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Post Unity Year: 237

Ocean World of Athenia II, AKA Redwater, Athenia System

Day 21

"_Red Snapper to Diver team, comm check,"_a deep voice sounded through the speakers of the three diver's helmets.

Arno Engelburg had his eyes on a crustacean walking among the coral bed in front of him, its stick-like legs carrying it along. Its eyes seemed to be watching him as it walked sideways between the mounds of the coral bed. It was big, roughly a foot in diameter with two large pincers it kept tucked close to itself as it walked. He was fascinated by the blue coloring of the crab, making it stand out against the dark colours of the coral.

"Diver one, responding." Erica Balmer's voice replied to the first.

"Diver two, loud and clear," Dr. Sylvio Berkel chimed in.

There was a short pause, before the deep voice spoke again. "Diver three, repond."

Arno jerked, realizing that he hadn't responded. "Oh, sorry Linus. Diver three here. Receiving," he replied, sheepishly.

"Arno, that is the second comm check you've missed," Erica's scolding voice spoke up.

"Sorry, manager. I was just fascinated by the life down here," he said. "I didn't think there'd be much, what with the surface so barren."

"That's why we're here, Arno. To study it. Have you collected those coral samples, like I asked?" Sylvio piped up again.

"Oh yeah, I've got them. I think I ticked off this big blue crab over here though."

"Just keep your distance. He shouldn't bother you," Sylvio offered. "The coral crabs aren't supposed to be aggressive according to preliminary data. Get too close though he's likely to pinch you."

Arno instinctively backed away. The crab hadn't tried to approach him, but he wasn't fond of the idea of being pinched.

"Drill's at maximum depth. Dr. Berkel, I have your seabed sample," Erica said.

"Excellent. I've got all of the lichen and plankton samples I need as well. Ready to return to the submarine,"_said Sylvio. "_Linus, time for pickup."

"Red Snapper moving to extraction," the deep voice answered.

Arno looked up, seeing a dark mass shifting above. It moved overhead, and a ring of light appeared on the bottom as it opened its moon pool. Arno looked in the direction of his fellow divers, seeing Erica backing away from the tripod drill she had been operating. From the light above, a four-fingered mechanical claw descended from the moon pool, grasping the top of the drill and magnetically attaching itself before lifting the drill out of the ground. It ascended to the ring of light above, and the divers followed suit.

Arno was the first to reach the moon pool room. He climbed out of the water, then turned and offered his hands to Erica and Dr. Berkel, helping them climb out.

"Linus, is the onboard lab ready?" Dr. Berkel asked aloud as he took off his rebreather.

"Equipment is powering up now. It should be ready for you once you get in there," the deep voice replied via intercom.

"Thank you," he said. "I think I'll start with the sea bed samples. I can finish those before we get back to Epsilon Station."

"I guess I'll fill out our ops report, and ready it for tomorrow's send-off once you have your data reports," Erica offered. "If anyone needs me I'll be in my office."

"I'll make sure they're ready for you by tomorrow evening."

"Anything I can do?" Arno asked, eagerly. He wanted to be helpful in some way, in somewhere other than diving.

Erica took a moment to consider his request. "Well, maybe go see Linus. Maybe he has something to do around the sub," she offered.

Arno nodded. "Okay," he agreed.

The Red Snapper was a Phoco Model-61 submarine, built by the Ocean World Industrial Engineering - on Olympus VII. Arno had heard _all_of the jokes associated with the company acronym on the media, and some of them still made him giggle when he thought of them. Terrible puns such as 'that's a big OWIE!' or 'Ocean World Industrial Engineering. They really live up to their nickname, because they are a pain!'. He was fairly sure that the latter one was from a disgruntled ex-employee of the company.

Credit where credit was due, OWIE's models always followed a common theme - to be designed specifically to be customized to suit the needs of the buyer, and the limits were only the space and the imagination. Even bought second hand it was a trifle to remove the additions of the previous owner and revert it to stock condition if one took the time to do it, making Phoco-series submarines a first pick for undersea research or military recon vessels.

In addition to the standard moon pool, the main corridor, the port and starboard escape pod bays and the bridge the vessel had seven large uncustomized compartments, all of which had been retrofitted to make the submarine into a research vessel with a skeleton crew. One whole compartment had been used for a laboratory, the rest having been built to accommodate the crew, including two private living quarters, an office/bachelor apartment - Erica's, one shared living quarter with bunk beds for four, a galley, several store rooms, a recreational center and a medical bay. They'd made use of the limited space, but at the cost of making the Red Snapper fairly cramped even for its barebones crew.

Arno followed the central corridor, ascending a staircase to the bridge level. He passed between two doors, marked Dr. Sylvio Berkel and Linus Beelek respectively, before coming to the third door simply marked Bridge in reflective paint letters instead of a holographic display. The door slid open, and a domed room facing outward into the ocean, opened before him. A chair hovered in the center of the dome, suspended by mechanical arms and with a control console built into the framework of the window in front of the chair. A grizzled Selachi sat in the chair, staring out into the waters beyond as his hands worked the controls, his tail fitted through a slot on the back of the chair, hanging freely and swaying as if in a breeze.

"Hi, Linus!" Arno called up to him.

The pilot leaned over the side of the chair, looking back in the Orcanu cetacean's direction. "Hello, Arno," he called. "How was the dive?"

