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Chapter 2

 

Ocean Rescue

It was like dominoes falling. Ik stumbled into Antares and Li-Jared stumbled into Bandicut, and Bandicut fell against the side of the bubble. His face pressed out of the bubble into the sea, hard against the netting. It took a moment of struggle to get back in. He staggered, gasping, back into the center of the bubble.

They were moving at a surprising rate, under tow. The sea creatures pulling the lines were mere shadows once more, nearly lost in the undersea gloom. "They're taking us toward those structures," Ik said, gazing at the cluster of luminous globes, ahead of and still somewhat below them.

"Are we being rescued or captured?" Antares asked.

Ik hrrm'd and did not answer.

The sea creatures were powerful swimmers. The bubble's motion toward the lights was unmistakable now. But were they actually pulling the bubble themselves? Bandicut thought he could discern a large, round shadow out ahead of them, and thought he heard a hum through the water. He couldn't guess how massive the star-spanner bubble was, but it could not have been an insignificant load.

"Captain," said Copernicus, "I estimate we will intercept those structures in four to eight minutes. Our sink rate has slowed, with the addition of the buoyancy bladders."

"Uh?" Bandicut was startled to see clusters of what looked like grapefruit attached to the net around them. Where had they come from? They seemed to be swelling, as he watched.

"Why are we sinking at all?" Antares asked. "We're in a bubble of air. Why aren't we floating?"

Bandicut blinked, and had no answer.

/// I wouldn't be surprised

if we had a supermassive thing or two

under the hood of this thing. ///

Charlie murmured.

/Ah./ Before Bandicut could voice the thought, Li-Jared did it for him, looking as if he were trying to distract himself from stark terror.

"Star-spanner module—" he gasped. "Micro-singularities—" bwang "—for spatial transformation." Trembling, he peered back out.

They were leveling off at the depth of the approaching globes. Habitats. Bandicut could clearly see shadowy figures moving inside them now. Their magnitude was becoming evident as the travelers drew close; the globes were large enough to hold living space for sizable groups of people.

In the pale light of the habitats, he could make out the tow line now. A current of fine, floating particles was jetting backward through the water toward them. And although he couldn't distinguish its form, he was nearly certain that the shadowy object ahead was a submarine, or at least a propulsion unit.

"Hold tight," Copernicus warned. An instant later the bubble jostled and yawed, moving through a change of current. The sea creatures were fanning out with secondary tow lines, probably to steady them in the current. The star-spanner bubble began turning in a slow sweep—past a group of habitats, and on toward a solitary structure that was emerging from the haze ahead of them. They slowed, as they were towed into position beneath the single globe. The mass of the habitat slid over them like a roof. Bandicut felt a moment of dizziness and claustrophobia. Then the tethers pulled tight and the bubble swayed to a stop.

His translator-stones uttered a single word:

*Arrival.*

* * *

 

Several minutes passed in silence. Four or five of the sea creatures were gathered around them in the gloom, and above them, several more were visible through the transparent underside of the habitat. "What are they waiting for?" Bandicut muttered.

/// Maybe for us to make the first move. ///

/Which would be what? To sprout gills and swim out? I wouldn't even know how to get out of this thing. If I wanted to./

/// I suspect that the stones can help.

But I'm not too clear on what you can expect

when you enter the water. ///

/That's something I'd sort of like to know./ Bandicut craned his neck, looking up. The air in that habitat was almost certainly at seawater pressure, and that had to be fifteen or twenty atmospheres at least. He could only guess at their depth here; but with most of the sunlight gone, it was surely close to a couple of hundred meters. What sort of air would they encounter, and would they keel over or go into convulsions from gas toxicity—or fall into a drunken stupor from nitrogen narcosis? For that matter, he wondered what kind of air they had in the star-spanner bubble. He'd done some scuba diving back on Earth, enough to know the heavy sensation of pressurized air. But the air he was breathing right now didn't feel that way. And yet, surely they were at ambient pressure, or how could he have poked his head out into the surrounding water?

