The auditorium buzzed with excited students and exasperated staff. Full school assemblies were unusual after Covid so most of these kids had never been to one. Vice principle McDonald was still nervous about it, but there was no denying being picked for a “Sea link” was exciting and everyone should be allowed to participate; they’d even allowed some of the parents to come and watch from the upper level. It was also a point of pride, seeing as Blue Bay Charter Elementary was the first school in their district to be chosen for the program.

Dr Polaski was on the stage with his assistants, Jackie and Julian, setting up the video link. The video system was both old and new so they were having a bit of trouble. Eventually Miss Switch, the computer teacher, came and hit a button; the “Sea Link” logo appeared on the screen. Jackie covered her face in shame.

“Alright, everyone,” Principal Clapper said, calling for attention. “Time to find your seats and use our ears, not our mouths.”

Dr Polaski was impressed as he watched the auditorium went still and quiet.

“Thank you,” Principle Clapper called, pleased. “Now, I’d like you all to welcome Dr Martin Polaski.”

The auditorium clapped as Dr Polaski stepped forward. “Hello, everyone,” he called as the clapping died down. “As Principle Clapper said, I am Dr Martine Polaski. I am a Marine biologist, which means I study fish and whales, and other animals that live in the ocean. I’ve been part of the Endless Night Project—which I’ve always thought was a little dramatic—” the staff and parents chuckled—“for 7 years now. I am part of team 1, which studies fish, plankton, and whales in the Bathypelagic or Midnight zone. And we do it all in this!”

On cue, the screen changed to a moving model of a futuristic looking oval on a cable. The graphic spun and then broke apart into three floors, making the audience oooh.

“This is the Thetis. The world’s most advanced deep-sea, long-term lab. It has three floors of labs, living space, and equipment storage, which can host a crew of eight. When it’s in use, which is 9 months of the year, it sits 5,280 feet under water. That’s a mile, or about from the school gates to the Hop Scotch Ice Cream shop, when you can get the best blue raspberry milk shake I have ever had.” The audience laughed. Good, they were all warmed up.

“Now, I could answer any question you have about the project myself,” He went on. “Or, we could get to the part that made your parents insist on coming too.” He pointed to the parents, making their children laugh and wave at them. “Through the wonder of technology and the Sea Link program, we will connect to the Thetis down in the Midnight zone.” The room cheered and Dr Polaski signaled to Jackie to start the link. After a moment she signaled they were cued.

“Today we’re going to speak with the crew’s Marine Engineer, Dr Aria Smyth,” he explained as the crowd called. “It’s her job to make sure all the machines and seals work so everyone is safe and can do their work. Now, when Dr Smyth appears I want everyone to call out, nice and loud: Good Morning, Dr Smyth! Can we do that?” The kids nodded, so eager some were vibrating out of their seat.

Jackie hit the key and a wave splashed across the screen, taking away the Thetis and replacing it with the smiling face Sango Smyth. A cheerful, almond colored gal with short, bouncy curls and a blinding smile appeared. She looked to be in her mid-20s and wore ocean blue overalls with a yellow sweater underneath, a pair of yellow trimmed safety glasses perched on her head.

“GOOD MORNING, DOCTOR SMYTH!!!” The auditorium thundered, waving frantically to the camera.

“Good morning, Guppies!” She called back, waving happily. The kids giggled and squeeled at being called their mascot name. “It’s so wonderful to see all your smiling, happy faces. I usually only see the same six grumpy ones every day.” So made an exaggerated face, making them giggle again; they were a great audience.

“How’s it going down there, Dr Smyth?” Dr Polaski asked her, using the microphone.

“Great, Dr Polaski,” She said, launching into their usual pre-question banter. “It’s a constant 39 degrees Fahrenheit outside,” Dr Polaski shivered to more giggles. “But a nice 68 in here. The current is coming from the southwest and the rest of the crew is out studying deep sea sponges so I get you kids all to myself.”

“It’s our honor to have you, Dr Smyth,” Principal Clapper said, appearing with another microphone. “I’m Principal Clapper.”

“Very nice to meet you, Principal Clapper,” Dr Smyth replied jovially. “And it’s my absolute pleasure. Getting to answer all your burning questions about our lab is my favorite part of the job. And if you’re all ready, let’s start those.”

“Can we get out class representatives to line up?” Principle clapper called to the room. “One line in front of me and one in front of Dr Polaski.” 40 students sat up and started working their way to the stage stairs. “Each class talked and made a list of questions they wanted to ask, then voted on which one they wanted to ask and who would get up to ask you.” They’d also taken the time to cross-check the questions, so no two classes asked the same one.

