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borealis-strange · 3 years

Text

Chapter 4: Poppy Garden

Summary:

Franco and Regina get their stuff stolen by fairies. The only way to get them back is by facing an iron golem.

Notes:

This is having a lot more success than expected and I'm really happy about it!

Tag-list: @freesiafields @bambirexwrites @whitequeen-ofwillowgreen @vaeya @sirenlovesqueen @moreofthatqueen @eileen-crys

If someone wants to be added or removed from the tag-list just tell me :}

We left The Silver two days after the andal incident, and we planned to go to Gold Pine, a little detour from our original plan, but it would do us good.

Unfortunately, night fell on the way, and Franco and I had to camp in the woods. I didn't have a bad time, quite the contrary, Franco taught me a few new movements with the sword, sang more chivalric songs, and best of all, we slept under the stars.

But our luck ran out overnight.

The first rays of sunlight started to wake me up and I stretched out a bit. Franco was still snoring slightly, then I'll wake him up.

I got out of the sleeping bag and rolled it up, but it was not where I had left it when looking for my backpack. I looked around the bushes and tree branches but it wasn't there.

Where was it? By better examining our camp; my backpack and my armor, and sword were nowhere to be found, and Franco's things were also missing.

Oh gods. Oh gods. This was not good at all.

— Franco — I called him waving his arm slightly — Franco wake up —

Franco grunted slightly and turned with his back to me.

—Let me sleep, will you,— he said hoarsely.

— Franco — I waved his arm again — Someone stole our things —

— What? —

— The backpacks are not here, nor my armor —

Franco sat up with difficulty.

— What do you mean by “someone stole our things”? — He asked angrily.

— Well, they robbed us — I said agitated — I looked everywhere for our stuff but they are not there —

Franco got up with difficulty from his sleeping bag.

— What are you waiting for? We have to look for them — He said as he walked away into the forest.

I quickly put the sleeping bags away and went after him.

We walked in the forest, searching in every corner, every bush, and under every stone. We had been told that there were hardly any thieves here, that it was rare for you to be mugged. Either they lied to us or we were very unlucky.

How could they rob us without us noticing? We slept with things next to us and I was a fairly light sleeper. Especially the armor, that thing sounds quite a bit if you try to move it.

In the distance, I saw something colorful that moved with difficulty. At first, I thought it was a firefly, but I saw that it was a fairy when I analyzed it.

It was carrying our backpacks!

— Look — I caught Franco's attention — It's our stuff —

Franco gestured for me to go after the fairy.

I tried to approach the fairy silently. I tried to hide as much as possible but somehow the fairy seemed to notice my presence, it stopped for a second, analyzing the surroundings of him and then flying away at full speed.

Without much thought, I ran after the fairy, crossing logs, stones, and all kinds of obstacles without noticing where the fairy was taking me. The only thing that mattered to me was not losing sight of her.

The fairy was faster than I believed. It moved nimbly through the trees and seemed to know the forest pretty well.

The fairy ended up guiding me to a garden, rather a field full of poppies of all colors; red, orange, white, and even purple. The ideal place for a fairy to hide. I looked around, the fairy was nowhere to be found. I had lost sight of her.

I cursed and continued my search.

I walked looking where I stepped, I did not want to step on a fairy by accident. I looked at all the details, there must be something out of place.

After a few minutes, Franco came to my side.

— Did you lose sight of her? — He asked.

— Something like that — I admitted — It must be here. She is hiding from us —

Franco didn't say anything else and he started looking with me.

We lasted a few minutes like this, looking at the ground until Franco caught my attention and indicated a spot on the grass with one hand. Our backpacks were hidden with grass and flowers, and on top of these was a little fairy. We approached in silence.

— Give us back our things! — I demanded the little fairy.

The fairy flew with our things until she was at our eye level.

— What things? — The fairy feigned innocence.

— Our backpacks with all our things — I said raising my voice and pointing to the backpacks.

— Oh! Those things — the fairy sang maliciously.

This thing was wearing out my patience, I had to fight the urge to crush it with one hand. I couldn't do it, I was going to end up cursed by the other fairies.

— Let's go Regina — Franco took me by the arm - It's not worth it. —

— Oh, and what is this little Ender chest? — Said the fairy while he held Franco's chest. — I wonder what is inside —

Franco rummaged inside his jacket and confirmed that it was his Ender chest.

— Give me that back! — Franco roared — They are personal things —

— I will not return anything, I found it — replied the fairy — Although ... you could do me a small favor in exchange for your things —

— What do you want? — I asked in disgust.

