Near Side Of The Point Master

Title: M&C: The Near Side of the Point Author: Laura Rating: PG Character: Jack Aubrey “Master & Commander” Disclaimer: The following story has been written with no intention of claiming ownership or solicitation, nor does the author claim the movie character(s) as his/her own. The movie character(s) have been borrowed solely out of a love of the particular movie and is not intended for any other purpose but amusement and entertainment. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Part One Rolling over in her sleep, Laura reached instinctively for the warmth of Maximus' body, trying to settle into the familiar curves. But a comfortable position eluded her, and she made a soft noise of dissatisfaction, stirring as she realized that the reason she couldn't get comfortable was that he was sitting up in bed, his back against the headboard. "You gotta be kidding," she muttered without opening her eyes, "it's way too early. Don't

even think about working out; stay in bed and keep me warm," she complained as she draped her arm across his waist. "I'm not going out," he whispered, and she felt him kiss the top of her head. "Something is happening tonight." The tone of his voice made her eyes open wide, and she pushed up onto one elbow, squinting in the darkness to see his face. "What is it?" "I'm not sure.... But something is changing.... I can feel it." She drew a quick breath. "Is it him?" He paused, brow furrowing. "No... no, it is too soon. But a change is coming to this place." She sat up fully, wide awake now. For the last few weeks, all anyone could talk about around the Point was the impending release of the Creator's new motion picture, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." It had been 2 years since there had been a new Arrival, and speculation was rampant as to how and when Captain Jack Aubrey would appear at the Point, and what -- if anything -- would arrive along with him. As the days before the premiere grew short, all of the Boyz had gathered at the Hotel and Tavern, including those couples who had moved to their own homesteads in the surrounding countryside. She and Maximus had left their vineyard home, returning to their old suite in the Hotel, and even Massimo and Ilaria had returned for the occasion. Everyone was on edge with a mixture of anticipation and concern. Adjusting to reality here could be difficult, and there was no way to know how a man like Jack Aubrey would fit into the family. A small group of the Boyz had already been chosen to greet Jack -Maximus was one of them, along with Cort, John Biebe, Terry Thorne, Jeffrey Wigand, Johnny Ryan and Jack Corbett. Jack and Johnny were included because they had been at the Point longer than anyone, Jeffrey because someone older might be more reassuring, John because he had been very helpful in helping Maximus adjust, Terry for his negotiation skills, and Cort and Maximus because they (like Jack) had had to adjust to modern technology. "What is it you feel?" Laura asked. Maximus didn't answer, sitting quietly and staring into the darkness. She waited patiently, and watched as his head turned slowly to the side, and his eyes fixed on the window. He got up out of bed without a word, picking up his tunic from the chair and slipping it on over his head. She followed, grabbing her robe from the foot of the bed and putting it on over her nightie, moving carefully to avoid stepping on Apollo. But the dog was not in his usual spot.

She followed as Maximus went out into the living room and over to the large French doors that led to the balcony. Apollo was waiting there, scratching at the door jamb, and as Maximus turned the doorknob, Apollo barked once. They both hushed him, and the dog quieted. She held back as Maximus opened the door, watching as he peered outside. "What is it?" she asked. "Come and see," he said as he swung the door open wide, and she joined him at his side, staring out into the night. "Whoa," she said softly. Fog had rolled in over the Point, blanketing the land around the Hotel. Nothing in the surrounding grounds could be seen, not even the cars in the parking lot, leaving her with the feeling that the Hotel was an isolated island. They stood together in silence, arms sliding around one another's waists, and Apollo whined softly, sitting down at the edge of the doorway, reluctant to venture outside. "This is amazing," she said. There was no wind, but the fog moved and swirled slowly, seeming to grow thicker and more dense before their eyes. The lights from the lobby below, usually always illuminating the surrounding grass and shrubbery faded to a dull glow. Curiosity spurred her forward, and they both stepped out onto the balcony, trying to see more, but even the façade of the Hotel faded from sight only a few feet away. "Should we even be out here?" she whispered. "I don't know," he whispered, but neither made an attempt to go back inside. A few moments later, a strange sound, muffled and indistinct, came to her ears. She squinted into the darkness in a vain attempt to see something, moving close to the balcony rail. "Did you hear that?" He nodded. They were quiet, and a moment later the noise came again, slightly louder, enough that she could tell it was water. Rushing, bubbling water, and it was coming from the direction of the beach. As it faded away again, she looked at him, the corner of her mouth turning up in a slight grin, one eyebrow raising as well, wondering if he was thinking the same thing about the most likely source. He started to smile in reply, but his smile disappeared as the noises returned. This time the sound seem to come from all around, not just from the beach. The churning water was mixed with an odd rumbling sound, like grinding rock, and the ground trembled for a few moments, lightly rattling the glassware in the apartment. She held her breath, moving closer to Maximus, until it stopped and the noises faded away once more.

After a few moments of silence, she started to move back inside. "The bathroom window," she said as she hurried through the apartment, Maximus and Apollo following close behind. She climbed into the marble tub and up onto the ledge, reaching up to push open the large windows that faced the ocean. "Calm down," Maximus said as he came up behind her, putting his hands on her waist to steady her as she leaned out the window. Her heart was pounding as she stared out into the darkness, feeling the cool moist air on her face. "I want to see," she whispered, turning her head back and forth in the direction of the ocean, but it was impossible to see anything but the white fog. The eerie sounds rose once more, but more muffled this time, and for a moment, she thought she heard wood creak. But the fog grew thicker still, and the noises faded, growing more distant, until the fog smothered the noises completely and there was total silence. Fog closed in around the Hotel like a blanket of cotton, and the dampness closed around her too, until the black silk robe began to cling to her skin. "I do not think we will hear or see anything else until morning... Come away from the window." But she didn't move, still straining to hear more, until the air temperature dropped noticeably, and she shivered involuntarily in the cold dampness. "Laura," Maximus said, taking her shoulders and pulling her back. Now even Apollo joined in, grabbing the hem of her robe in his mouth and gently -- but insistently -tugging on it. "Okay, guys," she said, reluctantly pulling the windows closed. "Sorry, but I couldn't help it. I've never seen anything like this here -- it's been 2 years since we had an Arrival." She rubbed her shoulders, chilled, and Maximus said, "You look cold." He helped her slip off the damp robe, then hung it up on the door. He picked up a large fluffy towel, following her as she walked through the darkened rooms, back into the living room. Apollo ran ahead and stopped in the still-open doorway, standing guard, not allowing either of them to go outside. "I wonder what he senses," she said as she petted the dog's head, looking out at the swirling mist. Abruptly she turned, worry in her eyes as she looked at Maximus. "That stuff, it couldn't do anything to *you*, could it?" "I have no idea," Maximus said as he draped the towel over her shoulders. "Then I think it's time to lock up for the night," she said, pulling the French doors closed and locking them securely. Then she went around the suite, making sure all the other

windows were locked. When she came back into the living room, she joined him as he stood in front of the balcony doors, watching as the thick fog continued to swirl outside, moisture beading on the outside and running down the glass. "If we didn't know that we were about to have an Arrival, I'd be really creeped out by this," she admitted, pulling him close. He said nothing, and she shook her head. "There is no way I can go back to sleep now." "We should try to get some rest nonetheless. I don't think anything will change until at least daybreak." He guided her towards the sofa, and lay down with her, pulling the thin blanket off the back of the sofa and draping it over both of them. Apollo settled down at the foot of the sofa. From their vantage-point, they could watch the fog through the window as they snuggled together. "All these months of waiting, and now it's finally over," she said. "Everyone is so excited. I wonder if it was anything like this before you Arrived." "Obviously I was not here to see the preparations, but I don't believe it was anything like this. There were very few of you ladies when I Arrived." "That's probably true. When I came about a month later, things were just starting to get lively around here." She smiled at him and caressed his chest. "Then when your movie became such a big hit, you practically had to beat the ladies off with a stick... including me," she said, kissing him playfully. "I remember that *very* well," he said, enveloping her in his arms, returning the kiss. "He's certainly going to be popular," she said as they watched the fog again. "I just hope he isn't too overwhelmed by it all." "If *I* could get used to this place, then so can he... It will be difficult at first, but there are 23 of us who have been through it before him. We will help him adapt." "Yea, you did ok with Terry and Nash.... and we've had 2 years to get ready for Captain Jack. You know, I'm kinda glad I didn't read any of the books. When we all get together in 2 days and watch the film together, it'll be like meeting him for the first time. It'll be brand new, just like it will be for Jack." "It will be very new for him," he said quietly. "He is about to begin a journey like none other in his life. His world is not unlike my own -- with none of the machines and technology that you all take for granted." "Someone you can relate to," she said, and he nodded. "And he's a military man too, a ship's captain. Terry's military too, but it's not quite the same. Jack is more your level,

being in command and all." He nodded again. "Maybe it'll help him adjust better, having you to talk to." "That is possible." Silence fell again, and they watched the fog once more. Laura yawned, settling deeper into the crook of his arm, laying her head on his shoulder. "I wonder what we'll find in the morning....?" Part Two Warm breath caressed her ear, the first sensations to register in her brain as she began to wake up, and Laura smiled in her sleep, snuggling closer to the warm body beneath her, listening to the reassuring steadiness of his heartbeat. Maximus always knew how to get her attention. Something moist brushed against her earlobe, and a shiver of anticipation went down her spine. Then a long thin tongue licked her ear and the side of her face, and she wrinkled her nose, grimacing as the illusion was shattered. "Aww, geez.... Apollo," she groaned, trying to turn away. "I knew I should have bought him a cat." Cats had litter-boxes, and didn't wake their masters up at the crack of dawn so they could be let out. Apollo whined, rubbing his cold wet nose against her ear again, and she stirred, raising one hand to brush him away. "All right, all right... I'm getting up." She opened one eye, and in the dim light discovered Maximus was still sound asleep, curled up on the sofa beside her where they both had fallen asleep a scant few hours earlier. She turned slightly, looking towards the window. Dawn was arriving, gray sky giving way to brilliant blue, and -Blue...? Her eyes snapped open wide. Blue! The fog was gone! "Oh my god," she said, sitting up abruptly, a smile spreading across her face. "Max." She shook his shoulder insistently. "Max, wake up!" He was awake and alert in an instant, sitting up and raising one arm defensively; even after 3 years, his old army habits had not faded entirely. "What's wrong?" She swung her feet onto the floor and jumped up. "Nothing's wrong. It's daylight. The fog's lifted!" she said excitedly as she hurried to the balcony doors. She unlocked them quickly, and Maximus and Apollo were at her side as she swung them open. Apollo darted outside without hesitation, and the humans followed. The air was

exceptionally sweet and clean, and they breathed deep in the morning air, looking around expectantly. There were a few wisps of fog left in the woodland, but the Hotel itself was clear. Dew covered everything, and the whole world seemed to glisten. "Has anything changed?" she asked, scanning the building and surrounding landscape. "Can you see anything different?" Maximus paused before answering, "No. Everything is as it was last night." Laura looked around for a few more moments, then leaned over the edge of the balcony, craning her neck to see towards the ocean. "We should check the other side," she said, then pushed away from the balcony railing, heading back inside. As they crossed the threshold, they heard running footsteps coming from out in the hallway. Apollo began to bark, scampering to the door, as a female voice shouted, "Wake up, everybody, wake up! It's here!!" A moment later, someone pounded loudly on the door. "Get up, everybody!!" Apollo barked excitedly, and Maximus went to answer it. Apollo escaped as soon as the door opened, barking as he went, and disappeared down the hallway, presumably heading outside. "What is it?" Maximus called out, and the footsteps came towards them again. Steph and Savannah stopped in the doorway, huge smiles on their faces and out of breath. Suki and Annabella appeared behind them a moment later. "Hurry up and go outside, Max!" Savannah exclaimed. "About a half mile down the beach! It's here -- the SHIP is here!!" "Come on," Suki said as she gestured wildly. "You gotta see it -- it's INCREDIBLE!" Then they were gone, heading down the hallway to awaken the rest of the Hotel residents. "We'll be there in a few minutes," Maximus called out, then shut the door, but Laura was already headed for the bathroom. She ran to the window, clambering into the marble tub once more and standing on the ledge as she pushed the windows open, hanging out the window. "Oh my god...!!" The sight that met her eyes nearly took her breath away. Promotional photos in magazines and TV ads were nothing compared to the sight of the British frigate HMS Surprise in all her glory. The ship lay peacefully in the calm blue water, her bow pointed towards the beach, sails furled against the masts, anchor extending down into the water, heavy ropes tying her to

the wooden dock. Laura blinked, looking closer. The DOCK? To her astonishment, she realized that in addition to HMS Surprise, the Point now included a long wooden pier that extended perpendicularly at least 50 feet into the beach and another 200 feet out into the bay. There was even a rough gravel road that cut into the hillside beyond and led down to the pier. Well, that would certainly explain all the noises last night, she thought to herself! "Magnificent," Maximus said with awe, and they looked at each other, giddy smiles on both their faces. "It's beautiful... and so big!" she said. "All the speculation was correct. He will not have to leave his ship behind." "No, he won't.... This is incredible. After all this waiting, it's finally here!" She reached out and hugged him, practically jumping up and down with excitement. Their eyes were drawn back to the ship, and not long after they noticed the group that was beginning to gather on the beach, pouring out of the Tavern and Hotel and heading for the ship. "Damn, we better get down there too!" She jumped down into the tub, then ran through the suite. "Hurry up, Max!" She waited for him at the door, giving him an exasperated look as he strolled into the living room, putting on his sandals. "Will you come on? We're going to be the last ones down there at this rate." He looked oddly amused, a smile turning up one corner of his mouth. "Aren't you forgetting something?" "Like what?" "Well, *I* rather enjoy the view at this moment, but it's not something I'm inclined to share with my brothers," he said with a gleam in his eye as his eyes flicked over her body. She looked down. "Oh lord!" In her enthusiasm, she had forgotten that all she was wearing was a skimpy, nearly translucent black nightgown. "Damn," she said with a laugh, "let me go put something on!" "Magnificent. Truly magnificent," Maximus repeated once more as the two stood side by side on the beach, staring at the Surprise. "With ships such as this, it is not difficult to understand how the English ruled the seas for so long." "It is beautiful," Laura said. The fog had completely burned off, and the ship glistened in

the bright morning sun. It was covered in a sheen of dew along with the dock, and water dripped from the rigging, masts and spars. It rocked gently in the calm waters, the wood creaking occasionally as the docking ropes rubbed against the frame. But there was no sign of anyone aboard. The ship appeared empty, and the men all confirmed that Jack himself had not Arrived yet. *Spars?* Laura thought to herself as her eyes traveled over the horizontal beam at the top of the tallest mast, *Is that what those are called? Or were they yardarms?* She scratched her head in confusion. Years of watching 'Star Trek' reruns had taught her enough naval terminology to know port from starboard, but nothing to do with rig and sail. But she had a feeling that once Jack Aubrey arrived, they would all be getting a crash course in the details of sailing the high seas. "I was wrong before," she said. "This thing isn't big... It's HUGE!" The top of the masts soared at least a hundred and fifty feet above the water, only slightly taller than it was long. She wondered what on earth they were going to do with such a massive vessel. But then again, it wasn't actually up to her or any of the Point's residents -- the ship belonged to Jack, and he would have to be the one to decide what the fate of the HMS Surprise would be at the Point. She looked towards the pier, watching as Apollo sniffed around the edges of the wooden planks and beams, up one side and down the other, but the dog never actually put a paw on the new construction. In fact, everyone was keeping their distance from it. The humans seemed mesmerized by the ship, but the dog had always been hypersensitive to the unusual happenings of the Point and today was no exception. She nudged Maximus and nodded towards Apollo. He watched the dog continue to sniff around the pier, but when it looked like he was about to put a paw on it, Maximus whistled sharply. Apollo turned abruptly and obediently returned to his master's side. Hando walked up, stopping beside Maximus, and Apollo rubbed up against Hando's leg, wagging his tail as he petted him. "She's something, isn't she?" Hando said. "That's a bloody big boat." Maximus nodded. "It would be quite a challenge to learn to sail her, wouldn't it?" Hando nodded. "Are you still interested in doing that?" Maximus asked. Laura turned and looked at him. From the tone of his voice, she knew that the two had been discussing the subject for a while. "Yea," Hando said. "Especially now that it's here and I've seen it. Just gettin' away from here for a while would be plus, ya know. Of course, he'd have to be willing to teach me." "There's no reason he wouldn't. He cannot sail it alone; it's much too big. He'll need help from most of us." She watched his eyes light up as he looked at the ship. "Perhaps he

would accept the two of us as sailors." "What?" Laura said, caught off guard. There had been many late night conversations amongst the Boyz about the possibilities of a ship at the Point, but until now Maximus had not expressed any interested in sailing. "What about the vineyard?" "We'll figure something out," Maximus said to her, "if it happens. I can do both." She nodded, smiling inwardly, knowing that even though he loved being a farmer and watching the vineyards grow, he was always restless and looking for new challenges. "Imagine what it must be like to travel like that -- no technology, just the wind and water and sail." She nodded again; he had never been entirely comfortable with the technology she took for granted, and she understood why he would be interested in being a sailor. "I was just saying the same thing, brother," a voice came from behind them, and they all turned and discovered Ilaria and Massimo standing a few feet away. "Life was much simpler then." "It was indeed." He turned back to stare at the ship, and Massimo and Ilaria joined them. "Think what the Empire could have done with a fleet of such a vessels," Massimo said. "Even without the cannons, just the sight of them would have struck fear into the hearts of our enemies." "At full sail, I have no doubt of that," Maximus said. "Oh no," Ilaria said, leaning closer to Laura. "Now they will talk of nothing else." She shook her head, chuckling as she gazed affectionately at her husband. Laura laughed too. "Them and every other man around here." Apollo was barking, and she turned towards the sound, noticing that the dog was down at the edge of the surf line, barking at the horizon. She glanced out to sea, but there was nothing there. She whistled, and Apollo came trotting over to her. Maximus hadn't noticing anything, deep in conversation with Massimo about battle strategies. "I think we just lost them," she said to Ilaria, rolling her eyes as she smiled. She looked over her shoulder at the other Point residents standing nearby. "This place never ceases to amaze me," Bud was saying. "That dock is wide enough to drive a car across it. And looks like it has been here for years." He gestured towards it. "Look at it -- the wood is weathered and worn, and there are water-line marks. Hell, there's even algae growing on the pilings." "It's not any more bizarre than a hangar and an airplane appearing right before Lachlan got here. Or Jeffrey's golf course. Or John's ice rink," Johnny said. "It certainly saves us the trouble of putting one in ourselves," Arthur said.

Dominic shook his head. "A ship that big shouldn't be able to get this close to shore. The water's not deep enough." "It is now," Cort replied. "Then those charts we came up with last year are going to have to be updated. And who knows what else has changed in the waters around here." Dominic looked down the beach. "We'll all have to be careful if we go swimming, until we know what it's done to the currents." Nearby, Nash stood near the surf line, hands jammed down into the pockets of his baggy trousers, staring up at the ship with a bewildered look on his face. He turned to Karen and asked hesitantly, "Do you... Do you see it too? Does everyone see a ship there?" Karen smiled sympathetically. "Yes, John, we all see it. It's the HMS Surprise, Jack Aubrey's ship. He'll be here soon too, just like we've been telling you." He shook his head, locks of his uncombed hair sweeping across his face. "No, this isn't possible. Matter cannot appear out of thin air." "It does here," Andy said as he came up to him, patting his brother on the shoulder, smiling as he looked up at the ship. "Isn't it fantastic?" Nash kept shaking his head. "There's no logic to it, none at all." He got down on his knees, beginning to write an equation in the sand with the tip of his finger. "Logic doesn't have much to do with what happens around the Point," Zack said, walking over to them with Bugdog at his side. "You should know that by now, John. That - " he pointed towards the frigate, "is just part of the magic around here." Nash looked up. "There's no such thing as magic," he huffed, then went back to scribbling in the sand, rubbing one hand absently against the side of his head. "Yea right," Bugdog chuckled. "By the time the week is out, you may change your mind." Daniel and Anthony were standing next to one another, both staring at the Surprise with eyes wide and jaws open. Steph, Trisha, Tina, Kaz and Darcy were nearby, talking together excitedly. "Bloody 'ell," Daniel said in awe. "Just when I thought I'd seen everything around 'ere. I 'eard them all talking about some kinda ship that might be coming, but I thought they were all daft." "So did I," Anthony replied. "I might be able to understand how the ship arrived, but that dock, that's just impossible. There was nothing there a few days ago."

"It wasn't there last night when the sun went down," Daniel said, "and before that strange fog rolled in." "Extraordinary. But it's so big," Anthony said. "What are we going to do with it? None of the crew is coming, just the captain? If that's true, then who is going to sail it? It must take a hundred people to man it." Darcy turned around. "Almost two hundred, from what I've read." Anthony's eyebrows climbed. "Two hundred...??" "Well," Kaz said, joining the conversation. "It's a British man of war, not a pleasure boat. It's a military post at sea -- they needed a lot of people. They have to carry a cook and enough supplies to feed all those people, they have marines for combat situations, officers to run the ship, a doctor to treat the wounded, men to actually sail the ship, crews to man the guns, even children that worked as powder monkeys for the gun crews." "Children?" Anthony's eyebrows rose. "On a warship?" Kaz nodded. "It wasn't uncommon for young boys to serve as midshipman. Things were a lot different back then." "Well, we certainly have no need for cannons here," Anthony said. Kaz smiled. "Don't be too sure about that. This is the Point -- anything can happen." As Kaz joined the other ladies and Trisha came nearer, Anthony looked at Daniel. "She's joking, isn't she?" "I doubt it," Daniel said as he took Trisha's hand. "Looks like a new customer for you just sailed into town," Trisha said to the Point's blacksmith. "I doubt that there's one piece of mass-produced metal on that entire ship." "No, everything would have been made by hand in those days. If she ever needs repairs, it would certainly keep me busy," he said with a soft smile. "Although what she really needs is a carpenter to keep her in good shape. 'Fraid that's not my specialty." "Some of the men have picked up some woodworking skills; we've built several houses from scratch around here." "'Appen so, but shipbuilding is a whole different craft." "Well, maybe someone will want to take it on full-time then. They're all talking about learning to be sailors anyway," Trisha said.

Johnny and Jack were standing next to one another, staring at the ship like everyone else. "So you ready for this?" Johnny asked. "Captain Jack could be here tomorrow for all we know." Jack shrugged. "Why not? It's not like the two of us haven't been through this twenty times already. And it can't be any worse than what it was like when Sid Arrived -- he still hadn't settled in by the time Alex Arrived a few months later." "Yea, I don't think Alex will ever forgive Sid for it either." "From what I've heard, Aubrey probably doesn't have a family onscreen. Should make the transition a little easier. Always seems to be harder when one of us has to leave a family or loved one behind." "Yea, it is," Johnny said, only a trace of sadness in his voice. Most of the time Meg was a distant memory, but there were times -- especially when he saw pictures of the Creator's new family -- that the pain was still fresh. "But in his situation his crewmates would be like his family too. Especially that one guy, the doctor. Sounds to me like they're best mates." Corbett nodded. "That's probably going to be the toughest part -- trying to explain where he is and what happened to his crew." "Guess we'll just have to show him he's got a bunch of new best mates, eh?" Johnny started to smile as he added, "And he'll have a brand new crew too." Jack nodded. "I'm glad I didn't have to deal with all that myself when I got here." It was his turn to grin. "Sometimes being a two-dimensional character that didn't do anything but 'carry Bryan Brown's pencils' isn't so bad. No baggage." He chuckled as he quoted the Creator's words about his own movie, 'Blood Oath'. "Yea, you had it easy, mate." Jack looked down the beach and noticed a large group of the girls gathered near the edge of the dock, talking excitedly, most giddy with anticipation of Aubrey's arrival. "I don't think he'll have to worry about being lonely though. The sheilas will be all over him," he said, and he and Johnny walked towards the girls. "Oh god, I can't take it any more," Tina said. "I have to go down there and get a closer look at it!" She and the other ladies moved towards the dock. But several of the men saw what was happening and hurried over. Wigand was closest, moving in front of them, preventing them from going any further. "I don't think that's such a good idea, ladies."

