Twenty-odd creatures swept past, gently propelled by their wavering wings. The largest of the group looked to be at least seventy-five feet long. With each roll of flesh, the wings shimmered bright pink. Connelly realized that this is what they had seen from a distance. The colors from the interior of the creatures were beautiful but in sheer brilliance, the light emitted from the outer edge of the wings was staggering.

Connelly's vision blurred from tears, swirling her world into a tie-dyed rainbow. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, which beaded on the outside of her PMS and rolled off onto the floor. She didn't want to miss a second.

Another call beckoned, returning Connelly's attention back to the baby. A gentle rocking caused Connelly and Robert to fall forward, but both were able to catch themselves on the console that ringed the interior of the sphere. When they looked back up, the baby's right eye starred at them from only inches away. Only the thick glass of the TES sphere separated them.

Connelly reached out and placed her hand on the glass, wishing to God she could touch the creature, just once. A distant call sounded, followed by three dull clicks. The baby, Robert and Connelly looked toward the source. The pod was moving off. The baby called back and was answered promptly. The message was clear, even to Connelly; time to go.

The baby turned back to the sphere and let out a high pitched whine. Then, with a graceful twitch of its wings, floated back, spun around and chased after the pod. As Connelly's vision tracked the baby's retreat, she realized that her eyes had completely adjusted to the dim environment. She could see the bottom, hundreds of feet below, alive with color. Creatures scurried back and forth. Multi-colored plants and coral-like organisms swayed brilliantly in the deep ocean currents. In the water, schools of bioluminescent fishlike creatures of every size, shape and color, darted about. This was a massively intricate ecosystem on par with Earth's.

"Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" Robert said.

Connelly knew the answer—no—she hadn't even dreamt of anything so magnificent. But she never spoke the word. Her mind was elsewhere. Despite the splendor surrounding them, she couldn't move past the brilliance of the bioluminescent whale-like creatures—bio-whales, she decided to call them. They displayed intelligence equal to a dolphin's, at least, if not more, and she couldn't accept just letting them swim away.

They might never see them again. They had to be observed for as long as possible.

Connelly stood quickly, her body language resolute. She strode to the sphere's main console and worked the keyboard with electrifying fervor.

Robert snapped his head toward Connelly, recognizing the series of keys she just struck. "What are you doing?"

Connelly smiled wide. "Hold on, Robert. We're going for a swim."

CHAPTER 18 -- PREDATORS