Once the children were on stage a few teachers and staff re-arranged them by grade and class. Their little faces ranged from to terrified, the excited, to determined. They were completely guileless, every feeling clear on their face, yet they could ask the most remarkable, thought-provoking questions. That was why Drs Smyth and Polaski loved this job.

Once everything was ready, a little boy with close cropped hair and dinosaurs dancing across his sweater stepped up to Dr Polaski.

“I’m Simon O’Neil and I’m 5,” he said, then pointed to one of the waiting teachers who looked like an older version of them with a matching sweater vest. “That’s my dad. He’s also my teacher, but that’s ok because he’s fun.”

“That’s good,” Dr Smyth chuckled and mr dad sighed a very fatherly sigh.

“My class’s question is: Where does all your pee and poop go?”

“Simon!” His dad protested.

“But it was,” Simon insisted stubbornly. “That’s what we voted for, but you made us change it.”

Dr Smyth and the auditorium chuckled as Mr Dad shook his head in defeat while his other students sounded their agreement.

“That’s a very good question, Simon,” Dr Smyth said, recapturing their attention. “We even have a slide for it.”

At the side of the stage, Julian tapped at the computer and Dr Smyth’s face moved to take up half the screen. A cute, cartoony animation of the Thetis and its water system appeared on the new screen area. The water moved around the pipes, connecting it to the bathrooms, labs, and kitchen on the Thetis.

“So, down here we have a sink and toilet on each level like you have at home, and a big shower room like your PE showers,” the bathrooms and shower rooms got a ring of bright blue. “After we use them the pee and poop get sent to the bottom of the Thetis where a special machine separates them.” Brown blobs, green water, and suds washed from the toilets and showers to a simplified machine that smiled and waved. “The pee and other wet stuff gets sent through lots and lots of special filters to get the icky parts out until it’s clean water again.” The dirty water went out one side of the machine through a kind of water machine, spinning until it came out clean water, which then went to other places. “That water gets used all over the ship: The labs, the bathrooms, for cleaning, to cool the other machines, and sometimes even our food.”

“Ewww!” The kids shouted, delightfully disgusted and pulling faces as they giggled.

“It doesn’t taste bad,” Dr Smyth mock protested. “’I think. But after the first month it’s hard to tell anymore.”

They giggled more.

“As for the poop?” On the screen the brown blobs moved over to a machine holding a magnifying glass and studying the blobs as they passed. “Oh boy, that goes through the sensors to make sure we’re eating right and staying healthy. It makes it impossible to skip our veggies,” she pulled a face, making them laugh and nod in agreement. “But it also helps the doctors on the surface make sure we stay healthy and if we need anything sent down. Then it’s dried up and sent up to the surface when we get new supplies.” A basket came down the outside of the sub with veggies and boxes. The boxes and veggies were taken off and a bucket of poop put in its place. The basket then went back up and off the screen.

“That was a very good question,” Dr Polaski said, ignoring Julian preen; he’d designed that set of animation himself, much to his sister’s exasperation. “Thank you, Simon.”

“You’re welcome,” he said proudly, getting ready to move away.

“Simon,” his father warned.

Simon sighed the deep sigh of being put upon. “Thank you, Dr Smyth.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, grinning as he went to his father for a head pat of approval before rejoining his class.

A little girl with a tight braid and light up shoes shuffled up to Principal Clapper, eyes wide with wonder and fear.

“My-my name i-is,” She choked out in a small voice. “It’s Maria Lucia Carmalita Rosetta Gonzales.” She hunched her shoulders, like she expected to be mocked.

“What a beautiful name,” Dr Smyth gushed, making the girl blush but relax her shoulders.

“I’m 5 and I’m from Mrs Robinson’s kindergarten class,” she said more confidently. “My class wanted to know. Um…Well, Mrs Robinson says that the The’is is a bit like a spaceship, but underwater. So, we were wondering if you eat Astronaut food too.”

“A reasonable question,” Dr Smyth said, nodding sagely as a picture of Dr Smyth and two crewmates stood in the kitchen with aprons and cooking utensils. “Now Astronauts have to have special food because they have to be careful about weight and things floating without gravity. Because we don’t have that we can bring normal food, and we have a kitchen to cook it in. The project chefs on the surface make us lots of pre-made meals we freeze; like the frozen dinners you see at the grocery store. We get pizza, lasagna, mac and cheese, orange chicken, and that kind of stuff. I’m famous for my perfectly re-heated chicken pot pit.” That made the adults giggle. “However, we also get fresh ingredients every few weeks and take turns cooking. Everyone loves my pumpkin patch ravioli in goat cheese sauce--” Several adults ooh’d at that and one kid declared yummy “—and Dr Polaski’s team is always bragging about his meals. What’s your specialty, Doc?”

