Sedulity (Book One) Impact (15 page)

“Yes, we triggered the main EPIRB manually when the waves hit
us and those same waves swept several of our lifeboats off the ship which would
have caused their EPIRBs to trigger automatically. I’m sorry to hear that other
vessels are in distress too, but it doesn’t surprise me at all. We have been
trying to send warnings to other ships and shore stations, but our antennas
were also swept away. In fact, I’m calling you now on a hand-held Iridium sat
phone.”

“I see,” Kline said. “Well in light of all that we have
programed our computers to stop filtering
anomalies
out of the data from
our Tsunami Warning Buoys and the results are shocking. It appears there really
are swells hundreds of feet high radiating from the position you reported.”

“That is not news to me,” the Captain grumbled. “But I’m glad
that the message is finally getting through to you. So what will you do now?”

“As you suggested, we are issuing the highest level of
warning for the entire Pacific Rim. However, as you feared, it may not be
enough to save a lot of people. This is something that is impossible to prepare
for. Even with several hours warning I fear we are facing massive loss of life.”

“I understand,” the Captain said sadly. “But at least we have
done what we can by warning you and I hope you can warn many others.”

“We will, Captain. We will,” Dr. Kline said with an equally
heavy heart. “Before I let you go, I should warn you that there is more to it
than the waves from that impact. Our seismic sensors are now reporting massive
earthquakes spreading around the Pacific Rim. The coast of Chile was first. Now
we have reports of more quakes in Indonesia and Central America. I suspect the
trend will continue to spread north on both sides of the Pacific. These events
may generate real Tsunamis, as well as hamper evacuations from coastlines where
the quakes strike. We’re afraid that the asteroid you witnessed may have
triggered a shift of tectonic plates. If so, the waves you encountered may be
the least of our worries. Now I have to go deal with this crisis, but I wanted
to thank you for your report and fill you in on the bigger picture. Godspeed to
your ship and all aboard her, Captain.”

“Thank you, Dr. Kline,” Captain Krystos said before realizing
the scientist had already ended the call. The Captain lowered the phone from
his ear and stared out the Bridge windows at the pouring and steaming rain that
continued to fall without pause. He realized that he hadn’t even mentioned the
unnatural rain to the scientist on the phone, but supposed it was the least of
their worries right now.

The Captain was still waiting for test results on the hot
rain that was pelting the ship. The Chief Security Officer, Mr. Cohn, was a
retired Israeli security specialist with impeccable credentials in
counter-terrorism and suspect profiling. The Captain felt lucky that a man like
that had decided to pursue a second career at sea. He supposed it was usually a
cushy job, especially since the security chief got to mingle with the
passengers and enjoy all of the ships amenities, but it was also good to know
that a man of his qualifications was aboard to keep an eye on things. The last
report was that Mr. Cohn was putting on a firefighting suit to take a radiation
detector out on deck. The Captain shivered slightly when he pondered what they
would do if the rain was indeed radioactive, as Mr. Summers feared. Then he
decided there were enough troubles to dwell on for now and he would try not to
worry until the results came back.

“Captain?” First Officer Crawford interrupted his thoughts.
“I have an urgent call from the Med Center. It’s Mr. Summers and he says he
must speak to you right away.”

“Alright,” said the Captain as he reached to pick up the
inter-ship phone. “Hello? Mr. Summers? Are you alright? What are you doing down
there?”

“Hello, Captain,” Kevin’s voice sounded cheerful. “We came
down here looking for my family.”

“Oh,” the Captain said. “They are safe up here in my suite.”

“I know,” Kevin said. “Armando, the bar tender, told me.
Thank you for taking them in.”

“It was the least I could do, after all your assistance. I’m
sorry I didn’t get word to you sooner. But what is the urgency of your call
now? It’s still quite busy up here.”

“Good news, sir,” Kevin said and the Captain thought he
detected a smile in the weatherman’s voice. “The flooding on Deck 1 has been
drained and the Medical Center is operational.”

“That is good news,” the Captain said. “How did you mange that?”

“We didn’t, sir. That’s the other good news that I knew you
would want to hear right away. Someone trapped down below decks opened a
stairway door and released the water. I thought you’d want to hear about it
from her.”  There was a pause on the line and then the Captain heard the most
beautiful sound in the world.

“Mikal? Darling? It’s me, Lydia.”

****

Amanda didn’t want to watch the news, but couldn’t stop
herself from witnessing the events that unfolded on the flat screen mounted to
the wall in front of the Captain’s sofa. Following the last commercial break
Fox Rusher returned with his apocalyptic panel, but dove right into the
breaking news.

