A Captain for the Bounty

By Donna and Toni

Captain William Bourke had spent an uneventful day on the high seas, and bid the officer of the evening watch goodnight, retiring to his cabin to read awhile before turning in. As he laid his head down on his pillow and closed his eyes, there was absolutely nothing at all unusual to prepare him for what would happen the next morning when he opened them again.  

The next morning, the first indication he had that something wasn't right, was that his first mate, Jim Denny, hadn't been to his cabin to awaken him with a cup of coffee, as was the usual routine. He could tell it was well past the time he usually got up by the angle of the sun, as he peered out the window of his cabin after getting up from his bed. Confused, he went to his closet and dressed, and then made his way above decks; in his confusion, he neglected to notice that this was a completely different ship than his own had been.  

They were anchored in a cove of sorts, the ship's sails furled. The deck was empty, except for one young man, who turned and started at him in surprise. "Who... who may ye be?" he gasped. "Where did ye come from?"  

The captain was just as startled, but he managed to keep his voice, as he replied, "Captain William Bourke; I was looking for my First Mate, James Denny. Are you new to the crew, did you come aboard at our last port?" He was looking intently at the new man, trying to place him.  

"Welcome aboard, Captain, sur!" he said, snapping to attention. "First Mate Fletcher Christian of the HMS Bounty reporting for duty, sur!" He was both thrilled and apprehensive at having a Captain appear out of nowhere. He had taken command, but his lack of experience had showed, and he felt he hadn't done his ship or his crew any justice.  

The Irish captain's eyes widened as he heard a completely different name given for both First Mate and ship, and it was then he looked around to see that indeed, it was a completely different ship than the one he'd gone to sleep on last night! However, he'd been trained to deal with unusual situations of all types, and had been told he was a natural leader even when he'd still been in military school; and this definitely qualified as an unusual situation! Clearing his throat and putting the mystery of what had happened to deal with later, he told the young man standing before him, "At ease, Mr. Christian. Are we the only two on board, would you know?" Hopefully they could help each other figure this out!  

"'Tis just me and Seaman Churchill, Captain sur! The rest of the crew be in Edan for shore leave right now. They be returning on the Dòchas this afternoon." He went on to explain that the town of Edan was upriver, and the shallow drafted schooner was able to make the journey a lot easier that the Bounty could. He went on to say that he was short manned, but with new men like the Captain arriving on an almost daily basis, that situation would be rectified soon. Before Captain Bourke could reply, a huge sailor came scrambling up on deck, calling out the first mate’s name excitedly.  

"Mr. Christian, sur! I just woke up and found all the berths occupied by strange men, all snorin' up a storm! Where did they come from?"  Seeing the Captain, he screeched to a halt and came to attention.  

"At ease, Mister. First of all, who might you be?" He felt it a good idea to at least know the name of the new crewmembers he had obviously taken on! Or had they taken him on? 

"Seaman Charles Churchill, sur!" He had a very definite Irish accent, a fact that Bourke noted with pleasure.  

This pleasure was evident in the slight smile on his face, as he said, "All right, Mr. Churchill; I am Captain William Bourke. Now, you said you saw a lot of strangers sleeping below decks?"  

"Aye, aye, Captain! They me all strangers to me, sur!"  

Fletcher looked thoughtful. "It looks like whoever sent you here, Captain, sent you with a full crew. 'Tis a good thing! Now we can explore this new world the way it should be! Shall I rouse the men, sur, and ha' them muster on deck?"   

It was obvious he was the only captain on board this ship, and put that off to the side as well, as he told him, "Aye, Mr. Christian; please do. I need to see who's here, in this strange thing that's happened."  

Fletcher nodded at the tall seaman, who immediately turned on his heels and dashed back below. Both the Captain and the First Mate exchanged smiles as they heard his bellowing voice as he screamed at the men, calling them all sorts of colorful terms and telling the get their lazy asses up on deck for muster. Muffled curses and thundering footsteps followed as the crew threw on their clothes and scrambled to do as they were told. A few minutes later, they all stood wide eyed on the deck, jaws dropped as they realized they were no longer where they were when they had gone asleep the night before.  

