Leo braced his feet against the console, grabbed the heavy black microphone of the backup radio, and pressed the talk button. “Coast Guard Station, this is Leo onboard the drifting cargo vessel Albatross. Do you copy? Over.” The radio crackled instantly, a startled voice blasting through the speaker.
“Vessel Albatross? We copy! We received a broken emergency fragment hours ago but had no location data. We’ve been searching forty miles south. What is your status? Over.” Leo read the numbers straight off the main navigation screen. “I’m on the bridge right now. The ship is empty. The logbook says the crew fled in the lifeboats hours ago because of a massive hull breach, but the vessel is currently stable and floating. I don’t know why it hasn’t sunk. Over.”
“Received,” the operator replied, the urgency clear. “We are directing a rescue cutter to your exact coordinates right now. Do not go below deck. Stay exactly where you are.”