The prairie fairies had a bad reputation for being treacherous. She wouldn't give us an easy mission, she would probably give us a mission to die and keep our things.

— Oh, nothing special. Let's say that an iron golem has been attacking our small village, several fairies have disappeared because of that and we cannot face it alone — Said the fairy feigning innocence, although it seemed that his story was true.

— An iron golem?! — I screamed perplexed. The fairy must be crazy if she wanted us to get rid of it. I never believed that she would give us a mission of that caliber.

— Yes! A very big one — The fairy exclaimed as if that would help us something.

—We can't fight that — I said in a low voice just for Franco to listen.

Franco agreed with me in silence

The golems were at least six feet tall and with great resistance, let alone their strength. I was just a knight in training and I don't think Franco can fight against that.

— Then I guess you don't want your things back. Now I will have a new armor of ... —

— Alright, alright! — Franco interrupted. — We will do it —

I saw how the fairy had a more malicious smile than before.

— Excellent! — The fairy said with joy as he flapped his wings even more.

The fairy said nothing more. Did we have to go or ...?

— Won't you give us a clue? — I said after a few seconds of silence

— Oh right! I almost forgot. — The fairy flew away from her until we lost sight of her.

Franco and I looked at each other somewhat confused. After a minute the fairy came back with another backpack, I assumed she stole it from someone else, and she gave it to us.

— Here comes everything you need; potions, food, water, and a small map that will indicate where the golem is — The fairy informed

Indeed, everything the fairy said was in there, in addition to a few ropes. The potions were: instant healing, strength, and speed. Although no knife or somethingTheeven though came to defend us, or protect us in that case.

— Can't you return my armor and sword, please? — I tried to convince her.

— No — The fairy smirked before leaving.

How did she expect us to face an iron golem alone? In itself it was a very difficult task with armor and sword, now it was practically impossible. We were going to die.

— What will we do now? — I asked Franco worried.

— Use our head — Franco replied pointing to my head.

We took out the map and began to analyze it, before embarking on our terrible adventure. This area was called "Poppy Garden". Apparently, the golem's lair was to the north, in a cavern or in an underground hole (I couldn't figure out what it was). It didn't seem to be a long trip if only a couple of hours walking.

With little hope, we set out on our journey.

At least the forest was pretty, full of flowers, mushrooms, and the beautiful autumn leaves of the trees.

I stopped at some points to just appreciate the beauty for a few seconds but Franco seemed to be in a hurry. I didn't blame him, he also wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

— If I'm honest, I'm very tempted to leave our things with those silly fairies — Franco commented annoyed after walking for a few minutes.

— I feel you but they took my Ender pearl — I lamented.

— And my old armor. — Franco sighed

— Do you think they give us something? Besides our things — I asked with a little hope.

— Honestly, I doubt it. Hopefully and they will give us a copper coin —

— That’d be enough for half a loaf of bread, it is something I suppose —

_____________________

We decided to camp, to rest a little before our great battle, and to eat something. We were a bit tired, rather Franco was tired, and we couldn't fight in those conditions.

I arranged the sleeping bags to have a place to sit and rummaged through my backpack for the great food we were promised. There wasn't too much, a bit of spoiled fruit, stale bread, dried meat, and an egg that surprisingly hasn't been broken. The eggs and meat seemed good enough not to make us sick.

Fortunately, there was also a frying pan and a wooden spoon in the backpack.

I started a small fire and started cooking.

When I thought it was ready, I removed it from the fire. Having no plates, we both had to eat from the frying pan.

I tried the food, it was decent, better than I expected but still, it seemed that the eggs were a bit stale. Franco didn't complain, although he didn't look very happy with the food, plus he couldn't do much since it was the least bad thing there was. When we get to Gold Pine we will buy more food.

Franco talked about his adventures, such as the time that with only his trusty sword and armor he managed to defeat an army of 20 men that time when he fought with Conterstine, the king of Obsidian, or the time he fell in love with a princess, which I did not believe in the least. The truth, despite the fact that sometimes his stories sounded exaggerated, I liked listening to them, more than anything because of the way he narrated them, with exaggerated hand movements and giving great epicity to the scenes.

— What if we do something else? — I asked excitedly.

— Do what? — Franco questioned.

— You could teach me to dance Pagan party — I suggested with a big smile.

Franco gave a little laugh.

— I don’t think so. There is no music and it is also more fun when there are more than two people. It will be in another chance —

More silence.

— Could you tell me another story? — I ventured to ask.

Let's see if this time he tells me something new.

