Novels2Search

6. Crucible of Molten Salt

Laura woke in her stateroom with the sound of the open ocean. It was early. She had left her balcony door cracked open, and the sound of the wind and waves had carried her to sleep. Now it reminded her that she was, in fact, on a massive ship. It was the first time she had slept on a ship. She had enjoyed the gentle rocking motion.

A few minutes later, her breakfast arrived with a knock at the door. Her steward Francis was holding a silver tray. He was impeccably dressed despite the early hour. She wondered when he slept. “Good morning, Laura! How was your first night aboard? To your satisfaction?”

Laura held the door open. “Yes, thanks. Dinner was lovely. My first time eating geoduck and foie gras. There’s a first time for everything, right?”

Francis laughed easily as he set the tray down on the coffee table. “I think sometimes the kitchen has fun trying to outdo themselves. Or it’s the hedonistic treadmill at work.” He winked slightly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t. But you seem like a guest I can speak a little more freely with.”

Laura shrugged. “I don’t mind. Maybe one of the chefs is an Evergreen College alumni. The geoduck is their mascot, after all.”

He blinked. “I had no idea. What a bizarre thing. Why on earth would they do that?”

She shrugged. “A healthy sense of humor, I’m assuming. Anyway, thanks for breakfast.”

“My pleasure, enjoy.”

Laura sat down in her Eames lounge chair with a view of the ocean. She had a tray with strong black coffee, a plate of bacon and eggs, and a beautiful view. There were worse things. After years living through stressful jobs filled with both stressful tedium and acute terror, Laura learned to enjoy moments of quiet and peace when she had them.

After her breakfast, Laura showered. The bathroom was surprisingly spacious and well appointed. A double width marble vanity counter was topped by a large mirror. She dried her hair, and noticed that the hair dryer was actually capable. It wasn’t just a half-sized noise maker. Was this a benefit of a woman captain? How far did her influence extend?

After she was dressed, she pulled her laptop from her suitcase and sat at her small in-room desk. She opened her audit plan for the ship, and began to re-read it. One of her first objectives was to meet with the captain and head of security.

As if on cue, her room phone rang. It was Rohit. “Good morning, Laura. The captain has requested your presence on the bridge.”

“Thanks Rohit. How do I make my way there?”

“Take the elevator to the top deck, I’ll meet you there and take you up through the service elevator.”

Moments later, Laura was standing with Rohit in the service elevator. He tapped his badge on a neck lanyard against a card reader that turned green. They slowly moved upward. The elevator was painted a pale beige. While it was clean, it lacked the glamor of the rest of the ship. The doors opened into a large bridge.

The front of the Bridge was a curved wall of floor to ceiling windows, tilted forward for a view below. A line of large screens swept in front of the windows. Some were flanked by surprisingly retro phones with coiled cords, and some by handheld radios. Laura could see a readout of a weather satellite on one screen, what looked like a radar display, and a slowly moving GPS map on another showing their route. Officers in white uniforms with white shoes stood in front of them. Some were gathered in a circle having a discussion.

Laura and Helen spotted each other from across the room. Helen smiled. Laura had always loved her smile. It always took over her entire face. It hadn’t changed at all. Her uniform was crisp and white. She had always been tall, but she was taller than Laura remembered. Maybe it was the position of authority, or maybe it was the uniform.

“Laura! I’m so glad you made it!” Helen threw her arms wide.

Helen wasn’t sure what the protocol was for greeting the captain of a ship. She thought it was some kind of salute. Or snapping to attention with your heels together. She didn’t expect a hug, but she decided to roll with it.

Helen rested her hands on Laura’s shoulders. “How long has it been? It must be years by now. I really mean it, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too. It’s a change of scenery. I’ve never been on a ship this size before.”

“I didn’t realize that! I’m a little jealous. Your first time on a real ship is magical. Mine was on a US Navy destroyer. I guess I’m doubly jealous, because this is a hell of a lot nicer. I’ll show you around the bridge in a minute. Then, Rohit can show you around the rest of the ship. I saw your security audit. I made sure our security chief, Smith, blocked her afternoon today as well. Hopefully you’ll be done with your assessment with some time to actually enjoy the cruise. I’m sure you haven’t had much of a break with your company taking off.”

