The security at the Hawaiian dock looked askance at the passengers in the SUV with heavily tinted windows, but the pass Chris had given them was enough to let them through despite Daniel’s nerves. They’d just gotten here from the airport and two flights in less than two weeks had taken a lot out of him. Neither was he thrilled about what they were doing, but under all that fear was the surety of what that one photo had shown him.
If a shark had somehow gotten hold of an avianoid’s leg, there was at least one avianoid in this world. The only way he could make sense of that and the cryptic instructions he’d gotten from his Dad was that the city of Eido had been transported here when he’d sent over the clone or, more accurately, allowed it to manifest on the Octyrrum. The details of how that process had worked still weren’t clear, but neither was that his goal to solve. He had to find Eido. What happened when he did he wasn’t sure, but sitting around at home and trying to forget what he’d seen wouldn’t solve anything.
The car continued to move through the paved streets once it passed the gate. This was a private dock used by the kind of people who also owned private jets. Yachts, as it turned out, weren’t as expensive as he’d thought. The one his dad’s money had gotten would have been under a million if buying one currently located in the Hawaiian islands hadn’t pushed that price up significantly. Still, nine hundred and seventy two million went a long way.
It wasn’t the largest yacht he could have purchased, but going bigger would require a crew he didn’t want to take along for what he hoped was first contact between Earth and an alien world. If some government had found them first and started a secret war, this would get so much more complicated and he was already starting with more than he bargained for.
“Holy shit. That’s ours?” Ami asked as the car stopped in front of the small stretch of gangway that led directly onto the vessel. It was less than thirty meters in length, slightly tripping his claustrophobia when he considered he’d be stuck on it for some time. “The people at work are going to flip out when they see me on video calls. We’ll have internet, right?”
“Chris is setting up some kind of satellite thing,” Daniel said distantly.
“He was able to get everything I asked for?” his mother asked from the passenger seat. That was the craziest thing. Alex had been fired from her job after losing her temper following the effective cancellation of her class. Ami could work remotely, her employers being very generous with that definition.
His mom? Kara had taken a leave of absence after Daniel had told his family he was going to explore the Pacific. That was the reason his sisters had folded, since there was no way any madness Daniel had picked up would have spread to their unflappable mother. Something had shaken her when she’d seen Chris’ photo, though whenever they asked she either ignored the question or changed the subject. She wouldn’t be able to avoid it for long, though.
“Chris said he’ll have everything on the boat. Yacht.”
“Pleasure barge,” Ami added, the most excited of them. “He can work this by himself?”
“We may have to help, but he can sail it. Somehow.” He’d half expected the young jack of all trades to balk at the request, but not only had he arranged everything, he’d even contracted a law firm to run them through the basics of maritime law. The American flag flying from the ship’s side would give them some protection, though it came with that adage about the best protection being not needing any. A legitimate vessel would leave them alone, but sailing into a country’s national waters would invite conflict they were in no way able to match. Hopefully, Eido hadn’t been shunted too close to Asia.
“So, we go on this and find that city,” Alex said skeptically, not moving from where the dock met the water. “The one with aliens on it. What happens then?”
“I… don’t know,” Daniel answered. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. We can book you a flight back or a resort here. The money Dad left isn’t just for me.”
“Come on Alex,” her sister teased. “Look at this! We’re in our twenties, exactly when we need to have insane adventures. Hell, I don’t care if any of this crap about Eido is real. This is the kind of thing we’ll never forget.”
“Mom, do you really think this is a good idea?” Alex asked, ignoring her twin. “If we run into a storm or something, we won’t have help. I did some research and we’re just outside hurricane season, but that doesn’t mean one can’t show up. Especially with climate change. It’s just going to be the four of us with someone we don’t know, who we’ve trusted to figure out all the details and steer us around. What if this is all a trap?”
Kara took a look at each of them before answering. “Losing your father was the worst thing that I’ve ever had to endure. If I lost any of you, that would destroy me. I know this is a risk, Alex, but Daniel is going no matter what I can say or do. If this is dangerous, then this is where I need to be for my children’s sake”
“What about the other world stuff?” Alex asked, a bit of her temper rising from the indirect answer.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Kara answered, surprising all of them, before she walked onto the boat.
Daniel was hit by the implication the hardest, though Alex’s stunned question towards him indicated she wasn’t that far behind. “Daniel, is she saying that God is involved in this?”
“I hadn’t thought about that.” His family was religious, though he was the least of them. Ami was a mixed bag, Alex casually faithful, but both his mother went to church every week when they weren’t globetrotting. “I, Alex, the gods of the other world are real.” She rolled her eyes at that, still incredulous about everything he’d told his family since spilling the beans. “Ours could have one too, or more. Earth has multiple religions, and stories of magic. Multiple cut off cultures across the world that developed stories about dragons. All those stories you hear about aliens, the ones other than Eido’s. Holy shit.”
