Deep Blue - The Descent

16: Shifting Focus

Commander Kennedy made quite a sight lying on the floor of the main Moon Pool chamber. To anyone casually walking by, it would be easy enough to think she was being swallowed by the M.A.N.T.A.

Her upper body was stuffed inside the front access panel of the ship, leaving only her blue overall covered legs extending from the small craft.

The sound of metal clanging metal echoed through the cramped compartment, accompanied by faint singing, or at least humming.

"Making any progress?", Doctor Marshall asked, as he approached the railing in front of the pool.

There was no answer, only continued singing which actually seemed to increase in volume as the song made it's way through the chorus.

"Commander.", the doctor spoke louder, yet again there was no response from Jordan.

Resigned to the fact that his voice wasn't going to be enough to get the job done, the doctor made his way down the steps to where the commander was laying. At the same moment, Jordan glided out from the access compartment on a small hover board, to find the doctor standing over her. She wore a pair of clear VR goggles that shown brightly with several forward facing LED lights. The bright lights blinded the doctor for a moment.

If the commander was startled, it barely showed.

"Doctor.", she said, pulling a pair of wireless buds from her ears. "Did you need something?"

"I was just curious if you were ready for me to show you around, before it got too late.", the doctor said politely. "I figure you'll want to know where you can store your things and where you'll be staying."

Jordan tapped the right side of her goggles which caused the default date and time to display on the inside lens. She was indeed caught off guard by how late it had become.

"Sure, I guess so.", she said. "I imagine time can really get away from you down here without any sunlight."

The commander stood and brushed herself off as she collected her assorted tools, parts and pieces.

"Actually, the internal lighting is set on a schedule that approximates the time of day topside.", the Doctor replied. "But yes, it's still pretty easy to lose track of time."

As the Commander finished gathering her tools the Doctor asked, "Any ETA on the repairs?"

"It's hard to tell just yet.", Jordan began. "I'm going to replace the arm with the extra one I brought down. The outer skin however is another matter. It's hard for me to tell how deep the shrapnel penetrated. Resurfacing isn't an issue, but I have to fill all the holes first. With the pressure change the M.A.N.T.A. will go through on the descent you don't want even the smallest air bubble trapped inside that outer skin."

Doctor Marshall smiled. "You're in luck then. I've been running tests on the crystal fragments in the lab. Taking a look at them should give you some idea of how deep they were embedded, right?"

The Commander nodded, "Yes, it definitely would. If you're saying you didn't have to dig any out."

"Nope. I just used a regular ~ol' pair of tweezers for extraction."

"That would help a lot then.", Jordan replied.

The Doctor raised his arm guiding her toward the steps, "In that case, let's get the tour started and we'll make our way to the lab."

With a duffel bag slung over her shoulder and a small toolbox in each hand, the pair made their way to the main platform in the Moon Pool.

"The airlock and the bathysphere you're already familiar with.", the doctor said as he began the tour. "And we've covered the moon pool."