“Brent—”
“Shit. Okay, don’t worry. That wasn’t as smooth as we’d hoped.”
The ocean swallowed her in one brutal pull. The lights from the trawler vanished, replaced by the cold, deep dark.
“I’m not vertical, Brent.” Her voice came out high and tight, with an edge of panic that made her grit her teeth. It felt like she was half on her side, half teetering forward. But up and down were nebulous concepts as the water dragged at her. She was weightless, drifting, the water too dark to even give a hint of orientation. A low hum vibrated through the suit as the stabilizers strained, too late to right her fully.
“Brent!”
Her left hand flexed, wanting to grab the joystick and regain control, but Brent had warned her to touch nothing. Besides, she had no idea which way was up.
Shit. Shit.
“—your depth.” Brent’s voice crackled through the radio.
“What? Say again.”
“Too much background noise on the VOX. Can you hear me now?”
“Yes. Fuck. What’s the VOX?”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re sinking, okay?”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
A tinny chuckle sounded in her helmet. “All right. So we have a thousand feet of nothing beneath us. Plenty of time to get you sorted.” His tone was reassuring and gentle.
Right. Plenty of time.“I’ve got a leak. I heard a hiss.”
“Are you wet? Can you hear it still?”
“No, I’m…” She forced a steadying breath. “No leak, huh?”
“Pressure equalizing. Perfectly normal.”
“And the flashing light?”
“Amber, top left?”
“Yes.”
“Attitude error, because you’re sideways.”
Of course it was.
“You’re too far over for the gyros to auto-stabilize,” Brent added. “As good a time as any to put our theory into practice. Do you see the digital horizon?”
It was difficult to miss. “It’s right in front of my face.”
Another chuckle, this one sounding a little more forced. “Gentle movements, remember? Side of the right pedal down. Roll level.”
It was like turning in bed when drunk. Lethargic, heavy, with a hint of the unreal.
“Good. Now your pitch. Same pedal, heel down.”
The exosuit came up slowly, and as it did, Brent’s figure came into view, the LEDs of his suit shining bright through the murky water. Cally had been drifting face-down practically at his feet, like a kowtow in the dojang.That was embarrassing.
“There you are,” he said. She couldn’t see his face through his visor, especially with his suit lights shining in her eyes, but there was warmth in his tone.
