Save the Arctic

In five, four, three, two...., Axel shouted on the speaker phone, and the submarine drove down the sea. The girls were escorted by the BLANKS to hop in a Military Hummer to the closest ship dock near the academy. Lyka kissed and hugged her mom, Cara, who is teary eyed but confident with her daughter's abilities to save the world along with her team. Deep into a forest, there a wide open space where the military submarine is already floating waiting for the girls to jump in. A couple of minutes later the girls and the BLANKS, about ten of them are already inside the submarine and seated on their seats with seatbelts on. All are wearing life jackets and sea masks with oxy gen on them in case something went wrong under the sea where they are diving now.

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One, two, can you hear me? Sky 1, this is Earth 1, do you read me?, Jim said at the academy main station. Yes, Earth 1, we read you, loud and clear!, diving at 100 feet....

200 feet.....

220 feet.....

300 feet.....

The Defenders are already feeling heavy on the ears and in their breathing. It's not the same when they were trying this in simulations in training. The real thing is always different and scary than the drills.

You can do it Silka. Just a little bit more, Madie said while her sister is struggling with deep pressure. She isn't fond of water and sea diving isn't her forte. Silka is scared of diving since she had a bad experience when she almost drowned trying to save Madie in a flood event in New York when a strong typhoon hit the city and the train way got flooded. She almost fainted now but Madie held her hand to comfort her. Selina assured everyone that it's just like we're flying outer space that instead of defying gravity, we are defying against deafening pressure below the sea. Diving is another thing but being down here over 500 feet is a serious death defying challenge.

Here we go!, ...wooohooooo! It's like a rollercoaster but digging deep under a mine or cave haha...scary but fun as hell!, Benedicta added shouting aloud while the submarine dove deep down the sea and fought the current as it travelled from California to the North Pole at 3,677.27 miles. Planes don't travel over North Pole because it doesn't lie under the Circle Routes. Planes can fly to Antarctica. From California to Antarctica it would take 18 hours and 33 minutes by plane.

So, approximately more than 12,500 miles separate Arctoc and Antarctic Oceans like they are two ends of the world, lying at opposite extremes. Arctic shipping routes are maritime paths that connect to each other from Atlantic to the Pacific oceans, then there is the Northeast Passage, the Northwest Passage and the mostly unused Transpolar Sea Route which the Defenders and their submarine is taking to get to the Arctic sea faster.

BLANKS have travelled and scouted the Antarctic but not the Arctic. It may be a challenge for everyone but it will be a great adventure which would change the course of history if they are able to get to the bomb before it explodes to save humanity, the world.

The Transpolar Sea Route is a future Arctic shipping route starting from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across the center of the Arctic Ocean. It is an unusual route where the submarine would pass mid-ocean route and passes close to the North Pole. It's probably best to do this so as not to disturb the icebergs lying quietly in the polar regions near the Arctic. We wanted to make sure that we won't destroy huge rock formations under and above the oceans we're passing through at the moment.

There's no sign of life forms under but the cold, clear and icy part of this ocean is magnificent. The girls are so appalled by the wonderful scenery they are experiencing nearing Arctic Ocean. We can only here wow's and beautiful words from everyone. It was frightening at first when you get through the deepest, dark, and strange world of the sea. But under it lies the untouched beauty of another world, another dimension untapped by science, people and technology. Wonderful, indeed!

Under the poles, the color of the waters, change, from dark blue to green, light blue green to plain transparent emerald and it's so unreal. Upon nearing the ice covered ocean, the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean is teeming with life. There sea floor animals called 'benthos' that are brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sea stars, snails, clams, crabs and more. About 240 fish species can be caught swimming here but mostly snailfishes, eelpots, sculpins, zoo planktons and cods. Beluga Whale!!!!!! Wow!, Madie couldn't shut her mouth up when the submarine glided on the center and spotted them. Madie and the girls saw one along with its family looking at the strange submarine they are riding on. The whale is about 30-50 feet and white. It was so friendly that when Madie peered through the submarine's window, the Beluga peeked through to it too to see her. Madie was so happy she giggled aloud. Axel was just watching while seated across her. Her heart is melting while her love is so delighted with the cute sea mammal.

