Interning on the Aronnax

First Glimpse

A/N: On rare occasions, I'll use a different character's perspective.

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"Yep, fridge is still functioning," Ant said to Jeffrey. He gulped down the last of his milk, then rinsed his glass in the sink. "Making sure the fridge is working is very important, you know."

Jeffrey blew a bubble, then turned to the jar of cookies.

"Not this early," Ant said. He paused. "Well, maybe one."

Ant snagged a cookie, then started some coffee. Not for himself, obviously. After his first -and last- taste of coffee, the rest of his family had agreed that coffee-fueled Ant was a bad idea. No, on his way to the kitchen, Ant had seen Will in the study and thought he could use the coffee.

Ant wondered if anyone else was up. It had been a long night.

While he and Will had been cleaning the hold the previous night after the squid encounter, Fontaine had returned. She'd started asking about if it was normal to feel really tired even though the air was back to normal. Kaiko had immediately given everyone a quick check, then ordered everyone to bed.

Ant hadn't been able to sleep for long, even if it had been past midnight before everyone was in bed. He'd been too keyed up after discovering a colossal squid. And not just one, but a whole squad!

While Ant waited for the coffee, he wondered if the bridge was done running diagnostics so he could check their footage. Kaiko had said that a lot of cameras had gone down when the Aronnax lost power; hopefully they'd gotten enough evidence of the squid.

Once the coffee was done, Ant poured a mug-full. He put on the Jorange, then grabbed the mug and headed to the hall. In the doorway, he nearly ran into Will.

"Ant!" Will said, startled. "What are you doing up already?"

"Couldn't sleep. I need to check the footage from last night." Ant offered the mug. "Coffee?"

"Just what I was looking for," Will said, taking the mug with a smile. "Thanks."

"You're welcome!" Ant trailed after Will toward the study. "Were you reading the Chronicle of the Deep?"

"'Read' is a very generous term," Will said with a chuckle. "Painfully trying to figure out a single rune? That's more accurate."

"Why don't you call Nereus? He seemed to know what the Chronicle said."

"If I could, I would," Will assured him. "But Nereus is impossible to track down."

Ant sighed. "Well, where else do you get help translating a language nobody's seen for thousands of years?"

"It just takes time."

Ant groaned. "But I want to find Lemuria now!"

"Patience, Ant."

Will took a drink of his coffee. In the brief silence, Ant thought he heard a small noise from around the bend. It seemed to come from Will's study.

Ant sped up. "Mum, is that you?"

Ant didn't get a response. He rounded the corner in time to see red-and-white cloth vanish around another corner.

"Fontaine?" Ant said louder. He started to run. "Wait!"

"Ant?" Will called. "What is it?"

Ant ran into the next hall and saw a shape take yet another turn. He didn't recognize the clothing, and there still wasn't a response.

"Stop!" Ant yelled. "Who are you?"

Ant slid to stand at the new hall. It was a dead-end, but there was no sign of the stranger.

"Ant!" Will caught up to Ant. "What's going on?"

"I saw someone." Ant looked at Will. "There's someone on the Aronnax!"

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A/N: Oops, Finn's been spotted!