Written by Morgana Anderson

Performed by Morgana Anderson

Text:

First Splash

Morgana Andersen

Dramatic reading of an original short story by Morgana Andersen. On a faraway planet, the oceans are so extreme that no one has ventured out beyond the waves to explore them. Until now. Kaltra and Millie embark on a first of its kind mission to explore the ocean in a submarine and learn what is out there.

“Brace!” Kaltra shouts.

I nod to her and dig all six claws on each foot into the sand and grip, hard, bracing my arms against the rear wing of our ship, shielding my face from the wind with my elbow. The wave crashes over us, up to my lower knees, pulling us backwards. I push. As the water calms again, I gaze up at the moons—well, the ones that are out this morning. The smaller moon, Ignis. Its largest volcano is erupting again. On the much larger moon, Aquarius, a vast hurricane looms over its watery surface.

“Eyes on the ocean, Millie,” Kaltra warns.

“Okay, technically I was—”

“The one in front of us!”

The water recedes. I retract my foot-claws and lift myself out of the sand. The current carries us further out. Part of the receding wave crashes into an advancing one, cutting through it, causing it to break from right to left, while another wave advances unhindered beside it. The waves beyond are 10 or 20 feet high. Some crash over nearby rocks. Behind them, the waves are taller, up to 100 feet. A bright green flash lights up the waters beyond, like submerged lightning. No one knows what it is. No one’s gotten close enough.

At least there are no cyclones. The calmest day on the calmest beach on the continent.

“Brace!”

I find the ground and dig in my feet again. The wave crashes over us, up to my waist now.

As the wave recedes we scramble into the ship and close the hatches. I press some buttons and the ship moves forward, surfing on the water. We climb the next wave, higher, higher. Not high enough. Kaltra presses a button and the wings retract. We plunge through the wave, tumbling, half controlled, and pop out the other side. The wings extend and we head to the next one, then plunge even earlier, spinning, and graze some submerged rocks.

“One more and we’ll be deep enough to stay under” she says confidently.

I stare out the thick glass window. One more.

The next wave is the roughest. I close my eyes when we plunge.

“Eyes open!” Kaltra says.

I disobey.

Minutes later, we stop.

“Commander Kaltranara Zif to Mission Control. We have breached the waves. Taking us down.”

I open my eyes.

We’re surrounded by small glowing dots, like stars. A creature with fins and a hard outer shell swims past us, its young following behind. A large fish darts past us, upward, splashes through the surface above, and heads down.

I see the green flashes again. We get closer. It’s a bunch of tiny glowing fish. I take notes furiously, and sketch the most interesting discoveries.

Kaltra nods approvingly.

The light of the sun fades as we go deeper. Creatures down here make their own light. Many are see through. Some look like skeletons. I sketch some more.

A voice on the intercom interrupts us.

“Mission control to Kaltranara and Milliplos. Do you copy?”

I sigh. “What is it?”

“We have a problem,” the voice says. “Cyclones forming over your location.”

Kaltra and I exchange looks.

“We were told there’d be no cyclones,” she says.

“We are studying the anomaly now,” the voice says. “I am sorry. Please run a secondary diagnostic. We need to know our options.”

“Copy that,” Kaltra says.

“How long will the storms last?” I ask.

“We don’t know. Last one was a couple days.”

“Oxygen collection operational,” Kaltra says. Fuel at 75%. Secondary engine damaged. Water desalinization at half capacity. Turning down climate control to conserve power.” She looks at me. “We can wait out the storm, but it won’t be fun.”

I look at the creatures around us, then at my sketches.

“I disagree,” I say. “I’m having the time of my life.”