02 Flotilla of the Dead Read Online Free Page B

of them. 
    “Outstanding!” commented Captain Fisher when this news reached the bridge of the Sovereign Spirit.   “Is the power still working?”
    “We’re looking into that now, sir” reported Chief Engineer Lunt who was leading the volunteers aboard the Reliable Burden.   “The ship’s generators are running at maintenance levels and it looks like most of the reefer containers are plugged in, so the chances are good that refrigeration is being maintained.”
    “Excellent!” said Fisher.  “Do we know what’s in the containers?” 
    “I’ve got the intended manifest,” Lunt replied.  “But I haven’t found any list of what was actually put aboard before zombies halted the process.  If we’re lucky, we could have a lot of great stuff though.  Three containers on the manifest were full of frozen hamburgers and chicken nuggets for McDonalds in Hong Kong.  Three more should be full of frozen turkeys.  Two containers are listed as assorted frozen dinners.  Five others should have meat ranging from USDA Choice beef to lamb and cooked hams.  There are a total of six containers listed as fresh produce.  And I see at least a dozen non-refrigerated containers listed in the category of dry staple foods.  Even if those are all still on the dock, they should be fine.”
    “I think we just hit a jackpot!” exclaimed Scott.  “Find out how the ship is set for fuel, especially for the generators.  And ask about fresh water making capacity.”  Captain Fisher relayed the request and learned that the ship had been fully refueled before the zombies appeared and that the generators used the same fuel as the engines.  Running only the generators would provide close to a full year of power without any additional refueling.  The water makers were also working and could convert more than five thousand gallons of sea water into drinking water per day.  The crew said they would have put to sea if there had been a bridge officer aboard to sail it before the zombies came onto the ship.  Instead they were only able to close the door to keep more zombies from coming aboard and lock themselves in the ward room for the past week.  They were all very happy to be rescued and would be glad to help in any way they could. 
    “Okay,” Scott remarked.  “Let’s see about getting the Reliable Burden underway now.  I want to take her around the point and bring her in to the cruise ship pier, as close to the Queen Mary as possible.  Then we’ll need to string some temporary utility lines to provide power and water from the container ship to the Queen Mary.   After that we can see about bringing a mobile crane over there to get access to more of the containers.  And we’ll need to check all of the gates and fencing around the cruise ship pier to make sure they are zombie proof.  If necessary, we can set up a barricade to provide a safe route along the waterfront between our ships and the Queen Mary too.  The remaining crew on the container ship should be able to keep the generators and water makers running.  That will be enough to set up the Queen Mary as a safe haven for now.  Tomorrow we can send out more teams to inspect other containers.  We’ll focus first on reefer units that might hold perishables that are still useful.  This port is a treasure chest, but a lot of it has expiration dates.  Anyone have questions?” 
    Everything went smoothly as the Reliable Burden was moved around Terminal Island to the cruise ship pier.   A team of twenty volunteers, protected by a squad of armed Marines, quickly deployed high voltage power lines and a water hose to connect the Queen Mary with the container ship.  By sundown the old Queen was lit up like her glory days.  The water line was set up, but kept in reserve while the domestic water supply still provided enough pressure to keep the taps flowing.  Now the focus turned to opening some of the containers.  Thirteen of them were positioned so that the