winter in greenland

Chapter 62

Half an hour later, all the passengers on board were gathered in the restaurant on the first deck.

The number of passengers brought by the "Moby Dick" this time is not too many, with a total of less than 400 people.According to the time, it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning, and many people's clothes were messy, and some even wore pajamas.There were murmurs in the restaurant, some people looked blank and didn't know what was going on, but most people had anxious faces.

Dan and August stood near the door of the restaurant, Xia Zuo struggled to squeeze out from the crowd, and patted Dan on the shoulder: "I'm going up to explain the situation now, you may have to help me..." he said Halfway through, a panic-stricken ordinary crew member ran in from the door and grabbed his arm incoherently: "First officer, you, you'd better go to the lower deck to have a look."

"What are you panicking about?" Xia Zuo's eyebrows flashed a trace of hostility, and he quickly looked around to make sure that no one had noticed them, then carried the crew out of the restaurant, and tilted his head at Dan to signal him before closing the door. Come out together.

Dan and August followed out just in time to hear the trembling little crew member's last words: "... it's starting to leak too."

"What?" Dan's expression changed.

Xia Zuo rubbed the space between his brows with a headache: "Dan, you and he go to confirm the watertight cabin. I must control the situation here before the panic of the passengers spreads."

Dan nodded: "Don't worry."

Xia Zuo glanced at the crew member with some resentment, then turned and went back to the dining room.

"I'm with you." August said beside him.

Dan didn't object, and pressed the crewman's shoulders, his voice was a little harsh: "Don't tremble here, lead the way."

It was only when they went below deck that the situation was worse than they had imagined.In addition to the first leaking watertight cabin, the other four watertight cabins at the stern also leaked. Although the impact marks on the bulkheads are not obvious, the "Moby Dick" itself is not considered a large passenger ship. More than half of the 8 watertight compartments are now damaged. Even if the drainage system is functioning normally, they must approach the shore as soon as possible.

August didn't follow in to make trouble. He knew that his professional knowledge here was not as good as Dan's, so he simply stood at the door and waited for someone to come out.

Dan looked back at the familiar figure, took a deep breath, first opened the drainage devices of these watertight compartments, and after confirming that the system was operating normally, recorded the water levels and pressures of several compartments.

When he came out, his trousers were almost soaked. The crew member who came to inform the situation seemed calmer, and he called people to him: "Just guard here, and no tourists are allowed to approach. I have set the alarm in the cabin Well, once the water level exceeds the warning line, the siren will automatically alarm. There is only one thing I need you to do: once the siren goes off, immediately notify the captain on the upper deck, do you hear me clearly?"

The crew member nodded palely.

"Don't panic, the ship hasn't sunk yet, and so many of us are here." Dan said in a deep voice, pressed his shoulder, and led August to the upper deck.

August had never seen his commanding side before, and he found it amusing for a while: "I never found that you have such a talent when I was in Sirius."

Dan turned back abruptly on the stairs, his low voice could not hide his anxiety: "Now is not the time to joke, August, I want you to promise one thing."

August slowly put away the joking expression on his face, and said, "What's the matter?"

"You promise me first."

August stared at him for a while: "It seems that you are very sure that once you tell this matter, I will definitely not agree."

Dan grabbed him by the shoulder: "You don't understand the seriousness of the matter. The 'Moby Dick' has a total of 8 watertight compartments, and now 5 of them are leaking. What does it mean? We can reach Metz at a safe speed before the ship sinks." Tesway's probability is only 50%!"

"So?" August's voice sank.

Dan rubbed his hair irritably: "If things really come to that point, our crew must be the last to evacuate. You want to go to the island to deal with Sirius and other diplomatic affairs, don't wait for me."

August didn't speak for a while, looking into Dan's eyes steadily.

Dan awkwardly averted his gaze.

"I have walked thousands of miles of ice fields with you, seen the vast starry sky, and experienced many times more dangerous situations than this. Now you want to draw a line with me? It's too late. You kissed me that night Where is the courage?" August's voice was teasing, but there was a hint of anger in his gray-blue eyes.

"..." Dan looked at him speechless.

August sighed, pulled the man closer to the corner of his mouth and kissed him gently, rubbing his palm on the back of his neck: "It's not the worst time yet. You should trust the captain, trust yourself, and Believe me. Even if it does come to that point, I will take you back safely no matter what."

When they returned to the restaurant, Xia Zuo was surrounded by a group of tourists who were struggling to explain something. The smile on his face was almost unbearable. Seeing Dan and August was like seeing a savior: "Dan! This way!"

