The Captain's Trial (6)

Writers: Anaria
Date Posted: 3rd June 2011

Characters: Tiernan, Fievan, Uvannt, Paraner, Hawthen
Description: Man Overboard!
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 2, day 8 of Turn 6

"MAN OVERBOARD" Came the call, and several members of the crew flooded
the deck. Tiernan's heart skipped a beat as he wondered who it could
have been. He didn't see Hawthen or Galliet, but they should have been
below deck. Nor did he see his First mate, nor Fievan.... nor half of
his crew. He shook his head. There was no way that he was going to be
able to steer the ship if he kept thinking negatively!

"Seacrafters know how to swim," he said softly to himself, instantly
realizing that his hope was foolish. Seacrafters knew how to swim in
ordinary conditions. They did not know how to swim in chopping waves
taller than a man stood.

Uvannt was the first one to the side of the ship, and he quickly tied
himself down to ensure he didn't suffer the same fate. He then began
throwing over ropes, the rings that the Smith Hall made that could
float, and whatever else he could think of that would help a drowning
man.

"Don't throw it all over!" Boatswain Falorgan said. "What if someone
else goes over!"

Uvannt grunted in response. "GRAB ONTO THE ROPES!" He shouted down
below. He could see a man's head bobbing above the water from time to
time, and then dipping back below. The man wrapped an arm about one of
the ropes, but as soon as Uvannt tried to pull on it, he lost his
grip, and slipped back into the foamy water.

Uvannt kept trying with the rope, but the man never resurfaced again.
After nearly a candlemark of efforts, conditions became unsafe for
them to continue the rescue efforts.

"Back Below Decks!" Tiernan called. Paraner walked up to relieve
Tiernan from his duty at the wheel. "Who went overboard?"

"We assume Fievan, Captain," Paraner answered quickly.

Tiernan was struck by a wave of grief for a half-brother he'd barely
known. He stumbled weakly back down to the Mess Hall, where Hawthen
intercepted him.

"Captain?" The Journeyman Healer said. "I'd like to talk to you in
private, if you don't mind."

"Of course, Hawthen," Tiernan said, leading the younger man to a more
private area of the lower deck. "I assume this is about Galliet?"

"Yes, Captain. You see, he's not doing so well. He's not awake, so I
can't get his permission to perform the amputation," Hawthen
explained.

"Is the arm really that bad off, or is it just the conditions? We can
see about getting a dragon out here for rescue once the storm stops in
a few candlemarks," Tiernan said.

"Well, that's part of it, I think. I... I don't know, sir. I've never
really handled an injury this severe, and I just wish that there was a
Master here to assist me," Hawthen said with a heavy sigh.

"Well, is the matter that urgent right now, or can we take a few
candlemarks to decide?" Tiernan asked.

"I... I think that we have a few candlemarks. If a dragon could pick
him up and take him to a better healer, I think his arm could be
spared," Hawthen said after a moment's thought.

"Alright. Let's wait then. Galliet loves carpentry. It's his life. I
fear that the loss of his arm would be considered worse than death
insofar as he is concerned," Tiernan said.

"Aye, Captain," Hawthen said, before hurrying off to check on his patient.

Tiernan went back to the Mess Hall, and took a seat off by himself.
His mind was whirling, a chaotic mess of thoughts. Should he have
turned around at the first sign of the storm? Or tried to alter course
around it? Should he have ordered Fievan to stay below because of his
inexperience? Was the decision to hold off on caring for Galliet's
injuries really the best one? For the first time in turns, Tiernan was
experiencing doubt. And he didn't care for it, not one bit.

And then there was the matter of his half brother. Part of him
wondered if he had other siblings somewhere that he didn't know about.
And another part of him wondered if Fievan's death was a sign that
perhaps he should just forget about everything, and pretend that he
wasn't the wiser. His mother would be very disappointed, and would
feel betrayed, he knew that much. With Fievan dead, the chances of her
finding out about her husband's dalliance with another woman would be
near non-existent.

Tiernan sighed to himself, before coming to a decision. He wanted to
know what Fievan was like. He wanted to know as much as he could about
the boy. Perhaps he would even visit his mother himself to tell her
the terrible news of his demise.

The chest at the foot of Fievan's hammock was locked, but the
apprentice had been in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to place the
key back around his neck. Instead, it was sitting on the floor nearby.
Tiernan opened the chest, and began to sort through the contents.
There were a few shells, and polished stones - typical souvenirs of a
Seacrafter apprentice. Practice knots had been tied into a thin cord,
wrapped about a small book of nautical terms and knowledge.

There were notes from the boy's mother, which Tiernan read over
quickly. She spoke of wanting to see Fievan again, and hoping that he
would be able to meet his father. She also hoped that when Fieranan
saw Fievan that he would want to head back to Sapphire Meadows and see
her again. Tiernan sighed, his heart falling.

At the bottom of the chest was a note, in handwriting that Tiernan
easily recognized. It was his father's messy, angular script.

Fievan had been telling the truth.

But it was even worse than Tiernan had thought. Fieranan had planned
to make a family with this woman. Tiernan forced back tears of
disappointment, and locked the chest once more, looping the key about
his neck for safekeeping.

And that's when he heard it. One of the worst sounds a sailor could
ever hear. Worse than the "Man Overboard." Worse than the creaking of
stressed wood panels.

**CK-CRACK BOOOOOOOOOOM**

Last updated on the June 13th 2011

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The Captain's Trial (6)