He smiled. “Chicken and Dumplings like my momma use ta make,” He said in a thick southern accent, making the auditorium laugh.

“We eat pretty great down here,” Dr Smyth said happily. “But we do have some astronaut food, mostly for fun. We’ve got a huge selection of fruits, ice cream, and sweets. My favorite are the cookie and cream ice cream cubes.”

“That’s my favorite flavor too,” Maria said brightly. Several kids raised their hands or shouted their agreement.

“You have very good taste,” Dr Smyth said, making Maria beam. “Thank you so much for your question, Maria Lucia Carmalita Rosetta Gonzales.”

The little girl was practically glowing as she gushed back: “Thank you too, Dr Smyth.”

With that she skipped back to her classmates who were all clapping for her; her twin shot up and hugged her tight. The next student stepped up to Dr Polaski. She would have been short, if not for her spectacular afro puff held in place with a big holographic pink bow. She bounced on her toes, waiting for Dr Polaski to lower the mic to her.

“I’m Olivia Mwangi!” She said too loudly; Dr Polaski pulled the mic back to cut out the feedback. “I’m 5 and a half and I’m from Mr Fishman’s kindergarten class! We want to know: If the fetis, I mean Thetis—” the adults in the audience stifled their surprised laughs “—is in the night-night zone-“

“Midnight!” An older student in the audience corrected, obviously her big brother.

“Yeah, Midnight,” Olivia corrected, waving at her brother. “If the Thetis is in the Midnight zone, that means there’s no light, right? How can you see anything?”

“Marvelous question, Olivia,” Dr Smyth said, as a pair of photographs of deep-sea submarines appeared next to her. “The Thetis has two deep sea sub we send out to study the ocean floor; they’re named the Qianliyan and the Shunfeng’er, after ancient water gods. They’re equipped with lots of helpful tools, including a camera and powerful spotlights like at a live theater that allow them to capture pictures and video like this.” A short clip played of a pair of crazy long-legged crabs appear in the spotlight; several kids whispered wow. “They also have Infrared cameras that use invisible red light to capture images in the dark. IT’s helpful for animals that don’t like light.” A new, black and white clip played of a goblin shark, making people gasp.

“The Thetis itself has several of these cameras around the hull. It helps us make sure it stays in one piece, but also captures anything that happens by. Usually we get lots of this:” She hit a button and a live feed of one of the sub docks appeared, just the hull and endless black ocean. “Empty ocean. But just yesterday, this happened.”

She hit a key and the whole screen was taken up by an image of the same empty dock. After a moment whale song started to fill the room and shapes appeared from the darkness. The auditorium gasped as three massive sperm whales came into view, flanking a young whale half their size. Their massive tails pushed them through the water with endless grace, their song loud and beautiful. As they left the screen the camera changed to show them swimming away. Returning to the mysterious darkness from whence they came, taking their song with them.

Silence.

The auditorium exploded in clapping and cheers.

Dr Smyth reappeared and smiled as the cheering died down. “However, Olivia,” She said, making everyone perk up with interest. “Just light the midnight sky, the Midnight Zone’s true wonder can only be seen in the dark.”

Aria tapped a key and the newly edited video played. Awe and wonder bloomed across the kids’ faces, mirrored by their parents and teachers. Bioluminescent creatures danced across the screen like stars. Plankton, jellies, fish, all glowing and swimming in the dark. Large shots of twinkling darkness mixed with close ups of undulating creatures.

Part of Aria’s job as the Sea Link rep of her crew was cutting this footage together, so her eyes were on the kids. Some of them had gone completely slack jawed, while others covered their mouths, eyes sparkling. A trio of second graders were pointing and gasping. In the back a 5th grader kept excitedly whispering to his friend, getting wacked every time, but a second later he’d lean in again. One of the parents up above looked like they were having a religious experience, complete with tears. They were all enthralled.

Many of these kids would leave the auditorium with a lifelong love of the ocean. Some of them might go on to study the ocean and its wonders. And maybe, just maybe, one of them might just sit where Aria sat: telling other children what it was like to be a Thetis crew member. What a wonderful thought, that this project could still be going when these children became adults, that more generations would dive into the dark to uncover its secrets. Its why Aria loved this part of her job.

