Escape from QC1 Okay. So much has gone on, you'll have to bear with me. Just so you know, a lot of what I've posted up until now hasn't exactly happened as I've described them. Some of it is to protect the innocent, some because I knew interested parties follow this blog, and some because I only found out the real reasons later. Let me catch you up with what is really going on. I think things will become obvious as I type this. We slowly passed the burning wreckage of the British destroyers. I think in the annals of history, this attack will stand up alongside Pearl Harbor or the defeat of the Spanish Armada as one of the worst single day's destruction of naval equipment. We cruised up the River Thames, slowly passing by hamlets and docks. A squad of pirates manned the machine guns on the deck, and had fun picking off whoever came into view, shooting up boats and buildings and vehicles. After about ten miles the river grew narrower. We needed to reduce our speed to a bare crawl. Xyllan called off the shooting since crowds of people began lining the shores to sneak a peek at us. A couple news helicopters hovered around, keeping a respectful distance. Even further away lurked fighter jets, waiting for some kind of opening we supposed. We could take down anything within visual range but we continued to take pot shots at the shore areas. A small contingent of pleasure craft trailed us up the river. We wound around the sweeping curves of the river, keeping to the deepest shipping channel. We sunk any ship daring to come too close. I have to admit the amount of death and destruction we dealt on that river was unparalleled. The entire river became a column of smoking ruins behind us. We passed through the Thames Barrier, a structure designed to control water flow through the river. They apparently hadn't thought to close the structure. As we passed, we blasted a couple of the gates so they couldn't trap us. Shortly after passing the barrier, we passed by the Millennium Dome, a large retail complex. Throngs of people gathered on shore at this point, and a few began firing at us. We stopped our assault to conserve ammunition. We had a more powerful way to kill these Londoners. We cruised around a couple more bends, gawking like sightseers at the beautiful and stoic structures of London. In front of us stood the Tower (London) Bridge, and right beyond that, the Tower of London, holding one of the greatest treasure collections known to man, all for the taking. The entire bridge lit up at once, and we heard the impact of shells and mortars hitting our outer hull. "Return fire," called Carrie, and a couple of rockets burst off of our deck, impacting at the base of the Tower, exploding in huge balls of light. As the smoke cleared, we spotted gaping holes in the support structure of the Bridge. As we watched, the structure began crumbling brick by brick in a slow motion disintegrating. The middle deck fell first, then the towers crumpled in on themselves, and finally the outer deck collapsed into the river. As I watched, my board filled up red. "Power loss! Emergency shutdown initiated. We're losing coolant to the Matrix, we've got to shut it off or we could blow!" "What?" Carried jumped over and pushed me away from the console. "What the hell? What's the fuck is happening?" She clicked around frantically, then pounded the table. "Dammit, we're sitting ducks now!" Fortunately there was no concomitant power loss. I looked outside. "I think I know what's going on. They're lowering the water level. We don't have enough clearance on our input manifold, or maybe it's become clogged up. We don't have enough coolant." Without describing the details of a raving madman, let's just say the next few minutes were not enjoyable. Carrie flipped out. She went ape shit. Finally Xyllan had enough sense to go up and slap her. "Shut up," he growled, hitting her right in the mouth. "Enough! Let's focus on fixing the issue. We'll cut a new intake if we have to. We just need to do it before the British Marines storm the ship. We'll bring water aboard in buckets if we have to. Besides, they can't keep back the water forever, this is the rainy part of the year. Come on, let's get moving." We first had to wait until the Matrix cooled, which took considerably longer since only a trickle of water emerged from the intake. Night sets in early this time of year, so London became a cheery mass of lights. Some people had already put out Christmas decorations. I didn't have much time to appreciate it, since I was scanning for enemy activity. I couldn't see much, but enough shadows seemed to move to indicate something. We finally accessed the Matrix to find the cooling system completely clogged with a fine silt. We ran a few lines over the edge of the top deck and drew in water to start cleaning the mess, and some other pumps to carry the dirty water overboard. We had a small holding tank where we could store a bit of water, enough for maybe a zap or a couple minutes of propulsion. Not enough for sustained operations. A bit after midnight, I got accidentally doused in cleaning solution. I scuttled back to my room to get changed and wash off the somewhat corrosive cleaner. After I entered the cabin, I saw a small sticky note under the keyboard. It read, "C-21. 0200. Bring anyone whom you want to keep alive." I stared at the paper for a second. Ellie. I didn't hesitate, I knew what I had to do. I quickly washed off the cleaner and redressed, pocketing a few guns and knives I had stashed around. I went to the control room where Rod monitored the enemy activity. I walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. "Here, I think I see the problem," I said, and started typing on his keyboard: "0150 at Gate C" then I quickly erased it. He nodded subtly at me. "Got it. Thanks, Alex. How's the cleanup coming?" "Slow. Probably will need a few more hours. I'm going to need a drink. A big bottle of booze will do." "I'll bring you a couple," he said, nodding. "I'll bring some for everyone." He emphasized the last word just a bit. "Yes, everyone," I replied. "We'll all drink. Bring a lighter too, I might light something." The next hour and a half passed agonizingly slowly. I checked my watch almost every minute. Fortunately the progress on the silt removal proceeded just as slowly, forcing us to send men down into the intake tubes to shovel them out. I don't think this ship had been designed for river travel. At 0145 I wandered back into the Palace. I walked over to the Pirate camp, a mass of tents set out on the floor of the Palace. "Where are the prisoners," I asked the nearest guard, "it's time for their punishment." He pointed me to a tent with another guard snoozing right outside. I slipped inside, and found two lumps under sleeping bags. I crept to the smaller one and cupped my hand over her mouth. "Julia, wake up, but be quiet. Ssh. It's Captain Ross." She struggled for a second, but when she heard my name she relaxed. "Captain Ross! You've come back! I knew you would." She threw her small arms around my neck and hugged me with her wrists tied together. "Ssh. Misty! Wake up! It's time to go." She stirred and her eyes grew wide. "You! What the fuck are you doing in here you fuckin--" "Ssh! Jesus Christ! We're leaving. Let's go." "I'm not going back to your bloody cabin, not after--" I placed my hands on her shoulders and looked right at her in earnest. "No. We're leaving. We've got about eight minutes, so shut up and get moving." Misty's mouth gaped open. "Yes, yes, sorry. What about these ropes?" She held up her hands which were bound in thick hemp strands. "I'll get them off as soon as we clear the Palace. I need to gag you too. I just want it to look bad for you. We need to hurry. I won't make it tight. Julia, you ready?" I tied another rope around their wrists. "I'm going to yank it a bit. Sorry." The women glared at me. "Move it," I shouted, pulling them out of the tent. The guard startled and fell off his chair. "Where you takin them," he asked, pushing his dreadlocks out of his haggard face. "It's payback time for these whores." I took out my knife and waved it in Misty's face. "You don't want to see what I'm going to do to them. You can go now, they won't be coming back. Now move it bitches, or