Aquaria - 5. Aqu Chapter 5

Trenton knew that his cabin was one of two, that are about a metre bigger than the other ten junior officer cabins, and that it is not much smaller than the senior officers cabins on the bridge deck, also Trenton was lucky enough to have an extra small room adjoining his cabin, which is slightly bigger than a general crew members cabin, and Trenton uses it as his private study, plus a larger bathroom too, so he was happy with where he was and decided that he would decline the Captain’s offer to move.

When the Captain was informed of the refusal of the offer, he looked very disappointed at his nephew’s decision but accepted it. After just 2 ½ weeks at Gough Island, the captain announced that the Aquaria would be setting sail for nearby Tristan De Cunah, which like Gough Island is part of the British Dependent Territories, located just 400 km’s to the north west.

They would be getting there quickly, and they would be able to assist with some emergency communications maintenance that is required, because of terrible weather they have been experiencing lately, has resulted in the stopping all aircraft traffic in and out of the island.

The job was expected to last only a few days at the most, but was finally completed in 5 days, and it was during their stay at Tristan Da Cunah, that the crew were able to get plenty of shore leave, to explore the islands, buy some souvenirs and have some time to relax in the open air, even though it was still quite cool, due to their location in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean.

Once the job was done and the crew was refreshed, the Captain announced that the next port of call was Rio De Janeiro, in Brazil, where they would be stopping for a week for restock of supplies.

When Trenton learnt about this change, he asked the Captain what the estimated time of arrival in Stanley would be now, with all the changes in the work timetable, and after looking at the travel time from Tristan Da Cunah to Rio De Janeiro, and from Rio to Stanley, he estimated that they would be there probably a week earlier than originally planned.

Trenton sent an email to James to let him know about all the changes and the estimated arrival and departure dates at Rio and estimated arrival date at Stanley. A few hours later Trenton received a reply from James.

“Hello Trenton, thanks for the update on the travels of the Aquaria. I will be sending a parcel to you in Rio, just some forward planning stuff for preparation of the arrival of my staff and students in Stanley, everything will be fully detailed in the parcel, it should be arriving a few days earlier than you, so it will be waiting for you on arrival. Regards James”.

Trenton didn’t know how to interpret that message, and dismissed it knowing that he would find out in about a weeks’ time when they arrive in Rio. The journey north west to Rio was very uneventful, and when they were just a day out from the large South American city, the Captain called for all crew to a briefing, to inform everyone on what to expect when they get there.

Once the briefing was over, everyone was thrilled at the prospect of spending several days being able to explore the city, to see all the sights and do plenty of shopping. Due to the size and security restrictions of the vessel, the Captain asked the Port Authority for the Aquaria to be able to anchor in the outer port, and for crew members to be able to transport to the Port berth for customs and passport checks, and they reluctantly agreed.

When Trenton finished been checked by Customs, he exited the building and almost right away saw a young man standing by a number of suitcases, dressed in cargo shorts and a very tropical coloured shirt, at first Trenton could feel that he knew the young man, and as he stepped closer to get a better look at his face, he suddenly realised that he was looking at Mitchell, who had a huge smile on his face as soon as he saw Trenton approaching.

They hugged for a long time and were only interrupted by the sound of the clearing of the throat of someone nearby, “So is this the parcel that you were expecting Trenton?” Natalia asked, knowing before-hand that this was the case, as she and Jonah had received an email from James, warning them what the surprise parcel really was.

Once Trenton had introduced Mitchell to Natalia and Jonah, Trenton helped carry Mitchell’s luggage as they passed through customs again, and they caught the launch back to the Aquaria. Mitch informed Trenton that he was one of the additional staffs coming with the additional students, for the trip, and that he had been sent ahead to get orientated, in preparation for the arrival of the staff and students at Stanley. Trenton allocated Mitchell a guest cabin, on deck 5, and after Mitchell was settled in, they returned to the mainland to do some exploring.

During the four days that the Aquaria was in Rio, all the crew had a wonderful time relaxing, and exploring the wonderful sights of Rio. Just a few hours before they were due to leave, to set sail for the Falkland Islands, the Captain received and urgent email.

“Heard that you are in Rio, we have had problems with our flights, and are making alternative arrangements, can you delay departure for 26 hours, and we will arrive at Rio at 2.30pm tomorrow. We are currently checking in to board our first flight from Perth to Dubai.

We arrive there at 5.20 am tomorrow morning local time, and after a 2-hour stopover, we leave there just after 7am, and arrive in Rio at 2.30pm local time, Regards James”. Mitchell and Trenton were having a late lunch in the café on deck 3, when Mitchell and Trenton were summoned to the Bridge. On arrival, the Captain handed me the email, and after reading it I showed it to Mitchell who immediately pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

“James, it’s Mitch, we have just got your email, and only just in time, as we were about to set sail in an hour, so all this info in the email is correct?... ok mate see you tomorrow here in Rio, bye” Mitchell said into the phone. “Well I guess another 24 hours won’t hurt us, that is all” the Captain said, and the lads headed back down stairs.

