Chapter 1: Creatures Rising
June 20, 1998, 9:17 A.M. Aboard the Science-1 Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Japan
In the open ocean, a ship stands out in the blue radiance. The ship itself was a Pegasus-class combat hydrofoil, 145 feet long and capable of making almost fifty knots on it's hydrofoil. Originally it was a U.S. Navy vesicle, but after being purchased it was stripped of all military equipment and then re-outfitted with oceanography measuring devices. Off on the bow, a two-man submersible was being prepared to dive into the abyss deep below them.
Standing near the bridge an aging man in his late 60's looked over the ocean. His graying hair and wrinkles the signs of his age. "Finally, we will be able to bring your existence to light, Archituthus." he quietly said to the sea.
Rapheal MacEnzie was an expert on oceanic biology and wild life. He, among others, had searched for the elusive Arcituthus, more commonly known as the Kraken, or Giant Squid. Of course every scientist knew that Giant Squids exist. Carcasses had washed up on beaches, dragged up by fishing nets, and even a tentacle was cut off of a live Squid off the coast of England. But even as this evidence had added up, a live animal was still difficult to find.
That was what this expedition was about.
Two people would go down in the mini-sub and search for a Giant Squid. Cameras on the sides of the sub would feed information back up to the surface for information gathering and surveillance.
Dr. MacEnzie grabbed one of the men on deck. "Would you head down below and make sure the pilots are awake and ready, they dive in two hours."
"Yes sir," the young man replied before heading below deck.
In the cramped quarters below the deck of the Science-1, Brain Dole kissed his fiancé, Sarah. Brian was the first pilot of the mini-sub's two- man crew and was specifically chosen for this assignment. To go searching for a Giant Squid in the depths of the Pacific.
"You know," Sarah commented, laying on Brian's bare stomach. "You only have two hours before the dive today."
"Yeah," he replied. "But I'm going to need all my strength if I'm going to be down there for six hours."
"Aww, you're no fun." Sarah said, giving Brian her sad eyes routine.
"Well," Brian replied, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll need something to warm me up after being in the cold for several hours."
"Hmm, how about I get you nice and hot now, so you can stay warm and maybe make the water heat up?" Sarah teased.
The couple kissed again, and started to get more involved than just the kiss when a knock came at the door and they both looked at it.
Annoyed, Brian ordered, "What is it?!"
"Dr. MacEnzie wanted me to make sure the pilots are up." the voice on the other side of the door replied.
"I'm up!"
"Okay sir." Both Brain and Sarah heard footsteps heading down the hall.
"Sorry, but I have to get ready."
"I know." Sarah said standing allowing Brian to get up and get dressed. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Hun, we've been down there three times already. There's nothing down there that will surprise me." Brian had his shirt and pants on as he laced his boots up. Sarah was also getting ready to go to work.
Sarah Stratton was the one to keep an eye on the sonar to make sure that if they found anything, she could size it up and try to find out what it could be. The sonar, however, could not detect anything too far down, so about 30 feet from the floor Brian and his co-pilot would be on their own.
Scott Bannster double checked the systems of the mini-sub. He was the other pilot of this very delicate piece of equipment, along with Brian Dole. The two where best friends, and had a friendly competition "bug" between them. They would race anything that could move faster than they could walk: boats, bikes, cars, even skateboards.
He saw two people come up on deck and he waved to Brian and Sarah.
"Ahoy maties! Do ya wish to take a dive in the brimmy deep?" Scott shouted with a pirate accent.
"I'll have to pass Blackbeard, how's the sub?" Brian asked.
"From stem to stern, this baby's ready to go." Scott replied.
Brian was glad to hear that. The last thing they needed was for something to be missing and put them back another two days. He looked towards his bride-to-be. "Look hun, I'll see you when we come back up okay?"
Sarah hugged him before kissing him full on the mouth, Scott just looked away, trying not to notice.
The couple broke the kiss and Sarah started her way up to the bridge.
"You know bud, you've got one hell of a catch." Scott commented.
"Yeah, I know."
"Just next time, get a room."
Brian punched Scott in the arm.
