Carinae Sector: 02 - Admiral's Fury - Part 2 - Hidden Menace by David Buck

that had been found for him. He did not resent this work in the least for he was well aware of his junior social standing in the royal family. The fact that Angwene’s oldest daughter, and by all accounts one of her best resources, was lying asleep and crippled nearby was also a spur for his efforts. He knew that there was very little margin for error in the ancient female’s attempts to leave this world at a later stage, for their underwater home could easily become their tomb if they were discovered before they could safely flee.
    Altarebe powered slowly past the cradle that had earlier held the sled that brought him to this world. The cradle was empty and he could see a series of tools missing from their holders against the sides of the cradle. Probe three now swam up to the cradle and fetched three smaller tools from their holders. Altarebe slowly powered over and offered to help the probe.
    ‘Probe three, I have finished my last series of jobs and the queen has instructed that I rest for two days. I can help you ferry tools and equipment if that is required.’
    Probe three made use of a low powered acoustic signal to thank Altarebe, before handing him two of the three repair tools and leading him out of the suppression field.
    Altarebe swam off with the Maven probe and realised that they were slowly ascending in the water column. Probe three could detect his hesitation and offered another gentle acoustic signal to reassure him.
    ‘We are attempting a repair of the sled in shallower water as both the rear power conduit manifolds are being replaced. Seliandre is doing most of the repair work and the two youngest sisters are holding components and tools for her.’
    The two of them soon arrived at the mid-water location and Altarebe could see that Seliandre was indeed attempting to repair the Maveen sled. She gave a soft call of greeting by protocol to him that he relished, before she offered a good overview of what she was attempting.
    ‘Beloved consort Altarebe, the Maveen lacks the strength to repair key parts of the sled and he cannot use his sub-probes underwater in any case. My manipulators are stronger, but of course they are too large to perform the more intricate repair work. I am now trying to work out the best way to replace these manifolds in the sled. After that the rest of the repairs will take time but they should be straight forward.’
    Altarebe was aware via echo location of the reactions of the younger sisters to Seliandre’s words. He knew that for the daughters it was one thing to be instructed of relationships between the ancients, but it was quite another thing to witness it first hand after his sudden arrival on this world. He responded in humility and respect as he had an idea on how he could be of assistance.
    ‘Dear Seliandre, your intelligence matches both your youth and beauty. Your attempts are both wise and innovative, for the Maveen probe has to make a staged appearance in front of the humans before long. The sled is difficult to work on but I may be of assistance as my manipulators are smaller.’
    Altarebe was aware of the younger daughters silently turning away from him, as he was offering to help by coming in direct close contact with their elder sister. Seliandre merely replied to his offer in a neutral manner as she well aware of the double meaning in his last sentence.
    ‘Consort, your offer is permitted under mother’s blessings as we seek to urgently repair the sled. I will brace the sled with my manipulators and you can attach the new manifold that I made earlier.’
    Altarebe waited until Seliandre was ready and he directly approached her from the front in what he hoped was a non-aggressive manner. Probe three came in from one side and shone his blue console light directly into the back of the damaged sled. Altarebe was not too worried about the blue light as they were still several hundred metres below the ocean surface. But he did ask a couple of questions about