“That’s the truth. I haven’t, really. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” They both smiled. They had no idea what the future would hold.

Helen moved backward a pace. She cleared her throat. “All officers on the bridge, please huddle for a moment.” The group wheeled around and gathered into a loose circle. “I would like to introduce you to Laura Constantine. She is an old friend of mine. But more importantly, she is an ex-FBI officer and runs a very successful security consulting firm.” Helen scanned the group and made eye contact with each person in turn. “She is our guest on board to assess our readiness and our security. If she needs something, please give it to her. Consider that a standing order. Dismissed!”

Helen gave Laura a tour of the bridge. She pointed out the compass, mounted on a large steel column. The electronic chart system took up a large screen dense with data. The steering position was a raised section of floor with two black leather chairs. “The entire bridge system is integrated.” She swept her hand around the room. “There are redundant analog displays for some of the instruments, but everything is tied together. We’re on autopilot now, it’s maintaining our bearing. It can even correct our rudders and thrust for the impact of weather. The compass, radar, echo sounder, satellite navigation, and chart system all work together. It makes our jobs a little easier.”

Laura paused. “You know, I really didn’t know what to expect on the bridge. I knew it wasn’t reasonable, but a corner of my brain was really expecting a huge wood-and-brass wheel to steer the entire thing.”

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They both laughed. “Well, we do have a steering wheel.” She gestured at a small wheel attached to the front of a cabinet covered in switches and lights. “I guess it’s technically wood.” She shrugged. “But we don’t use it much.”

“Professional curiosity, so forgive me here. But if someone wanted to commandeer the ship, how difficult would it be to control?”

“Don’t apologize! You’re here to work.” Helen gestured at the doors to the back of the bridge, and the elevator. “The doors can be locked remotely with a silent alarm, and are sturdy. The elevator would be recalled to this floor and won’t open. The ship itself would take a lot of figuring out. Our integrated bridge is proprietary. Their best bet would be to hold half of the bridge crew at gunpoint. A hijacking, I guess. But our doors would be locked at the first whiff of a threat. Smith will see to that.”

Moments later, Laura was riding another beige elevator with Rohit. The door opened into a metal platform at the top of the engine room. It was a vast space, metal painted uniformly gloss white. The corners of a few walkways and some of the protruding equipment was painted a high visibility yellow. Laura was struck by how silent it was.

“I would imagine you have questions about the reactor. Everyone does.” Said Rohit dryly.

“I have to admit, I am curious. I can’t tell much from what we’re looking at. How does it actually work?” She assumed his answer would be well rehearsed. It was most of the news coverage about the ship. It had caused quite a stir.

“Sure. But first, I’ll start with the why. You didn’t ask, but it’s important. We have a clientele that cares about the environment, and sustainability. In the same token, they want to see sensitive landscapes like glaciers and fjords. Many of these sensitive areas, like Svalbard in Norway, have started to ban oil-powered cruise ships. More bans will be coming. A large cruise ship uses 80,000 gallons of fuel oil a day. It’s a staggering amount, actually.”

A technician in a navy blue jumpsuit turned sideways to walk behind them, and made his way down the metal stairs toward the reactor. Rohit stepped forward to the railing and leaned against it, motioning Laura to do the same.

“The reactor itself is a molten salt reactor, or an MSR. The design has been around since the 1960s, when the United States built one to power an airplane. This is a newer generation technology that uses spent fuel from other power plants as fuel. It’s inherently safe. The reactor isn’t attached directly to the engines. It powers a turbine electrical generator.” He gestured to a thick trace of cables along the wall. “That electricity powers the ship’s systems and the electric propulsion for the ship.” He gestured to a pair of metal ducts. “The reactor heat also heats our living spaces and water onboard the ship.”

“Interesting.” Said Laura. “Can the reactor be made unsafe or forced into a meltdown?”

“No, it’s designed to make a meltdown impossible.”

“What if it were stolen and used for a dirty bomb?”

