Chapter Three: Moon, Sun and Stars — Part 1

There is much speculation between George and Jude as to how to safely pass the barrier reef in order to sail to that other island, Kure Atoll, in hopes of finding an arch, and jumping one step closer to Japan. Joe has already made a decision, however, to travel 55 miles to Kure Atoll. The island seems a good choice, if only because it doesn’t mean trying to head for Japan, or Hawaii, directly, as both routes would put his green crew under constant stress. Also, given current wind conditions, he is certain he can steer the Edgewind to the atoll no later than the mid afternoon or evening, if the weather should fail him, or before noon, should the wind stay constant at 11 knots, which it is currently blowing.

It is sunrise now, and Joe has his crew ready, eight people circled around him, waiting for him to talk, everything has been packed and the sails rigged for an ocean run. The tide is coming high, and all the Edgewind needs is a push to get it headed to the fixed double warp of water that Joe will then use to take it out to sea. He feels like pacing back and forth as he talks, but there really is no need for it, so instead he settles for fidgeting a bit and shuffling his feet. Joe’s never been much of a hard ass as a Captain. He’d rather his crew be disciplined at their jobs than stand with their buttocks sucked tight, standing tall and always at attention. He clears his throat, signaling that his thoughts have gathered.

“Now listen up. Things are going to get a little crazy here for a moment. Two days ago, we were the first to push through an arch — on a ship — and yes ChoCho, I remember the man and his horse story . . . And we did that awesome. For those of you who have never been to sea, let me just say that flying that arch was a relative cakewalk in comparison to the troubles we can encounter while on water. I’m not saying we’re the experts on arch travel by any means, but I am saying that we have to watch for storms above, ice on the water, and rocks below. We are also sailing into a world where our navigation is purely by sight and sextant. No compass can be trusted, and this sorely limits our accuracy. We have to use every little thing to our advantage, to keep us safe. Our first effort will be to cross the Midway reef — And Blake will take the steerage for that.

“On this note we are fortunate to have two navigators qualified to help us get to Kure Atoll. Once there, pending we can confirm an arch, and pending we can get to that arch safely, we will then spend a day scouting the island and rigging the Edgewind to take that archer wherever it leads us. Any Questions?”

The crew remains quiet. Joe knows they are all pretty much aware of everything he described. “All right, now I need volunteers who may well be sopping wet before their job is done. The Edgewind isn’t going to get to the water line on its own, and we know that gravity is unpredictable to say the least at the edge of the arch. George and Gryphon, working as a team, confirmed that moving the ship onto the water would require both strength and a certain amount of mental flexibility, but that it will be possible for four people to make that happen. As I will be putting my back to it, I need three more people to help, Blake and Heath, the answer is no.”

ChoCho didn’t step forward. Though wiry, he isn’t as strong as Kevin, nor even Jynx or Daria, and this particular transition from ship to shore wasn’t going to be a leverage game. In the end Kevin, Jude, and Daria did indeed step up to muscle the ship from its low gravity nest. Joe smiles, having been spared issue of exerting his authority without somewhat of a democracy.

“Perfect.” Joe says. “Blake, ChoCho, Jynx, Heath, and George, if you five could line and tackle the locking wenches to pull the Edgewind as close to the waterline as you can, we four will keep it from touching ground. When you hear one whistle, start winching. When you hear two, stop. My crew, when you hear two whistles, step away from the ship and let it come to rest.”

Joe and Jude brace the front of the ship together while Kevin and Daria brace the back, lifting with their shoulders, putting all their strength into the effort. The inertia to overcome is incredible, but slowly the ship rises from the ground until they have it braced about two feet up. Then Joe blows his whistle once and the ship starts to slowly move forward. As was predicted by throwing Gryphon between George and Jude, the surface gravity is partially negated by the ship’s forward motion, and the arch gravity ‘pulls’ at the ship, creating a condition whereby motion is converted to lower gravitational influence. Soon Joe’s team is actually helping the ship come forward while the winching crew can barely keep the slack out of the lines. When the ship is fifty feet from the shoreline, where the water swells and bulges with every incoming wave, Joe blows his whistle twice and calls his crew away.

The Edgewind continues to move forward, fighting its own inertia, passing right by the winching crew and, without touching ground, right up the water line, settling onto the water, where it edges slowly against downward crest. The winching crew tighten their ropes so the ship won’t drift while it sits waiting for them to reach it. The ropes are now pulled through the fixed wave of water, and the ship, under the influence of partial gravity, begins to slowly drop into the valley between the crested waves.

“Now here’s the fun part.” George says, running straight for the water like he’s going to dive in. Instead, he jumps and clears the entire first wave, coming down slowly toward the ship, almost missing its aft rail. He pulls himself on board and snaps himself in place. Following his lead, the rest of the crew all does the same. Blake and Joe go last, pulling the screw pikes loose and running for the water. Joe jumps hard, but his angle is off, and his feet slap the water as he tries not to sink and be forced to swim. Slogged to his ankles, he manages to come down onto the ship relatively dry.

Once tethered to the ship, Joe is still panting when he waves Daria to him. He looks pale, but it’s mostly from fear of losing his momentum and having to swim in wet clothes, to the ship. Daria steps in front of him, bends down halfway, so her eyes are level with his, and waits with expressed patience, for him to talk.

“Important — ” Joe huffs, trying to catch his wind, ” — How long can you hold your breath?”