Director of Intelligence
Posts: 7,214
Joined: 3 Dec 2005
Gender: Female
Country: USA
SAK owned: Camper&Swissbit
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Season: season 5
Episode:Serenity
Vehicle: Jeep
Jacket: Brown bomber
House: House boat
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Troubleshooted by 'Beth, with my thanks!
-Loth
Sea Shepherds
Chapter Four: The Shepherd
“Jerry, run down below and tell Peter that we’re heading out to sea.”
“Sure, Paul.”
MacGvyer was still checking over his aching body for outstanding damage when he heard voices coming down from the wheel deck. One was the same voice he had heard blaring threats at the Sierra over the ships’ PA systems.
Without the amplification, the voice didn’t sound so sinister. Still, MacGyver was a little nervous. He was aboard a ship without authorization – a ship commanded by a man who hadn’t hesitated to ram another ship – a man that Knut had said some called a pirate. Mac wondered if he would end up swimming to Portugal after all.
Footsteps alerted MacGyver, and he instinctively crouched down beneath the stairs as another man appeared out of the hold. The man was excited and didn’t see Mac; he dashed up the steps to the bridge two at a time, his boots ringing on the grilled metal.
Jerry had just turned to obey his captain’s orders when a bearded man came running up to them. The two men nearly collided with each other. MacGyver could hear them clearly from his vantage point, right below the doorway, under the stairs.
“There you are, Peter.” Watson’s voice was jubilant. “We did it guys, we bloody well did!”
“We didn’t sink her, goddamn it.” A new voice, probably Peter, added soberly.
“We did what we could. It’s not like we’ve got a lot of experience ramming ships. We sure as hell caused some damage! Look how she’s listing ... she’s gotta be taking on water!”
“Do you think we’ll get away with this?” Jerry sounded worried.
“Looks good so far,” Peter said. “We should make Spanish waters in a few hours – England in four days – if the weather holds.”
“How much damage did we take?”
“Nothing that we can’t fix with a paintbrush,” Peter said. The volume of his voice changed as he crossed the bridge. “I swear that gray paint that the British Royal Navy gave us is like a damn force-field! We hardly got a scratch!”
“If they send the Portuguese military boats after us … they’ll do more than scratch us,” Jerry said, worrying again. “Do they torture prisoners in Portugal?”
“Just Yanks, I think,” Peter said dryly, smirking underneath his beard when Jerry gulped and stammered until both men laughed.
“Nobody’s going to torture you,” Watson assured them. “They’d have to admit that their ‘ghost ship’ exists before they can bring charges against us at all … and they aren’t about to do that.”
“They don’t have to bring charges against us to torture us,” Jerry grumbled.
“Quit worrying, Jer. This is what we set out to do … and we did it! Just twelve days out of Boston and we found her. That’s what I can’t get over … that we actually found her!”
“What do we do now?” Jerry asked.
“Tell the world. We let everyone know what we did … and dare them to arrest us. If they don’t, we pick another target and do it again.”
“And if they do arrest us?” Peter asked.
“Then we use the courts to bring as much attention to their illegal activities as possible. We create an international incident that can’t but grab the attention of the media and the world!” Watson exclaimed. Then he added a dispassionate, “But they won’t arrest us.”
“What makes you so sure that they won’t?”
“Because that’s what my gut says. There’s no way that the authorities can bring charges against us without recognizing the fact that the Sierra is an outlaw whaler, operating in defiance of maritime law. She’s got unpaid fines in every port from Cape Horn to Reykjavik. They’ll never bring charges against us.” Watson sighed. “I wish that they would, actually. It’s the only thing that would really put the Sierra out of business forever… save our putting her on the bottom of the Atlantic.”
“Um, Paul …” Jerry said, alarm growing in his voice. “What does your gut say about a Portuguese destroyer?” Mac heard the steps of the other two men as they moved to look out of the viewports.
Cautiously, Mac crept around the rear of the cabin to see what had caught their attention. A ship was behind them – not the whaler that they had holed … but a military ship, dark and menacing. The colors of Portugal fluttered and snapped from their mast.
“Ah. I say … let’s put on all speed ahead, boys. I want to cut a wake through Spanish waters before they can catch us. I’d rather report to the British authorities than go back to Leixões.”
“Paul! Even at full speed we’ll never outrun a destroyer!”
“Not if they really want to catch us, no. But they may just want to chase us out of their waters. Let’s see what happens.”
