Captain’s diary, March 12th, 2018, 1200 hours, Captain Howard Crane recording.

“Having finished off-loading two container loads of supplies, as well as twelve crewponies to the LST-325, we are on our way back to the Mississippi River, where we will turn right at Cairo and head north, stopping at Saint Louis for a day or so, to drop off Alice Smith for future transport to Kansas City, and to pick up two new volunteer crew, Paige Olsen, a pegasus from Davenport, and Jim Wood, a unicorn from Minneapolis. Our mission for the spring and summer is to head north, hopefully as far as Minneapolis, scouting for returnees and other sources of habitation. Fortunately, I have plenty of communication gems with me, to set up links.

“Another thing I have been saddled with is an official representative of Her Majesty, Cicely Stokes. She’s an earth pony who, fortunately for me, spends her time either in her cabin reading, or learning how the ship operates. She does have a prickly personality, but she does know what her job is, and more importantly, knows what her job is NOT. Three weeks on board and we have not come to blows. Yet. May that never happen.

“Yet another chore we’ve been handed is to start on setting up a chain of AM radio stations. The crew for that we left in Memphis, to see if they can get WMC 790 AM up and running. We have one technician from that group aboard, Ruth Bader, a former electronics tech now Ornithian, to do quick surveys at our stops along the way. In Saint Louis, she can fly over to see if KMOX can be saved.

“Young Stephanie has settled in well with us here on board the Voyager, helping Jason in the kitchen much of the time, and taking classes from whoever on board wants to teach her something for a while. Her schooling is more like she’ll have a question, and will find someone to answer it. She’s a good student, learns quickly, and is very polite. Rather shy, though. Takes her a while to warm to others. I’m just glad Her Majesty agreed with Lucien and Jessica and allowed her to stay aboard. She needs stability, and we can provide it.

“End diary entry,” Howard concluded before shutting off the voice-to-type, then reading the paragraphs critically. “Practice makes perfect…”

March 19th, 2018 1100 hours

The Voyager tied up at LaFarge pier, with a small reception committee waiting pierside, namely Mayor Suzanne Blakeslee, Vice-Mayor Mark Voltefiore, and to everyone’s surprise on the ship, Candace Smith. In the light of day, it was apparent that Alice and Candace are identical twins, with the exception being Candace’s left fore and hind legs were white instead of gray. Alice, who was topside, took to the air with a joyful squee, as did Candace. The two hippogriffs met head-on in midair before settling to the pier, squealing in joy, hugging each other fiercely.

Captain Crane extended the port side gangplank after the lines were fastened down and welcomed Suzanne and Mark. “Sure looks like those two are glad to see each other,” Howard observed.

“Candace arrived three days ago, having swam the whole way from Kansas City. She did bring a sack full of potions for our larder, as well as five pounds of refined meteor steel,” Suzanne told Howard.

“Got any plans for the steel?” Howard asked.

“Yes. Give it to you to send downstream to New Orleans, eventually. That way, we can’t be accused of ‘holding out’ on Her Majesty,” Suzanne replied honestly.

“Her Majesty appreciates the gesture, and is glad that Jenny MacLaine understood the methods needed to refine the ore without it losing its magic. So far, outside of the Norwegian colony, she’s the only one who has mastered the technique,” Howard said, repeating what Queen Marie said between his ears via gem. Suzanne wore one as well, but it is much smaller than Howard’s, and it’s like using a peephole instead of a window.

“Saint Louis may not join Louisianne, but I realize the need to stay on her good side,” the zebra said quietly, reinforcing her words with intent, hoping the message would make it across. She couldn’t be sure, but making the effort could not hurt. Turns out she was right.

“Everything else going well, Suzanne? The newbies we left here last year settle in?” Howard asked.

“No problem, Howard. The ten chose rooms in the hotel and rapidly figured out what needed doing. Just nominal supervision is all that’s needed. Right now, it’s breaking and prepping the ground for crops that’s taking much of us. The rest are either checking train lines or plundering the city.

