Regulus: Hey, the Nukutai nutjobs outside are gone! Don't tell me they've abandoned ship and left us here to starve!
Regulus: Come back here, you yellow-bellied cowards! This pirate is not going to Davy Jones's locker without a fight!
Having satisfied her anger by yelling through the porthole, she turns to the others.
Regulus: Sonetto, are those solvents working at all? Tell me they are!
Sonetto: It appears the outer layer of the door has already dissolved substantially.
Ulrich: Excellent. The Papyrpillar Solvents are more effective than I anticipated.
Ulrich: At this rate, the door should be fully dissolved in approximately 13 hours!
Regulus: Oh wow, that fast! Really, Fish Tank? I'll be waiting with bated breath!
She furiously shakes his glass tank.
Regulus: Hey, why don't you just whip us up a few helmets like yours?
Regulus: That way, you can just blast the door open with the TNT, and we'll be sound as a pound. Well, our heads at least.
Ulrich: My helmet is made of regular silica, 7.092% calcium magnesium carbonate, and 3.27% aluminum oxide. I'm afraid it's no more explosion-proof than your regular old skull.
Regulus: ...
Regulus slumps against the door as the last vestiges of resistance leave her body.
A faint shout comes from the other side of the door.
Vertin: Regulus, I'd stay away from the door if I were you.
Regulus: Huh?!
Barcarola: They're here!
Helmsman Esam: Hold onto this anchor like your life depends on it!
Helmsman Charlie: We ram the door open on the count of three!
The helmsmen's voices are like music to their ears.
Helmsmen: Three!
A countdown begins.
Helmsmen: Two!
A nearly soul-stirring impact.
Helmsmen: One!
With their final count, the supposedly unbreakable door collapses.
The cheering of familiar faces echoes through the room.
Regulus swears it's the most beautiful noise she's ever heard.
Regulus: Right on! I knew you'd come through for us, Barcarola! A rising star through hell or high water!
Vertin: You have our thanks, Ms. Barcarola.
Barcarola: I just want to save as many people as possible, for the pride of the "Free Breeze"!
Vertin: We aim to do the same thing.
After a pause, Ulrich steps forward.
Ulrich: Timekeeper, I need to get to the radio room.
Ulrich: It's likely to be the only place on the ship that we'll be able to get through their jamming.
She turns to Ulrich with a solemn look on her face.
Ulrich: I'll bring good news. I promise.
Vertin: ...
Vertin: I see. Regulus, you should go with him.
Ulrich: No, no, no, I don't need additional manpower for such an easy—
Vertin: I insist. We can't afford to lose anyone, Mr. Ulrich.
She places a compact device in his leather-gloved hand.
Ulrich: This is ...
Vertin: The Pioneers Mk I positioning system, the latest in technology from Laplace.
Ulrich: But if I recall correctly, it's never been mass-produced. Only a few prototypes were made available.
Vertin: And this is one of them. If anything happens, someone can use it to track you down if you're in serious trouble, like if you've fallen into the sea.
Ulrich: ...
Ulrich: This will surely come in handy. Thanks, Timekeeper.
Vertin: Good luck, Mr. Ulrich.
Regulus: Ha, he won't need it, because no one knows radio systems better than this captain!
She nods before the two vanish around the corner.
Vertin: The rest of us need to return to the lobby and get the masked guests under control.
Vertin: Sonetto, do we have sufficient sedatogens left?
Sonetto: Yes, Timekeeper. We still have plenty!
She turns to the helmsmen.
Vertin: Gentlemen, I'll need your assistance, too.
Helmsman Esam: Of course, ma'am. Ms. Barcarola already told us everything. Sounds like helping you means we're helping ourselves!
Barcarola: Esam, do you know where we can find the spare keys to the passenger cabins?
Barcarola: We have another friend to free.
Elsewhere on the ship, two stealthy figures navigate through the darkness.
Regulus: Are you sure this is the right way?
Ulrich: Are you doubting my capabilities?
Regulus: Not exactly.
The broadcasting room is empty.
Regulus: It's only that I expected they'd have this place locked down like the crown jewels, but nobody is here.
Ulrich: We'll concern ourselves with that later.
Ulrich: Let's get to work, Regulus!
Ignoring Regulus's wandering about, Ulrich quickly channels his "thought current" into the broadcasting console.
"VHF Radio": ...
"VHF Radio": Coastal base station, come in! Coastal base station, come in!
"VHF Radio": Where's the International Maritime Organization when you need them?!
"VHF Radio": Laplace Australia branch, please come in! Laplace Australia branch, please come in!
"VHF Radio": ...
Regulus: I just checked out the wiring. All the signal transmitters have been sabotaged.
Regulus: No wonder there's been no sight nor sound of those oily freaks!
Ulrich seems unsurprised. Retracting his "thought current," he disregards the apparent predicament.
He lays one peculiar item after another onto the table.
Regulus: Reel it in, Fish Tank. You're not conducting the "Artificial Storm" experiments right here, are you?!
Ulrich: Why not? We have a supernatural phenomenon, a vast water supply, sufficient asymmetrical nuclide R, and the required sound wave frequency ready in the transmission system here.
Ulrich: If these aren't the perfect testing conditions for the "Artificial Storm," then what is?
Regulus: Wha-wait, wait, wait!
Regulus: Are you forgetting what you just said to Vertin? What about all those side effects? You've got no bleeding idea how severe they'll be, or how long they'll last!
Ulrich: Which is why it's lucky you were sent along with me, Regulus. If anything happens to me, you'll have to be the one to report the experiments' results!
He gives her a hearty pat on the shoulder.
Ulrich: Whether the "Storm" comes or not, we'll have made an undeniable leap of progress.
Ulrich: More than worth a bit of Storm Syndrome, no matter how nasty.
He tosses an Equilibrium Umbrella into Regulus's hands.
Ulrich: At least now you'll have an extra Equilibrium Umbrella.
He pays no mind to his immobile teammate.
Instead, he meticulously sorts through the materials he has spread on the table.
Regulus: Ulrich!
Regulus: I refuse to be a part of this!
