8. Research Laboratory
The five of them gathered in the wheelhouse. This time Ben took over the situation. He was the most skilled in boating. While still getting light from Cindy's eyes, Ben looked at the small monitor screens that were lined up in front of him. Even though none of the monitors were on, Ben was trying to figure out each of their function.
This one was for coordinates and navigation. This was to monitor the depth of the ocean. This was for sonar. This was to avoid collisions. This was to monitor big fish. So many of them! Ben rubbed his eyes, then what was this monitor for?
Everyone looked at Ben who was concentrating on his what he was doing. "This should be a lot easier if the monitors are on," Ben complained, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "These are all modern stuff. Even ultra-modern! It looks like it's a research ship," Ben continued.
Rabat remembered something. While grabbing the only flashlight in the ship's wheelhouse, he ran towards the engine room at the bottom of the ship. Ran understood what Rabat meant. He prayed silently that Rabat would succeed.
Not long after, a subtle shaking was felt on the hull of the ship. It was as if the ship was telling them that they were all the new masters. All the lights and monitor screens turned on. The ship was suddenly bright as day. Rabat speculated on turning on the ship's generator. And he did it.
Everyone looked at each other with happy faces. The light from Cindy's eyes automatically disappeared as soon as the room was illuminated. Ben enthusiastically examined all the monitors again. Meanwhile, Ran looked around. Looking for communication devices. Perhaps there was hope that they could make contact to the outside world.
"Uh, what this for?!" half shouted, Ben pointed at one of the large monitor screens that was separated from the other monitors. The monitor screen was segmented into six parts. Each monitored several large tubes in separate rooms.
Everyone paid attention to what Ben pointed out. Including Rabat who had rejoined them. They didn't know what those big tubes contained, but this monitor screen showed lots of indicators of life.
Heartbeat, blood pressure, oxygen level, poison level, and many more that some of them didn't understand. Except Tet. Tet understood most of them. His face looked very curious. This was a monitor screen to monitor life. But whose life? Were there any humans left on this ship? Maybe a cryonic human? He was intrigued.
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Everyone gathered in the wheelhouse discussing their options. They decided they had to act with caution. This mysterious ship must have been or was conducting extraordinary research. No one knew what for, but it must be something big.
"Let's find the room shown on this monitor. I think this ship was on a special mission and ended up in this strange place," Tet was thinking of something. But he didn't want to tell his teammates. He had to prove his theory first.
"Careful. There could be something dangerous in the tube. Let's check together," Ran expressed his concern.
Cindy didn't involve herself in the serious conversation. Her black eyes continued to stare at the monitor screen. Something there was bugging her. Her intuition said Ran was right. That thing in the tube was dangerous!
Before exploring the ship tomorrow, they decided to call it a day and rest in the wheelhouse. There were many reclining chairs that could be used to lie down. There were also rollaway mattresses available. It was too risky to spend the night in the many available cabin crew rooms below. No one knew what was lurking in this mysterious ship. They could watch the entire ship from the monitor screens.
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Nothing special happened during the night. This morning the sea was very calm. The surface was like clear glass. Reflecting a deep blue color. As if saying that it was the greatest storage of secrets on earth.
All of them woke up at down. Last night they slept very well. It could be from exhaustion. Or it could be for the first time they felt they were in a safe and civilized place.
Except Cindy, she was restless. Her sharp ears picked up the subtle movements from the lower deck. The movements didn't sound suspicious to Cindy. But what made it unsettling for her was another sound that accompanied those subtle movements.
The sound of scratching on the ship's wall. A terrifying sound of a sharp object deliberately scraping against the ship's wall. It was like the sound of a sword being sharpened or the sound of a tiger clawing against a tree trunk as it sharpened its claws. Cindy kept this to herself. For a while.
After washing up and eating the basic canned food that they found in the wheelhouse refrigerator, the expedition team got ready. Today was very important. They would explore every part of the ship and leave no stone unturned. Apart from checking the strange room they saw on the wheelhouse monitor, they also hoped to find any means of communication. Anything.
Ran led the search. They started from the bow of the ship. They found the rudder of the ship on the bridge. The rudder was exactly like the rudder in the pirates of the Caribbean era. The real rudder was just a display, so people thought this wooden-lined ship was an old ship. The perfect disguise. When viewed from the outside only.
They continued the search. The first deck was the cabin crew and researchers. A plush and comfortable cabin. Equipped with a luxurious kitchen and dining area. The rooms on the second deck were smaller but there were two interesting parts of the room that took them by surprise.
A state-of-the-art medical room. It had medical equipment enough for a proper hospital. The medical room could accommodate 10 treatment beds. And according to Ran, who was a doctor, the medicine cabinets had better stock compared to any pharmacies or even hospitals. Holy moly!
The next room was an armory full of all short of weapons! Nuts! From small-caliber pistols, to several calibers of stun guns, to laser-guided rocket launchers! There was even a separate glass cabinet that held some strange, shaped weapons. Rabat had the feeling that he was visiting Fort Knox.
This research ship was escorted by fully armed soldiers. But what for? it was only natural that there would be security on every research vessel, but this was too much. Even the range of ship's weaponry exceeded any elite troops in the world.
The bottom deck of the ship was the last part they explored. It wasn't easy to enter. The door was made of steel and there was a security access button to enter. It even came with a fingerprint and cornea scanner! A big sign at the door said LABORATORY.
Everyone looked at each other. It was a steel vault! Not a laboratory! Cindy was a little relieved. What was inside the vault must be something very precious or dangerous. This 3-inch-thick steel wall wasn't meant to block intruders from entering, but rather to prevent anything inside from getting out!
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