Li-Jared was talking, his voice reverberating oddly as he peered up. "I think I see a boundary layer up there—"

The Karellian was talking to Napoleon, the monkey-legged robot from Triton, who was now stretched up and leaning back at an odd angle, pointing his sensory-array overhead. Copernicus, likewise, was whipping his array back and forth, scanning everywhere. "Readings are ambiguous," Napoleon answered with a rasp. "But I believe you are right. There appears to be an air-water interface above us. However, I am unable to obtain spectrographic analysis."

"Nappy," said Bandicut, "can you tell if there's a pressure differential between us and them? Because if there is—"

"Uncertain, Captain." The robot clicked quietly a few times, then said, "I am detecting changes in the membrane layer surrounding us."

Bandicut glanced at his friends in alarm. "Do you mean the bubble's membrane?"

"Hrrrrl, we must be prepared for emergency evacuation," Ik muttered, glancing around—wondering, no doubt, what any of them could possibly do, if the bubble failed. Could they bolt straight up, into that habitat? Not likely, if high-pressure water came crushing in.

"Napoleon, is the bubble getting ready to break?" Bandicut demanded.

"Uncertain," said the robot.

Bandicut glanced around anxiously. There were now seven or eight shadowy figures gathered around the bubble. By turns, they pressed their faces to the bubble membrane, peering in, their huge eyes like orbs of darkness. What were they waiting for? Were they hungry for alien blood, or just curious?

"No evidence of hostility yet," Ik said.

Li-Jared bonged suspiciously.

Antares stirred. "Actually, I do sense . . ." She hesitated for a moment, then swung her maned head around to gaze at her companions. "I do sense hostility—uuhhhl, suspicion. I am not certain we are going to be welcomed."

"Well," Ik said, "it's likely we were sent here in order to meet these people, or people like them. Some provision must have been made for us to be able to interact with them."

Bandicut stared at him. "Nice of whoever sent us to share that information with us. What are we supposed to do, punch our way out and swim for it? Bye-bye, Napoleon and Copernicus. You two can't survive immersion at these pressures, can you?"

"Doubtful, Captain," said Copernicus.

Bwang. "Aren't there any damn controls on this damn thing?"

"I do not know," said Antares. "But I sense your distress, Li-Jared. Please—we have come so far, and after defeating the boojum. Let us trust that there is a way. Please."

The electric-blue band across Li-Jared's eyes pulsed.

Ik spoke suddenly. "I believe we are pressurizing."

Bandicut listened, and heard a soft but growing sigh. He soon felt the pressure on his ears and sinuses. Pinching his nostrils, he blew gently to equalize. "Where's it coming from?"

Li-Jared was swaying in obvious discomfort. "It's coming from everywhere—through the bubble membrane."

Bandicut held up a hand to the wall of the bubble. It was true; there was a breeze of incoming air from the entire inner surface of the bubble. Pressure was building rapidly on his ears now. He pinched his nostrils again, blowing. "I hope it knows the right gas mixture to use," he muttered.

/// The stones say the renormalization

can handle it, if you're careful—and lucky. ///

If I'm careful—?

"Uulullululu!" A cry of pain from Antares interrupted the thought. She was crouching, holding her head in her hands.

Bandicut knelt beside her. "Antares? Is it the pressure?"

"Y-y-y-y-y-y—"

/Charlie! Can our stones talk to her stones? See if they can help?/

/// How would I—hang on. ///

Ik was on Antares' other side, touching her arm, speaking softly. Every few seconds, his own face tightened, and he touched his forehead, then relaxed.

/// Ask her if it's better now. ///

"Antares? Is it easing? Can you equalize pressure?"

Her eyes closed and opened again. "Y-yes. Whatever it— was—my stones have—" She sighed. "Thank you, Bandie John Bandicut. And Ik."

