Story updated on: - 05/07/2010
Chapter beta read by: akiqueen
Chapter 3 (On the Move)
Daylight hit both vessels, reflecting the sun's rays in a blinding display all over the area. The sea was as smooth as a piece of paper and blue as the sky itself. A slight purple wave marked the skyline, indicating that the northern lights were spreading throughout the world. Both ships could be seen clearly from the sky, as the Deep Sea Six dwarfed everything.
Soft swells of water swayed onto both hulls of the ship, creating a slightly damp mark before evaporating because of the sun. The parts of the ship not in the water became so hot that eggs could be fried on the hull. That was exactly what some crewmembers did.
Sam, the only one on the vessel's hull, sat with his trusty, straw hat and summer clothes. He took advantage of the hot sunny day. With a cooking spatula in his hand, he took the time to cook some eggs and bacon. He made sure that the aroma flowed down through the open hatch towards the crew quarters; he was such a devious fellow.
"Eggs and bacon anyone? My treat," said Sam.
"Man, where did you get this food from?" someone asked, smelling the meaty smell of the bacon.
"Don't you worry about that. These are prime and fresh from the new London city!"
"And let me guess… you are not giving it away for free!" Then the ball dropped - cooking the food on the hull right next to the main hatch to the crew's quarters offered plenty of food for people that were willing to pay.
The scam worked for Sam, who was always trying his best to make a quick buck.
-o-
One hour later, groups of people sat in different areas of the 'grub room', going about their morning routine of eating and chatting. Unaware to the chosen few, teams of people worked outside to tether the Deep Sea Six to the Blue Sub.
Massive towropes were wrapped around the wings of the Submarine and divers swam around like fish, securing cables and running safety checks. Eight main lines took most of the day to secure.
It didn't take long before the crew of the Blue Sub began to make jokes; they even created a sing-along! "Let's! All tow the big English submarine, big English submarine, big English submarine. Let's! All tow the big English submarine…"
The officer at watch, Jake's second in command, stared from the observation platform towards the Blue Subs crew, who were waving and singing the annoying song. Feeling a deep annoyance with the whole thing, he prompted Jake, "Captain, I could fire a torpedo at them."
"No, just stand tall and take it like a man," Jake replied, not amused at the singing. But he planned to get his revenge one day. Minutes later, everyone was ready.
Iga stood tall in his bridge of his vessel as he monitored the activities that involved towing set-up. It was a delicate task and one mistake could sink both vessels. This was a task he'd done before and it nearly cost him his life. If sweat could fall of his face, it would. But, as he stood tall and firm, he finally gave the go-ahead. "OK, everyone, start the prop slowly and build up speed. Control, tie in commands to the Deep Sea Six for depth control. All hands, prepare for towing!"
Spinning to life, the Blue Sub's props span franticly, causing the tow cables to strain. But the current power did not make the massive submarine move.
"More power!" said Iga, feeling the pressure of the two ships. He stood there, shifting his hat to the side of his head.
Then, with a sudden acceleration, the prop created a tremendous force that slowly began to drag the Deep Sea Six along the water!
Jake looked at the towing operation from the observation deck. The glare of the sun blinded him, so he pulled out his sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on. He enjoyed the moment as the sweet smell of the ocean stimulated his senses.
-o-
Deep within the aqua tunnels of the ship, a yellow and creamy-white figure, with graceful fins spreading out from the arms and legs, could be seen hovering in the water.
Mutio's sister floated under the water, drinking the warm, filtered water that was pumped out of a small pipe at the side of the tunnel. Her coloured fins swayed in the wake of the moving, warm water, and she opened and closed her mouth gracefully, gulping down the water. She was very contempt in that position.
She could feel the ship moving again, slowly, but she drank as much as she could, feeling safe in this exciting, interesting ship.
Mutio swam up to her friend and gently bumped into her. She showed a slight sign of unhappiness to her friend. In a comforting gesture, she comforted Mutio and tried her best to make her feel better. But at least they were safe. Feeling Mutio's sadness, she cuddled up to her. Their embrace would be heart-warming for any passerby.
-o-
Hayami gazed into the wilderness of the steel ceiling and pondered over the events that had transpired over the course of a few hours. He held his cigarette, shifting his view from the ceiling to the cloud of smoke hovering over him.
Did she see me kiss Kino? he questioned himself, feeling the burning guilt.
What will happen if she did? Hayami pondered, adding even more pressure to his doubtful mind.
Shifting his position in his bed, he recalled the encounter he had with Mutio on the hull of the vessel. The sudden and unannounced reintroduction to the aquatic beauty made him clearly aware of his feelings towards her. He just couldn't get the fresh, new image of Mutio out of his mind; her image kept plaguing him. Not only this, his morals also interfered with his logical thinking.
