The Neptune Project (23 page)

:They probably just saved our lives.:


:I am glad. the wild ones are leaving. they do not like the feel of the water here.:


:I can't blame them. Now that we're safe, please take your own family to cleaner waters. I will call you when we start traveling north again. Good hunting.:


:rest well,:
Mariah says, and then she breaks off the contact.

:Did Mariah send that wild school to help us?:
Dai asks me curiously.

:It was her idea, start to finish.:


:I can't believe she showed so much initiative. She's a remarkable animal,:
Dai says. I know he means to be complimentary, but his tone is still annoying. The dolphins will always be more than “animals” to me.

:Mariah's my hero.:
Robry grins.

I reach out and tell everyone in the main cave what happened. We stay in our caves and doze on and off until two a.m. Then Robry and I slip outside and listen carefully. When we decide there are no boats nearby, we sprint back to the main cave. Kalli and Dai arrive right behind us.

We find Tobin on sentry duty. His face relaxes when he spots me. He starts in my direction, and I think he wants to give me a hug, but then he realizes Robry, Dai, and Kalli are right behind me and he stops short.

:Welcome back,:
he says, a smile lighting his green eyes.
:Sounds like you guys had a close call there.:


:Mariah really saved the day,:
I tell him.

:I'm glad you're all okay,:
Tobin says to everyone, but his gaze is focused on me.
:Mariah is amazing. The more I talk to her, the more she seems like a real person to me.:


:She is amazing, and smarter than many humans I know,:
I say with a pointed glance at Dai. I'm tempted to stick my tongue out at him, but that doesn't seem like a very leader-like thing to do.

:Can I see that flyer Crab slipped to us along with the spear darts?:
I ask Tobin instead.

His smile fades.
:Yeah. Lena left it under a rock for you, next to the pile of our seapacks.:


I swim into the cave and find the laminated flyer just where Tobin said it would be. A cold dread creeps across my skin as I pick up the flyer and study it. I realize I'm looking at a wanted poster with pictures of every one of us except Dai. The Western Collective is offering a thousand dollarns for each of us, or any information leading to our capture.

EVEN THOUGH I ACHE
all over from swimming hard, it takes me a long time to fall asleep. The Western Collective must want us badly to offer that kind of money. No wonder the smugglers wanted to catch us. If Mariah hadn't called those wild dolphins, some of us might be dead or prisoners right now.

At last my tired body wins out over my racing brain. When I wake up the next morning, everyone except Dai is sacked out in their hammocks. Since it's not a travel day, I let people rest. After we're all up and we've eaten, I call a meeting to discuss the flyer Crab managed to slip to us along with the spear darts.

:This is like the posters they used to send around when they wanted to catch Kyel's dad and his fighters,:
Thom says, looking much more somber than usual.
:Only this one claims we're all members of a dangerous mutant gang dedicated to bringing down the Western Collective.:


:I like the part where it claims we're terrorists and a danger to law and public order.:
Kalli shakes her head.
:Robry and Bria sure look like dangerous terrorists to me.:


Bria grins at Kalli, but then her big eyes grow serious.
:I don't think I've ever broken a law. I did shoot that diver in the leg, but that's because he shot Kyel. It isn't very nice of them to tell everyone that we're bad people.:


:We're not bad people.:
Tobin slips an arm around her shoulders.
:It's our government that isn't very nice or truthful.:


:I wonder why that old man gave this to us,:
Robry muses.

:I think he was trying to warn me,:
Ree says as she studies the flyer.

:I do too. I felt his regret as he handed you those spear darts,:
I tell her.
:Maybe one of the other scroungers ratted us out, or the smugglers threatened him.:


:Whether or not that old scrounger sold us out doesn't matter anyway,:
Dai says with a scowl.
:What does matter is that we now know that every smuggler, scrounger, and black-market fisherman between here and Vancouver Island is going to be on the lookout for us.:


:Actually, they're going to be on the lookout for
us
, not you. I think it's interesting that your mug shot isn't on here with the rest of ours,:
Lena points out sharply.

