Allison; Taking Control

Chapter 2

A blur of half-spoken farewells to his fellow wardroommates and a mad dash to gather his personal belongings and transport them to the pier along with his sea chest made up the little time he had left. Although he had not had a chance to explain his situation to any of the other officers, his fellow officers could clearly see that he was in shock. He suffered greatly as a result of being compelled to essentially disregard the suggestions made by his peers and friends, but there was no allowing for it. As he tried to focus on this, the latest challenge he faced as an officer in His Majesty's Navy, Allison sometimes felt as though he had to swallow hard to hold back tears.

When it was finally time for him to disembark, he was somewhat reassured by the fact that his closest friend on the Praetorian, Lieutenant Tolbert Henry, was officer of the watch. He was saluted as Allison, dressed appropriately in overcoat and uniform, approached him amidships. Henry saluted back, gave him permission to leave, and then extended his hand.

Rane, best of luck; you will be missed. Feel somewhat wary of that."

Before speaking, Allison sighed and firmly grasped his friend's hand. I certainly did not anticipate my abrupt departure from this command."

I'll admit that I was surprised by it.After that, Henry drew nearer and spoke in softer tones, as if he didn't want anyone's hands to hear. However, I would like to point out that the fact that a mere lieutenant received free transportation that was normally reserved for lords and ladies is certainly far beyond what is typical, and in a good way at that. As the deck was swept by the wind and his cloak was whipped, Henry gave a big grin.

It turned out to be the coachman shouting from the pier's foot that everything had been properly loaded and secured and that he was ready to leave. Mr. Mike, the civilian agent hired to arrange this transportation, stood next to the carriage and invited Allison to join him. The man had recently appeared at the gangway to inquire about the readiness of the passenger for whom he had arranged transportation. To indicate that he had heard and was prepared, Allison gave a nod and extended a hand.

Tolbert: "I better get down that gangplank. I'll miss you, friend. Fair winds and calm seas are all I wish you.

"Goodbye, Rane. I hope to see you again.

"You never know!"As he descended to the pier, Allison responded with a shout.

He moved over to where the coach was waiting. Already in his seat, the driver was watching him approach.When he got to the carriage's open door, Mr. Mike gave him a handshake and reassured him that everything he needed for his trip had been planned.

I'm grateful to you, sir, but I'm afraid I've only been on a few trips of this kind in my lifetime. How much time should I anticipate this to take?” Allison inquired.

Mike, a kind-faced, black man with white hair, reassured Allison that everything would go according to plan.

He stated, "It should not exceed three days." "You can anticipate overnight stops at designated establishments on each of the first two." Fear not, friend; my company has arranged numerous trips between the two cities, and we will get you there as quickly as possible!

Allison replied, "Thank you, sir."

“Thank you, young man.Serving those who have devoted their lives to protecting the Empire and all of its citizens is an honor. Additionally, they requested that I provide you with some correspondence, which I believe came from your superiors.I left it on the seat inside. Best of luck!

Allison took one final look behind him at Praetorian with her maritime ensign showed gladly in the breeze at the harsh - the cross of Holy person George and the Association Jack blending together wonderfully in surging fleece. It was time to leave and advance in his chosen profession. He finally got up, pulled himself inside, and yelled "Let's be off, then" before closing the door.Before he could properly sit down, the coach abruptly moved forward after he heard the whip crack from the driver.

It turned out that the hard wood seat on which he was violently thrown by the horse team's sudden start had no upholstery at all.When the nicely cobbled city streets gave way to the hardscrabble countryside, his buttocks would probably be beaten raw on the bare surface of the rutted roads and paths he would always follow. Additionally, despite having a suitable roof, the carriage's sides were wide open above the doors and lacked shutters or windows that could be closed. This would permit numerous undesirable elements to enter:dust, insects, wind, rain, and chilly air as the very end of summer gave way to the beginning of autumn. Yes, ladies and lords!

In any case, there was another thing inside that carriage that grabbed his attention. A large paper envelope bearing the red wax seal of the Admiralty and his name handwritten very prominently was on the seat opposite the one he had been so rudely forced to crash into, as Mike had promised.

Philadelphia took a significant roll to starboard while Allison was deep in that profoundly sad but proud feeling that one recognizes as nostalgia for his time aboard his previous ship. His chair skidded in that direction as a result of the forceful movement, and his kneecaps struck the underside of his desk. He gritted his teeth in pain and let out a loud groan. He got up from his chair and tried to relieve some of the pain in his aching, possibly skinned knees as the shock brought his attention completely back to the present.That's when he realized that a lot had changed since the first time he sat down and let his mind wander.

Although the cabin was now significantly darker and the sun, which had previously shone brilliantly through the windows, had been replaced by a solid wall of grey clouds, Allison did not believe he had been sitting there for that long. The ship felt much less steady as it rolled and pitched over clearly higher and slightly more turbulent seas.

Storm, Allison considered.

With a small lighted pewter candelabra in one hand and several new unlit tallow candles in the other, Alex, his steward, entered when the cabin door opened.When he saw his captain bent over and rubbing his knees with gritted teeth, he stopped short, maybe just a few steps inside the door.

"Are you clear, sah?" Alex inquired with concern.

Allison replied, "Indeed, Alex," waving at him, "That roll just took me a little bit by surprise."

"Applies to all, sah. The storm on the horizon has suddenly begun.Alex paused before continuing. When he saw me coming your way, Lieutenant James was about to send one of the mids to you, sah. E instructed me to request that you please come aboard at your convenience.

“Looks like I'd better do so regardless,” Allison responded, casting a second glance through the windows at the stormy grayness. He walked out of the still-open cabin door and up the nearby hatchway stair while putting on his hat and coat.

A stinging spray that was blowing across the main deck hit Allison square in the face as soon as he raised his head above the hatch's level. He assumed that the weather had already deteriorated to the point where there was a lot of rain because it did not taste at all salty. He moved toward the helm while holding his hat in place and wiping his face with the back of his hand.He saw Lieutenant James, dressed to the nines, stepping forward to greet him almost immediately.

"Report, Mr. James," I said.

As a sign of respect, James touched his wet hat. Sir, terrible weather.Simply amazing!I don't completely accept that I've at any point seen anything very like it. The glass dropped so quickly at one point that I thought the bottom would almost break, but it stopped and seems to be holding on for the time being. However, it doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.

A gust of wind blew a sheet of rain into his face, interrupting him.

“AGH!! Captain, I beg your pardon,” James said as he rubbed his eyes and continued. The winds got stronger and started heading south almost immediately. So quickly...” At this, he stopped and gave himself a serious look. He appeared almost ashamed.

"Is there a problem, Lieutenant?" Allison inquired.James remained silent and turned his head to face the bow in the forward direction. His expression remained the same. Allison immediately touched James' left arm and made a hand gesture toward the staircase, signaling that he wanted James to come in that direction.He didn't want the Master and helmsman, as well as several of the hands, to see the Second Lieutenant in any way distressed or compromised. Regardless of a crew's quality, discipline and authority could not be compromised in any way.As a midshipman, Allison was taught that information in a variety of ways.

Allison asked his watch officer, "Kelvin, what happened?" as they now turned toward the stern at the railing with the rain at their backs.

James seemed somewhat reassured by his captain's attention as he straightened up a bit more. Sir, all I can say is that we would have been completely taken aback and dismasted if this vessel had a square rig instead of fore and aft sails. We were fortunate that the topsails had already been reefed; otherwise, we would have destroyed them. We couldn't have responded fast enough as the winds changed so quickly.