Chapter 12
Seaview arrived on location as projected and was at station keeping when the skipper and XO descended the stairs at 0630. Lee reviewed the log book and then took command from Lt. James, while Chip opened the hatch to FS-1 and climbed down into the little sub, only to find O'Brien already there finishing up the pre-launch checklist.
"Morning, Bobby, a little excited about heading out today?" Chip said, smiling at the younger officer's eagerness to be part of the off-boat activities.
"Morning, sir," he replied, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "I've got just about everything complete and we'll be ready to deploy on time."
Chip laughed. "I appreciate that. So, is everything already aboard for today's mission?"
"Yes, sir. I also added some more memory cards if we need to do more extensive video recording, and threw in some extra sample bags as well. I really appreciate being given the opportunity to participate in this, sir," Bobby replied enthusiastically.
"Don't thank me, thank the skipper and admiral. They both thought it was about time you started taking on some of the other activities we conduct to give you some experience. As you are probably well aware, these types of missions can be as exciting as watching paint dry or turn into a terror ride without a moment's notice, so save your thanks until we get back."
Bobby laughed and nodded in full agreement having heard and witnessed how the mundane all too frequently turned into near disaster. He finished up his checklist then passed it to Chip for review.
"Looks good," Chip said and initialed the list. "Let's head topside to get the final mission brief and then we'll be on our way."
"Aye, sir," Bobby answered, still unable to tamp down his enthusiasm for the trip. Chip chuckled as he began to climb up the ladder, remembering all too well how excited he was when he was a younger officer and really getting into the meat of things.
Once both Morton and O'Brien were on deck, Lee looked up from his chart and regarded them. "Morning Mr. O'Brien, is FS-1 all ready to roll?"
"Morning Skipper. Yes sir, she's checked out and rarin' to go," he replied with a wide smile.
Chip and Lee both smiled enjoying the younger man's excitement at taking on the new duties. "Excellent. I'm sure Mr. Morton has filled you in on what to expect, hasn't he?"
"Aye, sir, he has. He indicated we will either have unrelenting tedium or sheer terror. Apparently, there is no middle ground when it comes to off-boat excursions."
All three broke out laughing, but did realize that was pretty much true to form. "Good to hear he hasn't oversold the experience," Lee finally responded.
Their attention was drawn to the staircase as they heard the familiar cadence of the admiral's steps down the stairs. Lee grabbed a quick look at his watch and smiled, it was precisely 0700.
"Morning, Admiral," Lee said.
"Morning, gentlemen," Harri replied. "Have all preparations been made?"
"Aye, sir," Lee answered. "We are ready to initiate our surveys upon your orders."
Harri smiled and then chuckled. He motioned them to join him in the nose to go over the parameters of the search grids one more time. They quickly gathered around the chart on the table and watched as Nelson traced the transects with his finger.
"Since this is an area where we know there has been contact, let's slow things down a bit so we make sure to get a good view at what's out there," Harri stated. The others nodded. "You up for this today, Mr. O'Brien?"
"Aye, sir. Thank you for including me in this, sir," Bobby replied.
"I'm sure you've been advised not to give out thanks for these assignments until they're over and you're safely back aboard?" Nelson admonished playfully.
Bobby smiled. "Aye, sir, that has been pointed out to me a number of times. Thanks, all the same, anyway."
"All right then, let's saddle up and ride. Chip, you and Bobby get aboard FS-1 and launch as soon as you're ready," Lee interjected.
"We're on our way," Chip answered then headed for the hatch with Bobby close behind. Ten minutes later, FS-1 was clear of Seaview and each vessel began her transit of the search area.
ooolo)
The first four hours of the search lived up to the mundane and boring promised by the XO. Bobby stretched out his back and yawned as they made the turn to make the return transit. Chip smiled and did the same. He picked up the mic and reported their results as scheduled and were informed Seaview's search was equally enthralling.
"Still glad you got to come along?" Chip asked.
"Yes sir, I'm just enjoying being out in FS-1," Bobby replied with a smile.
"That I believe. Bobby, you're welcome to call me Chip, when we aren't in the control room."
