The West Sea

Chapter 17: Master Wrench

Dara Palilia was uncharacteristically silent all morning, the day after Trio got shot in the loading bay quarters. She had tended to her academics diligently but had focused more on mechanical assignments. It reminded her of Arman's idiotic incapacity to learn the methodical nature of Amanium systems, which made her smile as she worked on the appointed project by Ms. Mathilde, the mechanical instructor.

That day's lesson was schematic engineering for assembling and repairing self-sufficient oxygen converters for their Aquanaut suit's life support system. It was as difficult as it sounds, one of the recruits muttered under his breath as they started working on the mechanism.

Even Marcus had a difficult time with the assignment. "Any project that has nothing to do with killing someone is a waste of time," joked Marcus quietly behind his desk, trying to get a laugh. Ms. Mathilde read her notes in front of her class to explain how the Aquanaut suit works.

"Basic life support for any West Sea Explorer gear must attain certain volumes of gases in varying degrees when diving into the depths of the great sea. Mostly consisting of Nitrogen and Oxygen, sometimes Helium when going deeper underwater, but we'll get to that. So, whenever you breathe into your suit's filtration system, the oxygen is replenished and carbon dioxide is removed along with any moisture exhaled by the wearer as well as the hydrogen produced from the electrolysis processor in the back."

The entire platoon were given their own Aquanaut suit for them to assemble and use during their training. Dara's suit was the same as any other recruit's, but once she had gotten hers she automatically started assembling it without Ms. Mathilde's careful instructions which was still rambling on in the background.

"So here we have the vents at the side which expels the hydrogen from the electrolysis chamber and the tube here goes back to the helmet to replenish the oxygen. And once you exhale in the mouthpiece, the cycle goes again. The key components you must first work on to have a functioning Aquanaut suit is..."

"Water filtration and distillation module, Electrolysis chamber, Hydrogen output vent, Oxygen separator membrane, and the dehumidifier node." A voice in the back of the room answered the instructor.

Dara interrupted herself as she had forgotten the main source of power for the Aquanaut suit.

"Oh yeah, and the Amanium-core engine. and Done." With one twist of her wrench, Dara had tightened the last bolt fastener in her suit.

While the instructor had been diligently teaching the suit's basic parts, Dara Palilia had already assembled the entire suit in under ten minutes. Everyone in class gasped in awe at her well-built suit until Ms. Mathilde came marching down the room in front of Dara and her finished project. She tilted her eye-wear at the suit and looked at the young recruit.

"Did you check the Oxygen generator?"

"Yes, ma'am. it's fixed right under the Amanium-core engine."

"And the tubes, recruit?"

"Connected to the water pump, helmet oscillator, and gas valve, respectively, ma'am."

"Well, if you're so confident with your work, why don't we take it for a test. Shall we?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You boys over there, help this young lady to..."

"I can carry it myself, ma'am."

It took a bit of time to set up the docking platform for Dara's test run. Dara wore here Aquanaut suit, lugging its heavy metallic parts and clipping and fastening each of its pressurized locks. All the other recruits, including Marcus, gathered behind Ms. Mathilde as she gave instructions to Dara at the front, just by the end of the ledge overlooking the open waters underneath her.

"Alright, everyone listen! Listen up, recruits! Since one of you had already finished their Aquanaut suit, we might as well do a test run of what you're going to expect when diving using this gear. We are about a hundred meters out from the shore line so the water will roughly be twenty to thirty feet. Keep your arms crossed to your chest when you are entering the water..."

While Ms. Mathilde, the mechanical instructor, was busy teaching her class, Marcus had slowly crept his way towards the platform, just an ear shot from Dara's trembling suit.

"That's a mighty high jump there, Dara."

"Damn it, Marcus! Don't sneak up on me like that?"

"So what is Dara going to do now without his stray dog pet?"

"Shut up, Marcus. I'm trying to focus here."

"Ooh. Dara's getting testy without his dog laying around. Is that it? Or are you doing this to feel important now that you don't have that scum being all needy on you? No one to hold hands with, Dara?"

Dara turned around and confronted Marcus. Her heavy Aquanaut suit banged the metal platform with her every step as she pivoted towards him.

"I don't have anything to prove to you, Marcus. You're just a spoiled brat with nothing to show for. You're nothing without your 'daddy' holding 'your' hand. Without him, you're even lower than a tenement dog."

Dara shoved her helmet right in front of Marcus' face.

"You are nothing but daddy's little pet."

Marcus snapped and Dara knew what was about to happen as the Sakai heir held her by the arms forcefully and shoved her from the platform. She plunged into the water head first, thrashing about under the water as the instructor, unaware of what was happening, continued to lecture her recruits.

***Thank you for taking the time to read my work. It would really mean a lot if you could leave some comments as I would like to hear what you have to say about the chapter. You can also vote and share this to your friends and help spread the story of The West Sea.***