by Robert Lyon
Lees responded, “That’s the problem that’s keeping me up at night, we have nothing over them but we have so little we’re a threat. We need to make enough headway ourselves so that there is no conflict, then over produce somewhere so that we have something for trade. I overheard them talking at the opening in the trees and they expect that boat they are building to take as
long to build as one of Columbus’s ships? That was hundreds of years ago, but at least it was an actual shipyard and if you had told me they were going to build it without nails before I saw these small fishing boats I’d of said ‘fat chance’.”
Capes said in a tone of defeat, “He can’t be the captain and not in charge. He can’t be in charge unless something positive is happening and because he was convicted it is not insubordinate to say, I’m not sure this guy was ever capable of achieving results of any kind. Which just leaves us with what
Swishzel said, ‘if he’s not a captain we aren’t officers’.”
Artimus had talked to Smity a few times trying to show it’s okay to talk to him but Smity maintained the demeanor of a man talking to a drug dealer on a dimly lit street. Artimus asked Smity, “So how’s the fishing going?” Smity took on a grimace looked down at his feet with his head cocked and replied, “Doesn’t look like we gonna’ starve this week.” and started to walk slowly away as though to signal the captain if we are conversing we are walking, there might be a way to imply he didn’t realize who he was talking to. Artimus began to walk with him and recognized the demeanor and true to form Smity was the recipient of a glare or two from those in the shade of lean- to’s or patrolling the beach. Artimus took this as simple resentment that would fall away eventually and figured he shouldn’t damage the social credibility of those that were most loyal to him before the catastrophe. So he uttered, “Have a good day, gunner Smity” Smity replied and managed to hold back the
‘sir’ he was accustomed to using with, “You too shipmate.” To
Artimus that was a glimmer of hope; ‘shipmate’…he was still their ‘shipmate’ a phrase he would have to bring back into common use.
Chapter Ten
Forgotten Freedoms
Artimus sought to appeal to the senate and sent his cabin boy as a messenger. Robert Wildly stepped through the brush and said the wrong thing, “Your Captain needs you!” We all stood up and walked over to him as though he had told us to ‘go fornicate our own mothers’. He glanced at each of us and
Tammy said, “He’s not our captain.” Wildly stood tall and said,
“I represent the military of the united states not this damn island.” Michael replied, “Well, sailor when are you going to rescue us.” Robert replied, “You shouldn’t need rescuing…”
Athena blurted out, “First, fuck you. Second, we are this islands senate and you are out of line.” Tim interjected, “What the hell do you want Wildly? All the food? All the water? Maybe a beach front home?” Wildly replied, “You sent us dominos…what the fuck is he supposed to do with that? Without a captain there are no ranks for us still in the military and chaos will set in.” Michelle replied, “No one’s constitutional rights are being violated over here, go back Wildly, go back”
Wildly asked, “With what?” I replied, “With nothing from us, start working. We’re still building the boat and we’re better off than we were with all the games you guys are playing.” Wildly responded, “Look the captain has to restore order, and you owe him your help.” Tim shuttered and said, “He lost the ship; I stood bridge watches up there and saw the way he really is and for that I owe him?” Wildly responded, “Yes, he’s the captain.” Athena started to speak and Michelle stopped her then said, “Wildly, from New homeport Island senate, fuck off your insane.” Athena looked at her shocked and thought, ‘New homeport island?’ Athena then looked at Wildly and with a
voice trembling with sad emotion chocked out the words,
“Seconded”
Wildly changed his postured to more relaxed and said,
“Well…can I get some bread?” Michael responded to Wildly with a degree of threat as a response to Athena’s emotional state,
“No!!”
As Wildly headed back we surveyed each other’s emotional state and decided that did in fact constitute an intrusion. Tommi coughed clearing her voice and said almost with a whisper that grew in volume, “It’s time for a wall.” Tim agreed, “Ya, let’s weave those pentagon type walls and coat them with mud.”
