“They’re not ships,” Jane said then turned to look at Jake over her thin shoulder. “And they are already here.”
The overhead lights of the bridge suddenly went dark, and then the chart table turned itself off. One by one, the four bridge consoles powered down as well. Only the command console next to Jane stayed lit, surrounding her in a kind of halo.
“What just happened?” AJ yelled.
“Did you hear what she said?” Ash asked as he jumped to his feet, but Jake was already moving past him. When he reached Jane, she turned back to the viewport and said, “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
Jake looked out but couldn’t see anything at first. As the rest of the crew gathered around him, he reached for the control to amplify the view, but then that console powered down as well. They all stood there in complete darkness for several seconds.
AJ whispered, “The emergency lights should be on. This doesn’t make any sense.” She was standing so close to him, he could feel her breath against his neck. Jane was right in front of him, and in between, he felt oddly disoriented. Then his eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and what he saw out the viewport froze his blood.
“Do you all see that?” Jessie asked from somewhere in front of him. She was the shortest of his crew, so he guessed that she had moved up front to get a better view.
“I see it,” Vee said, “but I’m not sure what I’m looking at.”
Outside the viewport, long pillars of darkness hung down from somewhere above his ship. As his pupils dilated even further, Jake saw that the dark parts were actually the surrounding water; the places in between were glowing slightly red. “What are those?” he asked.
Jane turned in the dark and put her lips next to his ear. “They are legs, sweetheart.”
Jake felt his body go limp and felt a strange sense of vertigo. Was the ship tilting? Then it dawned on him that he was just reacting to that last word. Stacy had called him sweetheart and nobody before or after her death had used it until now. Why Jane chose that particular moment to try it out was anyone’s guess, but in doing so, it made him completely miss the important part of what she was trying to tell him. Luckily, AJ overheard.
“Those are legs?” she asked and turned it into a warning. “Those things are legs!”
“Legs to what?” Ash asked with a slight tremor in his voice.
“Something really quite large,” Dr. Wood said, his voice sounding surprisingly calm. “And there are more of them.”
Jake turned and saw Wood’s silhouette in front of the starboard viewport. Beyond him, more “legs” could be seen. “Any idea what they are?” Jake asked.
Before he could answer, the bridge lights came back on. Raines smiled from his engineering console in the rear. “Whatever they are, they put out a dampening field. Pretty strong one, but I’ve got it taken care of now.”
“So, are these ships or aren’t they?” AJ asked.
Raines nodded. “They have to be,” he replied. “Nothing living generates that much power.”
Jake looked at the crew surrounding him. “Okay, people. Let’s get back to our stations, and find out for sure who, or what, our guests are.”
As the rest of the crew headed to their stations, AJ stood next to Jake at the command console and boosted the viewports’ low-light filters to maximum. Even Jane took a step backwards when the visitors came into view.
“Not so sure those are ships,” he said.
“They have to be, Captain,” Raines said behind him. “If you...” His voice trailed off, and Jake guessed that the engineer had just looked up from his console and was finally seeing what Jake and the others were staring at.
Directly in front of the Rogue Wave, a dozen or more shapes floated in the water. They had large sectional bodies with what looked like six to eight thick legs hanging down below.
“What are those?” Vee asked.
To Jake’s surprise, it was Dr. Wood who answered. “I believe those are isopods, although I’ve never imagined anything so large.”
“Isopods?” Jake asked.
“I believe he is referring to a species that lived long ago in the Pre-Fall ocean,” Raines answered, then turned to Wood. “I’ll admit that they look somewhat similar to the one picture I have ever seen of an isopod, but what would make you even think of such an ancient creature?”
Wood smiled at him. “The scavenger was one too.”
Raines thought for a moment. “I see the similarity now,” he said. “But the scavenger was a machine, not a living creature.”
Wood shook his head. “It was more than just a machine, Dr. Raines. Surely you noticed that when you operated on it.”
Raines looked confused. “I don’t see what you’re getting at. It was just a machine, a highly complex machine that was obviously built before the Fall, using technology we no longer possess, but a machine none the less.”
Wood looked out the viewport at the floating shapes. “I think you all should consider the possibility that the scavenger, and by extension, these creatures, are in fact metal-based life forms. Living machines, if you prefer.”
“That’s crazy,” Ash said, a look of barely-disguised fear growing on his face.
“How would such a thing get out here?” AJ asked. “Who would have built such dangerous things? Who would have authorized their construction?”
“If they were built before the Fall,” Vee added, “then you could assume—”
“They weren’t built,” Jake interrupted. “If I understand what Dr. Wood is saying, those things are alive. As in, we didn’t create them. As in, they were here before we came.”
“Exactly,” Wood said as he walked up to get a closer look out the forward viewport. “I believe we are looking at the original inhabitants of this ocean. They were here before us, and they belong here more than we do.”
“Metal-based life forms?” Vee asked. “Is that possible?”
“This is a scientific discovery far greater than anything we have ever experienced,” Raines said as he walked up to stand beside Wood. “To be here for first contact, is an honor.”
