A NIGHT TO REFLECT UPON

           The long, pointed bow of the ship was pleasing to his eyes, moreso now from where he stood on the bridge then when he first boarded her a week earlier. Captain Patrick Fitzgerald smiled happily as he watched the fine vessel of his cut through the rough water of the North Atlantic with ease, designed for this kind of thing. 
           At forty years of age, he was one of  the youngest captains on record, having been as sea since his early twenies, and rising through the ranks quickly, making captain only a year ago. Having studied the plans and schematics of the Royal Empress for quite some time, he felt as if he had known her for years, his bond with the large cruise ship becoming stronger now that he was in command. Fitzgerald continued to stand at the forward window port on the bridge, his blue captain's jacket spotless, the gold trim of his buttons and sleeve rank insignia highlighting his fair skin tone, brown hair, and green eyes.
          For the moment, he had his hat off, preferring to hold it in his right hand while looking forward. Crew members went on with their routine behind him, able to move about when necessary due to the level of the ship's automation and computerized systems.
          'A dream come true.' he thought to himself, relishing this opportunity he had been given. After taking in a few more minutes of the forward view, he turned his attention to his first officer, a dark skinned man named Jasper who was sitting in one of two chairs at the helm console.
          "Commander, what's our status?" 
          Jasper smiled, his bright white teeth showing somewhat. "Steaming at twenty knots sir. All systems normal."
          Fitzgerald grinned. "Excellent! You have the bridge." he said, before turning and exiting the control centre of his mighty ship, intent on making the rounds and checking on various aspects of the cruise for himself.
          'It's good to be the Captain.'
          It didn't take him long at all to reach the end of the command level corridor, entering the elevator that would take him down the promenade deck, where he could begin his walk around, meeting passengers and other crew members, and making sure everyone was enjoying their voyage on the ship. Fitzgerald fixed his hat, and waited patiently as the elevator completed it's descent before coming to a stop, the doors opening and admitting him to the busy deck where people scurried and wandered about.
          "Good afternoon. Thank for you joining us." he said to the nearest guest.

          An Atlantic cruise sounded like the perfect way to reignite the love that had fallen silent in his relationship with Caitlyn when he first signed them both up and paid the deposit for the trip. He had everything planned out, and knew that the time spent together on the open seas would fix everything. Or so he thought.
          Daniel put a hand through his short, dirty blond hair and sighed heavily as he leaned on the bar, nursing the only drink he had ordered at this point, feeling quite alone. He wasn't sure where everything had started to go wrong, or even why it went downhill the way it did.
          He took another sip of his drink and pondered everything. 'It all seemed so perfect. We were so deeply in love, and I finally proposed to her, wanting to spend the rest of my life with her. And then, she says no.' 
         Feeling crushed by her turning him down, Daniel gave her some space, then tried to ask her later why she had declined, but to no avail. She didn't offer any explanation, and seemed to isolate herself for several months. Finally, they started spending some time together again, but something had changed. And just when he thought things were getting back to normal, he booked this trip, which she agreed to, only to become distant again once they boarded the ship, as well as getting her own smaller cabin as well.
         Daniel took another sip of his drink, and looked about, hoping to distract himself. Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of something, before locking on. 
         Caitlyn came into view, as beautiful as he had ever seen her. Her long, auburn hair flowed down her shoulders and onto a dark grey dress she was wearing, which nicely accented the figure it covered. Her hazel eyes had a sparkle to them, even though her expression changed once she caught his gaze. She made her way over to the bar and stopped next to his stool.
         "I hope you haven't been sitting here all day doing this." she mentioned.
         Daniel frowned. "I...I didn't know what else to do."
         Caitlyn pondered him for a moment, caring a great deal for him, but unsure what it was inside her that had dimished the fire inside of her towards Daniel. They had become unseperable at one point, always needed to be near one another. She had loved him more than anything, but when he had popped the question six months ago, something happened to her. Saying no to him was the hardest thing she had ever done, and still wasn't sure why she did.
         "Well then," she started in a lower tone of voice. "I'm going to wander for a bit more before the supper hour. How about you meet me at my cabin in a couple of hours, and we can talk....for a little while. Okay?"
          Daniel nodded. "Okay." he responded, before she turned and walked off, leaving him alone at the bar once again. He returned his gaze to his drink, taking another sip as the only woman he ever gave a damn about was now out of sight.

