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Chapter Text

A few weeks after Christmas, during the spring melt in the Arctic, Captain Barnacles led a team to the Arctic Polar Scout Emergency Post on the remaining sea ice. He, Lieutenant Kwazii, and Peso leaped across ice floes toward the post. 

“Are you sure this is the place, Captain?” Kwazii yelled over the howling wind. 

“I’m sure, Kwazii,” Barnacles replied, “The Arctic Polar Scout Emergency Post is out here on the sea ice!” He leaped over to another ice floe, and then shouted, “Ah! There it is!” They pushed through the storm until they reached the door of the Post. “I’ll just knock on the— Oh!” 

“Captain Barnacles! It’s good to see you back at the old Post, Sir,” a young male Polar Bear said cheerily. The bear was wearing a yellow shirt, not unlike a sailor’s uniform, a matching ushanka and glasses. The Octonauts ran into the post and took off their hoods. 

“Kwazii, Peso, this is Tracker. Tracker, meet—”

“The Octonaut guys—” Tracker said excitedly, but he corrected himself, “I mean- The Octonauts.” 

“Did you say, ‘Octonauts’, Tracker?” a familiar male voice asked. Right as rain, Percy poked his head out from around a corner, “*Gasp* Capt. Barnacles, Lt. Kwazii, and Dr. Peso! What a surprise to see you three here!” 

“I didn’t tell him you were coming,” Tracker giggled.

“Ahoy, Percy!”

“Hola.” 

“So what do ye two boys do at this Station?” 

“Okay, this is my listening station. When someone sends out a call for help in the Arctic, it’s my job to hear it and then dispatch the nearest rescue team to help. Percy is one of the rescue Captains,” Tracker said. 

“Tracker’s in charge here, and he does an excellent job,” Barnacles added proudly. 

Tracker smirks, “Why wouldn’t I? I was trained by the best.” Tracker pointed to a framed picture on the icy wall. 

“That’s you and Captain Barnacles,” Peso noted. 

“Yep, before he became Captain of the Octonauts, he trained Polar Scouts like me for the Emergency Service.” 

“Heh, while I wasn’t lucky enough to have been trained by him personally, I’m still keen to pick up a few tricks,” Percy remarked.

“Octonauts, our mission is to help as many Arctic Creatures as possible,” Captain Barnacles proudly proclaimed, “which is why we’re setting up direct communication between this Emergency Post and the Octopod , ready to test the link, Tracker?” 

“Cool! Errr— Right, sir.” Tracker pressed a few buttons on the dashboard in front of him, and Dashi’s face appeared on the computer screen. “Emergency Post to Octopod ,” Tracker said into the microphone.

“Dashi here.”

“Tracker, meet Dashi. She’s our computer expert aboard the Octopod .”

“Nice to meet you, Tracker,” Dashi said. 

“Really nice to meet you,” Tracker replied. 

“So, how’s the signal?”

“Good— Huh?! What in the world just swam past that back window? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?!” 

“You probably saw the GUP-M , Tracker. Stella took it out for a spin so it wouldn’t freeze sitting still in the holding tank.” 

“Whoa, the GUP-M ? I heard Bam-Bam talking about it the other day while I was on the phone with Scout. That thing is huge!” Percy exclaimed. 

“It is pretty big. It was Tweak’s Christmas gift for Stella. It’s become Stella’s personal favorite GUP . No surprise there really.” 

“What was that, Dash?” Stella asked as she entered the HQ. “*Gasp!* Well if it isn’t Percy Polaris!”

“Been a while, hasn’t it, Stella?”

“How have you been?”

“Good.” Suddenly, before anyone else could speak, an alarm sounded in the Emergency Post.

“Okay, that’s a call for help,” Tracker said.

“And where is it coming from?” 

“Well, Captain, it’s— Huh, that’s weird. It’s not coming from the Arctic. It’s coming from the opposite end of the world.”

“The Antarctic?” Stella and Barnacles asked in unison. 

“Yeah, and—” Tracker opened a large binder and looked at the location on the map, “No… Captain. It’s coming from an old Ice Research Station that’s been shut down for years.”

“So there shouldn’t be anyone living there at all,” Barnacles said aloud in his deep British voice. 

“And yet—” Kwazii started. 

Peso continued, “Someone’s calling for help.”

“And someone needs to answer it!” Stella finished. Barnacles nodded to Stella and the rest of the crew.

“Tracker, Percy, standby.”

“Yes, sir!” Tracker and Percy exclaimed, returning to their stations. 

Captain Barnacles pressed the OctoAlert on his Octo-Compass and ordered, “Octonauts, to the HQ!” 

The Octonauts took their positions as the crew at the station returned to the Octopod . Stella had learned that this was usual protocol unless the team cannot return in time. The Captain restated the issue and had Tracker send over a map. Just looking at the location, Stella had a bit of a hunch. 

“Tracker, what was the name of the station?” she asked. 

“I’m not sure. My binder doesn’t say. All it says is ‘abandoned Antarctic Ice Research Station’.”

“Hmm… Dashi, could you pull up my photo album?” 

“Sure…”

“What’s your hunch, Cadet?” Barnacles asked. 

Stella started shuffling through the pictures, “One of my family’s distant cousins, both evolutionary and genetically like Kwazii, is a Canada Lynx by the name of Lena. She’s from Quebec, and has been studying glaciers her whole life. By now, she’d be about 50 years old, but no one in my family has heard from her since she left for-- Bingo!! There she is, in her Polar Scout AIRS uniform. ‘AIRS’ stands for ‘Antarctic Ice Research Station’! I think she might be calling for help!” In the shown picture, a 30 year old Canada Lynx kneels in the snows of Antarctica in front of an Ice Research Station. Her parka has the Polar Scouts logo embroidered into the front, and her hair is tied back in braids like many older Polar Scouts of all species. 

“Then there’s not a moment to lose. Tracker, Percy, we’ll keep you posted,” Barnacles said. 

“Cool!” Tracker exclaimed, “Err-- Right sir, and good luck! Tracker out.” 

“Activating launch, Captain,” Dashi said, as Barnacles moved to enter the Steering Pod. 

Three months later, they’re finally reaching Antarctica. They just had to cross the rough Southern Ocean: the Roaring Forties, the Furious Fifties, and the Screaming Sixties (named for the degree of latitude and the rough waters caused by west-to-east air currents). Kwazii took the GUP-B out for a spin to collect data from the Octo-Floats—open water thermometers—and came back with a guest. He noticed the shell sticking to the back of the GUP-B and recognised it immediately. There was no way in hell he’s going to risk a sore paw again over a Cone Snail. 

“Treasure, I need the weldin’ gloves. There’s a Cone Snail stuck t’ the GUP-B again.”

“Oh, for the love of Pete! Again, Kat?” 

“Again, me Treasure.” 

“Alright… Don’t touch it. I’mma get Peso on site STAT.” 

“Ye don’t have t’ tell me twice,” Kwazii replied, moving as far away as possible. Unfortunately, Shellington swept down the Octo-Chute and clumsily knocked into the GUP-B ,  causing the Cone Snail to fall and panic. It fired a harpoon and nailed Shellington’s paw. 

“Oh me, oh my!” Tweak exclaimed. 

Kwazii slammed his paw down on the OctoAlert and yelled, “Cone Snail on the Octopod ! Peso! Shellington’s been stung, we need ye down in the Launch Bay ASAP!” 

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Stella was reading on her bed when the alarm sounded. She dropped the book instantly and dashed down the hall to the Octo-Lift. On her way there, she saw the snail fly out of the Octo-Chute and fire a harpoon toward her. She slipped and skidded down the hall on her hip, causing the harpoon to miss her by mere centimeters. 

“Yikes!! Peso! Look out, it’s in the Hall! Go around past the Library instead of past my room!” she squealed into her radio. 

“Got it, Stella!” Peso affirmed as the Lift carried Stella to the HQ. 

Holy fucking shit, Stella said to herself as she frantically tried to put herself back together, That was the closest call in my entire life . 

“Never a dull moment on the open seas,” Barnacles remarked, “It must have mistook the GUP-B for a rock when Kwazii set it down to check on the floats.” 

“We’d better get it outta here quickly, I don’t think we really want any more sick crewmates after Shellington.” Suddenly, Kwazii burst in with both Tweak and Shellington on his back, and Peso right on his tail. “Well, I jinxed it,” Stella said. 

“Take those two down to the Sick Bay. Be careful and be on your guard, it could be anywhere aboard the ship at this point.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” the team chorused. Dashi, Barnacles, and Stella split up with nets to find it. 

Down in the Sick Bay, Peso prepared beds for Tweak and Shellington, then Kwazii found the Professor’s been stung. On the way back, Kwazii himself was stung, but managed to get back to the Sick Bay just in time. The venom seemed to be taking more time to affect the crew fully, but was still severe, because they’ve only been stung once each: all except Peso, Stella, and the vegimals. Stella walked past the Library just in time to spot Dashi slumped over the bookshelves. 

“Oh, dear!” she exclaimed. Dropping her net, Stella rushed over to Dashi and hoisted her up into Stella’s arms. “Captain, Dashi’s been stung!”

“Thanks for telling me, Cadet. It appears that it’s gone into the vents. I don’t want you getting hurt, so I’m going in after it.” 

