CHAPTER 6
JULY 19TH –DAY 108
The meetings no longer produced anything constructive. Matthew wondered if it was worth even continuing them. It wasn’t good for morale when they came up with nothing but negative results. No one would even consider building a boat. He didn’t blame them. They had barely survived in the first one. Only with Su Li’s insistence did he continue the meetings. She was convinced it was the way they would solve their problem. Maybe she was right. He snapped back to attention.
“What did you say, Carl?” No one else seemed to have heard either.
“I said why don’t we try to climb the cliff?”
“Hey! That’s a great idea,” exclaimed John. “If there’s anything out there, we’ll see it from the top of the cliff.”
“That cliff has to be three hundred feet high,” observed Steve. “I doubt we’d get more than a hundred feet.”
“It ain’t straight up,” said Will. “There’s gotta be a way to the top. If we climbed it, we could build a signal fire.”
“We have nothing to lose,” Ron added. “But, if we see land, you’re not getting me near a boat.”
JULY 20TH –DAY 109
Matthew, Ron, Will, and John started the climb early the next morning. The weather was perfect. A light breeze blew, just enough to keep it cool. Four hours later, they stood on a large outcrop. The cliff still towered high above them.
“We still got a hundred feet left,” claimed Will. “But it looks like we ain’t goin’ any farther.”
“I should have explored the base a little better,” Matthew replied in disgust.
“It’s not your fault,” said Ron, out of breath. “We knew this might happen. We just gotta find another way.”
Matthew grimaced and looked at John, who was leaning against the cliff wall, facing the island. He had been silent the entire climb.
“You’re awfully quiet, John. You OK?”
“Fine. I’m just awed.” Matthew, Ron, and Will had been too busy climbing to notice the view. Now, as they looked out over the island, they were struck by its beauty.
Surrounding the southern part of the island was a swaddling band of sand. The gentle waves, washing on the beach, suggested a vision of paradise, without a hint that there might be people stranded on it.
Lush, green vegetation covered the island like a deep carpet, sloping gently on three sides toward the waterfall that dominated the center. The water cascaded over a small cliff twenty or thirty feet into the pool Ron had found on the first day. Even from this distance, it was spectacular.
Matthew raised his eyes toward the horizon. The ocean looked like glass. It extended as far as he could see in every direction except the north, which the cliff blocked. When he looked back, Ron was watching him.
“Well, I guess we got our answer,” Matthew said softly.
Ron disagreed. “Not yet. We haven’t seen behind the cliff yet.”
“We came in from that side, remember?”
“Yeah, at sea level,” replied Ron, adamant. Matthew nodded, amused that Ron had become a motivating force behind the group.
The Bright Moon finally reached the rendezvous point, an island six hundred miles off the coast of Africa. Johnson was almost in a good mood. They had been able to hook up to a diagnostic program through a satellite link, and had run it on the control room computer.
It had taken a couple of weeks to get the ship going. Even with spare parts, they hadn’t been able to get her up to one hundred percent. Radar was still out. It checked out perfect, but showed nothing, even when another ship passed. The recipients of the ship would just have to fix it themselves.
They had helm control, but computer communications to the control room was still out. They’d had to man the control room and sail at a lower speed. It had taken a lot longer to reach the island than they’d planned. Johnson and his men were exhausted.
He’d made contact with their pick-up two days ago. If there were no more problems, they’d be on their way home by tomorrow. He looked at the island through his binoculars.
They were sailing toward a cove that protected the north end of the island. A reef, partially visible at high tide, surrounded the cove and opened the way to a cave in the cliffs. A strong southwest current would make maneuvering into the cove difficult, especially since he had to relay commands to the control room.
Toward noon, Johnson approached the cove and expertly sailed the Bright Moon through the strong current. Once inside, the waters were calm. He headed the Bright Moon toward the towering cliffs where he observed an opening between forty and fifty feet wide and almost a hundred feet high. He maneuvered the ship into it. At a distance of two hundred feet, the walls opened into a large cavern over a hundred feet wide.
They anchored the ship close to the wall on the port side. Johnson went through the shutdown procedure described in the manual. He shut down the ship’s main power and lights. The ships batteries would be enough for essential power until the new owners came to get her.
Except for the occasional sound of dripping water seeping through the rock walls, the cavern was silent. The sun filtered through a hole in the ceiling, and lit the interior. The blackness ahead of them indicated that the cavern was more than just a hole in the cliff, but they didn’t have time to explore.
A natural platform jutting out of the rock wall received the hydraulic gangplank. A rope, threaded through an eyebolt fastened into the wall, disappeared up into the throat of the cavern. The extra length was wound around a locking wheel, and about fifty feet of loose rope lay on the floor.
One of the men swore. “That’s gotta be at least two hundred feet to the top. How’re we gonna get out of here.”
Johnson nodded to Wadding and Oldegard, who each pulled guns and shot the other four. “You won’t have to worry about it,” he said to the dead men. They pushed the bodies overboard into the water. Johnson looked over the side and watched them sink. He turned to the two who were left. “Get that line over here.” Oldegard retrieved the rope and brought it back to the ship.
“Secure it to the winch.”
Oldegard tied the line to the wire, and Johnson started up the winch with the remote control. He took up the slack until the wheel turned enough to be able to unlock it.
