thymoit
Star
- Joined
- May 11, 2009
The storm the Cassandra was caught in was bad with gale force winds sweeping the decks, but it wasn't even a hurricane. While it might seem horrific to the passengers, a sturdy yatch like the Cassandra could handle them. Simply point the boat into the storm so you were taking the waves head on instead of having them hit you from astern or the sides and wait it out.
For Fred, Leon, and Elena it meant more work. The were scared and restless. They called for comfort meals, booze, and just to have someone in the crew tell them again that everything would be okay. Captain Jeoff and the first mate also stopped by the passengers cabins trying to be reassuring. The three of them had already been through this before. It wasn't the first storm they had weathered with rich passengers.
So it was something of a surprise when Captain Jeoff came pounding on doors and told the off-duty crew to meet in the crew's mess, a small room just off the galley. Captain Joeff wasn't his usually smarmy self. He looked around once Leon, Fred, Elena, and the Chief Engineer were gathered in the messroom. The Chief Engineer was soaking wet and wearing a life jacket, indicating that he'd been outside in the storm. That was also concerning. There shouldn't be any need for him to be out on deck.
"Alright," Said Captain Joeff. "I'm keeping this from the passengers, but I'm going to give it to you straight. We lost all our instrumentation. GPS, radio, radar, depth gage, even our fucking compass. As of thirty minutes ago we're sailing into this storm blind. I had our engineer take a look at it. He says it wasn't just a lightning strike."
"I told you that we're protected against lightning," grumbled the wet chief engineer. "We get struck by lightning all the time during a storm."
"Right," agreed Captain Joeff dismissively. "The odds of a collision are low, but this area of the ocean is full of small islands. When you're belowdecks, I want everyone to wear a life jacket. If you're up with the passengers, don't. I don't want them to panic. Fred, I want you to run a couple of emergency drills with the passengers. Don't march them out into the storm, just get them used to donning a lifejacket. Like I said, the odds are ridiculously low, but just in case-"
Murphy must have been listening. Up in the crew's mess they didn't feel the first warning bump that Trent felt down in the engine room. They did feel it when the Cassandra troughed out and hit the reef. The entire ship lurched and then ground upon the reef before the next swell raised them up. Already the Cassandra was starting to list a little to one side.
Captain Joeff froze for a moment. "What the fuck was that? Was that the engines?"
"That wasn't the engines!" said the Chief Engineer. "We hit something."
The storm winds still howled. The ship rose up on the next wave and came down again. The Cassandra came down hard. This time the entire ship slammed into something. Everyone was bodily thrown about the room as the ship violently lurched to starboard. The Cassandra didn't rise and as everyone started to pick themselves up off the deck, the power died and plunged the ship into darkness.
"Fuck!" screamed the captain. "Someone turn on the lights."
The Chief Engineer lit a flashlight that he'd had on him from venturing on deck. "Hey, everyone. Anyone need help? The nearest lifejackets are this way." He waved to the corridor leaving the mess that led aft and eventually up. There was indeed an emergency chest that way with lifejackets. It wasn't the way that Fred or Elena should be going, but in that moment following the man who had the only light source was only common sense. It was even emergency procedure. First, don a lifejacket yourself. Then help others.
For Fred, Leon, and Elena it meant more work. The were scared and restless. They called for comfort meals, booze, and just to have someone in the crew tell them again that everything would be okay. Captain Jeoff and the first mate also stopped by the passengers cabins trying to be reassuring. The three of them had already been through this before. It wasn't the first storm they had weathered with rich passengers.
So it was something of a surprise when Captain Jeoff came pounding on doors and told the off-duty crew to meet in the crew's mess, a small room just off the galley. Captain Joeff wasn't his usually smarmy self. He looked around once Leon, Fred, Elena, and the Chief Engineer were gathered in the messroom. The Chief Engineer was soaking wet and wearing a life jacket, indicating that he'd been outside in the storm. That was also concerning. There shouldn't be any need for him to be out on deck.
"Alright," Said Captain Joeff. "I'm keeping this from the passengers, but I'm going to give it to you straight. We lost all our instrumentation. GPS, radio, radar, depth gage, even our fucking compass. As of thirty minutes ago we're sailing into this storm blind. I had our engineer take a look at it. He says it wasn't just a lightning strike."
"I told you that we're protected against lightning," grumbled the wet chief engineer. "We get struck by lightning all the time during a storm."
"Right," agreed Captain Joeff dismissively. "The odds of a collision are low, but this area of the ocean is full of small islands. When you're belowdecks, I want everyone to wear a life jacket. If you're up with the passengers, don't. I don't want them to panic. Fred, I want you to run a couple of emergency drills with the passengers. Don't march them out into the storm, just get them used to donning a lifejacket. Like I said, the odds are ridiculously low, but just in case-"
Murphy must have been listening. Up in the crew's mess they didn't feel the first warning bump that Trent felt down in the engine room. They did feel it when the Cassandra troughed out and hit the reef. The entire ship lurched and then ground upon the reef before the next swell raised them up. Already the Cassandra was starting to list a little to one side.
Captain Joeff froze for a moment. "What the fuck was that? Was that the engines?"
"That wasn't the engines!" said the Chief Engineer. "We hit something."
The storm winds still howled. The ship rose up on the next wave and came down again. The Cassandra came down hard. This time the entire ship slammed into something. Everyone was bodily thrown about the room as the ship violently lurched to starboard. The Cassandra didn't rise and as everyone started to pick themselves up off the deck, the power died and plunged the ship into darkness.
"Fuck!" screamed the captain. "Someone turn on the lights."
The Chief Engineer lit a flashlight that he'd had on him from venturing on deck. "Hey, everyone. Anyone need help? The nearest lifejackets are this way." He waved to the corridor leaving the mess that led aft and eventually up. There was indeed an emergency chest that way with lifejackets. It wasn't the way that Fred or Elena should be going, but in that moment following the man who had the only light source was only common sense. It was even emergency procedure. First, don a lifejacket yourself. Then help others.