“Are you sure? You remember what happened last time!” 

“I know, but--*gulp*--It must be done. If all else fails, you’re the only other Octonaut who can pilot the Octopod through the Roaring Forties. There’s a small seamount that we can land on.” 

“But what about Peso? He’s done it before and I haven’t! I’ve never piloted the Octopod !” Stella protested. 

“But you do know something about doing so. You’ve had tons more time to study up and read the manuals. You safely drove the team up the Ganges River and the Himalayan Mountains and back down again in a GUP that had never been previously tested.” Dashi moaned loudly, alerting Stella to the fact that she’s been standing there for five straight minutes and wasting precious time.

“I have to take Dashi to the Sick Bay now. Good luck, Captain.” Stella hung up the radio call and headed for the Sick Bay. 

She set Dashi down on the prepared bed, and both she and Peso heard a creaking in the vents. 

“Must be the Captain,” Stella muttered. 

“He’s going in those vents again?!”

“Yep, anyone else noticed just how protective of me he’s become since we left the Himalayas?” 

“I suppose I haven’t been around either of you enough to notice, but he nearly lost control of his mind and speech way back before we left in the GUP-M . You were asleep.” 

“What did he say, or almost say?” 

“Well, he was talking about how he woke you up too early, and you fell asleep on his shoulder. He said that was his ‘punishment’ for disturbing your beauty rest. I doubt it somehow, because you seemed scared to touch him before then!” 

“Etiquette, nothing personal,” Stella said, “It’s a respect thing as opposed to personal fear. I’m not scared of him in any sense… except when he’s angry, then I have a reason to be scared.”  

“Indeed,” Peso agreed, “leave him alone for a little bit and he’ll cool down.” Suddenly, more creaking, and a cry of pain. Stella and Peso looked at each other, half panicked. 

“Uh oh…” Stella muttered. She dashed out into the hall to search for him. He could get stuck in the vents and not be able to get back out should the Snail have harpooned him. She ran through the halls, her fluffy tail bouncing behind her like a hopping frog. She dipped down a side hall, sliding on the wet floor and snail slime. “Whoa! Yuck…” she groaned in disgust. She peeked down into the corner just in time to see the Captain wiggle out of the vent at the end of the hall. “Whew… I thought for a second you hurt yourself!” He turned around, holding a glass case in one paw, and the other was severely swollen already. 

“I feel fine, but I know in about ten minutes I will be very sick. I got it though.” 

“What’s the big idea?!” 

“Yeowch…” Stella moaned, “does your paw hurt?” 

“Not at the moment. Adrenaline is a hell of a drug, let’s put it that way. I’ve tried to tell this guy what’s going on, but he’s not listening.” 

“He’ll be safer in the Sick Bay tank, then we can let him go once we land,” Stella said over the constant screeching of the Cone Snail. Just then, the ship jolted hard, knocking them both off their feet. “Oh, brilliant. The Roaring Forties!” 

“Better hurry, get the manual, head up to the HQ and steer us clear. You can do this, Stella.” 

Stella weighed her options, and realized there was no other way. “*Deep breath* Aye, aye, Captain.” 

With that, Stella ran back to her room to grab the manual from her desk. She sprinted down the hall, headed for the lift to the HQ. She knew what to do here: activate the steering wheel and then turn on the Octo-Lift. The part she’d never had to do before was actually getting on the lift and then actually steering the Octopod . She kept the manual open at her feet, keeping her paws on the wheel. While she is the most inexperienced Octonaut, she practices the hardest, earning the praise of her Captain and peers. If she thought hard enough, it’s just like driving the GUP-M , albeit, a massive version of the GUP-M . The steering wheel looked different, less like the other GUP s and more like a traditional ship’s helm. Unlike other GUP s, the GUP-M and the Octopod have a lever to engage the rudder (reverse and harsh turns). The GUP-M is much like a bus in size (complete), and therefore has a wide turn radius. The separate pieces can turn on a dime easily, but all together it cannot. So, piloting the Octopod is much like piloting her favorite GUP . 

“How are you doing up there, Stella?” Peso asked over the radio.

Stella struggled a bit to respond. “Whoa!” She jolted around a rock, causing the ship to jolt harshly. “Haa… Sorry, Peso, I’m doing okay. Still learning the… dimensions… of the Octopod , but otherwise, this is much easier than I thought.” 

“Really? What’s your trick?” he asked. 

“My trick here is to think of this as piloting my favorite GUP , because both the GUP-M and the Octopod have manual rudders for reverse and turning on a dime. There are some things I don’t quite get yet, because the Manual said that this lever over here controls the brakes, and the GUP-M has a single lever that controls the brakes and the rudder, switching between them with a button on the top. Tweak, was that on purpose?”

“N-nah… I didn’t even know you were going to learn to do this. Now, it’d be best if I kept my mouth shut.” 

“Sorry… I hope I haven’t made anyone else seasick.”

“Meh… It ain’t your fault, Lassie,” Kwazii said. 

“Agreed, you’re doing well for a first try, Cadet.” With that, Stella turned down the radio volume so she could focus, but still hear them. She kept her eyes forward and frequently glanced around to check for animals. Even with her crew backing her up, the bitter taste of adrenaline tickled the back of her throat and distracted her briefly. She knocked into a rock thanks to the brief distraction. 

“Shit!” she exclaimed in frustration. 

“Keep one paw on the wheel, use the other to engage the rudder. You’ve got this, Cadet.” 

“I—I got distracted by the adrenaline taste in the back of my throat… I’ll be fine…” She turned the wheel smoothly, dodging the next rock and resisting the rough currents. Even though her next turn was smooth, it’s harsh enough that it knocked the Cone Snail loose unnoticed. It took another few minutes of swerving around rocks for anyone to notice. That person happened to be the Captain, who was now too weak to speak loud enough for the radio to pick it up, and Peso was too busy. 

Cone Snail, loose on the ship. Stella can’t hear me anymore, she’s in danger if she comes down from the steering pod now, he said to himself. He’d encountered this problem before, but he shouldn’t be up and he knew it. Despite being too weak and sick to stand, he wasn’t about to risk his best recruit’s life over his health. I’ve been stung by this species of Cone Snail once and survived. I can at least get close enough to warn her. He worked his way off the bed he was laying on and grabbed an empty container. Nobody noticed his exit until two minutes later. 

“Captain, are you oka— Flappity Flippers! Where did he go?” 

“Peso, what’s the matter?” 

“Captain Barnacles, where did he go?!” 

“I can’t check. Check the Sick Bay tank. Is the Cone Snail still there?” Stella asked. 

“Ehh?” Peso checked the tank only to find the snail gone, “It’s not here!” 

“He must have escaped and the Captain went after him. The map says we’re almost to the seamount, just a few more rocks to go around. But the water’s pretty rough. Peso, make sure everyone’s okay then go after the Captain. I don’t know if he can hold himself upright anymore.”

“Aye, aye, Stella!” Peso looked around, then sprinted out the door as fast as his little penguin legs could go. 

Great, more rocks and even rougher waters. What would Captain Barnacles do? Hmmmm… Does the manual say anything? No… What’s something that you wouldn’t write in a manual because it’s common— Oh! Right, believe in yourself. I am the only basic crewmember; my job is to assist my crew in any way I can, and if this is what they need me to do, then I’ll do it to the best of my ability. Stella took a deep breath of encouragement and power through the rough waters and rocks. With more practice, she would be able to do this without faltering much just like her Captain. She tried to ignore the fact that a Cone Snail was somewhere aboard the ship and loose. Her Captain was risking a long and rough recovery to keep her on her feet, and so was the Medic. I don’t see anything large enough to land on… Oh! Nevermind, it’s right in front of me! Hello~ Seamount! She purred happily. 

Downstairs, Peso was scouring the ship from bottom to top, yet he’s one step behind the Captain and unable to find him. The Captain had searched every inch of the ship in the past five minutes, but there’s one place he hadn’t looked: the HQ. He slowly climbed the ladder upwards just as the Octopod settled on the seamount. 

She landed the ship safely. Well done, Cadet, he praised in his head, but don’t lower the steering pod now, or you could be stung! He hauled himself up onto the floor of the HQ just in time to hear Stella’s voice and the Cone Snail’s cry of distress. 

“Okay, I’ve landed the Octopod , now to find that Cone Snail, and let him go outside.” The Octo-Lift started to lower and the steering pod began to close. Stella turned around on the lift as it lowered, and out of the corner of her eye she spotted the Captain. “Captain! What are you doing up?!” she scolded, much like when scolding her baby sister. 

“Stella, look out! Cone Snail, behind you!” Peso shouted before the Captain could. He took the long route around and went through the Octo-Chutes. Stella glanced over her shoulder as the startled snail spat a harpoon at her. She dove for cover, somersaulting across the floor and dropping the manual. The harpoon struck her tail and the Captain gasped. Peso snatched the container and slapped it over the snail. 

Stella sat up, shook her loose ponytail free, and said, “I’m fine. I can’t feel the harpoon. It got caught in my fur. Benefits of having thick AF fur.” 

“*Deeeeeeeeep breath* Hoooooly shit…. I thought for a moment that you were stung,” Captain Barnacles breathed, “I was so sure we’d be stuck here for a month extra.”

