6. Casting Off To Parts Unknown

November, 1999

Kate was up before dawn, very excited by the upcoming journey. She had packed her few belongings the night before. She had met the Temarus for dinner; they had sent her off in style. They were a very kind family and she would miss them. They had reminded her there were still a lot of kind people in the world. You just had to be willing to open your heart to them: something she still couldn't bring herself to do. Not yet.

She arrived on the dock well before the deadline Anapa had given her. She had planned to be a light traveler from the time she had left the States, knowing hostels and trekking were not conducive to taking a bunch of clothes. Everything she traveled with fit in her backpack. Really, all she had were the few clothes and the one book she had allowed herself to bring. She clutched the strap to her shoulder, wondering what kinds of adventures she would have on this boat, as she stared up at it from the dock.

"Do you need help with your luggage?"

She jumped, not having heard anyone come up behind her.

"No, this is all I have." She turned to see who the deep voice belonged to and found herself looking into the sparkling blue eyes of the man who had groped her yesterday.

"I want to apologize for grabbing you yesterday. I didn't mean to touch you…there. I was just trying to keep you from falling. You might have been seriously hurt with a fall from that particular spot, perhaps even trapped between the ship and the dock."

So, he was capable of good manners. She had little doubt he had any trouble finding female company in general. Cleaned up he looked, in a word, well…delicious. This morning he was dressed simply; a pair of jeans and a form fitting t-shirt. He had a bag over his shoulder as well. Once again she found herself inexplicably drawn to him.

"I'm Rick Rodgers by the way. We haven't been introduced, but I figured since you are joining us on this run we should know each other's names. Welcome to the Iriata."

She carefully shook his outstretched hand; somewhat dazed when a jolt of electricity shot through her when she touched him. What was it about this man that left her so unsettled?

"I'm Kate. Kate Beckett. And thanks. Where should I go now?"

"Anapa will be up on the bridge again. Do you remember how to get to it?"

She nodded.

"Ok, then just let him know you're here and someone will show you to your berth. It isn't much, but we spend most of our time in the saloon or on deck anyway."

She nodded briefly then started up the gangplank. Rick watched her for a minute; that had gone much better, though he had felt a spark of something when she had taken his hand. He wasn't sure what it was about her, but she unsettled him in ways he didn't remember anyone else doing. Deciding the explanation was probably due to the his nearly one year of self-enforced celibacy, he tried to dismiss it.

It shouldn't be a surprise that once he was in close quarters with a beautiful woman that he had reacted….strongly. Yet, there was something more about this woman. She held herself apart; there was a depth to her that he didn't often find in others, especially one as young as her. She looked like she was no more than twenty.

However, his focus had to be on his job. She was a passenger, pure and simple. She would take her trip, leave and that would be it. She was just a woman after all; a beautiful, marvelous and intriguing creature, yes. But a flesh and blood human with problems just like everyone else. Problems that were none of his business.

When Kate reached the main deck, she could see furious activity amongst the crew as they prepared to cast off. Mindful to stay out of their way, she made it to the bridge without any incidents.

Anapa was speaking to a woman who, remarkably, was smaller even than he. She was equally wizened, but had sparkling eyes that revealed a humor and wit behind the evidence of her long life.

"You must be Kate! Maeva! Manava! Welcome aboard. It will be nice to have another woman around for a change. I am Hina, and I know you already met my husband Anapa."

"Yes, thank you so much. I can't wait to see what it is like out on the ocean and on the islands."

"Well, we'll be leaving soon. I'm afraid we had a passenger sign up before you; we're actually taking him to an island called Raivavae. He'll be staying in the main guest cabin. But there is another berth, though smaller I'm afraid. I hope that it meets your needs."

"Please, don't worry. Anapa explained the trip to me yesterday. I'm very excited about the opportunity to venture out into the further islands, no matter the accommodations. There were some ships where I was considering deck service, so just having a cabin is a luxury, no matter the size."

"Well, we spend a lot of time in the saloon. It's where we eat our meals and spend down time. Most of the crew hangs out there, though Hopo likes to sit out on the bow and write."

Kate just nodded. She hadn't been out on the open ocean before, but she imagined sitting up front and watching the beautiful azure waves would be pretty exciting.

"Let me take you on a brief tour before we get underway," Hina said, walking towards the stairs that led to the decks below the bridge.

They descended to the first two levels of the structure, where the living quarters were located. They were on two decks, with the third, and topmost, being the bridge Kate was already familiar with. On the first deck were the crew's bunk room and the saloon for meals. The galley was next door to the saloon. She met Tane there, the new cook. He seemed very comfortable in the small quarters; hopefully she would be able to enjoy some of his efforts. Kate had never been on the open water before and had no idea if she was prone to sea sickness or not.

The next deck level was where the private cabins were located; the largest was for Anapa and Hina. Then she was shown her cabin; the tiny room essentially contained just a bed on one wall and a built in wardrobe on the opposite wall, with a small open space near the floor for bulky items. There was a small window that could be opened to help with the heat that built inexorably under the tropical sun. Next door was a larger guest cabin where the original passenger, Henri Grollet, would be staying once they picked him up from Mo'orea.

