For the Captain's Birthday
With the esteemed "captain," anteros_lmc of the following_sea community celebrating her birthday, I thought I'd post an excerpt from Chapter Four of the third Stone Island Sea Story. This is roughly the first third of the chapter, tentatively entitled "A Death." (The working title of the book is Darnahsian Pirates: A Third Stone Island Sea Story. Darnahsian comes from Darnah, an alternative spelling of Derna that I once saw on a map.)
For those that may not have read either or both of the published Stone Island Sea Stories, this excerpt might contain spoilers... hints at what has happened in the past. And for those who might be unaware of it, my initial inspiration for writing what are now the Stone Island Sea Stories came from reading Forester's Horatio Hornblower stories.
Dave
Thursday evening, the 19th of December (1805) found Pierce seated in Island Expedition’s great cabin. He had remained aboard for the day, allowing Hotchkiss and the other officers who needed to do so, to go ashore and attend to any personal matters. As he had done the evening before, he had allowed one half of one watch ashore for liberty. Tonight, if nothing occurred to alter his plans, he would retire early and arise rested and refreshed in order to participate in John Sollars’ trial on the morrow.
Before the short-lived Peace of Amiens, Sollars had been a shipmate, the second lieutenant aboard the frigate Theadora whilst Pierce had served as the third. While being amongst the same cadre of ship’s officers, and even sharing a cabin for a while, they had by no means, been friends. During the peace, while he was commissioning the schooner, Pierce had occasionally seen his one-time shipmate, but had not attempted to maintain any sort of contact. During the last legs of the return voyage, and with access to various newspapers, Pierce had noticed no mention of this one time nemesis as being in His Majesty’s Naval Service. Remembering Sollars’ overbearing ways and continual mistreatment of the hands, Pierce had been relieved to find that he had not returned to active duty when the war had resumed.
Yet days before sighting England, Island Expedition had been attacked by a French corvette, a vessel operating both as a privateer and as a naval commerce raider. When the British finally prevailed and took the Frenchman, they had found Sollars apparently locked below with a small group of British merchant captains. His story of having become a commercial ship’s master had fallen apart and it was soon determined that he, John Sollars had been in command of the corvette.
Upon their arrival at Portsmouth, Sollars had been turned over to the civil authorities, for having resigned his commission; he could not be tried by courts martial. His trial was about to begin, and as a primary witness to Sollar’s treason, Pierce was due to testify. Thinking about what he would say, depending of course upon the questions he was asked, Pierce determined that he would be as matter of fact as possible. He would try to avoid coloring any statements with the personal dislike and contempt he felt for the man.
Having reflected upon the next day’s events, Pierce made ready to go forward for another cup of coffee. One more, he thought, and he would retire for the evening. As he grabbed his mug and headed for the door, he heard voices and the scrape of a boat alongside. Hotchkiss’s voice, the words unintelligible, echoed into the cabin below. Pierce decided to forego his coffee for the moment and wait for his first lieutenant.
Hotchkiss knocked perfunctorily and entered. “Good, Edward, you are here. I was hoping you had not yet retired.”
“I was about to go for coffee when I heard your somewhat clumsy arrival alongside.”
“My pardon, sir, but I paid an extra shilling for them to bring me aboard as quickly as possible.”
“A disgruntled father after you, Isaac?” Pierce teased.
“Oh no, not that! Indeed, what would Sharon say, should she find out?” Hotchkiss grinned momentarily. “If that were indeed the case!”
Then he assumed a more serious expression. “I have news of the utmost import, sir.”
“News, is it?”
“Aye. Whether it is good news or not, I do not know. However we will not have to testify tomorrow.”
“Proceedings have been postponed?”
“Indeed no, Edward. John Sollars was found dead in his cell this very afternoon!”
“My God, Isaac! It does save the Crown the effort and expense of trying him. But shouldn’t even a scrub like Sollars expect reasonable safety of his person until convicted and sentenced?”
“I would think so, yes.”
Pierce set his mug on the table. “I suddenly do not desire any more coffee for the day. Perhaps a glass with you, sir?” he asked, as he unlocked the liquor cabinet. “Brandy?”
“Aye, I could stand a little warmth. The wind is enough to send a chill through to the bone.”
Pierce poured a generous drink in each glass he had retrieved. “Now, do we drink his passing, or that finally he is no longer around to make life unbearable for all.”
