Far From The Sea We Know

CHAPTER 46

  The Navy had been true to its word and still kept away. The Valentina could still see the dome on sonar, and Chiffrey had been sending out encrypted copies of their scans over his sat-phone. Although she didn’t like the secrecy, her father was right: they were better off undistracted by more news crews. She hadn’t seen any military aircraft, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. It was a sure bet they were poring over satellite photos and other forms of data, as well as the new sonar scans.

  Life on board was returning to a something like normalcy. The afterglow of the whale incident was beginning to fade, and every one of the crew was hard at work again, contributing in whatever way they could. Between most of the crew, there was a genuine feeling of harmony in the air. But not many people went out of their way to speak to Penny. She couldn’t blame them.

  Everything seemed to be going flawlessly. It would have been almost anticlimactic, except for one thing: the Bluedrop and her crew would be going down tomorrow morning to look at the impossible.

  Penny had made an effort to take part in the preparations and worked for a while with a couple of students. Their discovery that the level of plankton in the water surrounding the dome was way above normal should have been as exciting to her as it was to them. It probably explained the abundance of fish and other sea life in the immediate area building up from the chain below and hence the prevalence of waterfowl. It soon became clear, though, that the students didn’t really need her help, and worse, she found it hard to care. Sitting around doing nothing was becoming intolerable. She paced the deck, trying to get an exercise rhythm going, but because of all the gear piled up, there was little room. Defeated, she was about ready to head for the treadmill in its reeking little alcove when Chiffrey approached her from behind. She heard him and spun around before he could say anything.

  “Yeah, I’m getting a little antsy myself,” he said. “This ship seems smaller every day.”

  “Maybe you’re just getting bigger.”

  “I’ll steal that one. But look, I’m going to meet with your father. Care to come along?”

  She didn’t say anything, just motioned him to go and then followed him below deck and into the lab where they would monitor the minisub. Matthew sat at one of the consoles scrutinizing readouts. Her father smiled at her as she walked in, and said to Chiffrey, “I believe we are ready to send the Bluedrop down. She’s fully fit.”

  “Great. Have you settled on a crew?”

  “Yes. Myself for one.”

  Penny said nothing.

  “Glad to hear that,” Chiffrey said.

  “I will captain and pilot. Becka will handle navigation and cameras.”

  “Becka. Good, That leaves room for one more, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “Matthew.”

  “Hmm, are you sure?” Chiffrey asked. He looked over at Matthew and smiled. “No offense, but you’ve not crewed on the Bluedrop even once, from what I understand.”

  “I’ve had many hours on the simulator at the Point, and I’ve always done well.”

  Her father raised his hand just enough to signal Matthew to back off, and said to Chiffrey, “I have to insist that Matthew be onboard the Bluedrop. Choice of crew was part of our original agreement. You remember that, I’m sure.”

  Penny didn’t remember any such conversation. When had they come to that and what else might they have discussed? Chiffrey blinked his eyes a few times, his face almost expressionless. Then he smiled and pushed on.

  “Yes, I remember, Doctor, but I’d like you to reconsider. However worthy of going Matthew no doubt is,” and he gave a quick wink in Matthew’s direction, “he would be taking the place of someone with more training and experience.”

  Penny found it hard to resist saying something, and almost laughed because she wanted to come to Matthew’s defense even though she didn’t want him to go. She should be supporting Chiffrey’s bid to have Matthew taken off the mission, but somehow couldn’t.

  “Right,” her father continued. “Experience is precisely what I need, but of a particular kind. Matthew seems to have a connection to the whale, and I think we all have concluded that the whale has a connection to what lies waiting below us. I can’t explain exactly why, but I want him to be there. You don’t always go by the book, do you?”

  “Not unless I clearly see a reason not to, and when I’m willing to accept all the consequences. Believe it or not, it doesn’t happen often.”

  “Well spoken, but I believe this is one of those instances. The Bluedrop may be small, but it is a ship, and I her acting captain. That makes the lives of everyone on board my responsibility. I know I can count on Matthew, and his being on board may be crucial.”

  “All right, Doc, we’ll do it your way. When do you launch?”

