Chapter 1
Early Arrival
Thirakun was bored. As the bow of the MV Faedheus parted the serene Yellow Sea, Thirakun looked at the dazzling blue-green bio luminescence. When he looked up and realized that there were almost no clouds tonight, he assumed that the stars constantly winking at MV Feadheus were a wish for her to have a pleasant voyage. He continued to sip his coffee and stared into the darkness.
A single roll of the ship jolted Tiona awake within the captain’s cabin, forcing her to sit on the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She turned off the alarm after checking the time on her phone. While on the move, she stood and leaned against her deadlight to survey the situation. She turned and headed to the sink to wash her face and straighten her shoulder-length brown hair, then brushed her teeth, nodding silently in contentment as she saw no other ships in the area. She exited her cabin and ascended one floor to the bridge.
“Good day, Ma’am!” As he stood in front of the steering wheel, AB Thirakun gave a respectable greeting and bowed his head slightly.
“Good day, Captain!” Han, second mate, greeted her casually.
“Good morning, Captain.” said third mate Rabe as he opened the thick drapes from the inside of the chart room.
Tiona returned their welcomes with a nod and proceeded to her radar, attempting to adjust her eyes to the abrupt darkness. All the men have accustomed to their Captain’s manner by now. They know she enjoys the peace. They remained silent unless she wanted to start a conversation.
Tiona turned off her radar and went outside to smell the night air. She yanked the metal door backwards after unlocking the weather-tight door handle. It slipped backwards with her weight, allowing the cool air to greet her face and hair. The two men behind her shivered as soon as the cold air touched their exposed flesh. It was always a treat to be greeted by the sea’s fresh air, which travels directly from your nostrils to your lungs. It made her pleased every time.
She leaned forward, gripping the metal handrails, to view the uncountable organisms emitting light blue lights. It has always fascinated her how these microscopic animals produce light energy, which produces light when it reacts with oxygen. Once she returned home, she wanted to tell her daughter, Isabelle, all about the brilliant sea animals.
One more voyage. She mumbled something.
Ready to retire to her cabin and rest, she squinted her eyes towards the horizon. Walking towards the metal weather tight door, she secured it and went towards the binoculars. Lifting the binoculars, she positioned it in front of her eyes. Then she adjusted the settings on her radar after making sure what she was seeing was real. She found the sea clutter and rain clutter knobs and decreased them slowly while watching the tiny purple light ahead of them. Her eyebrows met, and it plastered her countenance with confusion.
Of course, Second Mate Somon and AB Thirakun were aware of this. He, too, watched the purple light ahead and adjusted his radar. He calculated,
This is about 10 nautical miles away, and if we keep going at 11.2 knots, we’ll arrive in about... 50 minutes, and — the captain’s question interrupted him.
“What do you think that is, second?” Tiona asked, pointing her right index finger in the direction of the purple glow.
“It appears to be a... single purple light...” Second Mate Somon paused. He was trying to remember the Collision Avoidance Regulations. There was no ship, buoy or anything that corresponds to a purple light.
“That’s not a fishing boat or a buoy, Captain,” he added, “since it wouldn’t show up on the radar.”
AB Thirakun took out the third binocular and observed the purple light. “Captain, it appears to be rising... higher?” Nervously following his report, he went in front of the helm, switched it to manual steering, and waited for any unexpected orders. As he tapped his left toe inside his shoes, he couldn’t help but notice the chart room’s thick drapes.
Third Mate Rabe finished his logbook duties inside the chart room. He walked out of the chartroom after turning off the lamp. Nobody was talking on the bridge because it was quiet. He approached AB Thirakun, who couldn’t take his gaze away from the purple light ahead. Rabe also locked his gaze on it, noting that the purple glow was getting brighter.
“Third,” AB Thirakun murmured, “thank god you’re here!” Isn’t it time for the Captain to give the order to change course now? Thirakun gulped his saliva in secret while rapidly tapping his right thumb on the steering wheel.
