Sedulity 2: Aftershock (Sedulity Saga) (13 page)

A woman dressed in a military uniform and clutching what
looked like an old fashioned doctor’s bag and a handheld electronic device
dashed into view on live television, followed by several Secret Service agents.
They began to attend to the president in the seconds before the screen abruptly
switched back to a screen shot of the Presidential Seal.

The television remained silent for a few moments, as if the
commentators didn’t know what to say for once. In the
Sedulity’s
theater there were gasps and even a few stifled screams.
A buzz of voices tinged with disbelief erupted among the crowd. The audience
had braced themselves for the worst news possible – confirmation that millions
were about to perish in California – but they were not prepared to see the president
of the United States drop dead on live TV. If that was indeed what had happened,
then a situation that couldn’t possibly get worse had just done so.
 

*****

“Did we just see what I think we saw?” Kevin asked everyone in
the captain’s dayroom.

“Jesus Christ!” Professor Farnsworth exclaimed. “That looked
like a stroke, or a massive cardiac arrest.”

“It didn’t look good at all,” Captain Krystos said sadly. “I
can’t imagine the stress he’s been under.”

“Yes, you can,” Kevin replied. “He’s just been commanding a
larger ship than you have, Captain. I’m sure you’re feeling the same kind of
stress as he was. I’m glad you seem to be dealing with it better than he did.”

Captain Krystos nodded slightly.
 
It was true that he felt a heavy weight of
responsibility for the ship and the lives of all aboard her. He had actually
broken down and cried his eyes out in bed during the night, blaming himself for
the death of so many who followed his orders to gather at their lifeboat muster
stations after the asteroid strike. Lydia had done her best to convince him
that none of it was his fault, but was unable to relieve his deep seated feelings
of guilt. It was a heavy burden, forcing him to agree with Kevin’s observation.
He could indeed identify with the stress of command during a disaster.

By this time the television picture had switched back the GNN
studio in Washington. The panel of experts appeared to be in shock, unsure of
what to say about what they had all witnessed. There was a consensus that
something had affected the president, but disagreement as to what, or how
serious it might be. A young woman reporter displayed optimism by suggesting he
might simply have fainted under the stress. Others offered more dire
explanations. With no statement immediately forthcoming from the White House,
they could only agree that any incapacitation of the president couldn’t have
come at a worse time. Whatever words of comfort and encouragement he had
intended to offer in the face of the impending disaster on the West Coast would
never be heard - at least not before it was too late to matter. The political experts
were left with nothing to evaluate but prayers, yet they agreed that there
might not have been much more left to say.

Glancing at his watch, Captain Krystos said, “We have about
fifteen minutes before the waves reach San Diego. After that it will be
non-stop decimation while the tsunamis sweep up the West Coast over the rest of
the day. I’m not sure how much of that I can stomach watching on television.”

“I’d better get back to the weather instruments,” Kevin said.
“First I want to check on Emily and Amanda.” He excused himself and went to
join his family in the former staff captain’s suite. He found them in the
matching dayroom on the opposite side of the bridge where the Farnsworths had
taken residence and Mrs. Farnsworth had been keeping Emily until Amanda
returned. All three were now sitting on the couch in front of the television,
but it had been turned off and the two women were engaging Emily in a game of
patty-cake.

“Did you see what happened?” Kevin asked Amanda.

“Yes.” She raised a finger to her lips indicating not talk about
it in front of Emily. Kevin nodded and moved towards the door to their
connecting bedroom. “Wait,” Amanda said. “I put an injured woman in our bed to
rest until they find a room for her. She’s exhausted and she lost her husband
last night. They were on their honeymoon.”

“Oh, that’s awful,” Kevin said, turning away from the door.
“Well, I only wanted to check in on you. There will be news about what’s
happening at home soon.” He was careful how he worded it in front of their
daughter, but she caught on fast for a three year old.

“Is everything okay at home, Daddy?” Emily asked innocently.
“Did the sky fall there too?”
 

“No, pumpkin,” Kevin said. “The sky didn’t fall on our house,
but there will be some big waves at the beach near there. You know how Daddy has
to know all about the weather for his job, right? So I have to go back to work
now.” He bent down to kiss her cheek and ruffle her hair. “You play with Mrs.
Farnsworth for a minute while I talk to Mommy. Okay?”

“Okay, Daddy,” Emily laughed as Mrs. Farnsworth clapped her
hands and held them out for Emily to smack. Amanda followed Kevin out to the
corridor.

“We saw the president collapse,” she said as soon as the door
closed. “Oh, Kevin, what’s happening? It feels like the end of the world.”

“Close enough,” he admitted. “And it’ll get worse before it
gets better. I’m not sure if the president is dead, or just incapacitated, but
that’s the least of our worries. The tsunamis are only minutes away from San
Diego now. Then they’ll roll up the coast. The earthquake damage at home looked
horrible, but this will be infinitely worse. Everything we knew and loved back
home will be swept away during the next hour.” Kevin grasped her shoulders and
pulled her into a tight embrace. “You don’t have to watch it. You can stay with
Emily, but I have to see what happens. I have to know if there’s anything left
for us to go home to.”

Amanda was crying when she said, “I know you do. You’re
right, I don’t want to see it happen. I don’t even want you to tell me about
it. I don’t think I’m strong enough for that.”

“You’re stronger than you think, baby. We’ll get through this
just fine. You’ll see. Hell, we’re already the closest survivors to the point
of impact. And we have a safe harbor to go to in Australia. We’ll be fine. I
don’t want you to worry too much. Just take care of Emily. I’ll only tell you
what I think you need to know about what happens back home. Okay?”

Amanda nodded into his shoulder and he kissed the top of her
head. They clung to each other for another few moments before she pulled back
to wipe her eyes, offered the hint of a smile, and returned to Emily. Kevin
hardened his emotions while walking back to the captain’s dayroom to await the
next stage of the disaster.

*****

Armando had never felt so much pain. The doctor had given him
painkillers, but they simply dulled the screaming nerve endings beneath his
burned skin. The pain had become much more intense overnight. He never could
have done any of the things he did after the asteroid strike, if he had felt like
this. The doctor explained that adrenaline and endorphins were pumping
throughout his body during the crisis, numbing the initial pain of his burns.
It was only after he gave his body time to rest and recover that it tortured
him.

The doctor had agreed to let Armando return to his quarters,
opening space for another injured passenger in the treatment room. Mrs. Krystos
had escorted him down to his bunk, clearly worried that he was leaving the med
center before he should. She tried to give him comfort and encouragement,
assuring him that she would send food, water, and fresh bandages to him. He
thanked her sincerely as she helped him climb gingerly into his bunk.

Armando’s cabin had suffered partial flooding, with
watermarks at waist level, but his upper bunk was dry and still perfectly made
up when he arrived. There was no sign of the three other crewmen who shared the
cabin; Armando hoped that was a good sign. Every able bodied crewman was on double
shifts in the wake of this disaster, so there was a good chance his cabin-mates
were working instead of injured, missing, or dead. In any event, there was no
sense in dwelling on the possibilities now.
 
He was far too emotionally drained to take on any more worries.

The impact of the tsunamis on the Philippines had crushed
more than a nation. It had broken Armando’s spirit at the instant it wiped out
his home and family. He knew there was no chance of them surviving that
mountain of water, even if they had succeeded in going out to sea on the old
Panga pump boat. The loss of his loved ones drove the pain from his burns
deeper into his tortured body, drawing tears from eyes missing lashes and
brows. The smell of burned hair and the sickly sweet odor of burned flesh had
followed him from the med center, adding to the atmosphere of despair in his
cabin. Nevertheless, Armando had promised his father that he would survive to
carry on the memory and honor of his family. He would endure this misery and do
his utmost to make them proud, hoping they were looking down from heaven.

Armando’s pain and grief were interrupted by a knock at the
cabin door. “Come in,” he croaked through a throat made horse by the smoke and
heat of the previous night.

“Armando?” a timid voice called as the door opened a crack.
“Are you here?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Phong,” the visitor said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure. If you can stand the smell of my burned body.”

“You smell better than the rest of the ship,” Phong said as
he came inside, closing the door behind him. “You wouldn’t believe the mess
upstairs! All my beautiful veranda staterooms destroyed.” He sounded
heartbroken. Armando knew how much pride the cabin steward took in maintaining
those luxury rooms. The blast wave and tsunamis must have gutted them.

“I can imagine,” Armando said. “I saw enough of the
destruction while getting these burns.”

“Of course,” Phong said while bowing his head. “You must have
seen much worse. I only see rooms after fire and flooding. I found a dead body
in one of my staterooms. All burned up, but might have drowned to death. It was
horrible.”

“I’m sure,” Armando said. “So why are you here, Phong? Do you
need something?”

“Oh, so sorry to disturb you, my friend,” the Taiwanese
steward said. “I need advice. Someone to talk to. Some of the crew talk about
making trouble. You must not tell anyone I say this.”

“What?” Armando turned to focus on Phong. “What kind of
trouble?”

“You must promise not tell anyone I told you this. They will
hurt me. You too. Maybe even kill us!”

“What?!” Armando actually tried to sit up, until the pain
gripped him. He couldn’t imagine anything Phong could say that would put them in
danger from the rest of the crew, but he had to know. “Okay, Phong, I promise
to keep your secret. What’s going on?”

“You know the captain is sailing west now, but he plans to
turn south towards Australia when we get past this storm, yes?” Phong said,
looking back to make sure the door was closed.

“Yes,” Armando confirmed. “I heard someone say that we will
go to Darwin.”

“That’s right,” Phong agreed and lowered his voice. “Many of
the crew are from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, and other
countries in Asia.” He looked Armando in the eye. “They want to go home. They
talk about going on strike or even taking over the ship to force the captain to
take them home.”

“Mutiny?” Armando whispered. “They talk of mutiny?”

“Yes,” Phong nodded. “We all fear for our families. Most of
us lived close to the ocean. That’s one reason we went to sea. Now we want to
go see if our families need help. Some of the crew are willing to do anything.
I want to go see my family too, but I do not like their ideas of how to get
there. What should I do, Armando?”

Armando was speechless for several seconds. He could relate
to Phong’s concerns, and those of the other crewmen. He might have felt same
way, indeed did feel the same way, but had seized the chance to make final
contact with his own family, make some sort of peace, and come to the
realization that they were now gone and there was nothing he could do to save
them, or any way to turn back the tides of time. Armando’s pain, both physical
and emotional, was intense, but his moral compass remained firmly fixed on his
duty to honor himself and his family.

“Find out as much as you can about their plans,” Armando said.
“Don’t do anything to make yourself part of their plot. They must be stopped.
The truth is that all our families are probably dead already, or will be soon.
All we have left is this ship, our duties, and our honor.”

“How can you say this?” Phong asked in apparent shock.

“I spoke to my mother and father last night on a sat phone
from one of the lifeboats,” Armando explained. “They had already suffered from
earthquakes and were expecting to be hit by the same waves that Captain Krystos
took us over after the asteroid strike.” Armando was becoming more familiar
with the term that Mr. Summers had yelled out after that infernal thing flew
over the ship. “My family went out to sea in a small boat, hoping to reach deep
water and ride over the waves, like we did. But I know they could not survive
such a thing. They are gone. My home is gone. My village, my nation, all gone.
There is nothing left to go back to. Not for me, and not for most of the crew
either.”