“Casimir is helping with the monsters, and collecting potion components, like manticore venom. Once a month, they run their motorboat down this way to do some swapping,” Suzanne explained as Howard led the pair to the Lounge for coffee, leaving the sisters outside to hug.

March 21, 1000 hours

The Mississippi Voyager departed Saint Louis to get started on their real mission, to head north along the Mississippi River to fill in the gaps in their knowledge of conditions. Their first main destination is the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, because there are some ponies there that are in sporadic contact with the WSU via shortwave radio. Their first obstacle, however, is the Melvin Price Lock and Dam. Howard knew the place well, the main problem being the locks only had one gate, meaning going through the gates will be a chore without hydraulic assistance. Fortunately, the Chief Engineer, Arnie Van Dyke, had spent his winter down time doing research on lock construction, and had figured out a way to power the hydraulics remotely, with a portable generator. By two that afternoon, they were able to put Arnie’s ideas to the test.

Well, that was the idea. By the time Arnie, Liz and Dexter found everything they needed to find, the sun had set and they had to wait until the next day to try it out. “Ah hates waitin…” Arnie drawled at dinner.

“We do, too, Arnie, but best do this during the day, right?” Carroll replied.

“Just cuz it’s logical t’wait don’t mean ah have to lakh it!” Arnie grumped.

“Plenty of tahm to fahnd out if you is a Frack-level genius or a Frack-level idjit. Arnie,” the ship’s doctor, Lucien Macombe, said drolly after a bite of his salad.

“I won’t take bets either way,” Liz Ruiz, the Ornithian engineer’s mate, chirped.

At another table, Howard and Cicely had their dinner. “Just how do you manage to handle your crew so well, Howard?” Cicely asked.

“Simple. I trust them to know their jobs and to get their jobs done without me looking over their shoulders. If I have to, it gets my displeasure and soon after, a crew replacement. Been a year now since I took command of this barge and I never had a crew discipline problem,” Howard said quietly after eating some fried fish.

“If I was in charge, I would have everyone quaking in their shoes about making me unhappy,” Cicely said with emphasis.

“Not smart to do on board a ship, even a converted barge like the Voyager. We all depend on each other to do our jobs, because we all have to work together to keep the ship afloat. For instance, as the only hippogriff aboard, I’m the one who does hull checks as needed. I’ve never asked for another, because Her Majesty uses those she has to clear the ship channels of debris and wreckage, as well as inspecting the boats we use. Just because I’m the Captain does not mean I don’t do my share of the work. Takes all of us to do that,” he explained patiently.

Cicely nodded as she chewed on some corn before speaking. “One thing I have to remember is that there is not a big labor pool to dip into. Finding people with the right skills is not as easy as it was Before.”

“All the more reason to treasure those you find. Like Stephanie,” Howard said, pointing at the black and white Abyssinian, who was busy cleaning the serving line. “We found her in a cold storm in December, alone and frightened. We took her aboard and she bonded with Jason and Esther. She won’t speak much of Before, but she works hard to be accepted here. Lucien thinks it’s because she’s afraid we’ll put her off somewhere and leave her, but I think she knows that won’t happen. I’m thinking it’s because we accept her as is, and guide her along, not run rough on her.”

“Personally, I don’t think an exploration ship is the right place for a child,” Cicely said with an edge in her voice, but then lost the edge as she went on. “Thing is, who could we leave her with? She’s fitted in well with Jason. Even I can see that. She also gets along with everyone, but has not come to speak with me. I wonder why.”

Howard sat straighter in his seat. “I want to think that she’s afraid of you, Cicely. Abyssinians can be extremely empathic, and you have a rather powerful, forceful personality. Jason has his version of empathy in that he always seems to know what is needed, where it’s needed and when someone needs it. It’s what makes him a fine shipmate. Stephanie I feel is empathic as well, but what she went through Before is coloring her feelings now. If you want to speak with her, I suggest you ‘make yourself receptive’ to her, and ask Jason or Esther to sit in on your first meeting,” he told the Crown representative firmly.