June 20, 1998 10:24 A.M. Somewhere in The Atlantic Ocean
On the edge of the continental shelf, a large reptile lay in wait for it's next meal. Not yet fully grown, it waited for it's prey to swim over head, before snapping it up in it's jaws. One eye was kept open, an eerie orange glow emanating from it, attracting some of the fish that can recognize illuminesent objects as potential food items. A thin, clear eyelid covered the eye, protecting it from creatures that could permanently damage it.
The reptile was only half grown at 50 meters, but was still one of the largest things on earth. It could tell that something was happening. Smells in the water were different, and the vibrations where strange. Something was tugging at the end of it's senses and it had no clue what they meant.
At the same time as these new smells, new sensations began interfering with it's own body. Strange urges almost over-powered it. Eat more. Find a place to nest. Reproduce.
It couldn't interpret these urges, so he had to wait for something to draw him out. And when that did, he knew he would have to fight to survive.
June 20, 1998 12:34 P.M. Almost a mile down The Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Japan and Hawaii
Brain cupped his hands and blew into them, trying to warm himself. At a mile down, the water was frigid and steam could be seen when ever someone exhaled.
"This makes the Rockys seem like desert hot-spots." Scott commented.
"You can say that again," Brian replied as he maneuvered the mini-sub around an outcropping of rock.
"Don't temp me."
"How's it look on your end doc? See anything you want to get a closer look at?"
Up a mile to the ocean's surface, MacEnzie watched the video recordings as creatures who never saw the light of day where captured on camera. "Nothing as of yet boys, but if you spot something the camera doesn't, let me know before you go exploring."
"Roger that, okay hit the spot lights." Brian said.
Three different lights beamed on, illuminating the rocky ground below them as well as almost twenty feet in front of them.
"Here squidy, squidy, squidy." Scott said as the sub went on. "Come out and play,"
"Like that's going to bring out a Squid bigger than this thing." Brian replied, tapping on the interior hull.
"Can't blame me for trying." Scott answered.
Two more hours went by without any sightings of the elusive invertebrate.
"Boreing," Scott yawned.
"Just two more hours and we can both go back up." Brian reassured him.
Scott looked out on the port side, just to pass time, but he saw something strange.
A glimmer reflected back to the mini-sub from far away, reflecting off of something metallic. Wishing to be silent for an unknown reason, he tapped Brian on the shoulder and motioned for him to steer the sub to the right, towards the glimmer off of their strobe lights.
Both stared at the sight. Shards of steel and iron jutted out of the sandy bottom of the sea. Metal and other debris scattered along the sea floor. The lights moved, showing the larger half of an oval object, stuck in the rocks. It was a submarine. A submarine was wrecked down here, and from the looks of it, torn in half.
"Doctor, are you getting this?" Brian asked as both he and Scott were awestruck.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Looks like a nuclear submarine, only there's no reading on my scanners." Scott replied.
"If that's a nuclear sub, then where's the reactor?"
"The reactors are usually contained in the stern, and that looks like the stern, so he main reactor shouldn't be far away." Scott said.
The sub turned, careful not to twist the umbilical cord back to the surface, and began heading away from the wreckage. The lights concentrated on the sea floor, searching for signs of the reactor and the rest of the sub. Light flashed on a metal container, grooves in the side.
"Doc, we've found the reactor." Brian said.
"And there's no radiation."
The two pilots looked at each other, both getting the feeling that something horrible had happened to this particular sub.
"What has the power to tear a nuclear sub in two just for the reactor, and then suck the reactor dry?" Scott asked.
"I don't know, but I don't want to be around as an appetizer." Brian replied. "Doc, we're going to do one more sweep around the wreck and then head topside."
"Roger that boys, we'll still be recording everything up here."
"Let's go,"
The mini-sub went over as much of the area as possible, and even got close to the torn submarine, noting it's marks and finding that it was an Japanese issued submarine. Even as the mini-sub headed back up to the surface, Scott could swear he saw claw marks on the side of the reactor.
Not far away a creature lay in a trench. It's ears heard the mini- sub and the eyes could see even in the blackest of the depths. The creature watched as the small machine headed back up towards the surface of the ocean. It was still tired and could only watch and wait. Soon it could resurface and go after the latest threat to it's existence.
