Colin MacGregor

The crossing from the Flounder to the much larger Manatee was easier than the original boarding by far - as the Crucible watched, amazed, a rumbling thunder seemed to come from the tanker as her bow split evenly in half and the sides spread to the left and right. Whitecapped waves washed out from the motion, rocking the smaller tug and Colin tightened his grip on the side rails even as he watched in rapt fascination.

Once the bow halves separated, the tug slid smoothly inside the larger ship and into a slip built into the Manatee's very interior. As the two ships settled into position, another motor started, and the Flounder was actually cranked several feet up from its original floating level to rest even with the builtin dock. The massive bow doors began cranking shut again, sending sprays of cold, salty water high into the air.

Marcus and Sean nodded, and even Scooter seemed impressed. CJ gave Sean a quick nudge with her elbow and, blushing slightly, the man stopped his nodding immediately with a wry grin at Marvole. "Very impressive, Dr. Marvole. I've not been on a ship like this before."

"Yes," Marvole nodded, "well she is one of a kind." He smiled proprietarily. "We're very proud of her - almost as proud as we were of the Harvest. It is my hope that you will be able to restore that pride."

CJ nodded. "We'll certainly do our best. Now, if you could show us to the rooms we had requested?"

"Certainly." Marvole smiled thinly at her. "I admit, I'm not entirely certain what it is you plan to do, but the instructions from your supervisor were quite exact."

"Well", Sean smiled at the research director, "I'm afraid we can't really go into the procedure, but I guarantee you won't be disappointed in the results."

"I suppose that will have to do, then." Marvole narrowed his eyes at Sean before turning and leading the way onto the dock. "Please", he continued without turning, "follow me."

CJ shrugged and looked at Sean. He grinned and stepped off the smaller ship and led the way, the two Orpheus security guards flanked by similar men bearing Tethys Corporation logos on their shoulders. The spooks trailed behind them, simply walking through the occasional door that closed too quickly behind the skimmers, and the Crucible eventually found themselves in a comfortably, if sparsely, furnished room with two twin beds and brown carpet.

"Thank you", Sean said by way of dismissal. "We'll let you know as soon as we have our results."

Marvole was clearly not pleased by this, but nodded curtly and left without a word, followed by the Tethys security guards.

CJ locked the cabin's door, and Sean quickly made a pass of the room, searching for bugs or cameras. "Looks clean", he said.

CJ nodded then took a deep breath before walking over to sit on one of the beds. "Don't suppose there's any reason to put it off any longer."

Shaking his head, Sean flopped down on the other bed and looked over at Will and Tom. "You two ready?"

Both guards nodded, and Will took up station at the door while Tom pulled a chair in between the two beds and sat down. "Nothing to worry about up here", Will assured them. "Just stay safe down there."

The projected and ghost members of the Crucible stood silently watching as first CJ and then Sean slowly lay back down on their beds and closed their eyes. The two skimmers began taking slow, deep breaths, matching their tempo to each other until, with a final exhalation, CJ's projected form detached from her body to stand beside the bed. Sean's gauze followed shortly thereafter, and both looked down at their motionless bodies.

Max stuck his head through the bulkhead then retreated back in the room, nodding. "Along the outside of the hull, right at the water line, just as we asked."

Colin drew back against the door slightly and closed his eyes, unnoticed by the others who were intent on Max's words.

"Let's be about it, then", Sean said with a grin and jumped through the wall, quickly followed by CJ and Scooter.

Ryan turned to look back at Colin, who was staring intently at the spot where Sean had vanished through. "Come on, kid, nothing to it." He smiled and turned to step through the bulkhead himself.

Max glared at him and tapped his foot while Marcus just shook his head and grinned before going out into the water.

Liz took a deep breath, closed her eyes and spat out "The hell with it", before running full bore at the wall and diving through.

Colin swallowed. Another one o' those reflexive actions tha' are supposed tae be comforting. Too bad tis nay working for shite.

"Oh, for God's sake." Max closed his eyes and began to flicker, calling on his unearthly repose horror to entrance the young ghost.

Unable to resist, Colin walked inexorably forward, his fear unable to overcome the supernatural lure Max now exerted over him. With one last shudder, and a shove from the older wisp, Colin fell through the bulkhead and fell into the turbulent waters of a nightmare.

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Last Updated: January 2, 2004 by Blake Sorensen

#0767 - Diving In

November 13, 2003