Coffee or drink with Security

Posted on Friday 27 November 2020 @ 16:15 by Lieutenant Commander Hayley Godding

Mission: A Whale of a problem (We're going to need a bigger boat)
Location: Holo Deck 3
Timeline: MD 7 1300
3184 words - 6.4 OF Standard Post Measure

He's on a quest what shall it be?
Coffee or drink with Security!

Mathias was on viewscreen with puppets nearby. And on one hand he had a dragon,and on the other was a knight.

"And thus the knight approached the dragon, holding aloft his mighty sword ready to attack and save the princess from utter doom!"

A little girl waved her hand to get his attention. "Mathias, the dragon is so pretty, does the knight really need to slay the dragon to rescue the princess?"

"Natalie, shhh.. you will ruin the story!" came the exclamations of the other kids.

"On the contrary, she does have a good point. We will have to see what happens next time we gather for storytime."

"Wave goodbye for now, and thank Mathias for telling another part of his story."

Mathias chuckled, "Good night Mother and Father, I have enjoyed this immensely."

With a wave and kiss to his hand towards his parents, Mathias closed the connection. He put most of the puppets away, except for the dragon puppet, this he stuck in his pocket. It was a reminder that he needed to come up with the next part of his adventure story. He noticed a note he had put down for himself. A reminder that he was going to seek out Hayley for a promised coffee.

"Computer, where is Lieutenant Godding located?"

[[Lieutenant Godding is on holodeck three]] Came the monotone feminine reply from the computer.

Holodeck Three

"Heave you blaggarty scum!" The Boatswain cussed loudly at the hands hauling the sails aloft.

"Mister Cummings, I'll have less of that language on my quarterdeck!" Hayley snapped.

"Aye Cap'n." The Boatswain replied, tapping his knuckles to his forehead in a mark of respect as befitting the time.

Clasping her hands behind her back in a traditional pose of the time, Hayley stood on the quarterdeck of a wooden frigate of the Napoleonic wars. Dressed in the finery of a Post-Captain of the Royal Navy, they were reaching on the French Privateer ahead of them. This was one of Hayley's guilty pleasures, something she'd somehow managed to keep from Sansa so this was still just for her - not tainted by events. She loved this time period, as it was a time when men had to use skill, guile and utter bravery to achieve even the most simple of military objectives. With primitive firearms such as cannon, muskets and pistols as well as the 'cold steel' of cutlass and sword, ships would engage one another at point blank range and blast one another with round iron balls in the hope of either killing the crew or disabling the ship so it could be claimed as a prize.

"Mister Fletcher, I'll trouble you to turn two points to starboard if you please." Hayley said, in the tone and mannerisms expected of an officer of the time period. It was so unusual as to how officers gave orders in those days, as polite instruction rather than barking orders, yet the latter also happened depending on the situation. However an officer was expected to be a gentleman - even if she was a girl playing the part - so the issuing of instructions to other officers was done so in a certain tone.

The First Lieutenant brought his two fingers to his hat in acknowledgement and moved back towards the Quartermaster who was on the big wheel and gave the course correction.

Mathias entered through the archway, immediately finding himself on the deck of a tall ship. He had to hastily get out of the way of the men racing to be ready for something...He got up on a railing of the ship on the portside looking up ahead. His eyes lit up. They were going after a French privateer! Dropping down from the railing, he looked towards the quarterdeck, to see who was in command. There he found whom it was, the unmistakable female form of Lieutenant Godding, smartly dressed outfit of the era. He made his way towards the stairs and called out.

"Permission to come aboard, Captain!" his voice carrying over the noise. "Forgive my current state of dress, my suitable clothing is currently being dried."

"Permission granted Mister McPhee." Hayley replied haughtily as her position. "I am quite certain that Mister Fletcher can stretch to the loan of a uniform. You'll forgive us not standing on ceremony, but as you can see, we shortly will be engaged in a clash of wills with the slimy French! Should you be at leisure, I could use a good Lieutenant to man the guns on the forward gun-deck!"

"Aye, at your service, Captain." and Mathias disappeared below with Mister Fletcher. He came back out with the First Lieutenant, dressed in appropriate clothing and made his way to the forward gun deck.

He thrilled at the sound of the wind in the sails, watched as of the powder monkey came running to dispense the needed gunpowder in readiness for the upcoming battle. He looked back towards where Captain Godding stood, mentally creating a drawing of her. He was definitely going to be sketching that out, when he had the chance.

"Ready and in position, Captain!" he called out.

"Stand by the guns, you men!" She barked out. "Gunner! I'll have a ropes end to any blaggart who lingers! Mister Davidson, I'll trouble you to bring us windward of the brig. Mister McPhee, make sure your men are true on their target, I want to DISABLE them. One broadside and we board 'em!"

"Aye Captain, Stand by guns!" Mathias repeated to the men on the forward deck.

"Hold..." Hayley said, holding her hand aloft as she waited until they were alongside the brigantine. "Mister Clefton, I'll be obliged if you reef the topsails."

"Aye sir!" Came the calm voice of the Sailing Master.

"Wait for it..." She said calmly, holding onto her order to fire.

