MYSTober 2024

31 vignettes based on single-word prompts. One story.

14. Power

Captain Balter strode confidently amidships as if nothing was wrong. One thing he knew translated between military service and civilian boats was that remaining composed would keep people calm. That way, the sailors can do their best work, and the passengers are less likely to panic.

"Captain," a male passenger greeted him.

He nodded his head in return, and continued traversing the length of the ship. Along the way he overheard pieces of several similar conversations:

"The land's gone;"

"The ocean is so blue. It's everywhere;"

"Should we be this far from shore?"

Balter did his best to keep his head down and not engage with those passengers. He didn't want to answer any questions until he had solid information to respond with. When he reached the engine room, he scanned the corridor to make sure he was alone, then turned the large metal wheel to open the door.

All hands appeared to be present, and each one was working feverishly on a task. The normally calm room was full of instructions and reports going back and forth, and people hurrying between stations. They had one singular goal: regain control of the ship. Balter found the chief engineer, Miller, and tapped her on the shoulder.

She spun on her heel, recognized him, and saluted. "Sir."

Balter quickly returned the salute. "Report."

"We have been unsuccessful at regaining access to ship systems."

"It's been six hours. The passengers are realizing something is wrong. What's the hold-up?"

"Do you want the detailed technical answer, or do you want me to cut to the chase?"

"Skip to the end, please. No sense filling time with things I may not understand."

"Okay." She leaned her head forward and rubbed the back of her neck, as if she was nervous to continue. Balter gave her a moment to compose her thoughts. "We've been sabotaged."

Balter felt his eyes go wide on their own. "Sabotage?"

"Yes, Sir."

"How? And, why? Why would anyone sabotage a cruise ship?"

"The 'how' is 'extensively'. Every system is affected. If it's electronic, we're locked out. As for why, ransom, maybe? I've been too busy trying to fix it to speculate."

Balter exhaled sharply. "Great."

MYSTober 2024

Table of Contents

14. Power