So one thing I like about Steven Universe being set in an alternate world is that it gives me the freedom to make stuff up about it's history. At least until I get contradicted by canon, but ah well. Anyway, the Discovery is literally just the Queen Mary with a different name, and Drake Bay is supposed to be San Francisco.
One
She was called the Discovery, after Cook's ship, and she was one of the finest luxury cruise ships in the world.
The Discovery first sailed as an ocean liner in 1936, four years before the beginning of the Great Eastern War - the pride of the White Sun Line. During the War, she was commandeered by the British Navy, ferrying vital supplies to Norwegian and British forces holding out against the Soviets north of Narvik. After the end of the war, as airplanes killed the liner business, she fell into disrepair. After languishing in dry-dock in Southampton for a few decades, White Sun refitted her as their flagship cruise ship as part of a new business strategy. Although she was no longer the biggest or the fastest passenger ship in the world, she was regarded as one of the most prestigious and most luxurious on the seas.
She also hadn't turned a profit a day in her life.
She didn't sail much anymore - she was put to sea once every few years, a massive promotional event for White Sun. This meant pomp, ceremony, and more than a few cheap PR stunts. The most notable of these was the Three of Three Promotion - a 'lucky dip' organised by the company to win three sets of three cabins aboard the ship. Every time the ship sailed, a small town would be chosen to hold to dip.
For this voyage, that town was the coastal hamlet of Beach City, Delmarva.
It was a beautiful afternoon, and much of the town's small population were gathered on the boardwalk. A small truck had pulled up on the edge of the beach side of the walkway, where it had been opened up to reveal a small stage. The townsfolk whispered animatedly among each other, waiting for the draw to begin. Harold Smiley was up on the stage, quietly testing the microphone.
At the front of the crowd, Steven Quartz Universe stood next to his father, Greg, waiting for the draw to start.
"Isn't it nice of the White Sun Line to give away free tickets?" asked Steven.
"Eh, I dunno, kiddo," shrugged Greg, "I think it's mostly just a cheap sympathy stunt."
"Yeah, true," admitted Steven, "But wouldn't it be cool if we won? It'd be like that hotel in Empire City, except it's also a boat and it's free! Think of it - blue skies, sea breeze, dolphins..."
"Alright, Stu-ball," chuckled Greg, rubbing Steven's hair, "Let's wait and see if we actually win this thing first, huh?"
All of a sudden, there was the screech of a microphone turning on.
"And now, ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Smiley's voice announced, "The CEO of White Sun, Fabien Sun!...and the Mayor, I guess."
A moustachioed man with swept-back hair in a brown pinstripe suit strode confidently onto the stage, Mayor Dewey following him somewhat meekly. The businessman took centre stage, grabbing a hat from Mr. Smiley. Mr. Smiley patted him on the back and beamed before leaving - the businessman shuddered a little but shook his head and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Beach City," he said, "My name is Fabien Sun, Chief Executive Officer of the White Sun Line, and I am proud to present the Three of Three Draw for Beach City. And may I say, this is a very beautiful settlement you have here."
"Pssh - brownnoser," Steven heard Mr. Fryman grunt.
"The Discovery is, in my humble opinion, the most handsome ship on the seas today, and it is my great privilege to be able to extend the experience of my ship to you fine people. So without further ado, I'm going to hand over to Mayor Dewey here and let him draw the winners. Mr. Mayor?"
He stepped back, handing the hat to Dewey.
"Before we start, let's have a...ah...round of applause for Mr. Sun!" exclaimed Dewey.
The crowd clapped politely.
"And how about one for the Mayor?" added Dewey, smiling and raising a fist.
There was a long and uncomfortable silence. Dewey swallowed, adjusted his collar and cleared his throat.
"So, uh, anyway, let's pull the first winner out, huh?"
He shook the hat and reached into it, pulling out a folded slip of paper.
"Our first winner this afternoon is..." he unfolded the paper, "...Jenny Pizza! Come on up!"
