Geert was sitting on his own at a table in the cafeteria, lazily poking at his food with a fork. Someone pulled at the chair on his left and set down.

“Looking kinda glum here De Vries, what’s on your mind?” Vadim asked, soon joined by Micha on the other side of the table.

“Dunno really…” The parrot shrugged “Voyage’s over and that means I got my promotion. It’s just… you got a look at port too?” He viciously stabbed a vegetable with his fork “I know it’s not the Netherlands but still… Leaves me little hope for what I might find back home you know?”

“How close are we from your home exactly?” Micha questioned him.

“I was born in Groningen, but I live in Vlissingen now, on the Scheldt estuary. That’s twenty to thirty nautical miles from here.”

“You know we can’t really tell that everybody disappeared. For all we know they moved inland.” Vadim tried.

“Sure” Geert rolled his eyes “And while they were at it they hauled all the merchant vessels and some of the navy vessels inland while they were at it” He scoffed “Makes perfect sense”

“Still better than settling for the fact that an entire population could vaporize overnight.” Micha countered.

Geert slammed a claw on the table and glared at the two Officers.

“For fuck sake can’t you two get it? Everybody but us is just fucking GONE!” He yelled “I used the Satcom to connect to the Internet earlier. You know how some sites register their traffic? Guess what then? I got a look, and all the users they’ve had recently were bots, AI and algorithms. Not a single verdomme human user.” He made a cutting motion with his arm “It’s just US now.”

He closed his eyes and held his head in his claws, before letting out a long sigh.

“Sorry, that was unbecoming of me. I’m a bit… antsy at the prospect of winding up alone on the shore now that my contract here’s ended.”

“That needed to come out at some point.” Vadim paused to take a bite of his meal “No trouble on my part.” He glanced at Micha “You?”

“It’s fine, I get it too.” He waved a claw dismissively “Have you brought it up with the Captain yet?”

“Nah” Geert shook his head “It’s only now when I saw the state of the harbor that I’ve come to realize how bad the situation really is.” He looked at them “But how can you be okay with that?”

“Self brewed coping mechanism.” Vadim answered flatly.

“I beg your pardon?” Geert cocked his head.

Vadim twisted a bit to open the breast pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a flask covered in an ugly looking tartan canvas.

“We’ve got a deal with Aleksei and Angelo in engineering. With some of the guys in engineering they’ve rigged an alembic to the cooling system of the main engine. The Chiefs are kind enough to look the other way provided they’re not too… thirsty.” Micha commented before motioning with his head towards Vadim “And our friend over there likes to think of himself as a master brewer since he ‘invented’ a particularly potent blend of booze.”

“The Belvedere I gave you yesterday? Might as well be considered water compared to the shit that comes out of the alembic.” Vadim boasted.

“And that keeps you from panicking?” Geert snorted “Yeah, right.”

Vadim waved the flask in front of the Dutchman.

“Won’t believe it ‘til you try it, want some?”

Geert didn’t bother giving an answer to that question and just swiped the flask from Vadim’s hand before taking a swig. The liquid burned its way down his throat and he had to hold back an awkward cough.

“Jezus Vadim, the fuck did you make that with? Antifreeze?”

“A spoonful, among other things.” The Ukrainian joked. “Still, feel better now?”

“If by that you mean if the third degree burns in my throat make me forget about my otherwise shitty situation, then yes, thank you for your Slav fuckery.” Geert rasped.

“Eh, it ain’t dumb as long as it works. Now give that back I need a swig myself.”

The parrot eagerly passed the flask back to its owner. He stroked his long neck as he watched the Ukrainian down the rest of the content in one go, the burning sensation now replaced by a dull throbbing in his throat. Micha turned to him with a questioning look.

“Still, given the chance, would you rather stay on board or strike out on your own?”

“Given what I’ve seen today? I’m not a solitary type, if I know I’m not going to find anyone ashore, I’d rather stay. Why the question? I thought that was kinda clear on my part.”

“It’s mostly because of Alejandro. He told me how they had a meeting with the Captain yesterday in the lounge. They want to ‘survey’ so to speak, those of the crew who might want to leave.”

“That bad uh?”

“Not from my point of view. I asked around for a bit during breakfast. Didn’t see any Officer that wanted to leave that’s for sure. And the deck guys, well, not really either. We might be on the right continent, but you are the only guy who is actually close to his home.” Micha took a sip from a can of soda before resuming. “Maybe if we were closer to their homes they’d take the chance, but we’re still way too far. The port being deserted doesn’t help either.”

“You think the Captain’s making a mountain of a molehill then?”

“I’m not pretending I’m right about this. People do want to go home, but I don’t think anybody would leave the group to venture into the unknown quite so soon.”

“But you think it’s going to pop up somewhere down the line?”

“That is correct.” Micha nodded.

“Would you leave the ship?”

“No” Micha answered “Not in those conditions at least. Poland’s too far from here, if I were to try, then that would be a one-shot, in a certain manner. What happens if you leave, go home and nobody’s there to greet you? Only reason I’d have to take the chance is if we’re close enough that I can make it back to the ship if I don’t find anybody. Wouldn’t want to wind up stranded, you know?”

“Makes sense” Geert nodded, before resuming his eating.

A minute later, they were joined at the table by the ship’s sole minotaur.

“Hey guys, I just had a talk with Roberto and you won’t believe what he told me.” Angelo said as he sat down.