His head began to spin as he numbly walked onto the boat and took a seat at a spot where you could feel the wind blowing when the ship was in motion. Chris had yet to appear, though he was likely in the interior space further up the front of the ship making final preparations. They’d boarded on the back, passing the jet ski mounted above the water. Alex was the last one to walk up, doing so a minute after her sister.
“I’m only doing this for Dad,” she said, passing him.
He laughed a little too loudly at the irony, still overwhelmed by his thoughts to comment.
…
The yacht was already moving when Chris called a proper meeting in the small dining area on the yacht’s first floor. Or, deck. Ami was still treating this all with snarky skepticism, especially after what Kara had said, and was on her phone after connecting it to the ship’s internet. Alex and Daniel looked between their mother and Chris, who was currently dressed in cargo shorts and a patterned polo shirt like he’d just stepped off a golf course. Neither was giving anything away, and Daniel wasn’t sure if Chris knew the reason for his mom acting weird since he hadn’t brought that up over text.
“Welcome to the SS Far Shores,” Chris started, giving the introduction like he was guiding them into a dinosaur park. “That’s the original name from the last owners and we didn’t have enough time to change it. Anyway, my name is Chris Rogers. I’m a, well, you can call it a contractor of sorts that’s worked with Garret by phone and Daniel directly in the past. I know this is the first time most of you are meeting me and I want to make sure everyone’s comfortable, since we’ll be together for at least a few weeks. What concerns can I answer?”This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
“Who’s driving the boat?” Ami asked from her corner, not looking up.
“The Far Shores received an upgrade package courtesy of the fund. It’s got a kind of auto-pilot that incorporates depth sensors, radar, and GPS. It’ll bring us to a stop if it senses anything one of us would have to make adjustments for, like inclement weather, but it can otherwise keep itself going.” He’d started saying it to Ami but when it was clear she didn’t care about the fine details, he’d shifted back to addressing the group in general. “I’m confident all of us can sleep while it’s running. I’ve got the radio in my room in case we get hailed, and the system will alert me if anyone or anything gets within ten kilometers.”
A few questions burned in Daniel’s mind about what his mother had said, but he couldn’t ask them with her or his sisters there. There was something else he wanted to know more anyway. “Were you able to find Eido?”
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t zero in its exact location. As fantastical as this all may seem, I do think you’re right though.”
“So you’re in on all this other world stuff?” Alex asked challengingly, folding her arms.
“I am a man that likes to keep an open mind. The arrangement I had with your father wasn’t exactly normal either.”
“So, you just go around doing whatever rich people want you to do?” Chris’ smile faded a little at her implication.
He took a seat, abandoning the slight youth camp leader stance he’d been taking at the head of the table. “Alright, I get your concerns. Let’s just get it out of the way. I got into this business because of a friend who won the lottery. Not as much as Daniel got, but the ‘make your life very good until you completely ruin it’ kind. Smartest thing he did was hire a financial advisor who then recommended someone like me. A lifestyle manager. I was seventeen and didn’t have anything else going for me. It seemed interesting, so I talked the guy up and got involved. I was running solo for my fourth year when Garret reached out.” He took another long drink, looked at the table, and then cursed under his breath. “One moment, sorry, I forgot the map.” He walked out and Alex turned a sharp gaze towards their mother.
“This is who we’re trusting our lives to? Mom, what do you know about him?”
“I-“ she started to say, before cutting herself off. There was a moment of deep conflict as her poker face lifted. “I’ve seen him before, that… man. He isn’t what I expected, but I think we can trust him.”
“Is this about God?
“I don’t see any other rational explanation for-“ Kara stopped abruptly as they all heard Chris’ footsteps coming back. The man himself appeared with a rolled-up map that looked like it had come from a print shop.
“Sorry, had this stored so it wouldn’t get wet.” He unrolled it on the table, revealing the Pacific Ocean with several overlapping areas circled. “So, again, I don’t have an exact location, but there’s been this new Bermuda Triangle-esque zone in the Pacific the conspiracy nut heads have begun picking up.”
Ami snorted. “We’re chartering a ship to find an alien city. If they’re nut heads, what’re we?”
“Clients,” Chris answered diplomatically. “I didn’t just copy what they did either, I fact checked. Not all of this stuff out there’s legit, especially the newer claims, but some of it is true.” He took another sip as he tapped the largest circle labeled ‘ship fuel’, pulling out photo-copied documents as he did. “Over the last four months, shipping companies have noticed a roughly 5% increase in fuel consumption by anyone traveling along shipping lanes in this area. It’s not a consistent effect, but it’s undeniable, and there’s no current explanation for it besides something a team of physicists are trying to confirm.”
“And where exactly did you get your physics degree?” Ami sniped, having taken the dedicated heckler position despite still trying to feign disinterest with her laptop.
“Don’t need it when there are smart people out there kind enough to put their findings in honest English,” Chris answered, continuing to answer politely. “Anyone here heard of gravity anomalies?”
“Bullshit.”
