Voyage of the Dead - Book One Sovereign Spirit Saga

by Forsyth, David

  Carl had started with a giant four wheeled Caterpillar front end loader – some people would call it a bull dozer. It was an earth moving machine with eight foot tall tires and a large scoop in front that could lift more than 50,000 pounds. Carl had simply removed the access ladders, enclosed the operator’s compartment in chain link fencing, and declared it zombie-proof – as long as it had a support crew in another vehicle that could clear it of zombies before the operator tried to exit the vehicle. The machine was more than powerful enough to clear crashed or abandoned vehicles off the roads. It could literally scoop cars and trucks up and dump them out of the way. It would also be able to tear through and crush entire packs of zombies in its path.

  Soon all of the refinery workers pitched in to help zombie-proof more vehicles. The next one in line was an eighteen wheel big rig with an empty cargo container on its trailer. More chain link on the tractor cab and a plate of steel welded to the front end turned it into a zombie lawn mower. Cutting firing slits into the sides and rear doors of the cargo container made it a mobile pill box that could also be filled with salvage and supplies. Next up was a shuttle bus that had been used to move work crews around the refinery. It also received a jacket of chain link covering all of the windows and welded crash bars on both ends of the vehicle. This would be the recovery vehicle for any survivors they were able to rescue. So Carl recommended adding an additional cage around the driver’s seat, in case any of the passengers turned into zombies while aboard. The workers were skeptical of that until Carl recounted his experience in LAX and that taxi cab. Then they scrambled to make the suggested modifications.

  The next vehicle selected was a special fire engine from the refinery’s private fire station. It was a squat and compact model outfitted with a high powered water cannon and foam dispenser. Few modifications were needed for protection from zombies, since it was designed to drive into an inferno of burning fuel and wreckage to combat the source of an oil refinery fire. In fact, it was basically an armored personnel carrier, designed to carry up to six crewmen through a firestorm in insulated safety. Carl was tempted to ride in that vehicle himself, but he really wanted something that he could drive alone, especially if he decided to leave.

  The Suburban had stood out because it was one of the beefed up 4x4 utility versions with large tires and a six inch lift kit, as well as a powerful winch on the front and an aftermarket off-road light package and cargo rack on the roof. It was an old 2001 model, but that meant it was made of more metal and less plastic than the newer SUVs, and it only had 40,000 miles on it because it was primarily used inside of the refinery by the plant superintendent.

  It was white and carried the Chevron emblem on its sides and hood, but those were barely visible after Carl installed chain link fence, crash guards on both ends, and some other nasty additions that would have gotten him arrested last week. For example, having seen how zombies would swarm a moving vehicle, Carl had added 1/8” thick steel L metal guards in front of the side mirrors that extended almost a foot from the sides of the SUV. Similar pieces of steel now extended out from each side the front and rear bumpers. The steel angles he was welding onto the brush guard would form a wedge in front of the vehicle. When he was happy with the welds, Carl reached for a grinder and started to sharpen the leading edges of the angles, turning them into cutting blades.

  Since the body of the Suburban was lifted, he hoped that the heavy metal extensions in front of the hood and protecting the side mirrors would decapitate zombies pressing in as he plowed through them. At least they should protect the mirrors and front end from zombie strikes. The blades extending from the bumpers should slice zombies at waist height. If all went as planned, he would put it to the test tomorrow when they took their first shopping trip to Zombieland.

  Chapter 8: Safe Passage

  “Survival is the key word to remember – not victory, not conquest, just survival.” Zombie Survival Guide, 2003.

  When the Sovereign Spirit was about 100 miles south of San Diego, thirty miles off the coast of northern Baja, Captain Fisher and Scott agreed that they should begin trying to contact the Coast Guard and Navy based in San Diego. It was the evening of April 5th now, five days after the first outbreak of zombie attacks, and Scott hoped that the military in San Diego had been able to secure at least part of the city as a safe zone. Hopefully they would have gotten organized enough to start monitoring the marine band radios and be in a position to advise, or even assist, the Sovereign Spirit and her rag-tag fleet of refugees from Cabo.

  There had been a lot of confused radio calls in the first days of the crisis, but that had died off to almost nothing in the last two days. There was still a lot of traffic on the military frequencies, but most of it was encrypted. However, there had been several radio exchanges since yesterday that were worrisome. They had listened as two different ships had been turned away from approaching the U.S. by the Coast Guard. It had sounded like they were both foreign merchant ships and Scott was hoping that American vessels would receive a warmer welcome. Captain Fisher transmitted standard hails on the regular and emergency frequencies for at least ten minutes before getting a reply. Then a clear voice responded with a somewhat disturbing message.

  “Sovereign Spirit, this is the U.S. Coast Guard national security cutter Stratton. Be advised that U.S. territorial waters are closed to all vessels approaching from outside of the United States. You are currently entering the 100 mile quarantine and exclusion zone. Alter course and maintain your distance from U.S. territory.”

  “Oh crap,” said Scott in alarm. “They have to let us come home, don’t they?”