He laughed. “It’s the size of a small building and encased in concrete shielding. It would take a lot to move.”

“What if the ship was made to crash into a port? Would the reactor rupture?”

“No. The shell is basically an armored box inside the ship. Similar designs are used to transport fuel rods by truck or rail. They’re tested to withstand the force of a diesel locomotive crashing directly into them.”

She leaned a little further forward on the railing to get a better view. “Thanks. All of those things are reassuring.”

“I’ll be honest, I had my doubts at first. But when you think about it, an oil powered ship is dangerous. Fuel is flammable. It can leak from ruptured tanks. It produces carbon monoxide. It’s just a risk we know, and this is a new risk we aren’t familiar with… yet.”

Rohit escorted her to Smith’s security office. The space was medium sized, painted gray with gray carpeting. Fluorescent tubes hung above them, half turned off. Two security guards sat in navy uniforms with shoulder patches, watching security camera feeds. Smith walked forward to meet them.

“Jacqueline Smith.” She said, extending her hand. She had intricate acrylic nails. She was middle aged, short but solid, and standing with her feet shoulder width apart. She looked capable. She looked like a cop.

“Laura Constantine. Happy to finally meet you.”

“It took long enough!” Said Jacqueline. She laughed. “If the whole point is to get a third party to look at our security, Helen should have sent you down here day one.”

“I agree, but it’s good to get an overview. I hope you don’t mind, by the way. I can imagine it’s a little intrusive.”

Jacqueline swatted the concern away. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I was a detective in the Boston PD before this. We had all kinds of outside attention, all the time. Everyone wanted to see how we did our job, or how we should be doing it better.” She leaned in a little closer. “Honestly? Officer to sister officer? I was planning to use you as the bad guy to ask for more equipment.”

They shared a laugh. “That’s a solid plan.”

“I heard you were in the FBI before this. Outside of stealing my cases, I had a lot of respect for you guys.”

“Thanks.” Said Laura. “Can you tell me about your team?”

“Of course. I have nine officers on my team. That gives me two scheduled officers on duty, 24/7, with coverage for a sick person every now and again.”

“What is their background?”

Jacqueline tilted her head in thought. “Four are ex-civilian police. Three are ex-military. Two were security guards for events. Most are from the US, but two are from the UK military and one was a police officer in Malaysia.”

“Got it. What kind of camera coverage do you have?”

“Excellent. Common areas and elevators are at 100%, most of them with multiple angles.”

“How long do you store it?”

“30 days.”

“What is your armament? Are you allowed to be armed?”

Jacqueline paused. “It’s a complicated question. We’re chartered under a Barbados flag, but we leave from a US port and have US ownership. So, we follow US federal gun laws. But, Canada and some other countries don’t like our officers to be armed. So, officers are unarmed on the ship. We do keep a gun safe.”

“Can you show me?”

“No problem. Over here.” They walked to a corner of the room, where a large steel cabinet rested. Jacqueline punched in a combination and the door swung open on oiled hinges. “We have two Steyr Scout rifles in .308, and two Remington 870 shotguns in police riot spec. They’re stocked with less-than-lethal rounds in addition to buckshot and slugs. They’re our go-to for a big disturbance on board. We’d load them up with bean bags.” She pointed to a top shelf with rows of ammunition. “We also have pepper spray. The rifles are for threats in the middle distance, like a boarding pirate.”

Laura suppressed a smirk. “Growing up, I thought pirates were just something from the 1800s. But now they’re back.”

“You bet your ass.” Jacqueline put her hand on her hip. “But we’re covered for anti-piracy measures.”

“What is your plan?”

“It depends on the location. If we’re in a high threat area, like the coast of West Africa, we’ll unroll some razor wire around the edges of the deck to deter boarding. We’ll have fire hoses ready to knock them over. If push comes to shove, we would engage them with the rifles. We can bring on additional armed security from contractors if we need more.”

“Makes sense. Thanks for filling me in. Let’s hope you never have to use it.”

“You know, I think we’d be OK. Two of our officers are amazing shots. I think the pirates can fuck around and find out. It wouldn’t be their best day” They both shared a laugh. Laura started to feel at ease.