After having dinner together, just some leftovers from the different restaurants, Dan said goodbye to everyone and headed to his room for the first time since all this mess started.

  With every step he took, he could feel his feet getting heavier. He wanted nothing more than to just lie down and forget all that had happened, but he knew that he couldn't run away from this, it was their new life and they needed to survive it.

  Opening the door to his room, he entered and locked the door behind him, he didn't want to get surprised by whatever could be out there. The news Marcus brought about those water monsters was blood chilling to say the least.

  He first put his phone to charge, even though he barely used it for the day, and even though it had lost a lot of its functions now that it was without a network. At the very least, he didn't suffer from what most other people would suffer from in their place. Because their trips took them through a lot of areas that had no data, he had the habit of downloading any media he had an interest in. He rarely streamed any music, movies or shows he liked, he either had them downloaded on his phone or laptop.

  Dan first took a shower, and the hot water felt like heaven after the day they had been through. After the shower, he wore his light sleeping clothes before lying down on his bed, a sigh leaving him involuntarily as he felt himself sink into it.

  Dan's thoughts again went to all that had happened, it was too overwhelming, with scenes and glimpses fighting for his attention, but something that kept repeating in his mind was what he had found when he talked to Corgan, the old islander. He still couldn't help a smile from forming on his lips as he remembered the man explaining how most of the world was unexplored, how the oceans were mostly a dark spot on their maps.

  A part of him felt bad about feeling that way, the wanderlust that filled him when he thought about that felt almost disrespectful to his crew and their families. He should put them first, always. But he couldn't deny his feelings. He could only try to bury them and do his best for his crew.

  Listening to music as he laid in bed, Dan soon drifted into sleep, his mind full of so many different things.

  ***

  "And done..." Keith murmured to herself as she activated the ship's dynamic positioning system.

  The dynamic positioning system made it so the ship would remain in place even while not anchored. Using the ship's propellers and thrusters to keep it in place. Even though Keith wasn't sure how good it would be without the GPS to help keep it stable.

  "Are you sure you don't want me to take the first shift?" Freddie asked as he saw her step away from the controls, "You need rest, you barely had any today."

  They had just taken the ship far away from the shore and headed deep into the ocean. They decided to stay there till morning before deciding on their next move.

  "Who did?" She chuckled. Today was messy to say the least, "And don't worry, just go rest. You know I prefer not to be disturbed after I fall asleep. Taking the first shift is better for me."

  She, Freddie, Robert and Dan decided to take shifts keeping a lookout on the bridge, they didn't want anything to catch them by surprise. Though she guessed that she most likely won't be asleep if anything like that huge serpent made its way towards them. Her skill would wake her up for sure.

  "Okay," he nodded slowly, "Good night then."

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  She wished him goodnight before she returned to her post. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit creeped out, especially with most of the monitors off, and in the light of all that had happened. But it was manageable, she kinda liked the difference between how noisy the bridge was in the morning and how deathly silent it was at night.

  As she sat there looking into the night and listening to the water under them, her mind wandered to their current situation, something she tried to ignore as best as she could whenever her mind brought it up. And like the times before, she could feel her heart skip a beat and start beating faster and faster. It was like she just caught a glimpse of the monster that had been just out of sight this entire time.

  Taking long breaths and doing her best to drag her thoughts from their dreadful and uncertain future, she hurriedly took her phone out with shaking hands and tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she tremblingly tapped her music app. She needed something to fill the silence and take her thoughts from their new reality.

  It eventually worked, and she could feel herself in control again. She clutched her phone as she went through the few games she had on it. Doing whatever to keep herself occupied. Suddenly, something caught her attention. It weirdly felt as if an app just sent out a notification. After a moment of confusion about what just happened, and looking at her phone absentmindedly in search of this notification, she finally realised that it was from the system.

  Laughing quietly at herself for this silly episode, she mentally called the system up. The system this time didn't even wait for her to see where the notification was from, it just sprang a new window on her.

  The Voyager wants to contact you.

  ***

  Mrs Raily heard the door to their room click open then closed as she lay sleeplessly on their bed. That night, she found herself back in those days when her husband was still on active duty. Those days, even when he was home, he didn't seem like the man she fell in love with and married, especially during those first few days of his vacations. He would seem distant and cold, even though he smiled at her and held her just as he always did.

  She hoped that it wouldn't be like that this time, really hoped so. She even took her Class for that reason alone, she didn't want to be just an observer this time, she would try and help him.

  "You're still up?" He asked as he laid his hand on her shoulder.

  "Mhm," she sounded as she turned towards him.

  "Sorry for taking so long," he said as he held her hand, "Had to deal with the guards and their shifts, then took the first shift while Marcus went to rest."

  "Do you-" She almost asked him if he needed to do this, but she changed her words. Of course he felt that he needed to, he was too responsible to hide in the back while something like this happened, "Do you feel alright? You're not pushing yourself too much are you?"

  "No, I'm not," He waved her off with a big smile, "This system or whatever is too miraculous, I feel better than I did years ago."

  Seeing his smile made her heart skip a beat, it wasn't the same uncanny smile she used to get from him when he returned to the world after being lost in his mind for a long while. It was genuine and held that same warmth she had been seeing these past few years after he retired and left overseas.

  That smile made her realise that he wasn't back to his old self yet, that he was still her husband. Realising that, she jumped as she threw her hands around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

  "It's alright," she felt him stiffen up at first before he said in a gentle voice, "It's all going to be alright, we will be alright."

  "Ju-just promise me that you won't push yourself too much..." she forced herself to say through teary eyes.

  "I promise," He kissed her head gently.

  ***

  Jackie made his way along the eerily empty ship as he whistled to the wind, his thoughts elsewhere.

  Knock! Knock! Knock!

  He didn't wait for an answer and instead just pushed the door open. He had already talked to his fellow conspirator before this, so he should be waiting for him. He laughed internally at that label. He kinda liked this shadowy business.

  "It's not so polite to enter other people's rooms without permission," Robert said from his place on the bed, "Most people would have waited for a reply first."

  "What's the point," Jackie shrugged before making himself at home on a nearby seat, "You knew it was me anyway."

  Robert just sighed and shook his head at that, and Jackie smiled even more when he saw him in such a state.

  "All that aside," Robert eventually decided that arguing with him wasn't worth it and instead pushed on, "Let's talk about why we met here in the first place."

  "You mean our dear captain who's in way over his head?" Jackie said as he shook his head.