the end will be drawn out and painful." They did a credible job resisting me as I dragged them out of the Pirate camp. As we cleared the area, I motioned to them to hurry, and we trotted over to C Lock, under the movie wall. We slid through and I closed the door behind me. I grabbed my knife again and the women backed off, fear in their eyes. I grabbed Misty's wrists and cut away her bonds, then Julia's. Misty yanked off her gag and spoke. "Alex, that was the most humiliating thing I've ever--" "Save it, we're not clear yet. Rod! Where the hell are you?" Rod came puffing down the hall, a large clinking sack on his back. "Sorry. This booze is heavy. What the hell is this for?" I shook my head. "I have no fucking clue. We have about 3 minutes. You have the schematic?" Rod whipped out his handheld PDA. "Right here." We raced along gangplanks and machinery, avoiding the mechanical apparatus of the SMD and the workers clearing out the silt from the Drive. We crawled up into the underdeck, where a lot of the control surfaces were housed during idle. These surfaces kept the ship from breaking apart at high speeds. "C-21, just up there," pointed Rod. There were spots where we crawled on our hands and knees, scraping off skin. If I hadn't lost so much weight at Kastle Klingon I doubt I would have fitted. At some points we literally pushed Rod along. I smelled it before I saw it. Scents reminiscent of a distillery greeted me, as well as unwashed human bodies. We emerged into a small room littered with stacked but empty liquor bottles and neat piles of trash. We looked around. We heard a sound from above, and a body slid down a control wing and plopped onto the floor of the room. For a minute it lay there, then started moving. I rolled the body over. "Holy shit! Ellie!" Julia screamed and grabbed Misty. "The wild woman from the cage!" I kneeled down next to the body and helped her sit up. "Ellie, are you hurt? What's wrong?" "Hey, Alex," she slurred. "Glad you could make it." She lazily raised a hand and then her eyes went back and she swooned in my arms. "She's bloody pissed," exclaimed Rod. I shook Ellie's chin and slapped it a bit. "Ellie! Wake up! What the hell?" Her eyes fluttered open. "Alex. I've missed you." Her alcoholic breath washed over me. "Ellie! What the hell is going on? Why are you so drunk? Are we getting off this boat or not?" "Getting off? Boat? Oh...oh! Shit! Help me up, hurry. God, I'm so wasted." I did my best but she could barely stand straight. "Has she been here the whole time," asked Misty, surveying the amount of trash lying around. "What the...how the bloody hell did she survive?" Ellie reached for an unopened bottle of booze and waved it at Misty, barely able to stand up straight. "This. It stops the zombie ray. Drink enough, and instead of waking up a mindless zombie, you wake up...drunk! I thought you guys would use the weapon tonight, so I drank a whole bunch." Ellie slumped against me, reeking of alcohol and lack of bathing. "I found tapes of the trials," she continued. "The only people left alive and relatively unscathed were the drunks. I put two and two together. I've been living on nothing but a steady diet of booze since I escaped. Now, let's get outta here before our ride leaves. Hold on." She pushed along the wall, grabbed a bucket, and emptied her stomach into it. "Sorry," she said, wiping her mouth, "but I feel so much better now." "I'm gonna gag," cried Misty, holding her mouth. "Let's get out of here. Stat." Ellie waved a hand. "Leave the booze over there, in case I need to come back. Right up there is the hatch. You just push it, fall through, and hit the water. Does everyone know how to swim?" "Top breaststroker at Oxford," replied Misty. Rod nodded as well. "I don't know, I don't know," cried Julia, "I hate water." "You come from an island nation, surrounded by water," I exclaimed, but Julia shrank up against Misty. "Okay, okay. Let's do this. Misty, you sound like the strongest swimmer, so you go first, then Rod. Then I'll help Julia through. Ellie next, and don't forget she's so drunk she'll need help. I'll be right after her." Ellie helped us crawl up the retracted wing over to the hatch. I pressed it, and sure enough the locking mechanism had failed. All I could see was black water about fifty feet down, like a five story drop. "There are frogmen down there," said Ellie, flashing a small light and receiving a reply. "They'll guide you to their raft. It's black and without searchlights your camera shouldn't pick it up." I saw the little lights blinking down below. If I didn't know what to look for I'd say there were reflections from streetlights. Ellie signalled, and Misty slid out the hatch. In a second I heard a small splash. Leaning out, we could see the all-clear signal. Then Rod took the plunge, and they flashed success. "No, no, no," whimpered Julia, crawling away from the edge. "Come on, you can do it. We're getting off this boat, and never coming back. Julia, this is the only way." "I'm scared," she cried. "Please don't make me, please, please, please." I reached out to try to shove her but she grabbed my arm with a death grip. "Please don't make me," she cried, holding her head down like a dog. "It's okay," I said softly. "Misty's down there. She won't let anything happen to you. I promise." "Oh, fuck this," said Ellie and literally put a foot on me and shoved us both out. For a moment I experienced sheer panic as my body felt weightless out over the inky blackness of the River Thames. Julia screamed a piercing howl, then we hit the water like fish dropping on pavement. I instantly lost Julia, and the frigid November waters of the river struck me like a million spears into my body. I instinctively started grabbing for the surface, not even knowing which direction it lay. It took what seemed an eternity, but finally my head broke the water. "Julia," I screamed. "Julia!" A couple figures moved in the water, men with black scuba gear and underwater lights. In a moment they brought Julia to the surface, lifeless and limp. The water next to me exploded. For a moment I thought we were being attacked until I realized Ellie had just dropped in. The men dragged Julia onto the raft, and she seemed very still. I swam towards them, quickly losing feeling in my extremities, my heart literally bursting in my chest. "Here, Alex," called Misty from the raft. They helped me in, and then the men delivered a shivering Ellie. On the other side of the raft, the men worked feverishly on Julia, one wrapping his arms around her and performing a modified Heimlich maneuver, the other checking her vitals. They then laid her down and started CPR, chest compressions and rescue breaths. Another man provided us with blankets. Misty clutched my arm so tightly I thought she might crack my wrist bones. For what seemed an eternity they worked on her. I began pulling on my wet hair and praying. Ellie put her arms around both of us as we watched the spectacle. "What was I thinking," I muttered, "what the hell?" A trickle of water spurt out of Julia mouth, then a torrent. She began coughing and gasping violently. The men signaled the others, and the divers began pushing our raft away from the boat and towards the Northern shore. We scooted as close as we could to Julia, and called to her, "it's okay, we'll be safe soon, hang in there." The men wrapped her in every blanket they could, we even gave her ours. In a few minutes we reached the northern shore of the river. A few men helped us out of the raft, and placed Julia in a stretcher. They hustled us into the back of a waiting van, and the van took off just as the door closed. We all huddled together for warmth. Misty kneeled next to the stretcher. "Julia, hang in there. We're going to get you better. Julia? Julia! Alex, she's not responding!" Ellie squatted down next to the girl and checked her. "She's alive, but she has hypothermia. Look at her lips. Help me get these wet clothes off of her. We need to warm her up." We quickly stripped the poor girl naked under her blankets. "These blankets won't work," griped Ellie. "We need warm body heat. Forget it, you two. Misty and I will do it. Misty, grab some blankets and take off your clothes." "Yes, yes." In a minute, Misty and Ellie had stripped butt