“I was too, honestly,” Peso agreed, “Even so, I recommend staying here overnight. We’ll be a day behind schedule. Hold still, Stella.” He pulled the harpoon out of her fur and she stood up. 

“Well, either way we’d better hurry. Until you’re back on your feet, Captain, Peso and I will take over. First off, Mr. Snail, how would you like to be released back outside where you belong?” 

“Aye. Sorry, mate. I didn’t know what was goin’ on. D’ye think ev’rybody’ll be okay?” 

“They’ll be alright, Señor,” Peso said, “With enough rest, the crew will be back on their feet in no time!” 

“Peso, make sure the Captain gets back downstairs safely. The last thing we need is any broken limbs,” Stella commanded, noting that the Captain was still standing precariously on the ladder. 

“Err… Yes, Stella.” 

Stella released the Cone Snail outside and returned to the Sick Bay. Now without the rocking of the ship, Tweak’s motion sickness was subsiding, Dashi was much less loopy, and everybody else was falling asleep. Stella looked around the room, making sure that everyone was okay. She had a tough decision to make, and would rather discuss it with both Peso and Barnacles, but since the bear was sound asleep and snoring, she couldn’t. 

Do I dare wake him up? Stella asked herself, Nah, he deserves the sleep . She walked up to Peso, holding herself high and confident. “What do we do now? I don’t think we can risk moving on. We’re on the edge of the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties, I don’t think I can cross the fifties as smoothly as I did the forties.”

“I agree, but what about your cousin? As a child of a huge family myself the one thing we don’t do is abandon the others in the family. There could be people in grave danger at that station waiting for us.”

“I know, and that’s what’s worrying me. I haven’t seen my cousin since she left for AIRS; she could be in danger and we can’t contact her. I asked Tracker to trace the signal to the best of his ability but he came back empty pawed.”

“If I may,” Dashi said, jumping into the conversation, “the reason he may not have been able to trace the signal further is because of damage to the radio or interference due to wind and snow.”

“Speaking of, I need to get my tablet from my room. I’m going to take notes on this conversation and contact Tracker,” said Stella. She ran out of the room, grabbed the tablet, and returned. “Okay, I’ve got it. Come on…. Tracker pick up the radio….” 

“*Beeeeeeep* This is the Polar Scout Emergency Post. Tracker here.”

“Octopod here. How’s it going, Tracker?” 

“So far so good, Stella. What happened? Are you okay? Why is there so much medical equipment behind you?”

“O-oh… UH-uhhh. Just.. um.. Just an incident with a Cone Snail… again. Peso and I are the only ones who weren’t stung… and the Vegimals weren’t stung either. So… until the Captain is well enough to take over, Peso and I are in charge. Any luck reaching AIRS?” 

“Nothing. Hope everyone recovers okay. I think I can—heh—I think I can hear the Captain sleeping behind you.”

“Oh, god… Haha! Imagine trying to fall asleep right next to him in a crowded shelter. The struggle… especially since I need quiet to sleep… the struggle is real.” 

“Ohh I believe it,” Tracker said, “despite that, I thought he was bad until I met Percy.” 

Stella screamed with laughter, “Ahhhh-haha-ha! Yeah—haha!—they say that younger bears are worse. I mean.. Bam-Bam sleeps like the dead and her snores aren’t snores… they’re roars. She roars for everything: yawns, laughter, snoring, crying.” 

“Anyway… how long do you estimate it will take to reach AIRS?” 

“Well, I’d say a few weeks of recovery, and then sailing through latitudes fifty through sixty-nine at most… that might take… at least another month. It’s almost summer in Antarctica, and we’ll have to take it easy.” 

“I recommend not sailing all night, considering this is your first time piloting, and stopping on the seafloor when you need to. Don’t exhaust yourself before the long trip in,” Barnacles rattled sleepily. 

Stella jumped in shock, “How long have you been pretending to sleep?!” 

“Twenty seconds,” he mumbled, “quiet down please.” 

Sheesh, you’re one to talk… Stella muttered under her breath. She walked over to him and pulled the blanket over his shoulder before walking toward the HQ to continue her conversation and monitor whatever needs monitoring. 

A couple weeks later, Stella had piloted the Octopod across the Southern Ocean and they were ready for the long trip in. The Captain and crew were fed, rested, and recovered from the stings. They all piled into the GUP-S and followed their radar systems to the abandoned station. Even though they met some of Peso’s Adelie Penguin cousins, both parties were in too much of a hurry to stay and chat for long. Stella kept her nose pressed up against the glass the whole trip. It had taken almost four months of riding currents south to reach their destination, but now they hoped they weren’t too late. 

Stella’s tail twitched nervously with every passing second. 

“I don’t see anything,” Peso said. 

“Aye,” Kwazii agreed, “and wit’ all this wind an’ snow, the station may have disappeared without a trace…” 

“Keep your eyes open, Octonauts,” Barnacles said, keeping the GUP steady. 

Stella fell back onto her heels and played with her pearl necklace distractedly. Her anxiety was evident in her shaking paws and twitching tail. She was about to turn around to get a cup of cocoa to distract her, but something red and flashing caught her eye. She leaned forward onto the control panel and peered through the windscreen, squinting at the tiny red object. “What… is that ?” She mumbled. 

“What have you found, Cadet?” 

“I’m not sure… Kwaz, could I borrow your spyglass?” 

“Aye, Lassie.” 

She peered through the glass, adjusting the focus until her vision settled on a small round flashing light and what appeared to be a spotlight for a research station. Her gasp of delight alerted the crew that something was going right. 

Stella handed the glass back to Kwazii and pointed through the wind and snow. “Captain, flashing light! Straight ahead!” 

“On it, Cadet.” 

The GUP rocketed toward the old research station and stopped a few meters away. The Octonauts suited up in snowsuits and held onto a rope to stay together in the whiteout. Barnacles led them towards the station, but nobody answered when he called for someone. 

“Hmm—I wonder what that light is.” Stella said, breaking from the group with an ice pick in hand. She smashed the ice covering the red light, and noted it was a button. “Let’s see what this does.” She pressed it hard. The entire station and glacier rumbled before the hatch of the station opened like an alligator’s jaw. “Well? Are we going in?” 

Barnacles forced his way through the next set of doors using his strength. The rest of the crew followed. Some kind of recording was playing over the speaker system. Whatever the recording was, it was the subject of someone’s life work. Stella forced her way through another set of doors to the sleeping quarters, and found evidence she’d been hoping to see. 

“Lena…” she mused as she held up a framed photo of herself and Lena when Lena visited the Himalayan Glaciers. There was even a printed picture of Stella and the crew when she became an official Octonaut!

In another room, she found herself staring at an unfamiliar set of pictures. She couldn’t make out who was in them, and was trying to get a closer look when the tilted station suddenly shook. She heard the rest of the crew shouting for her, and hightailed it out of that deserted, grey hallway. The station tilted even further, and she lost her footing, falling flat onto the floor. 

“Grab my paw!” Captain Barnacles shouted, keeping panic at the back of his throat. She smacked her paw into his, hauling herself to her feet. Both of them ran out of the station and slid down the hatch. “Whew… is everyone alright?” 

“A-okay, Captain.” 

“I’m fine.” 

“What on earth happened?” 

“I’m not sure, but whoever was living here with my cousin has hightailed it to safer ground. I don’t like the sound of the ice…” Stella said. 

Everyone stared at her. 

“*A-Ahem..* Sorry, glaciers and I don’t get along well…” She swallowed thickly. “When a section of ice breaks away from a glacier it can cause huge shifts in the rest of the ice-sheet. Occasionally, these shifts in the ice result in huge chasms in the face of an otherwise smooth glacier. Heh, they’re called rivers of ice for a reason.” She twitched her tail even more anxiously. She’d gotten over her trypanophobia and glossophobia, but what else could elicit the same reaction from her? 

“Hmm… any clues as to who was living here?” 

Stella’s ears perked up. “Yup! Lena was definitely here. There’s a sleeping quarter back there that had dozens of pictures featuring Lena and our family, even some of me, and even the entire Octonauts Crew!” 

“I saw an unsent letter that was addressed to you, Star. It’s obviously not finished yet, but the sender would probably appreciate you reading what is there,” Dashi said, handing Stella the folded up letter. 

“Anything else?” 

“Lots and lots of notebooks I didn’t see a name on, and some I did,” Peso commented. 

Tweak nodded. “More tools and instruments than I could ever keep track of. There was an initial on one of the older notebooks I saw. ‘N’ which could mean anything.” 

“I found more pictures in another sleeping quarter, but… I couldn’t make out who was in them. I think one of them was a picture of someone’s graduation from the Polar Scouts in their mid teens…. Hm… on second thought… the Scout looked.. kinda like you, Captain.” 

“Hmmm… I’ll have to see it to—”

“Captain! Look!” Kwazii exclaimed, pointing to the snow. “Tracks!” 

The crew walked over to the tracks. Stella leaned over and followed them with her eyes, not really caring what species they were. 

“Huh… these are the paw prints of an Arctic Fox!” 

“But, that doesn’t make any sense, Captain. Arctic Foxes don’t live down here,” Shellington said. 

