Harri headed across the gangplank to Seaview and entered the sail. He wanted to touch base with his captain and get a status update on their readiness to sail in the morning. He quickly descended the ladder into the control room and scanned the area for Seaview's skipper. Not overly surprised he spotted a pair of khaki clad legs extending from underneath one of the pieces of equipment; the man was incurably hands-on when it came to his boat and there were many instances where that familiarity and connection with his vessel had saved their lives.
An affectionate smile slipped across the admiral's face as he observed the man he considered his son tinkering with the boat's systems. There was considerable muttering with the occasional burst of profanity as things apparently weren't lining up properly. He watched as a single hand reached back to the floor beside him and patted around in quest of a tool. Harri moved forward and eased the screwdriver into his hand making Lee jump and bang his head on the inside of the console. That was of course followed by a whole litany of swear words in multiple languages some of which Harri hadn't heard before.
Lee immediately began worming his way back out of the console to see who was keeping him company. He was just about to blast the man for not announcing himself until he saw it was Harri and he bit back the barrage. He donned a rather sheepish grin as he pushed up to his feet rubbing his head where he had made contact.
"Morning sir, what are you doing here so early?
"Morning Lee," Harri replied as he choked back a chuckle. "I just wanted to see how things were progressing and if we were going to be able to sail as planned."
"We're getting there sir and will be able to sail as scheduled. All of the sensors and probes have arrived and have been stowed in the missile room. The software has been installed and Chip has a good handle on that," Lee offered as he picked up the rag next to where he'd been working and wiped his hands.
"What pray tell were you doing under the new sonar unit, or do I want to know?"
Lee chuckled and blushed a bit. "There's been a power bleed somewhere in the wiring and I was chasing it down since I had a few spare minutes. I think I found it and was just finishing up when you came in."
"I see, and the maintenance crew and Kowalski couldn't take care of that because…"
"As I said sir I had a few minutes with nothing to do and I'll have Ski double check it anyway."
Harri just smiled, there's no way he'd ever change his captain and the more he thought on it he wouldn't have him any other way. He did a quick scan of the control room then walked over to the radar station and picked up one end of a belt attached to the seat secured to the floor. "Seatbelts, those are new aren't they?"
Lee smiled and nodded. "Yes sir. Knowing the area we'll be working in and the high probability we'll encounter some significant seismic events and the turbulence associated with them, I thought it would be a wise precaution to help keep the men safe. Given the size of earthquakes that have occurred in the Aleutians recently I can see us doing the 'rock and roll' more than once and it would be nice to make sure we have uninjured operators at the equipment."
"That's a good idea and probably something we should have installed long ago. Oh I did want to tell you that Dr. Ferguson will be arriving early this afternoon and I'll bring her down for a tour and help her get set up in the lab for whatever experiments she needs to perform."
"What time will you be bringing her down to the boat?"
"Around 1400, she's supposed to arrive after lunch. I'd like you to be here to meet her and provide a tour of the boat if I get pulled away."
"Of course sir," Lee replied with a smile. "Oh, is there anything else you can think of that you will need for the cruise? The lab has been fully restocked and your equipment has been loaded and stowed in the lab as well."
"Not that I can think of at the moment but I'll double check when I go down there with Dr. Ferguson. Well that's all I've got for now Lee, I need to head back to the office to check in with the committee members and get an update on conditions in the trench. Try and leave something for the maintenance crews to do, okay son. They like to earn their pay as well," Harri said with a chuckle.
Lee blushed slightly at the good-natured jibe. "Aye sir, I'll try and restrain myself."
()()()()()
Kendal Ferguson arrived right on time at NIMR and was escorted to the admin building for her meeting with the admiral. She was quite honestly amazed at the size of the compound and the number of buildings housing the various research activities for which the institute was known. After she parked her car she was met by another security guard who got her signed in, issued her a visitors badge and escorted her up to the admiral's office.
"Hi Angie," Tom said as he entered the office. "I have Dr. Kendal Ferguson with me, she has a 1300 meeting with Admiral Nelson."
"Thanks Tom," Angie replied. "I'll take care of her now." Tom nodded, gave Angie a quick salute and headed out the door.
"Welcome Dr. Ferguson, Admiral Nelson is on the phone right now but will be with you shortly. Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink, while you wait?"
