The Vow I made was broken
I have brought dishonor upon my name
As a reminder I will bear this token
I will forever wear the Mask of Shame
Captain Shaft
Matthew will always fondly remember his first few months on the Vae Victus. He learned everything there was to know about being a great crewman. He learned the Vae Victus from bow to stern, from port to starboard. This was done primarily as the Second Mate had him run messages and items as fast as possible through the ship. He learned how to speed from the Engine room to Cargo Hold to the Galley to the Helm without bumping into anyone and without missing salutes. Matthew quickly conquered his fears of heights and falling as he sped down stairs and ladders at speeds he would have never dared a year ago.
In addition to the physical education of crew life there was the mental education. Captain Shaft required all crewmen to be literate in both Standard but also several local languages. They were also expected to be fluent in several pidgin languages as spoken in Star Docks, Exchanges, and Spice Dens. He expected Ordinary Crewmen to apply and become Able Crewmen, who would then advance to apply for Officer positions. Captain Shaft expected the men and women to think on their feet, think laterally, and be clever. He would say, “In combat situations you may find yourself in a position to save the lives of your crewmates. Do not fail them by not being clever enough to find a solution.”
But it was not all work and education. Matthew spent his free time with his fellow crewmen in the Recreation Rooms playing various games, dancing and singing. He learned to play the accordion rather well and could belt out Give Jimmy his Spice Rag with the best of them.
His favorite game was the Wife Carry, an ancient pre-spaceflight game that had modern uses. Cutter had introduced the game to him. Matthew, Cutter, and several other crewmen were in the Aft Recreation Room readying themselves for the race.
“So what I understand the ‘husband’ picks up the ‘wife’ and carries her any way he can from the starting line to the finish line in the Rec Room 3 in Starboard,” stated Matthew.
“But the team is disqualified if the ‘wife’ bumps into anything during the run due to her partner’s clumsiness. The first team over the finish line wins. The losers have to clean the lavatories, added Cutter.
“Well I don’t plan on us losing.” Matthew knew even on a modern spaceship, lavatory duty was still awful.
“Oh, we won’t,” smirked Cutter.
The announcer called the racers to the starting line and everyone participating lined up.
As the countdown was given, Matthew asked, “Cutter, are you ready?”
“Yep!” and before he could move Cutter had flung Matthew over her shoulder and ran off at the starting whistle.
“B-but I thought you were supposed to be the wife!” sputtered Matthew.
Cutter patted his butt, “Not likely, now keep your head down wifey!”
Matthew rarely saw or talked to the Captain during these times. His most memorable encounter with Captain Shaft was during combat training. He was learning the Leviathan system, a suit of combat armor designed to give a severe advantage during boarding actions. It was vacuum ready, had the latest sensor and tracking systems, and came with built in weapons in addition to any you chose to carry. A well trained crew with this armor could mow down most standard crews. Matthew had several hours of training with the armor and had actually bested a few of the veteran crewmen in practice. He was ready for his next opponent when Captain Shaft showed up on the training floor.
The Captain wore no armor, only wearing his Thulun military yellow longcoat with crimson trim and a matching tricorne hat with the Crimson Lion cockade. The Captain’s pet, a winged Face-eater snake named Nice was perched around his shoulders. At his command the creature flew over to its perch. He approached the sparring mat.
“I’m up next. Mister Joe toss me a quarterstaff, a regular one.” The Captain was sizing up Matthew still standing in the Leviathan armor. Despite the Captain’s size, Matthew was now a head larger than the Captain. Matthew wasn’t sure what was going on. Surely the Captain wasn’t going to fight unarmored and with just a simple stick?
The Captain starting in a practice routine with the quarterstaff, expertly spinning it before and behind him while speaking. “The rules are simple Mister Matthew, the first one down loses. Otherwise anything goes. Savvy?”
Matthew answered affirmatively and chose a shock baton. He wanted to show his best but he did not want to hurt the Captain, who was still spinning the quarterstaff. He readied to a neutral stance, looking for an opening.
The captain stopped, tossed the quarterstaff to Matthew, and spoke, “Catch.” Matthew instinctively went to catch it. Before the staff reached him, Captain Shaft crouched and leg swept Matthew’s feet from under him. Matthew flew back and landed on his back. Before he could gather himself, the Captain had the quarterstaff pointed at his head. “Do the unexpected, be clever, and never underestimate your opponent.”
(I’m having lots of fun with Wikpedia in getting bits of ship and pirate lore for these stories.)
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