From Sand to Nand

Chapter Twenty-Two

Throwing his arms around the Master at Arms and the now-toned Pei, Ahn said, "She almost looks bigger now that she's in the water, doesn't she?"

"Enormous," one American said.

"I can't believe we never thought about this before," Pei added. Everyone looked his way because he almost sounded disappointed. They waited for Pei to elaborate. Instead, he said, "What on earth are we going to name her?"

In over two months, not once had anyone what their masterpiece would be named. More builders walked over to the growing crowd.

Apart from a bit of gold plating, the job was virtually complete. The ship was successfully released into the water a few days prior to cheers and applause, as well as a celebratory feast of previously unmatched Caranonian proportion. Once the vessel was in the water, very little had to be done to make her seaworthy, apart from dropping the anchor a hundred meters or so from the island and loading the lower decks with supplies. Special precautions were taken to ensure the ship didn't enter the rocky terrain to the east and paddle boats charted the exact path several times beforehand to check for protruding boulders along it.

The fleet was ready weeks prior. The teams responsible for the row ships' construction were professionals at building them. What initially took a few weeks took only days by the end. It was time for the final project meeting. Everyone was beginning to show up based on the approved time scheduled for 16:00—sundial.

Peter answered, "Sounds like the first order of business." With the island's guests all present, Peter called for quorum. "Ladies and gentlemen!" The crowd's attention was set on Peter. He raised a fist clenched so tightly in that afternoon sun that his vascularity made it look as though his forearm were made of carved wood. "We did it!" he screamed.

Once again, the crowd cheered as mightily as thunder.

"Now, something has come up, ladies and gentlemen!" Peter continued hollering, "We have just now realized that our new ship—the one that will soon take us home—needs a n—"

"I believe, actually—so sorry to interrupt here," McSchmitt's voice rose over all sounds in the area.

Peter, the crew, and the entire crowd were taken aback by the seemingly disrespectful interjection. Peter was the official public speaker at most outings that people had gotten used to over the last several months. Like the captain, no one ever cut Peter off while he was addressing the island's people. Confused by the naval officer's actions, they waited for an explanation.

"I would like to take a moment, actually," McSchmitt cleared his throat. "I would like to take a moment to recognize what a fine job we've all here." The crowd had a moment of diminished applause and whistles. "However, I would like to make an announcement before any decisions are officially made. As it is in our line of work, certain protocols must be followed." McSchmitt walked over to his rucksack, which was sitting on the ground nearby. He picked it up and opened the tied drawstrings to loosen the opening before reaching inside. While he did this, he continued, "As you may know, we have just built a sea vessel, capable of being manned by several people at once. This is a delicate piece of human artistry and responsibility. That responsibility requires a leader..." McSchmitt removed his hand from the bag to reveal a perfectly-cleaned, pearly white hat clenched in his fingers.

The top fabric was whitened, and the blue ribbon separating it from the freshly shined leather brim didn't have a speck of dust on it. In the center was the well-known and easily recognized symbol of the previous leader's forehead insignia.

"A ship must always have a captain." McSchmitt stated. "Now, we all had a part in this and for that I couldn't thank you enough." McSchmitt paused, stopping himself from choking on his emotions. "I can't thank you all for how wonderful you've been. For how you've all touched my heart, and I know Captain Royce felt the same way. He really loved you all. He had always felt terribly responsible for the circumstances that led to us being here. In his honor, I have one last request for you all on his behalf, which is that you forgive him for what has happened. No matter what happens from here on out, I want you to know that you have all earned my respect as you always had his. Everything we do from here is now a collective decision. However, being that we now have a ship, I would like to be the first to personally nominate one most-outstanding young man to take on this new responsibility. I would like to ask that you all accept my nomination of Peter as captain of our new ship." Without another word, McSchmitt, standing directly in front of Peter, placed the hat he was holding on the young man's head.