Devilfish -- Part Two

When the elevator door opened, Mect and Veya found themselves in a square metal chamber lit by a single blue light bulb. The only other feature to the room was a sliding shutter door across the way. As Veya and Mect stepped into the small bloom room, the other door opened and three men entered. One, judging from his blue armor and laconia chest plate, as well as the sonic gun hanging at his belt, was clearly an agent. He was about twenty-five, attractive, and well-built, with gray-blue hair. The second man was a non-military Palm II security officer, who wore a green jumpsuit and cap. He was swarthy, forty-ish, with black hair and eyes, and he carried a lasershot. Both of the men were Palman.

The third man was a short and plump Motavian, middle-aged, who wore a lab coat similar to Mect's. Highly reflective round-frame glasses concealed his beady red eyes. A laser scalpel and an acidshot were hanging at his belt.

"Ah, Mect, you're finally home," the Motavian said.

"Doctor Rolobin, I would like to introduce you to Vice Director Veya Carmis. Veya, this is my superior, Rolobin the marine biologist."

Veya and Rolobin shook hands. "I am very appreciative that the Vice Director herself should come all this way," Rolobin said.

"I don't see that I had much choice," Veya said. "I could have left this whole matter to a team of highly-capable, expertly-trained investigators who won't be here for a month. But if there's one thing I've learned from Director Mallos it's that if you want something done right, you'd damn well better do it yourself."

Mect smiled but Rolobin just blinked. Then he turned to the agent and said, "Vice Director, this is Agent Silverton from Algo Control. He has been taking care of practically everything around here." Rolobin turned to the other man. "This is his assistant, Tidal's chief security officer, Constable Boro Kaeblin."

Veya shook hands with both of the men. "I trust that everyone else has been sent home, as I ordered."

Agent Silverton nodded. "Yes. The entire crew, except for the station operators and the core security staff, was dismissed as soon as your order arrived."

Veya nodded back. "That's good. And now, Dr. Rolobin, would you mind joining them?"

"What?" Rolobin balked. "I absolutely refuse to abandon this station!"

"Maybe I'm wrong," Veya said, "but somehow, I don't think you're a member of the core security staff."

The spiky blue hairs on the top of Rolobin's head bristled.

"Yes, you mustn't let the acidshot fool you," Mect added. "I've never seen Doctor Rolobin carry a weapon before."

"This is outrageous!" Rolobin cried, clenching his small fists. "This is my station. I decide who stays and who goes!"

"I am afraid that is incorrect," Agent Silverton said. "According to protocol, the Director -- or acting Director -- of Palm II holds authority over all of his or her subordinates. You, Doctor Rolobin, are clearly Vice Director Carmis' subordinate."

Rolobin shook his head. "I know all that, but really, you people need my help. I'm the one who first saw the photograph. I'm the one who can best direct you. I can give you the supplies and maps and whatever it is you need."

Veya looked to Mect, who shrugged. "Don't look at me!" he said

"Fine, Rolobin, you can stay," Veya said. "Let's just deal with the creature right now! Agent Silverton, Constable Kaeblin -- what do you plan to do with the creature, and how do you plan to do it?"

"Allow me," Kaeblin said. His black eyes were hidden beneath bushy eyebrows, and his mouth was tucked behind a thick mustache. His voice was smooth and deep. "The creature is obviously extremely dangerous. Our security robots could pose no threat to it, for unless we are on a security alert, they are ordered never to fire on any person or animal unless the person or animal poses an imminent threat."

Veya nodded. "Good. Better to risk equipment than lives."

"Exactly," Kaeblin replied. "Therefore, the creature must have made the first move. In fact, after viewing the robot's remains, it seems unlikely that the robot even had time to react."

"Also," Agent Silverton added, "the state in which the robot's body was left further demonstrates the danger posed by the creature."

"The robot was...eviscerated, was it not?" Veya asked.

"Right," Silverton said. "Its internal mechanisms had been removed rather violently and messily."

