Hidden in the Depths

Chapter 24

The travel to the retrieved coordinates was silent and tense. They had divided themselves into two groups again, this time Fit and Pac riding with Roier while the rest stayed with Foolish. Tubbo didn't even really want to look at either of the creatures, which made Foolish seemingly more worried. Or upset, Techno wasn't sure. But he definitely wasn't fond of the fact that Tubbo was avoiding him, when usually the teen would chat and move his hands or even try and touch him in an attempt to hug him (even though the massive size difference does not allow it in the slightest). Now he was just... silent. Staring off into the distance.

Not that any of the other humans were acting any different. There was hope, of course, to finally get home after weeks of being stuck. Deep down they were excited to return home, to their families and the life they once knew. Most of them were at least, others would just return to work for the Federation and probably sent out with the next mission again. Not everyone had a good life back home... but it was home. It was safe. Not... stranded on an alien planet.

But they were upset about leaving their new friends behind. They had a rough start, understandably so, but now they had all grown quite fond of the leviathans. Surprisingly, after Tubbo, Pac seemed the next most upset about it. Swimming helped him feel less handicapped and he did make quick friends with both creatures, once he had been brave enough to get close. Roier seemed especially interested in his missing leg and often created little currents to drag Pac along faster with less difficulty.

And they had to admit, while the lack of more comfortable furniture and different food was a bit annoying, they had grown fond of their base too. It will be odd to not sleep together anymore, to be isolated in tiny quarters with maybe a decent roommate if you're lucky. It certainly will be nothing like the little nest corner they made for themselves.

On top of that, they will most likely be separated once they return home. After a quarantine period they will be separated into new missions or be forced to return to their homes for a desk job. And they already knew they all lived in different parts of the world. Tubbo may be the only one who could have finances to move somewhere else or travel to visit them, if his father allows it.

It was... depressing. And something Techno does not want to think about. He just wants to see his family again. All of them know what will happen once they get home. It's not a secret. They'll stay in touch, maybe spend a vacation together, who knows.

They didn't have much of a bag or anything to transport valuables, really. They left everything behind in their base apart from their equipment and weapons, the habitat builder, Techno's jacket and Pac's almost done prosthetic, just in case. They could always hunt for food and dry land will, most likely, allow them to create a fire for cooking meals. Depending on how long it will take for the apparent rescue crew, they could probably use the habitat builder to make themselves a base. There will most likely be some titanium in the surrounding area.

And hopefully other survivors heard the broadcast as well and would be there. The prospect of them and the captain being the only alive members of the crew... so many families that would never see a loved one again... There have to be others. There is no way only six people survived out of such a massive crew.

For now, all they can do is hold on to the two leviathans and see what happens. They'll get answers soon enough, once they are at the rendezvous point.

It was a good sign that neither of the two leviathans seemed to get nervous as they closed in on the coordinates, unlike when they approached the ship. So either they don't know if another leviathan lives here or they are sure that whatever lives around here is no threat. But if they would have known that those big leviathans live near the ship, would they really take the humans there? They must have sensed it before it attacked.