We had found some lime stone I recognized from the cement work I had done with my father in my childhood. The way it sucks moisture out of your hand when its powder. I had gathered some from the rocks jutting out on the beach and mixed it with sand and made a small ingot. Much like the glass work it was something the mason working cast was prepared to do but hadn’t done yet. I asked, “Have the masons found more lime stone?” Athena replied, “No, Rob. But, I’m sure there isn’t enough for a wall.” I replied, “We need the cistern done and we’ll need another on the hill to catch rain for the farm.”
Athena replied, “What about the wall?” I replied,
“That’s the wood workers. They’ve thrown us off of productivity with bullshit drama, we need to get back on task.”
Michelle replied, “That’s true, wood workers will start the wall and with that a cistern can be defended let’s get it done.” Athena and Dave Miles headed over to the rocky area to find the lime stone and pulverize it. Michelle, Tim, and Tommi went over to the tree line and started gathering sticks and branches. I joined
Athena and Dave smashing rock. Megan started sorting rocks
for the cistern saying to herself, “A stone wall, plus a stone wall, and a stone floor until you have a stone bath tub that everybody drinks from but can’t bath in…yep, why not?”
We pulverized the rock and put it in one of our water bowls. We could only use any cement we mustered as mortar.
Michelle glanced over at me sternly as I smashed rocks together and scraped at them and I realized there must be a better way, I said, “let’s use the pumice stone and sand to sand away the limestone instead of this monkey stuff.” then glanced back at
Michelle and she was pointing at Athena. I looked over and
Athena was bent over scrapping the rock and her ass was very near my face. Michelle coughed and wagged her finger. I looked to her and said, “Okay.”
Mitch was up on the mountain side standing watch again, we were all on hand to tend to the boilers which no longer included making paper to wrap charcoal in. Mitch said to himself, “It’s finally happened, those idiots over there were smashing rocks together trying to start a fire and the one guy that knew how to start a fire Indian style, is down there smashing rocks together looking for gold.”
Artimus stood scheming on the beach, cabin boy had just returned and said, ‘no help’. So, Artimus looked back in there direction and realized once again they had gone native. He starred out at the horizon and watched the ocean roll and he uttered, “Now would be a good time.”
Just there on the horizon to the left of Dave’s gaze a pod of whale’s surface and blew their spouts. A drift of krill had lead them toward these warmer and shallower waters and they basked on the surface, in the midday sunlight. Shimmering rainbows hung above them from their water spouts. The fish darted around them in zigzags and spinning funnels. Dave
starred so hard at the horizon he became dizzy with vertigo waiting for a solution. As the flying fish leapt up over the whales whistling through the air, the birds that nest on the island swarmed above the whales. Dave stared blankly at a blank and void horizon as his mind washed away. He slowly turned to his right and thought he briefly saw a puff of white cloud he hoped to be an exhaust of smoke or steam from a ship. The whales now well to the left of his sight sloshed their tails to stir the krill, as birds landing on their backs. It was a good rest for the pod, to be so near land the rolling of the ocean had a more refined meter to it trails of break water and swirling currents not associated with
a flow of cold to warm, or a major current, just a relaxing roll.
Dave turned back to the pentagon and considered retiring for the day. Dave said to himself, “I’ll make more turns tomorrow.” The whales in the distance well refreshed with air dived sharply deep and away back to sea into a cold dark abyss, and Dave kicked up sand as he headed to his lean-to with in the pentagon.
Michelle and her wood workers had formed several sections of wall and slightly overlapped them in a slight wedge configuration and they began to coat the walls with mud. She left notches in the walls for viewing ports or spears, but the only means we had for firing any type of arrow was a sling and to fire one through a hole of that size would be an absurd act of excellent marksmanship with a nearly prehistoric weapon.
As the day past into night the rocks for the cistern had been selected and would be fitted as close as possible to reduce the amount of cement needed. The sanding of limestone was effective and there was a fair amount of limestone powder in that water bowl, it looked as though two or three days of sanding would suffice.