Each crew had a dedicated Marine engineer, and they all complained they were worked off their feet. Between the subs, the lab equipment, and the Thetis’s various systems there was always something they needed to fix. There was barely time to breathe, but Aria insisted on making time for the Sea Link program. Reaching out to children around the world, answering their questions and introducing them to the wonders of the ocean, it was everything. Being an engineer was her passion, but teaching was her calling; and once she was done with these crazy adventures she’d settle down and using those teaching credentials she earned while recovering from the accident.

As the video reached halfway, Aria felt something odd. By the end of the first month, everyone developed a sixth sense for other life around them, making it near impossible to sneak up on them. One of the mammal specialists on team 2 always knew when a sea creature came near the Thetis. He described it like when someone swipes at you underwater, causing a mini current. Aria had started feeling that recently.

She pulled up the outside cameras, the sub dock still streaming. She could see a hint of movement and hit the record; all the feeds were recorded, but doing this would make the file easier to find. She hoped it was something interesting to share with the Guppies. A Shark? More whales? Maybe they’d finally get more footage of a giant squid?

Aria’s jaw dropped.

That was no Squid.

“Uh, Dr Smyth?” Martin asked as the video ended and her shocked face appeared on screen. “Are you ready for more questions?”

“Dr Polaski,” She said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. “Can I have a private word?”

He frowned. It was highly unusual; in fact, Aria didn’t think it’d ever happened before. He smiled at the assembly, overacting as he asked for their patience to make it seem normal. He walked over to the computers where Julian was putting up a promo video to distract the kids. Jackie transferred Aria’s feed to their screen and isolated the sound.

“What the heck, Aria?” Jackie asked, miffed at the break from script.

“I need you to call HQ,” Aria said, nervously glancing from her screen to the camera. “Right. Now.”

Julian pulled out his phone as Martine asked: “Why? What’s happened?”

“There’s a submarine about to dock with the Thetis.”

“You mean one of the min-subs?” Martin asked, confused.

“No, like a military sub.”

Silence

“Are you on Nitrogen?” Jackie accused. Julian wacked his cousin, that was no joke. There’d always been concerns about the effect of long term, deep sea living.

Aria hit a button. The live feed from the dock took the screen. They gasped, Julian nearly dropping his phone.

On the screen was what appeared to be—but couldn’t possibly be true—a cold war era, Russian submarine with modified hatch. As they watched the sub docked. A loud metallic clang rang shook the Thetis. Aria flinched.

“What are you waiting for?” Martin hissed, Julian back on his phone again. “Activate the security system! Lockdown the hatch! Keep them out!”

“We don’t have anything like that,” Aria cried, putting them back on screen. “This is a research vessel at the bottom of the ocean. The only thing down here should be fish, not vintage Russian attack subs. What should I do?”

“Ok, ok” Martin said, thinking fast; there was no protocol for this. “The most valuable items are the samples and equipment in Lab 2. Can it be locked?”

“Not traditionally,” Jackie said, consulting the digital manual they used for collage visits. “But the containment protocol makes it airtight until the release code is entered.”

“I can trigger it from the outside,” Aria said, denying the expedite docking? Request from the hatch; that gave her another minute.

“You need to lock down the command deck,” Julian said, still half listening to the phone. “HQ says they could be spies trying to steal the Thetis. If they get to the climbing controls, they can make her surface for another team to collect.”

“The mini-subs don’t have the air to surface safely,” Aria protested, horrified.

“Have they opened the hatch?”

Aria shook her head, quickly throwing up another prompt to delay them; pressure check on the second hatch.

“Lock down lab 2 and then barricade yourself on the command deck,” He instructed. “And-and activate the distress beacon to warn the subs. HQ has launched the rescue ship. They’ll contact you once they figure out what to do next. Go!”

Aria scrambled out of her chair. She smacked the distress beacon on the way out the door. Just down the hall to the stairs and up. Around the corner, the lab doors in sight.

Screeeeeek!

The first hatch was open!

Aria skidded to a halt at the Lab 2 door. She yanked open the controls, slamming “Emergency containment”. A yellow alarm light flashed to life. Clang! The lock engaged. Hiss! The air seals filled. The screen requested the release code. Aria took off.

Back around the corner. Down two steps at a time. She fell on her knees into the hall. She heard boots thumping toward her. She jumped up and ran.

“Freeze!” Someone shouted.

She kept running.

BANG!

