High Seas Series
The Explorers
Book Two
Chapter 03
Charles W Bird
[email protected]
This story is a fictional account of a period that begins after The Carson Family and their many ships had settled in Australia and helped civilization to cling to life after much of the world had suffered from Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) and chronicles what happens to that family, who had saved many youngsters from death or a life so horrible, death would have been welcomed.. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
***************************************************************
From Chapter 2: Robby and Gabe went ashore in search of Gabe’s companions. Robby was horrified at where they were living. Gabe stood outside the tumbled down warehouse and sang the song, “Come To Me”. Boys came flowing out of the old building like a river. The song was something that Gabe had created himself and would become the standard call to bring children to the ships as their voyage progressed.
COME TO ME
The small fleet slipped into Long Island Sound just ahead of a violent storm. The storm had come up suddenly without any warning. The sheltered waters of the sound protected them from the violent seas, but hurricane force winds slammed into the ships, making the outside decks dangerous.
The wind brought sleeting rain and the lightening made radio communication between the ships almost impossible, leaving mind to mind contact as their only means of communication. The only thing they could do was to ride it out.
Their old charts showed a decent anchorage at New Haven Inlet, where they would be sheltered from the storm. It was a tight fit to get all the ships into the inlet, the wind was gusting fiercely and visibility was down to less than a mile.
Robby suggested to all the other Captains that they drop their anchors fore and aft and hunker down until the storm clears.
The winds shrieked around the ships for five more days before it blew itself out. On the morning of the sixth day, the sun came out and the skies cleared. The day promised to be bright and sunny as the few remaining clouds scudded across the sky.
The rain had stopped sometime during the night and in the daylight, they could see broken trees and smashed buildings in what remained of the old town of West Haven.
Tommy ordered the recording they had made of Gabe singing his song, “COME TO ME” to be played over the loud speaker system. Poor Gabe’s face was bright with embarrassment, until he spotted a crowd of youngsters and a few adults gathered on a tumbled down pier on the shore.
Gabe got on the loud hailer and paused the music in order to speak, “We come to help you, we come to rescue you. We are the Carson Family, once from the West Coast of America. We now live in Australia, where we have made new lives for ourselves and our families. As soon as it is safe, we will come to you in our boats, we have doctors and nurses to treat your wounds and we offer you safe haven on our ships. If you wish to leave this place of horror and ruin, we will take you with us as we continue down the coast. We can relocate you elsewhere in America or take you with us when return to our new home in Australia.”
He repeated his message several times before he switched the music back on. The more accomplished mind speakers among them began hearing excited snatches of mind talk coming from the shore, “Can we….?”, “Will they let us…..?” and “will they like us and love us…..?”
Gabe turned to Tommy and said, “Cap’n I gotta get to the shore, theys kids and folks hurtin’ an’ theys scared we won’t help them. I gotta go!” Tommy agreed and ordered the MWB (motor whale boat) put in the water.
The waves were still high but the Cox’n got Gabe and his party to the pier, only mildly terrified and thoroughly soaked with bay water.
Gabe clambered up a knotted rope they had lassoed over a piling and two of their Med-Techs from the ship’s hospital followed him.
One of the Med-Techs threw a light rope down and started hauling up their kits, while the other Med-Tech started speaking with the children who were obviously hurt and injured. Gabe had gathered about twenty children and young adults as both Medics began treated their worst injuries first.
While the Med-Techs were busy, Gabe began speaking to the adults, who were standing there. He explained who they were and why they were here. He said, “We can take you from this grim ruin and give you a new home with us in Western Australia. We have plenty of room on our ships and in our new country. We are all Americans and our Fathers took refuge in Australia, where we were welcomed.” A voice rang out, “Who are those black people with the tattoos on their faces, are they cannibals?”
Gabe laughed and replied, “They are Australian Aborigines, natives of the “Down Under”. They are our friends and our partners in this voyage and, while they are different from you, sir, they are also the same. We are an integrated society and we do not allow our people to be discriminated against because of the color of their skin or for any other reason, either.” The man who had called out was obviously an American Negro, as was Gabe himself.
The man who called out shouted, “Me and my family are in, let’s go!”
The Med-Techs were appalled at the untreated injuries of those who were standing on the pier. It would get worse as time progressed and word got out that the ships really were rescue ships.
As the storm tossed waters calmed, more boats were put in the water and there was a steady stream of refugees headed for the safety of the ships.
Of course, not everyone wanted to leave, but, by the end of the day, almost two hundred additional refugees had bunked down in the holds of the ships. They all had been fed a meal of things they could not identify, but it all went down and, unlike much of the food they gathered locally, it all stayed down.