"No, thank you I'm fine," Kendal replied. Instead of taking the proffered chair she began walking around the reception area looking at the works of art adorning the walls. The pictures ran the gamut from the expected submarines and Navy ships to some incredible pictures of marine life from all across the globe.
After a few moments Angie saw the light on the phone go out signaling the end of the admiral's call. She picked up the receiver and activated the intercom. "Admiral, Dr. Ferguson is here to see you."
"Excellent Angie, please show her in," Nelson replied.
Angie waved the doctor forward and then opened the door to the admiral's office. Nelson rose immediately and moved from behind his desk to greet her. "Dr. Kendal, welcome to NIMR. I hope you found us easily enough."
"Hello Admiral Nelson. Yes I found my way very easily, plus NIMR is pretty hard to miss," she replied with a light laugh.
"Excellent, we're thrilled to have you with us for this voyage and I'm extremely interested in the work you've been doing and what you've discovered to date. Please have a seat," Harri said as he indicated one of the wing back chairs in front of his massive mahogany desk. "What I would like to do today is give you a quick rundown on the mission, answer any questions you may have then escort you down to Seaview. We'll give you a tour of the boat along with the required orientation and safety briefings and then have you stow or set up any equipment you may have for the voyage. Does that sound like a workable plan for this afternoon?"
"Of course Admiral, I'm incredibly excited about seeing your marvelous submarine and heading out to get a firsthand view of the trench and take my readings directly," Kendal replied.
"We'll be sailing tomorrow at 0500 with the morning tide to begin our transit up to the trench. You're welcome to spend the night aboard Seaview if you wish so you don't have to get up so early tomorrow morning. We've planned for a maximum of 3 months to deploy all of the sensors we've been given, carry out various experiments and collect requested samples and readings from the area. We'll also be using FS-1, a smaller more maneuverable submersible and our diving bell to install the sensors and to deploy your probes so if you wish you may accompany my personnel on some of those sorties," Nelson explained.
"Wonderful. I've been reading everything I could get my hands on about your operations and I'm thrilled at the prospect of going along on your specialized vessels. How long is the transit to the trench going to take, Admiral?"
"I would estimate about a week, but we'll check with the captain to get a more definitive answer once we get down to Seaview. Do you have any other questions or concerns Doctor?"
"Not right now Admiral and please call me Kendal. I've always found the 'doctor' title for a PhD a bit pompous," Kendal replied with a chuckle.
"Kendal it is then and please call me Harri. So are you ready to head down to Seaview?"
"I can't wait Harri, lead the way."
Nelson stood and moved to the door. He opened it and indicated Kendal should proceed ahead of him. "Angie, we're heading down to Seaview now. Give Lee a call and let him know we're on our way and to have a couple of hands available to bring Dr. Ferguson's equipment on-board."
"Yes Admiral."
They exited his office and made their way down to the lobby. "Do you have much equipment?" Harri asked.
"I have a couple of more sensors that have been added since our initial shipment and I've got one more probe we'd like to try if time permits. Other than that I've got a couple of bags of clothing and stuff which should tide me over for the length of the mission." Kendal replied.
"Good. Why don't we take your car, you can drive us down to the dock and we'll get everything loaded. Do you need to set up or install anything before we leave port?"
"Yes actually. There's one sensor I would like to get set up now and activate to establish a baseline reading here in California and then compare our readings as we move north towards the Aleutian Trench. It shouldn't take more than half an hour to get it set up and operational."
"Fine, we can accommodate that very readily. Once you've received your required briefings we'll head on down to the lab and let you get to work," Harri said as Kendal hit the remote and unlocked the doors to the car. They both climbed in and Harri directed her to the sub pen.
As they cleared the security checkpoint and rounded the bend to Seaview's berth Harri had to smile at Kendal's audible gasp at her first sight of the submarine. "My god, it's huge and those windows are incredible."
Nelson chuckled having watched this reaction innumerable times. "Yes, she's quite a sight and I hope you will be comfortable once you're aboard."
()()()()()
Lee exited the sail just as the doctor's car drove into view. He motioned to the work detail to head across the gangplank to meet the car and collect the additional equipment and luggage the admiral indicated Dr. Ferguson had brought. He followed quickly after them to greet the admiral and their guest.
