Rook was not happy when Algol’s Shadow turned away from her path to Sanctaphrax. The Admiral had expected this to mean rage-induced aquatic screams and murderous bites all over the Algol’s hull. Barring that, disinterest.
Instead, Rook had placed herself in front of the main observation window, crossed her arms, and fixed the Admiral with a pouting expression. Since the Admiral could see the observation deck from her seat, the pink face was always present, albeit distant.
“I have to hand it to her, she’s good at communicating her feelings,” Sparkler said.
“She’ll just have to deal,” the Admiral said, returning Rook’s pout with a steeled glare of her own.
“I’ll talk to her!” Granite said, climbing up the ladder to the bridge.
“...Talk?” Sparkler snorted.
“I shall endeavor to communicate with the maiden of the sea and tell her that we’ll be back on her path after we take a pit stop!”
“How do you plan to do that?”
Granite held up a small rock in the tips of his wings. “Why, through gestures and props, of course!”
Sparkler facehooved.
“Give it a shot,” the Admiral said.
“If she eats through the glass, we’re letting you drown,” the Captain added.
“Hah! Me, drown? We’re near the surface, I’ll beat her in hoof to hoof combat!”
The Admiral put her wing to her face and let out a sigh.
“Fine, fine, I’ll get on with it.” He trotted over to Rook and waved. Her pouty expression vanished, replaced with a warm smile as her attention fixed on him. In one wing, he held up the rock. In the other, he had a pointed piece of metal that represented the Algol. He had the Algol follow a straight path until it was about to pass the rock. It turned sharply, went to the rock, and then went back to its path.
“There’s no way she gets that,” Sparkler said.
Rook proved her wrong by taking some of the clotted blood from under her eyes and smearing it on the window, tracing the path Granite had just outlined.
“Well how about that!” Granite laughed. “You’re a regular genius!”
Rook tapped the detour on the path with her hoof and nodded while she traced it to the circle that represented Sanctaphrax. She shook her head when she traced it back up. Quickly, she moved her hoof along the path, went down to Sanctaphrax, and then went off Sanctaphrax at an angle.
“And she’s suggesting we don’t backtrack. Mare knows how to navigate.”
“She lives at the bottom of the ocean and hasn’t gotten eaten yet, of course she does,” the Captain said. “At least she’ll stop giving you the puppy-eyes, eh, Admiral?”
The Admiral tapped her wingtips together. “It’s acceptable. Are we approaching the Chain?”
“Should be in sight range soon,” the Captain reported. “Just a little longer…”
He was right—soon the pink of Rook was eclipsed by the massive girth of a chain link as large as if not larger than the ones used to anchor Leviathan Wakes to their massive fish guardians. Rook noticed it immediately and swam away from the Algol to investigate, swirling in and out of the links with ease.
“Begin general Sanctaphrax docking procedure,” the Admiral ordered.
“Already underway,” Orange said. “Channel open.”
“This is the Admiral to Sanctaphrax Chain Operations. We’re ready to deposit cargo. More than just the standard offload: we’ve got a netted wreck and a seapony. Recommend equipping six hooks to the platform, and give us the large tank with wheels.”
“Order received,” a slightly garbled but understandable voice came from the other end. “Deepfish status?”
Sparkler cast her spell. “Fifteen minutes away, roughly.”
“Roger. Splashdown in ten, message if status changes.” The feed cut off.
Granite glanced at the Admiral. “You’re going to try to get her in a tank?”
“I want Vespid to have a look at her.”
Granite stared at her slack-jawed.
“Relax, I’m not going to let her cut up your marefriend, we need her to take us wherever it is she’s been pointing this entire time. I’d just like some information.”
“I’m not sure she’ll want to get in a tank to begin with. I m—” He was interrupted by Rook tapping on the glass. She pointed at the chain and then pointed up. Granite was stunned for a moment. To make sure, he pointed at her with a confused look and then pointed upward. She nodded. “...I swear, it’s like she knows what you want.”