“And that would be?” Vadim inquired.

“Well that mad lad of a cadet was straight up googgling furries from the bridge computer yesterday. Crazy init?”

Geert shrank down in his seat.

“Say, Angelo, have you read the new crew list? The one with the species on it?” Micha asked the engineer.

“Haven’t memorized it yet.”

“Hold on a sec’ then.” Micha shoved a claw down his pocket. “Here, take a look.” He passed him the list. “Now, last row, look at the specie of the cadet.”

The minotaur frowned at the sheet of paper.

“It says ‘parrot’ right there.” He said.

Micha grabbed the minotaur’s muzzle and pulled it in Geert’s direction. His eye ridges rose.

“Oh…”

“Oh indeed Angelo.”

A few moments later, the Captain strode in the cafeteria, clad in his dress uniform. Talks ground to a halt as he made his way to the center of the room. He swept the room with his eyes, ensuring that everyone was paying attention.

“Gentlemen, I have come to deliver you all a choice.” He began. “As many of you are probably aware by now, the port we are berthed in turned to be as deserted as the anchorage, and while I have suspicions of activity present in the vicinity” Some people raised their heads at that “It is clearly not to the extent that is considered usual for the port of Zeebrugge. There is a high likelihood of that state of affairs extending to the rest of the continent, if the clues we have gained from observing Internet traffic are to be believed.” He paused to evaluate the crowd’s reaction. All were still paying attention.

“But that is conclusion many of you have reached, whether you are willing to admit it or not. What, I believe, matters the most to you at the moment is the state of your families and those you left behind at the beginning of your work here. To assist with that issue, I have decided to allow everyone free use of this ship’s telecommunication equipment for those who may want to attempt reaching their families, be it radio, phone, or even satellite communications. I will even encourage it, as it may give us further clues regarding human activity.”

“Furthermore, I need to remind you all that you are not under any obligation to remain on this vessel. While we all currently have a contract with the company, it is quite clear that without any contact with them, I will be unable to deliver your due wages, for which I wish to extend you my excuses.” He gave the room a cursory look; they didn’t seem to react too badly to that announcement.

“I expect that some of you will want to leave the vessel to go see their families, particularly the European members of this crew who are within reach of their home countries. It is not within the scope of my powers as the Captain of this vessel to stop you, you are free to leave if you so desire. I only wish to ask you to meet me in my quarters this evening so we can discuss the terms of your departure. Due wages will be paid out of the vault’s cash supply for those who terminate their work on this ship. Any complaint regarding the way the compensations are handled may be taken to the Union representative.” He gestured towards Artyom who was sitting with Boris in a corner of the room.

“I will conclude this little speech with an appeal to everyone present. I understand everyone’s worry about their families and sympathize with it; I myself have a wife and kids, grown up as they are, back home in Mumbai. I still believe it as being too hazardous to depart from this crew on your own across Europe to attempt to find people that may not even be there. We are stronger together and we will need everyone we can to face this crisis. So… please, consider your decision for a bit before coming to my office.”

The dog pulled at his tie for a bit, looking at the crew assembled around him. He gave a soft nod in Artyom’s direction.

“Thank you for your attention. I will be in my quarters.”

Dilip walked off to leave the assembled crewmen to their thoughts. Once he passed the doors, the entire cafeteria erupted into whispers. Some started to make their way towards Artyom, who was starting to seriously question his own choice of being unionized.

On the other end of the room, Geert stood up and strode towards the door. Now would be the best moment to address the Captain before he got swarmed by inquisitive sailors.

Geert walked up the stairs to deck B, the one where the Captain’s quarters were situated. He would have changed into his dress uniform if he could, but unlike the Captain’s, his still needed to be adapted to his new form. Considering how much he trusted his sewing abilities and the cost of said uniform (even though he bought it second-hand), he wasn’t particularly interested in trying.

He had gone back to his cabin (a rating’s room, a tad smaller than the type given to officers without the desk, and with a bathroom shared with the cabin next to it) to fetch some documents, including a copy of his work contract.

The parrot gave his coveralls one last inspection. Going to the Captain’s quarters with a dirty or damaged uniform would be… less than ideal. He smoothed out some wrinkles with the back of his claws and ensured his crest of feathers wasn’t too messy.

Recently he had developed a keen awareness for his appearance, always being particularly conscious of how he looked, in particular when it came to his feathers.

He couldn’t put his talon on which was responsible, the change in gender or the change in specie. Perhaps both.

Geert shook his head. Now was not the time to get lost in thought. He knocked on the door to the Captain’s quarters.

Dilip was quick to open the door and let the now former cadet inside, gently motioning him towards a desk with a soft greeting.

Geert appraised his surroundings. He was in the ‘office’ part of the quarters, this being the first room visitors would find themselves in upon entering. Opposite to him was a door leading to the Captain’s cabin proper.

It was a rather large room, visibly designed with two distinct parts in mind. One half of the room, the one that was adjacent to the exterior of the ship, was used as the Captain’s office with a desk, some office equipment like a printer, a server rack and some filing cabinets. The desk itself was a large piece of furniture made out of lavishly carved cherry wood with a slab of crème-colored marble on the top. The desk was laden with piles upon piles of documents, with the only real personal touch being a framed photo of what Geert expected to be the Captain’s family. Around the desk were three chairs, two small wooden chairs for visitors, and a heavy looking leather office chair for the Captain. Directly behind the desk was a porthole which let some natural light in the room.

