Floating above the rift, De'Marc waited in the chart room for news from Jejliard regarding his granddaughter, Greyla. Clouds had blown in partially obscuring their view of the heavens. The breeze had picked up and Danlea retreated from the deck to join him inside.

"I do hope Greyla is alright"

"Greyla follows her every impulse, but she's a smart woman and can take care of herself," De'Marc said. "And Hal is quite resourceful, not to mention he is madly in love with my granddaughter. He won't leave the wreck without her."

He went over to the galley and opened a cupboard. "May I offer you some refreshments?"

"Oh, don't go to any trouble, Captain. I'm fine," Danlea answered.

Koutou flew to a perch in the chart room. "How about some hot tea and biscuits?"

Danlea laughed. "Someone has an appetite."

"I have name, I'm Koutou."

"Sorry, Koutou. I'm not used to a talking parrot."

"I'm not a parrot, I'm a minacaw."

"Well you look like an unusually pretty parrot."

"You look a lot like a monkey."

"Koutou!" De'Marc exclaimed.

"A very pretty monkey," Koutou screeched and let out a chuckle. "Teasing,"

"Well, I'm sorry to offend you, Koutou. It's not my fault I don't know the difference."

"It's not my fault your education is lacking."

De'Marc put on a kettle of water to heat and settled into a chair to monitor the underwater operation by his radio.

Koutou perched closed to Danlea and asked, "What did you bring?"

"What?" she asked.

"Your bag. What’s inside?"

"Well, there's some maps and a few journals."

"Let me see them."

"It's alright, he won't hurt anything," De'Marc assured her.

She opened her satchel and placed the contents on the table. Koutou began leafing through them with surprising efficiency.

"You're reading all of them?" she asked.

"I am, if you will be so kind as to leave me to it." Koutou said and turned his back to her.

"What an absolutely rude bird!"

"Please forgive him, but he has a voracious appetite for information. You can't pull him off it." De'Marc said.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it. I'd just like to administer an exam when he's finished to check his level of comprehension."

Koutou looked at her. "I'll take your exam if you'll take mine."

The radio cracked and popped as a message came through from the Solar Wave. De'Marc was able to monitor their communications on his shortwave system.

"I've brought the nodda in and almost have the wreck reeled in up to the sub," Taljon said. "How's it coming down there, Dad?"

"We need to stop off at the sub's level to avoid decompression problems," Jeliard replied. "Hal and I will find Greyla. She's in this wreck somewhere."

"Let me know if there's anything I can do topside," De'Marc replied.

"I'll keep you updated. They will need to spend some time in the decompression chamber on the sub. As soon as I get them inside, Tajlon can surface," Jejliard said.

De'Marc moved his boat a little way out from the buoy.

"Where are we going?" Raemolle asked, joining them in the cabin.

"Nowhere. I'm getting clear of the area for when the sub surfaces. I'm hoping that's soon."

"I'm sorry. You must be worried sick about your granddaughter," Danlea said.

"I trust Jejliard will find her and get everyone out safe. They'll be fine."

Koutou had fallen strangely silent and flew out of the cabin making tight circles over the boat.

"Where did you ever find such a bird, Captain?" Danlea asked.

"He found us when Jejliard and I were first exploring these waters and were thrown off course in a bad storm. If it hadn't been for Koutou, we would have been in a lot of trouble. He guided us out of the Wayless Sea to the Agartoon harbor."

"The Wayless Sea?"

"Yes, it's the name given by the old sailors. We go around it now. Compasses and navigation instruments don't work out there. They get thrown off by some electromagnetic disturbances. Probably some anomaly of the planet's crust, but it hasn't been investigated for obvious reasons."

"But you could use the stars to guide you," Raemolle suggested.

"We could, except there are an unusual number of storms and cloud cover that stay over that area. It's rather dangerous."

"Yet Koutou could find his way. How?" Danlea asked.

"Hard to say. Some sort of bird sense I guess." De'Marc laid out a selection of nuts, fruit and cheese on the table along with the biscuits.

"He must have been with you a long while. How old is he?"

De'Marc finished pouring the tea in cups and laughed. "That's a sensitive subject with Koutou. He's pretty old, but minacaws are long lived. Locals believe Koutou contains the spirit of an old chieftain,Tajlon's great grandfather, Gistuwbe. Koutou can even speak with the chief's voice. Legend also says he can call upon an ancient spirit known as the Widhbo which appears in the form of a giant white bird to help the islanders in times of dire need."

"How fascinating," Danlea said.

Koutou flew in the door.

"Ancient legends usually are," Koutou remarked and scooped up a few beaks of tea before helping himself to the food.

