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PART ELEVEN(11)

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Using her echo-locative ability, it didn't take the badolphi, Twirlianne, long to decide her mission partner, Reith, wasn't anywhere in the water, either in the chamber or in the dungeon level. Having been saddened at the receival of her search and recovery task, she was daring to be optimistic about his fate, based on the results of her search.

OLie Three was waiting impatiently under the upwards arch, having just signaled his teamers to go ahead, around the far corner of the passage he could see, without him.

Twirlianne noted that he seemed to be having a battle of wills with Three Dash Two, who seemed to be refusing to let OLie out of his sight.

'[Humans use eye contact to communicate almost as much as poke`mon do,]' she reflected, as she surfaced behind OLie silently, and allowed herself the pleasure of surprising him with the sound of her released breath-spout. Thereby she broke up their little staring contest.

Chafing mentally at what he might see, OLie swirled around to face her, and was relieved to see ~ and puzzled ~ that she didn't have Reith's body with her.

"Could he have been sucked down~" he began to venture to the badolphi uncomfortably, but stopped himself at her negative shrill.

[No, thank goodness; they're slotted,] she explained with whistles and soft clicks.

It was a fact she was glad of. The odds of her empty search meaning Reith had somehow survived, went up, as a result of the design of the drain grates. The seznak hadn't slipped through one of them ~ by any means earthly ~ for a comforting certainty.

OLie tapped the nail of his forefinger meditatively on the top of the drill case, which she had retrieved first thing for him, and asked her absently, "Did all of the rigs hold up?"

She felt exasperated that he should ask, but nonetheless answered respectfully and with dutiful patience.

[I didn't specifically echo test them to see if they're within normal tension parameters, but they 'looked' alright to me. And the trip-rigging is obviously still secure in place, or you would have heard about it.]

Some might have taken that last statement for sarcasm, but OLie Three knew Twirlianne was just being helpfully informative. She didn't assume she shouldn't point out the obvious, which could be annoying at times; if one did not keep in mind that it was actually a desirable quality in a Mission Teamer poke`mon.

"There is nothing we could do about them, anyway," OLie acknowledged out loud, and reached his free hand for the female badolphi's tapered snout.

"I'd like to hitch a ride, if I may, Twirlgirl," he confessed beseechingly to her, as he tightened his grip on her 'nose'.

She angled to his right side as he still held to her, and stroked the waters behind her with her flukes, thusly turning him to face up the passage once more.

"I didn't expect you would mind," OLie admitted apologetically, "but I thought~"

[...that you would assign me the honor of asking me politely,] Twirlianne finished for him knowingly, with a clicking stutter that was amused laughter.

His hand released her snout, and moved over her fore melon, along her upper spine to her dorsal fin. He hooked his fingers around the forefront of its cartial stiffness, and he responded fondly, as she began to tow him forward through the water, "That's what I really love about you."

[What?] the blue and yellow and white-skinned poke`mon asked him mildly, dutifully encouraging him to elaborate, thusly continuing the conversation; she was fairly satisfied just to know that he loved her ~ for whatever reason.

"Some poke`mon don't because of bad experiences," he continued evasively, wondering if he really wanted to explain; to do so might cause her to remember things she shouldn't dwell on.

[Don't what?] she pressed him gently, a bit curiously, as she noted that while Three Dash Two had disappeared around the far corner just seconds ago, he had reappeared ~ And he was looking pleased about something.

"Don't believe the best of humans before they believe the worst; or at least the undesirable," OLie finally expounded to her. "And I know you have had-"

He didn't finish by saying 'some bad experiences', because he felt something that made his heart leap.

He and his non-Dee teamers were all wearing waxed nylon Marsham fatigues, but they didn't allow any protection from the neck up. Hence, the backwash had given them all slicked-back hair and dripping wet faces. And also hence, he felt it clearly and unmistakably, when there was a downdraft from the hither regions of the passage.

"Take a nice deep breath and tell me you felt that, Sir!" Three Dash Two called excitedly down the passage to him.