The Care Givers were exhausted; they had treated wounds and conditions they had only ever read about in their text books. As they looked in on the Children’s Ward, all they heard was the gentle sound of sleeping children. That made all their labor worthwhile.
As word began to spread in the area, there was a steady flow of people asking for assistance and help arriving on the pier. Each morning, Gabe’s recorded message was played and his song drew crowds. When the flow of refugees slowed to a stop, Robby decided to up anchor. Their charts showed a solid anchorage at Bridgeport and that is where they headed next.
Their “New Haven” experience was repeated at every stop they made in the sound and, at Stamford they were met with a group of people who were attempting to restart the education system that the area was once famous for. They had not had much success and they asked for an “audience” with whoever was in charge of the fleet.
When the educators were told of the education system that existed in Darwin and what was planned for Onslow, they asked if there were any opportunities available for them. They practically flew back to their families and told them to start packing!
For the remainder of the voyage, classes were held on every ship and, by the time they returned to Onslow, reading and writing was universal among the refugees.
The new instructors were amazed at the eagerness of their students and they soon realized that interest in learning was the result of “waistlines”! As their students’ bodies filled out from plentiful and nutritious food, so also did their minds seem to grow. The instructors did not realize at first, that the new children were telepathic like they were.
THE VOYAGE CONTINUES
They had been advised to bypass the New York City area because of the terrible bombs that had been loosed in the area. As they sailed south, even far out at sea, they could see a blue glow on the horizon at night. Robbie and Tommy cringed and ordered the fleet even further offshore! It was not until they reached the coast of the old state of South Carolina that they felt it safe to approach the coastline.
They pulled into the coastal area that had once been the summer resort area of Myrtle Beach and anchored their ships off the beach. Again, they played Gabe’s recording on the speaker system and a large crowd gathered on the white sand beach. It was a repeat of further north and more bunks were filled in the converted holds of the ships. They were beginning to wonder if they had enough bunks for all the children they were finding. Even the adult quarters were becoming filled.
As before, it was mostly young people, the majority of which were boys. One of the boys, who seemed to be a leader among them, asked to see the “guy in charge”. One of the sailors escorted him up to the Bridge of the Flag Ship and introduced him to Tommy.
Tommy scanned his mind and the boy smiled, “You are reading my mind, ain’t you?” Tommy replied vocally, “Yes and that you can detect me, you also are a mind-speaker!” After that, they conversed mentally.
The boy, Gerald, told Tommy of a place further south, where a river dumped into the sea that was once called Charleston, where there was a Citadel of Cadets who had hung on since the time of the bombs.
Gerald told them that the Cadets were the only protection they had when the slavers came, looking for new slaves to sell in the Slave Market in New Orleans. At the word, “SLAVE”, both Tommy and Robby went into a fast burn and they were determined to meet these “cadets” who were protecting people from the slavers!
They took on another three hundred people from the area and, again, it was mostly young boys. There were, however, enough girls in the mix that the older boys were very protective of their younger brothers and all their sisters.
THE CITADEL
They worked their way down the coast until they came to the river gouged harbor they had been told about. Their old charts named it the Ashley River and, as they headed up river, they discovered a ruined city on an island, their old Charts were marked, “City of Charleston.
On a point, they found an encampment of young soldiers manning cannons that were pointed directly at them! Robby got on the loud hailer and explained that they were all Americans and Australians and had come on a rescue mission.
Robby then switched on Gabe’s music as they watched the soldiers gather in formation. Their uniforms were in tatters, but their rifles looked shiny and well cared for. The soldiers attempted to hold back the children who were responding to Gabe’s song, “Come To Me”, but the children broke through and gathered on the breakwater, waving and calling out, “Yous gots foods fer usins?”
The galley had been baking cookies and tiny loaves of sweet bread with dried raisins. The ashore crew had loaded the cookies and breads in canvass bags. They lowered them down to the MWBs before they climbed down themselves. As soon as they beached the boats, they were mobbed by hungry children and young adults. When they began passing out the treats, even the young soldiers broke ranks to get their share.
They found out that the soldiers were the Cadets they had been told about. They were the descendants of Cadets enrolled at the college before the collapse.
The medics noticed that all those being treated were white, although the Cadets were both white and negro. Sergeant Andy Wandering Tree looked around and spotted the Negro children. Andy was a full blood Australian Abo and he was the son of the Tribe Chieftain. His facial tattoos described his bloodlines and his coming of age. He opened his arms to the Negro Children and singing Gabe’s “COME TO ME” in his native language. The children did not understand the words, but they recognized that Andy was welcoming them, also.
