‘I love you so much right now,’ I say.
‘I know. I think you’re about to pass out.’
As usual, Ester is right. My knees buckle. She catches me as I collapse, and my consciousness sinks deeper than my body has ever gone.
I’ve always been better at making messes than cleaning them up.
We have some big messes to deal with at Lincoln Base.
The next two days, I am out of commission. Franklin and Ester hook me up to the machines in the Nautilus’s sickbay, which I’m told will slowly rehydrate me, replenish my blood supply and ensure that my internal organs do not explode.
My room-mates are Gem, recovering from his head injury, and Dr Hewett, who actually looks better than I remember. During the professor’s rare moments of semiconsciousness, he grumbles about his students’ substandard quiz scores. I never wanted to know what teachers dream about. Now I do.
Franklin tells me that the Nautilus seems to have ideas about how to treat pancreatic cancer. He isn’t sure what compounds the med-bay machines are producing, but they are slowly flushing the cancer cells out of Hewett’s body.
Since Nemo understood DNA 150 years ago, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. But as I lie in bed I have time to think about what Dev said – about how HP could have used Nemo’s technology to save the world a hundred times over.
On the other hand, I’ve seen what Land Institute’s hunger for power did to my brother. Humans are still not ready for all of Nemo’s advances. I don’t know what Land Institute’s school motto is, but I want it to be This is why we can’t have nice things.
As for Gem, he stays in the sickbay with me probably longer than he needs to. Even when Franklin clears him for duty, Gem says, ‘Maybe I’ll rest here a bit longer. Head injuries can be tricky, right?’
Franklin frowns at him, then at me. ‘Yeah. Sure. Tricky.’
I laugh, which hurts my newly stitched side. ‘Gem, you don’t have to be on bodyguard duty any more. I’m fine.’
He glances towards the corridor, which may be the first time I’ve ever seen him take his eyes off a target. ‘Not a bodyguard. Maybe I could just, you know, stay as a friend.’
A warm feeling spreads out from my sternum. I remember what Gem told me days ago, in Lincoln Base’s sickbay: I don’t have many connections. So the ones I do have are important.
I realize I am now included in that very small group of important connections, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘Of course,’ I say. ‘I’d welcome your company.’
Franklin starts to protest, ‘But Gem’s injuries aren’t even –’
‘Franklin,’ Gem and I say in unison.
‘Right,’ grumbles the medic. ‘I’ll go get some lunch.’
Our other casualties from the battle are, fortunately, minor. There were no deaths on either side, which in itself is a miracle. Thanks to the Orcas’ quick efforts, the entire crew of the Aronnax were rescued. Many of them were wounded. Some nearly drowned. Most will have chapodiphobia for the rest of their days, but they will all live. Battered and shocked, they offered no resistance as my crew herded them into Lincoln Base’s improvised holding cells.
On the fourth day after the battle, I feel good enough to go diving.
I find our giant friend Romeo tucked away in a cosy abyss just south of the island. He comes up to say hello when I play my keytar. I do my best to convey our gratitude. I also try asking if he wants us to give him a ride back to where we met him, but he seems content to stay with us.
Over the next few days, whenever Ester and Top take a walk around what’s left of the atoll, Romeo surfaces and watches them, while Top barks happily and goes into his ‘play bow’。 I have nightmares about Romeo learning to play fetch with the dog, throwing a ball all the way to Fiji, and Top trying to swim after it.
As for Socrates, he doesn’t seem sure what to make of the giant octopus. Socrates likes his cephalopods small and tasty, not big enough to eat him. He and the rest of his adopted dolphin family give Romeo a wide berth, but otherwise they seem happy. I feed them many delicious squid and thank them for their help in the battle.
When Socrates asks about my brother – doing a little flick of his fin that I’ve learned to translate as Dev – I don’t know what to tell him. At least underwater I can cry as much as I want. The ocean doesn’t care about a few more drops of salt water.
Once the Nautilus is back up and running, Tia Romero oversees our recovery efforts on the wreckage of the Aronnax. It will take weeks to complete, but we need to understand how far Land Institute has come in their research. Also, we don’t want all that junk littering the ocean floor on our front lawn.