SOUTHAMPTON ENGLAND OCTOBER 1918 "MAURETANIA"
I made my way along the row of sick ships. The list grew longer by the day and I hoped that Olympic would come through with that cure soon. Berengaria was still here and had gotten much worse, Lucania had given her some tansy and poppy seeds to ease her coughing and help her sleep so she was resting quietly now.
Aquitania was just as bad. I kept a close eye on her condition as her coughing grew worse. But for now, she was asleep. "Rest easy, sis." I whispered, nuzzling her.
Carmania, although not as bad, still refused to accept any herbs from Lucania or Adriatic. She hadn't slept a wink since her sister, Caronia, died over a month ago. "Carmania you need to sleep." I growled. She glared at me. "Why? I don't see you sleeping." She snapped.
Her dark green eyes, once so bright and cheerful, were now dulled with sadness. "Carmania, my sister is sick too, yet I'm not moping like you are." I said. "At least Aquitania is still alive, Caronia's not." She replied. "There was nothing more we could've done to save Caronia, you know that." I said gently. She nodded, tears forming in her eyes.
"What do you think Caronia would say to you if she were here?" I asked. "She'd tell me to turn that frown on its keel and smile like the pretty sister I am." She replied. "Come on then, just one little smirk." I encouraged. The corners of Carmania's mouth twitched before she gave me a little sweet smile. "That's more like it." I praised her.
I shoved Lucania's herbs towards her. "Eat these, you'll feel better." I ordered. She sniffed the herbs and made a face. "Ugh, why is it that the things that'll help you smell like they'll harm you?" She asked. I laughed. "You'll have to ask Lucania on that one 'cause I really don't know." I replied.
"Now eat!" I ordered. Reluctantly, she ducked her head and scarfed down the herbs. "Good girl, now sleep." I said. "Don't need to tell me twice." She yawned, relaxing against the dock. "Goodnight, Mauretania." She said. I nuzzled her. "Goodnight, Carmania." I whispered. She gave me that pretty little smile of hers again before she sighed and fell deep into sleep.
I turned my attention to Ausonia. The elder ship had steadily been getting worse. As I approached her, I sensed that something wasn't right. She was completely still, not even breathing. She was dead. I bowed my head to press against her side. "Goodbye, loyal one." I whispered. "May you find good waters in the land of the Ancients where there is no sickness, no pain."
Ausonia's sister, Saxonia, was on the verge of death herself. Her breathing was coming in small ragged gasps, she was struggling to just stay alive. "Lucania!" I called, careful to keep my voice down so as not to wake Carmania. "I'm here, Mauretania." She replied.
She took one look at Saxonia and shook her head. "Can't you do anything?!" I cried. She sighed. "I can try, but I'm afraid there isn't much more I can do for her. She's in the hands of the Ancients now." She replied. "I'll check my herb store and see what I've got that might help." She raced off.
A few minutes later, she returned. Before she could rouse Saxonia and give her the herbs, the liner gave one last rattling gasp and fell silent. "No." I whispered.
Two ships in one night, it was just too cruel. Not her, please not another. I begged. My prayer was answered.
After a minute, Saxonia coughed and opened her eyes. They glowed crimson for a few seconds before the glow faded and her eyes were back to their normal tropical blue color. "Mauretania?" She whispered.
"Yes, I'm here." I murmured, leaning forward. "I saw an Ancient." She said. This roused Lucania's curiosity. "Who?" She asked. "Lusitania?" I suggested. "No, she wasn't a Cunarder as she flew the White Star flag." Saxonia replied.
"Tayleur perhaps?" Lucania asked, referring to White Star's first leader that often appeared in her own dreams along with Britannia, Cunard's first leader. "No, this ship was more modern." Saxonia said. "What did she look like?" I asked.
"She looked like Olympic." Saxonia replied. I shook my head. "It couldn't be Olympic, she's in Norway with the freighter fleet." I said. "Well, it sure looked a lot like her." Saxonia muttered. "Except her eyes, Olympic's are a dark shade of amber, this ships' were crimson." She added.
"Titanic." I whispered. Saxonia nodded. "It's not your time.' She said. She told me to go home where I was needed. I asked where Lusitania was and she said that Lucy couldn't bear to meet another Cunarder as a fellow Ancient." She explained. I sighed. "When I last spoke to Lucy a month ago, she sounded distraught. It must be driving her crazy to see so many of us joining her ranks." I said.
"At least we found the cure." Lucania muttered. "And thank the stars for that!" I exclaimed. "Even so, the cure is useless to us until we have it in our possession." Saxonia coughed and Lucania shoved some herbs to her. "Eat." She ordered. For once, Saxonia did as she was told without arguing.
"How's Ausonia doing?" She asked. Lurania and I exchanged glances. "Saxonia, Ausonia's dead." I said. She shook her head. "I can't believe it." She whispered. "She seemed so bright yesterday, it doesn't seem possible."
"Ausonia was trying to hide her condition from you. She told me that she was afraid she couldn't last much longer. She had no wish to die, but she had accepted the fact that death was inevitable for her. She was old and tired, she had no strength left to fight." I said. Saxonia nodded sadly. "I'll never forget her." She whispered. "Neither will I. Nor will I forget all the others who've perished." I replied.
"Now sleep, Saxonia. You need to rest." Lurania ordered. I nodded my agreement. But Saxonia was already way ahead of us. She turned around so she could lie comfortably against the docks on both sides of her berth and closing her eyes, she fell quietly to sleep.
"You too, Maury!" Lucania ordered. I gave her one of my classic best glares. "Don't give me that look, Maury. You know I'm right." She persisted. "How can I possibly sleep when my ships are dying?" I groaned. "You can and you will sleep. If I have to give you poppy seeds to make you sleep then I will." She growled. I sighed. "You never take no for an answer do you?" I asked. "Nope." She said simply.
