Guys, I'm deeply sorry for posting this so late. I was anticipating the movie "Prometheus" and I felt like I couldn't continue this story unless I saw it first. So please forgive me.
Chater 4: Retrieving The Matriarch
Somewhere in Antartica...
NUCLEAR POWERED VESSEL "PALMER"
CAPTAIN: MARTIN THANERTON
CREW: 50
WEYLAND-YUTANI MESSAGE TO CAPTAIN MARTIN THANERTON: Hello Captain,
If you received this message you are close to the site where your crew must retrieve The Matriarch. She has sunken to the very depths of the ocean floor, and we do not know what sort of condition she is in. However we do know that she has froze and according to our satellite intel, has been entombed in ice. You and your crew have the following objectives:
-Retrieve The Matriarch from the ocean floor.
-Keep The Matriarch in the container we have supplied to your vessel.
-DO NOT damage or attempt to break open the ice.
-(PRIORITY STATUS) The Matriarch MUST be kept frozen and contained until docking.
I hope you and your crew live up to our expectations. When we hire the best, we expect the best.
The Overseer
Martin was in his private quarters, reading the message on his laptop. He was a somewhat heavy set man who appeared to be close to 50. His hair was grey, his eyes had a faint tone of silver mixed with blue. Aside from his moustache, he was clean shaven. He had on black overalls that had seen better days, and a grey long sleeve shirt.
He leaned his head back on his chair and closed his eyes. It was just three weeks ago that a representative from Weyland Industries approached him at the harbor where his vessel was docked at in Australia. He remembered how an attractive young woman in her late 20's was waiting for him next to his truck.
Her blonde hair that was shoulder length, and her green eyes that showed confidence in herself. Not to mention her business attire. Black dress pants with a white button up shirt and a black jacket covering over that. He was sure that underneath those clothes she had a nice body.
Martin Chuckled at himself.
Three Weeks Ago...
It was a warm afternoon at the Australian docks. The sky was orange, the purple clouds stood still. Seagulls could be heard in the distance.
Various boats and vessels were lined up, floating at bay
"Martin Thanerton?" Jessica asked.
Martin looked up from his usual routine of looking for the keys and saw the young business woman leaning against his truck. Perhaps it was his lucky day to meet an insanely beautiful woman ever since the divorce of his wife 13 years go.
"Yes Ma'am." He answered with a tone of interest in this woman.
The woman walked over to Martin and extended her right hand.
"Jessica Parks, I work for Weyland Industries." She replied.
The two shook hands. Judging by her professional demeanor, this wasn't a young woman who was interested in a date.
"I hope you're not in any hurry, I'm here to discuss a possible job for you and your crew." She asked.
Martin shook his head. "No I'm free right now. I just came by to see how my crew was doing with maintenance on my ship." He answered.
Jessica nodded in approval. "Good. Now, you're probably wondering why I'm here." She said.
Martin nodded in response.
"Well Mr. Thanerton, Weyland Industries has heard of your crew's expeditions. And we must say, you and your crew have quite an amazing reputation at recovering sunken material from even the greatest depths underwater." Jessica continued.
Martin laughed. "Well, I traveled around the world when I met my crew and it's amazing what you can do with such an international ragtag team."
Jessica laughed as well, but it was more forceful than amused. She knew time was of the essence.
"Mr. Thanerton, Weyland Industries needs your help. I will be honest, this assignment is potentially dangerous and it is very important that if you do accept, you follow the objectives we send to you."
Jessica sounded more serious now. Martin scoffed at the though of her trying to put fear into him.
"Miss Parks, danger is my crew's middle name. We've traveled great lengths to retrieve sunken ships, ancient artifacts, and lost cargo for many scientists, military organizations, and companies around the World. We can do whatever job you tell us to do." Martin answered with great confidence.
Jessica smiled and handed him a folder she had been holding ever since she was waiting for Martin.
"Fantastic. Take this, the papers inside contain coordinates of the location you must go to. Also there's an instruction manual for the various tools and equipment that your crew must read in order to fully prepare for the assignment. When you're close to the site, we will give you further instructions from there." She said.
Martin took the folder from Jessica and noticed the unique Weyland-Yutani logo on the front. Before she could walk away and vanish, Martin had to ask her something.
"Ms. Parks?" Martin asked.
Jessica stopped to look back. "Yes?" She asked.
