Daughter of the Deep(91)

I realize I am now included in that very small group of important connections, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘Of course,’ I say. ‘I’d welcome your company.’

Franklin starts to protest, ‘But Gem’s injuries aren’t even –’

‘Franklin,’ Gem and I say in unison.

‘Right,’ grumbles the medic. ‘I’ll go get some lunch.’

Our other casualties from the battle are, fortunately, minor. There were no deaths on either side, which in itself is a miracle. Thanks to the Orcas’ quick efforts, the entire crew of the Aronnax were rescued. Many of them were wounded. Some nearly drowned. Most will have chapodiphobia for the rest of their days, but they will all live. Battered and shocked, they offered no resistance as my crew herded them into Lincoln Base’s improvised holding cells.

On the fourth day after the battle, I feel good enough to go diving.

I find our giant friend Romeo tucked away in a cosy abyss just south of the island. He comes up to say hello when I play my keytar. I do my best to convey our gratitude. I also try asking if he wants us to give him a ride back to where we met him, but he seems content to stay with us.

Over the next few days, whenever Ester and Top take a walk around what’s left of the atoll, Romeo surfaces and watches them, while Top barks happily and goes into his ‘play bow’. I have nightmares about Romeo learning to play fetch with the dog, throwing a ball all the way to Fiji, and Top trying to swim after it.

As for Socrates, he doesn’t seem sure what to make of the giant octopus. Socrates likes his cephalopods small and tasty, not big enough to eat him. He and the rest of his adopted dolphin family give Romeo a wide berth, but otherwise they seem happy. I feed them many delicious squid and thank them for their help in the battle.

When Socrates asks about my brother – doing a little flick of his fin that I’ve learned to translate as Dev – I don’t know what to tell him. At least underwater I can cry as much as I want. The ocean doesn’t care about a few more drops of salt water.

Once the Nautilus is back up and running, Tia Romero oversees our recovery efforts on the wreckage of the Aronnax. It will take weeks to complete, but we need to understand how far Land Institute has come in their research. Also, we don’t want all that junk littering the ocean floor on our front lawn.

On the fifth day, we set our prisoners free – all of them except Dev. It’s not a popular decision. They’re still our enemies, with too much blood on their hands, but we aren’t set up to run a prison camp indefinitely, and there’s no easy way to bring Land Institute to justice or to prove what they’ve done in any court of law. The best bad choice I have is to let them go, knowing that we may face them again in the future. I give them the Varuna, though it hurts me to do so. We stock the boat with enough food, water and fuel to make it to the California coast. We strip the ship of anything dangerous or valuable – weapons, LOCUS, dynamic camouflage. We even remove the books from the library.

Honestly, our hostages shouldn’t complain. We’ve been treating them well and feeding them Jupiter’s baked delicacies. They’ve all put on a few pounds. They’d never admit it, but I suspect they will miss the gateau mille-feuille d’orang-outan.

Caleb South is indignant when I give him command of the Varuna. ‘Why would you do this? You’re just letting us go. And we know where your base is.’

‘Yes, you do,’ I say. ‘You also know what happened when you tried to take us on. Twenty of our freshmen beat your entire senior class. You want a rematch, come on back.’

His eye twitches, but he says nothing. A few minutes later, I watch my first command ship motor out of the lagoon.

‘You think it was smart to goad him like that?’ Gem asks.

Nelinha makes a face. ‘It was perfect. Let them come back if they dare.’

I suspect that’s mostly bravado on her part. Nobody wants a repeat of what we just went through. But Nelinha has earned the right to boast a little. We won a hard victory. All my friends should feel good about what we’ve accomplished.

The next day, Dr Hewett is able to move around with the help of a walker. I take him to the pier in the cavern, which he has never actually seen. We admire the glowing green robo-bugs zipping overhead, and the luminous phytoplankton festival in the water. Most of all, we admire the Nautilus.

Hewett is dressed in an old blue dressing gown and pyjamas. His face is still haggard. His white hair is like a greasy tuft of cotton just burst from the pod. But he’s alive, and he doesn’t stink. I take those two things as signs of progress.

‘Ana, you’ve done better than I ever imagined,’ he tells me.

I study his face. He’s never called me Ana before.

‘Is that a compliment?’ I ask carefully. ‘I’m not sure how well you imagined me doing.’

He wheezes. ‘Oh, please don’t make me laugh. It hurts. No, Prefect … Captain Dakkar. I always knew you were capable of greatness. I am sorry I did not show you that, or extend you the respect you deserved.’

I narrow my eyes. ‘But?’

‘No but,’ he assures me. ‘It’s true that Dev was everyone’s focus, including mine. I worried he was too impetuous, too angry, too … Well, too much like me, and like the students I taught at Land Institute. That’s why I tried so hard to counsel him. Still, I never imagined he would …’ Hewett shakes his head sadly. ‘At any rate, you were the one we should have been preparing for command. Despite insufficient training, in the midst of utmost tragedy, look what you have accomplished.’ He gestures at the Nautilus. ‘Have you decided what we will do next?’