The leader of the soldiers came up to Robby and saluted him. He said, “Sir, Cadet Captain Johnson Lewis reporting sir, we are the last survivors of The South Carolina Citadel of Cadets, SIR!”
Robby asked, “How many of you are there?” The Cadet Officer replied, “There are sixteen of us remaining, SIR!”
Robby smiled and said, “You are welcome to join us, we are Americans and Australians and we are expanding our business in Western Australia. We have returned to America to rescue those who are not surviving well and who want to join us. Talk it over with your men, you are all welcome.” The young Cadet Officer visibly brightened when Robby referred to them as “Men”.
Most of those living on the island elected to join the refugees and the soldiers asked to be allowed to remain together. The rest of the people were spread among the several ships, but they remained in contact via mind talk.
The black skinned people among them were used to being treated poorly and they expected the same treatment on board the ships. That never happened and, after the first several days, there were happy black children mingling freely with the other refugees and actively participating in group activities and classrooms.
Robby was a commanding man, nearly seven feet tall and powerfully built. As such, he was a magnet for troubled young negro boys. Whenever he was out of deck, there was a crowd of negro boys around him, asking him questions and about life for them in Australia.
He would sit on a bollard and the boys would sit on the deck in the warm sunshine as he told them about life in Australia. He asked them, “Are you close friends with every other boy sitting right here?” The boys looked around and they had to admit that they were not.
He then said, “Then why do you expect any different from white boys? Friendship is a two way street, you must be a friend in order to have a friend!”
Robby got up and headed for the bridge, he had the next watch and they were preparing to get underway.
There was a lot of “soul searching” that night and the next morning, there were black boys dispersed all through the group of boys sitting down to breakfast.
Tommy was laughing at Robby and said, “Bro, when did you get so wise?” Robby chuckled and replied. “When I met you, you were the first white guy I ever really talked with and I discovered that the outside covering didn’t mean much. It is what is inside that counts!”
They sailed south toward the old state of Florida, where they found almost total devastation. The land had been scrubbed clean, as if a huge wave had risen up from the sea and washed everything away. The southern portion of the peninsula was now a shallow sea, with a few mounds of sand showing above the calm waters.
THE CARRIBEAN COAST
The water was too shallow for them to cross over what had once been dry land of Florida and they had to go all the way around.
They made a quick survey of the Bahamas and found a few native fishermen who were happy to remain where they were. As they headed north, towards the west coast of the Florida panhandle, they began to hear mind-speak. It was evident that there was a war going on. They were not sure who the antagonists were, but they were suspicious that one of the groups were slavers!
Tommy ordered the fleet to Battle Stations and the ships surged forward at full throttle. Their diesels were pounding and the scavenging air blowers were shrieking a banshee howl.
Being freighters rather than warships, the fleet plowed its way through the sea towards what showed on their charts as St. Marks Lighthouse.
As they got closer, their best ‘paths were able to make contact, John Rollingstone, a young Aborigine man made first contact. He recoiled in horror at what he was told. He screamed at Tommy, “Cap’n Sir, theys bein’ attacked by cannibals, peoples what eats peoples!”
Every engine room in the fleet started shoving the emergency wedges into their engine governors. Black smoke poured out the stacks on every ship as they raced northward to the mouth of the St. Marks River.
The gun crews slipped the canvass covers off their deck guns and broke open the ammo lockers. Hand held machine guns were passed out and the Citadel Cadets mustered on the foredeck with their long rifles and boxes of ammunition.
All the young children were sent below, where it was safer, but they refused to stay there. Almost as soon as they were sent below, they were seen standing beside a gunner or rifleman with loads of ammunition in their arms, ready to hand to the gunner or rifleman.
It was too late to chase the younger children back down below, where it was safer. Every ship’s Captain prayed that none of them would be hurt. Some children were hurt, but they were wounds of honor and no child died. Both boys and girls served!
The ships formed a fence across the bay, blocking any exit by the slavers who were terrorizing the small town of Port Leon. The MWB’s went into the water with a splash and armed men (and a few boys) climbed down the ropes like monkeys, loaded with machine guns and their pockets full of ammunition.
As soon as the Bos’ns got their engines started, the boats raced up river, towards the sound of gun fire. When they arrived in the scene, their anger went into overdrive! On the shore were groups of young men and women tied together into coffles, slaves headed to market!
There was no slowing the men down, they began mowing the slavers down with their automatic weapons. The youngsters acting as ammo carriers kept pace with their chosen warrior, handing him clips of ammunition as fast as the riflemen could squirt them out.
