Jenna approached the window and peered out into the water. Slowly, she
reached for her headphones and contacted the ship above them. "Dr.
Ferguson, there's something down here..." she said, her voice barely above a
whisper. There was a quick burst of static and a man's voice came through.
"What is it?" He asked. Jenna picked up a camera and handed it to Peter.
"It's... glowing, or something. It's too bright to see its shape. I'll contact you if we figure out what it is."
William Ferguson laughed harshly. "Thomas, are you sure it isn't your lamp?" he said. She bit her tongue to hold back an imaginative combination of four letter words and made a mental note to hit him the next time she saw him.
"I only did that once!" she spat. There was a loud click from the camera, and she motioned to Peter to be quiet. "Sorry, what did you say?"
His voice drifted back, exasperated. "I said, get as many pictures as you can without getting too close. Sure it's not a fish?"
"If it is, I've never seen one like it before. It isn't moving, either... I swear it's a rock or something. Want me to bring the Odyssey back up so you can take a look at it?"
There was another burst of static. "Affirmative."
Peter sat back down and directed the pod back towards the entrance. They shot forward and several minutes later were hauled onto the deck of a large ship. Peter handed the digital camera to a large man wearing khaki shorts, who took it and squinted at it analytically. "All I can see is a big glowing blob. Sure the camera isn't acting up?" he asked. Jenna nodded.
"You're looking at what we saw. It's too bright to discern anything." She replied. William cycled through the pictures and nodded, pressing the sequence of buttons to open the Odyssey's portal. He stepped in, followed by Peter.
"Take me down to where you saw it." The researcher nodded and the pod was lowered into the water again, rocketing off towards the ocean floor. Jenna picked up the camera and headed to the room where they kept files, intending to print out the pictures such as they were. Staring down at the small display screen on the camera, she attached it to the computer and went through the necessary procedure. The printer began churning out glossy papers and she collected them into a pile.
The very last one shot out and she scooped it up... and stared at it. There, outlined between the dark sand and glowing muddy water around it, was the clear image of a many-faceted jewel.
Jenna snatched the paper from the pile frantically and sprinted out, arriving breathless at the terminal. She reached for the microphone and turned it on.
"Ferguson! One of the pictures..." she took a gulp of air and started again, speaking slowly and deliberately. "One of the pictures turned out well. You can see what it is." Static flooded the small room for a second then died.
"What is it?"
"It's some kind of gem. It's... it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"A gem... Interesting. What do you think we should do, Thomas?" he asked. Jenna squeezed her eyes shut.
"I don't know. Leave it there for now. Get more researchers. Call some jewel expert. Take it from its watery grave and discover clues that unlock the secret of an ancient civilization previously unguessed at. How am I to know? I'm a scientist, not an oracle." She sat down heavily and fiddled with the microphone volume then turned it back to normal with a start when Ferguson's voice came back several times too loud.
"Okay, we'll leave it there. I'll get Peter to look for someone who might know something about it. In the mean time, just keep it quiet."
Jenna nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Yessir," she said, picking up the paper again. "What should I do with the photo?"
"Just hold on to it for now. I'll look at it when I come back up." She switched the microphone off and stuffed the photo in a drawer, heading off in search of lunch.
Author's notes: Nope, not Maedhros. Fell into a fiery chasm, remember? There's only one son of Fëanor who's alive and I happen to be in love with him, so of course he's going to make an appearance! ;) Sigh I don't even know if it's canonical to give him red hair, but ever since I read The Sil I've always pictured him that way. I promise, that will be the only inaccuracy. :( I would remove it as well but... well, call it sentimental value.
OrliBloomedMe, thanks so much. I've written some pretty horrible Mary Sues myself, (most of them were about my stupid DnD character 'Rillandura Avheri', beautiful orphaned wood elf with a tragic past. How Sueish can you get? .) so I won't hold it against you. :D It's just a weakness of mine to nitpick every LoTR fanfic I encounter, including my own...
"What is it?" He asked. Jenna picked up a camera and handed it to Peter.
"It's... glowing, or something. It's too bright to see its shape. I'll contact you if we figure out what it is."
William Ferguson laughed harshly. "Thomas, are you sure it isn't your lamp?" he said. She bit her tongue to hold back an imaginative combination of four letter words and made a mental note to hit him the next time she saw him.
"I only did that once!" she spat. There was a loud click from the camera, and she motioned to Peter to be quiet. "Sorry, what did you say?"
His voice drifted back, exasperated. "I said, get as many pictures as you can without getting too close. Sure it's not a fish?"
"If it is, I've never seen one like it before. It isn't moving, either... I swear it's a rock or something. Want me to bring the Odyssey back up so you can take a look at it?"
There was another burst of static. "Affirmative."
Peter sat back down and directed the pod back towards the entrance. They shot forward and several minutes later were hauled onto the deck of a large ship. Peter handed the digital camera to a large man wearing khaki shorts, who took it and squinted at it analytically. "All I can see is a big glowing blob. Sure the camera isn't acting up?" he asked. Jenna nodded.
"You're looking at what we saw. It's too bright to discern anything." She replied. William cycled through the pictures and nodded, pressing the sequence of buttons to open the Odyssey's portal. He stepped in, followed by Peter.
"Take me down to where you saw it." The researcher nodded and the pod was lowered into the water again, rocketing off towards the ocean floor. Jenna picked up the camera and headed to the room where they kept files, intending to print out the pictures such as they were. Staring down at the small display screen on the camera, she attached it to the computer and went through the necessary procedure. The printer began churning out glossy papers and she collected them into a pile.
The very last one shot out and she scooped it up... and stared at it. There, outlined between the dark sand and glowing muddy water around it, was the clear image of a many-faceted jewel.
Jenna snatched the paper from the pile frantically and sprinted out, arriving breathless at the terminal. She reached for the microphone and turned it on.
"Ferguson! One of the pictures..." she took a gulp of air and started again, speaking slowly and deliberately. "One of the pictures turned out well. You can see what it is." Static flooded the small room for a second then died.
"What is it?"
"It's some kind of gem. It's... it's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."
"A gem... Interesting. What do you think we should do, Thomas?" he asked. Jenna squeezed her eyes shut.
"I don't know. Leave it there for now. Get more researchers. Call some jewel expert. Take it from its watery grave and discover clues that unlock the secret of an ancient civilization previously unguessed at. How am I to know? I'm a scientist, not an oracle." She sat down heavily and fiddled with the microphone volume then turned it back to normal with a start when Ferguson's voice came back several times too loud.
"Okay, we'll leave it there. I'll get Peter to look for someone who might know something about it. In the mean time, just keep it quiet."
Jenna nodded even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Yessir," she said, picking up the paper again. "What should I do with the photo?"
"Just hold on to it for now. I'll look at it when I come back up." She switched the microphone off and stuffed the photo in a drawer, heading off in search of lunch.
Author's notes: Nope, not Maedhros. Fell into a fiery chasm, remember? There's only one son of Fëanor who's alive and I happen to be in love with him, so of course he's going to make an appearance! ;) Sigh I don't even know if it's canonical to give him red hair, but ever since I read The Sil I've always pictured him that way. I promise, that will be the only inaccuracy. :( I would remove it as well but... well, call it sentimental value.
OrliBloomedMe, thanks so much. I've written some pretty horrible Mary Sues myself, (most of them were about my stupid DnD character 'Rillandura Avheri', beautiful orphaned wood elf with a tragic past. How Sueish can you get? .) so I won't hold it against you. :D It's just a weakness of mine to nitpick every LoTR fanfic I encounter, including my own...