Noah's Ark: Contagion Read Online Free PDF Page B

for the three thousand or so people on board the Spirit of Arcadia , and the hundred submariners of HMS Ambush . The members from the cruise liner had been elected in a properly arranged democratic process shortly after Jake had retaken control of the ship. Silvia Brook, hotel manager, had been almost unanimously voted for by those formerly known as crew and staff. Doctor Grau Lister was included by default; his expertise was deemed a requirement for all important decisions concerning the future of the community. Chief Engineer Martin Oakley was included for similar reasons; his knowledge of the ship—their home—was second to none. Security Chief Max Mooting, and Lucya were both included in meetings of the committee, although they didn’t have a vote. Jake was used to working with all of these people on a daily basis and felt comfortable around them. It was the new faces that were going to take some getting used to. Amanda Jackson, a tall, thin American woman, was popular among passengers. Before the cruise she had been area manager for a chain of coffee shops. She seemed nice enough, a bit quiet, Jake thought, although he suspected she would make her voice heard in time. Ella Rose was much more forthright. Not one to shy away from expressing her opinions and making a statement, she even dyed her hair to match her name. Her life before the apocalypse had been one of respraying cars. She adored anything with an engine, and she’d struck up a strong friendship with Martin, the chief engineer.
    Captain Gibson Coote was the sole representative from the submarine. The chain of command remained intact in their vessel. There was no question of anyone else from the Ambush having a vote on the committee.
    “Yes, that is what we agreed, Martin, we all voted on it, remember?” Ella said, coming to Jake’s defence, and surprising Martin. “Although it might have been nice to have been told once you had changed course for this raft.”
    “And I should have been involved in the reception,” Max chipped in. “As a potential security risk, I should have been there.”
    “Mr Mooting, I assure you that my chaps are more than capable of ensuring the safety of our little community. And as it turned out, there was no risk as the raft was entirely empty anyway!” Coote said.
    “Which,” Lucya butted in, “brings us back to the question of where did it come from, and how did it start transmitting a distress signal? It didn’t just pop up out of nowhere, did it?”
    “Who knows? There was no ship’s name on it, no identifying marks. It’s a common model used by all kinds of boats and ships. I suppose it’s been floating around since the asteroid, and the beacon somehow set itself off. Is that not possible?” Jake rubbed his chin. He didn’t want to waste time on this discussion; there were more important things to do.
    “Possible, yes, but highly unlikely,” Lucya replied. “They design those things specifically so that they don’t start transmitting for no reason. Can you imagine the chaos if rafts started broadcasting all over the place at random?”
    “The real question,” Amanda began, taking everyone by surprise, “is should we go looking for the people that might have been in that raft? What if they fell out? What if there’s another raft? Or a boat in trouble somewhere?”
    “A good question, Amanda,” Coote said. Jake had a feeling the captain had a soft spot for her. “But Ralf and his team have run radar and sonar sweeps, radio scans, and visual checks, and we don’t believe there is anything of interest within a hundred nautical miles of our current position. We have as much chance of coming across something if we head for Scotland as if we return towards the North Pole.”
    “So you’re saying we should continue with the original plan and go to your military base?”
    “Precisely. That was what we all voted for, and this little detour has done nothing to change my view. Food is very soon going to