:Since Dai hasn't lived on land since he was ten, I don't think that's much of a surprise. He may not even be in the Western Collective's databases,:
I say quickly, trying to head off a fight.
:What I want to know is why are they making such a huge effort to catch us?:


:They could want to use us. I know the Collective sometimes interrogates prisoners with telepaths,:
Thom offers.
:They're pretty quiet about it, since telepaths aren't supposed to exist in the first place.:


:Yeah, maybe they seized a computer that belonged to a Neptune Project scientist, and they found out that we're all telepaths,:
Robry suggests.

:It might be about control, too,:
Penn says bitterly.
:The Western Collective may be threatened by the idea that a new force could grow in the ocean that might turn against them someday.:


:There are so many pictures here of kids we don't even know. Maybe we'll meet up with them along the way,:
Bria says as she pores over the poster.

:I'm afraid some of them may already be dead,:
Kalli tells her gently.
:There's a picture of my cousin Ter.:


I wince when I see her point to the picture of a handsome smiling boy who looks just like her.
:He never even made it out of Oxnay Harbor,:
she says, grief coloring her tone.

:These are just the kids from the south,:
Bria says hopefully.
:There could be a bunch more heading for Dr. Hanson's colony from the northern sector.:


I smile at Bria.
:You're right. There is some good news in this flyer, and I'm going to concentrate on that.:


Our meeting breaks up, and the next morning, as soon as the sea starts to lighten, we head north again.

~ ~ ~

After we leave San Francisco, the dolphins give us plenty of warning when we need to change course to avoid smuggler, Marine Guard, or fishing vessels. As our group grows fitter, we often make thirty miles a day.

After ten travel days, we leave the southern sector behind. The northern sector coastline is more craggy and rocky. Boat traffic actually increases because the Western Collective has been moving its population north as temperatures soar in the south.

I'm glad to see that our group seems to be getting along better. Everyone teases Robry and Penn about their huge appetites. Thom and Kalli crack us up with their jokes. People even appear more comfortable around Dai, who's always trying to get us to eat more kinds of seafood. We liked the eel, scallops, and oysters he coaxed us into sampling, but his sea cucumber and sea urchins didn't go over so well.

I grin when I remember Kalli's reaction to his sea cucumber.
:Dai, I know you mean well, but why would I want to eat something that looks like a giant orange caterpillar, eats sludge all day, and can vomit up its own intestines?:


After that description, Lena looked like she was ready to vomit up her own intestines while Dai ate his sea cucumber with enthusiasm.

Dai gives me good advice about our course each day, which makes me wonder just how many times he's traveled these waters. Tobin always seems to know how people in the group are feeling and what their problems are. Kalli is good at nagging us to eat plenty of sea plants along with the fish we spear.

Thom is the first to volunteer for any chore, including the nastiest ones. We start calling Penn “The Fixer” because he's so great at fixing broken spearguns and fins. Lena and Ree keep our seasuits patched up and become two of our most successful hunters. Because Robry's always thinking about the big picture, I often talk to him about our long-term problems. The dolphins love Bria, and more and more I trust them to relay their scouting reports through her.

As the days and weeks wear on and we have no further fights with the Marine Guard or run-ins with nets and giant squid, I begin to relax a little. I think we all are becoming more comfortable in our new world. Farther north, the sea is cooler and healthier. We see more seals, bigger game fish, and thicker kelp forests.

One afternoon, we even come across a pod of rare humpback whales.

:Please-oh-please-oh-please, Nere, can we swim near them for a while?:
Bria begs me.

:As long as we don't get too close. They're usually gentle, but they could crush us when they breach.:


We swim a little nearer, and with the dolphins' help, we keep pace with the whales as they head north, their massive tails driving them through the water.

:Man, these suckers are huge.:
Thom shakes his head.

:The big one is bigger than two of our houses back home,:
Bria says, her eyes wide.

:Check out all the barnacles they have growing on their skin!:
Robry exclaims.

:Are those smaller ones babies?:
Lena asks as she points to the two calves.

:Yeah,:
I reply.
:They were probably born four months ago down in the warm waters off the western coast of the Southern Republic.:


:Those are some big babies,:
Ree says.

The calves are shy at first and peek at us from behind their mothers, but after a while their curiosity wins out and they swim closer and closer to our group.