“She’s smart,” the Captain said. “She’s figured out we’re going up. She’s either curious about what’s up there and trusts us to keep her safe or, more likely, she wants to put herself in our hooves so we’ll trust her more. Maybe you should let Vespid cut her up.”
“She may also be seeking information,” Orange suggested.
“I said ‘curiosity’, Orange.”
“The curious drive is a very different one from tactical information gathering.”
“There are simply too many unknowns with this seapony,” the Admiral declared. “So I’m taking her up there to get as many questions answered as possible.”
Sparkler let out a giggle. “And, as a bonus, you’re going to parade around a friendly seapony to everypony that’s gotten far too used to seeing you walk around.”
“Well, yes, but that’s just a bonus.” She stood up, ruffling her wings slightly. “Sparkler, you’re with me. We’ll suit up at port three. Granite, you’re staying here. I want to see if she’s really willing to trust us or just you.”
Granite frowned. “Not sure that’s a good id—”
“Also, you’re getting too attached to the fish. I need to separate you for a bit.”
Granite’s wings sagged. “Yes, Admiral.”
“Glad we’ve reached an understanding. Sparkler, let’s go. Captain, ship’s yours.”
They made their way down to the edge of the deck below, taking their suits off the walls. The Admiral’s was a standard hard-suit with a bronze exterior and no decorations whatsoever. She could easily be mistaken for any other diver in it. Sparkler, on the other hand, had coated hers in dark red stripes with pink dots because she insisted it made her more threatening to everything that might want to eat her. No matter how many times everypony told her that was unfounded, she would just scoff. In her mind, she was still alive, so that must mean it worked.
The two of them stepped into a cylindrical room and closed the round pressurized hatch behind them.
“Go ahead and open us up,” the Admiral said, radioing the bridge. “No use wasting time. Might as well meet our new pet.”
“Venting now,” the Captain responded.
Water began to fill up the cylindrical room, starting at their hooves and slowly rising to the ceiling. The metallic exterior of their suits ensured they felt nothing as the water rose unless they tried to move, at which point they detected the added resistance of water. It wasn’t even difficult to see—the glass on their helmets gave them roughly equal visuals on the room both above and below the surface.
Once the room was full, Sparkler swam over to the other pressure door and opened it. Usually, when somepony left this way, there was another submarine on the other side. Today, though, it was just open ocean in front of the Chain. Algol’s Shadow was close enough to the surface of the ocean that the water was blue here, not black.
Strictly speaking, at this depth they could have made do with simple scuba apparatus, but the Admiral wanted the armor in case Rook decided to try something.
The Admiral pulled herself up over the edge of the Algol’s docking port. Soon she stood on top of the cylindrical protrusion and taking a look around. Here, she could easily see everywhere except behind the Algol itself, a state of affairs much preferable to being stuck on the bridge. Below, she could see four mini-subs detaching the net with the shipwreck in it from the Algol’s lower spines. The two other subs were at the Algol’s side, carefully removing a massive gray box with several pressure doors all along the outside. One of the cargo holds, ready to be dragged up to Sanctaphrax. They had three full holds this time, so loading would be a bit slower than usual. They still had plenty of time according to Sparkler’s earlier deepfish status check.
Rook swam over to them the moment she noticed two ponies walking on the outside the Algol. At first the seapony was excited, but she froze when Sparkler hefted up a harpoon gun.
“Sparkler, we do want her to go with us,” the Admiral reminded her. “Alive.”
“Fine…” Sparkler muttered, lowering the weapon.
Rook looked Admiral and Sparkler over with uncertainty. Despite this, she moved closer, waving tentatively.
It was outlandish to see a seapony moving toward her like a nervous colt trying to muster the courage needed to ask a mare out. Uncanny.
“Splashdown incoming,” the Captain called. “Hold onto something, we’re going to need to move.”
