Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 16: Persimmon's Decision

Well, Sunday, what do you propose we do about it? I'm about to be imprisoned forever.

Download me into your mind, sir. I could keep you company.

I'm not sure how I feel about that, but anything is better than complete and utter boredom.

"Prison is a fitting place for my pathetic ass," said Barracuda.

The next morning, Persimmon awoke to realise that he still had a choice to make. He went downstairs and had breakfast, and then went back upstairs. The answer had dawned on him, and so he grabbed the box of Charleston's favourite books and held it in his hands. You're coming with me, Charleston, he thought. You will not be forgotten.

He packed his things and decided that he would head for the pier as soon as he could.

Not too far out from the island, the Rough-House Pirates were all aboard the Whale, and recovering from the loss of their captain. The band may have fractured, were it not for Disco's sense being similar enough to Barracuda's to allow Piranha to listen. With a dual leadership agreed upon by the two of them, they were now preparing to submerge.

"The Whale is our sturdiest, best submarine. And with it, we will cross the air wall between the Phobos and the Terminus, to find ourselves in the fabled land under the sea. From there, our journey is anyone's guess," said Disco.

"Sounds awesome, bro. Let's move onward to new seas!" said Piranha, feeling a sense of pride in his new role as co-leader.

James was writing a new entry in his journal, as he had not had an opportunity to do so since the tenth.

Captain's Chronicle, Sixth Day: 14/10/4098

It's been a few days since I wrote something for the Chronicle. Where do I even begin? I guess I should start by recognising that I am writing this entry a day late. So, over the past four days our crew has been anchored at the island of Burundi. An interesting place, to be sure, with people both good and bad. Some of the bad people killed a good person. I went to the funeral of that good person. There, his friend wished to join me, purely for the love of adventure. I have yet to here from him on his decision, but I think that he has the makings of a fine new crew member.

James Baron, signing out.

As he finished writing this, he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" he asked.

"Milangelo here. Came to let you know we have a visitor. So you should get out of the captain's quarters and greet them."

He followed Milangelo to the starboard side, where Cameron, Patricia, Karnilla, Crock, and Persimmon were hanging out.

"Ah, glad you could make it. Tell us a bit about yourself," said James, excited that Persimmon had decided to come after all.

"My name is Persimmon," he began.

"Like the fruit?" interrupted Patricia.

"Yes, I was raised in an environment where names came from the things you associate with. Because I used to eat all of the persimmons in the fridge, the fishermen gave me that name."

"But if you're a fisherman, why do you work at a restaurant?" asked Karnilla.

"I never said I was a fisherman, I just said I was raised by them. Well, mostly a merchant named Gumboot."

"The old guy?" asked Crock.

"Yeah, the old guy. Anyway, I became a chef because it's what I've always wanted to be."

"Ah, so you're a chef," said James.

"Yes. I've had this friend since high school who always wanted to be an adventurer."

"And that's Charleston, am I correct?" asked James.

"Yes, and so that's why I'm coming with you. To help him realise that dream."

"Do you have his ashes or something?" asked Cameron.

"Or something. These are his favourite books," he said as he pulled out the box from his luggage. "They're the most vibrant parts of his memory. He loved to read these books. He often longed to go to the places described within them."

"Do the places in these books actually exist?" asked James.

"Some of them do. But most of them are legends. Quite a few are supposedly located in the Terminus, but any island in that sea is generally regarded as a myth due to how little anyone knows about it. It is a very exclusive sea, hard to reach and even harder to navigate."

"What places would you want to visit?" asked Cameron.

"Oh, there are plenty of awesome-sounding ones, Red Black Island, Tomcharts Land, Camelot..."

Persimmon was ready to continue talking about the Terminus at length, but James checked his watch and called for all hands to prepare for departure.

Crock made his way to the helm, and Patricia to the crow's nest, as everyone else headed inside the recreation room. James headed to the bow in order to get a view of the waters ahead, as they continued.

It wasn't long before they had departed, but Patricia called through the megaphone to let everyone know that there was a gathering of people at the pier.

These people held up a banner that read Farewell, sweet Persimmon, and were possibly cheering, although they were getting further away, so it was difficult to hear them. The crew that had gone inside were now at the port side, looking over the railings at the group waving goodbye.

Persimmon recognised Mortadella and Gumboot, among others, but all seemed sad to see him go.

He remembered the conversations he had with both of them prior to leaving. They both expressed their desire to see him off, but he never expected to see this.

As they sailed out of sight, he was happy that he felt like a wanted part of the community. The islanders stopped cheering after they were sure that the ship was gone.

"Okay! Thank you everyone for accompanying us. Come to the Meals Eternal reopening ceremony tomorrow to receive your free meal, or go to Gumboot's stall in the fish market to receive your free fish. Conditions apply, offer valid for one week only, no returns on any free of charge transaction!" said Mortadella before asking people to disperse in an orderly manner and walking over to Gumboot.

"What people won't do for free food, am I right?"

"Absolutely, my merchant friend, absolutely."

James and his crew had a mostly uneventful day of sailing after that, and in the evening, James sat down at his desk to write another entry into his chronicle.

Captain's Chronicle, Seventh Day: 15/10/4098

As it happens, a fine chef has decided to come with us, to live out the dream of his friend, and hopefully honour his memory. It is an odd reason to join a pirate crew, to be sure, but as I write this, I consider the odd circumstances in which I came to be a pirate, and the circumstances behind my crew. I still know very little about all of them, though it would seem that Crock was once a leader, Milangelo doesn't like lawyers very much, Cameron can handle himself under pressure, and Patricia and Karnilla are very much interested in all things concerning games. Little by little, I will solve the mysteries surrounding the lives of my crew members, so that we may trust one another.

James Baron, signing out.