Tajlon lowered himself down into the wet room to meet the others and help them aboard. Greyla looked pale, her face drawn into a slight frown in her semi-conscious condition.

"She's going into shock," Jejliard said as he carried her forward into the belly of the sub. "Hopefully she won’t remember any of this.”

"I'm hoping she can. I want to know everything that happened in there," Hal countered. "Greyla's strong enough to handle it once she's recovered."

"The decompression chamber is ready. I'll get a bag of isotonic fluid," Tajlon said rushing ahead of them.

Jejliard laid Greyla on the bunk inside the main chamber and stepped back out to make room for Hal. "There isn't room for all three of us. I'll decompress in the forward chamber and let you stay with Greyla. You have both been at depth longer and will both need more time," Jejliard cautioned. "Let her rest, Hal. No debriefing in here and that's an order."

"It can wait until later," Hal said. He climbed inside and stripped off Greyla's atmospheric suit before wrapping her in a warm blanket. He finished removing his own suit and settled down beside her on the narrow cot after passing the suits out to Jejliard.

Tajlon returned with the emergency intravenous kit and handed it to Hal asking, "You got this?"

Hal nodded and forced himself to speak with spurious humor, "I've been trying to get Greyla in bed for ages."

Tajlon forced a smile. He powered up the compressor and prepared the correct mixture of gases while Jejliard programmed the decompression sequence. Hal secured a line in Greyla's arm for the fluid.

"You can take us up now, son." Jejliard said closing the outer door. "Tell De'Marc to head on in." Tajlon nodded, checked the controls and was heading for the stairs, but the sub started its ascent before Tajlon left the room.

"Tell me that isn't Nova..." Jejliard said through the communication mic.

Tajlon turned and spoke. "He's fine, Dad. Really he is."

Jejliard scowled and let out a sigh of exasperation. "We'll talk later." He sat in the small chair in the forward compartment of the decompression chamber.

"I've checked him off on every system. He's good."

"He's an animal, Tajlon."

"No, Dad. He's not just a leopard anymore. You should understand that better than anyone. You made him what he is."

"Nova may be a very smart leopard, but he still has an animal's mentality. You're letting your emotions cloud your thinking and courting disaster by training him to pilot this sub."

"He's loyal and trustworthy. And I didn't 'train' him. He studied the manuals and passed all his competency tests like anybody would."

"You know I love Nova, but it's time you realize he will never have a human level of sensibility or judgment. He is ruled by instinct and doesn't have a human conscience or morality."

"I'll admit his priorities are a little different, but you don't know him like I do."

"He doesn't 'talk' to me

"It's called telepathy...," Tajlon realized it was a mistake to argue any further and turned to the stairs. "Later, Dad. I'll go relieve Nova."

* * *

Nova sat on the low bench in front of the control panel. Tajlon had discretely adapted a second set of controls for the leopard’s use. They were hidden from the view of passengers. Even someone piloting the sub would be unlikely to recognize the functionality of the levers and pressure pads behind the console. The bench also allowed a clear, but inconspicuous view of the navigation screens and sonar. Nova could overhear Jejliard's conversation with his son over the intercom. He derived a certain lazy satisfaction in keeping his abilities secret. Only Tajlon had known until today. Well, Tajlon and Widhbo. They were planning a big reveal on Tajlon's eighteenth birthday and now the surprise was spoiled. No matter he guessed. It was just a matter of time until the others found out anyway.

Nova was disappointed in Jejliard's assessment of him. He wished he could communicate with the man telepathically like he did with Tajlon. Apparently being chipped at such a young age together had allowed their minds to link naturally. Tajlon's mother had rescued Nova when he was orphaned as a small cub and he had grown up with baby Tajlon. When the tsunami that killed Tajlon's mother hit their island home, Nova had rescued the young boy and endeared himself to Jejliard. Jejliard was dedicated to science above everything and immersed himself in research to overcome his grief at the loss of his wife. After recruiting the best neurosurgeon he could find, Jejliard implanted a computer chip in Nova's brain in an attempt to enhance the leopard's intelligence. He was so satisfied with the results he performed the experiment on himself. With the chip in his own brain, Jejliard excelled in all mental abilities. After waiting several months to make sure the experiment was safe, he decided to go ahead with the operation for his infant son.

After Nova had the computer chip installed in his brain, he began to read Tajlon's thoughts. When Tajlon was chipped a few months later he was able to communicate with him telepathically as well. Koutou was another matter. He could speak to them both through telepathy without the aid of a chip. Koutou had greatly accelerated their learning and swore them both to secrecy regarding his true identity as Widhbo. The Widhbo. The alien who crash landed here from another dimension who wanted to find a way to get his spaceship back. Most of their technological advances came directly from Widhbo. He influenced Jejliard by subconscious suggestion and led him to develop the computer technology in the first place. Jejliard would wake up thinking he had dreamed up a solution to his problem or had an epiphany on his own. No. It was all Widhbo.

"Animal mentality, is it? Afraid of me piloting the sub? You have no clue Jejliard, but an animal is in control on this planet. A bird you call Koutou is master of us all."

