The Chameleon picked up speed. The waves were starting to slap against the hull.
“Depth below us?” he asked.
“80 feet.”
“Hold steady.”
Again he asked, “Depth?”
“170 feet, skipper.”
“Peter, you had better go below. It’s time to get this show on the road. Peter headed down and a few minutes later Marcus came down as well.
“Prepare to dive.”
“Prepare to dive,” Peter repeated.
“All ready,” Morgan replied.
“Dive. Dive. Level at 100 feet, turn to 80 degrees, speed 40 percent.”
“100 feet, eight zero degrees, speed four zero percent.”
“All correct,” he replied.
The Chameleon and her crew were about to begin a voyage that would change the world forever. They headed out to deep waters and again increased speed. They entered in the course headings that would take them through the Parece Vela Basin and to the Northern tip of the Mariana Trench. None of them were prepared for the events about to unfold. No one could be.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
- Mariana Trench Northern Tip –
The Chameleon was at a depth of 2200 feet and had been maintaining a steady speed of 28 knots toward a spot near the northern most tip of the Mariana Trench. The latest update had placed the transmission site at approximately 143 degrees 9 minutes east by 25 degrees 11 minutes north. That was the best they could do. Marcus had decided to start the search at the north end and proceed toward the south end of the trench. If they couldn’t locate anything they would then work their way back north and check the area between the Mariana Trench and the Izu Trench. It was going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack, a very large haystack.
Everyone was on a six hour on, six hour off rotation of duty.
“Dr. Ferris,” the control man said
“Yes Andy?”
“Doctor I’m getting fluctuating readings on the number three fuel cell. It reads different power levels at different times.”
“Okay. I’ll get Dr. Phillips and we will check it out. Thanks for letting me know.”
“No problem. Do you want me to take it offline?”
“No. Leave it for how. I want Dr. Phillips to check it out first. I’ll let you know if he wants it offline.”
Peter went aft and found Dr. Phillips sleeping in his bunk.
“Fred. Fred,” Peter said in a low voice so as to not wake the others sleeping nearby.
“What? What’s the matter?” Fred said, coming to life.
“I hate to wake you but we are experiencing some kind of problem with the number three fuel cell. Power levels are fluctuating.”
“Give me a minute,” he said, shaking his head.
“I’ll go on to the cell room. Come on up when you get dressed. Peter went to the auxiliary machinery room that housed the fuel cells. They had eight cells online most of the time and two more for back up. He located the number three cell and started checking it over. He could see a wisp of steam coming from one side of the cell. Checking further, he found a small pool of liquid seeping out from around the back of the cell. He was just starting to check it out further when Fred arrived.
“What did you find?” Fred asked.
“Looks like a leak some place. The evaporation makes it hard to locate the source.”
“That’s strange. I checked out each cell just before we got under way,” Fred said.
“Maybe all of the movement in and out of the plane caused something to come lose and it’s just now showing up.”
“Let me get in there and have a look,” he said sliding around Peter.
The area was small and there wasn’t enough room for both men at the same time. Fred took out a small flashlight and started looking at the fuel cell and the connecting plumbing.
“I think I’ve got it. Looks like a small leak in one of the recirculation hoses. It doesn’t look very serious. How much is the power fluctuating?” Fred asked.
“Not much. A few percent. Andy noticed it,” Peter informed him.
“It’s doesn’t appear to really be a problem. Tell him that if it fluctuates more than 10 percent I want to know about it so I can take it off service and replace it with one of the backup units. I would rather not do that right now.”
“Hey we’re here. I’ll be glad to give you a hand.”
“No really. It’s no big deal. My reasoning is that I don’t want to get down to only one backup unit so early in the trip. We could have a long way to go. If the line would rupture the others would hold enough power to keep us from any serious repercussions.”
“You know best. I’ll tell the control people and Luke to keep an eye on it.”
“I’m going back to bed. See you later,” Fred said and started back.
Peter went to the control room and informed the others of what they had found and what the procedure would be.
* * *
“Skipper, you might want to take a look at this,” the control man now on duty said.
“What have you got?”
“I’m not sure. Something strange up ahead.”
Susan was in the control room along with Peter and they joined Marcus and Luke.
“What do you make of it?” Marcus asked after looking at the screen for a long time.
“A seamount, I think,” Susan said.
“Seamount?”
“A seamount is a weak spot in the earth’s crust where magma spills out then cools. They are called smokers when they look like that one. The smoke is actually steam.”
“I’ve heard of those,” Luke said, “but I’ve never seen one before now.”
“We can get a little closer and you will be able to see it better. We can turn on the lights too. That should help,” Marcus said. They maneuvered the Chameleon closer and turned on the powerful lights. Strangely enough the addition of the lights came about from the filming of the movie, The Abyss. Everyone wanted to look at the strange object so they put it up on the large screen.
