The Neptune Promise

by Polly Holyoke

  “Could it be capable of firing a torpedo at us?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” the captain replies shortly.

  Dad strides to the closest com link. “All non-Neptune personnel, you need to put your survival suits on immediately. This is not a drill.” The waters are still so cold up here that our helper staff could die within minutes if they’re thrown into the sea and aren’t wearing proper gear.

  “Sir, we’re being hailed over a vid link. It’s Dr. Kuron,” Dav calls from the wheelhouse.

  “Wait until I say to put him on screen,” Dad orders Dav. “I don’t mind stalling him for a minute or two to buy some time for your crew and my staff to get into their suits,” he tells Captain Gonzalez.

  I’m grateful when Kalli appears next to my father and Captain Gonzalez holding their own survival suits. Both men hurriedly climb into the thick bright orange coveralls.

  “Make sure Doc Iharu has a suit close by him,” Dad says to Kalli. “He probably won’t put it on in the midst of an operation, but I’ll feel better knowing he can grab it if he needs it.”

  “Yes sir,” Kalli says and hurries below.

  Dad and Captain Gonzalez enter the wheelhouse. I stand a little behind my father where I can see the com screen.

  “All right, put him through,” Dad tells Dav. A moment later Ran Kuron appears, and I can’t help shuddering. His black hair is mussed, his pale face is flushed, and his dark gaze is full of rage.

  “Hello, again, Dr. Kuron,” my father greets him politely. “That’s quite a submarine you’ve added to your fleet.”

  “Your daughter stole my wife’s research,” Kuron says, his voice shaking with anger. “I demand that it be returned at once.”

  “I’m afraid we can’t do that. Her c-plankton could save our entire planet.”

  “My investors want her research. You have no right to keep her work.”

  “Unfortunately, we can’t be sure your investors will put it to the use your wife intended—halting climate change. In the past you dealt with business people who profited from our planet burning up. I can’t take the chance that you’ll turn her notes over to people or corporations who will destroy her research to protect their own interests.”

  “Then you leave me no choice. I will torpedo your boat in ten minutes unless you hand that computer over to me.”

  “But your son is on board. Our surgeon is fighting to save his arm and his life.”

  “I no longer have a son,” Kuron says coldly. “He has betrayed me for the last time.” A second later the screen goes dark.

  My hands clench into fists. I take a deep breath and try to control my panic. Would Kuron truly risk killing his own son? I’m afraid he’s capable of that, and worse.

  :little one, why are you all so scared?: Mariah asks me. I step on to the stern deck to talk to her as she swims beside the boat.

  :Dai’s father is threatening to kill us all,: I say, unable to keep the fear from my mental voice. :Tell all the dolphins to leave here. If he fires a torpedo at us and it explodes, the concussion could kill you, too.:

  :I go to get help,: she says simply and disappears beneath the waves.

  I stare after her, wondering where Mariah could possibly find help against a nuclear submarine.

  When I step inside the wheelhouse again, I hear Captain Gonzalez say, “I think his skipper is having problems keeping that old sub in position in this current.”

  The current is raging now because of the outgoing tide. The Carly Sue has some protection from it because we’re anchored so close to McKienzie Island, but Kuron’s sub is out in the pass where the current is the strongest.

  “His engines are running full bore, and they do sound like they’re laboring,” Dav reports from his sonar array.

  “Those engines are old,” Captain Gonzalez says quickly. “If he got impatient and started them up too fast, he’s put a lot of strain on them.”

  “This current is running close to twenty knots now,” Robry says. “No wonder the sub is struggling to stay in position.”

  “Do you think we could outrun him?” Dad asks the captain.

  “Maybe, but it’s hard to outrun a torpedo,” Captain Gonzalez says grimly. “They’re programmed to follow the acoustic signature of a boat and its wake. If he actually fires at us, our only hope is to dodge behind one of these islands.”

  The sky is turning lighter now. Gradually I become aware of the distinctive puff of whales spouting. My stomach lurching, I run to the railing and reach for Mariah’s mind.

