Sedulity 2: Aftershock (Sedulity Saga) Read Free

Captain
Stevens, gasping his last breaths after being burned to a crisp. It was only
moments later when the ship was struck by impossibly large tsunami waves and Reiner
was tossed about and nearly drowned when water rushed into the public areas. He
had been carried through the casino by the flood and swept forward into the
ship’s theater where nearly a thousand passengers had taken refuge.
    The theater had proven to be the ideal safe haven for many of
the survivors and Reiner learned that the captain’s wife, Lydia, had been responsible
for bringing them here to take shelter. This knowledge only increased his sense
of loss at seeing her get sucked down a whirlpool by the same flooding that
carried him into the theater. After that he had assumed command of the
situation in the theater and done his best to keep the passengers calm and safe.
Eventually Reiner had turned on the video projector to share the news with
everyone. He had hoped that news from the outside world would bring calm and
peace of mind to those gathered in the theater, but the news had not been good.
He and the rest of those with him spent the rest of the night watching a global
disaster unfold.
    The President of the United States announced the destruction
of Hawaii and described terrible damage from earthquakes in California. The GNN
satellite news channel had shown brief and deeply depressing reports from
Australia, as well as the Philippines and other island nations of the Pacific.
In several cases the images of towering waves rushing towards a camera marked
the final communication from whole cities, even nations. In other places
survivors were able to make sporadic contact with the outside world by using
portable satellite phones or short wave radios to beg for help and share their
tragic stories of destruction and loss.   Throughout the night the news got worse and
worse, as did the mood of the people gathered in the theater to watch it.
    Most of the crew did their best to calm and comfort the
passengers. Soup, sandwiches and beverages were brought to the theater.
Blankets, towels, and pillows were passed out. Yet Lieutenant Reiner could feel
a growing shift in the attitude and demeanor expressed by many of the crew.
They were suffering the same level of shock and trauma as the passengers, and
it was becoming clear that some of the crew were in no mood to wait on the
guests. Their own homes and families were first and foremost in their thoughts.
The complaints and demands from the passengers were more than some of the crew
could handle. Reiner had already relieved several waiters and stewards who had
reached the breaking point. He sent them to find somewhere dry to get some
rest, with orders to report back for the next shift.
    As dawn approached it became clear that he couldn’t keep the
passengers cooped up in the theater for much longer. There were constant
complaints and requests to return to their staterooms. He didn’t have the heart
to tell them that most of those staterooms had been gutted by fire and
flooding, destroying their personal belongings and making most of these
passengers virtually homeless aboard the ship. If he had told them that harsh
truth it probably would have started a riot. So he tried to console them by
explaining that the crew were still conducting damage control and making the
rest of the ship safe for the passengers to occupy again. He didn’t know how
much longer that story would work and needed to come up with a better solution
soon.
    In the meantime, Reiner and several other members of the crew
had done a headcount and taken down the names of everyone in the theater.   There were one thousand two hundred and
twenty-three passengers there, as well as eighty-three members of the crew.
Thirty more people had been taken down to the ship’s medical center for
treatment of various injuries and conditions. A dozen or so had suffered broken
bones when the ship was tossed up and down by the tsunami waves, and others