that’s what I hear. But if you get kicked off I’m leaving.”
Cindy stopped working the exerciser. “That’s not fair.” She said. Allen looked her in the face, and she had a hurt look.
Allen just pondered her look and her statement. She was right. That put a lot of pressure on how she would do things if she had to work things out a different way. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought that all the way through. But I don’t want you to get kicked off the show.” Allen explained. “I would rather leave with you if you had to leave. That's what I should have said.” He corrected.
“Ricky won’t be a problem anyway.” Cindy assured him. Allen didn’t think she was right. He had been plaguing the team from the word go. Allen wondered if every team had the same kind of first officer. Maybe they got the second Gomer because of the treatment they gave the original one.