Mystery At 4,000 Fathoms

Chapter 2: Descent into Darkness

I'm hoping this will end quickly. I can picture it playing out rather well. We won't find anything, Jenny will be upset, and she will either accept the fact that Atlantis doesn't exist, or she'll want to try searching again. Either way, I'll just have to convince her that we need to go back to land to either restock, rest or something of that sort. When we get there, I'll run as fast as I can away from her and work to finding a way home...

I'll find another job. I could still be a stoker. I doubt there's much chance of a ship I'm on going down twice...

Right?

I'll decide what I want to do once I'm safe. Jenny hasn't posed any threat to me, of course, but she believes in legends and stories that have no structure-not even historic texts that could allude to it like some religions have. It's hard to trust someone who has become so obsessive with what is most likely nothing.

I squirm as I start to feel the odd pressures as we dive deeper, but the stretching has helped. There's something outside the porthole. It's a ways away, but it's large-as big as the submarine, I'm guessing. I take a step towards the porthole, breathing in sharply.

"Wow..."

Jenny hums. "It's a north Atlantic white whale. They're peaceful creatures, but we may encounter other dangers as we descend."

I don't like the sound of that, so I clear my throat nervously. "Yes, um, you said there was something I could do, to help with the Bellerophon's defenses."

She nods and gestures to a person-shaped recess to the right of where she's sitting at the pilot's console. Inside is a metal skeleton with straps around the arms and legs. I tip my head to the side in confusion.

"I don't understand-"

"It connects to four mechanical limbs on the Bellerophon's exterior. You can control them. Strap yourself in."

I stand there stupidly, taking a few seconds before I strap myself into the metal skeleton. This is all so odd. The leather straps are a bit difficult as they rub against my now dry clothes, but it's the limbs themselves that are the most difficult. A grimace passes over my face as I see how stiff they are, but as I raise my arm, a second later, through the porthole, I see a long metal limb move with it.

I laugh. She wasn't lying. I really can control metal limbs on the submarine!

"Loosen those limbs by moving them. Start with your legs. Try some forward lunges and focus on one leg at a time."

I nod, lunging forward with my dominant leg, just so I can get used to the movements and not fall over. I raise back up again, then repeat the movement. The metal creaks a bit, the leather straps pinching at my skin, not from being too tight, but just from disuse. I'm guessing Captain Solus didn't have Jenny doing this type of thing since he probably didn't want to travel places with such dangers, as that might prepare for the journey to Atlantis.

"Can you see the limbs moving through that porthole?" Jenny asks. "They're almost matching your movements, but they're still a bit jerky. A short period of lunges should fix that... On the engravature, Solus claimed the Atlanteans are peaceful, but if that's so, why does his ship have this weapon?"

"Maybe they have to worry about fighting creatures too. We don't exactly know if any of the dangerous creatures on the ocean floor are friends with them."

We don't know anything for certain when it comes to this.

"Maybe. You're doing well, but keep your back straight."

I fix my posture, lunging a few more times before switching to my left leg. The limbs are already starting to move more smoothly, only a second or so behind on my actual movements. While I don't believe we'll run into any mythical creatures like krakens or hydras, it is nice to know there is a defense. I don't doubt there are creatures down here I don't know about, and I don't doubt that they'll be dangerous.