crack_van | New Crew/Old Foes, by KT (PG-13)

Fandom: THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: NA
Author Website: Black Raptor listing
Why this must be read:

I love Alternate Universes. I enjoy the creativity authors display in adapting canon to new times, new places, and new circumstances. In KT's RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) series, the boys have been transplanted to a small seaside town in the British Isles. Chris owns a horse farm. Buck runs a pub. Nathan is the town doctor, Josiah a priest, Vin an ex-Marine ship's mechanic (the Vinnebago becomes an old yacht), Ezra an early-retired financier, and JD a teen without family who is taken under Buck's generous wing. They play rugby and cricket, socialize at Buck's pub, and are the volunteer crew of a state-of-the-art life boat that sets to sea in the worst weather to rescue people at the risk of their own lives.

In 'New Crew' the team is assembled to replace the crew of a life boat tragically lost at sea, just learning to work together, and facing the first perilous tests of their teamwork. In 'Old Foes' people from the past bring angst and danger on both land and sea.

KT's writing alternates between griping action and charming details of life in Cornwall, with a rich appreciation for the way the sea is woven into the life of the community.

Test cruise New Crew

JD gripped the safety rail so hard his knuckles felt they were going to explode through his skin. He, like Ezra and Nathan, had never been at sea in this kind of weather, it was like being on a rollercoaster, a rollercoaster that just went on and on, with no safety brake. His stomach had rebelled after just fifteen minutes, by the look of him Ezra wasn't doing much better but he wouldn't admit it. JD looked up at Buck, he was scared and had it just been the two of them he would have admitted it. As if he knew Buck looked down at JD and winked. He lent down and spoke as quietly as he could and still be heard.
"Relax your grip JD, your gonna strain something otherwise, remember what I told you, relax, let your knees take the impact not your shoulders." JD nodded and did his best to obey, but the fear was still evident in his features. "Listen JD." Buck continued. "Chris is the best damn helmsman there is, he has a sixth, seventh and eighth sense for the sea, God knows where someone from a long line of land-loving farmers gets it from, but he's got it. I'm not saying Steven fucked up I'm just saying with Chris we got the best, okay?" JD nodded, his features a little more relaxed.
Ezra fought to keep his stomach under control; he prided himself on his self-control. He was scared but he would not show it. He had chosen this, this risk, this discomfort, this fear, this adrenaline rush knowing full well the possible consequences. All of them knew better than most what they were letting themselves in for. He looked across at Nathan and wondered if he was as scared. Nathan's self control was as good as his; he had found he could never tell what the doctor was thinking unless he wanted you to. He had made good money knowing what other people were thinking, and finding someone he couldn't read was unnerving. But he did at least find pondering on Nathan had taken his mind of his stomach.
"You been in this kind of thing before?" Chris asked Vin.
"Yes, but in a carrier."
Chris smiled. "This is a little more intense?"
Vin nodded and turned his attention to the black sea ahead, just as they mounted another wave as high as a house. That nod was as much as Chris was going to get, but he knew Vin was scared because he was, they all were.

New Crew
Old Foes