The captain stood before most of his crew, strangely minus the aforementioned James Denny, and told them, "All right; no doubt you've noticed that things have changed a bit from the way they were last night. Mr. Christian, here, has told me we have been sent to a place called Edan, and I've no more idea who sent us or where exactly we are in relation to our homes than the rest of you do. Until I am able to find out more about what's happened, Mr. Christian is First Mate; you will listen to him as you did Mr. Denny, whom I hope to find out about as well. This ship is called The Bounty, and Mr. Christian and Mr. Churchill call it their own, so any questions you have about the ship will be directed to one of them. We're awaiting the return of some more of their crew, and when they arrive back on board, we will be setting sail. You all know your jobs, so get to them; dismissed!" They were a good crew, which he was thankful for; he'd never had any problems with them, and hoped that would remain so.  

Once they were dismissed, the first thing he asked was what type of navigation equipment they had on board, a subject near and dear to his heart. Leaving Churchill to get the crew organized, Christian took the new Captain to where the objects in question were kept. "We have naught but the best, sur!" he boasted, then stopped short. William Bourke, now why did that name sound familiar? 

The captain's eyes roved over the equipment; then they stopped on one particular item, and a smile came to his face, as he reverently touched a timepiece that, while modified from the one he'd known, could only be one thing. Just to make sure, he asked, "Mr. Christian....tell me, what does this do?" He hoped it was what he thought it was.  

"Why Captain, 'tis what we use to determine what position of latitude and longitude we be in!" Mr. Christian told him. Then he remembered. A Captain Bourke had been instrumental in the development of that piece of navigational equipment!  

The tall Irishman's smile reappeared, as he again touched the instrument, and he said softly, almost to himself, "You did do it after all, Mr. Harrison; wherever you are, I'm happy to see it." Then he looked at his new First Mate, and asked, "Mr. Christian, I hope you don't think me mad, but....can you tell me what year this is?" Maybe he could help center himself more if he knew that much. It was obviously no longer 1714, the gleaming instrument in front of him was proof of that!  

"Now, Captain, sur, I don't know how to tell you this, but people in the world come from all times and places. I was last back on the old sod in the year of our Lord, 1787. But there be people here from as late as the beginning of the 21st century! It makes to the mind boggle, it does, sur."  

It was a good thing there was a chair behind the captain, because if he hadn't sat down in it, he would have fallen. "The 21st century!" His eyes fell on the longitude instrument again, and he said, "If that's true, it would mean an old friend of mine is long gone; I wonder if he lived to see his invention put into as regular use as it appears it was in years to come." He looked up at his first mate, and the little smile returned, as he said, "The man that invented a timepiece for measuring longitude, John Harrison, was a good friend of mine; we met while he was assigned aboard my ship to help test his machine. I was among the few at the time to offer him encouragement; I'm glad to see his dream was realized." He ran a hand over the instrument once more, its gleaming brass and glass seeming almost like a link to his friend.  

"It is said that this place be where dreams can come true, Captain, sur," Mr. Christian said thoughtfully. "Yours, mine, all of ours. None of us know why we have been brought to this place, but apparently there is some higher force that none of us can even fathom. But it is a good world. I think you will come to like it here, just as the rest of us have."  

The smile got a little bigger, as he replied, "I'm sure I will, Mr. Christian. Tell me, in this new world of ours, are there any other ships, or are we the only one?" That was an interesting thought.

"We be the only full size sailing ship," Mr. Christian said proudly. "The other one be a square topsail schooner named Dòchas. She be captained by a highlander by the name of Connor MacLeod."   

So there was another ship in this unusual place; he nodded, and said, "Do you know where the Dòchas is moored?" He had always made it his business to meet as many other captains as he could, when he was in an area; one never knew when one would need an ally.  

"She moors at the dock near Edan," Mr. Christian explained. A shout from Churchill made him look outside.  "Here she comes right now!"  

Both men went topside then, and the Irish Captain smiled as he saw the graceful ship sailing nearby; his First Mate handed him something he called a bullhorn, which looked like a large cone with a handle on it, and he called out "Ahoy, the Dòchas!" 

"Ahoy, Bounty!" a clear, strong voice came back at him as the ship furled its sails and anchored close by. The captain of the Dòchas waved at them, smiling broadly while his crew went about their business in a brisk, efficient manner. "I brought your crew back, but I see you have no need of them! Can I keep them?" The man chuckled wickedly. Captain Bourke grinned back. He had a feeling he was going to like not only this world, but also the people in it.