naked and crawled under a blanket, holding Julia between them with their shared warmth. Rod and I just tried to be cool about everything. My vision of escaping the boat never included naked women. Ellie and Misty's heads peeked out from under the blanket as the van jostled around London's streets. "I think I'm almost sober again," said Ellie, then turned to Misty. "Don't rub her. Just concentrate on warming her core. Keep the cold blood out for now." "Where are we headed," I asked. "Chinese embassy. It's not far." My dealings with the Chinese have not gone well. "Ellie, I'm not entering Chinese custody again, not after everything I've been through. Just drop us off somewhere." "Alex," she said from under the blanket, "it will be fine. You won't be in custody. No interrogations. You have my word. You can leave any time, but I hope you'll stay long enough to help us figure out how to end this crisis." Misty spoke. "I want British representation at any talks that may occur. We have the most to lose, after all." The two women glared at each other, practically nose to nose, and judging from the lumps under the blankets, they had wrapped an arm around each other. Ellie relented. "Done. She's a tough one, Alex. And I feel so lesbian right now." Misty snorted. "Oh you're a funny gal. Hold on, I think Julia's moving. Give her some air." They rearranged themselves and Julia's head poked out. She looked around the van, then at Misty and Ellie. Her fingers crept out of the blanket and she pushed it up, looking down. Her eyes grew wide, and a bit of color touched her cheek, but her lips remained dark blue and her normally tan face a ghostly pale. "Whaa!" Julia flipped herself over under the blanket. "Julia, it's alright, we're trying to warm you up," said Misty. "Nothing funny. The guys didn't see anything, you've been under the blanket the whole time." Julia peeked one eye out towards me. "You didn't see me?" I held up my hands. "Not an inch. We're just trying to keep you warm." "Haven't been looking," said Rod. "We're just keeping you alive. You've had quite an ordeal." Julia looked at Ellie. "You're really warm. Sorry Miss Misty." She spooned her body up close against Ellie. "My sister would do this sometimes during storms, just hold me and keep me safe," she whispered, closing her eyes, just to rest. Ellie held her tightly. "She's so sweet," she told Misty who nodded enthusiastically. "But you need to feed her more. She's all skin and bones." The van slowed down, and we heard some echoes, like we were in a parking structure. Then we heard men's voices. The van backed up and parked. The doors opened, and a handful of Chinese medics greeted us. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, pointing to the pile of wet clothes. The medics nodded, and whistled for clean clothes to be brought. In a minute, we handed the women some sweat pants and shirts and closed the door for their privacy. Rod and I just changed in front of everyone, on the side of the van. In moments the five of us stood together and hugged. A lot of color had returned to Julia's cheeks, and I gave her a great big hug, followed by Rod. Julia started crying, overcome with emotions. A familiar face greeted us. "General Tam, you're back," I said to the small Chinese man. He bowed to me. "What are your orders," he asked Ellie. She stretched and rubbed her face. "We need food. I haven't eaten anything solid in a week. Then get me Commander Jeffries on the line, Royal Marines. We're setting up a meeting. Let's find a suite to relax in. And I want every staff member issued a fifth of Scotch immediately. If I give the order, they are to drink it as fast as possible. And I mean in 60 seconds. Guys, come on, it's time to finish this thing." Ellie provided us the nicest stateroom in the entire complex, where we immediately collapsed on the beds and couches. I found a computer and began typing this in. In a little while, we're going to meet with Jeffries and his staff. We have to take out the ship before it becomes fully operational again. It may be our last chance to stop this threat. If things don't go well, this may be the last time you hear from me. For the Americans out there, especially my Dad and my brother Brad, have a nice Thanksgiving. It may be your last. But I promise I'll try to be there next year. Posted: Wednesday, November 26, 2008 @ 10:30 PM

The River Battle We made it through the night without incident, although when we arrived in the control room we found it a shambles. Apparently the drunken orgy had made its way up here, and Carrie's night crew seemed powerless to stop it. The desks had been tipped over, drinks spilled on equipment, and trash lay everywhere. A few of the idiots still lay around in a drunken stupor. I poked a few with my shotgun, none too softly, and told them, "if you ever enter an officer's area again, you will be throw overboard." They beat a hasty retreat. We spent most of the morning cleaning up the place, a thankless and disgusting job. Heaven knows how they didn't destroy the Matrix or turn the crew into zombies. I had to reboot half a dozen systems. Finally we restored all the telemetry and external camera displays to make sure we didn't collide with other shipping. Fortunately our GPS navigation system prevented us from running ashore overnight while the night crew tied one on. Far off in the distance, I could just make out the British coastline. We cruised through the English Channel at quarter speed, still a healthy 50 knots. Throngs of pleasure craft and small airplanes came out to view us, but now they kept a healthy distance. By the time Carrie stumbled in, it was already past lunchtime. She was escorted by a young Pirate, one of the new men on the ship. They kissed and the man walked away. I shot Misty a look and she returned a quizzical stare. We had thought Carrie was with Xyllan, but apparently not. Partway across the Palace, we could see him staring our way, looking none too happy about the situation. I started complaining vociferously to Carrie about the night crew but she waved me off. "Ross, it's no big deal. You need to learn to relax." I could see she was still pretty drunk. She wandered over to a small couch and laid down. "Just wake me if anything comes up. You've got our route, don't you? Good night." From the way Misty pounded her keyboard with her fingers I could tell she was moments away from bitch-slapping Carrie into tomorrow. None of us had much sleep, and to have Carrie snore right in front of us was infuriating. "Let's get some lunch," I suggested. By now the three of us had armed ourselves to the teeth. We each carried two pistols, mostly 9mm semi-automatics, Rod and I carried shotguns, as well as knives. I even found a small dagger for Julia as well as a switchblade. We closed up the control center as best we could, hopefully any alarms would wake Carrie. We also could see the large movie wall from anywhere in the Palace so we could see if trouble developed. We checked the kitchen for malcontents before allowing Julia in there. We only found the normal staff in there, so we let her cook while we talked. "We need body armor," said Rod, "instead of this bloody Pirate crap. These new scoundrels are going to be the death of us I'm afraid. And our drunken Queen is not helping matters. She's losing her control. These fellows know it, and it's only a matter of time before something tries something." "I guess I can talk to her," I suggested. "A mutiny would be disastrous. As the only identifiable officers on this boat aside from Xyllan, we'd be the first targets. After a few days without any raids, these guys are getting restless." Julia began bringing our food out as she cooked it. Deliciously tender fried chicken, noodle soup, sesame salad. A few groggy pirates wandered over, tempted by the scent of fresh food. The kitchen exhaust system didn't work well since it wound through the thick palace wall, so you could smell whatever was cooking throughout the Palace. The same could be said for the urinals, however, since they too didn't drain well. We told the pirates this was the Officer's seating, and they'd have to wait their turn. I don't think they liked that. And they liked not getting Julia's food even less. We approached the narrowest