***

De'Marc was out on the deck with the others. He felt a disturbance in the water even before the big sub surfaced. With all the excitement he had failed to notice the Solar Wave moving so close to the Casgora Wind. The boat heaved to one side, threatened to tip over, then dropped back down entirely too close to the sub.

***

The jolt startled Koutou. He leaped out of his small house and found himself staring at the port side of the sub only a few yards off their bow. One more big swell and the Solar Wave could collide with the smaller boat and dash it to pieces. There was no time to spare. Widhbo was thankful he was fully energized after his time on the wreck. He merged himself into the hull of the Casgora Wind and with a huge outpouring of energy managed to teleport the boat and its occupants a safe distance away from the sub. He collapsed back into Koutou; his energy nearly spent.

"What just happened?" Raemolle asked, catching his balance, and helping Danlea regain hers.

"We were nearly capsized by the sub. I thought I had pulled far enough away, but we must have been drifting with the current," De'Marc replied.

"That's not what I meant. We moved."

"I don't pretend to have an explanation for that...," De'Marc hesitated. He had no idea what caused them to suddenly jump almost fifty yards away from the sub. "Or for anything you've witnessed today."

"There has to be some accounting for it," Raemolle persisted.

"You can draw your own conclusions, then." De'Marc motioned to the sea and air.

"Sunken spaceships, an alien creature seizing your granddaughter, then a rescue by the Widhbo...," Raemolle struggled for the words to describe his bewilderment. "It's more theater than reality."

" I have sailed the Sora Seas long enough to accept some things as unexplainable," De'Marc replied.

"It's unnatural." Danlea said under her breath to herself.

"Unnatural? "Koutou had joined them without notice.

"It violates natural law." Danlea said.

"I know what you meant," Kutou said. "In my humble opinion, what actually happens can't be in violation of natural law. Obviously, you simply aren't able to see past your narrow realm of experience."

"And I suppose you can?" Raemolle asked with a scowl, placing his arm around his wife.

"My experience is greater and unmatched by anyone here. I can see a good deal farther than you."

"I find your arrogance to be unmatched in my experience," Raemolle replied.

"I understand how you might come to that conclusion,"

"You don't say?"

"My temperament is quite tractable compared to... oh never mind." Koutou was exhausted and flew back to his roost inside. He would have to slip aboard the wreck again and restore his energy. These humans were tiring with their presumed superiority over other creatures. Oh, how he would love to see the Ancients put them in their place. Of course, no Ancient would pause to interact with such a primitive species as theirs. The oldest beings in the universe had evolved far beyond the lower life forms and were content to stay in the higher energy planes entirely, flitting between galaxies. They ruled from afar and rarely deigned to visit any of their subjects. They let things take their course for the most part. It was best to stay out of sight and mind where the Ancients were concerned. It rarely went well if they felt the need to intervene. It was just such an intervention which had contributed to Widhbo's delinquency in his home dimension. He was in no hurry to bump into that particular Ancient again.

***

Hal watched Greyla's every breath, every flicker of an eyelid. She was beautiful. He took the band from her hair and pulled his fingers through its length, untangling the strands. He had often wanted to do this, but her prickly attitude kept him always at a distance. He kissed her forehead and stoked her cheek. He was torn between enjoying the moment and desperately wanting her back to normal and full of life again. There was plenty of time though. They would be in the chamber for a few hours and Greyla would be bored. He was content to watch her sleep.

Tajlon was back and transferred a syringe to Hal through a small pressure lock in the wall of the chamber. It was an injection ready for Hal to administer through the intravenous line.

"What's this concoction?" Hal asked through the communication mic.

"Mara's recommendation. She thinks Greyla was captured by a demon of some sort. It's to counter post-traumatic stress and provide some mild sedation, probably a little amnesia too."

"Don't we want her to remember everything?" Hal asked. "Wait. Demon?"

"You know Mara. She holds to tribal beliefs."

"So noted, but Greyla doesn't. She will never forgive us for this," Hal said. "The scientist in her will want to know. exactly what went on down there."

"Dad doesn't think it's a priority. Neither do I," Tajlon said. "I say we do what is best for Greyla. Whatever it is will probably still be on the wreck and we can find it later."

Hal shrugged. "It looks like I'm outnumbered then." He gave the plunger a reluctant push and watched as the amber colored fluid moved through the translucent iv tubing." Poof! Let the demon be forgotten."

Jejliard peered at Tajlon through the viewing window of his decompression chamber with a raised brow. He tapped on the clear glass to get Tajlon's attention. "Don't you have some duties to attend to upstairs? Like piloting the sub back to base?"

"Mara said this was a priority. Greyla needs the medication in her system before waking up for maximum benefit."

"It's done now." Jejliard said and gave his son a hard stare through the small window.

"I'm going," Tajlon said. " But I want Nova to give you a demonstration sometime so you can judge his proficiency for yourself."

"I have a lot on my schedule, Tajlon. The scientific conference is about to assemble, and important new information just came across my desk. The leopard wonder will have to wait."

"Fine. But we'll put on a show for you after the conference. On my birthday," Tajlon gave him a half smile before turning to leave. It was his signature smile that promised some boyish mischief.

Nova was listening through the intercom system and sent a telepathic message to Tajlon, "Jungle boy and his leopard wonder will be performing for your entertainment."