— What kind of story do you want? — Franco asked.

— I don't know ... a story about your last adventure — I said with a smile.

— No — Franco said coldly.

— Why not? — I questioned.

— Because I say so. —

— Come on Franco — I begged — I think I'm old enough to listen to it —

Franco sighed heavily.

— If I tell you something about it, will you stop bothering with it? - Franco said with some annoyance.

I nodded excitedly.

— Okay — I got a little closer to him — It was the fall of Farfania —

I waited for him to say something else but apparently, he had already finished his fantastic story.

— And? — I inquired.

— What do you mean “And”? That's all — Franco said a little angry.

— You said you were going to tell me the story — I said disappointed.

—I said I was just going to tell you something, — he snapped.

— And can you tell me about your mark? — I tried.

— I already told you it was the Netherite Knight — Franco said with disgust.

Yes, but I wanted to know more details. I'm sure it was an epic adventure or what if Franco fought the knight bravely to save the Empire. What if he was the one who defeated the Netherite knight! Well, it was the kings who defeated the knight but there is a possibility that Franco helped them.

I preferred not to continue insisting, I did not want to put Franco in a worse mood than he already was.

Maybe Joanna could help us? She was a fairy, from the forest, but a fairy. I looked in my backpack for the little notebook she had given me. It was not there. It was with my other things.

— We'd better move on — Franco told me — I don't want to wait until it's the night to attack that thing. —

I nodded and started putting the things away, put out the fire, and followed Franco.

The map wasn't very accurate, to say the least, and it also didn't give any clue as to where the golem might be. We spent a few minutes circling the area in search of ... anything really.

Franco stopped and started to look around frantically. He indicated me with a gesture to follow him silently. We walked a couple of meters until Franco hid in a fallen log and I went behind him.

I peeked out carefully because I hadn't even seen the golem.

We watched the golem from the shadows. He had a human form but with longer arms. It had details in gold and red stone. His eyes were red and seemed to glow. He also had a red sphere on his chest, I assumed it was the magic that gave him energy.

— And what will we do against that thing? — I asked in a low voice.

Franco put his hand on his chin while he thought. I imitated him.

— We cannot attack directly, I cannot fight and you alone can’t do it — Franco reasoned—We need to dismantle it in some way or damage it -

— We also need to save the fairies — I reminded Franco.

— We also need to do that — Franco noted — One of us could distract him while another takes care of the fairies —

— I distract him! — I exclaimed

— No, I will distract him — Franco arranged

— Not to offend you Franco, but I am faster and more agile — I said in a low voice.

— I know but if that thing catches you it will hurt you —

I rolled my eyes. I appreciated his concern but he was in more danger than I was.

— It will hurt you too — I replied

Franco looked at me surprised.

— It does not matter. So, you'd better hurry up when saving the fairies if you don't want something to happen to me —

— But… —

— No buts Regina - Franco interrupted. — I will distract him and as soon as he moves away, you go in and look for the fairies. Okay? —

No, I did not agree. Franco was putting himself in danger for me, I couldn't accept that.

— Stay calmed, I'll be fine — He tried to reassure me, but by the tone of his voice he did not quite believe it either.

I didn't say anything, I just nodded slowly.

— Perfect — he sighed heavily — Be careful —

— Have this — She said while he gave her the backpack — You will need it more than me—

Franco gave me a comforting smile and I returned it to him.

Franco came out of our hiding spot and approached where the golem was. He threw a rock at it, that hit it right on the head. The golem turned to see him but he did nothing. Franco threw another stone at his head. The golem's eyes shone even brighter and he began to approach Franco with slow, heavy steps.

Franco tried to run away from him and the golem went after him.

I ran quickly until I reached the entrance to his lair. I opened the metal door and walked in

The lair was… much more elaborate than I had expected. The walls were high made of stone and the only source of light was the glowstone embedded in the walls. There was no difference in how I could locate each aisle. It was a complete maze in here.

I ran through the corridors looking for a door. There didn't seem to be any unless they were hidden with magic. I was probably just running around the same three corridors.

Why would a golem have a bunker? Also, what did he need fairies for? Nor is it that they are very strong. Was he going to use them to illuminate? No, that's very silly. Their magic? Most likely, strange though.

The golem might work for someone, but what did that that someone wanted. Kidnapping fairies for fun? Or ... get fairy dust.

I don't know how long I ran through the hallways, maybe a few minutes.

I finally found a door. I opened it and went inside.

The fairies were in a large metal cage. They were flitting all over the place, trying to move the cage to drop it

— Shhh — I indicated to the fairies — I have come to help you but I need you to be calm — I said in a low voice.

