Sedulity (Book One) Impact (2 page)

“And what happens then?” Mrs. Summers inquired.

“Well, Ma’am, they will get a good talking to by the God of
the Sea. If he judges them worthy, they receive the Baptism of the Line and a
blessing to protect them from the dangers of the Deep.”

“What if he doesn’t find them worthy?” she pressed with a
smile.

“In the old days I guess they’d be made to walk the plank, or
keelhauled,” Armando joked. “Now I guess they would just lose their job and be
put off the ship at the next port.”

“Then I hope they’re all found to be worthy,” Mr. Summers
said as he and his wife moved away to make room for others at the bar. Armando
smiled and nodded. He liked the young couple. There were hardly any other
families with children aboard. Not many families could afford to take a three
week cruise at the beginning of the school year. In fact not many couples below
retirement age could afford to take such a long cruise either. The average age
on this voyage was well over sixty. Armando put on his trademark smile and went
back to mixing cocktails. 

****

Kevin and Amanda found seats near the pool, but close to the
windows that lined the open deck to shelter the pool area from the wind. Here
they had a view of the pool deck, but could also gaze out over the open ocean
and even up at the unfamiliar stars. It was a warm night and they made
themselves comfortable while passengers and crewmembers continued to file onto
the deck.  Kevin glanced up at the night sky as his thoughts wandered.

“You know, they’re doing nightly astronomy classes starting
tomorrow,” Kevin said. “They set up a few telescopes on the upper sports deck.
I want to attend at least a few of those classes. I know most of the major
stars in the northern sky, but I’ve only heard about the constellations of the
southern hemisphere.”

“So you’d rather star gaze than party with me?” Amanda
teased.

“No, honey, it’s just that, uh…”

“Relax, big man,” she smiled. “I know you too well. A whole
new sky to study? You’re like a kid in a candy store. And don’t worry, if I
didn’t like brainy nerds, I never would have married you.”

“Hey, I’m not a nerd,” Kevin protested.

“Oh yes you are, Mister Meteorologist,” she giggled. “But
you’re a cute and sexy TV weatherman too, so don’t sweat it.” They both laughed
and shared a kiss, then cuddled until time for the show.

A group of passengers at a neighboring table were having a
lively discussion about the Line Crossing Ceremony and their impressions of the
cruise ship in general. Kevin couldn’t help but listen in. A slightly
overweight man in his mid-50s was the loudest and most opinionated. Kevin soon
learned that his name was Hank Donner from Houston, Texas, and judging by how
often he mentioned it he was quite proud of the fact. Kevin decided he didn’t
like him much, but found his opinionated rant entertaining.

“I tell you this whole Line Crossing thing is a crockpot of
cow dung. Ain’t nothing special about crossing the equator. I’ve done it on a
plane half a dozen times and they don’t even bother to wake you up. But here?
Hell, they closed most of the damned casino so the dealers could participate in
this silly charade. So I figured what the heck, old Hank Donner from Houston
Texas ain’t the kind of guy to sit down there alone playing slot machines. 
Hell no, I come on up here to watch the show and smoke a cigar. But now they
say I can’t smoke my cigar here. That Filipino fella says I gotta go to the aft
deck to smoke a cigar. Ain’t that a bitch? There’s nothing to see on the aft
deck. So here I sit, chewing on my cigar and waiting for this darn show to get
over with so I can go back to playing Texas Hold’em in the casino. Did I tell
you I’m gonna win the poker tournament on this cruise?  Damn right I am! ‘Cause
if there is one thing besides drilling oil wells that Hank Donner is good at,
it’s Texas Hold’em. Some people call it luck, but I call it fate. Just comes
natural to me.”  Thankfully Hank lowered his voice when spotlights were turned
on above the outdoor stage.

“Here they come!” Kevin pointed at a procession coming down
the stairs from the upper deck. It was led by a man with long gray hair, in a
full-length flowing robe, wearing a crown and carrying a big trident. He was
flanked by ships officers who wore Viking helmets instead of their normal caps.
They were followed by a group of musicians and entertainers who were beating
small drums and tambourines.

“Who is that?” Amanda gestured towards the person leading the
procession.

“That is supposed to be King Neptune, God of the Sea,” Kevin
explained. “But it’s really our intrepid ship’s captain playing the role.”

“No way,” Amanda said as she tried to reconcile her image of
their bald captain with the imposing figure taking center stage. “I have to see
this!” The procession formed up on stage and the Captain stood in front of a
tall, throne-like chair. Over 200 crewmembers had lined up in front of the
stage and around the edge of the swimming pools by the time the drums stopped
beating and “King Neptune” raised his trident.

