Free Sedulity 2: Aftershock (Sedulity Saga) by David Forsyth Page A

have asked you to remain in this theater
all night.” There were more than a few grumbles and only a smattering of claps
as the lieutenant passed the microphone to Mr. Cohn.
    “I’d like to say good morning, ladies and gentlemen,” Mr.
Cohn said in a strong voice. “But I’m afraid it’s not one. In fact, it’s so
dark outside that we can’t be sure the sun has even risen today. The asteroid
strike created clouds so dense that they are blocking the sunlight.” He paused
to let that sink into the speechless faces before him. “Now, before you get
more upset, let me assure you that this ship is safe. We are in contact with
other ships and authorities ashore too. They know where we are. You are in no
danger here, in this theater. In fact, it’s one of the safest places to be
across the whole Pacific Ocean, as you can see from the news on TV.
    “Nevertheless, there are still dangers outside this room that
you need to be aware of before we can let you roam around the ship. We’ve been
recording close to six inches of rain per hour. It’s still hot enough to hurt
exposed skin. Worse than that, I myself have checked samples and confirmed
measurable levels of radioactivity in particles carried by the rain.” A
collective gasp swept through the theater.
    “You are in no danger here, or inside any of the lower decks
on the ship. However, we have placed the outside decks, and the upper decks,
including all staterooms and suites with balconies, off-limits until further
notice.” The crowd erupted in angry protest and Mr. Cohen waited for them to
calm down while giving placating gestures. It was his idea, born from years of
working as an Israeli intelligence officer, to use the fear of radiation as an
excuse to keep these people from wanting to go back to their gutted staterooms.
He felt that the passengers would be more cooperative if they thought they were
being protected, instead of being told that their staterooms and all their
belongings had been destroyed. The captain had reluctantly concurred and agreed
to let him make this speech. When the outburst faded somewhat he went on.
    “I repeat, you are in no danger down here, and we want to
keep it that way. But I’m afraid the same cannot be said for many of your
fellow passengers, as well as members of the crew. There has been significant
loss of life aboard the Sedulity. The
crew, along with some volunteers among the passengers, have been working all
night to save as many lives as possible and to keep the ship safe.
    “I want to stress the lengths to which the captain and crew
have gone to save this ship and your own lives along with it. They fought fires
on nearly every deck, many of the crew suffered serious burns in the process.
Then they faced major flooding, which you are all aware of. The engineering crew
was trapped in lower compartments surrounded by water for hours, but they kept
the engines and pumps going, thereby saving the ship and everyone aboard her.
Since then the crew has been assisting the injured, restoring power, cleaning
up debris and broken glass to make the public areas safe, even getting the
kitchen operational to feed all of you soon. These are things that go above and
beyond their job descriptions, so I want all of you to keep this in mind as we
work together to survive this disaster.” Cohen paused again and swept his gaze
around the room, pleased to see most of the faces reflecting contrition or
gratitude.
    “Captain Krystos will be joining us here soon to explain more
of what has happened and what you can expect in the coming hours and days. Before
he arrives, I want to impress upon you how lucky we all are that he was in
command of this ship last night. You’ve all seen the reports and images of mass
destruction sweeping across the globe today. All of it was triggered by the
asteroid that struck less than a hundred nautical miles from this ship. The Sedulity is the only vessel within
hundreds of miles known to have survived the