“I’m hoping for no contact at all,” Jake said. “We know absolutely nothing about these things. They could be hostile.”
“There has been no sign of hostility,” Wood said, sounding annoyed.
AJ spoke up. “They came to us, remember? They are currently blocking our path. I’d consider that a potentially hostile action.”
“And in case no one else noticed,” Jessie said, “the one right above us is more than three times bigger than our ship. Some of the ones farther away are even bigger.”
“You all know what those things are, don’t you?” Jessie asked. When no one answered, she pointed to the window. “Those are what old Shipper stories warned us about. Why we weren’t supposed to cross the border.” She looked outside and then added, “We’re surrounded by the Novum.”
Ash stood up. “I’m with the doc on this. I think we should consider turning back. Right now.”
“Ash, plot a course,” Jake said.
The navigator stared at him. “You’re serious? We’re actually going back?”
“No,” he said. “We’re going through.” He looked at Vee. “Helm, all ahead slow.”
There was only a moment’s hesitation before AJ echoed his words. “You heard the captain. Ahead slow.”
Ash sat down and turned to face his console. He shook his head repeatedly but obeyed orders. Vee looked to be more in control of her emotions as she slid her fingers over her dashboard, setting the thrusters to one-quarter speed.
As the Wave moved forward, the creature above them parted its legs and let them pass. One by one, the creatures ahead of them separated from each other, allowing them to pass. In ten minutes, they were gone from sonar as well.
“Was that just for show?” AJ asked. “Was that some sort of challenge behavior?”
“If those isopods really are native life forms, then anything is possible.”
“Are they really gone from sonar?” Jake asked Jessie.
She nodded. “Not a sound. No sign of them at all. Disappeared as fast as they appeared.”
AJ nodded. “Then let’s get back to our duties.”
“Are you people serious?” Wood asked, turning to look at each of the crewmembers. “We are going to proceed as if none of this just happened?”
“Not at all,” Raines said. “Yesterday, we thought we were all alone out here. Now we know for a fact that we aren’t. Surely Doctor, you of all people should understand the importance of such a discovery?”
Wood put up his hands. “I don’t see how that changes anything.” He then looked at Jake. “So, the discussion you promised me yesterday, about whether to continue or not, was just a lie to keep me quiet?”
AJ stood between Jake and the doctor. “Something like that.”
Before he could complain, Jake stepped past his first mate. “I promised you a meeting and we’ll still have it in a few minutes.” He looked at AJ. “But first, I need to talk to you downstairs. Alone.”
They headed down the stairs and as they reached the galley, AJ instinctively grabbed the coffee pot, and then slammed it down on the counter. “Why do we keep this thing in here?” she yelled.
Jake shrugged as he walked down the hall and opened the door to his quarters. “Maybe you can start up a game of Hex with Ash and Norman, and try to win some beans from them.”
She froze. “I shouldn’t be seen in your quarters right now, Jake. The crew has been secretly taking bets on who will be sleeping with whom on this trip and you and I are high favorites.”
“I need to talk to you away from the crew, okay?” he stepped inside and waited for her to enter. When she finally came inside and sat on the chair by his desk, he closed the door and locked it.
Even though there were two chairs in the room, he walked over and sat down on his bed. He sat there for several seconds, trying to think of what he was going to say, and then he realized that the truth was probably the best. “That song we heard on the bridge was from my childhood,” he said.
She sat down in the chair. “You already told us that.”
He shook his head. “But that made sense when I thought Steele was transmitting it.”
“Wait. Now you don’t think Steele was transmitting it. If not her, then who?”
“I think it was the isopods,” he said as he stared at the floor. “Think about it. They were sitting right on our Rubicon line. I think maybe they were trying to warn us not to cross it.” He looked for a reaction on her face. “Am I going insane?”
As usual, nothing seemed to faze his first mate. “You’re not going insane, Jake.”
“How can you know that?” he asked.
“Because you think you are,” she said. “You know the old saying, ‘Crazy people don’t know they are crazy,’ or something like that.”
Jake shook his head. “I think that’s just a saying, like, ‘the coast is clear,’ or ‘the sky’s the limit.’ They don’t make any sense.”
She turned in her chair then saw the broken Rogue Wave model on his desk. She picked it up and tried to fit the fin back on. “The sky’s the limit makes sense to me, because, you know, above the sky is the ocean. So, that is a limit, right?”
He stood and walked over to retrieve the model from her then placed it gently back on his desk. “Most people say it when they mean there is no limit, which is why it doesn’t make sense.”
She stood up, and they were so close they nearly touched noses. “Why did you really invite me in here, Jake?” she asked in a voice he had never heard before. It was soft and understanding, almost like a woman who wasn’t his first mate.
He knew what he should do, which was turn and walk out of the room, but he didn’t. He just stood there, breathing in and out, feeling her scent tickle his nose. She licked her lips, and he might have done the same. He wasn’t sure because he couldn’t think of anything but her brown, oval-shaped eyes looking up at him.
Then suddenly they were both falling to the floor as the lights went out. He grabbed her to try to break her fall, but ended up landing on top of her. She screamed out in pain.