  “Five tomorrow morning.”

  Her father hadn’t hesitated to use the same argument that Chiffrey had been employing: Matthew as a ward against the dome, a charm for remaining in its good graces. But it seemed to Penny to be more than that. In his battle against forces that sought one day to completely reduce the mystery of the sea to the scale of park and farm management, her father had never found a real protégé, someone to pass his work on to, his legacy. Someone with the same essential view. Perhaps he now believed he had.

  After dinner, Penny found Matthew and pulled him into a small lab, flicking on the exterior Do-Not-Enter light as she went in. She whirled around on him. “You shouldn’t be on the Bluedrop.”

  “I thought we settled this. I have to be there.”

  “But do you want to go?”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “It is that simple. Do you want to go or not?”

  “Yes, I do want to go. But I’m afraid.”

  She was silent for a moment and looked him in the eye.

  “Is that what this is about?” she finally said. “Matthew’s big chance to conquer his fears? Some ‘be all you’re told you to be’ bullshit? Can’t you just take a ropes course or something?”

  “Your father’s going down, and you don’t seem so worried about him.”

  “Who says I’m not? And who says I’m worried about you?”

  She jerked away, took as many steps as the small room would allow, and wheeled back right in his face.

  “Listen. My father does what he does. That doesn’t mean you have to do the same. You don’t need to prove anything. And this is not a good idea.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you have no real experience. You’ve never been down there. Not once!”

  “Have to start sometime.”

  “This is clearly the wrong time. More important, you’ve been affected by this thing, touched somehow. Several times.”

  “Which is a good argument for me going, as your father pointed out.”

  “But a much better argument for not going.”

  “Why?”

  She started to say something, then stopped. Her reason didn’t make any sense, or any more sense than anything else. Everything they were saying was emptier than air.

  “Just listen to me,” she said. “Yes, we don’t really know much, but we do know that whatever it is we are dealing with is unpredictable and therefore dangerous, even if not by intention.”

  “I don’t get it. How come you’ve become so cautious in the last days? Why are you worrying about every possible thing, and especially me? You didn’t start this mission that way.”

  “I just don’t—”

  “You don’t want to lose me.”

  “That is not what I was going to say.”

  “But that’s what you’re feeling. Why don’t you admit it, for once?”

  “Oh, all right, why not. It’s true. Yet another woman—excuse me—girl, hopelessly in love with Matthew Amati, he of the killer good looks, and world class jerk. Sniff, sniff, sob, sob.”

  “Penny, it’s never been that way for me. You’re the best thing—”

  “Don’t flatter yourself! Yeah, it’s been good,
but I don’t need you, and don’t ever say that again, unless you want to get rid of me. And you may want to yet.”

  He stuck his thumbs in his pockets and leaned back against the bulkhead. She had the feeling that he was tuning her out.

  “Ayn Rand,” he finally said. “You sound like you’ve been reading The Fountainhead. The self-righteous indignation, the over zealous individuality—”

  Swak!

  She slapped him across the face. The sensation on her hand didn’t even register to her.

  He is such an ass! Shit…

  She watched, suddenly detached, as the blood rushed burning hot into his face. His arms made quick movements toward her, then just as abruptly locked. In the suspended moment, it was as if a thin crack of light appeared between them, and instead of boiling over, the heat from his rage subsided to a simmer, then drained away completely, taking his anger and tension with it. His arms fell back to his sides. She looked into his eyes and saw the glitter of tears held back. He found his way back to her, and held her so softly they seemed to melt together.

  “Matthew, look…stay with me. For now. Before you go.”

  “I’ll come back, you know. Nothing will stop me.”

  “If you’re going to make a promise, how about coming up with better lines than that?”

  He hesitated a moment, but smiled. “Yeah, okay, but I meant it. And as far as the slap across the face, it broke something loose in me, so thanks, but if you ever do that again…”

  “I might do it again.” She didn’t smile. Her guard was completely down. He looked at her, a little sadness in his eyes, then kissed her and said, “Your place?”

  “Our place. Unless you prefer the men’s quarters.”

  “Come on. It’s late.”