A Green striped Tark'ee burst through the door. A letter held tightly in her hand. Kel looked up from the latest food storage report.

"What is it Tolly?" he asked in alarm. The normally calm Aquatic Tark'ee looked frantic.

"I just got a letter from Rooibos." Tolly said in a rush." Kel held up a hand to forestall Tolly from talking anymore.

"Who is Rooibos?" Kel asked.

"I met Rooibos just before you came on your tour. She was the one who got me thinking about maybe leaving the ocean and exploring the world." Tolly explained.

"But now she needs my help!" Tolly waved the letter in her webbed paw. "A ship has been lost and there was a very valuable artifact on board. It's in very deep waters. Only those who have specialized equipment or have been born to swim in the ocean can get to it. She says I am perfect for the job."

Kel stood up. "Let me come with you. Kya has been running things around here much better than me and I am bored."

"Where are you going to get a deep water suit?" Tolly asked.

"Oh I have my ways. " Kel said cryptically. "Wait for me at the docs. " He said as he fled out the door.

_______

As They climbed down the gangplank they were greeted by a Tark'ee that was red in body with a distinct barring marking and a dark brown head. She looked very fierce and Kel decided that he did not want to get on her bad side.

"Welcome back!" Rooibos greeted.

"Rooibos! We came as soon as we could!" Tolly said in greeting. She stepped off the gangplank and Her feet touched the sun warmed sands which was welcomed from the cold weather of Rekes. The scent of the salty ocean brought back a lot of memories.

"That you did. I only sent the message a couple of days ago." Rooibos said. "Who is your friend?" Her raptor-like gaze turned to Kel.

Kel fought back the urge to take a step back. And only the fact that while they had been greeting each other someone had placed his box on the beach behind him.

"This is Kel, He is one of the leaders from the colony I am living with." Tolly answered with a smile. She knew how intimidating Rooibos could be.

"What's in the box?" Rooibos asked with a sharp nod with her head.

"It's what's going to make me able to enjoy the trip and help." Kel said as he patted the box he was currently using to lean on.

"Well you two made good time. I rented a boat at the docks. Its bright red so you shouldn't miss it. When Kel gets there with his big box we can get going. I have the coordinates." Rooibos said before moving off down the sandy beach. Tolly looked at Kel.

"Go on. It's not that heavy and you can have some catching up to do. I shouldn't be too far behind."

"Oh it's the big red boat. You shouldn't be able to miss it." Rooibos threw over her shoulder.

Tolly took off running, kicking up sand as she went until she met up with Rooibos.

Kel took up the box and started shuffling his way toward the boat docks. The box was rather large and awkward to carry and he had to set it down frequently to reposition it. But he finally made it. He spotted the large red ship and made his way down the dock to where it was moored. He half dropped half threw the box on board then climbed in himself.

"Awe glad you could finally make it. Tolly went for a quick swim but she should be back soon." Rooibos said from where she had perched herself by the control deck and the steering wheel.

Kel could see a map was spread out on a table with smooth rocks on each corner to keep it from rolling back up.

"I am back now." Tolly said as she climbed on board. She was dripping wet and made a big puddle on the deck where she stood. But she had a huge grin on her face. "Missed swimming."

"Alright everyone is on board. Let's go." Rooibos said as she turned the engine on and made for the big sea.

It took them a couple of hours before they were sure they were in the right spot. Kel peered at the image on the screen as the computer turned the sonar into an image. It looked like a big ship. And the only way to tell would be to go down there and check.

Kel finally was able to open the box. Inside was a divers suit. It had huge oxygen tanks and a hand held propeller to help get him to the ship faster.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Tolly asked as Kel started to don the suit. It was more like climbing into a Tsabhua shaped small submarine.

"Yep. The DPIP offered me the use of this. Whatever is on that ship they would like to have it back. Can one of you seal my helmet on and help me check the gauges on this." Kel answered.

Rooibos came over and did a thorough check over. "Looks good to me." She finally said, giving his helmet a firm smack.

Tolly let out a whoop of joy and dived over the railing and into the water.

Kel walked awkwardly toward the back of the boat where it was a little lower and with Rooibos's help opened the door on the back of the boat.

"See you later." he said to Rooibos before falling in the water with a large splash. He quickly got himself oriented so that he was pointing downwards and turned on the portable propeller.

There wasn't much for Kel to see in the ocean this far out. The ocean here was deep and there were not very many fish to see. Kel could see Tolly swimming next to him. Her powerful finned tail propelling her through the ever darkening waters with ease.

The deeper they went the harder it was to see. They swam on for what seemed like hours but Kel knew it was really only about thirty minutes. Tolly nudged him gently. He flipped a switch with his tongue and lights came on, flooding the surrounding area. They had made it to the bottom. And if they had not deviated too much the ship should be right there. Kel was actually surprised to see that there was in fact a ship.

Kel flipped another switch. This one was connected to a radio. "Rooibos. We have made it to the ship."

It took several seconds before an answer came back.

"Copy." Rooibos answered. Her voice sounded a little distorted.

Kel gave Tolly and thumbs up. And they proceeded toward the ship.

Kel scanned the ship with his light and it was revealed that there was a large hole at the bow of the ship. Kel wasn't sure if he would fit and motioned for Tolly to go without him. He would stay and survey the ship from the outside.

Tolly nodded and swam inside. Kel swam around the ship taking photos with the camera the DPIP had installed. It was a rather large ship. Where the light showed he could see that the hull was a dark blue in color. He found a smaller hole near the stern. He took several pictures of the area. Then he swam back to where he had last seen Tolly. To his surprise Tolly was just coming out from the ship. She had a grin on her face. She gave the thumbs up sign then pointed up.

It took them longer going up then it did going down. And when they reached the surface it was already dark out. Only Nasi was up and cast its light down on them. And the stars paraded across the night sky.

With the help of Rooibos and Tolly, Kel managed to get back on the boat. Rooibos helped him take the helmet off. And Kel took a deep breath of clean air. "Did you get it?"

Tolly held up what looked to be a small chip in her paws. "Got it!"