"Oh, you know. The water's cold but full of mysteries," he replied with a shrug, walking to stand in front of the window, staring out into the emptiness. He longed to see what the view was like from the pilot's chair, but even from where he stood the sight was stunning, to watch the reefs and trenches passing below. The submarine moved so smoothly it felt like it was floating in space rather than water. He'd always wanted to learn how to drive submarines...

"Where are we heading?" Arno asked.

"We're scheduled to return to Epsilon Station," replied Linus. "Good timing, too. The power core is doing something strange."

Arno looked up at Linus. "Strange how?" He asked, feeling a pang of concern. "It's not going to blow up is it?"

"If it was that, I'd be telling you to run to an escape pod," Linus returned flatly. "No, there's no danger of it melting down. But it's draining faster than it should be."

"Draining?" Arno echoed.

"On average, the fission battery should last at least fourteen days of constant running," explained Linus. "We've been out for seven days, but it's already at forty three percent. It shouldn't be that low yet."

"Can we still make it home?"

"We'll know soon enough," replied Linus. "We're about four hours out. As long as the core keeps its current rate we should be able to reach the base before we hit the danger zone."

"Anything I can do?" Arno asked.

"Not unless you have a degree in Ion Fission technology," replied Linus. "Otherwsie, well..." he looked over the side of his chair to give the Orcanu a sidelong look.

"Please don't say it..."

"Someone has to do it, Arno."

Arno groaned. "Can't we get a custodian for this thing?"

"You'd have to take it up with Erica. I'm just the pilot," replied Linus, offering him a sympathetic smile. "If it's any consolation, I had to do the same thing when I first joined the Marines."

"Don't you only have to clean up your own space and not everyone else's filth too?"

"Only once you reach Corporal. Until then, you see a mess, whether you made it not, you clean it. Don't, and then you clean _everyone's_bathroom for the next week. Don't even get me started on that nightmare."

"I don't think my innocent mind could take it," said Arno, shaking his head.

"You know where the supplies are," the Selachi stated.

"Yeah, I do. Not like anyone else ever scrubs the toilets on this thing."

"Don't forget the flush out the bilge tanks when we dock!" Linus called after him as he approached the door.

"Don't remind me!" Arno cried in despair.

~~~~~

Erica looked up as the door to her office opened, and saw Sylvio entering the room. She smiled up at him before turning back to her terminal, typing in the report for their dive as he crossed the room.

"First batch of research notes are ready," he said, placing a portable drive on her desk.

"That was quick," she commented.

"Seabed samples don't take long to analyze," he replied. "Working on the coral sample now. So far, there's little about them that is different from the coral beds on our own homeworld."

"Well they formed from the same ice fields, right?" Erica asked, Picking up the data drive and inserting it into a port on her terminal to upload the data. "Maybe they formed from microorganisms carried in the ice meteors that hit the planet? It'd explain why they're the same."

Sylvio chuckled. "An interesting theory, but I'd have to do a direct comparison of the two to be certain and I don't have any samples ready here." She felt him pressing in her, nudging her cheek with his snout. "But why don't you leave the science to me, and you keep handling the more daring endeavours?" He whispered to her.

Erica leaned away from him, turning to face him and shaking her head. "Not now, Sylvio. Arno's cleaning the bathrooms. He could walk in here at any moment. If he saw us-"

"I know. We don't need gossip getting around," he finished for her, sighing as he leaned against the desk. "You don't think Arno would keep our secret?"

"He's a kid. Words can slip out," she replied.

"He's not a _dumb_kid."

"I never implied he was. But he could still lay something out of impulse."

"And, it's not like we'd be the only ones at Epsilon in a relationship," Sylvio argued. "Like our solar tech and the mechanic's apprentice. They certainly don't try to hide their activities."

"Also kids. Younger than Arno, even," reminded Erica. "Plus, they're not in charge. People won't accuse them of nepotism or favoritism or other nonsense like that. But for the diving ops manager and lead xenobiologist, people will talk."

"Let them talk. We're not hurting anyone. We've been doing this for three weeks now, since the second night we landed here," he reached up with a hand to stroke her cheek. "They'll find out sooner or later."

"Let it be later," said Erica, letting Sylvio hear the finality in her voice.

The male Dolphori stepped away, and she saw the disappointment on his face. She felt a pang of guilt for pushing him off, and with a sigh, she rose from her seat and faced him.

"I'm sorry," she said, putting her arms around him and letting him take her into his. "We're still three hours out from the base. Soon as we can get some alone time, I'll make it up to you." She promised him.

"I certainly hope so," he replied, holding his secret lover firmly. "We've been away from the base a full week, playing the patient game. I'm more than ready to ma-"

They heard a beep at the door. Without hesitation, they released each other and Erica dropped back into her chair. She had to stifle a yelp as she landed on her tail, having missed the opening for it completely. She adjusted herself as the door opened and Arno, bearing a mop and a basket of cleaning products, entered.

"Manager?" He called, and then looked up as Sylvio approached the door, making a show of leaving the office. "Dr. Berkel?"

"Hello Arno," he replied. "Pardon me. Was dropping off the results from our seabed samples."

"Huh. That didn't take long," said Arno, repeating Erica's earlier words. She couldn't help but smile at the coincidence.

"Seabed samples usually don't. Identifying elements is all it really is. The deeper meaning will be up to the geologist back at base to determine."

"What are the samples for, exactly?"

"Besides mineral content and discovering possible microorganisms? You can learn about changes in weather patterns as far back as several hundred years."

"How does it do that?"

Sylvio chuckled. "That's more of a quandary for the geologist. I know the ends, not the means," he said. "As much as I'd like to discuss possibilities with you though, Arno, we all have work to do." He patted Arno's shoulder. "I'll go tidy up the lab to get out of your way for your part."

"Okay. See you later, doctor," said Arno, nodding to Sylvio as he left the room. He turned to Erica, nodding to her. "Hey boss lady. Everything going well?"

"As well as can be, Arno," she replied, smiling at him. "How are you liking it, working out here on an uninhabited, alien planet?"

"Could do without all the toilet cleaning," he answered bluntly. "Speaking of, may I?" He pointed toward the back of the compartment.

"Please do," she answered, nodding.

Arno walked to the living area behind the office, leaving Erica to wait for him to leave. With nothing else to do, she turned her attention back to her report and proofread it. She attached Sylvio's analysis data, as well as prepared a second transmission to send it ahead to Epsilon Station for the Geologists to get their own preliminary analysis. She almost didn't hear Arno stepping back out into the office, spotting him out of the corner of her eye and looking up to him.

"All finished?" She asked, surprised by how quick he had been.

"Yeah. Wasn't much to do, really. You keep a really clean house up here," answered Arno.

"I try," she answered. "Anything you need before you head off?"

Arno shook his head. "No, I'm just-" he stopped, his dark blue eyes rolling as he seemed to have a thought. "Actually, yeah. There is something I wanted to ask."

"Go ahead," prompted Erica.

"What're the requirements to..." he hesitated. "To learn how to pilot the sub?"

Erica tilted her head. "You want to be a submarine pilot?"

"Yeah. I can still be a diver, but I thought that maybe... You know, if Linus ever needed a day off. I could fill in for him, once I have the certification that is."

Erica considered the proposition, leaning back in her seat. She thought of the requirements for submarine piloting, and compared them in her head to Arno's resume. "You may need to take a few extra courses, but it's possible. We may be able to arrange something."

His face brightened with hope. "Really?"

She put up her hands, motioning for him to be at ease. "Don't get too far ahead yet. I'll need to do a bit of digging on what the required courses will be. Best case scenario, we can get them sent down here and get Linus as your instructor so you can learn hands on. But it'll probably take me a few days to arrange it. Check back with me in about forty eight hours and we'll see what I've dug up."

"I can do that!" Arno said, ecstatic. "Thanks boss, appreciate it!"

"You're welcome, Arno. Keep up the good work," Erica bade as he left the room, and she turned back to her terminal to finish her report, adding Dr. Berkel's data and making a memo for herself to look into submarine training for Arno, sending it to her terminal at the base.