June 21, 1998, 11:43 A.M. Prime Minister's office, Diet Building Tokyo, Japan
"Are you absolutely these pictures haven't been seen by anyone else?" General Tanaka, head of the military, asked. Several pictures of a wrecked submarine, one of Japan's submarines, floated between the men at this conference.
The prime minister nodded. "The only others who have seen these are Raphael MacEnzie and the sub pilots who saw it with their own eyes."
One of the men looked at all the pictures carefully. "I'm afraid that we may not be able to keep this Japan's little secret for very long."
"Dr. Saegusa, are you sure it's him?" Tanaka asked, still not ready to believe it.
"Almost positive. The reactor has already been recovered and searched. The radiation was drained straight from the reactor. Sonar recordings show a roar, but, for our sake gentlemen, let's hope it isn't."
"Doctor, with all due respect to your reputation and work. We already know what to expect if it rises again. But our weapons are more advanced, there should be a way to destroy it before it destroys us."
"With all due respect to you sir, we thought that it was killed 40 years ago, but now, it looks like that may not be the case." Saegusa looked at one picture that had strange outcroppings that where too irregular just to be rocks. "I suggest we ask some specialists for help."
"Just who has more experience with such a matter than you?" the minister asked.
Saegusa pulled out a newspaper clipping from less than a month ago. In big bold print it stated, "American Kaiju Destroyed. Godzilla's Terror, Ended on Brooklyn Bridge."
"The American's kaiju was destroyed, what of it?"
"The biologist who turned out to be right about the monster was ignored by the military before they realized that the kaiju was about to nest in their own city. Nick Tatopolous, may also be able to help us with our terror."
"Are you suggesting that we join the American military, or ask for help?"
"Joining forces would be a better course of action."
The prime minister thought for a tense moment.
"Very well, General, contact the Colonel who killed the American's kaiju, and doctor, I hope you are sure about what we are about to do."
"I would also suggest a media blackout, if news like this got out,"
"Yes, Japan and the whole world would be thrown into chaos."
Saegusa looked at the picture of the wrecked sub. I hope that is not the case.
June 24, 1998 9:06 P.M. Apartment # 32 Manhattan, New York City, New York
"Audrey, have you seen my folders?" Nikko Tatopolous asked.
Audrey Timmonds, reached past Nicks' head and pulled out the folders he was looking for. "You really need to reorganize your files."
"I know, I know." he replied.
Nick and Audrey where back together, as best they could be. Nick was still working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Audrey was moving up in the news field. However, several times in the past month they had been away from each other. With orders from the NRC, Nick was helping with Godzilla's autopsy, not an easy feat trying to dissect a 100 meter tall lizard. And Audrey was busy with higher news stories and a few interviews by day-time talk show hosts. But they where trying to make it work.
"Nick, you get so involved in that overgrown lizard's insides, that it worries me."
"Don't worry Audrey, it shouldn't last too long. As soon as the Commission sees this report I should be due for a vacation."
"You won't be going alone I hope,"
"I plan on having you going with me." Nick replied.
"That's if the network can spare me for a week." she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss.
A beeping noise came from under a stack of papers, and the couple stopped kissing. Nick reached for the cell phone and flipped it open.
"Tatopolous,"
"Hey worm guy!" replied a familiar voice.
"Hicks?!" Nick realized with a shock. "What's going on? Why have you called me?"
"We have a new situation, and you've been asked for personally."
Audrey mouthed "What's going on?"
Nick replied by mouthing, "Colonel Hicks,"
"What situation?"
"I can't tell you over this line, we'll expect you at Sandy Point at your regular check in time. All your gear will be ready. Get a good night's sleep doctor." The phone's dial tone came on as Hicks hang up.
"What was that about?" Audrey asked, worried about the look on Nick's face.
"Something's going on, I've just been re-recruited for the military."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
"Any idea when you'll get back?"
"None, and that's off the record." Nick teased.
Audrey gave him her hurt look and Nick almost laughed.
"Common, let's get to bed."