With a smirk, the Admiral grabbed hold of a rung on the Algol with a hoof, using another to point up. Rook followed her hoof with her gaze.
The splash was so large it pushed Rook about a half-meter away. Above them a massive donut-shaped basket descended into the ocean, the Chain going through the hole in its center while six smaller chains affixed to the railing kept the basket adhered to something far above the surface. There was enough space on it to hold six of the Algol’s cargo holds all in a ring. The basket itself was made out of a thick wire mesh that allowed water to pass through the holes but prevented all solid material larger than a golf ball from following the torrent.
To her delight, the Admiral saw everything she had asked for added to the basket. There were six anchor-like hooks placed in a circle on one edge of the basket, exactly what they needed to tie down Orange’s net. And, of course, there was the large tank, four times as large as Rook. As usual a massive tankard of fresh oxygen sat in the basket. The Algol didn’t need it since they had restocked at Leviathan Wakes, but it was standard procedure to drop one down every time and the Admiral wasn’t about to refuse it.
The Admiral let her subs get to work loading all the cargo and tying the net—they knew how to do it quickly. They had to, since every time the basket hit the surface it summoned every deepfish for leagues. The song and dance was always the same: unload everything quickly and then run away. Let the deepfish gnaw on the Chain for a while, they never got far into it. They’d grow bored after an hour or two and another drop could be made.
Activating her air jets, the Admiral jumped from the Algol to the basket. She trotted up to the tank as the two mini-subs dropped the first cargo crate onto the metal mesh. The tank itself had four wheels on the bottom though they were useless at the moment since each one was tied to the basket to keep it from rolling in the turbulent loading procedure. Glass lined four sides, with a metal floor and an industrial strength lid with a pressure valve on it. Luckily, the tank was already open, so the Admiral didn’t have to mess with the annoyingly rusty hinges these things tended to have.
“Say hello to your new home!” Sparkler chirped, gesturing at the tank with both of her hooves.
Rook looked at her with an unimpressed glare.
Sparkler pointed at the tank, pointed up, and then proceeded to grab her throat to mimic choking.
Rook nodded, a hoof to her chin. Slowly, she began to circle the tank, examining it. Eventually, she stopped at the hinges of the lid. Glaring at it, she bared her teeth.
Sparkler and the Admiral reached for their weapons when Rook lunged but she didn’t go for either of them. Instead, with two quick bites she broke the hinges on the lid, removing the potential to seal her within the tank. Upon completing her mission she spat out a few shards of metal and climbed into the tank with an innocent smile.
“...I guess she wants to go up on her own terms,” the Admiral noted.
“She does realize she’s still stuck in that tank while we’re up there, right?”
“Probably. Maybe she just doesn’t like the idea of being literally sealed in a box.”
Sparkler shrugged. “Weird.”
The Admiral found herself wishing an exasperated glare could be given through the suits.
The second cargo hold was deposited onto the basket and the netted wreck had finally finished being tied. As they waited for the last hold, the Admiral looked up to where the Chain vanished. The surface of the ocean. She hadn’t been above water since Leviathan Wakes, and before that the Algol had been in the depths for over a week. It would be nice to finally see some sunshine. She’d remove this stupid helmet and absorb the rays with her face.
In the midst of her daydreams, the third cargo hold was deposited on the basket. Immediately, the Algol’s engines activated and turned away, ready to play chicken with some deepfish. A few seconds later, the cage lurched and began to rise. The Admiral and Sparkler stood firm to the sides of the tank while Rook looked up with awe.
With an almost deafening cascade, the basket lifted out of the ocean dripping waterfalls onto the waves below. The sun shone down upon the endless sea, reflecting in Rook’s eyes.
She wore one of the biggest smiles the Admiral had ever seen on anypony.