Hina then showed her the fare iti, or heads—where the toilet facilities were—and the small shower and sink. Everything was shared among the rooms on the second deck, but this didn't bother Kate. She had known this wouldn't be a three hour luxury cruise. Thankfully, the crew had their own heads on their level.

Lastly, Hina proudly showed her the final room of this deck, which was a workshop she had created. There were a number of herbs and preparations stocked in cabinets and drawers. Since Kate had agreed to help Hina out during their trip, Hina took the opportunity to show her the basic organization of the work room. It was fascinating, and Kate was very excited to start learning more about everything.

Hina suggested they move up to the bridge once she was done showing Kate her workshop. There they would be able to watch the crew making all the necessary preparations to get underway. They stood quietly behind Anapa, the view from the large windows in front of him captured the entire front of the ship forward of the bridge. It was a commanding scene.

The men were quite busy preparing the mooring lines for casting off. They worked in concert, seemingly without any direction but each man knew exactly what to do and when to do it. Anapa silently watched everything from the bridge, making adjustments when needed to instruments Kate didn't understand. She saw four other men working at various points of the boat; the American among them just as busy as the rest.

"The man at the bow, the place furthest from us in the front of the ship is Tamahere. He is the youngest, one of my great nephews. He has worked with us for two years." Hina indicated a young man coiling a rope in the front of the boat where she'd first seen the American man standing.

"The older man in the middle is Arenui. He is not related to either of us, but the son of a very good friend. He has been crewing with us off and on for ten years. He is very reliable, but he has never had any ambition to do anything but sail with us." Kate could see the man she was talking about. He was taller than the other Polynesian men she had met, solid and muscular like most of the crew seemed to be.

"The man near him is Ari'i. He is from Marquesa, which is why his tattoos are so prominent. It is their custom. He is the first mate and has been saving up to buy his own boat. He's been with us for six years." The man in question had tattoos covering his face, arms, and the part of his trunk that she could see. It was an impressive sight.

"And finally, the white man just below us is Hopo. He's only been with us about a year, but he's learned a lot."

Kate's mouth had dropped open. "That's Hopo? I thought his name was Rick. He introduced himself to me as Rick Rodgers."

Hina smiled, almost mysteriously. "Rick Rodgers? That is his given name. My husband gave him a ma'ohi, or Polynesian, name as well; we call him Hopo."

"I've spoken to him. He sounds like he is American?"

"Yes, he is a marite, or American, like you. I believe from New York."

"That's where I'm from too. You said he's worked for you for about a year?"

"E, yes. My husband found him on a dock, wandering around. He offered him a job and he learned very quickly despite having no real knowledge of boats previously."

Kate wondered once more why the American was in the South Pacific. She had to admit, she was curious about him. Probably for the first time since her mother had died she was being drawn in to the story of another human being. It scared her a bit; she wasn't ready to let go of her grief yet. While not really fair to Mr. Rodgers, it did make her resent him a little; that he could have such power over her without her permission.

"I suppose I'll get to know him during the trip. You said most of the crew hangs out in the saloon when they aren't on duty?" Kate felt a little guilty fishing for information, but she needed to know when he would be someplace she was likely to be as well. Knowing his schedule, for example, would tell her when he was to be found in the saloon. She'd have to simply make herself scarce during those times.

Hina gave her a penetrating glance, as though she knew exactly why she might be asking about him. "That is true, tiare, with the exception of Hopo. He spends a lot of his free time up in the bow."

"What does he do up there?" It looked mostly empty to Kate, besides the structure of the crane.

"He writes in a notebook most of the time. He can be a solitary person for such an outgoing personality."

"Outgoing personality?" Kate was shocked again. While he had spoken to her this morning for a longer time than yesterday, it was by no means what she would have considered an especially friendly conversation. He had seemed to delight in making her uncomfortable, though to be fair some of her disquiet was from her own physical reaction to him.

"Oh yes. Hopo is a very kind and generous man. He overcame the biases of the crew against a marite, and has endeared himself to everyone."

The crew quickly sorted out everything they needed to; the cast off was smooth and the ship glided out of the dock with ease. Soon they had cleared Nanuu Bay and were in the open ocean. Hina explained that they were headed to Vai'are, Mo'orea: their first stop. It was only 17 kilometers from Tahiti to Mo'orea, which was sometimes known as the Sister Island. Once there, they would pick up their passenger, a Monsieur Henri Grollet, and the remainder of his cargo before proceeding down to the Australs.

"How long will it take us to get there?" Kate had forgotten to ask the basic question previously, just excited to be able to afford the journey.

"Our ship is a bit old. We can do around 5 knots if the weather is with us. It will take just over an hour to get to Vai'are. I would not advise leaving the boat there, as my husband will want to be away as soon as everything is loaded." Hina answered her, as familiar with the route and particulars as her husband. They had been sailing together for a long time.

As the boat made its way into the open sea, Kate began to notice the movement. Soon, she was feeling quite nauseous. Seeing her distress, Hina helped her down to the workshop and gave her some leaves to chew on.

