and some research on her part she had come up with the plans. She acknowledged she still had to adapt the plans to the ship’s characteristics.
Recalling the meeting, Gabi hesitated whether to reveal the thought that was running around in his head so he just stared at his boss. Pablo was able to read the silence and encouraged him to continue. That was the kind of trust he wanted.
Gabi took a deep breath and blurted out, “Idon’tknowifthefactthatthey’rerelativelyyoungandattractivewillbeaproblem.”
Pablo let out a loud guffaw. After a few seconds, Gabi joined him and when they both had recovered, Pablo explained why he was laughing.
“You’re like my brothers. It’s obvious you’re married with children. You’ve been off the market for too long,” he teased. Those two ooze rejection of any man who approaches them with the most minimal romantic intentions. They might as well have a sign on their foreheads that says NO,” he joked. “Besides, they’re too smart to be duped by someone from the crew. As far as officers, I think I’m the only one that qualifies to try something, based on my age and marital status, but I promise I’ll behave.”
Gabi admitted he was right, but didn’t comment on the last of his arguments.
Pablo agreed that their new employees were attractive, but neither one of them was his type. And the last thing he wanted was a relationship. He had enough. Both were probably somewhat older than him, but they had the bodies of a twenty-something.
Ana was tall and slender, with strong but not aggressive features. Light brown hair to match her eyes, wide but nice hips, and few curves. She seemed to be somewhat arrogant, but nice at the same time.
Esther was quite different, a little shorter and with rounder features, including an ample bosom which had already attracted more than one glance. She had dark hair and eyes and a playful smile.
Even with those features, Pablo was certain that neither one of them would give them any trouble after the talk he had given them when boarding. He had made the situation clear and had also informed them that they would be responsible for the female-specific issues on board and therefore would be his immediate advisors in this regard.
Both had reacted positively and he was happy with the outcome of the meeting because he had put himself a level above the rest of the crew, as his position demanded, even though his age didn’t show it.
Anxious to avoid raunchy subjects, Gabi went on to speak of the two officers left to comment on, Paco and Joseba. They were the ones he had dealt with the least, but both agreed they had made a good impression on them. It was clear that they could not have found someone with such adequate experience and in both cases, they seemed to be people with guts. The best they had going for them both was that they provided virtually all of their own teams and materials. And the fact that their teams were made up of volunteers used to working together not only reduced the work of the seafarers, but also ensured the smooth functioning of their respective groups.
Gabi expressed doubt, though admittedly unfounded, that Joseba might struggle to adjust to the discipline on board. While Pablo hoped Paco could adapt to a perhaps less aggressive type of mission than those to which he was accustomed. Still, both knew they had to consider themselves lucky for having a former SWAT member and pilot.
Once he reviewed the officers, Gabi went on to comment on the NCOs, although not individually. They both knew the importance of these, especially with so few officers, as each NCO was head of a division. Altogether he was very happy to know they were all volunteers, positive and proactive. In addition, all of them, whether former servicemen or not, seemed to already have developed the sense of discipline that they were already instilling in the sailors. Everyone seemed to know their job well and the cook was a virtuoso of the stove. A well-fed crew is a happy crew.
As for the seamen, all Gabi had to say was that if they followed the guidelines of their leaders they would have no problems. Again, the fact that they were all volunteers, knew the mission of the ship and, why not say it, were well paid, made for good performance. Gabi was especially satisfied with the meticulous screening they had carried out, even going as far as to contact former employers to make sure the candidates were hardworking and willing.
Pablo thanked Gabi for his sincerity and apologized for the shoptalk, after which he took some papers from his pocket and showed them to him. The papers contained designs of uniforms and badges for the crew. They had decided that a uniform would help keep the environment they wanted to have on board and Pablo had personally taken on the task of selecting them.
The main piece was a blue, fireproof jumpsuit with Velcro fastenings instead of buttons or a zipper and also a Velcro belt. The main objective was comfort and practicality. Under the jumpsuit, they would wear a blue T-shirt. The shoes were mid-calf boots with a reinforced toe. Pablo had made sure that they were the best on the market: safe, light and most of all comfortable. He had not yet established mandatory headgear, although there would be ball caps and beanies available for the whole crew to wear, also work and wool gloves and a neck gaiter, everything top of the line. There were also parkas, overcoats, rain gear, rubber boots and other items commonly worn on a boat. They even supplied polarized sunglasses in different sizes to avoid the use of personal accessories. The idea was to provide everything that the crew needed for their uniforms so they wouldn’t need to wear their own clothing.
In anticipation of the temperatures they expected to find, he had also ordered blue pants to wear with just the T-shirt. In this case, the T-shirt must be the regulation shirt and be worn tucked into the pants to avoid the risk of snags and the unpleasant experience of seeing someone’s butt crack.
All items of clothing were engraved with Albatros either on the back or on the leg. The intention was to promote a sense of group or entity and Pablo had already planned a contest to find a badge for the ship later on.
Regarding ranks, Pablo had decided to base theirs on a similar hierarchical system used by the Navy but changing the insignia. The officers would have yellow horizontal bars; three for himself, two for Gabi and one for the others, (Grease, Paco, Joseba, Ana, and Esther). The NCOs would have one or two orange vertical bars according to the seniority issued to them (figuring that out had brought on more than a headache at first). The petty officers would wear a red circle and seamen the upper semicircle. This would allow them to keep a system of equivalences that they were used to but with enough differences to separate them from the Navy. The insignia would be worn on the chest of the jumpsuit and engraved on the T-shirts.
Pablo was tempted to have a dress uniform but he knew it would be useless so he discarded the idea.
“Very American,” opined Gabi. “I like it. It’s very practical.”
With that, they set aside work and ordered their first drink. That evening would have ended much later had the two seamen not been fully aware of the work ahead and the need to be at a hundred percent for the next days.
Chapter Five
Pablo reviewed the events of recent days as he headed to the quarterdeck. They were sailing the Mediterranean transiting towards the Suez Canal. They had finished fine tuning the ship in record time and had set a course for the Indian Ocean five days earlier.
The crew was complete. They were a total of eighty-two men and women. This included the helicopter maintenance team and the boarding team. Pablo only regretted not having been able to find a navigation officer. They just couldn’t find anyone suitable for the position. This had left Gabi and him to keep watch on the bridge, so they had hired a young sailor named Miguel. He had very little experience but he had a good career and had excellent references.
This
