Below the Surface

Saka sat cross-legged atop Boadicea’s scratched and dented hull, double-checking her gear. The ship rocked in the gently rolling waves, the soft splash against the hull was the only sound to be heard. Before Saka could go over her equipment a third time, a sure sign she was stalling, she sighed and suited up.

She took precautions, having heard tales, albethey tall tales, of the vicious monsters lurking beneath the planet’s aqua surface. She donned a wetsuit woven with a durable polymer to protect her from being bitten, but not from being crushed between massive jaws. A thought she forced from her head. The toothless man who’d sold her the speargun she strapped to her back had promised its accuracy and effectiveness. She hoped it worked better than whatever the old man used for dental care. She double-checked the charge on her headlamp and backup flashlight, and the aqua breather secured over her mouth and nose were in proper working order. The necessary yet bulky dive computer covered most of her left forearm. It would keep her on course and in touch with Boadicea through the aqua breather’s built in-radio. Finally, the stone key, the most vital piece of all. She brushed her dark hand over its smooth surface, her fingers trailing over raised glyphs populating the gray stone.

Confident she had everything needed to resurrect the ancient treasure, Saka took one last look around the vast watery wasteland and tucked the artifact into the zippered pocket of her wetsuit before lowering herself into the planet’s watery blue depths.

Once in the water, she activated the ship’s cloaking device via the dive computer. The smooth static from the unused radio frequency hissed gently in her ears, a soothing reminder of her solitude. Above, Boadicea now matched the blue sea in which she bobbed. However, the view below was a different story. The trek-worn vehicle looked just as she always did, off-white and pocked with craters as Saka rolled to take a last look at her ship before diving toward her quarry. A flicker at Boadicea’s tail drew her attention.

In the murky light, the unexpected light source blipped and flashed. Frowning, Saka kicked towards the mysterious yellow pulse. The light emanated from a small black cube, no larger than the antique Zippo lighter she’d won years ago during a craps game in a darkened alley on some non-descript port planet. She ran her hand over the small tracking device and swore under the breather.

Her mind immediately flashed through an assortment of seedy individuals she’d recently encountered (an occupational hazard for a black-market treasure hunter) until she settled on the image of a roguishly handsome flyboy wearing an ancient bomber jacket from a bygone era who’d flirted with her the night before last. He’d sauntered into a dive bar filled with pirates and cargo mules and ordered two tumblers of her favorite drink, Batinenian Rum Punch. The barkeep, a willowy man with a little tuft of greenish-yellow hair sprouting from the top of his head, obliged without a word and set the finished products in front of their new owner. The flyboy offered up a winning smile and tossed the barman a credit stick and two ration packets. Feeling this was a fair trade, the barkeep turned with his payment and went to check on his other patrons.

Saka watched the room without lifting her eyes from their anchor point behind the bar. When the flyboy took a hardy sip of his punch, Saka noticed. She was aware of him as he turned to her, slowly looking her up and down, his eyes lingering on the side seam of her brown leather pants stretched over the smooth curve of her hip. When he finally slid the second tumbler of bubbling red liquid in front of her, she played mildly hard to get.

Their evening had ended with Saka’s legs wrapped around flyboy’s waist, her back pressed against Boadicea’s ass-end, suspiciously where the small, shitty tracker now blinked, blinked, blinked away. He must have placed it there when he’d distracted her with that thing he’d done with his tongue. Saka smirked ruefully at the memory. “Asshole,” she murmured and took the speargun from its holster on her back and smashed the tracker with its butt. The irritating black box slipped into the depths, its yellow light fading.

“Aw sugar,” came a familiar drawl in Saka’s ear, displacing the static, “is that any way to treat an innocent piece of tech?” Saka’s eyes widened slightly at the unexpected voice. She recovered her composure quickly and kicked her fins in a lazy circle, pivoting to face her flyboy fling.

“An expensive piece of tech at that,” he continued. “And not a penny wasted. It tracked you perfectly.” To a figure treading water behind him, “Remind me to thank that old toothless guy. He had some great equipment in that old shack of his.”

Saka’s vision moved from the flyboy to the others in his entourage. She counted four party crashers in total. “I don’t remember inviting you or your friends.”

“How very rude of me.” Flyboy motioned to his cronies. “Boys, this is sugar. Sugar, the boys. Now that we’ve all been formally introduced, let’s get to it. The key, please.”

Without removing her gaze from Flyboy’s emerald stare, Saka unzipped the pocket on her suit and fished out the stone key, handing it over.

Flyboy took the artifact and tucked it into a pouch located on his wetsuit sleeve. “Ladies first.” He moved to the side and motioned with his arm for Saka to lead the way.