"Neither do I," John said, joining him at the edge of the dock. "But, John," Tina said, "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this? I have to go out there and see it for myself." "Me too, I can't wait to walk on deck!" Michelle said. She and Tina started forward again, but Maximus moved to block them too. "No, you cannot do that. No one should go near it yet," he warned. His ominous tone made the women hesitate. "Why not?" He looked towards John and Jeffrey. "Do you feel it too?" "Yea, I think so," John said, and Jeffrey nodded. "Feel what?" Laura asked. By now the rest of the group had gathered around. "He's not here yet," Wigand said, "but when he does Arrive... it'll be there," he said, nodding his head towards Surprise. "We can't disturb the ship yet." He looked around at the other men. "Don't you agree?" "Yes, he's right," Terry said. "No one goes out there, not yet." "Do you know when he's coming?" Michelle asked. The men exchanged glances again. "No," Colin replied, "But it'll be soon." "Maybe a day or two," Alex added. "Then what do we do until then?" Trisha asked. "We'll set a watch, so we'll know when he gets here and to chase any lurkers away," Zack said, "But the rest of us should try to stay off the beach. When he does Arrive, he's going to need time to adjust." "Right, we don't want the poor man mobbed the minute he sets foot off that ship," East said. "It's going to be tough enough to explain what happened to his crew." "We can stay out here for a while," Jeff Mitchell said, G.W. at his side. "But then we should all steer clear of the beach. The only people that should be out here to meet him is the group we agreed to -- Cort, Max, Johnny, Jack, Biebe, Jeffrey and Terry." "We shouldn't have any problems with lurkers," Michelle said. "The borders are closed for the time being. Only people we know can get in or out."

"I think we can be sure none of us will go near the ship," Arthur said, then paused, looking over his shoulder. "With one exception." Sid was standing a few feet away, neatly dressed in a green suit and with every hair in place, in stark contrast to the sweatpants, shorts, T-shirts and mussed hair that the rest of the group sported after getting rousted from bed at this early hour. "Now why would I want to waste my time on that stone-age antique?" Sid scoffed. There were groans from the rest of the group. "Why?" Cort said. "Because we all know that you love to cause trouble, Sid." "And no one here has forgotten how you harassed Max and Laura when he first Arrived," Biebe said. "You were jealous because everyone was paying attention to Maximus and not to you. Jack might be just as popular as Max, and we're not about to let you harass him too." "Jealous? Or either of them? Don't be absurd," Sid said. Bud pushed his way through the group, advancing on Sid. "You damn well better leave Jack alone, or there's gonna be hell to pay. I'm not part of the welcoming committee, so that leaves me plenty of time to keep an eye on you. You pull any shit with Jack, and I'll personally lock you up in the basement again." Sid's face darkened with anger. "You can't do that to me." "Watch me," Bud said, moving closer and getting right up in Sid's face. "Bud, stop it." Lady came forward, stepping between the two and pushing them apart. "Leave him alone." She took Sid's arm protectively. "Its when he gets bored that he gets into trouble, so we'll all just have to make sure that doesn't happen." "You and I can take care of that all by ourselves, sweet cakes," Sid leered, putting put his arm around her, pulling her close. Bud rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just do what you need to do and keep him away from Jack, or I will take care of him myself." "And I will not stand for it either," Maximus said, folding his arms across his chest. Sid merely smiled and raised one hand, the middle finger extended upwards. As Bud moved in on Sid again, Michelle stepped forward quickly. "Bud, have you had any coffee yet this morning? I think having breakfast right now might be a good idea, for all of us." She looked back at the group. "We should go back up, get dressed, have something to eat and then get together and talk about what's next... Okay?" she said, eyeing Bud.

Bud nodded. "Good idea. Okay, everybody, back inside," he said, raising his voice slightly. "Show's over." They all looked at him strangely. "It isn't a crime scene, White," Hando said. Bud's face reddened slightly. "Sorry; old habits die hard." As they all reluctantly headed back towards the Hotel, Kim noticed Steve and Donna standing at the surf line, staring out at the horizon with their hands shielding their eyes from the glare of the sun. "You see something out there, Steve?" he called out. Steve turned. "I'm not sure, but the horizon looks different this morning." "Different how?" Terry said, abruptly turning around and moving to join him. Many of the others followed. "The fog is still there, way out to sea, but I swear I saw something. Donna saw it too." Donna nodded. "At first she thought it might be another ship, but now I think it might be an island." "An island?" Biebe said, hurrying to Steve's side, squinting out at the horizon. "Where?" "Out there," Donna said as she and Steve pointed out at the horizon. By now everyone had gathered around them, peering out at the fog-shrouded horizon, most shielding their eyes with their hands. "I don't see anything," Mannie said after a few moments. "Neither do I," East said. "Give it a minute," Steve said. "The fog comes and goes." They all waited impatiently, and then a collective gasp went up from the group as the fog cleared enough to see a dark shape out on the horizon. "Oh my god!" Rachel said. "There IS something out there!" "That must be what Apollo was barking at earlier," Laura said. The dog came over to her when he heard his name, and she bent down, petting him affectionately. "You are SO smart, aren't you, boy?" Apollo licked her face. "Damn, it's too far away to tell what it is," Terry said. "I don't suppose anyone's got any binoculars out here at the moment?" "There's a pair behind the desk at the hotel. I'll go get 'em," Colin said as he started to run towards the building.

"Colin, wait!" Zack said, and Colin stopped. "The telescope in the rec room! It's more powerful than the binoculars. Plus the balcony is higher up; there's a much better view up there." "Let's go!" Terry said, taking off towards the tavern. Part Three "Oh come on!" Bud growled. "Can you see anything or not?" Everyone was crowded onto the second-floor balcony of one of the tavern's two rec rooms as Terry stared into the lens of the large black telescope, adjusting the focus and direction. "Yea," Terry said, a slow smile spreading across his face. "It's definitely new land out there, probably a small island. I don't think it's very far out, maybe a few miles or so." He stood up and moved aside. "Take a look." "An island," Wigand said, shaking his head in disbelief as Bud took his turn at the telescope. "It never even occurred to me that this could happen too, but I guess it makes sense that if his ship is here, it'll need somewhere to go. Sailing around in circles wouldn't be much fun." "I wonder if that's what caused the earth tremor last night -- the Point was creating that island," Ainslee said. Each person in the room had a brief look through the telescope, enough to give a tantalizing glimpse of a strip of dark green on the horizon. But the fog kept obscuring the view intermittently, frustrating everyone, primarily the men. "Perhaps if we wait until later in the day, the fog will clear," Maximus said. "There's no need to wait, mates," Lachlan announced loudly. "I can take my plane up for a quick flight, do a little recon and find out exactly what's there from a couple hundred feet up." "Ooo, I'll go with you!" Lisa said, grabbing his arm as he started to move towards the door. "Sorry, luv," Terry said, moving towards Lachlan too. "Another one of us should go with him -- namely me." "Hey!" Andy protested. "Why should it be you?" "Because I asked first," Terry said with a grin. "Come on, Lach; I'll drive you to the hangar."

"Make sure you report back what you see on the radio!" Zack called out, and Terry gave a thumbs-up sign as he and Lachlan left the room. "I should be going with Lachlan," a disappointed Lisa complained. "Well, I have to agree with Terry," Norma Jean said. "The Boyz should be the ones to see this island firsthand, not us. I mean, this is their whole world. We may live here too, but at least we can leave if we want to. They can't. So if the Point has expanded, they deserve to be the first to know it." "I suppose you're right," Lisa said with a sigh. "I still would have liked to have gone though." "Wouldn't we all," Laura said. "Hey, where's everyone going?" Tina said, noticing that all the men were headed out the door now too. Her husband turned around. "To the hangar to listen to the radio when Lach and Terry call in. Come on, sweetheart!" Norma Jean looked at Laura and Lisa. "Guess that means us too!" "Where the hell are they?" Bud muttered, pacing back and forth across the hangar floor. All the rest of the Boyz and most of the ladies were gathered there too, all nervously waiting. Nearly a half hour had passed since they had lost radio contact with Lachlan's plane. The two had barely gotten out over the water when heavy static had drowned out their voices, and nothing else had been heard since. "I'm sure they're fine," Tonya said. "Lachlan knows what he's doing." "Maybe we should've made them wait," Kath said, "until that weird fog went away." "It could be that the fog is affecting the radio. Last night I tried to make a phone call, but it was out for a while too," Chriz said. Another five minutes passed, which seemed to last forever, but then the static began to clear slowly, and a voice could be heard intermittently. "... Point... Lachl.... this.... come in..." Lisa grabbed the microphone. "Lachlan...! Lachlan, this is the Point. We read you. Come in, Lachlan." There was another burst of static, and then the channel cleared. "This is Lachlan. We hear you loud and clear, luv."

Lisa smiled. "Where are you?" "Heading back in. We'll be over the hotel in a couple minutes." Bud grabbed the microphone. "What did you find? The island, how big is it?" "Looks like a nice little place, about two miles long, a mile or so wide, lots of reefs and pretty blue water around it. But the main thing is, we've definitely got some new real estate out there!" There were smiles, hugs and high-fives all around, but everyone quieted again when a second voice came over the radio. "But that's not all we found, mates." They all waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "What else did you find, Terry?" Cort asked. There was a slight pause before Terry responded. "Is everyone there, including the ladies?" "No," Cort said. "Some of the girls went to the Hotel to get dressed." "In that case, we'll wait until everyone's in one spot." The group groaned, and Terry chuckled. "Gather everyone together in the tavern, and Lach and I will give you the scoop after we land." Bud rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna kill him... right after they tell us." Lachlan joined Terry, sitting up on the edge of the bar in the tavern, both grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary as the men and women of the Point gathered around. "Lach, if you don't tell us the big secret right now, we're going to strangle both of you," Jeff Mitchell said. "All right, it looks like everyone's here," Terry said, then nodded at Lachlan. "Well," Lachlan began, "like I was saying on the radio, the island's about 2 miles long, a mile wide with lots of palm trees and green stuff. The place is circled by reefs -- lots of pure blue shallow water around it, perfect for snorkeling, scuba-diving, swimming and laying about on the beach. If we take the ship out there, she'd have to anchor off-shore and we'd take a small boat in. There didn't seem to be much more than that, at least not from the air." "But," Terry said, taking a long pause and then grinning, "But while we were circling around the island, I saw something else farther out to sea."

He paused again, grin widening as a chorus of exasperated "Terry!"s went up from the group. "Thorne, you better spill it now if you want to get out of this room alive," Kaz said threateningly. Terry giggled, and Kaz swatted him playfully on the arm. "All right, all right!" He faced the group with a smile. "When I looked farther out to sea, I saw ANOTHER island." The group gasped and there were squeals of delight from some of the ladies. "As we flew towards it, through the breaks in the fog we could see more. There was a third island and then a fourth." His smile grew wider, his eyes dancing happily as people started to hug each other. "By the time we headed back, we counted fourteen in all. But the fog was so thick we didn't think it was wise to stay out any longer, so it's entirely possible there could've been more islands that were hidden by the fog or farther out to sea." "Fair dinkum, it's a whole bloody chain of islands!" Lachlan said excitedly. "A few small ones like the one you can see from here, but some of the others were damn big. They had hills and forests. Hell, one even had mountains, and I swear I even saw a huge waterfall." "The mountain might have even been volcanic; couldn't tell for sure with all the fog," Terry said. "You shoulda seen it, mates -- it's a whole new world out there to explore." Everyone started celebrating, hugging and jumping up and down, laughing and smiling. Nash stood in the back looking skeptical however, and Sid just looked bored. Alex was the first to speak. "This is incredible. I thought the ship itself was amazing enough, but having somewhere to sail it to and explore is more than any of us ever dreamed of." "Did you see anything else?" Roberta asked. "Any people or buildings or any other signs of life?" Lachlan shook his head. "No, and I wouldn't expect to. It's just us here -- always has been, always will be. There might be buildings on the islands, but not people. Jack comes alone." "Of course," Roberta said, "It's all so exciting that I forgot for a minute." "Tomorrow I should go back and see what else is out there," Lachlan said. "Hopefully the fog will be totally cleared out by then." "Then I get to go with you this time," Lisa said. "No, I'm sorry," Biebe said, "but no one's going anywhere tomorrow, or today for that matter. Our first priority is getting Captain Jack settled in here at the Point, so until that happens, we all lay low. And that means you're grounded, Lachlan -- we already agreed to

that. If he sees your plane flying around before we have a chance to explain everything to him, it could really freak him out." "John is right," Maximus said. "I am as curious as anyone else about what's out on the ocean, but the explorations will have to wait. For now we stay away from the islands, and stay away from the ship." Terry added, "Since the fog covered so much, it's possible there are other new things we don't know about yet, but looking for them will have to wait also. First thing we need to do is set a watch schedule for the ship to alert us when Jack appears. Those of us who are assigned to the welcoming party have to stick close to home too -- anywhere but the hotel or tavern is off-limits. Mannie and East have agreed to look after the stables, so there's no reason for us to leave." "We already know all that," Biebe said. "We've been over it about a dozen times." "Among the seven of us, yes. But I just want to make sure everyone else is on the same page. We don't know for sure exactly when Captain Jack will show up, so from this moment on, we make sure this place looks as much like an 19th century homestead as possible." He looked out over the group. "All the cars have to be garaged or moved down to the clinic. And any other vehicle has to be kept away -- cars, planes, motorcycles, golf carts, lawnmowers or anything else are not be left in sight. Electric lights have to be used at a bare minimum, especially at night -- we'll pull the fuses on all the outside lights so nothing gets turned on accidentally. Hide all the electronics too -- radios, CD players, computers, cell phones, walkmans and such. Even our clothing has to be very conservative. Be careful, girls -- women covered up a lot more in the 19th century. In his day, showing a lot of skin might be a sign of a 'loose woman.'" Maximus was nodding. "I'm afraid I thought that myself when I first came." He looked at Michelle, and they both grinned. "Obviously I discovered that was not the case." "We set you straight very quickly," Michelle said with a laugh. "We're ready, Terry -- any skimpy bathing suits, halter tops and mini-skirts are a no-no for a while." Several of the men made noises of disappointment, and Dominic said, "Now that's too big a sacrifice to make, mates, even for Jack." Everyone laughed, and Terry continued, "Okay, like I was saying -- The plan is to bring Captain Jack here to the tavern first, so it especially has to be taken care of. Cover up the jukebox, TVs, phones, signs, etc. The fuses get pulled for the lights too -- put out candles as much as possible." "I've got it all worked out, Terry," Andy assured him. "We'll get started on moving everything as soon as breakfast is over with." "Good," Terry nodded. "And speaking of food," he looked over at Annabella, "you ready

in the kitchen, luv?" "As ready I'll ever be," Annabella said, "I've been practicing some 19th century recipes, so hopefully he'll like them." "I wouldn't worry too much," Alex said. "From what I've heard about ship-board food, anything you serve will taste like a gourmet feast." There were a few snickers and wincing from the guys, and Annabella's brow furrowed. "I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult." Alex's face reddened as he realized what he'd said. "You know what I meant, honey -you're a fantastic cook. Anything you make is gourmet food." "Nice try, mate," Terry said with a wink. "Now," he continued, speaking to the whole room again, "does everyone understand what they need to do?" There were nods all around. "When we bring him to the Tavern, everyone but the 7 of us stays clear. Stick to the Hotel if at all possible until we think he's ready to meet the rest of you." "We've all got it," Bud said. "Some of us have been through this several times already; you've only been through it once, Thorne. You just worry about your part of it, and we'll look after the rest." "It is important to go over this again, Bud," Wigand said. "You and I may have been through it several times, but not all the ladies have. The last time we had to go through all these non-technology preparations were when Maximus arrived, and Michelle is the only one who was here back then. Plus we've had a lot of new people join us in the two years since Nash came here. So I don't think it's possible to go over this too many times, considering how important it is to get Jack settled in properly." There were murmurs of agreement throughout the group, and Bud nodded reluctantly. "Yea, you're probably right about that." "Once we get everything ready, what do we do until Aubrey actually shows up?" Beej asked. The men all looked at one another. "We wait," several of them said in unison. Part Four All was dark, and he was floating, floating on a calm sea. Gradually a dim light appeared in the distance, and the silhouette of a ship coalesced in front of him. As the light level rose, Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey discovered that he was standing on Surprise's quarterdeck, the taffrail at his back with the ship's large stern lantern directly behind him.

He was alone on deck, and alone on the ocean, feeling the gentle roll of the ship as it sailed through the blue-green waters. He could not move, and could not speak, yet he was not alarmed, for he knew somehow that he was dreaming, and that none of this was truly happening. He was calm and relaxed, and totally at peace, for he felt as though he was one with his ship and with the sea. Many minutes passed, but then his attention was drawn away from the rolling waves by movement at the bow of the ship, on the starboard side. A man was walking towards him, an unfamiliar man dressed in very strange clothing. He was tall, as tall as Jack himself, with short brown hair, clean-shaven, wearing a coat and trousers of dark gray and a white shirt. As the stranger approached, moving up onto the quarterdeck, Jack's eyes locked with his. The man was unknown to him, but yet the face was oddly familiar, resembling other members of his own family. Jack felt as though he should know him and struggled to put a name to the face. The man spoke as he came close, answering his question for him. "John Nash." His accent was like none Jack had heard before, and the name meant nothing to him either. The man walked past him, still looking him in the eye, and walked to the larboard rail a few feet away. Nash stood there, arms at his sides, staring at Jack. Jack tried to speak, full of questions, but he still could not utter a sound. Nash did not speak either. A moment later, Jack caught sight of another man coming towards him, this time from the larboard side. This man looked very much like Nash, with short brown hair combed back from his forehead, clean-shaven also, wearing blue trousers and a dark blue jacket. The shirt underneath was tan colored, in a different style than Nash's. Once again, Jack felt as though he should know the man, but didn't. The stranger came up onto the quarterdeck too, locking eyes with Jack as he came to him, saying "Terry Thorne" as he passed in front of him. The new man moved to the starboard rail, almost directly opposite Nash, and stopped there, arms at his sides, staring at Jack. Jack wanted to demand to know who they were and what they were doing on his ship, but still could not speak. But he was left slack-jawed by the sight of the third man that was walking towards him on the starboard side. A Roman. A Roman soldier in full uniform! The man was bearded, with very short dark hair, his well-muscled body heavily tanned as he strode confidently towards Jack. As the man stepped up onto the quarterdeck, Jack realized that the uniform was not that of a common soldier, but of an officer or commander. His armor was rich and polished, and his fur-trimmed burgundy cloak spoke of wealth and power. The Roman looked him in the eye too as he passed in front of him, bowing his head briefly as he said, "Maximus Decimus Meridias." Then the Roman went to the larboard rail, standing next to John Nash. With the two of them side by side, Jack could not help but notice how similar the

two were -- the same height, same build, same lines and flaws in the face. And most obvious were the same piercing green eyes on both men. As Jack tried to make sense of it, another man was walking down the larboard side of the weather deck. This new man was older than the others, about 3 stone heavier, with spectacles and thinning gray hair. He was dressed in black trousers and a plain white shirt that looked like the one Nash wore. He too came up onto the quarterdeck, walking past Maximus and Nash, giving his name as "Jeffrey Wigand" as he passed in front of Jack. He joined Thorne at the starboard rail, standing next to the younger man, and Jack noticed that he seemed like an older, heavier version of Thorne. As he studied the two, yet another man appeared from the starboard bow, walking towards the quarterdeck. This man looked like the other four, with a thicker beard than Maximus, his brown hair long enough to reach his shoulders. He wore blue pants similar to Thorne's, with a blue plaid shirt. He looked heavier too, like Wigand, speaking the name "John Biebe" as he walked past Jack, moving to the larboard side to stand alongside Maximus at the rail. When another figure appeared from the larboard bow, Jack was no longer surprised, watching as the man with a tight-fitting, short-sleeved black shirt and blue denim trousers approached. He looked much like the other five, with short dark hair, face clean-shaven, and heavy sideburns. As the newcomer climbed the short stairs up to the quarterdeck, Jack noticed a barbed-wire tattoo that encircled his left bicep. "Colin O'Brien" was his name, and it was the same green eyes that met his as the man passed by before joining Thorne and Wigand at the starboard rail. As the six men flanked him on the quarterdeck, Jack was bewildered and fascinated all at the same time. Somehow he knew he was still dreaming, but he was curious about what was happening nonetheless. No one said another word, and silence fell as the ship sailed on, heading for a fog bank. Mist and fog blanketed the area around the ship, but not for long. Surprise sailed out of it into a clear patch and sunlight brightened the decks. The six strangers all turned and looked out at the starboard side, and when Jack followed their gaze, he discovered a whole fleet of warships close by. They bore the colors of England, Spain and France, and Jack recognized the coastline beyond -- it was Cape Trafalgar in Spain, near Gibraltar. The British fleet appeared to have the upper hand, and Jack was anxious to join in, for he also recognized Lord Nelson's flagship, the Victory, as one of the combatants. He still could not move or speak, however, and could only watch as the French struck their colors, surrendering to the King's navy. Surprise sailed slowly past the scene, and somehow Jack knew that Nelson had won a major victory here that would have effects for decades to come. His heart pounded in his chest at not being able to do anything -- even though he knew it was all a dream -- and he looked to the other men for help. But all were expressionless,

and Jack began to calm down again, an unseen presence telling him that he and the men were merely observers, and that he could not change the things he saw in the dream, only watch. A thick fog bank appeared before the bow once again, and Surprise sailed silently through it, emerging from it into bright sunlight. This time he could see a battlefield with two great armies opposing one another. A moment later it all came into his mind -- he was watching Napoleon surrender his army to Wellington's forces at Waterloo, and the year was nearly 10 years hence. Amazed and bewildered, he could only watch as the hated enemy of his country was finally subdued once and for all. He barely had time to savor the feeling however, as another mysterious fog bank enveloped the ship. After a few minutes, the horizon cleared, and the fog disappeared, leaving behind a calm sea and sunny skies. Surprise was alone on the ocean again, and Jack was full of questions. He turned towards the other men, but they were all looking towards the bow. Another figure was walking towards the stern, and the parade of men with the same eyes and nearly identical faces began again. The first was clean-shaven, with medium length brown hair, blue denim pants and a white shirt. He went past O'Brien, Wigand and Thorne, saying only "Steve" as he crossed to the larboard side, walking past Nash and Maximus to stand next to Biebe. Jack only looked at the newcomer for a moment, lifting his gaze towards the bow just in time to see a stockier version of the man coming closer. This one was clean-shaved, with his brown hair cut very close to his scalp. He wore a suit similar to Nash's, but it was brown instead of dark gray. He gave his name as "Bud White" as he passed in front of Jack, moving to stand beside O'Brien on the starboard rail. Next was another man dressed in a brown suit, white shirt, clean-shaven, with short brown hair covered by a wide-brimmed hat. "Alex Ross" passed in front of Jack before standing beside Steve on the larboard rail. The next man was clothed in a suit as well, but the bright green color caught Jack's attention instantly, as did the arrogant swagger in the man's stride. He was clean-shaven, and the reddish-brown hair neatly combed across his forehead was unruffled by the light wind. The stranger named "Sid Six Point Seven" passed in front of him, and the coldness in his eyes sent a shiver down Jack's spine. Sid joined White at the starboard rail, folding his arms across his chest and looking as though he was very unhappy to be there. As Jack tried to puzzle through that, another man appeared at the bow. This one was bearded, with longer hair and wore yet another type of suit of dark blue. His name was "Zack Grant", and he joined Ross at the larboard rail. The last of the bunch was "Cort", who had light stubble on his face and long chestnutbrown hair. He wore a long coat of dark brown, and as he drew near, Jack noticed the

white collar around his neck, wondering if he was a clergyman. Cort joined Sid at the starboard rail. All 12 stood there silently, six on each side, just standing at the rails and watching him. Watching him until the fog began to roll in again. Then they all turned and looked out to sea, and Jack followed suit. When the fog cleared, a new parade began. But this was not of men -- it was a parade of ships. Surprise was barely moving as they sailed past her bow one by one, each of them larger than its predecessor. Jack felt the hands of time spinning quickly forwards, as huge galleons were followed by mast-less metal ships that made their way through the water by something called a 'steam engine' and a 'propeller'. The ships grew larger and faster, and more well-armed, with huge cannon mounted on their decks. They began to dwarf the Surprise in size, until the massive cruisers made him feel as though his frigate were little more than a row boat. Some of the ships were not navy ships either -- some were great 'ocean liners' carrying hundreds, if not thousands, of civilian passengers. If this was what the future held for the British navy, it was an awesome thing, albeit a terrifying thing as well. As the fog rolled in once more, Jack began to look forward to it now, curious about what new wonders would be revealed. When the fog cleared, another huge vessel, nearly 800 feet long with four smokestacks was nearby as they cruised off the coast of Ireland. This time Jack could make out a name painted across her bow -- Lusitania. It seemed to be an ocean liner, carrying no armaments, filled with passengers. As he looked over the design of the steam-driven ship, Jack noticed there was something else nearby, floating both above and below the surface. He could make out only the dark, cigar-shaped silhouette under the water, pointed towards the Lusitania. Jack watched in fascination as something fired from the submerged vessel -- a 'submarine' -- towards the liner. His eyes followed the churning water a 'torpedo' left in its wake, and when it reached the Lusitania there was a deafening explosion, ripping a hole in the starboard side of the huge ship. Screams filled the air as the people -- including women and children -- frantically tried to evacuate the sinking ship, and a horrified Jack could only watch as the liner slipped beneath the water in a manner of minutes, taking hundreds of souls with it. The 'submarine' disappeared into the depths as well, and Jack wondered how he knew the craft was German without ever having seen a flag. The sea calmed, and the fog rolled in again, leaving Jack to wonder what other marvels and horrors were to come. The fog receded, the skies and seas cleared once more, and Jack watched as a third group of six men joined him on the quarterdeck. Just like the first dozen, these men all had the same face, the same piercing eyes, but Jack noted that the men seemed to be getting slightly younger. Like many of the other men, the first of the six wore blue denim trousers, with a black