          The hum of the engines was a sound he could listen to twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The pride he had for the ship and its power plants made him smile every time he made his rounds in the engine room, always checking and re-checking everything there was to check. Even though he had complete confidence in his staff, this was the first ship he had served on as Chief Engineer, having been promoted from his previous post and assigned to the Royal Empress upon the start of her construction.
          Chief Edward MacFarlane knew everything there was to know about her systems, and took pride in her engines as if they were his children. His white jumpsuit uniform was spotless as his engine room, the only thing missing being his hat, which he had left in his office before making his rounds. His salt and pepper hair was short and tidy, as he wasn't one to spend a lot of time fussing about it when he had duties to perform.
          "'Tis a fine day." he said to himself, his Scottish accent slightly pronounced. MacFarlane continued his rounds, taking a bit of time to inspect a few more things before making his way back to the main engineering control board. He sat down in the firm but comfortable chair and glanced back and forth at the readouts on the monitors. Everything was as it should be, the experimental propulsion systems operating exactly as they should.
           One of his junior engineers walked up a moment later to address him. "Sir," said the young man with blond hair. "I'm off to get a coffee. Would like one?" he queried.
           MacFarlane smiled. "Would ye be trying to make nice with me, young man?" 
           The young engineer stood a bit more straight. "Oh no sir, nothing like that. I just thought I'd ask around before I went." he explained.
           MacFarlane laughed out loud. "You're a good lad." he said with a grin. "Aye, I'll take a coffee, with just a shot of cream."
           The young man beamed. "Okay sir!" he said, before turning and heading off to get the hot liquid for everyone he had asked.
           "Good kid, that one." said MacFarlane to himself, before going back to checking the readouts on the monitors. He was more than happy with the staff that had been assigned to him, believing them to be a most talented and bright group of engineers. He was looking ahead to many more voyages with them in the future as well.
           "Ah, let's get this one done first, laddie." he mumbled to himself, trying not to get ahead of himself, even though there was little chance anything could go wrong with the new ship and crew, especially on her maiden voyage.

                                                      *      *      *      *

           After finally making it off the promenade deck, Captain Fitzgerald wasn't sure which was more stressful - running the ship, or meeting and greeting with as many guests as he possibly could. He was a little fatigued at this point in time, but continued on, knowing there were a lot more passengers he would be encountering before the day was done.
           Next up was a restaurant that was said to be the best on the ship. He remembered reading a brochure that had been sent to his cabin when the voyage had begun, and pondered trying it out at some point when he wasn't so busy and off-duty. 
          'I think they have some sort of shrimp dish with a tart sauce or something.' he thought, starting to get a little hungry at the imagery of the food in his mind.
          "What a time to get hungry." he mumbled to himself as he walked through a common area, occasionally waving back at a passenger who acknowledged him on his way. Just as he was about to head to the nearest elevator, he saw a beautiful woman in a grey dress with long, auburn hair come walking down the lavish staircase to his right. To say he was intrigued would be an understatement, but he had to keep the encounter stricty professional. Fitzgerald stopped at the foot of the staircase to greet the woman.
           "Greetings." he said, extending a hand. "Captain Patrick Fitzgerald. Hope you're enjoying your cruise."
           She wasn't smiling, but wasn't frowing either, choosing to extend her hand as well before  shaking his gently.
           "Cynthia." she responded softly. "Your ship is lovely, Captain."
           Fitzgerald sensed there was something else going on, but wasn't sure what. He decided to be careful what he said next.
           "Are you ill? We do have a couple of doctors in our medical ward, if you need them.
           She managed a small grin, but it didn't last long. "No, thank you. Just feeling a little down, is all."
           The Captain read between the lines, and decided not to press the matter. "I understand. Hope you enjoy your stay, madam." he said, doffing his hat as he walked off towards the elevator, the woman straying out of his field of vision.
           "Poor lady." he mumbled, before finally making it to the elevator and getting inside, ready to ride it a few decks up to the restaurant. After pressing the button, Captain Fitzgerald stood back a bit as the lift started to ascend up the shaft. Suddenly, the lift shook violently for a few moments, knocking him to the floor as the power went out, taking the lights with it.
           'Gotta get to the bridge.....'

           The outside air had a nip about it, but it still felt refreshing nonetheless, making Daniel feel a little better as he strolled the open deck. Some people were walking about, while others were content to sit in a deck chair and just chill out for a while. He passed a happy couple holding each other while gazing out at the ocean, and he couldn't help but wish that he was with Caitlyn at that moment, holding her just as snug.
           Daniel stopped for a moment and looked out at the ocean himself. "Cait...." was all he could manage in a low voice, pining for her very much. 
           He decided against spending too much time in one place, and continued his stroll to keep his mind from wandering too much. Glancing at his watch, he made a mental note to start heading below decks, as the two hours would be up in a little while and he didn't want to be late in arriving at her quarters.
           'Perhaps we really can talk this out, and everything will come up aces.' he thought to himself, hoping for the best possible outcome. Nothing in the world mattered to him as much as she did, and he would do anything to keep from losing her.
           Dammit, don't get yourself so worked up! Damn good thing you only had that one little drink at the bar, or else you could have made a fool of yourself!'
           Daniel shrugged as he walked through a sliding door and back into the ship's interior, heading for the nearest staircase that would take him down a couple levels. He could easily jump in an elevator, but preferred the manual labour at the moment. Rounding the first bannister, he was making his way down the first curved flight of steps when the ship lurched harshly, before everything was plunged into darkness.
           Unable to grab on to something in time, he tumbled down the last few stairs and into a wall, coming to a halt with a thud.
           "Oww!" 
           Daniel rubbed the back of his head, as well as noting his left shoulder blade was sore as well from the fall. Emergency lights were slow to come on, taking several minutes to finally restore partial lighting inside the massive vessel. 
           'Wonder what the heck that was all about.' he thought, before picking himself up off the carpeted landing and looking around to see others were doing the same thing. It looked like he was the only one to tumble down the stairs, and everyone else seemed none the worse for wear. His thoughts quickly turned to Caitlyn, a wave of concern coming over him. Daniel resumed his course for her cabin, picking up the pace now.

