The Sinking of the Majestic
Part 3: Lost at Sea
A ripple of tension moved through the remaining guests.
“What sort of something?” Cassandra asked.
“Someone tampered with the navigation system.”
Even though Maisel had suspected intentional sabotage, a jolt of panic lanced through her. They tampered with navigation? That was a fry cry from a loose dinghy and a disabled refrigerator.
“What does that mean?” one man demanded. “Are we going to crash?”
Captain Anders exhaled slowly. “If it hadn’t been discovered, we could have gone off course enough to run into trouble. Fortunately, whoever did it clearly didn't know what they were doing. On the route we were on, it would have taken over eight hours before we hit anything. But before then, my crew would have noticed the incorrect heading during routine observation."
“That’s supposed to be comforting?” someone scoffed.
"Wait... So we're not going to the fjords? This is totally going to mess up my content schedule!" Violetta threw her hands up in disbelief.
Mark rounded on Cassandra. "Are you finally going to take this seriously, or are you going to let your company sink just like this ship?" A collective gasp went through the present passengers. His face was flushed with frustration. “Stock prices are going to go into freefall. No one is going to book with us again if we crash into a cliff!”
The captain’s expression darkened. “The safety of my passengers is more important than stock prices, Mr. Caldwell.”
Mark didn’t argue, but his jaw remained tight, his hands clenched into fists.
Cassandra finally spoke. "Captain, update Frontex of the new development."
He nodded. "I'll also double the watch on critical systems. We should also consider canceling tomorrow's gala."
Mark scoffed. "The anniversary gala is the culmination of the voyage, Captain--"
"Not to mention the northern lights!" Violetta complained. "I can't miss that. I'll jump on that janky lifeboat and row there myself if I have to."
"You're the one who said we should take this seriously, Mark." Cassandra looked amused by the CFO's discomfort at being called out.
"Yeah...well... There's safety in numbers, right?"
The captain shook his head and stalked off, issuing orders to his crew in rapid succession.
The group dispersed after that. Maisel watched as the last person slunk out of the room - Diane, of course - trailing along behind the group like a shy shadow.