A Toast For The Steward

Noah asked Fatima if she wanted help but she had insisted he just leave it to her.

“The captain invited you to a meal, so for this we’ll treat it like a navy ship rather than a merchant,” the cook had announced. “On a frigate we’d have a wardroom, a place for the officers to eat, so this will be similar. You just wash up and be on time, and whatever the captain has to say - no don’t bother asking I don’t know - you damn well give it a good thinking.”

Noah had indeed bathed in the evening, then dressed in his better outfit and spent some time trying to get his increasingly shaggy hair to behave as it dried. He had some extra time to kill as dinner was delayed with the boat running a few hours past dusk, so he did some reading and sat in his room, listening to some people entering and leaving the captain’s quarters after they anchored.

Hannah stuck her head in through the open doorway and said, “Looks like we’re almost ready for dinner.”

He followed her with equal parts excitement and trepidation. No doubt he was interested in listening to the officers talk about history, but he was also slightly nervous about whatever offer they might be making. He cared a lot for the crew, and the thought of them asking for something he could not provide bothered him.

The table in the captain’s quarters was pulled out into the middle of the open space to allow four chairs around it. Fatima had fetched a tablecloth and silver cutlery from storage, and the other three people were already standing near the table.

Captain Amaruq smiled at Noah and said, “The man of the hour, come in Noah and have a seat here,” she gestured to the spot opposite her. She was dressed in the short black jacket Noah had seen her wear in the sailor’s bar in Anglet seemingly ages ago, and her long hair was braided down her back. Hannah, clearly freshly washed up and with some light makeup applied, was dressed in her usual outfit, but she also wore a jacket over top, as did Hyvin although her naval-uniform looking coat was a dark blue. All three women had the badges they wore that signified their role as sailors on the Radisson River, and a few more clearly military ones besides.

As soon as Noah sat in the chair the others did as well. “I had no idea this fancy stuff was here,” Noah admitted, nodding at the fine porcelain plates and silverware, not to mention the candles that burned on the ornate centerpiece.

Hyvin chuckled, “Don’t let her grumbling fool you, Fatima was thrilled to pull this stuff out and put on a proper dinner for a change. She would faint dead away if the Captain asked for a meal in quarters using dented metal bowls and mugs.”

Noah turned at the sound of someone walking down the three steps that led into the cabin area. Fatima entered carrying a large pot, which she placed on the captain’s desk, while behind her Alexandra and Ipellie came in bearing more food. Ipellie, her expression dignified, placed a tray of fresh bread rolls on the table then backed away with a slight bow at the captain, who gave a nod that struck Noah as being akin to a salute.

The meal had clearly been a chance for Fatima to cook something beyond the very good but rather simple sailor’s fare she normally provided. A large fish had been cooked to go along with a dish of beef, and a few side dishes appeared as Ipellie and the smiling Alexandra made a few trips back to the galley while Fatima fussed over arranging all the food properly on the table and opening a new bottle of wine.

“This is wonderful Fatima,” Captain Amaruq said, “you have outdone yourself, and on short notice. And thank you for providing a special meal for the crew tonight as well. We can take it from here.”

The others thanked the woman as well, who gave everything one last critical look but nodded at not finding anything amiss and took her leave.

With just the four of them at the table, Noah smiled, “You know, I just realized that as a steward I should be serving this meal!” Before anyone could protest, he stood and took the bottle of wine, offering it to the captain first and then pouring for the other two women.

“True, not so long ago the steward was mostly on a larger ship to take care of the captain’s quarters and manage her accounts,” Amaruq smiled as she took her glass. “But on a boat the size of the Nawyet there would not be a steward, except in the sense of the job you do providing service to the crew.”

“A job you do better than just about any steward I’ve ever heard of,” Hannah said, with feeling.

As he sat back down, Noah smiled, “Thank you Hannah. It means a lot to me that hear that.”

“On a navy ship, we’d start officer’s dinner with a loyalty toast,” Hannah said, holding her glass.

The captain nodded. “Indeed, and it is Quinctus,” she said, “so Hyvin, what toast did you have for the fifth day of the week in the West?”

“In the Lingua, it would translate to ‘Ourselves. Our Swords. Old Ships.’”

“And for the Kuniq and Combined Navy of the East it is ‘Fox hunting and sea room.’ I rather like yours, honestly.”

Captain Amaruq gestured to Noah to remain in his seat while the other women stood with her. The captain raised her glass to Noah and said, “On behalf of the Nawyet, a toast to our steward, Noah. He has been a true windfall for a crew that deserves it, and he is already much loved by his crewmates.”

“Ourselves. Our Swords. Old Ships.” Hyvin and Hannah said together, holding their glasses out. All three women took a swallow of wine, and Noah was about to lift his own glass but Hannah shook her head with a smile so he sat and nodded back, which seemed to satisfy the toast.

“Thank you, truly,” he said humbly as the women sat down. Amaruq could tell he was touched, and he rubbed his nose and rubbed his eyes quickly to hide a sniffle and, perhaps, a sudden tear.

The group then started the meal, eating with satisfaction and talking of the day’s sailing. Noah insisted again on filling the wine glasses and then picking up the empty plates and placing them off on the desk and out of the way.

“A steward would not eat with the captain and officers normally, right?” Noah asked as the ladies relaxed after the filling dinner.

“Not generally, no, but sometimes a captain would invite a crew or rating to dine with the officers to demonstrate appreciation for praiseworthy work, or to give a sailor a chance to learn from the officers and their talk,” Amaruq said, “and this is rather both I think. The toast was no mere courtesy, you have been a tremendous boon to this boat and her crew Noah, and I wanted to thank you for that.”

He smiled, pleased at her compliment.

The captain looked thoughtfully at him and said, “The way a boat like the Nawyet works owes a lot to the Wars, honestly. We are a merchant boat owned by a Kuniq cooperative, doing contract work for a shipping outfit out of Anglet, and yet while we are commercial sailors, we still operate in ways more similar to the navy. Or at least, the navies as they existed at the end of the Wars.”

Noah mused on that for a moment, then admitted, “How so? As you all know, I had very little experience sailing even as a passenger when I boarded this boat, and even less experience with any military stuff.”

Hyvin said, “In smaller ways, like how the Nawyet has a first and a second mate but often a craft this size would be the captain, who was probably the owner, and the crew and that’s it. And how we run watches in general. In different times a merchant ship on a river would anchor each night and everyone would rest. Some would camp on the shore rather than sleep in hammocks. But in these empty lands, still, most vessels want a few sailors awake all night just in case. Old habits.”

“Hyvin was an officer on a naval ship in the far west, during the end of the last War,” Amaruq said, “as I was a first mate on a carrack of the Combined Navy by the end. Hannah was also a mate in the navy.”

There was a moment of silence at that, and Noah fought back the urge to blurt out a dozen questions about the experiences of these accomplished women. Amaruq seemed to be maybe 15 years older than Noah, and both Hyvin and Hannah seemed to be a few years older than her, but there was much more to it than that.

“Where did you want to begin, Cap’n?” Hannah asked.