"Lee, come on over," Harri called waving Lee towards him. "Dr. Kendal Ferguson I'd like you to meet the captain of the SSRN Seaview Commander Lee Crane. Lee, this is our guest from NASA Dr. Kendal Ferguson."
Lee extended his hand and smiled warmly at the introduction. "Dr. Ferguson it's good to finally meet you, I've heard a lot of good things about you from the admiral and I'm very intrigued by your research; I hope we have the opportunity to sit down and discuss it when you have a chance."
Afraid that she was standing there gape-mouthed and drooling over the incredibly handsome and charming captain of the boat, Kendal had to fight off the urge to draw her hand across her mouth; she quickly swallowed and accepted his hand. As they touched it felt as though an electric charge shot through her body at the contact. "It's…um… it's very nice to meet you as well Captain, and the admiral speaks quite highly of you too."
"Well I wouldn't believe everything he told you, he just says those things so we can actually lure passengers onto the boat." Lee replied with a chuckle and a wink to the doctor. "Kowalski see to it that Dr. Ferguson's bags are taken to Guest Cabin 1. Pat you and the other men get the doctor's gear down to the lab."
"Aye Skipper," Kowalski replied trying desperately to hide the grin at the all too common reaction female passengers had to meeting the captain for the first time.
Seeing Ski bite back the grin Harri chuckled quietly knowing the source of his amusement. Lee of course was totally oblivious to the reaction and stared at Nelson questioningly. Harri cleared his throat to tamp down the laugh. "All right Kendal let's get aboard and get you settled in. Lee if you would lead the way."
"Of course Admiral, please follow me Doctor," Lee replied as he turned and made his way back across the gangplank.
Glad to be staring at the man's back, Kendal flushed slightly and rolled her eyes at her school girl reaction and response to meeting the captain. 'Way to go Kendal, that's the way to project professional competence at the outset. You practically undressed him with your eyes there on the dock, god I hope to hell no one noticed.'
Once on board, they entered the sail and descended into the control room at which point she was introduced to the other half of the command duo. As she stepped down off the ladder, the captain motioned her forward. "Doctor Kendal Ferguson I would like you to meet my Executive Officer Commander Chip Morton. Chip this is Dr. Ferguson, our passenger for this mission."
Like Lee, Chip smiled warmly and extended his hand to Kendal. "Nice to meet you Doctor, welcome aboard."
Kendal stared a couple of seconds like a deer in the headlights as she registered yet again an incredibly handsome and charming man. 'God do they all have to look like male models to get hired for this boat?' she thought to herself. Better prepared after her meeting with the captain she recovered much faster. "Thank you Commander, it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
"Dr. Ferguson, Chip here will get you started with the safety and orientation briefings. Once those are complete he'll show you to your cabin and then we'll get you down to the lab so you can set up any equipment you need before we sail. I hope the admiral told you we will be sailing at 0500 tomorrow and you are welcome to spend the night on the boat should you so desire." Crane said.
"Please Captain call me Kendal and yes he said we would be sailing very early. I'm more than happy to spend the night aboard tonight I think it will give me a good chance to get acclimated to my surroundings before we get underway."
Lee smiled. "Very well then Kendal and its Lee. I leave you in Chip's very capable hands. Admiral we have a couple things we need to go over before the end of the day, shall we adjourn to your quarters?"
"Of course Lee," Harri replied. "Chip once you're done with Dr. Ferguson's briefing and she gets settled in her cabin give me a call and I'll come escort her down to the lab."
"Aye sir," Chip answered. "Dr. Ferguson, if you would please follow me into the nose we can get started on your orientation to the boat." Chip turned and moved forward with Kendal in tow. As she reached the nose she froze in place as she took in the huge windows spanning the front of the boat. Quite used to the reaction Chip just smiled and watched quietly as she marveled at the feat of engineering brilliance that made Seaview so special. "Wow," Kendal said softly with a bit of reverential awe.
Chip chuckled quietly. "Yeah we get that a lot," he said with a smile. "There are still moments that it catches me off-guard and I just wind up staring too. So if you would take a seat at the table we'll get started. Would you care for a cup of coffee before we get started?"