A GUN!?

Aria stopped and whirled around. A group of burly, heavily armed men were walking toward her. In the lead was a slighter man with graying hair and a long, burgundy coat. His sharp face was cast in a frown as he glared at Aria, gun trained on her. She glared right back.

“Are you crazy!?” She exploded, engineer ire rising. “This is a pressurized vessel! If that had breached the hull, we’d all be dead!”

“I told you to freeze,” He said, unconcerned.

“Who are you?” Aria demanded when they reached her. “And how did you get that monstrosity down here? Those subs aren’t built for this kind of pressure.”

“I am the dread pirate, Captain Wes Glacier,” He said proudly, stowing his gun. “And the Leviathan is a …unique vessel.”

Aria crossed her arms and arched her brow, not impressed. “Dread?” She repeated. “I think people would have to have heard of you to be called “Dread”.”

One of the men laughed, turning it into a cough when his captain cut him a scowl. He turned back to Aria, the scowl turning into an icy glare. Aria worked hard to seem unbothered.

“Who are you to criticize?” He asked, looking her over with judgement clear on his face.

“Dr Aria Smyth,” she replied, standing tall; tall enough to crack his chin with her forehead, if he kept being rude. “Team Engineer and host of the school interview program: Sealink.”

“Never heard of you,” Glacier drawled.

“I don’t claim to be dread,” she fired back, earning more coughed laughs. “You going to introduce your friends?” She nodded to the hulks behind him.

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she huffed. “What do you want, dread pira-“

Her eyes went wide, reality hitting her as she scanned their weapons: handguns, rifles, harpoons, all sorts of knives, and was that a cutlass? Glacier smirked cruelly as reality hit her like ice water. Pirates! These were pirates. Ruthless, cutthroat, murderous pirates. She’d been so wrapped up in protecting the vessel she hadn’t had the brain space to consider her situation. The things these men could do to her didn’t bear thinking about.

Aria held herself tight, just keeping herself from shaking. Cpt Glacier stepped closer, making her flinch. He grinned wolfishly.

“What do-“ She stammered, fighting for breath. “What do pirates w-want with a research vessel?”

“Treasure,” he drawled, enjoying her fear. “Your crew discovered the remains of the Aberu. A pirate ship sunk in a storm after plundering a Spanish treasure galleon with a mysterious cargo.”

“Oh,” Aria whispered. She’d completely forgotten about the find last month.

“Where is it?” One of the hulking men barked.

Aria startled. “Th-the ship?”

“The treasure,” Glacier corrected, waving the man back. “The chests, gold, and gems you brought up.”

“We didn’t,” she squeaked. “We’re a biology team; we study marine life. After our rotation, they’re sending an archaeological and salvage team for it.”

“And you didn’t bring anything up?” He asked, puzzled. “Did you even search it?”

She shook her head. “Not our field.”

He rolled his eyes. “Scientists,” He tutted. “I take it you logged the coordinates?” she nodded. “Good, we’ll take those and salvage the ship ourselves. Not as much fun, but-“

“No!”

Glacier glared at her, she backed away. “No?” He repeated coldly.

“It-it’s become a thriving…ecosystem,” She said, voice shaking. “As well as-as being full of anthropological information. You’ll, you’ll, you’ll destroy- AH!”

He snatched her arm in a bruising grip, expression as cold as his name. “You’ve just slid from amusing to annoying, doctor,” he hissed. “Don’t test my patience any further.” He tightened his grip, making her whimper.

Grrrrrrr

A growl filled the hall; a distinctly animal growl. Everyone whipped around, trying to find the source. Glacier looked up, eyes wide as saucers.

“What?” He spat.

He jumped back, throwing Aria aside. Something fell from the ceiling, thumping down between Aria and Glacier. His hand went to his gun. Aria gasped.

“Is that one of our’s?” Aria hissed at his men.

“No, sir,” one whispered back.

An animal stood snarling at the pirates, but it was unlike any animal Aria had ever seen. 4-foot tall and 9-feet-long from snout to fin with a hide of purple, teal, and blue scales. Four long legs ending in lizard-like claws. A dorsal fin on it’s back that matched the long, powerful, shark-like tail.  Sharp, menacing teeth revealed in a snarl and intelligent, iridescent green eyes that were filled with rage at the sight of the pirates.

It was like a shark had been taken apart and remade in a dog-like shape, covered in fish skin. It was both the most terrifying and the most magnificent thing Aria had ever seen. She could hardly breathe.

