One by one, the harsh winter days tick by. Bill and Charlie spend the better part of those days in Bremerton, prepping the Narwhal for service and gathering researchers to come along for their journey. Equipment is scavenged from places around the country, most from other NOAA vessels, some from other American agencies, and a few from foreign institutes. Very little is bought new or built specially for this expedition. The submarine was a heavy enough cost for the scientific organization to handle, so Bill agreed to make do with second-hand systems to offset some of the expense. Stripped of military hardware, the Narwhal is loaded up with various sensors, cameras, and remote probes to better aid their exploration of the Southern Ocean and search for Julia.

At the same time, Lewis concentrates on recruiting people who can actually run the submarine. Snagging up former crew of his own ships as well others that he deemed fit from second-hand information, Lewis assembles a team of retired, medically discharged, and various other former Navy sailors who were no longer on active duty for one reason or another.

At Charlie’s insistence, Bill spends less time than he’s used to micromanaging every detail of the submarine’s outfitting process. Standing out on the docks in January would be the exact opposite of rest and relaxation, so although he is in charge of the expedition, Charlie spends more time running the day-to-day on the sub than he does. It’s up to him to recruit scientists anyway, which is no easy task when he’s trying to keep a tight lid on their mission. Lewis may not have the hardest time finding sailors who are used to secrets, but the people Bill wants onboard lend themselves to being a bit more skeptical of such mystery.

And convincing people is only the second half of the battle. It’s just as difficult for Bill to choose who is and isn’t fit to be a part of the small team he’s assembling. Having a reliable group of people to depend on, with skills and experience that best befit the expedition, is paramount to its success. He also needs to consider the accommodations of the ship, which are a far throw away from the most comfortable. The people he needs must be willing to be away from home for a long period of time, with little to no contact with the outside, all while stuck in a cramped metal tube deep under the ocean. The pressure of such secluded and claustrophobic living necessitates people who won’t crack under pressure. Bill combs not just his own agency, but scientific and journalistic groups around the world. His days are spent in the comfort of his hotel room, dialing phone numbers and attempting to persuade people to drop whatever they’re doing and come to Washington for reasons he cannot go into great detail on. Easier said than done.

The simplest for him are those in the NOAA with him. Jessica Cantore and her younger brother Ernie are obvious picks. Jessica is a marine meteorologist, perhaps not directly related to Julia herself, but for the exploration of an uncharted sea, he thought they could use her expertise. Ernie on the other hand is an Antarctic ecologist who has already spent the better part of his career on the southern continent, so his experience will translate perfectly. They’re younger, both in their mid-thirties, but in a way that makes it easier to recruit them. Neither has as of yet settled down and started families so being able to disappear for weeks into the deep ocean made them good choices. Bill has never personally worked with them, but everything he read was good and what’s more, he’s well acquainted with their parents who also work in the NOAA. The brother and sister pair have a strong drive and are eager to please, trying to make names for themselves in the organization. Bill hopes Julia will help them with that.

Elina Cuvier is another young pick from the NOAA. A close friend of Charlie’s that she personally recommended, Elina is a marine biologist so her education is tailor-fit for an expedition looking for a new species. Charlie and Elina had joined the NOAA around the same time and the two had bonded as they learned the ropes together. When they had both completed their mentorships, they joined up for many of their research endeavors, proving to be near perfect partners. In their time together, Charlie admitted to Bill that Elina may have gleaned more information about Julia than perhaps he would have liked. Elina could be nosy, even pushy at times and Charlie wasn’t the best at keeping secrets, but Elina had never leaked the information as far as he knew, and her prior knowledge made it easier to get her on the crew, so there was no harm done.

Bill and Charlie head to a local diner to meet with their NOAA recruits on a warmer day at the end of January. Snowmelt trickling down the street under a bright and sunny sky, Charlie pushes open the door to the diner and looks around. Bill, peeking over her shoulder, points to a table in the back, where he can see their three new members. Elina stands as soon she spots Charlie and they greet each other with a hug. Elina looks short next to Charlie, but really only because of how tall her friend is. She has long, curly, black hair, and dark skin. On the back of her chair, there are a couple of layers of warm clothing, plus a scarf as she had clearly arrived expecting the worst of the weather.

Jessica and Ernie rise to shake Bill’s hand while Charlie and Elina hug it out. Despite being born three years apart, the two could be mistaken for twins. Both are heavy-set, with long brown hair, dull green eyes, and pale faces covered in freckles. Even in their behavior, they are near indistinguishable as they practically jump out of their seats to greet Bill and meet his eye with big smiles and excitement in their eyes.

“Glad to see the three of you all made it here.” Bill shakes Elina’s hand and everyone takes their seats around the table.

Elina says. “All-in-all not a bad trip, short flight on my part, since I was just down in California.”

“Ugh, I wish we were that close, I’ve been on so many connecting flights coming from Australia, my back is killing me,” Ernie says.

“Even after all the flying we do for work, I just can’t get used to it,” Jessica adds.

Bill laughs. “You’re telling me? Wait until you get old, it doesn’t get any better, believe me.”

With pleasantries out of the way, Bill leans in over the table to talk business. In hurried whispers between bites of their lunch and interruptions from their server, the newcomers learn exactly what they’re in for. For Elina, most of what is described is nothing new, as she had long ago pulled information on Julia from Charlie, but for Jessica and Ernie, it’s all news and their jaws drop closer and closer to the table the more they hear.

By the end of Bill’s description of the expedition, the two siblings share a smile a mile wide. It’s exactly the type of project they had both dreamed of being a part of, something that would put their names on the map, and potentially write them into scientific history. Though Bill ended his description giving them the option to bail in case they were uncomfortable with the given dangers of diving deep under the Antarctic ice, there wasn’t so much as a hint of unease in their minds. For the moment, the potential boon to their careers outweighed any risk in their minds.

