The Soldier

“Status!”

Seth Jackson’s voice was barely audible over the roar of the wind and the rain pounding against the glass windows on the bridge. Logan ran into the room, still dripping water. He quickly sat down and scanned his monitors.

“Drives are at 110 percent and the temps are just about at the rated maximum already,” Logan said, “and we’re barely making headway against this wind. I don’t think we can keep this up much longer.”

“It’s not like we have a choice,” the Chief Engineer said. “We cut power and we’ll get knocked silly by the waves. How long until we clear this damned storm?”

Logan pulled up weather information on one of his monitors. He studied them for a moment then frowned.

“Well that explains it.”

“Explains what?” The engineer asked walking over to look at the displays.

“Why we’re getting so beat up,” Logan said. “Looks like we’re fighting our way right through the eastern eye wall. Just our luck to find the strongest winds in the damnable storm.”

“How much longer?”

Logan expanded the maps and looked at information on the storm’s speed and direction of movement.

“The storm itself is moving northeast at about 8 knots. We’re moving west at only about 4 or 5 net because of the headwinds.”

Logan did not look happy.

“Meaning?”

“Meaning we’ll be out of the eye wall and the absolute worst of the winds in an hour or so, but we’ll still have another six to eight hours of hurricane force winds. The storm is just a damn big one, nearly 100 kilometers across.”

Jackson sighed. “Well, just do the best you can. Even if we have to rest the drives now and again by taking them down to 90 percent, just try and maintain headway and keep her nose into the wind. It’s just going to be a long. . ”

Jackson was interrupted when an alarm sounded.

“Now what?”

Logan looked at the data feed on his monitor and frowned.

“Load distribution warning.”

He swiped his hand across the display to zoom in on the location.

Stack 3 Alpha is shifting a bit, not much, but if it continues. . ”

“If it continues, big problem,” Jackson finished. “Why wasn’t it secured?”

Logan zoomed closer in to the location on a deck schematic.

“It’s right where Kenwood went into the drink,” he said. “Looks like whoever was doing Alpha row skipped that stack after we pulled him out.”

“That’s one explanation, the other is that they’re an incompetent bunch and the entire alpha row is going to go before too long,” Jackson said. “Regardless, we have to get someone up there and try and lash it back down before it goes completely.”

Logan looked up at him.

“Are you daft, the wind’s blowing 200 kph out there. Anyone who went topside wouldn’t stand a chance in hell of keeping their footing. They’d be over the side before going three meters.”

Jackson glared at Logan.

“Two things, Mr. Logan. One, I’m Chief Engineer, not you. And two, have you got another suggestion?”

Logan was forced to admit to himself that there weren’t’ really any alternatives.

“I’ll go,” he said, “And I’ll need Mr. Spano.”

Jackson nodded. Logan immediately left Engineering.

The two men stood by the door to the outer deck. They wore safety harnesses with several lengths of rope in addition to the cables they would need to secure the loose containers.

“Tell me again why we’re risking our necks?” David asked.

“Well, my friend, consider what happens if even a single cargo container breaks loose?”

David thought. “End of trip. The ship will turn around and there goes our little crusade.”

“Quite right. Also, can you think of any better way to fully ingratiate ourselves into this crew than a bit of heroics?”

“Well, that would be true,” David said. “Let’s get this over with, then.”

Logan and David checked each other’s harnesses with the smooth efficiency of two men who had been teammates on numerous other tasks.

“Ready?” Logan asked.

“If I say no do we get to back to our bunks and sleep through all of this?”

Logan’s grunted reply could not be heard over the roar of the wind outside the door, but he pulled the hood of his rain jacket over his head.

“I thought not,” David said as he did the same. “All right, then, let’s do this.”

Logan reached over and punched in a security code to bypass the lock on the door that was put in place when the ship went into hurricane protocol.

The door slid open and the pair were almost blown over by the wind and rain. They forced their way through the door and grabbed onto the Then they slowly pulled themselves up a flight of stairs making their way onto the upper deck. Logan tried to look ahead, but could barely see his own hand in front of his face through the driving rain. They quickly realized they would not be able to talk to each other above the roar of the wind. Hand signals would have to do.

Fighting the wind for every step, Logan moved forward a few steps until he reached one of the safety rings recessed into the decking. He knelt down and attached the clip of the safety line to the ring and gave it a solid tug to make sure it was secure. Then he wrapped the line around his right arm and held on while he raised his left and signaled David that he was secure and should move forward.

David moved up the rope between the two men hand-over-hand until he reached Logan. Just as he tapped Logan on his shoulder to signal his arrival the ship caught a huge wave and was forced upward followed by a rapid plunge back to the sea. The two men were immediately hit with the wave of water that broke over the bow, but the safety lines held.