"Coffee would be great, thank you." As Kendal took a seat at the conference table, Chip poured them both a cup of coffee and handed her one. She took one sip and tried desperately to hide her reaction to the strong and bitter brew.
Chip broke out in laughter. "We get that reaction quite a bit as well. I'm sorry I probably should have said something, we tend to drink our coffee a bit stronger than most. Do you need sugar or cream?"
Trying desperately not to gag, Kendal squeaked out, "Yes, to both!"
Chip chuckled again and handed her some creamer and sugar then sat down at the table and began the briefings. Once they were finished Chip escorted her down to her cabin pointing out key locations as they went.
"Here we are you're in Guest Cabin 1. I'll let you get settled in a bit and relax for a few minutes then let the admiral know you're ready to head to the lab."
"Thanks Chip, I feel almost at home already." Kendal replied.
"Good. I'll see you at dinner Kendal; enjoy the rest of your orientation." Chip said as he exited the stateroom and pulled the door shut.
Kendal flopped down on the bunk and blew out a huge gust of air. She was pretty much sure she had died and gone to heaven with the entire cast of the Chippendales.
()()()()()
Forty-five minutes later, Kendal heard a knock at the door and found Admiral Nelson there to escort her down to his lab. "Are you getting all settled in Kendal?"
"Yes Harri I'm pretty well squared away here. I'm ready to see your lab and to get my one sensor set up and running so I can establish my baseline readings."
"Great. I'll give you the nickel tour of the boat on our way there."
Harri gave her a complete tour, pointing out areas of interest to her and areas that were off limits to unauthorized personnel. They arrived at the lab about an hour later. Kendal did a rapid visual scan of the room and was quite impressed at what the admiral had established on his boat.
"Wow, Harri there are labs at universities that aren't nearly as complete as this one." Kendal said appreciatively.
"Thank you Kendal. I wanted to have everything I might need to conduct my research conveniently located here on board so I wouldn't have to wait for a return to shore to carry on my work. So how much space do you need to set up your sensor?"
"Not that much, it's a small unit about the size of a loaf of bread. The purpose of the sensor is to measure the shifts in the magnetic poles of the planet," she said as she lifted the storage box and set it on the counter. She quickly undid the latches and pulled the small machine out and placed it next to the box then began flipping switches and turning dials.
"In the last couple of years we've noticed an unprecedented acceleration in the shift of the magnetic poles. It's a well-known fact that the earth's magnetic poles shift constantly and have done numerous 180 degree flips throughout the history of our planet. Since the early 19th century magnetic north has migrated northward over 600 miles from where it was first located by explorers. Historically that migration has been about 10 miles per year through most of the 20th century but it has recently accelerated to over 40 miles per year and within the last 5 years that rate has doubled to nearly 80 miles. Whether this rate of change has anything to do with the increased seismic activity we've seen in the Aleutian Trench remains to be determined but this gives us a fantastic opportunity to see if there is a link."
"Very interesting," Harri replied. "Do you anticipate any environmental changes with this magnetic flip flop?"
"Based on the geologic record there don't appear to be any significant impacts to the earth or the ecosphere. There are those doomsday proponents that predict an apocalyptic cataclysm that will eradicate all life on the planet but the geologic data shows that to be highly unlikely. In previous shifts nothing has changed, the earth goes on rotating as it always has and the magnetic field remains intact providing its protection from the more deleterious effects of solar activity on the planet."
"But you do think there may be a correlation between the increased rate of polar shift and the increased seismic activity along the trench?" Nelson asked.
"Temporally there is a direct correlation between the two activities. It bares closer scrutiny to determine if there is a link. Also as I mentioned at the meeting there have been shifts in the orbital patterns of the other planets in our solar system."
"Yes I recall that, in fact that's what piqued my interest most in your research," Harri replied.
"Harri preliminary calculations and observations put the source of that shift on this planet. There should be no way in hell that a single planet, especially one as small as ours, should have that kind of effect on the entire solar system. It's unprecedented in what we know of the universe and its processes," Kendal stated.
"My god that's incredible. So it looks as though all roads point north," Harri said quietly as he processed the implications of Kendal's findings.