"If you say you're working for Weyland Industries, why does this folder say Weyland-Yutani?" Martin asked as he pointed at the cover of the folder.
Jessica walked back to Martin. "Two weeks from now, Weyland Industries and Yutani Corporation will merge. By the time you complete the assignment, I'll be working for the two super powers." She answered.
Jessica checked her watch. "Mr. Thanerton, please excuse me." She said as she walked out of the parking lot.
Present Day...
Martin got up from his chair to put on his jacket and hat. He knew his crew was waiting for him down at one of the cargo bays. He took one final sip of his coffee mug that was setting on his desk and walked out of his room.
In the main cargo bay, the rest of the crew gathered to wait for their captain. They truly were a diverse group. Different colors, ages, and countries of origin. The two things they all had in common is that they all spoke English, and all of them were men. Some were talking with each other about what exactly they were supposed to be retrieving out fromt the ocean.
A young man, who appeared to be of collage age. Was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. He was pale skinned, had red hair, blue eyes, and some freckles on his face. He was the latest addition to the crew. He was looking rather impatient.
"Shit man, what's taking him so long?" He muttered.
"He'll be down here soon Jonesy, just wait a bit." An older sounding gentlemen answered behind him.
Jonesy looked over his shoulder to see Tim. He was in his late 30's. Tall, scruffy, and had a strong build to him. "I just hate the cold. I wanna get this frozen hunk of whatever is at the bottom of the ocean and get back home as soon as possible." Jonesy rubbed his arms. Even with the multiple layers of clothing on, he was still freezing.
Tim patted him on the shoulder. "Already being a wimp? This is your first expedition with us, isn't it?" He asked.
Jonesy nodded.
The entire crew stopped with their gossip when they heard a metal door creek open behind them. Martin slowly walked inside the cargo bay. As he approched his crew, he couldn't help but glance at the large container positioned in the middle of the cargo bay. It was gigantic, big enough to fit an entire helicopter.
Martin looked back at his crew, all of them with their eyes set on him. He thought for a few seconds before he would start explaining the assignment to them.
"Good morning everyone." He said loudly for them to hear.
"Good morning captain." The crew replied back.
Martin had his hands behind his back. "I'm sure it's been a long three weeks for us, but we're finally here. And you all are probably wondering why we're here."
He looked at his crew, he could see some of them nod.
"Well, as usual, we're here to do what we do best. And that is to get something called The Matriarch out from the bottom of the ocean and send it to Weyland-Yutani." He said.
Martin saw Jonesy's hand rise up.
"Question?" He asked.
Jonesy nodded. "Yeah uhhh, what is this Matriarch?"
Martin looked down for a second, then back up at Jonesy.
He shook his head. "I don't know." He answered
He could tell the crew looked very confused, never before have they not knew what exactly it was they were trying to get out of the ocean.
Martin wanted to continue. "We may not know what it is exactly we're getting down there, but I can tell you that we are directly above it, and that it has frozen in think ice."
He stepped back to point at the large container. "The company supplied us this container to store it on our way back to Australia. We were given specific instructions to make sure the Matriarch remains frozen, so that explains why this room is so damn cold."
"Okay everyone, we all know the drill. On the port and starboard of the Palmer are the two submarines we'll be using, it only takes one person to pilot them, but there needs to be a gunner to launch the spear hooks. After both submarines connect with the ice, they will return to the surface where our crane will lift it from the water and inside the container through the hatch."
Martin pointed up. The crew was standing underneath not a ceiling, but a hatch that opened upwards on either side.
"Under no circumstances will we try to figure out what's inside, the Matriarch will remain inside no matter what, is that understand?" He asked sternly.
"Yes Sir!" The crew shouted in response.
Martin nodded slowly, he sure was proud of these men. "Great. No everyone, head to your stations!" Martin turned around to leave the Cargo Bay, he will be stationed at the bridge to monitor the activity from there.
The crew scattered about to head to where they were assigned for. Tim and Jonesy were heading to the Port side submarine. Tim would be piloting it, while Jonesy was responsible for shooting the spear from a side cannon.
"Ready for this, kid?" Tim asked.
Jonesy was running alongside him. "I've been ready ever since we found out we'd be making big bucks!"
After a few minutes of running through the corridors, they finally made it to the outside deck. The air was incredibly cold, the sky was grey, no clouds or sun to be seen. Out in the distance was a large iceberg.