They drew alongside, the roar of the French opposite as they cheered and leered at the Englishmen aboard the frigate. As a privateer, she carried over the normal complement of men for prizes, so she was going to be a tricky one but nothing that a heavy frigate couldn't handle with her three hundred and eighty souls. The Frenchman opened fire with his meagre twelve pounders, doing some minor damage in the gun-deck although many shots failed to penetrate the hull, some hit through gunports and lay waste to gun-crews.

Mathias flinched slightly when splinters from the ship flew upwards, from the damage the ship had taken.

"Steady men!" they held fast, ready to place the slow match to the touch hole.

"FIRE!" Hayley ordered loudly, and as she did, the recoil of 16 eighteen pounder cannons firing in a rolling broadside could be felt throughout the ship.

Mathias braced himself, feeling the reverberations of the cannon through the soles of his boots.

"Have at 'em!" She bellowed out, drawing her fighting sword and holding it aloft.

Grapple hooks were sent out to lash the two ships together to prevent the prize from slipping away. At the moment Hayley gave her command, Mathias barked out his.

"At them men!" drawing his own sword and joining in the fray. The clash of steel, cries of those having been wounded. Mathias deftly parried an attack from one of the French sailors. He quickly glanced over to see where Captain Godding was at, and how she was faring.

Using a loose line, she'd swung across the chasm between the two ships and landed on the raised quarter-deck on the back of the brigantine. Immediately she was challenged by a cutlass waving French crewman wearing a blue shirt and a red cap. She narrowly avoided the heavy slash from the weapon which crashed down onto the rail behind her. She drew her own decorated sword - a custom made toledo steel blade - which she then drew across the Frenchman before plunging it deep into him. He cried out and fell back onto the deck, wherein she quickly removed her blade before it became stuck inside the man's body.

She moved quickly towards the mass fighting happening around the wheel. It was vital that they secured the upper deck quickly. Marines from her ship were firing down from the fighting tops on the masts, taking pot-shots at the French. She spotted a man wearing a bi-corne hat with a plume fighting on the deck, then noted his uniform with bullion epaulettes. She quickly charged towards him, taking the place of an English sailor who was fighting him.

"You fight well, monsieur." She said, as their swords crossed. "But you cannot hope to claim victory here."

"We shall see about that..." He said in heavily accented English.

Mathias noted where she was at, swinging across to the enemy ship, landing not too far from Hayley. His focus while she fought the captain of the French ship would be to keep others from interfering with her duel. Just a quick nod towards her and he went to fend off those wanting to come help their captain. He blocked a sword coming towards him, then kicked one in the chest with his boot. A swift jab came towards him and he deflected it to one side, jabbing the man's chest. Being on the upper ground had its advantages.

The duel with the French Captain reached its climax and with a flurry of blade-work, Hayley sent the Frenchman's sword clattering to the deck. She held her own sword at the Frenchman's breast threateningly. "Do you surrender?" She challenged him.

"Oui capitaine." The Frenchman said, looking dejected.

Hayley stepped back as once the surrender was known, the Frenchman's colours would now be struck and the ship was theirs. She wished it was as simple as that in the modern age, but that was the fun of the game right? The French tri-colour at the aft was hauled down and the 'Blue Peter' was hauled up above the French colour, denoting it as a prize of the Royal Navy.

"Mister Fletcher, please gather up the Frenchman's weapons and secure them. Mister Giles, please secure the Frenchmen below. Mister Gibley, I'll have a prize-crew told off for the Martinique, you may command. Set your course for Gibraltar, if you please." Hayley instructed. "Mister McPhee, I trust you will do me the singular honour of supping with me this evening?"

"I would be honored Captain Godding." Mathias replied, giving her a salute by knuckle to his forehead.

When they returned to the HMS Duchess, Mathias followed after Godding to where they would sup, keeping in character, and taking off his hat when entering the room.

Once they were suitably settled and the servant had brought out a Sea Pie and freshly made lemonade from actual lemons, Hayley dismissed the servant so that she and Mathias were alone in the great sea cabin. "So, you have fun?" She asked, leaning back in the easy-chair.

"Yes, I enjoyed it very much." Mathias smiling, then picked up his fork to take a bite of the Sea Pie. His eyes widened, it was rather good, and he couldn't remember the last time he's eaten this. "Oh.. this is amazing I've not had this in awhile."

Looking around at the details of the Captain's Cabin, he waved his other hand around towards it, "This setting is fantastic. Is this something you do often?"

"Not as frequently as I used to." Hayley admitted, taking a sip of the lemonade before tucking in to the Sea Pie. "In my spare time until recently, I was spending it with my girlfriend, who I haven't shared this particular... hobby of mine... with. I didn't think she'd enjoy this kind of thing, being a somewhat sensitive soul. But, now that she's temporarily... unavailable... I decided to partake again." She beamed. "I quite enjoy it and its amusing because the computer characters do know that I'm female, but don't tend to treat me any differently than they would a male Captain, although I do amuse myself at the looks I get from the men... probably best my other half doesn't know about this."

