Veza stared straight ahead. "I will return to the bridge once we've made visual contact." The officer swam out, and Veza floated alongside Olsham in silence while the mystic softly clicked and keened to himself.
The great wound Aboshan had made in the above-air continent slowly materialized out of the murky waters ahead. Veza shook her head as Olsham's prayers increased in pitch and volume. The chasm was huge, so wide that Veza couldn't even see the opposite wall from where she stood. She remembered the shock wave that had passed through Llawan's transport. Whatever caused the cave-in must have forced millions upon millions of gallons of water out of the area. As soon as the initial force was spent and the ground had finished caving, those same millions of gallons had rushed in to fill the new valley.
Olsham stopped chanting and opened his eyes. "Please excuse me, ma'am. I would like you to return to the bridge now." Veza started to object, but Olsham said, "Please. Go. I will perform the ritual alone."
Veza nodded, then darted down the connecting chamber into the belly of the ship. The captain was waiting for her on the bridge. "We're ready to enter the chasm, ma'am. Is the spellcaster ready?"
"He's performing the ritual now. How long till we get there?" "If we maintain our present course and speed, about half an hour."
"That should be plenty of time. When Olsham is done, this ship will be Llawan's eye, recording everything that passes around it. The crystal gemstone Olsham had installed will store it. All we have to do is cover the distance, and the empress will have a complete and detailed survey of the area."
The cephalid captain scowled. "I hope it's going to be that easy, ma'am. Any idea what we're going to find in there?"
Veza shook her head. "But," she added, "nobody does. That's why we're here."
Olsham completed his telemetry ritual and teleported himself back to Llawan City shortly before the leviathan entered the chasm. The ship and the crew were in top form, and they made excellent progress through the first two-thirds of the sunken zone.
Veza knew the ship was collecting and transmitting volumes and volumes of information back to the empress, but as far as she could see, the canyon contained little more than a strong current and its own stark, rugged beauty. The forward chamber commanded impressive views of sunken rock formations and a remarkably wide assortment of colorful seaweed and small fish. She would have to study the data she had gathered, but unless there was some hidden treasure, the chasm was little more than a scenic cruise.
"What in nine hells is that?"
Veza had been spending most of her time on the bridge with the captain, helping him plot the best course for the empress's purposes. The scrying screens weren't as picturesque as the forward cabin, but the screens could provide a view in any direction. Currently, they were looking forward and starboard, where a large, shadowy form was coming straight at them.
"It's a large animal, sir," one of the crew called out. "Undetermined species."
"Captain," Veza said. "Is it a natural phenomenon? Could a large predator already have staked out a territory this far in?"
The captain shrugged. "It's possible. Change course."
"It's still closing, sir. Captain, I think it's a razor ray."
The captain nodded grimly. "I think you're right."
On screen, the huge, black manta grew larger and larger. It was almost as large as the leviathan, with bony spines alongside its head that jutted forward like horns. Its tail ended in a curved barb like a scorpion's and had two red poison sacs visible at the base. Veza knew these vicious animals had first been bred hundreds of years ago, when the dominant sea powers all employed living warships.
The rays had become more specialized and horrible since then. Most leviathans had an innate primal fear of the rays, so that even they avoided being gored or envenomed, and even the larger ships often panicked and quit the field.
"Can you give me a better view of its markings?" Veza said.
"What for? Get out of my way, woman."
Veza caught the captain by the shoulder. "Captain," she said. "This is still my mission."
Grudgingly, the captain ordered a closer view of the razor ray. The monster's wings had been dyed royal blue, and its two longest horns had been capped with silver. Across its belly, it bore the Mer characters for "land" and "sea" all emblazoned over by a huge stylized letter 'L.'
"Laquatus," Veza said. Then, in a louder voice, "Empress, if you can hear me-Laquatus got here first."
The leviathan's handlers screamed a split second before the ship rolled violently.
"We're hit, sir," called a crewmember. "A second razor ray just stung the carapace around the head. The leviathan was not hurt."
"She's panicking!" one of the handlers cried. "Do something!"
The ship launched into escape speed before the captain even gave the order. The cephalid handlers on the creature's brain were straining to keep her from fleeing at top speed until she was too tired to swim any farther.
"Evasive action!" the captain yelled. "Go, helmsman, go!" The leviathan surged away from the second ray, which followed close behind. Farther on, the first ray remained out of the chase and out of harm's way.
"Can we outrun them?" Veza asked.
"For a short time, but we'll get tired first."
"Can we fight?"
The captain shook his head. "We can ram them, but their stingers won't miss again. They only need about five seconds of con-tact to kill a ship this size."
Veza looked hard at the screen, then back at the captain. "How deep are we?"
"Doesn't matter. They can go as deep as we can."
"I don't want to go deeper. I want to go up."
The captain clicked something derogatory. "This is a deep sea vessel, ma'am."
"I know captain. But it's also a fish. Is this fish agile as well as fast?"
"She can turn back on herself without missing a stroke."
"Glad to hear it. Tell me, then, does this fish… breach?"
Realization sparked in the captain's eye, and he smiled at Veza. "Helm," he called. "Point the nose straight up. Maximum possible speed." He swam over to the ship's handlers to make sure they understood precisely what was expected of them.
The leviathan lurched and shot up though the chasm waters toward the surface. To Veza, it felt like gravity had shifted ninety degrees.
"Give me an aft view." The screen showed the ray close behind, accelerating to keep up with the leviathan's sudden burst of speed.
"We're almost at the surface, sir."
"Forward view." The screen now showed the surface, rushing toward them like a great liquid field.
"Maintain course and speed. On my mark, I want this vessel tucked and pointed straight down, back at the water."
"Aye, sir." The leviathan broke the surface and shot high into the air. The screen showed a huge wash of spray and painfully bright sunshine. Clouds in the sky rolled around the screen.
"Everyone hang on. Mark!"
Guided by her handlers, the ship wrenched itself into a U, then snapped back into its streamlined shape with its nose pointed downward. Veza, two crewmembers, and a handler were tossed around the bridge like beans in a can. Gravity quickly overcame the ship's motion, and the leviathan dropped back toward the sea.
Below, the razor ray had stopped just below the surface, confused about its prey's disappearance. The viewscreen showed a massive shadow fall over the submerged ray just before the leviathan's bony carapace came crashing down on it-with all twenty tons of leviathan behind it.