Disclaimer
This is a work of pure fantasy; nothing is real, and all characters are adults. Comments are enabled, and all constructive comments are welcomed; even if you think my story sucks, tell me how it sucks so I can improve the story and as an author. While this chapter is an exaggeration of the abuses occurring on cruise ships, it's based on factual reports of the violations that have occurred, including the 3
rd
paragraph from the end of this chapter. While it is to entertain, it also serves as a warning to anyone who is planning to take a cruise in the future. I also want to thank Kenji Sato for his editing assistance on my horrible grammar.
Cruise Ship of Broken Dreams
Chapter 1
Cruise ships quickly become the pedophiles, child molesters, and rapists' dream places to cultivate their vices.
Once, the Catholic Church was the place to be, to propagate these crimes. Predators only had to get ordained as a priest or minister to join the club. They were able to use their authority, hiding behind scripture to justify themselves to their victims. For years, they were able to carry out sexual assaults against the youngest members of congregations, and the Church hierarchy not only turned a blind eye, but activity hindered law enforcement investigations and pressured victims' families to forget the whole matter; they would be damaging the reputation of the Church.
And when an incident got too much attention, the Church's solution? Move the perpetrator to a Church in another region, far from the scandal they caused. They wouldn't even warn the new congregation sheep of the wolf they placed among them. Thus, the cycle of abuse was allowed to continue. It took years and thousands of victims stepping forward to force the Catholic Church to change its ways.
The cruise ship lines are now becoming the preferred hunting grounds for sexual deviants. Not only is maritime law weak and enforcement lax, but the very people who are supposed to protect passengers aboard cruise lines, turn a blind eye to any crime committed. They are more interested in protecting the company's reputation and profits than getting any justice for the victims. Only one percent of sexual assaults against passengers are prosecuted, and that's only of the assaults that are reported; seventy percent go unreported. The lax enforcement of the law by the cruise lines has only encouraged predators to commit more sexual assaults, compounding the issue. Sexual assaults have almost doubled in the last five years.
But enough with the boring statistics. This is where our story's protagonist comes in.
Robert Royce was born into a wealthy family, and he had the good fortune that the family also owned a company that was in the business of running a small cruise ship line. While it was a small operation, when compared to more substantial operators like Circus Cruise Lines, they still owned several cruise ships. They were older and smaller ships only able to cater to 600 to 800 passengers, unlike the modern mega cruise ships catering to two or three thousand tourists. Still, they were able to find a niche market for budget-minded tourists, who enjoyed cruises to more unique destinations. There were advantages to having smaller, older ships; it allowed them to be able to dock in ports that could not accommodate the larger mega cruise shipsβislands like St. Barts, British Islands, and the Leeward Islands. This set their business apart from larger operations, with a more unique itinerary than the same-old destinations other cruise lines offered.
Robert practically grew up aboard cruise ships, living aboard in the owner's suite the family lived in. His father ran the family business from one of his ships. Robert rarely set foot on land; he had a private tutor and later attended classes virtually. Thus, he was robbed of the socialization other children enjoyed attending school in the usual fashion which may or may not have accounted for the way he turned out he did.
While his father was a kind man, respected his employees, and treated them with dignity, his son was a little monster. He was entitled, self-centered, and even cruel, but very intelligent, bordering on genius.
One night, while the ship was at sea, he got an eighteen-year-old female passenger drunk and forcefully had sex with her. The girl's parents wanted justice; they wanted Robert charged with rape! Robert, for the first time in his spoiled childhood, feared he would go to jail, but his father was able to get the matter dismissed. He remembered that conversation like it was yesterday,
"What about the police?" Robert asked his father.