CHAPTER 5: IC - At Sea > NYC to Panama

[Túrin Turambar]

'I have actually been thinking the same thing and have been meaning to talk to you about it, George. I hope that he will tell me what the matter is. I'll do my best.'

Later in the day, James returns to the cabin to encounter Vito.

'Vito', James says in a low and sincere tone. 'I know that we have only known each other for a short time, so you must excuse my intrusiveness, but I do feel that something is wrong. Your behaviour seems to have changed radically since the fire. Is it something about it that troubles you or do you have any other explanation for this? I will not believe you if you tell me that everything is alright, but if you don't want to tell me, then say so. However, I still think it would be better if you opened up; such things do not get better if kept wthin.'
.

[royya]

Father Paul Rucker will try to continue the conversation with Martin about the book and the other expedition. They began to talk after the accident when Martin saved Camille, now there is plenty of time to complete the talk.
Paul Rucker is anxious to know that the book was about and he hopes Martin got the answers.
.

[Job]

Later in the day, James returns to the cabin to encounter Vito.

'Vito', James says in a low and sincere tone. 'I know that we have only known each other for a short time, so you must excuse my intrusiveness, but I do feel that something is wrong. Your behaviour seems to have changed radically since the fire. Is it something about it that troubles you or do you have any other explanation for this? I will not believe you if you tell me that everything is alright, but if you don't want to tell me, then say so. However, I still think it would be better if you opened up; such things do not get better if kept wthin.'

Vito looked up at James briefly, a forced smile flitting across his face. He then turned back to folding his clothes, saying, "No signore, I am good. The fire... It was terrible. I... I need time, that is all."

Vito seems uncomfortable. He finishes with his clothes, then starts cleaning his shoes, and every now and then looks up to see if you have further questions.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

As you assemble in the mess for breakfast on September sixteenth, the SS Gabrielle begins a turn to the Southwest. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is off the starboard side and the thick green palm-fronded jungle slides by in silence beyond the rocks. A U. S. destroyer, the USS Du Pont, salutes from a distance, she is just beginning a tour patroling off the Cuban coast. The Gabrielle responds with a triple blast of her steam whistle.




Breakfast is interrupted by Louis Laroche, the radio operator, announcing that Acacia Lexington'’s SS Tallahassee has just arrived in Panama. Immediately afterwards, from down the corridor--perhaps originating from the Officer's Mess--you hear a muffled shout of dismay.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Túrin Turambar]

Later in the day, James returns to the cabin to encounter Vito.

'Vito', James says in a low and sincere tone. 'I know that we have only known each other for a short time, so you must excuse my intrusiveness, but I do feel that something is wrong. Your behaviour seems to have changed radically since the fire. Is it something about it that troubles you or do you have any other explanation for this? I will not believe you if you tell me that everything is alright, but if you don't want to tell me, then say so. However, I still think it would be better if you opened up; such things do not get better if kept wthin.'

Vito looked up at James briefly, a forced smile flitting across his face. He then turned back to folding his clothes, saying, "No signore, I am good. The fire... It was terrible. I... I need time, that is all."

Vito seems uncomfortable. He finishes with his clothes, then starts cleaning hs shoes, and every now and then looks up to see if you have further questions.

'Forgive me for saying so, but you certainly don't seem fine. I get a feeling that there was something particular about the fire that got to you. Is that so?'
.

[BenTheRat]

Martin is going to take some time to write an article on life at sea. Take a few pictures of the boxing matches, and other sights.

ooc,When overseas how does Martin usually get a story back to the states, I'm assuming my email account isn't activated yet. ;) Does Martin work for a magazine/newspaper, or does he freelance? Does he have an agent he sends his stories? Just curious. Thanks.

.

[royya]

BenTheRat,Father Rucker will like to continue the questioning about the book from Chapter 4. Check my post - it's 5 posts up

.

[BenTheRat]

royya,I know, I'm postponing that for now. there is a reason

.

[Job]

As Father Rucker is walking the deck one morning, he overhears a small group of ship crewmen talking amongst themselves...

"I'm tellin' ya, he's bad luck! He's a Jonah! Things always go wrong when he's around."
"What? He takes risks like any explorer..."
"No, think about it! Our dock explodes. Cap'n Douglas is murdered. And that's only recent! I heard that he lost a lot of men on his safari..."

The crewmen then see you walking nearby and abruptly stop talking, break up, and go back to their work.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

16th & 17th September, 1933

The below list assumes that everyone will attend similar classes each day, but you may change your classes simply by informing Professor Moore. This posting will cover the activities for both September 16th and 17th. Below is the schedule of events on the large chalkboard in the ship's mess hall.