~~~~~

Linus Beelek kept his eyes focused on the deep blue beyond the massive window in front of him, ever watchful of unexpected obstacles the sonar was late to warn him about. The path to Epsilon station was almost completely open ocean, but he was always cautious for unexpected surprises. Especially when he was running the submarine at maximum throttle, occasionally cutting the engine to save power and letting the Red Snapper's momentum carry them a ways before he'd ease the throttle forward again.

The Ion core's charge had dropped exponentially over the last hour. The drain had increased, only slightly, but when they had started at forty-three percent power it'd been gradual. Now, it was happening much quicker. The gauge had already dropped to nineteen percent when he noticed it. Now they were only a minute from the docking bay of Epsilon station, and the power was sitting at nine percent.

He'd activated the approach beacon at the fifteen minute mark as was protocol. They were only sixty seconds from the base now. They had just enough power to get inside. _'We'll get into the bay, and the mechanics and Ion tech will take care of this,'_he thought, confident...

But his heart sank to his stomach as solid steel filled his vision. He hurriedly pulled back on the tiller, activating the reverse thrusters. The submarine slowed to a crawl, stopping just a meter shy of impact with the bay doors. They were shut... they were not supposed to be shut after the beacon had been activated. The crews knew they were coming - they were _supposed_to be there to see them inside! He cast a desperate gaze to the console. Four percent power...

Thinking fast, he reached for the power modulator, and twisted all of the dials except for engines and ballast. The lights throughout the red snapper dimmed, save for the forward beacons which still cast their light upon the steel doors. The oxygen regulators became silent, and he saw a warning light for the kitchen appliances showing they had gone offline, including the refrigerator where their food was kept. The medical robot went offline, and the moon pool's hyperbaric chamber went offline.

He keyed in communications with Epsilon station. He chose the docking bay frequency, knowing the solar technician was already off for the night. "Red Snapper to Docking Bay, respond."

Silence...

"Red Snapper calling docking bay, respond immediately! Our vehicle is low on power, I repeat, low on power. Situation critical, I repeat, critical!" He urged.

Still no response came.

"This is not like Vasag," he whispered to himself. "Something's wrong..."

The door to the bridge opened, and he heard Arno's voice call up to him. "Linus! What's happening? Why's half the sub shut down?"

"The power drain in the reactor doubled enroute," he answered. "We still had enough to reach the base. We _have_reached the base. But the docking bay doors are closed."

"What?! How can that be? They're supposed to know we're here, right?"

"That's the idea," he replied. "I'm cutting power to everything before we're dead in the water. We have twenty minutes at best before we don't even have enough power to get inside."

"What can we do?"

Linus thought for a moment, milling over all of the emergency response plans he had memorized since he had taken this assignment. Then, he had an idea. "There's one option," he said. "Someone will have to go out there, get in through the service entrance and find one of the mechanics."

"Where's the service entrance?" Arno asked, moving to the window and squinting his eyes to peer through the dark water.