“There’s more than one set,” said Stella, pointing to another set of tracks further up. She ran over to it and compared it to her own paw. “These are Lynx paw prints. Lynxes don’t live in the Antarctic either, so there’s only one Lynx it could be.” 

“Let’s see where these lead…” 

The crew followed the two sets of tracks toward a cave in the glacier. Stella gripped the Captain’s paw apprehensively, almost shaking with fear. Every crack of the ice and crunch of the snow under her feet made her shiver. The sheer strength of her grip on his paw made Barnacles’ fur stand on end; especially since Stella was from the snowy and rocky Himalayan Mountains, and snow was part of her species’ name. 

It wasn’t until he noticed a small echoing crunching noise did he stop and stare up at the cave, squinting. Stella heard it too, and stopped short beside him. 

An elderly Arctic Fox made his way into their vision. 

“I don’t believe it! Professor Natquik?!” exclaimed Captain Barnacles. 

Natquik laughed heartily in a thick Russian accent. “Ahaha! I don’t believe it!” He slid down the slope to greet his Polar Bear friend and former student. “Barnacles!” The two laughed and hugged each other tightly. 

“Octonauts, meet Professor Natquik. When I was a young Polar Scout, he taught me Field Research in the Arctic!” 

“And I’m glad to see you remember what I taught you: how to recognize tracks, how to listen for sounds that others miss, and… Hup!” He chucked a snowball in the Octonauts’ direction, to which the Captain and Stella dodged effortlessly. It landed in Kwazii’s paw perfectly, to which he laughed. “How to dodge one of my Surprise Snowballs! Very good Barnacles!” 

“Thanks.” 

He turned to Stella. “Yer Lena’s cousin, aren’t you?” 

Stella nodded vigorously. “Yes! Is she okay?” 

“She’s fine, just sleeping. Oi! Lena, get yer butt out of bed!” 

“Leave her, Natquik. She’ll wake up on her own. What on earth are you doing so far from home, Professor?” 

“I came down here with Lena to study the mysterious sounds the glaciers make.”

“Nobody knew ye two were still here!” Kwazii exclaimed. 

Natquik explained, “Our radio broke long ago, so long ago we were beginning to worry nobody heard us! But we couldn’t leave! We’re on the edge of an amazing discovery, but it may soon be lost!” 

“Lost?!” Shellington exclaimed, “Why?” 

“*Yaw-awn…* What’s going on out there…?” A grey Canada Lynx with long braids asked, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Her voice had a strong french accent. 

Stella’s eyes lit up, delighted. “ Cousine Lena! ”

“Stella?”

“ Oui, c’est moi .” 

“Stella! Oh… it’s so good to see you, dear.” The two felines embraced tightly, but were interrupted by the Captain calling for them. 

“Stella, come on!” 

“Coming, Captain!” 

She and Lena ran over the hill and joined the rest of the group on the edge of an icy cliff. 

“This is why we called for help.” 

“*Gasp!*” 

Lena elaborated “We realized that the ice is moving, and is pulling the station into this enormous ice chasm.” 

“Just like Stella said!” Peso said, connecting the dots. 

The expression plastered across her face when the Captain looked at her said it all. “I was afraid of that…” she muttered, eyes pinned to the crevasse in front of her. “Unsteady boulders and sheer cliffs I can handle but ice chasms are where I draw the line…” 

Lena pulled the Captain aside. “Stella’s had a bad experience with walking on glaciers prior to this. When she was a cub—before I left Canada for AIRS—we used to go out onto the glaciers all the time. The one time we forgot to grab the rope from the jeep was the one time she fell twenty meters—yes meters—down a chasm in the ice from a sudden Ice Quake. It took us almost two hours to reach her. Since then… she’s never been able to walk on ice of any thickness without getting a little shaky…” A small smile crossed Lena’s grim and wrinkled face. “Either way, I’m still proud of her for making it this far.” 

The Captain nodded. “Thanks for letting me know.” He raised his voice. “Octonauts, we can use the GUP-S to pull the station away from the chasm.” 

“Y-yeah… that sounds a lot safer than standing right next to it…” 

Once everything was hooked up to the GUP-S , and the Station was pulled away, Natquik and Lena shared their discovery: the sounds the ice makes with it breaks and moves, and that ice in Antarctica moves just like any other glacier. While listening to the recording, Natquik and Stella both heard lots of little feet coming their way. 

“That sounds kind of like…” Stella began, looking around the room in thought. Her eyes rested on Peso. That made her remember. “The Adelie Penguins! They’re headed back to their nesting grounds before spring and summer heads into full swing. They might not see the chasm!” 

“Stella’s right!” Peso realized. 

She turned to the Captain. “Captain, they might not know it’s there, but we do. Is there anything we can do to warn them?” 

“There sure is, Stella.” 

They went onboard the GUP-S and sent up flares, allowing Peso time to use the megaphone to warn his cousins. They reached the edge of the chasm just as the flares fell into the pit. 

“Everybody stop!” 

“*Gasp!* Oh my!” 

“Thanks, Peso! But we still need to reach our nesting grounds!” 

“Captain, is there any way we could get them across?” 

“What about going around the chasm?” Kwazii asked. 

Natquik shot that idea down fast. “The chasms can be miles long. Goin’ ‘round it would take a long time.” 

“I could go back to the Octopod and get the GUP-M . The MA should be enough to get across,” Tweak mentioned. 

“Yeah but how would you get across?” Stella asked, making a valid point. “Plus, we don’t have enough time for that. We need something immediate… something sturdy, and quick to build…” Her mind wandered off as she looked up toward the ice drill on the GUP-S . The rest of the crew returned to bickering. She shifted her eyes to the ground in thought. Huh… didn’t Tweak mention the ice drill is heated? Heat… plus ice… melting ice… water… “Kwazii, could you pass me the thermos?” 

“Aye…?” He passed her his thermos filled with hot cocoa. When she went to pour it, it froze solid as soon as it touched the air. “Wha?! Look! It’s so cold, the hot chocolate freezes as soon as you pour it!” 

“Hah! I knew it!” Stella exclaimed. “Octonauts, I know just how we’re going to build a bridge.” She took them all aboard the GUP-S and used the computer to model her plan. “What was it you said in those training videos, Tweak? ‘Sometimes you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got?’ Well, here’s an example of that. First, we’ll drill a tunnel into the ice, angling toward the chasm. The heated drill will melt the ice into water as we drill. Then, when we reach the wall of the chasm, we’ll poke through the wall and the water will spill out. As it hits the other side of the chasm, it’ll freeze into a solid bridge of ice!” 

“Stella, you’re a genius!” Tweak exclaimed, realizing the plan could work. 

Stella shrugged. “Just thinking like an engineer.” 

“Well done, Cadet.” 

With no time to lose, the Sled was detached from the main section and the ice drill was put to good use. The ice melted into water, just as Stella had predicted it would, and when the drill poked through the chasm wall, the water sprayed out in a steady stream and formed a wide sweeping bridge as it froze. 

“Penguins, you can start crossing the bridge.”

“But please be careful!” 

As the penguins started crossing the bridge, Stella noticed one falling behind the others. “Ooju, please hurry up! You never know when an ice quake could hit!” 

No sooner had the words left her lips did an actual quake hit the team. Just what she was afraid of happening. She was light on her feet though. 

“Ooju!” Peso exclaimed. 

Stella looked down with one eye as she lay flat on her stomach at the edge of the ice cliff. 

“M-My flippers are fine… but I-I can’t move my foot… And Stella’s caught me with the rope!” 

“Yes! I’ve got you… Hold on tight with those flippers of yours, and we’ll bring you up safe and sound.” 

“Haha… I’ve never seen paws that fast.” 

“Believe me… I surprised myself,” Stella replied as she dug the toes of her boots into the snow and used her core strength to pull her upper body upright. 

“How on earth did you do that?!” Barnacles asked her, kneeling in the snow to pull the rope up. 

Stella shrugged, hauling the rope up steadily. “Dunno. I just did what I always do when someone I care about is in trouble: spring into action.” 

“No, I mean, how in the world did you bring yourself to leap to the edge of the chasm?! You could have fallen in!” 

Stella swallowed. The potential consequences of her actions settled in her head, but she shrugged them off. “I took an oath, didn’t I? Explore, Rescue, Protect.” 

Peso came in from the other side and took Ooju’s flipper to pull him out of the chasm. 

Stella turned to him, a slight stern expression across her features. “I hope you’ve learned what can happen if you dawdle for too long on unstable ice, Ooju.” 

Ooju almost shriveled at the sight of her stern expression. Even Peso was scared of her for a moment. “I’m sorry…” 

She softened. “I wasn’t asking for an apology.” Ooju looked up at her, confused. “I was asking if you were aware that dawdling on ice is a risky situation. Ice—anywhere in the world—cracks and moves unexpectedly; staying in one spot on ice like this is risky. Adelies nest on bare rock—where it’s safer to remain still—for more than one reason. 

“Making mistakes is a part of life. It’s how we learn. Some mistakes are bigger than others, and some can have worse consequences than a banged-up foot, believe me. Voice of experience: you could have fallen twenty meters down and hurt a lot more than just your foot.” 

Ooju almost jumped at the mention of the height. “Well… I know now!”