She is one of Zorndyke's animal-human hybrid creatures, she is a different species and how can this work? If it can. More questions plagued him and he chewed the end of his cigarette.
Hunger slowly began to get the best of him and Hayami decided to 'chill out' in the grub room.
-o-
Jake sat in the 'grub room', drawing a picture on a piece of paper of the young, hybrid girl's face he saw in the aqua tunnels. The room wasn't busy, but a few people were grouped in different areas of the room.
Jakes skills were standard for a man of his artistic skills. The sketch he drew (in colour) portrayed the girl's features in fine detail as he tried his best to remember what she looked like. As he was finishing, Jake's second in command walked in and Jake took the opportunity to interrupt him in mid-stride.
"See this. This is what I ran into while I was in the waterway. I want you to set up a search team to locate her."
The second in command took the image - which was almost shoved in his face - and looked at it. "Is this some kind of joke?" the man asked in a sarcastic tone. "Are you sure this is it?"
In full view to Hayami, his eyes sprang to life and he immediately snatched the image.
"Excuse me! Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" Jake exclaimed, almost shouting.
"Where did you see this creature?" Hayami exclaimed.
Both men stared at each other, and both men knew that they had some kind of interaction with the creature in the past.
They both looked at each other, waiting to see who would speak first. The whole atmosphere in the room became tense. "I saw this creature in the aqua tunnel This is what attacked me."
"Did she have red eyes?" Hayami almost demanded.
Jake looked at him with an equal glare, as if it were a competition to see who would give in. Red eyes? he thought, not understanding his question. But he carried on.
"No, she had blue eyes."
"Are you sure?"
Jake leered at Hayami with contempt. Is he questioning my judgement on something so simple?
With the crew standing around staring, Jake had to take control. He was the captain.
"I am sure!" he replied.
Hayami marched out of the room, leaving Jake dumfounded. Thank you very much.
Jake handed the scrunched up image back to his second in command to start looking for the lifeform. However, this little job would have to take the backseat, a fact that was clearly stated to him. Another annoying delay, but Jake could live with it, for now.
-o-
Hayami marched back to his room with mixed emotions he didn't know what to do with. For once in his life he has a reason to live; however, his feelings were mixed between the actions of Kino, Mutio's sudden appearance, and the new discovery of Mutio's sister on this boat.
Maybe she's here also. He thought to himself. After all, we're in the middle of the ocean and thereres no Musucas for transport, so she must be onboard.
The memory of the sudden 'splash' after Kino kissed him floated around in his mind. Does she know about us kissing?
-o-
Iga remained on his bridge, keeping a watchful eye on everything. Crews trudged back and forth, checking readings and handing clip pads. The towing was a massive task and the crew was more than thrilled to do it. They waited so long to do some good, and Iga knew this.
Some of the crew could not resist but send word that they would be arriving at dock in a few hours and to get ready for them. When they meant 'get ready', they meant: gather all your friends, drinks and see them TOW the biggest boat in the ocean into the dock!
One adventurous crewmember began to whistle the towing song; this prompted a stealthy thump by another crewmember.
"Is the tether still purged?" Iga interjected. "We don't want that boat smashing into the back of us."
"Yes, captain. Tow springs are operating at one hundred percent, but we have a minor engine warning, nothing to worry about."
"Good, good, okay, stand by to flood ballast tanks, set depth to eight hundred feet and send the commands to the Deep Sea Six."
Both boats began to sink into the water with the Deep Sea Six the last to submerge due to its size. The massive engine props turned with the pull of water through them, before gliding under the water.
-o-
Jake sat and watched the water cover the outside view window. The bright sunlight that once lit up the room suddenly diminished, leaving only the florescent lights to do the job.
"All systems are running smoothly, only red indicators on all six engines are showing," said one of the crewmembers, typing on his workstation.
Slight tugs could be felt throughout the ship as different speeds created by both ships caused only a few, minor mishaps. The aqua pool in the control deck spilled water over the floor and a team of people scurried around to close the hatch. Jake turned to see the commotion before returning to his displays.
It took a moment for Blue Sub to stabilise its speed, gradually giving everyone a smooth ride to Blue Base.
"Captain, do you want us to take a team and find this creature?" asked Jake's second in command, showing him the sketch he drew of the young woman before.
"Yeah, you might as well, there's nothing happening at the moment. Let me know if you find something."
"Captain Iga is asking to come onboard." The communication officer sounded less than enthusiastic about that.
"Permission granted." Jake said, casually skimming the damage report that was less interesting than watching paint dry on a wall.