Tom waited for a break in the conversation. "So Josh, what do you do on the ship?"

"Oh, I'm doing Surface Weapons right now, but I'm hoping to branch out into more diving. How about you?"

"I'm in training right now, but probably will be doing diving as well." Tom said.

Another guy spoke up, "Yeah, figured you were a diver. They keep us busy here."

Tom was interested "Oh, what do you do?"

"Right now, maintenance and inspection of the hull and other parts that are underwater. We can also be called on for other tasks like search and rescue."

"Oh neat." Tom said. "What was your name?"

"Elliott. Elliot Wall. And you?"

"Thomas. Thomas Campbell. So do you dive every day?"

"Most days, yes." Elliott said.

"Cool cool." said Tom.

"So how long have you been --"

An alarm went off along with flashing lights.

Josh and his mates stood up, quickly said a few words to each other using abbreviations Tom didn't catch, and quickly and orderly went out the door. Tom was alone in the mess hall.

Tom wished he had actually read the emergency procedures manual.

Tom started just following the EXIT signs, hoping it would be sufficient to just get out. He encountered other people doing the same thing, so he kept doing that. A few were going the opposite direction "Probably the ones actually dealing with the situation." Tom thought.

Tom arrived on the outside deck. There were groups of people waiting by the lifeboats, awaiting the order on whether to evacuate. There were some rushing around checking on things or talking in their radios. Tom didn't see Josh or Sgt. Sweet.

Tom briefly considered just jumping overboard and leaving everything behind in the confusion. But he knew he was miles from shore, he knew from the technical manual there was at least one GPS transmitter in his suit, and not to mention, he now knew how difficult it would have been to remove the suit.