           Chief MacFarlane was sitting at the main control console, carefully going over all the ships system, when out of nowhere, all hell broke loose. The force of the blast knocked him off his chair and into some computer monitors behind him, before ending up on the floor in a heap. When the emergency lighting finally came on several minutes later, he slowly got to his feet and checked the readouts on his console that were still functioning.
          Sparks flew around him as he scrutinized the screen. One of the two main powerplants had overloaded and blown up, crippling the large vessel. 
          "Damn!" 
          Thinking quickly, he flipped a couple switches on the console and shut down the other power plant before anything else happened, and activated the two back-up generators to keep the ship powered. 
          "Better get down there and see for me self the damage."
          Leaving the main console, he grabbed a respirator and safety vest off the hooks nearby, before opening the storage locker on the wall to pick up a powerful flashlight. Just as he was about to head to the affected area, the phone at the console rang. Muttering a curse, he quickly went and picked it up. 
          "Engine room here." he started. "Aye, power plant Number One has done itself in. I was just on me way to check it out." 
           There was a moment or two where he listened before responding again. "Aye. I'll let you know how bad it is as soon as I can." he finished, putting the phone back on it's cradle. Before heading off the check the damage, MacFarlane yanked the walkie-talkie off it's charger and spoke into it.
           "MacFarlane to all engineers, report here at once!" he ordered, before clipping it to his belt and heading off towards the scene of the calamity.
           'Ye gotta find the problem, and fix it - fast.' he told himself. 'The auxilary power generators will keep the lights on, but without main power, there's no engines, and no navigation. She'll drift with a mind of her own.'
            The stakes we're pretty high, and MacFarlane knew it. The North Atlantic wasn't very forgiving, especially knowning beforehand that they might very well be the only ship in this part of the ocean, the cruise going more northernly than most to give the paying guests great views and up-close encounters with icebergs and such. For the moment, all the pressure in the world was pushing down on his shoulders, and hard.

                                                    *      *      *      *

            "Someone give me a status report, and fast." ordered Fitzgerald as he made his way onto the bridge, having gotten there as quickly as he could.
            "Major malfunction in the port power plant, sir." replied a younger Lieutenant that was hunched over a computer terminal. "Chief Engineer MacFarlane went to take a closer look. He said he'd contact the bridge as soon as possible."
             Fitzgerald nodded his approval. "What's our current position?" he queried. The young lieutenant swiveled his chair to look at the conn. 
            "North west, drifting at fifteen knots, sir. Getting dangerously close to the pack ice." he explained, never taking his eyes of his monitors.
            The captain frowned for a moment, then wandered over the forward windows on the bridge, grabbing a pair of binoculars that were sitting on the console. Looking through them, he could see for himself that the ice field was looming closer and closer. Even though his ship utilized the latest technology, the ice could still do some damage to the hull, which would add a lot of time to the cruise, and cost a lot of money as well.
            Checking his watch, he noted that it had been almost twenty minutes now since the malfunction, knowing that he had to address the ship and crew. Fitzgerald turned and put the binoculars back down on the console, and headed over the the main intercom, before picking up the receiver and activating it.
           "This is Captain Fitzgerald, may I please have your attention for a moment. We have had a temporary setback in our cruise, and are experiencing a minor issue that we hope to have resolved soon. On behalf of all the crew and staff onboard the Royal Empress, we thank you for your continued patience. That is all."
            He put down the receiver and switched off the unit. "All right people. No one is to mention the power plant problem, and let's hope out chief engineer gets it fixed soon." he said, speaking to the crew members that were currently on bridge duty.
            'Let's hope we get word up here soon, and the news is all good. Otherwise, this could end up very badly for me as a whole.' 
            With little to do but wait for the engineer's report, Fitzgerald walked over to his command chair and took a seat. His ship was drifting helplessly for the moment, and there wasn't anything he could do, aside from marching down to the engine room himself. While he would be well within his right, the last thing he wanted to do was get in the Chief's way. The best thing he could do was stay out of there until he got word from the Chief.
             'He knows what he's doing, so I'll let him do it.' he thought to himself, hoping the word from below came sooner rather than later.

