The Orion Project (Rewrite) (indefinite hiatus)

Chapter 46

Devon walked onto the ramp of the airship. He looked over his shoulder and saw the cold look from Doctor Seraph. He sighed before closing the ramp and sitting down next to Rose.

"This is what we tried to warn you about." Lucas said. "And now you dragged us into it with you."

"Shut up Lucas." Devon groaned.

"He's got a point, Dev." Rose said gently.

"Here we go." Alyssa sighed.

"I don't see how you two warning that he would punish me has anything to do with you all being dragged down alongside me, Rose." Devon said.

The airship took off from the hangar and within moments they were over the open sea.

"The military punishes their soon to be troops in their basic training as a group." Rose emphasized. "It was only logical that would happen to us as well."

"Will you two give it a rest already?" Devon moaned. "I'm already sick of hearing it over and over again."

"How about we focus on our assignment? Yeah?" Eune asked hopefully.

"Yes! Let's do that!" Devon exclaimed. "Let's plan our course of action today!"

"Sure, whatever you say 'leader'." Lucas said.

"So, our armor has been given a bit of a tune up for this assignment. As Hephaestus has equipped us with a deep sea pressurization system, we will be in free fall to the...well, bottom of the ocean." Devon explained.

"Uh huh.....what else?" Lucas sarcastically asked.

"Once we hit the floor we only have a few minutes before the pressure gets to our suits. Even with the material they're made of, that much pressure is gonna tear through them."

"So we have to get into the station quickly before we're turned into ground beef. Got it." Rose sighed.

"After that, we're going to enter the facility, kill everyone and everything inside it, set some charges, steal a sub and detonate at a safe distance. We should be home before dinner."

"Woah woah, woah!" Alyssa cried out. "The ocean is miles deep! That ain't gonna be a short fall. How're we supposed to get even three hundred feet down? Let alone hit the floor? We're gonna be turned into fish chow before we're given the chance to adjust to the water."

"Well, that's what you're here for, right?" Devon pointed at her. "You're the only one in the squad with a direct affinity with water. You're going to have to help pull us down and keep the nasties away from us during our fall."

"Are you bloody kiddin' me?!" Alyssa screamed.

"No, no I am not. While our armor will weigh us down, we need help reaching the sea floor quickly. This assignment is all on your abilities sadly." Devon said.

"Ya 'ave ta be joking...." Alyssa muttered, putting her head in her hands. "I can't do that."

"Hey," Eune gently patted her shoulder. "You've got this, I'm sure of it."

"Thank." She sarcastically replied.

"Yeah! Ya better not screw this up." Lucas snorted. "I don't want to end up as fish food cause you could keep your cool."

"Shut it, Lucas." Alyssa snapped.

"I'm just saying the truth." He raised his hands.

"Do your best." Rose said.

"Why could we just...steal a sub? Or better yet, sneak into a....a cargo ship or something." Alyssa desperately asked.

"It's part of the punishment. So that's on me." Devon sighed.

"Are you serious?!" Eune asked.

"Yes, I am. The briefing Doctor Seraph gave me was adamant on us, essentially, diving down to the ocean floor. While we're not going to the deepest part of the ocean, it's still pretty far down there." Devon explained.

"Oh for fucks sake!" Alyssa cried.

"We're nearing the drop point." The pilot said over their comms. "You better get ready."

"Copy that." Devon replied as he put on his helmet. He waved his hand over his left gauntlet and a holographic interface appeared. It was simple and basic, only displaying options on his armor and giving him an overall diagnostic of his suit's systems. He tapped away at and his suit sealed itself and pressurized. A depth meter appeared on the display and he nodded to his team.

The others followed suit and were ready for the drop. The ramp extended and they all crowded around the base of it as the airship came to a hover over the ocean. Devon motioned them forward and jumped into the water, followed closely by his teammates.

He tapped the side of his helmet and a light pulsed to life on either side of his chin. His team did the same and he radioed them over their short range comms.

"You guys good?"

"Sure....couldn't be better." Lucas said.

"You ready, Alyssa?" He asked.

"Y-yeah....I'm ready." She stammered,

"Then, let's get a move on."

Alyssa spun in place and the water reacted instantly to her call. They rapidly began sinking down into the depths of the ocean. The light from the surface was becoming dimmer and dimmer as the cold darkness embraced them below.

Devon watched as the depth meter quickly rose in distance from the surface. He glanced around them, watching as the beautiful blue color slowly became dark, and black. Soon he could only see a few feet in front of them as the surrounding water turned pitch black.

"How you holding up Alyssa?" He asked.

"I've gotta stop our rapid descent." She gasped. "Somethin's near us...."

"This is your time to shine!" Lucas beamed. "Better keep us safe." His voice was shaking as he quickly scanned their surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa fearfully asked. "Afraid of the dark?"

"It's usually what's hiding in it that's gets me." Rose softly said.

Devon checked the meter and saw that they were only a quarter of the way down. He switched on his sonar on his HUD and could only sink down further in shocked silence.

"Alyssa....you can get rid of these things? Right?" Devon quietly asked.

"Things? As in, multiple?" She asked.

"Yeah....I think we're in something's territory. I'm clocking hundreds of life signs around us. And they're all staring right at us."

"Well.....shit." Alyssa muttered.