It seemed like mere minutes, but it actually was several hours before the battle was over. There were over 200 dead slavers on the ground, none had survived.
Sadly, two boys and one girl, all of whom had been passing ammunition to their chosen rifleman, had been severely wounded. They were picked up by the rifleman they had been assisting and carried back to the boats. The riflemen had to be led, their tears were flooding their eyes.
They held their wounded helpers in a gentle embrace as the boats rushed back to the Hospital Ship. Medics attempted to take the wounded youngsters from the men and they were refused.
The riflemen carried THEIR children into Sickbay and stood at the door while the doctors did everything in their power to save their lives. Sadly, three of the children died! There were three riflemen, two of who were former Citadel Cadets, collapsed to the deck and had to be resuscitated.
They recued another 250 men women and children from Port Leon, they evacuated everyone. The mood on the ships was not good, the three riflemen had to be sedated and the rest stood guard over those who had been rescued. Two days later, the three youngsters who had died in the attack, were buried at sea. The rescued children on all the ships formed platoons and they all had the same motto, “NEVER AGAIN”!
The young platoon members modeled themselves after the Citadel Cadets and asked those Cadets to guide them. As the fleet moved along the coast, every ship had groups of RESCUE CADETS drilling on their open decks.
The RESCUE CADETS were open to any child, regardless of age, SOMETHING could be found that they could do, even if it was merely running messages or carrying boxes of ammunition.
The next place they found people was at St. Andrew’s Bay, near the old city of Panama City, Florida. It was a small community of about 100 people and half of them wanted to be rescued. They had not been bothered by the slavers, who they said came from the area near Pensacola. After those who wished to remain behind spoke with the refugees already on board the ships, they all wished to be rescued.
Tommy and Robby had decided they would sail as far as the Texas border with Mexico, before they headed for home. The ships were getting full, but, there was no way they were going to leave anyone behind this time!
They found a number of small communities among the small islands of the Mississippi River Delta, only a few wished to be evacuated. They had successfully hidden from the slavers and they and their families had lived in the area for hundreds of years. Whenever danger threatened, they merely retreated into the swamps and there was no one who could ever find them.
THE TEXAS COAST
The crews were sad to leave the fisher folk behind in the River Delta, but they refused to join them. The next place they discovered people was at Port Arthur in Texas. They found a fairly large population of people subsistence farming and doing a little fishing to supplement their farms.
A significant portion of them asked to be rescued and the Ship Captains were getting worried about the numbers of people they were carrying. They refused the idea of leaving anyone behind, but food margins were getting precariously thin.
None the less, they boarded another 250 refugees from Port Arthur. All the Port Arthur refugees had mind speak and many of them were skilled mechanics.
They had been taught by their fathers and uncles to maintain the oil and gas wells in the area and all the machinery that supported those wells. The entire area had electricity and natural gas piped to each home and fresh water was also piped to each home. Tommy felt they would be welcome additions to Onslow.
The engineers on the ships were fascinated by the natural gas “pulse guns” the local people used as weapons against the slavers. They were given six of the weapons by the local folks as gifts.
Their refineries back in Australia produced propane and butane and they were sure they could modify the pulse guns to burn either of those gases. They envisioned using the pulse guns against the pirates they were contending with back home.
The ships continued along the Texas coast. Galveston was a radioactive ruin. They did discover people along the barrier islands offshore from Corpus Christi and on Padre Island. Most of those folks were fishermen and only a few wished to be rescued. It was just as well, there were no more bunks anywhere in the fleet!
They set their course to sail well offshore of Mexico and Central America and headed for the straits that were once the Isthmus of Panama.
They had been gone from their homes and loved ones for three years now and it was time to head home. They cranked up the engines and set course for Darwin, Australia. It would take them about a month to get home and it would be another one hundred years before any of their children’s children returned to North America.
There would be a few exploratory voyages to the islands of the South Pacific, but, for the most part, they would confine themselves to the development of their own lands. The people they were bringing home would fill many of the holes in their own civilization and it would not be until they received a frantic mind-call from the Northwest Coast of North America almost two hundred years hence that would bring them back to North America one last time.
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TBC
Author’s Note: The character of Gabe is patterned after my experience in 1947 of hearing the singer John Charles Thomas sing Ole’ Man River during a stage performance of SHOW BOAT. I was about ten years old!
Now it is time to concentrate on the development of their own lands and people. Australia is destined to become the preeminent nation for many years to come and would be the leader in putting down pirates, slavers and, worst of all, cannibals.
