On the quiet bridge of the Manta, Silver adjusted the magnification on the main screen and the view zoomed in closer. The figures were encased in bulky suits of armor resembling yellow spacesuits with smooth louvered sleeves and balloon joints. The armored figures were hauling what appeared to be centuries-old wooden chests into the wreck of a two-masted surface ship lying on its side in the silt, the hull of the sailing ship half hidden by a copse of seaweed. Only tattered streamers remained of the huge canvas masts, and gaping holes dotted its side. But the gilded name of the vessel was still faintly discernible on its aft, below the captain’s quarters and along its bow under the mermaid figurehead. That noble wooden protector was still intact among the waters that had long ago claimed her craft and crew.