Chapter 13: "A Fool is Reckless and Careless, Edi".
The two traversed the slight elevation and descended to an open area, yet a troll-sized cliff arched itself over the plain. The depths were darker there and prompted a case for turning on their headlights, which illuminated dust and deep-sea plankton and stray kelp. They met up with one in the middle of the searching crew perimeter. He was focusing his arm guns in on mirky waters, staring into mere darkness - or so it looked like to Edi, the shine from all their lights unveiled nothing. Just boundless darkness. The 'hunter' acknowledged his company, spotting them in his peripheral vision, still focusing on his surroundings for any incoming attacks.
" Hello, Cap, and...", he stopped, moved his head slightly to see who was with him, then fully looked at Edi for a second. "... And you, sorry. I do not think I know you", the 'hunter' said, and went back to his scouting.
"This, 'hunter' Gulbrand, is Eden. We decided to bring a 'hopper' into this", he said, muttering the last part. Edi figured he probably was disappointed in himself, bringing a newbie into what looked like an uncharted situation.
Gulbrand turned his head again, revealing slightly raised, bushy eyebrows over wondering eyes that searched Cap for further information. They probably agreed telepathically to leave that discussion for a later time.
"We have a theory, and it goes like this: The little 'fishy' that took the other 'hopper' ripped off his tracking unit, but we have been successful in activating his backup tracker. As you can probably tell on your 'RBSS', the main tracker is darting and zigging and zagging all over the place at strange speeds and turns our suits aren't made to do - we can now obviously disregard that signal, and look for the 'hopper' by tracking the backup signal. Cap, do you concur?", he asked almost rhetorically, confident in his assumption. Cap nodded, and Edi nodded along although his opinion had little to no weight in this matter. A suckerfish stuck to his headshield, and he tried wafting it away. It got off him, but it kept circling his helmet.
The three turned off their thrusters, as they knew unnecessary vibrations and electric pulses in the water could attract some unwanted company. They got to walking while examining a highlighted grid in the 'RBSS'. They had been able to attach equipment on some sharks and other wildlife, but none of the marked ones appeared on the grid - yet they kept vigilant as they were walking, eyes peeled to monitor the dangers that could be hiding in the darkness.
"Edi, do you have your guns activated? I am thinking you can switch yours to the 'stun gun' setting. Just ask 'Asa' to equip it", Cap asked Edi while they were walking, and so he did. The chambers of the guns went turquoise and began humming, vibrating all down Edi's arms. He felt some static electricity that made the hairs on his arms stand up. "It equips sharp spikes that shoot out and shocks upon contact. You will not be electrocuted yourself, don't worry", he assured Edi.
"We're getting to sector ZG98, approaching 'unsectored' territory. Cap, you need to confirm for us that we can continue", Gulbrand said to notify the commander.
"Yes, confirmed. Let us find the 'hopper' quickly now to get the heck out of here", Cap said on the common channel for everyone to hear. "Is our perimeter intact? Everyone confirm with a 'beacon', please", he asked. All the friendly 'dots' on the grid hologram flashed green, but two just to the left of the arched line of 'rangers'. "Vidar and Yngrid, please confirm your positions", he repeated. Silence for a couple of seconds before a female voice came online.
"Y-yes, Cap. We are here", Yngrid sounded. "We had to go offline a bit there to try and limit radio signals, but we have eyes on the 'hopper'. He's been deposited just over here, and he appears to be regaining consciousness again, as we believe he has been falling in and out of it - we tried contacting him in other means", she said, sounding like she was studying him from a distance.
"Wonderful! Can you make your way to him unharmed?", Cap asked her and set a new rally point at their position.
"We... Hope so. It's hard to see him or his surroundings, we can not be fully certain what is around him", she said. Still, everyone made their way to the same point. "Sorry, Cap, just wanted to ask who's on sonar duty out of I and Vidar?", she added. Cap looked like he was checking a list of some sort.
"That should be... You, actually, Yngrid. How long have you had your coms turned off? We have had other incoming data that seem suspicious, and I implore you to never switch off your main coms", he asked, as the three were now able to see lights that should belong to Yngrid and Vidar, who were part of the 'Whiskey' company when they were not part of a searching crew out on a mission - or 'rangers', as they seemed to call everyone out there.
"Really? Sorry, Cap, it is on now", she apologized. "I think my coms have been switched off for maybe 15 minutes", she replied nervously. Cap, Edi, Gulbrand and all the other rangers soon came together at the new rally point, and they all could confirm they could see shimmers of a light a slight distance out in an open, pitch dark space. They were all gathered at the edge of a small ridge that offered them some cover. "Sir? Cap?", Yngrid then said. "Could you be so kind to go on your sonar as well? I am getting readings that look really strange", she muttered, still sounding nervous, as they entered in a private coms link.
