I
“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.
The Rebel leaders escaped though, taking Elation citizens sympathetic to their cause along with them by taking a few lifeboats. From there they continued on as a boat clan and left the Elation behind, hoping the Aquarian Ocean would deliver a fate better than the quick execution that awaited them aboard the Elation…
Jasmyne Costa roamed the decks of Elation in the night. In about three days they should make it to Andale, where they would hopefully be able to afford the parts needed to fix their ship. Hopefully they’d be able to find the trader at all. This was the worst economical state she had ever seen the ship suffer through. She had lived all 28 years of her life aboard the ship. In a way, she was happy to hear about the damages caused to her home. She longed for the chance to see Andale. She had never seen land in her life. To her knowledge there were only two sets of land in all of Aquaria. Andale, and Hamalia to the far east. The waters over the Rocky Mountains over Colorado was shallow enough that people have been known to wade in it and where ships have gotten stuck. She heard stories that people would come from across the world to see the vast mountain ranges of the Rockies, Andes, and Himalayas before the flood. She never understood why, though. Land is land, and any amount would amaze her.
Jasmyne leaned against one of the railings and looked out to the black sea. It was nice at this part of the world. With the whole world covered by ocean, it all looks the same, except for the time she saw an iceberg over what used to be Canada. But for the most part, the only pleasure in visiting different parts of the world wasn’t for visual amazement, but temperamental. She didn’t need to wear a jacket in this part of the world. The winds here weren’t so strong she had to fear going overboard. There almost wasn’t a wind at all.
Jasmyne’s role on Elation was as a merchant whenever they came across friendly boat clans or another ship. She often heard stories of the attempted mutiny and the civil war that occurred when she was a little girl, and it inspired as sense of nationalism on the Elation. They could handle that, they could handle anything. Just follow your leader. Jasmyne scoffed at the thought of it. She hated the thought of Nathaniel Osiris commanding the ship and her people. He wasn’t a cruel man, but he simply wasn’t fit for leadership. He had made many mistakes, with only luck keeping the Elation operable.
For once, Jasmyne was happy she was a merchant. This meant she was going to be able to set foot on Andale with Elation’s other merchants and negotiate a deal (if one was possible). She grew up hearing stories about the exotic food served on land. It was rumored there were birds to be eaten and large beasts known as cattle which produced meats far tastier than any fish brought aboard her ship. Jasmyne didn’t care much for eating these animals, but instead seeing these creatures. She wanted to pet them and find out how they felt and what they sounded like. She had seen some animals before, a dog aboard the ship Carosel and pigeons that inhabited the ship Donovan as well as cats inhabiting the dozens of boats belonging to the Kyle Clan of ships over the Maine waters. She could only imagine what was to be seen on Andale.
Only the richest of the rich could live on land. They could probably fit a lot more inhabitants on the archipelagos of mountain tops, but the rich wanted their space. The rich controlled the few pieces of land on Aquaria. There were stories told that before the flood, people would spend a premium to live on the coast. Jasmyne would love to never see the ocean again.
Jasmyne’s day usually consisted of buying good from producers on the Elation. Elation’s largest exports came from fish (Elation’s fisherman were known to be some of the best in the world, far better than other ships’ fishermen), raw steel, aluminum (a lot was salvaged from a capsized ship three years ago), and guns. Elation was known for its production of weapons. This is what would hopefully provide salvation for the 1400 inhabitants of the ship. If there was a deal to be struck with the engine merchant on Andale, it would be through trading large stocks of weaponry.
Jasmyne inhaled the humid air and exhaled. She listened to the waters as they crashed against the ship. Her father would have been proud to see her in her position at such a young age. She had a way with words, which is what made her one of the lead merchants on the ship. The only people on the ship that she reported to was the Treasurer and Captain Osiris. She tried her best to keep contact with Osiris down to a minimum. She still held a grudge against him. Osiris selected her father, Carlos Costa, to oversee a deal with a boat clan six years ago, when Jasmyne was just beginning to to get an understanding of her trade. The boat clan wasn’t a boat clan, but instead a raider gang impersonating a friendly group of traders. The raiders demanded passage onto the ship, or else they would murder Carlos Costa and two other Elation traders.
Nathaniel Osiris was never one to be easily swayed and wouldn’t risk his people for the life of three merchants. Captain Osiris gave the order that day to simply leave, stating that a gun fight would only endanger the health of the Elation. The raiders kept their word and killed Carlos Costa that day.
