by Lee Thomas
“Yes, sir.” Jeff answered, laughing at me. We had been friends long enough that he could get away with poking fun at me like that. I laughed with him, and turned and walked out as well. Michelle gave me a hug, kissed my cheek, and then she followed Jeff out.
“I’m gonna go smoke. Talk to you later.” Roger said, stepping over to the bar.
“Head out that door and take a right. It’ll be closer to the catwalk.” I told him, pointing to the door closer to the couches. He nodded at me and walked out. After he walked out, I went over to the box of my things, pulled out the PlayStation and cords and hooked it up to the TV. There was a small storage shelf below it, and I placed the system on it and arranged the games on one of the shelves. I then sat back down on the couch and started on the files again.
After another half hour of reviewing personnel records, I decided to pull out the map and start measuring the distance of the wall route. The road was not perfectly straight, so I had to make multiple measurements and add them together. Math was not my strongest suit, but if I did it correctly, the wall was going to be five miles long, almost exactly. Once I found out how long those containers were, I would run the math and find out how many we would need to complete the wall. That was a long distance to cover building a wall, but unless I considered shorting us on space it would have to do.
Finally looking up, I noticed it was about 5 pm now, so dinner should be getting served shortly. I packed up all the files and maps and put them away in a box which I then placed in the corner to go through again later. I decided to just walk around the ship then before making my way to the galley. My hope was to meet some more of the sailors and check on the civilians to make sure everyone was settling in ok. I knew quite a few of the others would have a little difficulty adjusting to ship life. I was mostly worried about Michelle and the girls, they were land girls through and through.
The sounds and smells as I walked around took me back to my days on the ship. She was in dry dock when I was on her, and everything was torn up or ripped apart, so it was good to see her fully functional. I made a full loop of the 03 deck, which was where my cabin was, then made my way down one to the 02 level and walked around Officer Country for a bit. This was the area with the senior offices, and bunk rooms for the more senior officers. I nodded at every sailor I saw, and talked to quite a few. I tried my best to remember names, or at the very least faces. Several civilians were also walking round so I chatted with them as well.
Eventually I found myself back on the hangar bay level. The port side elevators were down and the bay doors open, allowing a nice sea breeze to blow through the hangars. There were several people sitting on chairs and fishing off the elevators, some just standing around talking. Apparently the port elevators were used as a relaxation area and social gathering place. It was a good idea, as it was secure, and allowed constant access. The fantail would also be a good area for that. I knew there was supposed to be a two lane bowling alley here somewhere, and the rumor was that there should also be a pool table as well. If not, I’m sure that we could probably acquire one somewhere.
Stepping out onto the aft elevator, several sailors greeted me, as well as a couple of the civilians who were chatting with the sailors. It seemed they were blending well. There were a couple of coolers sitting there with water in them, and a couple of fish. Looked like river trout, but I wasn’t that great at identifying fish by sight.
“Do they bite well?” I asked one the sailors who had a pole in his hand.
“Depends on the bait, and the time. Without all the traffic of moving boats, they have started coming closer and we’ve been more successful in the catch.” He told me. I thanked him and walked back inside. Making my way forward towards the galley, I was stopped by several sailors and civilians alike to make small talk. I got mostly thanks from the civilians, and the sailors were obviously trying to figure me out.
Finally making it to the galley, I grabbed a tray and got in line, declining the offers from several sailors to cut in line. I wanted them to treat me like one of the crew, not the captain as much as possible. I really didn’t want the special treatment, but if they accepted me as in charge, that was the mindset of a sailor. The captain got special privileges. After getting my food, fish and veggies, I went and sat in the mess hall with everyone else. There was a separate mess hall for officers, but I really didn’t want separation like that within this group. Here, I wanted everyone to be equal. While there would be people assigned to various jobs, I wanted everyone to feel equal, as I expected everyone to do something.
“Sheldon, eating all alone?” Brian asked me, as he and Leni walked up with trays of their own, trailing Hailey with them.
“Yeah, just been walking around, meeting people, thinking, and re-learning the ship. How are you guys settling in?” I replied, motioning for them to sit.
“Pretty good, for the most part. I love the medical facilities here. I never would’ve thought a ship would have this advanced equipment. We have a mini hospital, including an operating room.” Brian gushed. He was a firefighter and paramedic in the old world, and I knew he would do well in Sickbay.
“It’s going to take some getting used to, but we are in a small room with one other family that also has a kid, close to Hailey’s age. We split it in two with some sheets for privacy, but we are getting along well so far.” Leni stated, helping Hailey with her veggies.
“Yeah, it does take some getting used to. The medical facility here was designed to serve not only this ship, but emergencies on the escort ships as well. Their medical facilities are not very big because they don’t have much space. Here, however, we have the room to go big.” I informed them. I smiled as I watched Hailey eat her veggies. It was mixed veggies; carrots, peas, corn, and green beans. Not something I usually ate, but these days you ate what you could get. We made small talk about one thing or another as we ate, just spending time as family, which was something Leni and I had not been able to do in quite a while.
