Orly struggled to his feet. The water sheeted off his helmet’s faceplate, and he was grateful to have been wearing his environment suit. He ensured the hatch was tightly sealed, and then he made his way forward. He was only partway to the pilot’s cabin when the ship lurched forward and then backward, and everyone was sent sprawling into the water.
Orly climbed to his feet again and signaled the controller to activate the ship’s systems. The lights came on in the main cabin, and the controller signaled all systems operational. Orly breathed a sigh of relief. The water hadn’t interfered with the ship’s critical systems.
Gaining the pilot’s seat, Orly signaled the controller to gain altitude, but the sensors failed to indicate a movement toward the surface. Instead, they registered the ship moving parallel to the surface. There was a gradual descent, which was recognized by the loss in light.
Orly checked the exterior sensors and was disturbed by the images of nearly transparent material pressed against the shell.
“What’s our status?” Smitty asked, as he entered the pilot’s cabin.
“All systems are functioning, for now,” Orly replied. “But I can’t get the traveler to respond to my command to broach the surface.”
“Why not?” Smitty asked.
“For one, I think we’ve enough water on board to challenge the grav engines,” Orly replied. “And for another …”
“For another, what?” Smitty prompted.
“I think something ate us,” Orly replied reluctantly.
Smitty stared at his friend in disbelief. Orly was the logical sort, and Smitty wondered if he’d sustained injuries when he vaulted over the upraised ramp.
“Look at the shell sensors for yourself,” Orly said testily.
Smitty connected to the controller and examined the outer sensors. Every one of them had the same view of pale, semitransparent material.
“Now check the log of our path,” Orly demanded.
Smitty followed Orly’s request. “We’re moving toward deeper water,” he said in surprise.
“If I had to guess,” Orly said in a despondent voice. “I think some monstrous jelly like creature has swallowed the ship, and it’s headed for the deep to rest and digest us.”
“Black space,” Smitty muttered.
“The good news is that the shell isn’t registering degradation, yet,” Orly said.
“Maybe we’re indigestible,” Smitty said hopefully.
“That might not save us, Smitty. If we can’t make this ship more buoyant, we’ll sit on the bottom, inside this beast, until our food and water run out.”
“What about using our beam?” Smitty volunteered excitedly.
“There’s a problem with that idea,” Orly explained. “Our beams are meant to be used in space or in clear atmosphere. That eliminates any scattering of the energy near our ship. I’m afraid if we fire our weapon that enough energy will be reflected back at the shell to breach it.”
“Then we’d drown,” Smitty concluded.
“What we’re in dire need of is a rescue,” Orly said.
* * *
<Are you all right, Willem?> Teague sent.
<Other than my odd circumstances, yes,> Willem replied in the open.
<Can you get back to this structure?> Bethany asked.
<Unfortunately, this avatar wasn’t designed with swimming in mind,> Willem replied. <I can’t move my limbs fast enough to overcome my weight. At this moment, I’m considering options.>
<You need paddles, Willem,> Teague urged.
<The shells of the four-flipper creatures,> Ginny sent excitedly. <There should be some of them on the bottom.>
<Excellent idea, Ginny. Stand by,> Willem replied. He scoured the sea floor and found it littered with the shells Ginny described. He chose four shells, one for each limb.
Testing the shells on his feet, Willem found they swiveled uncontrollably, and he discarded them. The two he threaded on his forearms allowed him to grip the far side of the shells with his hands. Holding the neck of the shells tightly, he swung them through the water and was pleased by the amount of resistance they met.
Willem looked toward the surface. Then he extended his arms to the side and furiously stroked them in figure eight motions. Slowly, he rose off the bottom. He was operating at peak output, and he watched the tremendous drain on his power crystals. His internal grav cell was limiting to about a third what would have been the expected rate of energy drain.
Willem ascended agonizingly slowly. His kernel was filled with calculations — stroke efficiency, power cell depletion rate, grav cell charging, distance from the bottom, distance to the raft, and the probability that the lower edge of the structure could support his weight if he tried to pull himself onto it.