“That’s right. It’s okay to be in awe of your surroundings, but you need to be aware of them too. You may never know what’s dangerous and what isn’t. But, now you know one thing that is for sure dangerous. Beautiful, but it can be deadly at times.” 

“Thanks, Stella.” Ooju gave her a big hug.

She returned the hug. “You’re welcome. Now, I believe you’ve got a journey to complete.”

“I don’t think he should waddle on that foot for a few days at least,” Peso said. 

Stella looked at the Sled and said, “I think we can help with that, right, Captain?” 

“We certainly can.” 

They sent the sled off with Kwazii, Peso and Ooju. It then came to the remaining crew’s attention that the old Station was falling apart. Barnacles turned it over to Tweak, who gave an estimate of about eight weeks and two days to fix and upgrade. 

During those two months, they watched the Adelie Penguins lay their eggs, hatch them, and watched the chicks grow. In addition, Stella’s one-year anniversary as an Octonaut and her 29th birthday passed. Both were celebrations to be proud of. Small, but spent with friends who cared and shared with friends and family across the globe. 

As an added surprise, Stella was asked to help test one of the new features of the upgraded Ice Research Station, or GUP-I : the GUP-O , a snowmobile based on the Arctic and Antarctic Orcas. Dashi asked her for some help testing the helpers aboard the Station: the Octobots and the Veggiebot. 

When everything was ready, the Octonauts gathered Lena and Natquik on the shores of Antarctica. There was still plenty of snow and ice on the ground. Even in July, Antarctica faced blizzards and cold spells. 

Dashi and Tweak drove the newly remodeled GUP-I on the ice toward Lena, Natquik, and Barnacles, ready to show off the new research station. 

“Haha! This is wonderful, wonderful!” Natquik exclaimed, excited. 

Tweak leaped from the hatch onto the cold snow. “Glad you like it. I call it the GUP-I . The ‘I’ is for ice. I’ve put in solar panels and turbines to harness the wind and sun for power. The whole station is on snow treads now, so you can move it away from any chasm that suddenly opens up. Ha, but that’s not all. Go ahead and raise her up, Dashi!” 

With the push of a button, the entire station rose high into the air. 

“I’ve put the whole thing on extendable legs, so you can rise above deep snow drifts. Now, one more thing before we head inside. Show ‘em, Stella!” 

That was Stella’s cue. She zoomed out from behind a nearby snowdrift on the GUP-O . Her skidding to a stop in front of the Captain, Natquik, and Lena showered them in powdery snow, but they didn’t care. They were too in awe. 

“Haha! Incredible.” 

“Hi guys!” 

“This is the GUP-O . I modeled it after the Orcas in the area, and it can go above the ice, and under it. However, unlike the GUP-S , it doesn’t have a drill, so you’ll have to be careful when you go underwater with it.” 

They climbed aboard the GUP-I and explored what it had to offer: plenty of sleeping quarters to personalize, their own Octo-Alert System, monitors, a hot cocoa machine, and of course the main cockpit and the GUP storage and launch bay. 

One Antarctic Adventure was complete, but there was still a whole continent of mysteries for them to explore, discover, rescue, and protect.

Chapter Text

The creation of the GUP-I led to many new projects around Antarctica, and the perfect training opportunity for Stella. She may have been a year into her service as an Octonaut, but it seemed she had a lot more in store for her. 

Captain Barnacles had the young Snow Leopard leading a team of herself, Dashi, Lena, and Peso to research the many species of Penguins in the Antarctic region: King Penguins, Emperor Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, Rockhoppers and many many more. 

They returned just in time to join the Emperor Penguin females on their journey to the sea. Stella’s GUP-M was the perfect vehicle to keep around the base near the colony for the long winter. 

It hurt a little that she wouldn’t be spending her 30th birthday with the entire crew, but they would keep in touch over the radio systems. Plus, she had Shellington, Tweak, Lena, Natquik, and the Vegimals keeping her company. 

The Northern Summer and Southern Winter were quickly approaching. May was becoming June in a few short days. It was time to split up. 

The Captain bid the small group on land goodbye. “We’ll keep all of you posted on any new developments. Every twelve hours we’ll send a video report,” he told them. 

“You’re sure I can’t come with you?” Stella asked, voice shaky. The longest she’d been away from the main Crew was during the Antarctic summer and fall when she’d left to study the Penguins. Even then, she was religious about checking in with him and reporting new developments. That was only a few weeks. This would be from May until October. 

“Someone has to look after the remaining crew members. No offense to anyone, but you never know what could be dangerous and what isn’t.” 

The blush spread across her face quicker than the GUP-B ’s top speed. “N-None taken… Captain.” 

With that, the Captain gave her a soft smile of encouragement, clambered into the GUP-S and bid the group a final goodbye. They wouldn’t be back until July or August depending on how good the feeding was. 

Stella swallowed some of her fear and turned to her team. “I-I guess that leaves me in charge…” 

“It certainly does, Star,” Tweak said. 

She took a deep breath. “*Deeeeeeeeep breath* Okay… We’ll have to take it in shifts. Whose monitoring what and when: just like on the Octopod . We’ll have different roles to play and take on the others roles each month. Think we can handle that?” 

“We can handle it!” Tweak cheered.

“Chores don’t take that long, and monitoring whatever needs monitoring is boring but essential,” Lena said. 

“Ah, yes, yes,” Natquik agreed. 

Shellington nodded. “We can handle everything completely.” 

“Burrr!” 

“You’re right, Tunip. It’s freezing out here. Let’s head inside and warm up,” Shellington agreed. 

Stella looked toward the penguin colony. “I kind of wish we could bring those penguins inside with us… it’s way too cold out here!” She caught herself before Shellington could correct her. “Well, for us it’s too cold. They’re well adapted for the plummeting temperatures! They know how to handle the Antarctic Winter!” 

Thirty-six hours later, it was Stella’s turn to monitor the Weather System, the Ice-Seismometers, and the Electrical Systems. She was bored to death, but she dared not to put her earbuds in or watch any videos lest she miss something important. She did tell her small crew that she was available to help if they needed it, but so far they didn’t need it. 

The Veggiebot was cleaning nearby and offered her a kelp cake and some hot chocolate. 

“Oh, no thank you, Veggiebot. I’ve got fish biscuits and some tea right here.” 

“*Chiba?*” 

“Yes, I’m sure.” 

“*Chiba-chiba.*” With that, it returned to cleaning. 

Stella sank back into her chair and stared at the screens in front of her. She peeked at the clock, wondering when it would be night again… even though Antarctica was the Land of Eternal Night at the moment. It read 2:30 pm. The Captain would be calling in another four hours at six-thirty. “Uggggghhhh… I don’t think I can take much more of this…” 

Lena sauntered up behind her. “If that’s the case, I’d be willing to cover these for you. I think the GUP-O needs a quick spin.” 

“Tweak would’ve said so hours ago if that was the case, Lena,” said Stella, eyes never wavering from her task. “Besides, I said I’d do it this month.” 

“Sweetie, you’re young! You can’t spend all your life on your butt like this!” 

“You’re starting to sound like Stepmom, ma Cousine . I’m almost thirty, and I took this job two years ago knowing I would have responsibilities like this. I thought I was ready for it—for this kind of role—but… now I’m not so sure.” She leaned forward in the chair, leaning on the control panel in front of her. “How does he do it?” She asked in a whisper, “How does he deal with the stress of leading a team? How does he spend long hours on his feet monitoring everyone and everything onboard the ship? I’m good at planning and organizing, but… no amount of school can prepare you for such a role… Constant streams of paperwork… communication, websites… mediating squabbles between crewmates.” 

“Well.. for one, having friends to help you is a start. He doesn’t monitor everything completely on his own, now does he?” 

“N-no… There’s Dashi on the computers with Shellington… Tweak monitoring the engineering and vehicles with Kwazii… Kwazii leading alongside the Captain and taking over when needed… Inkling looking after the Library, Peso the Medical Bay, Shellington the Lab, and the Vegimals the cleanliness of the ship, food, garden, and general assistance. Then there’s me… I have many roles but none at the same time. I strategize, map, monitor, clean, assist… and yet I still don’t know where my role in the Octonauts lies. I feel like… a Vegimal for lack of better words. Having many roles but no truly defined role…” She stood up and rested her palm on the railing of the stair as she headed up to check on the generator. “I’m just… a crewmate. There to help when needed and expected to be able to do anything and everything.” 

“If that’s what you believe, don’t you think the Captain is kind of in the same situation? Having a defined role but many more than just being the Captain? He’s a leader, yes, but he takes on many more roles than he needs to.”

“Well, yeah there’s chores and whatnot…” 

“No, I mean he’s taken over others’ roles when they’re out of action or unavailable. Just like you are now. Supporting your teammates, coworkers, employees, and friends is what true leaders do. Support them and they’ll do the same in return.” She stole Stella’s seat and said, “Now go see if Tweak or Shellington need any help.” 

“H— Oh, alright…” 

She wandered down to her Sleeping Quarters and grabbed her tablet and snowsuit from her room. Shellington didn’t need help, but Tweak wanted to check on the cables for the spotlights and the turbines and needed Stella’s assistance. 

“I was just about to ask around for some help.” 

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Stella took the GUP-O with all the supplies outside with Tweak on the back of it in the trailer. Within minutes, they had checked all the cables. 

