Page 33 of Honor Code

Ellie glanced at the image in her hand then hurried to the control center. Inside, she approached a technician monitoring numerous screens displaying real-time data and asked if he’d seen Suzi. He shook his head.

She tried the gym, the mess hall, and their room, but Suzi wasn't in any of them. There was only one other place she could be, and that was with Henderson.

Ellie had worked up a sweat by the time she got to their boss's office. In utter contrast to her sleek, modern lab and the busy control center, he was allocated a small cubicle with a dirty porthole for a window, which looked past layers of scaffolding to the ocean beyond. The door was ajar, and she could hear her boss’s voice emanating from inside.

"It has to be tomorrow," he was saying.

Ellie knocked. He fell silent.

She pushed open the door and both Suzi and Henderson spun around to look at her. "Sorry to interrupt, but I really need to see those reports again, Suzi."

"Oh. Hi, Ellie. Of course. I'll just go and get them." She turned back to Henderson. "Okay, I’ll let the Operations Manager know we’ve got the new coordinates."

"What's the rush?" Suzi asked as they marched back along the corridor to her office.

"Something about the rock formations on the satellite images," Ellie panted, still trying to catch her breath. "They look different from those on your reports."

"What satellite images?" Suzi asked, frowning.

Shit, she'd forgotten she hadn't told her about Ray.

"The ones I asked a friend to source for us. He's a professor at Stanford, and he managed to tap into a live satellite feed for me."

"He did?" Suzi frowned. She looked surprised.

"Yeah. I had to know if we were working with the right survey data, Suzi. You understand, don't you?" Hopefully, her new friend wouldn't be too upset that she'd gone behind her back.

"Yes, of course. Sorry, I was just surprised, that's all. I didn't realize you went to Stanford."

Ellie laughed. "He did, not me. Anyway, I thought we'd better check since I'm getting so many anomalies. And I swear the satellite images are showing something different."

Suzi shook her head. "I don't understand."

"Me neither. Let's get the reports so we can compare."

"Okay."

They grabbed the folder then ran back to the lab.

"Look." Ellie placed the printout from the satellite image next to the identical one in Suzi's report.

Suzi studied them both. As a geologist, she was best placed to recognize the differences in the rock strata beneath the seabed. "You're right," she whispered, her voice strained. "The underwater rock structure and the sea bottom morphology are different."

Ellie stared at her, triumphant. "I knew there was something wrong."

"What does it mean?" Suzi asked.

"It means this is a different location from the one in the survey," said Ellie breathlessly. "It means we've been drilling in the wrong place."

"How can it be?" Suzi whispered, once the initial shock had worn off.

"I don't know," Ellie rubbed her forehead. The beginning of a headache pricked behind her eyes, "but I'm going to have to take this to Henderson."

"Oh, my God. This is huge," Suzi's face was pale. "It means we were sent the wrong data. Our entire project was based on that. It’s going to involve a full-scale investigation. The project will be halted. We’ll both lose our jobs."

"I know." The implications weren't lost on her. If the geographical data provided by the survey company was incorrect, it could have severe consequences for the entire oil exploration project. The company had invested millions of dollars based on this data, and if it turned out to be faulty, it could lead to significant financial losses and legal repercussions.

Moreover, an investigation into the survey company would likely uncover the reasons behind the incorrect data. Was it a simple mistake, or was there something more sinister at play like Phoenix had suggested? The possibility of intentional manipulation or corruption within the survey company was a serious concern that she couldn’t ignore.

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