Voyage (Powerless Nation #2) Read Online Free Page A

passengers calm.” He moaned and sank into the captain’s chair. “I do not need this. Do you know how much bad press we’ll get for losing power? I’ll be ruined.”
    “Sir,” said the staff captain, “what about the plane?”
    “What about the plane?”
    “We need to go out and check the wreckage. There could have been survivors.”
    “Don’t tell me what I need to do, Brady. Look at that mess! There’s no way anyone survived that. If they didn’t die on impact they’re rotisserie chicken by now. We’ve got our own problems to deal with.”
    Sena couldn’t believe what she was hearing. From the look on the staff captain’s face, and several others in the room, she wasn’t the only one.
    “But, sir, we could just—”
    “I said no. If this is a terrorist attack I need my people here, ready for action.”
    “Terrorists?” gasped the actress, collapsing dramatically in a nearby chair.
    The captain’s tone changed. “Don’t worry, my dear. You’ll be safe with me.” He gave her a comforting look and then turned on the crew again, “Where’s my security chief? And where’s the IT guy? Why don’t we have back-up power yet?” He raised his voice, “And why is everyone still sitting around? I want answers. Now!”
    Sena decided it was time to get out of there. Before she could go, a member of the crew burst onto the bridge. 
    “Fire in the engine room!” he shouted.
    “Get a hold of yourself, man,” said the captain. “What’s the situation down there?”
    The man spoke in quick bursts between ragged breaths. “They don’t know how it started. The monitors and lights went dead at the same time, so Chief Huang sent someone to check on the engines. Number four engine is an inferno, and we don’t have any fire suppression or water pressure. Back-up generators are down.”
    “Fire doors?”
    “Will have to be closed manually, sir.”
    “I see,” said the captain, turning again to gaze out the full-length windows at the flaming wreckage of the airplane. He was silent a long moment, lost in thought. It was an awkward silence that should have been filled with emergency orders and ship-wide reports.
    When the captain faced his crew again he said, “Brady, you were right about that airplane. I’ll take a lifeboat over there myself. Anyone who wants to join me—we are going now.”
    “But sir,” began Brady, “you can’t leave now.”
    Captain Crane ignored him and helped the actress to her feet. “Come, my love, let’s get you off this ship.”
    Brady blocked the doorway. “I insist, Captain. You can’t abandon ship. She needs her captain.”
    Tension in the room was high, and for a moment Sena thought the captain might strike his officer. Instead, he pushed him aside and headed for the door. “Staff Captain Brady, you have the bridge.”
    With that, the captain led the majority of the ship’s commanding officers out of the room.
     
    Staff Captain Brady looked at the remaining crewmen and took a deep breath. “Thank you for your sacrifice. Daryl, grab a bullhorn and get passengers to their muster stations. Same for you Oscar. Passengers are our first priority.” 
    “Yes, Captain!” Daryl and Oscar left at a run. 
    Sena noticed they hadn’t called him ‘Staff Captain.’
    The captain spoke to the remaining man, “Ryan, I need you to alert the fire patrol. I’m hoping they are already activated, but without comms there’s no way to be sure. Then I need you to get the fire doors closed.”
    The man took a step back. “All of them?”
    “Do your best. You’re dismissed.”
    When the man left the bridge, Sena gathered her courage and stepped out of the shadows. “I’d like to help if I can.” Even though she’d intended to sound convincing, her voice came out unsteady.
    Captain Brady looked surprised. “How did you get in here? You need to get to your muster station right now. That’s an order.”
    “I saw—”
    “Never mind any of that. The only thing that