Abby’s attention irritated Cate. But she also saw that Greg’s eyes narrowed, and he eased forward before Jack could respond. “Super senses.” He smiled confidently. “Sure, they have eyes but don’t need them to hunt. They can sorta feel electrical impulses and vibrations in the water. Right, Jack?”

Jack nodded. “Very good, Mr Jamison; the shark’s snout is a veritable factory of sensory organs, many of them we are only just now working out what they do and how they do it.”

“It’s Greg; just call me Greg.” He gave a slight bow, his eyes on Abby.

Jack grinned. “Greg it is then.”

“And Abby.” She gave him a wide grin and stuck out her hand.

Jack shook it, and the young geologist hung on for a few seconds longer than Cate liked. Suddenly everyone seemed gathered around Jack, while she, the mission leader, was standing by herself.

“Okay, when you three have finished bonding,” Cate glared momentarily at Greg and Abby, and then looked down at the image on her screen. “Bottom line, which no one here is disputing, is it’s probably a unique species, living in a remote and untouched environment. We need to ensure it stays that way.”

“Works for me,” Jack said.

“If we can find the creature again and document it, then we can seek a protection order over the entire subterranean body of water – have it set aside as a no-go zone like we’ve done with some of the last pristine reefs and estuaries. Then as the primary discoverers, we can apply for a solitary research license – it’ll be all ours for years.”

Cate stood and looked at her wristwatch. “Okay, lets’ move this along. Jack and I will check on excavation work. It’s due for completion within the next six hours. Once that’s done, we’ll be preparing for the drop. As we discussed on the chopper, the sub’s being checked over now – I don’t need to tell you how critical this is, because on a deep dive, if we spring a leak, the force of the water could cut through us like a laser, and the pressure will crush us down to the size of soda cans.”

“Nice.” Greg grimaced. “I’ve been thinking about that, The Priz class is a Russian design, but I’m assuming there’ll be English instructions, because….”

“Nope, I asked, but not available,” Jack said. “And no time to get them translated. But I can manage most of the controls, and any specialist equipment or operations can be handled by the two Russian crew.”

Cate nodded. “Good, and those crewmembers are both marine engineers, and should already be here somewhere, wandering all over the camp. We need to find them, organize them, and work with them.” She grinned. “And yes, they speak English.”

“Thank god for that,” Greg sighed.