part of the English Channel as we finished our meals. On one side, the Cliffs of Dover, on the other, the quaint city of Calais, and somewhere beneath us, the Channel Tunnel. Only 21 miles separated the two countries at this point. We finished up quickly and headed back to the control center. Carrie still snored loudly. I felt like dunking a bucket of ice water on her. After passing though the Strait of Dover, we turned North, passing by the Isle of Thanet. We cruised back West, heading towards the mouth of the River Thames. Ahead of us I could see a line of gray dots along the river mouth. Not even waiting for Carrie, I sounded the General Quarters Klaxon. Hopefully the stupid pirates would know enough to get in here and close the Palace hatches. Carrie jumped off the couch. "What the fuck? Goddamit!" I pointed up at the monitor. We could see a line of naval vessels blocking out route up towards London. "Shit," spat Carrie. "Where the hell are the rest of my officers?" "You tell me," I spat back. "What kind of fucking operation is this? This is bullshit!" "Fuck you, Ross," she cried. "Fuck everybody. Find my goddamn crew." "You go find them yourself. As you can see, we're kind of busy. We're almost surrounded, they're closing in from behind." Carrie and I stared at each other for a moment. "Fine, it's you guys then." "We're being hailed," said Misty from the communications console. "It's CINCFLEET. There's a Commander Jeffries wishes to discuss the terms of our surrender. Do you want to talk with him? We have a video hookup." "Give it to me," Carrie snapped, reaching for the headset, then hesitated, a smiled crossing her face. "You do it, Nguyen. You know how to talk to these people. I'll talk to you through your headset. Come over here, Rod, help me set it up." "No," stated Misty. "I'm drawing the line right here. I'm not going to threaten my own countrymen. I'm not going to be a part of this any more. I'm not helping you attack England." She threw down her headset and jumped out of her seat. Instantly Carrie drew a gun, and Rod and I drew ours too. "Get back on that line," hissed Carrie, who looked at me. "I will fucking end her, right now. You want to take that risk, Ross? You drop your goddamn guns." I looked around the room. Julia huddled under a desk. Misty stood at her console, staring at the weapon aimed at her head. I heard the patter of the Pirates running towards the control room. In moments we would be outnumbered. I just couldn't risk Misty's life. I pointed my gun towards the ceiling and lowered it to the floor. Rod did the same. Xyllan and his men jumped in and confiscated our weapons, pushing us back into our seats with guns to our heads. So much for being Captain. Misty sat back in her chair, her face a maze of worry. Her hands shook as she put her headset back on. "Stand by for transmission," she said. Rod hooked up the system so we could see and hear both sides of the conversation, and let Carrie tell Misty what to say. "CINCFLEET go. Officer Nguyen of Queen Carrie One speaking," said Misty, and Cmdr. Jeffries' face filled the screen. "You are in violation of the sovereign waters of the United Kingdom," said Jeffries. "You have five minutes to reverse course or we will open fire." I could see the agony writ on Misty's face. "If you do not let us proceed, we will destroy your fleet. Any hostile act on your part will result in immediate retaliation." "The Royal Navy is prepared to use any and all means, and I mean all means at our disposal to stop you here. You will proceed no further. This is your last warning." "Please, Sir," pleaded Misty, going off-script. "You don't fully understand our capabilities. Please do not provoke an attack. If you would just listen--" Carrie cut the connection. "Enough chit chat. Prepare the Singularity Matrix! It's zapping time!" The Klaxon sounded, this time with the most ominous tone. The heavy leaden doors closed, trapping us in a radiation-proof shell. Carrie finally found a couple of her hungover Matrix operators to key in the sequence to activate the offensive capabilities of the Matrix. As the timer counted down to zero, a number of ships launched missiles in our direction. "Fire!" yelled Carrie. The ship shook as the Singularity gobbled up a heap of fresh matter and expelled its deadly energy wave. Outside, nothing immediately changed. The missiles kept coming. Closer and closer they approached, finally sailing over our deck and continuing on path, their electronics fried and useless. We also caught footage of surveillance planes and drones tumbling out of the sky, crashing to the ground in big bursts of orange. Even inside the Palace we could feel the rumbles of those detonations. "Fire Exocets," commanded Carrie. Two missiles flew out from our deck and impacted on the two ships nearest to our path, exploding in huge balls of flame and deafening thunder. None of the ships moved. Not a single thing moved for miles around. We had crippled the entire Royal Navy with one quick blow. "Ross, you still with me," demanded Carrie. "Make a damn choice. Are we going to invade this country? Are we going to get what's coming to us?" I nodded sheepishly. Misty glared at me. "You bloody bastard! You little shit! You're still with her? After everything she's done to us? You fucking pussy. I'm going to rip you apart!" She jumped at me but Xyllan's men held her back. "Get her out of here," I cried. "And her slave too. Misty, you two-faced whore, I never want to see you again. I've had it with you! If you can't see by now what we're trying to do here, you never will. Get the hell out of my sight." Misty started to retort, but her eyes burst into tears. She began wailing loudly. Julia approached me. "Please Captain Ross, how can you do this? You love her. She'll be better. She'll try harder. Please." I turned my back as they were dragged away. Carrie's triumphant smile made me want to hurl. Xyllan asked, "what should we do with them? Throw them overboard?" "No," I said quickly. "I have something special planned for them. Just keep them safe right now. I don't want them to be touched until I'm ready. Don't worry, after what she did to me last night, it will be slow and painful." Xyllan grinned. "No problem, Captain." I have a lot more to say right now but I think it's best if I end it here. Let's just say the sight of the zombified hordes fighting across the decks of the British ships will haunt me 'til the end of my days. Posted: Thursday, November 25, 2008 @ 11:27 PM

"Captain" We sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar today without much incident. We had to take it slow so we didn't collide with the ships in the shipping channels. The Spanish and Italian navies did a good job keeping the looky-loos back from our path. Finally out in the open ocean, we could open her back up to full speed. Once again we plowed through the ocean like a runaway comet slicing open the sea like Moses. Somewhere off the North Coast of Spain we slowed down and joined up with a low slung freighter. A troop of fresh Pirates clambered aboard, apparently replacements for the men we had lost in the raid. The new Pirates greeted our current crew warmly, excited to be part of this deadly voyage. They offloaded fresh supplies from their ship onto ours, including a great number of weapons. It seemed like an entire Pirate Army had invaded our ship. We quickly ran out of cabin space for them, so they began erecting makeshift campsites right on the floor of the Palace. "With these men, we can invade any city," explained Xyllan to Carrie, a wild look in his eye. "No power can stand against us. We zap them, and then take over the city. All the countries of the world will tremble before us. First we will destroy London, and then New York." Carrie gleamed at him. "Do you trust these men? Have you worked with them before?" "Some of them. These are not your trained Marines, so they are a bit rowdy and wild. That's the kind of chaos we want to bring to the civilized masses." I had resumed my post up in the control room. It didn't take longer than an hour after we finished loading before I heard shouting and screaming coming from the cafe area. It still hurt too much to strap my shotgun on my back or my sword around my waist but I still carried it with me. I made sure it was loaded before I ran down to the cafe. The new pirates were arguing over something. I cringed when I spotted Julia in the center of the altercation, being yanked both ways by the men. "I saw her first," snarled one in a French accent. "She's mine." "You let her go, she's my trophy," said a German. Both seemed gruff and burly, plastered with tattoos and piercings, long tangled hair draped over their shoulders. Julia screamed and struggled to escape, kicking at the men's legs. "Leave her the fuck alone," I cried, pumping the gun to load a cartridge in the chamber. The men stopped their bickering and turned to face me. "Who the hell are you," cried the Frenchman, grasping Julia tightly. "Let the girl go," I repeated, aiming the weapon his their general direction.  "He's da Captain of this ship, you better listen to him," warned Julia. "You? Captain?" A few of the men laughed at me. Okay, well, with my loose white billowy shirt and pants over the bandages I probably looked more like an effeminate zombie than a Captain. I raised the gun to my chest and looked down the site. "As an Officer of this ship, it is my right to have each and every one of you run off the plank. Who wants to go first? You? You?" The pirates backed up a step. Julia finally broke free and ran behind me. "Shoot them! Shoot them!" I continued, waving her off, "You men will behave yourselves aboard this ship. Any rapes, murders, or tortures of any kind will result in your expulsion from this ship. Do any of you care to question my authority? Good. Now clean up this mess or I'll confine you to the brig." We don't have a brig. Yet. Surprisingly, the Pirates didn't immediately charge me and beat me up. My entire body shook with adrenaline and fear as I turned to escort Julia back to the safety of the control room. Misty had been resting in our cabin, but she must have just returned or heard something, because she stood not 10 feet behind me. She grabbed Julia's hand and escorted her back to the center. Xyllan came up to me and put a hand on my chest. "Well 'Captain,'" he hissed, "threatening my men are we? You had better keep your wenches under control, because these men know no rules but the fist and the sword, and they take what they want. For you own safety I suggest you find more secure quarters. These men don't like orders, and they don't like people who overstep their authority. Watch your back." "Keep your men under control," yelled Misty, but Xyllan ignored her as he walked away. Back in the control room, Carrie seemed oblivious to everything. She pored over maps and charts, as well as financial statements and complex transactions. "Dammit to Hell," she cursed. "Mother fuckers!" I didn't respond, figuring why rile her up more than necessary. I heard her get on the phone and begin to yell and scream to someone on the other end. "What do you mean, seized? I trusted you! I am not a goddamn terrorist, how dare they put me on a blacklist. We run a clean operation here. And what do you mean, everything? What about the gold? Dammit! You're supposed to protect me!" She threw the satellite phone, almost hitting someone, and started pounding on her desk with her fists, her face bright red and somewhat sweaty. She turned to me. "Ross, we've got to move this thing. They're starting to grab my assets. I'm not out there moving them like I should be. The whole financial structure of this operation is unraveling. Some of our biggest contributors have cut deals and ratted me out. We've got to make them pay. No more delays, no more supplies. We've got to hit them where it hurts the most. Let's burn some fucking rubber." "She can't take much more," I replied. "Any faster and we could shear off a propeller or melt the entire matrix. We've also come way too close to colliding with other ships. At this pace, we could destroy everything if we're not careful." "Then fucking be careful but fucking move this pile of shit. I'll be in my cabin making calls if anyone needs me." She gathered up her satellite phone which hadn't broken and started off carrying a laptop.  "Hey Carrie," I asked as she passed. "When you're off the bridge, am I actually in charge here? Of the ship? You've never made that clear." Carrie looked at me and at the control room and huffed. "Sure, whatever. What does that kid call you? Captain? Go for it. As long as you stick to the plan. Just don't cross me. Even Captains can walk the plank. Now don't bother me any more." I guess that's as official as these things get around here. Julia clapped quietly and gave me a thumbs-up. Rod rolled his eyes and shook his head. So a little while ago the four of us huddled in our cabin. I had commandeered a small table and chairs so we didn't have to sit on the floor. Our door was solid enough, but not built to stop bullets. We had no other escape from our room. I began thinking about how I had gotten trapped and almost killed in my dorm at Kastle Klingon, and I didn't want to be in that situation, but this was about the only place where I felt we couldn't be overhead. We had been teaching Julia the basics of Poker, with an old beat-up deck I had found. We used uncooked beans as our chips. While we played, we could talk. "I think it's best we all stay in this room from now on," said Rod. "I've collected enough blankets to make a bed on the floor. We'll use my room to store stuff." Julia seemed excited at the prospect of Rod sleeping over. "Settle down," I chided her. "He's just here to sleep. Nothing else." "Dat's okay," she replied, beaming at Rod. "I'll make sure he's comfortable." Rod thanked her politely but I sighed. She treats the man like a rock star or celebrity. Maybe I'm a little jealous some times. Rod continued. "I also think that we need to start sleeping in shifts, in case anyone wants to start some trouble. What do you say I take first, then Alex, then Misty?" Julia interjected, "me! I want a shift. Please?" "You can share my shift," offered Misty. "We can keep each other company." "Oh, okay, Miss Misty." She gave Rod some puppy dog eyes, hoping he would ask her as well but he concentrated on his cards and ignored her. "I better hit the hay if I'm taking last shift," Misty said, yawning widely. "Do you want me to leave this out for you," I asked, pointing at the laptop. "I'm typing up my blog during my shift. Hey, why don't you write something in it?" Misty seemed shocked. "Me? What would I write?" I shrugged. "I don't know. Anything. Just finish where I leave off, then hit this and my buddy Iap will publish it for us." Misty agreed. So if she writes anything, it will be here: Hi. This is Alex's friend Misty. I haven't done this before so bear with me. It's been pretty quiet tonight. We think most of those pirate types have been partying it up over in the dreadful Palace. Hopefully we've been all but forgotten. I don't know if anyone out there reads this, or if Alex just likes to write things down. If so, I urge you consider this carefully. If you are anywhere in or near London, I suggest you evacuate immediately. I can't say what may happen, but it will be exceedingly unpleasant. Please use all haste to remove yourself from that area. Well I don't have much else to say except that Alex has been a great friend, and I really appreciate what he's done for me. I know he's made some terrible mistakes in his past, but these experiences have brought out a new side in him, much more responsible and mature. Not that anyone can really escape a Chinese labor camp unchanged. So if you read this, please take the proper precautions, and God bless all of you.   Posted: Monday, November 24, 2008 @ 10:45 PM