“While discussing blockbuster disaster movies here with our
panel of experts we received breaking news of a massive earthquake in Chile.
Details are still sketchy, but Cal Tech reports an initial estimate of close to
ten point oh on the Richter scale. That’s a truly massive quake and experts
predict major damage, loss of life, and the possibility of Tsunamis. Our
producers are hard at work gathering information and we will bring it to you as
soon as it is vetted. In the meantime, let’s return to our panel discussion
about disaster movies and the psychology that fuels them.

“Karen, it was less than an hour ago that we received reports
of a giant meteor streaking over the Middle East and India.  Now we hear of a
massive earthquake in South America and a possible threat of Tsunamis. How do
events like the ones just reported play into the public appetite for disaster
movies?”

“Well, Fox, as I mentioned before, disasters do happen in
real life. That’s what makes movies about them so frightening and fascinating
for many people. When terrible things happen in the real world they are
horrifying, but when we see them depicted in a movie, or read about them in a
novel, they are entertaining. There’s a considerable body of psychological
study on this issue, along with the larger demand for graphic violence in film,
television, and video games. I can’t fully explain it, except to say it exists
and has become part of our culture.”

 “I think we can all agree with that statement, Karen. Now
let’s turn to Media Consultant Stan Marks. Stan? What responsibility do you
think movie and television producers have for flooding the market with disaster
themed movies and shows? Are they helping or hurting our society?”

“That’s a loaded question, Fox, and I’m not sure if I’m
qualified to answer it in the manner you posed it. What I can tell you is that
a market exists for this stuff and the industry is geared to provide what the
market demands. I don’t personally see any harm in these films and some of them
might even convince people to prepare for possible disasters. In the long run I
think that…”

“Excuse me for cutting you short, Stan, but we have more
breaking news coming in now, including a flash bulletin from the Pacific
Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii. I’ll read it to you as soon as it comes up on
my screen, but I think it’s safe to say this relates to the earthquake reported
in Chile. Okay, here it is.

“‘This is an Urgent Tsunami Warning for the entire Pacific
Rim and all islands of the Pacific Ocean. At approximately 13:21 Greenwich Mean
Time an asteroid of unknown size impacted near the equator in the mid-Pacific,
approximately 500 nautical miles southeast of the Marshal Islands. This event
has generated extremely large waves that are currently propagating from the
point of impact at high speed, in every direction across the Pacific Ocean.
Ships at sea report unprecedented rogue waves. All contact has been lost with
the islands closest to the event. Inhabitants along any coastline of the
Pacific Ocean should begin immediate evacuation to higher ground. This is not a
drill. Additional Tsunami warnings have been issued as a result of large
earthquakes in Chile and Indonesia, which may also have been triggered by the
asteroid impact. This trend may continue and other earthquakes along the
Pacific Rim are to be expected. Take immediate precautions and evacuate all
low-lying areas within ten miles of the Pacific Ocean. Further updates to
follow.’

“Good lord! That’s not what I expected to be reading. Can we
get some additional confirmation on this, please?”

Amanda sat in shocked silence. Even though she knew what to
expect, seeing it reported by a trusted media source from home brought the
magnitude of the disaster into proportion. She continued to watch the faces of
Fox Rusher and his guests in the GNN studio as they too began to comprehend at
least some of the gravity of the situation. It came as no surprise to Amanda
when Dr. Karen Long jumped up from her seat next to Fox and ran out of the
studio without a word or backward glance. That was one smart lady. Amanda
suspected that Karen would be on the next flight out of town, which might also be
the last, or try to beat traffic over the Hollywood Hills and across the Valley
towards the Grapevine. That might still be possible, at least until the news
spread.

Fox Rusher appeared speechless for the first time she could
remember. He tapped his earpiece and signaled off-camera that he needed more
information, but either the producers weren’t giving him any, or he didn’t
trust them enough to share it. His other guest, Stan Marks, sat frozen in his
seat like a deer caught in headlights. GNN cut to another commercial and broke
the spell for Amanda. She had no interest in buying gold as a hedge against
another stock market crash and suspected it was too late to follow that advice
anyway.

A few moments later the Captain came into the room from the
Bridge and gave her a big smile. “I just spoke to your husband,” he said. “He’s
fine and on his way back up to the Bridge after searching all over the ship for
you. He knows you are both okay too. Best of all, he found my wife Lydia and
rescued her from drowning. That’s quite a man you married.”

“Yes, he is.” Amanda agreed, although she had never thought
of him as a hero before.