“No, it’s a real thing,” Daniel piped up, unable to continue watching the one-sided argument while also really not wanting Ami to make Chris reconsider the favor he was doing him. “Somewhere where the gravity isn’t what it should be?”
“Sounds like something a smart man would say simply,” Chris nodded. “I’m not talking about crop circles or floating islands, it’s just areas that don’t behave according to our current understanding of gravity. Theories are out there, of course, but something like what you’re talking about would also be the kind of thing my mind would go to after a few of these.” He shook the half-empty can and set it a little further from him than before.
“So anomalous gravity zone, shipping fuel, it sounds like someone would have already found this place,” Daniel said, tensing as he imagined some military stumbling across Eido and ruining any chance he had to salvage his dream.
“Eh. We’re talking about a large area of the largest ocean on our blue planet.” Chris’ finger traced the largest circle again. “Can’t speak for everyone, but the closest it sounds like people’ve gotten is that leg, and there’s a few ‘alien mummies’ in Mexico that’ve discredited stories like that before.”
“This is all fascinating, really,” Alex spoke up, a hard expression on her face. Daniel didn’t think she was heading toward an explosion, they’d become rare after the early teenage years, but this was a touchy subject. “But what chance do we have of actually finding anything? How long are you going to keep us out here until we accept that this is all hoaxes and coincidence?”
“Long as you like,” Chris shrugged. “I do think I’m one of the only ones taking this seriously, and because it’s my job rather than my delusion, I have a better approach. Wouldn’t call it science exactly, just a mix of hope and good intentions.” He tapped a spot on the map to the north, where almost all the circles overlapped. “And this is our best intention. It’ll take a week, maybe less, to get there. Plenty of fuel for a round trip, so don’t worry about getting stranded. Say we look around a day or two and then have another talk about whether you want to continue or head back.”
“Mr… Rogers,” Kara said slowly, whether because of her supposed familiarity or the realization of how the name would sound after she started saying it. “I am concerned for my family’s safety. What are you doing to minimize the risk to us?”
“Well, you talked to those lawyers and I’ve taken their advice,” Chris started, sensing this was an important topic. “You should also know this beauty is a speedy one, and we’ll have enough of a warning to avoid someone coming our way if we need to. I have a radio and contacts within several US embassies should the absolute worst happen and a foreign navy takes an interest in us. I want to stress that the chance of that happening is extremely low so long as we keep our heads down.” He considered his next words and took another sip of beer before putting his hands flat on the table. “Lastly, I have a handgun aboard. It is currently in a gun safe, and if you want to be the only ones who can access it, I can make that happen. It is only there as a last resort.”
That was as much news to Daniel as it was to the rest of his family, but every way Chris had presented himself thus far did nothing to support the idea of him turning the weapon on them. He still saw Ami begin to rapidly blink as she considered how she’d spent the last ten minutes, and Kara sighed. “I don’t think guns are a way to make us safe.”
“Respectfully, ma’am, I’ve met people who could change your mind on that.” He sighed too. “But I’ll throw it in the ocean if you want. This is what I wanted to get across. You are the clients, what you say goes so long as it doesn’t cross a line, and none of you seem like the people who’d ask me to. I’m here to help you, and it is my first job to make sure you feel you are safe.”
“I don’t want us to feel safe,” Kara countered. “I want us to be safe.”
Chris thought on that for a moment before he nodded thoughtfully. “Then, again, respectfully, this isn’t what you should be doing. I can swing us back to port, book all of you a nice stay, look myself and report back. There are places on this planet where I can do nothing to assure your absolute safety, and the deep blue is one of them. I have taken every precaution, but at the end of the day it is your call, and if one of you wants us to turn around then that’s that.”
He looked around the room, still with his hands in a non-threatening position, waiting for someone to tell him to do just that. Daniel was determined and said nothing. The gun part had scared Ami for a moment, but she was still wrapped up in adventure and had probably rationalized Chris into a fancy armed guard by now.
Alex and Kara would be the dealbreakers if anyone would be. The two sensed this, looking at each other. Chris had done about as perfect a job as he could selling this, including being absolutely serious about sending some or all of them home at the drop of a hat. Alex’s eyes wavered first. “Mom, if there’s any chance of Dad being there…”
Kara’s eyes fell. The decision had just been made for her. She then picked her head back up and looked Chris in the eye with all of the precision and cutting power of a scalpel. “I’m putting the lives of my children in your hands. Do not forget that for a second.”
“Cross my heart, ma’am,” Chris replied, doing just so. “Now, I’ve already got a course set. Let’s take a break, grab some drinks, relax, and try not to get too tired of the view just yet. All we’ll be seeing for a little bit.”
Nervously, Daniel stared out at the vast expanse now that the islands were fading into the background behind him. This was better and worse than a flight in some ways. He had medication on board if needed, but he wasn’t going to be drugged when they found Eido.
And they would find it. He didn’t care about logic or luck, they had to find it, because otherwise all the money in the world couldn’t let him live with what he’d done.