"Indeed. You wouldn't believe how relieved I was when you indicated an interest and open- minded consideration of our work at NASA and the invitation to join this expedition was a gift beyond measure. We have been met with less than professional consideration from those so- called scientists around the globe. You heard and saw some of it at the meeting; the rolled eyes, the derisive snorts and outright guffaws at our theories. I would have thought that our observations and strict adherence to the scientific process would have drawn their interest and not their disdain."
Harri smiled knowingly. "I too have been the recipient of those reactions to my work. The best revenge I've found is to keep moving forward and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to those so-called scientists that your theories aren't theories at all but concrete facts. Seaview is my personal badge of Told you so. Nobody can refute that." Both scientists grinned and then chuckled heartily.
Kendal made a couple more adjustments to her sensor and smiled. "Everything is calibrated and working perfectly. That's all I need to do down here until we get to the trench."
"Alright then, how about we head up to the wardroom and have some dinner?" Harri replied.
"That sounds like an excellent idea, I'm starved. Um…Harri…um I was wondering would the cook be horribly offended if I brought my own coffee for dinner."
Harri burst out laughing. "Probably a bit at first but he'll get over it. For the uninitiated his rather stout brew is sometimes too much to handle. Come along, I'll smooth the way for you."
()()()()()
It was nearly 0900 by the time Kendal made her way to the nose the following morning, the time change and excitement of the previous day having taken its toll. As she descended the spiral staircase she was met by the smiling faces of Nelson, Crane and Morton. She returned their smiles with a somewhat sheepish one of her own feeling she'd woefully overslept. As she reached the bottom step she got the full effect of the nose windows and froze once more as she marveled at the site.
"Good morning Kendal, did you sleep well?" Harri asked, breaking her reverie.
"Given the fact you left port and we are now underway, I'd have to say it was the sleep of the dead," she replied laughing. "I didn't feel a thing as we left port. I guess yesterday really tired me out more than I realized and you've got some very comfortable beds on this boat of yours."
The men chuckled. Lee rose from his seat and moved over to the sideboard picked up an empty cup and the coffee pot. "I would say so since you missed our angles and dangles maneuvers to check stowage of equipment and supplies on board. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"Uh…yes… sure…why not. I suppose I need to get accustomed to what y'all call coffee. Although 'tank bottoms' seems to be a more appropriate name for this sludge," she said laughingly as she moved across the nose to accept the cup. She then proceeded to dump in a couple of heaping spoonful's of sugar and a healthy shot of creamer into the cup.
Chip laughed. "Arrr, we'll be makin' a submariner of you yet."
"Please come join us, we were just about to go over our schedule and plan of attack for when we arrive," Harri said as he pulled out a chair.
Lee and Kendal moved back to the table and sat down. Lee refilled their cups then they got down to business.
"We're going to take roughly six days to reach the eastern end of the trench in the Gulf of Alaska. Once we arrive we'll begin deploying sensors along its length with the highest concentrations in the sections showing the most activity. We will also deploy the AUV* and ROV probes during some of our sensor deployments so you will be able to take your readings. You are quite welcome to go along and operate your drone from FS-1 or the diving bell if you want." Lee provided.
"That sounds perfect Captain, uh I mean Lee, and I would most definitely like to go along for the ride when you use the other two vessels. Also if there's anything I can help with during the trip please let me know." Harri and Chip locked eyes and bit back a smile as another fell victim to the old Crane charm.
"I will definitely take you up on your offer," Harri replied. "We have quite a few sensors and probes that need to be calibrated and tested before we drop them into the trench. I also have a few experiments that I'll be running and an additional pair of hands is always welcome."
"That sounds like a plan. I've been told I don't idle well so the busier I am the happier I'll be," Kendal answered with a smile.
"Well then if he can't keep you busy I'm sure Chip and I can come up with things to keep you occupied too. What do you know about bilge tanks?" Lee joked.
"Kendal why don't you go grab some breakfast then meet me down in the lab and we'll get started on the probes," Harri said.
"Actually I'm not all that hungry Harri that was a huge dinner last night. I'm ready to get to work whenever you are."
"Alright, if you're sure, why don't you head on down to the lab and I'll join you in a few minutes; I have a couple more things I need to address with the captain and XO before I get lost in our work in the lab." Kendal nodded and excused herself from their impromptu meeting. She went back up the staircase to pick up a few items then headed off to the lab.
* AUV – Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, ROV – Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle