For Glory and Fame to come
Chapter 1 – From Wishes to Reality
The usual sound of Mr. Hollar's voice on the quarterdeck was starting to annoy Tom Pullings, who had been sleeping for an hour in his hammock, and was then pushed out of the nice, warm hands of the dream, into the reality, which was containing saltwater and cold, fresh air.
But reality wasn't that scary, Tom thought. It was HMS Surprise, a pretty vessel under the command of Jack Aubrey, where he served his duty for King and Country, for good old England and for himself. The truth was that he couldn't stand being on land for more than two weeks.
And the more frightening truth was that Tom didn't feel anything for his sweet wife in England anymore. He had married her with every intention of making her happy, but now he didn't worry about her at all. He loved somebody else, and this man he loved, he would love for eternity.
Someone knocked at the door, and Pullings hurried out of the hammock. "Wait a minute!" Tom said, dragged his uniform out from his suitcase, and got dressed quicker than the marines could strike the bell. And after making himself look properly, he opened the door and looked outside.
William Mowett was standing outside, smiling. "Good morning, William. Shouldn't you be on watch now?" Tom asked and couldn't avoid making a little smile. He was too tired to try to make a better one, and he wouldn't get another nap before he had been on watch.
"I should indeed. But I had something I wanted to tell you." Mowett replied, and sat down on his suitcase, which was standing in the left corner of the room. It was purple, and some of the men were often making jokes about it, but Mowett didn't mind at all. He actually enjoyed listening to their insults targeted at his suitcase.
"Then you may tell me." Tom said and sat down on his own red suitcase. "I hope you are prepared, Tom?" he said and Pullings got a slight feeling of nervousness. "If you come back tomorrow, then we will chat there. I am ready, William, stop making me nervous!" Tom tried to sound upset, but he couldn't.
He started to laugh, and it infected Mowett too. They laughed together for a while, and Mowett thought that he was lucky, having a friend like Pullings. He was honest, loyal, friendly, always cheery, and a great leader. Leadership was a gift he had and used for good, like Mowett's poetry skills.
They had been friends for quite a while. Those good times had followed Mowett, since he signed up for the Navy. At that time, he was young and uninspired. He hadn't been able to write a poem in several weeks. Mowett had described it as a "black hole, stuffed with worries and evil deeds, performed by me, haunting me for eternity."
But the sea had washed out all his worries and evil deeds from this black hole. Tom Pullings had warmly welcomed him aboard Aubrey's first command, and the captain himself had liked him. And now they were here, sitting on suitcases, looking at each other.
"All right, keep steady… Here it goes… We're pursuing a French vessel!" Mowett said and smiled. He knew that this would make Tom's day. He liked battles, the smell of gunpowder and the excitement that it was making to the whole crew.
And like Mowett had foreseen, Pullings suddenly woke up. "An enemy, I can't believe it, here in this middle of nowhere!
I better get on deck, keeping an eye out for this scoundrel!" Tom happily shouted, waking Will Blakeney, a young Midshipman, who had been sleeping, and then Pullings hugged Mowett. "Thank you, my friend!" he said, and ran out of the room.
Will yawned. "What was that?" he moaned.
Mowett smiled. "It was the results of our watch this morning, Mr. Blakeney."