Chapter 3: The Season Begins

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Chapter 3: The Season Begins

The crew of the Northwestern had been hard at work baiting and prepping the pots. Just as they prepared to go below deck for a much needed rest, Sarah's voice beckoned them from the intercom.

"Where do you all think you're going?" she asked, "Get back on deck! We're dropping the first string right now!"

The crew groaned and mumbled under their breath as they trudged back out onto the deck.

"A deckhand's work is never done!" said Jake, cheerfully.

Alex gave him an irritated look before he made his way over to the hydraulics. Jake was only a year younger than him, but acted like a teenager frequently. He had seemingly never-ending energy and was nearly always in a good mood. Alex was the opposite. He was sarcastic, matter-of-fact, and pessimistic. Sarah often told him that he reminded her of Uncle Sig.

Jon and Amy appeared from the galley and made their way over to the stack of pots to begin untying them. Andrew and Jake shared amused and knowing glances as they waited for Alex to lift the first pot onto the block.

"Wait!" exclaimed Jake just as the first pot about slid off the block.

Alex stopped the hydraulics and gave Jake a highly irritated look.

"Whatever it is, it better be important!" he shouted angrily.

"Of course it is! We forgot the ritual!"

Alex sneered and walked back to the bait area. Amy leaned over and whispered to Jon.

"What's he talking about?"

"The seasonal tradition," replied Jon, looking rather excited.

"What's the seasonal tradition?" asked Amy, still confused.

"The Biting of the Herring!"

Alex came back with two herring from the bait bucket. He handed one to Jake and took the other for himself. For a second, the constantly-bickering senior deckhands shared a moment of comradely as they prepared to perform the legendary Northwestern good-luck tradition.

"You ready?" asked Jake, giving Alex a confident glance. Jake had had many seasons under his belt as well as many bit off herring heads to speak of. Alex had only performed the ritual once and was not used to it quite yet.

"Only if you are," retorted Alex.

Jake smiled and lifted the herring to his mouth. At the same time, both senior deckhands bit down and bit the heads off the two herring. Jake chomped on his for a minute or two while Alex went straight for the rail and began to vomit in disgust.

Jake spit his fish head out and clapped Alex on the back.

"You alright there buddy?" he asked with a victorious smile.

Alex just shot him a look before he turned to go back to the hydraulics.

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Meanwhile on the Maverick…

Rick was busy trying to establish trust with his fellow deckhands. As the Maverick had pulled out of Dutch Harbor that morning, he had felt a thrill of excitement and fear course through his body. After what had happened in the past with the Maverick, he knew he had a lot to overcome and prove to not only his own crew, but to the entire Dutch Harbor fleet.

He was especially concerned with establishing a good relationship with the Northwestern. After their tainted past, he wanted to do something to change it. If nothing else, he simply wanted to make sure the feud did not start up again like it had several years ago.

He hesitated a moment, but decided to go ahead and pick up the radio to call Sarah Hansen on the Northwestern…

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Sarah gaped at her radio in shock when she saw who was calling in. She paused for a moment, unsure as to whether or not answering the call was the best idea. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the radio without another thought.

"This is Sarah on fishing vessel Northwestern."

"Sarah? Hey, it's Rick Painter on fishing vessel Maverick."

Sarah paused again, unsure of what to say.

"Hi, Rick. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just…just wanted to make sure that we were on the same page."

"Regarding what?"

"Regarding what happened between our parents a while back. I was hoping that we could maybe put that behind us and establish a better relationship? Maybe not a partnership, but at least a sort of alliance. You know…to prevent the feud from starting again?"

Sarah was not sure what to tell Rick. Part of her was screaming not to do it and to remember the past. But the other part of her was telling her that she had no right to blame Rick for his dad's mistakes. It was not his fault that his dad did what he did. Maybe the best thing to do would be to forget the past and move on.

"Until I have a good reason not to, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt," said Sarah after a moment.

Rick sighed with relief and smiled to himself.

"Thank you, Sarah. I really appreciate it."

"Just don't ruin it," said Sarah with a light-hearted tone.

"Yeah, I won't. Don't worry."

Sarah smiled as a thought entered her mind.

"Hey, Rick? You want to have a little competition?"

"A competition? Like what?"

"Whoever has the largest pot of crab wins? You're on your honor…I hope that means something."

"It does, I promise."

"Good, then are you in or out, Painter?"

"Oh, you're on Hansen!"

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