            Hearing the announcement from the captain made her feel a little more at ease, the shuddering that passed through the ship earlier giving her cause for concern. His voice was as calm as it was when she met him on earlier on her way around the ship. 
            'Polite, and handsome.' she thought to herself, letting the errant thought of the ship's commander swirl around in her head for a moment. Caitlyn sat at the foot of her cabin's bed, wondering if Daniel would arrive soon. She wasn't exactly sure what they were going to discuss, or how they would discuss it, either. 
            "Where did it all go wrong?" she wondered aloud, trying to figure out how and when the spark had gone out in their long standing relationship. They had met by chance one day while waiting for the same subway train back in their hometown. Caitlyn slipped on spilled coffee at the edge of the platform, and would have fallen on the tracks had Daniel not pulled her back just in time. They fell in love almost instantly, becoming nearly inseperable since.
            She sighed, and pulled her legs up onto the bed and hugged them, her emotional state in turmoil. They had been a couple for the last seven years, but something happened to her the day he proposed, and she wasn't sure why. Getting married to Daniel was all she ever wanted, but something made her say no, resulting in them drifting apart for several months, until Daniel came up with the idea of a cruise to re-ignite their love.
            A knock at the door of her cabin snapped her out of the train of thought. She slid off the bed and went to the door, opening it to reveal Daniel standing there, a slight smile on his face.
           "Hi." he said.
           Caitlyn gestured at the cabin's interior. "Come on in." 
           Daniel wandered in and took a seat in a rounded end chair, while Caitlyn returned to the end of the bed, this time with her hands at her sides. There was an odd silence for a few moments before either of them said anything.
           "Cait..." started Daniel, looking to the carpet, then back to the woman he loved. She was so beautiful, as always. "I might have jumped the gun when I booked this little trip. I should have let some more time pass before I came up with this idea."
           Caitlyn twirled some of her hair, then stopped at looked at Daniel. "I've always thought about going on a cruise with you, maybe even for a honey--" She couldn't finished the sentenc, the word 'honeymoon' flooding her with emotion over turning Daniel's marriage proposal down.
           She started to tear up a little, and Daniel saw this. He rose out of his chair and went towards her with his arms open.
           "No." she said softly. "I'm fine."
           Daniel stopped in his tracks. "No, your not. Let yourself go, I'm here for you." he countered, his heart yearning to help her.
           "Just, just leave me alone!" she snapped, with Daniel frowning and feeling a wave of sadness come over him. He wasn't sure what had happened to the love of his life, and why it did. Putting his head down, he turned and headed for the door, glancing back at her quickly and feeling pain at seeing her like this, before leaving the cabin, with Caitlyn alone and sobbing.

            One moment, he was sitting at his control console, pondering a cup of hot coffee that would have come his way, the next, he was in the secondary engine room trying to get a power plant working that looked as if it had seen better days.
            "Not good, not good at all." he muttered, squeezing between some large pipes and conduits to get a better look, his flashlight beam illuminating most of what he needed to see.
            The main driver coil was completely burned out and looked to be fused with the drive shaft. This wasn't something he could fix out here on open water, needing a shipyard and it's specialized equipment to replace the whole power plant.
            MacFarlane squeezed himself back out of the faulty machinery, and headed off to the main console. Hopefully he could have the ship running well enough on only one engine to get it into the nearest port.
            Upon returning to his post, he picked up the comm receiver from it's cradle, and hailed the bridge to update the captain on the situation.
            "MacFarlane here. The port power plant is completely fried sir." he explained. "The driver coil is shot, and ye won't be getting anything out of it. I'll try to get her running on one engine, but ye will have to put in to the nearst port."
            He listening to the captain's response before speaking again. The skipper wasn't happy at all at the turn of events.
           "Aye. Bow thrusters are still up. I know it's not enough to maneuver around the ice, so I'll get the starboard engine going as soon as I can."
            A little frazzled, MacFarlane hung up the comm and sat down in his chair, going over some of the data from just before the failure on the computer.
           'How in the bloody hell could this've happened?' he asked himself. 'I personally tested the engines and such on the shakedown cruise, and everything checked out. This nae be makin' any sense right now.'
           His thoughts were interrupted by his young engineer. "Sir, we've lost power to half of the elevators on the ship, and some lights are conking out at random."
           MacFarlane swiveled his chair to look at the power grid monitor. "Aye. With everything running off of one engine, the power grid aboard ship is starting to max out. Have you turned on the auxiliary generators?" he asked of his young charge.
           "Couldn't get them going." said the other engineer.
           "What a fine day this is turning out to be. All right, take a couple of the others and some tools and head to the generators. We need to get something working, else the cap'n is going to get real mad." explained the Chief.
             'Fine day indeed.' he thought, before letting out a sigh.

                                                    *      *      *      *

            Night was starting to fall over the waves of the ocean, and with it brought new problems. Not all of the ship's lighting was working properly, with some areas without power, and others flickering uncontrollably. Captain Fitzgerald couldn't help but think that maybe this new class of cruise ship should have been put through some more testing before they had been sent out on the open seas. In the last six months, Royal Empress and two sisters had been launched and put into service.
            'I don't understand how such a technologically advanced ship can all of sudden be rendered so helpless. Perhaps the engineers in charge of her assembly should have--'
           His thoughts were interrupted by a rather loud clunking sound that reverberated through the forward hull.
           "What the hell was that?" he said aloud.
           The young lieutenant that had given him the earlier update chimed in very quickly from his station. "Drift ice sir. Chunks of it are striking the hull."
           Fitzgerald raised an eyebrow for a moment, and steadied himself in his chair. He knew the reinforced hull should easily withstand the hits from the ice. What worried him was the ship's bulbous bow, which might not be so lucky if a big enough parcel of ice came along and smacked into it. The energy involved in such an incident could peel back some of the forward hull below the water line, and cause the large ship to founder.
           "Conn, use the bow thrusters to keep the bow away from the larger ice floes and bergs. If she takes a hit, I'd rather it be away from the bulbous." he ordered.
           "Aye sir." came the response, as the Royal Empress started to turn to port, avoiding a couple of smaller floes that were in the way.
           "Would you like me to send out a distress call sir? We can request a local vessel to run block for us, if it's big enough."
           Fitzgerald shook his head. "No need to at this time. All we have is a dead engine, and some flickering lights. The Chief will get us going soon, and we'll put into Halifax and cut the journey short." he explained.
           "Very good sir." said the conn officer back in an even tone.
           Another loud clunk all of a sudden signified a collision with a chunk of ice, with members of the bridge crew not even looking up from their stations this time. 
           'Dammit MacFarlane, hurry up down there!' thought the Captain, as he looked out at the pieces of ice amongst the waters of the Atlantic that he could see in the waning light, hoping the banging and crashing wouldn't have to go on much longer.  
           
