David stares down at his bracelet in disbelief, he assumed the doctor still doesn't trust him, why would a scientist need body guards he thought.
Shorty afterwards, he decides that his best course is to play along and cooperate, The doctor then beckoned him to seat on the chair, david reluctently agreed. "So doctor, what do you have for me, you know Ive been trying to patch this ship into duty for a few months now, I'd like to know how and when do you think your people can fix it and ready for me" he said.
The doctor did not respond immediately, theres probably complications david thougth.
Kawashima noticed the uneasiness of David, probably of due to the high security presence had encountered upon boarding the station. He however, decided to ignore it. He already fleshed out the level of security surrounding Singapore itself, let alone it's administrator.
There was a slight pause, during which Kawashima opened a tab on his data pad. With a push of a button, a hologram of the ship's schematics appeared before the two.
Kawashima frowned, obviously unhappy with the progress being made on the project. "This here is what we know about the ship. In short, not much." While talking to David, he began to fiddle with the data pad, opening more tab as he spoke. "The ship design is alien to Sirian and even Gallic designs, we are frankly just scratching the surface when it comes to figuring how this ship actually works. If only we had the original design schematics..."
A slight pause followed, this time however, Kawashima seemed noticeably happier than the previous time. "Despite our slow progress in understanding the ship's main systems, we recently had a breakthrough in the engine systems. See, ship engines tend to be the easiest part of the ship to understand....."
The next few minutes consisted entirely of Kawashima unloading tons of foreign technical terms and statistics regarding engines. The mess of complex engineering terms confused David to a certain extent and most of Kawashima's monologue seemed to have flown past him.
Kawashima, noticing the decomposition of his "conversation" into a one sided lecture, decided to spare David the agony of listening to him drone on.
"In short, if there is one thing that we can potentially salvage from this ship with the highest chance of success. It would be the engines."
Short few minutes later, David did not see the guards anymore, He felt his mind going into fugue, was it even real or am I going nuts? The doctor looked keen to tell david about the project. Still disorientated and aching, David eagrly focused on the data pad, it was flashing data, possibly technical information about the vessel, surely david was not expecting something else. Was it possible to draw any useful conclusions from what he had just experienced? Knowing little about the technical field, he did recognize one hologram, the engine.
The doc saw the look of david's face, he realized that he was on to something, after a few seconds pause, the doctor pointed david to a selection of engines, some who he thinks can work on the vessel. Then, david quickly raised his left hand, and has said in loud whisper " Doc.. can you speak english? I don't know anything about the engines, nor what makes them different" - The doctor smiled for a moment, and beckoned david to a side-door, fifteen meters away.
Kawashima guided him throguh the door and through a small corridor, meanwhile he was busy explaining the details in the most simple way possible.
"We don't know much about the way the ship functions, but lucky for you, it's the engines that don't seem to be working. Engines are inherently, one of the most simple and universal parts of any ship. From all over Sirius to Gallia, engines serve the same purpose and are wired in more or less the same way. The only distinguishing feature is the fuel source, which then determines design."
Kawashima smiled, content that his explanation is simple enough for a person unversed in engineering to understand. Meanwhile, the two of them reached a small door at the end of the corridor. Kawashima places his finger on the biometric scanner and inputs a code.
"As such, I present to you-"
The metallic doors swung open.
"The possible replacements for the engine."
A small room with a large hologram projector in the middle can be seen. As the two stepped up to the projector, the room lighted up and the hologram sprung to life. Upon start-up, the text "IMG Production Archives" flashed on screen.
"This is our archiving room. It contains the statistics and schematics for ships and equipment that the IMG produces. Generally, this room is off-limits to non-staff and staff members under B-class clearance, however, out of convenience I will make an exception."
He clicks on a few links on the data pad located just below the projector. The hologram then begun to list a catalogue of engine types that the IMG produces or stocks.
"I am sure that at least one of these engines would be compatible with the ship. Not necessarily 100% compatible, but at least enough to keep the ship running."
Full as David's mind was of thoughts, he was keenly observant, and he noticed the changes in the new room, curves and bends and metal jams - high end equipment tools, and always he sharply noted where he placed his feet. Once coming around a bend, he shied abruptly, like a startled horse, curved away from the place where he had been walking, and retreated several paces back as the projector started filiming. Prominent among the elegantly engines that filled an entire section of the hologram was a large metal box, to which there was no description other than its title " Prototype"
David at first, had no idea which one of them could possibly work on the vessel, but he memorized what the doctor said, and thus he quickly relaxed. David pointed the doctor to that image, the unknown image named "Prototype" - " If you dont mind me asking, whats that? I assume its an engine, do you think you can tell me more about it, perhaps this is what we are looking for?" - The doctor was not so happy, he quickly turned off the projector and offered david a drink, while he was going through the data pad - hoping to find a functioning engine. David, at that point realized that the doctor shifted the subject out of fear, of.. fear of something that he could not trace. David was not obsessed about it, but he was carefuly looking at the doctor.
"Doctor, I enjoy your company, I want to aplogize for that little outburst, I realize that some things are just beyond me, please, accept my apology, I did not intend to intrude your company's privacy, What should we do next, What is your next step sir, I'd like not to bother you too much as you have given me a lot of attention ".
Dr. Shinichiro Kawashima, its been a very long time since we last spoke. I was sad to hear the construction didnt go well, and well, sometimes we cant always get what we want. I wish to thank you for the dedication you have provided me all this time, and I was wondering if I could re-visit you at the shipyard, It's of a big value me to thank you personaly and celebrate in the mid-days of dark winter.
Ah yes, it has been some time since we spoke. Sorry the project couldn't go as planned. We ran into some technical difficulties to do with the technology involved. I have been very busy these past few months, but I guess I could spare a time for an old acquaintance. Singapore shipyard it is then, I will inform the people of your arrival.
![[Image: PKNeayo.png]](http://i.imgur.com/PKNeayo.png)