The fairies calmed down and sat down. There must have been at least twenty locked up.

The cage had a large lock. I had no clasp that I could use to force it.

— Do you know where the key is? — I asked the fairies.

— The golem has it — One of them answered in a small voice.

Magnificent! This was going from bad to worse.

— Don't you know if there is ... a weapon or something in this place?— I asked the fairies. This could be our only salvation.

— We know it has a bow and arrows in one of the rooms — One of the fairies answered in a low voice.

— Why would a golem have a bow and arrows? — I thought aloud.

— We think it's from its boss - The fairies said in unison.

— Its boss? —

— Yes! A black skeleton with white eyes always comes along. We do not know why, but he is always giving instructions to the golem and he always takes one of us when he comes — Said one of them with a trembling voice.

A wither skeleton? I thought they were not welcome here. I had heard it was because of a problem that occurred when Auredin was built. I think it was a battle over territorial issues or that they didn't want an alliance with the Empire. Something like that, I did not remember well.

— Well ... I'm going to look for that and I'll come to save you as soon as I can — I promised the fairies before leaving.

— Good luck! — The fairies screamed when he was at the door.

Fortunately, it didn't take me long to find the room they said. It was small with a bed and without any kind of lighting. I quickly found the bow and leather quiver with a few arrows.

I went back through the infinite corridors until I found the exit, this time faster, fortunately.

The forest had changed since I had entered the bunker, there were several damaged trees, and some collapsed. I hope Franco is well.

I stood waiting for a clue of where Franco could be, or the golem in this case.

In the distance, a tree fell to the ground. I ran as fast as I could towards the source of the noise.

I managed to see the golem in the distance, who was grabbing the trees and shaking them before knocking them down in a crash.

I took the longest way around him and he didn't see me, hoping to see Franco.

I managed to locate Franco, he was hiding behind a fallen log.

I approached carefully and lay down next to him. He didn't seem to have any damage besides a couple of scratches on his face. I breathed in relief.

— Until you finally decided to appear — Franco said with annoyance when I reached his side — We have to go now —

— We can't, I haven't rescued the fairies yet — I told Franco nervously.

— What?! — Franco exclaimed in a low voice — We have to go now. That thing wants to kill me — He said roughly. — We are with only two regeneration potions and nothing else —

— We need a key that the golem has — I said agitatedly.

Franco massaged his temples in frustration.

— Don't worry, I have this bow — I said as I showed it to him.

I got up from hiding. The golem was still distracted trying to throw down trees, he was looking for us. I closed one eye to aim better. I tried to tighten the rope without much success. The arrow shot to the ground a few meters away.

— Give me that — Franco said as he snatched the bow from me — You don't even know how to use that thing —

— Well, you never taught me to use it — I reproached him

Franco ignored what I said and began to count the arrows in a low voice.

— Fifteen arrows and the bow has Power II. Hopefully, that’ll be enough —

— What will you do? — Asked

— You — he said as he pointed at me — You're going to go with him and you'll attract him to me. I will try to hit the source of his power —

No. No. No. That was a terrible idea. Franco couldn't see in one eye, he wasn't fit to fight. He didn't want something to happen to him. I couldn't let it happen again, not with him.

— Easy, everything will be fine — He put a hand on my shoulder to try to comfort me.

—No… we can't — I stammered. Franco looked at me confused. — We have to do something else —

At first, I thought this would be easy but it wasn't. That thing could kill us easily.

— What if we better go back? — I sobbed. Franco smiled at me compassionately.

— I may be old but I can still fight — he said sweetly — Besides, I am not going to abandon that old armor —

I let out a little laugh.

— We'd better do this — Franco said confidently.

I nodded slowly but there was no other way. I came out of hiding and approached carefully.

— Hey! — I yelled at the golem.

He stopped throwing down trees and slowly turned his head towards me. My heart was pounding against my chest, this was a very bad idea.

The golem approached me and began to observe me curiously. I had to get away but my legs just weren't reacting.

An arrow hit him right in the eye.

— What do you think you're doing? — I heard Franco yell — Get out of the way! —

As if a bucket of cold water had dropped, I woke up. I ran in the opposite direction from him. The golem was slower than I expected but that didn't mean that he was close to me.

The golem lunged one of his arms at me and I fell to the ground. The golem ended up hitting a tree. I covered my face with my arms to avoid being hit by pieces of wood.

I looked up and saw how the golem was regaining his composure. In the distance, I saw how Franco began to shoot arrows without much success.