  :Mariah, tell the old ones to leave. I don’t want them hurt if the sub fires a torpedo.:

  :the old ones have come to help.:

  As a shaft of sunlight breaks through the drifting fog, it highlights the spume from several whales moving to surround the sub. But how can whales possibly help us?

  :I hope they don’t pass in front of the sub,: I say, frightened that Kuron might fire a torpedo at them.

  The water around the sub begins to churn, and two massive tails break the surface. Slowly, the sub starts to turn sideways, across the current. All at once I understand what’s happening. The whales must be pushing it!

  “Um, Dad, you’d better come see this. Mariah called in some really big backup.”

  “Whoa, that is some serious cavalry,” Ree exclaims.

  “Way to go, Mariah!” Robry yells and pumps a fist in the air.

  Dad and Captain Gonzalez hurry to the back deck. It doesn’t take them long to realize what the whales are attempting.

  “I-I don’t believe it,” Captain Gonzalez says. “I’ve never seen whales do anything like this.”

  As the sub turns sideways, more and more of its surface is exposed to the fierce tidal current, and the vessel gets swept toward the craggy shoals to the south of us. Kuron, or whoever is driving the sub, realizes the danger too late. The sub shoots forward, but not fast enough to clear the bank of jagged shoals.

  We hear a groan and a crash as the rear of the sub smashes into the rocks.

  “He probably just bent the hell out of his propellers,” Captain Gonzalez says with satisfaction, “and he might have even broken his rudder.”

  “I think at least two of his engines just died, sir,” Dav reports, holding one sonar headphone to his ear.

  More terrible grinding and groaning sounds carry across the water as the disabled sub gets mashed against the rocks by the relentless current.

  Captain Gonzalez pushes a button on his control panel. “We’re weighing anchor immediately. We need to put some islands between us and any torpedoes he still might be able to fire.”

  “Right,” Dad says, tearing his gaze from the stricken sub.

  “For sure that sucker’s gonna need a new paint job,” Thom says with a grin.

  “Kalli, go downstairs and warn Doc Iharu and his staff that we have to move,” Dad says. “Nere, ask Mariah to let us know if Kuron fires off a torpedo.”

  Over the next few minutes, organized chaos reigns aboard the Carly Sue. The moment her anchor’s up, Captain Gonzalez guns the motor and we race around the tip of McKienzie Island. Robry and I watch from the back of the trawler, straining our eyes for any sign of a torpedo on our tail. Dav listens on his sonar array and Maria, from a safe distance, watches beneath the water.

  Soon we’ve put several small islands between us and Kuron’s sub, and we all breathe a little easier, at least in a figurative sense. My lungs are getting so dry, I’m more than ready to ease into the water as soon as Captain Gonzalez pulls into a sheltered cove to allow the Neptune kids on board to splash and re-oxygenate.

  While I’m waiting for the Sea Rangers to set up the bosun’s chair for me again, I reach out to Mariah.

  :Has the sub moved?: I ask her.

  :no, it is still stranded on the rocks,: she replies.

  :the old ones did a good job of breaking it,: Sokya chimes in gleefully.

  :Mariah, thank you so much for bringing the whales. You may have just saved the lives of everyone on
this boat. Did you tell the old ones what to do?:

  :they often work together to feed. so I sent them an image of their working together to push the sub sideways in the current, and the tide did the rest.:

  :You’re incredible,: I say. Sometimes I wonder how much Mariah has been changed by spending so much time with humans. Her ability to plan and see choices always amazes me. Is it possible she’s changed the humpbacks’ behavior? Might they work together someday to strand a whaling vessel?

  The Sea Rangers lower me overboard, and I duck under the waves and let the cool seawater slip down into my dry lungs. I’m so tired and my arm hurts so much, I don’t mind staying seated in the bosun’s chair. Tobin and Rohan swim nearby.

  :How’s Dai doing?: I call out to them.

  Tobin swims over and sends me a reassuring smile. :He’s stable now thanks to two pints of Thom’s blood we transfused into him, and he’s getting a pint of mine now. He’s going to make it, although I doubt he’ll be thrilled to find out he has a pint of me in him.: Obviously Tobin finds that thought amusing.