and white plaid shirt that was unbuttoned to show a white shirt underneath. He was cleanshaven, with medium length brown hair, and as he passed in front of Jack, he gave his name as "Jeff Mitchell" before he went to stand in front of Nash and Maximus on the larboard rail. Next to appear was a man in an unfamiliar uniform named "Lachlan Curry". He was clean-shaven with short brown hair, and the uniform had dark blue pants, jacket and tie, plus a dark blue cap and light blue shirt. Curry took his place in front of Thorne and Wigand at the starboard rail. The third man wore a hat as well, with a wider brim than Ross', made of dark brown cloth. He was lightly bearded, with short brown hair, and wore a long leather duster and tall leather riding boots. He passed by Cort, Sid, White, O'Brien, Wigand, Curry and Thorne on the starboard side, walking past Jack as he gave his name, "Egan". Then he joined Mitchell, standing in front of Maximus and Biebe at the larboard rail. Next was a clean-shaven nebbish looking young man, with dark brown hair that had been slicked down with some kind of oil, wearing a black suit. He seemed smaller and shorter than the others at first, but when he reached the quarterdeck and moved past Grant, Ross, Steve, Biebe, Egan, Maximus, Mitchell and Nash, Jack realized that he was actually the same height and build as all the others. "Arthur Baskin" walked to the starboard side, standing next to Curry. While Baskin had seemed shorter than the others, the next man looked taller, walking confidently towards him, his head shaved nearly bald, with a long heavy blue coat covering his red shirt and white trousers. His heavy boots added an inch or two to his height, but in reality he too was the same height as the others. At first his appearance was rather intimidating, and the spiked tattoo on the left side of his neck was intriguing. Jack half-expected him to have the same cold eyes as Sid, but that was not the case. "Hando" passed by him, taking his place next to Egan and in front of Steve and Biebe at the larboard rail. Last of the six was another man in an oddly-tailored suit, dark brown in color with a white shirt and dark tie. His sideburns were trimmed much like O'Brien's, his neatlycombed brown hair was cut short, and he was clean-shaven. "Kim Barrett" moved past him, then joined Baskin at the starboard rail, standing in front of O'Brien and White. Once again, all 18 stood there staring at him, and Jack studied their faces until the fog bank appeared ahead, and they all turned towards the sea. The fog had barely begun to clear before he heard the distant thunder of artillery fire. The pounding grew louder, and a massive fleet of warships appeared off the starboard side. He barely recognized the Normandy coast beyond, for the scene was like none other he'd seen or experienced. Dozens of battleships -- bearing British and American flags -- were shelling the distant coastline with the enormous guns on their decks. Hundreds of smaller craft, filled with soldiers, were making their way towards the shoreline, and the beaches

were filled with the bodies of the dead as the soldiers slowly fought their way up to the entrenched enemy -- the Germans again -- on this hills above. A strange humming noise came from above, and he looked skywards to discover what looked like metal birds flying overhead. No, they were not birds, he realized. They were 'airplanes', metal tubes driven by engines and filled with more men. They were dropping explosive shells on the German fortifications, and more airplanes dropped soldiers riding on cloth 'parachutes' behind the enemy lines. As the scene soon began to disappear into the fog, he said a silent prayer for the dead, wondering if what he'd seen was hell on earth. And just when he thought the devices of war could not become any more horrific, he and Surprise were sailing off the coast of Japan, watching yet another airplane flying over the island. The American plane dropped a large bomb, and all the other men turned away quickly, shielding their eyes, especially Ross. Jack could not resist watching, however, and was then witness to the brightest flash of light that could ever be imagined. When his eyes could focus again, he looked up and saw a massive cloud of smoke and fire, shaped vaguely like a mushroom. When the smoke cleared, an entire Japanese city had been reduced to rubble, and the sight left Jack shaken and trembling, and he was thankful that the next fog bank was very large and took many minutes to sail through, giving him time to calm down again. When the sun reappeared, Surprise was sailing towards what seemed to be the largest ship ever. It was so massive, and so strangely designed, that it did not seem possible it could even stay afloat. The bottom half of the ship was a normal shape, but on top it had an oversized, flat deck that ran the length of the ship and extended out over the water for many feet. It was moving surprisingly fast for a ship of such bulk, and the next shock was watching an airplane -- this one much bigger and faster than those he had seen earlier -landing on the deck of the carrier while other planes took to the air from the other side. Jack could only shake his head in sheer disbelief. The 'aircraft carrier' disappeared into the fog again, but in a few moments the sun shone brightly. Surprise was alone on the ocean again, and Jack's eyes turned expectantly towards the bow. A moment later, a familiar figure approached on the starboard side. He had on a wide-brimmed black hat that looked nearly identical to Egan's, with a dark reddish-brown shirt, short brown hair, shaved face and leather riding boots. Like all the others, he had the same facial features and the same piercing green eyes. "East Driscoll" looked into his eyes too as he passed in front of him, moving to the larboard rail where he joined Hando, standing in front of Steve and Ross. "Dominic Maloney" was next, approaching from the larboard bow, a young man with wavy dark hair, clean-shaven, with black trousers and a neatly-pressed white shirt. He passed Ross, Driscoll, Steve, Hando, Biebe, Egan, Maximus, Mitchell and Nash on the larboard side, crossing past Jack to the starboard side, walking past Thorne, Curry, Baskin and O'Brien to stand beside Barrett in front of White and Sid on the starboard rail.

The next three men seemed even younger, almost baby-faced, and thin compared to many of the others. All were clean-shaven with short brown hair, and the lad that followed Dominic was wearing blue denim trousers and a faded green jacket over a dark orange shirt. After giving his name, "Andy", he joined Driscoll at the larboard rail, standing in front of Ross and Grant. After Andy, another lad approached from the larboard bow, wearing white trousers and a blue plaid shirt similar to Biebe's as he walked down the weather deck, taking the stairs two at a time as he came up onto the quarterdeck. Like all the others, "Johnny Ryan" walked past him, joining the others on the starboard rail, standing in front of Sid and Cort with Maloney. A fifth man then approached from the starboard bow, this one in some kind of military uniform like Curry's. His was a khaki color, however, with different markings and a different style cap, but the man was obviously military. "Jack Corbett" took his place on the larboard rail beside Andy, standing in front of Grant. Jack watched the larboard bow for the appearance of a sixth man, but there was no more activity. Twenty-three men now stood with him on the quarterdeck, 12 on the larboard side and 11 on the starboard side, in four rows of six men. He looked them over again, marveling at how different they were yet how similar. There was not much time to observe them, however, as heavy fog rolled in yet again. It blanketed the ship for a few minutes, and when it cleared, Surprise was only a half-mile off shore of what appeared to be a country homestead. Two large buildings were prominent on the hills that overlooked the wide sandy beaches, and there was a long wooden pier that extended into the bay. He did not recognize the place -- which was called Crowe's Point -- but yet felt as though it was a welcome port. But Jack still had no control over where the ship sailed, and could only watch as Surprise passed it by. The fog rolled in again, and the landscape faded from sight. When the fog cleared again, the sight that greeted him was astonishing. All around him, on the banks of a wide river channel, was an enormous city of gigantic, towering buildings of stone, metal and glass. Just as he had in the earlier places, somehow he knew where he was, in the Americas, in the harbor of New York City, but it did not seem possible that mankind could build such things as he stared wide-eyed at the soaring skyscrapers. Soon he noticed that the two tallest buildings, immense twin towers of gray stone, were burning. Smoke and flame poured out of gaping holes near the tops of the towers, and Jack tried to understand what he was seeing, only dimly aware of the enormous size of the buildings, and that there were actually many people in them. Most of the men seemed disturbed by the sight, which was odd since their faces had previously been expressionless during all the other events. And when one of the towers collapsed, disappearing into a huge cloud of thick gray dust, several of them -- Grant, Steve, White,

Nash, Wigand, Cort, Ross and Biebe -- seemed even more upset. Soon after, the second tower collapsed to the ground, sending up another cloud of gray dust. The cloud spread in all directions, and Jack was alarmed when he realized it was coming towards the ship. The dust was so thick it blotted out the sun as it drew near, churning up the water and rocking the ship. Paper and other debris was mixed with the gray dust as it swept across the deck, but Jack still could not move to get out of the way. The dust did not seem to bother the other men however, and the gray cloud slowly abated, giving way to stinging grains of sand. Jack looked towards where the towers had stood, but now, instead of the gleaming city, all he saw was a desert landscape of blowing sand. Moving through it were many vehicles with cannons mounted on top -- called 'tanks' -- some with the flag of England painted on their sides, others with an American flag. Several of the tanks fired their cannons, the shells exploding much too close. The sea churned and the waves rose, tossing the ship wildly. Jack watched as the unattended wheel spun, but he still couldn't move. He looked at the other men, but they all seemed unconcerned and unaffected by the motion of the ship. The wind grew quickly to galeforce, howling through the rigging, and Jack could only watch helplessly as a large wave swept towards them. Surprise pitched sharply over on the starboard side, and suddenly he was thrown from the deck, tossed over the taffrail toward the angry ocean. He flailed his arms and legs, somehow able to move once more, bracing himself against the impact with the chilly water. But the sea vanished, and Aubrey kept falling. Falling and falling, as the fog closed in around him again, and he screamed out in panic and fear. The fog grew ever thicker beneath him, slowing his fall, and the panic lessened. Soon he was nearly floating on a blanket of fog so thick it was like being enveloped in cotton. He could feel himself being gently lowered until he was deposited on a soft bed... Part Five Aubrey sat up, nearly gasping for breath, for a moment feeling as though he were breathing for the first time. He blinked, looking around, discovering he was in his hammock aboard the Surprise. "What an extraordinary dream," he muttered to himself, shaking his head slightly to try to wake up. "I must remember to tell Stephen about it." The ship was quiet, and he sat in his hammock for a few moments, rubbing his eyes and running his fingers through his hair, trying to make sense of such strange images. And the men in the dream, he still felt as though he should know them. The ship creaked as it swayed slightly, accompanied by the light thump of wood against wood, and Jack's eyes snapped wide open as he realized something was very very wrong. The ship was far too quiet, and he knew instinctively from the motion of ship that

Surprise was docked in port rather than being out at sea. As he rolled out of his hammock, Jack was alarmed and angry that someone had changed course without authorization. Surprise was supposed to be headed south to Valparaiso, escorting the Acheron to port, but Valparaiso was many days away. When his feet hit the ground, he intended to hurry out the door into the great cabin, but his legs would not cooperate. It took a few moments to find his sea legs, which was very odd indeed considering the ship was barely moving. He pushed open the door and dashed out, shocked to find bright sunlight streaming in through the windows. Shock turned to anger as it was apparent that it was long past dawn, perhaps late morning if not midday. Why hadn't anyone woken him? "Killick!" he yelled as he went to the large stern windows. "Killick, come here!" As he had feared, when he looked out the window, he could see the end of a wooden pier along the starboard side, with thick ropes tying Surprise to the heavy piling at the end. Cursing under his breath, he moved to larboard, but all he could see was the coastline extending far into the distance, a coastline he did not recognize. Turning from the windows, he yelled for his cabin steward once more, but there was no answer. Cursing again, he went to the door that led to the gun deck, opening it just enough to tell the marine waiting outside, "Pass the word for Mr. Mowett -- " But he stopped before he finished the sentence. There was no marine outside his cabin. Ignoring the fact that he was wearing only his nightshirt, he stepped out the door, discovering that there was not another soul on the entire gun deck. Bright sunlight shone down through the gratings in the deck above, illuminating the whole of the space. The cannon were all tied neatly in place, the gun ports closed, and the wooden deck was clean and uncluttered. Usually the deck was filled with men, and there was always a royal marine stationed outside the captain's cabin. Always. Something was very wrong here. "Mr. Mowett!" he called out. No response. "Mr. Howard!" No response. "Mr. Blakeney!" No response. He caught himself before calling for Mr. Allen, swallowing past the lump in his throat. "ALL HANDS ON DECK!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, but there was no response at all. Alarmed further, he went back into the great cabin, hunting for his clothes. But he did not have to look far. His full uniform was laid out across the table, with his boots sitting on the captain's chair. Aubrey's eyes narrowed. Killick often laid out his uniform for him, but not like this. Everything was getting stranger by the minute. He put on his breeches, boots, shirt and vest, tying his long blonde hair back with a black ribbon before venturing outside the cabin again. Climbing the ladder up onto the weather

deck, he raised his hand to shield his eyes against the sun, finding to his further dismay that the weather and quarter decks were deserted as well. There was not a single sailor to be seen anywhere, not at the wheel or on the lines or up the masts. He hurriedly walked the length of the ship, hoping to find someone sleeping or hiding, but it was not the case. When he reached the bow, his attention finally turned to the land. Surprise was moored to a long wooden pier, and beyond the pier was a wide beach of white sand. Beyond the beach were green hills, and a half-mile down the beach on the larboard side there seemed to be a country homestead, with a large 3-storied main house and a slightly smaller building several hundred yards further to larboard. There was only one person in sight, a young man standing on the beach near the edge of the pier, and Jack started to smile, thinking that the lad was one of his crew. But the smile faded when he failed to recognize him. The man smiled back nonetheless, waving his hand for a moment. Aubrey nodded to him, and was debating what to say in reply when the lad started to hurry away, breaking into a run as he headed down the beach and up a wellworn path in the hillside towards the main house. Relieved that he was spared the embarrassment of having to ask where he was, Jack turned around and headed for the nearest hatchway, hurrying down the ladder. From the keel to the quarterdeck, from the bread bins to the bowsprit, Jack Aubrey searched every nook and cranny of the HMS Surprise, becoming more confused and agitated as it became increasingly evident that the entire crew had either deserted or been taken away. He was most definitely alone on the ship. But if that wasn't disturbing enough, he realized there was more missing from the ship than just the crew. Everything associated with them was gone as well -- personal effects, food stores and the like. Even the officer's quarters were empty, their personal stores -including the livestock -- gone. All of the supplies and equipment were gone from Sickbay as well. But most disturbing of all was Stephen's cabin. There was nothing left to indicate that his long-time friend had once occupied it. Gone were his books and specimens, his collections of flora and fauna. It was inconceivable that Maturin would leave without a word to him, and he lingered in Stephen's empty cabin for a long time before continuing his search of the ship. As time went by, he began to notice other odd things about the condition of the ship. Strangest of all was the fact that Surprise was in better shape now than before it had first encountered the Acheron. There was no hint of the damage caused by the cannon and gunfire, with all of the woodwork and planking in pristine condition. Even the mizzenmast, which had been patched several times in the last few weeks, was in perfect shape. And although all the crew's personal effects were gone, all the ship's spares were still in the hold -- extra canvas, rope, lumber, powder, shot and weapons. And even though the officer's stores were gone, his own personal stores of food, clothes, china, silver and glassware were intact.

The ship was in excellent condition, ready to set sail at a moment's notice -- if only it had a crew. Perhaps they were all ashore, waiting in the buildings on the hill, he thought to himself as he went back to his cabin. Of course, that didn't explain why they had all left, but hopefully there was a logical explanation to be had. But there was also the darker possibility that they had been taken off by force, perhaps by the French if Acheron had gotten unexpected reinforcements. But that didn't explain why all of their personal effects were gone, or what had happened to Pullings and the others on the Acheron. It also did not explain why Jack himself had been left behind, with no memory of what had happened. Jack sighed as he walked into the great cabin. The only thing left to do was go ashore and inquire with the locals, but that meant risking sounding like a lunatic when he admitted how little he knew. Before he disembarked, he decided to take a look around, in the hopes he could at least determine where he was. He went to get his spyglass, and out of the corner of his eye Jack noticed something he hadn't seen earlier, propped up against a chair. His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. It was Stephen's cello. He picked it up, handling it gently, even more convinced that something was terribly wrong. Maturin would never leave without taking his beloved instrument, but it still made no sense that all his other possessions had been removed from the ship. Jack needed answers. Grabbing the spyglass from the holder on the wall, Jack went topside and began to climb up the rigging of the mainmast. He paused when he reached the fighting top, noticing that 7 men were coming down the beach towards Surprise, from the same direction that the young lad had gone earlier. Anchoring himself by putting his arm around the mast, he looked down from the platform with the glass at the faces of the men, hoping that some of them were his sailors. Unfortunately that was not the case. The seven were a range of ages, one a gray-haired gentleman with spectacles, two bearded -- one with short hair, the other long hair -another clean shaven with long hair, the fifth about his own age with short hair, and two younger men both with short hair and clean shaved. And they were all very similar in face, probably from the same family, Jack surmised. They looked vaguely familiar as well, and for a moment, Jack thought of the dream he had had last night. But the images -- which had seemed so incredibly vivid when he had

awoken -- had quickly faded, and he found that now he could not remember anything in the dream. The men were nearing the pier, yet Jack ignored them for the moment, continuing his climb up the mainmast to the top. Standing on the yardarm for the topgallant sail, he anchored himself using several ropes, but with the light wind and calm sea, the slight sway of the masthead was barely noticeable to the veteran seaman. He checked the ocean for any other ships in the area, pleased that there were no enemy vessels. In fact, there were no other ships of any kind, not even a fishing boat. Regrettably, the small island he saw on the horizon was of no assistance in determining his location. And so he turned his glass towards the shore. Being 150 feet in the air gave him a much better view of the landscape, and he took his time looking everything over. The first thing he noticed -- other than the 7 men on the beach -- was the lack of any people on the grounds of the estate. Or at least he assumed it was an estate, given the seeming lack of shops or other things indicating it might be a town. There were no workmen to be seen, no gardeners, no servants. He thought he saw movement behind some of the curtains of the main house, but his glass did not linger there lest he intrude on the privacy of the residents. The owners were probably rather well off, he guessed, given the size of the mansion and the gardens behind it. The building and grounds looked well cared for. Everything looked idyllic and peaceful, with a stable and paddock nearby and several small cottages nestled in wooded groves in the surrounding area. There were a few buildings he could not guess the purpose of, such as a large structure with a rounded roof next to a long wide strip of road, and he was at a loss to explain the purpose of the very tall metal pole that was mounted on the roof of the main house. Yet still, all in all it looked like a friendly place. But the absence of any evidence of nearly 200 sailors in the area was disturbing, leaving Aubrey with the very real possibility that his crew had been forcibly removed. But the last time he remembered seeing the Acheron, they were escorting it into Valparaiso, and the landscape before him did not look anything like the Pacific coast of South America. The trees and other vegetation looked much more like a location in North America -- but that was impossible, wasn't it? And the pier itself was an oddity as well. It was not normal for such a small homestead to have such a large pier. A berth large enough to accommodate a ship of Surprise's size spoke of commerce of some kind, yet there was no sign of that here. And it certainly was unlike any fishing village he had ever seen. The whole situation was impossible and incomprehensible. After taking a last brief look out over the ocean, Jack slid down the rigging to the weather

deck, heading for his cabin to put on the rest of his uniform before going ashore. Part Six "Just my luck -- I finally had a chance to win back my money." Johnny shook his head as he hurried to catch up with his brothers. "I had a full house!" "I think this is more important than our poker game," Terry said as he walked briskly across the lawn, heading for the beach. Maximus, John Biebe, Jeffrey Wigand, Cort and Jack Corbett trailed close behind him. All were dressed inconspicuously, with loosefitting trousers and shirts in styles that did not belong to any particular time period. "No worries, mate," Johnny smiled, jogging briefly until he was alongside Terry. "I've seen 21 of you blokes show up here. This is only your second Arrival -- they're not all as rough as Nash's." "In other words, I need to lighten up," Terry said with a slight grin. "Exactly," said Corbett, who had seen it all at the Point. "I suppose I have a lot to learn about how it works," Terry said. "I wasn't expecting Aubrey to show up at 1:00 in the afternoon. I was sure that it would be at dawn tomorrow since that was when his ship came." "There doesn't seem to be any set time for us to Arrive," Cort said. "It was around dinner-time when you drove up in your BMW that day 3 years ago," Biebe reminded him. "True," Terry said, lifting his eyes towards the Surprise as they headed down the beach. Then he stopped dead for a moment. "I'll be damned." They all paused, watching as Jack Aubrey climbed up the rigging of the ship's tallest mast. They started walking again as Aubrey stopped at the platform halfway up to take out his telescope. No one said anything as they looked at one another, and then Jack resumed his climb up the mainmast. "So it's true then," Wigand said. "Sailors do have to climb all the way up there." "Of course," Maximus said. "The sail he's standing on top of has to be set by hand. And it would need to be done while on the open sea, not just in port." "Count me out," Wigand said. "My idea of sailing is sitting out on a deck chair with a drink in my hand." The others laughed. "I thought you said you were willing to help sail her."

"I am -- as long as my feet stay on deck," Wigand replied, pushing his eyeglasses up the bridge of his nose. "That's fine," Terry said. "There are plenty of us who are looking forward to getting up there." "The adrenaline junkies," Biebe said. "You got it," Terry grinned, looking up at Aubrey as he spoke. "It's not much fun if it's not dangerous." His grin slowly faded as Aubrey scanned the landscape with his telescope. "What do you suppose he's doing up there?" "Getting the lay of the land maybe?" Johnny said. "Why couldn't he do that from the ground?" Wigand said. "He appears to be looking for something," Maximus said. "I bloody well hope it's not his crew," Terry said. "We'll find out soon enough," Biebe said. "So should we wait here or go down the pier and say hello?" "I say we wait," Cort said. "Give him a chance to get his bearings. He'll come ashore when he's ready." They all nodded in agreement. "Too bad the ladies aren't here to see this," Corbett said. "Oh, I'd be willing to wager they're all up on the second floor watching," Maximus said, glancing back over his shoulder at the Hotel. "If they weren't excited enough already, I'm sure Andy stirred them up even more." Johnny chuckled. "Yea, he was damn pleased with himself about being the first one to see Captain Jack." "With the Captain here now, and all of them cooped up together, there'll be enough estrogen to blow the roof off the Hotel," Cort joked. The others laughed. "Isn't that the truth," Jeffrey said with a smile. "After a 2 year wait, they're all very..." Jeffrey paused for a moment, and Terry finished for him. "Horny?" The others laughed again, and Jeffrey grinned. "That wasn't what I was going to say, but I like that answer better."

"That's the great thing about these Arrivals," Corbett said, grinning too. "The ladies get all hot and bothered over the new bloke, but we're the ones that get the 'benefits'. And no one gets jealous 'cause it's all about Russell." Maximus nodded, moving closer to Biebe. "And some of us may be getting more 'benefits' than others... wouldn't you say, John?" he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. John's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Maximus. "Why are you asking me that?" When the others chuckled, he frowned, shaking his head. "Oh for the love of... She's not the only one who read the books!" "That doesn't answer my question," Maximus persisted, still grinning, and John began to grin back. "You of all people should know that a gentleman doesn't talk about those things," he said. Maximus nodded, and John added, "Can we stop talking about this?" He looked up at Aubrey again. "We've got something else to deal with right now." "No one's forgotten about it," Terry said, hiding his smile and sobering up. He looked back at the Hotel, adding, "I hope Bud and the others are keeping things under control; last thing we need is a bunch of people up there gawking at him. Jack could see them too," Terry said. Steve smiled to himself as he adjusted the focus on the camcorder that was pointed out the window, listening to the comments from the women as they clustered around the bigscreen TV in the adjoining room on the second floor of the hotel. Jack Aubrey was in the center of the picture as he stood atop the masthead. "Oh. My. God!" "He's gorgeous!" "God, I hope he doesn't fall!" "He's here, he's here! HE'S HERE!!" "I can't believe it!" "Ooooo, I just love the blonde hair." "Two years was a long time to wait, but this is SO worth it!" "I don't think this is what John and Terry had in mind," Bud said. "Would you rather have us all out on the balcony?" Kaz said. "I wouldn't recommend it," Lachlan grinned. "A bunch of half-naked women standing out there, waving and smiling at a sailor. Three guesses what he'd think this place is." "Damn, it's just like in the movie!" "God, the man just improves with age, doesn't he?" "Those reviewers are crazy -- he is NOT fat!" "The blonde is ok, but I still prefer him with his natural color."

