[ WP ] Unknown depths of the sea : you 're part of an armada of colossal submarines descending into the abyss ...

`` James, wake up.'' 
 
 `` Ugh. What time is it?'' 
 
 `` Who cares?'' At the bottom of the ocean, time stops mattering. There is no day. There is no night. There is only the abyssal sea. 
 
 `` We're on duty.'' We took 12-hour shifts. Matt and I piloted the sub for half a day, then John and Tank took over for the other half. `` You better get dressed.'' 
 
 I threw on my dirty uniform, grabbed my pocket watch from the desk and followed Matt down the hall to the front of the ship. John and Tank looked stressed. 
 
 `` How's it goin? 12 more hours of steering'down' getting any more exciting? Any news from the Commander?'' 
 
 They looked down from the controls and then at each other. John was the first to speak up. `` You guys better sit down.'' John was about 30. Maybe my height with a thick build. Not the kind to get excited too easy. Tank, on the other hand, was a lit fuse, which is n't exactly ideal while millions of gallons of water are pressing down on each of our souls. `` We lost the armada.'' 
 
 `` What? The radio's down? Did you flash your lights? They taught us morse code exactly for this reason.'' 
 
 Tank snapped up. `` Guys! Listen to the man. He did n't say shit's broken. We lost the armada.'' 
 
 I looked out the port hole on the starboard side for the flashing red lights of the other 6 subs. I did n't see them, so I checked the next, and the next, and the next. I flipped to the port side and hurriedly checked each one. 
 
 `` Where the hell are they?'' It seemed like Matt was still waking up. 
 
 `` We do n't know.'' 
 
 `` What do we do?'' 
 
 `` We could surface?'' 
 
 `` It would take weeks at this point and we've lost contact with the supply ship.'' 
 
 `` Have you told anyone else?'' 
 
 `` Not yet.'' 
 
 `` Have you done anything? At all? What is wrong with you two?'' 
 
 `` Back the hell off!'' Tank had stood up quickly and was glaring toward Matt. 
 
 `` Stop it. Now.'' A voice I barely recognized came out of my mouth, as cold as ice. The room froze, and I pulled my pocket watch to check the time. It does n't matter. 
 
 I walked back over to the first porthole. Blue. Deep blue. Outside, the world was shifting, currents moving stronger and faster than any gust of wind. But inside there was only stillness. There were only moments, which seemed to mesh and flow in and out with the tides. Moments of depth, and heaviness, and blue. 
 
 `` We continue.'' 
 
 Blank stares all around. The three of them silent, their breath frantic and stirring with the waves miles above. 
 
 `` Blue is my favorite color. Have I ever mentioned that?'' 
 
 `` James. Are you feeling alright?'' 
 
 `` It's almost a contradiction. The sky meeting the ocean, the heights and the depths of our known planet colliding as one in a seamless shear of blue. World's apart, but only shades different among all the colors there are. Have you ever thought about that?'' 
 
 `` I do n't think I see the...'' 
 
 `` And have you ever wondered why they call it the'surface' of the ocean? Would n't it be at least as apt to describe such a place the'floor' of the sky? Two realms, a top and bottom to each. Yet, we have always assumed that the point at which the sky meets our planet is simply the end. But no more. Gentlemen, we have tested the breadth of the forests, the expanse of the desert. We've visited the harshest colds and walked upon cinders hotter than any known to man but the sun itself. We've kissed the top of the sky and laughed in its wake as we climbed to the moon. Today, we, the four of us, press on toward yet another frontier. We uncover the depths and the darkness. The abysmal expanse that has so long been just out of reach. I look out this window, and I do n't see darkness, danger or despair. I do not fear drowning but doing so in my own failure and self regret.'' I took out my watch and left it, sitting on the edge of the porthole. `` No, I look out this window, and I see only blue. And I'll be damned if a color is going to stop us. Full speed captain.'' 
 

