“I’m not surprised.” He relaxed slightly and reached up to rub an eyebrow. “Okay. Then let me go first. Some of what I’m about to tell you, you may already know, but some you may not. Our destination, from the coordinates that I believe Ms. Shaw provided, seems to be pretty damn important. And not just to us. Therefore, I’ve been ordered not to loiter.”
Alison looked at the captain with a confused look. “What does that mean?”
“It means we are not to be here when the sun comes up.”
“What? Why?!”
“Because there are dozens of satellites poised to snap pictures of this area, and someone may be watching. And if whatever you’re looking for is as important as it sounds, Langford is not willing to broadcast precisely where we’re looking.”
“H-how long do we have then?”
Emerson glanced at his watch. “A little less than ten hours.”
“Ten hours?!” She glanced nervously at Neely. “Then what?”
“Then we leave. And head for Guyana where we will anchor and appear to be examining the wreckage of the Bowditch.”
Emerson watched the expression change on Neely Lawton’s face.
“Guyana?”
“I’m afraid so. I’m sorry, Commander. It’s the only place the Pathfinder will seem expected. If we need more time back here, we’ll have to figure out how to do it without being noticed.”
“And how will we do that?”
“Likely with something less noticeable, perhaps a fishing boat.”
“We’re going to steal a fishing boat?”
A smile emerged from Emerson’s mouth. “No, Ms. Shaw. We’ll charter one. I’m aware of your opinion of the Navy, but we’re not that bad.”
Emerson turned back to Neely. “I know this won’t be easy for you, Commander. Your father managed to bring us to a draw on the first fight, but it seems the battle isn’t over. So if you two are going to find what it is you’re after, I suggest you do it before sun up.”
Neely blinked at him, surprised. “With all due respect, sir, ten hours isn’t nearly enough time.”
“Then I guess we’ll have to make the most of it. Which leads me to my next question. How can my ship, and my crew, assist you?”
Alison wasted no time. “Let me talk to Sally and Dirk. We need time to test with them. Otherwise, our translation system may not operate correctly in the open water.”
Emerson thought it over. “You’ll have to wear a harness. These swells won’t get any better until we can power down. And even then only moderately.”
“Fine, I’ll wear a harness.” Alison was growing desperate. They’d planned to use the entire trip to work out the bugs in the new software code, but outside conditions on the deck had made it impossible. Instead, Lee was left trying to make some progress through loopback testing, but there was only so much he could do through simulation.
What Alison feared now was that it simply wouldn’t be enough time. That a badly functioning unit would make their deadline impossible to meet. And on top of it all, if these plants were like those in Guyana, it wouldn’t just be amazing. It would call into question something even bigger — where exactly was the source? And that was why she needed Dirk and Sally so badly, not to mention a working vest.
Sitting next to her, Neely Lawton felt a very different fear building up inside her. She was now quietly praying that the plants were in fact what they hoped they were — not just for the discovery, but because the last thing she was prepared for was revisiting the place of her father’s death.
Emerson was still watching them from his chair. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” Neely said in a low voice. “Admiral Langford ordered us not to reveal what we’re looking for… to anyone.”
“He informed me of that as well. Not exactly as easy as it sounds. Nevertheless, all personnel aboard have been instructed to provide whatever assistance you need, but they are not to ask any questions outside of their charge.”
Alison turned curiously to Neely, who merely nodded in response to the captain.
“A question, Ms. Shaw?”
She looked puzzled. “Is that… even possible?”
“A ship-wide gag order?” The corner of Emerson’s lips curled. “It happens more than you might think. Especially on this ship.” He leaned forward and stood up. “All right, that should do it. The ship is yours for the next ten hours. Whatever you need, we will provide. But as of this moment, we weigh anchor at zero-five-thirty, sharp.”
“Captain,” Alison said, standing up with him. “I hate to say this… but I think we’re going to have even less time at the site.”
“And why is that?”
“Because we have to slow the ship down.”
“What do you mean, slow it down?”
“We’re going too fast.”
“Too fast for what?”
“Captain, those coordinates you’ve plotted are home to the largest breeding ground for mammals I’ve ever seen. We’re about to sail straight through an awful lot of dolphins.”
Emerson stared at her. “How many are we talking about?”
Alison grinned. “More than you might think.”
67
They were getting closer.
From inside the tank, Dirk and Sally could both feel it. Privately, they’d been feeling it for hours. The gradual strengthening of a sensation deep within their lipid-rich melons used for echolocation. It was a subtle but unmistakable sensation they’d known since birth. A feeling which was found only one place on Earth.
Sally spoke directly to Dirk. “We’re getting closer.”
Dirk nodded and lifted his head above the water in the tank. “Yes. I hear them too.” He dropped back below the water. “I’m hungry.”
Sally made a slight sideways movement, similar to a human shaking their head. “You’re always hungry.”
“Because I’m strong.”
Sally laughed. A moment later, she heard something and rose above the water. From her viewpoint, she spotted Alison, moving slowly down the outside of the ship. Accompanying her was a larger human, one they recognized but didn’t know a name for.
The larger human attached something to Alison’s body. He then held tightly as Alison approached. She was having difficulty walking.
When she reached the tank, Alison looked down and touched the talking machine on her front. The bright blue light appeared, followed by a mechanical translation of Alison’s voice.
Dirk. Sally. How you?
“We fine, Alison. How are you?”
Alison gripped the side of the tank to steady herself.
Me good. Need help.
“Yes. We are happy for help. What help do you need?”
Help fix metal. Practice talk with Alison.
“Yes,” Sally replied. She watched Alison, wondering what she was trying to do. “We are happy to practice talk with you.
Alison remained staring at the dolphins for several seconds, wondering what she sounded like to Dirk and Sally. She finally turned away and used her free hand to press the earbud in tighter.
“Lee, can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, Ali.”
“Are you connected to the vest?”
“Yes, I am,” Lee answered, typing diligently. Next to him inside the ship’s bridge, Chris watched Lee’s screen. “I’m reactivating the new code. Stand by.” A few moments later, Lee slapped the enter button and double-checked the screen. “Okay, I think we’re set.”
“So tell me again how we’re going to do this?”
“You need to have them speak at the same time but saying different things. That way I can test the filter. Let’s try to filter Dirk out first, then Sally. If that works, we’ll try it against more complex translations.”