Carlos’ wife, Maria Costa, who wasn’t a native of Elation, threw herself from the nose of the ship two days later. She left her boat clan after meeting a charming ship merchant and decided to leave her life behind for the privileged life aboard the ship. She grew to hate it, missing the collective family values of a boat clan. Her only tie to life was Carlos, and now that he was gone, their daughter Jasmyne only reminded her that much more of her husband. Ever since her father was killed and her mother committed suicide, Jasmyne was left without a family on her ship. Ever since then, she despised the administration led by Nathaniel Osiris. She lobbied for a change in government in favor of a ship counsel made up of 10 wise Elation citizens, a common practice among many other ships. This was met with threats, and Jasmyne seceded. Her ideas would get her killed. No Captain would be willing to give up their supreme power, let alone Captain Osiris
Not having a family to look after allowed Jasmyne to focus on being a merchant, her designated caste. Many aboard the Elation felt that she would make a better treasurer than Peter Caine, the current treasurer. But the social dynamic of the Elation was that of blood succession. The only person that would take over as treasurer after Peter Caine would be his son, now 13 years old. Jasmyne’s children, if she choose to have any, would fall into either her caste, or the caste of her husbands. With luck, she could save them a difficult decision and simply marry someone belonging to the merchant caste as well, something most Elations did.
Jasmyne had her share of suitors. Ever since she became 16, boys from many different castes would try to win her hand in marriage. Jasmyne was beautiful. She had large brown eyes, long dark black hair, light brown skin, and slim figure. It also helped that a being a merchant was one of the more prestigious castes available on the Elation. Other jobs around the ship included working in the boiler room, crawling through air ducts, sanitation, as well as other unattractive opportunities. She had a relationship with one of the many gunmakers, Drumond Greene, who worked mid ship. This relationship lasted for a while, and resulted in a contract made between his gunmakers and her shop. After the contract was set in stone, Jasmyne became the most powerful arms dealer on the Elation. From here, Jasmyne let Drumond Greene know that her life was a little too complicated to balance out work and a relationship. She could be as cold as the North Atlantic sea if she needed to be.
Jasmyne got off the ledge and walked down the deck to her shop. She had been doing accounting all night, and hadn’t yet closed shop. She had a variety of goods, some were goods bought from other ships and some were goods produced here on the Elation. She had grown proud. Her profits had begun to soar after recent trade deals being made and she was able to decorate her shop how she liked it. The shop had a view of the ocean off the deck, most shops were confined to the interior of the ship.
The walls were painted red (anything but blue) and there were paintings of what forests were believed to look like adorned on the walls. She met a painter on the ship Corninthian a few years back. He offered her a discount on the purchase of the paintings because he claimed her eyes gave him motivation to paint even more. He offered to give her the paintings free of charge if she would share a bed with him for the night. Jasmyne chose the discount, she was certainly able to afford it.
She shut down the lights and locked up. She noticed some other night owls prowling through the ship, looking for something to do. After locking up her shop she decided to make her way to her room located on floor 12, two floors below deck. She needed to get as much rest as she could and clear her head before the negotiations took place in a few days.
While treasurer Peter Caine maintained the official title of lead negotiator in the deal, Jasmyne would be the one everyone had faith in to get the deal done. The whole ship knew if anyone could strike a deal with their meager offerings, it would be her. It was her gift. If she couldn’t strike a deal the ship wouldn’t make it far. The estimated life of the engine was put around one week, and these were generous estimates. The ship would stall and become a floating metal carcass.
This would only be the beginning too. Mutiny would undoubtedly happen at some point. While Jasmyne smiled at the thought of the Osiris Royal Family finally being overthrown, it wouldn’t stop there. Everyone that lived better lives than most, including merchants, would be targeted. Her stock would undoubtedly be looted. Jasmyne knew how to defend herself. Some of her suitors were more aggressive than others, and they ultimately regretted it leaving her room with broken noses and split lips. But she couldn’t stop all the looters. Her store, which she spent her entire life taking care of, which was the only memento of her father, would be destroyed. Depending on the desperation of the looters, she may need to worry far more about what may happen to her than the destruction of the store. Her body was a temple, and she wouldn’t allow any Elation predator to desecrate her. She’d rather die first.
The Elations would either starve staying on the ship or be picked off one by one as they form a boat clan. The existing boat clans have done it for generations, it was their way of life. Softies born to a ship wouldn’t make it long out on the open ocean, they wouldn’t survive without the infrastructure put in place of the ship. If the Elation were to survive, she needed to succeed in negotiations…