"Thank God that wasn't one of my men," Rolobin whispered, shaking his furry head again.

"Indeed," Veya muttered. "How was the body retrieved?"

"One of the other robots brought it up," Rolobin answered. "None of the men have been down there yet."

Veya nodded. "Good. Well, all right. What is your plan of action?"

"We believe we have determined the approximate location of the creature's nest," Silverton told her. "There is an area leading down towards the planet's core; there were many bunkers and laboratories down in that area when the planet was new. There is one particular passage that winds around like a corkscrew. That appears to be the creature's den."

"Like a conch shell...." said Mect.

"This is right below the Drift," Veya stated.

"Yes," said the agent. "It is possible that the creature's activities may have played some part in the creation of the Drift."

"The good news is that there is only one way in -- or out of that twisting passage," Kaeblin said. "We can trap it there."

Veya took a deep breath, and then she nodded. "Okay, good. I want to get this over with as soon as possible, and I imagine so do we all. So, let's not waste any time."

"I'll get everything topside prepared, and then I'll meet you at the tunnel," Kaeblin said quietly.

"I'll go with you," Rolobin added. The two men left.

"I will escort you to the tunnel that leads to the Drift area," Silverton said. "It isn't far."

They walked quietly out of the blue room and into another small, square chamber. The lighting in the second room was dimmer than in the first, but the blue tint to the light was thankfully absent. The agent, the Vice Director, and the Assistant Coordinator walked briskly through numerous passages and navigated through several intersections. Veya was glad that Mect was with her, as she knew she would never have been able to find the way back out again.

After several minutes they came to another blue room. This one contained two elevators. Both were simply labeled with an arrow. The elevator on the right had an arrow pointing up, and the elevator on the left had an arrow pointing down.

"Right now we're underneath the southwest support column," Agent Silverton said. "From here we can go up to the Drasgow platform or we can go deeper, beneath the ocean floor."

"How much farther down is the nest?" Veya asked.

"The top is about five hundred meters below us," Mect said. "The bottom of the coil is almost a kilometer below that. But we have no idea where, within that space, the creature lives."

"There are lots of tunnels and bunkers deep under the surface, from earlier stages of construction," Veya said. "It's only natural, since the planet was built from the inside out. But I've never heard of a bunker that old and deeply buried still survivng after so much time. It should have been crushed or filled in by earth years ago."

"Could it be that there is an entire colony of creatures, and that they are the ones who have kept the space clear?" Silverton asked.

"I don't know," Mect answered. "It already seems like we're dealing with a miraculous case of spontaneous generation here. I mean, where did this creature come from? If you ask me I'd say that, right now, anything is possible."

A moment later Constable Kaeblin reappeared. He carried a sonic gun, a custom-made combination poisonshot-silentshot, and several laser knives. However, he was alone. No one spoke as Kaeblin gave the special shot to Mect, who had designed it. Veya was offered the sonic gun which, although she was a definite amateur, she did know how to use. Each member of the team also took a laser knife.

"Where is your crew?" Agent Silverton asked, once the weapon distribution was over.

"They are where they need to be. They're up on the platform, monitoring all readings coming from below the Drift and hoping that the Vice Director's investigators will arrive. As for the esteemed Doctor Rolobin, he's up there with them. That furball is a mass of nerves right now. He'd be no use to us."

"You mean we're going below with just the four of us?" Mect asked. "Is that really safe?"

"I would prefer a full assault on the creature," Silverton said. "We will need more men for that."

Kaeblin sighed and closed his eyes. "With all due respect, Agent, I am still the one in charge of the security of this facility. And I say it is better to hole the creature up. Once it is contained we can wait for the cavalry to arrive. Then disposing of the creature will be much easier and safer."

Veya nodded. "I agree, and I am the one in charge of the planet."

Mect smiled, but Silverton glowered. "What about robots?" the agent asked.

