Book of Varaine
Part 12, "Splash Down"
--The popular stereotype of the researcher is that of a skeptic and a pessemist. Nothing could be further from the truth. A scientist must be an optomist at heart, in order to block out the insesive cores of those who say, "It can not be done."--
- Academician Prohkor Zakhrov
-Sid Meier's Alpha Centari
Chapter 23
(Cassie)
Splash! After plumining from 300 feet for about 2 seconds, we hit the water. And imediatly began to sink. It felt like the water was made of Jell-O! I tried to kick my legs to get to the surface, but I did absolutly no good. I continued to sink. I tried to look around. The water seem almost totaly opaque. I just barely saw four other black forms strugling to swim, but to no avail. What kind of Ocean was this?
My lungs where burning, gasping for air and collapsing upon finding none. This had happened before, and we usually morphed some water creature to get away. But I and the others knew that nothing could swim in this.. goo. I continued to flail my legs and arms around, trying in a futile battle to reach air. Of course, who's to say that there would even be air, I thought to myself, as I felt the familiar sensation of my brain begining to shut down. You were only out for a few seconds, I told myself. I probably wouldn't be breathable, having so much water here. I was fully prepared to completely enter shock, when suddenly, FWOOOSH!
I was launched twenty feet out of the muck. The spout shot me and the others onto a small platform above the water and drove us onto it. The air would have been knocked out of me, if there had been air. Instead, I ignored the pain. AIR! There was air on this planet! I breathed in deep and coughed a raspy, painful cough, but I didn't care. I breathed in again, filling my colapsed lungs. I looked around and saw the others gasping for glorious oxygen as well. A stood up shakily, like my knees where rubber.
((Hmmm, Carbon based off worlders? haven't seen them in a while.)) The voice echoed through my head. I saw surprise on the faces of Jake and the others as well. I spun around and stumbled back at the sight of the creature. It was almost almost fully translucent, like it was made up of slightly foggy water. The water dweller was around six or more feet high, slightly taller than Jake. It had a slightly oblong shaped head with a long dolphin tail flowing from the back of it. It had four arms and two legs and a second dolphin tail from it's back. And heres the gyst of it: he had a nucleas. Like he was some kind of giant alien ameoba. It was red, blue, glowing and pulsing in and out.
((Ah, well, I see that you are surprised by my body, correct? I suppose most races are surprised to see a creature based almost exclusively on water.)) It sounded like he sighed.((Well, my name is Revne-Lloinn of the Trangijf Sea. I saved you from the protective layer.)) I must have looked slightly puzzled. Jake spoke up.
"Protective layer? It nearly killed us!" Jake said, not expecting an answer. There was almost no chance that he could understand English. We were right. I don't know how the Mangatheans understood us, but Revne couldn't. His nucleas turned a light shade of blue. Jake tried again, in Galard.
"Trloffjires ayn?Unti lasyyanta domese!" Revne seemed to understand this.
((Yes, it is ment to protect our undersea cities from enemy attacks. It is very energy absorbant and nearly 200 feet deep. There will be more time for explanation later. Come, I will escourt you to our chief city. The waters rise at night above all our stations to protect us. And seeing as it is nearing dusk, we should leave imediatly.))
"Leave? As in, go down there?" Marco said, pointing to the water," We don't exactily swim well in that stuff." But by the time he finished, Revne had leaped into the water, and a huge column of water came shooting up behind us, forcing us in.