I’m starting to think of her as a pony…
Slowly shaking her head, the Admiral reached her hooves to her helmet and twisted it to the side. Without the pressure of water on it, the seal around her neck popped with ease. She gently exposed her head to the air outside and breathed in. Unlike the stormy smog of Leviathan Wakes, the calm air out here smelled fresh. A good, long breath filled her lungs with cool, clean air and her nose with the smell of a calm sea.
It was a normal day with nothing to look at aside from the chains leading up into a cloud far above, but that didn’t matter. It wasn’t under the water and it was calm. That was all that mattered.
As soon as the basket was completely free of the water, it started rising faster, no longer pacing itself to escape the clutches of the ocean. What had once been a painfully slow motion gathered speed. Even with three boxes and a shipwreck tied to the basket it still wasn’t at full capacity, so the acceleration continued for quite some time.
Still, their destination was an absurd distance above them. They would not arrive for several minutes.
Rook tapped on the glass to get their attention. With a sigh, the Admiral ended her enjoyment of the open air and turned to the tank, more than a little surprised to see her head out of the water. “...I thought she couldn’t breathe?”
Rook shook her head, pointing at the gills on her neck below the water.
Sparkler gawked. “You… you can understand us!?”
She nodded in confirmation, winking at them.
“Can you talk?”
Rook frowned and shook her head. Opening her mouth she made a scratchy gurgling noise and shrugged.
“So… do you have a name?” the Admiral asked.
Rook nodded.
“Is it Rook?”
With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head.
“Have any way to tell us what it actually is?”
The seapony seemed stumped by this.
“Then you’re Rook until you think of something.”
The newly re-christened Rook folded her hooves in indignation and stuck out her forked tongue, reminding the Admiral that she was still talking to a monster. ...A monster that stuck out its tongue like some child.
This raised so many questions she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to.
Rook tapped on the glass again.
“What?”
She pointed up and cocked her head, asking a question.
“Sanctaphrax is up there. Smart ponies. They’ll know more than me.”
Rook rotated her hoof, quirking an eyebrow.
“And then we’ll go wherever you were leading us, yes, that’s the plan.”
“Oh, what’re you leading us to?” Sparkler asked.
After a particularly splashy facehoof, Rook pointed at her mouth.
“Right, so we’re going to have to play something like twenty questions. Is it treasure?”
Rook thought about this for a moment before nodding slowly.
“Yes!”
“There’s more than just treasure,” the Admiral commented. “Right?”
Rook confirmed this.
The Admiral narrowed her eyes. “Danger?”
Rook nodded slowly, biting her lip nervously. For a moment, a twisted expression of rage crossed her face. The Admiral was concerned for a moment, but all Rook did was angrily point at herself and flick her tail aggressively at apparently nothing. The rage faded shortly afterward, replaced with an aura of exasperation.
“You have arguments with yourself too, huh?” Sparkler asked. “Real annoying when you know what your best points are, isn’t it?”
Rook stared at the unicorn like she was the strangest thing the seapony had ever encountered.
“Not even the monsters of the deep appreciate me…” Sparkler put a hoof to her head and faked a swoon.
At this point the cage entered the cloud, surrounding all of them in fog. This visit through the puffy white area of the sky was brief, for the basket was moving along at a brisk pace now. Surfacing out of the cloud was a lot less dramatic than rising from the water, but it gave way to far more interesting sights for those riding.
Floating above them was a massive rock, the chain anchored to its narrow bottom. Since they were directly under the island, it was impossible to see what structures were built atop aside from the two massive airship docks that jutted out from opposite sides like comically undersized wings. This was not to say they couldn’t see anything on the rock. Where the chain affixed, there was a massive ball of chrome with a donut-shaped hole for the basket itself to slide into. Next to this was a complex series of pipes that snaked all the way up the island, used to pump air to the higher elevations where it was needed.
This was Sanctaphrax, island of the academics.
With a whoosh of air, the basket lifted into Sanctaphrax. Gone was the sun, sky, and sea—now replaced with a harsh metal rod in the center and rocky earth on the outer edge. The basket started to slow as it neared its final destination, decelerating smoothly until it came to a gentle rest somewhere deep within the rock.
