The Raft

  Chapter 26

  The Kalakala was at the very zenith of the Raft's thrust forward, leading the charge towards the San Juans and the Freaky Kon-Tiki Races that awaited there. Gandalf may have opposed the idea of running the blockade, but he was far too shrewd a politician not to be seen at the forefront of whatever was happening aboard the Raft.

  That meant the Kalakala was at the front of the queue of craft that hurtled towards the awaiting blockade and first to cut its engine – its giant, Busch-Sulzer three-thousand horsepower diesel, converted to bio-fuels – as the fog broke and the sight of the Coast Guard ships appeared before them.

  A line of craft spanned the Puget Sound, stretching from Point No Point in the west to Cultus Bay in the east. It was a thin chain of perhaps a dozen vessels spaced a few hundred yards apart. There was room enough between the craft for the whole Armada to pass should anyone be determined enough to do so, but the glistening sight of machine gun barrels and automatic grenade launchers dotting the decks of the blockading ship caused the Raft pilots to heave to, faltering in their charge forward. Before them was the Coast Guard's line of battle, a bright slash of red and white spanning across the Sound.

  The Coast Guard's fleet consisted mostly of Motor Lifeboats and small Island Cutters, but dominating it was the shadow of the four-hundred-foot long USCGC Joshua James. It sat center stage in the blockade, oriented with its bow to the west. Its Bofers 57mm gun was idly turned southerly, covering the fast approaching Raft Armada as the tiny boats popped one by one out of the fog.

  As sails were quickly collected and electric onboard motors killed, the Armada devolved into a muddled cluster of milling ships, circling and adrift, its forward momentum lost.

  Only Maggie kept her sails full, closing rapidly on the stern of the Kalakala. Only when she was twenty yards out did she hand off the helm to Rachael and quickly began to reef her sails, furling the cloth and robbing the Soft Cell of its heady forward thrust.

  Kicking in the electric motor, Maggie brought her vessel in, touching up to the stern of the Kalakala with the Soft Cell's starboard side. Quickly, she tossed over lines and leapt to the car deck, securing the Soft Cell to the ferry.

  The Kalakala was listing, adrift. What forward momentum it still maintained was slowly drifting it into range of the Coast Guard's guns.

  For their part, the Coast Guard vessels were sitting motionless, waiting. As more Raft vessels came out of the fog, they shunted into the becalmed craft already listing before the blockade. There were many angry cries and muted thuds of wood hitting fiberglass. Early partiers spilled open drinks as ships came suddenly to a halt.

  The sight of the Coast Guard's guns had dampened everyone's mood.

  Maggie helped Rachael across the gap, down onto the old ferry's car deck. With bare feet firmly on the iron, Rachael followed Maggie as she sprinted for the aft stairs that lead up to the passenger deck.