Chapter 4 - Before the Alarm
The mess deck erupted.
Sailors abandoned trays and moved toward assigned stations. Chairs scraped. Boots struck steel. Hatches opened and closed in rapid sequence.
Miller shoved past Evelyn again.
His elbow hit her ribs as he rushed toward the exterior cargo deck.
Brody saw it.
More importantly, he saw where Miller looked.
Not toward the nearest damage-control station.
Toward the senior chief.
A quick, cold glance.
The look of a man checking whether someone had noticed.
Evelyn stood.
The alarm announcement reported a malfunction involving the starboard crane and a loss of pressure near the cargo-control junction. The ship had begun a high-speed maneuver minutes earlier, placing additional load on the external rigging.
Evelyn knew the Fletcher’s maintenance package.
That crane had passed inspection fourteen hours earlier.
If the line failed during maneuvering, the suspended equipment could tear through the deck, damage communications hardware, or strike personnel moving to stations.
Brody moved toward the hatch.
Evelyn caught his sleeve.
“Who signed the crane inspection?”
He stared at her.
“This morning?”
“Yes.”
“Miller’s section.”
Another announcement sounded.
“Starboard crane fault. Clear exterior cargo deck.”
Miller was already heading toward it.
Not away.
Evelyn dropped the fragile-contractor posture.
“Senior Chief, lock down maintenance records and send security to the crane control room.”
Brody froze.
No civilian contractor gave orders like that.
No frightened old woman transformed her voice into command under alarm conditions.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Evelyn opened the hatch.
May you like
“The person trying to keep your ship afloat.”
Then she followed Miller onto the deck.
