SHIP OF LUST

Following the fire-prompted move of the SS Gabrielle to Pier 66, the few days before departure were dangerous for the expedition members who dared to leave ship. A member spotted leaving the ship (and they all were) was instantly surrounded by thick clouds of reporters, pencils at attention. Following the escapes of Shaftoe and Wallace from the steely confines of the Gabrielle, several headlines made the juicier papers:

"Australian Spends `Hectic' Night with `Fiery' Van Buren!"
      --reveals intimate details! exclusive to this paper!

"Australian Denies Intention To `Mollycoddle' Van Buren!"

"Aussie Thinks Drink `Healthy Urge'!"

"Van Buren After Starkweather!"

"Australian Woos Van Buren: Night `Fiery' and `Passionate'!"

"Van Buren - Lehey Relationship Not Denied!"

"Crewman Denies Role In Sabotage!"
      --"I am not an arsonist!" Says Aussie

"Starkweather Fit For Expedition-- Doubts About Moore!"

"Convicted Rum Smuggler `Jolly' Aboard Expedition!"

The expedition members were introduced to their replacement Captain-- Vrendenburg; a short, older, and very capable officer, despite his lack of Antarctic experience. Crew members muttered about his rigid, by-the-book running of things, but immediately joked that it could be worse.

After the hilarity of the champagne subsided, the expedition members (some of whom had never been on a ship before) were introduced to marine terminology. They received a tour, and were informed that every day, there would be classes on various subjects-- at first, mostly on cold-weather survival and the like, but later on perhaps more fun subjects. Expedition members were strongly encouraged both to attend and to teach classes.

After the first afternoon, days on the Gabrielle settled into a fairly familiar and likeable routine, the same for most-- classes in the morning, lunch, more classes, dinner, and a variety of leisure activities following dinner (especially poker). The routine differed for Ms. Van Buren and the dog handlers-- the dogs were played with at 6:30AM, 10:00AM, after lunch, at 3:00PM, and at 7:00PM. Others joined in with some of the play-times as well, most notably Betsy, Catherine, Wallace, and Shaftoe.

Distinct groups formed for meals, the scientists and women separating themselves from the more common laborers. Starkweather, sensing a possible future problem, instituted assigned seating (to mix things up) and himself went to eat in the crew mess about half the time.

The first two weeks passed peacefully as the Gabrielle made her way towards the Panama Canal. With the Canal in sight, a ruckus erupted on board. Colt, everyone's favorite cowboy, had convinced Dr. Green it was a good idea to swim the entire length of the Panama Canal, and they both were goading others into joining. Eventually, Wallace agreed. Bets were taken on whether or not the men would survive the day or come back to the ship, and taunting inevitably followed by those who had money against the mens' staying power. Shouts of "Alligator!" caused Dr. Green to scramble back, at which point he merrily placed a bet himself and took up the taunting. Wallace and Colt persevered, though, and made the women in particular (who had money in their favor) very happy.

The 21st of September marked the Gabrielle's departure from Panama City. Shipboard life returned to normal; poker games were becoming regular at night, and even the women wanted to know how to play. The more perceptive among the expedition members began to note a dark, suspicious air about the crew, however. This came to a head on the night of 24 September, when the engines of the Gabrielle went quiet.

Those on deck saw spotlights flash onto a man with seaweed for hair, dripping with crabs and flowing with ribbons; he had apparently arrived on deck from the sea. Amid surprised and awe-filled murmurs of "It's Davy Jones!", he strode towards the bridge.

Monsieur Jones informed the Captain that the "Lubbers" Shaftoe, Kelley, Lehey, Milford, de Witt, Packard, Cruise, and several others were to sit for the judgment of King Neptunus Rex, Lord of the Seven Seas, the next day promptly at noon.

Much excitement followed that night as the named wondered of their fate.

As they discovered the next day, it involved bright costumes (on the part of Davy Jones and Neptunus Rex), crawling through a tube while being beaten, shaving their heads, stripping, more shanties, and approximately a metric ton of alcohol. They were now Shellbacks, and received certificates to prove it. [Some had more than certificates-- Ms. Milford found herself in the unconscious company of one of the male members of the crew (First Mate Turlow). This caused no small amount of comment, though Turlow himself was too drunk to get further than the middle of the floor.]

The following day, they recovered.

Around mid-afternoon, when most had awakened, a strong smell of ammonia began to pervade the air. Upon investigation, sabotage became apparent. Something had been used to corrode refrigeration pipes (which are made of copper), letting out the ammonia used in the coolant system. The steel underneath the pipes was also corroded, which led the scientists to believe caustic soda had been used; the supplies on-board, however, had not been disturbed. Most perishable food was lost, everything that could be eaten in the days following was.

Starkweather insisted that the ship not return to the closer Panama City, but instead push on the remaining weeks to Melbourne, stating that there was plenty of Pemmican to be consumed.

A shocked crew and expedition ate like kings for three days, trying not to dwell on the fact that there would be no fresh food after that until Melbourne.

Humor persists even in the darkest situations, though-- after it became apparent that Colt (everyone's favorite cowboy) was sweet on Ms. Van Buren, Giles the graduate student started a betting pool on whether or not he could get a (public) kiss before Colt. Several people took up his offer, not the least of whom was Colt, reportedly in it for $200.

Rogue that he was, Giles proposed to an unsuspecting Ms. Van Buren that they re-enact a scene from Romeo and Juliet for the entertainment of the crew and expedition. After a demonstration of his (surprisingly great) acting ability, Ms. Van Buren accepted.

The jolly mood (such as it was) ended the next day, when the dogs went mad and killed each other.

At around 10PM, howling started (not uncommon). After 10 minutes of howling (very uncommon), the handlers rushed to the dog hold. They discovered that at some point in the last four hours, three of the dogs had snapped their tethers. One of the three had died; another five were mad and trying to snap their tethers.

Watching, horrified, the handlers and other onlookers saw one dog manage to kill another; others were shaking and suffering spasms. At the handlers' insistence, Turlow shot and killed the obviously mad dog; the handlers then set about calming the rest. The doctor was called on suspicion of poisoning.

At an all-hands meeting 2 hours later, Dr. Green reported that five dogs total had been lost. They had in fact been poisoned--with strychnine; the powder had been applied to the most recently opened box of Pemmican. Since the dogs shared the human food supply, the human food had been poisoned as well. The doses were lethal to man or dog. No longer able to ignore the presence of a saboteur on ship, Moore ordered the rest of the Pemmican to be inspected.

Shaftoe, Wallace, Kelly, Lehey, and Milford were summoned aside by Moore after the meeting. They were to be tasked to inspect the remaining gear on the ship for sabotage-- with two instances so far, none of it could be trusted. Van Buren requested that a full cabin search ensue; the suggestion was put to the captain.

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