Finishing my food, I excused myself and went to take my tray to the washing station. After that, I made my way behind the line to the galley office to speak with Michelle. I wanted to check in with her one more time before I retired for the night.
“Knock, knock. How’s it going in here?” I asked her, knocking on the door frame and leaning into the open door.
“I hate you, you know that? I’m not good at this kind of thing.” she griped at me, glaring from the desk.
“You actually are really good at planning meals and you are the best cook I know. I know this quantity is not what you’re used to, but it’s the same as cooking for us at home, just on a larger scale. Make things in batches if you have to, and feel free to assign someone else to do the management stuff if you want.” I informed her. I did have faith she could do it, and I meant the statement about her cooking.
“Whatever. Have you talked to the girls this afternoon yet?” she asked.
“I’m on my way to find them now, actually.” I replied, which I was. I did want to see them and make sure they were doing okay.
“Good, cause they were freaked out earlier when you and Uncle Roger were missing.” she told me, giving me that glare again that was her evil face. I didn’t mean to upset the girls, and I would definitely have to talk to them now.
“Alright, I’m going to go find them. I just wanted to check in with you, make sure you were doing okay yourself.” I assured her. She stood and gave me a hug before I left, and I then turned and went in search of the girls.
Since this was such a huge ship, and there was no telling where the girls were, I first went to the Personnel office to ask Val for an updated map of where people were bunked at. I assumed the girls would probably not wander far from their bunk room without feeling like they were getting lost. I also wanted to find out if rooms had been decided on to turn into game rooms for the kids. I knew the girls had their own PlayStation 3 and would want it set up somewhere they would have easy access to. Stepping into the office, I saw o
nly one sailor there, and it appeared she was playing cards.
“Hello. Where is everyone?” I inquired of her.
“Went to dinner, and to call it a night. There really isn’t much to do in this department anymore.” she answered me, looking up from her cards.
“Oh, ok. Do you happen to know if there is an updated map of where everyone is bunked? I’m looking for my daughters and don’t want to search the whole ship if I don’t have to.” I told her.
“Not really, no. I know Mrs. James made a bunch of notes and such, but nothing like a map yet. I could probably draw one up for you though, if you’d like.” she informed me, standing up from her desk and walking to the front to meet me.
“While I would like one, yes, it’s not that important. I’ll have them paged over the 1MC. Could you please have one ready by the end of the day tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes, sir, no problem. I will have it ready by 1700 tomorrow.” she confirmed, making herself a note for tomorrow.
“Thank you, but it’s not ‘sir’, my name is Sheldon.” I told her. I really didn’t want to get the whole ‘sir’ thing started. She acknowledged that, and I turned and walked out. I made my way back up to the bridge, and asked the OOD to page the girls to the hangar bay. I then made my way back down there to meet them. As I stepped out from the stairwell, I saw Angie and Cassie already standing there, and Desi I could see walking from the far side of the bay towards us.
“How are you girls holding up here?” I asked as I met them.
“Fine, but you’re an ass.” Angie replied, bluntly.
“Because I left without telling anyone?” I inquired, giving them all a hug one by one.
“Yes, mom was worried.” Desi told me.
“Mom was, huh? Anybody else?” I ribbed them.
“I want my own room, I don’t want to share with these two.” Angie stated. She always hated sharing a room with her sisters, but we never lived in a big enough house for them to get their own room.
“No one on board has their own room, sweetie. Everyone has to share.” I informed her.
“Well, I don’t want to share.” she continued to complain. I laughed a little at her fit, because it was just so Angie.
I chatted a few minutes with all of them, answering all kinds of questions they had, like how did we have running water, how did we get rid of it, where did it go when we flushed, things like that. They also asked if we were going to be able to wash clothes and have clean sheets.
“Yes, we have a laundry on board. What we will do is make sure everyone has a mesh bag that will have a tag we can write your name on, and you will use that as your hamper. Every so often, whoever is assigned to do laundry will come and collect bags, wash them, then return them to whoever they belong to.” I informed them. I was impressed that they were asking serious questions, and not just complaining.
We chatted for a few minutes more, I made sure they were doing okay, and then followed them back to their bunk room. It would be nice to know where they were staying. They were in a smaller bunk room, with another family that had kids. Sheets had been hung to give a little bit of privacy to each other. The girls showed me their area, which they were sharing with Michelle. They had their things spread out, and it was messy, but they were all teenagers. I showed them how the bunks opened up and they could put their clothes under the mattress. I told them to put their stuff up so it wouldn’t be so cluttered, then turned and headed out.
I walked around the ship some more, poking my head into the various bunk rooms and chatting with people. I also made sure everyone else knew that there was storage under the mattress. Most already knew, but it was news to a few of them. Even though it had only really been one day, everyone seemed to be settling in fairly well. Several people were worried about getting seasick, but I assured them that the ship was large enough that they wouldn’t feel the waves, so there would not be any rolling to make them sick. I did assure them also that if they did start feeling sick, to simply go to the medical bay and get something for sea sicknesses. They thanked me and that alone seemed to help them.
