Down in the Underworld

Chapter 31 - Do you have time for a little chat?

As Phoenix sat and waited, Spectra’s small sub sped on through the murky waters. Slipping in and out of consciousness, Phoenix tried to focus on keeping her mind sharp for when Spectra finally returned. About two hours later, as her eyes flickered open, Phoenix heard Spectra’s boots clinking down the corridor. Pushing herself up, she looked up at Spectra and smiled as best she could through her damaged face.

‘Don’t start with me again,’ Spectra warned as she sat down in the Command chair.

‘Moi? I wouldn’t even consider the possibility,’ breathed Phoenix, ‘you look good,’ she added as she noticed Spectra had changed out of her combat suit now and was reclining comfortably in a pair of dark, skinny jeans and a t-shirt, with an unzipped hooded sweatshirt for warmth against the chill of the sub’s interior.

‘Uh, yeah, do you want a jacket or something? It gets pretty cold in here, the heating system is on the blink,’ Spectra offered absently, ‘I mean you know, I need you alive,’ she added.

‘Want me to take a look at the heating? I bet I can fix it easy, no use in sitting here freezing your ass off riot grrrl, as I said fixing stuff is what I do.’

‘How can I trust you? You’ll sabotage something, you’re my prisoner, right.’

‘Have you seen my face? Do you think I want to risk round two with you? Besides, I don’t want to sit here like an icicle, it’s just not in my best interest to fuck with you,’ Phoenix reasoned.

Spectra stared down at her captive, in two minds as to what to do. As she became aware of her breathing, she knew she needed to make a decision. Could this chick even fix anything? On the one side, she knew Phoenix was right, she had nothing to gain by messing with her, but Spectra also struggled with a lifetime of distrust – at some point she expected everyone to double cross her. It was just a matter of when.  

‘So, what do you say Spectra?’ Phoenix prompted, ending the awkward silence.

‘OK sure, why not, but I’ll be watching you the whole time.’

‘Good, you might learn something,’ Phoenix smiled, sticking out her tongue.  

Before she could stop herself, Spectra laughed, then catching herself she returned to her solemn self, annoyed at both herself and this girl because she was just so damned likeable.

‘Ok so where’s your heating unit?’ asked Phoenix, though she already knew. She had no intention of sharing all her knowledge with this Ghost.

‘Can you even walk?’ 

‘That’s a good question, help me up and let’s find out,’ smiled Phoenix, before her own face crumpled into a mask of pain as Spectra lifted her to her feet.

Surprisingly though, Phoenix found she actually felt better standing up and could move slowly on her own.

‘You’re a pretty tough bitch, you know that?’ Spectra marvelled appreciatively.

‘Yeah, well you need to be, don’t you? Now, which way we going?’

‘Down the corridor there, to the left, there’s a small control panel, it’s probably the best place to start,’ Spectra pointed ahead of them.

‘OK, it’s probably just a minor wiring issue, what sort of sub is this? I mean what was its base model?’ Phoenix asked as innocently as she could.

‘It was a C3-42, Recovery, I found it abandoned near the Old Bridge at the end of the war and started fixing it up as best I could, so it’s probably a bit of a mess now, I’m military but we had mechanerds who looked after our shit for us.’

‘Wow, that’s quite a find, rare as hens teeth are the old Recoveries,’ whistled Phoenix, ‘It’s cool just to be on one in the flesh, I’ve only read about them and heard some of the other crew talking about them.’

‘What’s it like diving with so many other people?’ asked Spectra as they reached the panel and she watched Phoenix get to work.  

Within moments Phoenix had pulled some rudimentary tools from her pocket and started unscrewing the panel.

‘Oh, you never subbed with a large crew?’ asked Phoenix, as she concentrated on the mess of wires poking out at her. She could see the issue almost right away – a small melty, burned patch. Spectra was lucky her whole vessel hadn’t caught on fire!. 

‘No, the most we went out with was three or four squad mates, that was it, we were pilots mainly, flying stolen Mellion ships and machines. They kept our groups small so we could get in and out quickly, do as much damage as possible and then regroup, that way if a whole squadron went down, then only a few of us were lost. We were trained not to get attached, we were never close to each other, it was very ….’ Spectra trailed off almost sadly. She wasn’t sure yet again why she was telling this girl anything. 

‘Isolating?’ offered Pheonix as she continued to work with the wiring.

‘Well yes, but more than that, alienating, it was clear from the outset that we were there to do a job, and that was it, no one wanted us really, they just had no fucking choice.’

‘That’s fucked up,’ grunted Phoenix as she finished up and swung the panel shut again, ‘at least for us even though we knew we weren’t wanted by our friends and family, we had an idea that there was something else out there for us that we would get to eventually, a place of acceptance, it was almost mythological, you’d hear whispered stories of the Underworld, and the people living on submarines down here, and it was so unbelievable, but you hope so much that it was real, and you promised yourself you’d run away one day and join that circus, but sometimes fate has a way of deciding when the time is right for you … there she is!’ Phoenix turned around with a flourish, immediately regretting it as she lost her balance and collapsed in a gasping heap on the ground.

‘Shit!’ Spectra hissed, reaching down to pick her up again.

‘Ooops,’ Phoenix smiled, ‘excuse me while I pass out for a bit eh?’ and she lost consciousness.

When she came to a few hours later, the interior of the sub was warm and pleasant. Spectra had placed her on one of the bunk beds in the sub’s small crew quarters and covered her with a soft blanket. As she opened her eyes, she looked around the bare room. There was really nothing to it at all, and she wondered if Spectra also slept in here r if she may have converted one of the sub’s other small rooms to a more comfortable living space for herself. Phoenix didn’t think so. Functional seemed to be Spectra’s style.  

Propping herself up, she swung her legs over the side of the bunk and pushed herself back onto her heels so she could stand up. Phoenix knew she couldn’t afford any more nap time on this adventure. She needed answers. Shuffling her way out of the room and down the corridor to the command room, she surprised Spectra as she made her way slowly over to a pare chair and sat down.

 ‘Are you sure you should be up?’ Spectra asked, raising an eyebrow.

‘I’m a light sleeper,’ Phoenix winked.

‘All the same, I’d feel better if you were bank in bed,’ Spectra said quietly.

‘Heater’s working?’ Phoenix changed the subject.

‘Yeah, I can’t believe I was sitting here freezing my ass off for so long, it burnt out right?’

‘It did! Could have taken the whole sub out with it, but it was easy to fix,’ Phoenix nodded in agreement.

‘Well, thank you, and thanks for not fucking with anything.’

‘No stress bess, but listen hey I gotta ask, what is with this machine eh? Why is it so important we gotta have all the hubbub?’

Spectra’s seemed to instantly become agitated at the mere mention of the machine. She couldn’t tell if Phoenix was just asking because the hunt for the machine had copped her a fierce beating ot because she knew something and was poking around. Phoenix noted this and immediately changed her tactics. She’d have to tic tac around to getting these answers, but she knew she was getting close.  

‘You don’t have to tell me, whether you know or not, I just wanted to know why so many people had had to get hurt, even die, for this tech, I’m a naturally curious nerd … I cold murder a cup of tea though if you have it?’ Phoenix did her best to paper over the damage she’d done.

‘I understand, but technically you’re the enemy, I can’t just tell you everything!’ Spectra threw up her hands and stood up, ‘but the tea I can do,’ she added sauntering off down the corridor to the small kitchen.

A few minutes later as they sat sipping their tea in silence, though they didn’t know it or show it, they were both lost in thought, planning their next moves.