Butler Did It! (12 page)

The practice session soon broke up with
much limping and good-natured groaning. Before long, the deck was
deserted as everyone headed off to the showers and their various
duties. Matthew walked up to Katherine, wiping his face with a
towel. “Don’t go anywhere,” he grinned, “I’lll be baack,” he said
in his best Schwarzenegger growl, and headed off to the
showers.

It was peaceful now and Katherine took
a deep breath and drank in the beauty of the sea with its many
colors of aqua, each wavelet reflecting echoes of the pink
dawn.

A pale, dark-haired, and slightly pudgy
young man in a wide brimmed hat pulled up beside her. He offered
her one of the cups of coffee he was carrying and said; “I don’t
know about you, but I’m not even alive before I’ve had coffee. My
name’s Richard.” He indicated the name ‘Richard the Great’ printed
in large letters on the gigantic mug he was holding. “I’m Computers
and Communications.”

“Oh, hello. I’m Katherine, the damsel
in distress.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he grinned, as
he shook her hand.

“You don’t participate in the morning
workout?” She asked.

“No! It’s not required. It’s much too
early for physical activity, if you ask me.” Richard blinked
sleepily at the sunlight. The silence began to stretch.

Katherine cast around for something
else to say.

“What kind of ship is this?”

“The Pelican is a World War II era ship
called an LST. That’s short for Landing Ship Tank, which means that
she is capable of pulling right up to the shore and unloading tanks
through the bow doors. Of course, since she became a Butler ship,
she’s had quite a facelift. All of our ships eventually end up with
numerous modifications and experimental features.”

“What do you mean; she’s a Butler
ship,” asked Katherine, thinking,
you mean there’s more than one
of these?

Misinterpreting her intent Richard
explained, “The Butler Project provides support and field testing
for new technologies, so naturally all Butler vessels are subject
to a great deal of modification to fit the job at hand. The
Pelican, for instance, should only be able to make about 12 knots
top speed, and with her flat bottom, she should heave about like
crazy in foul weather. But, she’s got a super slick, corrosion
resistant, barnacle repellant coating, new gas turbine engines;
computer controlled stabilizing fins, and a state-of-the-art
navigation system. As a result, she can cruise upward of 22 knots
and is stable in most seas.”

Katherine got the idea, even though she
was sure she hadn’t understood much of what he’d said. She got back
to her initial question. “So there are more Butler ships?” she
asked.

“Oh, Butler Marine International, the
parent company, has over 40 ships, but there are only three ships
in the Project Fleet; the Tern, the Albatross, and of course, the
Pelican. There are lots of other sea, air, and ground craft of
different sorts, like the ‘Bionic Dolphin’ over there.” He said,
gesturing to what truly did look like a fat metal dolphin cradled
in a sling next to one of the ship’s big boom cranes.

“We had a wild time with the guys who
invented that, I’ll tell you! They were the craziest bunch of
engineers I’ve ever met! After we completed the sea trials for that
project, Butler was so impressed with the Dolphin’s abilities that
he had them build him a custom two-seater.”

“It’s a craft?” She asked in amazement.
“I can’t believe you can ride in the thing.”

“Yep, they say it’s a pretty wild ride.
Acts just like a dolphin in the water. It even leaps into the air
if you want it to. You wouldn’t get me in one of those things, at
least not with Butler or Tommy at the helm, that’s for
sure!”

“I guess there must be a lot of
interesting things on board?”

“Yeah, but I’d better not tell you too
much. Matthew will want to show you all the toys himself. He loves
to do the grand tour.”

“Toys, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s what we call them. Well,
I’d better be off; I’m doing a software upgrade to the computers
and really should get back. If you want to see the IT Lab, come on
by, it’s just down Broadway next to the infirmary.” Richard said,
pointing toward the superstructure.

“Broadway?” Katharine asked, just a bit
confused.

“That’s what we call the big corridor
that runs through the superstructure at the main deck level. Well,
see you later.”

Looking for cream and sugar for her
rapidly cooling coffee, Katherine wandered into the mess hall.
While the Pelican in general had the look of a hard working ship,
she had noticed that the mess hall, as well as the stateroom in
which she had spent the night, was rather luxurious. The mess hall
was comfortable in a clean and uncluttered way, both stylishly
graceful and sophisticated. The warmth of well-polished wood and
brass fittings complemented the open view of the sea through the
many windows. It was obvious to Katherine that the room had been
decorated by someone with refined good taste and deep
pockets.

Having doctored her coffee from
supplies set out on an oak sidebar, Katherine went back to where
she had stood overlooking the deck. To say that she wanted Matthew
Butler to be able to find her easily would have embarrassed her,
but it would have been true. When he did appear, she was relieved
to see that Doc Sanders was accompanying him.

“Good morning, Doctor, how is…” she
began, not knowing how to refer to the patient.

“It took all night but we finally got
him rehydrated. He must have been in dire circumstances for quite a
long time, because when he arrived he was bad off. He’s sedated
now, but only because of numerous painful, but not life-threatening
injuries. If he doesn’t have any hidden injuries, I believe he’ll
be up and around in a few days. You can come by and check on him
this afternoon if you’d like.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said. “It’s kind of
terrible, not knowing anything about him.”

“Yes, I’m hoping he’ll be able to clear
up some of the mystery soon.”

Matthew put his hand gently on her arm
and said, “In the mean time, let’s get some breakfast, and then
I’ll show you around the ship.” Together they entered the elegant
Mess.

<<>>

After a quick breakfast, Doc went back
to the infirmary, and Katherine and Butler walked out into the
sunshine. Butler looked around the expansive deck as if deciding
where to start the tour.