****

“Hear ye, hear ye!” Captain Krystos called out in Greek
accented English. “You are about to enter into Our Royal Domain where I, King
Neptune, rule by decree.  Those of you who have never crossed the line before
are still Pollywogs, but that is about to change. You have each been inspected
and found worthy of initiation into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order
of the Deep!” He paused for dramatic effect. “Pollywog members of the
Sedulity
crew are commanded to participate in the initiation! Honored guests and
passengers are invited to join them. All those aboard the
Sedulity
on
this passage will no longer be known as Pollywogs, but will instead have earned
the title of Shellback, with all the honors and privileges thereunto
appertaining.” The crew and passengers clapped and cheered when King Neptune
paused. Then he pointed his trident at the crew and continued.

“Pollywogs of the
Sedulity
crew! Turn and face the
pool!” The crew complied in close to military precision. “Now jump into the
pool! You must stay in there until we cross the equator.” The assembled crew
rushed to jump into the two outdoor swimming pools on the Resort Deck, as the
on-looking passengers laughed and called out encouragements. The “pollywogs”
went into the water fully clothed in their uniforms and seemed to enjoy the
experience. They splashed water at each other and soon occupied every corner of
the pools. Some of them overflowed into the children’s wading pool and
whirlpool spas. It looked like a lot of fun.  Captain Krystos turned to his
Viking attired First Officer and said, “Mr. Crawford, count us down to the
Crossing of the Line.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Crawford responded loudly. “Attention
on deck! The
Sedulity
will cross the Equator in one minute and
thirty-five seconds from now. It is traditional to make a wish as you cross the
line, and since we are crossing at night, it is good luck if you see a shooting
star too. Get ready!”

Chapter 2:

Thousands of miles west of the
SS Sedulity
the Rogue had already
tasted air for the first time. High above the border of Pakistan and India the
twilight retreated as the sky lit up and a fireball formed. It seemed to grow
as it streaked across Southern Asia at a speed in excess of 30,000 miles per
hour, slicing through the upper atmosphere at more than 15 miles per second. If
the Rogue had been on a slightly different trajectory, it would have skipped
along Earth’s atmosphere and caromed off into space. If its composition had
been slightly different, the Rogue might have disintegrated, creating a
colossal and harmless fireworks show in the stratosphere, or splintered into
countless smaller and less destructive meteors. No such luck. The Rogue was
big, tough and unstoppable.

This particular rogue asteroid had only crossed Earth’s orbit
occasionally in the past billion years, since falling out of the Oort Cloud and
starting its own eccentric orbit around the sun. Ten million years ago it had almost
plummeted into the sun, but a close encounter with Jupiter had saved it and set
it on course for this final destination. The Rogue’s most recent journey to the
center of the solar system would be its last. It had come perilously close to
the sun again, heating up to molten temperatures, before slingshotting out on a
collision course with Earth. A billion years ago it would have been a gigantic
comet visible to the naked eye from millions of miles away, but repeated passes
close to the sun had boiled off all the frozen gases, leaving a dense and
tempered ball of heavy metals more than a mile in diameter. Having melted and
hardened in repeated close approaches to the sun, the friction of Earth’s
atmosphere was almost mild by comparison. 

The Rogue had arrived unannounced, approaching from the
direction of the sun where telescopes were virtually useless. It was not the
first asteroid to collide with the Earth and wouldn’t be the last, but this was
an event the likes of which had never been seen during the short history, or
even pre-history, of Man.  Dinosaurs had ruled the Earth the last time
something like the Rogue had arrived. They probably wouldn’t have seen it
coming either and that event had marked the end of their reign on the planet.
Although the Rogue had no conscious intention of doing so, it was about to push
mankind to the edge of extinction too.

****

Kevin and Amanda were thoroughly enjoying the Line Crossing
Ceremony.  They held hands as they sipped their rum and cokes, watching the
crew frolic in the swimming pools and exchanging comments on Captain Neptune
and his royal court. They had been informed that each passenger would receive a
Line Crossing Certificate declaring them Shellbacks, so had declined the
invitation to jump into the pool.  They were perfectly happy to enjoy the
moment and observe the spectacle. The First Officer, Mr. Crawford, took up the
countdown. “Crossing the Line in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four,
three.…” His voice trailed off as the sky seemed to turn from night to day in
an instant. 