“Hey. Look at that thing,” one of the crew said, pointing to a strange cup shaped object that appeared to be attached to the ocean floor.
“That’s a Hyalonema,” Susan told them, “The stalk is made of pure silica from what I understand.”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“Few people have. They are fairly rare. You have to get below two or three thousand feet to find them.”
When everyone was finished viewing, the skipper turned off the lights and they resumed the heading toward the trench. Things quickly returned to normal once again.
Time began to take on no meaning whatsoever. Either you were on watch or you were eating, reading, or sleeping. Without day and night you quickly lose your perception of time. Peter and the other scientists were taking turns at watch just to break up the monotony.
“Dr. Ferris.”
“Admiral?”
“We should be coming up on the coordinates of the previous transmissions in the next couple of hours. Luke, Susan, Morgan, and you should get some rest. I will want you guys on station once we get there.”
“I think we’re all fairly rested but I’ll pass it along.”
Peter found Okeefer already asleep. Paul was reading and Luke was writing a letter to Liz. He told Peter he was more than rested. He went along to find Susan. She was asleep when he found her. He stood and watched her for a few minutes before bending down to kiss her on the cheek.
“Peter?”
“So who else would be doing this?”
“Oh heck, any number of guys. I’m just one of the boys on this trip.”
“That might be so but I sure the devil am not about to kiss one of the boys,” Peter replied, “You stay tucked in. We will be near the transmission location soon. Marcus will want us in the control room then.”
“So, did you just come back here for a quick smooch?”
“Sort of,” he said.
“Here then,” she said and rose up to kiss him on the lips. “You might as well get your money’s worth.”
“Thanks. I needed that,” he said.
He headed back to the control room after a second parting kiss. An hour passed, then two.
“Skipper, it’s starting to get really deep under us.”
“Depth?”
“26,322 feet, sir.”
“Okay, we’re getting close. Start the video. I want to record everything from this point on. Dr. Ferris, would you have your people join us now?”
Everyone was on station within minutes and ready to go.
“28,000 feet under us.”
“Dr. Long are you ready?”
“Ready.”
“Dr. Hall?”
“Affirmative.”
“We are getting really close to the trench. This depression leads to the trench itself. Control, take us down to 20,000 feet and level off,” Marcus ordered.
They started their descent. Luke was watching the hull pressure build on the external force indicators. The temperature was going up and down a little as they descended through the various thermal layers. At 20,000 feet it was a very cool 33 degrees.
“20,000 feet and level,” Luke informed him.
“I want a visual check on all systems and compartments before we start any lower.”
Peter passed the word along and everyone reported no problems except for the small leak in the number three fuel cell.
“Where’s the bottom now?”
“Now at 29,855 feet.”
“Take us to 25,000 feet and level out.”
“25,000 feet.”
A short time later Luke reported that they had reached the 25,000 foot level and were holding steady.
“Admiral,” Susan said, “I’m not sure this is the time but I have something I would like for you to try out. It is my own invention and it might help you get information more quickly.”
“What are those?” he said as she held out what appeared to be a pair of oversized glasses.
“This device has a VGA monitor built into it, similar to a HUD in an airplane. This transducer hooks to your belt and when I switch it on you will be able to see everything on the navigational monitor while being able to watch everything else in the room that you need to,” she explained.
“The transducer hooks on like this,” she said showing him how.
She activated the device. A small screen at the bottom of the glasses flickered on and Marcus could see exactly what the control man was looking at. He could walk around and look at virtually anything else but he could view the screen at any time just by looking slightly down.
“This is incredible. How far can I go?”
“Any place on the boat. I’ve been working on those for some time but have never had the opportunity to test them outside of the lab. Do you want to try it out?”
“You bet. This is fantastic,” he said in awe.
“Let me know how it works out,” she said.
“You can count on it.”
Marcus found the new device to be quite easy to use once he got the hang of it and got over being self-conscious about wearing it. The Chameleon skimmed along at a steady 25,000 feet for several miles before they actually started out over the deepest part of the trench.
“I think we’re there,” Luke told the skipper.
“All right. Reduce speed to 10 percent.”
“10 percent.”
“I want us to just ease over the trench and get a reading,” Marcus told him. They slowly made their way out over the edge of the trench.
“Depth 32,168 feet.”
“Man,” Okeefer, said in a low voice.
“It gets deeper,” Dr. Morgan said.
“Come right to 168 degrees. Slow to 5 percent.”
“Aye skipper.”
Marcus watched the tiny screen of his glasses.
“Good. Take us down. Slowly. Three degrees. Stay in the center of the trench.”
“Three degrees down. 5 Percent power.”
“Easy does it,” Luke whispered. The depth indicator reeled off 26,000…27,000…28,000…
29,000.
“Hold her at twenty-nine thousand feet for now.”
They had entered the trench just a mile from the northern most end. They proceeded to work their way south. The depths varied but hovered around 30,000 feet.