  I glance at Rohan. :But you’re still worried about him.:

  :Well, we don’t know yet how well he’s going to heal. That shredder tore him up pretty badly, and there could be some permanent damage. Doc Iharu will have to do several more surgeries on his arm when we get back to Safety Harbor.:

  I draw in a breath. I can’t image Dai not being able to use his right arm.

  :Speaking of arms, when we get topside, we’re going to look at yours next,: Tobin tells me sternly.

  I’m not looking forward to that although I’m ready for a pain med to take away the ache. After I’ve had a chance to catch my breath, they swing me up to the top deck where Captain Gonzalez is talking to my dad.

  “Those humpbacks saved our bacon all right, but I still don’t understand why a pod of whales would push a sub like that.”

  “I have a theory on why they may have done it,” Dad says and smiles at me.

  “Speaking of whales, we have some big visitors swimming past us to starboard,” Dav says.

  I rush over to the starboard rail in time to see a whale spume shimmer in the morning sunlight. One by one the humpback mothers and their calves swim past the trawler in a majestic procession. I wave at each one and try to broadcast how grateful I feel. My friends, the Sea Rangers and most of Captain Gonzalez’s crew do the same.

  The last adult whale lingers after the rest. Her eye meets mine, and I see the deep divot on her side where a harpoon scarred her. Her calf breaches joyfully, setting off an impressive splash that drenches us with cool seawater, and then the whales submerge and disappear.

  I can’t wait to tell Vival that rescuing a whale calf was a worthwhile use of Sea Ranger time after all.

  chapter eighteen

  Safety Harbor remains on high alert in the weeks after our return from the Storm Petrel salvage mission. Dad and his staff are afraid Kuron may try to attack and punish us for taking Idaine’s computer. The good news is that the preliminary tests on the c-plankton, which our science staff engineered by following Idaine’s genetic recipe, have gone well. The c-plankton appears to be even more effective at sequestering carbon dioxide than Idaine realized.

  “We’ve sent that recipe and our results to governments and scientists around the world and given Idaine full credit for her research,” Dad explains to me one night at his cabin. “So there’s no point in Kuron trying to steal her notes back from us now that the genetic code for her c-plankton is freely available to every country and scientist on the planet.”

  “He might still try to come after our colony out of some twisted desire for revenge,” James points out.

  “It’s certainly a possibility, and we’ve prepared for that as best we can. The entrance to our main inlet is too shallow for his big sub, even at high tide. Captain Gonzalez just sent us more sonar buoys that we can use to monitor the approach to the bubble wall. It’s also good to know Kuron has only six shredders left under his control.”

  “But Whitey, Wasp and Sham combined with six shredders could do a lot of damage,” I say. A shudder goes through me at the thought of them attacking Safety Harbor.

  “Which is why we’ll be watching those sonar buoys 24/7,” Dad says, “and our Sea Rangers will continue their patrols.”

  Our loyal dolphins will be on the lookout for trouble as well.

  I stop by sickbay to check on Dai. Rohan is the chief medic on duty. He rolls his eyes when he sees me because this is the fourth time today I’ve been here. But then he smiles and lets me slip inside Dai’s cubicle.

  He’s sleeping, which isn’t a surprise because he underwent another surgery yesterday. Dai heals so rapidly that Doc Iharu has been able to space the operations much closer together than he could with a normal human kid. In a series of delicate procedures, he’s been rejoining severed nerves and muscles in Dai’s shoulder and arm. Dai’s own metabolism is helping by re-growing nerve connections and pathways at a phenomenal rate. At first the doc thought Dai might never regain use of his arm, but already he can move it.

  As I watch Dai sleep, I talk to him quietly.