[email protected]
This story is a fictional account of a period that begins after The Carson Family and their many ships had settled in Australia and helped civilization to cling to life after much of the world had suffered from Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) and chronicles what happens to that family, who had saved many youngsters from death or a life so horrible, death would have been welcomed.. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
***************************************************************
From Chapter 2: Robby and Gabe went ashore in search of Gabe’s companions. Robby was horrified at where they were living. Gabe stood outside the tumbled down warehouse and sang the song, “Come To Me”. Boys came flowing out of the old building like a river. The song was something that Gabe had created himself and would become the standard call to bring children to the ships as their voyage progressed.
COME TO ME
The small fleet slipped into Long Island Sound just ahead of a violent storm. The storm had come up suddenly without any warning. The sheltered waters of the sound protected them from the violent seas, but hurricane force winds slammed into the ships, making the outside decks dangerous.
The wind brought sleeting rain and the lightening made radio communication between the ships almost impossible, leaving mind to mind contact as their only means of communication. The only thing they could do was to ride it out.
Their old charts showed a decent anchorage at New Haven Inlet, where they would be sheltered from the storm. It was a tight fit to get all the ships into the inlet, the wind was gusting fiercely and visibility was down to less than a mile.
Robby suggested to all the other Captains that they drop their anchors fore and aft and hunker down until the storm clears.
The winds shrieked around the ships for five more days before it blew itself out. On the morning of the sixth day, the sun came out and the skies cleared. The day promised to be bright and sunny as the few remaining clouds scudded across the sky.
The rain had stopped sometime during the night and in the daylight, they could see broken trees and smashed buildings in what remained of the old town of West Haven.
Tommy ordered the recording they had made of Gabe singing his song, “COME TO ME” to be played over the loud speaker system. Poor Gabe’s face was bright with embarrassment, until he spotted a crowd of youngsters and a few adults gathered on a tumbled down pier on the shore.
Gabe got on the loud hailer and paused the music in order to speak, “We come to help you, we come to rescue you. We are the Carson Family, once from the West Coast of America. We now live in Australia, where we have made new lives for ourselves and our families. As soon as it is safe, we will come to you in our boats, we have doctors and nurses to treat your wounds and we offer you safe haven on our ships. If you wish to leave this place of horror and ruin, we will take you with us as we continue down the coast. We can relocate you elsewhere in America or take you with us when return to our new home in Australia.”
He repeated his message several times before he switched the music back on. The more accomplished mind speakers among them began hearing excited snatches of mind talk coming from the shore, “Can we….?”, “Will they let us…..?” and “will they like us and love us…..?”
Gabe turned to Tommy and said, “Cap’n I gotta get to the shore, theys kids and folks hurtin’ an’ theys scared we won’t help them. I gotta go!” Tommy agreed and ordered the MWB (motor whale boat) put in the water.
The waves were still high but the Cox’n got Gabe and his party to the pier, only mildly terrified and thoroughly soaked with bay water.
Gabe clambered up a knotted rope they had lassoed over a piling and two of their Med-Techs from the ship’s hospital followed him.
One of the Med-Techs threw a light rope down and started hauling up their kits, while the other Med-Tech started speaking with the children who were obviously hurt and injured. Gabe had gathered about twenty children and young adults as both Medics began treated their worst injuries first.
While the Med-Techs were busy, Gabe began speaking to the adults, who were standing there. He explained who they were and why they were here. He said, “We can take you from this grim ruin and give you a new home with us in Western Australia. We have plenty of room on our ships and in our new country. We are all Americans and our Fathers took refuge in Australia, where we were welcomed.” A voice rang out, “Who are those black people with the tattoos on their faces, are they cannibals?”
Gabe laughed and replied, “They are Australian Aborigines, natives of the “Down Under”. They are our friends and our partners in this voyage and, while they are different from you, sir, they are also the same. We are an integrated society and we do not allow our people to be discriminated against because of the color of their skin or for any other reason, either.” The man who had called out was obviously an American Negro, as was Gabe himself.
The man who called out shouted, “Me and my family are in, let’s go!”
The Med-Techs were appalled at the untreated injuries of those who were standing on the pier. It would get worse as time progressed and word got out that the ships really were rescue ships.
As the storm tossed waters calmed, more boats were put in the water and there was a steady stream of refugees headed for the safety of the ships.
Of course, not everyone wanted to leave, but, by the end of the day, almost two hundred additional refugees had bunked down in the holds of the ships. They all had been fed a meal of things they could not identify, but it all went down and, unlike much of the food they gathered locally, it all stayed down.