David held tight to Logan’s harness while Logan pulled tight on the rope attached to the deck. The two men rode the ship not unlike how the cowboys of old rode a bucking bronco.

Once the ship settled down, Logan looked at David and grinned. “Once more with feeling, eh, lad?”

The two men repeated this process several more times, leapfrogging their way up the deck towards the problematic cargo containers constantly fighting the wind and rain. Just when Logan thought they were going pull off the task without incident, another wave caused the ship to again pitch upward, causing David to lose his footing just prior to reaching the ring directly adjacent to the loosening cargo containers, .

David slid down the deck, sliding past Logan who attempted to grab him but missed. He jerked to a stop at the end of the line and instinctively tried to stand.

“No,” Logan yelled but his shouted warning was lost in the wind.

Now that he was standing fully, David caught even more of the hurricane force winds and he was forced towards the rail. He caught himself with one hand and started to smile and give Logan a thumbs up when a wave crashed across the open deck. When the water cleared David was gone, but the rope still ran over the rail and Logan could see that the rope had tension on it, meaning David was still attached to it.

Logan struggled to a half squatting position and tried to brace himself against the wind as best he could knowing he had to detach the safety line if here were to have enough freedom of movement once he got to where David hung over the side of the ship. He unhooked the line from the ring and slowly worked his way down the deck, carefully keeping at least one hand on the rail and both feet on the deck as much as possible. After what seemed to him like an eternity, he reached the location where David went overboard. He quickly secured the safety line, stood up and peered over.

Sure enough, David was dangling from the rope, held fast by his harness. His body was limp.

“Lovely. Must have hit the ship and had his wits knocked out of him.”

Logan tried to pull up on the rope, but lifting dead weight in the storm was not going to work. He realized the only pulley he had or was likely to get was the rail itself.

Logan sat down on the deck, braced his feet against the railing and wrapped the rope around his gloved hands and pulled. The rope moved up a few centimeters and Logan quickly shifted his hands and pulled again.

He was making some progress when a wave broke over the railing causing him to lose his grip. The rope ran through his fingers until it snapped taught against the safety ring.

“Sorry old man,” Logan said, imagining he could hear David smashing against the ship’s hull.

“Looks like you could use a bit of help.”

Logan turned and found himself looking into the face of Ozzie Kenwood and three other crewmen, all wearing safety gear

“Captain saw him go over on the monitors,” Kenwood shouted over the wind.

“So he sent you out?”

“Not quite. He didn’t want to risk anyone else. We volunteered. Well, I did at first -- after all Mr. Spano and you pulled me out o’ the water after all, then the others came along.”

“Came along, huh, I doubt it was that simple.”

“It wasn’t,” Ozzie said. “But more about that later, let’s get Mr. Spano back on board a’fore he drowns hanging there on the side of the ship.”

“Agreed.”

The four men tugged on the rope and quickly got David, who was sputtering and regaining consciousness by that time, onto the deck.

“Go below,” Logan shouted, shoving David toward the stairs.

“No, we have to finish this.”

David’s voice was still weak.

“Maybe, but you’re not up to it, get below.”

“Don’t worry Mr. Spano, we’ve got this,” Ozzie said. “Billy, you get Mr. Spano below and to the kitchen. Have that pretty cook something hot into him, then get him to his bunk and into some dry clothes.”

“Done,” Billy said as he took David from Logan and began helping him below.

“Now, Mr. Logan, we have some containers to secure.”

“That we do, lad. And it’s just Logan. My friends call me Logan.”

Ozzie smiled, crouched and moved forward on the deck until he got to the first ring. He clipped his safety line to the ring and then motioned for another crewmember to move forward.

“What’s the status of those containers?”

Logan, Ozzie, and Arthur Cayne were talking off safety gear and toweling dry. Logan looked up gave the Seth Jackson a stony stare.

“Mr. Spano is safe and sound, thanks to the help of Ozzie and Arthur here,” he said. “And again with their help the containers are secured.”

“Probably should have been more than the two of you out there in the first place,” Jackson said. “But of course I’m glad Mr. Spano is safe.”

“Good to know,” Logan said.

“Well, if the weather report is accurate, we should begin moving clear of it in about three hours,” Jackson said. “Then we should have clear skies and smooth seas all the way to Charleston.”

“I certainly hope so,” Logan said. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to change into some dry clothes.”

“By all means,” Jackson said, turning and heading towards engineering.

Logan walked into his quarters to find Caitlin there, reading a book in her bunk.

Did you see David?”

She put the book down. “Yes, that cute Billy brought him down.”

Logan who had been changing into dry clothes, paused and shot her a look. “Cute?”

“Jealous are we? Cute as in easy on the eyes but way too young for me.”

