Chapter 18: Sailing

Lars woke the next morning very early when he heard what sounded like an air horn. He looked around and saw that Travis had spent the night elsewhere, which didn’t surprise him a bit. He rubbed his eyes and grabbed his watch. It was just a few minutes after six. The air horn noise sounded again, and he realized it was probably a ship’s horn. There was no way he was going back to sleep. Lars rolled out from under his blanket and grabbed his toilet kit. He might as well get cleaned up and dressed. It was going to be a long day.

When Lars left the bath facility, he saw a truck pulling a short trailer sitting on the gravel near the bunkhouse. The trailer looked oddly short to him, and he commented on it to Travis when he met him entering their tent. “You’ve been out?” Travis had not been in his bunk when Lars woke up.

“Obviously.”

“Weird looking trailer out there. I am guessing the ferry has arrived and brought it in.”

Travis nodded. “That’s what’s called a twenty-foot equivalent unit. It’s a standard size for container ships. In the States most trailers are forty or forty-eight foot long. Still, these guys just don’t have much gear to take with them. A twenty-foot unit will be just fine.”

Lars thought about it and nodded. “Yeah, what do they actually have? Sea chests and some duffel bags? Even with something to hold their weapons, it’s not really all that much.”

“No, it’s not. Now, pack your gear up and get ready to roll. We’re going with them, too. Just make sure to leave some clothes and your toilet kit in a spare bag to carry on the ship.”

“Not going to be a problem. I only came here with a gym bag. All my other clothes are spare uniform items. I’ll just carry the duffel bag on board with me. Will we have a place to sit on board?” Lars asked.

“Better than a seat,” replied Travis. “I’m told some of these North Sea ferries are kind of plush. They crisscross the North Sea, often traveling overnight. Many of them have cabins with bathrooms. I’m hoping we got one of those.”

Lars nodded and grunted a pleased response. He packed his gear and waited for Travis to pack his equipment as well. Then they hoisted their bags and headed out, taking a final look back to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind. Then it was off to Jennifer’s tent. The researcher was still sitting on her cot trying to figure out her packing when they entered.

“Acme Moving Company!” announced Travis.

Jennifer looked up at him. “You’re not funny! How am I supposed to pack all this?”

Lars rolled his eyes and smiled. Travis snorted and said, “Easy! I once spent three months in Afghanistan living out of two bags like this. This is nothing.”

“Travis!”

Travis smiled. “Lars, drop your bag and open up one of those new ones.” He pointed to a new duffel on a folding chair. “If she doesn’t start packing in the next thirty seconds, you get to sort through her underwear and pack them up.”

“TRAVIS! Lars, don’t you dare!” she squawked.

“Thirty ... twenty-nine ... twenty-eight...”

Jennifer shrieked and hopped to her feet. Travis began by telling her to pack a carry-on bag and throw everything else in the bag that would be stowed in the container. In between instructions to Jennifer, he was giving pithy comments to Lars about the type of underwear Lars should be suggesting to Helga. Lars protested, and Jennifer called Travis a swine.

Ten minutes later, Jennifer was packed. Travis said, “Breakfast in the bunkhouse. We’ll drop Jennifer’s bag at the truck and head over.” Lars and Travis shouldered their duffels, and Travis carried Jennifer’s bag that would go in the container.

Jennifer said, “That will be fine, but at some point, we will need to take the Norsemen over to the storage tents. We need to put labels on all their weapons and shields. The engineers were supposed to build some large boxes for them. Did they?” Neither man knew, but they would check on it before they got to the bunkhouse.

They quickly found out, though, that weapon storage had been built. They were flagged down by Lieutenant Barker of the Royal Engineers. “We have those boxes built, Miss Wiltshire. Where do you want them?”

“What did you fellows build, Lieutenant?” asked Travis.

“We built a couple of big crates to hold the shields, a couple of smaller ones to hold the swords and axes and whatever, and a longer crate to hold the spears.”

“Okay. Jennifer?” asked Travis.

“Either at the truck or at the storage tents. We’ll need to bring people over, sort out who owns what, label it, and then pack it. We’ll need to make sure that everybody understands the need to pack everything and not try to carry it on the boat. Somebody is going to be checking and we don’t need the trouble, not at this late stage.”

“Right.” Travis looked over at Lars.

“Hey, I understand and will tell them, but people want to keep what they own, you know? I would suggest that as soon as they point out what is theirs, you immediately tag it and place it into storage. Don’t let them do it,” said Lars.

“Lieutenant, take those crates over to the storage tents. How are you planning on loading them into the container?” asked Travis.

“They were built on pallet frames. We can lift them with a forklift.”

“Excellent. And the bags and sea chests we are stowing in the container?”

