Hello and welcome to the latest 'Character Introduction' chapter (it is also originally part of the first draft written about a year ago).
I haven't gotten much feedback yet (except from Stripesicles222 and midnightsky0612) but as long as the readership doesn't drop below zero, I'll keep going with it. Who am I kidding; the readership could drop to -50 and I'd keep posting it ;-D
4 The Girl on the Sailboat
"We know you have a choice of planets when deciding on a place for habitation and we would like to thank you for choosing Earth for all your life giving needs."
The sea was never predictable and although the rough weather had caught the trio of sailors off guard, it was nothing the Star Runner and its small crew could not handle.
"PULL DOWN THE TRYSAIL; WE'LL RUN WITH THE JIB" Captain Maynard Linwood bellowed forward, trying to be heard above the wind.
The two siblings stumbled their way forward to carry out their father's order, just as the bow of the yacht crashed into the next wave and heave up. Emerson fell heavily onto the deck as his thirteen year old sister walked over him as if he wasn't there; he was really starting to get annoyed with her.
"Haven't you got your sea legs yet?" Calla's laughter carried on the wind.
Treading on his back was the last straw for Emerson. Being four years her senior meant he had been caring for Calla and looking out for her ever since she was a baby, but now she treated him like literal dirt under her feet. He decided then and there, her time was up and he would give back as much as he had taken from her. His revenge would start when they met up with all Callas friends back in Darwin. Emerson would tell them all about how seasick she had been when they had first left Kawhia Harbour, New Zealand several months ago.
Ah... sibling revenge; it could be so sweet.
"Do you hear that?" Maynard asked his children when they returned to the helm.
They both listened intently and soon noticed the distinct rolling crash.
"Breakers!" Emerson realised and hurried back to the bow.
The young man turned his head from left to right, desperately trying to get a proper bearing on the distant sound. If only the sea mist would dissipate a little, he could have gained a more visual confirmation.
"It seems to be coming from about thirty degrees to port" Emerson called out to his father.
Maynard Linwood checked the compass mounted by the rear hatch and pondered the direction of the crashing waves. The yacht should be only a few kilometers from West Sumatra so if the breakers were off the port side, then they must have slipped inside a reef or were approaching a headland. The wind was coming from the northeast so heading for shore seemed to be the only option. It was also the best hope of finding some relief from the high wind before night fell.
"Get forward" he ordered his son "and let me know as soon as you see any sign of land."
The deck of the forty foot cruising yacht heaved and rolled, but Maynard's instincts had proven correct and within ten minutes, the wind and waves dropped slightly as the Star Runner drew closer to land. The off shore wind was a godsend as the mountain ranges of West Sumatra gave the boat some much needed relief while they sought out a good spot to make shore.
"I can see a high cliff through the mist" Emerson informed his family "twenty degrees starboard."
"Let's see if we can sail around the far side and find some shelter" Calla suggested to her father.
"Way ahead of you" Maynard grinned as he turned the ships wheel.
The small crew were soon gaining more relief from the strong wind as they sailed closer to the huge wall looming up in front of them. They could still hear the howl of the wind, but it was now high above them and not hitting the boat head on. The waves gradually dropped to about five feet and the sea mist cleared a little as they drew even closer.
"Dad... I don't think that's a cliff face" Calla eventually noted.
The reality of her observation hit home to the others as their yacht was soon dwarfed by the looming hull of a gigantic ship. The waves almost disappeared completely as the Star Runner rounded the stern and drifted slowly along the vessels portside. It felt good to be protected in the leeward side of the ship and the air was much clearer now, but the sun had begun to set behind them so Maynard knew their time was short; they needed to drop anchor soon or make for shore.
"Get the spotlight son" he ordered.
Emerson slid open the main hatch dropped down into the galley. He retrieved a handheld spotlight from a side cupboard and unwound the power cord.
"What... is it?" the young man voiced what his sister also wondered as the bright spotlight pierced the remaining mist and lit up the side of the ship.
