A welcome, decisions, changes…
“Blackie is back!” As the ship eased into the pier, Spacer and Boats went to the end of the dock to welcome them.
“Hey, Julie sailed in yesterday. She said they sailed around the planet and there is more land off to the east from us.”
Blackie stood stunned. He had not expected this. Juliette Hornsby had been his partner for several years. When she did not return from her last trip, he mourned quietly.
“Man, didn’t you see her ship anchored out by the hot springs?”
“Julie is back? Is she okay? Did all of the crew make it?” Blackie began moving toward the end of the dock. Spacer looked at him and suddenly remembered their long-term relationship. He began to share his news but a cry from the end of the dock stopped him.
“Hey, old man, what took you so long? I’ve only been gone two seasons, and you go off turning things overboard.” Julie pushed through the crowd at the end of the dock and embraced her partner.
“I thought you were dead.” Blackie’s face was wet, and he could barely speak.
“Both the boys made it, but we lost a couple crew to the sea during the storm,” She linked arms with her husband but let go when the the rest of the family came down the dock.
“Granddaddy, see, our daddy is back. The big fish didn’t eat him!”
Blackie laughed. “I see that story is holding. Now, I told you that the big fish would not eat Grandma or your daddy. Next time you should believe your elders.”
***
First meal was about over when Boats called to Mandy. “Census is needed, girl. Get down here and help me find the lists. Bring that new woman. She can write while you see who is missing.”
“I don’t need her,” Mandy snapped. “I’ll get someone else.” She glared at Sarita and motioned to one of the other women.
“No, Blackie needs to see her and the rest of them,” Boats said. He turned away and hurried to the Bridge. Mandy reluctantly joined Sarita following him into the building. Blackie was there with Tony and Rita, but Boats was more interested in finding the list of residents. He began searching in the storage boxes the women had been unpacking.
“Only real Crew members get to vote on this,” Spacer yelled at Blackie.
“And how do you decide who is a real crew member? Answer me that,” Blackie yelled back. “My granddad may have been crew, but my grandma was from Utopia. Julie’s folks were both from Refugio. Does that mean we don’t get a say, Spacer? My dad signed a contract just like you did or somebody in your family. It’s about time we had this out about who belongs to Port.”
“Only the real crew get a vote. They settled this place and the rest of you are just hired,” Spacer yelled at the sea captain. Mandy recognized what was happening and grabbed a shell of food for Spacer. He needed to eat.
Boats turned from the boxes he was searching. “You can’t do it that way, Spacer. They all signed the contracts when they finished their probation. That means that everyone with a contract is crew and can vote. That’s the way my granddad explained it to me, and he was full crew on the transport.”
“Does that mean if someone holds your contract, they get your vote?” Mandy handed the roster of residents to Boats. “Or do I get a vote even though Spacer holds mine? I signed mine and did my speech, but I’m still bound to Spacer. Do I get a vote?”
“You need to get this settled, Spacer, maybe with the heads of crew families or a general meeting,” Boats said. “You can’t just decide by yourself. It’s too important.” Boats began sorting the sheets of names into piles on the desk. “We got a lot of people on these islands now. It’s not like it used to be when you knew everybody. More folks mean we need more rules and this needs to be settled.”
“First crew set it up that way.” Spacer glared at Boats. That was not the answer he expected. “Always been that way. No reason to change it.”
“Now wait a minute Spacer, it has not always been that way,” Raymond Garza said, entering the office with his sons. “We didn’t have new hires or signing contracts until we started losing so many to the black mold. You can ask any of the older folks and they will tell you. This whole idea of capturing folks from the other settlements only started because of Oiler Batchelder. He needed people to tend the seaweed.”
“And we still do!” Henry Batchelder pushed the older man aside. “I’ve been warning folks that you are about to sell us all down the whirlpool. We need those recruits, or we don’t have cloth to cover our asses or swamp roots to eat.”
“Shut up, Henry,” Spacer said. “You can say your piece when we have the meeting tonight after we eat. Now, get out of my office.” Spacer grabbed another dish of mush from one of the galley staff and glared at the others in the office. Henry pushed out past the people who had followed him to the office and began yelling for everyone to gather at the meeting shelter that evening.