Sake smiled sarcastically with her eyes and dove into the dark depths of the watery planet. “When did you know who I was? Was it before you walked into the bar, or was I just a lucky happenstance?" she asked.

“Oh sugar, I heard that a beautiful, dark-skinned woman was buying diving equipment and had been seen drinking at that crappy little bar, so I decided to check it out.” The group was fanned out behind her, following at varying distances, making it hard for Saka to even think about making a break for it. “When I saw you sitting at the bar, it felt like Christmas in July. Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you?”

“I’m flattered,” Saka’s voice came out flat. “How did you even know who I was? I thought I’d been keeping a low profile. I never expected to attract a fan club.”

Flyboy chuckled softly, “Sugar, after your last two hauls, other hunters would be dumb not to notice you. I mean, the lost artifact of Grinian? People have searched for centuries, and here you come, out of nowhere, with it as if you bought it at a five and dime. And then, not six months later, you dig up a crashed spacecraft carrying over fifty million units of platinum. People didn’t even know the craft existed.” More chuckling. “You’re like magic, girlie.”

Saka’s eyes narrowed at the word ‘girlie.’ Mentally, she tallied all the offensives Flyboy needed to pay for. Currently, the pejorative female wordage topped the list. “Remind me to get some plastic surgery after selling the Karita gem.”

“I don’t think you’ll be needing it, sugar. The fish down here will take care of that pretty face for you,” Flyboy’s words oozed with confidence.

“I was talking to Boadicea. I’ll be going back solo.”

A soft murmur of chuckles from Flyboy and his friends filled Saka’s ears, ramping her resolve.

The groups of divers moved closer to their target. Their headlamps threw ghostly rays of mottled light forward, casting their surroundings in a blue haze.

Sake brought her dive computer close to her face, checking their progress. They should be almost on top of the old city. Catching a new glow coming from her right, Saka turned towards it. A blue light shot small rays into the darkness from Flyboy’s cuff, where he’d tucked the key away.

Saka pulled up short. “What are you doing?” Flyboy asked, his drawl carrying an edge of irritation. Illuminated in his headlamp, she motioned towards his wrist. “No wonder you used a tracking device to follow me. You couldn’t find your ass with both hands in a well-lit room surrounded by mirrors.”

Flyboy followed her eye line and removed the now glowing key. Its light illuminated their surroundings with intense blue light. Below them, the darkness melted away, replaced by the same blue glow to reveal a massive sunken city.

“Karita,” murmured Flyboy, awe replacing the irritation in his voice.

Saka turned to the city, hardly believing her eyes. A millennium beneath the water had left Karita’s ancient stone walls in relatively good condition, at least that how it appeared from where the group now tread water some one hundred yards from the nearest cracked stone wall.

Fissures spider-webbed the city’s stone surfaces, blue light spilling from each one, giving this watery grave an ethereal look. Saka guessed the pressure from the water itself was the main reason the walls hadn’t crumbled entirely ago. However, any action from an outside force, such as a kicking flipper or bump from an unchecked elbow, would send one of Karita’s many towers tumbling down. Saka gave a cursory look at Flyboy’s henchmen and decided it wouldn’t be too hard to cull their numbers with a well-placed shove here or there.

“Is that glow the—”

“Gem? Yes, it’s the gem,” Saka cut Flyboy short. “The key must have activated it.”

“Activated?”

Saka sighed, “Do you do any research beyond figuring out who to cheat?” To his cronies, “Please tell me you’re not friends of his. I would hope you all were smart enough not to hang out with someone this stupid.” Receiving no reply, she continued, “The gem was Karita’s power source. It ran the city, provided heat, cooling, washed the salt from the seawater for drinking, healed the sick, and protected the island from an invasion.”

“Invasion?” Came an unfamiliar voice over the intercom in Saka’s ear.

“So, you can speak.” She turned back to the city. “It’ll be interesting to see if the defensive systems are still running.” Turning back to the gang, “I’d watch what I touch.” She eyed Flyboy, “I suppose I’m still leading this mission?”

He gestured with the key, motioning Saka to continue swimming. “We’ll take up the rear, and you two will flank her.”

Saka swam down towards the electric blue of the lost city of Karita. “Didn’t take the time to learn their names? I take it they just hired hands.”

“I pay very well,” came Flyboy’s voice over the comm.

“So, they aren’t your friends. Well, boys, you just gained a little of my respect.” Saka received silence over the comm.

The group swam towards the blue city. Saka kept one eye on the city and the other on the water around them. The stone’s magnificent glow had not only attracted the attention of the treasure hunters. Saka noted several small schools of sleek fish swimming towards the ancient runes. It wouldn’t take long before the larger predators drew closer to the light.