           It was bad enough that he had been kicked out of Caitlyn's cabin, incurring emotional distress in the process. Now, he was getting a little unnerved by the constant banging of ice against the ship's hull. It had been a couple of hours now since the initial problems started onboard the large vessel, with no conceivable end in sight. Power outages had been commonplace, with some areas of the ship going dark here and there.
          Daniel was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about Caitlyn, wondering what was wrong with her. He had never seen her quite like this before, and felt terrible for her, and helpless at the same time. For the first time in their relationship, he didn't have a cluse what to do, or what to say to her.
          'This trip is turning into a disaster.' he thought, as no good had come of the cruise as of yet. He was now doubting everything, even himself at this point.
          "Caitlyn, I love you." he said aloud, voice trailing off as he himself started to tear up a little bit, the emotions rising to the top finally. 
          Without any warning at all, the ship suddenly lurched to it's starboard side, throwing Daniel onto the floor, along with the table lamps, and anything else that wasn't tied down. One of the lamps crashed into him, triggering a rush of pain in his head and right shoulder momentarily. The power flickered, but didn't go out, and after what seemed like forever, the ship settled down and became level again.
           "Unh." he groaned, slowly picking himself up off the floor of the cabin. "Better check on Caitlyn." he mumbled, making his way to the cabin's phone, which had also ended up on the floor but was still working.
            Daniel dialed the number for her cabin, and the phone started to ring. Six rings came and went, with no one picking up on the other end. The voice mail was supposed to pick up after five rings, but this didn't happen. He rang a few more times, then hung up in frustration, before heading for the door to the corridor, weaving around furniture and other things that had been tipped over.
            'I have a bad feeling about this.' he thought, as he stopped for a brief moment at his door to collect himself, the collision with the lamp giving him a mild headache. A moment later, he dashed out into the dimly lit corridor and made his way down it, preferring to take the stairs rather than the elevator down a few decks. The nagging feeling of Caitlyn being in trouble stayed with him, as he made his way towards her as fast as he could.
            'I'm coming Caitlyn, I promise!' 
            With the stairwell in sight, he jumped through the doorway and started taking the stairs two at a time, throwing caution to the wind.

            His eyes opened slowly, trying to adjust to the light in the room as he came to. As his head started to wake up, he could make out the face of his young engineer staring at him with a look of concern on the man's face.
            "Easy now, sir. Easy." 
            MacFarlane now remembered where he was, and started to pick himself up off the floor. The last thing he could recall was sitting at his console trying to re-route some power across the ship's network, when the large vessel pitched to one side.
            "Must have hit my head on something." he mumbled, starting to rub the back of his head as it started to throb, the young engineer helping him up.
            "You're a good lad, Benson. What's our status?
            Benson frowned. "Twenty minutes ago, an iceberg ripped the bulbous bow completely off the ship, and took a lot of hull plating with it. We're taking on water faster than we can pump it back out." he explained.
            MacFarlane's expression turned to a bleak one quickly. With little power available to begin with, there wasn't enough to go around onboard the ship, and certainly not enough to operate all the pumps and equipment that had been installed to keep water out.
            "Watertight doors and hatches also are out." added Benson. "We can't close anything, nor can we seal off the bow section."
            That was the nail in the coffin, and MacFarlane knew it. 
            "Aye, and when the water seeps in, more systems will short and go offline." He shuffled over to his console and righted the chair that had toppled over with him in it, sitting back down and looking at whatever monitor that was still working.
            "Does the Captain know about this?" he asked his younger charge. 
            Benson nodded. "Yes sir. The Commander is on his way down here right now." 
            MacFarlane was about to say something to the young engineer, but another loud clunk  interrupted his train of thought. More and more massive chunks of floating ice were impacting the hull of the ship, and if this kept happening, they wouldn't be dealing with just one hull breach, but many, and all over the ship.
            "She's not going to take much more of this!" he exclaimed, starting to get very frustrated at the turn of events, as well as the fact that there was little he could about it. The Royal Empress was starting to die a very slow death, with all the advanced features and technology she carried aboard her completely useless at this point.
            "The haggis is in the fire now, lad." he said to Benson, who had joined him at the expansive control console, working feverishy as well to get something aboard the cruise ship working, somehow. The young man didn't even look up, and kept on trying everything he could think of, no matter if it was all in vain or not.