The other half of the room was a sort of meeting room, with two couches on either side of the room surrounding a coffee table. Above the table, someone had attached a projector to the roof, which pointed to a white board on the wall. The coffee table also had a transparent side, which showed the Captain’s collection of high-value liquors.

Generally speaking, the room had an appearance similar to the rest of the accommodation with the lower part of the walls being covered in wood. The most notable difference being that the color was dark blue instead of burgundy. As for the decorations, Geert took note of some plastic fichus trees in the corners of the room and various framed pictures hanging on the walls.

The Captain ushered the Dutchman to take a seat at the desk and offered him a glass of liquor, which he politely declined.

Dilip sat down and took a moment to make some room on his desk, pushing the documents out of the way before facing his subordinate.

“Sorry about the mess on the desk, I didn’t expect anybody to turn up here so quick. Now,” He pulled out a folder from the pile he had pushed aside “I got your documents here, cadet contract, completed review of your performances and a recommendation, the usual fare. It’s been a pleasure to have you on this crew…”

Geert politely raised a claw to halt his superior.

“With all due respect sir, it’s actually the opposite. I wish to extend the duration of my work on board of your vessel.”

Dilip cocked his head, looking just a tiny bit confused.

“Are you sure certain of your choice? While I do appreciate you choosing to stick with us, I also know you are within an hour by car from your home. You are literally on your doorstep.”

“I am aware of that fact, yes. But… upon seeing the state of the harbor, I cannot reason that I would wish to see what awaits me at home. I find the prospect of continuing to work here to be safer than being on my own.”

“I am glad to hear that De Vries, under normal circumstances I wouldn’t expect someone with credentials like yours to stay on board.” He pulled out Geert’s CV from the pile before tapping it with a digit for emphasis. “Licensing in polar navigation, licensing in direct positioning system, certifications for the carriage of volatile compounds and chemicals. I’m leaving some out, but you’re clearly made for another kind of ship if it comes to work beyond that of a cadet.”

“Does that mean you do not accept my request?” Geert leaned forward in his seat, seemingly worried.

“Certainly not, I’m just ensuring you are made aware of the… specificities, so to speak, that our current situation may entail. You’re currently very close to your home, and this is a chance you may not get twice. The likelihood of us leaving the North Sea area in the future is very real, as I do not know where this crisis may lead us. Work will also be very different for you now that you have enough time at sea to validate your certifications. If you are to stay on this ship, I will expect the same work from you as I do from the rest of the officers. Understood?”

“Yes Captain.”

“Good, I will ask Roberto to make you a new contract tomorrow. Just… don’t expect much in the way of wages. If you already have your Third Officer ranks, you may apply them to your uniforms. You may also go see Farkas and ask him for a cabin more befitting of your station. All officer cabins are taken, but let him know I now allow the use of the VIP cabins. Should be similar enough, and it’s on the right deck. I will personally tell Alejandro so that he assigns you some duties.”

The Indian dog’s ears swiveled on the top of his head, pointing towards the door.

“Sounds like the next guy is already here. Is there anything else you wanted to discuss?”

Geert shook his head and stood up. He shook the Captain’s paw and made his way to the door. Before he could open it, Dilip gave him his thanks for staying.

“You know, I was worried too many people would start leaving… but if you of all people want to stay, even this close to your home, then that’s a good sign.”

Geert replied with a nod and left. In the hallway, he saw Nikola, the gargoyle from engineering. He recalled the Bulgarian had a rather large family back home, which would explain why he was visiting the Captain now.

But prying into people’s lives was none of his business, so he just went on with his life.

The ratings kept watch this evening so that left him a lot of free time. Geert went down to his cabin to get changed. Now would be the right time to hit the gym and blow off some steam.

The sun went down and up again, and Amandine’s crew soon found themselves gathered next to the stern ramp the following morning.

Off to the side, Alejandro was giving the ramp controls on last inspection before their opening, with the assistance of one white furred dog deck rating.

Many of the assembled people took note that the youngest of them, a gargoyle called Ioan, was now heavily laden with bags. The 20-year-old gargoyle was having a heated talk with some of his friends from the crew, but it was pretty clear what his intent was. Some were starting to exchange curious whispers about it, but somebody had yet to approach the gargoyle’s group.

At long last, the Captain arrived with a clipboard under his arm and a satchel slung around his shoulder. He still was dressed in his shirt and cargo shorts, but he seemed to have spared some time to brush his fur. He was followed by Micha, who was carrying a large canvas bag across his back.

“Gentlemen, may I have your attention?” Dilip said.

All conversations ceased at once upon hearing their Captain speak up.

“Good, I hope everybody had a restful night, even those who had watch duties. Today marks our first day in port, and I intend to make the best use possible of our time here. But first, it is now time for us to say goodbye to one of our crewmembers.” He looked around the crowd for a moment. “Ioan Mircea, can you please come forward.”

The young gargoyle adjusted the straps on his bags and stepped forward to meet Dilip.

“Ioan, it has been a pleasure to have you on this crew and I hope you don’t regret working here either. I wish you the best of luck finding your family, where are you going again?”

“To Constanta sir, on the shores of the Black Sea.”