She was right. It didn’t take long for the dark shadows of large aquatic beasts to emerge. Their smooth, elongated forms darting in and out of view.

“You guys might want to swim a little faster,” Saka picked up her pace, “I have a feeling those heavyweights up there aren’t just here to dance.”

Flyboy motioned for his guys to get a move on, and together they followed Saka as she barreled towards the ruins. Taking notice of the group of darkly suited swimmers with bright headlamps, the closest of the phantom-like creatures decided to investigate these strange interlopers. A twenty-foot behemoth of fins and teeth rushed from its murky vantage point and took a nibble from the right wingman. Unfortunately for the wingman, the nibble was about three feet wide and one foot deep, and it was from his torso.

A strangled gurgle sounded over the intercom as the massive monster swam off. The man’s legs floated to the right while this shoulders and head floated to the left. Clouds of blood bloomed black in the glowing blue light.

The creature, deciding that despite the wetsuit, the last bite had been pretty tasty, came in for another round. This time, it barreled up from below, nearly engulfing the terrified rearguard, not five feet from where Flyboy floated, shocked. As the giant beast shot past, its tail slashed past, throwing him to the side as it shot upward.

In the chaos, Saka saw her opportunity. Switching off her headlamp, she swam like hell for the cover of the city. She’d nearly made it when a hand gripped her ankle, pulling her up short. Saka reacted, curling her legs beneath her. She turned and brought her elbow around, cracking Flyboy in the nose, dislodging his breather. It floated toward the waiting city below. Startled, he released her ankle giving Saka the chance to kick off and gained ground. She felt him grab for the edge of her flipper, but she managed to slip away, finally entering the relative safety of the city’s glowing walls.

Saka found an alleyway and hurried through a maze of narrow passageways flanked on both sides by tall buildings. Flyboy quickly closed the gap between them, this time grabbing her knee. Rolling to her left, Saka removed the speargun from her back and rammed the butt of it into the brittle building’s face. Just as she expected, the water-weakened façade gave way, bringing down chunks of white stone, allowing a flood of blue light to pour through.

The barrage of heavy stones fell around Saka and Flyboy as they fought. Saka noted that Flyboy hadn’t retrieved his breather. She calculated, at least two minutes had gone by since he had lost it. With the exertion of their struggle, coupled with their underwater sprint, she figured he’d pass out soon, but he showed no signs of slowing.

As she deflected another of his punches, Saka wondered whether he’d had some sort of surgical augmentation for hidden gills when she felt the wall give behind her, and it began to crumble under her weight. Above the fight consumed pair, the building’s roof collapsed, sending heavy stones sliding to the city’s cobbled street. The muffled roar of the rockslide reached their ears as it happened. Saka and Flyboy glanced up in time to dance out of the way, forgetting their fight momentarily.

The last hired gun tracked the pair to the alley and rounded the corner just as the rockslide came down, pinning him beneath the stones. Flyboy swam to his injured comrade while Saka took the opportunity to continue towards the city’s center, silently cursing that she hadn’t managed to get the key back. She had managed to hang onto the speargun, which she holstered onto her back.

In the sediment-laden water, Flyboy managed to locate the pinned man. His headlamp undulated slightly with his breathing. Surprised to find him still alive, Flyboy gazed past the glass of the aqua breathers goggles to see the pleading in the man’s brown eyes. Without a second thought, Flyboy removed the man’s breather and donned it himself, inhaling deeply.

“Sorry, brother. I need it more than you do.”

The pinned man flailed against the rocks, trying to grab at Flyboy as he kicked after Saka. He checked his wrist once more, making sure the key was still snug in his cuff. Reassured by the small stone’s hard mass, he resigned himself to killing the irritating bitch after he had the gem.

Flyboy’s words to the dying man came to Sake over the comm giving Saka a new perspective on her troublesome one-night stand. She knew he’d easily track her, and she made no effort to hide her progress, leaving scuffs on the stones and cobbles. The overall effect made her look panicked and careless, something she hoped he would pick up on. It just might give her an advantage when the time came.

The city center was just as it had been described centuries before by explorers. The labyrinth of narrow streets flowed like a series of tributaries to a large courtyard. Three concentric circles of massive ivory-colored stone pillars topped with onyx-like slabs bordered the focal point of the open courtyard. Saka smiled as she imagined the cobbled streets filled with open market carts and the pillars festooned with brightly colored flags, ready for some annual celebration. At the center of it all was a sight that made Saka’s jackhammering pulse quicken anew; an enormous jet of blue light shot heavenward like a heavenly beacon.

Saka swam to it and peered cautiously over the well’s lip. The binding blue light caused her to retreat and rethink her strategy.

“Glad to see you waited for me, sugar.” Flyboy appeared calm and predatory as he advanced.