  “Don’t bet on it,” replied the captain in a worried voice. “But we can try to convince them.” He picked up the radio microphone and tried just that. “Coast Guard cutter Stratton, this is the Sovereign Spirit. We copy your message, but we insist on our right to return to American waters. This is a U.S. ship with American citizens aboard. We all have passports and we are all free of infection. Over.”

  “Sovereign Spirit, this is the Stratton. I’m sorry, but we have orders to turn back all ships approaching U.S. territory. Our radar also shows that you have at least a dozen smaller vessels following you. Therefore, we have identified you as a possibly hostile force. Please comply with our instructions and alter course immediately.”

  “Damn it,” said Scott. “Let me give it a try,” he said as he reached for the microphone. “Stratton, my name is Scott Allen and I’m the owner of the Sovereign Spirit, as well as one of the smaller yachts following us. Please let us explain our situation.”

  “Mr. Allen, you can talk as much as you like, but we do not have the authority to let you pass,” was the blunt reply.

  “Understood,” Scott said. “Please record or relay this transmission and pass it along to your commanders for their consideration. As mentioned, the Sovereign Spirit is a U.S. ship with over a hundred American citizens on board. None of us are infected and our last port of call was Honolulu, Hawaii, 28 days ago. Nobody on this ship has had contact with anyone ashore since long before April 15th. We have been in contact with the CDC in Atlanta and they know we are friendly and uninfected. We passed along important information from our recon flight over Cabo San Lucas, without coming into direct contact with anyone infected there. And we have been given a mission by the CDC to rescue an important scientist near Los Angeles. You must let us pass.

  “As for the smaller vessels following us,” Scott continued, “they are full of American citizens who were caught in Cabo San Lucas harbor when the outbreak took place. As far as we know, none of them are infected either, but we have not let any of them come aboard this ship, just in case. We have been escorting them to San Diego for repatriation. This is a mission of mercy and we request your assistance.” Scott paused to think, but kept the transmit button depressed while he gathered his thoughts.

  “Furthermore,” Scott went on, “The Sovereign Spirit intends to continue our search and rescue operations in California. W
e are still in contact with friends and family, located along the coast from San Diego to Santa Barbara. They are waiting for us to extract them from dangerous situations. We have the capability to save many more lives too.” Scott paused again to think about how much more he should say and decided that he needed to lay it all on the line.

  “Be advised,” Scott continued, “that this ship is fully equipped for amphibious rescue and relocation operations. The Sovereign Spirit carries a helicopter, an amphibious airplane, a vehicle landing craft, a forty passenger amphibious tour vehicle, two high speed express cruisers, and a roll-on-roll-off vehicle deck that is currently carrying over 40 vehicles. We also have the capacity to carry ten times more passengers and vehicles than are currently aboard. In other words, we can become a valuable search and rescue asset.

  “I know that the military has its hands full right now, but there must be millions of people in need of help along the California coast. I’d like to volunteer my ship to perform some of the emergency assistance that is needed in Southern California. All we are asking is that you let us pass unmolested, so we can help save more American lives. We will hold position while we await your reply. Did you copy that, Stratton?”

  “Yes, Mr. Allen,” said a different voice on the radio. “This is Captain McCloud, in command of the Stratton. I heard and recorded your message. We are forwarding it to Pacific Command in San Diego. Please hold your position until we receive a reply. And good luck to you, sir. It does sound like your vessel could be useful, so I will be sending along my own favorable recommendation to grant your request.”

  “Thank you, Captain McCloud,” replied Scott over the radio. “We will wait for your favorable reply.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Allen. Please hold your position and stand by.”

  “That sounds promising,” Scott said to Captain Fisher. “Let’s follow their instructions.”

  “Aye-aye,” Captain Fisher responded. “Dead stop,” he relayed to the helmsman on duty. “Activate stabilizers and transfer all electrical power to the generators. Use the bow thruster to keep station and pointing into the swells.”

  “This is a critical juncture,” said Scott gravely. “We must get past the Coast Guard. Not to mention the Navy. And I may have just made that more difficult.”

  “What do you mean?” asked the captain.

  “Let’s discuss it in your ready room,” said Scott. The captain nodded and they turned to walk aft towards the captain’s suite behind the bridge. Captain Fisher’s ready room was comfortable and spacious, with book shelves lining two walls, a sitting area with a couch, coffee table and two easy chairs facing an entertainment console, and a large desk on the other side of the room with a communications console on the wall behind it. A door in the aft wall connected the ready room to the captain’s private cabin and head. Scott and Captain Fisher each sat down in an easy chair and Scott started to explain his concerns.

  “The problem I see is that this ship is almost too well equipped and I just had to describe most of its capabilities in order to convince them that we are worth having around. So my worry is that they will be tempted to confiscate the ship and use it themselves. They might let us stay aboard, or they might toss us off on the beach. And there’s not a lot we could do to stop them. Not if they send out the Marines or Navy SEALS.”

  “I see your point,” said the captain. “You think they would do something like that?”

  “You tell me, Jordie. You were a naval officer. In fact, aren’t you still in the reserves?”

  “Inactive reserves,” confirmed Fisher. “Retired rank of Commander.”