“Looks good. How was the generator?” 

“I was about to check but Lena told me to go do something else for a little while. Last time I checked was two hours ago and it looked fine.” She used the radio to call the GUP-I . “Stella to GUP-I .” 

“Lena here.” 

“How’s the generator doing?” 

“ Parfait, Cousine . The generator is doing its job perfectly.” 

“Thanks, Lena.” 

She turned off the radio and listened to Tweak. “So, generator’s fine. I’m going to have to climb up to the top of the GUP to reach the turbines and check they’re still secure.” 

Stella didn’t like hearing that. “No, Tweak. There’s too much wind. Look at the windsock up there! Not to mention the Anemometer!” 

Tweak thought for a moment. “You’re right, Stella. It’s not safe. W—”An incessant beeping emanating from Stella’s tablet alerted them to the fact that a snowstorm was blowing their way. “Uh oh…” 

“Good thing we’re close… Hey, wait, what about the Penguins?” 

“Should we warn ‘em?” 

“Let’s do it.” Stella drove close to a group of Penguins and said. “Err… excuse me.”

“Oh, it’s alright. It’s nice to have someone to talk to. What’s up, Leopardess?” 

“There’s a snowstorm on the way. You’d better find a way to keep yourselves and your eggs warm right away!” 

Another Penguin answered, “Thanks, Octonauts. We’ll spread the word.” 

Within moments, all of the Penguins began shuffling together to form a huddle a thousand strong.

“Wow… *Beep* Shellington, look out the window!” 

“Huh?” Shellington’s face appeared in the window. “*Gasp!* Jumping Jellyfish!” 

“So this is how Emperor Penguins keep warm in the hard Antarctic winter…” 

“Yes, but I’ve never seen it for myself! Fascinating!” 

“I hope you’re content to watching from the windows, Shellington. Here comes the wind and snow!!!” Stella exclaimed, pointing behind them. 

“Gun it, Stel!” Tweak exclaimed. 

She couldn’t react fast enough to reach the GUP-I before the storm washed completely over them, but she succeeded in making it back into the GUP anyway. The team met them in the launch bay. “Whew… that was close… At least we knew it was coming.” 

“*Creeeeeeeeeak! Thud*” 

“What was that…?” 

The lights flickered slightly.

“Oh, god I hope that wasn’t a turbine.”

“Better retract them, just to be safe. We’ve got plenty of power to last us until the Captain calls,” Tweak said. 

With that said, the crew dispersed to complete their tasks. “Well, how do you feel about that break?” 

“I feel like I did something useful…” 

“Good.” 

A couple hours later, Stella received a call from her Brother and Parents. They’d been calling intermittently throughout the year. Stephen was a Landketeer, so he spent most of his time adventuring across the land while his sister was underwater. 

“Hi Stella!” Sonia chirped from her Parents laps. 

The twins, Seth and Selene, chimed from the left, and Scott from the right, “Hi, big sister! How are you?” 

“Hey, Stella. How have you been?” Stephen asked. 

Stella nodded, snuggled into the blankets of her bed in the GUP-I . “I’ve been doing alright. How about you? Any exciting adventures?”

“Yeah, we’ve been mapping the Caves of Sac Actun for a few weeks now! You?”

“Well, for the past two days I’ve been leading a small research team here in Antarctica. It’s just me, Shellington, Tweak, the Vegimals, Professor Natquik, and Lena. The rest of the crew won’t be back here until July or August, when the female Emperor Penguins they’re studying return to the colony.” 

“So… Captain Barnacles isn’t with you?” Sonia asked, worriedly. 

Stella shook her head. “No, he’s not here in person. But, every twelve hours he calls us from the Octopod to check in. In fact… he should be calling in about three minutes.” 

“Aren’t you scared?” 

“A little, yes. I know only days ago I was studying different species of Penguins on my own with Dash, Peso, and Lena, but that was a few weeks long expedition. I was fine and I knew I was fine. Honestly, those three are some of the easiest of the crew to handle. Shellington is clumsy, but I think he’s a better problem solver than I am, and he thinks rationally. Tweak can handle herself most of the time, but occasionally she needs the voice of rationality to rein her in. Natquik and Lena can take care of themselves and know when it's dangerous. That leaves me: I’m reckless, impulsive, have crazy ideas that don’t always work, insecure… impatient…”

“The hell makes you think you’re impatient?!” Stephen bellowed, quietly so as to not disturb his roommates. “You’re the most patient person I know! Impulsive? Sure, but you think before you leap most of the time. Reckless? Maybe, but like I said: you think before you leap most of the time. Crazy ideas? Perhaps, but you think rationally and eliminate plans that won’t work before you enact them. You take the time to learn about your teammates and pair them with jobs that highlight their strengths. Insecure? Yes, but thinking down about yourself is an insecurity. You’re telling yourself you’re not worthy when everyone around you thinks otherwise. What happened to my wise older sister? You’ve got this! Why would Captain Barnacles choose you above everyone else if he didn’t think you’re worthy of the role?” 

“A crewmate, maybe, but a Leader? There’s a lot more to being a leader than what you just mentioned. Talk to Captain Bernard! He’ll tell you exactly what makes someone leader material in this sense. Captain Barnacles puts his crew before himself. He puts himself in dangerous situations to keep his crew safe. He’s done it for everyone, including me, and put himself in danger to keep me on my feet last year when a Cone Snail entered the ship and struck everyone except Peso, the Vegimals and myself. I--I don’t.” She pulled her ponytail elastic out of her hair, shaking her raven hair loose. “At least… I don’t think I do. And I don’t know how he doesn’t get bored or distracted. I sat in the main room monitoring the weather for three hours and it took everything in me to keep from getting distracted. I don’t know how they do it: at all. When we’re moving around there’s always something to monitor, and I get that these instruments are vital to our safety, but how could I make the task any less boring for the rest of this month?” 

“You’ll think of something. Anyway—” Saria began, but was cut off by a radio alarm. 

Stella jumped excitedly. “That’s the Captain.” She tapped on the screen and answered, “Hello~” 

“Hell—Oh! I’m sorry, am I interrupting family time?” 

“No, it’s alright. Stella was just explaining what she and the crew have been doing lately.” 

Stella ran through everything one more time for the Captain. He had some extra time on his paws so he stayed to chat with Stella and her family. Apparently, things had been just as boring for him as it had been for Stella; to the point where he started doodling on the pages of the notebook he was writing in. 

“Hah… I’m glad I’m not the only one who was bored to death monitoring the storm tracker. I don’t know how you—or any of the crew—deal with such tasks. They’re essential, but very tedious.” 

“You said it. All the systems have alarms so the crew can do something else as long as they check back frequently. As long as you’re nearby or have your tablet nearby, you should be able to do something else, Cadet.” 

Stella fell backward into her bed. “Argh… Why didn’t I remember that before?! The Early Warning Alarm system! Maybe the task isn’t as tedious as I thought.” 

“Only when there’s nothing else to do. Sleep well, Cadet.” 

“You too, Captain.” 

As the months wore on, Stella’s 30th birthday came and went, the tasks rotated, and Stella settled into her role as a leader among her peers. However, she was still unsteady in the seat that would normally be taken by her Captain. After two years of barely making decisive decisions for the team, jumping into a role where everybody looked to her was overwhelming, and Lena could tell her cousin was slowly breaking under her own self-doubt. 

After the tenth time Shellington came to Stella asking for something she had no idea what to do with, she broke. She told him he was the scientist and he knew what that thing did, said she was going to take the GUP-M out for a spin, and left. She did not take her tablet with her. 

The crew tracked her until they lost contact with the GUP-M , hoping she’d come back. After an hour, they were starting to think it was ridiculous. After two, worry set in. Three? Guilt. Four. Panic spread. By the fifth hour they were beginning to wonder if she’d gotten lost. By the eighth hour they started to really panic and wonder if she needed help. 

Nine hours after she’d left the Captain called her tablet… and got no response from her. He waited a few minutes, thinking she was busy with something or had gone to bed early. 

Second try. 

No response.

Third try. 

Still nothing. 

Panic settled in the back of his throat. She’d been late for a check in but never outright missed a single one. He tried a fourth time to reach her Octo-Tablet as usual, but got nothing. Kwazii zipped up the Octo Chute into Barnacles’ room, mewing a cheerful good evening. 

“Lieutenant, has the long-range system been alright?” 

“Aye, Capt. Long-range radar and communication links are still up an’ runnin’. Why?”

“You haven’t gotten news from the GUP-I that I missed, did you?” 

“Nay. Nothin’ yet. Are ye havin’ trouble reachin’ them?” The ginger cat asked as he sat on the bed beside the bear. 

Barnacles nodded, his white hair swishing in front of his eyes. “More than just trouble. Stella won’t pick up her radio! Nothing but static and I’ve tried four times already. She’s been late to pick up before, but never this late.” 

“Hmm… maybe the Lassie left her tablet in her room and she’s monitorin’ somethin’?” 

“That’s what I thought. But with those ears of hers she would’ve heard it by now and answered. Tweak would’ve too.” 

“Call the GUP-I directly. I need t’ talk t’ Tweak anyway.” 

“On it.” He tapped a few keys on the tablet he was holding. “Barnacles to GUP-I .” 