Willem waited until his calculations indicated that he would reach the structure, with a minimum of charge to spare. Then he signaled the three waiting humans.
<The probability is high that I’ll gain the raft,> Willem sent. <However, I don’t think the lower structure, which I expect to be highly fractured, will support my weight if I attempt to climb onto the shell.>
<You believe these are shells?> Teague asked.
<Willem’s right,> Ginny sent hurriedly. <The commonality of shapes isn’t a coincidence. The four-finned, shelled creatures in the waters are the juveniles. These rafts are a collection of dead adults.>
<Precisely, Ginny,> Willem sent.
<Okay, they’re shells,> Bethany interrupted. <How do we get you out, Willem?>
<I’ll attempt to pull myself onto the base of the shell,> Willem replied. <In the meantime, I hope that Captain Azasdau has become aware of our predicament.>
* * *
“Captain, the exploration team is in jeopardy,” Rosette announced.
Immediately, Asu interrupted his conversation with his first mate, Diana Newell, and hurried to the bridge’s holo-vid.
“Report, please, Rosette,” Asu said anxiously.
“The traveler has dropped through the island,” Rosette replied.
“How’s that possible?” Diana asked.
“I would suggest the answer to that question is secondary, Ser Newell,” Rosette replied. It was as close to a rebuke, as her personality programs allowed her to offer. “Most of our team is aboard the traveler, including Orly. Within moments, it should have returned to the surface, but it hasn’t.”
“Where is it?” Asu asked.
“It’s underwater and moving deeper,” Rosette reported.
“Are they sinking?” Diana asked.
“Negative,” Rosette replied. She transferred the controller’s telemetry imagery to the holo-vid. “Here’s the island,” she explained, highlighting the tiny speck. “And here’s the traveler’s present position, course, and speed. Please note the increasing depth.”
“Could they have been captured by something or someone?” Diana asked.
“That’s a perceptive question,” Rosette replied, giving Diana a graceful nod.
“Rosette, who has been left on the island?” Asu asked.
“I queried the traveler’s controller,” Rosette replied. “Four are missing … Willem, Teague, Ginny, and Bethany. I’m presuming they’re on the island. I should be able to reach Willem, but I’m unable to contact him. Something is interfering with his comm.”
“Diana, launch a cargo traveler to rescue those on the island. I want all four safely returned to this ship,” Asu ordered.
“Yes, Captain,” Diana answered crisply and hurriedly sent orders to the Sojourn’s bay, as she made her way below deck. She’d decided to accompany the rescue party.
“Rosette, I need Captain Plummer,” Asu requested.
<I was about to contact you, Captain,> Adrianna sent. <We have a problem.>
Asu failed to notice the anxiousness in Adrianna’s thoughts. Instead he sent, <It can wait, Capta
in. We have an emergency. The landing team is in trouble.>
Adrianna bit back what she was about to say. There should be time to care for the explorers, she thought. <What do you need, Captain?> she sent.
<I’m not sure, yet,> Asu replied. <The circumstances are strange, to say the least. We’ve launched a traveler to recover four team members on the island, but our explorer shuttle is underwater and moving deeper.>
<Do you have a means of latching on to the ship and recovering it?> Adrianna asked.
There was a moment of appreciation by Asu of the Trident captain. She wouldn’t have been his first choice several years ago when she was selected, but the president and the fleet admiral were insistent. Time had proven that she was a practical person, a quick thinker, and calm under pressure — all characteristics he appreciated.
<We can’t effect a rescue if the ship is underwater,> Asu replied. <After we recover those on the island, I can give you an update on the shuttle’s status, and we can plan how to extricate it from its predicament.>
Adrianna made the decision that her news could wait for several hours until Asu gained a better understanding of the explorers’ problem. It was better that Asu focused on one major problem at a time.
* * *
Verlan, one of the expedition’s pilots, counted implants, ensuring the rescue party was aboard his shuttle. He had to wait a few minutes more for Diana to join them.