"It looks like a Supertanker" his father replied "They were used to carry crude oil... and this one looks like it could have held about half a billion litres or more. It must have run ashore over twenty years..."
Maynard was stopped mid sentence when the Star Runner suddenly lurched to starboard with a loud bang. Emerson barely managed to avoid falling again as he swung the light forward to where the port bow had struck a glancing blow against a steel beam rising up out of the water in front of them.
"EMERSON; MASTHEAD!" Maynard cried out.
Without waiting for his son to react to the order, the captain of the small vessel reached down and unclipped a bargepole before rushing forward. He slammed the poles end into a corner of the intrusive beam and pushed hard; both slowing and redirecting the yachts progress.
"TWO FEET" Emerson called as he lit up the highest point of the vessel.
Quick thinking may have saved the mast from being damaged by the overhead beam, but Maynard was too late to prevent the main forestay from being cut by the rusted and jagged metal overhead. With a loud twang it snapped and fell to the deck.
"Damn it!" he cursed "Turn off the spotlight for a minute."
As the crews eyes adjusted to the evening light, they saw a massive, right angled triangular metal frame high above them. It protruded from the port side of the ship at the same level as the deck and at its furthest point from the ship; the frame met the vertical steel beam that the boat had struck just a moment ago. It was part of a vertical frame that held what appeared to be some kind of adjustable leg, extending to the sea floor and keeping the giant ship stable.
"I can see a ladder running up the middle of the frame" Calla pointed out.
"Hmm... yes" her father pondered before baking out more orders "Drop the fenders Calla and after you've set them, go grab our packs and some torches. Emerson, you tie off the bow while I get the stern rope."
With daylight fading fast, the crew of the Star Runner quickly secured their vessel to the support leg. The trio of explorers took great care in transferring themselves from the yacht to the ladder before they proceeded to climb cautiously up the leg frame. The ladder was showing obvious signs of age but was still quite solid in spite of the surface rust. At the top they found a set of steep steps running along the inside the frame triangular section, leading up to the top of the hull. When they finally reached the ship's exposed deck, the small party found themselves once again battling the strong wind, but the ship did not seem to be moving even the tiniest amount.
"Dad... did all big ships like this have these kind of... support leg thingies attached to their midship hulls?" Maynard's son asked.
"I haven't known of anything this big being built during my life time Emerson, but at a guess I'd say no; they most certainly did not. Watch your step and let's go check the starboard side."
The light of day was almost gone bit the rising Moon offered some illumination of the seventy meter wide deck. Calla stuck close to her father as the three set off; she had been on ships many times before but had never seen one as big, or encountered anything as disturbing. Everything around her was silhouetted in the evening light giving the entire place an extremely unnatural and ominous feel. In the centre of the deck was a long spine of pipelines running fore and aft forcing the intruders to crawl under as they slowly made their way to the far side of the ship.
"Well I can't say I'm surprised" Maynard declared when they found a similar support frame on the opposite hull.
"D-do you think there's anyone h-here Dad?" Calla asked nervously.
"Turn off your torches and we'll see" her father replied.
The early evening sky was well lit by the rising three quarter moon and as he looked up at the ships superstructure, Maynard could see no visible light emitting from any doors or windows.
"It appears to be deserted, but that too is hardly surprising. Let's check out the cabins; we'll probably find somewhere to sleep in there."
"And maybe even some clues about this ship" Emerson added.
"We might even find some really cool gear too, if we're lucky" Calla grinned.
"I'm just hoping we can find someplace safe to spend the night" Emerson decided "This thing is nice and stable and I'm sick of trying to sleep while rolling around below deck on the Star Runner."
"Hmmm... stable" Maynard considered how puzzling his son's words were.
As is usual for this time of year, I'm listening to music about cosy fires, sleigh bells and snow while sitting close to the air conditioner and using lots of sunscreen lotion.
A happy Christmas season to all my friends up north who are slowly turning blue while we down here are rapidly turning red (time to put more ice in my lemonade).