Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 09:20:28 -0500 From: Diena Taylor Subject: "Of Titanic Proportions" Sender: owner-tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Sender: jupiter2@pop.ma.ultranet.com To: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu Reply-to: tales@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.4 (32) X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu id IAA10934 Okay, this is a not-so-serious serious piece. It's rushed, it's bizarre, but I like it. It was just a warm-up piece for my next big ELFing effort. Please keep in mind that this, although slightly serious, is not _meant_ to be taken all that seriously. It's a product of my warped mind. Need I say more? Thanks to 'Lex for all her comments and support. The song lyrics are by Harry Chapin and are used without permission. ************************************* "...She broke in half at the keel plate and the crevice flooded with water, making the bow section go even deeper, pulling the stern almost vertical. The two sections broke apart, the bow hitting the ocean floor at up to 45 miles per hour. The stern bobbed in the water for about two minutes before going down. 1,500 people were in the water, but only 40 were saved. And there were twenty lifeboats floating nearby, but only one came back. One." The rec. room was silent as Chief Manuel Crocker finished his tale. Lieutenant-Commander Katie Hitchcock wiped a tear from her eye with her sleeve. "Damn," whispered Lieutenant Ben Krieg, and Lucas Wolenczak sitting beside him nodded silently in agreement. "The _Titanic_ went down right above this spot at 2:20 AM, exactly 107 years ago tonight," Crocker continued. A cold shiver worked it's way up Lucas' spine. *Right above this spot,* he thought to himself. *1460 people or more died right above this spot 107 years ago. Only a few more hours and it'll be exact. My God.* "Dance band on the _Titanic_ "Sing 'Nearer My God To Thee..." He was too young, of course, to know anything other than the common knowledge and myths surrounding the sinking of the _Titanic_. He had seen all the movies, _A Night to Remember_, _Titanic_, all of them. But Crocker always seemed to have insider's knowledge of anything involving superstitions and shipwrecks. And oh, he could tell a story! His tales always brought at least one person to tears. "The iceberg's on the starboard bow, "Won't you dance with me..." Krieg broke the silence. "So then what happened?" he asked, geniunely interested. Crocker seemed more than happy to continue. "A few hours later, the lifeboats were picked up by the _Carpathia_. But the oddest thing is, another boat was within fifteen minutes of the _Titanic_ when she was sinking. "After the _Titanic_ sank, new regulations were made, including the one stating that there have to be enough lifeboats for _everyone_, and that everyone has boat assignments. Think about it: if the _Titanic_ made it to New York Harbor, every one of us in this room-- except maybe Commander Hitchcock, would probably go down with the ship, if _seaQuest_ ever were to sink." Hitchcock tensed visibly. "But what about Lucas? He's a civilian -- and what about women and _children_ first?" Lucas opened his mouth to protest that he was almost old enough to vote, when Crocker did so for him. "Lucas is a member of this crew. And if early-twentieth century mentality held over, he would be considered no more of a child than Ben is." The small group sat there for a few moments, taking in those last few details. "Mama stood cryin' at the dockside "Sayin' 'Please son, don't take this trip...'" At around 11:30 PM that night, the excitement felt earlier had done nothing to die down. Captain Bridger had allowed Lucas to accompany Hitchcock and Dr. Westphalen in the exploration of the _Titanic_ and the area around it -- Lucas had been thrilled. Bridger glanced over at the captain's chair in the middle of the Bridge and smiled. Lucas was curled up in the chair, his legs tucked under him, sleeping. Bridger let him stay there; no sense in waking him up just so he could go back to sleep. Bridger smiled again, allowing himself a moment to feel completely at home, relaxed, happy. It was a coincidence that the _seaQuest_ was where it was. It was a coincidence that more than half her emergancy shuttles were upworld getting refitted. A dangerous, strange coincidence, but a coincidence nonetheless; there had been nothing planned about it. The _seaQuest_ was in port in England, and was now worked her way back to New York Harbor, where she was schedualed to be in a parade. No one on board knew exactly what the parade was _for_, just that they were having one and the _seaQuest_ had to be in it. When Captain Bridger had found out that they would be above the site of the _Titanic_ on the same day as it sank, he had ordered a stop, saying it was