The submarine was about the size of a motorhome, underneath it was a cannon that would shoot the spear hook into the Matriarch. It could be operated through a joystick, as if one was playing a video game.
Tim climbed up first, he opened the hatch that would take him inside the cockpit. It was a small fit, so it would mean crawling through to get there. Jonesy would soon follow, but he would climb to the bottom to control the cannon.
As he closed the hatch, he sighed. This was going to be intense.
The cockpit had no windows, so Tim could only see through through monitors. In front of him were two joysticks that he would use to pilot the submarine.
Jonesy was in an even more cramped part of the submarine, it felt like he was in a bubble. Just like the cockpit, there were no windows. A camera was placed on top of the cannon to help him aim through a monitor of his own. Both men put on headsets so they could talk to each other, the captain, and the other submarine that would assist them on their descent.
"Jonesy, can you hear me?" Tim asked through the mouthpiece.
"Yeah I do." Jonesy answered.
"Ron, are you and Clint ready?" Tim wanted to see if the other two men on the starboard submarine were ready as well.
"You bet, let's do this!" Replied a rather enthusiastic Ron.
Tim flexed his hands before he grabbed the joysticks.
"Captain, we're ready on your command."
On the bridge, Martin was looking through monitors to check the statuses of both submarines, everything appeared to be fine. In different sides of the bridge, some crew members were sitting in their own stations, also monitoring any minor differences that could affect the mission.
"You may begin your descent now." He ordered through a microphone.
Tim flipped a few switches above him. On both sides of the Palmer, the cables connecting the submarines began to lower them into the water. It felt longer than it usually does everytime someone went under. There was so much anticipation.
The submarines finally touched the water surface, another flip of a switch caused the cables to disconnect from the submarines as they could finally go underwater.
"How you doing over there Ron?" Tim asked.
"Fine, just fine." Ron answered. Although Tim couldn't see it, Ron was smiling. Everyone knew there was a fortune to get this thing out from the bottom.
The two submarines began to dive, rather slowly. The noises that could be heard was the humming of the engine and the sonar slowing pinging every second. No real activity could be detected.
Jonesy moved his joystick around, playing with the cannon. He made noises that sounded like gunfire. He wasn't bored, it more like something to pass the time.
Tim never blinked as he paid attention to the monitor. He noticed as the deeper he was getting, the darker the water was becoming. "Ron, let's turn on the lights." He said.
"Got it." At the same time, both Ron and Tim turned on the front lights outside their Submarines. The beams were bright enough to create two large tunnels of light through the darkness.
Back on the bridge, Martin paid close attention through monitors of his own. They showed him live footage of the dark ocean, telementary of how the submarines were doing, even life support of the four men. They were getting close to the bottom. It was time to speak to both pilots. He lifted his microphone up to his mouth, ready to speak.
"Ron, Tim. You'll be approaching the ocean floor soon. Switch video feed to the bottom."
"Yes sir." They both replied.
With a push of a button, their monitors showed what was happening beneath them instead of up front. It was still pitch black, but the lights shifted downwards. Both Ron and Tim could start to make something out.
It was huge!
Tim had to know if Martin was seeing this.
"Captain, is that what we're looking for?" He asked, rather stunned.
Martin too looked stunned. It looked like a sunken ice tomb. But the ice was black, it would be impossble to tell what exactly was inside it. Martin checked the coordinates through a smaller screen, they were correct. That had to have been the mysterious Matriarch!
"That has to be it. Spread further apart! Gunners, get ready to fire." Martin ordered.
Ron and Tim shifted their joysticks to give each other space away from each other and give their gunners more room to aim. Tim's heart was racing! Hell, everyone witnessing this back on the ship had huge anticipation now!
"Ok, Jonesy?" Tim said.
Jonesy pressed his mouthpiece up. "Yeah?" He asked.
"Just treat it like a video game, you'll do well." Tim had faith in this rookie. He wouldn't miss.
Jonesy didn't reply, he had this. He moved his joystick to point the cannon slightly down. He had perfect aim, only a drunken idiot would miss. "Clint, on the count of three, we fire, right?" Jonesy asked.
"Right!" Clint shouted, Jonesy suspected he was excited.
"1"
No need to adjust their aim.
"2"
The two were squeezing their triggers.
"3!"
The two cannons shot out large spears, they whizzed through the water at such amazing speed. Trailing behind the spears were cables that the submarines would use to lift the Matriarch up. Several seconds later, they connected on either side.