“I have a lot to thank him for,” the Captain continued. “His
advice saved all of us from almost certain disaster and now he has saved my wife
too. We’re not out of the woods yet, as they say, but I’ll do whatever I can to
make your family safe and comfortable. By the way, thank you for monitoring the
news for me. Has there been any coverage of this yet?”

 “Yes,” Amanda said. “Fox Rusher just read a terrifying alert
from the Tsunami Warning Center. They are telling everyone within ten miles of
the Pacific Ocean to evacuate inland or seek high ground.”

“Finally,” the Captain said with a grimace. “But I’m afraid it
won’t be enough to make a real difference. It’s only a matter of hours before
the waves hit land.  I don’t even want to think about the panic that will grip
the big coastal cities.”

Amanda was having similar thoughts, centered on her home of
Los Angeles where traffic jams were common on a good day. When word got out
that it was time for everyone to head for the hills it would cause total
gridlock. She didn’t want to think about that either, let alone discuss her
fears in front of Emily, so she kept those thoughts to herself. The Captain
didn’t seem to notice her reaction. He was obviously relieved by the news that
his wife had survived, if worried about the fate of the rest of the world. He
nodded and smiled at her and Emily again, then walked across the room and
through a door that connected to the rest of his suite.

Amanda was tempted to turn off the TV, now that they knew the
alarm had been sounded, but she waited through another commercial advertising
Viagra to see what Fox Rusher would say next. She felt a morbid fascination
while her imagination pictured the reaction from millions of other viewers
around the world who were learning of this impending disaster for the first
time. She pictured a family on vacation at a beachfront hotel in Hawaii,
another family living in the fishing village they had just visited on the
island of Tarawa who may have already been swept into oblivion, and millions of
other people in cities along the coasts of the Pacific Ocean. It was
horrifying, but she couldn’t pull herself away from the television. Everything
that Dr. Karen Long had said about disaster movies suddenly made perfect sense.
She had never felt this way about a movie, probably because she knew it was
fictional, but now the gripping tension of impending disaster hit Amanda like
an upper cut to the jaw. This was horrifyingly real and she was a captivated
spectator with a ringside seat at the end of the world.

****

Chapter 12:

Four hundred miles south of the
Sedulity
another luxurious cruise
ship was traveling the high seas between American Samoa and Fiji. Many of those
aboard the Italian flagged
Contessa
had witnessed the distant and
brilliant flash of the asteroid’s arrival, but their view had been obscured by
a tropical squall line of thunderheads. Some of the witnesses thought it was a
massive display of lightning. Others were not so sure. When the still uncomfortably
hot and compressed blast wave arrived half an hour later it had lost a lot of
its punch. Nevertheless, since the ship was hit broadside, the force of the
blast shattered sliding glass doors on the starboard side and caused the whole
ship to list alarmingly to port. The crew were unsure of the cause and focused
on clean-up, placing plastic over broken windows, and treating minor injuries
caused by broken glass. The Captain of the
Contessa
reduced speed, but
maintained course for Fiji.

Forty-five minutes later the impact
generated tsunami waves approached the
Contessa
at over 300 miles per hour. The waves registered
as a moving land mass on the radar and a crewman sounded the alarm. The ship’s
Captain was unable to identify the threat and guessed it was some sort of
glitch in the system, or another freak weather event like they had experienced
earlier. Moments later he realized his error as the moving mountain of water
became visible. There was not time to turn the ship or send a distress signal.
The
Contessa
capsized and went down will all hands and passengers. Any
other day it would have been a major disaster all by itself, but in this case
it was just a little part of a far larger global calamity.

The waves rolled over the
Contessa
without notice.
Approaching Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji they slowed and grew in height, like a bear
slowing its charge to stand on its hind legs and terrify its prey. The tsunamis
couldn’t drown the mountaintops of these island nations, but they scoured all
life from the shorelines and foothills. That portion of the waves then
regrouped, only slightly diminished, and hurtled on towards New Zealand.  

****

Kevin and Petty Officer Perkins waited outside the Med Center
while Lydia Krystos received a quick examination by the Chief Medical Officer,
Doctor Segal. Aside from numerous bruises and minor cuts, Lydia was amazingly
healthy. She had been choking up water, on the brink of drowning, when Kevin
pulled her through the tangle of floating bodies. The shock of finding her path
to the surface blocked by dead bodies had finally broken her nerve and she
released her held breath in a moment of terror. That would have sealed her
fate, if not for a desperate final grab that closed on Kevin’s ankle. His
assistance in pulling her to the surface had made all the difference. Dr. Segal
recommended rest and gave her a small bottle of pain killers before shooing
Lydia out of the Med Center to make room for the seriously injured. Rachel had
been moved close to the front of the line and Armando was assuring her that he
would search for her husband.

