After removing her hands from her ears, Connelly reached for the red glass light fixture. She unscrewed the glass two full rotations in three seconds and then recovered her ears. She waited for the next echolocation to sound out.

It never came.

Instead, she felt an insistent tapping on her shoulder. She turned and saw Robert standing behind her. His face was unusually placid, like he had just received an injection of Botox. "Don't bother," he said, "it's here." Robert stepped aside.

Through the glass, Connelly saw a wriggling worm-like creature, no bigger than a large terrestrial earth night crawler. Glowing brilliant red, the small creature seemed to dance in space like a puppet being dangled by a string. Like a worm on a hook.  Like an angler fish. The angler fish, which lives in the deepest, darkest portions of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans, dangles a glowing lure to attract prey towards its massive, dagger toothed jaws.

Connelly's shoulders fell down in defeat. "Oh shit."

Robert ducked down slowly, slid to a side panel and popped it open. He began fiddling with the internal wiring.

Connelly glanced down at him, afraid that any motion, would attract the attention from the creature of unknown size that lurked silently outside the sphere. "What are you doing?"

"Rewiring the lighting controls so we can control the light from down here without being attached to the topside cables."

Connelly gently slid her body down and kneeled next to Robert while keeping her eyes glued on the red worm doing a happy dance outside their window. "And that will accomplish what?"

Robert shifted his body under a bundle of wires. He broke two, stripped them quickly with his teeth and reconnected them oppositely. "I'm assuming that most creatures in this ocean haven't seen anything brighter than what we've already seen. Bioluminescence isn't typically glaringly bright, though it may sometimes seem so in the dark."

"Get to the point, please," Connelly said.

"We'll blind it…if only long enough to escape. Turn on everything we've got and make a run for it. It should be like staring into the sun for these creatures. And if the effect is lasting, we should have plenty of time to—"

Click…

The sound was gentle.

Probing.

"We don't have much time," Robert said.

Connelly tensed her muscles and prepared to spring into action. "I'll handle the controls. You work the lights."

Robert nodded.

"Go!"

*   *   *   *   *

Like a stone monolith, Peterson stood before the door to the decon room. He was fully garbed in his PMS and holding his hood-like helmet in his hands.  Moving independently of his body, Peterson turned his head to the left. His eyes scanned back and forth left to right in a rapid motion as he read a bright red sign.

WARNING: PERSONAL MULTI-PRESSURE SUITS MUST BE SEALED BEFORE ENTERING DECONTAMINATION ROOM. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN DEATH.