The Care Givers were exhausted; they had treated wounds and conditions they had only ever read about in their text books. As they looked in on the Children’s Ward, all they heard was the gentle sound of sleeping children. That made all their labor worthwhile.
As word began to spread in the area, there was a steady flow of people asking for assistance and help arriving on the pier. Each morning, Gabe’s recorded message was played and his song drew crowds. When the flow of refugees slowed to a stop, Robby decided to up anchor. Their charts showed a solid anchorage at Bridgeport and that is where they headed next.
Their “New Haven” experience was repeated at every stop they made in the sound and, at Stamford they were met with a group of people who were attempting to restart the education system that the area was once famous for. They had not had much success and they asked for an “audience” with whoever was in charge of the fleet.
When the educators were told of the education system that existed in Darwin and what was planned for Onslow, they asked if there were any opportunities available for them. They practically flew back to their families and told them to start packing!
For the remainder of the voyage, classes were held on every ship and, by the time they returned to Onslow, reading and writing was universal among the refugees.
The new instructors were amazed at the eagerness of their students and they soon realized that interest in learning was the result of “waistlines”! As their students’ bodies filled out from plentiful and nutritious food, so also did their minds seem to grow. The instructors did not realize at first, that the new children were telepathic like they were.
THE VOYAGE CONTINUES
They had been advised to bypass the New York City area because of the terrible bombs that had been loosed in the area. As they sailed south, even far out at sea, they could see a blue glow on the horizon at night. Robbie and Tommy cringed and ordered the fleet even further offshore! It was not until they reached the coast of the old state of South Carolina that they felt it safe to approach the coastline.
They pulled into the coastal area that had once been the summer resort area of Myrtle Beach and anchored their ships off the beach. Again, they played Gabe’s recording on the speaker system and a large crowd gathered on the white sand beach. It was a repeat of further north and more bunks were filled in the converted holds of the ships. They were beginning to wonder if they had enough bunks for all the children they were finding. Even the adult quarters were becoming filled.
As before, it was mostly young people, the majority of which were boys. One of the boys, who seemed to be a leader among them, asked to see the “guy in charge”. One of the sailors escorted him up to the Bridge of the Flag Ship and introduced him to Tommy.
Tommy scanned his mind and the boy smiled, “You are reading my mind, ain’t you?” Tommy replied vocally, “Yes and that you can detect me, you also are a mind-speaker!” After that, they conversed mentally.
The boy, Gerald, told Tommy of a place further south, where a river dumped into the sea that was once called Charleston, where there was a Citadel of Cadets who had hung on since the time of the bombs.
Gerald told them that the Cadets were the only protection they had when the slavers came, looking for new slaves to sell in the Slave Market in New Orleans. At the word, “SLAVE”, both Tommy and Robby went into a fast burn and they were determined to meet these “cadets” who were protecting people from the slavers!
They took on another three hundred people from the area and, again, it was mostly young boys. There were, however, enough girls in the mix that the older boys were very protective of their younger brothers and all their sisters.
THE CITADEL
They worked their way down the coast until they came to the river gouged harbor they had been told about. Their old charts named it the Ashley River and, as they headed up river, they discovered a ruined city on an island, their old Charts were marked, “City of Charleston.
On a point, they found an encampment of young soldiers manning cannons that were pointed directly at them! Robby got on the loud hailer and explained that they were all Americans and Australians and had come on a rescue mission.
Robby then switched on Gabe’s music as they watched the soldiers gather in formation. Their uniforms were in tatters, but their rifles looked shiny and well cared for. The soldiers attempted to hold back the children who were responding to Gabe’s song, “Come To Me”, but the children broke through and gathered on the breakwater, waving and calling out, “Yous gots foods fer usins?”
The galley had been baking cookies and tiny loaves of sweet bread with dried raisins. The ashore crew had loaded the cookies and breads in canvass bags. They lowered them down to the MWBs before they climbed down themselves. As soon as they beached the boats, they were mobbed by hungry children and young adults. When they began passing out the treats, even the young soldiers broke ranks to get their share.
They found out that the soldiers were the Cadets they had been told about. They were the descendants of Cadets enrolled at the college before the collapse.
The medics noticed that all those being treated were white, although the Cadets were both white and negro. Sergeant Andy Wandering Tree looked around and spotted the Negro children. Andy was a full blood Australian Abo and he was the son of the Tribe Chieftain. His facial tattoos described his bloodlines and his coming of age. He opened his arms to the Negro Children and singing Gabe’s “COME TO ME” in his native language. The children did not understand the words, but they recognized that Andy was welcoming them, also.