“We have another batch of pallets at the bunk house. Toss your bags on them. Before we load it, we’ll throw some straps over them and tie them down, keep them from slipping loose,” said the Engineer.

“Very nice, Lieutenant. We will have to tell Captain Tillman to give you and your men gold stars to take home to Mummy!” Barker looked confused; Lars suspected the ‘gold stars’ reference wasn’t common in England. “Sorry, it’s an Americanism. Seriously, good work. We appreciate it.”

“Thank you, Mister Shockley. Now, the sooner you can eat breakfast and get our guests moving, the sooner the boat can sail.”

“Right!” Travis and Lars picked up their bags again, and the three of them went over to the bunkhouse. Right outside the main entrance were several large pallets, along with a sign that read, ‘Bags For Container Only’. Jennifer’s bag was dropped off and they walked inside.

The inside of the bunkhouse was barely controlled chaos. Some people were eating breakfast, but more were wandering around wondering what was happening, the children were chasing each other everywhere, and Lars, Jennifer, and Travis were all immediately besieged by Torvald and the others.

Torvald asked “Hvat gervérr gernúr, Lars?” {"What do we do now, Lars?"}

“Hvat var horninn vér vekja upp til? Þat var hár þan einnhverr striith horn ek haf heyrar, “ said Floki.{"What was the horn we woke to? It was louder than any war horn I have heard."}

Lars smiled. “ Þat var eigi striithr horn. Þat var skiprinn. Okkarr skipr hafhornsr.” {"It was not a war horn. It was the ship. Our ships have horns."}

“Þinn skipr hafhornsr?” {"Your ships have horns?"}

Lars translated that to Travis, who replied, “Horns for travel in the fog, and lights for travel at night.”

“Ah. Makes sense,” said Lars. He translated that for the Vikings and answered other questions. Some of them wanted to immediately run outside and find the ship. “ Bíða! Bíða! Láta oss et dagmál fyrst, ok þá vér megpackr hvatvetnokr hverr maðr upp. Líka!” {"Wait! Wait! Let us eat breakfast first, and then we can pack everything and everybody up. Please!"}

Torvald nodded and said, “Ja, dagmál fyrst.” Then to Lars he added, “Dagmál fast!”

Lars laughed and dropped his duffel next to a table and went over to the breakfast line. Travis and Jennifer followed, and Lars explained Torvald’s request to ‘Eat fast!’ The three barely had a chance to eat some scrambled eggs and toast before they were beset by Norsemen again. Lars simply held up his hands and asked, “ Er hvatvetn troðar? Ef þú eru eigi troða, vér megeigir för.” {"Is everything packed? If you are not packed, we cannot leave."}

Torvald rolled his eyes and growled. “Sumr eru, sumr eru eigi.” {"Some are, some are not."}

“Smárr troða til berovernitr. Hvatvetnellar inn troðarat munu munu hirða. Segja þau!” {"A small pack to carry overnight. Everything else in a pack that will be stored. Tell them!"} He repeated this loudly for everyone to hear.

Order slowly arose from chaos. One thing which seemed the same, despite the eleven-century difference in the peoples, was that the littlest Vikings, the children, could unpack things faster than their mothers could pack them. Lars commented that it was the same with his brothers, Erik and Arne. Eventually, everybody was ready.

Travis led the way outside. The first thing they did was drop the bags that would go in the container on the pallets. Most of the families had managed to limit their carry-ons to a single duffel, with their other belongings stored in sea chests and spare duffel bags. From there they were walked over to the storage tents, where groups of three or four men were led inside and they pointed out their weapons. Lars, Travis, and Jennifer wrote out tags and tied or taped them to each item; a few engineers took them out a side flap and placed them into the crates. At the end were several unclaimed weapons, spears and shields and short swords. Torvald looked them over and said they belonged to some of the men who had died on the trip. Jennifer labelled them and they were loaded as well.

“To the boat,” said Travis.

“Lead the way,” replied Lars.

“There’s only one direction. Head down to the cold, blue stuff. I’m sure you’ll see it.”

“Does the CIA intentionally hire assholes, or is that just an unexpected bonus,” asked Lars.

Travis laughed. “Are you kidding? It’s right there on the application form! Afterwards, if your bosses don’t think you’re enough of an asshole, they send you to places that will make you one.”

“I believe you.”

“If you think I’m bad, wait until you meet some of the guys who get sent to Africa!” He turned to the Norsemen and picked up the duffel bag. He settled the strap over his shoulder and took Jennifer’s in his hand. “Tell them it is time and to pick up their bags. Moms to keep the kids under control.” Lars passed it along, and Travis finished with a phrase he had learned from Lars, “Vér líða!” {"We go!"} He waved an arm and led the way around the bunkhouse and past a warehouse.