“Release the wheel.” When Oldegard did so, Johnson reversed the winch. A cage, fastened to the other end, dropped from the hole in the ceiling.
When the cage reached the level of the deck, the three got into it and Johnson reversed the winch. He pressed the start button and let go of the remote. It swung to and fro, and banged against the winch. A ball, bolted to the line, would press against the emergency shut down, and stop the winch when it had wound up enough of the line. The cage slowly rose.
At the top of the cavern, they stepped onto a small platform and fastened the cage to a trolley. Johnson released the line, and dropped the loose end into the cave. He wanted to drop the cage as well, but he was afraid it would fall on the ship.
That should keep out any potential snoopers, he thought. As far as he knew, the only other way into the cavern was the way they had come. The island was supposed to be uninhabited so he wasn’t too concerned. Still, it was wise to take precautions.
The tops of the cliffs soared another hundred feet over them, and they had to climb. There was a path, but it was rough going. They set up camp on top of the cliff.
JULY 21ST –DAY 110
Morning dawned crystal clear.
While Wadding and Oldegard gathered more wood, Johnson built a small campfire. He loved camping. He and his partners pulled a lot of assignments where they had to spend the night out in the wilds. He put the coffee on the fire and gazed out over the island.
The view was spectacular. The cliffs rose three hundred feet, straight up out of the sea and towered over the rest of the island. He supposed it was possible to climb them from the island side, but he wouldn’t want to try it.
The island was luxuriant with vegetation. He observed a waterfal
l on the distant eastern side of the island and regretted that they didn’t have time to explore.
He was admiring the view when he saw the hut at the same time that Wadding saw it.
“Look!” Wadding pointed. Johnson trained his binoculars on the hut. It looked half torn down. He relinquished his hold on the binoculars, and gave them to Oldegard.
“I thought this island was uninhabited,” said Wadding.
“It was supposed to be,” replied Johnson irritably.
“Maybe it still is. I don’t see anyone, and that hut doesn’t look like it’s in very good shape.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t there the first time we were here. Somebody had to build it.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t there? You could have missed it.”
“No way. We were here for almost a week.”
“I don’t see any people.”
“That doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”
“What’re we gonna do?”
“We’ll have to keep a look out. Otherwise we do nothing and report it when we get back.”
The helicopter picked them up later that evening. Johnson was glad to be done with the project. His responsibility was almost over. They hadn’t seen any habitants on the island, but he still had to report it. It wasn’t his problem. He looked back at the island. They were heading north, and all he saw was the top of the cliff.
JULY 22ND –DAY 111
The colonel headed the briefing. “When will we be in helicopter range, Captain?”
“Three hours, sir,” answered the captain of the SS Targa.
“Very well.” He faced the men that made up the task force. “The trip will take two hours. You have time to recheck your gear.” He emphasized the next. “Make sure everything is in order. And I mean everything. The helicopter has only enough fuel to get you there. You will be dropped off at the north end of the island. Then you’re on your own. You will have to get the ship home without help. We expect that the Americans will be gone, but you must be prepared for anything.”
He looked at the six men who would bring the Bright Moon home to Aswadán. They were handpicked for this mission, and each one was familiar with the ship.
“Any questions?” One man raised his hand. “Yes, Commander?”
“What if the Americans are on the ship, Colonel?”
“As I said, there should not be anyone on the ship. Their radio message said they were picked up last night.”
The commander’s face showed that he was not convinced. “And if they were not picked up?”
The Colonel looked at him. “As the Americans would say, Commander, ‘Use your imagination.’”
Matthew was satisfied. The thorough reconnaissance they had done the previous day had paid off. The top of the cliff was just over fifty feet above them. They were out of breath, but they were exhilarated. They’d made the trip in three hours.
When they reached the top, they sat down to catch their breath.. Looking southward, they saw what was left of one of the huts on the beach. They could even see the others. They waved, and their comrades waved back.
“There was a campfire here,” Will said. “Recent –like yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” exclaimed Matthew and Ron simultaneously.
“Yep, fresh ash. They didn’t even bother to hide it.” He pointed to the small pile of wood by the dead coals.
“Then, they must have seen us,” declared John. “Why didn’t they contact us?”
“Maybe they was here for somethin’ else.” Will’s eyes focused on the ground. A crevice separated them from the seaward side of the cliff. Will walked toward its edge and studied it.
“There’s a path. It goes down into this here ravine. It was used not too long ago.” The others joined him.
“How can you tell,” asked Matthew.
“Look at them rocks. They’re a different color and there’s still signs a’ dirt on ‘em. They been turned over. Prob’ly by someone kickin’ ‘em or pushin’ ‘em outta the way. If they was here longer, the dirt would be washed off by now and the sun woulda bleached ‘em like the rest.”
“Can you tell how long ago?”
“Two months, judgin’ by their color, maybe more. But the path was used yesterday.” He pointed at the tracks. “Three men come up outta that ravine yesterday. And they didn’t go back down.”
“Where are they?” asked Ron.
“They left by chopper.” They gawked at Will.
“How do you know,” asked Ron.
Will pointed to a clump of bushes about twenty feet from them. “Here’s where the chopper was. You can see where the runners broke some of the branches.”
“I can’t see anything,” said John.