Rabe pressed his index finger to his lips in the middle. “What makes you say that? It’s still far away, have a little faith in her, have a little faith in us!” Third Mate Rabe grumbled solemnly. “Keep in mind that she’s still your captain. You already know she doesn’t say much more than is necessary and prefers a low-key leadership approach. She’s probably pondering the best course of action right now."
Tiona kept her attention forward, pretending to be oblivious to the hushed talk of the two guys behind her. “It is critical to clear your thoughts in order to attain clarity when making excellent decisions, especially in dangerous situations. And all you need to do to make a wise decision, is clarity of mind.” It was her first memory of her Grandma. Whenever they see one other, she never failed to remind Tiona.
She continued to study the purple light and determine the distance. Because the purple light was still far away, she knew time was on her side. Thirakun was right. Are they producing self-sufficient drones to serve as a buoy now?
“Third,” Tiona continued, “you may now go down and rest.”
“Thank you, Ma’am. Second, good watch, heading down now. Kun!” As he opened the door and left the bridge to rest, Third Mate Rabe answered.
“Second,” Tiona said, pointing to the purple light on the horizon, “be sure you notify me 5 nautical miles before you pass this light. Ok?”
As Tiona stepped off the bridge, Second Mate Somon called out, “Roger, Captain.”
***
Since the captain had left, the bridge had been deafeningly quiet. Both men remained silent and kept a close eye on the purple glow ahead of them. AB Thirakun bit his bottom lip while keeping the eyepiece of his binoculars near to his eyes.
Somon, the Second Mate, was a seasoned sailor. He’d been on a variety of ships, and he’d learned that it was better to be safe than sorry and blamed later. That’s why, although the radar couldn’t find anything in the purple light’s direction, he felt optimistic.
Ah, I can't wait to see you up close. What the hell are you huh? He pondered while scratching his stubble.
Before leaving the bridge, the Captain adjusted the course from 025 degrees to 030 degrees so that when they pass the light, she could see it up close for what it was while remaining at a safe distance. Naturally, second mate Somon interprets this as the captain’s lack of faith in him. So, as soon as Tiona stepped off the bridge, he corrected the course and resumed the original course before settling into the pilot’s seat.
Thirakun lack Second Mate Somon’s confidence, and he wouldn’t dare to challenge his behavior just now. He kept his opinions to himself and obeyed the rules. The purple light was more important to him than the course change by Somon. He grew up in a religious family and Thirakun’s parents associated the color purple with death and grief. That's why he has this uneasy feeling about the purple light a head of them.
The two men each had a pair of binoculars in their hands, which they clutched tightly. Thirakun kept tapping his fingers on the binoculars’ surface, and Second Mate Somon chewed his bottom lips. They both tried to mask their unease about the scenario by keeping a close watch on the mysterious purple light in the distance.
***
The white machinery noise from the ship’s engine, along with the steady vibration, drowned out the conversation on the bridge, as neither man wanted to talk over mundane stuff. As they get closer to the purple glow, the wind and waves have picked up considerably. The severity of the gusts and waves increased as the purple light intensifies.
Second Mate Somon never left his radar as he paced left and right. His prior confident expression continued to fade as the ship approached the purple light’s location, binoculars in one hand. When he realized he wasn’t comfortable with his predicament, he had to shift the course to five degrees starboard. He was prepared to call the Captain since they detected a change in the radar when they were almost 5 nautical miles abeam of the purple orb. The radar picked up an object in the purple light's direction. He stepped closer to the bridge’s front windows and looked through the binoculars at the purple spherical light.
Thirakun switched the mode to auto and left the helm. He headed towards the port wing and observed through the binoculars outside at the port wing. “Second! It’s a block of ice! The sea has frozen!” reported Thirakun in a high-pitched voice, not taking off the binocular eyepiece out of his eye sockets.