— But you have to hit him! — I yelled at Franco.

— It's what I’m trying! — He yelled back at me.

The golem saw me on the ground and slowly approached me again. I crawled on the ground running from the golem until I hit a tree. The golem approached me with some curiosity. Before he could do anything to me, an arrow hit him right in the head, bouncing off with a metallic sound.

The golem turned its head slowly towards Franco. Franco prepared another arrow and hit him in the head again.

The golem's eyes glowed even brighter in anger and he seemed to let out a slight growl.

The golem moved away from me and began to slowly approach Franco. Franco as he could try to hit him with more arrows but the golem was too close. He managed to hit it on the chest but it wasn't enough, the golem was still working.

In a lucid moment, I got up off the ground and lunged at the golem, not to knock him down but to climb on top of it and distract it. As best I could, I grabbed onto him and climbed onto his shoulders.

The golem jerked sharply and I tried to cling to his body as closely as possible. Franco regained his composure and tried to hit the golem again but he was moving too much.

The golem knocked me to the ground roughly. I fell on some branches and a severe headache began to form. My head was spinning and for a moment I didn't know where I was.

The golem was slowly approaching me and I was doing my best to back away. This was my end. I couldn't even say goodbye to Franco, or to my uncle. I closed my eyes waiting for my end but nothing happened.

I opened my eyes in fear and saw how an arrow hit him right in the center of his power source, just above the previous one. I smiled a little. The golem tried to get his hands closer to the arrow but he started to fail, his legs stopped reacting and he started to wobble until he stopped moving.

The golem's body fell to the ground in a great crash. We both got closer. The golem's eyes stopped glowing. The power source was pulling in bright red liquid, it looked like blood.

— Are you alright? — Franco came quickly to my side.

I felt a strong burning in my right arm, it had a cut, about four inches, fortunately, it was not very deep. Franco saw the wound and grimaced.

— Have this — He said while giving me one of the healing potions — Hopefully that will be enough —

I opened the bottle and the floral smell made me slightly dizzy. I drank it quickly, it tasted horrible like rotten fruit but it was what we had. I will never get used to the taste of these things.

I felt the heat rise up my arm and my skin begin to heal. I looked away, I had never dared to see the healing process with a potion, they said it was disgusting.

Franco had gotten even closer to the golem, perhaps to analyze it.

I never believed that Franco was capable of fighting, well ... I knew that he had done it at some point but since he always complained of constant pain I never believed that he would see him in action. I know it was just a couple of arrows but that did not take away my impression.

— Do you think that with that he will no longer attack the fairies? — I asked.

— I don’t know. I hope so. If not the fairies are going to curse us —

I got up from the ground and shook the dirt from my dress, and pulled out a couple of branches and leaves that had been left in my hair.

I walked over to Franco's side, we still needed to save the fairies. The key was embedded in the golem's chest, just above the power source. With some effort, I managed to remove it.

I quickly returned to the bunker and went through the corridors until I found the room where the fairies were

I opened the cage and the fairies immediately flew towards the exit. I went behind them until I met Franco who continued to admire the golem.

I was tempted to stay a little longer in the bunker to explore. There must be many more secrets in there. I didn't, mostly because I was still unprotected and you never know that you might find yourself in an evil lair.

I noticed that in Franco's hand he was carrying a completely red sphere.

— What is that for? — I asked.

— It is our proof that we defeated the golem. You know how fussy fairies are — Franco said with some disgust.

We walked quietly back to the Poppy Garden.

— I have to say that whoever wants to have built that thing did a good job — Franco commented.

— Excuse? — I asked amused.

— It's a very well-made golem. Its power source is made of red stone and something else that I don't know what it is — Franco continued — It's impressive, in its own way. Besides that I hadn't seen one of those things for years —

— I thought they were just legends — I commented.

— I thought so too. The kings supposedly dismantled all of them and with the metal, they created all those modern inventions. I am impressed that there was still one and in such good condition —

__________________

We arrived at the Poppy Garden when the sun was about to set.

For whatever reason, there were tables with white tablecloths decorated with colorful flower arrangements. In addition, there were some makeshift lamps with tall tree branches and various luminous mushrooms. There were arches made of branches, decorated with pieces of cloth and dried flowers.

All the fairies were sitting at the tables, they looked anxious as they flapped their wings, it seemed they were expecting a great feast.

At the back was a small table, for two people, I assumed it was ours. The fairy leader was waiting for us with a big, eager smile.

Everything was in absolute silence, which made it scarier. It even seemed that fairies want to eat us.