Dave Artimus lay in his lean-to within the pentagon speaking at a discretionary tone with Swishzel and Lees. They were refining his presentation and argument for the native senate.
Artimus said in a officious voice, “I, Captain David
Artimus here by recognize the island senate as an impromptu state senate of the united states and demand to be recognized as the commanding officer of the military occupation of said island in the name of the Congress of America.” Swishzel said, “I don’t think they’ll go for that.”
Artimus retorted, “I, David Artimus Captain United
States Navy recognize the Island senate as a U.S. territory, and wish to be recognized as a captain of the U.S. Navy” Lees replied, “I think that whole approach is probably not so good.”
Artimus rolled over and looked at Lees and asked,
“What the fuck am I supposed to say? Hey kids it’s your uncle
Dave? Uncle Sam wants his island back?”
Lees asked, “Can you join the senate as the military liaison or commander in chief?” Clarkson said, “Might as well ask where’s the beef.” Dave replied, “Becky you know you’ve never been funny right?” Clarkson replied, “Pretty funny when I catch you with your hand in the cookie jar, your pants down, and your thumb in your ass and it turns out the Admiral is standing right behind me.” Artimus said, “You bitch!” and jumped on her trying to beat her teeth in with a rock. Her yells brought Mr.
Deckly running in followed by various blue shirts. Artimus quickly jumped off and laid back down as though nothing had happened and said, “How about, ‘Senate of the island we seek only to be included in the survival efforts you have excelled at and await your orders’?”
Spayner was still recoiled from the outbreak of violence and uttered, “Let’s go with that.” Deckly signaled the enlisted to return to their posts or to head over to their enlisted club beneath the cliff. Lees appeared to have a headache and went to the water vase for more water.
Hudlow stepped up to the opening to the pentagon and asked, “There’s an enlisted club here? Can I use the phone?”
Artimus snarled at him, “Ya, go order us a pizza.” James
Hudlow stared blankly at Artimus and said with like a zombie,
“Okay”. Artimus watched him walk away and continued to stare in the direction that Hudlow had been standing in.
Artimus’s heart started pounding and racing, he felt dizzy and uncomfortable and uttered, “We’re all going to die here if I don’t fix this you fucking idiots.” then he glanced around at the other officers in the pentagon and said in an irritated hush, “Stop working against me.”
Artimus stood up unzipped his fly and urinated where he had been lying and said, “Once again, that is my spot.” Then walked out of the pentagon. Once Artimus was well out of ear shot Lees said, “We’ve been here for months, how is it that his urine still smells like bacon?”
At the boiler site the wall construction was complete and braces were put in place, they were still deliberating on what type of door or gate to design for the wall. The cistern’s floor stones were laid and the sand and limestone mortar were carefully being mixed. The slurry of sand, water, and lime were being stirred in the bowl and more lime and sand powder were in a small pile near the rocks.
Fitting the stone was troublesone, in some cases I had to use smaller rocks to shrink the gaps in others I attempted to reshape the stone. I had no means of cutting the stone or even
chiseling it but that didn’t stop me from trying. It was like a jigsaw puzzle made up of lost pieces in a jigsaw puzzle factory.
I ended up using pieces of the wooden planks made to fill gaps but left room for the mortar, the occasional odd sized rock would fill a bit of misfortune.
The cisterns base and first few wall stones looked like it would already be watertight before we even applied the mortar. Athena looked in for where to start with the mortar they had made and glanced at me with a big small. As she filled those gaps Tammy seemed hyperactive pointing into the cistern and saying, “You missed a spot” To which Tim replied, “Sure is a good thing you didn’t lose your glasses.” Which gave her pause because she didn’t wear glasses, but she was supposed to and didn’t think anyone knew.
Artimus stepped through the tree line and as he made the clearing he noticed the water level had receded. He paused and wondered if there was any advantage to be found in a tidal swamp like that and given no reason for lengthy deliberation he then marched on to our camp.