The team was busy donning environment suits, when Verlan closed the rear hatch, cleared the bay, and made a fast exit from the Sojourn. He dove through the atmosphere, intent on a fast descent. As he neared the target island, he picked up Willem’s comm and relayed the good news to Diana, who informed Captain Azasdau.
<Diana, Verlan, don’t land the shuttle,> Willem sent in the open, when he detected who was aboard the ship.
<Where are you, Willem?> Diana sent. <You’re not with the other three on the surface.>
<Rescue them first, Diana. They’ll explain. Right now, I’m preoccupied,> Willem replied.
Another piece of shell broke off in Willem’s right hand, and he transferred his weight farther along the gaping hole. He had nearly circumnavigated the opening, searching for a sturdy section to support his weight. Unfortunately, the shell was ancient and brittle.
<Verlan,> Bethany sent, <drop your ramp, descend to a meter off the surface, and we’ll climb aboard.>
<Confirmed,> Verlan replied.
The rescue party backed away from the rear hatch, while Verlan opened it.
Diana scanned the rescue party. In addition to her, there was one other New Terran, Emon Ortiz, and she tasked him with helping her. Once the ramp was fully extended and Verlan had completed his descent, they took up positions at the end of the ramp.
Teague hoisted Ginny into Diana’s waiting hands before he hopped onto the ramp. Emon grasped Teague’s forearms to steady him.
When it became Bethany’s turn, she stretched out her hands to Diana and Emon and placed a boot on the edge of the ramp. In turn, Diana and Emon locked on to Bethany’s hands and hoisted her up.
Bethany grinned at her fellow New Terrans, as she gained the deck. There was an implicit understanding about the physical assets and limitations of heavy worlders. For one, they weren’t great swimmers. For another, they weren’t the most agile humans. But if you needed strength or leverage, New Terrans were your first choice, after the SADEs.
“Where’s Willem?” Diana asked. “His comm signal is below us somewhere.”
“This is a raft made up of the huge shells of dead, finned creatures,” Ginny explained. “It’s hollow.”
“Look in the hole,” Bethany interrupted. “Willem is in the water, grasping at the shell. He’s struggling to hold on. Pieces of the shell keep breaking away under his weight.”
<Verlan, place the ramp over the cavity in the island,> Diana directed.
Following Diana’s orders, crew members hooked safety lines to Diana and Emon’s environment suit harnesses. Then the two New Terrans leaned over the end of the ramp to search for Willem.
“See him?” Diana asked.
“Negative,” Emon replied.
<Verlan, spin the ship in a slow circle,> Diana directed.
The shuttle was nearly halfway through its rotation, when Emon sent to Verlan, <Stop.>
“There,” Emon said to Diana, pointing off his corner of the ramp.
“Good eyes,” Diana commented.
The only two things visible were Willem’s hands. Emon had probably caught their movement, as a piece of shell broke free, and Willem grasped more of the crumbling biologicals’ remains.
Diana considered the problem and chose a simple and direct solution.
“I need two more safety lines,” Diana ordered. She handed one of the lines she received to Emon. Then she beckoned Ginny to her and hooked the other line on the young woman’s harness.
Diana caught Teague’s scowl, and she ignored it. Then she issued rapid-fire orders. “Teague, you’re on my line. Bethany, you’re with Emon. Emon, hand the clip to Ginny.”
“I get it,” Ginny said enthusiastically. “You lower me to Willem, and I pass him the spare line.”
“Close,” Diana admitted. “You’ll have to enter the water, slip the line under Willem’s arms, and hook the clip to the line.”
Ginny nodded her understanding. When she saw Diana and Teague take up stances, she stepped off the ramp’s edge.
Diana didn’t bother to monitor Ginny’s descent, as Teague and she allowed the line to slip through their gloves. She counted on Ginny’s communications.
<Three meters to the water,> Ginny sent. The next thoughts she sent were, <Stop. Feet in the water. Need two meters toward the ship’s starboard side.>
Diana and Teague had halted the line’s pay out on Ginny’s command, and they walked their line toward Emon and Bethany.
