Justine and Laurence swooped in on the crash site in the Mk 1 Stingray two-seater. She was quick and maneuverable, but the guns are not live, so they were basically helpless sitting ducks at this point. They deployed all sensors and began taking data.
"We're taking fire!" said Justine, turning away from the crash site.
"I have a visual on a possible survivor," reported Laurence.
"I'm going to take us in a bit closer, Laurence. Stay on those scanners."
Meanwhile, Emilly dove through the dark water, quickly growing gills to breathe. She saw part of the ship tumbling in the distance, and a fixed part straight ahead. She swam towards it, landing on the black sea bottom--and felt lasers cutting through the water near her.
She ran in the other direction, towards the moving part of the ship.
Justine and Laurence flew around the crash site, taking fire repeatedly. On each pass they relayed coordinates back to Briggs. On the sea floor, Tom Swift kept an eye on the crash site, reporting back the results of the artillery bombardment.
Meanwhile, Emilly soon found herself stranded in shadow. It wasn't called the Dark Sea for nothing, but she found herself resenting the dark sands and dark waters for the first time. It made it nearly impossible to see. She thought the ship was ahead of her--and then it was, tumbling over her and trapping her inside. They rolled unevenly along until it fetched up against something and stopped.
Now where were they?
She swam out of the cargo bay she'd been trapped in, trying to get her bearings. If they were still in the Dark Sea, and not in Tannhauser--or even Krakenstorm--she'd be surprised.
She relayed her location over the comms, and then swam back to the crash site.
"HOLY--" she yelped as another laser shot past her--or maybe it hit, as the burning line of pain on her side helpfully informed her. "Those things are long range!"
(Continued in part CLV.)
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