Read Online Valhalla Rising by Clive Cussler - Free Book Online
Authors: Clive Cussler
Tags: Fiction, General, thriller, Suspense, Science-Fiction, Thrillers, Action & Adventure, Suspense fiction, Espionage, Pitt; Dirk (Fictitious character), Fiction - Espionage, Adventure fiction, Intrigue, shipwrecks
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plates will be crushed and open to the sea. We could easily sink ourselves as well.”
“Better to try to sink alongside than never to try at all,” Pitt said philosophically. “I’ll take full responsibility for the ship from my end.”
“You’re right, of course,” Burch agreed. He took over the helm and began orchestrating the controls of the two omnidirectional Z-drives and jet bow thrusters of the survey ship, gently nudging her starboard hull sideways against the massive stern of the Emerald Dolphin.
A s the passengers reached tentative relief from the fire on the afterdecks, the terror and panic subsided to common fear and apprehension. The officers and crew, especially the women, circulated through the milling crowds, calming the most overwrought and reassuring the children. Until the Deep Encounter seemingly appeared out of nowhere, almost all of them had conditioned themselves to the thought of going in the water rather than being burned alive.
When the slightest degree of hope had seemed all but destroyed, however, the sight of the turquoise-painted NUMA survey ship plowing through the water in the light of the new dawn came like a divine miracle. The more than two thousand people crammed on the afterdecks cheered madly and waved their arms frantically. They saw salvation close at hand. It was to prove an optimistic assessment. The ship’s officers quickly realized that the little ship was too small to take aboard even half the people still clinging to life.
Not yet realizing Pitt and Burch’s intent, Second Officer McFerrin, who had struggled down from the bridge and reached the stern with a bullhorn to help in calming the passengers, called out across the water. “To the ship off our stern. Do not come any closer. There are people in the water.”
In the mass of bodies crammed on the stern decks, Pitt could not see who was hailing him. He snatched his own bullhorn and shouted back. “Understood. Our boats will pick them up as fast as possible. Stand by, we’re going to approach and tie next to you. Please have your crew ready to take aboard our lines.”
McFerrin was astonished. He couldn’t believe the NUMA captain and crew were willing to risk their own lives and ship in a rescue attempt. “How many can you take on board?” he inquired.
“How many have you got?” Pitt asked back.
“Over two thousand. Up to twenty-five hundred.”
“Two thousand,” Burch groaned. “We’ll sink like a rock with two thousand people piled on the decks.”
Discovering the officer on the upper deck who was hailing him, Pitt shouted back. “Other rescue ships are on the way. We’ll take all if we can. Have your crew drop lines so your passengers can descend to our deck.”
Burch smoothly worked the propulsion controls, moving his ship slowly forward, then manipulating the bow thrusters with a deft hand, swinging his ship toward the liner inches at a time. Everyone on board Deep Encounter stared up in awe at the great stern soaring over them. Then came the scraping sound of steel against steel. Thirty seconds later, the two ships were firmly lashed together.
Hawsers were passed over by the survey ship’s crew, while the cruise liner’s crew uncoiled lines and threw them over the sides, their ends trailing into the waiting hands of the scientists, who hurriedly tied them to any object that held firm. The instant all lines were secure, Pitt shouted for the Emerald Dolphin’s crew to begin lowering the passengers.
“Families with children first,” McFerrin shouted through his bullhorn to the crew. The old tradition of women and children first was now commonly ignored by modern seamen in favor of keeping families intact. After the sinking of the Titanic, when most of the men had gone down with the ship, leaving widows with fatherless small children, practical minds had felt that families should either live as one or die as one. With few exceptions, the younger, single passengers and the senior
“Better to try to sink alongside than never to try at all,” Pitt said philosophically. “I’ll take full responsibility for the ship from my end.”
“You’re right, of course,” Burch agreed. He took over the helm and began orchestrating the controls of the two omnidirectional Z-drives and jet bow thrusters of the survey ship, gently nudging her starboard hull sideways against the massive stern of the Emerald Dolphin.
A s the passengers reached tentative relief from the fire on the afterdecks, the terror and panic subsided to common fear and apprehension. The officers and crew, especially the women, circulated through the milling crowds, calming the most overwrought and reassuring the children. Until the Deep Encounter seemingly appeared out of nowhere, almost all of them had conditioned themselves to the thought of going in the water rather than being burned alive.
When the slightest degree of hope had seemed all but destroyed, however, the sight of the turquoise-painted NUMA survey ship plowing through the water in the light of the new dawn came like a divine miracle. The more than two thousand people crammed on the afterdecks cheered madly and waved their arms frantically. They saw salvation close at hand. It was to prove an optimistic assessment. The ship’s officers quickly realized that the little ship was too small to take aboard even half the people still clinging to life.
Not yet realizing Pitt and Burch’s intent, Second Officer McFerrin, who had struggled down from the bridge and reached the stern with a bullhorn to help in calming the passengers, called out across the water. “To the ship off our stern. Do not come any closer. There are people in the water.”
In the mass of bodies crammed on the stern decks, Pitt could not see who was hailing him. He snatched his own bullhorn and shouted back. “Understood. Our boats will pick them up as fast as possible. Stand by, we’re going to approach and tie next to you. Please have your crew ready to take aboard our lines.”
McFerrin was astonished. He couldn’t believe the NUMA captain and crew were willing to risk their own lives and ship in a rescue attempt. “How many can you take on board?” he inquired.
“How many have you got?” Pitt asked back.
“Over two thousand. Up to twenty-five hundred.”
“Two thousand,” Burch groaned. “We’ll sink like a rock with two thousand people piled on the decks.”
Discovering the officer on the upper deck who was hailing him, Pitt shouted back. “Other rescue ships are on the way. We’ll take all if we can. Have your crew drop lines so your passengers can descend to our deck.”
Burch smoothly worked the propulsion controls, moving his ship slowly forward, then manipulating the bow thrusters with a deft hand, swinging his ship toward the liner inches at a time. Everyone on board Deep Encounter stared up in awe at the great stern soaring over them. Then came the scraping sound of steel against steel. Thirty seconds later, the two ships were firmly lashed together.
Hawsers were passed over by the survey ship’s crew, while the cruise liner’s crew uncoiled lines and threw them over the sides, their ends trailing into the waiting hands of the scientists, who hurriedly tied them to any object that held firm. The instant all lines were secure, Pitt shouted for the Emerald Dolphin’s crew to begin lowering the passengers.
“Families with children first,” McFerrin shouted through his bullhorn to the crew. The old tradition of women and children first was now commonly ignored by modern seamen in favor of keeping families intact. After the sinking of the Titanic, when most of the men had gone down with the ship, leaving widows with fatherless small children, practical minds had felt that families should either live as one or die as one. With few exceptions, the younger, single passengers and the senior
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