Commander Lewis listened to Theresa’s rambling, almost incoherent report of what she had just seen. Jim listened, horrified, and then asked Theresa to follow him. He ignored her questions about where they were going, until she realized they were headed to sickbay. When they walked in, Jessica was there, scrubbing the lab.
“Commander! I’m fine!” she protested.
“Jess, I’d like you to check Theresa’s blood nitrogen levels.”
“Oh my God!” Theresa said. “That’s what this is about? I’m not narced out, Skipper! Go see for yourself!”
“I intend to.”
Jessica walked over and took Theresa by the arm, guiding her to an exam chair. “Sit down, Theresa. What’s going on?”
“It’s Ian. I think he’s alive.”
Jessica cocked her head and looked at Theresa sadly. “I know how hard it is, Theresa.”
“No! You don’t understand! I just saw him!”
Jim walked to the radiophone and called down to the lab. Mike answered.
“Mike, it’s Jim. Theresa is up here at sickbay with me. Did you see Ian’s body outside the ship?”
“Affirmative, Skipper. I think you should come down here.”
Jim and Jessica exchanged glances, and Theresa stood up. “I’m coming with you. I’m not narced out and I’m not crazy.”
The three of them walked downstairs to the lab. The ship groaned a long, low, ghostly moan. “What’s that?” asked Jessica, now spooked herself.
“Just the hull—relax,” said Jim quietly.
The three of them arrived in the lab to find Mike and Ted seated by a large monitor. As huge as their ship was, their giant white ball was dwarfed by the underground volcano. The black smoker rose on one side of the ship like a giant chimney, almost four hundred feet tall, but only fifty feet across at its widest point. Most of the smoker was encrusted with the bizarre sea life that only existed in that harsh alien landscape. Mussels, clams, fuzzy crabs, odd varieties of shrimp, and the giant tube worm colonies formed an outer layer on the walls of the superheated pipe.
The three of them looked over Ted and Mike’s shoulders to see what they were staring at. It was Ian—out on the black smoker. Jessica’s hands went to her face and she gasped. Jim’s face contorted, almost a pained expression. Theresa looked away and found a chair. Jim walked over and slapped the all-call button on the wall. “Tony—wherever you are, come to the lab.”
He walked to the monitor and stared at Ian. “His arms are moving,” said Jim quietly.
“It’s the current,” said Mike.
“No. His arms are moving. Look at his fingers.” Jim was speaking so quietly they could barely hear him. “It’s like he’s wading.”
Ted took the joystick that controlled one of the cameras and maneuvered to get a better look. He zoomed up. Ian’s fingers were moving. Ian’s face turned to the camera and silent lips mouthed two words . . .
“Help me.”
***********
Tony walked quickly into the lab to find his horrified crewmates seated around the room in silence.
“What is it? What’s going on?” he asked.
Jim stood up, looking sick. “It’s Ian. The infrared camera picked him up and locked on. Live feed zoomed in on him. He was trying to speak—his arms were moving.”
Tony’s revolted face said it all. “Skipper—Ian’s dead. He’s in twenty thousand feet of water.”
“Yeah, I know,” he responded quietly.
“Look, Skipper—the MC had me increase pressure to thirty feet. We all need to check our nitrogen levels. Maybe we’re all getting narced, ya know? Think about what I’m sayin’, Skipper. Hell, think about what you’re saying.”
Jim rubbed his face. “When did you increase pressure?”
“When Ian was still in sickbay. It’s gotta be over ten hours. I can check the computer. We all need to check our nitrogen.”
Jessica exhaled slowly. “That’s got to be it, Skipper. I didn’t see his fingers or mouth move. Maybe you’re just getting narced out. We weren’t supposed to be under pressure on this mission.” She looked at Tony. “Why did the MC increase pressure?”
“The MC didn’t actually do it; it just warned of thermal differentials in the hull that could be dangerous. I only took us to thirty feet, less than what was suggested,” he offered, almost apologetically.
Jim put up a hand. “Okay, everyone take a minute and really think. I’m the only one who saw Ian’s mouth move. Maybe it’s just me. Jess will check me out. She’ll check all of us out. If we have a problem, we can either decrease pressure, or we can inject helium in the air mix. We’ll be fine, okay?”
Jim signaled Jessica, who left the lab quickly, followed by the rest of them to sickbay. Only Ted remained in the lab, where he turned the camera back on and zoomed in on Ian’s body. The arms still extended out in a huge embrace of the superheated water that should have boiled his flesh, but didn’t.