"Follow the light," Linus directed him, reaching for the searchlight control. He steered the high intensity beam downward and toward the port side of the sub. He had to search for a few seconds before the light settled on a spot on the wall - a red circle with a tiny viewport to the left of the bay doors. "Right there," he said. "It's that small hatch. There's a manual release on the outside. Pull it open and you'll be able to swim up to the docking bay through the flood control tunnel."

"Won't the pressure from the pumps push me out?" Arno asked. "I don't want to be thrown into a filter."

"The pumps won't be on. They only kick in if the water level exceeds a certain amount," replied Linus. "You'll come up through a hatch in the floor behind the pool. Find one of the mechanics and get them to open the doors."

"Okay!" Arno agreed, turning to run back the way he had come. He stopped mid step. "Wait... how do I get off the sub?"

"I'll route enough power to the moon pool to open the door, but only enough for you to get out. But I'll have to close them again. Without power the pressure in there will start decreasing and we'll take on water in seconds," replied Linus. "Move as fast as you can."

"Okay, going!" Arno exclaimed.

Arno was practically flying down the stairs as Erica and Dr. Berkel reached them, nearly flattening them both as the tall, stocky Orcanu dropped ten steps to the floor, landing with a grunt. "Sorry!" He called before he started running again.

"Arno, what's going on?" Erica demanded.

"Linus will explain! I gotta run!" Arno called as he ran down the hall to the moon pool, nearly barreling into the doors when they didn't open on his approach.

He hit the manual release, and pried the doors open by hand. With the hydraulics disabled, they parted easily. From there, he stood at the edge of the moon pool, calling out to the intercom. "Okay, I'm in the moon pool! Open the doors!"

"_Where's your rebreather?"_Linus asked.

"Don't need one, I can hold my breath for three quarters of an hour! We need every second here!"

Without waiting for a reply, Arno sucked in the deepest breath he could manage, and dove into the water. He plunged toward the articulated doors below. At first they didn't open, but then with a hiss they parted just enough for him to pass through the opening. No sooner did they part that he was hit by a light torrent from the sea outside pushing its way in. He grabbed the edge and pulled himself out, making sure his tail was clear of the doors as they closed again, and swam toward the front of the sub.

He followed the hull until he reached the curving front. Linus was still shining the searchlight on the hatch, and Arno swam toward it. He was happy for the light - in the darkness of the sea at night he'd never be able to see where he was going. He reached the hatch, and found the handle for the manual release. Placing his feet on the bedrock the base's structure rested on, he lifted the hatch, bubbles escaping between his teeth from the effort. The hatch opened, and he lifted it the rest of the way to swim inside, pulling it closed behind him.

The service tunnels were lit only by low-powered lighting, running parallel to the many kinds of machinery the docking port used to secure the Red Snapper when not in use. He pulled himself along the pipes running along the ceiling, making a turn at a fork and briefly wondering if he'd gone the right way before swimming face-first into a barely-visible metal pole. He studied the pole, and saw it was half of the support of a ladder. Smiling with glee, he grabbed the ladder and scrambled to climb it. Halfway up, his body left the water and felt heavier as gravity took its full effect on him, but in his rush it was barely enough to slow him. He reached the top of the ladder, hit the release for the hatch and all but threw himself through it causing the door to open with a loud _bang_as it went over and hit the floor behind him.

Arno lifted himself out and found himself in the Epsilon Station docking bay. At first, he considered running over to the control console to open the doors himself, but decided against it. He didn't know how to operate the doors, and followed Linus' instructions to find one of the mechanics. He looked briefly around the docking bay for one of them, but didn't see anyone. Fortunately he knew where one of them lived, and made a beeline to the far corner of the bay toward the elevator.

He took the elevator to the living area, three floors up, and stepped out into the corridor. He made a left turn, and followed the hall until he found a door marked 'V. Marutyan'. He lifted a hand and pounded hard on the door. He waited, and then knocked again a moment later. "Mr. Marutyan!" He called out. "Please open up, it's urgent!"

The door finally opened, and a half-awake Selachi, a few years younger if not the same age as Linus, stepped out. He had gray scalp hair, styles into two braids running down the sides of his head, and normally combed straight at the back, it was messed up from turning in his sleep. He rubbed his eyes, his rugged features contorted in a scowl as he looked at the Orcanu.

"Boy, it's the middle of the night," he growled. "What's so important?"

"The Red Snapper's stuck outside! It's almost out of power!" Arno exclaimed.

Vasag's head shook briskly, his braids flinging side-to-side, and his eyes snapped open. He was wide awake now. "What?!" He demanded.

"It's true! Nobody opened the doors when we got back!"

Vasag cursed angrily. "Aram! He's supposed to be listening for the beacon!" He growled, stepping out of his room and making a dash down the hall to the next door to his own, lifting a large, calloused hand and slamming his fist against it. The resounding bang was far louder than Arno's knocks were. "Aram! Wake up, you slacking simpleton!" He practically roared, a mouthful of fangs bared as he glared at the door.

No answer came, even as he knocked twice more. Arno reluctantly stepped forward, feeling intimidated by the angry mechanic. But he remembered time was of the essence, and bravely stepped forward. "Mr. Marutyan," he said. "The sub's going to run out of power any minute. We have to let them in!"

Vasag cursed under his breath again, growling in the native, snarling dialect of the Selachi - a language Arno didn't know too well, but knew enough that he dared not try to repeat what was said... He followed Vasag, nearly missing the elevator as the Selachi boarded first and wasted no time riding it down to the docking bay. He stormed off the moment the door opened, making a beeline to the control console and keying in the command and passcode to open the bay doors.