The crowd applauded as Jenny walked onto the stage, smiling and waving as she reached the microphone. She shook Fabien's hand and dodged Dewey's attempt to do the same.
"Congratulations, Ms. Pizza," said Fabien with rehearsed causality, "If I may ask, who do you intend to bring with you, ma'am?"
"You bring your family or you're grounded for a year!" Kofi Pizza bellowed from the crowd.
"Ignore him, you do what you want!" Nanefua shouted, "Live free!"
"Well," mused Jenny, scratching her chin, "I'm thinking...Buck...Sour Cream...Kiki, gotta look out of my twin...yeah, that's enough, I think."
"Good to hear," nodded Fabien, "Good to hear indeed. Well, we'd best keep this going. Mr. Mayor?"
"Right," said Dewey, shaking the hat and pulling another winner, "The second winner is...Sadie Miller!"
"Woo! Sadie!" cheered Steven as the crowd applauded.
Sadie climbed the stage and shook both Fabien's and Dewey's hands, blushing a little from the attention.
"Uh, thanks Mr. Sun, I guess," she said.
"So, who do you intend to bring?" asked Mr. Sun, clearly pretending to be interested.
"I don't know, I think I need time to decide..." she began.
"Sadie! Sadie! Hey! Sadie! Sadie!"
Steven could see Lars stretching his hand over the crowd.
"Fine," said Sadie, sighing heavily.
Lars punched the air.
"And now for our final draw," announced Mr. Sun, "Mr. Mayor, do the honours."
"Well son," said Greg, "We're probably not gonna win this one, but the important thing is we had fun. And when this is done, we'll go get ice-cream."
"The third winner is...Greg Universe!" called Dewey.
"Well, there we go," nodded Greg, "What's say we hit up the ol' ice-cream..."
He trailed off, realising what had happened.
"Wait, we won?!" he exclaimed.
"We won!" cheered Steven, "Come on!"
He dragged his father onto the stage, the crowd cheering as he did. Mr. Sun stepped back as he bolted excitedly onto the stage.
"Woo! Up top!" he cheered, raising his hand. Dewey returned the high five - he then noticed Mr. Sun glaring at him.
"Well, he's pretty much the only one who actually likes me..." he muttered.
"Quite," nodded Mr. Sun.
He cleared his throat and smiled again.
"Well, congratulations, Mr. Universe...smaller Mr. Universe," he said, "Now tell us, who will you be bringing on your voyage?"
Steven smiled - Mr. Sun's face fell.
The train station was very busy this morning - it always was. This was the Philadelphia terminus of the Fast Train, the unimaginatively named transcontinental train that took passengers from the east coast to Drake Bay in Alto California. The state-of-the-art European-style FT was considered a marvel of engineering - and yet, just ten years after opening, it was already seen as a very pedestrian way to cross the country.
The westbound FT departed from Platform One. Steven gazed in wonder at the shiny silver train before him - he'd never actually been on the FT before, so this was anything but routine for him. His cheeseburger backpack was full and he carried a small suitcase of clothing beside him.
"Wow," he whispered.
"Yeah, wow, it's a train," nodded Amethyst, walking up alongside, "Can we get going soon? The Mayor's getting emotional."
She pointed to Buck Dewey, whose father was kneeling in front of him, blubbering inelegantly.
"Alright Bucky-boy," he sniffled, "You...you look after yourself...don't talk to strangers and...and...oh they grow up so fast!"
He fell to the ground, sobbing. Buck stoically put a hand on his father's shoulder.
"Yeah," nodded Steven, "We should catch up with the others."
They began to walk up the train, passing Sadie and Lars. Next to them were the Fryman family - Mr. Fryman was talking sternly to his son.
"Now, look after your brother," he said, "Make sure he doesn't get into trouble, okay?"
Ronaldo sighed theatrically.
"Yes father."
"I'm not talking to you," said Fryman, putting a hand on Peedee's shoulder, "Make me proud son. Bring him home."