"Thank you, sir…I mean Chip," Bobby replied thrilled at the extra measure of familiarity with the XO. "Would you like a soda or cup of coffee?"
"Sure, I could take a Coke," Chip answered, as he updated the information in the autopilot.
Bobby got up and rifled through one of the lockers and came back with two cans of soda. They had just popped the tops when an alarm sounded on the sensors. Bobby quickly hit the button and began reviewing the data.
"Chip, we've got a hit on both sensors. We've got metal and chemicals dead ahead. The magnetometer is barely picking it up but the chemical sensor has a strong hit and it's getting stronger as we move ahead."
"Thanks. Where is the metal hit?"
"It's off to starboard, one eight five degrees," O'Brien relayed.
Chip took over control of FS-1 and made the required adjustment to her course. "Are we getting closer?"
"Aye, sir. Keep on this heading, both signals are definitely getting stronger."
Chip reached up and activated his throat mic and contacted Seaview. "Seaview this is FS-1, do you read me?"
"Seaview, go ahead FS-1," Sparks responded immediately.
"Put me through to the skipper."
"Hold one. Okay, sir you're on the line."
"Crane here, what have you got Chip?"
"Lee we've got both metallic and chemical hits on our sensors, and the signals are getting stronger as we close in on the source. We have yet to see any pellets…check that…Bobby is that what I think that is?" Chip replied.
"Whatcha got Chip?" Lee inquired.
"Seaview, we've just come upon a pellet that looks to be a seal. The deposition is identical to what you encountered yesterday, Lee," Chip responded. "Whoa, you're right Bobby…we've just spotted another two that appear to be another seal and a dolphin. I think we just found an active hunting ground."
"Copy that Chip. Send your coordinates," Lee ordered. Chip quickly transmitted their current position. As if on cue, Nelson appeared through the aft hatch having come up for air after completing his examination of the skeleton. "Admiral, FS-1 has found multiple pellets, and has hits on both their magnetic and chemical sensors."
Harri motioned to Lee to hand him the mic. "Chip, have you located any drums or other containers yet?"
"Negative, Admiral, but we've adjusted course honing in on the signal. Both sensors are reporting stronger readings as we progress."
"Very good. Continue on and let us know when you find the source," Nelson responded.
"Aye, sir. Morton out."
"What do you think, sir? Should we change course and head to FS-1's location or continue on with our sweeps?" Lee asked.
"Continue on with ours until Chip finds the source. If we aren't finding anything significant then we can break off and join them," Nelson replied. "Where are they anyway?"
Lee located the coordinate Chip provided on the chart. "Here," he said placing his finger on the spot. With his other hand, he indicated another spot less than a mile away. "This is where I was attacked."
"Well I'd definitely say we're closing in on the point of origin," Harri said releasing a sigh. "Steady as she goes, Captain. I'm going to Sick Bay to check on Jamie's research. Let me know immediately if Chip comes up with something new."
"Will do, sir."
(o1ooo
As the sensor signals increased in intensity, FS-1 finally began encountering what they were searching for. It started slowly with metal drums of varying sizes scattered randomly across the bottom. Proceeding further towards the source, the number increased to the point where the seabed was littered with them.
The sensors were pegged being completely saturated by the input they were receiving. The drums were in various states of decomposition from their contents and the effects of the seawater around them. Some had diffuse clouds of varying colors swirling in the underwater current as the movement of the water washed the chemicals out of the ruptured drums.
Chip and Bobby sat stunned and agape at the sight, almost incapable of believing the total disregard someone had for the environment. Chip slowly moved FS-1 forward as the video cameras captured the devastation before them. As they progressed, they began noticing more and more pellets interspersed amongst the drums. It was almost as if the jellyfish returned here to digest its prey.
"Oh, my god," Bobby whispered in horror and disbelief.
"What Bobby?"
Unable to speak, Bobby raised his arm and pointed to a pellet off the starboard side. As Chip focused on the sight, he felt his blood run cold. The pile of bones was that of a human being, and amongst the bones was a scuba tank, mask, fins, BC, and weight belt.