"Fine." I muttered and headed over to my dock. I thought I'd be too wired to sleep, but again, Lucania was right and I was wrong. I fell asleep almost instantly.
The white mist surrounded me again. Only this time, I was completely alone. Around me, I could hear the panicked voices of the Ancients and as hard as I looked, I couldn't see them.
"Danger, terrible danger." Lusitania cried. "What danger?" I asked. For an answer, another ship cried out "The mission is in jeopardy. For it to succeed, you must rescue the mountain!" I recognized the voice as Tayleur's. "What danger, what mission? Please somebody tell me!" I cried.
The mist vanished and another ship appeared. She flew the White Star flag and looked almost exactly like Olympic, except her eyes. While Olympic's were dark amber, this ships' were bright crimson. "Titanic?" I whispered. She nodded.
She stared at me with uncomprehendable pleading in her eyes. "Olympic's in terrible danger. She's mashed both her wing propellers and is dead in the water. The freighters have gone on without her. If she isn't found soon, she'll drift into the open Atlantic where the subs still lurk." She said. I nodded. "I understand, Titanic." I said.
"Please," She said imploringly. "Save my sister." There was great pain in her eyes as she said this. The fear was evident in her pleading tone. I bowed my head. "I will do all that I can to save Olympic." I promised. She touched her bow to mine. "Do what you can, Maury. I ask nothing more." She whispered and faded.
I woke just as the sun was beginning to rise at around 10:00. It was getting later as winter approached. Knowing what I had to do, I left my dock to head over to the White Star section of the harbor. I met Adriatic as she was coming out of sick bay. "Could I talk to Celtic?" I asked. "Maury you know that's not allowed." She scolded.
"Please, she has to hear what I have to tell her." I said. She nodded. "Alright, I daresay your timing couldn't have been better. She could really use a visitor right now." She agreed. "Thank you." I said. She nodded. "If you need me, I'll be just outside." She said. I dipped my head and entered.
Celtic was the third from the front in the rows of White Star ships. Most of them were on the Mediterranean run. White Star's Asian-African fleet had been devastated by the virus. Nearly all of them were stuck in sick bay.
Even so, they remained relatively cheerful. They would often joke about their predicament. "The only White Star liner left in the Med is in the Kea Channel!" They would say, referring to Adriatic's former apprentice Britannic. Of course, they never said it when Olympic was in earshot.
"Hey Maury, decided to come and visit our little sanctuary at last eh?" Baltic called. Cedric glared at her sister. "Booby trap you mean." She snapped. She turned to me. "I'd watch where I move around here. Miss Prank Sea here has taken advantage of Adriatic's hospitality to place trigger systems everywhere. Pull one, and you'll be covered in crude before you can say 'Baltic's a seaworm!'" She said.
Baltic glared at her sister. "I'm not a seaworm Cedric, so why did you have to ruin all my fun? Pranking's the only thing I can do in these docks of boredom." She snapped.
"Enough!" Celtic ordered before it could turn ugly. "Sorry about that Maury, but my sisters seem to have a touch of dock fever." She said. "Well I can see that." I replied.
"What's up?" She asked. "I had a dream and saw Titanic." I said. "I'm listening." She said, her voice carefully controlled. "She told me that Olympic had run into trouble while up in Norway and is now drifting towards the open Atlantic." I said. "Oh Neptune." Celtic whispered. "And the freighters?" She asked. "They're on their way. Olympic told them to keep coming." I replied.
"We have to get a search party out for her." Celtic declared. "Count me in on that!" Baltic cried, moving forward towards the entrance. Adriatic appeared out of nowhere. "The only place you're going is back to your berth and I'm gonna give you the count of three to do it. One, two...." Reluctantly, Baltic turned away from Adriatic and docked. "Humph." She muttered. "It's for your own good." Cedric said. Baltic just huffed crossly.
"Maury," Came another voice. I turned to look at Homeric. "How's Berengaria doing?" She asked. I shrugged. "Oh she's doing fine." I lied. "She's coughing like everybody else but she's strong, she'll be alright." Secretly, I wasn't so sure. Many a strong ship had already died from this virus, who was to say that Berengaria, despite her youthful rigor, wouldn't? Homeric seemed to sense that I wasn't telling the truth for her eyes narrowed momentarily before she accepted my words.
"And Majestic?" She asked. Celtic now spoke up. "I haven't seen Majestic for a while now. Have you Adriatic?" She asked. The healer shook her head. "She could be on another crossing to New York. I could go and talk to the LV, maybe she'll know." She said and sailed off.
A few minutes later she returned looking quite flustered. "The LV said that Majestic was last seen leaving the harbor heading due north." She said. Celtic cursed. "She must be chasing after Olympic." She said.
Adriatic shook her head. "I should've known. She'd been pestering me for days. She was so disappointed when Olympic refused to let her come with her." She wailed. "It wasn't your fault, Adriatic." Celtic assured her. "When was this?" Baltic asked. "A day and a half ago." She replied.
"She's fast, far too fast for any of us to catch her." Celtic said, looking hopefully at me. I shook my head. "Even at top speed, it'd take me a week to catch up with her." I said apologetically. "It's alright Maury." Celtic said.
"It looks like Majestic's on her own now. As painful as this is, we cannot assist her in rescuing Olympic." Celtic said. "It's all up to her." Cedric murmured. "Oh, we're all doomed." Baltic said. Homeric glared at her. "Shut up you insufferable little seaworm." She growled and surprisingly, Baltic did.
Adriatic spoke, reflecting the thoughts of all, except possibly Baltic, when she said "May the power of the Ancients be with her."