“Sure you can, if you look. See here? This branch is broken. That don’t mean nothin’, but there’s a bunch of them that was layin’ down. They’re almost standin’ up again.” He pointed toward the other branches. “There’s a straight path for four to six feet. That don’t mean nothin’ either, but there’s two rows of them, six to eight feet apart. And here’s a track in the soft dirt.”
“Where’d you learn all this stuff?" asked Ron. “You didn’t get that from your Scoutmaster.”
Will grinned. “When I was a kid, we lived next to a Sioux reservation, and I was buddies with one of them. He taught me a lot about tracking. We was in Nam together. I didn’t learn much about survival like you, but we sure could track them gooks through the jungle.”
“I don’t understand it,” said John. “Why didn’t we hear it?”
Will answered. “The cliff woulda blocked a lot of noise if it came from the north. Besides, we live next to a waterfall. It ain’t that loud, but it’s loud enough to drown out the noise of a helicopter if it’s on the other side of the cliff. I think the important question is why they didn’t contact us.” He pointed down the ravine. “Maybe we’ll find the answer to that question down there.” They looked at one another in unspoken agreement.
Matthew nodded. “Okay.” Will led them down the path.
Half way down, Will stopped so suddenly that Matthew almost bumped into him. He looked over Will’s shoulder and saw the cage, hanging from a beam.
Will studied it. “Let me go check it out.”
“Why do you have to check it out?” asked John loudly.
“Shh!” hissed Will. “Like you said, son: Why did they leave without contactin’ us? They musta seen us.” He left them without a sound.
They didn’t see him again until he appeared about ten feet from the cage. He waved. “Y’all can come on down. Ain’t nobody here.”
Upon closer inspection, they saw that the beam from which the cage hung was actually a trolley, which, in turn, hung out over a hole in the ground. Ron stepped onto the platform beside it, and looked down into the cavity. “Oh, no. Not another boat.”
They gaped at him in astonishment, and crowded onto the platform to see. Below them, almost hidden in the darkness of the cavern, was a ship –a large ship. Ron broke the silence.
“At least we don’t have to row it.” They laughed until tears ran and they were spent. After a while, they gathered their composure. Tension had evaporated. Curiosity took its place.
“Is anyone on board?” asked John.
Matthew studied the ship. “I can’t be sure, but I don’t think so. She’s shut down; no lights; no nothing.”
“She looks military,” Ron put in. “American.”
“Yeah. But, I don’t see any weapons.”
“What’s a ship like that doing here?” Ron asked. When Matthew didn’t answer, he continued. “We better check her out.”
Matthew looked at him. “We should discuss that with the others.”
“That ship didn’t get here by itself. Somebody left it here. Somebody will be back to get her. We may not have a whole lot of time.”
“Good point,” Matthew agreed. “We’d better get moving.”
“Time to go,” informed the commander. He moved out on the helic
opter deck. As his men boarded , he looked up at the bridge where the colonel and the captain of the Targa stood watching. Soon the American frigate would be theirs. He hoped for an easy mission, but he had been in the Aswadán navy far too long. Murphy’s Law. If anything could go wrong, it usually did. He fingered the pistol in his belt, and wished he had some something to calm his nervous stomach.
Everyone was so eager to find out what had happened that they all talked at once. Matthew’s raised hands begged for silence.
“We found a ship,” he said when they quieted. The news sparked another round of questions.
“Please.” He waited for them to quiet down again. “There’s a cavern inside the cliffs, and there’s ship in it. That’s all we know.”
“How long has it been there?” asked Dave. Matthew nodded toward Will.
“I think it got here a few days ago. We found signs of people on the top of the cliff. Looks like they left by helicopter.”
“Didn’t they see us?” moaned Shirley.
“They saw us,” replied Will. “They just didn’t want us to see them.”
Dave chimed in. “Why not? What’s going on?”
“Because it’s a military ship.”
“We don’t know that for sure,” Matthew cut in. “We have to check it out. The cavern is probably the one we found further in the cave.”
“What if it isn’t?” Dave persisted.
“Then we’ll just have to climb the cliff again and go through the hole. Why don’t we check it out, and then decide what to do. All those in favor?” Several hands went up.
“Opposed?” No one opposed. “All right. Let’s do it. Who’s going with us?”
“Steve and Rick,” said Ron. “They have mechanical experience.”
Matthew agreed. “You too, Jeff. You’re our electronics expert. Ron, you and Will get what you think we need, and we’ll meet back here in ten minutes.”
“Right. Let’s go.”
Matthew and Su Li walked toward the hut. When they got inside, Matthew sighed deeply. “We might have to take that ship. But if I make the wrong decision, I could get us all killed.”
“What alternative do we have?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then, do what you think is right until someone thinks of something better.”
“I wish it was that simple.”
Ten minutes later the men were headed to the cavern. They lit torches and held them out over the edge. Ron lay on his stomach and slowly lowered the ladder he had brought until it reached solid floor. He leaned it against the wall and climbed down. They dropped a torch to him.
He held the ladder while the rest climbed down. They looked around the cavern. It took some time for their eyes to get used to the darkness.
“Look at this, will ya,” said Will excitedly.
A ship materialized out of the cavern’s darkness, a good deal of its hull still intact. It appeared to have been a four-masted schooner. Pieces of the masts stuck out of the water, and leaned against the hull of the ship. The forward spar was gone.
“This means there’s an outlet to the sea,” concluded Jeff.
The cavern walls rose into the darkness above them. The torches gave off too little light to see the ceiling or the walls on the other side.