Glacier whistled at the—dog shark? Fish dog?—animal; it prowled toward him. He tried again, searching for a note. It snarled. He gave three short whistles and it growled at him.

“It won’t listen,” He hissed, angry.

“It must be an alpha,” one of the men replied. “You have to show dominance.”

“How do you know so much about it?” Aria asked, eyes never leaving the animal.

“We train them,” Glacier growled, a determined scowl on his face. “Starting like this.”

He puffed his chest, lunged forward, and bellowed. Aria was scared, but the animal wasn’t. It lunged back at him, jaws snapping. Glacier jerked away, shocked. The other pirates drew their weapons.

Aria gasped, horrified. They were going to hurt this magnificent animal.

Grrrrr

More growling. More dog-fish-sharks appeared (Seahounds, Aria decided for now). Eleven in all, with distinctive scale patterns. All prowling and growling at the pirates. But Glacier wasn’t looking at the seahounds. He was glaring at Aria.

“You!” He barked. “They’ve bonded to you. Call them off!”

“What?” she asked, voice tight. “How?”

Two of the seahounds broke off from the pack, stepping in front of Aria to cut her off from the pirates. The first Seahound—the Alpha?—led the others towards Glaicer’s crew. The pirates retreated slowly, cautiously.

“Whistle,” The captain snapped. “The same pitch I did.”

“I can’t whistle.”

“Damn you, Dr Smyth,” He snarled, voice full of venom.

“I didn’t do anything,” she protested weakly, drowned out by the Alpha’s furious growl.

He crouched, ready to pounce. Glacier’s hand disappeared into his coat. He pulled out a whistle and blew. It was like a knife through Aria’s ear drums. The seahounds cowered and whined. Aria her ears and shut her eyes.

The whistle stopped.

Aria opened her eyes to find the pirates gone; their foot falls retreating. The Alpha yipped. Three Seahounds took off, claws clacking on the metal floor. She heard them bound down the ladder to the lower floor.

Screeak!

Boom! Boom!

They’d shut the hatches. The scrape of claws and metal echoed up the ladder shaft. The quiet thunk, thunk meant their hatch had disengaged. They’d left.

The Alpha let out a huff and turned to Aria.  Aria tried not to panic as the others followed suit.

She was glad the pirates were gone; the way Glacier’s crew looked at her made it clear what they would do to her given the chance. But she wasn’t sure she was any less doomed with the seahounds. Those teeth and claws were terrifyingly sharp, easily able to rip her to shreds. Hopefully they’d go for the throat and end it quickly.

The Alpha approached. The seahounds that had kept the pirates away stepped aside. Aria gulped, but took small comfort in that the others didn’t try to box her in or move toward her; the Alpha wouldn’t attack her alone, right?

“N-nice doggy,” She whispered, voice shaking with fear.

The Alpha ducked their head like they’d been scolded, a few others whining sadly. They were upset. Because she was scared of them? Did they-did they want her to like them?

Hesitantly, she held out her hand, trying not to tremble. The Alpha slowly lifted their snout to sniff her fingers. They gave her a few tentative licks, eyes wide and sad in a bizarre but sincere puppy dog pout; were they asking for forgiveness? It was so sweet Aria couldn’t help but smile. She turned her hand and gently stroked their head. The scales were smooth and pliable, pleasant to rub. They nuzzled her palm.

“What a good doggy,” She cooed, petting him more. “Such a sweetie.”

He wagged his tail, tongue lolling out and mouth pulling into a smile. So cute! Another seahound approached; Aria held out her hand. They took a few sniffs then happily accepted neck scratches. Soon all the seahounds were wagging their tails and vying for attention. The three that had chased the pirates arrived for pets and Aria made sure to give them.

“Such brave puppies,” she cooed, on one knee to scratch them better. “You chased off those mean ol’ pirates. Yes, you did. I’d give you all treats, but I don’t know what you eat. I’m fairly sure you are scientifically impossible. Yes, you are, sweetie. They’re going to have to rewrite those fancy textbooks. But I’m not a biologist, so it’s not my problem. No, no it’s not my problem, is it baby?”

Beep! Beep! Beeeeep!

Aria’s lab watch went off. It was the Qianliyan, one of the mini-subs. She accepted the call with her nose so she could keep petting.

“Hi!” She greeted, knowing she sounded much too chipper for someone who sent out a distress call just a few minutes ago.

“Aria,” The team captain answered. “Are you ok? What happened?”

“I’m safe now, cap,” she giggled as Alpha licked her face. “Hurry up and dock. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

The end?