“Would you hurry up with that? We haven’t got all night!”
“Hey these are heavy and not that easy to move. You could try to be a little bit nicer about it.” “Corshawl I don't have time to argue with you about being nice. We're in a hurry, the storm is going to be upon us any minute!” I exclaim to my lieutenant who thinks we have all the time in the world to tie down the cargo as well as to scold me on my tone.
“This is the last one” he rasps. “What else needs to be done?”
“Hurry and help Nixon with tying down the cannons. We can't afford to lose those!” I exclaim. With that he's off with rope in hand.
“Status report!” I holler. The wind is really starting to pick up and it's starting to rain. Just great! Why didn't we stay in port? We should have stayed.
“All sails are secure! The storm is about ready to take us!” Giggs my navigator calls. “Is everything tightened that can be?”
“Yes, Corshawl and Nixon are working on the last cannon.” Shibba answers. I can barely hear him over the wind. Thunder is then heard. Just in time, everything is either tied down or tightly fastened.
My hands are on the wheel of the ship as I watch enormous waves begin to beat themselves against the boat. The crew desperately clings to whatever they can grab hold of. Rain and the ice-cold wind combine to make a sheet of needles that begin to stab at my face. Turning with all my might, I go against the wind so that we don’t get blown into the jagged rocks that poke themselves out of the choppy water. It’s as though the sky wishes to drown us and smash the ship into oblivion. No rain cloud is going to put an end to Star that easily.
It's getting harder to turn the wheel. My feet are starting to slip out from underneath me. Trying to hold your stand with seawater sloshing everywhere and the boat getting jerked side to side proves to be a difficult challenge. I think this is the worst storm that I've ever been in. My hands clasp the wheel as hard as they can when all of a sudden a loud popping sound is heard that turns into a huge bang. Shouts come from those below.
“What was that?!” No response, the storm is much too noisy for anyone to answer. Bet you anything that it was one of the masses. More waves wash across the ship. I cling to the wheel not wanting to be swept overboard. Now I can feel my arm being tugged at. I look over to the side, it’s Corshawl and he’s bleeding. “What was that cracking noise?”
“It was one of the masses.” He replies as loud as he can. I knew it blast it! That was one repair that I didn't want to do. Suddenly I lose my grip and get swept off my feet. Hitting the water at full speed, I smack into it face first. Uh-oh! At first, I flail around trying to make sense which way is up. When I have my sense of direction figured out, I swim upwards. I finally break the water's surface choking and sputtering as I do then quickly glance around before getting swept back under.
The water is calmer underneath. Opening my eyes, I scan around. The ship isn't that far off. I can still see the Star's haul. I then spot something else; my lieutenant unconsciously sinking into the ocean's dark depths. I quickly swim towards him and get a hold of his waist. My eyes are starting to sting from the saltiness of the sea and I'm quickly losing oxygen. I become weaker and more tired with every stroke. The surface seems to be getting further and further away. In a desperate attempt, I shoot my arm forward causing my hand to smack into a large board.
Groan...It's from the Star and the board is large. Blast it! Using the board as an aid, I pull my head out of the water along with Corshawl's. I then stretch his arms across making sure that he stays there.
Do I still have my whistle on me or did it get lost? I wearily pat my chest down for it. With some relief I find it still tightly fastened about my neck. Putting it to my lips, I blow as hard as I can making a high pitch sound. I do this three more times. Not sure if anyone can hear it. The wind's howling is trying to out sound my whistle. With my last attempt to reach my crew done, I stretch my upper half on the floating board just like I did my companion. All I can hear is the thunder and the needle like rain. The sky lights up again. My lieutenant still hasn't roused. My eyes dazedly look around. I can't see anything. Once more do I give my distress call hoping that the ship is still in range to hear it. I continue to wait as everything around me goes black………