for "scientific purposes". Everyone knew, however, it was simply an excuse to be _there_. Like when you're a kid and you want to be in a haunted house on the same day the supposed haunt died. Curiosity and the sense of *Wow, this really happened,* overtook even the by-the-book Commander Ford. Everyone on the _seaQuest_ had gone _Titanic_-crazy. "I said 'Mama, sweet Mama, don't you worry none, "'Even _God_ couldn't sink this ship!'" "Captain, I’m getting a reading from WSKR 1," said sensor chief Miguel Ortiz, pulling Bridger back to the present. "On screen, Mr. Ortiz." Ortiz complied, and the viewscreen in the front of the Bridge turned on to show a solid wall of… _something_, not 1,000 meters in front of them. "What the hell is that?" Hitchcock breathed. "It doesn’t matter what it is!" Tim O’Neill exclaimed. "We’re gonna hit it!" Bridger couldn’t help agreeing with the communication’s officer. "Helm! Hard to port!" he ordered. "Full speed astern!" Shan, the helmsman, nodded and obeyed. Moments later, the _seaQuest_’s engines stopped, and Shan had all the helm controls turned hard over to port. The _seaQuest_ began to turn, very slowly because of her great size, and drift to the left of the obstruction. The impact itself was so minuscule that it was barely felt. But the vibrations off the hull plates were very strong. The water in Darwin’s tank rippled, and a dull groan could be heard in the lower reaches of the sub. What no one on the Bridge could see was that the side of the seaQuest was dotted with holes in the bio-skin, which was supposed to be regenerative, but it’s effectiveness was compromised at this depth. The water began pouring in, strong enough to cut off limbs and penetrate steel. Which is exactly what it proceeded to do. The _seaQuest_ began her long battle with the ocean. Up on the Bridge, the captain’s chair shuddered, and woke Lucas who blinked sleepily. "What happened?" he asked. "What time is it?" Bridger walked over to Lucas and put his hands on the boy’s shoulders. "We’ve hit something," he said softly. Lucas’ face instantly drained of color. "It’s…" Bridger looked at his watch, "11:40." The Bridge suddenly got very quite. "The whistle blew and they turned the screw "It churned the water into foam…" "Water. Not in Moon Pool," came Darwin’s voice. Lucas and Bridger ran to the side of the tank. "What do you mean?" Lucas asked, grabbing the vo-coder out of it’s wall socket. Bridger gasped as he realized what the dolphin was saying. "He means that the _seaQuest_ is flooding," Bridger said, trying to sound calm. Lucas sat down on the deck in shock. "Isn’t there anything we can do?" Lucas asked. "What about those pumps?" Bridger shook his head. "We were only testing those. We don’t have them anymore." He stood and turned to Hitchcock. "Close all watertight doors," he ordered. Hitchcock nodded. "Already done, Sir," she replied evenly. Bridger pulled Lucas to his feet and began to walk off the Bridge. "Lieutenant-Commander, come with us," he called over his shoulder. Bridger quickly walked across the Ward Room and pulled several rolled-up blueprints out of the slots in the wall. He unrolled them on the table and anchored the edges with a couple paperweights. Lucas had already powered up his SEAPOC and brought up the sensors to show how much flooding had occurred already. He gulped, and handed the computer to Hitchcock. "The water’s up to E-deck by now," she reported. "The pressure’s so great that it’s just bursting right through the bulkheads." "Destination: Sweet salvation "Goodbye home sweet home!" "How many compartments can be filled and still allow us to stay afloat, would you say?" Bridger asked his Chief Engineer. Hitchcock shrugged. "Ten, eleven maybe. No more than that." Lucas looked at the SEAPOC, then back at the blueprints. "The water’s spilling over the broken bulkheads," he reported, indicating the movement of the water with his finger on the blueprints. He took a deep breath, and continued. "Twelve compartments have been filled." "Can we blow the ballasts to get to the surface?" Bridger asked. Hitchcock pondered that for a moment. "Yes, I think we could," she answered. "Good," Bridger said. "Do that now." Hitchcock nodded curtly and left the Ward Room. Lucas looked up at Bridger, fear and horror painting his face a gray pallor. "Wh-what should I do, Captain?" he asked, trying his damnedest to sound brave. Bridger thought for a minute. Lucas was terrified, that much was obvious, but he also wanted to help. "Get you keyboard out," Bridger said, recalling Lucas’ pastime. "Bring it to the Bridge. Pipe it through the loudspeakers. Try to keep it upbeat." Lucas smiled slightly, but not happily. "No ‘Nearer My God to Thee’, huh?" he managed to joke. Bridger shook his head. "Get Crocker to help you if you need it." Lucas nodded. "Kay Captain," he said, and turned to leave. When