As the ladies gushed over the Point's newest resident, the men began to gather in front of the TV as well, studying Aubrey's expression. "Is it me?" Steve asked, "or does he look unhappy?" "It's not just you," Jeff Mitchell replied. "I think he looks upset." "What's he looking for?" East asked. "It might be a good idea to hold off on the celebrations, ladies," Colin said loudly, and the women quickly quieted. "Are you sure?" Chelle said. "Maybe he's just taking a look around from up there." "You don't think he might be looking for Stephen, do you?" Beej asked. "Oh no! Poor Jack!" Savannah said. "We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Bud said. "He probably just needs a little time to get used to being here, that's all. The seven men stood together on the beach, all quiet as they waited for Aubrey to come ashore. The captain had come down from the masthead and gone below some time ago, but he had yet to reappear. Johnny wandered down the surf line a few dozen yards, absently kicking a stone as he looked off into the distance. Something caught his eye, and he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. "What's that?" he said. Terry turned around quickly, following Johnny's gaze down the coastline. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed a moment later as he watched a dark object moving down the beach towards them. "It's a fucking car!" He glanced quickly over his shoulder, thankful that Jack was still below decks. "Who the hell is that?" "Sid must have gotten out." Maximus folded his arms across his chest. "He would like nothing better than to ruin this day." Wigand shook his head. "I don't think it's Sid -- he'd make a much more dramatic entrance if he did get loose, like stealing Lachlan's plane or something. Bud's been watching him like a hawk anyway; I don't see how he'd get loose." Biebe squinted as he looked at the vehicle. "It's not a car -- it's a Jeep. A black Jeep." "Who drives a black Jeep?" Terry fumed. "No one I know of," Corbett said. "Could be a lurker who doesn't know what's going on."

"Michelle said the place is closed to lurkers for the time being," Cort said. "Well obviously somebody slipped through," Johnny said. "Now what do we do?" "Hang on..." Biebe said, "I think it's slowing down." The others watched as the Jeep slowed to a stop -- as if the driver had seen the men too -- then abruptly turned 90 degrees to the left and drove quickly away from the water, disappearing from sight into the trees beyond the beach. (** A/N **) They all waited anxiously, but the Jeep did not reappear. "Thank Christ," Terry said, exhaling heavily after a moment. "When I find out who that was, I'm going to rip them a new one." "Me too," Biebe said, shaking his head in disgust. "That was too close." "Gentlemen..." Maximus said quietly, an odd note in his voice. "I believe we can attend to that later." They turned, and he nodded towards the ship. "Our guest is coming now." Sure enough, Jack Aubrey could be seen moving on deck again. "Here we go, mates," Corbett said, and the seven walked quickly to the pier, the Jeep forgotten. They moved down the pier, stopping above the line where sea met sand, then waited, watching as Jack Aubrey began to climb down the accommodation ladder -- the steps built into the side of the ship -- near the stern. He paused when his feet were near the level of the pier, hanging onto the rope as the ship rocked slowly. A moment later, as the ship moved close to the pier, he jumped agilely across the gap and landed on the wooden dock. After pausing briefly to straightened his uniform, the 24th Russell Crowe incarnation to join the Point strode confidently towards 7 of his new brothers. "That's some uniform," Cort whispered. "Sword and all." Indeed, Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey was a handsome and impressive sight in full uniform. Making up his ensemble were knee-high brown leather boots, cream-colored breeches, a "Captain Bligh" hat, frilly white shirt peeking through the top of a creamcolored vest, thin black scarf around his throat and the collar of his white shirt, navy blue coat whose tails reached his knees and a sword and scabbard hanging from a belt on his left side. Though sun and salt water had dimmed the gleam of some of the gold that trimmed his uniform, he still looked every inch a master and commander of men. He stopped a few feet in front of them, a polite smile brightening his handsome features as he said, "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am John Aubrey, Captain of His Majesty's Ship Surprise, in the service of the British Royal Navy." He bowed slightly, gesturing towards the frigate. He seemed to be addressing himself to Jeffrey Wigand, eldest of the group, who replied, "Good afternoon, Captain. Welcome to Crowe's Point. I'm Jeffrey Wigand, and this is

Terry Thorne, Cort, Jack Corbett, Johnny Ryan, John Biebe and Maximus Decimus Meridias." "I am honored to make your acquaintances." He bowed again, then his brow furrowed for a moment. "Crowe's Point, you say? I'm afraid such a place does not appear on my charts, although perhaps we have been blown a bit off course." "We're very isolated here -- I don't think you'll find us on any maps," Wigand said. "We're named after Russell Crowe," Corbett said, and when Aubrey showed no reaction, Corbett added, "Have you heard of him, Captain?" Jack shook his head. "No, I regret to say I have not." Johnny and Cort, standing behind the others, exchanged concerned glances. "If I might ask," Aubrey said, "to what flag do you owe allegiance here?" "Flag?" Johnny said. "I think he means what country," Terry offered. "We don't follow any particular flag, Captain," Wigand said. "I suppose you could say we're neutral. "I see," Aubrey said, nodding as if he understood, but his expression said otherwise. "Well, Mr. Wigand," he continued, the polite smile reappearing, "I'm sure my crew has imposed on your hospitality quite enough. If you'll just tell me where I can find my officers, we'll round up our crew and be on our way." "Your... officers?" Wigand said hesitantly. "Yes, my officers -- Mr. Mowett, Mr. Howard, Lord Blakeney, to name but a few." His brow furrowed again. "You have seen them, haven't you?" Wigand didn't know what to say and looked to the others. Terry stepped forward. "No, we haven't seen them." Aubrey paused for a moment as well, then said, "Surely then you are familiar with my ship's surgeon, Dr. Maturin." "I'm afraid not," Terry replied. The worried look in Aubrey's eyes was glimpsed only briefly as he turned away, looking at the ship. "And my sailors -- you have seen nothing of them either?" When Terry said 'No' again, Aubrey sighed. "This is all very strange. I can only assume they went -- or were taken -- ashore elsewhere. It is rather embarrassing to admit, gentlemen, but I have no memory of arriving here or of what may have happened to my crew. It is possible I

have been ill." His face changed suddenly, and his eyes cautiously scanned the landscape around him. "Or perhaps you are not at liberty to answer truthfully," he said quietly. "I must ask, have the French been here before me? Are you being held under duress?" He looked at Maximus, who had been observing things silently, eyes narrowing as he studied the Spaniard as though he were the enemy. "Or do I find myself a captive of the forces of Napoleon?" Maximus shook his head, moving forward. "You are among friends here, Captain, I assure you. And you are our honored guest. I regret that we cannot provide better answers for you however. Please, come inside with us -- we have food, drink and shade from the hot sun. We will try to help you as best we can -- you have my word on it," he said sincerely. "Yes, please join us," Biebe said. "We can talk about this in more comfortable surroundings. We'll do whatever we can to help you, Captain. Our home is your home." The last sentence was echoed by all the others. "Very well," Aubrey said, looking more at ease now. "Thank you for your hospitality. And I will welcome any assistance you can provide me." "The tavern is this way," Corbett said, moving down the pier towards the beach. "Tavern?" Aubrey said, eyebrows raising, as he followed Corbett and the others. "We call it the tavern," Wigand explained, "but it's more than just a place for food and drink. It's our meeting place, it's an inn, and many of us live in the rooms there -- it has many purposes." Aubrey had gotten a few yards away from the pier when he stopped, looking back at the ship. "Is something wrong, Captain?" Biebe asked. "I am reluctant to leave the ship unoccupied and unguarded. It is not truly mine, you see -- it is the property of His Majesty King George III, and I am responsible for her." "We have no soldiers or sailors here," Terry said, "but perhaps one of our lads could look after it for you. We won't let anyone go aboard without your permission -- is that acceptable, Captain?" Aubrey nodded. "Since I cannot locate Captain Howard and his marines, that would be a reasonable alternative. Thank you." "I'll go up to the house and take care of it," Biebe said. "Then I'll meet you all back at the tavern." The others nodded as the group made it's way across the beach towards the tavern and hotel. Part Seven

"You alone?" Jeff Mitchell was the first to reach Biebe as the Alaskan hurried through the front door of the hotel. John nodded. "The others are taking Captain Aubrey over to the tavern." Within moments, the nearly-empty lobby filled with Point residents. The women overwhelmed him with questions -- how was Jack doing, what was he like, what did he say -- until John raised his hands in the air, saying, "Whoa! Everybody quiet!" The noise ceased, and he quickly scanned the room, his gaze stopping on one of his brothers. "Bud!" White elbowed his way through the crowd. "What is it?" "He wants someone down there to watch the ship while he's gone. No one goes aboard without his permission. I thought Andy could go back for a while, since Jack has already seen him." "Sure, I'll do it," Andy said from the back of the room. "How long do you want me?" "I have no idea how long he'll be with us. Someone can relieve you in a few hours if need be." Andy nodded. "Just make sure everyone stays away from the ship." John looked around the lobby. "Speaking of avoiding problems, where's Sid?" "He's upstairs," Bud said. "Lady and Tonya are keeping him occupied." John hesitated. "I don't think I even want to know what 'occupied' means." Bud gave him a blank look, then grimaced. "Get your mind out of the gutter. Zack and Bugdog are with him too -- they downloaded a bunch of new video games. Hopefully that should keep Sid busy for a while." "I hope so." John looked over the room again. "Annabella," he said to the Point's chef, "Start getting that food platter ready; we'll need it soon. In fact, why don't you do it right now and send it over as soon as it's ready. I'm sure he'll be wanting something to eat very shortly." "I thought you might say that, so we already started preparing everything. I'll have Rick or one of the guys bring it over," Annabella said. "Thanks," John said with a quick smile. "I'd better get over there now myself," he said to the group as he took a few steps towards the door. "John, wait!" Tina said, hurrying to her husband's side. "You haven't said anything about Jack. How is he?"

John frowned, sighing heavily. "I wish I had better news... Jack doesn't seem to know where he is; he keeps asking about his crew and Maturin." There were gasps of shock from the group. "He never heard of Russell Crowe or Crowe's Point, and he didn't recognize any of us." There were horrified looks all around. "How can that be?" Alex asked. "Even Max knew all that." "I have no idea," John said. "We may have to ease him into everything gradually. And all of us may have to get used to living by candlelight for a while." He turned to his wife; Tina's face was pale. "Don't worry, sweetheart; we'll take good care of him." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, then turned back towards the door. "Oh, one last thing," he said, pausing in the doorway. "Does anyone around here drive a black Jeep? Any lurkers?" People looked at one another and shook their heads. "Not that we know of," Bud said. "Why do you ask?" John started to explain, then stopped. "Never mind; it's nothing. I'll tell you about it some other time." With that, he headed over to the tavern. Removing his hat as he walked in the door of the tavern, Aubrey followed the other men inside. All the windows were wide open, illuminating the areas nearby, but the majority of the booths and tables in the large room were empty and darkened. One large table near the bar held half-empty cups and glasses, and the Boyz led Jack over to it. "Please, have a seat, Captain," Wigand said. "Can we get you anything to drink?" Cort asked. "We have spirits -- wine, ale, rum, whiskey -- plus tea and coffee. Or if there's anything else you'd like, just ask and there's a good chance we have it." "Coffee, please, if it's not too much trouble," Aubrey said. "Not at all. I think we have a fresh pot already made," Cort said, and went into the back room behind the bar, closing the door behind him. Aubrey walked slowly over the bar, looking curiously around the room. "This is a fine establishment," he said as he ran his hand along the rich dark wood. "Are you the owner?" His question was addressed to Wigand again. "No, it belongs to all of us," Wigand said. "We're a family here. The grounds and all the land as far as the eye can see are ours." "Family?" Aubrey's brow furrowed. "I can see the family resemblance between you,

gentlemen, but all your names are quite different." "Well..." Terry said hesitantly, "that's rather a long story, Captain. It's probably best left for another occasion." "Very well," Aubrey said. He continued to walk slowly down the bar, his left hand running along the polished wood; tucked under his right arm was his hat. His eyes wandered all over the room, taking in the wide staircase that led to the upper floors, the dozen oil lamps collected on one table in the middle of the room, the half-dozen black cloths that were draped over items in the corners, and all the different shapes, colors and sizes of liquor bottles on the shelves behind the bar. He turned as the front doors opened, and Biebe came in. "It's all been taken care of, Captain. One of our lads, Andy, has gone down to the dock. He'll make sure no one goes aboard your ship." "Thank you," Aubrey said. "Your attention in this matter is appreciated, sir." "No problem," Biebe said. "While I was in the house, I asked the kitchen to prepare something for us. They'll be sending it over soon." Aubrey nodded and went back to looking around the room. Cort appeared in the doorway again. "Coffee's ready. Someone want to give me a hand?" Corbett went into the back room with him, and both brought out a large ceramic carafe full of hot coffee, plus a tray with a bowl of sugar cubes, a creamer with fresh cream, white china cups, teaspoons and napkins. Aubrey joined the others, taking a seat at the head of the table, his hat laid aside on a nearby table. He also removed his sword before sitting down, but that he kept within arm's reach, propping it up beside his chair. He raised his cup of black coffee to his lips, taking a small sip. His eyes lit up as he tasted the brew, and he smiled as he said, "Excellent coffee, gentlemen," then took a larger sip. "Thank you," Cort said with a smile. "There's always coffee available; anytime you'd like a fresh cup, you're welcome to come here." "Your hospitality is most appreciated," Aubrey said, setting down his cup and looking around the room again. "This is quite a large establishment. I'm sure my lads would make ample use of a place like this once they found it." His attention turned back to the men. "There must be more of you that live in such a large estate. I would appreciate if you would ask them, on my behalf, if anyone has seen my sailors or my officers. Surely someone must know of their whereabouts."

There was hesitation again before Johnny answered, "It's a small community here. There's not much that happens that stays a secret. If your sailors had been here, one of us would have heard about it by now." Aubrey looked disconcerted, and Johnny added, "But of course we'll ask everyone just to be sure." Aubrey nodded, glancing briefly at the staircase. "You said earlier that many of you live here. Are your accommodations on the upper floors?" "Yes, there are 24 of us in our, uh, family," Terry said, "and the majority have a suite of rooms up there." "The rest have moved into their own places," Biebe said. "My wife and I have a home nearby." "As have I and my lady," Maximus said. "It's been much easier for me to tend to the vineyards once we moved our household next to them." "Do you make your own wine here?" Aubrey asked. "Not yet. But we are building a small winery and hope to be bottling our own label within six months." "And we're all looking forward to that. But don't be surprised if we drink the whole lot within a week," Terry said to Maximus with a slight smile. Maximus smiled back. "No, I would not be." Aubrey seemed to relax a bit, perhaps reassured by the familiar banter between the men, taking another sip of coffee. "Excellent, truly excellent coffee," he said. "I cannot recall when I have tasted better. Where do you obtain it from? Traders? From the size of your pier, I would imagine you must need it for large supply ships. You don't appear to be fisherman." "No, the fishing we do is mainly recreational," Wigand said. "Our supplies usually come from town though." "Town?" One blonde eyebrow rose. "What's the name of it? And how may I find it? I would very much like to go there and inquire about my men if no one here has knowledge of them." The men looked at each other, hesitating before answering again. Before anyone could reply, however, there was a loud knock on the front door. "I'll get it," Corbett said. "Must be the food." Terry joined him, and they pushed open the doors to reveal Jeff and Rick waiting outside holding large baskets with white linen cloths covering the contents. Terry and Corbett took the baskets and put them on top of a table closest to the door. Then Terry went back to the doors, closing them and giving Mitchell a disapproving look as his

brother tried to peer inside and get a look at Aubrey. "Let us know if you need anything else," Rick said just before the doors closed. "Are you hungry now, Captain, or would you prefer to wait?" Maximus asked. "Have you eaten recently?" "No, I haven't. I -- " Aubrey paused, brow furrowing. "Strangely, I cannot seem to recall when I dined last." The aroma of the food reached his nose, and he inhaled deeply. "And it smells much too good to delay." The coffee service was moved to the bar, and platters were removed from the baskets and set on the table. There were thick slices of whole grain bread, sliced cheeses, a small crock of whipped butter and sliced meats, including pork, roasted chicken and medium and well done beef. As Aubrey began to fill his plate but avoided the red beef, Biebe commented, "The meat is quite fresh, Captain. Our cook wouldn't serve anything but the best." "I'm sure that is so," Aubrey said with a smile, adding a slice of rarer beef to his plate. "Do you raise your own cattle?" "No, we don't," Biebe said. "We get that from town too. We don't do much farming here." The meal was eaten quickly, with scattered comments about the food -- mainly from Aubrey -- and awkward silences in between. When Aubrey finished, he wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin, then laid it across his empty plate as he said, "Excellent, gentlemen, quite excellent. I am most grateful for your generosity. I hesitate to impose upon you further, but I'm afraid I must. I would like to visit this town you speak of, if indeed my crew cannot be found here. I will need a carriage and driver, or at the very least a horse. I must get word of all this to the Admiralty. I can pay for the use of the horse, but I do require your cooperation." There were another few moments of uncomfortable silence as the seven brothers exchanged glances. "We do have spare horses," Wigand said, "and I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem to lend you one. But..." His voice trailed off. "But I doubt that will be necessary," Biebe said with a forced smile. "We'll work something out, Captain." "I see." There was a hard edge to his voice now, his jaw set, and his keen eyes moved purposefully from man to man. Leaning forward in his chair, Aubrey continued, "Sirs, it has become quite evident that there are important facts which you are deliberately withholding from me. What the reason for this might be I cannot fathom, and I realize I am in a poor position to demand anything from you. Nonetheless I must demand, in the name of His Majesty, that you disclose to me what has become of my officers and my sailors. I assure you, His Majesty will take great offense if any of them are mistreated."

The brothers looked at each other again, and Maximus stood up. "If you'll excuse us for a moment, Captain." He walked to the opposite end of the room, the others following close behind. "So now what?" Cort said. "What do we tell him?" "We tell him the truth," Maximus said. "There is no other choice." "But he doesn't have a bloody clue about where he is," Johnny said. "He won't understand." "We'll just have to find a way to make him understand," Wigand said. "Maybe hearing about Russell and everything else will jog his memory." Biebe shook his head. "But I don't even know where to start." Terry sighed heavily. "I'll do it. Wouldn't be the first time I've had to tell someone something they don't want to know." Corbett patted him on the back. "And that's why you're here, mate." "Lucky me," Terry said with a slight roll of his eyes. He sighed again. "Let's not keep the man waiting." When they went back to the table, Aubrey was standing next to his chair, and his sword was hanging from its belt once more. Terry approached him nonchalantly, his body language relaxed and open, and the others stood behind him in support. "Captain Aubrey, I must apologize on behalf of myself and my brothers. You are correct -- Our answers to you have been evasive, and we do know more than what we have told you. But it's not for the reasons that you're thinking. We're not French agents, and we're not keeping you from your crew. We honestly do not know where they are. "We've been having trouble answering your questions because we never thought you'd be asking them. You will undoubtedly find this quite unbelievable, but the truth is... The truth is that we've been expecting you for quite some time, Captain. And when you arrived here, we assumed you would recognize this place, that you would know who Russell Crowe is, and that you would already know who we were." Aubrey stared at him. "I -- I beg your pardon, sir?" "We'll do our best to help you understand how things work here, but it's not a simple explanation, and it will not make much sense to you at first. But please, bear with us and listen to what we have to say. By the time we're finished, all your questions will be answered. You may not like some of the answers, but we can work that out later." Terry paused, but Aubrey said nothing.

Biebe spoke up instead. "You're going to have to trust us, Captain. You're probably thinking that you have no reason to do so, but give us the benefit of the doubt for now and let us show you we're here to help you." Aubrey looked at each of them, his expression unreadable, then nodded slowly. "I will listen to what you have to say." "Good," Terry said. "You might want to take a seat again." He gestured towards the table. "This will take a while." "I prefer to stand," Aubrey said, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword. "All right then." Terry took a few steps away, rubbing his forehead as he collected his thoughts. Glancing at his brothers who were still standing several feet behind him, he added, "You lot might want to sit down though." As the men pulled out chairs or perched on the corners of tabletops, Terry began, "Captain, I'm sure you've seen a stage play at some point in your life. Perhaps you've attended a Shakespearean play?" Aubrey nodded. "So then you're familiar with what an actor does. One day he might be playing Macbeth. A week later he'll be Marc Antony in 'Julius Caesar'. For each part, he may look quite different -- different clothes, different makeup, different color hair. He might have a beard or a mustache. An actor can play many roles, and look very different from one play to the next, but it's still the same man underneath." Aubrey looked confused, and Terry said, "I know you're wondering what this could possibly have to do with your sailors, but keep listening and it will start making sense." He took another deep breath. "Sometimes those characters become so real and so vital that they take on a life of their own. Sometimes they live on after the play is over. When that happens, they come together in a special place that's different from the normal world. And that is what Crowe's Point is. Russell Crowe is an actor, and he's played many parts in many plays. The seven of us are more than just family -- we're all part of each other, and part of him.... We *are* his characters." Aubrey was speechless briefly, then gave a mirthless laugh. "That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. You're all mad. That's what this place is, isn't it? A lunatic asylum." There was a ghost of a smile on Terry's lips as he said, "No, it isn't, but there are times it does resemble one." "Nevertheless, I fail to understand what that has to do with me and the crew of my ship." "It does sound insane, I realize that," Terry said. "But you might not be able to ignore what you see." He stepped back a few paces so that he stood next to Maximus. The other five lined up with them, shoulder to shoulder. "We're all the same -- same height, same

build, same eyes, same nose, same lips, same voice. We even have the same mole." He pointed to the mole between his eyebrows. "We may indeed be slightly crazy, Captain, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm telling you the truth." Aubrey stared at them, eyes moving quickly from one face to another, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "I cannot deny that you look very much alike... But you cannot be related as you say." He pointed to Wigand and Johnny. "There is 25 years difference in age between you." "The actor was much younger when he played Johnny," Wigand said, "And there was makeup used to make me look even older." Aubrey shook his head in disbelief. "This is completely absurd. Perhaps if my ship's surgeon were here, he could decipher this nonsense." He shook his head again. "I do not believe any of this, but I will humor you nonetheless. Pray do tell me what sort of 'character' you are supposed to be, sir," he said to Wigand. "I'm a researcher and a teacher; a man of science," Wigand replied, "in the 1990's -- " He stopped abruptly, wincing. "I probably shouldn't have said that," he muttered, glancing warily at Terry. "No worries, mate," Terry said with a sigh. "We'd have to get to that sooner or later." "1990 of what?" a confused Aubrey asked. "It's not a number, Captain; it's a date. Jeffrey's play takes place during the decade of the 1990's. 1995?" Terry glanced at Jeffrey, who nodded. "Yes, the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety five." Aubrey blinked. "That's impossible." "It's true," Wigand assured him. "I know this is a lot to take in," Terry said, "but the fact is that Russell Crowe was not alive in 1805, or in the 19th century, Captain. He was born in the latter half of the 20th century, in 1964. Right now it is the year 2003 in the month of November." "Two thousand and three." Aubrey pronounced the words slowly and matter-of-factly. He turned aside, lowering his head as he walked a few paces towards the bar. Then he raised his head again, a slight smile on his face as he said, "Of course -- I should have realized it earlier. This is all a dream or hallucination. When I awake, I shall certainly have an entertaining tale to tell Stephen." He walked back towards the men. "So you are a man of science from 1995," he said to Wigand. Then he turned to the man next to him, Cort. "And who are you and where are you from?" Cort looked towards the others questioningly, and Maximus said, "Tell him the truth."

"I'm a preacher from the American West," Cort said to Aubrey, "in the 1880's." Aubrey nodded, then looked to Johnny. "And you?" "I'm a young man from Australia in a love story in the 1950s." Biebe did not wait to be asked. "I'm a sheriff of a small Alaska town in the 1990s." "I'm a hostage negotiator in 2000," Terry said. "I'm a Roman general in the 2nd century, 182 A.D.," Maximus said. "And I'm a lieutenant in the Australian army in 1945," Corbett said. Aubrey merely nodded. "That's quite fascinating, but your costumes are quite poor, I must say. That's hardly the uniform of a Roman general," he said, pointing to Maximus. "We're not wearing them now," Biebe said, "but we can change into them if you'd like." "Of course," Aubrey said with a broad smile, "that would be most entertaining." He pulled a chair away from the table and sat down in it, facing the men. "Go on then, let's see." "All right," Terry said a bit uneasily. "We'll do that right now." The group moved towards the door that led into the rear of the tavern and paused there. "This isn't going well," Cort said quietly. "No shit," Johnny whispered. "This is the best we can expect for now," Maximus said. "Give him time. Answer his questions as best you can, and do what he says." With that, he went into the back. One by one they emerged from the back room, lining up together once again. Maximus was wearing his general's uniform with wolf fur cloak, Terry was in blue trousers and sports coat with a tan polo shirt, Cort wore a long dark brown coat and white collar, Wigand was in black trousers and a white dress shirt, Corbett wore his Australian army uniform, Johnny had on his white trousers and blue plaid shirt, and Biebe also wore a similar blue plaid shirt and blue jeans. "There now," Aubrey said as he looked them over, "That's much more appropriate. Although I must admit your costumes are very strange." The Boyz exchanged glances again, none of them knowing quite what to say.