“It’s a long road ahead of you, be on the lookout for dangers. We don’t know what’s out there. I won’t ask how you’re going to get a vehicle and fuel, but remember: most fuel stations have a manual override; it’s just a matter of finding it. I trust you have bid farewell to everyone?”

The young Romanian was obviously rather stressed, but managed to compose himself and give the Captain a sharp nod as an answer.

“Perfect.” Dilip continued; then he shrugged off his satchel and handed it to the departing crewmember “In this satchel you will find all of your due wages, in Euros, bills of twenty only. I also added a satellite phone with some spare batteries as a parting gift. It’s got some contacts in its memory, with Amandine among others.”

Ioan accepted it with a quiet ‘thank you’, attaching the satchel to his large travel bag. He stared at the Captain for a few awkward seconds, before presenting his open clawed hand to his now former superior.

Dilip gave him a strong handshake, a pained smile gracing his muzzle.

“Good luck and fair seas Captain.”

“And fair roads to you, friend.” He turned his head to the side. “Alejandro!” He barked. “Time to open the ramp!”

The blue parrot replied by giving Dilip the thumbs up and activated the controls of the ship’s massive stern ramp. The gigantic contraption swung outwards slowly, its descent carefully controlled by the Officer manning the commands. Two powerful winches unwounded their coils under Alejandro’s careful scrutiny, before settling the ramp on the quay with a dull thud.

“Està abierto” The Spaniard commented as he shut down the controls, no need to keep them on if all that could lead to is accidentally raise the ramp.

The ramp opened up to a large trailer yard that extended for a large distance behind Amandine. One end of the yard was occupied by parked lorries and towing vehicles left there between two loading operations, the rest of the place being used up by rows upon rows of trailers of various types. Some rows were even outfitted with electrical outlets to recharge refrigerated trailers.

Off in the distance, there were two buildings poking out of the sea of trailers. One was the customs office, which led to the exit, and another was the terminal’s offices. Ioan was already making his way towards those, because he knew it was there he would find the keys needed to open the cars awaiting exportation that could be found in an adjacent parking lot.

To the assembled sailors, the sight that awaited them in front of the ramp was rather eerie. While the usual seagulls could be heard in the distance, the harbor was still almost silent, and utterly desert of activity.

That terminal in particular was supposed to be the busiest of the entire port, but the bustling activity that was to be expected in this place was just… absent. Gone was the noise of hundreds of trucks awaiting transport across the channel, the bickering between officials negotiating on ship loads, the ever present customs patrols… Now it was just less than thirty crewmen staring out the back end of their ship with their mouths agape.

Ioan stopped at the end of the ramp and gave them all one last look over his shoulder. Some waved at him one last time, before he turned his head forward and strode on towards his goal. Within minutes, his orange-clothed silhouette had disappeared around a turn in the maze-like yard.

Dilip gave a polite cough to get their attention. They focused their attention back to him.

“Let’s hope our young colleague does find his family eventually. But we must not forget ourselves either, for there is much we have to do.” Dilip looked around the crowd and motioned for Artyom to come forward.

“I have made a list of tasks that need to be taken care of around the port, for the boatswain to distribute as he sees fit.” He handed his clipboard to the approaching Russian dragon.

“This list includes surveying the area for potential activity, as well as salvaging equipment around the area for our own use. That includes vehicles, fuel, supplies and equipment. Certain tasks will require specialized personnel to take care of them. I have added specific notes for those, and I also have already picked some of you for specific tasks. Notably…”

Dilip gestured towards De Vries who was standing at the back of the crowd. The tall parrot had already added the new ranks on his uniform.

“I have decided that the party sent to look for activity will be led by our newest officer. That is correct gentlemen, our cadet has been promoted. He met with me yesterday and manifested the intent of staying as part of our crew. Will everyone please give a round of applause to Fourth Officer De Vries, may he become an integral part of this vessel.”

While obviously surprised at the news, the crewmembers were visibly happy to discover that the cadet that had had a very good impression with them would get to stay. Dilip had to gesture to them to cease clapping after a moment to get on with his speech. At least Geert seemed to preen under the attention, not that it wasn’t deserved.

“Now, considering he speaks the local tongue, I saw fit to assign De Vries to the survey party. Other parties sent around include an engineering party that will have to go ensure that the chemicals terminal is in a stable state and doesn’t run a risk of leaking or worse, exploding. I also need a salvaging party that may go around the trailer yards and container yards. Exploring the city may be a good idea too if we can get something from the shops and warehouses. Due to his knowledge of our logistical status, Chief Steward Farkas will lead that party.” Dilip paused a few seconds to catch his breath and let in sink in. Nobody seemed to have any question so far.

“At last, I need a party to go retrieve a fuel barge from the depot and resupply us in diesel and heavy fuel oil. This party will need to be mixed between engineering and deck crewmembers for obvious reasons. Remember to be careful with that, as using the barge may involve getting across a couple locks.”

Whether he was talking about floodgates or padlocks, nobody knew.

“I will remind you that the ship will need to be kept under watch. Ensure a sufficient amount of personnel remains on board to manage security and keep an eye on the generators. That is all, any question?”

A hippogriff raised his claw at the front of the crowd, and the Captain motioned for him to ask away.

“Sir, are we allowed to use security equipment from the vault?”

“Non-lethal weaponry will be handed out for use, pepper spray and telescopic batons. The tasers are to stay on the ship however.”

