Daughter of the Deep(62)

‘Wait,’ Tia says. ‘Drones six and seven just went dark.’

Ophelia hurries to her side. ‘Did you try rerouting –?’

‘Yeah. Sending drones five and eight to sweep that grid … Now they’ve gone dark, too.’

‘EMP weapon, maybe?’ Gem asks.

‘Perhaps,’ Luca says. ‘Four drones malfunctioning at once is unlikely. Something in that grid does not wish to be seen.’

‘Relative location?’ I ask.

‘Roughly three kilometres north by northwest,’ Tia reports.

‘That gives us minutes at best,’ Ophelia says.

She and Luca lock eyes. They seem to come to a silent agreement.

‘Ana,’ Luca says, ‘you have to take the Nautilus away from here, out to open sea. She cannot fall into LI’s possession.’

Gem steps back as if pushed. ‘Hold on. We don’t even know if the sub will move.’

‘You were just lecturing us on taking things slowly!’ Franklin agrees.

‘And now we have no time,’ Ophelia says, her voice strained. ‘If the Aronnax put a tracker on the Varuna, they will be focused on Lincoln Base, not the Nautilus herself. We have enough defences to keep them occupied while you escape.’

‘We can help you fight them off!’ I say. ‘Why take the risk of leaving?’

I know my real motive for saying this. It’s not about the sub.

I left Dev and HP collapsed around him. I can’t watch the same thing happen to Lincoln Base. I can’t run away and again watch people I care about die.

‘My dear,’ Luca says, ‘the greatest risk is that Land Institute acquires this submarine. That is a risk to the entire world. The Nautilus will listen to you. I am confident in her seaworthiness. She should have basic propulsion. Her camouflage is operational.’

‘That’s true,’ Tia says. ‘We checked it yesterday.’

‘She can run and hide,’ Ophelia concludes, ‘but her long-range weapons are non-functional. In a fight, she’d be helpless.’

‘Also true,’ Gem says. ‘We don’t know how half her weapons systems work. And those torpedoes …’ He shakes his head sadly.

‘Sitting here,’ Ophelia says, ‘the Nautilus is simply a prize waiting to be taken. On the open sea, at least she has a chance.’

The lights briefly dim. There is a clunking sound somewhere in the lower decks. I can’t help but feel that the Nautilus is coughing to get my attention. Um, yeah, get me out of here.

The idea of the open sea must be appealing to her after sitting in this cavern for so long. Still, my heart flops around in my chest. I wish I could let Luca and Ophelia command the ship, or Gem … But I am the only Dakkar. It has to be me.

I hate my DNA.

‘If we do this …’ I say. ‘If – then what about Dr Hewett? We can’t move him.’

‘Oh, I’m staying behind,’ Franklin says, like that should be obvious. ‘I’m not leaving my patient in the middle of treatment. Ester can be acting prefect.’

‘But –’

‘I’m staying, too,’ Tia says. ‘Ophelia and Luca will need help with the island’s defensive systems. Besides, Nelinha is your best combat engineer.’

Tears well in my eyes. ‘Tia, I never –’

‘Hey, it’s fine.’ She squeezes my arm. ‘We all have different strengths. Working on this sub …’ She glances around nervously. ‘Beautiful as she is, that’s not one of mine.’

‘We would welcome your help in the base,’ Luca says. Then he turns to me. ‘Ana, the tunnel from this cavern emerges south of the atoll, directly opposite the Aronnax’s approach vector. That should put the island between you and our enemies. We will do our best to draw their attention and buy you time.’

I remember Hewett’s words to the guards on the docks in San Alejandro: Buy us time.

‘But if they take the island,’ I say, ‘or destroy it …’

The memory of Harding-Pencroft crumbling into the Pacific floats in the back of my vision like an old-fashioned photograph resolving in a bath of silver nitrate.

Luca gives me a sad smile. ‘My dear, do not worry. I have no intention of getting myself killed.’

‘Or getting me killed,’ Ophelia adds dryly.

‘Of course,’ Luca agrees. ‘You can take Jupiter on board, however. He will enjoy the adventure, and he’s quite familiar with the sub’s galley. Besides, who knows? Perhaps all this is a false alarm! Or perhaps Lincoln Base will destroy the Aronnax and save the day!’

I can tell he doesn’t believe either scenario, but he wants to keep my spirits up.

Everyone looks at me, waiting for my decision. In the end, it has to be my call. The Nautilus will only move for me.

I turn to Gem. I wait for him to tell me that he, too, is staying behind. He will want to be where the fight is.

‘Oh, no,’ he says, reading my expression. ‘My orders are to keep you safe. Where you go, I go.’

Three days ago, this response would have irritated me. I can imagine myself saying, No, really, that’s okay. Go shoot some things. I’ll be fine.

Now I’m grateful to have his support. To my surprise, he’s starting to feel like someone I want at my side, like Ester and Nelinha, and I’m not sure how to process what that means.