“Teague, let out about a meter and a half,” Diana directed.
<Position good,> Ginny sent. She was suspended in the water behind Willem, with her head partially in the water. Suddenly, she saw a large section of shell that Willem was holding break off.
Willem, knowing he was headed for the bottom and hadn’t sufficient energy reserves to return, swiveled and clamped on to Ginny’s line. <Brace,> he sent urgently, as he spun.
Bethany smartly intuited the nature of the emergency. She dropped Emon’s line and latched on to Diana’s in time to stop Diana and Teague from being dragged off the end of the ramp. The three were able to halt Ginny and Willem’s descent.
<Stand by,> Ginny sent. <I’m attaching the spare line to Willem.>
It was a surreal moment for Ginny. She was underwater, and small marine life investigated the light from her helmet’s faceplate. Immediately beyond them was Willem’s grin.
<Thank you, Ginny,> Willem sent. He was touched by Ginny’s efforts and those of the other explorers to rescue him. It was decades since the day he gained his first avatar, a rudimentary model, and he had isolated himself in Haraken’s wilds. Alex had sought him out and convinced him to seek something he could embrace. Willem had believed that it was to be isolated from humans on a habitable planet. It turned out that what he sought was the company of friends, and he’d found them.
“Anyone with free hands, take up Emon’s line,” Diana ordered.
<Ready to transfer,> Ginny sent.
<Transfer on my count,> Diana sent in the open. She counted down to zero, felt most of the weight leave her line, and watched Emon’s team lean back to take on Willem’s avatar.
Bethany dropped Diana’s line and inserted herself directly behind Emon.
<Ginny comes up first,> Diana sent. Teague and she were able to quickly haul Ginny up and over the ramp. Ginny was wearing a huge grin, elated by her success.
Teague stepped around Diana, secured Ginny with an arm, and attempted to walk her deeper into the ship. But, while Ginny appreciated Teague’s protectiveness, she removed his arm to wait for Willem’s recovery.
Em
on’s team hauled on Willem’s safety line. There were enough crew members to easily mitigate Willem’s substantial avatar.
When Willem’s hands got a firm grip on the ramp’s metal edge, he neatly levered his mass up and over to stand on the deck.
“Well done, everyone,” Willem announced in a loud voice and via his comm to Verlan. “What progress on rescuing the exploration shuttle?” he asked Diana.
“I’ve orders to return the four of you to the Sojourn,” Diana replied. “The rescue of our traveler is going to be a challenge.”
“Understood,” Willem replied, which relieved Diana. She’d expected that Willem might have other plans, and she could scarcely argue with the expedition’s co-leader.
“However, I’d like to make a flight over the submerged traveler’s most recent position before we make for the Sojourn,” Willem requested. “I think we can gain some useful information from Orly.”
Verlan received the request and zeroed in on the traveler’s position via the Sojourn’s telemetry. It wasn’t long before his shuttle took up a position over the submerged one, but the comm connection was weak.
<Orly, this is Willem. Do you receive?> the SADE sent.
Orly’s response was unintelligible despite the efforts of Willem and the controller to clarify the signal.
<Verlan, submerge our ship into the water. The midline should suffice,> Willem ordered.
Heads swiveled to regard Willem, who was sending in the open.
If a human had suggested the maneuver, it would have been met with protest. But Verlan, as did every other expedition member, trusted their SADEs, and he promptly eased the ship into the water.
<Willem,> Verlan sent, <we’re near the midline, but we’re floating now. I’m loath to use the drive engines to push us deeper.>
<Good enough, Verlan,> Willem sent. <Orly, are you receiving me?> he repeated.
<You’re coming in clear, Willem,> Orly replied.
<Are you all right, Orly? No injuries?> Willem asked.
<You mean after this crazy SADE threw me aboard the shuttle as it sailed past?> Orly teased. <I’m fine, Willem,> he quickly added. <No harm done, and the crew members are in good shape too. Your precaution of having us don environment suits proved most opportune.>