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“Thanks, Juan I’lad Mark works for you”
“Callin the meantime See you soon”
He hung up and headed back toward the op center to plot a new course south once they’d gotten the Senators’ families to safety on Bali He knew every crew o to Murph’s aid, but it still wasn’t going to be fun telling them that their Christmas vacations were canceled
TWENTY
THE TIMOR SEA
While she waited for help to arrive, Sylvia cared for the stricken crewwater to those who could drink, andthem as comfortable as possible In addition to Roberta’s burned arm, there were two men with head injuries, one with a broken ar with a knife
As she tended to them, Sylvia kept the uncomfortable mask on, just in case, but she hadn’t noticed any symptoms herself The illness seemed to have affected people at different intensities Some, like Mark, were almost totally paralyzed Others had less severe debilitation but were still unable to speak clearly or move on their own All of them would require round-the-clock care
Ninety minutes after her call to Juan Cabrillo, she was startled to hear a ship’s horn in the distance, far sooner than she expected anyone to reach the Empiric She left the mess hall and went out onto the exterior deck to see who it was
An unusual red vessel was about afast It had its superstructure at the front of the ship and a helicopter pad irders above the tall bow
To come so quickly, they must have been fairly close by when Juan’s call for assistance went out Sylvia wrestled hat to do If the people on this ship were in league with those on the trimaran, they would elio All she could do was follow Juan’s advice and trust that they were here to help
Sylvia took off her mask and watched apprehensively as the ship approached When it was less than a quarter mile away, a voice spoke over a loudspeaker
“Empiric, this is the Australian Defence vessel Ocean Protector
Prepare to be boarded”
The ship came to a stop and lowered a tender into the water It motored over to the Empiric’s stern, and Sylvia went to meet them
The boarders were already stepping onto the rear platforot there She was surprised to see that all six of the hazmat suits