June 20, 1998, 9:17 A.M. Aboard the Science-1 Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and Japan
In the open ocean, a ship stands out in the blue radiance. The ship itself was a Pegasus-class combat hydrofoil, 145 feet long and capable of making almost fifty knots on it's hydrofoil. Originally it was a U.S. Navy vesicle, but after being purchased it was stripped of all military equipment and then re-outfitted with oceanography measuring devices. Off on the bow, a two-man submersible was being prepared to dive into the abyss deep below them.
Standing near the bridge an aging man in his late 60's looked over the ocean. His graying hair and wrinkles the signs of his age. "Finally, we will be able to bring your existence to light, Archituthus." he quietly said to the sea.
Rapheal MacEnzie was an expert on oceanic biology and wild life. He, among others, had searched for the elusive Arcituthus, more commonly known as the Kraken, or Giant Squid. Of course every scientist knew that Giant Squids exist. Carcasses had washed up on beaches, dragged up by fishing nets, and even a tentacle was cut off of a live Squid off the coast of England. But even as this evidence had added up, a live animal was still difficult to find.
That was what this expedition was about.
Two people would go down in the mini-sub and search for a Giant Squid. Cameras on the sides of the sub would feed information back up to the surface for information gathering and surveillance.
Dr. MacEnzie grabbed one of the men on deck. "Would you head down below and make sure the pilots are awake and ready, they dive in two hours."
"Yes sir," the young man replied before heading below deck.
In the cramped quarters below the deck of the Science-1, Brain Dole kissed his fiancé, Sarah. Brian was the first pilot of the mini-sub's two- man crew and was specifically chosen for this assignment. To go searching for a Giant Squid in the depths of the Pacific.
"You know," Sarah commented, laying on Brian's bare stomach. "You only have two hours before the dive today."
"Yeah," he replied. "But I'm going to need all my strength if I'm going to be down there for six hours."
"Aww, you're no fun." Sarah said, giving Brian her sad eyes routine.
"Well," Brian replied, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll need something to warm me up after being in the cold for several hours."
"Hmm, how about I get you nice and hot now, so you can stay warm and maybe make the water heat up?" Sarah teased.
The couple kissed again, and started to get more involved than just the kiss when a knock came at the door and they both looked at it.
Annoyed, Brian ordered, "What is it?!"
"Dr. MacEnzie wanted me to make sure the pilots are up." the voice on the other side of the door replied.
"I'm up!"
"Okay sir." Both Brain and Sarah heard footsteps heading down the hall.
"Sorry, but I have to get ready."
"I know." Sarah said standing allowing Brian to get up and get dressed. "Just be careful, okay?"
"Hun, we've been down there three times already. There's nothing down there that will surprise me." Brian had his shirt and pants on as he laced his boots up. Sarah was also getting ready to go to work.
Sarah Stratton was the one to keep an eye on the sonar to make sure that if they found anything, she could size it up and try to find out what it could be. The sonar, however, could not detect anything too far down, so about 30 feet from the floor Brian and his co-pilot would be on their own.
Scott Bannster double checked the systems of the mini-sub. He was the other pilot of this very delicate piece of equipment, along with Brian Dole. The two where best friends, and had a friendly competition "bug" between them. They would race anything that could move faster than they could walk: boats, bikes, cars, even skateboards.
He saw two people come up on deck and he waved to Brian and Sarah.
"Ahoy maties! Do ya wish to take a dive in the brimmy deep?" Scott shouted with a pirate accent.
"I'll have to pass Blackbeard, how's the sub?" Brian asked.
"From stem to stern, this baby's ready to go." Scott replied.
Brian was glad to hear that. The last thing they needed was for something to be missing and put them back another two days. He looked towards his bride-to-be. "Look hun, I'll see you when we come back up okay?"
Sarah hugged him before kissing him full on the mouth, Scott just looked away, trying not to notice.
The couple broke the kiss and Sarah started her way up to the bridge.
"You know bud, you've got one hell of a catch." Scott commented.
"Yeah, I know."
"Just next time, get a room."
Brian punched Scott in the arm.