“Natquik here! Thank goodness ye called, Barnacles!” 

“Aye? What happened?” 

“And where’s Stella?” 

“That’s the problem,” Tweak cut in. “Stella just up and left!” 

“She snapped at me, took the GUP-M , and left!” 

“I told them she was gonna break if they kept bugging her with questions she couldn’t answer,” Lena said. “Shellington asked her a question she couldn’t answer, and honestly shouldn’t have to. She finally broke under the stress and left. I was hoping she’d be back soon, but it’s been nine hours and she still hasn’t returned!” 

Barnacles dropped the tablet at this point. “ NINE hours?! Why didn’t any of you think to sound the Octo Alert?!” 

“We’ve lost all contact with the GUP-M ,” Shellington said, pulling up the GUP -Finder. “She’s out of range of the Alert and wouldn’t hear it.” 

Barnacles weighed his options. He had two choices: stay with his crew and wait a few more hours, risking the fact that she may need help; or go after her. “Kwazii, is the GUP-S ready?” 

“Uhh… that’s actually what I needed t’ talk t’ Tweak about. Nay, it’s not ready, but the GUP-X is ready.” 

“Did you add the swim and jump boosters we talked about?” Tweak asked, eagerly. 

“Aye, but they’ve not been tested yet.” 

“Then this will be it.” Barnacles said. “Sound the Octo Alert.” 

The closest button was pressed and the alarm sounded. 

“Octonauts, to your stations!” 

Every Octonaut launched into place and listened to their Captain as he worriedly explained the plan. 

“I hope you can find her Captain, the storm tracker says there’s a storm moving in fast,” Dashi warned. 

“Thanks, Dashi. Peso, I’m going to need you in the GUP-X with me. Stella could be hurt out there.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” 

“Kwazii, I know she’s your cousin, but do you mind staying here and keeping an eye on things here with Dashi and Inkling?” 

“Aye, aye, sir.” 

“Right, ready, Peso?” 

“Ready, Captain!” 

“Octonauts, let’s do this!” 

Fifteen minutes later, Peso and Barnacles found themselves following Stella’s trail through the Penguin Colony. Hundreds of Penguins had seen the GUP-M , but most of them not recently. The few that had seen it, pointed the duo to a set of tracks leading eastward from their location. They were definitely the GUP-M ’s tire tracks. Barnacles really pushed his GUP to its limits, going faster than seemed necessary. The snowstorm was closing in, but this was nothing new. What was new was Stella’s impulsive decision to disappear on them. 

Stella… where are you?! This is no time for a disappearing act, Cadet! Where could you have gone…? Gah… I shouldn’t have let her lead the team alone for this long. Then she— A beeping noise disrupted the bear’s train of thought. “Huh?” 

It was the GUP -Finder. It had picked up the GUP-M ’s signal!

A glimmer of hope. 

Peso had never seen the Captain’s eyes so bright. Not since he met his niece and nephew for the first time. 

“The GUP-M is just up ahead!” 

“Gosh, she’s pretty far out…” 

“Peso, radio the GUP-I .” 

“Aye, aye!” He pressed a few buttons. “Uh oh… We’ve lost all radio contact with the GUP-I and the Octopod .” 

“Don’t panic, Peso. We’ll just tell Stella she needs to go back to the GUP-I and we’ll turn around and spend the night there.” 

The duo approached the stopped indigo dolphin-shaped GUP . Barnacles peered through the windscreen of the GUP-X into the GUP-M , and saw no sign of her. Worry settled in his throat once more. 

“Do you think she went into the back and fell asleep?” 

“That’s likely, Peso, but if that was the case she would have left the engine running for heat. The engine’s off.” The Captain was outside faster than Peso could blink, and walked around the GUP-M to see where she could’ve gone. The side hatch in the MC was wide open, and Stella’s paw prints were found leading away from the abandoned vehicle. “It seems she abandoned ship for some reason… but why?” 

“Captain?!” A voice echoed over the wind. 

“Stella?” 

“Captain, over here!” 

He turned toward the voice, soon spotting Stella near a hole in the ice. “Stella!!!” He ran over the ice to meet her in the middle. “What happened? Don’t run off like that, Cadet; you scared me!” 

“I’m sorry…” Stella mumbled as she snuggled into his snowsuit, letting him hold her tight. “I just… needed a breather.” 

“For nine hours?!” 

“Was I really gone that long?” 

“Yes!” 

“Oh…” 

“What have you been doing all this time?” Peso asked, carrying his medical bag. “Are you hurt?” 

“No, Peso. I’m unharmed. Just… really, really stressed and needed some time alone. In any case, it’s lucky you found me. There’s a Weddell Seal with a hurt tooth back at that hole. The Mother seal says her name is Wilma and her daughter is Willow.” 

“Wilma? We know her!” Peso exclaimed. 

“I know. She and I were just catching up with the goings on in the world. Come on!” 

“Wait up, Cadet!” Barnacles and Peso ran behind her toward the hole in the ice. 

Wilma held her daughter close, filing away at the ice to keep the hole wide. “It’s okay, Willow. Stella will get us proper help.” 

“Wilma! Look who’s here!” 

“Captain Barnacles and Peso! Good to see you both!” 

“Good to see you too, Wilma. I suppose this is Willow?” Peso asked. 

Wilma nodded. “Yes, this is Willow. She was filing away the ice with me when her tooth cracked out of place. Can you fix it?” 

“Well, Wilma, I’ll see what I can do.” 

“Captain, you’re the strength of the crew. Can you help Wilma and I keep the hole open?” 

“Sure, but we’d better hurry. That storm is moving in fast,” he replied, checking his compass worriedly. 

Willow sat patiently waiting for her initial examination to be over while the other three smashed through the ice around Wilma’s breathing hole. Peso determined that the cracked tooth would need more than a simple tweezer adjustment to fix, and he would need a clean, warm space to knock Willow out and use something a bit more powerful to move the tooth back into place. The equipment needed for such an operation is back at the GUP-I . Nothing for it but to leave the breathing hole and travel back to the Penguin Colony. 

Stella followed close to the GUP-X . The storm knocked out their communications, and the cold froze the Captain’s Octo-Compass completely solid. Her GUP was built to withstand these icy temperatures and blizzards a hundred times stronger than this and much more, but the GUP-X had a weakness in the fact that it could only withstand so much before the gears in its wheels froze solid due to melting snow and crunching ice. She knew her Multi-Rescue GUP probably wasn’t strong enough to pull the tank that was the GUP-X , but she was poised to use the tow lines if she had to. 

Luckily it never came to that, and the storm passed quickly. Both GUP s docked safely in the GUP-I and Stella was bombarded with questions she neither wanted nor knew how to answer without prompting more questions.

“She just needed a breather and lost track of time talking to Wilma and her daughter Willow. Leave her alone for a bit,” Barnacles defended. He placed a hefty paw on her far shoulder and said, “Come on, Cadet. Let’s go have a quick chat.” 

The almost scolding tone Stella heard in her head made her swallow apprehensively. 

He sat her down in the control room, made her a cup of hot chocolate and some for himself, and fetched a plate of kelp cakes for the two of them. She was too frightened of what the next half-hour would bring to argue. 

Her flattened ears and fidgeting fingers told him she was not ready for the talk he was about to give her. But there were still a few things he needed to know from the now thirty-year-old. 

“First of all: I’m not mad. I’m more relieved than anything.” 

Her ears perked up in surprise. 

“You were rational enough to not take any more stress out on your peers and just leave for a few hours. Nine is a bit much, but to your credit it is easy to lose track of time here this time of year. When you holed yourself up in your room, back when we went to Nepal for Christmas, out of stress, I was worried that’s what you would do every time you were stressed to that point. I’m glad you took the GUP-M out instead of hiding in your room getting even more stressed.” 

“W-well… like with the GUP-M and the mountain village I grew up in, when I was stressed there really wasn’t anywhere else to go. Y’know, with five other siblings in the house in a tiny village where everyone knows everyone, not to mention eight other people in a 20-foot long vehicle. Going out at any time of day looking distressed or upset would prompt anyone to ask questions I wasn’t wanting to answer. Where on earth would you go in that situation, Captain?” Stella added, “And on the Octopod , unless I lock my door and lose myself in music there isn’t really anywhere to go to de-stress where anyone won’t ask questions. This is a situation where—where I feel like I can’t take the breaks I need to let my fur de-fluff. When it was just Peso and I running the Octopod things were easy. We led as a team and if someone—like one of the Vegimals or Peso needed to check on you and the rest of the crew—needed something one of us could cover the other’s controls.”

Barnacles opened his mouth to speak, Stella cut him off. 

“Before you say that I could lean on one of the others here, I’m aware of that. But, there’s only six of us—including myself and Tunip—altogether and there are a lot more than six tasks to keep this place running until everyone else comes back. Plus, I want to make sure the scientists and the engineer have the time they need to research, discover, create, and maintain. That leaves Tunip, who spends most of his time floating between the labs with Shellington and the launch bay with Tweak. The Veggiebot is redundant in this context, since it takes on the jobs of the Vegimals and absolutely rocks at it. The Octobots are used by Shellington and the scientists as needed, so it’s really just me doing everything that the rest of the team aren’t assigned to, and usually that’s the boring stuff.” She took a sip of the cocoa, finished her kelp cake and said. “The wind has died down. I’m going to go check on the turbines so Tweak doesn’t have to do it. She’s got enough on her plate helping Kwazii fix the GUP-S remotely and cleaning snow and ice out of the gears of the GUP s X and M .” 