he reached the doorway, he turned solemnly to Bridger. "The _seaQuest_ can’t really sink, can it?" he asked, voice trembling, ever so slightly. Bridger wanted to be honest with Lucas, though he didn’t want to scare him anymore. But Lucas would find out sooner or later. "She’s made of steel," Bridger said, finally, and left it at that. Lucas nodded, understanding, and left. "I’m in the dance band on the _Titanic_ "Sing ‘Nearer My God to Thee’… Bridger jogged onto the Bridge and over to O’Neill. "Get on an open transmission to all nearby vessels. Tell them we’re surfacing, but we’re going down by the head and need immediate assistance," Bridger told him. O’Neill nodded, slightly confused and more than slightly worried. He crossed himself as he got on the comm. Commander Ford walked over. "What’s going on, Sir?" he asked, knowing full well the answer. Bridger turned to his XO. "_seaQuest_ is going to sink. In little under two hours. Hitchcock is bringing us to the surface so we might have half a chance," Bridger replied. Ford kept his face cool and professional, but his eyes gave away his fear. At that moment, Lucas came onto the Bridge, lugging his huge synthesizer and computer system. "Where should I set up?" he asked from behind the equipment. Bridger looked around. "How about near Darwin’s tank?" he suggested. Lucas walked over and began to hook up the system to the loudspeaker going all over the ship. Lucas put on a headset and gave Bridger a jaunty thumbs-up. *I’m okay, Captain. I’ll be okay. But will you be?* the motion seemed to say. "Hey _seaQuest_! Wake up! It’s time to party!" Lucas said through the headset and the sound of his voice resonated throughout the entire ship. "I’m Lucas, and I’ll be your DJ for the evening. If anyone has any requests… tough." Lucas flipped a few switches on the keyboard, and the opening to The Village People’s "In the Navy" rang out. Bridger couldn’t help laughing. Leave it to Lucas to liven up a situation. "You gonna sing too?" Bridger asked. Lucas made a face. "When I have seven thousand voices programmed into this thing?" he replied. "Besides, I was kicked out of the school chorus. Don’t worry about me, Captain. Everything’s under control here. Worry about your boat," Lucas said, and went back to his computer, fingers flying over the controls. "The iceberg’s on the starboard bow "Won’t you dance with me?" "We’re on the surface, Captain," Hitchcock reported. "Good," Bridger replied. "Now round up whoever you can and get them into the shuttles. Make sure they go out _filled_." "Aye, Sir," Hitchcock replied, and left. Bridger walked over to Lucas "I want you to get out of here," he said. Lucas shook his head stubbornly. "Nuh uh," he replied. "I’m a member of this crew and I’m not a child. I’m staying." And with that, he turned to the keyboard and started playing Harry Chapin’s "Dance Band on the _Titanic_." Bridger sighed deeply. He had a sinking submarine, an all-but-panicking crew, and a teenager who wouldn’t leave. Lucas wanted to be brave, wanted to impress him, wanted to be like the band on the _Titanic_. But Bridger knew that Lucas didn’t want to die. Bridger didn’t want Lucas to die, either. "I appreciate the gesture," Bridger said. "But I’m ordering you to get out." "There was a trombone and a saxophone "The bass and drums were cookin’ on the bandstand "and I was stummin’ in the middle with this dude on the fiddle "And we were three days out from land." Lucas opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again. The deck had developed a noticeable tilt, and was listing alarmingly to port. It was 1:50 AM. Hitchcock’s voice came over Bridger’s PAL. "Captain, all shuttles are away." She paused. "I saved the _Stinger_ for Lucas…" Lucas looked at Bridger, and there was a mutual agreement and understanding. Almost. "No, Commander. Take the _Stinger_ yourself," Bridger said. "But…" "That’s an order, Lieutenant-Commander." "Aye, Sir." "Well the foghorn’s jammin’, moanin’ "Hear it groanin’ through the misty night…" At 2:00 AM, the _seaQuest_ was almost vertical. The water had completely flooded decks G through C, and B-deck was beginning to flood. Darwin had been let out, and the emergency shuttles were bobbing on the surface, a little ways away from the sinking _seaQuest_. "I heard the lookout shout down "‘There’s icebergs around, but still everything’s alright!'" Bridger finally persuaded Lucas to try to get out. So now the boy was crawling through the ductwork, looking for an escape. Sometimes he slipped and fell back a few feet; the deck was sloping quite steeply. Lucas wondered fleetingly how the captain and the rest of the Bridge crew were doing. Lucas saw no hatches, no easy way out. He looked up and saw the dark bio-skin right above his head. Then, he got an idea. Lucas reached into his pocket and fished out his Swiss-army knife. He