The room became filled with a deafening, grinding sound as the machinery of the bay doors worked to pull them open. Arno had to throw his hands over his ears, gritting his teeth against the noise. It lasted for what felt like minutes before it finally stopped. He opened his slightly teary eyes to look into the pool, and saw the dark form of the Red Snapper moving slowly inside. Vasag worked the controls again, and Arno heard the sound of the mechanical clamps moving in and securing the sub, raising it partially out of the water.

Half of the bridge's domed window emerged from the pool, and Arno ran around to the front to look inside. Arno waved to Linus, and to Erica and Dr. Berkel who he could just make out through the water. They all waved back. Linus gave him a thumbs-up and nodded in approval to the Orcanu for his swift action.

Arno put his hands over his ears again as the bay doors began to close, and the submarine let out a long, sharp hiss as the cabin started to equalize pressure. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Vasag. The Selachi offered him a set of ear protectors. Arno took them and hurriedly put them on, nodding in thanks to the mechanic as he was able to relax, the sounds cut to a tolerable level. It took several moments for the Red Snapper to equalize pressure. During the process, however, the lights flickered several times. Vasag waved Arno over to him, leading him over to a panel on the far wall, which he pulled open to reveal a heavy power cable, pulling it free.

Arno helped him drag the heavy cable over to the submarine, where the mechanic pried open another panel on the size to expose an electrical port. He plugged the cable into the Red Snapper, and the lights glowed to life again, fed power directly from the base's grid. The airlock door opened, and a bridge extended from the Snapper's hull to the deck. Erica, Dr. Berkel and Linus crossed it, each of them looking relieved as they took in the docking bay. Vasag took off his ear protectors and approached the three, looking disgusted.

"Sorry you got locked out," he said. "My stupid apprentice was in charge of the beacon tonight. He should've been down here to let you in."

"Have you found him yet?" Erica asked. Arno could hear the annoyance in her voice, and knew she was as disgusted as Vasag by Aram's failure to do his job.

"No, he didn't answer his door," said Vasag. "Either he's hiding from me because he knows the shit he's in, or he isn't there - in which case, I know where to start looking."

"I'd like to join you," Erica said. A statement, not a request.

"By all means," Vasag returned, gesturing to the elevator.

As the two departed, Arno couldn't help but swallow. They were on the warpath, and in their sights was one very foolish Mechanic's Apprentice. This wasn't going to be pretty...

Aram Saroyan and Makela Kekumu were deep in slumber in the dark room. Their clothes lay discarded on the floor beside the bed, with only a blanket to cover their naked bodies, sticky from their earlier activities that night. They had run each other ragged when Makela had finished her shift and met Aram for their nightly get-together. Barely a minute after entering the room, they had stripped each other of their body suits and made love vigorously on Makela's cot before collapsing from exhaustion and euphoria.

Both jolted awake when the pounding came to Makela's door. The Gekkotan female awoke first, rising in alarm as she looked around the room. Another three hard knocks, and Aram shot upright, his amber eyes catching the light of Makela's dimmed desk lamp to reflect in the dark.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Someone's at the door," Makela answered, climbing off her boyfriend and putting her feet on the floor.

Aram reached out to grasp her arm. "It's probably nothing serious," he said. "Come back to bed. They'll leave."

"If they're knocking on _my_door, Aram, it probably _is_serious," Makela stated, a series of worst case scenarios already flitting through her mind. "The solar panels must be down - what time is it? Oh solar flares burn me, am I late for my shift?" She felt a momentary pang of panic course through her, scrambling to pull on her body suit.

The knock came again as Makela covered up, only halfway-fastening the front, leaving part of her upper chest exposed as she answered the door. Fortunately, she was still fairly decent, which was a relief when she saw the Operations Manager, Erica Balmer, standing outside her door. The chief mechanic stood beside her, but Makela was barely aware of his presence. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt a chill run up her back, now almost _certain_she was in trouble...

"Ms. Balmer," she said. "Oh dear, I'm late for work, aren't I? I'm so sorry, I'll-!"

"Makela," Erica cut her off. "We're not here for you. We're looking for Aram. We know he's here."

"Aram!" Vasag bellowed, making Makela jump. "Get out here, boy!"

Makela heard Aram practically falling out of the bed, and looked over her shoulder to see him scrambling to pull on his suit. He stumbled haphazardly over to the door, only halfway into his suit, and saw his employer there - both of them, since Erica was technically both their bosses. He gave a sheepish smile, still trying to pull his suit on.

"Hey, Vasag. Need my help?" The young Komodian asked.

"It's_you_who's going to need help when I'm done with you, Aram," growled the middle-aged Selachi.

"Uh... what?" Aram asked, worriedly.

"Where's the bracelet?" Vasag asked, pointing at Aram's arm. "The proximity beacon. Why aren't you wearing it?"

Aram lifted his arm to look at it, and then looked back into the room blankly. Then, slowly, he turned to look at Erica as if seeing her for the first time. "Oh shit..." he groaned, his features contorting to a sour look.

"Figured it out, did you?" Erica demanded, arms crossed.

"Manager... boss, I'm _so_sorry," Aram said, cupping his hands together. "I must've left it in my room or something. I never heard it. Makela and I spent the night together, and-"

"And because you were too busy getting your dick wet, the sub was nearly left dead in the water!" Vasag bellowed, cutting him off. Makela, even though the shout wasn't aimed at her, still recoiled from the volume of his voice. "They're having a power core malfunction! It was barely functional by the time we got them inside!"