“Creepy,” remarked Ron. He noticed Matthew watching him. “I’m all right. I get a little nervous in dark, closed areas.”
“We’re all a little nervous,” Matthew said.
“I’ve lived with it this long. Another hour or so isn’t going to kill me.”
“Just make sure it doesn’t,” cautioned Jeff. “We need you around.” Will and Rick echoed in unison.
“Right.” Ron smiled sheepishly. “Okay, which way do we go?” He pointed with his fingers. “Eeny meeny miny mo –Left.” They walked to the left. Ten paces later, the floor ended abruptly into the water. “That’s that. We have to go the other way.”
A path led them around the wreckage to the other side of the cavern. Their flickering shadows, projected by the torches onto the walls of the cavern, followed them. Ghostlike tentacles of light reached toward them from around the next bend. They made their way, touching the wall to maintain a hold on reality.
“Watch out for the pirates, guys,” whispered Will. They held their breath.
“There she is!” whispered Rick. The ship loomed out of the darkness like a phantom frigate. But it wasn’t a phantom; it was real. As they got closer, the eerie light turned into rays of sunlight filtering through a hole in the ceiling. As one, they tilted their heads and saw the sky.
Ron pointed at plants in the wall. “It looks like the sun shines in here around noon every day.”
Matthew stayed back to study the ship, while the others went ahead.
“Aargh!” screamed Jeff. He was backed up against the cavern wall, eyes riveted to a spot on the ground. His face reflected pure horror. Matthew followed his eyes to a bloated body lying partially out of the water. There was a small hole in the head. Three others lay face down in the water. Crabs were busy at their gruesome work.
They stared at the dead men. For the thousandth time Matthew’s memory flashed back to his wife, to the Forestall, to the explosions, to the screams. He felt the searing heat and paralysis along with it. With difficulty, he willed himself back to the present. Ron’s haunted eyes revealed where his thoughts were.
“You okay, Ron?”
“I dunno.” Ron wrung his hands and gasped for breath.
Matthew pointed to the bodies, his hand shaking uncontrollably. “What do you think?”
Ron stared at the bodies. “Looks like they were shot, and then pushed into the water. Somebody either didn’t want the extra baggage or didn’t want witnesses.”
“What do we do now?” asked Steve.
“We came here to check out the ship,” Matthew said, “let’s check it out. We have to figure out how to get on board.”
“Right here.” Ron grabbed a rope which hung over the side and climbed to the main deck. Matthew threw him a lighted torch.
Ron found the mechanism to operate the hydraulic gangplank. He maneuvered it off the platform and lowered it. It stopped about three feet from the cavern floor. They hopped onto it.
“Jeff and I will check out the bridge,” said Matthew. “Will, stay here and keep watch. Ron, take Rick and Steve and check out the control room and the machine room. Check the ship’s batteries. Maybe we can turn on some of the lights.”
“Right.” Ron disappeared into the ship’s interior, while Jeff and Matthew made their way up to the bridge, each carrying a torch. The ship was over two hundred feet long. It reminded Matthew of a small destroyer, or frigate, as they were now called.
“You all right?” Matthew asked Jeff.
“No. I never saw a dead man before –except in the movies.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not a pretty sight. You never get used to it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“This ship might be our ticket out of here.”
“Matthew, we don’t even know how to run it. What if they come back for it? We have to think about the women.”
“That’s true whether or not we take the ship. Right now, I don’t think we have a choice.”
Matthew opened the door to the bridge just as the lights came on. They stepped in just as the ship’s public address system sounded. “Let there be light!”
Jeff grinned. “One minute he’s cracked, and the next he’s entertaining us. I wonder how Doris handles the personality changes.”
“I don’t know. It hasn’t been easy for her. He’s improved a lot.”
“True. What are we looking for anyway?”
“I want to check out the system. If the engine room is okay, we can take her out.”
They walked around the bridge and turned on some of the systems. The computer refused to boot up. Matthew picked up the intercom. “Bridge to machine room.”
“Machine room here,” Ron’s voice c
ame back. At least the ship’s internal communications worked.
“What’s it look like down there?”
“Looks like they went through a bad storm. They must’ve broken something because there’re parts lying all over the place. Everything checks out, though. The batteries are at ninety percent, and all systems are ready. I sent Rick and Steve out to look around. You powered up the bridge yet?”
“We’re working on it. Can you come up?”
“Soon as Rick and Steve get back.”
They continued to power up the systems one by one, with the exception of radar. Sonar showed a depth of forty feet under the ship.
“This is a military ship,” Ron stated when he got to the bridge. “They tried to disguise her, but she’s too sophisticated.”
“I know. Looks American –to me anyway.”
“I’d stake my life on it. You should see the control room and the machine room. It’s one whole computer system –classified too. I helped design this stuff.”
“Oh?” Will said.
Ron grinned. “I haven’t been a total basket case. I’m still a Chief Petty officer in the Naval Reserve. They keep me on as a consultant because I’m supposed to be an expert in the field of modern machinery. I just don’t go to sea anymore. –That is, before now; you’ve seen why,”
“Then you know how to operate this ship,” said Jeff.
