Megalodon, Rookie Burwick [i like reading books .TXT] 📗

strongest steel there is. The weapons themselves will be made out of a lower quality steel. We're hoping to extract engery from various sea life to power these weapons."

"What? That's not even possible."

"I'll let Dr. Lissiter explain."

He let out a slight sigh, and paused for a few moments.

"Right. I'll do it."

"Excellent. Now, allow me to show you to your cabin."

 

                                            *  *  *

 

 

Marlin followed the captain along the well-lit corridor, eyeing everything as they went. The captain had said it wasn't a far walk from his corders to the room, but Marlin was finding otherwise. They had been walking through halls and rounding corners for almost twenty minutes now, and his legs weren't in the best of shape. 

"Lots of hallways for such a small ship. No offense," he said.

"None taken. I've gotten frustrated trying to find my way around," the captain replied.

"How many turns is it to get to the control room from my cabin?"

Dob laughed. "I wouldn't know, Dr. Jacobs."

"So, is Ian at the lab?"

"Yep. This project has kept him very busy. He hardly ever leaves that lab."

"That sounds like him. When he gets wrapped up in something, it's impossible to ply him away from it."

"You know him?"

"Oh yeah. We're good friends."

"Odd that he never mentioned that."

Marlin found himself shrugging. "If it's outside of his interest at the moment, he never mentions it."

At last, the he rounded one last corner and saw the captain opening a door that lead into a small, single-bed cabin. Marlin walked up and peered inside, and smirked.

"Nice. It'll do, Capt."

"Do enjoy your stay. Dr. Lissiter will be coming to escort you to the lab where the two of you can get to work. If everything goes as planned, you should be able to start right away."

"Good. Thanks for the walk."

"Anytime."

The captain turned and hurried away, leaving Marlin to himself and his cabin. He shut the door behind him, and continued to scan the room. It was the typical setup. Nice bed, red carpet, a flat screen TV, and a small fridge that could only be opened with a keyhole. On the opposite wall from him was the entrance to the bathroom. It was just large enough for a single man who was on board the ship to design advanced weaponry. He swung his bag onto the bed, and sighed with relief. The weight that had pressured his shoulder from the bag was getting really hard to manage. He felt around the bed in a few spots, then sat down on it, still examining the room.

He couldn't help it. He lay down and relaxed his muscles, and breathed. He had occasional trouble with asthma, which was already flaring up. He guessed it was the carpet cleaner they used. That was really the only possibility. But, he then shifted his focus to the project. The captain had said to wait for Ian to come and escort him to the lab. He could get lost trying to find it himself. He rolled over and unzipped his bag, and dug through it until he found his tablet. The screen lit up as he pushed the small button along the side, and he waited for it to fully start up. Moments passed before the main menu came up. He typed in a quick password, and the sonar image of the ship came up. It had been the last thing he'd looked at before leaving the airport.

 He pressed his finger against the cold screen, and moved the image around, scanning the deck, bridge and bow as he went. Then, he tapped on a small icon in the right hand corner, and the image zoomed in on the weapons located all around the ship. The ones located on the bottom of the ship were the largest of them all, and were close to the same size as the large canon on the deck. That must have been one of the things covered by the tarps. He knew enough about the Navy to know that they didn't like to expose their weapons unless needed. So, building new weaponry would have to only take place inside the lab. But the whole thing seemed a bit un-realistic. How can they make new weapons, and get them attached? It was going to take a lot of hard work to get the weapons secure and in place.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, which made him jump. He turned and tried to look through that small, round window that was centered on the door, but he couldn't. He sprung to his feet and hurried to answer it. He unlocked the small flip-lock that was just a couple inches down and to the right of the window, then opened the door. Staring back at him was Dr. Ian Lissiter, expert engineer and machinery manufacturer. The two of them immediately smiled.

"Ian! How good to see you," he said, shaking the man's hand. It hadn't changed. Like the rest of him, Ian's hand was covered in speck full skin that glimmered in the lighting above them, and his light grey hair was still neatly placed on top of his thin head.

"Good to see you too, Marlin," Ian replied. "Settled in?"

"Oh, you could say that," they both laughed.

"My word, it's been what. . .two years?" Ian shook his head in amazement.

"Yeah, that sounds right. I never did keep count."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. My work here on the USS Tulsa has kept me very busy."

"So, how are things working out with Miranda."

"Oh, not the best. She's still mad about that incident."

"Time to move on, then?"

"Yeah, I would suppose."

"Now, the captain told me about some weapons we needed to build. Is that the project here?"

"Yes, it is. The Navy has arranged for new weaponry to be built into every single ship belonging to them."

"Are you going to be doing all of those weapons?"

"Oh no, just these combat shoreline patrol ships of this DESRON."

"So, what other ships belong to this DESRON."

"It mostly consist of battleships and aircraft carriers, just like any other. The battleships patrol the outer waters, and the combat ships patrol the inner waters, a few yards from the shore."