Aubrey continued, "But you have yet to explain what any of this has to do with me or my ship; why am I here and why did you say you were expecting me? And more importantly, I must know what has happened to my crew." A reluctant Terry started the explanations once again. "When each of us -- each character -- arrives here at Crowe's Point, we do so individually. Some of us, like Jack Corbett here, have been here for a long time. He's been here for over 10 years. But others like myself have been here a shorter amount of time. I came here about 3 years ago. The time depends on when Russell appears in a new mov--" He paused only briefly, smoothly passing over his slip of the tongue. "In a new play. Every time he takes on a new role, our numbers here increase by another character." He paused, locking eyes with Aubrey who was listening intently. "He just appeared in a new play as the commander of the British Navy frigate Surprise in the year of 1805 as he pursues the French privateer Acheron. His name is Captain 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey." Aubrey smiled and started to laugh. "Ah of course; I'm a character too. I should have guessed." "You might want to take a look in the mirror, Captain, if you don't believe us," Johnny said, gesturing towards a large mirror nearby that had a Jack Daniels logo etched into the frame. Aubrey did just that, studying his image and looking back and forth between it and the Boyz. "Extraordinary," he said. "The likeness is quite striking, isn't it?" He walked back over to them, continuing, "So where are the rest of the crew? If I am here and my ship is here, then surely they should be here as well." "I'm afraid it doesn't work that way," Terry said. "None of us knows where your crew is, Captain, but what we do know is that they are not here, and never will be. When each of us comes here, we come alone. Our friends and families are left behind. Crowe's Point is home only for the characters of Russell Crowe." "Alone?" For the first time since he had decided he was dreaming, Aubrey seemed disturbed at what he was hearing. But the moment quickly passed and he asked, "So it's just the seven of you living here with a few servants? Sounds dreadfully boring, don't you think?" "There are more than just seven of us," Cort said. "There are 23 of us," Wigand said. "Actually, 24, including you, Captain." "Twenty three? Then where are the others?" "They're nearby," Biebe said. "You'll meet them soon." "We thought it might be easier for you that way, without so many people to meet all at

once," Johnny said. "We're not the only ones who live here either. There are the ladies as well," Terry said. Aubrey's face lit up. "Ladies...? Ah yes, you did mention your wife." He nodded to Biebe. "Are there others, any unmarried ladies?" "They're mainly our wives and girlfriends," Wigand said, "but yes there are some that are unattached. Not all of them live here though -- a number of them only visit from time to time." "Well," Aubrey smiled, "perhaps not so boring a place after all then." "We'll introduce you to them as well, but not right now," Cort said. "Should we bring some of the other brothers over to meet him now?" Corbett asked. "No," Maximus said in a forceful tone, and the others turned and looked at him; the Roman had been uncharacteristically quiet up until now. "Not yet." He walked over behind the bar and reached into a drawer, pulling out a manila folder. "I think we should show him these instead." Terry came to him and whispered, "Is that wise? He's never seen a photograph before." "What is it you have there?" Aubrey asked. "These are pictures of us all," Maximus said to Aubrey, ignoring Terry. "They're a type of picture called a photograph. It might seem like magic, but it's a new technique of capturing the likeness of a person in a very realistic way. Much more realistic than a painting." He went to a large empty table and began laying 8x10 color photos of the men from their films on the tabletop. "These are of the seven of us." First was of Terry sitting in Alice Bowman's kitchen, followed by Corbett standing next to Captain Cooper. Next was Cort standing in the middle of Redemption's dusty street, then Biebe sitting in his office, Maximus with Lucilla in front of Caesar's tent, Wigand sitting at the dinner table with his family and Johnny with Meg. "Astonishing," Aubrey muttered as he studied them. "Like no painting I have ever seen." "These are the others," Maximus said as he added photos until the tabletop was nearly full. Colin, Lachlan, Kim, Mannie, Steve, Arthur, Hando, Andy, Dominic, Sid, Nash, Zack, East, Mitchell, Alex and Bud -- they were all there. "So different yet so much alike," Aubrey commented, his brow slightly furrowed. Maximus waited as Aubrey studied the photos, then brought out another half dozen. "We

have a few more... They are of you, Captain, in the play about you." One by one he laid the photos on the table next to the others. The first was an aerial shot of Aubrey and Pullings atop Surprise's mainmast. The second was Aubrey and Maturin in the great cabin as they played the violin and cello together. A third was Aubrey and Maturin as they stood on the black volcanic rock of the Galapagos Islands with Surprise anchored in the distance. The fourth was of the officers in full dress, Aubrey in the center, from the scene where Nagle was flogged. The fifth and final photograph was taken in the heat of battle on the smoky deck of the Acheron, with Aubrey brandishing two pistols. Aubrey leaned over the table, staring wide-eyed at the photographs, his face paling slightly. He did not say anything at first, just staring intently at the images. The Boyz were silent as well, watching and worrying. Aubrey reached hesitantly towards the photo of the great cabin, a slight tremor in his hand as his fingers hovered over Stephen's face. "How is this possible...?" he muttered, his voice trailing off. Then he cleared his throat and straightened up, clasping his hands behind his back. "This is all quite fascinating, gentlemen," he said with a forced smile. "It will assuredly make a most interesting tale, when I've awoken from this dream." He glanced around the room again, saying, "I think I've seen all I need to here." Walking over to where he had left his hat, he picked it up and tucked it under his arm. "Thank you for your hospitality, sirs. I must return to my ship now. I believe I can find my own way back." The brothers looked at each other in stunned surprise, and when Aubrey moved towards the door, the brothers did so as well. "Captain, wait," Terry said. Maximus laid his hand on Terry's arm. "Let him go." Terry gave him a sharp look in return but held back any further comment. "You are free to come and go here as you please, Captain," Maximus added. "No need to rush off though," Corbett said. "You should stay for dinner." "I thank you for your kind invitation, but I regret that I cannot stay, sir," Aubrey said, taking another few steps, making a good show of keeping calm but yet appearing as though he was ready to bolt out the door. "Let him go," Maximus repeated. "Of course if you'd like to leave, we won't stop you, Captain. But at least take the leftover food back with you," Biebe said. "Since you won't be dining with us, you'll need something to eat tonight." "That's not necessary," Aubrey said from the doorway. "Please, we insist."

Aubrey paused, fidgeting with one of the buttons on his cuff. "Perhaps you are right." They quickly wrapped up the leftover bread, cheeses and meats, along with a clean plate and silverware, and put it all into a basket. "I am in your debt, sirs," he said politely. "Once again I thank you for your generosity." He set his hat back on his head and bowed slightly. "Good afternoon, gentlemen." "We'll carry this for you," Cort said, picking up the basket and following Aubrey. The other six quickly filed out after them, and Corbett, at the end of the line, muttered to himself as he stepped into the sunlight. "Bloody hell." Part Eight "Hard to believe 200 people could live together on this thing in the middle of the ocean for months on end." Andy was talking to himself as he stood in the shadow of Surprise's bow, staring up at the ship. "Two dozen of us stuck together here and we're lucky we don't kill each other some days," he said with a laugh. His eyes drifted over the beautifully carved figurehead at the tip of the bow, admiring the craftsmanship. "Damned amazing though. Made by hand, every inch of her. I'll bet she could even survive the lot of us trying to sail her." He grinned again. "God, I can't wait to try. Gonna be damned hard though, with only 23 of us." He scratched his head. "'Suppose we could talk Daniel and Anthony into going along. And I'm sure some of the girls could help -- assuming Captain Jack would let women be sailors." His grin got wider as his eyes traveled to the top of the mainmast. "And I know the perfect place for Sid if he decides he wants to come along." As he stood there, imagining what it would be like to be sailing on the open sea, movement caught the corner of his eye, and he turned, looking down the beach. To his surprise, Aubrey was striding briskly across the sand, heading back towards the ship. Following right behind him were the seven members of the welcoming committee, all of them in their movie clothes. Cort was carrying a basket, and Maximus had his cloak draped over his arm, struggling a bit to keep up with the others in his sandals on the loose sand. Andy nervously smoothed down his wind-swept hair, anxious to make a good first impression on his new brother. Taking a few steps forward, he felt something under his right shoe. He quickly bent down, scooping up the sports car magazine he had brought with him, rolling it into a tube and stuffing it into his back pocket. After pulling out his shirttail to hide the 21st century item from view, he went to the foot of the pier to greet the group.

Aubrey was an imposing sight in his uniform, and Andy couldn't help but be a little awestruck. He recalled how impressive Maximus had been the first time he'd seen him in his general's uniform, and Jack Aubrey was no less so. Aubrey came to a halt in front of Andy at the edge of the pier. "Everything's fine, Captain. No one's been near her but me." "Thank you, sir," Aubrey said. "Captain, this is Andy; he's another one of our family," Wigand said. Aubrey studied Andy's face carefully as he replied, "A pleasure to meet you, sir." "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Captain." Andy smiled. "Thank you for the escort, gentlemen," Aubrey said, "but I can manage quite well on my own now." He moved to take the basket from Cort, but Cort held back, saying, "I think you might need help getting it aboard." Aubrey nodded, and the two walked to the accommodation ladder. Aubrey stepped easily across the wide gap, grabbing onto the broad steps and climbing up towards the main deck. When he was nearly there, he took hold of one of the ropes, leaning down to take the basket from Cort. Within a few moments he was gone, disappearing down one of the hatchways with nary a backwards glance. Cort returned to the others, and they retraced their steps across the beach. "What the hell was that all about?" Andy asked. "Why did he go back to his ship so soon? I thought I'd be sitting out here for hours." Terry motioned for him to be silent, and they all walked solemnly until they reached the broad path that led up the hill towards the buildings. Under the shade of a small grove of trees, Terry stopped. "That went so well," he said with a humorless laugh. The others stopped as well. "No one ever has an easy time of it," Johnny said. "What did we do wrong?" Terry asked. "Why doesn't he remember anything?" "I don't think we did anything wrong," Corbett said. "It's just a lot to take in, that's all." "Will somebody please tell me what happened?" Andy said.

"We got him some coffee and food, and we tried to ease into the whole explanation of what happened to his crew," Biebe said. "But he could sense we were holding back and demanded the truth. So we gave it to him." He sighed heavily. "As soon as we were done, he said he had to go back to his ship." "No, he ran off as soon as he saw all those photographs of us, particularly the ones from his own movie," Terry said. Folding his arms across his chest, he took a step towards Maximus, adding, "What was the point of that? You sat there and did nothing, barely saying a word while I did the dirty work, then suddenly you took it upon yourself to show him all those photos. That's what scared him off." "I was not doing nothing," Maximus answered calmly, ignoring Terry's irritated tone. "I was watching him, and you. Your explanation was excellent; I could not have done better myself. But from what I observed, I truly believe he does remember. It may only be feeling or instinct at this point, but what we told him did awaken something. I saw it in his eyes." Maximus paused, looking at each of his brothers. "I assure you, gentlemen, I would never have shown him the photos if I did not believe he could handle it. We needed something to give substance to what we were saying. Words are not always enough -- oftentimes a man needs to see something with his own eyes before he believes it. And is that not the reason we had the photos prepared?" "I think Max is right," Cort said. "Showing him the photos was a good idea. He may not have known our names and faces, but subconsciously I think he knows we're all related. It's the whole movie character thing that's gonna take a while to sink in though." "You must forget that Aubrey is not like Nash," Maximus said to Terry. "Nash's circumstances were unique in that he already had trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy. But Aubrey is a man who is well accustomed to dealing with stressful situations and thinking on his feet. It was imperative that he be given the facts -- sugar-coating the truth would not have made things any easier for him. I too wish I could make the transition smoother for him, but I do not believe that would be best in the long run." "I agree," Corbett said. "Reality is a bitch, but dealing with it up-front has always been the best way for one of us to settle in here. The first few days can be damned confusing and disorienting, but getting acclimated quickly is best. And the sooner he realizes that his crew is gone for good, the better. Meeting the girls will distract him for a while, and eventually he'll learn to come to terms with this new reality. But for now, we have to introduce him to 21st century and get him involved in the community." Biebe was nodding. "We all know what needs to be done, but it just seems so damn cruel to do this to him." "Of course it is," Wigand said. "It's always cruel and unfair. And it sucks. But that's the way things are here and like it or not, he's got to learn to live with it just like we all have." "Don't forget we haven't even told him everything, such as the fact that he can't leave the

Point and go into town," Terry said. "Or that he'll never see England again, or his wife. Or that the only sailing he'll be able to do here is visiting those islands. We don't know for sure how big the ocean is now, but I doubt he'll be able to take a trip around Cape Horn again. At least not outside of his movie." "At least he'll have that," Johnny said. "Being a captain is his whole life, and losing it is going to be hell for him. Once we show him how to go back to his movie, he'll be able to sail the ocean again with his mates. And from what I've seen, that movie takes place over several months. There was a lot of time there that didn't make it into the movie, so he should be able to spend that time with Stephen." "We may never be able to get him out of the movie," Wigand joked. "That will help him in the future," Terry said. "There are some harsh realities he has to face right now, but we have to make sure he knows there are positive things about the Point to balance that out. Max -- " Terry stopped, frowning. "Max, I didn't mean to snap at you earlier. I was frustrated, that's all." "No offense taken," he said with a forgiving smile. "We're all frustrated." Terry nodded. "Well, I damn well hope you're right that he does know something about the Point, because I still can't understand how he could not know where he is. When I drove up to the Hotel that first day, I knew where I was the minute I laid eyes on the place. And I knew who everyone was when I met them. The same holds true for everyone else here. Why didn't Jack recognize us or the Point itself?" "I can't answer that for certain," Maximus said, "but I do have a suspicion that the ship is to blame." "The ship?" Biebe said. "Having the Surprise here will be of great comfort to him in the future, but for now I believe it is the shock of arriving and finding himself alone on his ship that is causing his problem. John, ask yourself how you would have reacted if all of Mystery had become part of the Point. If you had woken up in your own house, but your wife was not beside you and your children were gone and the whole town was deserted. How would you have felt then?" "I'd have been frantic, probably panicked if I couldn't find the kids. I'd have torn the place apart looking for them." Biebe nodded, adding, "Yea, I see what you're getting at. I'd have been so worried about them and Donna that I couldn't have cared less what my new brothers had to say. I doubt I would have accepted much of what they told me... just like Jack." There was a pause as everyone contemplated that. "Poor sod," Terry muttered. "I guess it wouldn't be much different for me if the circumstances were reversed."

"The time difference makes it that much worse, I'm afraid," Maximus said. "I had 1800 years to deal with, but then there was nothing left for me to return to in my own world. I thought I was in Elysium when I found this place, so oddly enough it made it easier to accept all the strange new things." He gave a half-smile. "There are times when I still think I'm in Elysium." "I thought I was drunk when I first got here," Cort said. "Me too," Johnny said. "Either that or I was having a nervous breakdown," Wigand added. "I thought one of my mates had given me a cigarette that wasn't tobacco," Andy said. They all turned and looked at him, embarrassed that they had forgotten he was there. "So what are you going to do with Captain Jack? You're not going to just let him stay out there all alone, are you?" he said, motioning towards the ship. "As a matter of fact, that's exactly what we're going to do," Terry said. "He needs time to take it all in. He can't sail the ship alone so he's not going anywhere. We'll keep an eye on him in case he decides to come ashore, but otherwise he's to be left alone." "You want me to stay and watch the ship again?" "No, we don't want it to look like we're spying on him. We can keep an eye on him from the house." "That'll be easy then. They've got the place wired; video cameras hooked up to a TV. They were watching him climb up the mast a while back." Maximus chuckled, shaking his head. "Did I not tell you?" "I suppose that means everyone already knows he's gone back to his ship," Cort said. "We'd better get up there and break the bad news," Wigand said. "They already know some of it," Biebe said. "I gave them the heads-up that Jack had no memory of us or the Point." "That's good. But even so, some of the girls are going to be upset," Johnny said. "No one's going to be happy about it," Corbett said with a sigh as they all began the walk up the hill. "Except Sid of course." Aubrey's knees nearly buckled under him as he descended the last step onto the gun deck, and he dropped the food basket, leaning back against the ladder for support. The air seemed hotter and more oppressive than he could ever remember it being, even during

the heat of battle, and he tore at his collar and neck cloth, loosening it enough so he could breathe freely. His cabin was only a few feet away, and he pushed himself back onto his feet, hurrying through the door and heading straight for the large stern windows. In quick succession he opened all five windows, swinging them up on their hinges and fastening them to the ceiling. Carried on the brisk afternoon breeze, fresh clean salt air began to fill the cabin. Aubrey took off his uniform coat, tossing it carelessly across the table, and he dropped down on the bench beneath the windows, slumping against window frame as he unbuttoned his vest. The sea air calmed and relaxed him, letting him think clearly again. But it did nothing to diminish the dozens of questions that were swirling through his mind. Where was he? What had happened to the crew? Where was Stephen? Where were Mowett, Howard, Blakeney, Boyle, Williamson, Killick and all the others? What had happened to Pullings and the Acheron? Why was the ship in such good condition? Who had sailed her into this port and docked her here? Who were all these strange people who all looked like him? How did they expect him to believe such an outlandish story? Where they all mad? Was he dreaming? Or was it he who was mad? And what sort of devilry was responsible for those strange pictures? As troubling as those questions were, doubly so were the others he could hardly begin to understand. If these men were strangers, then why did their faces and names seem so familiar? And why was it that he felt as though he had been there before when he had walked through the door of the tavern? The dream he had had last night was starting to come back to him as well, but only in brief flashes which passed too quickly to stay in his memory. He did not know whether to trust his own memories anymore. Something was telling him not to discount what the strangers had told him, but years of training and experience refused to consider such lunatic rantings. How could such an outrageous story possibly be true? He fervently wished that Stephen were here now to advise him. His dear friend would surely be able to talk to these strange folk and understand their strange words. Where in the name of God was Stephen Maturin? Aubrey slowly rose to his feet again and left the great cabin, aimlessly wandering the ship. The frigate seemed cold and lifeless without its crew, adding to his dark mood. It was not long before he found himself near the hatchway at the stern of the lower deck, amongst the officer's quarters. He stood in front of Stephen's door for some time, staring through the windows into the darkened room. With a sigh he went inside, taking a seat in a shadowy corner.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and bowing his head. Who was he? Who was 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey? Was he master and commander of His Majesty's Ship Surprise, or was he nothing more than a character in a story? And what was Crowe's Point? Was it just another port, or something much more profound? '...When each of us comes here, we come alone...' The words repeated themselves over and over in his head. Surely that would be a cruel joke, to deposit him here without kith or kin, and he refused to believe that could be so. If only he could leave -- sail away and try to find a friendly vessel to assist him. But sailing the ship by himself was impossible. Just to raise the anchor required the strength of nearly 20 men on the capstan. And even if he could find some way to put to sea, the slightest bit of inclement weather could be the death of him and the ship. It was truly the most horrendous nightmare he could ever imagine. And there he sat, hunched over in the chair in Stephen's empty cabin, for the rest of the afternoon. The lobby of the hotel was filled with people -- Colin, Lachlan, Bud, Alex, Jeff, Jeffrey, Corbett, Andy, Hando, Arthur, Steve, Cort, Terry, Steve, Maximus, Biebe, Johnny, Massimo, Kim, East, Nash, Dominic, Michelle, Lisa, Darcy, Annabella, Rick, G.W., Laura, Ilaria, Evelyne, Savannah, Trisha, Kath, Steph, Anthony, Rachel, Daniel, Suki, Donna, Kaz, Louise, NJ, Beej, Chriz, Kelly, Andromeda and Karen -- but despite the crowd the room was silent. Only the occasional sniffle or sigh was heard as everyone tried to deal with the news. "It's so sad," Michelle said, breaking the silence. "He's sitting out there, all alone, probably worried sick about Stephen, not knowing where he is. There has to be something we can do." Colin shook his head. "Best thing we can do is leave him alone. Forcing him to talk to us would just make things worse." "Are you sure he has enough to eat?" Tina asked. "How much food was left over from lunch?" "It was enough," Cort said. "He won't go hungry, at least not tonight." "I wonder if there's any food on board," Lachlan asked. "We know there's no crew, but I wonder what's inside the ship. It could be stocked full of provisions for all we know. Did he say anything about it?" "No, it never came up," Terry said.

"Salted pork and stale biscuits crawling with weevils?" Steve grimaced. "Thanks but no thanks." "Even if he has food, would he be able to prepare it?" Annabella asked. "He's used to having Killick do everything for him." "He could probably cook if he had to," Alex said, "but it's not like cooking here. He can't just turn a knob and start the oven." "So if he decides to stay on the ship for a while, we'll have to start bringing meals down to him on a regular basis," Terry said. "But we can worry about that later. First order of business is the rest of today and tonight. It goes without saying that this place will have to stay a technology-free zone. No lights, no TV -- keep pretending we've had a blackout. If need be we can use electricity in interior rooms with the doors closed, but it's best not to chance it. Then... " He stopped, slumping back in the chair, rubbing his eyes. "Christ, I'm rooted; I can't think straight anymore." "I think you Boys need a break," Kaz said, patting him on the knee. "I think we all need one," a teary-eyed Lisa said. "I vote we take the rest of the afternoon off," Biebe said, "and have a quiet dinner. Everyone -- not just us 7 -- can all get together later this evening and figure out what plan B is going to be." "I second that," Wigand said. As people started to get up out of their chairs, Bud said, "You're forgetting about one thing -- Sid." They all stopped, groaning. "The rest of us will do what's best for Jack, but Sid is a whole other story. So far he's keeping his promise to Lady and Tonya to behave himself, but we all know the man has zero patience. What are we going to do if he starts getting cabin fever from being stuck inside? We can't keep depending on the girls to keep him in line." "We'll just have to do our best to keep an eye on him, that's all," Kim said. "There's not much else we can do." "There's always the jail cell," East said. There were murmurs of agreement, but Bud said, "As much as I'd love to do it, that's not an option. You know how upset he gets if you even mention that -- if we put him in there again, he'd get so wound up that he'd be absolutely godawful when he got out. And he'd take it out on Jack, not us." "Okay, forget I mentioned it," East said.

"Besides," Bud added, "it's in the basement of the tavern. Jack could hear the racket." "I told you we should have taken him way up into mountains and kept him there until everything with Jack was worked out," Hando said. "I'm sure we all wish we could do that on a daily basis," Trisha said, "but that would aggravate Sid too and delay the inevitable." "Like it or not, Sid's a part of us. Jack will have to learn to take the good with the bad," Jeff said. "I only hope Sid won't be too nasty," Arthur said. "I've heard him complaining for months about all the attention Captain Jack has been getting." "We've all heard it," Wigand said with a sigh. "All we can do now is hope for the best, and be prepared to deal with the worst if Sid gets too far out of line." He looked around the room. "Anyone for a drink? I know I could use one." There were many "Hell yes!"'s and some of the residents started to get out of their chairs again. Nash, who had been silently watching from the back of the room, spoke up. "Would I be correct in assuming that these conversations and procedures are analogous to what transpired two years ago when I arrived here?" As many of the Boyz looked at each other uneasily, Lachlan answered, "Well, the details were different -- they always are -- but the basics are the same, John. We always do the very best we can to make sure each and every one of us gets all the help they need to settle in here. We did it for you and we're doing it for Jack." "Apparently we do it regardless of whether or not a person wishes to be here," Nash frowned. "You know we don't have a choice," Bud said, a trace of irritation in his voice. "Russell does a movie, and another one of us joins the family -- that's the way it works." "Nobody likes doing this," Corbett said. "I've watched this happen 23 times, and it's always difficult. But we get through it. You of all people should know how hard everyone tries to welcome the new guy." "Yes, I do recall how patronizing and obsequious everyone was." "John." Karen spoke before anyone else could, laying a hand on his arm, "I may not have been here when you Arrived, but if there's one thing I know about the Point, it's how much everyone cares about each other. I'm sure Jack's arrival has brought back a lot of bad memories about how it was for you when you got here, but you shouldn't be rude to your brothers because of it." Nash looked at the aggravated faces of his brothers, then at Karen, then back at his

brothers. "You are correct; my remarks were unkind. Perhaps I should remove myself from these proceedings to avoid further discord." "That's not necessary, mate," Terry said as Bud and the others calmed down. "We need everyone's input on how to deal with Jack, and that includes yours. You're a part of the community, and you should be here tonight for the meeting... if you want to be." There was a slight pause before Nash replied with a nod. "Very well. I shall attend." "Good. I'm glad that's settled." He turned to Wigand. "Now how about that drink?" "I'll let Mannie know what's going on," NJ said, and East offered to accompany her to the stables. The rest of the group started to scatter, without interruption this time. Laura moved across the room to join Maximus, but he had already turned away from his brothers, heading into the restaurant. She followed as he walked through the empty tables and out onto the patio in back. When she finally reached him, he was leaning on the railing, staring at the Surprise through a gap in the trees. "If you want to be alone, I can go back in the house," she said as she joined him at the railing. Maximus smiled and slipped his arm around her waist. "No, it's all right." He kissed the top of her head, pulling her close. "It must have been rough," she said quietly, "and brought back a lot of bad memories for you too." He nodded. "I would not call them 'bad'... but it was difficult. The men from this century do not understand that there is more than just technology to deal with. Modern culture is so different from what I was brought up with, and from what Jack was brought up with. Many things will be quite a shock to him." "I don't doubt it." She held him close, casually rubbing his back. "Hmmm, you are very tense. You really do need a break. Let's go saddle up Scarto and Traveler and go for a ride before dinner." He shook his head reluctantly. "Much as I'd like to, I cannot. It is unlikely that Jack will come ashore this afternoon, but I should be here in case he does." "That's too bad, because the sight of you on a horse in that uniform is guaranteed to make the ladies forget all about Captain Jack for a while," she grinned. He grinned back. "Is that so?" He turned to face her, wrapping both arms around her. "Well, it certainly makes *me* weak at the knees, General," she teased.