Sea Pizza Instead of heading back to my room, I wanted to go over to the control room to check on what Carrie was up to. Aside from her strange visit, I had no idea what was going on. As we walked, I noticed that the Palace had undergone a bit of transformation. Gone were the casino games and sex couches. Most of the floor lay bare with only lighting standing up. The movie wall still projected exterior views and some Hollywood films, but the Pirate crew was mostly settled in one corner either laying around or working out in and around the boxing ring. As I entered the control room, a couple people stopped and applauded, although Carrie just glared at me from her desk. She looked more disheveled than usual, her hair matted and unkempt, and her unpleasant scent filled the room. They had replaced some of the busted windows with boards, plastic sheets, or cardboard, making the control center look like a kid's play fort. "Look at this," Carrie cried, pulling up the exterior views. All around us floated ships of every size. "I've had to reduce our speed in half to avoid them. And here." In the sky, hundreds of planes surrounded us, some private single-engine planes, some modern fighter jets. "What's going on," I asked. "Where are we?" "We're in the Mediterranean," replied Rod, showing me our route on the monitor. "We crossed through the canal last night. This morning, during our maintenance halt, a couple helicopters approached us, from news organizations. Apparently no government has told the press about us, simply crediting all our activity to East African Pirate activity. We decided to leave the helicopters alone, and then when we fired up the SMD and shot off like a cannon, all the European and North African news stations began featuring us prominently." He called up grainy video of us ripping through the Sea, with our enormous rooster tail and huge cloud of steam behind us. Another feature I had all but ignored was our huge tsunami-like wake we generated near full speed. It had already crashed up on beaches and overturned small watercraft. I watched the incredible television reports. They chased us with planes, speculating about who we were and what we wanted. Nobody knew anything, although once word came out about the wake, hundreds of surfers ran out to catch "The wave of a lifetime." Thousands of people in boats came out to catch a glimpse of us. So many that we were in serious danger of a collision. At full speed we covered a mile every fourteen seconds, and we could only turn a few degrees per mile without capsizing. The thick crowd forced our speed down to less than 100 knots. "That's it," Carrie growled. "I'm going to blast them. Then the won't come so close." She reached for the controls that created the zombifying zap. "Hold on," I said weakly. "Why not just alert the local navies? They could create a path for us, if we promise not to attack them. If you zap them, they might start laying out even more stuff to slow us down. If we collide with something it could rip a hole through our hull and sink us. Besides, look at all the coverage we're getting. The whole world is looking at us right now. You don't want the whole world turning against us by killing a ton of civilians. We could clear out the entire sea, but they might set up a line across the Strait of Gibraltar to stop us from escaping. We're not in the open ocean right now...there's no where to go. If they trap us here we'd have to go ashore at some point to get food. We'd be very vulnerable at that point." Carrie considered for a moment, then withdrew her hand from the controls. She kicked a cart of food over, sending the meal flying across the floor. "I hate this fucking food," she screamed. Julia set down her Gameboy and started cleaning up the mess. "You," shouted Carrie, pointing at the girl. "What the fuck are you doing? I sick of this Asian shit. Can you make anything else?" Julia cowered on the floor. "Yes, Queen Carrie. I can make whatever you want." "Good. I want a goddamn pizza. Pepperoni. No Asian shit. You got it? Move it." Julia bowed, quickly gathered up the rest of the mess, and trotted off to the kitchen. "I better check on her," said Misty, rising to her feet. "Sit the fuck down," Carrie yelled back. "I want you to record something. Someone get me a fucking camera. You're perfect for this Nguyen, with your English accent. You make everything sound official." Misty sat back down with a dark look on her face. She clicked angrily on her console. Carrie hurriedly typed up a script for Misty to read, then sent it over. Misty read it over, sniffing at a few passages. "You want me to read this straight?" "If you would," replied Carrie. "You're now the face of the Clan of the Wise. Congratulations." "Great." Down on the Palace floor, they brought in some lighting and a camera. They set up a smaller version of the huge flag as a backdrop. A couple of the prostitute women came up to the control room to apply makeup to Misty. Now up to this moment I had never seen her with makeup. After they applied the dark eyeliner, rouge, eye shadow, lipstick, and base, she looked like someone out of a movie set, simply stunning. They then dressed her in the finest Pirate Chic we had, pink and red flowing shirts and scarves, and gave her hair a bit of bounce. While this process occurred, Rod helped me get down to the kitchen to check on Julia. We found her crying in the corner. "What's wrong? Did someone hurt you? Was it Bo?" She mumbled in Tagalog for a minute, then translated. "We don't have the right dough, we don't have pepperoni, we don't have mozzarella. I can't make a pizza out of this crap." She bawled loudly. I tried to comfort her the best I could. Carrie would tan her hide if she didn't produce pizza. Rod spoke, "you know, we're right off the coast of Sicily. Why don't we just order some bloody pizza?" I stood up, speechless. "That is...brilliant! Some of those mob guys we have speak Italian. I'll find them and help us get an order in. We'll have to stop the boat and pick it up of course." They sat Misty down to check her look in the camera. "Make her boobs bigger," ordered Carrie, peering at the monitor. A man walked up to Misty. "Don't you touch me," she spat, then adjusted herself as best she could. "I know a good doctor," commented Carrie, holding her own chest. "I like mine fine, thank you very much," replied Misty crisply. "Now let's get this thing over with." I approached the Pirate crew slowly. Xyllan sat up from his massage table, where a scantily clad woman rubbed his back. "You think you're Captain now," he called to me. I held up my hands. "Hey, that's just what a kid says. Do you listen to kids now?" "What do you want? We're busy." He and his friends rose and surrounded us, fingering their weapons. We had always kept a certain distance on the ship. "I need a translator. Italian. Maybe someone Sicilian." Xyllan laughed at me. "Why should we help you?" "It's for Carrie," I said. "She needs something off the Island." Xyllan shrugged. "So let her deal with it. Unless we're boarding a ship, we do nothing." "How does pizza and Italian wine sound," suggested Rod. That caught Xyllan's attention. "I'd rather have Italian women. Can you do that?" "Give us a translator and we'll see what we can do." We grabbed the translator and made all the arrangements. I returned to Carrie. "We should stop the boat so there's not so much background noise." Carrie agreed, and I slowed the boat, and sent it on a new course, a small detour. Finally Misty was ready. I went up to her to give her some encouragement, but then whispered, "stall as long as you can. For Julia. I'll give you an all-clear." She nodded. The cameraman pointed at Misty to go. "Hello. This is Misty Nguyen, speaking from the--hey I don't want use my real name. I might have relatives watching." They argued about the name for about 5 minutes. I watched the external cameras closely. "...I represent the Wise Clan. I mean Clan of the Wise--do you really want to say this here?" Fortunately Carrie is a much higher believer in incompetence than in subtle delay. She yelled at Misty to get it right. "Okay, I'm ready now. Our demands our simple. Create a lane for us through the Med--I'm sorry, I really have to hit the loo. And can someone bring me a water? It's quite hot under this lights." "Fine," glowered Carrie. "Take ten and make sure you're ready when you get back. I should have just done this myself." Misty returned after a long while, but of course had mussed her hair and makeup a bit. I thought Carrie would explode. I finally spotted what I wanted to on the monitors, and signalled to Rod. In a few minutes the operation was complete, and I signalled to Misty. "I must warn the governments of the world to not approach the Queen Carrie One, or suffer the most dreadful results. If your government chooses to become our preferred partner, we'll share our new