                                                      *      *      *      *

            Captain Fitzgerald had frozen in place at the map table, having triangulated the GPS coordinates from the computer. The data had filled him with fear upon finding out his ship was almost exactly where the RMS Titanic had gone down well over a century ago.
            "This can't be happening." he said, slowly collecting himself enough to move away from the table, and out of the room completely, heading back down the short corridor to the bridge. When he emerged in the command centre, he looked around and saw a few of his officers, going about their buisness calmly, trying to keep the peace.
            "Gentlemen," he started. "Send out distress calls immediately, and find out what other ships are nearby. The word is given to begin evacuating the Royal Empress. Get the guests to their lifeboats, and do it will all due tranquility."
             Two officers nodded their acknowledgement and left the bridge immediately, while the young lieutenant that never seemed to ever go off-duty worked the radio, sending out a distress call to anyone that could hear it.
             "Sending out GPS coordinates as well, sir." he said. 
             Fitzgerald nodded. "Very good, lieutenant." responded the captain, before heading to his command chair and taking a seat for the moment, resting his chin on the interlaced knuckles of his hands as he played out the scene in his mind over and over, wondering why this all had to happen to him and his ship in the first place. 
             'My ship is sinking, and there is nothing I can do about it.' he thought to himself, before getting up out of his chair and walking up to the windows that looked out over the bow of the large vessel. He stared out into the darkness, only the fore lights allowing him to see the waves of the Atlantic pulling his ship lower and lower as time passed.
            His thoughts switched to that of E.J. Smith, the captain of the Titanic who had went down with his ship in almost the same spot so many years before.
            'Smith, you were on a maiden voyage as well, but you had been captain for many years, while this is my very first command. It wasn't supposed to end up like yours.'
            It was almost a certainly that everyone would get off the ship before she slipped under the waves, unlike the Titanic, but he couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to be on a ship like that, going through what they did in a more primitive time at sea. 
            Fitzgerald let out a sigh, then turned to his lieutenant, still working his console and radio.
            "Lieutenant, have we gotten a response to out distress call as of yet?" he asked. The younger man nodded. "Yes sir. A container ship and a Canadian naval vessel are on their way to assist." he explained.
            "Very good." answered the Captain. "I'm going below decks to look at the damage. Have the Commander return to the bridge as soon as he's done in the engine room."

             Water was starting to fill up her cabin, and there was little she could do about. During the ship's major lurch from the iceberg strike, she found herself flung onto the floor, with the bed landing on top of her, and half the walls of her cabin collapsing on top of that, pinning her underneath due to the hull damage. Soon, her deck would be underwater, and she would drown, cold and alone.
             She sobbed continously, tears streaming down her cheeks as the water continued to rise, her body temperature dropping as well. 
            "If I had stayed with Daniel in the cabin he booked, this wouldn't be happening!" she said, angry at herself. "He asked me to marry him, and what did I do? I said NO and started pushing him away! He even went to all the trouble to book us a vacation on this ship, and I treat him like dirt! Daniel, I'm sorry...."
             Her voice started to trail off as the ice-cold water was starting to take it's toll on her, already having been shivering for a little while. She sobbed more, knowing she was going to die without having been able to tell Daniel how sorry she was.
            "Daniel," she started, weakly. "I....I love you." she said aloud, teeth starting to chatter now as well, as she was almost out of energy. 
            A moment later, she started to hear splashing sounds nearby, probably outside in the corridor. She could barely see the door to her cabin, and her eyes were getting hard to keep open now, the cold taking it's toll.
            "Caitlyn?" yelled a familiar voice, before somethign pounded on her cabin door. "Caitlyn, are you in there?"
             She summoned her last bit of strength, and opened her mouth, trying to yell. "Hel--" was all she could manage.
             "Caitlyn! I'm coming!" replied the familiar voice, before her cabin door came crashing down. She could make out Daniel in the low light, and he had been holding a small axe, most likely from the emergency fire cabinet was next to her cabin.  
             "You're okay!" he said, trying to reassure her. "I'm going to get you out of there!" he exclaimed, hacking away at the wall boards and such with the axe, before being able to push the bed off of her. The water was almost up to his hips, but he continued to take apart everything in his way to get to her. Finally, the last of the wall in pieces and the bed moved, he reached down and scooped her up in his arms, turning and carrying her out of the waterlogged cabin.
             "You're going to be all right, Cait! I promise!" 
             She smiled up at him as he carried her down the corridor and into the stairwell, too fatigued to speak. She saw the determination in his eyes as he took her to safety all on his own, and sobbed again, feeling even more sadness at how she had treated him as of late.
             'He loves me, more than anything in this world....'