"Hrrm," Ik said. He was already looking up, working on the next problem. The incoming air was starting to taper off. If the pressure was now equalized with the outside, was the bubble about to sprout a door?

Bandicut recalled an old joke about a screen door on a submarine, and shuddered. But what he saw was an opening on the bottom of the habitat above them, dilating like the pupil of an eye. The bubble jostled slightly, pressing against the bottom of the habitat. A soft glow was beginning to form around him, and around each of the others. On an impulse, he touched Copernicus, then Napoleon. A glow formed around each of them, too. "I think," he said, "we're being encouraged to leave the ship. Who's first?"

"Hrah," said Ik.

"Oh hell," said Li-Jared, hopping experimentally up and down. "I'm probably the only one who can get up there." His eyes were like golden, upright almonds, with a slash of electric blue across the centers. "Everyone ready?"

Without waiting for an answer, he sprang up and reached through the top of the star-spanner bubble, and caught his hands on the lip of the habitat opening. "Ock," he said. "I think it's going to let me through." The glow from his hands was radiating outward through the bubble membrane. He levered himself up, headfirst, into the opening in the bottom of the habitat. A moment later, he disappeared through the bubble membrane, and was surrounded by several shadowy figures, who pulled him out of sight.

"Li-Jared? Are you all right?" Ik called.

At first there was no answer. Then Li-Jared's head became visible again, above the bubble membrane, which was otherwise undisturbed. If he spoke, his voice was inaudible.

"Hrrm." Ik hefted something in his hand. His rope. He tossed the coil upward, holding one end. The other end flickered through the top of the bubble and disappeared. The sea creatures drew back, startled. A moment later, Li-Jared reappeared holding the rope and apparently making it fast to something above. Ik turned to the others. "Would anyone like to go next?"

Bandicut squinted. "Do you think we should take the robots?"

"If they stay here, what will they do?" Ik asked.

Good question, Bandicut thought. They might be in less danger above. Who knew what was going to happen to this bubble? Would it finally pop, and that would be the end of it? Were they going to live out their (possibly short) lives at the bottom of this alien sea? "All right, let's take them," he said. "Why don't I go last, and help them up?"

Ik's eyes sparkled. "Lady Antares, would you care to wait while I investigate with Li-Jared?"

Antares made a hissy laughing sound. Bandicut did not think that it represented amusement. "Be my guest, if you want to go next," she said. "But don't think I won't be right behind."

Ik made a soft clicking sound, which was amusement. He tugged on the rope, then simply held on as it contracted upward, lifting him through the top of the bubble and out of sight. The rope reappeared, followed by his head, upside down. "Come on up," he said, then disappeared again.

Antares glanced at Bandicut. "You will follow, with them?" she asked, indicating the robots.

"We'll be on your heels."

"Safe passage, Lady Antares," said Copernicus. "We'll rejoin you as soon as possible."

Antares dipped her head, and began to climb the rope.

"Just hang on," Bandicut said. "Let the rope do the work."

She glided up and through the bubble membrane.

Bandicut wrapped the rope across Copernicus's back and gave it a tug. The rope contracted and pulled him up out of sight. For a minute or two, nothing happened; the rope did not reappear. Then it did—with Copernicus still attached. He settled back onto the floor of the bubble. "It would seem, Captain," he reported, "that they do not wish me present at this time. I would guess that the same applies to Napoleon."

"Why not?" Bandicut said sharply.

"Unknown, Captain."

Bandicut thought a moment. "All right, you stay here. And watch my backpack, okay? But if anything happens, I want you to give a yell—a loud one. Napoleon, you think you could jump up through that opening if you had to?"

Napoleon flexed his knees slightly. "I think so."

"Okay. I hope you'll be all right here." Bandicut touched a hand to each robot. Then he grabbed the rope and rose, spiraling slowly.

 

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