reached above his head and quickly cut a hole in the bio-skin just big enough for him to squirm through. Lucas climbed out of the hole and found himself on the outside, in the bitter cold, staring down at the dark water 100 meters beneath him. At that moment, the ship snapped in half, and Lucas held on for dear life as the stern section crashed into the water. Lucas took this opportunity to jump. He hit the water hard, and went under, kicking and flailing wildly, working his way to the surface. "They were burning the flares for candles in a banquet they were throwing in first class "And we were throwing waltzes in the ballroom when the universe went crash!" "Omigod it’s cold!" Lucas shouted to no one in particular as his head came above the water. Lucas swam away from the ship for a little ways, then turned to watch the stern section lower into the water and disappear. It was 2:20 AM. Lucas treaded water for a few more minutes, taking it all in. *I’m alone.* He was also freezing. Lucas swam towards the far-away lights of the shuttles for a time, fighting the deadly cold. After a couple more minutes he came upon something floating in the water. He had no idea what it was, but he didn’t care; he needed to get out of the water. "There’s no way that this could happen, I could hear the old captain curse "He ordered lifeboats away, that’s when I heard the chaplain say 'Women and children and chaplains first!'" Lucas pulled himself onto the object; a considerable task considering his entire body was numb and he couldn’t stop shivering. Lucas lay on his back, staring up at the stars, identifying the constellations, shivering, wishing for the first time that he were back in Buffalo, in his own house that had central heating… With his computers and books and his whole life ahead of him. *I’m going to die tonight,* Lucas thought. *I’m going to freeze to death. The shuttle’s aren’t coming.* Lucas tried to keep himself from crying, he didn’t want the tears to freeze on his cheeks. He had always thought of himself as strong, a survivor. But now… how would he survive tonight? He lay on the makeshift raft for what seemed like hours, staring into the clear night, telling himself that if he fell asleep, it would be all over. He was exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to sleep. "They soon used up all of the lifeboats, but there were lot of us left on board "I heard the drummer sayin’ 'Boys, just keep playin’. Now we’re doing this gig for the Lord!'" He was jarred back to reality by a bright light shining around the area he was in. Lucas managed to lift his head slightly and see one of the shuttle’s emergency rafts coming out of the darkness. *They’re back!* "Is anyone out there?" Lucas could hear Dr. Westphalen shouting. Lucas wanted to lift an arm to wave, but he couldn’t move. The raft soon drifted away. They had missed him. "Come back!" Lucas tried to shout, but it came out as a hoarse whisper. "Come back! Dr. Westphalen! Come back!" He saw a fin breaking through the water, and he knew that if that was what he thought it was, his life was over. It wasn’t. "Darwin!" Lucas whispered, excitedly. Darwin swam to Lucas’ side and looked at him curiously. "Go," Lucas said. "Tell…them I’m here…" Darwin seemed to understand, because he quickly swam away in the direction of the raft. Lucas closed his eyes in relief. "Lucas?" he heard a voice with a soft British accent ask. "Lucas, wake up." The thing he was most aware of was the warmth. He was lying on something soft, covered by a heavy blanket. And he was not out in the open, he was back in a shuttle. "C’mon Lucas." Lucas opened his eyes to see Dr. Kristin Westphalen crouched over him, worry creasing her face. Lucas smiled, and Dr. Westphalen let out a long, relieved sigh. "The captain?" Lucas managed. Westphalen’s relief vanished. "He, Commander Ford, and the rest of the Bridge crew went down with the ship." She began to cry. Lucas closed his eyes again. "You’ve got to promise me…you’ll survive… and you won’t… let go…" Lucas Wolenczak groaned and opened his eyes. He glanced over at the clock on his desk, which read 2:30 AM. He looked around the room for the thing that had woken him up. Across the room on the vid-screen, he saw Kate Winslet lying on a wooden door floating in the water of the North Atlantic and Leonardo DiCaprio in the water beside her, holding her hands. Lucas rolled over and hung his head over the side of his bunk. "Tony," he said tiredly. "Turn that movie off already." THE END Copyright 1998, by S. Angelo ***************************** http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Labyrinth/3589/ **************** "And Ford, he's so cool-headed. Does everything by the book. I can't even _find_ the book." --Tim O'Neill "You're walking towards the light at the end of the tunnel, then -- BOOM! -- You're hit by a train." -- Me