Despite the heavy winds, Second Mate Somon could hear his report. He approached Thirakun quickly and raised his binoculars. Under the purple sphere, he noticed hundreds of frozen spikes. It transformed the ocean into an inverted funnel, pointing toward the purple light. The sea surface around it became frozen, producing spikes, as if it were being sucked into it.
“Heh, Do you believe we’ll earn monetary rewards if we report this to Korea or China, ABB?” Second Mate Somon grinned while asking a rhetorical question.
Of course, as the officer in command, I’ll get the credit and most of the prize money if they ever offer one. He had a concealed grin on his face. I’d undoubtedly get a compliment from the captain, and I might even get a promotion sooner than expected! What good fortune! He smirked quietly.
“Sir, I think that’s not a good idea. Could we perhaps avoid it, sir? Purple is a very negative color in our country.” Thirakun explained.
“Oh, don’t be such a wimp. Why don’t you take my DSLR from my cabin and we can snap some high-quality shots together?" Second mate Somon handed the keys to his cabin to Thirakun, but Thirakun paused.
“Sir, behind you!”
When a powerful gust of wind carrying snow reached the ship, cool air swirled about the sphere, causing snowflakes to fall. The wind picked up to the point of being a gale, and waves slammed on the ship’s port side. To keep their balance, both men grabbed the side railings. Icy sea spray sprayed on the thick glass of the bridge, causing MV Feadheus to experience all six motions of the ship with increasing intensity.
Somon had one hand on the handrail, lost in thought. He’d seen nothing like it before. Extreme weather change in less than an hour. Everything that was happening was new to him. He didn’t have time to worry about his DSLR at this point.
“Second! Second! Let’s call the Captain!” AB Thirakun yelled alongside him. Thirakun’s shouting pulled Second Mate out of his daze. “Of course, of course!” added Second Mate as he dashed to the ship’s intercom to notify the Captain.
***
Tiona never slept. Chess was the only game that helped her to keep her mind awake and alert. Important areas where a ship captain must navigate were dangerous places. In Japan, where strong currents are prevalent, all captains must always con the ship. Such places are Kanmon bridge and Kurushima bridge.
Both bridges are well-known because of their high traffic density and strong currents. Ship captains must navigate the ship, or else it will cost millions of dollars if an incident occurs. This covers the cost of repairs and cleanup, as well as losing valuable time. This time, a purple glow appeared ahead of their ship that the radar couldn’t detect, and she knew she had to be cautious. She couldn’t sleep because of it.
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She always trusted her instincts. It was what led her to her promotion, after all. In her experience, it was always better to err on the side of caution and paranoia than be held responsible for an accident that she could have avoided.
She had her binoculars with her in her cabin, of course. His Norwegian master, who had also become her mentor, had given it to her as a present. While she was a first mate, he was the one who taught her many essential life lessons.
Since they promoted me to acting captain on MV Feadheus, I’ve found his leadership style to be a good match for my personality. She pondered.
She had never given in to complacency since she was the third officer. She completed her responsibilities and worked diligently to show to her superiors that she was deserving of the letter of recommendation. When the ship was in underway, she was good at monitoring the bridge and avoiding collisions. And when she got promoted, it simply showed that it was worth it to keep up her habits.
Tiona thanked those who trusted her every time she completed a contract. She has never taken other people’s faith for granted. Tiona felt a heavy hit of waves from the ship’s port side suddenly. She sat in her bed after losing her footing and the intercom went ringing.
“Captain speaking.”
“Captain, I’m sorry to wake you up, but you need to come immediately.” Second Mate Somon reported in a hurried voice.
“Coming.” she said and put the phone down.
***
Tiona entered the bridge by pushing the metal watertight door open. While her eyes adjusted to the purple tint and darkness of the bridge, she shuddered as icy air brushed her skin. The ship was swaying and rocking violently, making it difficult for her to maintain her balance. To counter the rolling, she bowed her knees slightly and spread her feet. She saw Thirakun occasionally examining the ship’s heading and course, consequently adjusting the helm.
