Cassandra

[SunlessNick]

Maggie forces herself not to start at the name Angelique, but does share a glance with Vix when no one else is looking.

Does Maggie's circle of friends include anyone with a radio set? If so, she'll mention it to Sky and ask if she and Vix can use his.

Otherwise, "That's amazing!" she says of the Milky Way.

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria nods in response to Maggie's glance. "You look wonderful, Angelique," she says. "What's your beauty secret?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

Just for fun, let's do some math. There were 755,430 licensed ham radio operators in 2018. (More than in 1967, I assume, due to 1% growth, according to an article I'm looking at.) Let's call it one million. US population in 1967 is about 200 million. So, let's be generous and say one percent of the population. Another article says the average person has about 150 acquittances. Let's assume friendly, outgoing Maggie has 200. So, she should know at least one or two ham radio operators! Whether they can be reached is another matter.

"Sure, go ahead and fool around with it," Sky says, as he leads them down to the basement. Besides the radio equipment, there's a wet bar, couch, and other amenities. "I assume you know how."

On the way down, Angelique responds to Victoria's comment.

"You're too kind. I just try to keep a healthy diet and stay out of the sun." She laughs merrily. "The curse of being a blue-eyed blonde, you know."

When all four persons are in the basement, a small click can be heard as Angelique closes the door behind herself.

[Mr. Handy]

"Did it lock?" asks Victoria, hearing the click. "You've got the key, right? I wouldn't want us to get stuck down here."

[SunlessNick]

"Too right," Maggie says, turning the radio on. She tries to put a laugh in her tone, but Angelique being down here with them makes her nervous.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

let's see if Maggie can operate the radio and reach somebody.d20

bzzz . . . . bzzzz. . .. CQ, CQ. This is WX1ABC, in Collinsport, Maine. Come in, please. Over.

The voice belongs to a fellow who has stopped by for coffee and doughnuts at the Collinsport Inn diner, so Maggie recognizes it.

At this point, Angelique says "Oh, did I lock us in? How silly of me. Of course I have the key." She opens the door with a dramatic gesture, seeming to be a bit annoyed (with herself?)

[Mr. Handy]

"Why was the door designed so that it locks when it closes?" asks Victoria. "Someone could get trapped down here."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Well, you know," Sky says vaguely. "Valuable equipment and all that. Say, why don't I check on our other guests while you talk to the mainland. Coming, dear?"

He and Angelique walk back upstairs, after she gives the key to Victoria, rather ostentatiously.

"Just to ease your mind," she says.

Spoiler:

2d20

Straining to listen to the radio, during a moment when it grows silent, you can hear Sky and Angelique arguing about something in voices kept to a whisper, but definitely intense, although you can't make out the words.

When they return, Sky says "Looks like the guys are sleeping it off. Not used to that strong European beer, I guess. They won't be able to catch the pre-dawn boat back, I think. Have you two ladies decided whether or not to spend the night as well?"

[SunlessNick]

"I think we have to, yeah?" Maggie says. Assuming Vix concurs, she relays this across the radio, adding that the girls will be back tomorrow.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says Victoria. "Yes, we'll stay the night."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The women are shown to their individual guest rooms, which are very comfortable and finely equipped.

Spoiler:

2d20

In the middle of the night you are awakened, assuming you can sleep at all, by the sound of a small motorboat -- definitely not the one on which you arrived. Gazing out the window of the guest room, you can make out the vessel heading from the island to the mainland, with one person aboard. You may choose whether to go back to sleep, if you can, or to keep watching throughout the rest of the night.

You spend a quiet night, whether or not you are able to sleep.

The next morning, Sky makes excuses for his wife's inability to be with them, due to her migraine acting up.

"Make yourself at home," he says, showing them around the place so they'll be familiar with the facilities. "The captain should be back this afternoon with more deliveries, and he can take you back then. I'll be working in the basement most of the day, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm not much of a host."

[Mr. Handy]

Victoria checks on Maggie and sees if she was also awakened. If so, she'll fill her in on what she saw. Either way, she sees no reason to stay awake. She'll need her rest.

"Thank you," says Victoria in the morning. "I'm sure we can entertain ourselves."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

The rest of the day is quiet, even boring, although one can always enjoy views of the ocean. Sky has a fairly extensive library, mostly bound volumes of the magazines published by the company he owns. As predicted, the Portuguese boat shows up in the late afternoon, with some miscellaneous supplies and a couple of young men to unpack it. As they unload the stuff, the owner/pilot indicates that he is ready to go back to the mainland, if the women wish to climb aboard.

Spoiler:

2d20

Wait a minute. Didn't the Portuguese guy previously say he had to wait for the tide to turn before he could go back? It's not yet that time. What's going on?

[Mr. Handy]

"Do you want to go back now?" Victoria asks Maggie, "We could always come back another time."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

While the two women make their plans, they hear the sound of a smaller motorboat than the Portuguese vessel heading away, from some other place on the island.

[Mr. Handy]

"I wonder who's in the motorboat?" asks Victoria.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I wonder who's in the motorboat?" asks Victoria.

When Sky shows up some time later, he shrugs and says "Beats me. Maybe you heard some of the junk I was working with downstairs. I've got a little workshop; power tools and such. Or," he adds with a grin, "maybe pirates are raiding the island."

[Mr. Handy]

"It sounded like they were leaving, actually," says Victoria.

[SunlessNick]

Sorry for the absence.

"Didn't the captain say they had to wait for the tide to turn last night?" Maggie whispers to Vix.

[Mr. Handy]

"You're right, he did," Victoria whispers back.