Frank Schatzing - The Swarm

'Maybe today you'll do something worthwhile,' said Ford, softly, to the robot. 'Salvage your reputation.'

The URA glinted in the sun. Ford went over to the rails and gazed out at the ocean. Finding the whales was easier from the plane, but identification had to be done from the ship. After a while a group of greys appeared, surfacing one after another and ploughing through the waves.

The voice of the lookout sounded through the radio. 'Look back and to the right. There's Lucy.'

Ford spun and raised his binoculars in time to see a ragged, slate-grey fluke disappear beneath the water.

Lucy was one of the two whales they'd identified. A fine specimen of a grey, measuring a full fourteen metres, she'd hurled herself against the Lady Wexham . For all he knew, she might have been responsible for splitting the vessel's thin hull.

'ID authenticated,' said Ford. 'Leon?' He squinted up at the sun and saw the plane dip towards the place where the flukes had been seen. 'Well, I guess this is it,' he said to himself! 'Happy hunting.'

FROM THEIR VANTAGE-POINT a hundred metres above the water, even the enormous tug looked like a toy, though the whales seemed to grow by comparison. Anawak watched a pod of greys swimming just under the surface, moving leisurely and peacefully. Refracted rays of sunlight danced on their colossal backs. The full length of each whale was visible through the water. They were only a quarter the size of the Whistler , but they still seemed absurdly large. 'We need to get closer,' he said.

The DHC-2 descended. They flew over the pod towards the spot where Lucy had dived. Anawak hoped to God that she hadn't gone in search of food, since that would mean a lengthy wait. With any luck the water would be too deep for her here. Greys, like humpbacks, had their own feeding technique: they dived to the seabed and grazed on the sediment, rolling on to their sides and vacuuming up the bottom-dwelling organisms, such as small crustaceans, plankton and, their favourites, tube worms. The seabed near Vancouver Island was furrowed with trenches from their feeding orgies, but the giant greys seldom ventured into deeper water.

'OK, folks, prepare for the breeze,' said the pilot. 'Danny?'

The marksman grinned at them, opened the side door and pushed it back. A wave of cold air rushed into the cabin and swept through their hair. Delaware reached back and passed Danny his crossbow.

'You won't have much time,' shouted Anawak, above the roar of the wind and the engine. 'Once Lucy surfaces, there'll be just seconds to get the tag in place.'

'No sweat,' said Danny. Holding the crossbow in his right hand, he pushed himself out of his seat until he was practically sitting in the linkage under the wing. 'You gotta get me nice and close.'

Delaware shook her head. 'I can't watch.'

'Why not?' said Anawak.

'It's never going to work. He'll end up in the water – I just know it.'

'Don't you fret,' laughed the pilot. 'These boys can do anything.'

The plane shot forwards, low to the water, on a level with the Whistler's bridge. They flashed past the spot where Lucy had been seen. Nothing.

'Circle,' shouted Anawak, 'and keep it tight. Lucy will come up pretty much where she went down.'

The DHC-2 banked sharply. Suddenly the sea rose towards them. Danny was balanced like a monkey in the linkage, one hand on the door frame, the other on the crossbow, ready to shoot. In the water below, the silhouette of a whale emerged through the waves. Then a grey shiny hump broke the surface.

'Yee-hah!' screeched Danny.

'Leon!' Ford was on the radio. 'It's the wrong whale. Lucy's ahead of us, starboard side.'

'Hell,' muttered Anawak. He'd miscalculated. Evidently Lucy was determined not to play the game. 'Don't shoot, Danny.'

The plane stopped circling and sank even lower. The waves rushed beneath them. They were approaching aft of the tug. For a moment it looked as though they were going to fly straight into the Whistler's bridge, but the pilot adjusted their course and they passed to the side of the hulking vessel. A little way ahead Lucy dived again, showing her flukes. This time Anawak recognised her from the distinctive grooves in her tail. 'Slow down,' he said.

The pilot reduced speed, but they were still travelling too fast. We should have taken a chopper, thought Anawak. Now they were going to overshoot their target. They'd have to wheel round, in the hope that the whale hadn't vanished again.

But Lucy's enormous body glistened in the sunlight.

'Turn round, then down.'

The pilot nodded. 'Just don't throw up on me,' he said.

The plane tilted abruptly. A vertical wall of water sparkled through the open door, terrifyingly close. Delaware screamed, but Danny cheered and waved his crossbow.

Anawak saw everything in slow motion. He'd never imagined you could turn a plane like a pair of compasses, with the wing tip acting as the point. The plane moved in a perfect semi-circle, tilted again without warning, and then they were upright.

Engine roaring, they headed for the whale, towards the oncoming Whistler .

FORD WATCHED with bated breath as the plane returned from its daredevil manoeuvre. Its skids were almost touching the water. He vaguely remembered that one of Tofino Air's pilots used to fly for the Canadian Air Force. Now he knew which one.

The cylindrical case of the URA was dangling from the Whistler's stern crane on the other side of the railings, ready to be released as soon as the marksman fired the tag. The whale's grey back was clearly visible. The animal and the plane sped towards each other. Ford spotted Danny crouching under the wing and prayed that a single shot would do the job.

LUCY'S HUMP surged through the waves.

Danny raised the crossbow, closed one eye, and bent his finger. Concentrating hard, he pulled the trigger. He was the only one to hear the soft hiss as the tagged dart left the bow at 250 kilometres per hour and whizzed past his ear. A fraction of a second later the metal barb penetrated the blubber and embedded itself in the whale. Lucy arched her back and dived.

'We got it!' Anawak hollered into the radio.

FORD GAVE THE SIGN. The crane released the robot, which splashed into the waves. As it made contact with water, a sensor was triggered and the electrical motor leaped into action. Plunging deeper, it homed in on the disappearing whale. Seconds later, it was out of sight.

Ford punched the air. 'Yes!'

The DHC-2 thundered above the Whistler . Through the doorway Danny raised the crossbow and whooped triumphantly.

'WE DID IT!'

'Nice work!'

'One shot and – Christ, did you see it? Unbelievable!'

Inside the plane everyone was talking at once. Danny started to pull himself into the cabin and Anawak stretched out a hand to help him. Then something loomed out of the water.

A grey whale leaped into the air. The massive body shot towards them.

It was right in their flight path.

'Take her up!' screamed Anawak.

The motors gave an agonised roar and Danny fell backwards as the plane jerked up. Anawak caught a glimpse of an enormous head covered with scars, an eye, a mouth. A powerful blow rocked the cabin. A torn mess of broken linkage replaced the right wing where Danny had been standing. Delaware screamed. The pilot was screaming. Anawak screamed. The sea rushed towards them.

Something hit him in the face. Icy-cold.

There was a droning in his ears. The high-pitched screech of tearing metal.

Spray.

Dark green.

Then nothing.

FIFTY METRES FURTHER DOWN, the onboard computer steadied the cylindrical body of the URA. The robot began to track the nearest whale. Not far away, barely visible in the gloom, others came into view. The electronic eye of the URA took note of them, but the computer wasn't interested in optical data. Other functions took precedence.