             Alarm klaxons were going off in the engine room frequently now, the hull having been breached in several areas at this point. MacFarlane and Benson kept at their posts, trying to get something aboard the ship working, refusing to give up. The ship's first officer was also present, having come all the way down from the bridge in an effort to help out with the situation below decks as best he could.
             As the minutes ticked by, water started to make it's way into the engine room, slowly but surely. The situation was now almost completely out of control, and most of the engine room staff had started to evacuate as well.
            "You lads had best be off." said MacFarlane to the other two men. "Little else we can do down here."
            Benson looked to the Chief ans frowned. "Aren't you coming?" 
            MacFarlane grinned. "Aye, but I wouldn't be a very good chief engineer if I ran out of here before ye did." he explained.
            The Commander nodded his approval. "Well, I guess that's it then. Benson, report to your evacuation station. I'm going to head back to the bridge and coordinate with the captain."
            Benson nodded, looked one last time at the Chief, and left his post, walking away from the main control console and out the exit into the corridor. The commander walked up to MacFarlane, and watched as the engineer never skipped a beat, continuing to do his duty, no matter what was going on around him.
            "Do what you gotta do Chief, then evacuate as soon as possible."
            MacFarlane nodded, and shot the commander a smile. "Aye. I'll be sayin' my goodbyes to the engines, and will be on my way shortly." he replied.
            The commander turned and walked out the exit himself, leaving the engineer alone to finish up his work. As Jasper took his hat off and carried by his side down the corridor, he couldn't help but admire the man's dedication to his work. He had heard a long time back that engineers were a special breed, and now believed it himself.
            Creaking sounds started to be heard throughout the ship, the more open layout of the engine room reverberating them all over. MacFarlane stopped what he was doing and sat back in his chair for a moment, patting the console with his right hand. "Lassie, you're going long before your time. Ye didn't give me much of a chance to know you better." he said to the ship, a feeling of sadness and loss now coming over him, as he rose to his feet and prepared to leave.
          "My first tour as Chief Engineer wasn't supposed to end like this." he said aloud.

                                                      *      *      *      *

          He let out a sigh as he looked at how bad the damage was, able to only go so far forward to due the condition of the corridors, and the water filling up the lower decks. One piece of hull had been completely ripped away, a gaping hole allowing the Atlantic another way into the crippled vessel.
          'My first command was supposed to last for some time, not be taken away from me like this. I've worked so hard over the last decade to get a command faster than anyone else had done it, and this is what ends up happening instead.' 
          His thoughts were becoming a maelstrom in a hurry, and were bringing him down almost as fast as the ship was.
          "Sad indeed." 
          The creaking sounds around him were quite loud now, and it wouldn't be long until the ship slipped beneath the waves and started on it's downward descent to the ocean floor. His first ever command was was literally slipping from his grasp. Fitzgerald knew there would be many questions upon his return to shore, questions about the incident, how it all came about, as well as his own competence and adherence to established protocol.
          'They'll probably bust me back down to commander for this, even though I'm not at fault in any way.' he thought. 'If I had been a little quicker to call for help, if I had thought to make a course correction earlier in the voyage, if if if. Too late for all of that. All that's left is to get past this and face the music.'
          Resigning himself to the fact that either way he was damned, Fitzgerald turned to leave and head back the way he came, before the water claimed this deck as well. Creaking suddenly could be heard again very close to his position, and much louder than he had heard it so far. Before he had time to do anything, a bulkhead below him gave way, the deck collapsing into the one below it with all due force, taking him with it into the frigid waters that had invaded the ship and were taking it over.
           Knocked out completely from the blow and the weight of the debris, the captain's body was pulled underwater quickly. 
           The final insult had occurred, the grip of fate firmly having pulled him down with his ship, preventing him from leaving and continuing on elsewhere. Water continued to fill up the damaged deck, with chunks of bulkhead and debris now floating down the empty corridors and up some of the stairwells. Lights flickered quickly, before shorting and going out forever, as the ship's systems started to fail one by one, if they hadn't already.
            The end of the Royal Empress was getting nearer by the minute.

            Caitlyn woke with a start, bounced awake by a wave that the large motor lifeboat had hit as it pulled away from the stricken cruise ship.
            "Oh!" she exclaimed in fear, before looking around. She wasn't on the ship anymore. There were a lot of other people cramped inside a small space with her. She was wearing dry clothes now, one of her favourite purple track suits, her long auburn hair behind her back. Just as she was beginning to familiarize herself with her new surroundings, an arm went around her waist and pulled her over gently.
             Daniel rubbed her shoulder and arm softly and kissed her on the head. "Shhh. You're all right now. Everything is going to be okay." he said in a calming voice. She looked to him, her eyes starting to get misty. He had risked his own life to pull her out of the wreckage of her cabin, and got her off the sinking ship.
             "I stopped at my cabin, and found some of your dry clothes in a suitcase you left behind. I grabbed a small bag with our important stuff, and got us on the lifeboat." he explained.
            Caitlyn wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. "Thank you." she whimpered, overwhelmed at everything that had happened. Daniel again kissed her on the head gently. "You need to rest now. You've been through a lot."
            Daniel looked out the small window across from where he sat, and watched the lights finally go out on the ship. With more than half of it was underwater now, the ship's systems couldn't hold any longer. 
            'Damn.'
            Turning his gaze back to Caitlyn, he noticed she was looking up at him with a smile now, and trying to keep her eyes open. She looked so serene and peaceful right now, a stark contrast from how he found her earlier when she was trapped in her cabin. Daniel held her a little tighter, still scared from the fact that he came so close to losing her on this night.
            "Daniel." she whispered. "I have to tell you something." 
            He leaned in and looked to her. "Shhh. You need rest. Whatever it is, it can wait. We have the time."
            She gently shook her head. "No. No it can't."
            Curious now, Daniel pushed some of her long hair away from her face. "All right. What did you want to tell me?" he asked, wondering what was on her mind.
            "Yes." she said softly.
            Daniel was confused at this. "Yes? Yes what?" he queried.
            Caitlyn smiled, her eyes twinkling majestically all of a sudden. "Yes, I will marry you." she offered, before kissing him on the lips softly, then settling back down in his comforting arms, wanting to be nowhere else at the moment. Daniel didn't say a word, returning the tender embrace as the lifeboat motored on through the darkness of the night.