— We already saved the fairies — I said harshly to the leader.

— Yes, but it won't do any good if the golem is still loose there — The fairy said mockingly.

I looked at the fairy suspiciously and she just smirked at me. I took the sphere out of the backpack.

— Here's the proof that we got rid of the monster — I raised my voice to get everyone's attention as I hit the table with the sphere — It's the golem's power source. Now give us our things —

The leader carefully analyzed the sphere. All the little fairies came closer to see better.

— It's true — The leader announced and all the fairies gasped — They are heroes! —

Screams of excitement were heard from all sides. Fairies flew everywhere, hugging each other.

— In gratitude, we will give you a gold coin — She said as he handed me the coin — A banquet before your departure and an enchanted book —

— An enchanted book? — I asked puzzled.

— Yes. One of your choice — The leader replied with a genuine smile.

There were too many books that would be perfect for my sword. But what could it be? Mending I? Sharpnedd II?

— Could it be... Fire aspect? — I decided.

— Of course! — The fairy said, this time with a genuine smile.

The leader snapped her fingers and a fairy brought the book with difficulty.

I passed it on to Franco so he could see if it was legitimate. He nodded his head approvingly.

— Well. We will start our great banquet! — The leader yelled and even more screams were heard

The fairies guided us, rather pushed us, to the back tables to sit down. We settled. The fairies put flower crowns on us and Franco immediately took it off. I preferred to stay with it, it was quite cute and smelled quite good.

Shortly afterward some fairies arrived carrying a tray with different cuts of meat, sausages, roasted corn and chili peppers, and baked potatoes; a real feast. While they went to each fairy to serve the food, other fairies served us hot tea with milk, which I greatly appreciated.

It's been years since I'd had a meal this elegant, and in fact, it was quite difficult to have such a meal these days.

We ate while some fairies gave little shows. Some sang and others said little poems. Apparently, it was some kind of tradition among the fairies.

After dinner, the fairies formed a small band with which they began to play various popular songs.

— Do you want to dance? — I asked Franco. He just watched me — Come on, it will be fun

— I think this time I’ll pass —

— Please Franco — I begged him.

— No — he said coldly. — And DO NOT insist —

I didn't want to dance along with the fairies, to tell the truth, they still scared me a little. After a few seconds of thinking about it, I got up from my seat and went to accompany the fairies.

It wasn't as bad as I thought, fairies flitted around me as I spun around and tried to dance to the music. It wasn't very good but it was quite fun.

It was quite magical.

I don't know what time the celebration ended, probably after midnight because of how cold it started to get. At the end of everything, the fairies saved everything with their magic and went to the poppies to sleep.

I approached Franco, who was already preparing his sleeping bag.

—And what will we do now? — I asked in a low voice so as not to wake anyone up.

— Sleep — Franco answered. — Tomorrow we will have a short trip but it is still important to rest —

— Where will we sleep? —

— Here, where else? — Franco answered as if it were very obvious.

I looked around me. Franco chose the ideal place, where there were no poppies but still he did not want to sleep among the fairies. I didn't say anything else, mostly because I was also tired, I took out the sleeping bag and settled down.

I couldn't complain, it was nice to sleep under the stars. I fell asleep hoping that tomorrow would be a quiet day, without having to fight with weird things.

#queen fic #queen fanfiction #fem queen #roger taylor #freddie mercury #john deacon #brian may #between faith and the sword #my story

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ds4design · 7 years

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Inside the U.S.'s Only Ocean Exploration Ship

Pearl Harbor, Dawn. Credit: Jennifer Frazer

I happened to be in Hawaii last month at the same time that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)'s ship of exploration, the Okeanos Explorer -- of live-streaming, ocean-esplorin’ fame -- was docked in Pearl Harbor. There are several ships that do that, but only one belongs to the American people. This one.

On a whim, I wrote to see if I might get a tour of the ship while I was around. Considering the events of the last few weeks, I’m glad I did it while I had the chance. I got to see NOAA Mission Control, the bridge, and the ship’s faithful ROV Deep Discoverer (nicknamed D2)… sort of. When on board, it lives under a protective cover inside a garage. But I was so close to the sampling baskets on the front that I could have reached out and touched one. And I’m kinda sorry now I didn’t!

Anyhow, if you’re a regular reader of this blog you’re no doubt aware that I am a booster for ocean exploration. I regularly argue it is every bit as important – perhaps more -- as exploring space. This is our home, after all, and exoplaneteers notwithstanding, it’s the only one we’ve got. I’ve often featured clips from the voyages of the Explorer here on my blog, and I’ve spent hours watching their live feed as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new ecosystems, and boldly go where no one has gone before. ‘Cause that’s their actual job.