"The power core's malfunctioning?" Aram repeated. "What's wrong with it?"

"That is what we're going to find out," stated Vasag.

"First thing's first," Erica cut in. "Clean yourself up and report to my office in five minutes. We need to talk about how much of your salary you'll be losing for this blunder."

"W-Wait, you're docking my pay?!" Aram demanded. "But I've got loans to cover!"

"If you were that worried about your debts, you wouldn't be slacking off," Erica retorted. "Four minutes, fifty five seconds. Hop to it."

The door closed, and two sets of footsteps moved away from the door. Makela turned to look at Aram, seeing the distressed look on his face. He turned from her, his clawed fingers scraping against the back of his head as he came to terms with everything that he had heard.

"Aram. Are you okay?" She asked.

"Well that's a dumb question," he returned in a sour tone. "I just got reamed on. I'm about to lose pay, all because of a simple mistake."

"You'll know for next time," she reasoned. "We've all only been here a few weeks. We're-"

"Forget it," he cut her off, pulling his suit on the rest of the way. "I gotta go, hun. I'll see you later, okay?"

Makela frowned, wanting to say something to Aram but unable to get the words out before he was heading to the door. He kissed her cheek, and left without another word. She sighed in defeat, annoyed with herself for not speaking up. But she pushed the thought aside and made her way back over to her bed. She stripped off her body suit again, leaving her smooth, shiny scales bare as she laid back down on the bed, settling in as the foam and gel conformed to accommodate her figure, her tail draped over her legs as she drifted back to sleep.

Linus stood well out of Vasag's way as his fellow Selachi examined the Ion core of the Red Snapper. As soon as Vasag had returned from retrieving his apprentice - who, strangely was still absent, Linus filled him in on what had been happening on their way back to Epsilon Station. The core had been losing power at an unprecedented rate which had increased overtime. Even now, watching the status monitor above the core, the charge from the power cables was slow going as Vasag tried to find the cause.

"Anything?" Linus asked, hopeful.

"Power couplings are all intact," Vasag answered. "The core has no leaks." He studied the status monitor, his lip curling. "Ion Emissions are higher than normal though. You're burning excess power," he rubbed his chin in thought. "All excess power should be going to the capacitors and cycling back through the regulator. It's got to be one of those." He looked at Linus. "Could take me a day or two to be sure. Will you be needing the Snapper again?"

Linus shook his head. "I don't think Erica plans to head back out for a while, no," he replied. "I'll check with her, but from my point of view I say take your time."

Vasag nodded. "Alright. I'll make sure she's ready."

Linus looked up at the submarine, arching an eye ridge as he took in the sleek, titanium-alloy frame of the vessel. "We've only had this thing for three weeks. How can it be having problems like this so soon?"

"You didn't know the Red Snapper came second hand?" Vasag asked.

Linus looked at him. "I was under the assumption Ms. Balmer had it special-ordered."

"She did, but it wasn't new," he replied. "This thing's at least a year old now. Probably due for routine maintenance."

"Don't suppose the warranty would still be intact?" Linus asked.

"Only if she also got the original buyer's bill of sale. And if they barely used the thing."

Linus let himself smile lightly. It hadn't been a serious question, but Vasag's tone suggested he knew that. "But you should be able to fix it?"

"Oh yes. I made sure to get a surplus of spare parts before we came here," replied Vasag. "I can keep this boat running for two years easy if all goes well."

Linus nodded his approval to the mechanic. "Good. Always best to be prepared."

"Especially when you're going to be stuck somewhere for a year or more," agreed Vasag. "It's a good thing I doubled the order. Luck favours the prepared as they say, so if that holds out we won't need to replace it again for a while."

"You believe in luck?" Linus asked, raising an eyeridge.

"You don't?"

"Luck didn't save me from a laser through both my lungs in the last war. That was good medical technology, breathing for me and rebuilding my damaged organs."

"Yet somehow missing your heart?" Vasag pointed out.

"I blame that on how the Grunies can't aim worth a damn."

"Aimed well enough to hit you under the arm. Pretty narrow targeting area."

Linus scowled, knowing he didn't have a retort for that without contradicting himself. "Bah," he grunted.

Vasag saw the look on his face, chuckled with triumph and turned his attention back to the job waiting for him. "I should wait until Aram's up," he said. "But part of me doesn't want to after this screwup..."

Linus frowned. "It was an oversight, Vasag," he reasoned. "Everyone makes mistakes."

"Tonight's blunder shows me his mind is more focused on his next piece of tail rather than his work, and I don't like slackers," the mechanic said with bared teeth.

"He's a kid," Linus argued. "You were one too, once."

"Not one like that," returned Vasag.

"Implying you had trouble getting laid?" Linus asked. Vasag shot him a scathing look. "Take a joke, Marutyan," Linus returned scornfully. "Give the kid a chance. It was his first time being left with any sort of responsibility, and _no one_could've expected what happened today. It worked out. Give him a lecture if you feel the need to - though I suspect Erica has given him a thorough one already. But don't take away his job."

Vasag sighed. "I won't," he said. "Even I'm not _that_much of a hardass. But he's going to have to prove himself or he can find another journeyman to apprentice him. I won't waste my time on someone who isn't serious about the trade."

With that, Vasag stormed out of the engine room, using the opposite door from Linus to head to the port side corridor. Linus watched him leave, and then let out a sigh of his own before he left the engine room, taking his time as he walked down the starboard corridor and headed for his cabin behind the bridge, looking forward to a well-earned rest.

