Baltic Sea Discovery

The Baltic Sea... We are here finally. It has been so long since we first set out. We on S.S. Eagleton are setting up the X22 Diving Pod now. I watch out the window as they carefully hook all the whose-its and what’s-its. I don’t know how it is made, they just hired me to examine what they found on the bottom of the sea months ago.

“Oliver?” Asks the voice of Captain Remy.

I turn to him and nod, his windswept hair looks like a dead seagull on his head. The crazy man then hurries over to the pod barking orders ending with, “Alright, good job everyone. Let’s get everyone on board!”

I, along with Jeremy Hughes and Crystal Deen line up to climb into the three person pod. Crystal looks back at me just before climbing into the small opening and with her thick Russian accent says, “Hope you’re not claustrophobic, Oli.”

I detest the nickname she has given me and even more so her flirtatiousness. I have no time for such nonsense, I just want to know what that disc-shaped object is. I finally climb in and the pod is shut tight behind me, with a cranking sound I know we are locked in waterproof and secure.

Moments later we are lowered into the choppy water and with a hollow plunk we begin to sink. I watch out one of the several windows as we lower not sure what to expect. A giant squid perhaps? Or a great white shark? I’m not a marine scientist...

“So you’re the leading expert on alien technology this side of the globe, eh, Oliver?”

Jeremy asks as he fiddles with different controls and levers.

“Yes, I am.” I reply.
“So that means you know what planet these things are from?” He asks.
“I don’t assume it’s alien technology until I see it. Unlike my peers back at the academy I must see to believe.” I tell him plainly.

“So, Oli,” Crystal says, “How does that make you an expert? No one has ever seen an alien craft, let alone an alien being.”
“So one would believe, Ms. Deen.” I reply dryly.

We continue down and on the outside it is dark. An inky blackness I never thought I would be seeing first hand. I silently curse myself for coming on this trip, but if the gold at the end of the rainbow really is from a leprechaun, then it will all be worth it.

The pod shakes violently. I am thrown from my seat and land across Deen’s lap. She looks down at me with puffy lips, “I didn’t know you were that kind of man, Oli.”
Quickly, I pull myself back to my seat, “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but the radar is going haywire.” Jeremy tells us.
“What do you mean, we haven’t even got to the bottom yet!” Deen says in surprise.
“It’s like we hit something solid for a moment and broke through. The problem is I don’t see anything, but the radar shows we’re surrounded by small objects.”

I peer out the windows and examine the dark waters. Yes. There is most certainly something out there. The small cylindrical objects seem to phase in and out of existence, much like electrons in an atom. Could we be in some kind of alien force field?

“We have to go outside.” I announce.
“What? You aee madder than I thought!” Deen says to me.
“I t-think he’s right, Crystal. There’s something outside and it doesn’t look like we are in water anymore.” Jeremy agrees with me.
“How can there not be water? We are more than one hundred feet below the surface of a sea, yes a sea!” Crystal says.

I ignore her and climb to the porthole and begin turning the crank to open the door.

“Stop!” She shouts, “You’ll kill us all!”

I roll my eyes and pull the latch. The door swings open with a loud creak. No water rushes in just as I predicted. Turning back to her I shake my head, “The water pressure would keep me from opening the door if we were in water, wouldn’t it?”

She has a dumbfounded look on her face. I lean out and see we are only about fifteen feet from the sea floor, which is perfectly dry as if water has not touched it in many years. Jeremy ties a rope to the railing inside and together we climb down to investigate.

Above us Crystal calls out, “I will not be climbing out there. I don’t know what magic is doing this--”
“Not magic,” I yell to her, “Science!”

That shuts her up. We touch down on the sandy floor and we stand right beside a large silver object. At first glance I’d have to say more than fifty feet in width and length. There are windows along the side, but apparently no entrance.

“This is remarkable.” Jeremy exclaims, “I can not believe we are staring at an actual UFO.”
“Not too surprising,” I say calmly, “There’s something here.”
I poke a spot on the side of the craft and a doorway opens up. We glance at each other and climb inside. As soon as our feet touch the metallic floor lights shine on and we find many pods filled with green liquid surrounding a control panel. Carefully I walk up to one and wipe away a thin layer of frost.

My eyes grow wide and a smile crosses my face, this is it. They’re here. I wave Jeremy over and we stare into the pod. Inside is tall bluish humanoid with tentacles for arms. Its face is perfectly round and is mostly made up of two large black eyes.

“Do you realize what this means?” Jeremy asks me.
“I can finally go home.” I reply.
A look of confusion crosses his face and as the ship begins to tremble he runs out the door. It closes and I smile. I’m coming home.