June 20, 1998 10:24 A.M. Somewhere in The Atlantic Ocean
On the edge of the continental shelf, a large reptile lay in wait for it's next meal. Not yet fully grown, it waited for it's prey to swim over head, before snapping it up in it's jaws. One eye was kept open, an eerie orange glow emanating from it, attracting some of the fish that can recognize illuminesent objects as potential food items. A thin, clear eyelid covered the eye, protecting it from creatures that could permanently damage it.
The reptile was only half grown at 50 meters, but was still one of the largest things on earth. It could tell that something was happening. Smells in the water were different, and the vibrations where strange. Something was tugging at the end of it's senses and it had no clue what they meant.
At the same time as these new smells, new sensations began interfering with it's own body. Strange urges almost over-powered it. Eat more. Find a place to nest. Reproduce.
It couldn't interpret these urges, so he had to wait for something to draw him out. And when that did, he knew he would have to fight to survive.
June 20, 1998 12:34 P.M. Almost a mile down The Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Japan and Hawaii
Brain cupped his hands and blew into them, trying to warm himself. At a mile down, the water was frigid and steam could be seen when ever someone exhaled.
"This makes the Rockys seem like desert hot-spots." Scott commented.
"You can say that again," Brian replied as he maneuvered the mini-sub around an outcropping of rock.
"Don't temp me."
"How's it look on your end doc? See anything you want to get a closer look at?"
Up a mile to the ocean's surface, MacEnzie watched the video recordings as creatures who never saw the light of day where captured on camera. "Nothing as of yet boys, but if you spot something the camera doesn't, let me know before you go exploring."
"Roger that, okay hit the spot lights." Brian said.
Three different lights beamed on, illuminating the rocky ground below them as well as almost twenty feet in front of them.
"Here squidy, squidy, squidy." Scott said as the sub went on. "Come out and play,"
"Like that's going to bring out a Squid bigger than this thing." Brian replied, tapping on the interior hull.
"Can't blame me for trying." Scott answered.
Two more hours went by without any sightings of the elusive invertebrate.
"Boreing," Scott yawned.
"Just two more hours and we can both go back up." Brian reassured him.
Scott looked out on the port side, just to pass time, but he saw something strange.
A glimmer reflected back to the mini-sub from far away, reflecting off of something metallic. Wishing to be silent for an unknown reason, he tapped Brian on the shoulder and motioned for him to steer the sub to the right, towards the glimmer off of their strobe lights.
Both stared at the sight. Shards of steel and iron jutted out of the sandy bottom of the sea. Metal and other debris scattered along the sea floor. The lights moved, showing the larger half of an oval object, stuck in the rocks. It was a submarine. A submarine was wrecked down here, and from the looks of it, torn in half.
"Doctor, are you getting this?" Brian asked as both he and Scott were awestruck.
"Yes, what is it?"
"Looks like a nuclear submarine, only there's no reading on my scanners." Scott replied.
"If that's a nuclear sub, then where's the reactor?"
"The reactors are usually contained in the stern, and that looks like the stern, so he main reactor shouldn't be far away." Scott said.
The sub turned, careful not to twist the umbilical cord back to the surface, and began heading away from the wreckage. The lights concentrated on the sea floor, searching for signs of the reactor and the rest of the sub. Light flashed on a metal container, grooves in the side.
"Doc, we've found the reactor." Brian said.
"And there's no radiation."
The two pilots looked at each other, both getting the feeling that something horrible had happened to this particular sub.
"What has the power to tear a nuclear sub in two just for the reactor, and then suck the reactor dry?" Scott asked.
"I don't know, but I don't want to be around as an appetizer." Brian replied. "Doc, we're going to do one more sweep around the wreck and then head topside."
"Roger that boys, we'll still be recording everything up here."
"Let's go,"
The mini-sub went over as much of the area as possible, and even got close to the torn submarine, noting it's marks and finding that it was an Japanese issued submarine. Even as the mini-sub headed back up to the surface, Scott could swear he saw claw marks on the side of the reactor.
Not far away a creature lay in a trench. It's ears heard the mini- sub and the eyes could see even in the blackest of the depths. The creature watched as the small machine headed back up towards the surface of the ocean. It was still tired and could only watch and wait. Soon it could resurface and go after the latest threat to it's existence.