“Well, there’s nothing in the machine room I don’t know. But, Matthew’s the captain.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a ship,” said Matthew, hesitantly. “It shouldn’t be too difficult if everything works. We have a GPS accurate to within a few feet, sonar, and radar. But I can’t handle her alone.” He felt sick and saw the look Ron gave him. Ron knew the real problem. “Can you get her going?”
“I think so,” Ron answered. “The bow and stern thrusters show full operating capability. We can operate engines from the control room, but we won’t be able to do more than five to ten knots.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure about the engines yet. Besides, we don’t have a lot of experience.”
“What are bow and stern thrusters?” asked Jeff. He didn’t have the slightest idea of what they were talking about.
“Propellers mounted in the bow and stern of the ship, parallel to the keel,” explained Ron. “They help maneuver the ship sideways by feathering the angle of the prop, just like with a plane. This ship has four of them, two in the bow, and two in the stern. There are retractable scoops on each side to funnel the water to the thrusters at higher speeds so they don’t cavitate. This ship can turn on a dime at thirty knots. She could probably do over forty knots without even straining.” He noticed the puzzled expression on Jeff’s face and added. “That’s between forty-five and fifty miles an hour.”
Rick whistled. “You could pull a lot of water skiers at that speed.”
“If we take her out, do you think you could handle it?” Matthew wasn’t talking about the ship.
Ron shrugged. “It’s better than a rowboat.”
Jeff burst out laughing. He bit off his laughter when Matthew glared at him.
“We need to stock up on food and water, and we have to check if there are supplies on the ship.”
Jeff pointed his thumb toward the side of the ship, where the bodies lay in the water. “What if their buddies come back? At five to ten knots we’re not gonna get very far.”
“Let’s take one thing at a time,” interrupted Ron. “First, we have enough supplies. Steve found a freezer on board full of food, enough for a crew of thirty or forty. Second, there’s a desalinization plant, so we don’t need water. We even got enough fuel to last over two months at normal speed. Whoever set up this ship wanted to turn the key and sail away.” He paused. “The Navy doesn’t give away ships like this one. Our lives won’t be worth two cents when these guys come back. I say we start her up and get the hell out of here.”
“I agree,” said Matthew. He hoped he was making the right decision. Too many lives were depending on it –again.
“What’s the hurry?” Rick wanted to know. “You said yourself, it’s a sophisticated ship. None of us can operate it. Besides, we’ve been here for over two months. One more day isn’t gonna make any difference.”
“We don’t want to be here if those people are coming back,” said Ron in exasperation. “It didn’t bother them to kill four people. They aren’t gonna care about us.”
Matthew terminated the discussion. “We’re gonna take her. Ron, you have one hour to get her up and running. Rick and Steve can help. Will, stay here on watch. Jeff and I will go back and get the others. Any problems with that?” Ron shook his head.
Jeff nodded toward the bodies. “What about them?”
“Ron, look around the ship for something to cover them with. Something we won’t need.”
“Right.”
“Everybody get your stuff. We’re taking the ship,” Matthew informed them.
“You decided this on your own?” Dave accused. “We should discuss this.”
“Before you waste time discussing, you should know. We found four dead men in there.” Some gasped at that. “And they didn’t die of natural causes.”
Dave hesitated. “You said yourself someone would probably come back after the ship. If we take it, they’ll probably come looking for us.”
“If we don’t take it, they still might come looking for us.”
Dave continued doggedly. “You don’t know that. We don’t even know how to run the ship.”
“We’ll learn. Got any more objections?”
“No –Yes. I’m scared, for my wife –for all of us.”
“We’re all scared. And we’ll be just as scared tomorrow whether we take the ship or not. Anything else?”
“No.”
“Good. Now listen, and I’ll tell you why we’re taking the ship. One –we get off this island. Two –we get back home and get to see our families again. And three –it’s the only chance we have left.” Matthew paused. Dave didn’t answer.
“All right then. Everyone, grab what you can. If it’s too big to carry, we don’t need it.” They looked at him as though expecting something else. “Let’s do it,” he commanded. They grabbed water flasks, food, and hastily folded blankets. Five minutes later, they started toward the cave.
They could hear the throbbing of the ship’s engines even before they reached her. When they rounded the turn in the cavern, the bright lights of the ship almost blinded them. Matthew threw his torch into the water and the others followed suit. They’d been told what was under the tarps, but it did little to dampen the anticipation they felt about leaving.
The name of the ship was written on her bow in large, white letters, Bright Moon. She was painted dark blue above the water line, red below it. The ship filled much of the gigantic cavern. Even in the low light, she looked sleek. They boarded her.
Matthew was so tense, his chest hurt. He felt a constriction in the lower part of his chest that made breathing difficult. Trying to shut out the sounds of men screaming, he shut his eyes and inhaled deeply. Then he slowly exhaled.
Ron was waiting for him when he got on the ship. He saluted. “Welcome aboard, Captain.”
“Knock it off,” Matthew said with a lame grin, but he saluted back, and clapped Ron on the shoulder. His tension eased somewhat. “How’s she look?”
“We just have to untie and weigh anchor. I’ll stay in the control room. You’ll have to relay commands from the bridge.”
Matthew shook his head. “That won’t do. I can’t take her out by myself. I need you on the bridge.”
“Can’t do it, Matthew. We don’t have computer communications, so we can’t control her from the bridge. You have to take her out, and I have to stay in the control room to receive your orders.”