“Let us escort you back to the Bridge, Ma’am,” Perkins said
to the Captain’s wife. “Mr. Summers’ family is waiting there and so is your
husband.”

“Yes, thank you. I’d appreciate that very much,” Lydia
replied with a tired smile.

“I’d like to go up to the Bridge too,” Hank Donner chimed in.
“I’ve got a pile of questions for the Captain of this tub.”

“I’m sorry, sir, only authorized personnel are allowed on the
Bridge.” Perkins replied.

“Then why is he authorized?” Hank pointed at Kevin
accusingly. “He’s just a passenger, ain’t he?”

“Aside from the fact that Mr. Summers saved all of our lives
with the advice he gave the Captain, he has also been invited to be there. You,
sir, have not.” Perkins was clearly losing patience again with Mr. Donner’s
attitude.

Armando stepped forward to defuse the scene. “But Mr. Donner,
I thought you promised to go back up with me to look for Rachel’s husband, Brad
Brewer.”

Hank paused for a moment while a pondering frown crossed his
face, then said, “Yes, I did, didn’t I? Okay then barkeep. Let’s do that, but
I’m going to light my cigar before I go near any of them crispy critters up
there. Trust me, a good Cuban cigar smells a lot better than cooked human
flesh.”

Armando gave Hank a withering glare, all too conscious of the
smell of his own burned flesh and clothing, but simply motioned Hank to
accompany him and started heading for the stairs at a brisk pace. Hank tipped
his cowboy hat to Lydia, glared at Perkins and Kevin, then went to retrieve his
boots from where he had placed them on the stairs. Kevin paused to give Hank
time to start upstairs before offering Lydia his arm and starting the long
climb back to the Bridge. “We just have one stop to make,” Kevin said. “There’s
a scientist aboard who might help us understand more about what’s happening.”

The trio exited the stairs on Deck 3, letting Armando and
Hank continue up to the Martini Bar on Deck 4.  Perkins led the way back to
Professor Farnsworth’s stateroom where he knocked lightly on the door. The
professor opened it immediately, still wearing his lifejacket, with his middle
aged wife standing behind him, similarly attired. “Would you care to join us on
the Bridge now?” Petty Officer Perkins asked.

“Can my wife come too?” the professor asked. “She doesn’t
have a scientific background, but I can’t leave her here alone.”

“Of course,” Lydia answered before the men could decide what
to say. “She will be my guest while you men discuss the fate of the world.” She
gave a welcoming smile and the elderly couple came out to join them in the
corridor. “My name is Lydia,” she said. “Please excuse my appearance, but it’s
been quite a night.”

“I’m Max Farnsworth and this is my wife, Judith.  You’re all
a sight for sore eyes. We thought the ship was going to sink and take us with
it.”

“You weren’t the only ones feeling that way,” Kevin said. “It
was a close call and we still don’t know how it will turn out in the long run.
That’s one of the reasons I want to include you in the discussions I’ll be
having with the Captain. I have an idea of what is coming, but I don’t want my
opinion to be the only one he hears.”

“I understand completely,” said the professor. “Although I
can’t say I’m looking forward to what lies in store for us and the world at
large, I suppose we have to face facts and make decisions accordingly.”

The group walked down the hall towards the forward stairs. As
they approached the lobby they were surprised by the restoration of normal
lighting. Then they heard the ding of an elevator arriving in the lobby. Kevin
and Petty Officer Perkins both broke into a run and arrived at the elevators
when the doors to one of them opened and four people emerged in a panicked
state. The two elderly couples wore lifejackets over their evening wear. Kevin
realized that they had been trapped in the elevator since the power failed when
the initial blast wave struck the ship. They must have been en route to their
muster stations at the time. Being caught in the elevator probably saved their
lives, but they appeared terrified.

“Take it easy, folks,” Kevin called out. “It looks like
you’ve had a rough time in that elevator, but the ship is still afloat and the
power seems to be restored. You should continue forward to the theater where
most of the other passengers are gathered.” The two couples took his advice and
walked unsteadily towards the theater.

“Should we trust the power enough to take this elevator up to
the Bridge?” Kevin asked Petty Officer Perkins when Lydia and the Farnsworths
joined them in the lobby.

“It would certainly be a lot easier for Judith and me,” said
the professor. “We’re a bit slow on stairs these days.”

“I’d rather use the elevator too,” Lydia agreed. “If you
think it’s safe enough? I’ve had enough exercise for one night.”