"So I've noticed," he chuckled as he kissed her softly. "Perhaps we should go upstairs." "Sounds good to me," she said suggestively. Then her eyes widened. "Upstairs! Oh no, I forgot all about Apollo! Poor guy needs to be let out." She grabbed his hand and pulled him along behind her as she went back into the restaurant. Much later, when most of the Point residents were heading for their beds for the night, Arthur and Dominic were huddled together near the beach, a chess board between them as they stood watch. There was a small flashlight illuminating the board, barely enough to allow them to see, but blocked by an outcropping of rocks in the event that Jack might look in their direction. The night was quiet save for the surf as it lapped at the shoreline; neither man had spoken in some time, each concentrating on the chess game. As Dominic was contemplating his next move, Arthur stared down the beach at the dark silhouette that was the Surprise in the pale light of the new moon. There was a faint glow of candlelight in Jack's cabin, and while he watched the waves dance along the hull, Arthur thought he heard a new noise, just barely audible over the surf. Arthur held his breath, listening, and realized he was hearing music. "Do you hear that?" he whispered. "Don't distract me," Dominic muttered, chewing on his lower lip as he tried to decide whether to take Arthur's rook with his bishop. Arthur rose to his feet and began walking down the beach towards the dock. "Where are you going?" Dominic said, but Arthur kept walking. Cursing under his breath, Dom switched off the flashlight and followed after Arthur. As they got closer to the ship, it became clear that someone -- and it could only be Jack -was playing the violin. Neither of them knew the tune, but it was a lonely, melancholy sound. They listened, entranced, but the music only lasted for a few more minutes. Then it stopped, and a long silence followed. Arthur and Dominic started to return to their chess game, but then the violin playing resumed. They listened again in silence, but this time only a few brief forlorn notes drifted across the waves before it trailed off again and was heard no more. The two men looked at one another sadly and went back to their spot, the game now forgotten. Part Nine The early morning sun glittered off the ocean as Maximus made his way across the

beach, heading towards the dock. He had been awake for hours, foregoing his usual workout to join the 'Aubrey watch' (as it had become known around the Point). Not long after the sun had arisen, the Captain had taken a brief stroll around the deck. An hour later Aubrey was spotted topside once again, and the welcoming committee had put 'Plan B' into operation. Apollo accompanied his master, frolicking in the sand as he chased a couple of seagulls, barking when they flew out of reach. Maximus smiled at the dog's antics, hoping that the noise would alert Aubrey to his presence before he actually reached the ship. When he set foot on the pier, Maximus signaled the dog to be quiet, and Apollo obediently returned to his master's side as Maximus walked slowly down the pier, staring up at the ship. There was no sign of Jack however, not until he reached the end of the pier. There he found Aubrey sitting along the stern, dressed in whites and tans, his blue uniform jacket absent, his spyglass resting on the wooden rail as he looked out to sea in the direction of the nearby island. Aubrey had taken notice of them immediately, and Maximus called out, "Good morning, Captain Aubrey." "Good morning, sir," Aubrey called back, putting the spyglass somewhere out of sight. "I apologize if I am disturbing you, Captain, but I came here to invite you to breakfast. There's no need to trouble yourself with preparing a meal when our kitchens can provide you with all means of sustenance -- we have eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, bread, fruit, fried potatoes and many other dishes." Aubrey hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your invitation is quite gracious, but I'm afraid I must decline. I am quite comfortable with the provisions I have aboard." "If you prefer to remain on your ship, then perhaps we could bring something down to you here. Our cook has just made a fresh batch of pastries -- they're quite a treat, something truly not to be missed. I'm sure they would make an excellent addition to your own meal, Captain." "Pastries...?" Aubrey said, raising an eyebrow. "No, no I could not impose upon you." "It is no imposition, I assure you, Captain. We would be happy to bring them to you along with fresh coffee." Aubrey looked away, gazing out to sea for a few moments. Then he smiled politely, replying, "It would be rude of me to refuse your hospitality. I look forward to the meal. Thank you, sir." "You're welcome, Captain," he said, bowing slightly. "Excuse me for a moment; I must let them know to bring it here." He walked back to the beach and used a prearranged

signal to tell Terry -- who was standing on the hill near the hotel -- to prepare the breakfast but to wait until called for. Terry waved back and disappeared from sight. He and Apollo returned to the end of the pier. "It might take some time until everything is ready," he told Aubrey. "If you don't mind I will wait here with you." Aubrey nodded. "Thank you again." His gaze shifted to Apollo. "Is that your dog?" "Yes, it is," Maximus smiled, leaning down to pet the large gray and black canine affectionately. "This is Apollo. Apollo, say hello to Captain Aubrey." The dog barked twice, wagging his tail, and Maximus smiled again, patting him on the head. "Good boy." Aubrey smiled as well. "He is very well trained. What sort of breed is he? He looks almost wolf-ish." "He's part wolf, part shepherd. A more loyal, intelligent creature you will not find." Apollo wagged his tail faster, rubbing up against Maximus' legs and licking his hand. "I can see that," Aubrey smiled. Maximus turned his attention upwards. "Your ship is magnificent, Captain, truly magnificent. You must be very proud of her." "I am indeed," Aubrey beamed. "Surprise is a fine vessel, one of the finest I have ever had the pleasure to serve aboard." "She's a warship, is she not?" Aubrey nodded. "In the service of His Majesty she has fought many battles." He patted the wood affectionately. An awkward pause fell while the two men stared at one another. "Would you... would you care to come aboard while you wait?" Maximus smiled broadly. "I would be honored, sir." He bowed deeply, then walked to the middle of the ship as Aubrey came down from the quarterdeck. Maximus looked warily at the wide gap between the edge of the dock and the steps attached to the side of the ship, wondering what had happened to the ropes he had seen the day before. A moment later Aubrey tossed two ropes down, and they hung on each side of the wooden steps. Maximus was able to grab one when the ship moved close to the dock, hanging on tightly with his left hand as he stepped across, his right hand gripping one of the higher stairs. It took a few moments to get used to the gentle rocking motion, and then he climbed up to the top, with Aubrey lending him a steadying hand when he reached the deck. Apollo started to bark from the pier below. "Wait for me, Apollo," Maximus commanded, and the dog quieted, lying down on the pier across from the ladder.

"Thank you for allowing me aboard, Captain," he said as his eyes wandered over the ship, across the deck and up above into the rigging. "Impressive. Most impressive." He made no attempt to hide the awe in his voice; the ship was beautiful. "I must confess I know little about naval warfare, but I would be very interested in learning more about how it performs in battle." He was wearing his general's uniform again, without the heavy cloak, and Maximus could not help but notice that Aubrey looked closely at the uniform before replying, "You are a soldier.... A Roman soldier." They were statements, not questions, Maximus noted. "Yes, I am. General Maximus Decimus Meridias, at your service, Captain." He bowed his head. "I served Rome under Emperor Marcus Aurelius as Commander of the Armies of the North and General of the Felix Legions. My last campaigns were against the barbarian tribes in Germania." "You were acquainted with Marcus Aurelius. Caesar Marcus Aurelius." Again, it was more of a statement than a question, and Maximus said fondly, "Yes, I knew him well. He was like a father to me. My family knew the Imperial family, and once I had gained some success in battle, he honored me with his favor." His throat tightened as he continued, "I was to have been his heir." He paused there, ready to continue on if need be, but Aubrey's eyes were full of unasked questions. He appeared to be on the verge to giving voice to one of them, so Maximus waited, turning his attention to the masts and rigging again, silently admiring them. But Aubrey's expression changed abruptly, and he shook his head. "That is not possible. I do not mean to doubt your word, sir, but the whole situation is quite absurd and quite mad." Maximus nodded. "Yes, Captain, you are quite right. It is impossible, fantastical and beyond reason. And no one understands that better than I do," he said with a hint of sadness in his voice. He moved to the rail, leaning back against it as he gestured towards the hotel which was visible through the rigging. "When I arrived here two and a half years ago, it all seemed as incomprehensible to me as it does to you now. They told me it was the year 2000, which of course was meaningless to me. The calendar they use did not exist in my day, based on the birth of a man who was executed as a criminal by the Empire." Maximus was not surprised to see Aubrey's brows raise briefly; no doubt his 19th century English upbringing would consider a Roman to be a heathen. "But eventually I understood what they were telling me. Eighteen hundred years had passed, and the world I knew was but a distant memory, and all the great palaces and monuments of Rome have crumbled to dust and ruin. Many empires have risen and fallen since then, and the history of men has seen so much change. The world is a much different place than the days of the Caesars, with inventions so strange and wondrous that it would almost seem to be magic. Lamps that burn without flame and fill a room with bright light;

horse-less carriages that move under their own power; pictures which seem to move from within a lighted box; machines that fly through the air like birds; other machines that can reach the moon and beyond to the stars themselves; weapons so deadly that a whole city can be destroyed in an instant." Aubrey was listening intently now, and Maximus continued, "There is also a different type of 'play' from that which we knew in our day. They're called motion pictures, or movies, and that's where those photographs we showed you yesterday came from. There is a way of preserving a performance, so that it can be viewed many times by many people. I could hardly understand it, it was all so strange." He inhaled deeply, letting it out slowly. "If it weren't for the dreams, I do not think I would have survived the first few days with my sanity intact." There was a startled glint in Aubrey's eyes, and Maximus was encouraged, hoping that his instincts had been right about Aubrey. He turned away from the railing and Aubrey, taking slow paces towards the bow as his eyes took in all the little details. Aubrey followed a few feet behind. Maximus reached the bow and had turned to continue down the larboard side when the captain finally spoke. "Dreams, you say?" Aubrey said casually. "What sort of dreams?" The question was anything but casual, for Maximus sensed that his new brother was holding back many more questions. "Before I came here, I had many dreams at night which helped prepare me for what I would find here at Crowe's Point. One of the men you met yesterday, Cort, had them as well." Aubrey walked beside him as the two moved slowly down the deck. "The others can tell you how it was for them, but this is how it was for me." He paused for a moment. "At the end of my movie -- my play -- I fought a duel with a man who had murdered my family. He did not survive the duel, but neither did I, for I had been mortally wounded before the duel started. I died." Aubrey looked startled. "I know it seems impossible, since I am here speaking with you, but that is another of the strange things about this place. "When I died, I was lying on the sand of an arena in Rome. Everything went black for a time, and then I awoke. I thought I was in Elysium - the afterlife - because I found myself all alone. There was neither man nor beast to be found anywhere in all of Rome. I wanted to find my family, so I began the journey on foot to my home in Hispania. The journey was long, and when I slept at night, I began to have the dreams. I saw the faces of many strange men and images of a small village along the sea. And I saw the strange inventions I spoke of a few minutes ago. Night after night I dreamed of nothing else. After I had been traveling for a few weeks the landscape began to change, and then one morning I arrived here." He pointed to the hotel. "When I saw the men, I recognized them all from my dreams. I recognized this place, and when I saw the inventions -- automobiles, electric lights, airplanes and television and the like -- I knew what they were as well. It took some time afterwards to truly understand what had happened to me, but the dreams prepared me well. My family was not here as I had hoped they might be, and that has been painful, it is true, but there are many other things that this place has to offer. I was a soldier all my life because that was what my duty to Rome required of me, but I loved nothing more than tending to my crops at home. I can do that here in peace -- I have seen

too much of death and blood to regret losing that. And I have my horses Argento and Scarto. They were here waiting for me, just as this ship came along with you." Aubrey had a stunned look on his face, and Maximus was silent again, giving him time to deal with this new information. They had reached the steps that led to the quarter deck, and Maximus followed Aubrey as he walked up the stairs and across the deck to the stern. The captain was quiet, his face troubled as though he were debating something internally, and Maximus resumed his study of the ship, standing beside the wheel and running his hand over the curved polished wood. "I've had the dreams too," Aubrey finally said, and Maximus moved closer to him again. "Last night. And the night before." He no longer seemed troubled, and when Aubrey lifted his gaze and looked Maximus in the eye there was something new. "I had forgotten it by the time I met you yesterday, but last night I had the same dream again. I remember all of it now." "What was the dream?" "I was here on Surprise, but I was alone. There was no one on deck, no one at the wheel, yet she seemed to be sailing herself. I was standing right here." He stood in front of the stern lantern. "One by one each of you appeared at the bow, and walked down the deck to join me here. Each in turn gave their names, and lined up along the rails, a dozen on each side. All the pictures you showed me yesterday, they were all there. And I knew them, all of them, even though I'd never met them before. Even those of you I met yesterday, it was though I was seeing old friends. Was it -- was it like that for you, sir?" Maximus allowed himself a brief smile. "Yes. Yes it was. A very strange sensation, is it not?" Aubrey nodded vigorously. "Exceedingly strange. We have only just met, sir, and yet I feel as though I have known you for years. How is this possible?" Maximus sighed. "Unfortunately that is a question I cannot answer. There are some things about this place that cannot be explained -- I only know that there are certain truths which must be accepted even though they defy logic. As time passes, you will understand better. But please, call me Maximus. We do not stand on formality here." Aubrey's eyes lightened, although he did not smile. "Very well, Maximus." Maximus nodded in response. "Can you tell me what else you saw in your dreams? Did you see Crowe's Point too?" "Yes, I did. We sailed past it, and it was as though it were a place I was already long acquainted with. But that was but one of many things I saw as we sailed past. I saw ships

the likes of which I had never imagined before -- huge metal leviathans that moved at incredible speeds without sails. As Surprise sailed on, I saw all manner of strange ships, and it was as though we sailed forward through history. I saw the kind of hellish weapons you spoke of earlier." He turned his head, looking out to sea. "I thought all of you were mad when you said 200 years had passed since my last memories, but now..." He shook his head. "Now I cannot ignore the reality that there is indeed truth to what you say. I cannot understand how this can be true, yet I know in my heart that it is so." He looked at Maximus again. "Those strange inventions you spoke of -- the lamps without flame and the like -- I saw them in my dreams too, exactly as you describe." His eyes glanced towards the tavern for a moment. "I want to understand. I am not a man who frightens easily, but I must confess I find all this quite unnerving." "As I said earlier, no one here knows better than I do how strange this place is. The first few days were unnerving for me as well. But one thing I learned very quickly was that everyone cared very much about me and would do anything they could to help me settle in. And I will tell you now that *I* will do whatever I can to help you, Captain." They made eye contact for a few moments, and Aubrey nodded once, then turned away, staring out to sea. Maximus drifted away across the quarterdeck, trying to give Aubrey some space and privacy. He turned his attention to the shore, and the cluster of trees near the path to the hotel. Terry was hidden there in the shade, binoculars focused on himself and Aubrey, obviously waiting for the prearranged signal. Aubrey was not quite ready for the others to join them however, so Maximus moved to the other side of the ship behind the mizzenmast, out of Terry's sight. As he stepped up to the rail, Apollo paced anxiously, whining and uttering a solitary yip to get his master's attention. "Wait for me, Apollo," Maximus ordered, and the dog lay down obediently, his long pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth as he panted in the warm sun. After a few minutes, Aubrey joined him at the railing. "My crew cannot come here with me. That was why I was alone on the ship in my dreams, wasn't it?" "Yes," he answered reluctantly. "Is there no way of finding them?" Aubrey said with a sigh. "Perhaps they are elsewhere at sea. If I was able to find more sailors to man Surprise, I could search for them." "I fear such a search would be fruitless, Captain. We have all left someone behind -wives, children, family, love ones, friends -- and we've searched for them at various times. But it remains only us, and the ladies who come here to join us." "Join you from where?" "From the outside world, which unfortunately is closed to us. The ladies can come and go as they please, but we cannot."

"Why?" As Maximus paused, trying to think of a simple answer, Aubrey continued, "Let me guess -- that is another of those things that defy logic and cannot be easily explained." A smile turned up the corner of Maximus' mouth; for the first time, Aubrey was becoming more comfortable with the situation. "Yes, it is. You will find many more rules which govern how things work here, and they are all very strange. But once you have been here for a while, it will not seem strange at all. At least that is how it was for me." "It appears I have a lot to learn," Aubrey said with a wry smile. Silence fell again, and after a few moments, Maximus looked over his shoulder, commenting, "I'm sure breakfast will be here soon." Inwardly, he noted that was probably time to call for the others to join him. "I apologize for the wait." "No need to apologize, Maximus; I am most appreciative of your hospitality." "I believe all the others that you met yesterday will be joining us too... unless you have objections to them coming aboard your ship, of course." "No, not at all," Aubrey said politely, then paused. When he continued, his demeanor was more heartfelt as he said, "I would like that very much." "Good. And you will enjoy the pastries very much; I can nearly guarantee that," he said with a grin. He looked over his shoulder again. "I wonder what's keeping them?" He went back to the other side of the deck, raising his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked over towards the hotel. Terry, who was still watching through the binoculars, saluted in response and hurried up the hill, all before Aubrey joined Maximus at the railing. "I'm sure they'll be here any moment now," Maximus said. Part Ten Jeffrey Wigand was the last one up the ladder, grumbling under his breath about needing a better way to get aboard after nearly ending up in the water when a heavy wave had made him lose his footing. "Come on, mate," Terry said as he and Biebe took hold of his arms and helped him up onto the deck. "Are you all right, sir?" Aubrey asked. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," Wigand said, giving a half-hearted smile as he dusted himself off.

"Those steps can be rather troublesome if you're not used to them," Aubrey said. "Many a time I have seen men end up in the water, especially in stormy seas." With Aubrey distracted, Terry took Maximus aside, whispering, "So how'd it go?" He grinned for a moment, whispering back, "Quite well." "Good on'ya." Terry patted him on the shoulder then went to join the others as they stood on the deck, gawking as they gazed up at the complicated arrangement of rigging, masts and sails. "She's certainly a beauty, Captain." Johnny's comment was echoed by the others, and Aubrey beamed. "Thank you, sirs. The Surprise is my pride and joy, and I am gratified that you find her pleasing as well." "Oh, we most certainly do," Cort said. As his brothers continued to look over the ship, Maximus said, "Gentlemen, I'm sure there will be time for this later, but now we must attend to our guest." He picked up one of the baskets the others had brought. "Captain, where may we set out the food?" "My cabin would be best. If you'll follow me." He led them down a nearby hatchway and across the gun deck to the great cabin. The brothers ducked their heads to avoid the low beams, marveling over the rows of cannons that lined the deck, marveling again when more cannon were found in the Captain's cabin. Aubrey's face flushed with embarrassment at the state of his quarters. The basket from the night before sat next to the table, stacked with dirty plates, silverware and napkins. Charts and papers covered the table, and clothing was draped over many of the chairs. "My apologies, gentlemen, for the deplorable conditions. Killick, my steward, usually tends to such housekeeping matters." "No apologies are necessary, Captain," Maximus said. "It's perfectly understandable under the present circumstances." "We'll just take care of it for you now," Corbett said, and they quickly set about straightening up. The basket was set outside, the charts were put away and the clothing folded and set on the back bench. Enough chairs were found for everyone, and they sat down and set out the food they had brought. Aubrey's own china was used to serve the coffee, but the brothers had brought small plates to serve the pastries. There were a half dozen varieties of baked goods -cream puffs with regular and chocolate cream, chocolate eclairs, donuts filled with bavarian cream, apricot and raspberry kolackies dusted with powdered sugar, croissants, sweet rolls and pecan coffee cake. In addition, there were slices of whole grain wheat

bread with whipped butter. "It looks quite delicious," Aubrey smiled, putting several items on his plate and sampling a bite of each. The others looked on with amusement as he then quickly devoured the deserts, afterwards wiping the powdered sugar off his face. He turned to Maximus, saying, "You were absolutely correct. I do not think I have ever tasted better." "Correct about what?" Wigand asked. "I guaranteed him that he would enjoy the pastries." "That was a very safe bet," Biebe said. "Our chef Annabella's pastries are always wonderful. She made them especially for you today, Captain, in your honor." "Please give her my compliments then." "She'll be very happy to hear that," Johnny said. The food and coffee quickly disappeared amidst small talk about the meal. During a lull in the conversation, Maximus said, "Captain, I would like to share with my brothers what you told me earlier. With your permission of course." That caught everyone's attention, and they listened intently as Aubrey replied, "I have no objections." Maximus nodded, and began to repeat to his brothers the dreams that Aubrey had described to him. When he had finished, he asked Aubrey, "Please correct me if I am in error in any way." "No, you are not in error." His gaze turned to the other six. "This is all very very strange. I have only met you yesterday, yet I feel as though I have known you for far longer. And I know this place now too. Everything seems so much different than just a few hours ago." He leaned back in his chair. "I almost feel as though I should apologize for my behavior. I was quite rude in leaving so abruptly." The others did their best to disguise their relief. "Please don't apologize," Biebe said. "We've all been through this in one way or another. We know how difficult it is to come to terms with it." "But we're extremely happy that you are starting to understand things," Terry said. "I suppose we could have handled it better yesterday too, but we just weren't prepared for the fact you didn't know anything. That's never happened before." "But there is so much I do not understand. Maximus has told me some things, but I sense that there is much more I must learn about this place."

"Yes, there is," Cort said. "And we will tell you everything you need to know. But you don't need to try to understand it all at once in a day or two. It takes time to settle in. I had over 125 years of history to take in, so I think I know what you're going through too." "Are you ready to meet the rest of us yet?" Maximus asked. "There are sixteen others waiting in the hotel. Do you think that seeing them would help?" Aubrey looked down at the table. "I don't know." He looked up again a moment later. "I do wish to learn more, but I believe I prefer to see some of these new modern inventions that I saw in my dreams. Can some be found nearby? I do not recall seeing anything like them yesterday." Johnny started to smile. "You didn't see them because we didn't want you to. We thought it might be too confusing on top of everything else. There are many new inventions in the tavern, but we covered them up or moved them into the back." "Come back to the tavern now and we'll show them to you," Maximus said. "What sorts of inventions do you have there?" he said, eyes bright with curiosity. "For starters, there's the electric light -- that's the lamp that burns without flame," Wigand said. "Excellent," Aubrey said, his enthusiasm growing. His attention turned back to the table. "But perhaps we should finish off these delicious morsels before we go," he said as he picked up another cream puff. "There's the filament -- when it gets hot from the electricity going through it, it glows very brightly." Wigand held a clear light bulb in front of Aubrey. "Everything's all set," Terry said as he emerged from the back room. "Power's connected again." "I suppose that's enough of a science lesson for now," Wigand said. "You'll be able to see for yourself." He guided Aubrey over to a light fixture near the bar where the rest of the men had gathered. The lamp shade had been removed, and the frosted bulbs sat in their sockets but had not yet been screwed back in. "Ready?" Biebe asked. Aubrey nodded, and Johnny and Corbett replaced the bulbs simultaneously. Aubrey took an involuntary step backwards as the light from the two 60 watt bulbs suddenly illuminated the room. He was speechless for a moment, squinting as he gazed at the bright light. "My word... It's like looking into the sun," he finally said.

