The Olympian Sisters #3 The Gilded Age

Chapter 7

SOUTHAMPTON ENGLAND SEPTEMBER 1918 "MAURETANIA"

I could only watch as my fleet crumbled around me. The war had severely weakened us and we were fat juicy salmon, ripe for the catch of disease.

So far, only a few ships had showed signs of the virus but I knew there'd be far more before it dispersed. My biggest fear was a widespread pandemic. Ships weren't designed to handle human diseases. Our temperature should only go down, but not up, not up. Influenza made our temperatures do just that.

Lucania was doing the best she could with the stores she had to control the virus but it was hopeless. We were all exposed to it, no matter what.

I looked at the row of sick ships, quarantined from the rest of the fleet. The pretty sisters, Carmania and Caronia had it, and Ausonia and Saxonia were down as well.

I watched Lucania go from ship to ship checking them and giving them much needed herbs.

Ausonia seemed well enough to scarf them down. Saxonia was even better, arguing with Lucania for half an hour, determined not to eat them but Lucania's persistence paid off and she ate them anyway. Carmania was asleep when Lucania checked her but she seemed ok. Caronia was another matter.

She'd been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while now. Her fever was raging and she was growing weaker and weaker. Lucania had to put the herbs in with coal, shut down the pumps and have a crew of men fire up the boilers and burn them to give Caronia the much needed plants by breathing in the smoke as she inhaled through her smokestacks, she was too weak to even chew and swallow them.

Carmania kept an anxious watch on her fading sister as Lucania left to get more herbs to try. "Any luck?" I asked her. She shook her head. "Adriatic and I have been working around the clock to find something but nothing has worked so far." She sighed. "Just do the best you can Lucania, I ask nothing more." I said. She nodded and left.

The war was over, but now Cunard needed the alliance with White Star more than ever. As I gazed around me, I realized why the alliance was so important to Lusitania. A jolt of pain seared through me as it always did whenever I thought of my sister.

Cunard meant everything to her, she'd given up all she had, including her own life, for her fleet. Now it was disappearing. The least I could do was to prevent that. I could not allow Cunard to die, not after all my sister had done for us. She didn't die in vain, I'd make sure of that.

I turned to my deputy and other sister, Aquitania. Sometimes I wondered just how Olympic did it. I was fortunate to have one sister remaining, but Olympic had lost both. Britannic was a victim of the war and Titanic had sunk as a result of a trick by Campania. I shuddered at the latter.

My respect for Olympic had increased tenfold during the war. Not only did she forgive Cunard for what Campania did, but she made our lines closer than ever. Sure, Cunard and White Star were rivals, they always had been. But at the end of the day, we were both British and we were on the same side, the war had proven that, if nothing else. I just wished that our owners saw it the same way.

Aquitania caught my eye. "What are you thinking about, Maury?" She asked. "About how in the hell we're gonna get ourselves out of a jam this time." I replied. She smiled. "You want my opinion?" She asked. "Always." I said. "We survived the greatest war the world has ever seen, if we can survive that, we can survive anything." She replied. "You were always the optimistic one." I said. "Yes, and you're the Cassandra around here." She replied. "The wet whale, the icy spray, the dead fish in the sailor's locker." I added. She laughed. "Yes, all of those things." She agreed.