Takeoff Tide

“Attention! This is not a drill. A Shimazaki´s tide is coming in our direction!” The sirens vociferated. “Everyone must retreat to their assigned posts.”

Oliver took Alin and started running back inside the ship but Mr. Hsu grabbed his arm.

“You need to go now, Oliver,” Mr. Hsu shouted over the noise of the sirens. “The hoverjet won’t wait for you until the tide passes!”

“But, Sir,” Oliver said while his anxiety started to drip. He had to take care of his sister.

“We’ll look after your sister. Alright?” Mr. Hsu assured, shaking Oliver's shoulder.

“Go Oli!” Alin shouted, realising Oliver’s hand. “We’ll meet again on Saturday. Okay?”

Oliver nodded but before he could say anything else an enforcer grabbed him by the nape and forced him to walk to the hoverjet that was beginning to take off, Oliver had to jump to get inside the aircraft where Nina and Mike waited. The enforcer guided Oliver to his seat and ordered him to fasten his seatbelt. When he looked back, the doors to the landing deck were already closed.

As the hoverjet gained altitude, the hectic crew of the Amelia took shelter in the designated diving cabins. Mr. Hsu rushed his wife and Alin through the passageways to the navigation cabin. A crew member shuttered the door right behind their backs.

“You can stay here,” Mr. Hsu kindly ordered his wife and Alin, then he turned around and commanded. “Okele! Initiate the Inmersion”

A man in the command center began to dictate orders to his subordinates.

“Initiating immersion. 1%, 2%, 3%,” spoke a female voice through the sirens when a hissing sound indicated that the cabin had become airtight. “Everyone remain in your position and stay calm. The Amelia is a state-of-the-art boat model PCSS-1224. Pi Corp’s latest updates are implemented every day to ensure the security of our crew. At Pi Corp, we care for your well-being as the number one best place to work on planet Earth. Enjoy your immersion!”

“85%, 85%,” the counter kept saying. Alin remained on her sit, in awe before the magnificent navigation cabin, listening to how the water began to flood the passageways.

Oliver looked back from the hoverjet, witnessing how the Amelia disappeared under the surface of the sea. Ahead, a giant wall of water approached when the hoverjet’s door closed.

“Setting the coordinates to Columbus Station,” the pilot said.

The controls issued a few beeps and chimed. “Coordinates, ready. The estimated time of arrival is 2300. Enjoy your flight!”

Oliver felt a tug in his stomach. “Woo!” He exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement about flying for the first time, followed by the latent anxiety for the tide. He started to anxiously shake his right leg.

“Chill, Oliver,” Nina said from the other side of the cabin. “She’s with my father and my mom will host her home these days. She’ll be fine.”

Oliver’s shaking started slowing down. Nina was right.

“Hey. Mister… Pilot,” Oliver said, turning towards the cockpit. “Could you please let me know whenever you get news from the Amelia?”

“Sure,” the pilot responded, raising his thumb.

Oliver stopped shaking his leg as the darkness of the cabin surrounded him like a heavy cloak, and he drifted off to sleep.

Sleep didn't bring much comfort to Oliver. He was floating, there was nothing but deep blue ocean up and down, right and left. The hoverjet must have crashed. He started to swim, looking for any signs of the aircraft, to see if he could find anything to grab on, or anyone else from the tripulation.

“Nina!” He shouted. “Mike!”

Someone hissed something he couldn't quite make sense of but when he turned to find the source of the voice he found nothing. His arms and legs started feeling numb and his growing efforts to stay afloat were useless once he started sinking.

“You have a message from Professor Zhou” notified Oliver’s GoMindfull.

Oliver jumped in his Hoverjet’s seat and found the laughing faces of Mike and Nina, who tried their best not to wake up his troubled friend.

“What happened Oliver? Was I really that bad to cause you a nightmare?!” Mike joked, bursting out loud.

“It’s glad to know that you have us in your dreams, mate,” Nina said, trying to contain the laughter.

Oliver wiped the drool from his mouth and tried to shove away his friends' mockeries.

“Reproduce in shared display,” Oliver commanded his GoMindfull.

"Greetings, brilliant students. I’ll try to be brief. First, the Amelia emerged without a scratch from the sea. Fortunately, it turned out to be a weak tide." A holographic version of Professor Zhou said.

Oliver sighed, relieved by the news.

“Second, once you arrive at the station you'll be taken to your workshop. You have all Monday to prepare and fine-tune details. You'll have some free time to enjoy Columbus if you're efficient, just please be sure to not do anything unintelligent. The competition begins Tuesday at 1000 but contestants must be ready before 800. I won't be allowed to contact you once you check-in. Remember what you learned. Good luck!"

And the hologram vanished.

The friends started planning Monday’s schedule for an hour before the pilot announced "This is your pilot speaking. We'll be landing in Columbus Station shortly. There is a nice temperature of 24°C outside with cleared skies and soft breezes. We'll let you know when you can unhook your belts. Thank you for flying with Pi Corps Airlines."

Once the signal indicated it, the friends unhooked their belts and waited for the cargo ramp to open as a warm breeze from the ocean entered the cabin.

A 3-foot rectangular prism went up the ramp.

"Hello my name is QNZ-17 but you can call me Quenzie. Nice to meet you!" enthusiastically said the beeping rectangular prism. "I'll be your host during your stay in the magnificent Columbus Station, or as we like to call it here, the CS," Quenzie winked an eye in his monitor. "And I'll be happy to assist you with anything you need during your stay."

"Nice to meet you too Quenzie" they replied as they shook hands with Quenzie's holographic one.

“Am I correct to register Michael Gonzalez, Nina Hsu, and Oliver Greenwood in the Ninth Annual Robo-contest of the Grid?” asked Quenzie.

“Affirmative," said each one of them as Quenzie scanned them to complete the registration.

"Groovy! Now. Follow me, my associates will help you carry your luggage." indicated Quenzie as it rolled down the ramp as half a dozen cubes rolled up the ramp and came back with the levitating luggage on top of them.

Once down the aircraft, the team found themselves on a huge platform, where other hoverjets were landing and taking off.

“So!” Quenzie said eagerly jumping. “Shall we begin the SC’s tour!?”