Kevin had already been looking up at the sky, taking in the
unfamiliar constellations and hoping for a shooting star to wish upon. He got
far more than he bargained for. Luckily he was looking southeast, across the
pool, and the Rogue approached from behind him. Otherwise he would have been at
least momentarily blinded, as were many others on deck that night. As it was,
he had time to raise one hand to shield his eyes and pull Amanda’s head down
into his lap with the other.  Through slatted fingers he saw a sight he would
never forget.

This was no shooting star, it was a falling sun. It streaked
across the whole sky in a matter of several seconds, growing in size and
intensity as it passed over the ship and descended below the eastern horizon.
Before the light could fade, however, it grew and expanded into a brilliant
flash that quickly turned into a false sunrise. It reminded Kevin of footage
from hydrogen bomb tests that had been conducted not far from this part of the
Pacific Ocean, but he knew better.

“Asteroid strike!” he exclaimed, whether to Amanda, himself,
or anyone in earshot he couldn’t say. A moment later the echo of his voice was
drowned out by the most devastating sonic boom imaginable. It sounded like a
dozen simultaneous lightning strikes within spitting distance. Glasses
shattered and more than a few eardrums burst, but that was just the shock wave
from the asteroid’s passing. Kevin’s eyes went wide and his mind whirled, even
as his ears rang. The real blast wave would be coming soon.

“Dear God,” Kevin whispered while Amanda clung to him in
confusion. “Come on, baby, we have to get inside now,” he said, but saw that
she couldn’t hear his words over the ringing in her ears. “Inside!” he yelled.
“We have to get inside!” Turning to the stunned people around him he yelled,
“Everyone! Get inside the ship and stay away from the windows!”  He pulled
Amanda to her feet and headed for the door into the spa. There was a stairwell
there that would take them down towards their stateroom. They had to get to
Emily and move her somewhere safe, if there were such a place anywhere aboard.

Their path took them past the closest pool and the stage
where the Captain stood like a statue of King Neptune, God of the Sea, faced
with a crisis of biblical proportions. He didn’t look injured, or incapacitated,
more like disbelieving. Kevin didn’t blame him, but knew that decisive action
was called for. He changed course across the deck and pushed through the
bewildered crowd to reach the stage, dodging drenched crew who were trying to
climb out of the pool. 

“Captain!” he yelled. “Captain Krystos! It’s an asteroid
strike over the horizon, but the blast wave is coming!  You must get everyone
inside and secure the ship for impact!”

“Impact?” the Captain asked, shaking himself into action.
“What impact?”

“There’s a blast wave heading towards us at the speed of
sound,” Kevin explained quickly.

“Didn’t we just get hit by the blast wave?” the Captain
asked.

“No, that was only a sonic boom as it passed over us.  I’m
talking about an impact blast wave! It could be a hundred times worse.” That
got the Captain’s attention, along with the rest of his costumed officers on
the stage.

“How do you know this?” asked Captain Krystos with a note of
skepticism.

“I’m a meteorologist and climatologist. That was an asteroid
strike. A big one,” Kevin stated with conviction.

The Captain took another second or two to consider the
situation before dropping Neptune’s trident, pulling off the wig, and grabbing
the microphone from the speechless Mr. Crawford. “Attention, this is the
Captain. All passengers will go below decks and gather at the lifeboat muster
stations immediately! Do not go back to your staterooms. Go directly to your
lifeboat stations and wait for further instructions. Officers and crew report
for duty at fire drill stations. Prepare the ship for impact.”  He turned to
the officers behind him and said, “Staff Captain Stevens, you will take charge
of moving these passengers below and evacuating the staterooms.” Turning back
to Kevin, he said, “Please accompany me to the Bridge. If you know what is
happening, I may need your advice.”

“We have to get our daughter from our stateroom,” Kevin
protested. “It’s not safe in any of the rooms with windows or balconies.”

Taking that piece of information in stride, Captain Krystos
realized that he really did need this man’s advice. Turning to one of the
junior officers he said, “Lieutenant Reiner, go with this man’s wife and
retrieve their daughter from their stateroom.” Returning his attention to Kevin
he continued, “We will see to the safety of your family, but I must insist that
you come with me now.”

“Uhh… Alright,” Kevin reluctantly agreed with his reasoning.
“Honey, go with the officer and get Emily out of the stateroom. Take her to the
forward stairwell lobby and wait for me there. And bring your life jacket.”

“No!” Amanda objected. “Don’t leave us, we need you.”

