Noah's Ark: Encounters (7 page)

“How big is it?”

“Between fifty and seventy metres long. That means it’s bigger than most fishing boats, smaller than most ferries. We can’t tell more than that yet.”

“How did they survive?”

“We don’t know.”

“Where are they going?”

“We don’t know.”

“Are you sure there are people on board?”

“No, but there’s a very good chance there are, because the boat is sailing under its own power.”

Then came the more difficult questions.

“What happens when we find them?”

“That’s being discussed. We will probably quarantine them before letting them onto the
Spirit of Arcadia
and inviting them into the community. We assume their resources are limited.”

“So you’re saying we’ll have to accommodate and feed them?”

“Yes.”

“But we don’t know how long our food is going to last us. Why should we hand out food to these people?”

The question was met with a murmur of agreement.

“We can’t simply leave them to starve. If they need our help, we will provide it. Plus, there’s safety in numbers. They may also have knowledge of other survivors or places that escaped the asteroid. The kind of knowledge that can help all of us.”

The response garnered many nodding heads.

“Why should we give up our hard-earned food stocks to a bunch of foreigners?” A shout from the stalls was met with a smattering of cheers.

“Foreign to who? There are people of almost every nationality on this ship. Besides, they are people, like you and me. If they need our help, we’ll give it. Just like HMS
Ambush
came to
our
aid.”

“That’s different. They’re the army, it’s their job.”

“They’re the navy, idiot,” someone else called from the back.

Amanda tried to calm the room, but people had begun to shout over one another, arguing among themselves, trying to make their voices heard.

Grace and the other security officers stepped in then, attempting to calm the situation. There was no time to reflect on the exciting news of other potential survivors; she understood that her afternoon was going to be spent trying to maintain order.

• • •

With the
Ambush
locked on to their target, guiding the
Spirit of Arcadia
through their shared navigation link, Jake was free to leave the bridge. He left Lucya in charge; there was another hour before she had to go and fetch Erica from school. Chuck was taking a well-earned break, and McNair was keeping a watchful eye over the helm, as well as maintaining lookout.

Jake was raw from the loss of Stieg. It was unfinished business, and although logic said that the man was gone, probably drowned, it felt unnatural and inhuman to turn his back on him. The decision was out of his hands though, so all he could do was occupy his time and try not to dwell on what had happened. After calling ahead to make sure she was there, he made his way down to Janice Hanson’s morgue on deck one.

There was a strange comfort that came from visiting the cold store room that had been taken over by the retired pathologist. Down in that part of the ship, among the endless pipes and ducts, the rusting metal bulkheads, and the low ceilings, away from the comforts of the public areas, he was reminded of what they had survived so far. Janice’s room had been used as a temporary morgue after the asteroid, a holding pen for the dozens of unidentified bodies charred and burnt by the ash cloud that followed the rock. And then, just weeks later, she had dissected the bodies of the first victims of the terrible mutated virus that had nearly wiped out the entire ship. Down there, in the dingy depths of deck one, the loss of Stieg was put into context.

“Captain.” Janice shook Jake’s hand and opened the door wide, inviting him in. He hadn’t been inside since she had taken over, and he was surprised at the transformation. Where once the place had resembled a giant steel container, now it looked like a low-budget operating theatre. In the centre of the room was an improvised dissection table. Janice explained that the engineers had modified a steel table to her specifications. They had also installed a water supply for a hose attachment, as well as a separate sink. Surrounding the table were free-standing lighting units.

A work area to the side was home to some of the equipment salvaged from the biological warfare lab at Faslane: scales, a microscope, and a digital camera. Surgical tools from the medical stores, complemented by more heavy-duty cutting instruments on permanent loan from the kitchens, completed the inventory.

Jake was relieved to find the dissection table was not in use. In fact, there was no sign of a body anywhere. The room was spotlessly clean, and mercifully odour free.

Janice caught the look on his face. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t have brought you in here if I had someone opened up on there,” she said, grinning widely.

“What have you found out?”

