The Titanic is Sinking.
15: MVM Ch 15: Get Up.
The Titanic is Sinking.
When the explosives met the boiler’s inferno, the result required no elaborate explanation.
The boiler room detonated instantly.
Boilers already operating at critical pressure became secondary bombs themselves, transforming the entire compartment into a twisted hellscape of ruptured metal and scalding steam.
If the damage had stopped there, merely a boiler explosion, the great ship might have survived.
Crippled, certainly.
Dead in the water, unable to move.
But afloat.
However, when the blast’s shockwave encountered the compartment floors Luca had so carefully compromised over two nights of clandestine labor, the outcome became inevitable.
Those fractured steel plates shattered like glass under the stress.
Even with his limited architectural knowledge and mathematical mediocrity, Luca knew this ship wouldn’t last hours at sea.
The bottom compartments were already flooding.
“What?
The ship is sinking?
That’s impossible!” Rose sat up groggily, certain she was hearing a joke.
This was the Titanic.
The “unsinkable” Titan.
The British Empire’s crowning achievement, the finest vessel ever constructed by human hands.
How could it possibly sink?
In this era, British manufacturing represented the world’s gold standard.
This ship embodied the empire’s pride.
However infatuated Rose might be with the man before her, on this matter, her faith in her country remained absolute.
“Get dressed.
Now.” Luca had neither time nor inclination for debate.
Two slaps emphasized the urgency.
Rose despite her indignation, Rose obediently began dressing.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦ They hurried to the deck.
Aside from a few crew members, the area stood empty, a testament to how effectively the truth was being suppressed.
Public opinion control mattered everywhere, it seemed.
At this moment, besides Luca himself, probably only the captain and a handful of senior officers understood what was happening.
“Stay here.
I need to retrieve something.
When they start launching lifeboats, get on one immediately.” “I’ll follow on the next.” He gripped Rose’s hand firmly, delivering instructions with quiet intensity.
Truthfully, if not for the mission requiring his presence elsewhere, he might have lingered in this world a while longer.
“Quinn, I’ll wait for you!” Rose couldn’t explain why, but she felt certain that letting go now meant never seeing this man again.
“Be good.
We men, don’t appreciate disobedient women.” He patted her cheek firmly.
This silly girl could be stubborn, without clear direction, she might well go down with the ship.
If she died now, he’d genuinely mourn.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦ Minutes passed.
Fortune smiled, Caledon emerged from the banquet hall at that moment, stumbling directly into their path.
He’d remained at the party initially, but noticing both his fiancée and Luca had vanished, unease compelled him to investigate.
“Caledon!
Perfect timing!” Seeing the cuckolded fiancé approach, Luca felt he’d found someone suitable to entrust with Rose.
Whatever else could be said about him, this man was at least her legitimate betrothed.
Rose would be safer with Caledon than with that Jack.
As for whether Caledon would still go bankrupt and commit suicide as in the original timeline?
Luca had spent two days explaining future economic patterns to him.
If the man insisted on charging toward his doom, nothing could stop him.