STO'B 5-3 Captain Fitton

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Badger plucked her anchor from the ground and set sail out of the harbor. Less nimbly, Chasseur did the same. Philip sat in his cabin and sulked. “Yes,” he said when the sentry again announce Mr South.

“Steam is up, sir,” said the master, saluting and carefully looking over his skipper’s shoulder rather than at his tear-lined face. “Begging your pardon, but our coal bunkers are only about a third full, like, and our quarterly allowance is spent.”

“Spent?”

“Yes, sir. We refilled from the Cranberry, then half full from Chasseur, plus what came before your time, so to speak, is our full allowance. And we’ve burnt most all of that, sir, between the donkey and the main - we only carry ten ton or so. We might be able to argue that a new commander rates a new allowance but that doesn’t always take - and any way that won’t be till after we gets to Malta, at earliest. Best guess is most of a day of steam, at six knots, our most efficient speed.”

“I see.” Philip pulled a pencil from a drawer in his desk and scribbled some hasty multiplication on the corner of a piece of paper. “I will buy more coal in Malta, Mr South, there will certainly be time. Burn what we have. And Mr South?”

“Yes, sir?”

“In the future, er, please ask how to enter captured supplies.”

The master cleared his throat, but then his eyes glassed over and he saluted: “yes, sir,” and left.

Author's Note|First Post|Previous|Next| last episode with Dr M’Mullen GLOSSARY