At dinner time that evening, Mitchell and Trenton were invited to eat with the senior officers on the Bridge Deck, and after Dinner, Trenton was asked to stay behind, as the Captain wanted to speak to him privately, which Trenton wasn’t too pleased about, as they headed to the Captain’s lounge.

“Just two things to discuss with you, Trent” the Captain began, “Ok Uncle, I am listening” Trenton replied sourly. “Are you and Mitchell getting back together, and will he be remaining on the vessel?” the Captain asked, “I am not sure Uncle, we have not had the time to discuss it, as we have been enjoying the sights of Rio the past few days” Trenton replied.

“The reason your uncle and I are asking is because we have an additional person arriving in morning, and it would be good if you could spend some time with him” Trenton’s aunt said. “We have a son, his name is Wallace, he is 19 years old, and he has spent the past 10 months working as an exchange student, on a farm in Sweden, and he has just flown in from Europe, and will be joining us for a while” Trenton’s Uncle said.

“Is he the only 1st cousin that I have?” Trenton asked, “No, my sister, Meredith Armstrong and her husband, Oscar, have two sons’ aged 6 and 4, and a daughter aged 6 months” his aunt replied. “Will they be joining us too?” Trenton asked, “Not until Christmas, we will be having Christmas together onboard the Aquaria, in the Falklands” Jonah replied.

Back at Mitchell’s cabin, Trenton told Mitchell about what he had just been informed of, before Mitchell told Trenton, that he had a job to return to in Perth, so he would only be staying till the end of the school excursion.

The following morning after breakfast, Trenton was showing Mitchell around the Science department of the vessel, when Captain Jonah appeared, and asked to speak to Trenton alone, so Mitchell went to explore other parts of the vessel, which he was permitted to visit, with a general crew member access card issued to him yesterday.

“Can you and Mitchell work out a programme on what the visiting students will be doing during their stay and work out cabin allotment to everyone. The school staff and parents, like Mitchell, can have a general guest cabin each, on Deck 5, and the students can share the cadet cabins on Deck 7.

While your cousin is onboard, can you temporarily move to an Executive Suite please, so you are next door to Wallace, he will be getting a Junior Officers access card like yourself, and he has just arrived. I expect you to dine with us at least three times a week from now on” the Captain said, “As you wish uncle, is that all?” Trenton replied, “Yes, that is it, carry on” the Captain said before leaving the office.

A few moments later, Mitchell returned, and Trenton informed him of what the Captain had asked. “Do you have a meeting room or conference area that we can use while the students are here?” Mitchell asked.

“I have something better than that, we have an education centre onboard, with three lecture rooms and a library, a small office, a great hall and even a cinema” Trenton replied smiling.

“Wow, that is awesome, so where is this education centre” Mitchell asked, which made Trenton laugh, “you have already passed it many times, it is right next door, and the Great hall is in the centre section of this deck, and the cinema is just forward of the great hall” Trenton replied, as he followed Mitchell out the door of his office.

After a tour of the rest of deck 5, including checking the shops in the shopping mall, which were currently open. “The shops are open from 8 to 10am and 4 to 6pm when in a port, and when at sea, only from 4 to 6pm, as you see we have a variety of basics for all of the crew.

“We have only three married couples onboard, who have just a regular Crew cabin, except for it having a double bed instead of two king single beds, and there are no children onboard, and crew members, depending on what work they do, can have a choice of work hours.

All crew members have a security ID card, which also acts as a bank card, they are given credit on their cards, for the hours that they work, and they use those cards for making purchases.

Meals and soft drinks, that are provided in the dining rooms are covered by the company, but purchases made in the café, and the other 9 shops in the shopping mall, are charged to their bank card.

Medical costs for seeing the doctor or dentist, are also charged at a minimal cost. We have 2 doctors, 4 nurses, a dentist, a pharmacist, and a medical centre receptionist, so we are fully prepared for just about anything, we even have a small decompression chamber onboard, to treat the bends, if need be” Trenton said explaining some more about the vessel.

Over the next five hours, Mitchell and Trent worked out a programme to keep the students busy, during the 4-day journey south to the Falkland Islands. This includes a Physical Education session in the great hall, straight after breakfast, followed by a two-hour lecture in one of the lecture rooms, and a small group activity, with 8 groups of 6 students for another hour, before stopping for lunch.

In the afternoon, in the same 8 groups, the students will spend two hours, going into the science labs, with two groups per lab, to do some experiments, plus learn to analyse the data collected from the experiments, and write a small report on their findings. Once this is completed, they would have the rest of the afternoon free, to watch a movie, go to the library or to the recreation areas to relax.