OLie Three did the first with an up-lifted spirit, and was more than happy to humor his teamer on the second count.

"I cannot tell a lie; feel the breeze did I!" he shouted back in jubilant tones.

Suspecting that Twirlianne had been doing her best to breath little and conserve oxygen, he gave her dorsal fin a hinting bit of a squeeze and said softly, "No worries, girl; breath normally." His suspicion was confirmed when she spouted twice right away, and again only ten seconds later.

They were almost to Three Dash Two's position at the ninety degree corner now, and OLie noted that the man was holding his hand flat with its straight edge pressed against the stones of the passage's wall, about a foot and a half above the water's level as it lapped at the same stones of the wall.

"I'm sure you can stand now, Sir," his teamer informed him respectfully. "The depth is falling at a good nine inches per-min.; this much since I've been standing here on the floor of the passage.

OLie Three took the statement at its true value, and stretched downward with the toe of his Rubbimel boot ~ He encountered solid stone sure enough.

But he let Twirlianne tow him forward fifteen more feet, before he bothered to stand beside her. "Thanks for the hitch," he told her gratefully, and the badolphi responded jokingly, [Just take me out of here with you!]

"I wouldn't leave you for the whole world above ground." he assured her, and then 'flick-switched' her into her poke`ball.

He turned to Three Dash Two as he clipped in the badolphi's spherical home, and said disapprovingly, "I know I told you to go ahead with the others."

OLie was wading past him as the teamer made his reply. "Just waiting to follow my Leader," he said evasively, as he fell into slogging step behind his superior.

"And since you are now leading," he continued significantly, "Let's burn Rubbimel and get the hellion's port of call out of here!"

"Agreed," OLie admitted stiffly. "But if you think I'm going to let it slide ~ your babysitting me ~ then I forewarn you; You have an official word coming down from above, after I give my mission report."

Three Dash Two snickered behind him, and stated flatly, "If you think that worries me, Sir, after the course this mission has taken..."

He let the point hang, and OLie responded mentally. 'And could yet take. Don't jinx us you fool, by counting torchiks that haven't hatched! We're not out of the 'woods', yet."

He wondered vaguely if there had ever been a mine worker who felt as stir crazy as he did now.

[:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:][:^:]

"In the name of Geoffrey Joannson, What kept you?"

These were the words Two Dash Two greeted Everett with, as he grabbed the younger man by the shoulders and spun him around.

Everett made no reply, but hefted his Acquizen, as Two Dash Two unclipped the ShoRi from the shoulder harness he was sporting uncomfortably.

His load off, Everett felt TDT tap his left shoulder and he turned to see the man was pointing to a ragged line of light beams approaching. He had been studying them already, and ventured to the older teamer, feeling ill-at-ease, "Do those flashes bother you, or is it the people behind them?"

"The 'behind' part," came the terse reply. Two Dash Two threw the safety off the ShoRi and levered six rounds into it ~ One in the barrel and five into its C(ompressed)A(dvancement)R(eserve) system. Then he asked in return, "Do you see what I hope I'm not seeing?"

Everett thought he did, and rejoined simply, "I'm not keeping my knot head up and get it blown off, to find out!"

He crouched down to prove it, thinking fearfully, 'The Goddesses help us if that is a full A(nti)T(eam)T(arget)A(gency) Guard Detachment!'

Ducking down beside him, Two Dash Two whispered loudly, "I don't know about you, but I fancy we're about to need P-teamer support."

"No issue for debate there," Everett answered unhappily. "But how do you intend to get it? The HoCra and OCley are-"

"-Out of visual angle?" Two Dash Two ventured agreeably, as he produced the commander's comm. unit from beneath his camo rain cloak.

Everett sagged with relief at the sight of it, and suggested as his superior thumbed to transmit, "We should go with dark, grass, and a 'tuned electric."

Two Dash Two nodded tightly, his voice now hailing through the only other unit on the same frequency and in their range: "Come in One Dash One; Priority Task."

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