Mike was heading down toward the galley when he spotted Theresa coming down the hall, her hair in a ponytail.
“You clean up okay,” she said with a smile.
“And you’re pretty chipper so early in the morning.”
She batted her eyelashes and threw her head dramatically. “Well, I just had a man in my bed...”
“I slept through the good parts, I guess. Was I fantastic?”
“Of course. It was everything I imagined. Especially the snoring part.”
“You must have me confused with the whales.”
They headed for the stairs to the galley when the ship reverberated again with loud moaning noises.
“You think maybe that’s just Tony and Jess having sex?” asked Mike.
She punched him.
They walked down two flights when they stopped and listened again.
“That’s inside the ship,” said Mike. He looked at Theresa and saw her expression. She was thinking the same thing.
“What the hell is that?”
“Fuck! What if it’s the hull?”
“We better get Tony!”
The two of them sprinted back up the stairs to Jess’s room, knowing Tony wasn’t in his cabin. By the time they got there, Tony was coming out of her room, pulling his shirt on.
“Tony!” shouted Mike. “What the fuck is that, man? The hull collapsing?”
“I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like the hull. C’mon.”
They ran to the stairs and headed to the bridge to ask the MC if they were all about to die. Jess followed up the rear, finishing dressing as she ran.
The four of them ran into the bridge at full speed. Tony hopped into the commander’s chair and called up the MC. Its calm female voice asked how it could be of assistance.
“Check hull integrity and safety status immediately.”
“One moment, please . . . checking all systems.”
Mike sat in another chair and began scanning the ocean outside for whales or any other sonar contacts that might explain the noise. Theresa and Jess stood behind them watching, waiting for the MC to respond.
“Hull safety scan confirms hull integrity. Hull abnormality due to temperature gradient remains constant. Current internal pressure remains at point-nine bars. Oxygen, nitrogen, CO2 levels all remain normal. External temperature . . .”
“I got nothing,” yelled Mike from his station.
Tony typed quickly on his keyboard, and every sonar and infrared camera on the ship’s exterior began simultaneously scanning the deep black sea. Several cameras picked up scavengers at the whale fall and at the sea bottom, but no large sonar contacts appeared.
“Definitely not whales, unless the sound is carrying really far. I guess that’s possible,” said Tony.
“This loud?” asked Theresa.
“No way,” said Mike.
“Honestly, I have no idea. Anytime I’ve ever heard whales aboard a sub, they were always close enough to pick up on sonar. And this equipment is a hell of a lot more sophisticated than anything I’ve ever used before.”
“And I’m telling you I know that’s not a whale,” said Mike. “I’ve listened to thousands of hours of whale songs—they don’t sound anything like that.”
Theresa shook her head. “I agree. So what the hell is it?”
Tony took a deep breath. “Okay, we all gotta relax a sec. The MC says we’re not in danger, and the sonar and fish geeks say it ain’t a whale. So what is it? Everybody think.”
“We should call Ted. He knows this ship better than anyone,” said Theresa quietly, knowing it wouldn’t be a popular statement. Mike didn’t disappoint her.
“Screw him,” he said.
“She’s right,” said Tony. “He’s the skipper now. Come to think of it, why isn’t he up here? You think he’s sleepin’ through this shit?” Tony pressed the intercom phone system, which rang in Ted’s cabin. Ted picked up, sounding like he had just been sleeping.
“Hey, Ted. You hear those noises?” asked Tony.
“Yeah, nothing to worry about,” he said, sounding groggy.
“Are you serious? We’re all up here on the bridge. We thought we had a hull breach! It’s definitely not whales. What do you think that is? It sounds like it’s coming from inside the ship.”
“Yeah, it’s just the pipes in the biofuel room. I already checked it out. I think the internal pressure is messing with the system a little bit, causing those groaning noises. I’m sure it will go away after a while. Nothing to worry about. Go back to sleep.”
“Seriously? That’s it? Pipe noises? You checked it?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I’m telling you, I looked through the whole system. It’s a very sophisticated system, and it’s a prototype. It’s not perfect, but it functions the way it was designed. It’s just internal hull pressure squeezing the pipes. We’re fine. I checked and double-checked. The biofuel room is secure. Everyone stay out of there. If you monkey around in there and something breaks, we’ll have to surface—so just stay out of there. I’m going back to sleep. Out.”
Tony listened to the dead line for a second, then hit the “end” button.
“That’s it? Friggin’ pipe noises?” asked Mike.
Tony shrugged.
“That scared the crap out of me, pardon my French,” said Theresa.
“Is crap ‘shit’ in French?” asked Mike.
“That’s merde,” said Tony.
“I didn’t know you spoke two languages,” said Jess. “That’s very impressive. Mike, you gonna make us all coffee and breakfast now?”
“Coffee, for sure. Damn, it’s early. I think,” he responded.
Theresa patted his shoulder. “The good news is, we’re not all going to be flooded and crushed and drowned today. You should make bacon!”
“It’s still early in the day. We have plenty of time left for another disaster,” said Mike.
“Gee, thanks,” answered Jess. “Now go make me coffee!”