  :You know, it’s totally unfair for a guy to have such great eyelashes.: His spread like fine black fans against his pale skin. :I’m still getting used to seeing you without your braids, but no matter how long your hair is, you turn me inside out.:

  He’s risked so much twice now to save my life. It’s humbling to have someone care about me that much. And we both know what it’s like to be alone and to be different, at least in part because of our driven parents. I was different back in Goleta because of my weak eyes and lungs, and at Safety Harbor I’m different because I’m the doc’s daughter. Dai’s always been different, too, even at Atlantea, because he’s the son of Ran Kuron.

  I’ll never forget the moment when I was fighting to swim Dai and me to the surface, and I thought he might be dead. Almost losing Dai forever made me rethink the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I’m ready to try it, but I’m not sure how he feels about me after I hurt him so badly.

  :Dai Kuron, you drive me crazy sometimes, but I missed you so much after you went back to your father.:

  His eyes flutter open, and his gaze meets mine. He smiles a real smile at me, with no sarcasm or mockery in it, and my heart twists.

  :Hey,: he says. :I thought I heard you thinking at me.:

  :Hey back at you. How’re you feeling?:

  :Pain’s not too bad right now, but I definitely feel like I’ve spent way too much time in sickbay.:

  :How’s your hand?:

  He frowns in concentration. :I think I have increased sensation in my fingers, and I can make them move more.:

  :That’s good news.:

  :It would be even better news if Doc Iharu stopped cutting me open and let me out of this place.:

  :You are one lousy patient,: I grin at him, :which doesn’t exactly surprise me. You want me to read to you again?:

  :Yeah. I don’t mind that story about the Swiss family too much, but I’m still not sure a kid could ever ride an ostrich.:

  I’ve been reading Swiss Family Robinson to him, one of my favorite books growing up. I thought the adventures of a shipwrecked family might appeal to Dai, but he seems just as fascinated to hear about two parents who care so much about their four sons.

  I pull a tablet out of my seapack one-handed because my left arm is still in a cast.

  :How is your arm feeling?: he asks me.

  :It’s getting better every day. Doc Iharu says the bone is knitting twice as fast as a landliver’s would.:

  :I still don’t remember your getting hurt,: Dai says irritably. :I don’t remember waking you up, or finding my mom’s computer, or our trip to the surface. It’s weird having this big gap in my memory.:

  :Doc Iharu believes the shredder shook you so hard that it sent your brain slapping against the inside of your skull and gave you a concussion. You may never remember exactly what happened that night. But I’ll keep tell
ing you. When Whitey figured out we had your mom’s computer, he shoved me toward the waterlock so hard, he broke my arm.:

  Carefully I picture this version of events in my mind as I recount it. :Then that mutate charged us, and you darted in front of me and saved my life, but you got your arm shredded.:

  :And then you saved my life,: he says with an admiring look in his dark eyes, :by towing me up to where we could get help. You’re lucky we both didn’t get eaten. My bloody arm must have smelled like a nice snack for shredders and sharks.:

  :Well, we did make it,: I say shortly, because I don’t want to think about that terrifying night, or the way I’ve edited my account of what happened. Instead, I fire up my reader.

  :We need to see how the Swiss Family Robinson is going to deal with that giant snake that’s invaded their colony.:

  Dai listens to me read a chapter, and then his eyes flutter shut. I purposely read more and more softly until I’m sure he’s sound asleep. Greatly daring, I reach out and smooth the black hair above his forehead with my fingertips, and his lips lift in a smile. He looks so much younger and less angry right now. How would I feel about myself if I thought I’d killed my mother?

  Pain shoots through me as I remember the terrible moment that Gillian stepped in front of a solar blast to save my life. She chose to help me live. I’m surer than ever that Ran Kuron chose to burden Dai with Idaine’s death, and that may be Kuron’s worst crime of all.

  With a sigh, I slip out of Dai’s cubicle and head for the girls’ dorm cave.

  Ocho swims up to me just before I reach it. :Hey Nere, how’s Dai doing?: he asks.

  I stop swimming and turn to face him. :He actually moved his fingers a bit tonight, and he says he has more sensation in them.:

  :That’s great,: Ocho says and a smile lights his round face. :By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, how is Wasp?: He asks the question casually, but from the way he twists four of his hands together, I can tell that hearing about her is important to him.