Aquaria: The Lost Fleet

I: The Merchant

"Through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men"

2 Peter 3:6-7

The freighter ship split through the warm tropical waters over what was once Mexico. There were no other ships in sight. The beating sun heated the metallic exterior of the old ship. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the horizon touched the ocean for as far as the eye could see. Members of the ship's crew, most of which lived their entire lives on the ship, performed their duties as they always have and their forebears had done for centuries. Some spent their shifts keeping lookout on the deck, while others maintained the ancient engines that propelled the old ship. Others volunteered to leave the ship for months at a time on smaller boats in search of necessary salvage to keep the ship running and to find goods to sell. Some focused on growing necessary vegetation on deck while others fished to provide food for the population.

Of course, there was the Captain of the ship. On this ship their captain was born to the title. Some other ships would follow this system utilizing the hereditary line of succession as well, while other ships would opt for elections every decade. Another option involved the captain training an apprentice to succeed him/her when the time came. On this ship, the Captain's father, and his father before him, for generations and generations have led the ship as it's captain.

The ship was named Elation, and the leader of this ship was Captain Nathaniel Osiris. Captain Osiris would never venture this far south under normal circumstances. His people felt more at home up north, where the waters covered what used to be the Dakotas and Nebraska. However, his engine had begun to rust after getting flooded by a storm two months ago. Being south wasn't any better as his ship was almost capsized by a hurricane on their way here. There was a broker over what used to be Quebec that put Captain Osiris in contact with an engine salesman that resided on one of the few pieces of land in the world, in Andale, which used to be known as the Andes Mountains.

Captain Osiris knew it was a risk coming here. The last time he ventured this far south was 25 years ago, when he first assumed the position after his father's death. This was bandit country.

Most bandits wouldn't stand much of a chance against such a large container ship up north. The Elation was equipped with many assault weapons in it's armory, with men on board trained to use them since they were small boys. The armory had plenty of pre flood weaponry designs such as AK-47s, M4 Carbines, and AR-15 rifles. Most bandits were equipped with 40 - 50 foot dinghies and lived day by day finding meager fish. Mutiny was very common among bandit clans. They would usually prey on boat clans, a much more common living style than aboard a former cargo ship. These boat clans who lived in packs of small ships, finding strength in numbers, were accustomed to battling bandits in naval warfare. It was just the way of life in Aquaria.

But here, down south, there were always rumors of salvaged military vessels equipped with rare pre war artillery and guns which would be able to sink a large ship such as the Elation. Captain Osiris and his people all knew the risk of coming here. But they had no other choice. They could either risk the formidable bandits and find a way to fix their ship, or wait until their ship fell apart and float adrift until they too were forced to live as boat clans at the mercy of the ocean. The few other ships they had come across refused to be of any help, they needed their spare parts for themselves and they couldn't be spared for some foreign ship.

Captain Osiris made the mistake of coming south the first time all those years ago for hopes of better fishing. It turned out to be a huge mistake, almost resulting in mutiny after they were attacked by a bandit frigate over the Floridian Seas. While the Elation was able to hold off the attack, even sinking the attacking frigate frigate, the Elation was badly damaged. It took months for the ship to be repaired, and the whole time the ship was only able to drift where the oceans took it. His people began to starve. Civil war almost erupted after skirmishes for food. He had only been captain for a few months at this point, and his reign almost ended due to the rebellion. Luckily the ship was repaired, and progress could be made once again. But the relationships were destroyed as the leaders of the rebellion were sentenced to death.