As the helmsman steered the ship, the captain conning from over his shoulder, the whole bridge was surprised when the captain asked the first lieutenant to take the con and stepped out onto the port gantry. The King’s Transom was nearly one hundred feet long, a converted deep-sea trawler that had been used as a marine research vessel for over ten years now. During that time, its owners had proved amenable to having it ‘commissioned’ by the navy for certain operations, proving discreet enough not to mention the changes of crew the missions usually required.

Its high bridge soared over an impressive bow, designed to brave even the toughest waters. As you moved astern, the sides got steadily lower, allowing ever easier access to the water for the host of cranes mounted on its open stern. The word ‘transom’ was the old navy name for the very back end of a ship, and such was the plethora of equipment, cranes, and even a functioning two-man submarine mounted on the King’s Transom’s backside that the name had seemed appropriate.

Extending from each side of the high bridge were two gantries, designed to allow the captain or his lookouts to look over the side of the ship, or survey the horizon for signs of fish. Now, as Captain Hawkson stood on the port gantry, he surveyed the small crowd on the shore. Finding the two white faces hiding in it, he smiled. He then glanced down to the deck below to Dr. West who was looking up at him, smiling understandingly, and turned to head back onto the bridge.

Chapter 14: A Black Spot

It turned out Dr. West had not needed Dramamine for the relatively calm seas they would encounter. As they had left the harbor behind, she had met with Captain Hawkson, his first lieutenant, and the navigational officer, and they had gone over their search area.

Though satellite images had pinpointed the spot where the meteor had touched down, the vagaries of current made the range of its potential resting spots on the ocean bed significant. They had decided on a spiral search pattern. They would start at the center of their proposed search area, and then spiral slowly outward in an ever increasing circle. For the sake of testing the equipment, they had also run the probe while heading to the central start point.