Ship's Mess Corkboard (you can add notes to this corkboard!)
Latitude - Sept 16: N 16° 93’ / Sept 17: N 13° 05'
Longitude - Sept 16: W -75° 72' / Sept 17: -78° 22'
Today's Weather - Sept 16: Sunny / Sept 17: Partly Sunny & Thunderstorms
Wind Speed - Sept 16: 5-10 mph / Sept 17: 10-15 mph
Updated Google Map travel path

Classes on Sept 16 & 17:
Changes from prior days are circled in green chalk

Instructor / Topic / Location
Morning:

• P Rucker / Morning Breakfast Prayer / Crew's Mess
• Sykes / Introduction to cold-weather clothes and equipment / Officer's Mess
  --- STUDENT: G. Barrow, M. LeBlanc
• Greene & Watkins / Antarctic First-Aid / Ship's Medical
  --- STUDENT: C. Bardier
• P Rucker / Antarctic Paleobiology / Crew's Mess
  --- STUDENT: J. Poole

Afternoon:

• G & N Sorensen / Technical Climbing / Crew's Mess
  ---STUDENT: P. Rucker, J. Poole, W. Watkins, G. Barrow
• W Moore / Antarctic Exploration / Officer’s Mess
• Eriksson / The Pabodie Ice-Drill Operation / #1 Tweendeck Hold
  --- STUDENT: C. Bardier

Evening:

• Ø Raknes & F Guerini / Mountain Rules / Crew's Mess
  --- STUDENT: P. Rucker, M. LeBlanc (tentative), W. Watkins
• P Albemarle / Antarctic Weather / #2 Tweendeck Hold
  --- STUDENT: J. Poole
• D Halperin & C Bardier / Aerial Navigation / Expedition Lab
• G Barrow / Antarctic Flora and Fauna / #1 Tweendeck Hold

Postponed until Sunday, Sept 17:

• Greene / 10-lap Race / Main Deck
  --- PARTICIPANT: C. Bardier
  What? Noone wants to race against Camille?

[jrod]

Watkins will put his breakfast on hold to investigate the muffled shout heard from down the corridor.
.

[royya]

As he fails to taunt Martin to speak to him again, Paul Rucker decides to lay it off for now and approach Martin someday in the near future. For now, he decides to approach Prof. Moore itself and question him about the explorer that lost his men at the Safari, without revealing the gossips he heard on the deck.
.

[Job]

Classes on the 16th and 17th proved very interesting for our explorers.

In Peter Sykes' "Intro to Cold Weather Clothing" class, all attendees were timed in how fast they could don and remove their gear. Peter then blindfolded everyone and again took timings! "In an emergency, you may not have a lit candle or lantern to depend upon!", he exhorted. For some individuals, including Martin LeBlanc and George Barrow, he took items from their pile--or threw in an extra item--after they were blindfolded and watched as they fumbled about.

Dr's Green and Watkins spent their morning's "Antarctic First Aid" sessions describing the the dietary needs of an explorer. All participants, including Camille Bardier and the class instructors, were required to eat a ration of pemmican, a conglomeration of dried and pounded meat product, molasses, and "other additives". They were informed that the typical diet of an active Antarctic explorer required at least 5,000 calories a day!


For the afternoon's "Technical Climbing" class with the Sorensen brothers, everyone spent their days rappelling off the ship's aftercastle structure, which presented a 40-foot drop to the main deck. James Poole seemed to have no problems, but the expedition's more scientifically-oriented team members (i.e. Father Rucker, Wade Watkins, and George Barrow) found it an exhilarating challenge! It was a hot and humid day on the Caribbean Sea, so their sweaty palms did not help matters. Neither did Gunnar Sorensen's shouts and taunts, "*Raskere! Raskere!", while performing acrobatics, twisting and flipping, as he dropped down his rope alongside the team.

Translation,* = Faster! Faster!

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

Martin is going to take some time to write an article on life at sea. Take a few pictures of the boxing matches, and other sights.

Martin attends classes during the mornings and evenings, but his afternoons are free and he is able to find a quiet nook between crates at the stern of the ship to hide away and write. The afternoon's boxing matches have been well-attended, with a fair amount of betting amongst the audience members. Martin is just in time to watch the match between Øyvind Raknes and Gunnar Sorensen. It appears that Gunnar is at a disadvantage, having injured his hand somehow...