Chip wrenched his eyes away from the shocking vision and stared for a full minute at the deck as he brought his emotions under control. Once composed, he triggered the mic.
"Seaview, this FS-1," he said grimly.
"Seaview here FS-1," Sparks answered immediately, concerned at the tone of the XO's voice.
"Patch me through to the captain," Chip ordered. Sparks instantly forwarded the transmission.
"Crane here, what's up Chip?"
"Lee, we just found the remains of one of the divers. There's a pellet that contains a tank, fins, mask, and weight belt," Chip reported solemnly.
"Oh god," Lee replied, quietly. "Hold one Chip. Sparks, page the admiral and get him up here ASAP." Sparks nodded and called Nelson to the control room. "Is that the only one?" Lee asked.
"So far. We have found the dumping grounds and it's a complete mess. There are drums everywhere leaking their contents into the ocean. It's no wonder this thing was mutated by chemical waste, it's so pervasive the sensor is pegged."
"Any sign of the jellyfish?" Lee inquired.
"No, but there are pellets all over the area mixed in amongst the drums. It's an ecological disaster zone here," Chip replied sounding rather shaken by what he'd seen.
"Are you and Bobby okay?"
"Yeah, we're fine, it's just such a repugnant sight."
As Lee prepared to respond Nelson arrived in the control room. Lee gave him a quick rundown on what FS-1 had found. "Chip, can you safely retrieve the body?" Lee asked after a brief discussion with Nelson.
"Yes, I think we can collect it using the arms like Ski did with the dolphin. Bobby laid in an extra supply of storage bags so we're all set," Chip replied.
"Okay, then proceed with that. See if there are any other personal items around the diver that might help identify him. Once you've done that, start a survey of the area to determine the boundaries of the site," Lee ordered.
"Will do. Lee by the looks of this place and the number of pellets on the seafloor, I'd almost hazard a guess that that thing comes back here to digest its prey probably because it's safe from any other sea life, as strange as that sounds."
Nelson and Crane exchanged surprised looks. Jellyfish normally floated with the current and didn't remain in the same area, this sounded like a major change in the animal's behavior that could make it easier to locate and destroy it. "Copy that Chip. Go ahead with your recovery operations and then start the survey. Transmit your coordinates and I'll have Seaview on course and heading your way shortly."
"Copy, Seaview. This place is spooky as hell, it's like sailing through a graveyard. Get here as soon as you can," Chip replied.
"We're on our way, Seaview out," Lee said and terminated the connection. He quickly issued orders setting Seaview on course for Chip's location and would be on-site in about 90 minutes.
"What do you think, Admiral?" Lee asked.
"I'm not quite sure what to think at this moment. We really need to lay eyes on what Chip's found and then see if we can figure out a way to locate the jellyfish or draw them to us," Nelson replied. "If Chip's right, these chemicals have changed much more than the animal's physical makeup they have impacted its behavior as well. It will be interesting to see what those changes are."
"One addition would be that of focused hunting, if we go by my experience with the thing. I wonder why it would need to establish a territory given there's probably nothing that can successfully take it on," Lee answered.
"Excellent question, Captain. The possibilities are numerous and none of them good."
ooolo)
"All right, Bobby, you heard the man, let's see about getting that diver aboard so we have something we can return to the family. Are you okay on the arms or would you like me to do it?" Chip inquired.
"I can handle it, Mr. Morton," O'Brien replied as he unfastened his belt and got up from his seat. He quickly deployed the collection basket through the moon pool, then activated the controls for the arms. "So much for the mundane aspect of our mission," he quipped morosely.
"Yup, kind of looks like you're getting the terror tour," Chip responded. "Okay, I'm moving us in, let me know when you need me to stop or move."
"Yes, sir."
Bobby adeptly manipulated the arms, carefully picking up the contents of the entire pile and depositing into the basket. Once done, he activated the winch pulling the basket up to the moon pool so he could unload it and place the contents into the bags. When the basket was in position, Chip unbuckled and assisted him placing the remains and gear in the bags, then helped him stow them.