“What about the other weaponry sir?”

Dilip raised his eye ridge in surprise.

“Cat’s out of the bag already?”

“Boris spilled it yesterday.” The guy admitted, glancing at the griffon in question “In his defense that actually involved more alcohol than usual.”

The Captain leveled a hard stare at Boris, who had the wisdom to at least look sheepish about his slip of the tongue. He had expected the info to leak eventually, but not that fast. Still, the Russian had been within his rights to reveal it, and Dilip himself had allowed them to consume alcohol that night. He sighed, one mistake that was all too quick to bite him in the ass.

Didn’t stop him from subtly asking Artyom to load the guy with extra duties though.

“Very well, we do have a revolver on board. I allowed it to be issued yesterday to the boat team in case of an incident. Now that we have had the occasion to get a better appraisal of the situation, I have judged that there is nothing that warrants its use as of now.” He looked towards the Hippogriff that had asked the question, remembering he was called Yuri, a Ukrainian. “The keys to rapidly access the weapon will be given to those keeping watch on the ship however. Does that answer your question?”

The hippogriff acquiesced, and since nobody else had any question, that settled Dilip’s speech. He wished all the gathered people good luck in their search before retreating to his quarters.

A rather successful beginning for the day, considering how many crewmen he had managed to convince to stay.

A parrot, a dog, and a sphinx walked down the road.

A bad joke in some circles, a very real situation for Geert, he mused, adjusting the backpack on his shoulder to accommodate for the walkie-talkie strapped across his chest. Alejandro had let him choose two companions for his surveying team, and he had chosen Rahul the Chief Cook (who wanted to get away from his kitchen for once) and Mohammed, a Tunisian sphinx who had gone from being rather cheerful before the transformation, to being a lot more cynical.

Rahul and him had chosen to make use of the sphinx’s impressive strength to carry most of the heavier tools they had grabbed on the ship, including a pair of heavy duty bolt cutters, and spare batteries for the radio (duh, those things always run out).

Now, both the dog and the parrot were cracking jokes to coax the Tunisian out of his shell, with Geert glancing sporadically at his map to make sure they were headed in the right direction.

“Hey Mohammed, you know what’s great about Switzerland?”

“No clue” The sphinx replied.

“Dunno either, but the flag is a big plus I’d say.”

He couldn’t really say he had a particularly great repertoire when it came to bad jokes though, so he might have thrown himself in a vain battle.

On a brighter note, they were getting close to their destination: the marina part of the port. It was the first place he wanted to check out because it was at the crossroads of the town itself, the fishing port, a cruise terminal, and the navy base (which they had been told to inspect too).

“Look guys” Mohammed began “I appreciate you guys helping me, but I have my own reasons for being pissed off, and you both really are trying too hard. It’s getting on my nerves. Besides shouldn’t you be looking at the road?”

“Okay, stopping now.” The parrot raised his claws defensively. “And no, it’s not like we’re going anywhere real fast at walking pace. And I’m not going to accelerate any time soon since I’m barefoot unless you forgot.” He pointed at his own clawed feet for emphasis.

“And I too, am barefoot, birdbrain.”

“True but you got four of those now, I’m stuck with two and I don’t want to go any lower on that count because I stepped on broken glass.”

“Eh, I actually have an excuse for not having shoes, it’s not like I can make them with no hands. What’s yours?”

“Need leather and Kevlar, couldn’t find materials, so stuck on standby. By the way, how are the shoes Rahul?”

“Feels like wearing Prada.” The dog fired back, wryly. “How far to the marina?”

“500 meters, it’s on the other side of that drawbridge.” Geert said, indicating a bridge built over a lock separating the harbor from inland canals.

After passing the bridge, the three sailors came to a crossroad with the marina on their right. They could see the masts from the sailboats left there by their owners, as well as a couple small-sized fishing boats moored close to some closed down market stalls. Nothing out of place for a seafront.

Except the attack submarine berthed in front of them that is. One with a soviet flag draped over her bow.

“So, I would think the navy guys next door ran out of parking space at some point and stole a spot in the marina, but that wouldn’t explain the flag. Belgium is a NATO country, right?” Mohammed asked.

“Beats me.” Geert shrugged. “I’ve had these Belgians for neighbor my entire life and they still manage to pull crazy shit like that. Not the first thing in that country that wouldn’t make any sense.”

“That bad, uh?”

“Don’t get me started, it’s like they pull stuff like that on purpose just to fuck with people.”

Rahul just pulled out his phone and took a picture of the sub.

“Crazy Belgians or not, does it really matter? It’s not like it impacts us in any way.” The dog said.

“Yeah let’s keep going. Still weird though. You want to try out any place around here first?”

“Well, we can cross out the passenger terminal, we passed it and it was as desert as the Sahara” Mohammed commented. “You guys feel like breaking in a military installation?”

“Eh, at least even if we don’t find shit it ought to be entertaining.” Geert said. “Let’s do that.” He looked at his chart before pointing towards the North. “That way.”

“You two really think getting in is going to be that easy?” Rahul said incredulously.

“Please Rahul” Geert retorted with a roll of his eyes “It’s the Belgians we are talking about. If anything I would expect them to leave the door open.”

“You seem to hold a grudge against Belgium.”

“Football related, don’t pry.”

