Titanic’s Captain -Short Story

Bradley and Titanic were relaxing on this cool evening. The moon was low and full, the waters flat and peaceful, the sky clear and calming. They sat together in each other’s arms. Violet was asleep, Britannic was being repaired, and Olympic was probably off catching up on whatever she’s been missing out on. Bradley was enjoying the moment but something was nagging at him, it had been for weeks. It was something to do with Titanic and her famous voyage, so he tried not to ruin anything, but this just wouldn’t stop nagging him. So he asked.

“Titanic, honey?”

“Yes, dear?”

“Ah, nevermind.” He couldn’t figure out how to word it.

“No, dear, what’s the matter?” She thought it might be something romantic, something dreamy.

“Ah.” He sighed. “So how did Captain Smith react to you sinking.”

“Oh.” She was disappointed, but not by much. She knew how he was. “Yes, Captain Smith.” She didn’t know how to explain it, so instead she offered to show him through her memory. Bradly accepted her request to have his answer. He joined with her and instantly was with her in a flashback-imagination trip. It isn’t all that often that they do this but when they do conjoin their minds he takes no time to become a size enough to wrap his arms around her and hold her hull. As he pressed their bodies together Titanic played back her memory. Their bodies chilled to a near freezing temperature as they grew heavy, shudders and fear enveloped them and tormented their thoughts, but amidst all this Bradley knew this wasn’t real, that this wasn’t happening again. During these trips Titanic usually loses her sight and arms, and she does lose them in thought this trip as well, but Bradley’s presence kept her demons at bay. His warmth on her hull, his imagined arms on her body softly stroking down her ribbed hull, his plush and hot lips planted in a kiss by her starboard bridge wing and kept her memories in check. She was still in control. Bradley was all sensual on her hull when he heard a strong voice echo in his mind.

“Titanic, this is my fault.” Without even having to ask his lover knew and told him who it was. That’s Captain Smith, dear. “I’m terribly sorry about this, -I, I wasn’t quite right in my head. I just wanted to end my career off with a show, give you a good name, and then maybe we’d both get a good deal out of this, eh? But no. I shouldn’t have been so demanding of you.”

“Sir?” Bradly recognized that voice, that booming voice was Titanic’s. The exact same one that he heard himself all those years ago on the bottom of the sea. Only this time her voice was more desperate; innocent in her tone of voice.

“It’s too late, deary, I have messed up. There is no way to reverse this, Mr. Anderson has proved it. I just hope that this isn’t your end, dear. You truly deserve much better than this.” Bradly felt a large, warm hand on one of her engine command posts. Sensual rubbing to calm her down began as he spoke. “I hope that if this is the end you go to a better place, you’re too innocent to know anything else.” Bradley could feel the anger rising inside him, Captain Smith. “I was a damned fool! You didn’t know any better-you couldn’t have known better! So much had gone wrong for you to understand the consequences, and I should have guided you! But no, no like a damn fool I cast those warnings aside! I pressed on! I never should have! Damned hell, I should have stopped in Queenstown!” He stepped away from the instruments. Titanic was silent. “The only thing I can do now, like any respectable Captain can do is comfort you as far as my breath will take it. Titanic, if I failed to see you to New York, the least I can do is see you to the end.” He paces around, he uncovered and rubbed his balding head with a clammy hand. “You’re so young, so new, so fresh. Just a greenhorn, no experien

ce of yer own. Not an ounce of wisdom. So new you’ve not one barnacle on your belly. But me? Dozens of voyages. Dozens of voyages aboard dozens of vessels. Titanic, please listen here, if by some miracle you have another chance you be damned sure that no godforsaken captain of yours makes the same mistakes I did! For the love of god you set him straight! If there’s another fire, another near collision, another warning of hazards, if your lookouts don’t have their binoculars you don’t move an inch. Promise me that, promise me you won’t let someone like me ruin you again?”

“I promise, sir.” The memory faded away, but Titanic kept them together in her mind, she told the rest of the story. He kept her company until the water was too much. The water flooded the room and before she could realize it he was gone not a trace of him was left. She couldn’t tell if he’d been washed out or if he’d drowned right then and there. All she knew then was that she was one person closer to being alone. Bradley asked her not to let go, to let him hold her for the rest of the night. She was going to ask the same.

Fin

Today I got back from a trip to the battleship museum BB-55, USS North Carolina, AKA The Showboat. I have probably three hundred pictures of her, she’s so beautiful. But if you guys want-or maybe I’ll do it anyway-I can post up the pictures and a little run-down of the trip. She’s really fantastic and one of my favorite museums to visit ever, if you are in the state you have to do it, you owe it to yourself. She is very affordable and very much worth it and more, with so much you can do you get more than your money’s worth out of it. The gift shop may be pricey with some stuff but hey, when you’ve gone through her you’ll be pretty inclined to support her. Take it from me I’m somewhat of a cheap bastard. She’s in Wilmington, North Carolina, on a little offshoot of I-74 I think, she’s not hard to find and easy to access. Going through all her spaces might not be for everyone but I’ve seen very large and small people all over her so if you have the will there is the way. (so tempted to put da wae meme in there but I didn’t, be proud pls) Anyways if you want more just ask!