Page 82 (1/2)

The Ocean Venturer lay anchored over the wreck of the Eht rain had passed in the early e under the new sun In contrast, a tired old fishing boat, its faded blue paint scarred and chipped, lazily trolled its nets two hundred yards away To the fisher horizon, looked as if it had been created by an artist with a warped sense of humor

Its hull lines were aesthetic and conteracefully rounded bow, thecurve to the oval fantail There were none of the sharp edges associated with e rested on an arched spire But there the beauty ended

Like a Cyrano's repulsive nose, a derrick siruously from the Ocean Venturer's midsection

Functional, if not attractive, the derrick possessed the capability of lowering a variety of scientific packages through the hull to the seafloor or of raising heavy objects such as salvage debris straight into the ship's bowels The Ocean Venturer was the perfect vessel to act as a work platform for the treaty search

Pitt stood on the stern, clutching a Portuguese fisherhtly to his head as the blades of a NUMA helicopter whipped the air around him For a few moments the pilot hovered while he tested the wind currents Then he dropped the chopper slowly until the skids settled firht pad

Pitt hunched over, jogged up to the craft and opened the door Heidi Milligan, dressed in a ju azure blue, hopped out Pitt helped her down and took a suitcase that was passed to him by the pilot

"On your next taxi run," Pitt yelled above the whine of the turbines, "bring us a case of peanut butter"

The pilot waved a casual salute and shouted back, "Shall do"

Pitt escorted Heidi across the deck as the helicopter lifted from the pad and dipped its nose toward the south She turned to hiage porter?"

"Like the et no respect"

Several minutes after he showed her to her quarters, she entered the dining salon carrying a packet of papers and sat down beside him "Hoas your trip?"

"Productive," she replied "How's your end?"

"We arrived on site yesterday afternoon, eighteen hours ahead of schedule, and positioned the Ocean Venturer above the wreck"

"What's your next move?"

"A small unmanned remote sub with cameras will be lowered to survey the Empress The video data it relays to our monitors will be studied and analyzed"