Saka gasped and kicked back a few feet. This reaction seemed to embolden him, and he quickened his pace. “Now, now, sugar, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Saka moved her head from side to side, searching for an escape route. Finding none, she fixed her gaze on Flyboy’s approaching figure and trembled just a little. She could hear his mouth pull into a smile over the comm.

“What happened to your buddy?” She moved back another foot.

“He ran into a little trouble. He graciously gave me his breather. Good guy.”

“You’ve got an impressive set of lungs. You surprised me. I thought for sure you would pass out back there.” Another kick, another foot.

“I was a big swimmer as a kid -- all-star three years running in the long dive. At my best, I could hold my breath for almost ten minutes before I needed to even think about coming up for air. Almost made it to the galaxy championship, but I got into some trouble with the law. Did you know having a record disqualifies one from competing?”

Saka shook her head. Another foot back. By now, only six or so feet separated them. Saka’s movements had placed the blazing blue beam between them.

“So, this is what we’ve come all this way for?” He closed the distance to the well and peered in. “Damn, that’s bright,” he gasped, snapping his eyes shut and turning his head away.

With lightning speed, Sake reached over her shoulder, yanked the speargun free, and took aim. She pulled the trigger, knowing his temporary blindness wouldn’t last long. The multi-barbed steel spear rocketed towards Flyboy, piercing him squarely in the right shoulder. The force propelled backward into one of the nearby stone pillars. The tip lodged into the smooth stone, pinning him like a butterfly in a lepidopterist’s collection.

“Huh,” Saka watched as the pillar swayed on its foundation but managed to find its balance again, settling without a fuss. “Well, that was lucky. Imagine if that had started a chain reaction around us? It would have come down like a house of cards. That would have been a real bitch.”

Flyboy cursed and rallied against the spear, screaming as he tried to pull himself free. Saka swam to him and removed the key from the pouch on his right cuff as his arm dangled uselessly at his side. “Thanks, sugar,” Saka replied, imitating Flyboy’s drawl. “You’re right. That old toothless guy did have some good tech. I’ll be sure to thank him for both of us.” She swam back over to the shaft of blue light and placed a hand cautiously into the luminous flood, feeling around.

The well sat roughly twelve inches deep with a convex bottom. In the center, she felt a depression the same shape and size as the key. Saka gave a cursory glance over her shoulder at Flyboy. He remained lodged firmly to the pillar. He stared at her with his intense green gaze, waiting. A steady trickle of blood plumed from his wound like smoke from a chimney. Satisfied that he was secure, she lifted the key into the well.

It took her a few tries to get it into the right position. When it found its place, the key sunk into the depression, cutting off the light source. A full thirty seconds went by with no change when a loud clunk sounded from below the square. A mechanical ratcheting of gears followed.

In metered inches, the light returned, blasting up from the well. Once more, Saka reached into the depression once more to find the convex bottom had opened to reveal a multifaceted glass-like surface of a well-cut gem. She pulled a black neoprene satchel from her hip and reached into the well. With her eyes closed, she removed the gem and placed the dazzling artifact into the pouch, cinching it shut with the drawstrings. With the radiant blue light safely stowed, Saka opened her eyes. The ocean floor met her with pitch darkness. Turning on her headlamp once again, she swam over to where Flyboy remained pinned.

“Now, what to do with you,” Saka tapped her breather thoughtfully.

“Now, sugar—” Flyboy began.

“Shh,” Saka placed a finger over his breather to quiet him. “You’re a real asshole. You know that?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued. “I don’t like assholes.” She wiggled the spear in his shoulder, sending a fresh plume of blood into the water and screams over the comm. He tried to reach for her with his good arm, but she dodged him with ease. “From your little monologue earlier, it sounds like you had a pretty cushy life. A life you threw away like so many rich boys I’ve known over the years.” Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. More blood and curses. “And for the record, my name’s not, Sugar.” Saka shot out her hand and yanked the breather from his face. A gush of bubbles escaped him before he remembered himself and held his breath.

She swam back a few paces and dropped the aqua breather just out of his reach. “This is really much kinder. You’ll die in a few minutes as opposed to a few days. Now when the critters come to eat you, you won’t feel it.” With that, Saka turned off her headlamp and began the slow swim to the surface enveloped in darkness. Once her head crested the surface, she used the dive computer to summon Boadicea to retrieve her and the gem.

Once they were safely through the planet’s atmosphere, Saka tapped in a set of coordinates that would take her to a buyer. She then stripped off her wetsuit and donned a fluffy white bathrobe with matching slippers, opened a can of quick heating cocoa, and thought about the look on Flyboy’s face when she ripped off his mask. The image brought a smile to her’s.

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