"Aye, Commander, tones have been initiated."

Before the orders were confirmed from below, Alice, Everett, Lee, and Mendenhall placed their hands over their ears as a soundless tone penetrated into their brain through the ear canal.

"Okay, that hurts ... uh ... really ... it hurts," Mendenhall said as he leaned into Jason Ryan.

"The tones are used to call the syms. It resembles their own style of speech and can carry up to a hundred miles. This is what led to my family's understanding of whale song."

The tones stopped, and Alice was the only one who had to sit, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Oh, God," Virginia said, looking through the glass.

All eyes turned in that direction, and then one by one the Event Group slowly approached the large windows as Leviathancame to a complete stop at the deepest part of the trench.

"Conn, lower exterior lighting to twenty-five percent power," Samuels ordered. Then he too advanced to see the wonder of the entire world.

"Beautiful." Ryan was the first to react.

The adult symbiants came out of the darkness. They had long ago shed the protective shell of octopuslike armor and were in their final form, as they would remain for the rest of their lives.

The tails, shaped like maple leaves, gently pushed them through the water toward the humans staring at them from their strange environment. They had small, thin legs that extended through the tail like veins, ending in tiny humanlike feet that exited the tail at its sides. There were discharges of internal electricity that coursed through the tail, pulsating soft pink and light blue in blood veins and arteries far different from that of man. The center of the tail radiated a soft greenish color, pulsing as their small hearts beat at the center of their chests, which could be seen through the clear membrane of their outer skin.

The first symbiant to reach the glass raised a small hand and touched it as its tail kept its body in pace with the drifting Leviathan. As the Event Group watched, its deep blue eyes shrank, allowing the creature to view them through the intense light.

"Yes, Mr. Ryan, it is beautiful," Niles said as he slowly reached up to the glass. He stopped and looked at Alexandria. She nodded her head that it was all right to touch the window.

The symbiant, with blinking eyes, smiled. The clear mouth curved upward and the hands slid across the window to mimic Niles's movement. The small creature tilted its head and looked directly at Niles. The smile remained.

"Captain, what nourishment do they consume at these depths?" Everett asked the practical question.

"There are over two million lava vents that supply nutrients and animal life that the symbiants harvest. Their needs are not all that great. When we visit, we like to leave them several tons of goods on the sea floor. Vitamin-filled feed, usually reserved for cows and horses. We do the same for the small children and their adults in the Gulf of Mexico."

"I count ten in all," Jack said as he too became entranced by the legend of all legends before him. He could feel Sarah next to him take a deep breath as she took in the wondrous sight.

"There is more. We estimate this colony is down to fewer than a thousand," Samuels said as he helped Alexandria to a chair. She sat and watched the Event personnel closely. "Captain, have you noticed there are only a few here? Where are the rest?"

Heirthall counted and then recounted the syms outside the glass.

"This is strange. There should be what's left of the colony here," she said, looking concerned.

Other symbiants came to the window and examined the faces looking at them. The colors in their tails enhanced to deeper blues and brighter pinks. They crowded around the glass, seemingly looking beyond the gathering of humans, looking for something that wasn't there.

"They look like a species of jellyfish. They must use the electrical current and colors for--" Virginia started to say.

"Mating, communication, navigation; right now they are asking a question," Alexandria said, watching Niles and the others closely.

"May I guess, Captain?" Sarah asked.

"I can see you have figured it out through their body language, Lieutenant, but go ahead."

"They want to see their children," she said as she moved her gaze from the window to the captain.

Alexandria nodded once more, and Samuels nodded at Yeoman Alvera. The girl stepped to the glass, placed her hand up, and sighed. Then several other midshipmen came through the hatch. Thirty-one in all approached, looking excited and sad at the same time.

"This small group is all that is left of the Mariana Trench young," Heirthall said sadly.

The teenagers were stretching and pointing, placing their hands on the glass, trying desperately to seek out their parents. The symbiants outside the glass had become excited as their colors turned to the purest pinks and the brightest blues. Their hands reached out toward the gathered midshipmen.

Soon, even more syms had joined the grouping at the windows, and then the momentary joyfulness dissipated. The humans watching this amazing event saw that several of the adults were being assisted by other syms as they made their way to the glass. The colors and electrical discharges on these syms were dull, less vibrant.

One of them reached outward toward the glass, and that was when Niles and his people saw that its clear skin had become milky in color. Its fine black and gold hair was sparse as it looked upon the men and women inside.

Yeoman Alvera stepped over, saying nothing. She tilted her head, staring at the sickly adult.

The creature tilted its head, mimicking Alvera, and then held its small, clear hand to the glass. The colors in the adult briefly flared to life, but just as quickly faded as the yeoman watched. She held her other hand to the window, hoping that the adult would follow suit, but two creatures advanced and slowly pulled the parent away from the glass. The adult's hand, still on the window, slowly fell away--the fingertips lingering for as long as they could keep contact until the parent was assisted out of the dimmed lights of Leviathan. Then it was gone.

Yeoman Alvera watched for the longest ten seconds Jack could ever remember. When she turned away from the glass, the look in her deep-set blue eyes was terrifying as she glanced from face to face. Then she abruptly left the observation lounge.

"You see our predicament, Mr. Director?"

Niles swallowed and turned to look at Alexandria. He could only nod his head.

"Regardless of what happens next, Doctor, thank you for that."

"Now that the family reunion has been concluded, I think it's time for the doctor to explain how much trouble we are in." Everyone turned and looked at Farbeaux as he stood and made his way to the bar. He found a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a drink.

"Especially since the captain's pain medication will soon wear off, and she'll become someone other than who she really is."

Heirthall stared at Farbeaux and allowed her body to relax for the first time in months. She slowly walked to a chair and sat. She placed a hand over her face and held it there.

"Explain," Samuels demanded.

"Colonel Collins, I must say that it is fortuitous indeed for us to have you and your men aboard. We will need some of that magical escapism that you so readily apply to bad situations." He took a drink of the whiskey, exhaling when he emptied the small glass. "It seems there has been a small mutiny aboard Leviathanin the past few months." He poured another drink.