“I’m sorry,” he called out just as the emergency lights flicked on. It wasn’t until he tried to stand that he realized that the floor was tilted measurably. “We’re diving!” he yelled, as he turned and crawled to the door. It wouldn’t open, no matter how many times he hit the switch.
“Ship’s on lockdown,” AJ called out. He turned to see her trying to get to her knees, but the way she was holding her shoulder made that impossible. She looked up at him. “We’re diving towards the seafloor. Automatic ship response is to seal all watertight doors in preparation for impact.”
“What was our height above the seafloor?” he asked as he helped her over to his bed. Her shoulder looked odd, as if maybe it was dislocated.
“I’m not sure,” she grimaced as she sat down on his bed.
As he held on to her, he realized she was tougher than he was. He pulled a strand of hair away from her face. “We’re going down pretty quickly,” he whispered. “If we hit a rocky bottom...” He didn’t need to finish because everyone knew that you didn’t usually survive collisions in the deep.
Despite her obvious pain, she reached out and pulled him to her lips. He didn’t hesitate and kissed her back. He rolled over to her good side and kissed her neck, feeling lost in the moment and happy about it. If he was about to die, this wasn’t a bad way to go.
When they hit, they were both thrown violently against the wall, and Jake lost consciousness.
Rubicon 05
When Jake opened his eyes, he was staring at the ceiling of his medical bay. He tried to sit up but found his chest and arms held down. He started to panic, but then Dr. Wood stepped into view. “How are you feeling, Captain?”
He relaxed a bit but then remembered how he got there. “How is AJ?”
Wood nodded to the other diagnostics bed in the room. Jake looked over and saw AJ sleeping peacefully. “Fortunately, her only injury was a dislocated shoulder, which I was able to reset manually.” He used the word manually as though it was somehow foreign to him. When Jake tugged on his restraints, Wood added, “You strained your back during the crash. The restraints are to keep you immobilized for twenty-four hours or so. I’ve given you an anti-inflammatory and a mild tranquilizer which should help.”
“The rest of the crew?” he asked, realizing that his Medical Bay wasn’t designed to deal with more than two patients at a time. If someone else needed a bed, he would insist on moving out, even with the pain in his back.
“They’re fine, for the most part. A few bumps and bruises.”
“What’s wrong with the power?” Jake asked as he finally realized that the only illumination in the room was coming from the emergency panels along the walls.
“I’ll let your crew fill you in on that,” he said, nodding to someone over his head.
“You’re part of the crew now, as well,” Jake said then added, “Thanks for taking care of her.”
Wood raised an eyebrow then nodded. If a smile appeared, it was brief and hard to make out in the dim light. Had he given too much away?
Norman Raines’ face appeared upside down, then he came around to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling, Captain?”
“More importantly,” Jake replied, “what’s wrong with my ship?”
“Your ship?” he said with mock indignation. “As chief engineer, I feel—”
“No joking. How is she?”
Raines knitted his eyebrows in the way he always did when things were serious. “Everything except life support is offline, and I mean everything.”
“Is the hull intact?”
“Hard to tell without diagnostics, but if there were a breach, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Then give me an estimate. How long to get her operational? You can use anyone you want as help. I’ll even pitch in. I’m prett
y good with—”
“You don’t understand, Captain. We have no power.”
“I do understand that. I still need an estimate. Even an educated guess will do for now.”
Raines leaned back against the wall and folded his arms. “When I say that we have no power, what I mean is that our batteries have been drained. Both sleds. Completely.”
It took a moment for those words to sink in. “That’s impossible.”
Raines nodded. “Obviously not impossible but very difficult to do. The device was well concealed.”
“Device?”
“A small bridging circuit about the size of your hand, connected to the hull by a thin but ultrahigh-capacity grounding wire. We saw the entire sea light up through the viewports when it was triggered.”
“Sabotage?” Jake asked. The thought that someone would do this, intentionally strand them in the middle of the ocean, almost made him sick. He looked around the room for Wood. “Who did it?”
“No one aboard this ship,” Raines replied. “I’m afraid it was built in to the design.”
“Built in? Are you sure?”
Raines narrowed his eyes. “I’m a pretty decent cook, I think you would agree, but I’m a far better engineer. This particular module is a part of every ship I’ve ever worked on. It is supposed to be a backup current flow monitor. Although, now that I look back, I guess I should have been suspicious years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because they never broke down. I’ve never heard of anyone having to open one up for repairs. Most of us were just happy to have at least one thing on our ships that just worked all the time. We never questioned it. I never questioned it.”
Jake stared at the ceiling. “Based on what Wood told us, I’m guessing this is some sort of backup plan to keep ships from leaving Civica.” He looked back at the engineer. “Am I correct?”
Raines let out a sigh. “I think it was set up to go off once we passed Rubicon.”
“Bilge,” Jake cursed. “I guess it’s too late to say that I should have listened to Ash and Wood about turning back.”
Novum Chronicles: A Dystopian Undersea Saga Page 20