With the US airship safely out of Carolina airspace, the captains of the two CFS airships could meet in person. Captain Willie climbed down the rope ladder extending from the forward hatch. While still hanging onto the ladder, he fired his grapple gun at the matching rope ladder hanging from the King Jesus. One of the hooks caught the rope and in a flash he had pulled it over. Through a series of deft acrobatic moves worthy of a master trapeze artist, he transferred himself onto the King Jesus’ ladder and scrambled up it and into the open hatch. He was fit and strong and could easily pull himself through its opening.
Once onboard, Captain Willie was met by a small, dark man with an enormous set of dreads sprouting in all directions. He had enormous pearl earings in each ear as well as a gold incisor that flashed when he spoke. Captain Willie’s ensemble was scarcely less colourful since he was wearing his usual get-up of purple trousers, a brightly patterned paisley silk shirt and brocade vest. In contrast to the colourfulness of the rest of his attire, his Indian-made moccasins were quite conservative. Their soft, flexible soles were more suited to climbing rope ladders. In contrast to his flamboyant greeter, his head was clean-shaven and he wore no jewelry.
The tiny man viewed Captain Willie somewhat suspiciously.
“Captain Ross wants to talk with you.”
“Yeah, that’s the idea.” Willie grimaced to himself. Why state the obvious?
“Let’s get on with it then.”
As they climbed the metal ladder to the command deck, Captain Willie had plenty of time to reflect on the differences between the rough and tumble ship he captained and the fleet’s flagship. Naturally the ship was larger, although it was still quite crowded due to the supplies she carried as well as having a larger crew.