"I should mention minacaws have extremely good hearing as well," De'Marc added.

"Well, do you?" Danlea asked as she watched Koutou gobble up a couple of nuts before tearing into the cheese.

"Do I what?"

"Have the spirit of the old chief inside you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He's dead. It's a native belief and I simply humor them."

"So, you can't call up this Widhbo creature either?" Danlea asked.

"That is an entirely different matter,” Koutou replied. “It appears when needed."

"How exactly does the Widhbo know when it is needed? "De'Marc asked. “Some sort of magic?”

"Please, Captain.” Koutou and made a guttural noise and scoffed. "Just when I thought you humans were getting past the tribal stage of superstition."

"But you’ve seen the Widbho?" De'Marc persisted.

"I have. So privileged to have seen the living legend,” Koutou said prancing about with pride. His plumage flared out to display all its bright colors. “Tell Tajlon I can feel it in my feathers. The Widhbo is coming to help. He would never stand by and let an alien snatch Greyla."

"You know more than you're telling us about this don't you?" De'Marc asked. “What alien?”

"You're not ready to hear all that I know, Captain," Koutou said. "Oh, this is an exciting adventure. What a day! What a day!"

"These are nothing more than confabulations of this rather garrulous bird, De'Marc," Raemolle said. "Surely you don't believe a word of it?" He turned and exited the cabin without waiting for an answer.

Koutou ate one of the sweet biscuits and scooped up a few more beaks of tea then hopped up to his birdhouse mounted high in one corner of the cabin. It was made in the shape of a miniature sloop with the name 'T Biscuit' painted on the side.

Danlea watched him and smiled whle Koutou perched on the bowsprit and preened his feathers in his nightly ritual.

The radio had fallen silent. De'Marc and his guest finished their snacks without further conversation as they waited for news from the sub.

Koutou interrupted the quiet and somber atmosphere "I simply hate waiting. I'm going to sleep." He moved inside the small cabin of his sloop and pulled the door shut behind him. His head appeared at the tiny porthole. He pulled a little curtain closed to darken his sanctuary.

"Goodnight pretty bird." Danlea called up to him.

"Goodnight monkey."

***

Floating above the rift, De'Marc smoked his pipe while he waited for news from Jejliard. Clouds had gathered earlier, obscuring their view of the heavens. The night had turned cool and Danlea remained inside the cabin while her husband strolled up and down the deck hoping to catch a glimpse of an unfamiliar constellation.

De'Marc walked joined him on the deck and peered across the dark water. Waves, kicked up by the wind, lapped against the hull making a soft slapping sound.

"At least the clouds are starting to move out a little," Raemolle remarked. "Maybe I can see a few stars tonight after all."

Before De'Marc could respond, the lights on the sloop flickered and went out.

"What happened?"

"Not sure. A short maybe," De'Marc replied. "I'll check the generator." He found a handheld light and went below deck.

Danlea left the dark cabin and joined her husband.

"You should stay inside, dear," Raemolle said. "The wind is picking up and you'll get a chill."

"I feel safer on deck than in that dark cabin right now. This is all so weird. I have to wonder what might go wrong next."

"The captain will have the lights back on shortly," Raemolle said. "At least let me get a blanket for you." He went back inside the cabin.

A bright cloud of light was forming above the sloop. It grew brighter and coalesced into a glowing object which came hurtling down toward the water.

Danlea called to the others. "You both need to come out and see this. Hurry!"

De'Marc emerged just in time to watch with her. As it grew closer, they could clearly see the outline of a giant white bird which dove straight into the water and down toward the rift below. The glow fadied as it pierced the depths.

Raemolle appeared with a blanket over his arm, a moment too late. "What happened?"

"The Widhbo!" Danlea exclaimed. "It just dove straight into the water."

"Really, Danlea? The Widhbo?" Raemolle asked. "It's been a stressful evening and you're worn out. Let's go inside and sit down,"

"I know what I saw, William."

"Do you really? What did you see, Captain?"

"I know what it appeared to be," De'Marc replied. "I have to agree with your wife."

"Probably just a shooting star. Your minds are playing a trick on you. It was an illusion."

The lights blinked a couple of times and came back on.

De'Marc shook his head "That was peculiar. Everything checked out fine."

****

Back in the cabin De'Marc hailed the sub. "Tajlon, how is it going?"

"No sign of Greyla yet. They are still looking for her."

"Help is on the way," De'Marc said.

"What do you mean?"

"We just saw what looked like a great white bird dive toward the rift. If the legends are true, the Widhbo has returned."