“Absolutely not jealous,” Logan said as he continued changing. “I just think you should avoid any personal entanglements that could complicate things later on.”

“I agree, but why is it that you’re only worried about me?”

Logan chuckled. “Because you’re the only woman on the ship, love. Willie, David and I, well, let’s just say it’s not an issue for us.”

Caitlin laughed. “Relax, I’m not implying anything, just having a wee bit of fun.

“But getting back to David, I got him fixed up with a sandwich and some hot coffee. Also looked him over, he’ll be fine.”

“Looked him over?”

“Medically. I do have a bit of training as a medic. Didn’t I mention that?”

“Actually, no you didn’t,” Logan said. “Anything else I need to know?”

“About me personally, I’ll tell you what I want, when I want. But also, while you boys were busy up on deck, I managed to find us someplace to stash our gear.”

“You moved all that gear by yourself?”

“Not exactly,” Caitlin said. “Willie managed to get away for 15 minutes and moved the really heavy gear and beat it back to engineering. Then I finished up with the lighter stuff.”

“So is it all in that unused cold room? “Logan asked.

“Most of it,” Caitlin said. “Some basic stuff is stashed in here, just in case we need it.”

She stood and pulled out a drawer that was part of the bunk. She lifted up some clothes to reveal four handguns, holsters and several boxes of ammunition.

“When we make our move, we need to make sure we get to the main stash fast,” Logan said.

Caitlin frowned. “I don’t think fighting our way off the ship would make for a very subtle infiltration into America, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“No, it wouldn’t be my first choice, that’s why I’d prefer to avoid it. Just considering all possibilities.”

Caitlin nodded grimly. “Well, I’d better be getting back to the galley.

Logan touched two fingers to his forehead in a mock salute as she left the room, then finished dressing and headed back to engineering.

Logan quickly walked to his station, nodding to Jackson as he took his seat. A quick check of the various monitors showed everything operating as normally as could be expected for a freighter in the middle of a hurricane.

Logan just nodded as he settled back in his chair. He reached forward and touched a few controls on the screen to bring up a weather display. Judging by the radar image, it looked as if the Star had passed just south of the massive storm’s eye. Combining the storms motion and the Star’s heading and speed, he estimated the ship should hit clear seas in slightly more than one hour. Logan left the weather monitor up in a corner of one of his screens as he continued to keep a watch on both the drive temperatures and the stability of the cargo containers.

“Good job up there.” Jackson had walked up behind Logan. “The cargo master relayed to me that Mr. Spano said you kept him from going swimming.”

Logan shrugged his shoulders.

“He’s a shipmate. Shipmates look out for each other.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Jackson said. “Some of these blokes. .”

He waved his hand around the room.

“could stand to learn that lesson.”

Logan watched as Jackson walked back to his chair and sat down.

So far, so good, Logan thought to himself. When it was time to leave, he truly hoped he wouldn’t have to end up shooting their shipmates and new friends.

Logan, Willie and Caitlin were inside the emergency refrigeration unit they were using as storage. The unit was far enough out of the way that they felt they could risk meeting there.

“So, we’re ready to go then,” Logan said. “Assuming Caitlin’s little bit of programming works.”

“It will work,” Caitlin said. “When we the computer tries to lock down the ship for docking, it will think all internal doors are locked, but our three rooms will remain open.

“That’s fine for Logan and myself, but Willie and David will have to deal with their cabin mates.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Willie said.

David nodded in agreement.

“All right then, best of luck to us all,” Logan said. Willie and David headed to their respective posts as they were about to go on duty. Caitlin and Logan walked together towards the upper deck. Three days had passed since the freighter had cleared Hurricane Jorge.

“So, talk with your new friend, what’s his name”

“Billie,” Caitlin said.

“Of course, Billie.”

“Only when he comes into the mess hall,” Caitlin said. “I said you were making a much bigger deal out of that then was necessary.”

“You’re right, I was,” Logan said. “The fact is, I have no right to tell you who to associate with. I was just concerned that it might affect our mission.”

“That is always on my mind as well,” Caitlin said.

The two reached the upper deck and looked out. Even though the Star was more than five kilometers at sea, they could easily see the wall stretching from horizon from horizon.

“Is it true?” Caitlin asked.

“What, about America inside the wall? I don’t really know. I’ve been idly curious about America for a few years, but everything you find on the ’net reads the same.”

“They say life in America today is paradise,” Caitlin said. “No crime, no disease, no wants of any kind. It’s supposed to be perfect.”

“If it’s so perfect, why would they think it necessary to steal a computer chip designed solely for England’s defense? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Caitlin stared out at The Wall growing slowly in the distance.

“Well, maybe once we’re inside we can get some answers,” she said.

