1.

December 4, 2011.
Bell-Trans Head Office, New York.

It was quite simply impossible.
"Could you repeat that, please?"
Kathy Linbaum rubbed her sweaty palms against her skirt. No, it was impossible, unheard of.
Opposite her, Roy Tanning swallowed hard and began his story for what seemed like the hundredth time.
"Two days ago, one of our cable-laying ships, the Proteus, detected a large metallic object on its radar. The Proteus had only just begun its mission, and was only 12 nautical miles off the coast when it located this object at a depth of 140 feet. It was a plane.
Kathy knew the rest. It was imprinted on her brain. The Proteus's route had been calculated well in advance, using the latest seabed studies, and nothing had been found at the time. Which meant that the plane hadn't been there long. As soon as the Proteus's captain had confirmed the find, he'd contacted the FAA and the NTSB. And yet both had told him in no uncertain terms that what he'd discovered was utterly impossible. No plane has been reported missing, and one that large simply couldn't be in that area. Nonetheless, the radar bleep was there plain to see, marking out the contours of a huge aircraft.
Roy Tanning could hardly stand still, hopping from one foot to another.
"The Proteus is anchored, and Head Office wants you to check this out, urgently."
Kathy raised her arms as if to beseech heaven.
"Can't the ship just make a detour of a few hundred yards?"
"Nope. The cable route was decided ten months ago. It follows a shallow trough, and if we had to retrace it now we'd lose too much time and money. They want you to sort out this problem."
Kathy closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Why was she always the one who got left holding the baby?
You could have been a waitress or a programmer. No one made you choose this crazy job!
Crazy job indeed. Kathy Linbaum headed the troubleshooting department at Bell-Trans. "Department" was a pretty grand word, though, considering it comprised just the one person: Kathy! Her work was simple: to handle all the problems that hit the company out in the field – the kind you couldn't just throw money or lawyers at. On her last mission, for example, she'd had to hash out an agreement between Bell-Trans and an irritated fishing lobby over the construction of a dam. The Bell-Trans approach was to never force the situation, but always arrive at a solution that suited everybody's needs. And it wasn't always easy…
Kathy looked over to Tanning and nodded.
"OK. But how urgent is urgent?"
Tanning raised his eyebrows.
"Urgent means that a helicopter's picking you up in two hours. You've got just about enough time to get home and pick up some clean clothes and toilet kit."
It was the same every time.

A Dauphin helicopter was waiting for her on the rooftop – an older version powered by a couple of sturdy Arriel 2C2s. The rotor was turning, emitting a strange whistling sound. In her haste, Kathy hadn't had time to change. She dashed under the rotor blades with her traveling bag in one hand, while the other held down her skirt. Once seated, she rearranged her vivid red hair and glanced through the window: already, Manhattan was nothing more than a blur on the horizon.
Under the white belly of the Dauphin, the Atlantic Ocean took on the allure of a glistening blue mirror. In a few minutes Kathy saw the Proteus ahead of them. From this altitude, she could just make out the narrow strip of coast, and the ship – despite its imposing heft – seemed completely isolated, like an oasis in a desert. Surprised, she noticed that it was actually on the move. Wasn't it supposed to wait above the mysterious plane?
The helicopter landed on the heliport in the ship's bows – the stern was taken up with the enormous machines which unfurled the cable onto the bottom of the ocean. Once out of the chopper, Kathy was buffeted by salt spray and stumbled her way out from under the harsh blast of the still-turning rotor. A few men were waiting to greet her. The captain peered at the newcomer, surprised by the contrast between her elegant profile and her rather awkward manner. She approached and stretched out her hand.
"Captain Haisselbak, I presume?"
He nodded.
"Welcome aboard the Proteus, Ms Linbaum."
"Thanks." She looked out towards the ocean. "I didn't think you were going to continue the route."
Captain Haisselbak raised his eyebrows. He looked concerned.
"I've given orders to circle around the plane below."
Disconcerted, she put her traveling bag on the ground.
"Why?"
"Because an hour ago, we detected another aircraft. Much smaller. And then two others as well, only a few meters from the first one. All different sizes, all resting on the ocean floor."
Kathy's dismay was now visible for all to see.
"And that's not the strangest thing, either," continued the captain.
"What is?"
"Well, they're all pointing in the same direction, towards the west."

***