The ship suddenly rolled hard to starboard and Alison briefly lost her footing. Jim Lightfoot, standing several feet behind her, began to rush forward as she quickly scrambled back to her feet.
She steadied herself again and shook her head at what Lee had just said. “How on Earth am I going to communicate that?”
68
By the time the Pathfinder’s powerful engines began to slow, Lee Kenwood had concluded that they’d gotten as much out of their testing as they were going to get. It was far from perfect, but better than nothing under the circumstances. However, without more dolphins to test it, he couldn’t be sure how well his “fix” was going to work. His fear was that it wasn’t going to work well at all. Tracking a single conversation was one thing, but successfully translating dozens of them simultaneously was another. And contrary to what most people believed about computers, software bugs were the norm, not the exception.
Lee leaned back and folded his arms, staring at his screen. The problem was that he had now applied the new, largely untested code and reverting back to the old code would be their only option if it didn’t work. But that would take time.
Down on the stern, Alison was worried about something else entirely. Although she and Neely had come back to investigate the plant life covering the ocean bottom, she had the distinct impression Dirk and Sally had come, not just to help, but for a totally different reason. One they had yet to share with her.
If she was right, Alison had no idea what that reason was. She stared at Dirk and Sally, both watching her quietly with their heads poking out of the water.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something unexpected was coming.
Alison looked up when several more men appeared on the deck above, led by the ship’s lead engineer, Elgin Tay. He was shorter than the others but moved with an air of confidence. One by one the men descended the ladder and moved aft toward her and Lightfoot, swaying back and forth with the rolling of the ship. She recognized the last figure in line as Chris.
The ship’s forward momentum gradually slowed and was replaced by steep side to side rolling from the ocean swells beneath them. Lightfoot approached from behind and grasped the rim of the dolphin’s tank for support. “We can take the harness off if you like. It’s still going to be a little rocky though.”
“Fine with me.” Alison began unbuckling. “At least if I fall over now you guys aren’t going far.”
“Very true.”
Tay and the others approached, several putting their own hands on the tank. “Everyone okay?”
Before she could answer, her vest translated Dirk’s reply.
We good.
Dirk jerked his head, laughing.
Tay laughed with him. “I guess that means he’s ready to get out.”
Alison’s vest emitted a sharp tone.
“There’s no word for guess,” Alison replied. “But yes, I think they’re more than ready.”
Ready.
“Okay, but I need to warn you, this may not be easy. These winches are strong, but they can be difficult to maneuver in conditions this rough. We don’t normally use them when it’s this bad. Payloads are too heavy. If they start swinging around, things can get dangerous in a hurry.”
Alison stared at him, nervously. “How dangerous?”
The ship suddenly pitched and everyone grabbed something for support. “Very.”
“We have to get them out.”
Tay gave an understanding nod. “All right, men. You heard the lady. We’re bringing them out. Careful as we go.”
Within minutes, the giant winch was unchained and its powerful arm extended out over the rear of the stern. A chain was then wrapped around the arm, holding it in place. A large, thick sling was retrieved from a nearby compartment. One of the men tied a control line to the underside of the sling, allowing them to counter any excessive movements due to the ship’s swaying.
Next, the fat cable from the winch’s arm was released and secured to two large metal rings running through the sling’s two center points.
As Tay’s men struggled under the pitching of the ship, Chris managed to make his way to the side railing. They hadn’t heard it before above the roar of the Pathfinder’s engines, but as those systems were powered down, a familiar sound arose from all directions: the sound of dolphins.
Lightfoot, helping with the sling, abruptly stopped. He whirled around and spotted hundreds of moving shadows in the water. “Holy crap! You guys see that?”
Another of Tay’s men edged closer. “There’s a ton of dolphins surrounding the ship.” He turned back just in time to see Alison’s grin.
“Just wait until dawn.”
Once the sling was in the tank, Sally moved forward, easing her sleek gray body into the fabric cradle. She waited while Lightfoot and another engineer ran their hands alongside, ensuring nothing was restricted and the overhead cable was taut enough to keep the dolphin secure in the event of a problem.
When they’d loaded the dolphins in Puerto Rico, it was done as carefully as possible. This time would be different. Their priority now was to get them off as quickly as possible.
Alison’s expression grew increasingly nervous as she watched the men trying to work and at the same time struggling to maintain their own footing.
“Lightfoot!” Tay yelled. “Man the control line. The rest of us will help lift her out. Once she’s out, it’s going to be all winch.”
“Aye.” Lightfoot gripped it tightly. “Ready.”
Tay glanced to his man, Smitty, controlling the winch. “Okay, we’re going to time this with a roll to port. We lift in the middle and gravity will swing her out over the water. Lightfoot will slow her down. Everyone understand?”
Tay nodded. “All right, here we go. On my mark. Ready… wait for the roll.”
The lower deck promptly began to rise again.
“UP!” he yelled.
The winch’s cable lurched and immediately grabbed, hoisting Sally up while those around her steadied the sling. But the vessel rolled too quickly. Her heavy body was abruptly pulled out of their hands and swung hard toward the falling side of the ship. The swing accelerated too quickly, sending her far out over the water and back again.
“Look out!” Tay shouted. “She’s coming back!”
No sooner had he yelled than the weight of the Pathfinder’s enormous keel overcame the upper sway of the ship and the motion reversed. Sally’s momentum increased even more rapidly, sending her swinging toward them and missing the rim of the tank by inches. Her four hundred pound body passed over the tank and smashed into Chris at full speed, throwing him careening into the winch’s thick base.
“Chris!” Alison shrieked and let go of the tank, sliding across the wet deck. She scrambled to get her feet out in front of her and managed to stop herself between the winch and one of the ship’s stanchions.
She grabbed Chris’s limp body and pulled him closer. “Chris! CHRIS!” Seconds later, Smitty dropped into place on the other side. He wrapped an arm around Chris’s frame, preventing him from moving.
“Check him!” Smitty yelled.
Alison frantically ran her hands over him until she found Chris’s neck. She pressed two fingers in, searching. She felt nothing and moved to the other side of this neck.
“Get the control line!”
Standing above her and Smitty, the other men struggled to secure the control line while Sally slowed and began swinging back again. The line, now wet, whipped past them, whipping through Lightfoot’s outstretched hand.
Tay watched Sally swing uncontrollably back over the water.
“Wait! Wait!” he shouted. “Let her go!” He twisted around and stared at Smitty, who was trying to right himself with one hand.