A wise decision. Tiona considered the situation as she assessed it. She swung around and cast a glance at Second Mate.
He had both hands on the radar’s handle and was facing it. Then he realized Tiona was staring at him. Second Mate Somon said, “Captain, our radar, AIS, and autopilot are not working as they should.” Despite his worries over his prior decision to get closer to the purple light, he put on his best poker face to appear calm.
Tiona trudges over to the binoculars, grabs them, and begins assessing the massive purple sphere to their northwest.
It’s best to stay away from it. She thought while observing through the binoculars.
If one stared carefully, the purple sphere was slightly flickering, expanding and contracting like a beating heart. The surrounding air becomes stronger with each growing flicker, and the ice on the water spreads further.
Tiona issued an order without hesitation. “Starboard twenty!”
“Starboard twenty!” Thirakun snappily responded and steered the helm clockwise, bringing the rudder indicator from 0 to 20. The ship quickly inclined to port side. “Starboard twenty now, captain!”
“Zero four zero heading, sir!”
“Zero five zero!”
“Zero six zero heading, sir!”
“Zero eight zero!”
“One zero zero!”
“One two zero sir!”
Tiona was still staring at the purple sphere, her gaze fixed on it.
As the purple light was reaching in South-West direction from the heading of the ship, Tiona issued another order. “Midship!”
“Midship!” Thirakun turned the helm counter clockwise. The rudder indicator stopped at midship.
“Midship now, captain! Heading is one three four, sir!” Thirakun yelled.
“Steady one three five!”
“Steady one three five!” Thirakun responded. Followed by frequent helm change, MV Feadheus was now moving away from the purple light with a large deviation of the ship’s original course.
***
Two minutes later, and at least five nautical miles away from the sphere. Tiona watched it expand to twice its original size and produced stronger winds without notice. The expansion and contraction have come to a halt. It flickered once more, and the purple sphere went completely black. Hundreds of purple lightning tendrils protruded from the black sphere’s edges. Each tendon moves slowly and independently. She noted five enormous brilliant tendrils of lightning moving quicker than the other weak lightning tendrils.
“Call Chief Engineer and bring all the crew to the bridge right now!” she ordered. If she was going to act, she should do so now, while there is still time.
AB Thirakun and Captain Tiona remained on the bridge as Second Mate Somon dashed downstairs to rouse up the crew.
Tiona observed the big lightning tendrils emitting smoke as they came into contact with the ocean’s surface.
The purple sphere flared once again as the rest of the team closed in behind her, swelling 5 times its original size and creating more tendrils of lightning. Underneath the huge black sphere, the saltwater instantly froze. Stronger gales and waves constantly changing the ships course making AB Thirakun's job a lot harder. The gale and wind direction wre now heading for the black sphere and against their ship. Great waves and mighty gale pushed the ship to turn around and face the black sphere head on. The frozen ocean expanded until it collided with the MV FEADHEUS, causing it to tilt to the right side. MV Feadheus was left stranded on the frozen ocean’s surface.
Thirakun felt the severe oscillations until he heard an explosion from beneath the ship. Holding the helm, he made the sign of the cross and closed his eyes.
When the ice cracked, Third Mate Rabe held Thirakun’s shivering right shoulders. Thirakun’s right thumb was moving faster than a hummingbird’s wings, he noticed. He disregarded it and focused his attention on the purple sphere that had appeared in front of their ship.
Wiper Jonathan Ibarra shivered in the frigid air, jolting him awake from his stupor at everything happening at once. He was simply wearing a brief underneath his immaculate orange cover-all.
Tiona witnessed a giant purple sphere emerge from within the black sphere, shattering the frozen saltwater it contacts and heading directly for them, just as Chief Engineer was about to complain. “Don’t let go of the ship!” Tiona cried angrily.