Here she is the morning I saw her, which happened to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

That actually presented a problem in getting me in to a military base on a holiday, but fortunately an employee of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (also located in Pearl Harbor) offered to give me a lift. Thank you kind sir!

I was met by MeMe Lobecker and Mike White, physical scientists and hydrographers who work on the Explorer's mapping projects.

Here is the "Wet Lab":

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

It's long and skinny. On the left is a fume hood for sousing specimens in preservative chemicals. On the right toward the rear are dissection lights. On the floor are coolers for the preserved specimens. Can you imagine staring into a microscope here with the smell of formalin in the air (the fume hood never gets it all) while the ship pitches and rolls? Paging Dr. Dramamine.

The samples add up fast. Deep Discoverer can retrieve two to three biological samples per dive, so they may end up with around 40 samples by mission end. All those specimens must be properly preserved and documented.

By the end of the expedition, Lobecker said, they may also have several hundred pounds of rocks, which have the advantage of needing significantly less dissection and preservation. [Seasick biologists give geologists a slanty eyed side squint]

The spirit of Star Trek really does permeate this ship -- and at the captain's behest, no less, according to Lobecker. Here, for example, is the door to Mission Control:

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

While we were there, we heard this sound followed by a message about an upcoming drill. Do you know it? It's the intercom whistle from the original Star Trek TV series. When he came aboard, the current commanding officer asked for the ship to sound like Star Trek, and the crew Made It So.

Here is Okeanos Explorer Mission Control. Everything is swathed in black.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Here is the front row where the ROV pilot and copilots sit. And those wooden boxes, buttons, and joysticks, my friends, are how you drive an ROV.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Note the ropes, which I assume are battening mechanisms to prevent those control panels from going anywhere unauthorized while at sea.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Long hours at sea probably provide ample time for the fashioning of a lucky crane ...

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

...or for the drawing of the ocean invertebrate Glaucus atlanticus, which I wrote about on this blog long ago. This one was spotted on a black dry erase board at the back of Mission Control. Note also the poem, which I assume is an original composition by one of the crew or science team, since a google search turned up nothing like it on the interweb. In case you can't read it, it says,

Larger than cities,

but on maps there's no mark

Your mission gives light

to our home in the dark

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Here is the back row where the mission scientists sit. There are usually two or three, and they chat with dozens of participating scientists on shore as the mission unfolds. There is a mere two second delay between the observations of Deep Discoverer on the bottom of the ocean and their appearance on the screen at mission control, while only five to ten seconds separates what D2 sees from what scientists in America see (where they may sitting up in their jammies in the middle of the night).

The three scientists listen to what the shore-side scientists are telling them seems interesting or worth investigating, confer among themselves, and then tell the ROV pilots in the row in front of them what objects and critters should get a closer look.

Mapping, the line of work that Lobecker and White are in, although not as sexy in this biologist's opinion as ROV diving, is another of the ship's missions and among the most important. As recently as 2000, up to 95% of the ocean remained unexplored. Lobecker told me scientists have estimated that in the Pacific Ocean there are over 100,000 seamounts -- underwater peaks rising in excess of 1,000 meters from the seabed -- that remain unmapped by any modern equipment.

The Navy must be nettled by this, because they created something called the "Red Dot Program" in which they list seamounts they'd really love to have mapped if Okeanos Explorer, you know, ever happens to be in the neighborhood. Lobecker said she has no idea how the Navy picks them. "We don't ask," she said. "We just map."

Any data generated by the ship, whether biological, geological, or cartographic, becomes available to the public. We paid for it, after all.

Going bow-ward from Mission Control through a hall lined with two to four person "state rooms" where the scientists live while at sea and up two flights of stairs (past the officers' quarters) brought me to the bridge. Here is the floor mat that greets you there.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

I also spotted this important control panel stuck to the wall toward the rear. I think half of America feels a desperate urge to hit that yellow button right now.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Here is where you drive the ship.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

That machine Lt. Aaron Colohan is standing behind is an extremely expensive piece of equipment originally designed for oil tankers and supply ships called a "Dynamic Positioning System". It can hold the 2000-ton ship in position on the open ocean to within one meter. One meter! In theory, it's no more complex than the trolling motor on my dad's fishing boat, which can accomplish the same feat. In practice: probably a lot more complex. You can imagine how important the ability to nail the ship down, so to speak, might be if you've got a $3.5 million dollar ROV armed with Superbowl-quality cameras trying to do extreme close-ups while plucking delicate creatures from the seabed at the end of a 4,000 meter tether.