Before Rahul could build on that comment, Mohammed called out to them from next to the quays.

“Hey guys, you seeing this too?” He directed their attention towards some burn marks a hundred meters away from them, close to the market.

“I see it.” Rahul squinted “Looks like a lightning strike, but there wasn’t any storm recently, and it wouldn’t hit there either.”

“Let’s take a look.” Geert said.

Upon approaching the mark, all three sailors recoiled at the pungent scent permeating the area. The smell reminded them of rotting fruit mixed with fresh mud, above a lingering smell of copper and ozone.

They were surprised to discover that the mark they had assumed to be from some sort of blast, was actually a pattern of symbols burned into the concrete of the quays. Geert kneeled by the symbols to take a closer look, but was unable to recognize anything among them. They were organized in a circle of about two meters in radius, with another triangular pattern inside of it and… he counted thirteen lines exiting the circle with no apparent constant in their arrangement.

Geert waved Mohammed over to him, showing some symbols around the center of the mark.

“Eh, does that look like Arabic letters to you? I can’t recognize any of those symbols.”

The sphinx gave the symbols a hard look, but pulled back with a shake of his head, making his mane rustle.

“That’s not Arabic, that much I’m certain.” He waved a paw towards the outer edge of the circle “I see the resemblance, particularly towards that side, but it’s only the general shape. Symbols don’t match.” He frowned, before motioning with his head towards another succession of symbols. “Those on the other hand, I think it’s Hebrew. Or Hindu maybe? What do you think Cook?”

Rahul perked up at that from where he was looking on the other side of the mark.

“It’s called Devanagari for your information; but no, not that either.” He pulled out his phone. “Take a photo to show to the others later and keep going?”

“You do that; I will mark the position on my chart.” Geert told him.

Meanwhile, Mohammed was looking around the area, trying to see if anything around was tying with the mark. Unfortunately, he didn’t find anything in the vicinity; just some shrubbery that had been damaged by what he assumed was large dogs from the paw prints he saw in the dirt around it. He called off his search when Geert cried out after him; they were leaving for the navy base.

As it turned out, Geert’s negative perception of the local navy wasn’t entirely unfounded. They did leave the door open in the fence that separated their base from the rest of the port facilities.

Said base would hardly classify as large by many nations’ standards. It only had two medium draught docks, currently occupied by a couple old tugboats and some minehunters apparently awaiting repairs at the local repair station, a large boat lift made to pull small tonnage vessels out of the water. The rest of the base was occupied by fuel tanks, warehouses, and office buildings. One object of note was the search and rescue helicopter landed next to the docks. A Sea King, if Geert’s memory was right.

The Dutch parrot insisted on stopping at the guard post, justifying that it would be where they could probably find the most information on the rather small military installation. The small building still had its lightning on, indicating that the guards had been present at the moment of the catastrophe. Walking in through a back door left ajar, they saw that the TV was still on, hooked to a PS3 that was waiting for its players to resume their game of Fifa.

The group dispersed, each going to search the building in their own direction. Geert just made his way to the office part, intent on finding a personnel list.

Good thing he spoke the local language because all documents were in Flemish, the local flavor of Dutch. Sifting through the documents only took him a few minutes.

According to the data he found, there hardly was anyone on base at all except for the guards. Documents showed it wasn’t outfitted with barracks, so only some people working late in the night on projects had been present. Most of the guards had been at their post, but he noted that one had signaled going on patrol minutes before the catastrophe. He dutifully noted each occupied building on his chart.

Mohammed and Rahul came back to him before he could leave the building. At least the guards hadn’t been reckless enough to leave weapons lying around, though Mohammed did find a couple tear gas grenades and flashbangs. Rahul just gave him a drawing with the content of each building.

“Okay guys, I got a list with all the occupied buildings to check out. We’re not doing any actual salvage, but if we find anything particularly useful we mark it on the map and radio the salvage team, got it? Main focus is human activity.”

“I would argue about the ‘human’ part Officer, but roger that.” Mohammed commented “Where to now?”

“Repair station. Big building by the docks with the boat lift. Apparently they had a team working overtime on repairs, so I’d like to see if any of these guys are there. Try to be on the lookout for a lost guard too.”

Rahul gave him the thumb up and left the building, already headed for the building.

“Say De Vries, mind if I ask a question?” Mohammed politely asked his superior.

“Ask away.”

“How come you’re using a paper chart instead of just pulling out Google maps on your phone? Last I heard the servers were still up.”

“For now they are. I don’t expect them to last beyond a week if left untended, so I’d rather get used to paper charts.”

“You maxed out your data for the month.”

“Needed porn real quick last week. Don’t judge.”

“A worthy sacrifice.” The sphinx replied. “Uploaded on the crew stash I hope?”

“But of course my dear companion.” The parrot chuckled “Even tagged it properly.”

The trio made their way to their destination exchanging friendly banter as they went. It seemed like actually having something to do despite the lack of hands was having a positive effect on Mohammed’s mood.

They failed to notice that most of the lawns they passed around the base were completely trashed.

One building they passed had its door wide open and the lights in the entrance were still on. Geert halted the group with a sign of his claw and went to take a look. It was just an office by one of the warehouses, but he spotted some interesting details. Just by the door, he found a discarded pair of camo pants and combat boots. The pants were equipped with a utility belt and a pistol holster, which he was quick to retrieve and attach to his own waist.