"A whole quarter day's pay?" Aram asked in utter disbelief Erica as she finished explaining the apprentice mechanic's punishment. "Come on, Ms. Balmer! That's at least five hundred credits I'm losing there - that _can't_be legal."

"You're in the Blue Star Sector, Aram, and therefore under laws of the Admiralty Board and not the Industrial Labour Union," replied Erica. "Blunders like this have consequences, which are at the discretion of the site operations authority - which is me." She folded her hands across her desk in front of her, locking her fingers together. "I'm not vindictive. I have no problem with you seeing Ms. Kekumu, and you're well within your rights pursuing a relationship so long as it does not interfere with your work, or hers. You're both here under military salary, and that means you are on shift all day, every day. You were assigned to receive the proximity beacon when the Red Snapper returned and you almost left us stranded. For that, I dock you a percentage of your salary."

Aram hung his head and sank back in his seat, staring at Erica's desk. She watched him for a moment, waiting for him to speak up. When he didn't, she spoke instead. "Well, have you anything else to say?"

"What_could_I say?" He returned, bitterly, throwing his arms out in a helpless shrug.

"You could start with an apology, and make sure not to repeat this in the future," replied Erica.

"I already apologized," returned Aram, in a sharper voice than he probably intended.

Erica's hands separated and slapped down on the desk. "Stow the attitude, Aram," she said, and waited again.

Aram sucked in a breath, rising from his seat and standing at attention, meeting Erica's eyes and not looking away. This was an enforced practice in the Blue Star Sector. Breaking eye contact was considered a sign of dishonesty, and Aram knew Erica could have easily issued him a worse punishment for his mistake. If he added insubordination to his offenses or gave any sign he wasn't being sincere, the punishment could still be made worse if Erica saw fit to do so. She didn't intend to of course, but she wanted Aram to remember that she could.

"I understand that I have failed to live up to my responsibility," Aram recited

To Erica, his apology sounded practiced. She wondered briefly if he had rehearsed this, or if he was really making it up on the fly - if the latter, it was well thought out. "I offer my sincerest apologies, as well as a promise that I will do better in the future."

Short, but effective. Erica gave him an approving nod. "Head back to your quarters for now, Aram," she said. "Get some sleep and report to Vasag tomorrow at your usual time. You two will have some work to do tomorrow."

"Can't I head back to Makela's?" He asked.

"I can't tell you 'no', but I'd ask you to leave her be," said Erica. "She's probably gone back to sleep by now and she has her own work to do tomorrow. I'd like to have both of you at your best."

"Okay," Aram agreed, but she still heard the disappointment in his voice.

Erica dismissed him with a wave of her hand, and then turned to her terminal to make the report of her disciplinary action on Aram.

Starting time, ending time, length of meeting - all of the usual nonsense that was the Board's way of keeping tabs on their investments. Once the report was filled out, she attached it to the daily transmission she had started aboard the Red Snapper. She double checked everything, making sure the diving reports, preliminary results on the seabed samples and the report she finished were attached before pressing the send key, sending the wireless message on its way up to the control ship for the Operations Director to do as he saw fit. Whatever that was...

The message was barely sent a moment before Erica heard a beeping outside her door. Her door was locked, and coded with a message that she was retiring for the night and to not disturb her. Someone was punching in her override password. The door slid open with a hiss, and in stepped Dr. Sylvio Berkel, who let the door close behind him before he crossed the room to Erica's desk.

"You look tired," he said.

"Is that your professional assessment?" She asked him half-heartedly.

Sylvio smiled at her, and then offered her his arm. "Come on. Let me help you unwind."

She lifted a hand to rest on his arm and rose slowly to her feet, following Sylvio to the back room behind her office. Like with her office on the Red Snapper, her workspace was separated from her living space only by a single wall. But unlike on the sub, there was a door, and more beyond it when they stepped through. Inside was a well-equipped living area, with a washroom tucked away at the back.

Erica's room had a small couch, semicircular in shape wrapping around a holo-table which was currently set to play the Sector News Network, though the volume was off. Opposite from the table were two pieces of fitness equipment - an elliptical machine and a rower. To the left of the seating was where she slept, with the same protocol standard single-wide bed that was intended for only one occupant but had enough extra space that two could fit into it if they lay close enough together.

Erica walked to the foot of the bed, and stood waiting as Silvio unfastened the front of her body suit for her. She felt it parting, and let Silvio peel it off her, feeling a mild chill run up her back as the coolness of the room found her. Once the suit had parted down to her waist, Sylvio pulled it back for her and let her pull her tail free of the sleeve, briefly giving him a view of her buttocks before the tail fell over her backside again. From there, he let the suit slide down to her ankles on its own, and she stepped out of it.

Erica turned to face Sylvio, seeing him already taking his own suit off, opening it the same way he had opened hers and easing his limbs free of the sleeves before pushing it down to his waist. Erica stepped forward, lifting her arms to wrap around his neck and parting her lips as she leaned closer. He had his arms around her the moment their lips men, pulling her naked form close until their chests touched, the barely noticeable swell of her breasts vanishing as she pressed flat to his body. He welcomed her into his embrace and met her lips eagerly, and she felt his hands already exploring her figure, running down the curve of her sides until he found her hips, and slid them around to her rump. He squeezed and fondled her, and pressed her hips into his.

As this all happened, she removed her hands from his neck and slid them to his waist, working off the rest of his body suit until it joined hers on the floor. Only then did she break the kiss, grinning at him as she had an idea. "Can we do the thing again tonight?" She asked.