Spacer looked at Boats and shook his head. “This is not going to be easy, Boats, not going to go down well at all.”
***
“Spacer, let me handle this,” Boats said, stopping his long-time friend. “I have an idea that will help change things.” Spacer was skeptical but dreaded the arguments from some of the older crew families. He was sure they would want to keep things the way they had been since they were stranded on Higgins. He was especially worried about the ship captains who seemed to like being collectors.
“Okay, let’s get this over with.” He led the way from the office to the meeting pavilion where most of the residents had just finished eating last meal. Spacer climbed onto the raised floor at the end of the meeting area. Most of the adults of the settlement had gathered. He noticed that some of the smaller settlements had gotten the word and adults from those family groups had arrived as well. “Let’s get this started. Boats has a few things to say first.”
Boats’ voice carried across the crowd “Have we got reps from every family?” A quick count found that for once, all families had an adult present. Spacer didn’t think the storm was that serious, but maybe word about Blackie’s deal brought them in.
“Okay, first thing, everybody stand up. Settle your dinner, wake up your brains if you have any.” Everyone laughed. “Now, I want an honest answer. Anyone who has parents or grandparents from ‘Topia or ‘Fugio, sit down.” This drew a chuckle from the crowd, and all but one or two adults sat down.
Boats turned to Spacer. “I guess that settles your argument. I counted only three elders standing. By your first idea, they are the only ones that get to vote.”
Spacer shook his head and walked to the front of the platform. “You can be seated.” He stood quietly for a few minutes, thinking about how this should be done.
“We have a serious decision to make, and it needs to be voted on just like any big deal. I was thinking that only the Crew family reps should vote, but a lot of you don’t belong to any of those families. We have to settle what the contract that we sign means, too. Elder Garza suggested we have Sera Portia read it over and see if we are doing it right. We can decide who gets to vote on this offer from Refugio based on what she finds.”
“It’s getting late, Spacer,” the head weaver said. “Most of us are exhausted.”
“Yeah, the storm was not as bad as some, but I know we are all beat. The short is that Blackie has the full offer from Refugio to begin trade. Like I said before, to get it, we have to agree to stop raiding and demanding food from the land stations or stopping their shipping. We would get docking rights and be able to trade in their cities like Centro.” A wave of chatter spread across the crowd.
A voice called from the back “What do we have that they might want? The girl told us some things but what else do we have?”
Spacer waved to Tony to come forward. “This is Tony Pesch. He was a trade rep in ‘Topia from Refugio. He has been looking at what we have.”
“It is true that your islands so not have mines or large fields like the other settlements, but you have things that people in Refugio will want.
“One of the main things I have seen is the blades to take off the facial hair. There is nothing like that in either Utopia or Refugio. That alone will give you great bargaining power. It also can be used for surgery, my sister has told me.
“Also, we love that white nut meat you harvest from the tall trees too.” Tony was loving this. They were listening to him! “I urge you not to worry. There is much here that will be highly valued by the people of Refugio.”
“But think about what we lose,” Henry called out. “No new workers for the swamps. No new women for the Tail House. No freedom to take our pick of stuff. We have to argue with them about what things are worth? Is that what you people want?”
“If you were not so hard on the swamp workers, Henry, you might get more of the folks who live here to come down and harvest the stuff. Doc has warned you about not having them wear protection from the sun.” The master weaver worked with those under Henry’s control. Far too many of the workers died of the tumors caused by being in the sun too much or drowned, tangled in the water weeds.
“As for the Tail,” a woman added, “except for your gang and a few sailors, most men around here prefer to have a long-term contract. I’m just not seeing as many customers as before.”
The crowd was getting restless. It had been a long day with the storm, and many were dozing off. Blackie had not explained the offer to them, and Spacer realized that — as well as the question of who could vote — would be a major step before they could vote.
“We all have work to do to get the place put back together. Anyone object to talking about it overnight and meeting again last meal tomorrow?” The crowd voted with their feet and a wave of hands.