Not that he knew how to use a pistol, but it wasn’t something you leave lying around regardless. He made sure the safety was on before slipping it back in the holster. Checking the belt revealed that he had a spare magazine to go with the one already on the pistol.

“You really think it’s a good idea to pack that thing?” Mohammed asked him.

“Not really, but it’s not something to be abandoned like that. Plus now we’ve got a clue on our missing guard’s whereabouts.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The pistol. It’s bound to be his. Though why he would shrug off his pants and leave his weapon, I don’t know.”

They also found a flashlight in the building, but not the guard. All doors were locked inside, so it didn’t seem like the guy was hiding there. Not that he had any reason to hide from a bunch of merchant mariners.

Exploring further in the base didn’t reveal any other open building until they reached the repair station. There, the relative quiet of the place was broken up by sounds of barking. Geert glanced at his companions before rushing towards the noise.

What they found on the side of the large hangar housing the boat lift was a thoroughly trashed lawn, with traces of blood in the mud. The hangar wall by the lawn had a broken window, from which the barking was coming from.

They carefully approached the window, while being very cautious of the glass shards littering the ground. The room inside was a tool shed for the workers of the repair station, with oil stains all over and tools haphazardly stowed on cheap shelves. But what gathered their attention was completely unrelated to the room’s purpose.

At the end of a blood trail coming from the window were two beings, both in a very poor state.

One was a guard dog, the classic Belgian Malinois, which was the source of the barking. It was wearing a set of K9 body armor, stained red by all the blood that was coming from a nasty gash in its neck. Upon seeing Geert and Rahul peeking through the window, the dog attempted to get up and growl at them, but its foreleg was so horribly mangled that it fell over with a pained whimper. A closer look revealed that the dog also suffered several cuts from the broken glass.

The other being in the room turned out to be much more of a surprise. It must have been the dog’s master due to the way the dog insisted on putting itself between it and the mariners.

It was, for all intents and purposes, a unicorn. Albeit a very small one, if comparison with the dog next to it was to be believed. Both creatures were about the same size, if you didn’t account for the unicorn’s large head. It had a sky blue coat, with a short olive green mane. The fur on the underside of its muzzle was a bit longer than the rest, giving it the impression of having a goatee. They also spotted an odd symbol on its rump (a look in that area revealed the being to be male), resembling a dismantled rifle. It was wearing clothes too, Geert noted. A camouflaged shirt that was frankly too big for its frame under a flak jacket, a dark blue beret ; and a single dog tag dangling from its neck.

At the moment, the unicorn was unconscious, with its back pushed against the wall furthest from them. He must have crawled backwards from the window.

Geert slowly vaulted over the window, taking great care in not injuring himself on the glass. He walked over to the dog and the unicorn, moving slowly so as not to scare the injured dog. He wanted to have a closer look at the unicorn. Rahul followed closely behind the Officer, with Mohammed in tow, the sphinx having quite a bit of difficulty getting over the edge of the window.

The guard dog once again made an attempt at stopping them, but its injuries were far too great to stop them from reaching its master. With a whispered order from Geert, Rahul went to deal with the dog.

Tell the talking dog to deal with an actual dog? Should he feel offended at that? Meh, no matter, the Indian pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack. Maybe the injured animal could use some water.

In the meantime, Geert was taking a look at the blue unicorn in the room. He was still unconscious, and the parrot was quick to identify the cause of that situation upon noticing the puddle of blood surrounding the victim. In addition to a large amount of cuts due to the glass (and from the way some wounds shined, there still was some glass imbedded in them), Geert observed a rather large gash on his neck, against which the unconscious unicorn had managed to press a rag to stem the blood loss.

“Looks like he lost consciousness due to blood loss.” Geert commented. “He’s still breathing though. We should probably radio the ship so we can evacuate him. How is the dog?”

“Not good, not good at all.” Rahul said. “I tried to make it drink some water but it doesn’t even have the strength for that. In all honesty I think we’re gonna lose it. How long do you think they were there?”

“Must have been a while, the blood stains are all coagulated and we didn’t see any ruckus today or yesterday evening.” Geert said, pressing a claw against the unicorn’s throat trying to find a pulse. “You see anything on your end Mohammed?”

“Not at all.” The sphinx replied. “It’s all blood and glass around here. Can’t get any clue on what could have hurt them like that. Besides the glass that is, they must have jumped through the window to escape it. The only thing I see around here is the trashed lawn and dog paw prints.”

“A pack of wild dogs then?”

“Around here? It’s barely been two days, way too early for them to start doing that.”

“So what? Wolves? It’s western Europe pal, you’re not gonna find any around here.” Rahul butted in.

“Well Sherlock, if you have any actual idea to put forward go and tell me, but why don’t we call the ship instead?” Mohammed answered. “Is that guy even alive?”

“Barely, but I got a faint pulse and some breathing. If we can get Vadim to sew him back together and pump some IV in him to correct the blood loss, then he’s got a chance.” Geert said before pointing towards the downed unicorn “Keep an eye on him; I’m going outside to get some reception.” He ordered before exiting through the broken window.

Rahul was still busy with the injured dog that had calmed down by then and was just holding its distance from him. The strangers weren’t harming its master, but that didn’t mean he liked them.

“Amandine, this is survey party, do you read me? Over.” Geert tried on his walkie-talkie.