Elina, having already known all about the search for the giant creature hidden at the southern continent, didn’t need any further convincing. She knew what she was getting into before she even got on the plane, and if Charlie was going, so was she.

***

January rolls by. The brief period of sunny weather goes with it and February returns Bremerton to the dreary grey and harsh cold of winter. Two more of Bill’s crew are arriving today.

Looking beyond the NOAA, Bill got in contact with an old college buddy of his: Max Ross. Max was an oceanographer like Bill and Charlie. Their field was general, so Bill wanted a third to cast a wide net and avoid getting bogged down bringing in dozens of specialists. For a preliminary expedition, he felt it best to be as general as possible. A college professor and his former roommate, Bill trusted Max and knew that he had a sharp mind. Though he was a bit of a party-animal in their school days, he had also been an amazing student, managing to make the dean’s list every semester. Though he could be a bit of a hot-head and had gotten into a few scuffles in those days, his experience and intellect more than made up for his wild personality.

The second person he’s meeting with is James Sars. James was former NOAA, he had worked with the organization for a brief time but about a decade ago left, citing a work environment that was stifling to his more creative and bullish approach to science. Bill had worked with him before his departure and the two had gotten along well, but he understood where his complaints had come from. The NOAA was government work, so it could be rigid and strict in how it chose and funded research proposals. James left all that behind for more freedom and found it in working on documentary crews, landing a prime gig at the BBC just a few years later. Though Bill specified in his call that the expedition was not a media event and he wouldn’t be allowing James to do any filming for public broadcast--at least not yet--James jumped at the opportunity anyway. James loved a secret, and said that he knew whatever had convinced the government to hand over a nuclear sub to the NOAA was going to be big and he wanted to be a part of it.

Bill pulls his rental car into the dock parking lot where the Narwhal is waiting. Max and James expressed an interest in seeing the submarine as soon as possible, so he decided he’d give them a brief tour as they arrived. It would be a few more hours until then, but Bill figured he’d drop in early. He’d wanted to see how things were progressing anyway. Unsurprisingly, Charlie is already there when he arrives, sitting in her car, letting it idle to keep herself warm.

Pulling his car alongside hers, Bill steps out and knocks on her window.

Charlie rolls down her window. “Morning,” she says.

“Waiting out here? You could’ve gone to the sub, security would let you in even if it’s a Saturday.”

“Oh I know,” she replies, “I’ve been here on weekends before, just thought I’d wait for you.”

“Ah, well, thanks.”

“Shall we?” Charlie closes her window and steps out of the car.

The winter chill is the worst at the docks. Without any real cover from the wind, it blows off the water and cuts right down to the bone. Charlie shivers as the cold hits her like a freight train.

“So, will this be everyone?” Charlie asks.

“Hmm, maybe. I’ve got one more person I want, but we’ll see.”

“Piper?”

Bill turns, an eyebrow raised. “Did I tell you already?

Charlie chuckles. “No, but I figured it’d be her.”

Bill shakes his head. “Sometimes I think you know me too well.”

“Should I stop opening all your mail and reading it before you get it, then?” Charlie laughs.

Bill smirks. “Hey if you wanna sort through all the junk mail I get, be my guest.”

“Right, yeah, sounds boring.” Charlie pauses. “Why so hesitant to call her? I know there’s a story there, but you’ve never told me.”

“Oh, I’m not hesitant. I’m gonna try to get her, but I don’t know if she’ll say yes. Our introduction was rocky, to say the least.”

Ada Piper was a cetologist, a marine biologist specifically studying whales. For a solid biology team, Bill wanted someone general like Elina, but he also felt pretty sure that Julia was a whale and that someone who had tailored their entire career around those animals would be an important addition to the team. Piper was at the top of her field, to Bill’s knowledge the best of the best. Unfortunately, when he’d only just started his research on Julia, he’d botched introducing it to her. The two met at a conference on marine biology, and curious what an expert like Piper thought, he tossed his theory her way in conversation. She shot it down without hesitation. He knew now that dropping the idea on her with little to no evidence to back it up was unrealistic, but at the time he found himself insulted. Bill recalled having, perhaps, a glass of wine too many at the event, and though he tried to remember what happened next as a passionate discussion, the truth was he started an argument more based on his personal feelings than any science he had to show. It was an embarrassing story, to say the least, but Bill was ready to swallow his pride and make the call in an attempt to bring her on board.

At the security gate, the guard gives the two a simple nod and lets them through without even asking for identification. They’ve visited the docks so often over the weeks since they arrived that he knows their faces now.

The Narwhal’s sleek and enormous hull sits in the water ahead. Normally dock workers, both from the Navy and the NOAA cover both her and the dock around her, but since it’s a weekend, things are quiet. Her jet-black form, simple in shape and massive in size, looms in front of them. That such a vessel is theirs to control is still a bit shocking for Bill and Charlie, seeing it in this way, it almost seems like it’s waiting for them.

The submarine isn’t the only thing waiting for them. Standing atop the sail, they pick out the distinctly hulking form of their captain. As they approach, Lewis waves to them then disappears down into the ship.

Climbing inside, Lewis greets them as they descend the ladder.

“Was wondering when you two would show up. Hotel called earlier, relaying a message. Looks like your buddies never made their flight.”

Bill steps off the ladder with a grunt. “What? Both of them?”

“Apparently they were traveling together, planning to take the same flight across the pond. But it sounds like they got their passports stolen, along with most of their luggage at the motel they stayed in.”

“Shit,” Bill says.