“Wait, I have one more question,” A woman who worked in the galley stepped up in front. “Refugio gets most of its bread grain from ‘Topia. That is one thing we are always short on. Will they trade for bread grain, Blackie?”
“Maybe, but we can talk about that in the morning.” Blackie wanted to talk to Tony about setting up trade with Utopia, but he too was worn out. “Spacer is right. Let’s meet again tomorrow. This is serious and we’ve got to do it right.”
Just as Boats reached to hit the gong to end the meeting, the watch bell rang. One of the boats had been sighted. It was Mack Gunson’s boat. He had gone on a run to Utopia because their spring grain milling was due to be completed. Port needed baking meal.
The second in command, Chan Smith, hopped off the boat before it was tied up and ran up to the meeting area.
“We had trouble, Spacer, bad trouble,” Smith shouted out. “Mack is dead, and we didn’t get any meal. They got this new thing that can throw a nasty hit clear down the dock farther than an arrow.”
Sarita knew immediately what he was talking about. Back on the farm, the arms master had introduced a new shooting weapon and she had been able to handle it. It was called a crossbow. It shot something more deadly than an arrow and was to be used on the large carnivores that lived in the area they would live next. She wondered if she should speak. The news about the implications of the new weapon but the news of the lack of meal spread through the group so she held her peace.
“All the more reason to settle this thing with Refugio,” Blackie called out. “Ser Pesch said we might be able to work out something with ‘Topia too, but he wasn’t sure.”
“Should have burned the damn dock,” Henry Batchelder belligerently yelled from where he stood at the edge of the shelter. “Those passengers owe us for getting us stuck here.”
“Shut up, Henry, GC said the planet was safe. That fool Higgins was the one to blame.” Raymond Garza took his regular seat at the edge of the speaking area. “We need to hear from Sera Portia first. Settle the voting issue because it is more important than ever if we can’t get food from Utopia.”
The conversation ebbed as Boats and Spacer stepped to the front of the raised stage. Smith had tried to explain what had happened but was interrupted by more questions. Spacer stamped his feet on the raised platform to get everyone’s attention and called on Smith to repeat his story.
“We got enough meal for about two or three more days of emergency rations,” Zulema called out “Not sure what we do then, Spacer.”
“We got taro and a lot of dried fish,” Boats said. “We are not going to starve. It is just going to be boring.” That brought a nervous laugh.
Spacer had Smith give his report of the failed raid on Southmost, a coastal city of Utopia. They had lost two men to the new weapon and had buried them at sea. The captain of the boat was not mourned but he hesitated before saying the name of the other casualty because his life mate was sitting in the group.
“Ginny, I’m sorry, Jack jumped up with the torch and they shot him,” Smith stretched his hand towards a thin, woman holding a napping toddler.
“Not much of a loss, Chan, just means I got to find someone else to help with the fish.” Most of the settlement knew Jack had been less than kind to his wife. She kept a set of drying racks for fish that the other ships caught and never seemed happy when Jack and Mack were back in port. Several women in the group called out that if Ginny needed help, they were available.
Sarita called out to Spacer that she knew about the new weapon. He let her join him on the stage.
“Before we sailed, my family was getting ready to move and we had that new shooter demonstrated. It is called a compound crossbow and we needed it for the big carnivores in the forest near where we were moving. Chan is right, it shoots a thing called a bolt rather than an arrow. It is more lethal. I am surprised they are using them on the raiders.” A murmur of conversation ran through the group.
“Not good news to end the day on, but we’ll meet up tomorrow evening and get the report from Sera Portia,” Spacer said. “We have a lot more repairs to do and anyone who has an idea on what we can use for water filters, get with Boats in the morning.” Boats hit the gong and the lights went out. One of the other men had already lit the main torch and the light was passed down the line as the families filed out.
***
Early in the morning, the schoolteacher met Boats on the porch of the Bridge. She explained what she had found and suggested a way to hold the vote. Boats was not surprised by her finds and agreed the way she suggested would work. He went off to enlist the help of the littles to gather shell pieces off the beach. They would vote that evening.