The purple sphere thawed the frozen saltwater in an instant, allowing MV FEADHEUS to float once again, but not forward. The purple sphere traveled through the ship, turning off all the ship’s electronic devices.
Second Mate Somon scanned the navigational equipment. Everything was turned off. He thought. “Captain! That purple sphere has turned everything off!” He reported, and Tiona gave a small nod.
The crew, who were a little slow to grab anything, lay on the floor, including Chief Engineer. Embarrassed, he stood up and walked towards the captain, still looking forward.
The Chief Engineer became agitated as he waited. “Captain! What’s going on here?!” It was just after midnight, and he knew it was strange to call him while they were in the middle of the open ocean.
He was the second-highest-ranking officer after the Captain, so he expected it to be a major issue requiring his expertise, because why else would the Captain call her? As a result, when he saw the purple sphere pass through the ship and everyone else’s bodies, he waited for a reasonable reaction. Tiona raised her right arm and pointed forward, which he noticed. He turned to face the Captain’s direction. When he saw the huge standing black, thin oval anomaly, his jaws dropped open.
Tiona’s gaze fixed on the explosion when it occurred. The once-colossal orb of purple light had shrunk to the size of a thin oval-shaped irregularity in space. The lightnings on its edges, disappeared as well. It continued to compress until it stabilized on its own.
The newly arrived crew was intrigued and watched Chief Engineer’s actions. They moved closer to the ship’s thick window glass.
That’s where they all noticed it.
Underneath, the frozen ocean rotated clockwise into the black floating oval. It grew frozen spikes pointing at the thin black floating oval, like a huge frozen plate. Faster and faster, the frozen seawater transformed into a massive spinning disc, hurling large water javelins everywhere. The whirlpool was dragging MV Feadheus closer and closer to the center of the whirlpool.
Cook Glen snatched Thirakun’s binoculars, eager to observe the finer points of such a rare occurrence. As the enormous frozen disc went upwards and came into contact with the black oval, he noticed it broke up into tiny fragments and was absorbed by the floating black oval. The ice vanished as soon as it came into contact with the black surface. He took his binoculars out of his eyes and turned to confront his captain’s conflicted expression.
Tiona knew she needed to forecast and know the path of the wind, tide, and typhoon in order to avoid them in time. However, all the weather reports she received days before were all good and nothing resembling a low pressure system. Yet, she admitted to herself that she was concerned about the situation. This type of occurrence is only seen in her favorite sci-fi movies. She was incapable and unprepared for such a task. Tiona was terrified of the unknown. Everybody does. And the black oval in front of her was resembling a portal or a rift. She tightened her grip on the horizontal stainless bar in front of her.
Captain Tiona murmured, “This isn’t good.”
Her hand was pale from gripping the stainless steel that was attached to the bridge’s front window.
Damn it! I’m all out of options! She cursed.
Everyone had a sense of impending doom as they were being pulled towards the black oval. Tiona looked back, seeing all the terrified faces waiting for her orders. She looked in front of her and saw the massive whirlpool. She tried to calm herself down and make a mental list of her options. She knew the ship couldn’t steer away or make any other maneuvers to counteract the external forces. The ship swayed left and right from the waves slamming its sides. With no way of maneuvering, the ship was getting closer and closer to the portal or rift.
The distress signals! She thought, looked back and faced the crew.
“Everyone! Assist Third and Second Officers in firing all the Rocket Parachute Flares! Third! Second, get going!” Tiona gave the order.
With difficulty, the crew dispersed and followed Second Mate Somon to the port wing and Third Mate Rabe to the starboard wing. All 12 rocket flares were distributed and fired one at a time by the officers.
A single rocket flare would last 40 seconds in the air, reaching a maximum altitude of 300 meters. It could withstand harsh environmental conditions and continue to function reliably even after being submerged in water.