  “So they could even recall you to active duty and keep you on in command of the Sovereign Spirit after they steal it from me,” Scott said with a worried grin.

  “That’s not funny, Scott, but you’re right. They could do exactly that – all in the name of national security of course. So what can we do to prevent it?”

  “First of all, let’s not give them any ideas. For example, don’t mention that you’re a reserve officer. Remember the President’s speech? You’re probably already technically called back to active duty.”

  “Not from the inactive reserve, at least not without a special order,” countered Fisher. “But I see your point. It wouldn’t take much to get them to issue that order.”

  “Right,” Scott agreed. “But the real the reason I needed to talk to you now is what I’m thinking of doing to keep them from taking this ship. And I need to know where your loyalties lie. If you received conflicting orders from me and the Navy, who would you obey?”

  “Oh shit, Scott,” said Captain Fisher in a shocked voice. “I don’t even know how to answer that. You know I’m loyal to you and committed to this ship and crew, but I’ve always been a loyal naval officer too. I guess my decision would depend on the circumstances and the nature of the conflicting orders. What do you have in mind?”

  “Preventing the Navy or anyone else from taking this ship away from us,” replied Scott seriously.

  “How?” asked the captain.

  “By being prepared to disable or even sink her.”

  “What!? You can’t be serious!”

  “I can and I am,” said Scott. “I need to be prepared to convince them that if they force my hand they will lose. We will all lose, of course. But they won’t win. I suppose you could call it blackmail, or a Mexican Standoff, but it would only come up if they are prepared to use force to take this ship away from me. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t like it.”

  “You don’t have to like it, but would you go along with it?”

  “How would you do it?” asked Captain Fisher curiously.

  “Well,” pondered Scott. “We could start by disabling the engines. She won’t be much use to the Navy as a barge. We would still be able to live aboard her, even maneuver a little with the bow thruster, and use the Expiscator and the express cruisers to tow her slowly. So we could probably get her to a safe anchorage. If the Navy didn’t let us come to California, which I doubt they would after we did that, we could limp over to the coast of Baja and make the best of it. We’d still have use of all the tenders, vehicles and aircraft. It wouldn’t be ideal, but we could probably survive.

  “So disabling the engines would be my first threat, and I’d follow through with it too, if I had to. If they were still intent on seizing her, I’d threaten to scuttle her and abandon ship. I’m not sure that I would actually do that, but I’d want the scuttling charges in place to show them I was serious. And I would need your commitment to back me up, at least to the last possible moment, by refusing to turn over command to them. So, what do you say, Jordie? Can I count on you?”

  “I’ll have to think about some of that, Scott,” replied Captain Fisher slowly. “For now, you can count on me to support your bluff. And possibly even disable the engines, although I’d like to do it in a way that we, and only we, could repair them eventually. Maybe remove and hide some critical parts that they wouldn’t be able to replace easily under the current circumstances. But I can’t promise to let you sink this ship. There would be too much danger to the passengers and crew. And to tell you the truth, the Sovereign Spirit really is too valuable to destroy.”

  “Good enough,” said Scott with a smile. “As long as you agree not to turn over command to them freely and to back me up to that point, I’ll just have to hope that they don’t call the bluff.” Scott rose and went to shake Fisher’s hand. “Maybe I’m worrying about nothing, but the way things are going now, I just can’t help thinking the worst.”

  “There is one other thing we can try,” said Captain Fisher. “Dr. Frost at the CDC sounds like he really wants you to rescue that scientist up in Malibu, right?”

  “Yeah, he sounded very serious about it when I spoke to him,” agreed Scott.

  “So why don’t we try to get through to him again, explain that the Coast Guard and Navy are trying to turn us back or even commandeer our ship, and ask him to email a letter
from the CDC. Something like a letter of safe passage stating that we are on a vital mission that could contribute to finding a cure.”

  “Hey! That’s a brilliant idea Jordie. Let’s try it,” Scott confirmed with a grin.

  *****

  The Navy’s radioed response came within an hour. An exception to the exclusion and quarantine zone would be granted. The Sovereign Spirit and her little flotilla would be allowed to approach Southern California under escort by the Coast Guard cutter Stratton. They were directed to head straight to San Diego, where a discussion of their intentions would take place. Somehow this message did nothing to calm Scott’s nerves. In fact, the idea of sailing into San Diego harbor began to sound like a lamb walking into the butcher shop. It was time to prepare for the worst case scenario. Scott asked Captain Fisher and the chief engineer, Paul Lunt, to meet him in the Engine Room to plan some mischief.

  “Okay,” said Scott. “We need to prep some demolition charges.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Mr. Lunt.

  “We need to be prepared to disable the engines, in case the Navy wants to take this ship away from us,” Scott explained. “So I want real demolition charges planted on the port and starboard engines. Somewhere that will make a big bang and take them out of action, but not blow up the whole ship. Then I want to shut down the center engine and remove some critical and hard to replace parts. We’ll hide them and plant some more explosives to destroy the hidden parts if that becomes necessary. The idea is to convince the Navy that this ship will never be useful to them if they try to take it away from us by force. Got it?”