Submarine

You'll be fine.

Nearly after 3:00.

Car will be here.

You ready to make history.

Or write it.

Lord Jesus.

I call on your name in this time of trouble

because your name is higher than any other name.

I hide in you like a shelter.

Keep me safe from every form of harm.

I trust my life with you.

I trust my loved ones with you.

Get me through this safely as only you can.

I've sailed out of this dock for 11 years

and I never knew there was a chapel here.

There's not a lot of love in this place.

There's enough.

What are you praying for?

Protection.

Right.

You know you could...

I think I might just burst into flames if I try.

We'll both be in the same place.

I'm sure he'll cover you by default.

I'll take that.

Boat's ready.

Okay, gorgeous.

Just you and me.

Hey.

Hey.

Pre-dive check's underway.

Got it.

Crawler.

Rookie's having it loaded.

She's called Rhea.

It's her third dive.

She's still a rookie.

How you doing?

Yep. Good.

Still taking the job?

Yes.

I'm still taking the job.

Mason, eh.

Pre-dive checklist isn't gonna finish itself.

Right.

I'm here. Tell me.

Telemetry dropped at 03:20.

Last good packet was a low rate micro side and flag,

background noise, nothing unusual.

30 seconds later, the feed stuttered.

Then nothing.

Nothing as in?

Dead channel.

No command handshake, no return ping on the acoustic modem.

That's my sister down there.

I know, and Mason, and Rhea, and Elliott.

So you can't track them?

Not yet.

We're retasking the hydrophone array

to passive listen and spinning the search grid.

It's black outside that window right now, Clara.

Acoustic clutter, thermoclines.

The water's a wall.

So what are you doing now?

Sentinel is holding station.

We're widening the passive net

and cycling the AUVs for a blind sweep

once gray light hits.

I put the DSVO crew on standby,

but there are sign-off chains.

Weather, sea, state jurisdiction.

Well, then...

Say it straight

Are they gone?

Silent is not gone.

We treat it like a comms failure until we prove otherwise.

Initiating methane draw sequence.

Rhea, confirm seal integrity.

Confirmed.

Chambers are looking steady.

There's no back flow.

Sensors show a hydrate bloom to the northeast

and we've got strong signal.

They'll stay put.

No drifting, no surprises.

Set draw to slow collection.

I don't wanna stir up a landslide.

Tenner says Elliott pokes it anyway.

Rhea, check claw housing.

We've got triple bearings and it's all green.

The hydration density increases six meters northeast.

We should reposition and collect from the edge

Negative, that area's unstable.

Stay where we are

Staying here won't give us a valid profile.

We're here to survive the descent

and collect clean data safely.

But a deeper draw will give us real-world readings.

Otherwise this is just an expensive formality.

Formality sounds good where we're a marlin to death.

Lena.

Elliott

Briefed on the dive parameters.

We'll stick with them.

Okay, dive parameters it is.

Elliott.

Yeah.

We're still making history.

Yeah.

Eyes on the helm, Mister.

Yes, skipper.

What was that?

Microquake.

Rhea, run a seismic check.

Give the word.

Rhea?

2.1 on the Richter.

Center comms up.

Center. Center.

Abyssal 1, come in.

2.1 is well within safety parameters

for the dive and the brief.

Elliott.

It's just the ocean breathing.

That didn't sound like breathing.

Run a diagnostic on the hull pressure.

1.9 on the Richter.

I don't have comms.

What?

Send up a ping.

0.1 on the Richter.

See, exactly.

Hold position.

Rhea, check the communication station.

Elliott, if you wanna check your telemetry and data,

now's your time.

Yes, Captain.

Might be a relay issue.

Try a system reboot.

Still nothing.

That was bigger than before.

Yep. She's shifting.

Cut all active sampling,

power down the arm.

I want everything in standby.

The quake zone, it's spreading wider than before.

100%.

Punching out.

100%.

Hold on.

I'm fine. Don't worry.

I'm okay.

I've just hurt my leg.

Tell me we didn't just get buried alive.

Cameras are dead.

The feed's been completely cut.

Checking sonar.

Roof shifted five meters.

There's debris on all sides.

Define debris.

Sea floor, sand, rocks, you name it.

Okay, we're buried midsection to stern.

Front section almost clear.

That's cozy.

Life support.

Scrubbers are still running.

Batteries are draining.

We've got one cell left.

So what, we wait for rescue?

No one's coming.

Not this deep.

Not in time.

We're on our own.

What about the emergency buoy again?

We tested that twice last month.

I know.

The cable guide could be fouled by silt.

Or the spring's seized.

Or the trigger never went live.

Because?

Because if they were hit fast and sideways,

they would've prioritized internal lockouts

over external triggers.