“Something I’ll have to keep in mind,” Cicely said before some more of the dinner. Think what she will about being aboard, the table the ship sets is far better than anything she can find back in New Orleans, even at the Queen’s court in the French Quarter.

Early the next morning, Arnie led his team out to see if his lock-picking idea would work or not. The only difficulty they faced was figuring out the right valve lineup to get the lock doors open. Once that happened, Howard applied full power to get the Voyager through and clear of the doors. Getting them shut again was not difficult, but one slight miscalculation did lead to a relief valve lifting, liberally bedaubing Arnie with hydraulic oil. (not that anyone could tell, he normally was a black and gray mix that looked like he was dipped in machine oil to begin with) He let Liz and Dexter break down the assembly while he went back aboard to clean up, sending word ahead to leave some toweling by the gangplank so he would not track oil through the ship.

That afternoon, they encountered their next obstacle, the Winfield Lock and Dam. This lock was different in that it had TWO gates instead of one, and it had a fill and drain system. This time, it only took an hour to get that lock behind them, and Arnie did not have another oil bath.

Two more days of travel had them at their first planned stop, Hannibal, Missouri. Howard and Jason wanted to take Stephanie to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home, to help further her education. The three went there early on the 26th of March, a nice clear day, Cicely and Lucien coming along as well. Much of the rest of the crew went out scavenging, to set up at least one ‘emergency stash’ near where they tied up, and another on a higher point of ground.

The five spent a slow morning at the Twain Boyhood Home, taking a leisurely tour and collecting a lot of souvenirs. One in particular that Stephanie found is an old pen and inkwell set that she found in the house, not the souvenir shop. “When we get back to the ship, ah’ll show you how to make some proper ink to use in that, Stephanie. There’s a reason ball-point pens were invented, but this is the way writing was done back in the old days. Would you like that?” Lucien asked the young Abyssininan.

“I would, Doctor Lucien. I remember reading Tom Sawyer back Before, and I like Mark Twain. Learning to write like he did would be a challenge!” Stephanie said brightly. Jason smiled at his foster daughter’s enthusiasm, an unusual showing of emotion from her, or him for that matter.

Just then, Howard’s radio crackled. “Voyager Lookout to Captain, I’m seeing something moving on the railroad tracks south of town, heading north,” said the new pegasus on the crew, Paige Olsen.

“What can you tell me about it, Lookout?” Howard asked.

“Not much, Captain. I’m over the Wal-Mart, and this is by the river, south of the ship and coming northbound. No smoke visible. Should I investigate?” Paige asked.

“Start making your way there, Lookout. I’ll beat you there and we can check this out together. Captain out.” Howard said before looking at his companions. “Head back to the ship. I’ll check this out. Could be another Returnee.”

“Sounds good t’me, Howard. C’mon, everyone, back to the ship! Step lively!” Lucien urged the group, heading out the door to the gift shop. Howard was the last one out, taking wing once clear.

It wasn’t long before Howard saw the spot moving along the tracks south of town. It was an antique hand-pumped train cart, being worked by what appeared to be a youngish hippogriff, dark pink body fur with a lime-green mane and tail, the mane having a bold white stripe through it. As he closed in, the hippogriff stopped pumping the cart, let out a squeal, pulled a handgun from somewhere and started shooting at Howard with very little skill.

It doesn’t take much skill to hit a target, though. Howard was so startled he didn’t veer off. He took one bullet to the wing and another to the body, sending him spiraling down to the river, unconsciousness claiming him before hitting the water.

Author's Note

Well, that's a nasty surprise. How will Howard get out of this predicament?

tilts head Why am I hearing a Beatles song? Bonus points to whoever can say which song it is. Can't say when next chapter will be out. Hopefully less than the six months since the last story ended!

Long COVID is a real bitch. Four years ago this time, I was on a ventilator. I don't think I'll ever recover. I just do the best I can.