:Um, Mariah, is this really a good idea?:
I ask as one of the whale calves swims so close that I can almost touch it.
:I don't want those big mama whales getting angry with us.:


:the old ones know you mean their little ones no harm,:
Mariah reassures me.

Soon our dolphins are towing us over and around the playful whale calves. All the while, the grown whales study us as curiously out of their wise eyes as we study them. I do my best to describe to the others the unearthly whale songs I heard when my parents took me south to visit the humpbacks' breeding grounds years ago.

:Mariah, can you tell me what the whales sing about?:


She takes a moment to consider my question.
:it's hard to put into human words, but I feel their meaning. the old ones sing of caring about their youngsters and one another. most of all they sing of their love for the ocean and everything that lives in it. every year their song changes, but all the male whales in the same sea know to sing the same song.:


Her words give me goose bumps and make me happy at the same time. The biggest whales, the blues and the finbacks, are extinct now, but I'm so grateful the humpbacks have managed to survive. We're all sorry when the humpbacks eventually head farther out to sea. At dinner that night, we are a quiet group, but everyone is smiling.

As we travel, I never forget Crab's flyer and how careful we must be to avoid landlivers and airbreathers, as Dai calls them. I know the group gets irritated when I make us swim a mile out of our way to avoid sonar contact with some boat, but I'd rather take longer and get us all to my father's colony alive.

One afternoon, Kalli, who has been acting very mysteriously, along with Bria, asks me to halt for the night when we reach a beautiful rock canyon.

I stop swimming long enough to admire the walls of the canyon. They're alive with small fish, fuzzy pink strawberry anemones, giant rock scallops, spiny red sea urchins, and some bright yellow sponges. I even spot some lavender hydrocorals, which have become rare in the warmer seas farther south.

:Ton's found a perfect cave for us near here, and there's that big kelp forest we can use as an escape route if we need it,:
Dai adds with unusual enthusiasm.

:But we still could make four or five more miles today,:
I say, even though I'm torn. I'm tired from constant travel, and sick of being responsible for everyone's safety.

:Nere, we have to stop now, because we have an important mission to fulfill this afternoon,:
Bria says, trying to look very serious.

:Exactly what mission would that be?:
I ask, starting to realize that something's up.

:This is our mission. Today is your birthing day, and we have to celebrate it properly,:
Kalli adds, her eyes dancing.

:Robry, you are such a little snitch!:
I turn on him.

:Actually, Lena remembered it first,:
he says quickly.

I look at Lena. She shrugs and says,
:Hey, you know I'm always looking for a good excuse to take a break.:
But then she sends me a real smile.

:It was almost time for a rest day anyway,:
Tobin adds.
:We're all tired, and I think it's a good idea if we take it early.:


:If that's what our chief medical officer orders,:
I say helplessly. I feel myself blushing as they all grin at me. I hate to be the center of anything, much less an undersea birthing-day party. Kalli must sense how uncomfortable I am, and she quickly takes control of the situation.

:First off, the birthing-day queen has to take off her seapack and settle herself on this nice, relatively barnacle-free rock here. Now, we all know no birthing day is complete without presents, and the dolphins are in charge of your shopping.:


I smile because this is an old game with us. The dolphins scatter and soon come back with an odd assortment of treasures they've found for me. I make a big show of exclaiming over the shells, bits of rock, and even a small octopus that proud Tisi drops in my lap, which promptly spurts a cloud of ink at me before it shoots away, and makes everyone laugh.

Then Thom, who has been busy with his dive knife while the dolphins were giving me presents, serves us some very handsome flower-shaped yellowfin wrapped in wakame.

:These would do your grandma proud,:
I say, even as I wonder how his big hands managed to make such delicate blossoms out of fish meat. Kalli comes around with a contribution of her own, a kind of sweet mash made from wakame, which we all like much better than the green seaweeds and kelp we usually eat.

After we finish with our meal, Tobin waves to get our attention.
:Of course, no party would be complete without music,:
he declares with a bow and a flourish.
:May I present the coolest sound in undersea entertainment today
—
The Reef Raiders!:


He pulls two aluminum medical canisters from his pack and begins hitting them together in an infectious rhythm. Thom joins in, making a deeper sound from beating the barrels of two spearguns together, and Penn shakes a small metal box full of pebbles and shells.