“Sera Portia, Boats says you can explain what we need to know about our contracts,” Spacer motioned to the Refugio refugee to join him on the platform. “You all quiet down now and don’t interrupt. You know that the schoolteacher can’t project like the rest of us.” The crowd laughed because the slender woman was known for her ability to be heard over the assembled children.
“Elder Garza is correct. The contracts say that once you have completed your apprenticeship and been assigned a position, you are a free agent.” Her words brought a gasp across the group. “If you have signed a full contract with Port, you are a full employee. You get your share of the food. You get your choice of a job but if you don’t work, you don’t get fed. Food and a place to live are part of the contract. In return, you must have a productive position. As Mandy always says, everybody works on this ship.”
“Before you all get to yelling about that, this decided who gets to vote,” Spacer projected his voice so all could hear. “Looks as if everyone who has been here for more than a year and found something to do has a say. That don’t mean you have to stay doing what you are doing unless it was assigned as punishment. That is not what we need to settle now. We can argue and fight about that tomorrow. Boats has worked out a way to figure out the yes’s and no’s on the agreement.”
“I got a bunch of shell pieces here,” Boats said. “I got two baskets. One has pieces of shells, white shells and dark shells. You come up, give your name to Mandy, grab a shell out of the mix. White if you are for the agreement, dark if against. Drop the shell in this big basket. We’ll count them and give a decision.”
“Not so fast,” Henry again yelled from the edge of the crowd. “Ain’t we going to discuss this?”
“What is there to discuss, Henry?” Zulema stepped up onto the bench where she had been sitting. “You heard Chan say we can’t raid and get meal from ‘topia anymore. You going to keep that sleek belly of yours on just fish and mush?”
“Who is going to harvest the weeds to make the cloth, Zulema? That is what I want to know. If all I get for my crews is the punishment not captures, we’ll all be wearing leaves and fish skin and have nothing to trade if you fools approve this. You heard what that ‘topia woman said, our cloth is about the only thing we can trade.”
“Henry, just like working on the taro, if you take care of people, they will work for you,” Seta Gupta, head of the medical clinic spoke up. “If you make these people wear hats and shields from the sun as they work, they won’t get the black mold and die. There is work for all of us in those fields if we have protection.” Spacer called the meeting back to order and called Blackie up to explain what the trade offer was all about.
Blackie stepped to the front of the stage and explained that the main provisions were Port would quit stopping Refugio ships and raiding Refugio ports and homesteads. In exchange, they could trade anywhere someone would trade with them. They had access to the markets and groups that produced things. He said that how to settle what something was worth would take time but if Tony was right, the obsidian blades might just be the main item of trade. Most of what they created would be appreciated by the people up there because it was different. The discussion was sparse now that Henry had been shut down by others in the crowd.
“We have a lot of changes that we have to make around here but this vote is a beginning,” Boats said. “Elders can be the first in line.” Mandy sat at the end of the table with the list of the people to check off and a sheet to add since the list was not really complete. The line was forming up when someone in the back objected.
“What about the folks who are not here? Anyone heard from Fiji and there are a couple of boats that have not made it back yet.”
“Well, we can count what we have so far and if it is close, we wait until they can vote, but if it is not, we go with what we have,” Garza called out loudly so all could hear. He wanted this settled as badly as Boats and Spacer.
“Who is going to count the shells?” A voice from the back of the crowd called out. “Yea, Boats and Spacer can’t do it. That’s not fair,” called out another voice. Spacer looked at Boats, but he just shrugged his shoulders.
“Do all of you trust Elder Garza?” Portia called out. “If so, let him choose two more people to help him count the shells.” The calls from the crowd settled it.
“I believe that Sera Portia and Sera Rita should be the ones to help. One wants to go, and one wants to stay so that should help them be honest,” Garza stepped to the basket of shells and dropped his choice into the basket. The rest of the community followed him slowly some showing their choice, some hiding it. Henry was not going to allow his crew to vote but was overruled by his second in command who roughed him up a bit before he moved out of their way. Spacer was not sure Henry would have a crew after this meeting, but that was a matter for tomorrow.
Should you want to read the whole story…
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