"Well, a captain is a captain be they male or female. Take for instance, Ann Bonny, she captained her own ship in the days of piracy. Or there was also Jeanne De Clisson who was called the Lioness of Brittany. She became a privateer who preyed on just the French ships to avenge her husband. He had been executed for treason by the King of France ,Philip VI. She had a fleet of ships that were painted black and they had red sails. That fleet was termed, The Black Fleet. She had male crew members who were loyal."

He took a drink of his lemonade, then ate a bit more of his sea pie. " You have my promise I won't be telling Sansa about this."

"I'm sure I'll introduce her to this hobby, but perhaps not the combat side of it anytime soon." Hayley smiled softly. "I trust your tour with the Captain and Miss Fay went well?" Truth be told, she was unsure if she wanted to know or not, but it seemed a common enough question and she was curious as to how Sansa was getting on, even if she was Sansa/Fay now.

"I thought it went well, and I found it interesting. My thoughts where this particular situation was, that maybe Sansa is getting a taste of what it is like to be a host for another person. Similar to like that of a Trill." looking at Hayley, "I could tell that you were finding it disconcerting, hence why I didn't try to persuade you to come with us on the tour." placing his fork down so he wouldn't wave it around while he spoke.

"I can tell that you love her very much, and I can see why you do. She just has that..Oh what's the word for it. A gentleness? Unless you have a better word for it."

"I would've said beautiful innocence." Hayley said, with a hint of forlorn longing in her tone. "I take it you know of her unique circumstances? She's seeing the world through eyes as if a child, full of wonder and amazement, yet not wise enough through life experience to know of the risks and dangers. She's an adult in legal terms, but really she's not very old in terms of her life experiences. There are times when she is mature beyond her years but other times she's just a child..." She looked over to Mathias. "You're right, I do love her, a lot. More than can be expressed merely by words anyway. So yes, seeing her like this, it hurts me, but she doesn't understand why it hurts me, and I know I should tell her why, but at the same time, I don't want her to suffer as I have suffered. It's a horrible dillemma to be in, because I don't want to keep secrets from the woman I love, but part of me wants to protect that sweet innocence from the reality of heartbreak."

"I can understand the desire to protect your loved one from pain and heartbreak. I've experienced it myself, but I also found out its better to share your concerns with your loved one, in order to have things become closer. And as for Sansa's circumstances, before the Sansa/Fay combination, I haven't got any clue about it. I've not met her before this and her mother hasn't... gone into any details either. I am flying sort of blind and by the seat of my pants." he picked up his fork to resume eating. "Perhaps you can fill me in on those details?"

"To cut a very long story short, Sansa's growth was heavily accelerated. Whilst she has the body of a nineteen year old girl, in reality she's only been born for about three years. Therefore, she missed a lot of rather essential life experiences." Hayley said, simplifying something amazingly complicated into a simple statement really was not doing it justice whatsoever. "However, she has the mental maturity of a girl her age, and her rapid aging seems to have stabilized, not to mention she's incredibly intelligent as well. Whilst she can easily function in society as someone of her age, she lacks the life experience in certain areas making her incredibly naive. It's both endearing and frustrating by turns." She took the last forkful of Sea Pie and consumed it. "I think you would agree, she's a very interesting person."

Mathias's jaw dropped hearing the condensed version of what Sansa had gone through, realizing he looked like a fish, he closed his mouth.

"Accelerated growth, that...that..." he took a breath to calm the whirlwind of thoughts that flew through his head, thinking of different possibilities of what could have caused that. He shooed them away. He may find out later on and possibly from Sansa. After she is all by herself in her body.

"I won't ask anymore questions there. And will keep within the privacy boundaries." giving a determined nod. "And yes I do find her a very interesting person, matter of fact I am finding this whole ship and her crew highly intriguing."

"That's one word for it..." Hayley chuckled. "The english language does lend itself towards other more accurate descriptors..."

"How would you describe it then?" Mathias chuckled finishing the last bite of his food and drank the last drops of his lemonade.

"And before you answer that, I have one more question for you. Would you invite me on another of you adventures?"

"So you enjoy sailing on the high seas then eh?" Hayley chuckled. "Well, I'm due to take the Duchess to the West Indies next, if you'd like to come. I could use a good First Lieutenant. I fear that Mister Fletcher is a tad too timid for the position. We'll be up against Corsairs and Pirates in the West Indies, so should be a mort entertaining to be sure. Lots of prizes for the taking, me hearty!"

"Aye Captain, I would be willing to sail the seven seas with you!" giving a laugh. "However I must get changed and go take care of a dragon puppet and work out my next script. I have a young audience who are waiting to see if a knight will kill a pretty dragon to save a princess, or perhaps the pretty dragon won't be killed, but the princess will be saved nonetheless. "

"Have you considered the possibility that the kids are rooting for the dragon to win?" Hayley offered. "Maybe the dragon gets the princess after defeating the knight? Maybe he's a nice dragon who is sorely misunderstood by the people? That's the wonder of imagination after all!" She grinned.

"I really like that idea, I may just go in that direction. Thank you for that suggestion." he rose from the chair, giving a deep bow from the waist. "Until we meet once more."