Mission Cruz gulped Already That would explain why nobody was here The teams are exploring the reef around Aldabra in Ridley Team Earhart went this morning Cousteau is next She glanced at her watch If you hurry you might make it Holding Hubbard Cruz scrambled to his feet He planted a quick kiss on the dog’s head before handing him off to Taryn He sprinted for the door then spun back My gear I’ll take care of it Taryn waved her free arm Go Woof barked Hubbard Cruz didn’t need to be told again Aquatics was on the lowest level of the ship six decks down He flew down flight after flight the soles of his shoes squealing at every corner He smacked his comm pin Cruz to Marisol Coronado You’re here came the enthusiastic reply I was just coming up to meet you Hungry Kind of You want to swing by and we can Wish I could can’t You sound out of breath Are you running Team mission Ridley Do me favor Call Dad Tell him I’m back Sure Have fun Thanks Tía Cruz out He flew off the bottom step of the last flight of steps onto B deck Swinging around a post Cruz catapulted himself into the maze of corridors that led to aquatics His lungs were heaving by the time he reached the outer door of the submarine bay Planting his palms on each side of the round window Cruz peered through the glass Nooooo The compartment was filled with seawater Through the greenish blue haze he could make out the tip of Ridley’s tail moving through the opening in the ship’s hull He was late Again Panting Cruz could do nothing but watch the bay door close behind the sub 8
Missed your ride huh Fanchon Quills was coming up behind him The science tech lab chief was carrying fins and a diving helmet Her caramel curls the tips dyed sunset orange spilled out of a black and pink striped head scarf Wearing an MC camera headset the lens flipped up Fanchon looked like a butterfly with one antenna My team went to check out the reef in Ridley Without me So Cruz gave her a puzzled look What was he supposed to do Swim after them Give em a shout she urged You think they’d come back Fanchon smirked I’m no pilot but I’m pretty sure the sub can turn Cruz hit his comm pin Cruz Coronado to uh He had no idea who to ask for Orion didn’t have a sub pilot not since Tripp Scarlatos Jaz prompted Fanchon Huh Dr Jazayeri is the new aquatics director Came in over break Goes by Jaz He got it Cruz Coronado to Jaz Jaz here replied a woman I’m on Team Cousteau I got back a few minutes ago I saw you leave I know it’s probably too late but He gave Fanchon a helpless look There was a long silence We’re coming about now Cruz said Jaz Meet us at the aft deck of aquatics Cruz rocketed into the air I’ll be right there Cruz out Hold on said the tech lab chief when Cruz would have taken off Fanchon removed her MC camera and placed it on Cruz’s head You’ll need this Thanks Fanchon Cruz hurried down the corridor A minute later he was on the port stern watching the giant bubble that was Ridley rise 9
up out of the waves Jaz expertly maneuvered the vehicle to within a few feet of Orion’s back deck making it easy for Cruz to jump to the sub’s ladder Scampering up the rungs he dropped through the top hatch she’d opened for him Emmett Lani Bryndis Sailor and Dugan were seated in a semicircle around a woman in the pilot’s seat Jaz had olive skin and wide dark gray eyes rimmed in purplish black eyeliner She’d twisted her long black hair into a side ponytail and a gold hoop earring was caught in her thick hair Welcome aboard Thanks for doing a U-turn No problem Cruz moved past Bryndis to sit at the end of the bench Her fair hair was braided into two loose pigtails Pale blue eyes glanced up at Cruz She smiled He melted And stumbled Emmett caught him before he did a face-plant Sailor put a hand to her mouth but it did little to mute her snort Jaz nodded to the empty seat next to her You can sit here if you want That’s perfect exclaimed Lani Jaz Cruz is a sub pilot too Not officially corrected Cruz He slid into the copilot’s seat I went through all the training though I uh never actually took Ridley out of Orion’s docking bay But hey I’m a great pilot on land That got a laugh A joystick in each hand Jaz backed the sub away from the Orion Once they were about 20 feet from the ship Jaz tapped her computer screen and they heard a whirring noise The ballast tanks on each side of the vehicle began venting Cruz knew the tanks were used for buoyancy buoyancy They released air allowing the sub to sink To rise the pilot filled the tanks with air from the compressor The submarine slowly descended beneath the choppy waves Ridley to Orion We are good to dive dive dive Jaz said into her headset The sub glided through the turquoise waters at a downward angle Jaz flipped on the headlights Hundreds of silvery blue fish parted half 10
darting left and the other half zipping right Cruz wondered how they decided who went which way Some people think we’ve explored every inch of the Earth and there’s nothing left to see said Jaz If only they could come down here We figure that at least one third of life under the sea is still undiscovered Since there may be as many as a million different species in the oceans that leaves plenty for you guys and your kids and their kids to find She’d no sooner spoken the words than a spotted eagle ray glided toward them Its triangular fins flapped like wings in the water It’s so beautiful cooed Sailor It’s so big gasped Emmett It’s so leaving said Jaz as the ray’s long thin tail tapped her side of the bubble Start taking photos explorers Your MC cameras are connected to Orion’s computer so you’ll also get identification data on your subjects unless of course you discover a new species Everyone began snapping pictures Cruz aimed his camera at a spinning spinning vortex of yellow Bengal snappers thought of the word photo and shut his eyes for the required two seconds When he opened them he saw a tubular trumpetfish swimming vertically Cruz took another picture After that came a spotted potato grouper an orange black and white striped Seychelles anemonefish and a silvery white geometric geometric moray eel with black dots sprinkled on its head The little spots in a geometric pattern practically dared you to connect them Cruz couldn’t capture all the action fast enough Soon a rocky bulge emerged from the blue haze We’re coming up on the atoll’s barrier reef said Jaz She was giving Cruz a sideways glance Wanna drive You mean it I do She handed him his own headset grabbed her tablet and they swapped seats Removing his MC camera Cruz replaced it with the radio headset and settled in behind the console Cruz wrapped his hands around the 11