“Ron–”
“It’ll be okay. Sonar is working, and you have helm control. We’ll only be doing a couple of knots. All you have to do is keep
her in the deepest part of the cavern until we get her out. Just relay the commands, and I’ll give you as much power as you want to the thrusters in either direction.”
“You’ll have your hands full with the engines.” Matthew was beginning to panic.
“No, I won’t. Steve’s worked on big engines, and Rick is a good mechanic. They can take care of it.” Ron grabbed Matthew’s shoulder with a firm grip. “Matthew! You can handle it.” Matthew took a deep breath. Interesting. Ron was encouraging him.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
Ron a grinned. “Let’s do it.”
Matthew chuckled. “Yes, sir.” He saluted and turned toward the others.
“John, Jeff, Carl, Doris, and Su Li. Come with me.” They followed him to the bridge.
He pointed to the stool in front of sonar. “Sit here, Jeff. Keep your eye on those numbers. That’s the depth. We’ve got forty feet of water under us. If it starts to decrease, sing. Got it?” Jeff nodded.
“Carl, take the helm.” Carl’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry. I’ll be steering the ship. You just put the rudder where I tell you. This pointer is the rudder position. Right now, it’s at zero degrees; that’s amidships. Keep it there until I tell you otherwise. If I say ten degrees left rudder, turn the helm so that the rudder points at ten degrees left of the zero on that gauge. If I say ten degrees left rudder again, add ten more degrees. If I say ten degrees right rudder, subtract ten degrees from your left rudder position. Understand?”
“I think so.”
“Good. John, you’re our computer expert. Ever seen one like this before?” He pointed at the console.
“I worked with my father with something like this on civilian boats.”
“Well, it’s not working. See if you can find out why.”
John looked at him, nervously. “The ones I worked on with my father weren’t connected to the boat. I might break something.”
“You won’t. We’ve got overrides in the control room. You can’t activate anything unless we allow it. And you can’t hurt it more than it already is. Just do the best you can.”
“Right.” John started looking over the system.
Matthew guided Su Li to the rear window on the starboard side of the bridge. “You’ll have to watch out of this window. I can’t see the starboard side because the superstructure blocks the view. If we get too close to the cavern walls let me know.”
Su Li looked unsure. “How much room do we have?”
“I’ll let you know in a minute.” He took the intercom. “Bridge to control room.”
“Control room here,” Ron answered.
“We’re ready to weigh anchor. Doris will relay my commands. Ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’re out of here.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
The helicopter reached the island. With practiced movements, the six-man taskforce lowered the raft to the water. Then they jumped out of the helicopter, swam to the raft, and climbed on. The helicopter left immediately.
Once on the raft, one of the men started the motor, while the rest of the task force unpacked their gear.
Matthew gave the earphones to Doris, went to the port side of the bridge, and checked out the rear window. The tightness in his chest refused to go away. He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled, willing himself to be calm.
“Rudder amidships,” he commanded. Carl put the rudder amidships. Matthew waited, and then realized Carl had already done it.
“Carl, when I give you a command, repeat it back to me right away so that I know that you understand what I said.”
“Right,” acknowledged Carl.
“Rudder amidships,” Matthew repeated.
“Rudder amidships,” echoed Carl. Matthew smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
“Tell Ron to take her back slow, Doris.”
“Take her back slow, Ron.
“Slow astern,” echoed the intercom.
“How’s our depth, Jeff?”
“Forty feet.”
The ship began to move and the anchor chain loosened. They slowly took up the slack.
“All stop,” Matthew commanded when the ship was over the anchor. Matthew worked the control to lift it, and then they were free.
“Slow astern.”
Doris relayed. The ship began drifting toward the left wall. “Short pulse on the thrusters to starboard.”
Doris relayed the order into the intercom.
“Short pulse to starboard,” echoed the intercom.
The ship moved toward the exit.
“How’s it look, Su Li?”
“It looks very narrow.” She sounded nervous. He moved to other side of the bridge. The cavern narrowed to ten or fifteen feet on each side of the ship, not as much clearance as Matthew would have liked.
“It’s okay, so far. Let me know right away if we get closer than ten feet.”
The sea was rough, but the cove was quiet and there was plenty of room for the raft. It was easy getting in. Getting out with the ship would be another matter. The opening in the reef was barely visible. One mistake and the reef would rip the ship apart. Once inside the cove the task force stopped to get their equipment in order.
The ship inched into the throat of the cave. At the stern, the rest of the group recoiled instinctively when the walls closed in on them. Matthew almost recoiled with them. The mouth was about two hundred feet behind them. The ship drifted dangerously close to the wall.
“Depth –twenty-five feet,” Jeff sang out.
“Short pulse to port,” commanded Matthew.
“Short pulse to port,” said Doris into the intercom and Ron repeated her command. They were still too close.
“Short pulse to port,” repeated Matthew. He wondered if the others were as nervous as he was. “Update depth every fifteen seconds.”
“Short pulse to port,” said Doris. The ship began to move away from the wall.
“How’s it look, Su Li.”
She gave him a nervous smile. “It looks okay. We have around fifteen feet.”
“Weapons ready,” ordered the commander. The metallic clicks, as they readied their weapons, were reassuring.
“Depth –forty feet,” reported Jeff.
The mouth grew larger as they neared it. Matthew fought down the fear that it would snap shut before they could get through it. His stomach knotted; he held his breath. Less than fifty feet to go, and they’d be out in the cove. A boat appeared in the mouth of the cave.