“Just do it, baby,” Kevin replied as he moved to follow the
Captain. “Emily needs you, but the whole ship is in danger. The next few
minutes are critical. We have to turn the ship, or it could be the end for all
of us.” That stopped her protests and she allowed the young Lieutenant to lead
her inside. Kevin watched her go while the Captain instructed his own wife to
go down to the life boat stations with Staff Captain Stevens and help keep the
passengers calm. Kevin chimed in to say, “Keep everyone away from the
windows!”  Then he followed Captain Krystos towards the Bridge.

Everyone on the pool deck was either dazed or in a state of
panic, but many of them were indeed heading inside the ship. Many of the
passengers and crew led others who had been blinded by the flash of the impact.
The Captain’s wife and some of the crew were herding them like sheep. Kevin
hoped they would all make it below in time, but even if they did there was no
certainty that anyone would survive what was coming next.  

“What was that you said about turning the ship?” Captain
Krystos asked as they entered a door marked Crew Only.

“The blast wave will be coming from the east.” Kevin replied.
“We need to turn into it, or it will hit the ship broadside, maybe even capsize
us.”

“You don’t think we should turn west? Away from it?” Mr.
Crawford asked from behind them.

“The front of the ship is more aerodynamic and built to take
more punishment, isn’t it? And there’s no hope of outrunning what’s coming.”
Kevin replied. The Captain grunted agreement as they reached the Bridge.

“Captain is on the Bridge!” called out the nervous but
clearly relieved voice of the Third Officer standing watch.

“Thank you, Mr. Jennings, I have the con,” Captain Krystos
said. “Helmsman, hard to starboard. Full ahead on port engines, full astern on
starboard engines. Steady onto a heading of 90 degrees true, then reduce speed
to one quarter ahead on all engines.”

“Aye, aye, Sir, hard starboard to a heading of 90 degrees
true,” responded the helmsman as he spun the tiny wheel that steered the
massive ship and fiddled with some computer controls next to it.  The
Sedulity
responded smartly, listing to port as it dug into the starboard turn. Warning
buzzers sounded as the angle of the turn exceeded the ability of the ship’s
stabilizers to compensate, but there was scant concern for the passenger’s comfort
at that moment.  Vibrations and shudders ran though the hull as the ship was
put under stress by the violent maneuver, yet the Captain knew that the
computers would prevent the controls from exceeding design tolerances. This was
a maximum performance turn of the type the
Sedulity
had only performed
during sea trials, but she had passed those tests with flying colors. Of course
this time the stakes were much higher.

Kevin and the Captain moved to the Starboard Wing of the
Bridge and stared out at the western horizon. The brightest light had faded,
but the sky was still lit as if by a sunset. More disquieting was the way the
glow rose into a distant column that must be miles wide and was topped by a
rapidly spreading mushroom cloud. 

“It’s like a nuclear bomb!” exclaimed the Captain.

“No,” Kevin said with tears threatening to spill from his
eyes. “It’s much worse than that.”

****

Amanda and Lieutenant Reiner were ahead of the majority of
people trying to get inside the ship and made it to the stairwell without
incident. The stateroom where Emily waited with the babysitter was only two
levels down on the Panorama Deck. They passed several bewildered passengers on
the stairs who might not have witnessed the events overhead, but had obviously
heard the sonic boom. The Lieutenant called out as they passed, “Go down to
your lifeboat muster stations! Stay off the deck and away from windows. Do not
go back to any outside cabins!” 

Ignoring confused demands for clarification, Amanda led the
officer to her door. She pounded on it as the officer pulled out his master
keycard. Before he could use it the door opened inward and a young Filipino
woman let them in. The babysitter was clearly terrified and began asking
questions in broken English, but the Lieutenant directed her out into the
passageway and ushered Amanda inside where she rushed to lift little Emily into
her arms.

This balcony stateroom was on the starboard side of the ship
and the ominous glow of the asteroid strike lit the horizon beyond, but the
ship was already starting to turn. The deck tilted with the turn, and it felt
like she was running downhill as Amanda carried her daughter back out of the
stateroom.  The Lieutenant took a moment longer to retrieve a pair of
lifejackets from under the bed and join them in the corridor. While he was
doing so the emergency alarm klaxon sounded and the Captain’s voice erupted on
the ship-wide PA system, clearly set to maximum volume.

“Attention all passengers. This is not a drill. Go
immediately to your lifeboat muster stations. Stay off the decks and away from
all windows. Evacuate all balcony staterooms and outside cabins immediately! If
you can’t get to the lifeboat stations immediately, find a spot away from any
windows and sit on the floor. Be prepared for violent movement of the ship.
This is not a drill.  Attention crew! All hands man Fire Alarm Stations,
Condition Epsilon. Repeat, Fire Stations, Condition Epsilon. This is not a
drill.”