Neter holds many dangerous secrets in its depths, left by civilizations long since torn asunder. Though they are unknown to most, they have not been forgotten by all.
One month since so much had changed. One month since the Deepwater Guard had been split so suddenly. Reginald staggered into the small temporary office and placed his stack of folders and loose papers on the floor as he sat down.
"Reginald, what have you found that is so important that telling us in person is necessary?"
"I have acquired what I believe may be an electronic key to a weapons cache."
"And why aren't you retrieving it right now?"
"It's in the cauldron, eight hundred meters below sea level. What I propose is commandeering the Starlight, as it is currently our only vessel capable of weathering the cauldron, in order to retrieve the cache."
"Are you sure this would be worth the risk?"
"The onyx watch is growing agitated with our raids, and there's no telling what the flayers plan to do next. We need a means of defending what precious little we have, and I believe this weapons cache may hold the answer."
"Fine. You can take the Starlight and its current crew, and everything in our arsenal is yours for the taking. As for briefing the crew, keep it secret as long as possible. There are rumors of spies in our midst. Godspeed, admiral."
"Thank you."
Shortly after midday, the ship set off from Eriwick, setting a course for the cauldron of Neter. The cauldron's endless storm churned the sea above the Starlight's Grip, as it drew to a stop above the coordinates.
Markus dragged his feet down the corridor, stopping and looking around him as the vessel creaked and groaned around him. The moment passed, and he continued on his way. He stopped at a hatch and reached for the handle, paused, and pulled the munitions storage door open. All the warheads were still in their places.
Markus pushed the door shut and sighed. He continued down the hallway, entered a large room made to look somewhat livable, and slumped into a chair. The table in the middle of the room was predominantly occupied by a large circular metal disk.
Reginald: "Look alive, Mark. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I don't like it one bit. You're getting sluggish, and that won't help us when you're flying. As for the key, take a look."
"Hmm. Just a circular black screen with a red circle, and a triangle is engraved into the metal, here."
Reginald traced his finger over what looked like a random dent at a glance.
"So how does it work?"
"It's a multi-step puzzle. Any lowlife idiot can memorize a passcode or use a physical key, but this ensures that you can't get at the empire's secrets without either being in the empire, or having some wit and a sturdy ship. Ingenious."
"They didn't leave us much in the way of guidance, did they?"
"Here, on the side, there's a riddle: Homeward bound, to a golden age, and the path will be clear."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Homeward bound, the path will be clear. It's a riddle. The path will be clear, is self explanatory. Homeward bound, to a golden age, what does it mean? Hmm... Aha! Help me line this thing up with the ship, get the arrow in line with the bow."
"What does it mean though?"
"Homeward bound, High Lohram, the capital of the old empire during its golden age! Whoever's at the helm, point the bow at 14 degrees north of due northeast."
Several minutes passed, and the black screen was filled in an instant by an orange outline of a wolf's head, along with a key pad illuminated on the edge of the disc, set seamlessly under the metal. Reginald obscured the keypad from view as he typed out ten digits. There was a slight mechanical click, and a message appeared on the screen: 'Please remain stationary, and do not panic. This procedure is perfectly safe.'
Nearly a minute passed before a metal jaw emerged from the water on either side of the Starlight, creating a complete ring around the vessel. The two halves rose up and over the Starlight as they smoothly slid shut, encasing the whole ship in an airtight glass bubble.
"Alright Reginald, we're not going into this completely blind. Are you going to tell us what's going on or not?"
"We're here to retrieve something old and valuable."
"Old habits die hard, huh? Always looking for some extra gold. Ever occurred to you that you might be obsessed with treasure?"
"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate. In the books, we're here to retrieve a weapons cache left over from the steel empire. In reality, we're here for much more than a small weapons cache."
The air cavity descended into a crater filled with odd, unnaturally straight and uniform hexagonal shapes of varying height. The sunlight that reached the seafloor produced a perpetual state of twilight at this immense depth, only broken by the occasional bolt of lightning and the deck lights of the Starlight.
"I don't know what else is down here, but the steel empire wouldn't put so much security around just a closet full of worn out guns and surplus ammunition. There's something big hidden down here. I don't know what. It could be a hidden super weapon, it could be a docked flotilla."
The air cavity stopped alongside one of the hexagonal towers and a tube extended into the bubble, aligning itself with the deck of the Starlight. A hatch slid open at the end of the tube, creating a path inside. One by one the away team of four entered the undersea bunker. A flashlight clicked on and swept across the plain steel walls, before finding a small switch. Someone stepped over and flipped it, and the room filled with light.
"Nothing here but the next door."
"It's an airlock, in case the diving bell is compromised."
The door slid back as they approached, revealing the interior of a large freight elevator. They stepped inside and the door slid shut, and they descended. When the door opened, it was into a room covered in darkness. The flashlight's beam appeared and immediately illuminated a metal humanoid form crumpled to the ground.
Reginald cautiously stepped toward the machine, until he was nearly standing over it. He muttered to himself as he examined the machine.
"Looks like you were being worked on recently, and just got knocked over halfway through. Looks like your heart stone is loose, let me fix that real quick."
He shifted a small cube dangling by a bundle of wires from a service panel on its chest, inserting it into a socket inside the machine. He flipped a small switch inside the cavity, closed the panel, and the machine's eyes lit up with a deep crimson glow. The machine pulled itself to its feet as Reginald took three steps back.
"Facial recognition in progress, please remain still... Hello, vice admiral Reginald. We were not expecting to see you here again for some time."
The machine stepped over to a small console in the wall and pressed a button. One by one, in the shadowy abyss before them, a thousand red points of light appeared in the darkness. The lights glimmered to life as the facility awakened from its slumber, piece by piece.
"Vice admiral, shall we prepare the tridents?"
"I want everything in this bunker on one of those boats and topside within twelve hours."
"Very well. Would you like to oversee the preparations?"
The machine gestured toward a railing that had been previously concealed in the shadows, providing a view of a colossal naval vessel that was something between an airstrip and a battleship. Already countless silver and blue robots were scurrying around, carrying all manner of supplies into the ship.
"Is that... an aircraft carrier?"
"The trident class super-carrier. Just one of the many relics left to us by the empire. A pity the lightning hoods made off with most of the aircraft these ships used to carry."
"Well Reginald, you did not disappoint."