In high enough seas, the system will eventually fail. It is the captain and crew's job to determine when things are getting dicey enough that it's time to pull the ROV out of the pool. Extraction takes a mere two hours if the ROV is at 4,000 meters, so they'd better choose well.

It could be even longer, since D2's max depth is 6,000 meters, much deeper than the 3,700 meter average depth of the ocean. To put that in perspective, 6,000 meters is nearly 20,000 feet -- 6,500 feet or so higher than the elevation of the tallest mountain in Colorado -- and about four miles deep.

Without the dynamic positioning system, Colohan said, it would be impossible to do ROV dives unless the sea were like glass. The ROV itself can take a beating, but the delicate instruments on it not so much.

This is the most important feature on the ship: the captain's chair.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

I note that it lacks cup holders. I saw an uncannily similar one on the bridge of the USS Missouri, also docked in Pearl Harbor. I guess Naval captain's chair technology has not advanced much in 70 years. I also note the convenient proximity of the equal-opportunity toilet. Which is better than the House of Representatives could say, until recently.

This is the antenna farm, way up at the top there.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Lobecker said that sometimes when they notice they're getting screwy data, they go out to have a look at the farm and there's a bird standing on it.

Note also the Hawaii flag.

This is how you get internet at sea:

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

It's called the VSAT bubble, and there's a tracking antenna in there that moves as the ship pitches and rolls to stay locked on to the nearest satellite 25,000 miles above. This antenna also beams the ship's data to shore.

Here we have Deep Discoverer's camera sled Seirios. They are joined by a tether. Seirios hovers over D2 like a big brother, keeping an eye on the ROV and offering a wider perspective on the scene to the ROV pilots and scientists. As I mentioned, it's wearing its PJs.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Here's what it looks like while at sea:

Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts 2014

This is the crane used to catch and release Deep Discoverer.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

On the end is a truck tire that has been repurposed as a "swing arrestor". When Deep Discoverer is hauled in, it hits that tire which dampens any lateral motion and allows the ROV to be more safely deposited on deck.

Here's what it looks like (note the obvious treads on the tire):

Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Our Deepwater Backyard: Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts

Here it is from the front:

Credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Gulf of Mexico 2014 Expedition

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Deep Discoverer uncovered either. But seeing it in person, even covered, did enable me to make one observation. The ROV is enormous! It's the size of a large room...

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

... and much bigger than the dinky ROVs I've seen in the movies. In this image, the row of hard hats in the background should give you the scale.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

On the bottom left you can see the rugged plastic biological specimen collection basket. That is the one I got to stand next to and could have reached out and touched. On the right side of the ROV is a similar looking rock box. Lobecker observed that rocks that look small on camera frequently emerge from the ocean not so wee. I guess Objects in Camera Are Larger Than They Appear.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Here is D2 in its garage. You can see the railroad that can be used to slide it in and out. No comment on the enormous ... buoys.

Credit: Jennifer Frazer

Thus ended my tour. I asked my guides what their most surprising, scary, or favorite moments aboard Okeanos Explorer had been. Lobecker recalled a time that oil workers alerted them to a suspected shipwreck of potential archaeological importance. To their surprise, they encountered a nine-foot wide asphalt extrusion/artform on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Only one or two such structures had ever been seen in the world before -- and not in the gulf -- and they had never even been given a name. They dubbed it the "tar lily".

Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Okeanos Explorer Gulf of Mexico 2014 Expedition

White recalled retrieving a device intended to measure the speed of sound in local water -- a shiny silver probe at the end of a long line. To the crew's shock, just as they were pulling it out, a nine-foot swordfish leapt from the water, no doubt perturbed the lunch it had tracked all they way back to the ship had somehow made a miraculous escape. The crew was pleased the swordfish hadn't chomped it first. "What are you going to do [if] you hook a 2,000 pound fish that pulls 10,000 pounds?" White observed.

But more mundane moments aboard Explorer also have the abiity to thrill. Nighttime Deep Discoverer retrievals are popular spectator events aboard ship, Lobecker said, as a glow gradually suffuses the deep before the whole contraption is hoisted dripping and lights ablaze to deck. It must be magical.

Space is not the final frontier, at least not yet. Nor is it the only one still capable of inspiring surprise and wonder. Let us not, in our understandable haste to reach for the stars, forget that.

You can follow the explorations of Okeanos Explorer here. Their live-streaming feed of any explorations in progress is here.

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