himself flat against the bulkhead just as it exploded with a sharp boom. A second later he stepped through the jagged hole where the window used to be and the others followed him inside.
They fanned out, checking every corner including cupboards and under the map table, but it was empty of life. Stratton went to the internal door, which was slightly ajar, and stepped through. He pushed open the door to the small radio shack to find a man lying face down at his desk, a large pool of dried blood around his head and on the floor. Stratton inspected him to find the man’s throat had been sliced open.
A voice came over the radio. ‘Alpha three in the engine room. I’ve found nine of the crew. All dead. Not a pretty sight.’
‘Echo one in the control room. Seven dead crew here.’
‘Alpha four, sickbay. Five dead.’
‘Echo one. Captain’s quarters. I’ve got three dead. Looks like one of ’em’s the old man.’
‘Stratton,’ Scouse said. ‘We’ve got a slightly bigger problem right this moment.’ He was staring out of the front plate-glass windows. The others moved to have a look.
‘Shit!’ said Tip. They all had similar comments on their minds.
Torquay was not much more than a mile or two away and they were heading towards the bay at full speed.
‘Any ideas anyone?’ Scouse asked.
Stratton’s mind was racing.
Scouse headed for the controls. ‘Shut down the engines.’
‘No.Wait,’ Stratton said, putting out an arm to stop him.
‘For what? We’ll be halfway into the town in a couple of minutes.’
‘These things take a few miles to stop in a straight line fully loaded, and we don’t have that far.’
‘Let’s at least slow the bleeding thing down. Put it in reverse.’
‘The result won’t be much different.’
‘So let’s just stand here and ride it in,’ Scouse said sarcastically, his tension rising.
‘A tanker captain once told me that in theory you can stop one of these in less than half a mile if you swing it hard over,’ Stratton said.
‘What?’
‘He’d never actually tried it with a full load but I think a new ship does a fast turn as part of its sea trials.’
‘You think?’
‘We’re gonna find out, Scouse me old friend,’ Stratton said as he pulled his weapon sling over his head, placed the gun down on the map table and took hold of the wheel.
‘Maybe there’s a reason no one’s tried it full of oil. What if the bleeding thing tips over?’ Scouse asked.
‘Our options?’ Stratton asked.
‘Torquay’ll be fucked, literally,’ Tip said.
‘We haven’t signed for the boat,’ Stratton said.
‘Something to tell your grandchildren if nothing else.’
Scouse looked between them. The others’ expressions suggested they were all siding with Stratton’s idea.
‘Bollocks,’ Scouse said. ‘Let’s do it then.’
Stratton took a moment to check the instruments to see if there was something obvious he had overlooked. He couldn’t think of anything. ‘Better warn the others,’ he said as he placed his hands on the wheel and took a firm grip, like a trapeze artist about to attempt a dangerous feat.
‘All stations, this is Charlie One,’ Scouse said into his throat mic. ‘Get your arses out of the ship and on deck. I say again, get out of the ship and on deck. Stratton’s about to try a handbrake turn and you might wanna be where you can get overboard if it doesn’t work. I say again, get out on deck and make ready to go overboard. VSV one and two, back off now.’
‘Here we go,’ Stratton said as he spun the wheel to the left, all the way around until it could go no further and held it there.
The ship immediately started to turn. Scouse, Tip and Nick stood looking out of the front window in expectation. One way or another, something exceptional was going to happen.
‘I wouldn’t ’ave missed this op for the world,’ Nick said. Scouse and Tip nodded in agreement.
As the massive ship started to turn, it gradually began to tilt over to the right.‘Like I told you,’ Scouse said, spreading his feet to keep balance. ‘It’s gonna roll like a canoe!’
They all grabbed hold of something as the floor began to slope.
‘You sure about this, Stratton?’ Scouse asked as the ship leaned further over.
‘Course I’m not bloody sure. How many times do you think I’ve done this?’
In the engine room and steerage locker, operatives were scurrying up stairs, along gangways and through doors, spewing out of the various exits and to the side, all eyes on the town not far away and speculating the outcome.
A dozen