life-giving technology with you. Any governments who oppose us will be destroyed. This is Susie Cho, and I wish you all well." "Finally," gasped Carrie, hopping off her chair. "Now where is my goddamn pizza?" As on cue, Julie jumped out of the kitchen, presenting Carrie with a thick, succulent pizza pie, dripping with cheese and sauce and the finest Italian Pepperoni. Carrie devoured it like a madwomen. "Oh my god this is the best pizza ever. That girl is a genius!" Xyllan walked over, eating his own piece. "What the fuck..." Carrie scanned the Palace. Everyone had pizza. The whole entire Pirate crew was served pizza and had started in on a few large bottles of Italian wine. "Ross! I know Julia didn't cook all that." She took a few more bites. "Oh fuck it. This is so good, I don't care right now. Let's get this boat moving again." After changing out of her getup, Misty approached me. "How did you do that? How did you get all that pizza here?" "We ordered take-out. I stole one of Carrie's credit cards. It cost like $200 per pie to be sailed out here. Let me tell you, when the delivery boat pulled up, it was all I could do to not jump off and take a ride back out of here." "Why didn't you," she asked. "Because you look so damn sexy today, I just had to stay." I winked at her. "Yeah, right. You with all your bandages, you look like a bloody zombie. Now go get some rest, you might need your strength later." I kissed her and finally headed back to my cabin. I guess everyone has started going a bit stir crazy in this tin can, and the pizza was just the thing to get everyone to relax a bit. Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008 @ 11:29 PM

Strange Dream I had the weirdest dream last night. They had given me something to help me sleep through the night, but I guess it made me pretty delirious. Someone started shaking me and saying "Alex, Alex, wake up." The lights in the Palace had been dimmed so we could sleep. I tried opening my eyes, but I could only make out a faint shape next to me. "Misty? Is that you?" The figure seemed to be swathed in some kind of headscarf and body dress like a burqa or something. I couldn't ready see the face under the hood. "Ssh. Listen to me Alex. I need to speak to you." Now I knew I was dreaming. I heard the distinct tone of Ellie's voice. I reached out and felt the figure. Definitely a woman. And for some strange reason I smelled a wave of alcohol. It reminded me of the day Ellie and I met, in a bar down in San Fransisco. I had just lost my job and I was drowning my sorrows in a bottle of Jack Daniels, when this incredibly beautiful woman sits down next to me and asks if she could share the bottle. The night ended at my apartment and the rest is shall we say "history." I was shaken again. "Huh? Wha? Leave me alone, I'm trying to sleep." Stupid drunk nurses. I made a half-hearted attempt to roll over, dreaming about my days with Ellie. A cold hand slapped me in the face. "Wake the fuck up," came the voice of Ellie. I groaned loudly. What the hell? This was not a good dream so far. I just wanted to sleep. "Time's running out, Alex. We've got to find a way to destroy the Matrix. We can't allow Carrie to destroy the rest of the world's economy and governments." I lay there for a while. I thought about the time Ellie and I went backpacking in the Sierras. I felt the cool breezes blowing through the fragrant pine trees, the strong sun on our backs. I remembered how we laid a blanket out and did what came naturally. I wondered if I would ever have that opportunity with Misty. Ahh, Misty. So different from Ellie. No she doesn't have the knock-out body that Ellie does, or the drop-dead good looks, but she has a quiet honesty about her that I really appreciate. I always know where I stand with her, and we communicate really well. Ellie always seemed mysterious and distant, and frankly she's pretty frightening. Misty's just like-- "Dammit Alex, what the hell did they give you? Listen to me if you can, I need to get out of here. I found a way off this boat. Up in the airfoil machinery. There's a loose hatch up there. If we're really heading for London, then I have an escape plan. When I send you a message, head for hatch C-21. Bring only what you can carry, but make sure everyone has a bottle of strong liquor with them. You heard me right. Liquor, something strong. OK, I gotta go. Good luck." I swear I felt something on my hand, then a squeeze. This morning they came to change my dressings, not a pleasant experience. The doctor came and pronounced me fit enough to get out of bed, although I would still need to check in a couple times a day to change the dressings. Every movement felt painful, but they finally were able to remove the morphine drip. I told Misty about my crazy dream. "So, dreaming about Ellie," she said in a mock-jealous voice. "Why don't you dream about me? And what the hell is the liquor about? Was Ellie a drunk or something?" "Yeah, at times," I admitted. "She did have a penchant for stiff drinks and partying. Crazy, isn't it?" Misty helped me get dressed into some loose-fitting pirate garb, something that wouldn't scratch my burns. I felt a bit weak but I could walk on my own. "Julia made you a special 'Captains Breakfast'" she told me. The memories of the dream fading away into the mists of the night, I raised my hand to scratch my head and I saw it. As plain as day, not in my handwriting, on the palm on my right hand were the letters "C-21." What the hell? Was it some drunk nurse messing with my head? Did I somehow write this? I quickly rubbed it off, and didn't mention it to anyone. There's no way Ellie could be alive on this boat. It's just not possible. Posted: Sunday, November 23, 2008 @ 11:01 AM

Julia Suncatcher I work up around dinner time, feeling a little better. I think the nurses adjusted my drip down a bit. I'm feeling achy and scratchy, but I think some of the swelling is going down. From beyond the curtains I heard a clatter, then came Julia's voice: "You get out of the way. This is for Captain Ross." She shoved her way into my bedside and closed the curtain. Her face beamed with exhilaration.  She had started calling me "Captain" a couple days ago when she realized that I actually steer the ship, whereas Queen Carrie always seemed too busy with something or other to help with anything. So Julia dubbed me "Captain" and vociferously argued with anyone who dared challenge her. In her half-Tagalog dialect (Taglish I guess) it sounded more like "Cap-i-tan Wass". I've tried to translate her words as best I can, but I may throw in a few that don't translate well. "I cooked you a special hapúnan [dinner], just for the Captain." She rolled the cart right up to my bed. I could instantly smell the savory aroma of the meats and vegetables. I suddenly realized how hungry I was. I'd been in this bed, almost unconscious for two days. She uncovered a couple of the dishes. "You will enjoy," she says, not as a question or statement, more like an order. I would describe the food she prepares as something of a cross between Thai and Mexican food, at least the Americanized versions of those. One dish was a pork stir fry, scented with garlic and tomatoes, some kind of shrimp fried rice, a vegetable-laden soup, and for desert a custard pie. She gave me the names of all the things but I'd have to grab her and have her type in the dish name since it all had Tagalog names I don't recognize. She sat patiently while I ate. I felt an uncomfortable silence between us. I'd only known her a little over a week, so I didn't expect miracles, but she wasn't like a puppy we adopted. Our intention was to get her back to her home at some point. "Where's Misty," I asked her. "Oh, Miss Misty is very busy. Queen Carrie is working her non-stop while you rest. She sent me here to take care of you. You're a very brave Captain. I will take care of you." "Do you like...'Miss'...Misty?" Her face lit up. "Oh yes, very much. She reminds me of Manang [eldest sister] who took care of me after my parents died. She treats me well and never yells or hits. But Captain, if I may say, you must make her a proper woman. Mohammad would not approve of this arrangement. You are good people, you do not want this sin." "Oh." Oh. Never considered Julia might be