Kaeblin shook his head. "Not enough of them. We had to all but shut Tidal down when we sent them down before, because they're the bulk of our work force. That's not an option now, since we were set so far behind schedule last time. Besides, since our team got sent home, the robots are all we have to do all the work. So we have to do it alone."

The agent waved his hand in the air and said, "As you wish! But we are still wasting time!"

"We'll go right now," Kaeblin said. "But, Vice Director--"

"Don't even think about telling me to stay behind," Veya told him. "Like I said, this planet is my responsibility. Director Mallos would have my head if she knew that I let a crisis of this magnitude go by without the Directorship's personal attention."

Kaeblin sighed. "Yes, I've had the pleasure of meeting Dahlia. If she was on Palm II now, she'd be right here on this spot, barking orders and getting things done." Kaeblin chuckled.

Mect said to Veya, "And you're right. If you did any different, she would definitely kill you."

"Then if everything is settled, can we be off?" Silverton asked.

Veya nodded. "Let's go."

The four entered the downward elevator. It was scarcely large enough for all of them. Mect was pressed tightly against Veya, almost face to face. Veya gave him a reassuring smile, but the spindly scientist was clearly very uncomfortable. Kaeblin and Silverton, meanwhile, said nothing, and they avoided eye contact. Veya found herself not quite trusting either of them, but it was far too late to back out and run home to the safety of the Labs.

Kaeblin ordered the elevator to go as deep as it could, past levels left unused for decades, and past other levels that might not have existed for centuries. When the elevator came to a stop, Kaeblin pushed a button that prevented the door from opening. "It's going to be dark, and possibly very wet," he said. "There is no way of telling yet whether it will be hot or cold, but I am quite sure that the temperature will be uncomfortable."

Veya suddenly had a horrifying vision of the elevator opening onto the middle of the ocean, and the four of them being sucked to their deaths in the tentacles of a cyborg devilfish. But before she had a chance to speak, Kaeblin pushed the button again and the door slid open.

On the other side there was perfect darkness. Kaeblin and Silverton, however, both had flashes, which they immediately activated. The beams of yellow-white light that appeared, though bright, seemed fragile and insufficient compared to the shadows that surrounded them. And, as Veya discovered as she stepped out of the elevator, the corridors were filled with filthy water that rose as high as her ankles.

The corridors themselves were in shambles. The metal plates that formed the walls and ceilings were rusted and loose. Many had fallen away, revealing dark holes and crawlspaces in which anything might be lurking. Water dripped from everywhere, and water rolled over everything. The place was silent aside from the dripping, but the entire scene smelled of decay and mold. The temperature was hot and oppressively humid, but once in a while Veya would feel a bitterly cold draft on her neck or arms.

"My men, of course, are tracking me," Kaeblin said as the four of them stood outside the elevator, readying themselves. Then he handed a small pin with a velcro-covered back to each of the others. "With these, they can track you as well, and we can also keep tabs on each other. If at any time we should be separated, and any of our signals are lost, the other three are to converge on the last known coordinates of the missing person. Are we clear?"

Veya and Mect both nodded as they attached the communication devices to their clothing, but Silverton was steely and silent.

"I'll be on point," Kaeblin went on. "Mect, you are somewhat familiar with the layout of these caves, so you come behind me. Vice Director, since you are the most inexperienced of our little group, you follow behind Mect. And Agent Silverton, I know you're a very skilled combatant and guardsman, so you bring up the rear."

Silverton nodded, but his thin lips did not budge and his cold blue-gray eyes remained narrow. Veya glanced at him, and in the dull light of the flashes the two briefly locked eyes. Veya regarded him warily. His sharp, craggy features cast deep shadows over his face. He was handsome enough, but in a cold and not quiet appealing manner, in the same way as a masterful statue carved from unfeeling marble.

"I want this to be crystal clear," Kaeblin said. "We're trying to find the creature's den, so that we can seal the beast inside. I've got a bomb, so sealing the passage should be easy. I don't want to see any heroics or stupid curiosity while we're here. Escapipes and Hinas techniques are worthless this far down so don't be stupid. We are not to face the creature if we can avoid it. Let's just stick to our task and get it over with."

