• • •

“What do you mean empty? How could it be empty? Where did they go? I don’t understand!”

“Calm down, Lucya, take it easy.” Jake put his hand on her shoulder gently, but she shrugged it away. Their recent relationship was no secret, but they made a conscious effort to try and remain professional while working. Surrounded by other members of the committee was not a suitable environment for displaying affection, although that hadn’t been Jake’s intention anyway.

“I am calm! Sorry, it’s just…I thought there were more survivors, that it was a sign things were not as bad as we thought.”

“It’s okay, Lucya, we all feel the same way. Well, those of us who knew about this last minute rescue operation,” Martin said looking at Jake pointedly.

“As an emergency, my understanding is that the bridge crew has the authority to act without needing to convene the committee,” Jake said defensively.

He looked around the table at the others on the committee, the recently created group of representatives for the three thousand or so people on board the Spirit of Arcadia, and the hundred submariners of HMS Ambush. The members from the cruise liner had been elected in a properly arranged democratic process shortly after Jake had retaken control of the ship. Silvia Brook, hotel manager, had been almost unanimously voted for by those formerly known as crew and staff. Doctor Grau Lister was included by default; his expertise was deemed a requirement for all important decisions concerning the future of the community. Chief Engineer Martin Oakley was included for similar reasons; his knowledge of the ship—their home—was second to none. Security Chief Max Mooting, and Lucya were both included in meetings of the committee, although they didn’t have a vote. Jake was used to working with all of these people on a daily basis and felt comfortable around them. It was the new faces that were going to take some getting used to. Amanda Jackson, a tall, thin American woman, was popular among passengers. Before the cruise she had been area manager for a chain of coffee shops. She seemed nice enough, a bit quiet, Jake thought, although he suspected she would make her voice heard in time. Ella Rose was much more forthright. Not one to shy away from expressing her opinions and making a statement, she even dyed her hair to match her name. Her life before the apocalypse had been one of respraying cars. She adored anything with an engine, and she’d struck up a strong friendship with Martin, the chief engineer.

Captain Gibson Coote was the sole representative from the submarine. The chain of command remained intact in their vessel. There was no question of anyone else from the Ambush having a vote on the committee.

“Yes, that is what we agreed, Martin, we all voted on it, remember?” Ella said, coming to Jake’s defence, and surprising Martin. “Although it might have been nice to have been told once you had changed course for this raft.”

“And I should have been involved in the reception,” Max chipped in. “As a potential security risk, I should have been there.”

“Mr Mooting, I assure you that my chaps are more than capable of ensuring the safety of our little community. And as it turned out, there was no risk as the raft was entirely empty anyway!” Coote said.

“Which,” Lucya butted in, “brings us back to the question of where did it come from, and how did it start transmitting a distress signal? It didn’t just pop up out of nowhere, did it?”

“Who knows? There was no ship’s name on it, no identifying marks. It’s a common model used by all kinds of boats and ships. I suppose it’s been floating around since the asteroid, and the beacon somehow set itself off. Is that not possible?” Jake rubbed his chin. He didn’t want to waste time on this discussion; there were more important things to do.

“Possible, yes, but highly unlikely,” Lucya replied. “They design those things specifically so that they don’t start transmitting for no reason. Can you imagine the chaos if rafts started broadcasting all over the place at random?”

“The real question,” Amanda began, taking everyone by surprise, “is should we go looking for the people that might have been in that raft? What if they fell out? What if there’s another raft? Or a boat in trouble somewhere?”

“A good question, Amanda,” Coote said. Jake had a feeling the captain had a soft spot for her. “But Ralf and his team have run radar and sonar sweeps, radio scans, and visual checks, and we don’t believe there is anything of interest within a hundred nautical miles of our current position. We have as much chance of coming across something if we head for Scotland as if we return towards the North Pole.”

“So you’re saying we should continue with the original plan and go to your military base?”

“Precisely. That was what we all voted for, and this little detour has done nothing to change my view. Food is very soon going to become a problem, and the base, if it has survived, is stocked with supplies.”

“Very well,” Jake said, standing up and placing his hands on the table. “Let’s wrap this up. We’re going to Scotland. The raft has been checked thoroughly, there’s nothing in there and no sign anyone was ever in it. We’ll hang onto it. It could prove useful, especially as we have no tender or lifeboats. Unless there are any objections, I’d like to get back to the bridge and get going. We’ve suffered enough delays already.”

“Well said, old chap!” Coote said. Everyone else nodded in agreement, some more enthusiastically than others.

Four

“HELLO, SWEETIE, MY name’s Kiera. Can you tell me what happened?”

“I don’t know! What’s wrong with my daddy? Is he going to be okay? I’m scared!”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. What’s your daddy’s name?”

“He’s called Scott.”

“Okay, my love, and what’s your name?”

“Erica. Are we going home soon? I want to see Granny, she’ll know what to do.”

“We can’t go home right now, Erica. I need you to be very brave for me, okay? Has your daddy collapsed like this before?”

“No!”

Kiera looked around at the group pushing to get a view of what was happening. “Did anyone here see what happened?”

“He was shouting for help, then he just kind of, I don’t know, fainted I guess?” a woman said. A few others nodded their agreement of her assessment.

“He were dragging himself along t’ floor,” someone else added, “like he couldn’t walk. I thought he were pissed meself!”

Kiera had already moved Scott into the recovery position. She took his pulse while the people around spoke. Happy that he was at least breathing normally and his heart was working properly, she leaned back and looked at the little girl. “Erica, can you stay here with your daddy for a few minutes? I need to get someone to help me take him to the medical centre.”

“Will you be able to make him better there?”

“I hope so. I’ll be back in a few minutes, okay?”

Erica nodded, although she clearly wasn’t happy about being abandoned.

Kiera sprinted to the nearest courtesy telephone, which was located by one of the sets of lifts. She called the medical centre but there was no reply, so she tried the bridge instead.

“Hi, Dave? It’s Kiera, is Grau on the bridge?” She listened intently. “Okay, how long is he likely to be? If you see him, tell him we have an emergency. I’ll find someone to help me get the patient down to medical, thanks.”

She hung up the phone and considered her options. Further up the corridor she could see Erica and the group of passengers watching her intently. She tried another number. “Barry? I really need your help…”

• • •

It took less than ten minutes for the entertainments manager to get to deck eight. His arrival was announced by a ping and the sound of the lift doors sliding open. He emerged, pushing a stretcher on a trolley in front of him.