"It's too bright with just a bare bulb," Corbett said as he put the shade back in place, muting the light. Aubrey came forward tentatively, staring at it in wonder. "Extraordinary," he muttered, peering under the shade and reaching towards the bulb. "Careful," Wigand warned. "It gets very hot. It would burn your fingers if you touched the bulb." Aubrey pulled his hand back quickly. "That's just one of the lights in here," Terry said. With that, he and the others went around the room, putting the bulbs back in the rest of the fixtures. Every corner of the room was soon filled with light, and then the ceiling lights were turned on, as well as the spotlights on the small bandstand in one corner and the bar lights. Aubrey was speechless again, and Maximus came near. "It is quite overwhelming, I know, but in time you will get used to it." "And eventually you may even wonder how you ever managed with lamps and candles," Cort said. Aubrey just shook his head. "It's so bright." "Probably too bright," Terry said. "We don't usually turn on every light in the place all at once." Aubrey watched as he turned off the ceiling, bandstand and bar lights with the simple flip of a switch, leaving just the wall and column fixtures to illuminate the tavern. "How long will they burn like that?" "Well, if they were left on all day and all night, they'd last several weeks. Generally we only have to change the bulbs every couple months or so," Johnny said. "Months?" Aubrey's eyes widened again as he shook his head again. "Would you like a drink, Captain?" Maximus asked. "Perhaps something stronger than coffee this time." "Yes. Yes, thank you," he said absently, his face becoming slightly pale. Maximus brought him a pint of dark ale while the others got him a chair. After draining the entire glass, he blinked several times, eyes focusing again. "It's real... it's all real. I'm not dreaming anymore..." He looked up at Maximus. "Am I?" "No, you're not." He reached for the empty glass. "Would you like another?" Aubrey nodded, and Maximus refilled it. Aubrey sipped slowly on the second ale as the others moved a few feet away, talking

quietly. "This is enough show and tell for one day," Terry said. "Let him get his bearings and get used to the lights. Last thing we need is a repeat of yesterday." "It is premature to make that conclusion," Maximus said, keeping his eye on Aubrey. "And we should not speak as though he were not here." As he approached Aubrey again, the Captain stood up, setting the half-empty glass aside on a table as he took a deep breath. He walked back over to the lamp, staring at it in fascination. "Stephen should be here to see this," he said with a wistful smile. His curiosity took him to the light switches. "What do these do?" "They control the flow of electricity to the bulbs. There are wires in the walls that go from this switch to the bulbs," Wigand explained. "When you push it up into this position," he demonstrated and the ceiling lights came on, "the electricity can reach the bulbs and they light up. Push the switch down like this, and the electricity is cut off and the lights go out." The lights went dark again. "May I try?" Wigand smiled, as did most of the other men. "Go ahead -- its perfectly safe." Aubrey reached out hesitantly, fingers poised a few millimeters away from the switch for several moments before pushing it up. He smiled as the ceiling lights came on, and for the next few minutes he experimented with the five light switches, turning all the lights on and off with a child-like enthusiasm. All of the lights were on in the tavern when Aubrey finally turned away, saying, "What other inventions do you have to show me, gentlemen?" There were more smiles as Biebe asked, "What would you like to see?" "The carriages, the ones without horses. Can you show me one of those?" "We certainly can," Corbett said. He glanced at the others. "Who's car?" "I think mine's closest," Terry said. "Anybody mind?" They all shook their heads, and Terry headed outside, saying, "I'll be back in a few minutes." Lachlan was stretched out in a chair, eyes closed and making no attempt to fight off the desire to take a nap, when shouts and squeals from the next room startled him back to wakefulness. He scrambled up and ran into the TV room, elbowing his way through the crowd. "What is it? What happened?" "Oh my god, he did it! Max did it!!" Laura said as she hugged Tina for a moment.

Lachlan and the others watched the TV screen as Terry got out of his car, opening up the doors, trunk and hood. Cort, Biebe, Corbett, Maximus, Wigand and Johnny were clustered around Aubrey as he looked over the vehicle. "I'll be damned," Lachlan said, smiling and shaking his head. "The man works fast, I'll give him that." The ladies were hugging each other and hugging the men too. "Hey, look!" Dominic said. "The lights are on in the tavern too!" A collective cheer went up from the group. "I sincerely hope this means the rest of us will meet him soon," Alex said. "I hope so too," Steve said. "Looks like we're a few steps closer now." "Would you like to get in and go for a ride, Captain?" Terry asked after he had finished giving a simplified explanation of how the car worked. As Aubrey looked up from his study of the dashboard, Maximus said, "Perhaps it would be better if you gave the Captain a demonstration first. When I first saw one of these, the speed they travel at was quite... intimidating." Aubrey's brow furrowed. "Speed? How fast can it travel?" "An average speed would be about 40 miles an hour. But the top speed of this particular automobile is 120 miles an hour," Terry said. Aubrey's jaw dropped. "That's impossible!" "I assure you, Captain, it is not," Maximus said. "I'll take a drive down the road," Terry said. "I can't go 120 on this stretch of road, but I can get it up near 60 for a bit." The doors, hood and trunk were closed and Terry got behind the wheel. Aubrey took several steps back when he started the engine, and watched wide-eyed as Terry drove the silver BMW slowly around the parking lot for a minute, then headed out on the main road that led out into the countryside. The car quickly picked up speed, racing down the ribbon of asphalt, soon disappearing beyond a bend in the road far in the distance. A few moments later it reappeared, heading back towards the tavern, picking up even more speed. By the time it reached the last hill, it was going fast enough to become airborne for a second. It slowed down quickly afterwards, so that by the time Terry reached the parking lot again he was only going 5 mph. "So what do you think?" Terry asked as he turned off the engine and got out. Aubrey was speechless, shaking his head in disbelief. "Can we get you another drink then?"

"Truly remarkable," Aubrey said when he'd found his voice again. "And no, I don't need another drink -- at least not yet anyway. I'd like to see more -- I must confess I am very curious about these 'movies' you speak of. Is it possible to show me one?" He looked at Maximus. "I would very much like to see yours, Maximus." The men looked at each other. "Are you sure about that, Captain?" Corbett asked. "This is quite a bit of information to take in all at once." "Yes, I'm sure. It is true that I do not fully understand all that I am seeing... but I do know that I need to see it with my own eyes." "Do you want to know more about us first? The rest of the guys are next door waiting to meet you." Biebe gestured towards the hotel. "Seeing them might answer a few questions too." Aubrey looked towards the hotel but didn't answer. Maximus spoke up, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you wish to see my film, we will show it to you. But there is another option -- we have prepared a sample of all of our movies. One movie can take two or three hours to watch, but we have taken two or three minutes from each movie, and you can watch them instead. That way you can see all of us without actually meeting everyone, and it perhaps it will help make other things make more sense." "I suppose that would be all right, since I'm not even sure what you're talking about." "We'll explain everything as best we can," Wigand said. "It'll take about an hour to watch it," Johnny said. "Would you like something else to drink first or something to eat?" "No, I'm fine, thank you. I'd very much like to see these 'movies' - or whatever you call them - as soon as it's convenient for you." The men looked at each other again. "Well, lads, you heard the man," Terry said. "The movie theater it is. This way, Captain." He gestured towards the far side of the tavern and started walking. The ladies of the Point had put together film clips of all Russell's movies (except 'Master and Commander') in chronological order, with captions listing the year, the movie's name and character's name preceding each clip. So after the Boyz had done their best to explain the concept of a motion picture, they all sat down in the Point's small theater to watch. It began with two clips of Jack Corbett talking to Captain Cooper. That was followed by: Johnny Ryan at breakfast with Sam and his mates just after Sam has arrived, and dragracing with Sam afterwards; Andy describing the drive-in movie to Martin; Dominic

playing the guitar with Rosemary; East breaking in a horse; Kim at Wallace's home talking about business; Hando telling Gabe about Mein Kamf; an inebriated Arthur celebrating his birthday; Egan on his horse chasing Thowra; Lachlan and Lil at the beach; Mitchell getting ready for his date with Greg; Cort, Herod and the Kid in the gun shop; Zack on the airplane with Yuji and the ditzy stewardess; Sid talking to Parker in the police van; Alex jumping into Myra's car and meeting her for the first time; Bud talking to Lynn in the liquor store; Steve and Monica arguing; Colin and Midori at the dance; Biebe's opening scene with the kids, the snowmobile and Bailey; Wigand and Bergman talking in the Japanese restaurant; Maximus talking with Caesar in his tent; Terry on Luthan Risk's Thames boat cruise with Havery; Nash and Alicia stargazing. When it was over and the lights had been turned up again, Aubrey sat there staring, wideeyed. Terry, who was sitting next to him, turned to him and asked, "Would you like that drink now?" Aubrey nodded. After he'd had another few sips of ale, Aubrey's questions began again. "So what you are telling me is that those pictures are real. That it was not a fiction -- when I saw each of you there," he pointed at the screen, "it was what actually happened to you." He looked at Maximus. "That was Caesar Marcus Aurelius." Maximus nodded, and Aubrey turned to Terry. "Were you in London? Was that the Thames?" Terry said that it was, and Aubrey shook his head in amazement once again. "The city looks so different... So each of you has a - a 'movie' which I've just seen a small portion of. I could see the entirety of each and every one in turn if I desired?" "Yes, you could, but I would caution you about doing that right now," Corbett said. "Many of us have found that it's better to meet our brothers in person first -- seeing the movies can lead to prejudging the men. Some of us lead different lives here than in our movies." "If you want to see a movie all the way through to understand better what a movie is, it might be better to watch one which does not have Russell Crowe in it," Cort said. "I see," Aubrey said, although it was obvious he was quite confused. His brow furrowed, and he continued, "But... as I understand it, I am here because there was one of these 'movies' where I myself appeared. But I did not see that up there." He pointed at the screen. "No, you didn't. We put that collection of scenes together to show you the other men that live here at Crowe's Point," Biebe said. "But there *is* a 'movie' that I appear in, is there not?" Biebe nodded. "Then I can also see that 'movie' if I desire?" Maximus and the others hesitated before answering. "Well, yes you could watch it, but I would caution you not to. It is very very strange to see ones' self in this way, especially when you are not yet familiar with this new world."

"But you have seen it." "Actually, no, I haven't," Maximus said. "I have seen brief scenes from it, similar to what we have just shown you. But as he said," he gestured at Corbett, "I decided I would rather meet you in person before I saw your movie." Aubrey asked if the others had seen it, and Terry and John were the only ones who had seen "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World" in its entirety. Aubrey pondered that for a moment, then asked, "Are there others that might have seen it?" They told him yes, a couple of the other men had watched the whole movie. Nearly all of the women had seen the film as well, although some of them also choose to meet Aubrey on his own terms and had not watched it just yet. Aubrey was silent a few more moments, then said, "I should at least know what other people know about me. And I certainly wish to know the reason I am here. If you have my 'movie' available, I would very much like to see it now." The others exchanged a few looks, and then Terry said, "If that's what you want, Captain, then we will show it to you. But I'm sure I speak for the others when I say you should take a break before we do that. Have something else to eat, maybe some lunch, something more to drink. What we've been showing you is a lot to take in; take it one step at a time." Aubrey nodded. "Yes, you are quite right. At the very least I must attend to, shall we say, personal matters. If you could direct me to the privy, I would be most grateful." Terry grinned for a moment. "Sorry, Captain, we should have done that earlier. In fact, that'll probably be another new experience for you. Our privies -- which we now call bathrooms or lavatories -- are a bit different from what you're accustomed to." Maximus took Aubrey into the men's room at the back of the theater, and when the two were out of sight, the remaining men let out sighs of relief. "Fuck me swinging," Johnny said as he slumped down in his chair. "I can't believe how *fast* he's taking this in. Yesterday he was totally clueless, and now he wants to know everything all at once." "Must've been the dreams last night that jump-started all the memories he should have had yesterday when he walked off the ship," Wigand said. "Whatever Max said must've helped a lot too," Biebe said. "The two of them do have a hell of a lot in common." "Well, I just hope that seeing his own movie doesn't freak him out again," Terry said. "Maybe we can talk him out of it over lunch," Cort said, rising to his feet and stretching. They all got up and went to the back of the theater, waiting for Aubrey and Maximus to

come out. Part Eleven "I think we have a pretty good idea which bit of 21st century technology will be the Captain's favorite," Corbett said to Johnny as the two stood together at the bar, watching Aubrey from across the great room of the tavern. Music filled the air, the melodic strains of Mozart's Symphony No. 25 emanating from the old-fashioned jukebox. Aubrey stood a few feet in front of it as he had for the last half hour, eyes closed as he listened, obviously enraptured, moving his hands in time with the music as if he were conducting the symphony himself. The others were scattered around the room, watching too, pleased to see their new brother adjusting to his new life so well. The symphony ended, and Aubrey applauded enthusiastically. "Excellent! Excellent! Truly extraordinary. I still do not understand how this can be, but it is most pleasing to the ear." He turned to the others with a broad smile. "You say there is more of this fine music to be heard?" "Enough to last the rest of the day, the night, and a couple of days after. There are 200 disks with music recordings on them in that machine -- the jukebox -- and each lasts an hour or more," Terry explained, and Aubrey's eyes widened. "You're quite welcome to listen to several more selections now, Captain -- we certainly won't mind." Discretely he crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping it would keep Aubrey distracted so he would forget about wanting to watch his movie, Master and Commander. "That is certainly a very tempting offer, but no, I'm afraid I couldn't impose on you for that long." "Its no imposition at all, I assure you, Captain," Wigand said, equally as anxious to keep Aubrey distracted. "Today has already been an eventful day -- listening to music is a good way to relax, and we all want you to feel comfortable here with us." "Thank you, but perhaps later." He turned away from the jukebox, eyes surveying the room again. "There are so many other new things here." "Since you like the music player so much, we can put one in your room along with a collection of all the great composers. That way you can listen to music whenever you like," Biebe said. Aubrey's eyes narrowed. "My room?" The others exchanged embarrassed looks. "Excuse us, Captain; we appear to have forgotten to tell you that you have your own suite of rooms upstairs." Maximus pointed towards the ceiling. "All of us have one when we arrive, and you are free to make use of it as you see fit. You have your own bedroom, living room, lavatory and small kitchen,

along with some basic furnishings. If you don't like the furniture, it can be changed to better suit your tastes." "We know you have your own cabin aboard your ship," Cort added, "and you'll probably feel more comfortable staying there at first. But when the weather is bad, you might prefer some place warm and dry instead. And you can use your rooms to get a little privacy from time to time while you're here at the tavern." "It's a hell of a lot closer than your ship, especially if you've spent the evening here raising a few rounds with the rest of us," Terry said with a grin. "You can take a look at your room now, if you'd like." Aubrey shook his head as moved back over to the jukebox again. "You say I can have one of these music machines in my quarters?" "Of course you can. The machine for your room won't be nearly so big, but it will be able to play more music than you can possibly imagine. We can provide you with recordings of all the major and minor composers of classical music and opera throughout history." Aubrey's eyes were bright as he said, "I will very much look forward to that." He looked at the listing of titles on the jukebox again. "I recognize some of these composers, but others..." He shook his head slowly. "The names are exceedingly strange. What is this 'Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts' that I see so many times?" Some of the brothers had to struggle to suppress a smile. "Well, uhm," Biebe said, "it's a musical group that's very popular around here. The reason why it's popular has to do with Russell Crowe, but I think we'll save the explanation for another time." "There are a lot of little things to learn about our world here," Corbett said, nodding in agreement with Biebe, "but you don't need to hear all of them at once, not all in one day anyway." "I'm beginning to see that," Aubrey said, "but I am not through learning today, and I would like to see this movie of mine now... If that is agreeable with all of you, of course." Thorne held back a sigh as he replied, "Of course, Captain, if that's what you'd like. Gentlemen, the film lasts nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes -- I suggest you bring some drinks or snacks along." "The good news -- " Terry's strong voice cut across the noise, and he waited for the group to quiet down before he continued. The men and women of the Point were anxiously gathered in the lobby of the Hotel as they had been the evening before to hear how things had gone with Aubrey during the day. Sid was noticeable by his absence. "The good news is that the blackout is over," he said with a smile and cheers erupted. "We've shown him lightbulbs, cars, phones, movies, televisions and CD players, so he

knows the basics of 21st century technology and hopefully won't get too freaked out when he sees us using it. So you can turn the lights on at night again, but be sensible about it. Don't turn on every light in the place, and leave the outside lights off for a bit longer. We don't want it lit up like a bloody Christmas tree just yet. And you can drive if you need to, but try not to act like it's a Formula One race," he said, looking in Colin and Dominic's direction. "He'll behave himself," Chelle said with a smile as Colin protested, "as will we all. I'm just happy to hear Captain Jack's adjusting so well, especially after yesterday." "Ain't that the truth," Steve said. "Well, then I think the lads will be very glad to hear the other good news," Terry continued. "You'll finally get to do what you've all been asking about -- the Captain's agreed to meet the rest of you tomorrow." A bigger cheer went up and some of the brothers exchanged high-fives. "When?" several of them shouted. "In the morning, after breakfast. Nothing formal or fancy, no party or celebration. We'll be with him in the tavern, and the rest of you lot will come over and be introduced. Wear your movie clothes so it'll be a little easier to tell us apart. We'll chat for a while, probably have lunch, and see how it goes from there." "All of us?" Bud asked. "What about Sid?" "No, no Sid," Terry said. "It's been difficult enough explaining everything -- haven't quite gotten around to science fiction and an artificial man who just happens to be a psychopathic serial killer." "Well, we'd better explain it soon," Zack said, "because you know as well as I do that Sid hates being left out. The girls are still managing to keep him in line, but that won't last much longer." "He's been acting too good lately if you ask me," Bud said. "I'd bet good money that he's got something planned in that devious little mind of his." "He'd better not!" Tina said. "The girls and I have made it very clear to him that if he messed with Jack like he did with Maximus, the little bastard is in very serious trouble." The women all gave their agreement, but Hando admonished, "That'll just wind the fucker up even more." There was much discussion on the subject, in the midst of which Mitchell asked loudly, "So what's the bad news?" Terry looked at him blankly. "You told us the good news about the lights and about meeting Jack, so what's the bad news? What did not go right today?"

The discussion trailed off, and everyone looked at Terry. With a sigh he said, "The bad news is that we couldn't talk him out of watching his own movie." There were a few gasps of shock from the women. "He wanted to see what a movie was, and he wanted to know what we knew about him. We tried to distract him with other things, but in the end he absolutely insisted on seeing it." He was barraged with questions. "So what did he think of it?" "How did he react?" "Is he okay?" "We're still not entirely sure what he thought since he didn't watch the whole movie. We hadn't even made it half-way through when he asked us to stop." The women were particularly distressed at that bit of news. "What part of the movie was it?" Beej asked. "It was after the storm when the guy goes overboard," Biebe said. There were pitiful moans. "Oh god... Warley," Darcy said. Biebe nodded. "He asked us to stop it after the conversation he had in his cabin with Stephen." He shook his head. "Before that, he seemed to be enjoying seeing his ship and his crew, but I can only imagine how hard it must've been to relive all that. I know I still can't look at the part of my movie when Bailey died." "We told him how the rest of the movie went, so obviously he wasn't in a big hurry to watch the end where more of his men die in the battle," Johnny said. "Was he very upset afterwards?" Arthur asked worriedly. "He didn't say much of anything after we turned off the film -- just sat there for a while. But then he started asking questions about how they got all those pictures, how there could be those aerial shots of the ship, and things like that. I'm not sure he really understood the answers, but strangely enough he didn't seem too put off by the whole experience," Wigand said. "And he didn't go running back to the ship like he did yesterday," Cort said. "He came back to the tavern with us, had drink, stayed for dinner, and hung around until a little while ago. We showed him his room -- he seemed to like it a lot." "I got the impression he was amazed at how big it was, especially the private bathroom with the big bathtub," Corbett chuckled. "Not surprisingly, he fell in love with the jukebox. He wants a stereo for his room, and giving him all the classical music you can find wouldn't be a bad idea either," Biebe said.

"At least that's one thing he has to look forward to around here," Rachel said. "I had a feeling he'd be pretty happy with that invention." "The guy's adapting to the new technology pretty well overall, but we nearly went too far when we showed him the television. We got to talking about the instantaneous communications of the modern world, when I had the not-so-brilliant idea to turn on CNN," Terry said. "Oh god -- what happened?" Donna asked. "If you've watched the news this week, you might have an idea what was on -- unlike us idiots. Guess what was the first item on the news recap?" Terry said with a grimace. There was a brief pause, then a few groans. "Oh no... No, please don't tell me it was -- " Terry nodded. "Oh yea. Michael Jackson arriving in a big private jet to be booked on molestation charges." The whole room groaned loudly. "Try explaining him to someone from 1805." "What followed wasn't much better -- the bombing of the British embassy in Istanbul by Al-Queda, the war in Iraq with more attacks in Bagdad, the 40th anniversary of the JFK assassination, and anti-Bush demonstrations in London," Cort said. "Welcome to the 21st century," Alex muttered, shaking his head. "He's going to need that crash-course in modern culture a little sooner than we thought," Terry said. "But I managed to distract him from what he saw on the TV screen when I told him that the London protests were held in Trafalgar Square." A smile turned up the corner of his mouth. "Once I mentioned Lord Nelson, he forgot about everything else for a while." "We gave him the book on the Battle of Trafalgar," Maximus said. "He was quite fascinated with it; I believe he took it back to the ship with him." "I wouldn't be surprised if he was up all night reading it," Cort said. "Might even make him forget about the movie." "Oh, I hope so," Tina said. "Although I'm sure he'll have mixed feelings about the fact that Nelson died during the battle." Multiple discussions erupted over the events of the day, and soon the informal meeting had begun to break up. But not before Lachlan spoke up loudly. "Hang on, mates -- we're not through yet, are we? I've got another question for you -- when can I take my plane up again? Don't forget we still need to do more recon on those new islands out there." "I'm definitely going with you next time," Lisa said.

As Lachlan nodded, Wigand replied, "Captain Jack's been so interested in all the new inventions that I wouldn't be surprised if he asks to see your plane when you introduce yourself tomorrow and tell him you're a pilot." Lachlan smiled. "How about I take him for a ride, eh? Show him his ship and the rest of the place from the air." "Don't push it, mate," Corbett said. "Aren't you forgetting something, Boyz?" Laura asked. "What about the rest of us? When do we get to meet Captain Jack?" she said, staring pointedly at Maximus. The rest of the women echoed her question. "Yeah, we're tired of hiding in the Hotel too!" Karen said. "That is up to him," Maximus said. "We'll see how he reacts to meeting all of his brothers, and if that goes well, I'm sure we can introduce everyone else. And that includes Daniel, Anthony, Rick and the rest of the staff." "No hurry, lads, no hurry," Daniel said. "I can wait if need be." "Nonsense," Trisha said. "You're a blacksmith -- he'll probably understand your job better than anyone else's here." "It won't be any kind of formal introduction if that's what you're worried about, Danny," Terry said. "When we think he's ready, we'll have the rest of you join us at the tavern. If you ladies want a formal party, something more 19th century, you can do it later. Tomorrow we just want him to get a feel for the place, very casual, nothing fancy, not now." "Please, for god's sake, NO fancy party," East insisted. "I hate the damn monkey suits." Several more of the men and a few of the women -- notably Laura -- voiced their agreement. "Aw, but you look so cute when you're dressed up," Kath said. East nearly blushed. "That's not the point." As many of the women started to excitedly discuss the possibility of a formal party for Aubrey, Terry stood up and waved his arms. "All right, all right, that's it for the meeting -- I'm not getting in the middle of this." "Coward!" Bud called out. "Damn right," Terry grinned as Kaz slid closer and slid an arm across his broad

shoulders. "Come on, soldier," she said, "You've had a rough day; let me buy you a drink." "You're on your own until tomorrow, lads," Terry said as the pair left the room, and the discussion continued on after they'd gone. Part Twelve "The ship isn't going anywhere." Laura turned quickly, startled to find Maximus leaning against the bathroom doorway. She smiled at her own jumpiness, then turned back towards the window. "I still haven't gotten used to seeing it out there." Maximus nodded as he moved forward and sat down next to her on one of the barstools that had been temporarily moved into their bathroom. The lights were off, the only illumination coming from the half-dozen candles scattered around the room. They stared out into the moonlit night, their attention centered on the H.M.S. Surprise as it lay anchored at the dock. "Now that this room has such an incredible view of the ship I told Chelle we should think about putting in a much bigger window." "That sounds like an excellent idea." After a long silence, Laura said, "You're too modest, you know." In response to his puzzled expression, she continued, "You did a wonderful job helping out Captain Jack today -- you shouldn't have brushed off the pats on the back that everyone wanted to give you." "The dreams are what made the difference in him -- I merely explained that he's not the only one who's had them upon arriving here. It's only his second day, far too soon to be celebrating anything." "After what happened yesterday, even that is worth a little bit of celebrating." She took his hand, entwining her fingers with his. "I knew that if anyone could help him, it would be you." He smiled softly at her, leaning over to kiss the side of her face. Then his gaze returned to the ship, his expression growing grim. "You're still worried about him, aren't you?" "Concerned, yes. Today was a good day, but I fear his transition will not be an easy one. That ship is a curse as well as a comfort. It's a familiar setting, but also it is like an open wound, a constant reminder of what he has lost. And there is still so much he has yet to learn; modern technology is only a small part of it."