Edi was restless and anxious, so he began counting all the 'rangers' - 12 they were, 13 if you counted Vemund, who was just laying out there on the ground, in the open. Edi then began staring at the light that was supposed to be Vemund, as all the others were planning and getting ready for the great rescue. The light on Vemund's helmet then, all of a sudden, shifted upwards, it had been pointing directly at the place where Edi and the rest of the rescue crew were situated. "Look! Vemund is moving, look!", Edi shouted and pointed in Vemund's direction, and in his excitement, he squeezed the trigger in his glove and shot out two projectiles at lightning speed that went well over Vemund.
"Hey, 'hopper'! Did we not just teach you how to put the safety on and off?", Cap thundered over the coms. The rest of the 'rangers' had a jump scare, and Edi had to endure a bunch of annoyed looks. They all settled down. "It'll be fine, just turn on your safety this time. We have to move quickly now and get him out of here. Edi, just stay on my back", Cap commanded, and they all moved out two and two, and then spread out back into a close, arched formation.
As they were approaching Vemund stealthily, one 'ranger' noticed a large shape on the seafloor just some 15 metres behind Vemund. It was lying there writhing, throwing itself around in pain. "Cap! Look! What is that thing over there?", the 'ranger' asked and made the rest of the crew notice it as well.
"It sure is something with a back fin and a tail. Maybe that is the unfortunate being Edi's stray projectile hit", he posed as a thought to the others. Edi swallowed down some guilt and shame. Cap told him to ask his 'Asa' to deactivate the projectile - and as soon as he had spoken those words, the creature swam away into the darkness. "Good on you, 'hopper'. You can have a clear conscience", Cap said to commend him, and it helped.
They now tried establishing contact with Vemund again. His suit had gotten rough handling - it was missing chunks of material, it had tooth marks and scratches along the plating on his suit's foot and thigh. They tried speaking to him over his coms and tapping lightly on his headshield. He was sweaty and out of it, but he recovered some and got back to himself very soon. "Wha... What happened? Am I dead?", he mumbled under his breath, clearly shocked and probably concussed. They helped him back to his feet.
"No, 'hopper' Vemund, you are as alive as can be. Do not worry, we will tell you when we get back inside the 'bubble'. For now, let's just get you back to your feet, and we will talk later", Cap said reassuringly, and even Edi felt a sense of comfort and relief.
"Sir?", Yngrid said. "Sir? I am getting those sonar readings again", she said. Another 'ranger' chimed in with the same information. Cap opened up his sonar programme too.
"People! Everyone switch on all lights you have on you!", Cap exclaimed abruptly.
"But sir", Gulbrand said. "That would attract every foul beast in our vicinity to us", he proclaimed with a worried tone to his voice.
"We already have! Lights on, now!", he yelled at the top of his voice, and they all shone like a small sun each. Lights on the helmet, shoulders, abdomen, back and knees went on with full power. It illuminated a wall of underwater beasts that was moving right towards them. In their midst, a monster the size of a blimp - it was black as coal and night, and exposed rows and rows of teeth going on and on, and the crew attached hooks in Vemund's suit to drag him away from there, and sped up as fast as all their thrusters collectively could go. They looked behind them to find ghostly eyes as large as boulders, and the creature could almost catch up with them, but it could not go faster when they all were going at full speed. Its 'minions' of smaller shark-like creatures, however, would catch up and nibble and bite down on legs, and Yngrid fired a 'stunner' at one that had gotten a hold of Vemund's foot. It let go and fell off.
"Everyone full speed ahead and up, he's heavy!", Cap shouted over the coms. They were approaching a high cliff which they had to thrust over to keep going. "Up!", he said, and Edi's one thruster blew out. A shark got a hold of Vemund's ankle, and Gulbrand fired a 'stunner' at that one too. It made it bite down harder, and Gulbrand unlinked his hook from Vemund to go back and punch it in the nose. It let go, but another knocked Gulbrand in the head, another got his foot, and shook him and threw him into the gaping abyss that was the throat of the megalodon.
"Everyone activate your 'failsafe' now!", Cap commanded, and they all sent out an electromagnetic pulse and pumped out a liquid that made all the smaller ones retreat, but the monster one just seemed agitated.
Their collective thruster power was diminished, and Cap feared the worst. "Yngrid, can you override Vemund's suit and make the autopilot take him home at full speed?", he asked her over the coms, with the monstrous one closing in, it would almost swallow them all whole - and at the last second possible, Vemund's suit, too, went full speed ahead. They all unlinked their hooks from him and soon had reached the 'bubble'. It backed off and went back to the depths from whence it came.
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MJHolmgren
MJHolmgren Hello, reader.
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M. J. H.
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