"Can you hear me Captain?"
"Load and clear, Aiden. Report your progress towards the mission site."
"Two miles until I reach my destination, sir."
"Understood. Any complications along the way?"
"Nothing, except occasional water currents and jumps in pressure."
"How much do we have before the contact with you is cut short?"
"Around half a mile, sir."
"Remember to inform us right before you go dark. Understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Anything more to report?"
"I would like to ask a question, sir."
"Yes, Aiden"
"Are we sure that the signal came directly from this location? For the entire journey I hadn't stumbled on a single piece of evidence that could prove the existence of anything capable of emitting such a thing from this depth."
"Are you questioning my sources, Aiden?"
"No, sir! I am just not sure that anything of value could be found this deep into the ocean."
"You don't to worry yourself. Your only job is to investigate the source and inform us about your findings. You do not have to do any deeper searches, if this will prove to be of value our team of more specialized personel will continue in your place. I believe you were informed of this before your departure, am I wrong?"
"No, sir."
"Then don't think more of it. We will expect another report in twenty four hours. If you fail to inform us on time, your payment for this project will be lowered. Good luck."
CONNECTION TERMINATED
Aiden straps the projector back on his belt and secures it to prevent the possibility of it being stolen by the current. From the other side he pulls out the holographic map of the ocean floor. Looking at it he can confirm that he should not face any bigger obstacles on the way, except some small hills, but it should not prove much of a trouble. He puts down the map and continues further towards his goal.
Looking around himself, he tries to pinpoint any landmarks that could allow him to navigate easier in this environment, but unfortunately he is surrounded by all encompassing darkness, illuminated only by the headlamp attached to his diving suit. Seeing no point in this, he just walks onwards, to deal with the mission as soon as possible.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
The only interesting things on this depths are occasional ocean critters and few metal pieces left over by destroyed machinery, planes and sunken ships. Another consequences of pointless war, as if humanity didn't learn from its previous mistakes. This war is one of the reasons why Aiden is the only person send to complete this task. Of course not including plain lack of personel and crippled finances from general destruction of the surface. What is the point of bombarding the cities, if all citizens moved under the sea. Just to prove themself?
It took half an hour for Aiden to approach the null zone. Quickly sending the message to people above him, to inform them of incoming lack of possible contact with him, until further notice. After it, he installs the appropiate gear, allowing him to continue his dangerous journey, such as strong wire and pulling system. Looking down the cliff, leading to almost never ending abyss, he adjusts all of his equipment required to survive down the drop, strapping it closer to himself, and jumps.
Under normal circumstances he wouldn't dare do such an act, but unfortunately Aiden was on extremely tight schedule. Every minute wasted can lead to other nations learning of the source of the signal. His employers wouldn't pass this past him, if one thing led to another. That's why we didn't even get a diving vehicle, to be prepared as fast as possible. Thankfully, they managed to equip him with gear of higher grade than normal, otherwise we wouldn't survive even a second of his dubious adventure.
His drop finally leads him down the path, landing a little less gently than recommended. He connects the end of the wire with another installation, planted by him, which frees him from any restrains. Looking again on the map he finds out that he needs only a few more minutes to reach his destination, even though the map for this area is undetailed, for no human ever stepped a foot in here. But Aiden doesn't take much joy from this fact, because his job constantly requires him to explore never before seen lands. It only puts more risks on him than necessary. Surprisingly, looking towards it location he is still unable to see the source. Unusual, because by now he should see at least some kind of light emmited by it. It could also be hidden behing something, or burried inside the ground. Not wasting any more time he once again walks towards it.
Coming closer, it turns out that it was indeed hidden behind a small hill. Climbing at the top of it he gazes onto the sight before him. From his location it looks like some kind of facility of unknown design. Large, oval like shapes made out of steel linked together by series of long tunnels, seemingly never ending upon the horizon. Most of the shapes are linked by at least three of the pathways, with the exception of the one directly before Aiden. It is only connected to the rest of the building by a single path, leaving space for massive metal door that face the diver. After taking a few more astonished glances upon the station, he tries to come closer towards the one obvious entry. He notices a set of buttons on the right of it, labeled by simple symbols, likely telling their function. Aiden concludes that the one with the circle on it is responsible for opening them, so without further ado, he tries to activate it.
To his suprise, even though the doors are covered by a layer of growths, they open without any issue. The diver takes a cautious step inside of the building. Looking around he sees another mechanism, likely used for decompressing the gateway and allowing further access to the facility. To test it out he once again touches the most likely button, and to his delight it once again works. Doors behind him close, he can hear mechanisms working behind the walls, and water level slowly lowers, until there is no more of it inside the room. After the process is done Aiden can hear the second door opening before him.
After a few moments of late hesitation he finally steps inside.