There were two seats at the front, and five in the belly of the craft. An open area at the back could have contained extra equipment or passengers, as the submersible could pack in twenty if it needed to undertake a deepwater rescue. But for now, the space had some modest supplies stacked neatly at the rear, but also a larger chair, with its own control panel – Mironov’s personal seat. They all had to hunch slightly to fit, Jack, Yegor and Mironov especially, but at least they wouldn’t have to crawl over each other.

Yegor and Jack sat at the front, and Cate, Greg, Abby and Dmitry, all took the seats in the main compartment, with Mironov easing back into his own, and crossing his long, thin legs. He looked relaxed and at ease, as if waiting for a movie to start in his private theatre. Dmitry immediately set to checking monitors and dials, and Cate, Greg and Abby started to prepare their own sampling and recording equipment.

Each of the team had multiple screens in front of them, including a viewing screen, as the only glass was at the front. The window was in a curved convex-design, based on the eggshell-dome shape – it was the strongest structure in nature and allowed the massive forces applied to it to be spread across the entire surface. Deep-sea submariners found out the hard way that flat portholes blew inwards at greater depths. For now, Jack and Yegor had a view, and those at the back of the bus would have to be satisfied with remote viewing, or leaning back to see around the two pilots.

Dmitry turned to speak a few words in Russian to his big colleague, who nodded and gave a deep, “Da” over his shoulder. The smaller man then rose to his feet, and leant over Cate.

“Get ready for lift. I must close hatch for descent.” He grinned, patted her shoulder and then climbed the ladder, pulling the heavy metal circular disc down over his head and spinning the wheel on the primary hatch. He leapt down, and then sealed the interior bulkhead hatch. They were now sealed in.

An image of a blood-lit steel coffin flashed into Cate’s mind, but thankfully, small spaces never worried her. However, with the bracing external air shut out, the cocktail of old and new smells crowded around them, threatening to overwhelm her senses. She hoped she got used to them as the voyage progressed, and new air was pumped in.

Yegor pulled a headset over his large head, and pointed to another sitting on the console waiting for Jack.

“Okay, bridge is yours, Captain Monroe.”

Dmitry also pulled a set of earphones over his head and began to speak softly. Cate couldn’t make out whether it was English or Russian.