She led him to another table he hadn’t seen when he entered. It was at the far end of the room, hidden in the shadows. Janice clicked on a desk lamp, pulled out two chairs, and sat down.

“This morning’s body was in perfect health.”

“Apart from missing a head.”

“Yes, apart from that. As to where he came from, I would guess given his skin colour and height, and the size of his hands and feet, that he was originally from somewhere in Asia. His stomach was empty, but under the circumstances I doubt that knowing what his last meal consisted of would tell us anything.”

“Asia? Could he be Chinese?”

“Yes, that’s a strong possibility.”

“Was he sick? Could he have had the virus?”

“Mr Vardy was kind enough to run a blood sample analysis on his fancy machine up in medical, and it came back clear. I’ve completed a forensic autopsy, and I conclude that decapitation was the cause of death. All the vital organs were functioning perfectly immediately prior. No diseases, no viruses, no visible injuries.”

“I suppose that means we can rule out a mercy killing then? It’s not like someone killed him because he was suffering terribly. It was a him, right?”

“Yes, adult male. I estimate mid-thirties. And no, unless he had a brain injury — which is something I cannot determine for obvious reasons — then there is no cause to believe he was suffering in any way. This was a slaying, pure and simple.”

“Like the others?”

“I think so. Those bodies were in a far more advanced state of decomposition, but not so much that they would have hidden anything serious. From the angle of the cut, and the way the spine was sliced, I believe the same weapon was used in all three cases. I can’t tell you what sort of weapon, not my specialty I’m afraid. But I’d lean more towards a long blade; a sword or sabre, rather than something like an axe.”

Jake sat down, stroking his chin with his left hand.

“Something on your mind, Jake?”

“We’ve picked up a signal. Another ship. We’re headed for it now.”

“Ah, so that’s what the town hall meeting was called for? I wanted to finish up here, which is why I’m not there myself.”

“Yes, that’s what it’s for. And now I’m thinking: someone has apparently murdered three people. Someone not from this ship. Is that someone on
that
ship? Are we on our way to go and pick up a bunch of savages?”

Seven

T
HE
TOWN
HALL
meeting was turning ugly. The security team were doing their best to enforce some kind of order, but they were a small group against a lot of people with frayed tempers and strong views.

Dan Mitchell sat at the end of a row of seats, halfway back in the auditorium. He’d come as soon as the call had been put out announcing the meeting, not wanting to risk missing out on getting important news first hand. In the end there had been plenty of room and he’d regretted having arrived so early. It meant leaving Vicky on her own, and he hated leaving her alone. Especially now.

The announcement had not been what they had been hoping to hear. As he’d waited there, listening to those around him gossip and whisper before the meeting got underway, he’d imagined Captain Noah walking onto the stage and telling them that they’d found land; uncontaminated land. He knew it was unlikely, but that didn’t make it any less desirable. So when the news finally came that yes, there were probably other survivors, but that they were on a boat, Dan’s heart had sunk.

As matters started to get out of hand, he stood discreetly and made for the nearest exit. Under the rationing system, he’d lost a lot of his excess weight — more than most in fact, as he’d been missing out on two-thirds of his meals. Even so, he still had to squeeze his way up the side aisle in the semi-darkness, excusing himself and apologising as he went.

Outside at last, he went straight to the lift and punched the button for deck ten. As the floor beneath him began to rise he quickly jabbed out his finger again, ordering the car to stop at the next deck instead.

Out on deck six he walked the short distance to the Colaeus Restaurant where he entered a six-digit code on the door lock and went through to the preparation area.

Ration service had ended, and there were only a few stragglers left in the restaurant outside. Those who worked night shifts, or who were too old to be allocated to any team, or who were enjoying a rare day off. Behind the scenes in the preparation area too, most had left. A handful of young men and women were busy with the washing up, but Dan wasn’t interested in them. Instead he ducked into the tiny side office, where he was delighted to find Elizabeth Lethbridge. She was sorting out a stack of ration records.

