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Second
9
January 23, 10:11A.M.NCT
Three hundred miles off Norfolk Island (Australia)
Phoebe climbed out of the submersible’s upper hatch. The bright sunlight stung her eyes after a week underwater, but she refused to even blink. A wind buffeted her hair. She inhaled the fresh air and lifted her face to the sun in a cloud-scudded sky. It felt as if she had finished a free dive—and in some ways, she had.
Titan Station Downlay two miles under her feet. The ascent had taken twenty-two minutes. She had left Jazz down below to continue their research while she was gone. The new specimens collected last night needed to be analyzed, catalogued, and DNA sequenced. Phoebe trusted her grad student to handle it while she was away for four or five days on the excursion to the Tonga Trench.
She was excited for the trip, nearly breathless at the chance to be the first to explore that giant coral forest in the sunless abyssalpelagic depths of the trench. She clambered off the submersible, making room for Adam Kaneko, who would be coming on this trip with her.
She hopped down to the floating dock, where scores of other yellow subs were tethered around the massive pylons ofTitan Station Up. She studied the two-tiered platform far overhead. This part of the Titan Project had been modified from the design of a floating oil rig. It served as the perfect staging ground for operations both on the surface and below.
Adam joined her, landing deftly on the planks. He ignored the colossal structure rising overhead and stared at the surrounding seas. “Are we too late?”
She followed his gaze. It took her an extra moment to realize one vital part of the Titan Complex was missing. The huge gigayacht—theTitan X—was no longer docked on the rig’s far side.
She frowned. “Did the ship leave without us?”
She and Adam had been scheduled to board the massive research vessel this morning. TheTitan Xwas supposed to ferry her and Adam the four hundred miles to the trench. The huge ship had a deep-sea submersible aboard that was rated for hadal dives. Plus, William Byrd—never one for half measures—had wanted to haul the yacht’s scientific contingent over to the site of their discovery.
So where is it now?
“There you are!” a voice shouted to them.
They turned to find Byrd crossing from the elevator that rose up one of the legs of the rig. Anxious to find out what had changed overnight, Phoebe hurried to meet him with Adam at her heels.
“Ah,” Byrd said. “I hope you are both well rested.”
“Where’s theTitan X?” Phoebe pressed him.
Byrd shaded his eyes and stared across the waves. “I sent her off four hours ago.”
“Why?” Adam asked.
“To get a jump-start on the voyage. Even with her molten-salt reactors, it’ll still take the ship nine hours to reach the trench. Didn’t want to lose half the day.” He pointed up. “I have a helicopter ready to hop you both over to her. Once you’re aboard, it should be only another two or three hours until you’re on site. We could have you diving into the Tonga by late afternoon.”
Phoebe stammered, both excited to hear this and slightly irked that no one had warned her about the change in itinerary.
“There’s another reason for the accelerated timetable,” Byrd said as he led them toward the elevator. He glanced over to Adam. “I’m sure your uncle informed you about the devastation from the quake and the tsunami that struck the coast of China.”
Adam winced. “He did.”
“The death toll will surely rise into the tens of thousands before everything is cleaned up. If the cluster of quakes in the Tonga is truly to blame, then we can’t waste any time getting there and discovering what’s causing this tectonic instability.”
Adam nodded. “My uncle is still below monitoring continual temblors throughout the region. He believes we’ve not seen the worst of it yet.”
“It’s why I’ll be staying here. To assist your uncle and readyTitan Station Downto be evacuated if the threat level escalates.”
“Are they in any danger?” Phoebe pictured Jazz. “Should you evacuate now as a precaution?”
“Even Haru thinks such a course is premature. Plus, there are multiple fail-safes to protect those aboard.”
Phoebe was not reassured by his words, but she also recognized the importance of the endeavor ahead. If there was an answer in that trench, they needed to find it.
Byrd led them to the elevator, which would whisk them up to the topmost platform. The rumbling noise of an engine drew her attention out to the water. A seaplane ducked out of the sky and dove toward the waves.