“Right. Let’s give it a try,” Perkins decided. “It’s eight decks
up to the Bridge and I’m getting tired of running up and down the stairs too.” 
He had been holding the elevator doors open and now ushered the rest inside.
They almost changed their minds when they realized that one or more of those
trapped in the elevator had vomited in the corner, but it was not enough to
dissuade them. “Just cover your nose and this should be a quick trip. I’m not
surprised they got motion sickness riding out those waves in a dark elevator.” He
pressed a button to select Deck 12 and the elevator doors closed smoothly.

****

“Main power has been restored to most of the public areas,
Captain,” said First Officer Crawford. “Engineering is keeping the breakers
turned off for the staterooms though. They say there are too many shorts caused
by flooding and fire damage in the balcony staterooms, but at least we can
light up most of the common areas.”

“That’s good news,” said Captain Krystos. “Now get me a head
count on passengers and crew. I want to know how many injuries we’re dealing
with and how many people are dead or unaccounted for. See if any of the
kitchens are operational too. We should get the cooks working to prepare coffee,
soup and sandwiches right away. This is going to be a long night and half the
battle of damage control will be dealing with the human element.”

“Yes, Sir,” Crawford said. “I’ll get right on it.”

“I understand a lot of passengers are in the theater,” the
Captain continued. “That’s probably the best place for them to be tonight, but
we’ll need to prepare some other spaces for them to spread out. And it sounds
like most of the outside staterooms are uninhabitable. Instruct the cabin stewards
to inspect every cabin, stateroom and suite to make a list of the ones that are
reasonably intact, as well as check for additional survivors. I realize this
would be Staff Captain Stevens’ job, but you’ll have to step up and fill in as
acting Staff Captain now, Mr. Crawford.”

“Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. I’ll get all of that organized and
have the Purser take charge of deploying the Hospitality Staff while the Boson
supervises damage control and recovery operations by the Deck Crew.”

“Excellent,” the Captain said. “And send additional crew to
help move the injured down to the Med Center. Find out if we need to commandeer
additional cabins down there. If so, start with the crew cabins closest to the
Med Center. I’ll follow up with Engineering and see when they can complete
pumping operations and restore full power to the lower deck areas.”

Now that the immediate crisis seemed to be over and the
Captain had been able to send a warning to the rest of the world, it was time
to focus on getting the ship and crew organized. In many ways a cruise ship was
operated like a small self-contained city.  During regular operations it was
run like the combination of a finely tuned machine, which it was, and a
choreographed performance by more than a thousand members of the crew. The sole
purpose of the ship and crew was to transport, house, feed, and entertain more
than three thousand passengers in utmost comfort and luxury. That was how it
usually worked. Not tonight. The asteroid strike had turned these passengers’ dream
vacation into a nightmare. The survivors should consider themselves lucky, but
Captain Krystos knew that many would be angry, indignant, and expecting a quick
resumption of first class service.

This was not the first time he had captained a cruise that
didn’t go as planned. Years ago he had commanded an older and smaller cruise
ship in the Mediterranean Sea that suffered engine failure and floated adrift
for three days until a tug arrived to tow it slowly back to port. Those
passengers had been livid at missing the all the stops in the Greek islands. On
a more recent cruise of the Caribbean there had been an outbreak of the
norovirus that incapacitated hundreds of passengers and crew. Captain Krystos
himself had come down with the nasty stomach bug. That cruise had also been cut
short and the passengers, sick and healthy alike, were outraged. On yet another
cruise the ship had to deviate far off course to avoid a major tropical storm,
cancelling most of the planned ports of call and upsetting the passengers again. 
None of those incidents had ever been the fault of Captain Krystos or his crew,
but they were always the ones that the passengers blamed for any misfortune. He
didn’t expect it to be any different this time, at least until they realized
the full extent of the disaster unleashed by the asteroid impact. In the
meantime the passengers would bombard the crew with unreasonable demands and
expectations. It was par for the course and the Captain would do his best to ameliorate
the inconveniences while focusing on the overall safety of the ship and all
those aboard her.

While the Captain was contemplating his options, one of the
crew passed him a folded piece of damp paper. The hand written note from
Security Chief Cohen read:
The rain is hot in more ways than one. Recommend
keeping everyone inside. Will come to the Bridge when the tests are complete.
The Captain grimaced as he crumpled the note and dropped it into a wastebasket.

****

Armando’s burns and bruises were starting to get the best of
him. The surge of adrenalin that had seen him through the peak of the crisis
was gone, leaving weariness and pain in its wake. Facing the burned and drowned
bodies of passengers scattered around the lifeboat muster stations was almost
too much for him to handle, especially in the company of Mr. Hank Donner whose
Texan drawl flowed nonstop.