The Impervious Mike Altimier

The glorious corvette Impervious docked in England's harbor was set to sail to the American waters the next day. It had been ordered to assist in the war effort against the rebellious colonists. Its Captain felt England was not engaging in full commitment to the war and the captain believed he was leading his men to the slaughter. One corvette? Without proper escort a single corvette would be ripped apart. He had warned his commanding officer about the risk but was told to put trust in England. Other means needed to be employed. The next morning he and his ranking mates met in the captain's quarters prior to the departure.      "Are you mad? A ship's captain cannot mutiny!" Mr.Brodrick yelled.      "We cannot tell the crew. We will have to cover it up. The crew is too blinded by their own patriotism to understand," Captain Wallace said.      "You will be hanged. You know that. Britain will not stand for this." Mr.Bosch said.      "We will die if we assault the colonists with a single corvette. We either live to fight another day or go down into the enemy's hands."      "You're risking everything to save a crew that doesn't wish to be saved." Mr.Brodrick said pounding his fist on the captain's desk.      Wallace turned away to the window and held his hands behind his back. He looked over his crew, young and full of life, ready and willing to give their lives to a cause with no return.      "I won't watch my crew suffer and die just to satisfy any idiotic whim of Britain. Britain has become too confident for a nation who has made so many mistakes. I don't care what happens to me. The crew will come to no harm."      "They understand the risks," said Mr.Bosch      "No they don't! They have no idea!" he yelled. "I've seen war! They haven't! Tomorrow morning we commit treason. If you would rather go down pointlessly in a blaze of death and stupidity then leave. If you want to serve the country you love then stay in the room."      The captain's officers looked each other awestruck.      "Captain…what do you want us to do?" *** The crew had finished the work that had to be done before departure and had been standing at their stations waiting for the order from the captain. Captain Wallace stepped from his quarters and walked up the stairs to the deck and up to the helm. He gave the order to raise anchor and to set sail. His crew jumped at the order, eager to hit the open ocean. Wallace looked over at Bosch and nodded. Bosch nodded back and walked down from the helm and into the bridge where Brodrick was waiting.      "Here's the captain's compass. It's been rigged to be 45 degrees off. We should hit Mexico's shores before the crew realizes what went wrong and 'discover' what was wrong. We return to England for lack of supplies and are put on trial."      "Is this going to work?" Brodrick asked      "When we're put on trial we are supposed to shift all the blame to the captain. He says we'll be fine." Bosch replied with a scowl"      "But what if…"      "Just do as he says. I'll take the compass and throw it out. You just worry about our course."      "Yes sir."      Bosch put the compass in his pocket and walked out of the bridge to the deck. "God help us." He said as he threw it out to the ocean.      "What was that sir?" Petty Officer Fallings asked.      Bosch flung around at the voice with a horrified look on his face.      "Sir?"      "Nothing Petty Officer; just an old watch that never worked. Get back to post."      "Yes sir. Sorry sir."      Bosch walked down to his quarters and sat down on his cot. "This will never work." *** The next four nights ran smoothly. None of the crew knew about the treason they were committing. Until the fourth night. Lieutenant Briggs was off duty enjoying a cigarette and looking up at the stars leaning on the guard of the deck. As he studied the constellations, he noticed the Little Dipper. It was too far off the starboard side to be the Little Dipper at their course. If they were really heading west as they were supposed to be, the Little Dipper should be directly to the starboard side.      "Something's wrong," he said to himself. Looking out to the sky he called his friend who was working the sail ties of the main mast. "Come here and look at the sky."      "What about it?"      "Look at the Dipper! It's not off the starboard side! We're headed the wrong way!"      Pretty soon there was a small crowd gathered around the starboard deck discussing what could have happened.      "This can't be right. We can't be heading towards America if we're in this direction." One said      "Maybe it's a detour to escape treacherous waters."      The general discussion continued until Petty Officer joined as well.      "What's all this? What's going on?" He asked      "We're off course. We're going southwest instead of west." A sailor said.      "What? Where are we going?"      "I'm afraid only the captain knows."      "Should we do something?" He asked.      "Let's talk to the captain. This is no accident." *** The anchors dropped and the sails curled on from the Impervious without consent. A mob gathered on the deck outside the bridge with muskets and pistols. One man stepped up to the door and pounded on the door.      "Captain Wallace! We have something to discuss with you!" he said. Bosch cracked the door open and the bold sailor slammed his foot in the door. "Nice clear sky tonight eye Bosch? The stars really stand out."      "Address me with respect Lieutenant!" Bosch yelled.      "Cut the crap! We know we're not headed for the colonies. Where are we going?"      Bosch turned around to the back of the bridge and called to Wallace.      "Sir. Some men want to talk to you."      "Very well." He said as he walked to the door. "Gentlemen, I have deceived you. We are not on our way to the colonies. England wants to send a message to its people that the colonists are an easily defeatable force and nothing to be concerned about. England has ordered only us to support the naval war in the American waters. One corvette will not do it. One corvette would go down in flames before it could do anything to help England. I could not watch this ship and this crew waste their lives on such a futile cause. I made the decision England could not. I made the decision to abort the mission. The plan was to sail to Mexico and turn back due to lack of supplies. Only I would be put on trial and you would continue your service as sailors for England. I could not bear to see my crew go down for nothing. I wouldn't let that happen. I…I apologize."      "You are not to decide this crew orders or their destiny! If England wants us to fight, we fight! If England wants us to die, we die! We are soldiers. This is what we are here to do." The sailor yelled.      "Do what you wish. I am resigning my duties of this vessel and will return to my quarters." Wallace said.      "We will sail to the colonies and fight to the death! We will sail through hell and back if England wishes it! Bosch. Brodrick. Join the captain in his quarters. And God help you when you return to England. *** The Impervious shifted its direction to the northwest, heading for the colonies as the captain's words echoed in their minds. Could they be sailing into certain death? Still they followed orders and sailed true to their path. There was no turning back.      Two more days passed before land was spotted. As the Impervious sailed closer and closer to the American shore, the weaker became the morale on the ship. Everyone on the ship was terrified of the Colonists' shore guns and the privateers that patrolled the waters. All looked hopeless. Until more ships were spotted.      It was reported from the lookout that at least twelve battleships flying the British colors were headed for the same shore and only a mile behind the corvette. The vessels had emerged from the morning fog with no warning. The crew cheered and raved until all their worries were forgotten. However, not all were cheering. Three men in their quarters who never wanted to see their crew die in vain had died in vain themselves; and by their own pistols.

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