Once they were through the group of buildings, the ferry was obvious. The entire group stopped in their tracks, with loud gasps and exclamations, and more than a few Norse oaths. To the Vikings, it looked as if a gigantic white castle had suddenly appeared overnight. It was larger than any structure they had ever seen before! And it floated on the water? Torvald immediately asked, “Hvere eru oranokr seglr?” {"Where are the oars and sails?"}

Lars smiled and shrugged. “Nei oranokr seglr.” {"No oars or sails."}

“Hvernig...” {"How..."} Torvald could not finish the question.

Lars shook his head. “ At er hví þú eiglearnr English. Mang ór svarainn eru einginnr English.” {"That is why you must learn English. Many of the answers are only in English."} Lars took Helga by the hand and pulled her forward. “ Leið leiðrinn!” {"Lead the way!"}

As the Norsemen resumed walking down the roadway to the pier, they noticed at least a hundred English soldiers and contractors waving and saying good-bye. They waved back at the friends they had made at the base.

Major Smythe was waiting for them on the pier. “Miss Wiltshire, Mister Ropstad, Mister Shockley, it’s been a pleasure. I can’t say I’ve ever had duty like this, not even close. Mister Ropstad, would you be able to translate for me.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Thank you. Here is the plan. Everybody here, you three included, will board the Sudreyjar and be escorted to a central location.”

“The Sudreyjar?” asked Jennifer.

“The ship, MV Sudreyjar. Not sure what that means,” replied Smythe.

“It’s Old Norse for the Hebrides. It literally means ‘the southern islands.’”, answered Lars.

“Oh. That makes sense,” commented Smythe. “She has two sister ships named after the Shetlands and the Orkneys, also in Old Norse. Anyway, once on board, each family or group will get keys for their cabins. There are a hundred cabins, each with a bathroom, so that should make everybody happy. They can drop their gear off, but then they must report back to the main area. There is a representative from the National Health Service who needs to issue their National Health Service identification cards. There will also be somebody from Revenues and Customs to issue their National Insurance cards. That’s the same as your Social Security cards for you Yanks. The only problem will be that normally we need to have some form of identification from wherever they come from. I gather that wasn’t available in the Ninth Century.”

“Not hardly, Major,” answered Jennifer.

Smythe smiled and shrugged. “I gather that the people onboard have already been informed of this. Simply give their names and the best you can figure out for birthdays. All we can do is what we can do, that sort of thing. The important thing is to keep everybody together. Get the paperwork out of the way, and then enjoy a pleasant voyage. My understanding is that you will arrive in England sometime tomorrow morning.”

“That’s what I was informed, too, Major,” said Travis.

“Well, let’s be about it then. Mister Ropstad, if you would?”

Lars spoke up, trying to reach then entire crowd, but making sure that Torvald and the other leaders could hear him. They would be the ones to keep their fellow Norsemen together. Once he was finished, he nodded to Major Smythe, who shook his hand as well as Travis’ and Jennifer’s. Then he turned to Torvald and shook his hand, saying, “Good-bye and good luck, Torvald. It has been a great pleasure.”

Lars translated, “ Fara heil ok vel, Torvalð. Þat hafmuniðr rikkir gaman.”

Torvald nodded. “Fara heil ok vel, Major Smythe.”

Smythe stepped back and motioned the Norsemen towards the ferry. It was a slow procession because everybody was staring upwards at the ship as they got closer. Travis commented to Lars, “If they think this thing is big, wait until they see an aircraft carrier or a cruise ship.” Lars simply grunted an acknowledgment.

A crew member directed them onto the ship, where another crew member directed them towards a stairwell. A third crew member directed them up the stairs. On Deck Five another crew member was seated at a small desk. He handed out a series of keycards; Lars, Travis, and Jennifer spent the next twenty minutes showing the Norsemen how to find their cabins and open the door. They were just finishing that when the ship’s horn blasted. A loud voice came over an intercom calling for all passengers to assemble on Deck Six. The three hurried everybody back out of their cabins and up a flight of stairs to the next deck, where there were huge windows and the public areas of the ship. A loud rumble began, and the ship vibrated, and Lars noticed they were beginning to move away from the pier. The Vikings gasped in amazement, pointing back at the pier and the Cudlow B base, and then looking around as the ferry maneuvered slowly out to sea.

A few minutes later, a man came up to them. He had on dark blue pants and a white shirt with braid on the epaulets. “Uh, could I speak to Mister Ropstad, please!” he called out.

Lars walked over to him, followed by Travis and Jennifer. “I’m Lars Ropstad.”

“Very good. I’ve been told you can speak to these folks?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. Would you be able to interpret for me? I’m John Throckmorton and I’m the Purser on the Sudreyjar.”