“I’ll drink to both concepts, Edward. Perhaps I’ll even drink to his memory, as much of a scoundrel as he was.”
“Aye, he should have at least been allowed to undergo due process. While we believe him to have been guilty, now he will never be convicted in a court of law.”
“The process is often as important as the result.”
“Indeed,” reflected Pierce. “Perhaps we should also drink to my general good nature and fondness of everyone.”
“I don’t…”
“You don’t see it, do you, Isaac? I like people. I trust people, and I expect them to like, trust, and respect me. Yet of the two people in my life that I have come to detest, both have ended up dead.”
“Lowell Jackson?”
“Aye. As much as I hated him, both for his callous use of Leona and his cruel treatment of his crew, I wish to God he had not died. In all honesty, I wish Sollars had not died! Had he been convicted and subsequently executed, I would have felt it a matter of justice being served. Even then, a small part of me would have regretted his death.”
“I’ve always known you to have a soft, heart, my friend.”
“Perhaps I do, Isaac.”
“Yet you planned to face Lowell Jackson in a duel. Surely you did not intend to lose?”
“Indeed, I did not. It was the only way I could perceive that would save the crew of Justinian from a charge of mutiny. It was also the only thing I could think of that would rid me of his accusations.” Pierce finished his brandy and poured another.
“Guilt over bedding his wife?”
“Aye, it might be. But more, I think it is this realization that should I detest someone, he eventually dies.”
“I see, my friend, but could it merely be coincidence?”
“No doubt, Isaac, when I look at it in logical fashion. But from the other side of things, I really don’t want to think my hatred for an individual might somehow cause of his demise.”
“Even considering the fact of your hatred in the first place?”
“Aye.”
“War, Edward? Battles at sea?”
“No, I feel no remorse for killing then. I kill the enemy, lest he kills me. Hopefully I fight honorably, and he does too. There is no hatred involved, other than that he is my enemy and the enemy of King and Country. While I regret the loss of life during battle, ours or theirs, I do not believe anyone dies because of my emotional state regarding them.”
Hotchkiss nodded in agreement. After a moment Pierce went on. “It is a troubling thought to realize that perhaps I need only think ill of someone to send him from this world. For that matter, it is worrisome that perhaps this cold ability applies in that other world as well.”
“No my friend, it is not some occult power you have. You are simply able to look beyond the hate you have felt and mourn, even for those you have despised.”
For those that may not have read either or both of the published Stone Island Sea Stories, this excerpt might contain spoilers... hints at what has happened in the past. And for those who might be unaware of it, my initial inspiration for writing what are now the Stone Island Sea Stories came from reading Forester's Horatio Hornblower stories.
Dave
Thursday evening, the 19th of December (1805) found Pierce seated in Island Expedition’s great cabin. He had remained aboard for the day, allowing Hotchkiss and the other officers who needed to do so, to go ashore and attend to any personal matters. As he had done the evening before, he had allowed one half of one watch ashore for liberty. Tonight, if nothing occurred to alter his plans, he would retire early and arise rested and refreshed in order to participate in John Sollars’ trial on the morrow.
Before the short-lived Peace of Amiens, Sollars had been a shipmate, the second lieutenant aboard the frigate Theadora whilst Pierce had served as the third. While being amongst the same cadre of ship’s officers, and even sharing a cabin for a while, they had by no means, been friends. During the peace, while he was commissioning the schooner, Pierce had occasionally seen his one-time shipmate, but had not attempted to maintain any sort of contact. During the last legs of the return voyage, and with access to various newspapers, Pierce had noticed no mention of this one time nemesis as being in His Majesty’s Naval Service. Remembering Sollars’ overbearing ways and continual mistreatment of the hands, Pierce had been relieved to find that he had not returned to active duty when the war had resumed.
Yet days before sighting England, Island Expedition had been attacked by a French corvette, a vessel operating both as a privateer and as a naval commerce raider. When the British finally prevailed and took the Frenchman, they had found Sollars apparently locked below with a small group of British merchant captains. His story of having become a commercial ship’s master had fallen apart and it was soon determined that he, John Sollars had been in command of the corvette.
Upon their arrival at Portsmouth, Sollars had been turned over to the civil authorities, for having resigned his commission; he could not be tried by courts martial. His trial was about to begin, and as a primary witness to Sollar’s treason, Pierce was due to testify. Thinking about what he would say, depending of course upon the questions he was asked, Pierce determined that he would be as matter of fact as possible. He would try to avoid coloring any statements with the personal dislike and contempt he felt for the man.