They exchanged a rather haunted look as they each shut a storage locker. This was the last thing either of them had expected to find on their survey. Chip patted Bobby on the shoulder and gave him a wan smile.
"Ready to get back at it?" Chip asked.
"Yeah, I suppose so. I could seriously go for a shot of something to steady my nerves, but I'll get over it, Chip."
"I know what you mean. We'll have a shot once we get back aboard Seaview, once we're off-duty for the night," Chip answered, then moved to his seat and buckled in.
Chip activated FS-1's controls and began defining the extent of the dumping zone. Much to their dismay, they still weren't into the main dumping region as they encountered drums upon drums as they moved closer towards shore. They kept a keen lookout for pellets and thus far had been relieved to only find animal skeletons.
As they reached what was most likely the center of the dumping area, Chip spotted an odd geological feature. There appeared to be a cave opening flanked by boulders and drums. He maneuvered the little sub over to the area and immediately encountered a stronger current.
"Interesting," Chip remarked as he fought to adjust FS-1's position in the increased flow of water. "Shine the spots on that opening."
Bobby quickly complied illuminating the possible cave. As the lights spread across the surface, they both drew in a shocked breath as they found yet another missing diver. This pellet was different as the diver had been wearing a wet suit. Bobby fought hard to keep the contents of his stomach in place.
"Oh god," Chip finally said breaking the oppressive silence.
The pellet was half in and half out of the opening and the presence of boulders and drums made it virtually impossible for the mechanical arms to pick up the pieces. Chip debated momentarily then decided that he would head down and collect the remains personally.
Bobby looked at him aghast. "You can't be serious, we're going to go out there and pick up the remains by hand? I don't mean to sound like a coward or anything Mr. Morton, but wouldn't it be better to wait for Seaview to arrive?"
"Not we, I am going out there. Given the current that's shooting along here, that body could easily be washed away. Since the body appears to be contained in the wetsuit, it should be an easy in and out."
"Where have I heard that before?" Bobby asked sarcastically, garnering a dirty look from Chip. "Sorry sir."
"No, you're right, but I think I can get this thing collected in about five minutes and be back on board. It will afford the family some closure," Chip replied. "Come on, we both need to suit up, in the event I need your help."
Both men quickly changed into their dry suits, then deployed the collection basket for Morton to carry over to the opening. Chip grabbed his dive lights and checked to ensure they were working. He also attached a remote camera to his helmet so he could capture all he saw during his dive.
"You know the skipper and the admiral are going to have a fit, don't you?" Bobby asked in hopes of dissuading Chip from going.
Chip smiled and nodded as he sat on the edge of the moon pool ready to put on his helmet. "Okay crack open my tanks," he ordered. Once the air began flowing into the helmet, Chip pulled it on and locked it in place. He gave Bobby the okay sign. "I'll be back as quickly as I can." He then slid into the water and disappeared.
(o1ooo
Once in the water, Chip quickly grabbed the basket and began swimming towards the opening. He was quite surprised at the strength of the current and really had to kick to make any headway. Upon reaching the opening he set down the basket as close as he could to the body, then swam forward to start picking up pieces.
As he entered the cave he realized that it must have been some ancient volcanic lava tube. He squirmed in behind one of the drums to disentangle the body when he was hit by an unexpected surge of water. He spun around and looked behind him then sighed in relief at not spotting anything swimming in the area, but when he dropped his gaze as his light beam touched the bottom of the tube his eyes grew wide in horror.
The bottom of the tube looked much like a huge tongue covered in gigantic jellyfish polyps as far as he could see. He momentarily felt like Ripley wandering into the egg chamber of the monster in Aliens, and warily eyed the polyps just waiting for them to start to hatch. It made sense that a giant jellyfish would spawn bigger offspring, but he hadn't expected what was laid out before him. It looked as if these things had been laid like a clutch of fish eggs instead of normal jellyfish polyps that took root wherever the current deposited them.
"Mr. Morton, are you okay?" Bobby called over the radio, since Chip had failed to say anything in some time. "Mr. Morton…Chip?!"
