Corselles looked slightly less nervous. “Very well, but do you really need the fluyts? I have seen these immense ships of yours, riding at anchor. Can they not carry proportionately greater numbers of our troops, of the needed supplies?”
Eddie smiled, shook his head. “Oddly, no. For those of you who have not been below decks on one of our steamships, you would probably find it a strange sight. In the place of throngs of men, there is a lot of machinery and even more supplies. We shoot much faster and so use far more ammunition. The steam engines must be fired by coal, or at least wood, which must be kept dry and handy in special fuel bunkers. We have radios, intraship speaking tubes, special areas and companionways reserved for the exchange of stores or for access to secondary systems, such as our condensers.”
“Your what?”
“Condensers, Superintendent Corselles. We use them to convert sea water to fresh water.”
“So you may enjoy a refreshing drink whenever you choose, on your voyages?” Corselles tone hadn’t been derisive, but nor had it been entirely jocular. The laughter that rose up was genuine, but slightly strained.
Eddie joined in, chuckling. “Well, that is a side benefit, Superintendent Corselles. But the real reason we have the condensers is because you can’t run steam engines on salt water. You have to have fresh water. But if you can tell me where to find some bubbling island springs in the middle of the Atlantic, maybe we can leave those condensers behind to help you with your water shortages here on St. Eustatia.”
A little polite laughter followed Eddie’s reply, but most importantly, he could see in the faces at the table, even Corselles’, that he had made his two points. First, that fresh water was an operational necessity not an indulgence, and, second, that it was inadvisable to make jokes based on superficial assumptions.
Tromp leaned his fists on the table. “Although we will be meeting often as we move our plans for the attack on Santo Domingo forward, we do have one last matter that must be addressed now. Speaking as the nominal commander of our allied fleet, we must find a new captain for the Resolve, and this means selecting a person who will learn the technologies of the ship, and its operation, quickly and well. The late Admiral Mund was schooled in this extensively at Luebeck, and personally witnessed much of Resolve’s final construction. We cannot hope to duplicate that level of familiarity here, but we must have a captain. We must also have a larger staff of technical specialists, led by the Intrepid’s executive officer Henrik Bjelke, ready to take the ship into battle. So, after polling my command staff, I consulted with the two senior officers of the USE and Danish flotilla, and we are unanimously resolved that the new captain should be Dirck Simonszoon.”
Simonszoon groaned. “Oh, by all that’s holy, Maarten. How could you do this to me?”
Tromp smiled. “I’ve seen you eyeing those guns, those engines, Dirck. And your sailing skill will be key, as well, since Resolve only uses her steam engines when she’s in combat.”
Simonszoon shook his head. “First you took me off my yacht, and put me on a great scow of a warship. And now I am to move from commanding a mere giant to a full-blown leviathan? And with a mere Danish pup to tell me how to run the machines?”
Bjelke, who was not yet accustomed to Simonszoon’s broad gibes, started.
Tromp only smiled more widely. “Dirck, you know very well that Rik has the necessary skills for both roles, since you’ve told me so yourself. Multiple times.”
Rik looked as suddenly pleased as he had been suddenly dismayed. Simonszoon only looked annoyed at having had his better nature and opinions publicly revealed. “I was lying. And what of the matter of authority?”
“What do you mean?” asked Joost van Banckert.
“I mean that with Gjedde and Cantrell on Intrepid, that puts both of the senior USE commanders on one ship, and none on the Resolve. How is that wise? And furthermore, by what authority am I to be in charge there? I am not a part of that flotilla. I serve Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp and the United Provinces, and in that order.”
Sehested smoothed his mustache. “I fear the command situation is even more complicated than that, Captain Simonszoon. In the command ranks of our flotilla, Captain Gjedde is now the first senior officer. But arguably, Tryggve Stiernsköld, as a Swedish post captain, is next, and then Commander Cantrell. By all rights, therefore, it should be Captain Stiernsköld who is the master of the second steam cruiser.”
Eddie scanned the faces, ended upon Stiernsköld’s; he was fairly sure what he read there, and that he had an accurate measure of that taciturn yet straightforward man. “Captain Stiernsköld, tell me, do you feel comfortable commanding one of the steam cruisers?”