“What?” Matthew gaped at the boat. He saw the men with rifles raised.
“What?” The commander gaped at the ship bearing down on them. The floodlight almost blinded him. They were trapped in the cave. There wasn’t enough time to turn the raft. There was movement on the deck. He panicked, raised his weapon, and fired. His men followed suit. The floodlight exploded.
Matthew grabbed the intercom from Doris. “All back! All back.” He hit the ship’s public address switch. “Get down! Hit the deck!” People dropped to the deck. The Bright Moon picked up speed. The mouth of the cave loomed behind them. Matthew ached to reach it.
They crowded the raft as close to the wall as possible. The Bright Moon was upon them. The commander felt like jumping out of the boat, but that meant sure death in the churning propellers. They hugged the seats of the raft as the ship went by. They could almost reach out and touch her.
The commander roared in anger as the Bright Moon left the cave. A shadow appeared on the bridge. He raised his rifle and shot at it.
Matthew ducked as soon as he saw the raised rifle. “Get down!” Bullets splattered against the metal bulkhead above the bridge window. Then, they were out of the cave and in the cove. An opening in the reef appeared a hundred yards to the stern. The stern of the ship headed right for it, but they were at the wrong angle.
“Quarter speed. Ten degrees starboard rudder.”
“Quarter speed,” relayed Doris.
“Ten degrees starboard rudder,” repea
ted Carl.
“Is everyone all right?” Matthew shouted, anxious for the others.
“We’re okay,” answered Jeff.
“Su Li! Check on the people outside, and tell them to get below.” She ran out the door. They picked up speed. They were approaching the opening in the cove, too close to the reef.
“Half thrusters to port!” Doris relayed and Ron acknowledged.
“Is everyone all right?” Su Li shouted, once outside.
Someone waved and answered. “Everyone’s okay.”
“Get below decks.” They ran toward the nearest door, and she returned to the bridge.
Matthew peeked out the bow window. The raft appeared out of the cavern, bouncing in the wake of the Bright Moon. The men in it were shooting ineffectively at them.
“Stay down, people. Shut down aft thrusters.”
“Shut down aft thrusters,” repeated Doris.
The Bright Moon started through the opening in the reef. Her bow began to swing to port, but its momentum carried it toward the reef on its starboard side.
“Thirty degrees starboard rudder. Full thrust to starboard on forward thrusters!”
Doris relayed, and Carl acknowledged.
The bow swung faster to the port while the propellers pulled the ship backward through the reef. The ship glided around the reef and through the opening. The bow followed, clearing the reef on the starboard side and continued to swing around until the Bright Moon faced the open sea. The ship had exquisite maneuvering capabilities.
“Rudder amidships.”
“Rudder amidships,” echoed Carl.
“Stop thrusters. All ahead full.” Doris relayed Matthew’s command.
Matthew’s adrenalin was pumping. Fire! Fire! Push those planes from the deck. He struggled to regain control. They were doing almost twenty knots. He looked back toward the receding island. The raft bounced in the waves outside the cove. The sea churned too heavily for it to follow.
The action was over. Matthew was sweating.
“Control room to bridge,” called Ron a few minutes later.
“This is the bridge,” Doris answered.
“We’re getting a high temp readout on the main port engine. We have to shut it down.”
“Acknowledged. Shut it down and drop speed to five knots. Tell everyone to come up to the aft deck.” Matthew felt light-headed and warm. He was twenty-five years younger and on another, much larger ship. There was a lot of noise.
“Acknowledged,” answered Ron. “Be there in ten minutes.”
Doris looked at him after she had relayed the message. “Matthew?”
Matthew could feel the heat on his face and hear the shouting.
“Matthew!”
Matthew shook himself back to reality. If there was a raft, there may be a ship in the vicinity.
“Oh –You’re our communications expert, Doris. Do you think you could get the radar system up and running?”
“I know the principles. I can try.”
“Good. See what you can do. How’re you making out, John?”
“I can’t get it to boot up. I’m going to have to look around for a backup.”
“Stick with it.” Matthew approached the helm and pointed to the compass. “Carl, right now, we’re heading at course zero-one-zero. We always repeat our course using all the numbers, so we understand each other. Since we’re probably south of Dakar, this course will eventually put us into the African coast. Change the course to two-seven-zero.
“This is a pretty large course change so you have to turn the rudder quite a few degrees. Give the ship time to respond, then bring the rudder back to amidships or she’ll keep turning until she overshoots, and you’ll end up zigzagging all over the ocean. We’re only doing about five knots, so don’t worry if you make a mistake. You can’t hurt anything at that speed.
“Once you’re going in the right direction, small adjustments will hold our course. When the ship begins to turn in the direction you want to go, return the rudder amidships, or maybe just a little on the other side of zero degrees. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Yeah, I think so.” He was dying to try anyway.
“Great.” Matthew took the ship’s intercom from Doris and flipped the switch to the public address system.
“This is Matthew. Please assemble on the aft deck in five minutes.” He turned off the intercom. “Jeff, you and Doris, too.”
“You guys keep watch,” he said to Carl and John. “If anything out of the ordinary happens just flick this switch and call me on the PA. I’ll hear it all over the ship.”
He made his way aft, where everyone waited, buzzing with excitement. All looked at him expectantly. He’d never felt so tired.