June 21, 1998, 11:43 A.M. Prime Minister's office, Diet Building Tokyo, Japan
"Are you absolutely these pictures haven't been seen by anyone else?" General Tanaka, head of the military, asked. Several pictures of a wrecked submarine, one of Japan's submarines, floated between the men at this conference.
The prime minister nodded. "The only others who have seen these are Raphael MacEnzie and the sub pilots who saw it with their own eyes."
One of the men looked at all the pictures carefully. "I'm afraid that we may not be able to keep this Japan's little secret for very long."
"Dr. Saegusa, are you sure it's him?" Tanaka asked, still not ready to believe it.
"Almost positive. The reactor has already been recovered and searched. The radiation was drained straight from the reactor. Sonar recordings show a roar, but, for our sake gentlemen, let's hope it isn't."
"Doctor, with all due respect to your reputation and work. We already know what to expect if it rises again. But our weapons are more advanced, there should be a way to destroy it before it destroys us."
"With all due respect to you sir, we thought that it was killed 40 years ago, but now, it looks like that may not be the case." Saegusa looked at one picture that had strange outcroppings that where too irregular just to be rocks. "I suggest we ask some specialists for help."
"Just who has more experience with such a matter than you?" the minister asked.
Saegusa pulled out a newspaper clipping from less than a month ago. In big bold print it stated, "American Kaiju Destroyed. Godzilla's Terror, Ended on Brooklyn Bridge."
"The American's kaiju was destroyed, what of it?"
"The biologist who turned out to be right about the monster was ignored by the military before they realized that the kaiju was about to nest in their own city. Nick Tatopolous, may also be able to help us with our terror."
"Are you suggesting that we join the American military, or ask for help?"
"Joining forces would be a better course of action."
The prime minister thought for a tense moment.
"Very well, General, contact the Colonel who killed the American's kaiju, and doctor, I hope you are sure about what we are about to do."
"I would also suggest a media blackout, if news like this got out,"
"Yes, Japan and the whole world would be thrown into chaos."
Saegusa looked at the picture of the wrecked sub. I hope that is not the case.
June 24, 1998 9:06 P.M. Apartment # 32 Manhattan, New York City, New York
"Audrey, have you seen my folders?" Nikko Tatopolous asked.
Audrey Timmonds, reached past Nicks' head and pulled out the folders he was looking for. "You really need to reorganize your files."
"I know, I know." he replied.
Nick and Audrey where back together, as best they could be. Nick was still working for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Audrey was moving up in the news field. However, several times in the past month they had been away from each other. With orders from the NRC, Nick was helping with Godzilla's autopsy, not an easy feat trying to dissect a 100 meter tall lizard. And Audrey was busy with higher news stories and a few interviews by day-time talk show hosts. But they where trying to make it work.
"Nick, you get so involved in that overgrown lizard's insides, that it worries me."
"Don't worry Audrey, it shouldn't last too long. As soon as the Commission sees this report I should be due for a vacation."
"You won't be going alone I hope,"
"I plan on having you going with me." Nick replied.
"That's if the network can spare me for a week." she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in for a kiss.
A beeping noise came from under a stack of papers, and the couple stopped kissing. Nick reached for the cell phone and flipped it open.
"Tatopolous,"
"Hey worm guy!" replied a familiar voice.
"Hicks?!" Nick realized with a shock. "What's going on? Why have you called me?"
"We have a new situation, and you've been asked for personally."
Audrey mouthed "What's going on?"
Nick replied by mouthing, "Colonel Hicks,"
"What situation?"
"I can't tell you over this line, we'll expect you at Sandy Point at your regular check in time. All your gear will be ready. Get a good night's sleep doctor." The phone's dial tone came on as Hicks hang up.
"What was that about?" Audrey asked, worried about the look on Nick's face.
"Something's going on, I've just been re-recruited for the military."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow."
"Any idea when you'll get back?"
"None, and that's off the record." Nick teased.
Audrey gave him her hurt look and Nick almost laughed.
"Common, let's get to bed."
