Dolphin Rescue: On Our Way

Writers: AL, Ames, Chelle, Heather, Jelena, Suzee
Date Posted: 9th April 2013

Characters: Aslvor, Kirten, Naton, Irabel, Mavrin, Zein
Description: Onboard the Sorka's Star, the dolphineers hurry to the rescue of the trapped dolphins
Location: Dolphin Hall, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 16 of Turn 6

Sorka's Star waited out in the water. As soon as they received the
drum message, the seacrafters had headed to the dolphin hall with all
haste. The vessel was already outfitted with enough supplies for the
journey, but the dolphineers would have to bring their gear. The
captain, Zein, stood on the bow, waiting for the highest ranking
dolphineer to let him know they were ready to go as his crew members
helped the team to load the things they were bringing.

As the others were busy, Aslvor waved towards the Sorka's Star and the
captain they all knew well.

"Zein, thank you for coming so quickly. We have a major crisis. Some
dolphins are trapped a good two days swim from here. We're limited on
time and must hurry." She pointed over her shoulder, "the others are
bringing more gear. If you can help me with some of these, we can get
moving sooner." She reached down and began hefting some of the bags
that had been prepared. Medical supplies, swimming supplies, anything
they felt they might need once they reached the dolphins.

Mavrin watched with interest as more dolphineers boarded their vessel.
He'd been aboard the Sorka's Star for nearly a Turn and this would be
the first time he'd been on a "rescue" mission. As a seacrafter,
though, he knew how valuable the dolphins were and would never
discredit their value.

"Let me help you with that." He said to a female dolphineer who was
dragging some supplies. The burly seacrafter easily hefted the crate
up and deposited it with the rest of the supplies.

That dolphineer was followed by an army of others. Various supplies
that would help them navigate under the water and through the cave
were boarded. The business was controlled and well put together.
Irabel boarded the vessel and oversaw them as the supplies were
brought on board. When the last trickled down, she turned and called
to those who were going along on the mission. "All right people,
let's get going!" She inclined her head to the Seacrafter. "Ready to
go, sir." They didn't have a lot of time and the sooner they got
there, the better chance the dolphins had to survive.

Giving the order, Zein made sure the sails were unfurled and all the
ropes pulled and knotted tight. Once the wind caught, the wheel was
turned and they were underway with the gangplank stowed. His
passengers were arranged for-they would be formulating a plan while he
worked out their travel. His First Mate approached the journeymen,
though, wanting to get a clear picture of where they were going. Of
course the dolphins swimming
ahead of them were easy to follow, but a clear heading would be necessary.

Naton was haunched over a crate, checking to see if its contents were
still intact and he closed the lid when he was sure they were. So
shortly for his Masters-exams he had plenty of working prototypes of
his dolphin-lights and it had occurred to him they might be ever so
valuable in this mission, so he had instructed an apprentice to bring
the crate aboard. Now he was sure his precious prototype had survived
the rough trip to the docks, he looked for Irabel to discuss his
intentions.

"Are they alright sir?" Kirten said coming up beside Naton. He and
Birki were ready to assist the Journeyman since they'd spent some time
with the devices already and were familiar with how they worked.

"Yes, perfectly alright," Naton nodded, giving Kirten a small smile.
He liked the boy, he had been very helpful with his last bit of
testing. Hopefully the devices would come through this last,
unexpected test, with flying colours and save a few lives. "You
remember how to attach them, right?"

"If he doesn't, I do." Irabel ran rope through her hands and though
she spoke, her eyes remained on the item. They had brought extra, but
she was taking the time to check and make sure that there were no
frays.

"Yes sir!" he nodded eagerly. "I remember."

"Good, we might need them, do you agree, Irabel?" Naton said, turning
to his colleague. "I'm thinking we'll fit our own dolphins with them as
we near the area, so that we're ready when it turns out we do need
them."

"Yes, I want to have them out and ready. Kerchek will lead the other
dolphins into position, I'm sure. We need to double check the ropes
for the guidelines. Would you mind checking the suits please?" Those
suits would keep them from getting too cold, which was a danger in
such a rescue mission. Irabel reached for a clamp that was attached
to the rope and checked to make sure it was secure.

"Will do, Kirrten, can you give me a hand here?" Naton asked,
gesturing the boy to come over and pointing him at one of the crates
that held the special dolphineer swimsuits. "Just hand them over to me
one by one and put them out for the others to put on."

"Yes sir," the boy stepped up when his name was called. He opened the
appointed crate and began shaking them out and organizing them for the
other dolphineers. He handed one to the Journeyman that appeared about
his size and took one of the smaller ones for himself. At only
fourteen turns, he hadn't seen his full growth yet.

Aslvor had done her part to assist with the supplies and the ship as
things continued. The water around them was crystal clear as the ship
sailed. At one point she leaned over the rail and gave a quick
chirping call. Cec hopped up out of the water with a splash. The scar
on her tail fin evident as she dove back into the water. A few more
hops and Aslvor reported, "Nothing amiss up ahead. The water is clear
and we should have smooth sailing."

They would reach their destination in an hour or so if the winds stayed
right, Zein judged. The Captain alerted both the crew and the dolphineers
as they continued on the same heading. Supplies were still well within bounds
and they hadn't encountered any bad weather. Standing on the deck behind
the helm, he crossed his arms and chewed on the saltpork they had brought
along.

"Alright everyone, suit up!" Naton called out to his fellow journeyman
and the few selected apprentices on board. "Let's make sure everything
is ready once we arrive at our location." He himself started to worm
into the tight-fitted swimsuit and had to admit it did feel a little
loose compared to a few months ago. Maybe he had been working a little
too hard.

Irabel was right behind Naton, tugging on a suit as quickly as
possible. All of the supplies and tools had been checked and
rechecked. They were ready, they just had to arrive - and it wouldn't
be much longer til they did.

Aslvor grabbed her own wetsuit and began suiting up. Her heart gave a
few rapid beats as she realized just how close they were coming to the
scene. She hoped they were not already too late!

Kirten suited along with the others. This was something he and Birki
had trained for with the big Journeyman and he was _sure_ they'd be
called upon to help.

Last updated on the April 11th 2013

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Dolphin Rescue: On Our Way