“How’s the machine room, Ron?” he asked.
“We can’t go any faster until we fix the port engine. With our experience, we can’t do much more than five knots anyway.”
“Right. How long to fix it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what caused the overheating. We can run on the starboard engine until I find out. It’ll just be difficult to steer the ship.” Matthew nodded, took a breath, and addressed the rest.
“Well, people. No one’s following us at the moment, but we have to assume that’s going to change. Somebody wants this ship. The worst thing we could do is put into a local port where they can find us. So we have to get the ship out to sea.
“Why not just head for home?” suggested Rick. The others nodded in agreement. Matthew hated to disappoint them.
“We’re already headed in that direction. But we’re at least six thousand miles from the coast, and we’re only moving at five knots. At that speed, it’ll take us four to six weeks to reach the States.”
There were other questions, but Matthew cut them short.
“Please –I know you want to get home, but we need a couple of days to familiarize ourselves with the ship.”
He was at the point of exhaustion. Su Li discreetly took his arm. He glanced at her appreciatively, then turned his attention back to the others. “In the meantime. We’ll need someone to relieve Carl on the helm after a while. He can show you what to do.”
He turned to Ron. “How about if you take over for a while.”
Ron panicked for a second. Then his face went deadpan. “Will do. Why don’t you and Su Li take the captain’s quarters? It’s on the deck below the bridge.”
“Okay. Keep the ship on an easterly course. Take whoever you need to fix that engine. And, see if we can get computer communications up.” Ron acknowledged, and Matthew and Su Li left.
“You heard the man. Jeff, you and John concentrate on systems communication between the bridge and control room. Doris, see if you can get radar going. Rick, Steve, and I will see what we can do in the machine room.
Dave spoke up quietly, “What do you want the rest of us to do Ron?”
Ron looked at him for a long moment. Was this Dave Bristol? “Why don’t you take a couple of people with you and explore the ship. See what we got for sleeping quarters –blankets, sheets, pillows –whatever. The officers’ quarters are above-decks. The crew’s quarters are probably below.”
“Right away,” acknowledged Dave. His look at Ron was steady.
Ron bowed his head slightly. “Thanks, Dave,” he said quietly.
“My pleasure, Chief.”
Ron turned to Will. “Why don’t you take a few people with you and find the galley and dining hall. See what you can rustle up. The rest of you can either wait here or explore the ship.”
Matthew went to the cabin porthole. Outside was nothing but water. He walked over to the desk and studied the phone list taped to the bulkhead. While he called the bridge, Su Li looked for bedding and changed the sheets.
“Hello,” answered John.
“This is Matthew. See anything?”
“Not a thing.”
“I’m in the captain’s quarters if you need me. There’s a telephone on the bridge. The number should be beside
it.”
“I found it,” said John. “One-zero-one.”
Matthew hung up and turned to inspect his quarters. Larger than those Matthew remembered on military ships, his quarters had room for a table, a desk, and even a small sofa. It was plush for captain’s quarters, and even had a separate bedroom.
He sighed and slumped onto the sofa. “Now I know how Ron feels. I don’t think I could have lived with this, day after day, for the last thirty years without cracking. I don’t know how he’s managed it.”
“He has good friends and a good wife.” Su Li walked by him with an armful of dirty sheets. He grabbed her hand and pulled. She gave a little cry as she fell over the arm of the couch into his arms.
“And I know just how important that is.” He kissed her tenderly.
She smiled up at him, but pulled away and stood up. “Come. You are tired.”
He allowed her to pull him off the couch and guide him over to the bed. She lay beside him until they both fell asleep.
When she woke, she saw Matthew standing by the porthole and looking out at the ocean.
“How are you?” she asked.
“Better. Still tired, but better.”
She smiled at him.
“I’m starving,” he declared. “I’m gonna find us something to eat. You stay here. I promise I’ll be right back.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.”
He chuckled, winked at her, and went down the stairs toward the galley.
Later that evening they took a tour on the deck. The Bright Moon wasn’t as big as the Evening Star, but it was large enough for a nice stroll. Reaching the stern, they stopped to gaze out into the wake of the ship. It was late and the sun was low on the horizon. The effect on the white foam wasn’t nearly as dazzling as the time they had seen it on the Evening Star. But something about it caught his attention. He couldn’t quite figure what it was. He looked out at the horizon, taken by the peace and serenity of the sea.
“It’s so beautiful,” he murmured, “like you.” She snuggled closer.
The sun was setting. The sea reflected its soft orange hue, but that wasn’t what caught his attention. He stared at the wake, a puzzled expression on his face. Suddenly, he looked out over the ocean and then at the side of the ship.
“Hey!” He yelled. “We must be doing almost twenty knots! Ron’s getting her up to speed!”
He started to run toward the bridge, but Su Li stopped him. Impatient, he turned toward her. She held tightly to his hand, but it was her eyes that held him fast.
“Is it not nice that they do not need you all the time?” Her velvety voice caressed him and loosened the tight clamp around the middle of his chest. A weight lifted from his shoulders. His features softened, and his face broke out in a gentle smile.
“It is, at that.” He took her into his arms. “I’m glad your husband was a jerk. I’d have never found you if he’d treated you right.”
He pulled her close and kissed her. “I love you.” He turned back toward the railing, his arm around her.