If there is one thing Kristoff Bjorgman was proud of, it was certainly his work. Not many people could claim to be successful treasure hunters. He was famous in most of the USA and in other countries in the world for searching and discovering valuables of sunken ships. For example, he took the rights for the recovery of some Spanish gold which was also his most famous discovery at the moment.
But he didn't know that shortly after he would have in hand the testimony of a sensational story, that carried the report of an overwhelming and priceless love, occurred no less than in the largest and most luxurious passenger liner of the world: the Titanic.
"We should be almost there. It should enter our field of view soon."
That could have been the most important diving in Kristoff's life, maybe in history too.
He had been obsessed by the idea of recovery a particular diamond, that was said to be lost in the depths of the Titanic wreck, for three long years.
That diamond was presumably purchased by a wealthy business man called Hans Southern; he was a passenger of the Titanic when it sank, but he was also the former owner of the diamond necklace before he presented it to his former girlfriend, Elsa.
Kristoff and his crew had ventured into the depths in search of the ship with special submarines. They made a lot of expeditions, checking all the place outside of the Titanic in a radius of 50 meters; then they moved to the interior of the ship. Unfortunately not all areas were easily accessible so they had to get particular remote-controlled robots with special cameras for the exploration of the interior. Their contribution was really useful because they permitted to identify the designated area to the private suites of the liner.
The purpose of the diving was going inside the suite where Southern and his girlfriend lodged and recover as more valuables they could.
"Let's get close to the bow." He ordered.
The familiar sight of that colossus was just ahead of him. Tons and tons of steel at the bottom of the ocean, ravaged by the rust, underwater currents and marine microorganisms.
Kristoff, who was looking out the porthole of the submarine in order to give indications on the movements, stepped away and took the camera he carried with him. He was used to record all their expeditions, both as a real evidence of what was happening and as a reminder of the experiences that they were living down there. Many of these videos simply documented general information, while others were real statements of sensational and unexpected discoveries.
Kristoff hoped with all his heart that the video of today belonged in the last category.
"Ok, be quiet everyone, please. We record." He warned.
He pressed the Rec button, pointing the camera at himself and then at the external scenery, talking with theatrical voice.
"Seeing her coming out of the darkness like a ghost ship always makes me a certain effect. It's anguishing to see the wreck of the great ship lying here where she landed at 2.30 in the morning of April 15, 1912 after her relentless sink to the depths."
A crew member next to him laughed loudly, gaining a glare from the blonde guy.
"What a bullshit, boss!" He said, cackling.
"Sven, you've ruined the atmosphere!"
Sven Reindeer was, in short, Kristoff's best friend and adventure companion. His short brown hair and dark brown eyes gave him a rather youthful appearance, although lately he was overdoing with canned and junk food, which made him gain a few pounds weight.
The two had met in high school and since then they had never separated. Sven had attended all Kristoff's shipments and loved to tease his best friend. And Kristoff was aware of this. But, after all, Sven was also one of the most capable in his work and right now, he would have been crucial.
He would have himself driven the robot that they would have released in a few minutes to enter the rooms of the Titanic.
Sven was Sven, and to get upset would be useless.
Kristoff began to wander among the various portholes with the camera in his hand, giving some information about coordinates, depth, water pressure and other stuff.
"That's enough, stop with those bullshits. Prepare the robot and put it down where it was last time. It's time to start with the cool stuff."
"Do you think today is the big day? " Sven asked
"I hope so, mate. We just have to find it out! Come on, go get the commands."
After that Sven took his time to get ready.
Another member of the crew gave the OK for the start and the robot was released. Kristoff was next to Sven, where a screen showed everything that the robot was able to see.
"Now remember, Sven: advance slowly. Keep your eyes open and pay attention."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm not a beginner, you know..."
"No, no , you are not! You're the best, the better most, I mean, the most better, I mean… wait, what?"
"Kristoff, I know you're nervous, relax! Let's do this and then we will open up a bottle of champagne, ok?"
Kristoff, now beet-red, could just approve that idea. He always tended to ramble when he was nervous. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and then he returned to focus on the screen.
"So, you know where you have to go. First of all, go down and beyond the first class areas. We must enter the Deck B."
Sven got started immediately.
His control was amazing.
From the screen they could see a lot of moldy, broken and without any evident value items. A lot of junk occupied floors.
The robot overcame unhinged doors, broken windows, a dining room where there were still remnants of a destroyed piano, came down the stairs and finally, finally after what seemed like an eternity to Kristoff, it passed a corner: they found themselves in front of the entrance of Southern's suite.
"Be careful not to bump, watch it. Watch it... "
"I see it. It's everything under control. Just chill, boss."
The entrance was just big enough to let enter the robot, but once inside, the work was done.
Sven wiped the sweat from his forehead and began to scour the area.
The room inside was unrecognizable, its old splendor was just a distant memory. Now it had become only the home of fish and bacteria. Some furniture was still standing, a lot of items, probably the contents of suitcases and luggage, were scattered here and there. An half destroyed bed was located in a corner, as the only visible sign that once it had been a bedroom, while wooden planks covered the floor.
A plank in particular caught Kristoff attention, as it seemed to rest on something.
Kristoff heart started to beat wildly.
They had never gone that far.
And maybe what he was looking for so passionately for years, was right there at his fingertips.
"They could have tidied up a little before leaving the ship." Sven joked.
"Get closer to that plank. That one on the right. There's something…"
Sven approached the robot to the point that Kristoff had noticed, stopping at half a meter from it.
"Do you think you've found something?"
"I want to see what's underneath. Get it out of the way."
Once the controller was extended to mechanical arms, Sven got to work.
"Take it easy. If it breaks we won't be able to remove it." Kristoff warned him.
But Sven didn't need any help or advice. Shortly afterwards he managed to take the plank out of the way, scaring away two fishes that had hide under it.
As soon as the robot turned to see what there was under the plank, Kristoff held his breath.
In front of them, they saw a square box, apparently made of metal, which was still unopened and in perfect conditions, omitting the amount of rust that covered it.
A strongbox.
Kristoff and Sven couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"How about that, boss!"
All that Kristoff could say was: "Prepare the champagne, mate."
A/N: Hi everyone! This fanfiction is the translation of the Italian FF: "Titanic - Il cuore dell'oceano (TCO)" published on EFP, written by me, Hendy .
I had already announced on Tumblr that I had found someone who could translate it to English and, as promised, here it is! The translation was done by my coworker GK.
We are both ITALIAN so please, feel free to give us some advices to improve our language and our writing style.
Warning:
- Updates will be posted once a month on this date (We will base on Italian time). We know that it's a hassle, but the FF has yet to be completed and although we are well advanced with the translation there are still many things that we have to do. We will take it easy, but we won't miss the monthly date.
- Early dialogues will be very similar to those of Titanic. Some of the quotes will be exactly the same ones, with little nuances, because there are things that can't be changed in my opinion, for example, the story of the Titanic and the necklace, obviously.
- The length of the chapters, as we go on with the story, will range between 2.500/3.500 words with a few exceptions.
I started publishing it in May of 2014 and the writing style has improved during these months, so I would ask you to be patient in the early chapters.
I can assure you that from the third chapter, things will change for the better!
Soooo, see you next month, and thanks again.
Tumblr contact: bibinohendy