"Oh, I get it. Different duties for even the ships."

"Yep, that's it. Now, I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"To escort me to the lab?"

"Yep. That's right. Are you ready to go?"

"Let me get my lab coat, and I'll meet you around the corner."

"Alright."

He shut the door and chuckled a little, then he hurried over to his duffle bag, still piled on the bed. He dug through some more papers and clothing before he at last found his clean, white lab coat, and slipped it on. Now, he felt normal again. This was what he was used to, and it did lighten his spirit. He hurried back over to the door, stepped out into the hall, and shut it tight.

Ian stood near the corner of the hallway. "Follow me."

 

 

                                        *  *  *

 

 

Marlin looked up at the sign that read "LAB AREA 17" and smiled. He could tell already that he and Ian had gotten a much bigger and much more luxurious lab than any other scientist or person on board the ship. The doors that lead into the lab itself were tall and wide, meaning an even larger room beyond.

"Shall we?" Ian interrupted his deep wonder.

"Yes, lead the way," he replied.

He followed Ian through the doors, and stepped inside the lab. Immediately he began looking around, seeing exactly what he not only wanted but needed to see. A long, metal-topped worktable covered with blueprints, research papers and even some chemistry items, all of which were completely necessary. Across the floor form the worktable on both sides were file cabinets, containing important information about the ship's frame and weapon history, as well as some history about the Navy itself. Behind the worktable was a few small, bare shelves, and next to that, another door that had locks and keypads all along the sides and handle.

"Wow, this is better than I expected," he said.

"Yep. It's a good place to work. But, surprisingly, this is where we'll actually create the weapons."

"Really? In this lab?"

"Oh yeah. This lab and no other."

"I can't imagine how we'll ever get this thing done before the month's out."

"Are you kidding? This could take up to three months, my friend."

"Three months?"

"Yep. Sure, it is a long wait, but the captain's patient."

"What about me and my schedule?"

"Not to worry. Just think. If we are successful in this, the US will be even safer than before. These new weapons will change the Navy as we know it."

"Is that a good thing though?"

"Oh come on. You've seen the plans for the weapons, haven't you?"

"Yeah I have."

"Well then you know why we're doing this. To change the Navy."

"Change it or just improve it?"

"Good question, Marlin. But I don't have the answer. Today's advanced technology has gone passed the weapons of the Navy, and now they want to upgrade."

"Upgrade, aye?"

"Oh yes. We're going to upgrade to the next level of underwater weaponry."

"I've got no idea where these weapons are even supposed to be installed."

"Ah, follow me and I'll show you."

He followed Ian around to the opposite side of the table, and saw a small computer with another sonar image of the ship flashing on its screen.

"This can show us where the weapons are, every last one of them," Ian said.

"I see. How do you work this thing?"

Ian leaned forward and hit a few keys, then stood back up and waited. The screen began rotating around the ship, flashing various object on the deck and on the bottom of the ship in orange.

"Those orange flashings are the weapons. The ship's covered in em' as you can see."

"That is a lot of weaponry. Do they want all of these weapons replaced?"

"Yes. All of them."

He looked down at the screen and stared for a moment. On the bottom of the ship, below the surface of the water, there was six total canons, and five missile launchers. On the deck, there was three total canons, all of which were quite small.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"Indeed we do, Marlin."

"Do we have the material to start building?"

"Not yet. The materials are being flown out here by helicopter. They should be arriving tomorrow."

He paused for a moment, and leaned forward himself to have a closer look.

"Well, this brings up a question I've been meaning to ask."

"What's that?"

"The captain described these weapons as being made out of steel. But I got the idea you were saying differently. What's the story?"

"In a way, yes. I am saying it differently."

He paused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, come with me and I'll show you."

Ian walked towards the end of the table in swift, quickly-paced moves, and stopped at the corner. He beckoned Marlin to follow, which he did. As he approached he could see a tall, glass container that was sealed tightly with a metal lid. It wasn't just any container, though. It held inside it a large, triangle shaped, brown colored, object.

"What's this?"

"This, my friend, is the tooth of the most fearsome predator to ever exist. Carcharodon Megalodon."

He raised an eyebrow. "What's this got to do with the weapons."

"Well, you see, this tooth is only a couple hundred years old, meaning it still has moisture and dentin, and it still has some energy within it."

"Energy?"

"Yes, my friend. We're extracting this rare source of energy from this tooth, hoping to somehow put it into the weapons."

He paused again and thought for a moment. Every word that had just come out of Ian's mouth suddenly sounded completely crazy, and impossible.

"This is. . .weird, okay? I don't know where you're getting all of this, but you can't make a fully-functioning weapon from shark teeth."

"That's where you're wrong, now. This tooth belonged to the largest predator to ever exist. Unlike the smaller species of sharks, this big thing had to use much more oxygen and much more energy. No other creature has energy in its teeth, except the Megalodon."

"So what you're saying is