“If there are answers to be found.”

Logan put a pair of binoculars to his eyes and focused on the wall. He could see laser cannons and guided missiles that tracked the Star as she made her way southwest towards the Charleston docking bay. What they didn’t know is that the freighter’s computers had been linked into the American systems for more than an hour already. And if the American computers had discovered any irregularities, the Morning Star would already be resting on the bottom of the Atlantic..

“This is the captain. All hands to their quarters. Docking procedure to begin in 1 hour.”

“Well, I guess this is it,” Logan said. “Remember we don’t move until the Star is completely docked and the outer door is shut.”

“How will we know?”

“When it gets dark,” Logan replied.

The captain was alone on the bridge, walking slowly past the computer monitors checking each one. Finally he stopped at his chair and activated the intership comm.

“This is Captain Clifford. All hands should be in their quarters with doors closed in preparation for docking. All hands acknowledge to the bridge.”

“This is Logan with Anderson in quarters,” came Logan’s voice over the comm “Acknowledged.”

Crewmembers in each of the other five crew cabins checked in.

“This is the bridge, commencing motion and infrared scans of ship.”

Clifford walked over to the security console which occupied the rightmost station in the back row of monitors. He typed in the command that activated the internal motion and heat scanners. There was short delay while the program initialized. Then the monitor displayed a schematic of the top deck of the ship. There was one red indicator flashing in the bridge.

“One heat signature in bridge,” The computer reported. The various decks of the ships were displayed in order. Decks two through four were clear with no indications of heat or motion. On Deck Five there were 10 heat signatures confined to the crew quarter area – right where they were supposed to be.

Eventually the system completed its scan.

“Final report, 11 heat signatures attributed to the captain on the bridge and all crew members in their quarters,” the computer said.

Clifford nodded grimly and deactivated the program. Then he input another command that locked all the crew quarters, with the exception of his own which had a 15 minute delay before it would lock itself.

Clifford walked over to the comm and activated the radio on the specific frequency assigned to his ship.

“This is the Morning Star ready for docking,” he said.

“This is Charlotte dock control. Shut down your engines and proceed immediately to your quarters. Docking tractor beams are engaging.”

Clifford reached over and typed a command into the computer. He watched as the drive readings fell to zero – no thrust on the main drives and no maneuvering thrusters. He also felt a slight pull as the Morning Star was swung around as if pulled by an invisible rope.

Clifford sighed deeply and looked around. All of the computer stations had gone blank as all the Star’s onboard systems shut down. He checked his watch. He had eight minutes to get to his cabin before the auto locking mechanism engaged. He knew the penalty if anyone – including the captain – were discovered outside of their cabins by the American Security personnel that would board the vessel as soon as the docking were complete.

The bow turned onto a due west heading and stabilized there. The ripples of the southerly Gulf Stream current lapped against her starboard side. Then the great ship began to move, slowly at first but then gradually accelerating. The only sign that the ship was not operating as it normally did was the absence of the usual swirling of water at the stern.

Logan watched through the port hole as the ship moved slowly towards the Charlotte docking port. At the moment all he could see was the ocean.

“We seem to be moving towards shore, but I don’t feel the vibrations of the engines at all,” he said.

“I actually found out how this all works from Billie,” Caitlin said. “It seems the Americans have some sort of beam technology that can actually grab hold of objects.

“They use these beams to pull the freighters in and position them in the berths. It’s the reason they can do this with the entire crew locked in their quarters.”

“Ah,” Logan said.

He turned back to look out the port some more but pulled back when a cover slid into place.

“Well, so much for watching the ocean to pass the time,” he said as he looked closely at the covering, noting that he could still see light around its edges. “Well, at least we’ll still be able to tell when we are completely inside.

“Did Billie give you any idea of how long it normally takes from this point?”

“No, he didn’t mention that fact,” Caitlin said coolly.

“Regardless, we need to get ready so we can move the instant we are secure in this docking port of theirs,” Logan said.

He stood up and stretched, then went to the one closet and pulled out the bag he had carried aboard the ship a week earlier. He reached inside and pulled out a false bottom. From the area the false bottom had concealed he pulled out a pair of jet black pants and an equally black pull over shirt.

Logan had already taken off the steel-gray jumpsuit that served as the on-ship duty uniform for the entire Lazarus shipping company when Caitlin went into the lavatory to change. Logan smiled slightly as he continued to dress. In a moment Caitlin came out dressed in her black jump suit. In her left hand she carried her sneakers, in her right a bottle of black dye.

She sat and began to apply the dye, being careful to cover the entire shoe, while working quickly as the dye was fast drying. She finished the process in three minutes and tossed the bottle to Logan who repeated the procedure with his shoes.