The Satarimi Excursion - Day 3

[Victria 0]

The Satarimi Excursion - Day 3

On the Satarimi Ocean

 

 

The small craft skimmed easily over the tumultuous ocean, bouncing with some of the larger waves. In the wake of the boat, several aquatic mammals leapt and played as they followed for a short while, eventually breaking off for familiar hunting grounds. Though the skies were mostly overcast, the sun did manage to break through at irregular intervals. Swaths of light danced over the emerald green water, refracting off the surface in a dazzling display. The breeze that flowed over them brought with it the smell of the clean, fresh sea, untainted by progress or technology.

 

Clutching the railing of the boat’s sunshade that protected her from the harsh glare, Victria sat back against her padded seat and peered out over the endless ocean. She had never before experienced such a vast body of water and the immensity of it impressed her. From space, the Satarimi’s planet looked like countless other worlds that she had seen and helped to dominate, but she had never set foot on one quite like this one. She had never met people quite like these.

 

She glanced behind her to Eriire and found him staring at her. A fleeting smile of approval transformed his face as he caught the trailing end of her thoughts. Despite her usually neutral reserve, she could not help but smile in return. His enthusiasm to share the innate riches of his planet was infectious. He had not revealed the details of their outing, but hinted that it would involve swimming. Though uneasy about plunging into unknown depths, she trusted that he was experienced enough to keep them out of danger.

 

Sometime later Victria found herself floating in the verdant depths alongside her Satarimi companion. Above them loomed the long shadow of the boat as it rocked gently on the surface. Shafts of sunlight pierced the first few shallow meters and illuminated the tiny sea creatures that flitted in the oxygen-rich waters. Below, where the light’s reserve faded, the gloom encroached, but still they dove deeper.

 

Bubbles trailed behind them as they exhaled through their oxygen-filtering mouthpieces. As the pressure of the water increased, Victria found her hearing fading to the sound of her own breathing and her heartbeat. She could only faintly detect Eriire’s beating heart beside her. She turned her attention to him as he touched her arm and indicated a small toggle switch on their protective vests. Once activated, the vests began to glow, emitting a soft blue radiance that encircled them.

 

Descending further, barely discernable outcroppings rose up around them. Though most of the aquatic life darted away from the light, there were some that seemed curious about the two interlopers. Victria held her hand to the nearest creature as it hovered just out of reach. It darted closer to her hand, tiny fins on its spiny exterior vibrating wildly to keep itself from drifting. Eyestalks twisted independently as it studied her. Then, in a flash of brown, it disappeared into the gloom.

 

When they had reached some pre-determined point, Eriire took her by the hand and pulled her close to him. He withdrew several long translucent cylinders from his vest and motioned for her to do likewise. She pulled free four of the grouping she carried and copied his motions, giving one of the ends a twist until the stick began to radiate white light. The glow was so bright that it was nearly unbearable despite the light-filtering lenses she wore. Following his lead, she dropped each of the lights, swimming horizontally between each release to put several meters of distance between them. Hovering beside her companion once more, she peered downward in amazement as the sinking cylinders began to reveal what lay beneath them.

 

What she had previously mistaken for underwater cliffs or reefs were revealed to be actual buildings – buildings whose immensity and scale surprised her. Had they been standing on ground level, the structures would have dwarfed them by hundreds of feet, certainly much taller than any of the current Satarimi dwellings. Fish and other life swam in and around the dark, pane-less windows. She half-expected the building faces to be covered with sea creatures and aquatic plants, but apparently the surface material was too smooth to support life.

 

She followed Eriire downward, twisting in all directions to study the underwater city. For a moment, she wondered how deeply they could dive before the pressure became too much to bear, but the breathing device coupled with the vest they wore put their bodies into a state of equalization. As they neared the resting places of the light sticks they dropped, she could even make out the roads and pathways of what was once a vast metropolis. The skeletal remains of ground transports littered the seabed, preserved in no small part by the indestructible materials that comprised them, though most were completely obscured by years of residue from the surface.

 

At every point, she saw something that testified of the life that once existed here. Wide open areas that might have been public gathering places or parks were now filled with fine layers of sediment and crawling sea-creatures. Inside some of the degraded structures, she could see molded alcoves and platforms that might have once been sleeping or living areas. Here and there along what was once their transport system, tall poles rose out of the darkness. Many had fallen and disappeared, but there were some that stood firm despite the elemental destruction. Perhaps they had once held lights to illuminate the city or had transmitted some form of communications signal.

 

Amazed by the scope and historical value of what she was experiencing, Victria barely registered Eriire beside her until his careful touch brought her attention. In the brilliant glow of the lights his white hair seemed like a spectral being haloed about his head. He indicated that they should return to the surface and she reluctantly agreed with a slight nod. Letting the lights to burn out on their own, she ascended after him, leaving the buildings and structures behind.

 

After several deliberate minutes, they finally reached the open air. Removing the mouthpiece with a small gasp and pulling off her goggles, she swam to the boat and let Eriire help her inside. Her eyes bright from the exertion, she collapsed on one of the padded benches and looked to him excitedly.

 

“I am overwhelmed,” she said in a rush.

 

“I take it that you enjoyed yourself?” he asked with a smile, carelessly twisting water from his long hair. Water sheeted off his blue skin and pooled about his feet on the deck of the craft.

 

“I have never seen anything like it! Imagine an entire city preserved beneath your oceans.”

 

“There are many, many more of them scattered throughout the planet. They are remnants of our people from a time before the rising of the oceans when we lived on the earth in those large cities. We have countless museums dedicated to our history and hundreds of artifacts that we’ve unearthed.”

 

“I am truly impressed. How many times have you visited these cities?”

 

“More times than I can count, though never accompanied by anyone,” he answered truthfully. “One of my jobs is to discover them and map them out as best as I can to add to the archives. It is most important to us that we rediscover what has been forgotten.”

 

“Then I am honored.”

 

“As am I,” he replied. “Are you interested in another tour of more submerged wonders?”

 

“Of course. We have the entire day,” Victria said with such honest enthusiasm that she surprised herself.

 

“Good. I know a marvelous spot where we can have a quick bite to eat before exploring another underwater dwelling. I’ve packed us a nice lunch.”

 

“Need I remind you that I do not consume what you consider typical food?”

 

“No, but I’m sure there is something on board that would interest you,” he said wryly.

 

“Do you not think it would be too soon for that? It could lead to certain complications.”

 

“Like my death?”

 

“To say the least.”

 

“I think I am sufficiently strong enough to tolerate another evening with you.”

 

“But perhaps I am not sufficiently strong enough to stop myself this time,” she admitted, one eyebrow lifting.

 

“I would chance it,” he said smilingly. Back at the helm of the boat, he started up the craft and set them in motion. “If this is to be your last visit here, then I must make this day a memorable one.”

 

Victria peered out over the rolling waves and breathed in the salty air as they began to move. Never before had she ever felt such tranquility. For a moment, just a moment, she was able to forget her troubles. Her dying clansmen, the rebellion against the Scorpiad, her own frustrations with Starfleet and the Federation regulating her life… they were all swept away by the breeze, and she was able to contemplate nothing more than the vastness of the ocean and the soothing motion of the boat that rocked beneath her. But it couldn’t last and the spark of humanity fled as quickly as it had come.

 

“I will never forget this place,” she said softly, almost mournfully, for she was certain that memory of that brief serenity would haunt her for years to come.

[Kansas_Jones 0]

OMG! Love the underwater remains of the city! That is so cool, and it surprised me because I myself never considered that; just assumed all the past tectonic activity just wiped out everything previous. I loved the mental picture. Nice Log Vamp Woman!