Franz is a German crewman on the Kerberos who stages a mutiny to get the ship back on course to America.
Biography[]
Finding the Prometheus[]
Franz apprehends Krester after he sneaks into the dining room from third class and drags him back to the lower deck of the ship, threatening to throw him overboard should he try another stunt such as that. After the captain learns that they're potentially receiving coordinates from the Prometheus, he decides to investigate, ordering Franz as well as several others to join him. They arrive in the bay in search of lifeboats, where they find Olek and Jérôme, the latter dressed in official sailor uniform despite not being an actual crewman. After Jérôme fails to answer his command, Franz becomes a bit aggressive. That's when the captain intervenes and instructs Olek and Jérôme to join them, at which point, he has Franz wait in the lifeboat despite him having been a part of his crew for 12 years.[1]
Ada's death[]
Franz and Sebastian question why the company would want them to sink the ship and how they would even go about doing so. Franz is also concerned about the captain, who he argues the company should've gotten rid of, as he never fully recovered from his wife setting herself and their three children on fire. Later that evening, Franz and several crewman apprehend Jérôme after learning that he's an imposter. With the Prometheus rigged to the Kerberos and the ship set to return to Europe, Franz and Sebastian are very much against the decision. Franz suggests they sink the ship themselves. Sebastian agrees, but Wilhelm doesn't seem so sure. It is then that Franz discovers Ada's lifeless body on the upper deck, for which he alerts Eyk.[2]
Staging a mutiny[]
With each passing decision, Franz loses more and more faith in the captain, the last straw being when he ignores Franz' advice and decides to go back onto the Prometheus. But before acting, he heads down into third class, where he finds Tove and reveals that he found her sister. As more people begin to die mysteriously, Franz expresses his concern to Sebastian. Something killed everyone on the Prometheus, and Franz believes the same is happening to the Kerberos. Perhaps the reason the company wanted them to sink the ship is because they didn't want whatever was on that ship getting off, but Sebastian suggests they wait on Captain Larsen's command. However, Franz is past waiting. He rallies a crew, gathers the guns, and heads down into the lower class to stage a mutiny and turn the ship back around to America.[3]
Franz has locked away Eyk, Ramiro, Jérôme, and Olek, but he returns for the latter two and takes them to the upper deck, where he instructs them to throw the dead bodies overboard, fearful that they may carry some form of disease. Franz returns to the bridge and learns from Wilhelm that the Prometheus is gone, despite the ghost ship having been tied to them moments earlier. Wilhelm suspects that it is not the Prometheus who disappeared, but the Kerberos, revealing that the compasses are working again and that they're now facing west despite previously facing east. Nevertheless, Franz reminds the crew that their destination lies west and commands Wilhelm to fire up the engines.
After learning that Jérôme escaped, Franz asks Olek if he helped, but Olek insists he didn't. Sebastian joins them in the bridge and informs Franz just how big of a mistake he's made by arming the passengers, comparing it to a powder keg waiting to explode. They have five days until they reach land. Until then, they simply give the mutineers what they want — the boy. Franz takes Olek back to the cellar, only to discover that Eyk and Ramiro have escaped through a vent. He goes searching for them and find the two of them with the boy, who willingly turns himself over. After shooting Jérôme, who reached for a weapon, they take the boy to the upper deck, where Iben throws him overboard and a huge brawl breaks out.[4]
Even if the captain manages to take the bridge, Franz insists that they're still in control of the ship. As long as they hold the machine room, they dictate the ship's course. They're approximately four days from land, and some are wondering what will happen to them when they arrive, as mutiny carries the death penalty, but Franz has not thought that far ahead. Even more concerning, a ticking sound aboard the ship seems to compel many of the passengers to throw themselves overboard, forcing his crew and the captain's crew to not only work together but to restrain themselves until the ticking ceases.[5]
Sacrificing himself[]
After shoveling coal into the furnaces to get the ship's engine back running, Franz and Tove go to close the bulkheads to keep the water from getting in, but they're too late, as water has already started to make its way through. Unable to get the first door closed, they move to the second door, but it doesn't have a handle on the inside, so Franz sacrifices himself, pushing Tove inside and locking the door from the outside as the water rises, sacrificing himself and drowning.[6]