Response to OOC question,QUESTION from BenTheRat: When overseas how does Martin usually get a story back to the states, I'm assuming my email account isn't activated yet. ;) Does Martin work for a magazine/newspaper, or does he freelance? Does he have an agent he sends his stories? Just curious. Thanks. [color=#00BF00]ANSWER from Job: I'm assuming that Martin freelances for either the New York Times or for American Geographic magazine, but feel free to make something up. While you're in transit, or in the Antarctic, your stories are submitted to your publisher either by radio or by wireless morse code. Photographs or paper transcripts can only be physically shipped when entering a port or whaling station. Radio communications will be a problem however, once you reach the Antarctic, because the presence of the Aurora Australis--the "Southern lights"--causes magnetic disruptions year round. Radio transmissions will be a fragile and transient thing once you reach the continent of ice. Also, James Starkweather gives a once-a-week radio broadcast on Sundays that is picked up in New York and rebroadcast to most major U.S. cities as well as Britain, Germany, other parts of Europe, and Australia. [/color]

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

Vito looked up at James briefly, a forced smile flitting across his face. He then turned back to folding his clothes, saying, "No signore, I am good. The fire... It was terrible. I... I need time, that is all."
Vito seems uncomfortable. He finishes with his clothes, then starts cleaning hs shoes, and every now and then looks up to see if you have further questions.

'Forgive me for saying so, but you certainly don't seem fine. I get a feeling that there was something particular about the fire that got to you. Is that so?'

Vito sighed, then started to say something, but stopped and rubbed his forehead. He looked around the small cabin for a moment, then once again looked to James and spoke in his heavy Italian accent, "Signore, I can not speak of a that day. Mi diaspiace, ma è troppo difficile... La morte..." He looked at his feet and shook his head. A very sad look came over him, then he said, "I am sorry, signore, it is hard for me. I see death... It is come. I am not afraid, signore. La morte è qui con noi. Death is very close."

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

Watkins will put his breakfast on hold to investigate the muffled shout heard from down the corridor.

As Doctor Watkins get up from his meal and starts down the hallway, he passes the showers and latrine and hears voices from further along.

For Wade only,He continues down the corridor, then realizes that the shout very likely originated from the expedition leaders in the Officer's Mess, behind a closed door. Wade can only hear an occasional word or two of what is being said by the different individuals within the room:[color=#0000FF] "three days... ...plan... ...lost..."[/color]

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

As the U.S.S. Gabrielle travels across the Caribbean Sea, the high temperatures and humidity have begun to aggravate the dogs. Their loud mournful howls and restlessness can be heard every hour, even during the night. Their cries echo weirdly throughout the ship, seeming lost and very sad.

Every morning when Enke and Øyvind feed and walk and clean the dogs, the dogs quiet down for a while, but as soon as they leave the hold the dogs begin complaining again about the hot and stuffy conditions.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Túrin Turambar]

James looks at Vito and asks quietly, not wanting to draw any hasty conclusions: 'Death, you say? Somehow I don't think you mean it in the usual sense. If there is something that you know about ... Death lurking aboard this ship, I think that you should tell me, for the sake of everyone aboard.'

[jrod]

watkins will open the door and investigate further. "Excuse me Sirs, but i heard shouting. Being the doctor nearby, i felt it imperative to investigate, discovering the shout originated from here. Is everything as it should be?"
.

[Job]

18th & 19th September, 1933

The below list assumes that everyone will attend similar classes each day, but you may change your classes simply by informing Professor Moore. This posting will cover the activities for both September 18th and 19th. Below is the schedule of events on the large chalkboard in the ship's mess hall.

Ship's Mess Corkboard (you can add notes to this corkboard!)
Today's Weather - Sept 18: Sunny / Sept 19: Partly Sunny & Thunderstorms
Wind Speed - Sept 18: 5-10 mph / Sept 19: 10-15 mph
Updated Google Map travel path

Classes on Sept 18 & 19:
Changes from prior days are circled in green chalk

Instructor / Topic / Location
Morning:

• P Rucker / Morning Breakfast Prayer / Crew's Mess
• Sykes / Introduction to cold-weather clothes and equipment / Officer's Mess
  --- STUDENT: G. Barrow, M. LeBlanc
• Greene & Watkins / Antarctic First-Aid / Ship's Medical
  --- STUDENT: C. Bardier
• P Rucker / Antarctic Paleobiology / Crew's Mess
  --- STUDENT: J. Poole

Afternoon:

• G & N Sorensen / Technical Climbing / Crew's Mess
  ---STUDENT: P. Rucker, J. Poole, W. Watkins, G. Barrow
• W Moore / Antarctic Exploration / Officer’s Mess
• Eriksson / The Pabodie Ice-Drill Operation / #1 Tweendeck Hold
  --- STUDENT: C. Bardier

Evening:

• Ø Raknes & F Guerini / Mountain Rules / Crew's Mess
  --- STUDENT: P. Rucker, M. LeBlanc (tentative), W. Watkins
• P Albemarle / Antarctic Weather / #2 Tweendeck Hold
  --- STUDENT: J. Poole
• D Halperin & C Bardier / Aerial Navigation / Expedition Lab
• G Barrow / Antarctic Flora and Fauna / #1 Tweendeck Hold