Page 28 of Wild Tempest

I chuckled. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We really have no idea what’s aboard that ship. And what would a research vessel be doing with that kind of cargo anyway?”

18

Istayed on the bridge deck, looking for another glimpse of the Morya as we bounced around on the swells. Tempest and I chatted for a bit while Jack caught some shut-eye in one of the crew quarters.

Tempest’s eyes finally grew heavy, and I suggested she get some sleep. This time, she didn’t argue.

“How long are you going to stay up?”

“Somebody needs to keep an eye on things,” I said. “Look out for other vessels. Make sure the anchor doesn’t drag.”

“I’ll take a shift if you need me to. I just need a few hours of sleep anyway.”

I smiled at her. “I’ll let JD know. He can wake you if he needs to be relieved.”

She told me goodnight before heading to a stateroom.

The storm raged for a few more hours, rain pelting down in sheets.

JD stumbled onto the bridge deck in the wee hours of the morning and took over. I crashed out in the captain’s stateroom and grabbed what amounted to a power nap.

By the morning, the storm had passed. A thick blanket of gray clouds still blotted out the sun. A dense fog hung like soup in the air. From the bridge deck, it was hard to see beyond the bow of the ship.

After breakfast, JD and I got to work changing the fuel filter.

We made some basic checks, making sure the fuel cut-off was open and there was actually fuel in the day tank.

We put down some oil-absorbent pads underneath the filter housing, then cracked it open, twisting the T-nut. Wearing gloves, I pulled out the filter, which was pretty dirty. There was no water in the fuel, but the bottom of the housing was full of gunk and debris. I cleaned it out, put in the new filter, and replaced the O-ring. Afterward, I hand-tightened the T-nut, then it was time to bleed the lines. Any air in the system could cause the engines to sputter or stall.

With more absorbent pads in place, we loosened the bleed point and manually actuated the lifter pump until fuel flowed without bubbling. Jack tightened the connection, and we were good to go.

The place smelled like diesel, but we’d kept the mess to a minimum. It was probably best we waited for calmer seas to do this, or we’d have had diesel everywhere.

Feeling accomplished, we hustled back up to the bridge deck and tried to crank up the engines.

No dice.

Diagnostics still flagged an issue with the fuel system.

We all deflated.

“What do you think the problem is?” Tempest asked.

“I don’t know. We’re going to have to go through step-by-step and see if we can troubleshoot this,” I said.

Just as JD and I started out of the wheelhouse, Tempest said, “Hey, wait up.” She pointed across the bow.

The haze had burned off a bit, but it was still cloudy overhead. In the distance, the research vessel had appeared again. This time it was a little closer.

I grabbed the binoculars and took another look, just to make sure I wasn’t seeing things.

“Can we go take a look?” Tempest pleaded with hopeful eyes. “It’s not like we’re going anywhere right now anyway. We might not get another chance.”

I shared a look with Jack. He didn’t seem opposed. After all, this was the reason we came out here. The tug would be here when we got back. We could deal with the fuel system then.

JD and I got cleaned up, prepped our gear, then launched a rigid inflatable with the help of a davit.

“I’m going with you,” Tempest said.