Bobby's urgent request for response snapped Chip back. "Yeah, Bobby I'm here. There's a whole field of baby jellyfish in here," he replied. As Chip continued to stare, another stronger rush of water slammed into him knocking him into the tube wall and tumbling out of the opening where he caught his suit on the jagged edge of a drum, tearing a huge hole in the back and side.
"Damnit!" Chip cursed knowing Lee, the admiral and Jamie were going to flay him alive.
"What?!" came the excited voice from FS-1.
"Just being careless that's all," Chip replied as the chemical soup invaded his suit. "I'm going to have to leave the body, I just ripped my suit. I'm on my way back."
"Do you need any assistance?" Bobby offered.
"No, I can make it back. Just be ready to help me aboard when I get there."
"I'm standing by," Bobby replied. A moment later Chip emerged from the field of drums, swimming awkwardly because of breach in his suit. To his horror, Bobby spotted the rapid approach of the jellyfish coming in behind Morton.
"Chip, behind you! That jellyfish is on your six!" Bobby yelled. He moved quickly to the laser controls and fired it up should he need to scare that thing off.
Chip shot a quick look over his shoulder and was shocked at the monstrous thing making a beeline for him. He kicked for all he was worth, but between the ruptured suit and a jet-propelled jellyfish he was no match. The animal swooped down dangling its arsenal of weapons from its huge tentacles.
Morton zigged to the right, successfully avoiding the approaching tentacle but then swam right into the other one that trailed off to the side. The tentacle barely brushed his back but it made enough contact with the bare skin exposed by the tear in his suit to inject a crushing load of toxin into Chip's back.
He screamed in agony as the nematocysts fired, thrashing and convulsing in pain as the toxin raced into his system. He fought as best he could to keep moving towards FS-1 but found his strength rapidly flagging as the toxin worked efficiently to immobilize him for collection and consumption by the feeding arms of the jellyfish now descending upon him. He continued to struggle but finally found himself floating helplessly to the bottom.
Bobby rapidly aimed the laser and fired off a number of shots, severing a couple of the feeding arms and one of the stinger laden tentacles. The jellyfish recoiled in apparent pain and quickly jetted away leaving its helpless prey on the ocean floor. As the jellyfish departed, Bobby pulled on his helmet and jumped into the water and swam frantically over to his injured commanding officer.
As he reached Chip, he could see him still convulsing and could hear his moans of pain over the comm channel. He grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up off the bottom. Knowing if he put him in a rescue swimmer's hold he could potentially cause any nematocysts still on his back to fire, he took hold of his wrist and towed him back as quickly as he could.
Reaching FS-1 Bobby released Chip's weight belt and inflated his BC causing him to rise up and float on the surface of the moon pool. He then scrambled aboard and pulled the injured man onto the deck. Once on board Chip curled instinctively into a fetal position, moaning and rocking slowly in pain. Bobby worked frantically to get Chip's helmet off because he had already vomited and the last thing he needed was to aspirate any of that into his lungs.
Bobby dropped his tank and then released the one on Chip's back, careful to ensure no contact between the tank and the torn area of the dry suit. He proceeded to grab a knife and sliced the suit off Chip's body revealing the red and rapidly blistering area on his back and side. He pulled the first aid kit out of the locker and tore it open. He found the vinegar Jamieson had placed in all the kits for this mission and quickly cracked the seal and opened the bottle. He then poured the vinegar over the inflamed area causing Chip to cry out in more pain as the liquid made contact with the open wounds.
"Sorry, Chip, sorry," he said as he went through the treatment procedures Jamieson had run them all through. Not willing to try lifting him up to the bunk, Bobby pulled the mattress down and as gently as possible positioned the exec on the mattress. He grabbed a bottle of water, wet a towel then gently bathed his face removing the vomit.
Having done the best, he could for the time being, Bobby snapped up the mic and placed an emergency call to Seaview. "Seaview, this is FS-1, emergency. Do you read me?"
