If it came to a fight they had four NATO sea sparrow launchers, four 22mm mounts and fifty top class jets on deck which would all be up in the air in just under half an hour. Cerle had trained hard for these situations.

He was halfway across the platform when the alarm blared, dozens of the ship's company ran across the deck. They were mostly the ones already on duty, Cerle noted. They split up running in to do their specialised tasks as Aircraft handling officers, Catapult and Arresting Gear Officers ,Plane directors, Ordancemen and so on.

Cerle's grin re-etched itself on his face. There was enough fire power on the ship to blast a hole in a country.

Tina was running back with what looked like new print outs.

Cerle nodded to her and examined them.

The blob was defiantly moving in on them Cerle could see that. But the carrier wasn't moving at its fastest speed. . Other print outs annoyingly showed nothing. Cerle took a deep breath annoyed.

It was time to earn his pay check.

"Okay listen carefully Sergeant turn the ship. I want it away from the coast line, so head south. Increase our speed to 35 knots. If it's headed towards us I want it to only be our problem. If it's headed towards the coast I want to be behind it with at least 10 jets in the air and all others fuelled to run in volleys to save fuel if it's needed. Go Sergeant!" Once again Tina sprinted off to the command room. The first of the air crew arrived fully suited up.

"Took long enough!" Cerle yelled passing on without stopping.

Cerle reached the stairway leading to the command centre, feeling satisfied with his plan of action when he felt the ship turn. He could also hear it speeding up. The first Jet shot into the air and within the next ten seconds the next one followed. Cerle stepped into the command room and looked at the thermal screen for himself.

Including the carrier moving away from the unidentified blobs path. The blob moved ahead without taking notice of the carrier's movements. Cerle wasn't about to take chances deviate from his plan.

Something told him he needed to see this thing for himself before his face was planted on the evening news with a court marshal looming over head. Seven officers were working hard inside the command room with at least twenty others of the ships company. Cerle moved to the nearest private whose duty it was to talk to the jets. "Tell all jets to hover around the object until we can get behind it. Then tell whoever is manning the 22mm's to get ready to fire. And tell who ever is by the sparrows to load them.

Finally No one I repeat no one is to fire until we can confirm what the hell that is."

"Sir Yes Sir!" Was the shout that came from the officers inside the command room.

Cerle moved to one of his officers. "How long until its insight?"

"A few minutes Sir"

Cerle nodded "Give me you're radio and binoculars I want to see this for myself."

Cerle was handed two pairs, one much larger than the other "Thermal binoculars" the officer said catching Cerle's confusion and pointing at the larger pair of binoculars.

Tina followed Cerle out. Cerle didn't complain he was too used to it. She had a tendency of following him. They hadn't joined together on the Arc. Tina had trained and fought in Special Forces, sniper division, under Cerle. Tina had followed Cerle to the Arc Royale. Even after Cerle offered her a better post after the psyche evaluation saga.

It didn't make sense to Cerle since there wasn't too much excitement at all on the Arc Royale especially for the ship's company.

Cerle climbed the observational tower and handed Tina the thermal binoculars. He really wasn't in the mood to stare at a moving red blob. He'd seen enough on the monitors.

After taking as good of a look as he could he lifted the radio and spoke. "Lieutenant what is it doing?" There was a worrying silence before the officer voice came out the radio. "It's still moving towards the coast line at the same speed. Wait Admiral Vante. It's just stopped"

"At 25 knot in the ocean?" Tina breathed

Cerle kept silent before turning to Tina with his eye brow raised. It hadn't slowed down as Cerle would have expected it, or anything else, to do before stopping. "Can you see anything?"

"Yes sir! It's moving along our port side." Cerle sensed it before he saw it. At first he blew it off as his own imagination playing tricks without even realising but looking closer he could see what were tiny bubbles pouring out of the surface but the ocean itself had stayed blue instead of white. It reminded him of soda in a glass. Cerle lifted his radio.

"Lieutenant we're still moving behind it right?"

"Sir!"

"Good when we get behind it tell me, meanwhile if it moves an inch I want Jets to" right then the waters surface stopped moving completely. The ocean's surface looked flat like glass and it reflected the sun clearly temporarily blinding any one who'd been looking at that moment.

"Sir it's gone!" Tina shouted sound of her voice rang loudly in Cerle's ears. The ocean was silent and there was no wind.

A few seconds passed and Cerle could still hear Tina's echo. Cerle spoke calmly and deliberately, his calm voice, he knew, would be the only way he could express how serious he was. Of all this both Tina and the lieutenant on his receiver knew this.

"Okay lieutenant this important. I want you to get all jets in the air and keep all of them out range of whatever this is."

"Yes Sir!"

"Ideas Tina?"

"None whatsoever sir. But I'd like to add that I've never seen the ocean like this. I've never seen any pool of water like this. Its"

"Impossible. I know. Even without the wind the ocean should be moving. Even the smallest ripple travels the world before it fades away."

As if listening a tiny ripple came from the centre of the ocean surface and spread out so evenly, the perfect circle struck a cord at his perfectionist heart. It moved slowly almost deliberatively until it disappeared under the carrier.

Cerle measured its speed and silently counted down to when it would touched the ship. When his count down hit 1 the whole Arc shook heavily taking him by surprise. The radio turned itself on and the lieutenant spoke.

"Sir Vante the reactors, their off" He whispered.

"Shutdown? How?" Cerle asked.

"No you don't understand Sir their off. Their completely off there's no heat coming from the reactor cores. It's as if their not there. The electronics' still work and their still reading but their not reading anything inside the reactors." Cerle turned to Tina and pulled off her thermal binoculars.

"I'm trusting you to get everyone working on making the reactors work. I don't care if you have to go inside the cores yourself! Take a radio and GO!" thirty thousand tons of steel now stood helpless on the ocean.

Sitting duck was an understatement beyond understatements. Cerle knew he had to get moving. He watched as Tina ran for the ladder sliding down as fast as she could.

"Lieutenant there's no excuse for the jets stopping. The catapult runs on steam. Tell one of them to fire into the heart of whatever this is. Let's see if this thing can bleed."

Cerle watched his orders being followed as the fifteen jets were pulled and thrown out into the air where they took flight.

The silent and still waters exploded with activity as a sidewinder missile shot into the heart of the still pool. The jets stopped flying out of the Arc much to the annoyance of Cerle. He jumped down the stairway holding Soul firmly, ready to cut down any slackers he found.