The two men took a chair each.

“You have one of the biggest teams on this boat, Barry. Between the bar staff, the casino, the theatre performers and the sports trainers, that’s a lot of people you’re responsible for. And the thing is, right now they’re all out of work. This ship is on hold, while we figure out what to do. Your team, and the passengers, once everyone starts getting over the shock of what’s happened, it’s going to be tough to keep everyone happy. There are going to be people with different views on what we should do, and keeping order is going to be more and more important.”

“What are we going to do?” Barry’s mask slipped, just a bit. His voice betrayed how hard he was fighting to keep it together.

“Until we know otherwise, we assume that the world didn’t end just because that broadcast stopped. For all we know, there could be dozens of northern countries, territories and states that survived. But we have to be realistic too. We can’t go sailing off visiting every continent looking for a safe haven. We all saw what that asteroid could do, it left entire countries flattened. We don’t have the fuel to search indefinitely. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that morale seems to be high right now, because we survived, against the odds. But that feeling is going to fade, and reality is going to bite. I need your team to do what they do best. I need them to entertain, to make people feel good about themselves, to keep them happy. And most of all they need to show that Pelagios Lin is still in control. It’s not exactly situation normal, but neither is it a lost cause. If we make a show of the fact we are confident and in control, it will help to maintain the peace.”

“I don’t know Jake, we got hit hard. A lot of people dead. You can’t expect my guys to pick themselves up, dust themselves down, and carry on like nothing happened.”

“No, and I’m not saying they should. This isn’t about being in denial about what happened. It’s about staying positive, saying ‘yes, the situation is bad, but we’re not going to lay down and die’. It’s what my dad would call wartime spirit. This is a critical time. If everything just stops, the passengers will rebel. If we show them that we’re not beaten, that we’re tackling this thing head on, then they’re more likely to follow our lead.”

Neither man spoke. Barry’s seemed to be weighing up Jake’s suggestion. Finally he came to a decision.

“I guess it’s worth a try. What’s the worst that can happen, right?”

“Right. I think. Can you brief your team?”

“Yes, but I think it would be better coming from you dude.”

Jake had no intention of speaking to more people than he had to. All he really wanted to do was get back to the bridge and delegate everything via the telephone. On the other hand, shouldn’t he practice what he was preaching? Lead by example?

“I’d love to, but I can’t, not straight away. I have too much to do as it is. Besides, I don’t have your charisma Barry. Nobody can motivate a group like you can.”

“You’re such a creep. But I understand. I’ll get on it.”

“Thanks Barry. Now, two more things. Firstly, can you join me in the temporary morgue in the morning? There are a number of unknowns down there, some of them will be crew. I need help identifying them. Let’s say oh-seven hundred hours?”

Barry pulled a face.

“You know nearly everyone who works on this ship. If there was anyone else, I would ask,” Jake pleaded.

“Okay. But I might have a few drinks first, to help me get through it.”

“All food and drink is rationed.”

“Not my personal supply, and I’m not telling where it’s hidden!”

“Fair enough. But I’ll find out later. Now, one other thing, have you seen Tania Bloom anywhere?”

“Tania? No, not for days. But if I do, I’ll ask her to go see you.”

Jake got up to leave, and as he did so there was a jolt, a noise like a huge washing machine spinning up, and a vibration. With a flicker, the lights in the office came on.”

• • • • •

The screen popped into life and Lucya let out a sigh of relief. In front of her were a disarray of pages, scribbled notes, folded navigational charts, and a couple of reference books. Finding the nearest and most northerly permanently inhabited settlement had been easy. Calculating the course taking into account currents, the shifting ice, and the maximum fuel efficiency had taken some doing. She was reasonably happy with her results, but seeing a computer resurrect itself filled her with joy. She grabbed the topmost page of scribbles, and the biggest chart, and put them down next to the navigation terminal. There was still a bit of time left before Jake and the others were due back, and she wanted to make absolutely sure her calculations were correct.

No sooner had her fingers alighted on the keyboard, than there was a bang at the door.

“Who is it?” she called without looking up.

“We want to see the captain,” came the response.

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“We represent those who have not been given a voice.”

Lucya stopped what she was doing, stood up slowly, and walked very quietly to the door. It was locked, but there was an extra security bar that was supposed to be used in case of piracy attacks or terrorism. As gently as she could, she slid the bar into place.

Three more bangs.

“We demand to speak with the captain now. We aren’t going anywhere until that happens.”

“The captain isn’t here.”

“Bullshit.”

“If he was here, he would probably be telling you to leave. Most likely in stronger terms than that. You’re wasting your time. He’s not here.”

“Then we’ll wait.”

“Shit,” Lucya muttered to herself. “Shit, shit shit. Where are you when I need you Max?”

She briefly considered calling for Jake over the PA, but dismissed the idea quickly. Those outside would hear the call and would be waiting for hm. She didn’t know what they had in mind when they got to see the captain, but from their tone she was sure it wouldn’t be good.

She looked around the bridge, making sure that she was safe. The broken windows had been covered up with high strength plastic sheeting by a team from engineering. The hatch for the fire escape was bolted shut from the inside. There was no possibility of using it, it couldn’t be locked from the outside, and leaving it open would compromise the bridge. Nobody could get in. The only problem was she couldn’t get out. She picked up the telephone and started calling round the heads of department.

• • • • •

As he was already down on deck two, Jake figured he should make the effort to go down one more flight of stairs and congratulate Martin on getting the generator going again. He walked into the engine room to see a group of three engineers high-fiving each other.

“Captain on deck!” one of them shouted upon spotting him.

“Yes yes, you can dispense with all that. So, the generator’s going? That’s excellent news, well done.”

“It was harder than we thought, that ash had fused together in the confined space, and when it cooled it went rock hard. We had to chisel some of it out, and even now there’s some still in there, but we made good time,” a short tubby man in greasy overalls said, beaming. Jake thought that he couldn’t possibly have got into the funnel himself, but didn’t say anything.

“Make sure Martin lets you guys get some rest soon, you’ve earned it.”

“Taking over down here too, are you?” Martin appeared from behind a mass of pipes.

“No, of course not Martin. Just saying what a great job you and your team have done. What about the engine, is she ready to start?”

“I’d like to run some diagnostics before we do that,” Martin said. “She’s probably fine, but we need to check the cooling intake. She’ll need the preheaters on too, with the generator out for so long she’ll be cold. When we start her up it will have to be done gently. I hope you’re not expecting a fast getaway.”