Having reflected upon the next day’s events, Pierce made ready to go forward for another cup of coffee. One more, he thought, and he would retire for the evening. As he grabbed his mug and headed for the door, he heard voices and the scrape of a boat alongside. Hotchkiss’s voice, the words unintelligible, echoed into the cabin below. Pierce decided to forego his coffee for the moment and wait for his first lieutenant.
Hotchkiss knocked perfunctorily and entered. “Good, Edward, you are here. I was hoping you had not yet retired.”
“I was about to go for coffee when I heard your somewhat clumsy arrival alongside.”
“My pardon, sir, but I paid an extra shilling for them to bring me aboard as quickly as possible.”
“A disgruntled father after you, Isaac?” Pierce teased.
“Oh no, not that! Indeed, what would Sharon say, should she find out?” Hotchkiss grinned momentarily. “If that were indeed the case!”
Then he assumed a more serious expression. “I have news of the utmost import, sir.”
“News, is it?”
“Aye. Whether it is good news or not, I do not know. However we will not have to testify tomorrow.”
“Proceedings have been postponed?”
“Indeed no, Edward. John Sollars was found dead in his cell this very afternoon!”
“My God, Isaac! It does save the Crown the effort and expense of trying him. But shouldn’t even a scrub like Sollars expect reasonable safety of his person until convicted and sentenced?”
“I would think so, yes.”
Pierce set his mug on the table. “I suddenly do not desire any more coffee for the day. Perhaps a glass with you, sir?” he asked, as he unlocked the liquor cabinet. “Brandy?”
“Aye, I could stand a little warmth. The wind is enough to send a chill through to the bone.”
Pierce poured a generous drink in each glass he had retrieved. “Now, do we drink his passing, or that finally he is no longer around to make life unbearable for all.”
“I’ll drink to both concepts, Edward. Perhaps I’ll even drink to his memory, as much of a scoundrel as he was.”
“Aye, he should have at least been allowed to undergo due process. While we believe him to have been guilty, now he will never be convicted in a court of law.”
“The process is often as important as the result.”
“Indeed,” reflected Pierce. “Perhaps we should also drink to my general good nature and fondness of everyone.”
“I don’t…”
“You don’t see it, do you, Isaac? I like people. I trust people, and I expect them to like, trust, and respect me. Yet of the two people in my life that I have come to detest, both have ended up dead.”
“Lowell Jackson?”
“Aye. As much as I hated him, both for his callous use of Leona and his cruel treatment of his crew, I wish to God he had not died. In all honesty, I wish Sollars had not died! Had he been convicted and subsequently executed, I would have felt it a matter of justice being served. Even then, a small part of me would have regretted his death.”
“I’ve always known you to have a soft, heart, my friend.”
“Perhaps I do, Isaac.”
“Yet you planned to face Lowell Jackson in a duel. Surely you did not intend to lose?”
“Indeed, I did not. It was the only way I could perceive that would save the crew of Justinian from a charge of mutiny. It was also the only thing I could think of that would rid me of his accusations.” Pierce finished his brandy and poured another.
“Guilt over bedding his wife?”
“Aye, it might be. But more, I think it is this realization that should I detest someone, he eventually dies.”
“I see, my friend, but could it merely be coincidence?”
“No doubt, Isaac, when I look at it in logical fashion. But from the other side of things, I really don’t want to think my hatred for an individual might somehow cause of his demise.”
“Even considering the fact of your hatred in the first place?”
“Aye.”
“War, Edward? Battles at sea?”
“No, I feel no remorse for killing then. I kill the enemy, lest he kills me. Hopefully I fight honorably, and he does too. There is no hatred involved, other than that he is my enemy and the enemy of King and Country. While I regret the loss of life during battle, ours or theirs, I do not believe anyone dies because of my emotional state regarding them.”
Hotchkiss nodded in agreement. After a moment Pierce went on. “It is a troubling thought to realize that perhaps I need only think ill of someone to send him from this world. For that matter, it is worrisome that perhaps this cold ability applies in that other world as well.”
“No my friend, it is not some occult power you have. You are simply able to look beyond the hate you have felt and mourn, even for those you have despised.”