John Ringo - Under a Graveyard Sky

“I’ll do it,” Sophia said.

“You sound like you’re asking for a puppy,” Steve said. “Besides, I want it. The problem will be finding anybody who knows who to run the engine room. And it will be up to the captain’s board. Assuming it’s not trashed.”

“No zombies on deck,” Sophia said, circling the drifting yacht. “Did they even board ?”

“ His Sea Fit ,” Steve said. Captain George Sherill, sole survivor on the 35' Bertram, was less than enthusiastic about ever seeing another zombie in his life. Possibly because the entire “charter” he’d had had zombied on him. “I’ll go get rigged up.”

“I’m going to turn over to Paula,” Sophia said, picking up the intercom mike. “You’re going to need somebody who knows how to run the dinghy.”

* * *

“Dinghies and lifeboats are all gone,” Steve said, boarding the yacht on its flush transom deck. It was just about the easiest boarding he’d done in some time.

“Did they abandon ship?” Sophia asked.

“You tell me,” Steve said.

“Want me to back you up?” Sophia asked.

“Up to you,” Steve said. “You’re not in armor and if there are bouncers that’s an issue.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Sophia said, tossing him the mooring line. “This I want to see.”

* * *

“Oh, Da, I want,” Sophia said, sighing at the helm.

The 92' Hatteras Elite dubbed Livin’ Large was only about thirty feet longer than the Toy but that made a huge difference. And the interior was that much nicer. Not to mention being in much better shape. In fact, except for signs of rapid exit from the boat, there appeared to be no damage at all.

“Log,” Sophia said, pulling out a standard logbook and flipping to the last page with writing, then flipping back. “Chief engineer and a mate went zombie. According to the log they’re locked in the crew compartment. Ran out of fuel. No power. The rest of the people abandoned ship off an island in the Bahamas and went ashore.” She flipped through a couple more pages, then shrugged. “I think this is valid salvage. And really nice salvage. I can’t believe they abandoned ship.”

“Which island?” Steve asked.

“Great Sale Cay?” Sophia said.

“Occupied,” Steve said. “Well, if we ever run into them, and if they survived, I’ll have to thank them. Now to check for zombies…”

* * *

“I don’t hear anything,” Steve said, banging on the hatch again. Chairs had been barricaded against it but they had been easy to clear. The rest of the ship, absent the crew compartment, was clear. And again except for the debris of rapid exit, remarkably clean.

“You’re the expert, Da,” Sophia said nervously. She had a head-lamp and a flashlight but she was still keeping an eye behind them. “You and Faith enjoy this?”

“Faith does,” Steve said. “Enjoy would be too much of a stretch for me.” He levered the hatch open and flashed a light inside.

“Anybody home?” Sophia asked.

“Not alive,” Steve said, stepping into the compartment. One of the bodies had been partially eaten. The other was cut and bloated but didn’t appear to have died from violence.

“Probably the one killed the other, then died of dehydration,” Steve said checking the toilet. It was empty of water. “Which makes this perfectly legal salvage. Not to mention easy to clean.”

“That’s going to be nasty,” Sophia said, looking in the room. “Oh, gross!”

“Yeah, that’s not the worst I’ve seen by a stretch,” Steve said, taking out a baggy. “We’ll just seal the room up fairly tight. Vent it to the rear. And let these do their work.” He dribbled the beetles on the corpses. “Say hello to my leetle friends…”

* * *

“Steve, these are way beyond me,” Stacey said, looking at the engines.

“We’ve got fuel in the tanks,” Steve said. “Some. And a jumper battery. Can you get them running?”

“I don’t know?” Stacey said. “I mean, that’s the point . These are huge professional engines! I’m not sure where to start !”

“I think that’s the start button,” Sophia said, pointing.

“I can see that , Sophia,” her mother said, tartly. “Just let me look over the manuals…”

* * *

Steve looked up at a rumble from below. A moment later the lights in the saloon came on.

“I knew I married that girl for a reason…”

* * *

“Think you can get that alongside without wrecking it?” Mike called over the radio.

“Trying,” Steve said to himself. He wasn’t going to pick up the radio when he was trying to con the Large up to the Victoria . The Large really was. And it had a lot more sail area than the Toy . He picked up the radio. “Just have the bloody balloons down.”

“There is no such thing as too slow…” he muttered.

* * *

“That wasn’t the worst coming-alongside I’ve ever seen,” Mike said, looking around the interior. “Say, you know how you told me I could have a boat…?”

“We’ll have to call a captain’s conference,” Steve said. “This is, among other things, going to take some serious crew…”

“I think the Large needs to be a harbor queen for now,” Steve said over the radio. “It drinks fuel, we don’t have that many people that we need a boat this size and it’s a bitch to actually use. If we did use it I’d see it as an at-sea base. If we can find enough fuel for it.”

“ Cooper here,” Chris said over the radio. “I can see that but what about theft?”

“Just about out of fuel,” Mike said. “We’ll drain it down and it’s not going anywhere. Leave it alongside the Victoria. We might have a use for it later. It runs, anyway.”

“This is Endeavor . We’re getting beat up in this minnow. Could use a bigger boat.”

Stephen Blair, the sole survivor of the 35' Viking Worthy Endeavor, had had issues from the beginning. But he’d also cleared more than forty rafts and lifeboats since taking over the battered ship.

“ Endeavor , Seawolf,” Sophia said. “You do not want to con this thing alongside a raft. Concur, Da, this is a support ship. Better in harbor for now.”

“ Endeavor ,” he thought for a second about the growing fleet. “ Sea Fit . You are both next up for a bigger vessel. Will determine that when available. But this is a monster . Any likely candidates?”

“ Endeavor . We just relayed another. About sixty five. Wouldn’t mind if it’s useable.”

“Do we have a location on that?” Steve asked.

“Yeah,” Mike said. “Back at the Vicky.”

“I’ve got it on the Toy ,” Sophia said.

“My recommendation,” Steve said. “Use this for harbor base. Staff with reliable personnel. Bring in new personnel for rest and recovery prior to assignment. Comments and response for vote? Sea Fit .”

“I’m fine on my boat for now,” Captain Sherill replied. “And, yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

“ Endeavor ?”

“We need a bigger boat,” Blair replied. “But agree.”

“ Knot ?”

“I’d go for a bigger boat,” Gary Loper of the Knot So Little replied. “I guess I’m next after Blair?”

“Other discussion,” Steve said. “Not saying no, just later discussion. Agree leave Large harbor for rest and refit?”

“Yeah, I can go with that. But about a larger boat?”