//------------------------------// // Behold, The Arc Manta // Story: The Olden World // by Czar_Yoshi //------------------------------// Valey, Gerardo and Shinespark were the ones to make the flight to the submarine once the guards summoned them, the latter riding on Valey's back. Professor Sea Star was waiting for them, most of the guards having crowded away from the entrance. "Castaways," she said, her voice sour but her eyes concerned. "I've seen your kind more often than I'd like, but you don't need me saying how dreadful it is. Let's get to business." Gerardo chuckled ruefully. "Apologies if we aren't more presentable. There have been greater things on our minds than-" Sea Star interrupted him with a wave of a hoof. "Honey, I'm a marine biologist. Going on voyages with teens and twenty-somethings who can't bathe for a week is my job. Now, let's make sure I understand the situation the same as you do: you're from over the Aldenfold, many of you without permission, and are legally prisoners of the Celestial Royal Guard, though we all know they're just saying that so they can take you with them rather than staying put or trying to send you back across a border they've lost control of." Shinespark watched her, making no effort to hide her cracked horn. "Accurate enough." "Don't forget we're negative on morale, our airship is broken, and half of us are injured or crippled." Valey ruffled her wings. "Really could do with some civilization soon..." Sea Star sucked her cheek in thought. "And you're waiting to meet with Princess Celestia. We've sent word to Kinmari already, so she'll be aware of your whereabouts. That leaves us with the question of how many of you we'll be fitting on the Arc Manta, here." "Your ship, I presume?" Gerardo peered closer. "How many does it hold?" The professor frowned. "It's supposed to crew between four and seven. Luckily for you, we're running at minimum capacity, but it's going to be a squeeze." Valey cleared her throat, stepping up to the entrance. "So we're just leaving our own boat, huh? Here, I bet we can squeeze-" "Not you." She was interrupted be a stern hoof to the chest, Sea Star holding her back and tapping her pendant. "Not until you take that off. I know obsidian when I see it, and having it that close to the ship's instruments will ruin their readings for our return voyage. I'm not about to stop working for the sake of jewelry or an heirloom." "Leave any personal items that aren't critical on your own boat!" another stallion called from below, presumably the earth pony. "We've already sent the coordinates, and they dispatched a tugboat yesterday. You'll have them back soon enough." Valey listened, then stared at the professor. "As cool as that is, I know what this stuff does. And this piece currently has the cutie mark of... someone really important to me. I'm not taking it off." Sea Star shrugged. "We're not going to have room for everyone, and you look healthy enough, so you can wait with your ship for the tugboat if it's important to you. I have a duty to keep the Arc Manta's equipment in good operating order while it is under my care." Shinespark glanced at Valey, who was still frowning. "What kind of equipment would care?" "In layponies' terms, it maps the seafloor and feeds a live data stream back to a model at Kinmari," Sea Star replied. "That's grossly misleading and oversimplified, but my students have studied here for years and have only begun to master what it does, never mind how. If you're interested, there will be many hours for me to try to condense it during the voyage back to Kinmari, but now is not the time." The earth pony stuck his head out of the hatch, wearing a hoodie and looking like he hadn't seen the sun for a few days. "Doc! Their ship is right in the center of a maelstrom of weird readings, and our sensors are overwhelmed as-is. Don't treat them like children. What if they do know about the premonition flux we saw from a day out? It's not like we're getting any valid data about the lifestream from here anyway, you know." Sea Star gave him a slightly annoyed look. The earth pony shrugged. "And if not, I'm a communication specialist. I'm only here to keep the transmitter running, and I understand your graphs." "Very well, Keystroke," Sea Star sighed. "Come aboard." "Bananas, these are your living quarters?" Valey scratched her head. "You could barely fit a stallion in these beds." "This ship emphasizes technology over luxury. It isn't a cruise liner," Sea Star replied. "Some of the bunks are removable to accommodate students who need more space." "Uhhh..." The submarine's 'living quarters' was a tiny room on the upper level, with three beds in a U-shape recessed into the metal walls. They had an inch of bedding at most, and a second layer had been installed above them on metal sheets that looked like shelves, a fourth bed wedged above the door to form a ring on the second level. The hall between them was narrow enough that two ponies couldn't stand together without bumping flanks, and every available surface beneath the beds was filled with cabinets and storage areas. "It's a boat," Shinespark remarked, the only one able to fit inside the room alongside Valey. "Mine might have colored your impressions about what they should be, but this is what they're usually like. As far as seafaring goes, we've been living in utter luxury." Valey poked one of the beds, feeling a clunk as her hoof tapped against the metal through the padding. "Well, bananas. Maybe we can get two to a bed if we really, really cuddle up?" The rest of the ship was slightly more spacious, if only barely. Everything had been optimized and every bit of available space used, with hooks and hangers in the corners and chests under seat cushions, and corridors thin enough for single-file. "I suppose two of us can live in the cockpit," Sea Star mused, searching for places as well. "It's not like we don't already." They reached the dining area, a compact preparation counter with a sink smaller than Valey's head across from a shallow table. "Hey, you could sleep there," she murmured, prodding Shinespark. "When we get to Kinmari, you can tease me about that all you want," Shinespark whispered back. "I'll need it." "Sleeping on the table?" Sea Star's ears perked. "That would work out. And here..." Eventually, they had explored everywhere except a sealed metal door into the back half of the ship that Sea Star refused to open. "There's nothing back there but the engine, the transmitter and our research areas. That's it for the living area. By my count we can take up to nine more, but you could stretch that with a little disregard to Kinmari's rule against sharing beds." Valey winked. "Good to know we're on the same track, because I counted eighteen." "You're going to be a fun one," Sea Star grumbled. "Philander in front of my students and I'll have your skull for a soup bowl, upstart. Ahem." She winked. Valey paused as she climbed back to the entrance and grinned at everyone else. "She's cool. I like her." "She does have a point," Gerardo remarked. "It's usually wise to play by your host's rules, and I can easily see why they exist. This wouldn't be the best place for things to get out of hand." "So what am I telling my crew?" Shinespark asked, following Sea Star. "The guards will be too large to double up, and they have more injuries overall than we do." Sea Star huffed. "That depends on how good you think you'll be at entertaining my students. I've already transmitted those helmetheads' message, and Equestrian guards are notorious for not being talkative. Give these kids something to write home about, and I wouldn't mind showing a little favoritism..." "You're asking us to bribe you with stories?" Gerardo blinked, incredulous. "You saw the looks on their faces," Sea Star replied. "Learning is pointless if it doesn't inspire you to go out and learn more. Teach these kids that there's more than water beyond their backyards and stoke their curiosity, and you'll be doing my job a sizable boon." Gerardo chuckled. "Well then. Through our most recent trials, I'm afraid I've let these words grow faint on my tongue, but fear not, my good mare. For I am Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire, and I believe I can make us well worth your time."