“Richard ‘the Great’ told me a little
bit about the Pelican this morning,” she volunteered.

“So, you’ve met our computer
wizard.”

“Yes, he brought me coffee. He also
told me about the ‘Bionic Dolphin.’ He didn’t seem to be too keen
on riding in it.”

Butler laughed. “He prefers all his
adventures in cyberspace, I’m afraid. Don’t think he’s not sharp
though, he can work his way through technical problems like nobody
I’ve ever met. None of us can beat him at a mental
puzzle.”

“For a World War Two ship, the Pelican
seems in very good shape.”

Butler’s face took on a glow of pride.
“She was pretty beat up when Captain Z and I found her. She served
in the Turkish Navy for 20 years after the US Navy decommissioned
her. We completely refurbished her from the keel up, adding several
new and experimental technologies. That was the beginning of the
Butler Project. We’ve been upgrading her ever since.”

“Such as…” she gently
teased.

“Such as the Sun Collector up there” he
answered, pointing to what looked like an entire row of large
transparent drums mounted on the roof of the
superstructure.

“They desalinize water for us. A single
collector can produce 200 gallons of clean water per day. We’re
evaluating it for installation in small seacoast villages, on
islands, and in coastal desert areas. It’s all highly experimental,
but the technology could solve a lot of clean water problems around
the world, utilizing a very simple concept.”

“Come look at the ‘Carmine Electra.’
It’s a little something Tommy and I put together, combining a whole
slew of experimental technologies.”

He led her past a series of modular
buildings dogged to the deck, each with a sign next to the door
labeling it Lab A, and so on. After that, they passed a line of
shipping containers and proceeded out onto the vast open deck. He
stopped at a speedboat nestled in a cradle next to the railing. She
was a beautiful pale aqua green color with a hint of iridescence.
An electric blue lightning bolt ran across the long enclosed
foredeck and down the length of the sides.

“Tommy and I fitted her out. She’s
completely electric and very efficient.”

“That’s not possible, is
it?”

“Indeed it is. She carries several
electric wheel motors linked in line that give her instantaneous
thrust. We coated her entire surface area above the water line with
a flexible solar film, so she even recharges from the sunlight
reflected off the water. She also has capacity to gain electrical
charge from wind and wave motion. There’s a miniature, collapsible
multi-axis wind generator hidden in hatches on the deck. We can
stand that up any time we stop the boat and recharge in a breeze.
The wave energy generators are tube shaped rigs that we can drop
over the side and tether to the boat while she’s stopped. There’s a
float inside each tube that rises and falls with the waves and
generates energy through that motion.”

“That’s amazing. But, don’t the
batteries weigh her down?”

“Nope, no batteries. My friends at MIT
were kind enough to let us test their experimental nanotube
ultra-capacitors, completely replacing regular
batteries.”

“Is she as fast as she
looks?”

“We used a racing boat hull so, yeah,
she’s very fast. We lost two nautical miles per hour in the
conversion to electric, from eighty-six to eighty-four, at the top
end, but we’re still working on it. Tommy has a new lubrication
compound he wants to try; he’s testing it on a jet ski today. That
should provide some entertainment,” Butler ended grimly.

Katherine decided not to comment, as it
sounded like a touchy topic.

At this point an alarm bell sounded.
Katharine looked around frantically.

“We‘d better stand over here,” said
Matthew, moving casually toward the railings on the side of the
ship. “They’re opening up the ramp.”

To Katharine’s surprise, not far from
where they had been standing, the entire center part of the deck
began to descend. It angled down and created a ramp big enough to
accommodate a school bus. When the big ramp stopped moving, the
secession of sound made her aware of the rumble of another big
engine behind her. She turned to see what looked like a jacked-up
tan armored car all ready to deliver a load of cash to hell. It was
moving slowly in her direction. Matthew held her in place with a
gentle hand as the truck curved away from them and went down the
ramp. This gave Katharine a good look at its battered
surface.

To Katherine, it looked as if the
vehicle had survived a severe blast right under the spare wheel
mounted on the passenger side. It was even more apparent when she
saw the shredded remains of this tire and the bent and burned metal
all around it. As the vehicle slowly passed by her, she could see
more damage. The crumpled shell of a toolbox, with its twisted
doors hanging open, teetered on the ripped up fender above the
destroyed tire.

Scorch marks all over the vehicle
indicated that it had in fact been in more than one explosion. The
completely blackened back end of the vehicle had two large doors,
hanging loose on bent hinges. Beyond the apparent blast damage, the
entire lower half of the vehicle was coated with a thick, peeling
layer of dried, caked mud and algae, as if it had been half
submerged for some time. She was amazed that it could still be
driven.

“They’re going to start work on my
Cougar,” said Matthew. “I’m glad; it deserves good care after what
we put it through in Mozambique.”

Seeing her questioning look he said,
“We went in to test some land mine clearing devices, and we got
into a spot of trouble.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“Some days more than others. Come on,
I’ll show you our helicopter,” he said, with renewed enthusiasm,
and directed her toward another battered vehicle.

“This is an experimental prototype
helicopter, rigged with fly-by-wire technology.” He said, pointing
to a strange-looking helicopter that had burn marks and bullet
holes all over the body. “We also tested it out in Mozambique on
our last job. Notice that it has two sets of rotors on top instead
of one.”

She had felt that there was something
unusual about it, but hadn’t been able to put her finger on what it
was. Matthew pointed out the second rotor on the top. “It has
amazing lifting abilities, far more than a regular helicopter the
same size and is fast and nimble in the air. It saved our lives out
there.”

“So all of these things are
experimental technologies that you are trying out for people; is
that a business, or do you just do it for
entertainment?”