When I finally decided to head back to my quarters, it was almost eight. I made one more pass through the hangar bay, just to see if anyone else new was hanging out down there. There were a few more people that stopped me and made small talk, and I tried to talk to everyone. I had actually remembered a few of the names, and was starting to recognize several of the faces.
I finally made my way back up to my quarters, but decided to head up to the flight deck first. I wanted to see the sunset before going to bed. There was hardly any light left, so I had missed most of it. There was a couple of people standing around the flight deck, probably still there from watching the sunset. I looked out over the base, listening to the wind, looking for any kind of movement, or lights. Lights would mean other survivors, but if they had survived this long they would probably be smart enough to know that light would draw them. I could hear the waves slapping the side of the ship and the pier. The lines creaked slightly with the very slight movement of the ship, which was small enough a human couldn’t even feel it. There was still an American flag flying along with the ships flag, and they were both flapping and snapping in the wind. It was actually kind of eerie how quiet it was without the sounds of cars, or planes, or even other boats or ships.
The occasional bark broke the silence, and I knew dogs and cats had been running wild since the world fell. Other animals would be as well, like deer, and that would hopefully provide excellent hunting opportunities. If zoos let any animals out, or they broke out through desperation, then there could potentially be some dangerous animals out there as well. On the plus side, they would attack the infected also which would help thin them out.
After standing there for a while, I finally turned and headed back down to my quarters. Reviewing the files again didn’t really sound intriguing tonight, so I opted for a shower, and then went to bed.
Chapter 10
May 10th, 2018
The following day I awoke and got up to use the restroom. I then sleepily walked into the kitchen and grabbed my last water bottle. Stepping back into the bedroom, I took one of the last remaining blood pressure pills I had. I was supposed to take them every day, but with no way to get more, I had only been taking them about every three days. Often enough to keep my pressure from skyrocketing, but far enough apart that I could make them stretch. I got dressed then and tried to figure out what to do with the day. I knew I needed to look into the wall planning, but I had to wait until the containers were emptied, counted, and measured so I could figure out if we had enough to create the wall.
I decided to head to the bridge first and check the weather. If it was going to be sunny today, I wanted to take a team out and search for supplies. I remembered that Christian had said they had pretty much cleared the base out, but hopefully there would still be useable supplies. If the base had any power left there may even be perishable food left that was useable. Anything frozen, at least, I doubted anything simply refrigerated would still be edible.
“Good morning, sir.” Petty Officer Trainer greeted me as I stepped onto the bridge.
“Good morning. Any idea what the weather is doing today?” I asked him. I didn’t mention the ‘sir’ comment just yet, I hadn’t had my coffee yet and it was early.
“Should be sunny and hot today. What did you have in mind?” he asked me.
“I want to take a team out to scour the base. I remember Mr. Levine saying you guys had already done that, but I want to search it for supplies, and check the fence to see if it’s intact.” I informed him.
“Today should be a good day for it. Would you like me to assemble the team that usually went out?”
“Yes, please. And also page these people, I will want to merge them together if possible.” I ordered, writing down a few names for him.
“Yes, sir, right away.” he said. I sighed, giving up on the ‘sir’ thing for now. I nodded to the other three sailors on duty thi
s morning and then turned to walk out. I went out of the tower onto the flight deck to enjoy the breeze for a bit.
“Good morning, you’re up early.” Kevin greeted me, walking up sipping a cup of coffee.
“Good morning. Just trying to figure out how to start the day. How are your people holding up, they starting to adjust to ship life?” I asked him as we shook hands.
“Well, they’re your people now, right? Most of them seem to be doing okay. A few are a little claustrophobic, but they go to the hangar bay and up here on the flight deck quite a bit, so I think they are dealing with it. I will of course let you know if any one of them starts to become a problem.” he informed me.
“Yeah, that was one of my biggest concerns. I had a few as well with that problem. Luckily this ship is big enough that there are plenty of places to go to relax and cure that feeling. Sea sickness should also not be a problem. This ship is too large to rock with the waves, plus being tied up at pier it’s even more stable.” I assured him.
“So do we have a plan for the day yet?” he then asked me.
“Not so much. I want to take a team or two out to the base, inspect the fence, search for supplies, and see what condition the base itself is in. There is a small marina near the airfield that I want to check out, see if it’s intact, and if there are any boats there we can use. You want to go?” I asked.
“Sure, I’ll go. I’ll go grab my things. Where and when do you want to meet?” he replied.
“Down in the hangar bay, in about an hour. I want to grab some coffee first myself, but I’ll be down shortly.” I informed him. We both turned then and headed back down into the ship. I made my way to the galley and the coffee pot, the most important piece of machinery on a Navy ship. I poured myself a cup and headed back to my quarters to put on my armor and grab my swords. By the time I had done all that and made it back down to the hangar bay, everyone I had asked for was there.