The Defenders were already advised to be careful of the wild but endangered Polar Bears. But there are friendly and cute ringed seals, and Pacific Walruses that they can check on when they get to finish solving their mission at hand.

Greenland Sharks, Chilean Sea bass, Antarctic toothfish and Patagonian toothfish are so in demand the girls could see them clearly swimming in great numbers. It is almost time. They are about to test their limits, smarts, powers, bravery and patience with the task they need to survive and resolve.

It's almost time. The submarine is docking at about 550 feet under the Arctic Ocean. The Defenders will be loaded down to see what they can do about the bomb.

The Defenders readied themselves and Madie meditated to secure the area Sussa and Hailey would be swimming into to check on the weapon secretly installed somewhere under the icebergs of the ocean.

Sussa and Hailey prepared their suits, oxygen masks and cylinders. Jim invented cylinders where oxygen can be enclosed for 10-15 hours. The oxygen that a regular human needs for 24 hours is 2,000 liters. Jim discovered that by the use of titanium cylinders one can lock gases there up to 2-5,000 liters. He made it possible for the girls to get as much oxygen to ensure that they can breathe normal under water. And sure enough, Sussa and Hailey are breathing like amphibians out the arctic sea bed. Hailey's bio florescence are already laminating light that Sussa's head light is no longer needed for the search.

Madie is trying to locate the weapon. It's been three hours and the Defenders are still waiting patiently until the Sussa and Hailey could even get near the allegedly weapon to destroy humankind. Sussa is getting tired of the search. Hailey signaled Sky 2 to help Sussa and escort her back to the submarine. The submarine's GPS searched for the two and a long metal rope and harness went out to get Sussa and picked her up, pulled her in. Hailey signaled the team that she's okay and her oxygen level is still working strong.

She can breathe under water and even without the cylinder she can breathe and live longer under the sea like the Salamandrella of the Arctic.

After the eight hour search, Hailey found something. Benedicta was impatient earlier and slept through- out the search. Selina, Sussa, Silka and Lyka positioned themselves on what they're going to do when they spot the weapon. Benedicta woke-up and sought to find what's happening now after the long hours they've been waiting for the news about the weapon. Hailey signaled Sky 2 and advised the position where the bomb is located.

Hailey reached up to about 1,500 km. to find the weapon on a thick iceberg whole which the submarine couldn't go into.

She mentioned on the hazy speaker phone that the weapon is 2,500 feet long and that due to how it's been kept intact, icebergs are hugging it like protecting it. It is ticking loud enough but Hailey's bio fluorescence is getting weaker by the minute that she needed to turn her head light on when near the massive weapon.

Hailey took a picture of the weapon and it's looked like a dark blue grey missile that's lying steady inside a huge iceberg which is bigger than the Titanic. Jesus!, how will we extract it from down there?, Selina said not believing what she's seeing now.

Maybe, we can try to put harnesses on the iceberg along with the bomb and pull it with us. We can lift it up in space and detonate it outside the earth's atmosphere?, Lyka suggested.

And the heat from the sun and the earth can melt the ice and we can work from there on!, Sillka added happily.

Yes, that's a good plan! But I hope we have enough and powerful engine to pull this, this , thing with us!, Benedicta cried not being pessimistic but it's true and all just hope that their submarine would have enough thrust to do that.

BLANK pilot contacted Sky 1 and asked Jim if the submarine is powerful enough to pull a 2,500 long bomb without injuring the living things in and on the Arctic Sea. Jim said that it can with slow and steady flow and movements. But a Defenders should secure the perimeters it'll move into so as not to detonate by mere fishes, whales, planktons, or anything that could accidentally touch the bomb and eventually explode right before our eyes. And of course there goes us too....dead Defenders and BLANKS!

But for now we need to enclose the thing on ice and I'll help Hailey on that. Please put on the harness and take me there!, Kendra insisted on doing a dangerous job for the Defenders. But Kendra, you are scared of the deep waters, you said so yourself back at the training camp, Selina cried stopping Kendra. But who can do what I can do at this moment. We don't really have much of a choice.