As he reached the walls he stopped to admire the
French fort look of it and noticed we apparently intended to blend the walls in with brush so as to look less like a target and more of a terrain obstacle. He stepped up to the opening and postured himself but then realized the gesture would be wasted.
We stood up and looked at him and I glanced up to Mitch on the mountain top and saw him shrug then head down toward us.
Artimus glanced over at the nearly complete cistern and said, “I’m sorry for your loss, which one was it?” I said,
“It’s a cistern and we don’t have a lot of cement so I prefer to think of it as a drinking bath tub.” Artimus chuckled and said,
“Good Idea.” He walked over and paced around our cobblestone
courtyard and said, “I need to officially recognize your senate, in case we get rescued or your boat gets us out of here.” Michael said, “You kinda’ already did that when these other guys got exiled over here.” Artimus gave a half wave of the hand and pulled his hand against his thigh to remind himself not to gesture too much and said, “I don’t think it was supposed to come out that way, I didn’t even know they’d been sent away.”
Artimus looked around for something to sit on and seemed to briefly consider the glass working kiln until he recognized what it had been used for and stared at it in a daze.
He said, “I need to gain some authority from you guys, to maintain them in a military structure. Some of them lack the maturity to have survived on trip to a bar without the navy’s mentoring. And, I mean I have to be able to fire one of you if things get bad.” He then used a stick and poked around at the glass flakes left in the kiln bowl. Tim said, “Rob’s the governor.” I interjected, “The senators are appointed by their working cast through a majority…a vote” Athena interjected,
“Well that might be…” And Michelle glared at her stopping her amid speech. I looked at Athena and asked rhetorically, “Divide and conquer?”
Artimus said, “Ahhh…what about censures and such?” I replied, “I think were just too few to worry about filibusters and majority/minority” Artimus inquired,
“Misconduct?” and started laughing before he could complete the word then asked, “What kind of representation can these clowns get?” I said, “There should be a trade authority.
Preventing anyone from starving someone or gouging them no matter how unpopular they get.” Artimus said, “oh alright, I�
��ll tell them I got them that.”
Artimus strolled around the cobblestone courtyard again and glanced at the boilers, looked down then looked at the cabanas. He commented, “Looks like I’ve got a lot of work to do. Have a good one.” and headed out back to the military camp.
Athena asked, “Why do I get the feeling he’s up to something?” I replied, “We are way past ‘up to something’”
Mitch added, “Way past” Michael nodded with a funny smile scratching his chin looking at Athena like she was an airheaded
Barbie doll and said, “Way past.”
Joseph asked, “When’s that door going to get built.”
Michelle replied, “It’s going to be a gate, we’ll have something of it up tomorrow.”
Artimus returned to the landing site and prepared to make his announcement with a harrowing tale of expert negotiation and well placed arguments on both sides, as each conceded to concessions and a hard bargain was struck and a near civil war was abated , having spoken on their behalf he demanded no acts of aggression were made or threatened.
Artimus said, “I’ve just come back from my meeting with the senate. Many things were discussed and decisions were made. I have to tell you it got heated. As Mr. Elper became aware they thought we weren’t catching any fish, but we were instead taking advantage of them as I’m sure we all regret and the still we built here, we are still attempting to repair. We just aren’t getting things done. I think we need to start as they apparently did with some solid footing, they have a cobble stone courtyard.” As Artimus continued in his speech Master chief
Hauldbalm leaned over and whispered to Randy Brosuer, “I was in the bushes and followed him, I saw their wall and was just testing it gently, but I heard what was said over there and he is making all this up. It almost looks like he’s in on it with them,
but they are the only ones getting anything done and they aren’t taking anything from us but we’ve taken plenty from them. I just realized standing outside that wall that this is how he works; it was the same thing on the ship.” Brosuer whispered back, “So what do they do?” Hauldbalm looked at him befuddled and asked, “You mean for us?” Brosuer said, “Ya” Hauldbalm replied, “Nothing, they take care of themselves over there with hard work. They don’t owe us we owe them.” Brosuer said,