Chapter 12: Boarding the Peregrine Part 4

"Sir Shillingsworth will show you the room I've set aside for you to gather and work. There's lockers to stow equipment. Never leave anything breakable loose, even on calm seas. You have a question about anything, ask the closest member of the crew. Now, you're scientists, the only thing in creation with more curiosity than cats, so explore the ship. If a crewman tells you something is dangerous, believe them. That's a lot easier than putting you back together. My purser is also decent at helping with sickness and injury, so talk to him if you need." He stepped back and sat down, resuming his conversation with Pentam.

Cal took the leather bag off her shoulder and put it on the table. Made of soft leather, it would hold her largest sketchbooks. When she opened it, the flap of the satchel had been sewn with loops the exact size to hold pencils, dozens of them. The main part of the satchel was divided into slots for sketchbooks and spaces for rolls of paper. A thin board gave the bag stiffness, but could slide out to draw on. One compartment held a roll of leather. When she examined it, she found it held ribs for charcoal sticks so they wouldn't break.

"You like it?" Sir Shillingsworth sat beside her with an odd expression on his face. Doubt.

"It's marvellous." Cal ran her hand over the leather. "I can't wait to load it with supplies."

"I thought you might need a bit more carrying space than your pockets for this trip." He tried a smile, but it came out a bit crooked.

Cal looked around the mess. The others were deep in conversation, waving tea cups and sloshing tea at each other.

"Do I thank Sir Shillingsworth, or my father?" Cal grinned at him.

"A little of both," he said.

"Well then, Sir Shillingsworth, thank you for the most wonderful and thoughtful gift." She threw her arms around him. "Thanks, Father. It means the world to me."

He relaxed and patted her back, not even pushing her away.

"What's up?" She raised her eyebrow at her father. "I love this, but you're acting strange."

"I never had the chance to bring your mother along on an expedition. She had a brilliant mind and helped write all my papers. But she always chose to stay with you." He reached out and touched Cal's cheek. "I'm glad she did, but then..." He sank into silence.

"I miss her too, Father, but nothing made her happier than talking about your work. I grew up looking at maps where you travelled, imagining camels and lions, blizzards and bears."

"I never knew that." Sir Shillingsworth sighed and kissed her hair. "I am glad you're here."

The animated discussion on the other side of the room continued.

"I made sure we have plenty of nets of various weights." Pentam looked in his cup and put it down.

"Netting is all very well, but we may need something more aggressive if any of the tales of sea serpents are true." Prof. Orthin waved his hands, making the others hold their cups out of the way.

"Since all we have are rumours and legends." Lahdin leaned back with sigh. "I fully expect all of our plans will be for nought, until we see the creature for ourselves."

"Very true," Pentam said. "But it is up to us to have the raw materials for any situation. We have everything short of a cannon to work with."

"We must hope for the best then." Dr. Franklyn slapped Pentam on the shoulder. "That we both see the beast, and have what we need to capture it. Yet capturing it will only be the beginning of our work. We will need to determine proper taxonomy."

"From the description, I expect we will find it to be related to the snake family, like the giant snakes in tropical jungles in the east." Prof. Orthin leaned forward.

"Determining taxonomy from sight is just asking for a later expedition to correct you." Lahdin chuckled and waved his hand. "I have some experience with that."

"Don't we all." Dr. Franklyn sipped at the remains in his cup. "It is the reality of being first, we always risk being wrong."

"Science is about being wrong, so we get closer to being right." Prof. Orthin put his cup down with a bang. "Now, I must head off to sleep to keep my mind sharp."

Cal nodded at Pentam as he collected the cups, then headed to her berth. Sleep sounded like a grand idea.