The Space Spoon novel Chapter 86

While watching the epic battle outside in the depths of the ocean, everyone in the airarium was petrified. Sometimes the air breathers couldn't see anything because of the darkness covering the two opponents as they took the struggle farther away from the glass wall. On the ocean floor, the line of sight wasn't the best.

But what they witnessed stayed with them. The pictures were etched into their minds, and no matter how hard they tried, they could not erase them. But this type of brutal aggression was nothing new to any of the Space Spoon crew.

When the waters around them settled into an ominous stillness, Shayla’s eyes narrowed as she glimpsed something strange hovering in the waters and advancing at a steady pace.

A metallic shape reflected in the glass. As it approached, they could glimpse the familiar form of one of Hanga's self-sufficient repair droids. Cato gasped, while Shayla smiled. A sphere similar to a transparent force field kept the water away from the small contraption.

A little hatch in its chest opened, revealing a power-cutting tool. Although the droid had moved the gadget through the bubble, the force field remained intact. As it landed on the glass, a muted knock came through. It walked in a circular pattern across the wall at a leisurely speed.

Cato widened her eyes in shock when she saw the droid starting to cut a round slice from the glass cage. All the water from the ocean was about to burst inside once that portion was removed.

Right after the circle was completed and before the water pressure could push inside the newly circular lid, the bubble around the droid expanded, covering the entrance. Slowly, it put aside the power-cutting tool and closed its chest. Then the droid’s limb touched the center of the circle. Click! And it fell off onto the sand inside.

As four pairs of eyes followed its every movement, the droid crawled to the door it made and entered the airarium. The bubble remained behind it, turning into a protective force field, holding off the ocean on the other side.

"Do you think Hanga sent it to our rescue?" Cato asked, still not at ease after the fight they had just witnessed.

“There’s no other explanation.” Shayla placed her hands on her hips. “Do you have a better one?”

Jackeye remained silent, staring at the droid with reluctance.

C1313 stared as well at their peculiar visitor. “I agree. But how can it help us?”

A crackle, as if coming through a microphone, interrupted their conversation. "Ladies and gentleman, the rescue operation has commenced. Please listen to your designated savior so we can ascend to the surface."

Shayla raised an eyebrow. “E00?”

“In person. Or should I say in droid?”

Jackeye’s muscles relaxed. “And what’s the plan, oh mighty savior?”

The hatch inside the droid’s chest opened again, revealing five masks.

“Each of them contains compressed oxygen,” E00 explained. “A single sniff fills your lungs as if you took a full breath. Each has enough for ten uses. That’s enough to get you to the surface.” The droid’s head turned to the left and the right before returning to them again. “Where’s Tejeda?”

E00 didn't allow any room for further debate. He dashed beyond the force field, lighting a lamp on the droid's back to guide them through the darkness of the ocean deep.

Cato hissed like a true cat before donning the mask. Yet, she passed through the aperture and followed the droid.

The next to pass was Jackeye, and he waited outside for C1313 to arrive as well. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he followed the light of the droid.

Shayla kept her arms crossed, refusing to allow Firion out of her sight. She jumped into the water and followed the others just after he put on the mask and stumbled through the circular entrance. This way, she would be the last one to go and could ensure that no one stayed behind.

Once they were on dry land, Firion struggled to his feet, clinging to Shayla for support. Blood rushed to his ears while his pulse soared alongside his determination not to show these youngsters that he was a weak, old man.

"Follow me to the pick-up site," E00 stated as he dashed ahead. "I arrived with a shuttle that had a pre-planned route. It should be just ahead."

Everyone followed. The sand crunched under their boots at a steady pace until they stopped. It wasn't because they had arrived at their destination, but because they couldn't go any farther.

Tall, green-scaled beasts encircled them. The hideous monsters peered at them through the round water canisters that surrounded their heads. The crew of the Space Spoon was safe from their razor-sharp teeth. The pointy claws and spiky spikes on their backs, on the other hand, indicated that their pursuers were not unarmed.