Silverton shook his head. "Madness. True, we have no evidence to show that there is more than one creature. But what if there is? This could be suicide...."

"Frankly, sir, you underestimate me," Kaeblin said. "I've been in trickier situations than this."

"Besides," Mect added, "judging from the photo, the creature appears to be a cephalopod mollusk. They've been fairly common in the Motavian seas for thousands of years. Though we're dealing with an undetermined species here, all of these animals are known to be very solitary creatures."

Silverton said nothing and simply regarded the constable severely.

But Kaeblin ignored him. "Okay, let's go. Stick close and, whatever you do, keep your eyes and ears open!"

They walked after that. They spoke little, and spoke only to point out oddities in the environment or possible dangers. The caves, too, were quiet. Kaeblin had an old map of the tunnels, but other than that, they were flying blind.

After twenty minutes or so, they came to an intersection at the end of the tunnel. Additional tunnels had once led to the left and to the right, but both passages had collapsed and were tightly sealed. A third way, however, remained open. It was an almost perfectly vertical shaft right at the hallway's end. There was a staircase built into the side of the shaft. The stairs, however, were so small and so close together that Veya feared she would be lost to vertigo when she looked at them.

Mect caught Veya's sickened look and he gently took her shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Veya swallowed and said, "I will be. It's just that the shaft there doesn't look very hospitable."

Silverton stepped up to the edge and pointed his flash downward. "The stairs are intact all the way to the bottom," he reported. "It's about fifteen meters deep."

"Can you do it?" Mect asked Veya.

Veya nodded. "Yes, I think so. But let me take my time, okay?"

"Of course," Mect said.

Kaeblin nodded at Veya. "Yeah, that happens sometimes. Me and Mect will go first, and then Veya. Silverton, you wait until Veya's gone a ways before you follow. I want to give her plenty of room so she can go slow if she needs to."

Silverton nodded. He gave Veya a not quite expressionless look that made the Vice Director shiver.

"Here we go, then," Kaeblin muttered, and he began to descend. Mect, after giving Veya a quick glance over his shoulder, followed. And then Veya began her descent. She took each step carefully. The stairs were narrow, the railing was missing, and a false step could send her plunging over the side to the wet floor so far below. She didn't want to look down but she had to so she didn't slip. It was hard for her to free her mind from the image of her broken body lying at the bottom of the steps.

Veya was halfway down, with Mect only meters in front of her, when she heard Silverton shout. She braced herself against the wall and then looked back. The agent was on the third step, but he was looking back and firing his sonic gun at something in the darkness behind him, far beyond the visual range of the rest of the group.

Mect and Kaeblin immediately looked to Silverton. "What is it?" Kaeblin shouted.

"I don't know," Silverton replied, nearly in a whisper and through a tightly-clenched jaw. "There's something moving back there! I think it was following us!"

A low moan emerged from the darkness and Silverton continued firing. Kaeblin ran up the stairs and joined him. Veya sank to her knees and tried to get her bearings. The loud scream of the sonic gun and bright flash of the lasershot were only worsening the effects of her vertigo. Mect went to her but she shooed him off.

"No, don't worry about me," she said. "Help...those two."

Mect nodded and began firing his special shot into the darkness along with the others. Veya, though feeling very dizzy, stood so that she could join in as well. Silverton looked over his shoulder when he sensed her movement, and he said, "What do you think you're doing? Get down!" Silverton tried to take hold of Veya with his free hand, but she ignored him. She righted herself and peered into the shadows ahead. The moaning stopped; Veya's companions ceased firing, and a skeletal robot similar to the one that had piloted the ferry staggered into the light of their flashes. It saluted, and then, from a gaping tear in its torso, its entire assemblage of wires and diodes, as well as a great deal of oils and lubricants, spilled out. The robot collapsed. Veya tried to scream, but instead she fainted into Silverton's steely arms.