“Sir. A really deep spot is coming up.”
“I see it. Looks like 34,225 on my screen.”
“Affirmative, skipper.”
“We might as well see what this thing can do. Take her on down. Two degrees. Stop at 32,000 feet. I see that forward vision is down to four hundred yards. Slow to 3 percent power.”
They crept along. Peter tried to see out of the observation port but it was totally black.
“Lights on,” Marcus ordered.
It looked like they were in the middle of a snow storm. White objects were raining down. It was like turning on your bright lights in a driving blizzard. Visibility was just a few inches.
“I can’t see a thing. You can turn them off now.”
“Lights off.”
“It’s still getting deeper.”
“35,878,” Marcus said before the control man spoke up.
“Hey. What’s that?” Luke said suddenly.
“I can’t tell. It looks like a pinnacle sticking up from the sea bed. Set the ballast to maintain this level. Zero percent power. I want to go to thrusters only. Let’s just ease up there,” Marcus said.
It was dead silent in the DSV. They eased to within a few feet of the protrusion.
“Any guesses?”
“I have no idea. It looks like a natural formation,” Paul offered.
“I don’t think so. Too symmetrical,” Luke said.
“Could it be an antenna device?” the observer, Price, asked.
“Possibly. It’s a hell of a long way down here for transmission,” Fred said.
“We don’t know what technology they have. It could be just fine for them.”
No one said anything for a few seconds as they all studied the object sticking up from the ocean floor.
“I think it’s a ship’s mast,” Peter finally said.
“Hey. I think you’re right. Look down at the very bottom. There is a small cross bar on the right and another on the left. It looks like an old wooden ship’s mast. Man that’s freaky,” Marcus said.
“Sir, something is wrong. The number three fuel cell just dropped twenty percent. Make that forty.”
“Dr. Phillips,” Peter said quickly heading toward the stern of the boat.
Fred was in close pursuit. The room was filled with vapor and the temperature was dropping fast when they arrived at the auxiliary machinery room.
“Can you see anything?”
“No. I’ll try to find out what happened. I guess that small leak just turned into a big one,” Fred said, feeling his way further into the room.
He disappeared from Peter's view as the vapor closed in around him.
“Are you alright?” Peter asked a few seconds later.
“Yes. My feet are getting really cold. I’m starting to stick to the floor as I walk,” Fred’s voice drifted back.
“I’ve located the shutoff valve,” he said.
A few seconds later the hissing noise stopped and the room got quiet.
“Fred?”
“I’m fine. Wow. This floor is really cold. I’ve got it shut off now but I need to wait for some of this nitrogen to boil off. I’m coming out.”
Fred reappeared. The fog was already starting to thin. Within a few minutes they could see that there was a lot of nitrogen on the floor. Peter went back to the control room to report what they had found.
“Everything is under control. The number three fuel cell gave out. It’s not a real problem. Once the liquid boils off we will replace it with one of the backups. I see we are moving again.”
“We are indeed unless that’s a problem.”
“Do you need any help back there?”
“I don’t know yet. I think we can handle it. I’ll let you know once we assess the damage,” Peter said.
“You be darned careful back there,” Susan said seriously to Peter.
“Don’t worry, it’s cool,” he said, then laughed, “That’s a joke girl.”
“Yuck, Yuck. I mean it. Please be careful.”
“Will do,” he said and returned to the auxiliary machinery room.
Fred was already looking the cell over when he arrived.
“What do you think?”
“It’s nothing serious. The hose connector failed. I’m putting on a new one now. It’s no big deal. We won’t even have to replace the cell once it’s recharged. It won’t take much to fix it up as good as new.”
“Need a hand?” Peter asked.
“Actually I need a one and one eighth inch open end wrench.”
“Coming right up.”
Within a few minutes the line was replaced and Fred recharged the system. They checked the gauge and found that it was again operating at 100 percent. The Chameleon continued to negotiate the trench. Paul activated the camouflage system. He decided it might come in handy if they did actually come across any aliens. The trench bottom was more or less smooth. Every once in a while they would detect something skittering along the ocean floor. They were at 30,090 feet. Obviously life could exist at this level.
“Skipper, can you make out what’s up ahead?”
“Sort of. Let me look at your screen. It’s hard to tell on mine.”
“It looks like a mound of some kind,” Peter said, looking at the monitor.
“Let’s ease right up on it,” Marcus said.
The Chameleon came to within a few feet of it and Marcus ordered zero power.
“Drop on down. Stop at a 100 feet above the mound.”
They descended further and stopped at 100 feet above the object.
“Increase camera magnification. Hit the lights.”
The light flooded the mound. The snow storm that Peter had seen earlier was now just a trickle of white blobs gently drifting down.
“Can you enhance the picture?” Marcus asked Susan.
“Working on it.”
The mound came into better view. It was still a little fuzzy but it was clear that they were looking at a perfectly round circle.
THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT Page 31