She squeezed his fingers. "Everything will work out -- he couldn't be in better hands. You and Terry and the rest of the welcoming committee are doing a hell of a good job. I even think some of the other guys are getting jealous about it." "So I've noticed," he said with a hint of a smile. "But they'll all have their chance tomorrow." "Well maybe then you can relax a little. And spend more time at home. Apollo and I have missed you these last few days," she said as she stroked the short hair on the nape of his neck. "Have you now?" he said with the raise of an eyebrow, pulling her closer. "He may be man's best friend and a loyal companion, but Apollo's a poor substitute for his master," she teased as he drew her into a lingering kiss. There was a familiar gleam in his eyes when they separated, and she followed him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. More oil lamps and candles were scattered throughout, bathing the bedchamber in a golden glow, reminding her of some old-fashioned romance novel. "You're probably the only one who's sorry the blackout is over, aren't you?" she asked. "Probably so," he said. "It's been a welcome change, without all the noise and distractions. Everyone always has to be so busy, as though they're not happy unless they're doing something every moment of the day. Without the machines, life is simpler, and slower." "And boring," she added, giggling as he scowled. "Not to mention painful. I have bruised toes from stumbling around in the dark and burnt fingers from hot wax. I'll take the light bulb over the oil lamp any day, thank you very much," she complained. "You don't seem to have those particular problems in our home." "That's because those rooms were designed for no electricity. Here there aren't any skylights, and at home I know exactly where all the furniture is. And I wish we'd brought our own oil lamps with us, because I know how to light them without burning myself." He brought her right hand to his lips, tenderly holding the middle and index fingers. "Are these the ones?" She nodded, and he drew the fingertips into his mouth, gently sucking on them. "Better now?" "Much," she sighed, feeling the tingling down deep in her belly as she stretched sensuously against him. "Slow is boring, hmmm...? That seems contrary to what I've heard you ladies prefer in the bedroom."

She giggled as his lips teased their way up her forearm. "No, slow is definitely *not* boring in the bedroom, my general."

Aubrey stared out into the darkness as he leaned against the nine-pounder at the stern. Moonlight glittered across the ocean, the waves lapping against the hull and gently rocking the ship. "Help me!" Warley's desperate cries echoed through his mind, and Aubrey shut his eyes, turning away from the ocean and dropping down onto the bench along the taffrail. Helplessly watching one of his own disappear into the ocean's angry swells had been painful enough, but seeing it happen all over again was doubly so. He knew Warley was doomed from the moment the mast had given way and thrown him overboard -- everyone else on the ship would have died too if they hadn't cut the wreckage loose -- but he wondered yet again if it was also his own pride and stubbornness that had cost the young man his life. The loss was difficult to bear, as were the deaths of many other comrades during his long career in the navy. Yet the men of the Point seemed to believe that grief was the reason he had asked them to stop the 'movie', and he had allowed them to believe the lie rather than admit the true reason he could not bear to look at it anymore. Seeing Stephen -- without being able to speak to him -- was a terrible reminder that his dear friend was not here. Stephen would never be here, or so they kept telling him. He didn't want to believe it was true, yet he knew it was. The new machines in this world were both wondrous and terrifying, and he knew that Maturin would be fascinated with such things. He could just imagine him chattering away with Dr. Wigand -- the two men of science would surely speak the same language. And then in turn he could explain all this infernal mess in terms his captain could understand. Try as he might, Jack found it increasingly difficult to comprehend what was being told to him. But he was no dullard, so perhaps it was too painful to listen to it anymore knowing that he had no choice but to take Stephen's place now too and be his own advisor. His eyes wandered inland, towards the settlement and up to the great house. It looked different from the night before. Flickering candlelight could still be seen in some of the windows, but most of the light now seemed to come from the new electric lights. How bright it was, nearly like a sun in each room. He wondered what else they had not shown him yet, what other marvels of science that he would have to struggle to understand. It was enough to make his head spin, and he felt a shooting pain in his temples that joined the ache in his heart. He rose to his feet and went below decks to his cabin. There he turned his attention to the book they had loaned him -- "Nelson: The Battle of Trafalgar".

He sat down at the table and began to read it, trying to forget his current predicament for a short while. "For god's sake, Artie, stop it already. You'd think you were going on a date or something," Andy said. "And we all know how rare that is." Arthur ignored Kim's snarky comment, combing his hair neatly as he stared into the hallway mirror. He and Andy and Kim -- and many of the other men of the Point -- were milling around in the second-floor hallway of the Tavern, waiting to be invited downstairs to meet Jack Aubrey. As he continued to preen in front of the mirror, straightening his tie and making sure his suit was just so, Arthur answered, "First impressions are always the most important. I want to look my best when I meet him. And don't call me that, especially in front of him." "He's one of us, just another bloke. You're starting to sound like one of the girls, mate," Andy teased as he ruffled the back of Arthur's hair. "Hey!" He pushed Andy away, and Andy laughed "Shouldn't you be wearing your factory clothes instead of a suit?" "No, I wore a suit for most of my film, not that uniform." "Yea, he wore it when he took that trip to the brothel, remember?" Kim grinned. Arthur blushed furiously, and Andy giggled as he reached towards Arthur's head. Arthur pushed him away again, and as the pair started to wrestle, Bud left his post at the top of the stairs and stormed down the hallway. "Knock it off -- they'll hear you downstairs." Bud glared at them both. "The hell is wrong with you?" "We're just goofing around," Andy explained as he attempted to smooth down Arthur's tousled hair. "No harm done." Arthur gave him a dirty look. Bud still looked less than pleased. "We're getting on each other's nerves with all this waiting around," Alex said from a nearby doorway. "Give 'em a break." Bud paused, then said, "Just keep it down," and went back to listening at the stairway. Arthur combed his hair again, and Andy followed Alex into Colin's suite that was currently being used as a gathering spot for the others.

Steve was sprawled in a big recliner. "Are they ever gonna tell us to come down? How long does it take to eat breakfast anyway?" he complained. "Quit whining," Hando said as he took a long drag on his cigarette. "So we've had to wait a couple extra days. Big fucking deal. None of us is going anywhere." "No big deal? Guess that's why you've been chain-smoking all morning, right?" Zack said and got a withering look in reply. Silence fell as they resumed waiting, some sitting and staring or looking out the windows, others watching a golf tournament in the other room. But it wasn't long before Arthur hurried to the door. "Someone's coming!" Most rushed out into the hallway in time to see John Biebe come up and stop at the top stair. His expression was neutral, but then he started to smile, and with a wave of his hand said, "Your turn." "About time," Steve said as he followed Biebe down. Some of the others went back to retrieve jackets, coats or hats from Colin's room, but all quickly headed down the stairs and into the tavern. Soon they were all assembled in the great room, lined up -- in arrival order -- in a loose semi-circle as Jack Aubrey stood near the bar, in full uniform complete with tricorn hat and saber on his belt. Aubrey's wide-eyed gaze swept over the 22 men in their various and assorted uniforms and movie clothes. "Extraordinary," he muttered to himself. Terry stepped forward. "Gentlemen, I present to you John Aubrey, Captain of His Majesty's Ship Surprise, in the service of the British Royal Navy." "Good morning, sirs." He bowed formally, removing his hat. As the men returned the bow and the greeting, some a bit awkwardly, Aubrey laid his hat aside on the bar. Corbett stepped forward. "We thought we'd go in order of Arrival and have everyone introduce themselves individually. It would especially help Captain Aubrey to know how long you've been here at the Point, what your nationality is, and what year your movie takes place in. Anything else you'd like to tell him now is up to you -- for example, what your job was in your movie, the movie's name, the plot, if you have a family, what you do here at the Point, and if you died in your movie. Things like that. Johnny and I have already met you, Captain, but we'll go first anyway." Corbett nodded to Johnny. "Russell Crowe started making movies in 1990, which was 13 years ago, and Jack and I have been here for that long. I know it sounds like a long time,

but one of the many strange things about this place is that time isn't always constant. What that means is that the first several years seemed to go by a lot faster than they do now -- doesn't make much sense, but it will once you've been here for a while." Aubrey looked confused, and Corbett gave Johnny a nudge. "Anyway, Jack had a small part in his movie -- called "Blood Oath" or sometimes "Prisoners of the Sun" -- as a lieutenant in the Australian army helping prosecute Japanese war criminals in 1946, after the Second World War. My movie -- "The Crossing" -- came out a few months later, and I had the lead role as a young Australian man in a late 1950's love story. We've already had plenty of time to talk though, so I'll introduce Andy now. He came along nearly a year after the two of us." Corbett and Ryan took a step back, and Andy stepped forward. "We've met before, Captain, on your first day. I was the one watching the ship while you were gone. I had on different clothes then," he said, glancing down at his faded green jacket, orange shirt and blue jeans. Aubrey nodded, a polite smile on his face. "Ah, yes -- thank you again, Mr. ...?" "Andy. Just Andy -- they never gave me a last name in my movie. Doesn't really matter much around here though," he said with a shrug. "My movie was 'Proof', and it was set in Australia in the early 1990's. I worked in a small restaurant, and I was mates with the main character in the movie, a blind guy who took photographs." Aubrey's eyes narrowed, and Andy smiled. "I can explain that some other time, maybe over a pint. I run the bar here, so if you let me know what your favorite drinks are, I'll make sure we have plenty in stock." "That is most kind. Thank you, Andy." "You're welcome, Captain," he said with a broad smile, then looked over at the next man in line. "This is Dom -- he got here only a month or two after I did." He stepped back and Dominic moved forward. "Good morning, Captain, I'm Dominic Maloney." The two men nodded to each other. "I'm an Australian too, from the 1960's. I had a small part in a movie called 'The Brides of Christ'." Aubrey's eyebrows lifted a bit. "It was about young girls in a convent school; my sister was one of them," he explained quickly. "I fixed cars -- automobiles -- and I do that here at the Point too." He paused for a minute, then turned towards East. "Well, enough about me. This is East." East stepped forward and took off his black cowboy hat. "East Driscoll, Captain. I'm an Australian horseman from around 1910 -- breaking horses is my specialty. I was in 'Hammers over the Anvil', and it focused on a young boy in the town I lived in. Here at the Point, I look after the stables and the horses, so if you need a mount, I can take care of that." Then East introduced the next man. "Kim Barrett. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you, Captain," Kim said with a self-

assured smile, dressed in a suit and tie, looking and sounding very much the smooth salesman. "I've been here 11 years. I had a small but important role in the movie 'Spotswood' as an executive in an Australian footwear manufacturing facility in the 1960s. I was very ambitious and I had a successful career ahead of me." Kim showed every sign of continuing to talk about himself until the man next to him cleared his throat impatiently. Kim's smile faded and he said, "Well, we can speak again later." Aubrey nodded politely, and Kim gestured to the side. "This is Hando; he came along shortly after I did." Hando took his hands out of the pockets of his long blue coat. "Morning, Captain," Hando said with a curt nod. "Hando was the only name I was given, so no last name. I'm from Melbourne, Australia in the early 1990's, and I was the leader of a street gang. My mates and I, we --" He faltered for brief moment, then continued, "we looked after our neighborhood, kept it safe." There were sideward glances and uncomfortable shifting of feet from the others in response, but no one said a word. Hando didn't acknowledge it either, but there was a nearly imperceptible trace of uneasiness in his normal tough-guy exterior. "There's a lot of us left to meet," he said as he turned to his left. "This is Artie." Arthur looked mortified, mouth dropping open as he looked at Hando. Aubrey's eyes shifted for a moment between the two of them and the rest of the group, lingering on the wide black tattoo on the side of Hando's neck. Then he said amiably, "Yes, there are so many new faces, but perhaps later I can get better acquainted with each of you." He turned his attention to Arthur. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." "Arthur. Arthur Baskin." He put extra emphasis on his first name. "It's an honor to meet you, Captain Aubrey. I've been at the Point for 10 years. My film, 'Love in Limbo', took place in Perth Australia in 1957 where I was a warehouse supervisor. But I'm not Australian; I'm from Wales. In fact, I'm the only one of us who is from the British Isles." Aubrey's face brightened. "Yes, I observed that you speak differently than the other gentlemen," he said as he glanced back at the previous seven in line. "I look forward to conversing with you in future." Arthur beamed. "I will too, Captain. Here at the Point, I run the Hotel, so if you ever need any assistance there, please let me know and I'll make sure you are properly taken care of." "I will do so. Thank you, sir." "It will be my pleasure, Captain." He calmed himself down and introduced the next man to his left. Mannie took off his weather-beaten brown hat, tucking it under the arm of his leather duster as he stepped forward. "My name is Egan, but everyone calls me Mannie. No last

name either. Got here a few months after Arthur, and I'm a horseman like East. I have a homestead up in the hills a few hours away, with a lot of horses. When I'm down here, I help East look after the stables." He paused awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable with being in the spotlight, and Arthur leaned over and whispered, "You forgot what nationality and what year." "Oh. Right. I'm Australian too, and 'The Silver Brumby' -- that's my movie -- took place in the early 1950's." He quickly stepped back in line and put his hat back on. Lachlan stepped forward with a grin, taking off his airman's cap. "I'm LAC Lachlan Curry. I've been here 10 years, and I was training to be in the Royal Air Force during World War II in 1942. LAC means Leading Aircraftman. I'm another Aussie -- which is another word for Australian -- and I'm a pilot. That means I fly airplanes -- machines that fly through the sky like birds." Aubrey's eyes widened with interest. "I have a plane here, so when you're ready to learn about them, come by and see me." "I must confess, there are so many new inventions I'm becoming rather overwhelmed with it all." Lachlan's smile didn't diminish. "No worries. We'll be there whenever you're ready." He stepped back in line and clasped Jeff on the shoulder for a moment. "Your turn, mate." "Jeff Mitchell is my name, Captain, and it probably won't be much of a shock if I tell you I'm Australian," he joked, and Aubrey agreed. "I've been here a bit more than 9 years, and I'm the resident plumber." Aubrey seemed unfamiliar with the term, and he explained further, "That's someone who repairs the sinks and toilets and water pipes when they don't work properly. That was my job in my movie, 'The Sum of Us'. It was a story about the relationship between my father and I in the mid 1990's. Dad was a big part of the movie, and my life, but he can't be here with me, so I can sympathize about your situation." Aubrey's expression sobered a bit, and Jeff quickly said, "Anyway, Cort arrived here about six months after me, but I don't need to introduce him, do I?" "No, you don't," Cort said. "You might not remember all the details though, so let me refresh your memory. 'The Quick and the Dead' took place sometime in the late 1800's in the American Southwest. I was the first American, as a matter of fact. I was a gunslinger at one time, but then I became a preacher. Here I look after the horses sometimes, and I'm the preacher here too. You're more than welcome to attend Sunday services, of course." Aubrey nodded, and Cort continued, "So after me was Zack, another American." "Zack Grant, Captain. It's a pleasure to meet you." He looked very professional in his suit and tie, and spoke matter-of-factly. "I'm from America in the 1990's, and I've been at the Point for 8 years. My job was working for the FBI, which is the American government's Federal Bureau of Investigation. My film, called 'No Way Back', was about catching criminals and people who had threatened my son Eric. I'm a widower, but my son can't be here with me either." He turned to the next man in line. "A few months after me -- " He

paused slightly, knowing he was skipping over Sid 6.7 in the timeline, " -- was Alex." Alex took off his wide-brimmed beige hat. "Pleased to meet you, Captain. I'm Alex Ross, and I'm an American from the early 1950's. I was in the service during World War II, but I went back to being a civilian after. Worked as a reporter, then got involved with a lovely lady in some very strange circumstances in Mexico," he said with a quick grin, and Aubrey nodded in understanding. "She can't be with me here either," he sighed. "Well, here's another American from the 1950's, Bud." "Bud White, Captain," he said, then paused. "Actually, it's Wendell White, but everybody calls me Bud. I've been here for 6 years, and in 1952 Los Angeles, California I was a police detective. That's law enforcement, very much like what John Biebe does. In my film, 'L.A. Confidential', I was investigating some murders." He paused, wanting to say more, but instead said, "I know you're probably getting overloaded with information, so I'll just introduce Steve now." Aubrey nodded and turned his attention to the man in blue jeans and a white dress shirt. "I'm Steve; no last name for me either. I came about 6 months after Bud, and I was an American living in New York City in the mid 1990's. There was a lovely lady in my film too," he glanced at Alex, "but it didn't work out. I'm a photographer -- that is someone who takes photographs -- and I do that in my film and here at the Point." He paused, couldn't think of anything else to say, then extended a hand towards his left. "Your turn." "I'm Colin O'Brien. I'm an Australian from the 1990's, and I've been here 6 years. I had an automobile repair shop, but I had money troubles and got involved with the wrong sort of bloke. Wound up on the wrong side of the law and on the run," he said with a slight shrug, idly scratching the barbed wire tattoo on his left bicep, "Wrong place at the wrong time, I guess. But here I work on everyone's automobiles and help keep them in good condition. And, uh," he hesitated before adding, "I'm one of the unlucky blokes who dies at the end of their movie. I was shot, and then burned in an automobile accident." Aubrey's eyebrows rose. "Good god." Next in line was John Biebe, but since he was already well acquainted with Aubrey, he merely repeated the main facts. "An American sheriff living in the late 90's in the small town of 'Mystery, Alaska'. Been here 4 years, played hockey in the movie and we have a hockey rink here at the Point. I had a family -- a wife and 3 young boys -- that can't be with me, but I've found a new life here now." There was a momentary sadness, and then Wigand took his turn. "I've been here 4 years, and 'The Insider' took place in 1995. I'm an American, and I'm Dr. Wigand because I have a doctorate in biochemistry. I was also a teacher, and I teach classes here from time to time. I also had a family -- a wife and 2 young girls -- but I've learned to adjust too." He sighed deeply and looked at Maximus. "Next." "It's been three and a half years since 'Gladiator' was made and I came here. I'm a Roman

general from the second century. My wife and son were murdered, and I also died at the end of my film." He spoke as though he were reciting a laundry list. "Here at the Point I'm able to do what I love most, farming, and I've started a vineyard. My favorite horses are here, and I go riding as much as possible." He turned to his left. "Terry came 6 months after I did." Terry nodded. "That was 3 years ago. I'm Australian, ex-special forces and ex-military and I was a kidnap and ransom negotiator in the year 2000. In 'Proof of Life', I rescued an American engineer who had gotten kidnapped in South America. I was divorced from my wife, and I had a young son, Henry, who can't be with me here either. I'd like to get into military consulting from here at the Point, but that's only in the planning stages right now." He paused, glancing over at Nash in his disheveled suit and tie, the last in line, who had been watching and listening to everything with a mixture of fascination and bewilderment. "And last -- but not least -- is Nash." "Doctor Nash," he interrupted. "Sorry -- Doctor Nash," Terry continued. "He came here a year after me, and two years before you, Captain -- we've waited a long time for you to come and join us. John is an American, and he --" "I am quite capable of introducing myself." "Okay, John." Terry stepped aside and held his breath. Nash was looking at Aubrey as if he was still wondering if the sailor was a hallucination. "Doctor Nash, you say? Are you a physician, sir?" Aubrey asked. "No, I am not a medical doctor. My name is Dr. John Forbes Nash Jr., and I received my doctorate in mathematics from Princeton University; my thesis was in non-cooperative games. However, it would be pointless to explain the concept of game theory to you, sir, since I doubt that you are any more capable of comprehending it than any one else here. There are very few people in the world who are intelligent enough to properly appreciate the revolutionary nature of my work." Aubrey seemed mildly insulted, and Terry quickly said, "Dr. Nash won the world's most prestigious award, the Nobel Prize, for his work." That appeared to soften Aubrey's demeanor a bit, and Nash said, "Yes, I did, in 1994. That day was the final event that transpired in the motion picture about my life, and it started in 1947. I have been confined here at Crowe's Point for the last two years, away from my wife and family, so I use our disgracefully small library to continue my work here as best I can. " He paused and his eyes swept over Aubrey head to toe. "So you are this Aubrey person that everyone has been talking about incessantly for the last few

months, and the owner of the British frigate which spontaneously appeared in the harbor 5 days ago. They told me I arrived here in such a fashion, which I attributed to some additional delusion, but now I see that perhaps I need to reevaluate my conclusions. Perhaps a further study of quantum physics would be useful." Aubrey was thoroughly confused, not to mention put off by Nash's standoffishness, and Terry stepped forward once again. "You do that, John, I'm sure it would be helpful." He turned to face the rest of the group. "In the meantime, I think we've given Captain Aubrey plenty of information to deal with this morning. I realize it's not quite noon yet, but I'm sure we could all use some additional refreshments right about now. We'll have lunch sent over later, so for the rest of the day, just sit back, relax and get to know one another." "It is a great pleasure to meet you all," Aubrey said with a deep bow as the others started to wander away from their places in line and towards the bar. His eyes swept critically over the group, his brow furrowing, and he said, "Please forgive my forwardness, but I must ask. Your clothing -- how did you all know?" "Know what?" Terry said. "In the dreams I had, I saw all of you appear, in a manner similar to a moment ago. I remember what clothing each of you wore in the dreams, and I am quite certain that they were identical to what you are wearing now." They all looked at each other, and Jeff Mitchell started to hum the theme song to 'The Twilight Zone'." "Well," Terry said, "we're all wearing the costumes that we wore in our movies, so I suppose it's not all that surprising that we're wearing the same ones from your dreams. But I think you'll find that there are a lot of strange things that happen at the Point. None of us can explain most of them -- it's just something you get used to." Aubrey was still confused, looking carefully around the room again. "But perhaps I am mistaken. Or is there someone missing? I seem to recall one gentleman with bright green trousers and waistcoat, but I do not see that clothing here." The room went still for a moment, and then the men exchanged uneasy glances. "No, you're not mistaken," Terry said with a barely audible sigh. "There is one of us missing -his name is Sid. He came here 8 years ago, after Zack Grant and just before Alex Ross." "Ah, yes. Sid. I remember now. He had an unusual surname that I cannot seem to recall at the moment." "SID 6.7." "Is that French?" Aubrey said distastefully.

"No, it's not French," Terry said with a brief smile. "It's a number." He went to the bar, wrote it down on a paper napkin and showed it to Aubrey. "That is exceedingly strange. Why is he -- ?" Aubrey stopped himself. "Again, forgive my forwardness, Mr. Thorne, but I am most curious about all this. Why is he not here now? I thought you said I would meet everyone else this morning." "You have my apologies, Captain, if we misled you, but we thought it best to wait before introducing Sid to you. He's... different than the rest of us." "Different in what manner?" "Well," Terry paused briefly to collect his thoughts, "first I should explain that in this century, there's a type of literature called science fiction, which speculates on what the world of the future might be like. Sid's movie -- called 'Virtuosity' -- takes place about 20 years in the future, where it is possible to create an artificial human being. That's Sid. Sid is a machine." Aubrey stared. "A machine." "Sid looks like the rest of us on the outside, but inside he's not. His personality is much different than the rest of us as well. Also in literature, there are usually heroes and villains. For the most part, all of us here are hero-types, or at least we're not villains." He refrained from looking over at Hando. "Sid is the villain -- he's a bad guy. SID is actually an acronym for Sadistic, Intelligent and Dangerous. In his movie, he was a murderer, and he killed many people." Aubrey's jaw dropped. "A murderer? Is he in prison? Is that why he is not here?" "No, Sid lives here with the rest of us because he's no longer dangerous in that way. He is a machine, and when he came to the Point he was somehow altered so that he cannot commit murder, or physically harm anyone. He can be verbally abusive and hostile, however, so we thought it was best to wait another day or two before we introduced you to Sid. All of us are pleased to have you here, Captain, but Sid isn't. Sid is essentially a child who never grew up, and he's very jealous of anyone who gets more attention than he does. Meeting with him will probably not be a pleasant experience, and he may say things deliberately intended to insult you, so we wanted to postpone it until you've become more acclimated to our little world here." Aubrey shook his head. "I find it difficult to believe that you allow such a person to live in your midst." "It's not as simple as that. We can't choose who comes here -- when Russell Crowe makes a new movie, another one of us Arrives. And if Sid wants to stay here with us, there's not much we can do about it either. We do keep a watchful eye on him, and do the best we can to punish him when he gets too far out of line, but otherwise we do tolerate him.

None of us is happy about it, but unfortunately we're stuck with him." Aubrey was silent for a few moments, then said, "Where is he now?" "Over at the Hotel -- a few of the ladies are watching him." Aubrey was appalled, and Terry quickly added, "They're not in any danger -- some of the ladies are quite good at controlling Sid and keeping him from getting into too much trouble." Bud gave him a look of disgust, rolling his eyes, and Terry cleared his throat and said, "Well, some of the time anyway." "Then I would like to meet Sid, if that is possible." "Now?" "Now." Aubrey's tone gave no room for argument. "If I am to fully understand this place, I should meet everyone, and I see no reason to wait to meet this Sid, even if he is a villain as you say." "It might indeed be best to get it over with," Zack said. "Once Sid finds out the rest of us have already met Captain Aubrey, he won't want to wait any longer either." Bud gave a loud sigh. "I think this is a very bad idea, but I'll go get him anyway." He started for the door, but Zack grabbed his arm. "No, I'll go get him. You two get on like oil and water -- you'll just make things worse." Bud reluctantly agreed, and Zack headed out the door. Terry went behind the bar and poured himself a shot of scotch. Maximus walked up to him, and after downing the shot, Terry gave him a long-suffering look, muttering, "Let the games begin." To be continued...