Noah's Ark: Encounters by Harry Dayle Read Free Book Online Page B

of nowhere he felt a sudden flush of guilt at that fact. He made a mental note to spend more time on the Ambush , getting to know all of its crew better. There were only a hundred of them, and the whole community was dependent on the work they did. As chairman of the committee, it seemed the right thing to do.
    Dispensing with greetings, Ralf reported what was so important as to drag them away from the search for Stieg.
    “We’ve picked something up on the radar.”
    “Stieg?” Jake asked, his pulse quickening.
    “No. Bigger. Much bigger. We’ve detected a boat.”

Six

    T HE COMMITTEE WAS hastily assembled once again, this time on the bridge of the Spirit of Arcadia . Jake could see the search for the missing fisherman continuing three decks below. The lookouts positioned from the bow outwards scanned the surrounding sea. He knew time was running out fast.
    Someone called his name.
    “Yes?”
    “Jake, we’re ready to begin.”
    “Right. Yes, of course. Thank you all for coming. I think it’s best I hand straight over to Jason.” He nodded at the submariner, who got to his feet and addressed those seated around the map table.
    “We believe we have picked up another boat on the sonar.”
    A collective gasp went up around the bridge. Jason paused, allowing the implications to set in, before continuing.
    “The boat in question I estimate to be between fifty and seventy metres in length. It’s hard to tell from this distance. What is clear is that while it’s no cruise ship, neither is it a life raft or lifeboat. It’s something far more substantial.”
    Amanda raised her hand and spoke. “Can you tell if there’s anyone on board?”
    A murmur went around the table. It was the question every one of them was thinking.
    “The boat is too far away for our infrared sensors to give us anything useful. However, given her trajectory and speed, I would say there is little doubt that she is sailing under power. She is not drifting.”
    “Do we know where she has come from? How could she have survived?” Lister asked.
    “I first spotted her when she entered the Celtic Sea—”
    “She came from the east?” Lucya cut in.
    “Yes. Perhaps from the direction of Brest.”
    “Or the Crozon Peninsula. That’s a coincidence.”
    “We don’t believe much in coincidence in the Royal Navy, Miss Levin,” Coote grunted.
    “It is indeed possible that the boat came from Crozon,” Jason agreed. “Maybe it’s a sign that the base there has survived. Given her current speed and direction, and our own, I estimate we will lose sonar contact within the next twenty to thirty minutes when she disappears behind Ile de Molène.”
    “So why are we still sailing in the wrong direction?” Ella asked. Her shock of pink hair bobbed about her face as she looked around the table, eyes wide and questioning. “We need to turn round, get to the base.”
    “Of course we do,” Martin agreed. “If it survived, who knows what we might find?”
    Suddenly everyone was talking at once, and nobody was listening. Jake felt his heart sink. He stood and banged on the table. “Alright, let’s bring this to order. Amanda, you wanted to say something?”
    “Thank you, Jake. If the base has survived, it will be there tomorrow. Surely we need to go and find this boat, before we lose them?”
    “Exactly!” Lucya said, and several others voiced their agreement too.
    Jake held up a hand, silencing them all again. “There is another consideration here,” he said, his voice dipping. “Stieg? We haven’t found him yet.”
    “Captain Noah,” Coote said. “I think you know as well as I that the fisherman is not going to be found. I’m sorry, old boy, but we’ve gone way beyond the original search area already. We cannot jeopardise the possibility of finding more survivors for the tiny chance that we may find Stieg alive.”
    “He is right, Jake,” Grau said softly. “For the record, I agree our priority must be the other