Peter left the bridge. Mac could hear him mumbling as he went down the steps. Mac remained still and hoped that the man didn’t look in his direction. Eavesdropping probably wasn’t the best way to introduce himself to the captain and crew. Luckily, Peter had enough on his mind that he didn’t glance around as he returned to the engine room.
Once Peter was out of sight, MacGyver hauled himself up the steps to the wheelhouse.
Both men were still looking out of the windows toward the stern. MacGyver stood in the doorway and cleared his throat.
“Um … I realize that this is coming a little late – ” The men turned swiftly at the sound of his voice, Jerry nearly jumping out of his boots while Watson merely looked surprised. “ – but, may I have permission to come aboard?”
Jerry gaped at MacGyver, groping for something to use to defend himself against the sudden interloper. He fumbled with the antique belaying pin that was being used to hold down navigation charts; it slipped from his fingers and rolled off the edge of the table. Watson caught it deftly before it could smash anyone’s toes.
“Easy there, Jer.” Watson looked the newcomer over with a sharp eye before saying, “Where’d you come from, mate?”
“I hate to say it … but I was on board that ship you just knocked a hole in.”
“You don’t look like a whaler. Or any kind of Jack Tar for that matter.”
“I’m not. I was on that ship,” Mac waved a hand in a throwaway gesture at the retreating Sierra, “entirely by mistake.”
“And we’re supposed to believe that?” Jerry’s asked cynically. “How did you get aboard our ship?”
“I was thrown,” MacGyver admitted. “I know it sounds crazy, but the Captain’s first mate tossed me overboard.”
“I don’t believe it,” Jerry announced.
Watson shrugged and laid the belaying pin aside. “Doesn’t sound crazy to me … I’m sure Norgenson’s had plenty of men thrown overboard. You must be the luckiest sailor still alive to have landed on my deck.” He reached into a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of beer. “It’s warm, but you look like you could use a drink.”
MacGyver took the bottle. “Thanks.” He’d have preferred water, but he wasn’t about to insult his host by refusing. “Would it be too much if I asked what the heck is going on? Why did you ram the Sierra?”
“Because she’s had it coming for years.” Beneath their feet, the engines changed tone as they roared to full life. Watson crossed the bridge and took the helm. “She’s an illegal whaler. In her lifetime, she’s killed over 25,000 whales. Just that one ship by herself. I vowed to put an end to her career.” Holding the helm with his left hand, he turned and extended his right hand toward MacGyver. “I’m Paul Watson, by the way.”
“MacGyver.” They shook hands.
“This is Jerry Doran.” Jerry offered his hand as if he expected Mac to refuse to shake it. MacGyver took his hand and nodded. “The bearded fellow that you dodged earlier is Peter Woof. Where’s your home port, MacGyver?”
“San Pedro Harbor, Los Angeles.”
“I’d have guessed a bit north of that.”
“I’m originally from Minnesota.”
“Ah. I thought as much. I’m from Canada myself ... though nobody there cares to claim me.” Watson shrugged as the wind from the sea whipped his thick black hair around his face. “I belong to the oceans now ... that’s my only real home.”
“And it’s your job to save the whales?”
“By any means necessary. Believe me, I’ve tried diplomacy! But laws and moratoriums mean nothing to these outlaws. They pilfer the seas and flout the international maritime decrees concerning whaling… and there is no enforcement of those decrees to bring them in check. They get away with murder, in fact … and that isn’t even considering the laws that they break in port or on land, defying trading agreements and licensing.”
MacGyver nodded. “You can’t reason with a pirate.” He half-grinned at Watson. He liked the man, despite the circumstances of their meeting. “I’ve heard you called that … but you don’t seem to be beyond reason.”
“Oh, just get to know him a bit,” Jerry said. He’d shaken off his surprise and calmed down, listening to the two men talking. He was still looking over his shoulder frequently, frowning as the destroyer slowly and steadily closed the distance on the trawler. “He can be as stubborn as a Missouri mule when he thinks he’s right.”
Watson chuckled. “He’s right!”
“They’re getting closer, Captain …”
“I know, Jer. Go down below and tell Peter to give us more speed.” Watson nodded toward MacGyver. “If they catch us, we’ll have a devil of a time explaining where you came from … I don’t suppose you brought your passport when you jumped ship?”