"Again?" He asked. "We did it last time."

"It helps me relax," she replied. "How about a trade. You do it... I suck it." She offered in a husky voice.

Sylvio's eyes widened with intrigue. She knew he'd never pass up an offer like that. "Deal," he said. "You first, my bold mistress."

She nodded, and lowered her eyes as she began to lower herself to one knee, bringing herself to eye level with Sylvio's crotch. The Dolphori male's erect member was on full presentation for her, and she licked her lips in anticipation, before sliding her hands around to hold his backside. She opened her mouth and took his length inside, running her tongue along the underside of his cock to taste him. He shuddered at the feeling of her tongue, and rested his hands upon her shoulders as she took him as deep as she dared.

Then, sealing the length of flesh in her mouth with her lips, she began to suck. Sylvio's pleased groan reached her ears, and she began to bob her head back and forth. She enjoyed the musky, salty taste of her lover, taking her time with her ministrations. She felt his hands adding to her motions, easing her forward and back as needed but never being forceful with her, letting her do as she needed at her own pace. Her tongue danced around his length, bringing an occasional groan from Sylvio.

She lathered his length up nicely, ensuring it was nice and lubricated for what lay ahead. She rolled her eyes to look up at him as he took one hand off her and hunched forward, reaching for something behind her as she sucked him off. His hand returned to his side, holding a blanket he'd taken from the bed.

Seeing the blanket, she knew he was ready to move on. With a smile, she withdrew her mouth from his cock, stood up, and held her arms tight to her sides as she turned her back to him, closing her eyes to savour what was to come.. She felt him pull the blanket, now folded width-wise, around her body. He pulled it snug, just as she wanted him to, and made a tight loop around her, trapping her arms at her sides. Then, he kept his hand on the seam on the back to hold it there as he guided her down to the bed and helped her onto her back. Only then did she open her eyes to see Sylvio looming over her. She was wrapped up tight in the blanket, and with her own body weight now holding it closed, she was at his mercy.

"I'll never understand how a woman with such authority enjoys being in such a vulnerable position," he remarked with a smile. "Wondering now if I shouldn't have pursued a doctorate in psychology instead of marine xenobiology."

"If you'd have done that, would you even have made it here to Redwater?" Erica asked, pointing out the obvious.

"You raise a good point."

"Now, are you going to psycho-analyze me or are you going to finish what I started?" She asked in challenge, spreading her knees for the male.

Sylvio smiled at her, and slid closer to get into position. He laid his hands on her knees, and she felt his member prodding at her sex. Erica leaned back her head and sighed blissfully, enjoying the tingling sensation that followed his prodding. She squirmed in the blanket binding her arms together, bringing credence to Sylvio's earlier statement about how much she enjoyed being vulnerable. She wasn't truly helpless, of course - with an arch of her back the blanket would loosen enough that she could get herself free, but the illusion of it was enough to entice her.

Sylvio's teasing came to an end as he began to ease his member into her. Erica gasped as she felt her labia being parted, trying not to arch herself in response. She wrapped her legs around him, and her tail wrapped once around his, anchoring them together. Sylvio apparently saw no reason to hold back anymore, as he began to rock his hips against her, working his member inside of her. She moaned in bliss, every motion sending ripples of pleasure coursing through her body. She felt Sylvio's hands sliding from her knees to her backside, lifting her slightly, and he began to thrust harder and faster into her.

She moaned again, opening her eyes to look up at him. His eyes were still closed, and his muscles were tense. Even amidst their lovemaking she admired how well Sylvio took care of himself. He certainly wasn't as fit as Erica but he was a handsome male nonetheless. The darker gray of his skin made it harder to see the outline of his body against the gloom of her quarters, his pale undertones making his heaving chest and smooth abdomen stand out.

As Erica admired the man, she started to feel the pleasure building within her. She leaned back her head and grit her teeth, every thrust of Sylvio's cock into her passage bringing her closer to peak. "Oooh," She moaned in bliss, squirming again in her bindings. "Sylvio..."

She felt him quickening his pace as she whispered his name. Erica grit her teeth, feeling an orgasm looming on the horizon. She wanted to hold it for as long as possible. Sylvio did not make it easy for her, summoning all of his remaining energy to pound her into submission. Soon, she could no longer hold herself back. With a cry to the stars she arched her back and climaxed, feeling her body convulsing as throes of pleasure rippled through her body. Sylvio did not slow even as she climaxed, and soon she felt him too hitting his peak. Several spurts of seed filled her passage, and Sylvio moaned in ecstasy.

As their climaxes faded, Sylvio lay hunched over Erica, gasping for breath. Erica lay in silence for a moment before looking up at her lover, smiling at him. "Well performed," she said, lifting her arms free from the blanket and resting her hands on his shoulders. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"If you did... then so did I," he replied, panting. He took a moment to collect his breath before he spoke again. "Moments like this I wish I didn't spend so much time in the lab. Perhaps I'd have more stamina."

"Keep diving with me long enough, you'll get there," she said encouragingly, before she moved her hands to his sides and turned them over, putting herself on top of the male cetacean. "Until then," she whispered as she began to roll her hips against him, working his length within her to coax it back to hardness, reminding him that their night together was far from over. "I have enough energy for the both of us..."

"You sound determined," Sylvio remarked, meeting her gaze.

"I did promise I would make up for lost time," she reminded him.

"That you did," he whispered back, and said nothing more as she began to ride him through the night...