Six massive reels billowed nebulous clouds of steam, releasing all the pressure they had used in the process of winding up the lengthy chains. They hadn’t seemed like too much while the basket was lifting, but spooled up they took up more than twice the space of the basket itself. Between these spools were metal walkways, each of which led into a different cave system within the island. Ponies stood at all six of these points, waiting for the stability of the basket to be confirmed. The moment it was, six planks flopped onto the basket and the ponies flooded onto it, beginning the long and slow process of unloading everything.
“It seems you’ve brought something unique back with you.”
Recognizing the voice, the Admiral was more than a little surprised to be receiving attention from so high up so quickly. Turning, she bowed her head slightly. “High Academe Iota, what brings you to the basket?”
Iota was a middle-aged mare of an unnaturally green color that screamed life and energy; traits that were completely absent from her blank, spectacled expression and wrinkled face. She had no mane or tail to speak of. The Admiral had no idea why this was. She never asked.
“An opening in the schedule, nothing more,” Iota said, turning her attention to Rook. “What’s unusual about this one besides the color?”
Rook waved and winked.
“Communication and higher intelligence. Unheard of. Good catch. Taking her to Vespid?”
“As soon as possible,” the Admiral said. “She knows the location of something.”
“What?”
“She can’t talk, we don’t know. Part of it could be understood as treasure. Barring unusual circumstances, I’ll be taking the Algol to investigate on my next outing.”
Iota nodded slowly. “Granted. Tell Vespid she cannot perform invasive experiments, no matter how much she thinks she may gain from it. I task you with uncovering the mysteries of this seapony myself.” Iota fixed the Admiral with a stern glare. “That is what you wish to extort from me, yes?”
The Admiral had to force a smile. “You see right through me, as always.”
Iota nodded slowly. “You are fortunate that your desires seem reasonable. My previous statements still stand. Before you take her, however, I wish to see what you’ve brought besides raw materials.”
“Sparkler?” the Admiral asked.
“On it!” Sparkler bounced away to the cargo hold labelled three and popped open one of the smaller doors. She took two long black cases out of the compartment with her mane and trotted back to Iota and the Admiral. “Here you are!”
The Admiral opened the latches on the first case, revealing it to be filled with nothing but unicorn horns, most of which were in excellent condition. “Found a town filled with them,” the Admiral explained. “There’s more than just this case, though these are of the best quality.”
Rook stared at the disembodied horns. Not in fear, but in thoughtful fascination.
“Excellent,” Iota said, her voice remaining emotionless. “The other?”
Sparkler popped the latches on this one, pulling it open with her mane. It wasn’t full like the last case, but what was inside more than made up for the lost space: three bright rubies that glittered with unnatural fires inside.
“We have no idea what these are,” the Admiral admitted. “But they’re magic, and strong at that.”
“Leyline will be most appreciative. Did you fail to procure any of the items we requested?”
“Only the eye of the golden deepfish that Bonzai asked for.”
Sparkler coughed. “Let’s be real, we were never getting that.”
Iota nodded. “Good work. Your payment will be with you tomorrow morning when you are ready to return to your ship. Enjoy your stay in the meantime.”
“Thank you, High Academe,” the Admiral said. “Vespid awaits.”
Iota dismissed them with a noninterested wave of her hoof.
Sparkler carefully removed the latches keeping Rook’s tank rooted to the basket. Using her hair to get a grip on every square inch of one of the sides, she carefully rolled the tank up a ramp and into Sanctaphrax proper. Some of the water sloshed out, but nowhere near enough to cause Rook any concern.
“Time to ride another basket!” Sparkler giggled, pointing at the elevator shaft. “Isn’t that exciting, Rook?”
Rook let out a bubbly sigh as her tank was carted into a small basket large enough for maybe six ponies. The doors closed and they began to rise toward the surface of Sanctaphrax.