The leader of the soldiers came up to Robby and saluted him. He said, “Sir, Cadet Captain Johnson Lewis reporting sir, we are the last survivors of The South Carolina Citadel of Cadets, SIR!”
Robby asked, “How many of you are there?” The Cadet Officer replied, “There are sixteen of us remaining, SIR!”
Robby smiled and said, “You are welcome to join us, we are Americans and Australians and we are expanding our business in Western Australia. We have returned to America to rescue those who are not surviving well and who want to join us. Talk it over with your men, you are all welcome.” The young Cadet Officer visibly brightened when Robby referred to them as “Men”.
Most of those living on the island elected to join the refugees and the soldiers asked to be allowed to remain together. The rest of the people were spread among the several ships, but they remained in contact via mind talk.
The black skinned people among them were used to being treated poorly and they expected the same treatment on board the ships. That never happened and, after the first several days, there were happy black children mingling freely with the other refugees and actively participating in group activities and classrooms.
Robby was a commanding man, nearly seven feet tall and powerfully built. As such, he was a magnet for troubled young negro boys. Whenever he was out of deck, there was a crowd of negro boys around him, asking him questions and about life for them in Australia.
He would sit on a bollard and the boys would sit on the deck in the warm sunshine as he told them about life in Australia. He asked them, “Are you close friends with every other boy sitting right here?” The boys looked around and they had to admit that they were not.
He then said, “Then why do you expect any different from white boys? Friendship is a two way street, you must be a friend in order to have a friend!”
Robby got up and headed for the bridge, he had the next watch and they were preparing to get underway.
There was a lot of “soul searching” that night and the next morning, there were black boys dispersed all through the group of boys sitting down to breakfast.
Tommy was laughing at Robby and said, “Bro, when did you get so wise?” Robby chuckled and replied. “When I met you, you were the first white guy I ever really talked with and I discovered that the outside covering didn’t mean much. It is what is inside that counts!”
They sailed south toward the old state of Florida, where they found almost total devastation. The land had been scrubbed clean, as if a huge wave had risen up from the sea and washed everything away. The southern portion of the peninsula was now a shallow sea, with a few mounds of sand showing above the calm waters.
THE CARRIBEAN COAST
The water was too shallow for them to cross over what had once been dry land of Florida and they had to go all the way around.
They made a quick survey of the Bahamas and found a few native fishermen who were happy to remain where they were. As they headed north, towards the west coast of the Florida panhandle, they began to hear mind-speak. It was evident that there was a war going on. They were not sure who the antagonists were, but they were suspicious that one of the groups were slavers!
Tommy ordered the fleet to Battle Stations and the ships surged forward at full throttle. Their diesels were pounding and the scavenging air blowers were shrieking a banshee howl.
Being freighters rather than warships, the fleet plowed its way through the sea towards what showed on their charts as St. Marks Lighthouse.
As they got closer, their best ‘paths were able to make contact, John Rollingstone, a young Aborigine man made first contact. He recoiled in horror at what he was told. He screamed at Tommy, “Cap’n Sir, theys bein’ attacked by cannibals, peoples what eats peoples!”
Every engine room in the fleet started shoving the emergency wedges into their engine governors. Black smoke poured out the stacks on every ship as they raced northward to the mouth of the St. Marks River.
The gun crews slipped the canvass covers off their deck guns and broke open the ammo lockers. Hand held machine guns were passed out and the Citadel Cadets mustered on the foredeck with their long rifles and boxes of ammunition.
All the young children were sent below, where it was safer, but they refused to stay there. Almost as soon as they were sent below, they were seen standing beside a gunner or rifleman with loads of ammunition in their arms, ready to hand to the gunner or rifleman.
It was too late to chase the younger children back down below, where it was safer. Every ship’s Captain prayed that none of them would be hurt. Some children were hurt, but they were wounds of honor and no child died. Both boys and girls served!
The ships formed a fence across the bay, blocking any exit by the slavers who were terrorizing the small town of Port Leon. The MWB’s went into the water with a splash and armed men (and a few boys) climbed down the ropes like monkeys, loaded with machine guns and their pockets full of ammunition.
As soon as the Bos’ns got their engines started, the boats raced up river, towards the sound of gun fire. When they arrived in the scene, their anger went into overdrive! On the shore were groups of young men and women tied together into coffles, slaves headed to market!
There was no slowing the men down, they began mowing the slavers down with their automatic weapons. The youngsters acting as ammo carriers kept pace with their chosen warrior, handing him clips of ammunition as fast as the riflemen could squirt them out.