"These will take the edge off. In the meantime, you'll do better if we get you to the bow. You need to watch the horizon and you'll soon feel better."

Kate wasn't sure she could make it to the bow by herself. The thought of crossing the open deck with the narrow walkway between the rail and the cargo holds was daunting.

Hina seemed to understand her fears. "I'll have one of the men help you out there. Come now; let's get you to the main deck."

Managing to make it to the main deck was a relief. One that was short-lived when she saw that Hina had recruited Rick Rodgers to take her to the bow.

He said nothing to her, just nodded and took her by the arm; Hina had apparently already told him what to do.

"I can try to make it there myself. You don't have to help me." She did not want to be a bother, certain he must still be busy with tasks needed for the ship.

He looked at her with an unfathomable expression. Up close to him she was drawn into the depths of his blue eyes once again. They spoke of a complexity that she did not think she had ever seen in a person before.

"You'd be lucky to make it halfway there. The motion will be getting worse as we get out to sea and you're already pretty green."

It was the truth. She was feeling more and more ill with each passing minute.

"Lead on then."

He kept his hand on her arm; a firm, but steady support in case she needed it. She was especially grateful for it when she began to get dizzy. By the time they arrived at the ladder that led up to the bow deck, she was using all of her self-control to keep her stomach contents to herself. He indicated the ladder; she just looked at him wild eyed and desperate.

"You can do it. I'll be right behind you."

It was only a few rungs, but Kate was sure she would lose control at any second. When she made it to the top, it was such a relief she nearly collapsed to the floor of the deck.

Instead, she felt a hand steadying her in the small of her back. It was a large hand, with a strength she could feel burning through her skin. He guided her to a railing, motioning for her to grab hold of it.

After she had, she felt him drop his hand. She was almost disappointed; he had felt so reassuring and comforting.

"Look at the horizon."

Hina might think of him as outgoing, but Kate had only seen the taciturn side of him so far. However, his advice was sound because when she lifted her eyes to the joining of the sky and the ocean, she did start to feel better.

"Are you chewing the leaves?"

Honestly she had forgotten about them. She had slipped them into a pocket after Hina had given her a few to try. She brought them out now and placed them in her mouth. They were dry and bitter.

"Don't swallow them. Just keep chewing on them, and if you need to you can spit over the side of the rail."

He started to move away and she panicked a bit at the thought of being left here alone.

"Where are you going?"

"Not far. I'm just going to get my notebook and pen."

True to his word, he returned in less than a minute: he usually kept the supplies at the bow since he preferred to write out here anyway. He used a waterproof bag to store them in, and kept that in one of the waterproof boxes that was located in the bow. No one else came up here much, so he was usually left alone.

He sat down with his back against the large, smooth column that rose up to form the crane. Kate was starting to feel a little better, so she took the time to look around the bow for the first time.

There was a large anchor, now resting next to the chain drive that let it run out and brought it back in; this was near the very front. There was a raised platform behind it, upon which rested a large lifeboat. The crane column made up the last of the deck, with ladders to either side to get down to the main deck.

"So you sit up here a lot?" She remembered what Hina had said earlier. She was curious about this man. Every time she thought she had figured him out, a new layer appeared.

"Quite a bit of the time, when I'm off duty."

"Hina says you like to write. And you keep a notebook and pen up here, so you must write quite a lot."

He looked up at her. She was leaning against the rail now; still clutching it, but much less green than when she had come out to the bow.

"I do write quite a bit. You seem awfully curious about what I do for a woman who slapped me just yesterday."

She flushed visibly. "Well, you did paw my chest."

"I was keeping you upright."

"I'm pretty sure you could have used another leverage point to save me from falling. Even though it was your fault I was knocked down."

"We're going to have to agree to disagree then. I reacted on pure instinct; I had no idea you were there. You were lucky I was able to grab ahold of anything. Luckily for both of us you have some…assets…that allowed me to save you. They're very nice assets by the way. Lifesavers, if you will." He smirked, clearly pleased with his cleverness.

She stared at him, getting angrier by the minute. He actually thought he had done her a favor by molesting her chest!

"You know, I was just trying to make conversation. If I had known my assets were going to be discussed I would never have agreed to come out here in the first place. You may have Hina and Anapa fooled, but so far I've seen nothing more from you than boorish behavior. No wonder you're hiding in the South Pacific."

"What does that mean? I'm here by choice. Why would you say that?" Now it was his turn to get angry. Did she know who he was? Was she press? God, what a disaster that would be. He'd managed to conceal his true identity for so long.

"Nothing except you clearly can't behave in civilized company. Do me a favor, stay away from me."

She stalked off to the ladder nearest her side of the deck and clambered down, a bit more awkwardly than she would have preferred.

"No problem. I wouldn't want to disturb your delicate sensitivities with my oafish manners." The last was shouted at her as she stomped across the main deck back towards the stern.

He didn't know why she could make him so angry. Or why he had said some of the things he did. Nevertheless, it was probably for the better. The less time he spent with Kate Beckett the better off he would be.

There is a picture of a typical Marquesan man, a man who might resemble Ari'i on my tumblr. All of the Polynesians used the art of tattoo, but the Marquesans really embraced it.