“Hello, Dan,” she said without looking up.

“Hi, Mrs Lethbridge.”

“Not at the big meeting?”

“I was for a while.”

“Is it true then? What they’re saying, them lot out there? They seen another boat?”

“It’s true.”

“Well, bugger me. Big one is it? Like this?”

“No. Very small.”

“I suppose that’ll mean more mouths to feed.”

“S’pose.”

Dan stayed hovering in the doorway, saying nothing. Lethbridge finally looked up at him, peering over the top of her spectacles. She sighed, then tugged open a desk drawer and extracted two bread rolls. One had had a bite taken out of it. She tossed them to him, and he caught both in his large left hand.

“You’re in luck,” she said. “That meeting meant a few folks left early and didn’t finish those.”

“Thanks, Mrs Lethbridge. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”

“You could try,” she said, but with a wry smile.

Dan blushed and turned to leave.

“Dan! Come here a minute.”

He did as she said, taking a step back inside the office.

Lethbridge peered up at the window. Satisfied nobody was within earshot, she spoke in a loud whisper. “Listen. If they find people on that boat, they could be sick. You remember what it was like for us, with the virus?”

He nodded.

“If the doctors get overrun again, they won’t be able to help. Do you understand what I’m saying, Dan? She needs to see them. You have to take her to see them before we take anyone else on. That means today.”

He made a face, twisting and puckering his mouth into awkward shapes.
 

“I’m scared.”

“You think you’ll be punished? You know what? You might. And you know what else? You’re already being punished. You’re punishing yourself every day, living off scraps. The important thing is that she’s looked after, don’t you think? You have to take her, today. That Vardy chap is nice. In fact, if I were twenty years younger…” her voice trailed off. “Take her, Dan. Tell them. Before it’s too late.”

Dan nodded, and left before she could say any more.

• • •

Jake strolled into the classroom and was met with smiles and greetings from parents who had come to collect their children, as well as the teachers who were keeping an eye on those who remained behind. Lessons had finished half an hour earlier, but lots of children stayed on because their parents worked on teams, or simply because they enjoyed spending time with friends somewhere other than in a cramped cabin they called home.

The conference room was completely transformed. Gone was the dull beige corporate colour scheme, designed to be as inoffensive as possible to any group hosting events on the ship. It had been buried under drawings and posters, as well as maps and charts, bookcases, and even a sizeable aquarium that had been moved from one of the public areas.

He spotted Erica on the far side of the room. She was with her friend Andrea, sitting at a table, drawing a complex picture. When he got closer he saw that it was of two ships, one large and one much smaller alongside.
 

“Hi, girls,” he said.
 

“Jake!” Erica jumped up and hugged him. “We’re drawing the boat, the one with the new people on it.”

“Cool. How did you know what it looks like? We can’t see it yet.”

“We don’t know, silly. It’s just a guess. Miss Linders said that it was smaller than the
Spirit of Arcadia
. And I think it’s blue. Andrea thinks it’s red, which is silly, it’s obviously blue, but she didn’t believe me, so we were going to toss a coin to see who got to choose the colour, only we didn’t have a coin, so instead we tossed a piece of a jigsaw puzzle and I picked the side with the picture, and it landed with the picture showing, so I won, so we’ve drawn the ship blue.” The young girl took a deep breath, then broke out in a smile, erasing the serious expression she had until then been wearing.

“Wow, right. Okay! Well I hope the boat we find is as nice as the one you’ve drawn.”

“It will be. I thought Lucya was coming to fetch me this afternoon? Lucya usually comes. Is she busy?”

“She wanted to come, but I was already nearby so I called her and said I’d get you instead. That way she gets to boss everyone round on the bridge for a bit longer.”

Erica giggled. “She is very bossy sometimes!”

“Come on, let’s go. There’s someone we need to see before we go and find Lucya.”

“Okay. Bye, Andrea. See you tomorrow!”

Her friend smiled and the girls hugged, before Erica skipped off, holding onto Jake’s hand.