Peedee nodded.
"I won't let you down, dad," he said.
"Ugh, can't believe we have to bring a toddler with us," grunted Lars.
"Hey, Peedee's a good kid, Lars," said Sadie.
Lars grunted loudly.
Before long, Steven and Amethyst had reached the rest of their group - the Crystal Gems (and Greg). Garnet was carrying four suitcases over her head, while Pearl was reading off a list of things they needed to take.
"So we packed toothpaste?"
"Yep," said Garnet.
"Toothbrush?"
"Yep."
"The Jaws of Life?"
"Pearl, we are never going to need that."
"It pays to be safe, Garnet."
Next to them, Peridot was sitting on a seat between Greg and Lapis, scrutinising the train.
"Well, it's got wind resistance going for it," she shrugged, "But I just think an engine that requires external electrical energy to be way too inefficient? Why haven't they just used an anti-matter reactor instead?"
"Uh...humans don't have that, Peridot," replied Greg.
"Well then make one," said Peridot, as if it was the most obvious solution in the world.
"I just like the colour-style," said Lapis, "It's very morpy."
"Hmm...yes, the minimalistic style does add a very morpy quality to it," nodded Peridot.
"Uh...yeah," nodded Greg, not really understanding what was going on.
Steven put his hands on his hips.
"Well, that looks like everyone," he said, "Except...it feels like somebody's missing...somebody important..."
"Steven!"
Connie Maheswaren leapt out of the crowd around the train, embracing Steven tightly. Her parents followed after her, carting a trolley full of bags.
"Connie!" exclaimed Steven, "You made it!"
"Yep, I got my parents to agree to let me come," nodded Connie, "I...had to make some concessions."
Greg walked up to the trolley as the Maheswarens began to unload it.
"Medical supplies," said Doug, putting a bag in Greg's hands.
"Dietary supplements," said Priyanka, stacking another bag on top of it.
"Textbooks for missed schooling," said Doug, stacking another bag.
"Contact numbers," said Priyanka, piling an especially big bag onto the top.
"And maritime survival equipment," finished Doug, piling a final bag onto the pile, "Should be an inflatable raft in there, just in case. Better safe than sorry, y'know Greg?"
"Sure," wheezed Greg, straining under the weight of the bags, "I get that. Uh...Garnet?"
Garnet walked over and grabbed the bags, effortlessly lifting them on top of the ones she was already carrying.
"We should've packed lighter," she said.
"One more thing," said Priyanka, "A question."
"No problem," nodded Greg, "Shoot."
"If Connie were to be attacked by a shark, or any other dangerous maritime animal, will you surrender your life to protect her?" asked Doug, eyes narrowed.
Greg's jaw slackened and he began to sweat.
"Certainly!" said Pearl brightly, giving the Maheswarens a thumbs-up and a mile.
"Okay, that's excellent," said Priyanka, smiling and leaning over he daughter, "Make sure you have fun on your trip, Connie. And call regularly. We love you."
"Love you too, mom," said Connie, hugging Priyanka, "I'll be back before you know it."
Doug patted Connie on the head as they began to leave.
"See you around, Greg!" said Doug jovially, "And remember, if she doesn't come back, you're dead!"
Greg swallowed as he watched Connie's parents leave. He mopped his brow.
"Yeah," he said, "No pressure, I guess."
"Attention all passengers, the train will be departing in five minutes."
"Well, I guess that's it," nodded Steven, "We've got a ship, a crew and a call to adventure."
"Dude, it's just a cruise," reminded Amethyst.
Steven pointed dramatically at the train doors.
"Avast, me hearties!" he yelled, "Board yonder ship and set sail!"
He charged into the train, Connie right behind him. The rest of the group followed at their own pace. Before very long, the doors closed. The train rumbled out of the station and began its journey to the west coast.
The adventure had begun.
AN: I do actually like Mayor Dewey, mean to him though I am.