            The two men stood on the deck of the large container ship near the bow, the large bridge tower looming behind them as they stood staring forward. The weather was calm, and the sun had just come up on the horizon, starting to illuminate the water where the Royal Empress had gone down hours earlier. Having picked up the last lifeboat it could grab, the container ship was preparing to leave for Halifax to deposit survivors of the sinking.
            MacFarlane and Benson said nothing for a few moments as they stood there, saddened by the loss of the ship. Neither man had slept, and their uniforms were creased and dirty. 
            "She was a fine ship, Chief." offered Benson, breaking the silence.
            MacFarlane nodded. "Aye, that she was. Gone before her time that one." he remarked, already missing the large vessel and her powerful engines that he helped design.
            "If only I could have done more."
            Benson turned to face his chief. "Sir, you did more than anyone could have, and barely got off the ship in the process. If anything, you'll be awarded for bravery because of that."
            The older man shrugged. "Maybe. But it won't bring her back from the depths." he responded, the Royal Empress having meant something special to him. 
            Reaching into a side pocket of his slacks, he produced a small flask that he was saving for when the maiden voyage had been completed. MacFarlane always carried this on his person during his career at sea, keeping it as more of a good luck charm than anything else. He unscrewed the small top, and held the flask out towards the water.
            "Here's to you, lass. May ye rest in peace."
            MacFarlane took a quick gulp of the whiskey the flask contained, then turned and held it out for Benson. "Your turn lad." he said.
            Benson looked out over the water, then fixed his gaze on the flask. "Why not." 
            The younger man took the flask, and took a gulp himself, quickly swallowing it with only a small cough as it went down, before handing the small metal container back to the chief.
            Both men watched as the ship they were on started to come about, setting it's course towards Halifax and away from the site of the sinking. MacFarlane turned to his younger comrade a moment later and smiled.
            "You did very well back there, lad." he mentioned. "I've never seen a man as young as ye keep his head during a crisis like that."
            Benson grinned. "Just doing my job, sir."
            MacFarlane continued. "It might be a while, but the powers that be will probably assign me a new ship, and I would like to have ye with me when that time comes."
            The younger man beamed. "I would enjoy continuing to serve with you, sir."
            MacFarlane laughed. "Well, I would hope so after all this!" He put an arm around his younger colleague and started to lead him back to the ship's bridge tower. "C'mon lad. It's about time we got some sleep." 
  
                                                     *      *      *      *

             The solitary shard of fiberglass panelling floated under the sun in the North Atlantic Ocean, continuing on it's journey to an unknown destination. The bright sunshine glinted off an object that had hitched a ride on the shard, it's gold trim and accents giving off a reflection of sorts in contrast to its navy blue material.
             Six months had passed since the sinking of the Royal Empress, her captain's hat and a piece of debris now all that remained. The only casualty of the sinking, it was only fitting that Fitzgerald's hat continued on without him, the sea carrying it away to it's final destiny, wherever that may be.

             "You may now kiss the bride." said the priest, as Daniel and Caitlyn locked lips next to the ocean at their small, yet comfortable wedding. Having moved to the coast to be close to the same water that nearly cost them their lives, it also became the place where their love re-ignited and flourished once again. They couldn't think of anywhere else they'd rather be.
             Like he did half a year back on the Royal Empress, Daniel scooped Caitlyn up in his arms and carried her, his love for her unwavering. Upon reaching the end of the large pier, he gently put her back on her feet as they held each other and stared out at the ocean, the very thing that had finally set them on this path. After a few moments, they again looked gazed at each other, before their lips met in a moment of pure love and happiness.

             "Glad to see you made it, laddie!" exclaimed Chief MacFarlane, stopping on the boarding ramp to greet his younger friend, and now Second Engineer, having been promoted in the wake of the incident aboard the Royal Empress for his conduct in a time of crisis.
             "It's good to be here." he said, looking up at the large freighter he was boarding. It wasn't as sleek as a cruise ship, but it was a good looking ship, and a big one at that.
              MacFarlane smiled. "C'mon lad. The Captain is expecting us to check in soon, and then it's off to the engine room where the real fun begins!"
              Benson grinned, noting how happy the Chief was at being able to be in an engine room aboard ship again. He happily tightened the straps on his travel bag, and followed his friend up the ramp and into the ship. Soon enough, they'd set sail on the open sea, and be off on a new adventure across the North Atlantic.

                                                         THE END