6 Under pressure

Chapter Six UNDER PRESSURE. Connor adjusted the Beagle's headlights until they were pointing down at the seabed. Then he set the Beagle so it would move automatically in a circle around where the module had fallen. That way, they would have the best chance of spotting it. "Do you see it yet?" he asked Roshni. "Not yet," she said.

"Come on," Connor said through gritted teeth. "Where is it?" Above them, in the darkness, rainbow light glimmered. Roshni gasped. "What's that?" Connor recognized it at once. "It's a real jellyfish this time! It's called a comb jelly. Another bioluminescent species." "It's pretty!" said Roshni. "It looks like it's covered in tiny stars." The jellyfish was about 18 inches long. It floated above their heads, bright twinkles sparkling on its transparent body.

"Why do the creatures down here glow?" Roshni asked. "Lots of reasons," Connor said. "Scientists think it might be a way to communicate with other creatures, or to lure prey so they can catch it. Or they might be trying to scare away rivals." "But there aren't any other creatures here," Roshni said thoughtfully. "Unless…" She grabbed the headlight control and swiveled the beams of light in the direction the comb jelly had come from.

There, wedged in an outcrop of undersea rock, was the missing navigation module! "Maybe the jelly thought the module was another creature!" Connor exclaimed. "Thanks, little guy," Roshni called back at the departing jelly. Connor extended the robotic arm, took hold of the navigation module and stowed it safely in the storage compartment. The Beagle let out a long beep that sounded a lot like "Phew!" Connor felt relieved, too. Now they could get back to their mission! He just hoped it wasn't too late for the lost whale calf.

He brought the Beagle back up to the surface. Then he lowered himself through the hatch and climbed up the outside of the sub and onto the roof. Roshni used the robotic arm to lift the navigation module back into place. Connor did his best to reconnect all the wires and cables, but engineering wasn't his specialty subject. Sparks shot out, and the Beagle made an unhappy EEP! Connor climbed back inside the cabin. "I don't think we can do this by ourselves. We'd better call the others," he told Roshni.

Roshni switched on the communications panel. "Beagle calling Exploration Station! We need help!" An image of the Exploration Station appeared on the screen, showing all the other Secret Explorers at their computers. They waved. "We've all been watching your mission on our monitors!" Leah said.