The Pale Prince

The Deep Blue

Two Weeks Later

"All systems secure, sir. We are ready to submerge." A stern, learned voice stated over the communications systems. The inside of the UNN Neptune was a bustling centre of activity. The Submarine was one of the newest advancements in the UNN Navy, capable of moving as fast as a ballistic missile submarine but complete with windows and all of the materials of the older, now officially outmoded research submarines. The scanners and SONAR systems that lined the walls beeped with energy and vigour as the top-side waves crashed hard upon the outside of the metal Sub' - the vehicle itself was wider than the Washington monument and found itself to be longer than two football stadiums. A lot of the space was taken up by living quarters for the men and the nuclear engine - developed and tested in the Russian Tri-State a few years prior, though now its testing location had been lost to the quick 'grab and dash' ethics of the population dispersion schemes penned by the current President.

A mixed crew from all three of the UNARC tri-states had found themselves aboard the Submarine, explorers into territory that hadn't been properly explored. The ship itself was made to be far more sturdy than the other research submarines before it, the lack of weaponry systems and payload usually carried by Submarines the size of the UNN allowed for the vehicle to be covered in an experimental Graphene alloy - according to experimentation the airtight container should be able to traverse space and survive collisions capably, at a limited speed of course - and carbon fibre was used wherever possible in the place of steel so as to maximise on the large machine's speed and manoeuvrability. In early plans a flexible piece consisting of a mixture of rubber and carbon fibre was intended to sit in the middle of the Submarine to give it further flexibility from within their destination.

Before them, snaking around underneath the Pacific and around the UNARC's Sea-Base in Hong Kong sat the Marianas Trench, its huge depths nigh on unmeasured by the previous renditions of pressurised research submarine. The new technology was built and designed specifically for monitoring the cold depths of the Ocean and the Trench was no different. "Sir, we are now submerging into the greater Pacific Ocean - stand by for depth monitors and crew to begin their work. We are currently at a depth of 100m and we are dropping fast." The same man who was seemingly the head of the Bridge - minus the Captain, who marched around the room listening to the sailors as they gave him statistics and important information about the ship's inner workings and state. "We are almost about to clear the coastal sea-floor and will soon be gaining depth at a much faster rate sir."

"Let's get this show on the road boys!" The Captain spoke, a native of Kentucky and a fine sailor, arguably one of the greatest Submarine Captain's alive. "I want us dropping down towards that Trench like we're bees to honey."

"Sir we are now increasing Engine speeds by a 5% rate with a 2% interest every 2 minutes, at a steady and safe rate we should be at max speed within the hour." One of the other communications officers spoke, his Spanish-Latino accent betraying him as a citizen of one of the many Mexican States of the American Tri-State.

"I don't want full speed I want it safe and steady." The Captain barked, his voice void of aggression but filled with demanding. "Safe and steady else we're packed in this pressurised container like sardines in a tin-can."

"Sir we're approaching Philippian water territory, shall we change course?" Another officer spoke, their voice and facial features giving away their heritage in the Chinese Tri-State.

"How are the Philippines doing in their negotiations to join the Chinese Tri-State?" The Captain queried. "Slow speeds." The leader of the ship turned to all of the staff upon the bridge, lowering a flat hand to signify his want for the ship to reduce its pace at the possible need to avoid Philippian naval space.

"The Philippines are still an independent country devoid of UNARC membership sir." The same officer spoke, turning towards his Captain and pursing his lips. "Shall I divert our route on a straighter course towards Challenger Deep sir?"

"Turn us towards Challenger Deep, yes." The Captain took a seat at the helm whilst the water of the sea glided past the smooth observation window that gilded the front end of the Submarine. The blue expanse of the Pacific was breath-taking under the water; the sun glimmered through the waves atop the huge plane of water, its shards of rays flickering and shimmering as they were broken up by the erratic tide. A few brave fish flickered in front of the Submarine for a moment before darting away at the unknown object, likely seeming Alien to them - this underwater world was a completely different place, and the Captain was leading his surface dwelling men into its most glorious depths.

The treasure trove of life and vibrancy that the Pacific Ocean split between the bulk of the Submarine as the vehicle traced across the lower levels of the sea-floor. The Ship slowly navigated itself to the East, a slight Southern bearing being placed upon the Submarine in order to drag them towards Challenger Deep, the deepest place in the Marianas Trench and the place in which the Submarine would be navigating and analysing. It was quite clear to the crew what the mission's intentions were - the Chinese Tri-State had been working with the State of Ohio, New York and Japan to start building Underwater Cities in order to rehabilitate the ever growing population of the UNARC - the nation having an excess population of over 2 billion people, the largest in the world and only closely followed by the Imperial Indian Federation -; the Russian Tri-State had been readily developing Greenhouse technology alongside the Tri-State's leading space agency in an attempt to industrialise and build upon Siberian land that was previously unusable though this had presented social issues with the Siberian Natives who subsequently didn't want their homes destroyed to make way for the hungry machine of Industry. The Chinese had been working on systems that would allow the building of floating cities upon both the air and upon the ocean; there were also plans for metropolis's to be built upon the ocean, though the risks of tidal destruction and seismic activity destabilising the Nuclear Reactors that would keep them working was possible regarded as too much of a risk for the UNARC to take, though the different cities were mainly being planned for future stellar colonisation by the UNARC, an idea that had long lingered on the minds and tongues of the men of the country since the first UNARC astronauts walked upon the moon. The mission was to research and analyse the plumes of heat that lingered and pumped hot water and gas underneath and within the Marianas Trench and to see whether or not they would be suitable for sustaining a colony down under the water - pressurised containment was already in development, though the technology wasn't quite at a level that the UNARC naval intelligence felt was adequate.

Hours passed by the Submariners as they dropped below the surface further and further until the sun's bright spears of light couldn't reach in front of the cylindrical vehicle. With a flick of a switch the Research Submarine became bright with thousands of lights - the entire hull covered in multiple LEDs. Towards the front of the vehicle and poking out to the sides of the Observation point were two large spotlights fixed to the front of the vehicle, specially made to resist the punishing pressure experienced that the Ocean above exerted upon the bottom of the Marianas Trench where the research points laid. "Keep her steady boys." The Captain calmly shouted out towards the other crew members who sat at their primary stations. "I don't want any crashes, keep her nice and steady and slow."

The Submarine continued on its way, carving a path straight towards the deepest place in the world, and towards the unknown recesses shrouded by the darkness of the deep.