“Survey party, this is Amandine.” The answer came after a minute, from Vadim apparently. “I read you four out of five, what is the situation? Over.”

“Amandine, we have discovered a local worker. The individual is unconscious and requires medical assistance. I request medevac at the location of the navy base. Over.”

“Survey party, I will be sending a vehicle to evacuate the casualty. Is the person human? Over.”

“Negative, the casualty appears to be a unicorn. Over.”

“Survey party, repeat after appears. Over.”

“I said the victim is a unicorn. A small horse with a horn on its head. Over.”

“Survey party, roger. Vehicle will be there in a couple minutes, do not attempt to move the casualty. Out.”

Much to the credit of the other teams deployed around the port, all had enough discipline not to clog the network with useless talk about them actually managing to find somebody. When Geert turned back to tell his companions a vehicle was coming to get them, he witnessed Rahul gently stroking the back of the dying guard dog whilst letting water slowly drip from his bottle down its throat.

Mohammed was keeping an eye on the unicorn, but didn’t seem to be particularly comfortable at the sight of all the blood, so Geert sent him out and told him to be on the lookout for the incoming vehicle.

“You think you can save that dog?” The parrot questioned Rahul.

“At this point? No, I’m just being merciful. Poor mutt is in a lot of pain and doesn’t have much time. I don’t even think we’ve got anything to help it.”

Geert approached the canine duo and kneeled by the guard dog, who barely reacted to his presence anyway. It gave a weak sniff when he showed it the palm of his clawed hand, but didn’t make a move to stop Geert from taking a look at the tag on its collar.

“Samson uh? Brave little fellow, making the ultimate sacrifice to save your master.” Geert gave it a sympathetic smile. “Don’t you worry, we’re going to save him and make sure he knows what you did.”

After doing a quick search around the building, Mohammed brought them a first-aid kit he found lying around. Geert used it to replace the rag used by the unicorn with some proper bandages. Moving him around didn’t seem to wake him up, but they got a look at his dog tag, which revealed the unicorn as a 46 year old called Bart De Mesmaeker.

No clue if the blood type was relevant anymore on the other hand. Not that they had any in store for a transfusion.

About half an hour later, Vadim arrived with a MAFI harbor tractor. The small sized truck was loaded with a gurney in the back (though the attachment didn’t look too stable, the griffon must have been in a hurry when he did that).

“Where’s the victim?” Vadim asked as soon as he stepped off his truck.

“Right there through that window. There’s an actual door around the building if you want.” Geert pointed out.

“Nah, no time for that. You got some notes on the guy?” His superior asked him as he made his way through the broken window.

“Yep, wrote down his parameters when I took them. Noted blood type, age, name, and the works too.” He said, handing the griffon his notepad.

“Good” Vadim ripped out the page with the notes and handed back the pad. He looked towards Rahul who was tending to the dog “What’s with the dog?”

“Ours or the guard dog?” Vadim glared at him for the joke. “Sorry. The dog belongs to the victim. It’s beyond saving though, so Rahul is… giving it its last graces, in a fashion. Got injured protecting its master apparently.”

“Damn, we really don’t deserve dogs.” Vadim shook his head before closing in on the casualty. He gave the bandage a critical look. “Your work?”

“Yes, disinfected it a bit too, and removed a piece of glass that was stuck in there.”

“Okay, now help me carry him to the gurney. He doesn’t look too big, should be easy. Remove his flak jacket if you. Don’t need that in the way.”

The unicorn was indeed rather light, but that didn’t mean carrying him was easy for Vadim due to his quadruped status. Still, they managed to secure him on the gurney. Behind them, Rahul left the building.

“The dog?” Geert asked.

“Gave its last breath a minute ago.” The cook lowered his head.

Geert decided not to dwell on the cook’s reaction and tightened the straps keeping the gurney attached to the back of the truck. Good thing the ship was rather close because he didn’t trust the arrangement at all.

“Hey Geert, where did you get that thing?” Vadim asked, pointing a talon towards the pistol on the parrot’s hip.

“It’s the guard’s. Found it in another building. Must have lost it like his pants when he changed into a unicorn and ran away.”

“Ran away from what?”

“From the prints on the ground we think it’s wild dogs.” Mohammed butted in. “Odd that they’d form packs so soon, but that’s our only idea.”

“Not wolves?” The Ukrainian asked.

“There are no wolves in Belgium.”

“If you say so” Vadim shrugged “Keep the gun and be on the lookout. Try to radio the other groups and warn them too. I doubt dogs would attack trucks and barges but we best be careful. I’m going back to the ship.” He waved a talon towards the unicorn in the back of his truck. “Got some stitching ahead of me.”

In the end, Rahul decided to get back to the ship with the truck since Vadim had a free seat, but Mohammed and Geert stayed behind to keep on exploring for a bit. After checking his watch, the parrot decided they still had an hour or two ahead of them before going back for lunch.

After the truck disappeared around a corner, the duo resumed their exploration, now reporting their findings to the other groups by radio.

They were now significantly more wary of what they might find.

Author's Notes:

Another bit of progression in the story. A ship may spend a long time at sea, but the interesting stuff happens in port most of the time.

Here is a picture of the outer harbor for context with indications for the sectors relevant to the story.

Had to stop myself and cut this chapter short otherwise it would have dragged on past the 15k words mark.

Happy holidays folks!