a Muslim. "It's too late for me," she said, eyes downcast. "I have been shamed. I am unclean. I shall burn in the fires of Hell for all eternity." "Hey, hey, don't say that. You're just a kid. I'm sure whatever happened to you wasn't your fault. Hey, look up, look at me. You're life isn't over, it's barely begun. We all have our burdens to bear. If your god is anything like mine, he's given you burdens to make you stronger, not to punish you. And I think that in the end, it doesn't matter how big or terrible your burden is, it's what you do with it. Does that make any sense?" She looked around the bed. "I don't know, Captain. Let's not talk of this. It makes my brain hurt." I laid back a bit, feeling the satisfied rumblings from my belly. "So tell me about this Bo. How old is he? Where's he from?" She suddenly brightened, talking about how idiotic and annoying Bo was, and providing me a complete analysis of the situation in excruciating detail. I think I finally dozed off after a while, but she had cleaned up all the food and tidied my bed by the time I awoke. She left a couple snacks on a metal table. I really hope we can do something for her, she seems so eager and smart, it would be a great shame for her life to be thrown away. Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2008 @ 9:47 PM

Recovering As you can probably tell, I'm not dead. The morphine dispenser only allows a maximum dosage, so I guess I'll never know if Carrie tried to kill me or just shut me up. I guess if she really wanted to kill me she could have smothered me with a pillow after knocking me out. Still, I must have been out for a couple of hours. Shortly after I came to, Misty poked her head through the curtains, then came in, followed by Julia. The both wore huge smiles on their faces. She strode over and gently kissed me, and I squeezed Julia's hand. They pulled over some stools. "How are you," Misty asked. "You've been out a long time." "Yeah," I replied, trying to get my eyes focused and my head to not spin. "I'm good. Don't feel much of anything." "Good," she replied. "I was so worried. Carrie actually raided a hospital supply ship to get you all this stuff. She even abducted doctors and nurses. God, it's been such a mess these last couple days. We've lost so many people, and guess who had to help remove the bloody bodies? Ugh." I patted her hand, then looked at Julia. "How are you holding up, kid? Cookie giving you trouble?" Julia frowned. "I can handle Cookie. Like Miss Misty says, it's not been good. All these dead people. We put them all on the lift, then we had to drag them out and over the rail. People crying and screaming. I couldn't eat after that. This place is so stupid. I hate it here. But I'm gonna cook you something special once you get out. Hey, you know that kid Bo? He keeps bugging me. He's like following me around and stuff, and keeps asking me stuff. I was like talking to Joy and she said he liked me but I said 'eww' and 'why' cause he's a little weird and--" I held up my hand. "Okay, okay. Slow down, I can barely keep up. I need to talk to Misty for a minute, then you can tell me everything about Bo." The curtains moved and Rod poked his bandaged head through. "Is he alive," he asked. Misty waved him in, giving him a quick one-arm hug. His right arm lay in a sling, and bandages wrapped his wrists and head. His face looked covered with bruises including some dark shiners. He walked with a pronounced limp. "What the hell happened? Are you all right," I asked, staring at the man who looked like he just went 12 rounds with the heavyweight champ. "Yes, indeed. It was a helluva thing." He found a folding chair and sat opposite Misty and Julia. "I kept running the defensive grid, trying to keep those blokes off the deck. Then I heard the Klaxon. In a flash I jumped into the supply room, found some quick ties, and bound my hands and feet together. When I came to, it felt like someone had hit me with a hammer." "Wow. Do you remember anything?" Rod breathed for a moment. "I remember incredible pain, like a migraine only ten times worse. I saw stars in my vision, heard a screech in my ears. Then came this overwhelming rage. I don't remember much after that. I felt myself struggling, then I stopped and the feeling vanished. I guess I had thrashed around and around. My shoulder was partially dislocated, my head had banged on the floor, but the ties saved me I suspect. Every muscle in my body feels sore and strained. I'm probably lucky I didn't do more damage. It took the better part of the day before they found me, but I think I blacked out from the pain and utter exhaustion." I shook my head. Apparently it is possible to survive being zapped. I wonder if that's how Ellie has escaped detection, if she's still on the boat. By now she would have been zapped dozens of times, so if she is still hiding out, she must be in terrible shape. "Hey, Rod, can you grab Julia for a minute? Maybe you can help her with this Bo situation. I need some time with Misty." "No problems, mate," he beckoned to Julia. "Hey, maybe you can beat up Bo for me," Julia added, following him out. Misty smiled at me. "I'm so glad you made it. The doctor says you should be up in day or so. You'll still need treatment, but the swelling and blistering is going down. You should make a full recovery without much scarring if any. You got really lucky." "We all got lucky. Any word on who did this?" Misty shook her head. "No ideas. Carrie has locked up those rooms tight and assigned guards. She's not going to let this happen again. After we dumped all the bodies, we got the Drive back online, and spent the rest of the day zapping and sinking every pirate ship we could find. We then went by Somalia and zapped the pirate city. We could see them killing each other on the beach. It was quite horrible." "God. And now where are we headed?" Misty grimaced. "That's the rub. We sort of blasted our way through the Suez Canal, pretty much threatening Egypt with annihilation, and now we're ripping up the Mediterranean. I had this scary chat with Carrie yesterday morning, I think maybe that's what set her off." "Oh yeah? What did she say?" "Well, Julia and I had just grabbed some tea and biscuits, and Carrie walks up to me: "You're British, right?" asked Carrie out of the blue. She knows full well who I am and where I come from. "Uh, yes. Born and raised. My folks are from Korea though." "Huh. So, England's pretty rich. You have those...crown jewels, right?" She munched on a bagel, dropping crumbs everywhere. "Yes. Those are for the King or Queen's coronation ceremony." I eyed her warily. "I knew I always liked England. Once of the few places in the world that's had Queens. So if I were to take those jewels, I could be crowned Queen. As Queen of England, I could dissolve Parliament, and then go on to conquer the rest of the world." I stared at the loony woman for a moment. "I don't think England would stand for such an affront. We repelled many an invader before. I don't think we'd just hand you the crown. Without our Monarch, we have nothing. The Queen is the soul of our nation. We could never abide by having a Yankee commoner as our Queen." "Hmm. I think England is about to learn a thing or two about real power. They seem to have forgotten over the years. Get up in the control room, and start plotting a course." "Wow," was all I could say. "We're heading for England?" "Yes, and I'm highly unpleased," she replied in her British twang. "That monster will not step a foot on British soil, so help me God. Now Alex, you need your rest, and I need to get back before someone accidentally destroys the ship. I can't fight this evil alone. We've got to stop this madwoman somehow." I laid my head back down and Misty kissed me. She tried a small smile but I could see the weight of this constant stress weighing on her face. Ever since the day we met back in Kastle Klingon, I have seen her grow stronger and more capable of dealing with things, but now that her home was in peril, I wondered how much more she could take. I said a quick prayer for her, typed up my blog entry on the laptop she left me, and then hit the morphine switch so I could rest without so much pain. Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2008 @ 2:13 PM