In less than a second Sparks answered the hale. "FS-1 this is Seaview, we read you. What is your emergency?" Having heard the word emergency, Lee nearly ran across the control room and stood apprehensively next to Sparks waiting for the answer to that question.
"Seaview, Commander Morton has been stung by the jellyfish and is going into shock. He's currently unconscious though his body continues to convulse because of the toxin."
"Sparks tie Jamieson in on this now," Lee said, as he picked up the mic. "Bobby, we copy. Jamieson is being tied in now. Doctor you have the transmission."
Jamieson quickly requested O'Brien review what he had done to treat Morton's condition, then asked him to count his pulse and respiration rates. As that conversation went on, Lee ordered Seaview to flank speed to get there as rapidly as possible. Having given his commands for the new course and alerting the admiral to the situation, Lee returned to the radio shack in time to hear Jamie return the conversation to the con.
"Bobby, is Chip stable enough for you to pilot FS-1 back to Seaview?" Lee asked.
"Aye, sir. There's nothing else I can really do for him right now," Bobby replied.
"Very well, then get her fired back up and lock in on our homing signal. Once we're in close proximity we'll drop speed and allow you to dock," Lee answered. "Keep this line open, okay."
"Copy that Skipper," Bobby acknowledged. He moved to the pilot's seat and prepared to engage the engines. As he pushed the throttle forward urging the engines to engage there was a loud pop followed by a belch of white smoke from behind one of the control panels and an overwhelming odor of burning plastic.
"Damn!" Bobby cursed, then quickly unbuckled his harness, grabbed the fire extinguisher behind him and doused the flicker of flames that licked out at the edge of the console. As he addressed that problem FS-1, now devoid of power, settled softly onto a number of the barrels on the sea floor still oozing toxic waste.
"What happened Bobby?" Lee asked anxiously as they all listened to the lieutenant's soft curses and the hiss of the extinguisher being discharged. "O'Brien, report!"
"Skipper, I just lost the engines. Everything was fine when we came out, but when I tried to get us moving something in the back console went bang and caught fire. Fire's out but so are the lights, engines and the controls. I'm sitting on the bottom on top of a bunch of metal drums."
"Okay Bob, hold tight. Do you have sufficient air to breath?" Lee inquired.
"Yes sir, that system is still operational, plus we have the dive tanks if we run into problems."
"Good, one less thing to worry about. We should be on-site in 23 minutes. How did Mr. Morton come to be stung?" Lee finally asked.
"We found some more human remains near what looked like a cave. There was no way we could get in there with the remote arms, and there was a wicked current ripping through the area threatening to move the remains. Mr. Morton thought he could go out, retrieve the body and be back aboard with no problem. That's where we hit the snag, sir," O'Brien began.
Crane and Nelson exchanged frustrated and concerned looks as they waited for the lieutenant to continue. "You're a bad influence, you know," Nelson said quietly along with a wan smile. The comment garnered a sheepish look and a shrug from his son.
"When he got to the body, he looked into the tube and said the entire bottom was covered in jellyfish polyps as far as he could see. Next thing we know there's another surge of water through the tube which caught him off guard and threw him into some metal drums. He ripped a huge hole in his suit on one of the drums, exposing his back and side. As he started swimming back to FS-1, the jellyfish appeared and came after him. The tentacle just brushed his back and side where his suit was torn and next thing I know he's screaming out in pain," O'Brien reported. "As he was thrashing around in the water, the jellyfish moved in to collect him, but I managed to drive it off with a couple of shots from the laser. I cut off a couple of its tentacles. Sir, that thing came out of nowhere. I had been keeping watch and one second nothing and the next this huge jellyfish."
"Was Chip able to swim back after that?" Lee inquired.
"No sir. Once the jelly was gone, I dove in and pulled Mr. Morton back aboard."
"Good job, Bobby. While you're waiting for us to arrive, talk to Chip and let him know you're there and he's not alone. Having gone through what he's experiencing, the sound of another person's voice is very comforting even if he isn't conscious."
"Yes, sir. I'll take good care of him," O'Brien replied.
"I know you will. Just 10 more minutes."
ooolo)