He struggled to squeeze the group of tourists away as he spoke: "Sorry, I need to go back to my job now, everything is as I explained just now, if you have any questions, our captain will come back later for further explanation .Now please make way, please make way."

When he finally squeezed in front of Dan and August, he was sweating profusely: "What's going on next?"

Dan pointed to the cockpit: "Talk while walking."

"...What?!" After Dan reported the situation on the lower deck, Fitch shook his steady hand in a rare way. He turned to the second officer next to him: "How is the relationship with the navy going?"

"Just received a reply, they agreed to our temporary entry and docking." As soon as the second officer's voice fell, the communicator on the control panel rang, and the indicator light was the lower deck.

Xia Zuo went over to pick it up first, and the trembling voice of the previous crew member came from the opposite side: "Report, report! The water levels in watertight cabins 3, 4 and 6 have exceeded the warning line!"

Xia Zuo's face turned cold: "Is the drainage system still in operation?"

"It's still... still there, but it can't catch up with the speed of leakage."

After Xia Zuo hung up the communication, he looked at Fitch worriedly, and the cockpit fell silent for a while, everyone was waiting for his instructions.

"With all due respect, Captain, according to the current situation, the safest thing to do is to organize the passengers to board the lifeboat immediately." August's voice came from the door.

Fitch turned his head, as if seeing a savior, he collected himself and said, "Major, I wonder if Sirius can send a rescue team to assist our... er, work?"

"Based on the current atmospheric visibility, helicopters are unrealistic. It is estimated that we can only send lifeboats for towing. From Ferringe Port to here..." He raised his wrist and looked at his watch: "We can arrive at the earliest before 5 o'clock in the morning."

Fitch breathed a sigh of relief: "Then I'll leave it to you. You can do all the communication with Sirius from our cockpit."

He then turned his head and said to Xia Zuo: "I'm going back to the dining room to give a brief explanation, and Andre will join me. You take the crew to the stern and prepare to release the lifeboat."

An hour later, all the passengers lined up on the first deck.

The plane of the deck has already tilted, although the range is not large, it still seems like a time bomb pressing on everyone's hearts.

A quiet and eerie atmosphere hangs over the deck.

Xia Zuo and the captain stood in front of the team to maintain order. Each lifeboat had two crew members, women and children got on first. A lifeboat can accommodate about 15 people.

Because the situation was reported early and the temperature was not too cold, there was no widespread panic among the tourists.

The second rudder was left in the cockpit.Dan and August stood beside, looking at the crowd on the deck outside through the glass on one side, he looked at the white sky above his head, his face was a little dazed: "Sometimes when I think about it, I really feel that the sun is a It’s a very miraculous thing, as long as the sun shines, everything seems to be controllable, no matter what, there is still hope.”

August followed his gaze, a faint smile appeared on his face, he didn't say anything, just clasped Dan's palm tightly.

Three in the morning.

After all the tourists were evacuated, except for Dan and August, there were only the captain, the second officer, and two or three other crew members on board. Xia Zuo boarded the last lifeboat for the tourists.

The slope of the deck is nearly 60 degrees, and people walking on it are a little wobbly.The second officer lowered the last lifeboat and leaned against the stern to wait for the rest of the crew to board.There were about twenty yellow lifeboats scattered here and there on the surrounding sea, rising and falling with the waves on the calm sea.

Dan and August stood on the side of the ship and waited for Fitch. Fitch inspected the first deck for the last time. His figure looked a little old. He walked slowly in front of Dan and August: "Let's go."

The entire sea was silent, except for the sound of waves beating against the hull, and the occasional cry of a baby, accompanied by the mother's soft comfort.

Everyone watched the boat in front of them tilting little by little, from one-third of the hull, to half, to two-thirds, and finally made a tooth-piercing "creaking" sound. Slowly sank into the sea.

"This ship... has been with me for nearly 30 years." Fitch's voice was hoarse, with an indescribable sadness.

Dan didn't know how to comfort him, and said in vain: "Anyway, it completed its last mission, and we have no casualties."

Fitch smiled with difficulty, his gaze still fixed on the direction of the "Moby Dick": "For so many years, it seems to have become an indispensable part of my life. I even thought about buying it back after I retire. , just stop at any port, go fishing when the weather is nice...it's like...no, it's my home."

The sea breeze blew, blowing Fitch's gray hair, as if he had aged more than ten years overnight.

"Leave him alone for a while," August whispered.

Dan was silent, followed August and turned around and sat down in his seat.