“Um … no.” When Mac had changed clothes after being drenched with seawater and the blood of the Sierra’s last kill, he’d had only one other set of clothes to put on – the ones he’d discarded the day before. He patted his pockets, unsure of what he’d find; pocket knife, waterproof matches, a set of jewelers’ tools that he used to fix the bosun’s radio yesterday – just the usual flotsam. But as he frisked himself, he heard a rustle and remembered the folded piece of paper that he had tucked inside his shirt next to his skin, containing a puzzle not yet solved.
“Passport’s probably still under my bunk,” Mac said as he unfolded the paper to examine the strange markings again. They were just as indecipherable as they had been before. Mac refolded it and put it back in his pocket. “I doubt that Captain Nordengen will courteously mail it to my embassy.”
Watson nodded. “You better come with us to England. You can get a new passport from the Embassy there.” The Captain noticed that Jerry hadn’t left the bridge to carry out his last order. “Jerry?” Watson chivvied the man.
Jerry glanced between his captain and MacGyver. “You want me to leave you alone … with him? We don’t know that we can trust him …”
“It’s okay, Jerry. Trust me. Go on now.” Jerry reluctantly obeyed. Watson glanced at MacGyver and nodded after the departing man. “He’s a good sort … just a little nervous. He’s got to do the job of a whole crew, him and Peter.”
“What happened to the rest of your crew?”
“They asked to be put ashore in Leixões. I crew my ship with volunteers … and only Peter and Jerry were ready to stand by me through this. It’s one thing to talk about putting your life on the line … it is another entirely to follow through. I’ll force no man or woman to do more than their hearts demand of them.”
As Watson spoke, MacGyver watched him, expecting to see signs of bitterness and anger in the man. How devastating would it be for a captain to lose his crew? But Watson wasn’t thinking about that.
Mac's Voice-over:
I looked at Paul Watson. I didn't see a man dwelling on what had happened, or what had been said or done before.. the man before me was focused on what would happen next, his keen mind plotting courses and scenarios through any number of possibilities and variables, thinking ahead and holding his vision up despite all odds.
Watson faced out toward the sea. “Years ago, a man who knew more about whales than I ever will told me that if I could get my act together and commit myself to help the whales, one day the whales would help me in return. Until that day, I have only people to help me get the job done. And my mechanical Moby Dick!” He caressed the bulkhead of the Sea Shepherd lovingly. “Like that legendary leviathan,” Watson smiled at the thought, “we’ll fight back against the harpoons and lances with our bodies and our souls.”
As I listened to him, I found myself asking how many times had I thrown a punch. Or 'borrowed' stuff that wasn't exactly mine. Even blown stuff up when I had to. I always did it to help someone who needed it, or to save my skin. Sure, I had earned a few knocks anyway—my head was still aching from the pounding I got aboard the Sierra and my ungraceful arrival on this ship!-- I already have a few scars accumulated from choosing 'the hard but right way' as Harry would have put it, most of my life. I might regret that I've had to resort to, well, ‘unconventional methods’ - even violence - to get the job done ... but I knew that I'd do it again if I had to. Could I really condemn Watson for his radical tactics, when I was beginning to feel his passion and even see myself in him?
The words escaped my lips before I realized that I was speaking aloud...
“I guess you might be able to use an extra pair of hands, then.”
Watson grinned at him. “Well, there’s not much action on the shuffleboard deck, so if you’re offering, I’ll gladly accept. How are you at navigation?”
“I’ve picked up a few things here and there,” Mac said, setting down his unopened beer and moving toward the computer. “I’ll do what I can … though I’m not much of a pirate,” he added wryly.
“There’s nothing a man can’t learn!” Watson laughed.
From where he stood, MacGyver could see the wide expanse of the sea ahead of them. The waves were still energetic, but the clouds of storm that had threatened earlier now had been cleared away by a higher wind.
I'd just volunteered to join the crew of renegade conservation group, currently being chased through foreign waters by a military vessel—and my heart felt as light as the foam being scooped from the crests of the waves. The sea had always been a legend and a mystery to me as a kid back in Minnesota. Now I felt something I had never felt before... a deep moving inside my body, as if I were both heavier and lighter than I was a few minutes ago.
Watson was still speaking. “Just keep an eye on those radar and sonar readings … let me know if we have any proximity issues.” The Captain glanced astern; the destroyer was still hanging back, a little closer but obviously not actually trying to overtake them. “I’ll keep an eye on our escort …”
Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, MacGyver thought. If I had to choose sides now, I know that I’m standing where I’d want to be.
 Everyone, sometimes, needs a camel.
Old troubleshooters never die...
They just wait til the last moment and then rescue themselves!
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"What are you all doing to my NAME?" 