I can only hope that a nearby ship notices this. She paused.
Thirakun watched as the flares were sent into the blizzard one by one. Flares flashed brightly. The sky was painted red and orange in the night sky until it was extinguished by a powerful freezing blast that hurled it in a random direction. Even though the flares barely burnt for a few seconds, they continued to fire in the hopes of a rescue team would discover them in the current situation. Thirakun prayed and never took his hands off the helm. He also hoped he was mistaken about the purple color omen.
Third Mate Rabe held on to the last flare in the air, ready to shoot as soon as the last flare dissipated. And then he noticed lights that looked like stars in the night sky in the center.
Second Mate Somon would never have believed what he was witnessing if it hadn’t been for AB Thirakun’s grip on his left arm. When he turned to face his group, he noticed they were all staring at it as well, obliviously attempting not to fall from the ship’s heavy rocking. They gaze at the starry portal, enthralled by the enormous wonder in front of them.
Captain Tiona estimated they’d hit the anomaly in under a minute, and with the ship’s current maneuverability, nothing could be done.
“All Crew!! Enter the bridge and shut the damn doors! NOW!!” Tiona screamed at the top of her lungs. The ship was getting closer to the center of the whirlpool. The whirlpool was unlike any she had ever seen. It was rotating upwards, towards the portal, rather than downwards to the depths of the sea. When seawater reaches a certain height, it freezes, breaks up into huge chunks, and vanishes when it comes into contact with the portal.
Third Mate Rabe repeated Tiona’s command, drawing the crew’s attention into him. Second Mate Somon tried to rush the rest of the crew as well.
Everyone was now watching from inside the bridge, protected by the weatherproofed glass in which they had placed their trust, hoping that it would not break. They stood there staring at the forecastle as it froze the machineries and mooring ropes.
The surface of the ship has frost traces. The bridge’s violent vibrations were felt by the crew. Nobody was speaking or looking at each other. They were all terrified as they stared at what was in front of them. As the scene in front of them unfolded, everyone’s grip tightened even more.
Chief Engineer saw the forecastle entering the black oval. He gulped and his breathing quickened. He grabbed the stainless bar in front of him and felt like he was about to relieve himself.
When viewed from a distance, the MV FEADHEUS was no longer a complete ship. The ship’s forward section was missing. The violent vibrations morphed into erratic tremors. All the crew squinted their eyes and gritted their teeth as they heard metal colliding with metal.
Thirakun has still his eyes closed and was praying, so he could only hear and feel what was happening around him. The sounds he was hearing were like the ship was being squeezed by colossal hands, and getting crumpled. Thirakun drew his gaze closer to the ground and mumbled Thai prayers only he could understand. Chief Engineer peeked through the drapes of the chart room.
They could no longer see the forecastle. The terror of what was going to happen to them only grew.
Oiler walked away from the others and scurried down to wherever he felt safe. When Chief Engineer Ko noticed this, he also ran down. Cook and Chief Officer were the next to go down the stairs, followed by the Wiper Jonathan.
Panic ensued, and the rest remained behind.
As the bridge approached the black oval, the huge lightnings disappeared and Tiona braced herself. She extended her left hand forward while the others were still grabbing anything fixed to the ship, too scared to move. When her hand came into contact with the distorted space, it instantly swallowed her whole. She felt cold at first, then everything went black.
***
In a bird’s-eye view, it covered a large area with blizzards under the full moon. A distorted black oval shape swallowed the stern of the ship in the center. The anomaly eventually imploded, sending a small blast of air hundreds of miles away. It morphed into a bead of pure black liquid, squirming and beating. As it imploded again, the black bead created a shock wave, resulting in a miniature tsunami. The raging whirlpool subsided, and the icy air and snow merged with the glass-like sea. The black oval anomaly was no longer visible. Along with the 12 souls on board the MV Feadheus.
***