SUCCESS!
The captain could hear some of his crewman clapping behind him, but it wasn't over yet. So far, everything was going as planned. Now, it was time for someone to open up the cargo bay's upper hatch and power up the crane that would remove the Matriarch from the water when it reached the surface.
"How are things going down there? You guys hooked up?" He asked, with great concern.
Tim chuckled. "Yes sir we are! Awaiting orders."
Martin nodded. "See you in several minutes."
Tim had a grin like no other, it was rare for him to express this sort of happiness. Ron was singing 'We're in the money' through his headset for everyone to hear. It was fortune from here on out! Tim had to end his singing however.
"Ron, I hate to stop the entertainment but focus! We need to keep pace so the cables don't break."
Ron just sung more quietly. He's done this many times that it was second nature to him. Jonesy however, just started out at the black ice tomb through his monitor. He didn't feel threatened by it, it just looked beautiful. But why did Weyland-Yutani want this thing?
Minutes had passed until both submarines and the Matriarch rose from the surface. They were on the bow side of the Palmer. The Captain and a handful of his crew stationed up there looked at the black ice tomb with awe. The rest of the crew were standing outside on the bow, leaning over the rail to see for themselves what they picked up. It was strange, yet beautiful. A crane started to power up and a large mechnanical claw moved out to grab this large and mysterious Matriarch.
The claw lowered down and spread open, the crane's operator noticed the claw was close enough to grab onto the Matriarch and let the claw attach itself onto the ice tomb. Both gunners fliped a switch, allowing the submarines to detach themselves from the ice tomb. The claw lifted the Matriarch from the ocean surface, tons of water pouring out from its grip. The crane operator spun the claw around slowly, the opening to the cargo bay exposed the container that was also open.
Slowly but surely, the Matriarch made it inside not just the cargo bay, but the container itself.
Mission Accomplished.
The entire crew was cheering. Hugs were exchanged, handshakes all around, some lit up cigars to celebrate. The Matriarch was sealed through the top of the container, the famous W-Y logo imprinted shining through the articifial light.
3 hours later...
The Palmer was heading back home.
In the Cargo Bay, the crew threw themselves a party. Traveling to one of the coldest places on Earth was well worth the handsome paycheck all of them would receive. The beer was flowing, the singing was echoing, oh what a hangover everyone would get the next day.
Martin was once again in his private quarters, on his laptop. He shared the recorded footage to Jessica through webcam in her office in Japan. She was pleased with the result and decided to write Martin a message.
Martin,
We at Weyland-Yutani are incredibly proud of your finest assignment to date. Rest assured you and your crew will be greatly rewarded for your effort when you dock.
Jessica Parks.
Martin smiled. Sure he didn't score with her, but being a millionaire was a great alternative. He decided to power down his laptop and head into the Cargo Bay to celebrate with his crew.
However, one member wasn't joining the celebration with the others.
Jonesy was outside, it was a dark night filled with sparkling stars. It was still chilly, but it wasn't as desolate as it a few hours ago. It would be a long trip back to civilization, but he might as well enjoy the view.
Then he remembered something. He had to make a phone call. It was at this exact time he was supposed to make this call.
He reached for his cell phone and began to dial a number.
"It's me...We got it. I did my part now do I get my paycheck when we dock?...Great...We should be back in 3 weeks tops...I'll be looking forward to my check. Bye."
With the press of a button, he hung up. Jonesy looked back up at the stars.
At the Earth's atmosphere, a communications satellite was orbiting and managed to make brief contact with Jonesy. He had to wait for a certain time for it to position properly in order to make his call.
To a representative from a rival company.
Weyland-Yutani wasn't the only ones who found the mysterious ice tomb. Whatever it was Weyland-Yutani was in on, the other companies want in on it too. Even if that meant stealing.
TO: Dr. Lance Eisenberg
FROM: Jessica Parks
Doctor,
The Matriarch has been retrieved. I'm sending you footage to confirm the successful operation. We should be expecting it to dock in Australia in three weeks. I do not know what is so important of this Matriarch, but the footage I've seen is more unsettling rather intriguing. But if Weyland-Yutani trusts you with being The Overseer of this research, then so will I.
Jessica Parks
To be continued...
Well folks! There you go! Chapter 4 is in the books! Wonder what Takashi and the others are doing? Find out next chapter!