It seemed like mere minutes, but it actually was several hours before the battle was over. There were over 200 dead slavers on the ground, none had survived.
Sadly, two boys and one girl, all of whom had been passing ammunition to their chosen rifleman, had been severely wounded. They were picked up by the rifleman they had been assisting and carried back to the boats. The riflemen had to be led, their tears were flooding their eyes.
They held their wounded helpers in a gentle embrace as the boats rushed back to the Hospital Ship. Medics attempted to take the wounded youngsters from the men and they were refused.
The riflemen carried THEIR children into Sickbay and stood at the door while the doctors did everything in their power to save their lives. Sadly, three of the children died! There were three riflemen, two of who were former Citadel Cadets, collapsed to the deck and had to be resuscitated.
They recued another 250 men women and children from Port Leon, they evacuated everyone. The mood on the ships was not good, the three riflemen had to be sedated and the rest stood guard over those who had been rescued. Two days later, the three youngsters who had died in the attack, were buried at sea. The rescued children on all the ships formed platoons and they all had the same motto, “NEVER AGAIN”!
The young platoon members modeled themselves after the Citadel Cadets and asked those Cadets to guide them. As the fleet moved along the coast, every ship had groups of RESCUE CADETS drilling on their open decks.
The RESCUE CADETS were open to any child, regardless of age, SOMETHING could be found that they could do, even if it was merely running messages or carrying boxes of ammunition.
The next place they found people was at St. Andrew’s Bay, near the old city of Panama City, Florida. It was a small community of about 100 people and half of them wanted to be rescued. They had not been bothered by the slavers, who they said came from the area near Pensacola. After those who wished to remain behind spoke with the refugees already on board the ships, they all wished to be rescued.
Tommy and Robby had decided they would sail as far as the Texas border with Mexico, before they headed for home. The ships were getting full, but, there was no way they were going to leave anyone behind this time!
They found a number of small communities among the small islands of the Mississippi River Delta, only a few wished to be evacuated. They had successfully hidden from the slavers and they and their families had lived in the area for hundreds of years. Whenever danger threatened, they merely retreated into the swamps and there was no one who could ever find them.
THE TEXAS COAST
The crews were sad to leave the fisher folk behind in the River Delta, but they refused to join them. The next place they discovered people was at Port Arthur in Texas. They found a fairly large population of people subsistence farming and doing a little fishing to supplement their farms.
A significant portion of them asked to be rescued and the Ship Captains were getting worried about the numbers of people they were carrying. They refused the idea of leaving anyone behind, but food margins were getting precariously thin.
None the less, they boarded another 250 refugees from Port Arthur. All the Port Arthur refugees had mind speak and many of them were skilled mechanics.
They had been taught by their fathers and uncles to maintain the oil and gas wells in the area and all the machinery that supported those wells. The entire area had electricity and natural gas piped to each home and fresh water was also piped to each home. Tommy felt they would be welcome additions to Onslow.
The engineers on the ships were fascinated by the natural gas “pulse guns” the local people used as weapons against the slavers. They were given six of the weapons by the local folks as gifts.
Their refineries back in Australia produced propane and butane and they were sure they could modify the pulse guns to burn either of those gases. They envisioned using the pulse guns against the pirates they were contending with back home.
The ships continued along the Texas coast. Galveston was a radioactive ruin. They did discover people along the barrier islands offshore from Corpus Christi and on Padre Island. Most of those folks were fishermen and only a few wished to be rescued. It was just as well, there were no more bunks anywhere in the fleet!
They set their course to sail well offshore of Mexico and Central America and headed for the straits that were once the Isthmus of Panama.
They had been gone from their homes and loved ones for three years now and it was time to head home. They cranked up the engines and set course for Darwin, Australia. It would take them about a month to get home and it would be another one hundred years before any of their children’s children returned to North America.
There would be a few exploratory voyages to the islands of the South Pacific, but, for the most part, they would confine themselves to the development of their own lands. The people they were bringing home would fill many of the holes in their own civilization and it would not be until they received a frantic mind-call from the Northwest Coast of North America almost two hundred years hence that would bring them back to North America one last time.
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TBC
Author’s Note: The character of Gabe is patterned after my experience in 1947 of hearing the singer John Charles Thomas sing Ole’ Man River during a stage performance of SHOW BOAT. I was about ten years old!
Now it is time to concentrate on the development of their own lands and people. Australia is destined to become the preeminent nation for many years to come and would be the leader in putting down pirates, slavers and, worst of all, cannibals.