She got up and left before he could say anything else, let alone stop her. 

When he didn’t see her for another quarter-hour, he himself went out after her. His own tablet showed she was still in the station, but she was nowhere to be found and he’d checked everywhere: her sleeping quarters, the main room, the launch bay, the labs, the bathroom. 

“Stella?” He called into the dark snowy landscape. “Cadet, where are you? Answer me!” 

“Up here!” Stella’s purring voice called from above. 

He looked up toward the starry sky to see Stella kneeling on the roof of the GUP-I staring down at him. “Cadet, how in the seven seas did you get up there?” 

“There’s a ladder.” 

He climbed up the indicated ladder on the side of the sky-blue GUP-I . When he reached the top and stabilized himself on the roof, he asked, “What were you doing up here?” 

“Checking the turbines… and admiring the light show.” 

“What?” 

Stella pointed toward the ribbons of light in the sky slightly south of them. “The Southern Lights: Aurora Australis .” She sat back down on the roof and laughed, “Now I can say I’ve seen both Auroras. Remember when you took me out in the GUP-A to see the Aurora Borealis ?” 

“Yes, I remember.” What I really remember is the sparkles in your eyes when you saw the Northern Lights. “I also remember that where you were in Alaska you couldn’t see them as often. That was one of my only issues with living in Anchorage: I missed the open air and uninterrupted light shows of the Tundra. I know I only spent a few days a year for four years on campus in Anchorage, but it still annoyed me. So close, yet so far.” 

“Yeah…” A thought occurred to Stella. “Hey… where did you go to college?” 

“Well… to put it simply, I didn’t. I jumped into the US Navy in the Polar Scouts unit fresh out of High School. High School for me was just like it was for you: online classes and outdoor lessons. The Polar Scouts you know—Percy, Tracker, and formerly myself—all had some form of US, Canadian, Russian, or other Navy training, as opposed to the junior scouts like Orson and Ursa. If memory serves… Bianca is still serving as a Scout in the Emergency Service too, albeit from her home den. The Junior Polar Scouts are like the other scout groups across the states: Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Cub Scouts, etcetera.”

Stella’s eyes widened. Most of this wasn’t in his Bio on the official website. 

“The Navy was my College. And once my service was over, and I’d completed their version of College as an Oceanographer, I trained Polar Scouts—not limited to and including Tracker—for the Emergency Service I once served in as a Sergeant during the latter two years. I did that for a couple years before meeting Professor Inkling and Tweak in person in my mid-twenties and… well the rest is history. We came up with the Octonauts when I was twenty-five and recruited the remaining crew over the next three years, learning to become both crewmates, teammates, and family . Then, two years ago, I decided that we needed more paws on board. That’s when we met you.” 

“So… you’d met Tweak and Inkling before?” 

“Well, not in the fur. I met Tweak online while she was still living in the Everglades with her family. We talked online for a year or so before I asked to meet her in person if she ever found her way to Alaska. Around that time, I was talking with the retired college professor who created the online course for Oceanography in the Navy. Me wanting to explore beyond the Arctic Circle like my grandfather before me, he suggested teaming up with an engineer somewhere and traveling the world with them. That made me think of Tweak and her engineering skills. As if on cue, she called me from the airport half an hour after I logged off the chat with Inkling.”

“So you two started building the first version of the Octopod … How did Inkling get roped into all of this?” 

“Well, during the four months it took to build the first Octopod , he visited Anchorage where we were sharing an apartment and raising money to fund the project. I brought up the fact that he was the brains behind the idea and asked him to join us. After that, the rest is history.” He paused, staring up at the stars. “Good god, that took me back.” 

Stella glanced around, processing everything in her head. “So for five years… you and the crew have been Exploring the oceans, Rescuing the creatures that live in them, and Protecting the fragile habitat for future generations.” 

“Exactly! Three years might not be that long, but the world is wide and the oceans deep. You need a lot more than eight unrelated animals to protect such a huge area. And securing an additional leader—a Commander—is just the first step.” 

Stella’s tail fluffed up, bushy and bottle-brushed. She sat bolt upright, staring at him in disbelief. 

I should not have said that .

“Come again? Commander ???” She asked, dumbstruck. “That’s why you hired me? Needing extra paws is one thing, but needing a third leader on the team is another entirely! And why me? Of all the nominees there, why me? You’ve worked with me for two years—you’ve seen how I act—I’m not the leader you think I am.” 

“Guess what, neither am I. I am not the leader you think I am. Nobody believes they are the leaders others think they are, even if they truly are the leader everyone sees them as. Kwazii takes his job seriously when it counts, but he still doesn’t value cooperation, rational thinking, and effective strategy like you do. I’m strength, he’s speed, you’re wisdom and strategy. I’ve seen you beat Inkling at checkers more times than I can count on two paws. You’ve outwitted the Lieutenant twice as many as I or anyone has. You’ve outwitted me more times than my sister knocked me over as a cub. I meant it when I said your prowess in every task you undertake rivals my own.

“I know it’s difficult to stay calm in the face of stress and danger, and you have absolutely no idea how many times a day I want to go and do exactly what you did an hour ago: take one of the GUP s and drive around the ocean for several hours.” A yawn escaped his throat, as he stretched his back and sat up. “*Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwn* Next time, when you feel stressed, take your tablet with you and stay in range of the long-range communications. It will be dark 24/7 for a few more weeks, so come up here and watch the Aurora for a while, or go drown your stress in music in your room. Just… don’t scare me like that again.” He pulled her into a warm hug, nuzzling her hair with his nose. “I won’t be mad if you take a few hours to yourself. Please, I encourage you to take the time you need to de-stress. Just tell someone where you’re going and be certain you’re close by if you’re needed.” 

Stella blushed at his tight embrace, and even more at his nose in her hair. “Yes, sir…” 

“Promise?” 

“On my honor as an Octonaut.” 

“Good.” He looked toward the Aurora once more and mused, “It’s getting late. Let’s go in and get some sleep.” 

Barnacles found himself sharing a room with Stella almost an hour later. His quarters had been taken over by supplies yet to be sorted and there were only so many bunks per room. Until then, Stella had been the only one with her own room. She pulled down the bunks that she had pressed into the wall for more room, and gave him the extra sheet and blanket set from the closet. Having spent weeks sleeping beside him in the GUP-M during her first year, she knew what she was getting into. 

Stella checked her tablet one last time, turned out her lamp, and went to sleep. Barnacles, on the other paw, found himself waking up at the smallest of sounds during the night, scaring himself out of dead sleep and looking over in disbelief to find her sound asleep in the bunk beside him. To say he was nervous would be an understatement, but he was baffled by how much this incident scared him. 

By morning, he was almost scared to leave her to lead the team alone again. But, Stella assured him that his advice would be taken wholeheartedly, and the crew had learned something about her they would need to know to cooperate with her. 

She was right. The crew did learn something necessary for the weeks ahead. While she wasn’t a true leader just yet, she was a supervisor, and listening to her advice was recommended. She still got bored and distracted herself with something like reading or going out and researching in the field for a few hours. But she didn’t get snippy again due to stress. However, she did end up bickering with Lena a few times due to something she misplaced. Lena had 20 years seniority over her but Stella was left in charge and therefore outranked her Lynx Cousin. More than half the time Stella was right and the “misplaced” item or instrument was right where Lena left it or someone else borrowed it. Usually these arguments were the only time Stella got snippy at anyone. 

The remaining weeks passed in a blur. In a few days, the crew would be back aboard the GUP-I and the mother Penguins would be back with their families. After that, the crew would return to the Octopod with the Penguin fathers. 

“Haha! Penguin Chicks! They’re scratching, because they’re hatching!” Natquik had exclaimed excitedly when the first chicks began to hatch. It was “egg-citing” news, and a signal that the mothers would be returning soon.

However, on the first day of the trip-in, the Captain missed a check-in call. A small red flag raised in the back of Stella’s mind as the minutes ticked by past their usual check-in time. 

Just a little one. 

He’s probably busy driving , Stella reasoned. He would’ve said something if they were gonna be late for some reason.  

Another hour passed. Still no answer. 

A day went by. Nothing. Stella’s patience was waning, but she still held reason that they were busy or caught in the storm she’d seen on the tracker. 

A second day. The winds were calm and the skies were clear and bright. It was a sunny August morning. But Stella wasn’t looking so bright. Worry filled her eyes every time she looked toward the Octo Alert, her tablet, or any communication link. Normally Barnacles would initiate the calls, and Stella didn’t want to bother him while he was busy. But, she’d tried at least twice in the last twenty-four hours and gotten nothing. 

It was during this second day, and Stella was monitoring the GUP -Finder for any sign of the crew. The GUP-S was moving steadily toward them, but suddenly it went off the radar. 

Another red flag. 

The seismometer wavered for a moment, but stabilized again soon after. 

Panic was building in her throat. Her eyes rested on the Octo Alert button within paw’s reach beside her, knowing that would be the quickest way to get their attention. 

Just as she was about to brush the thought away and look back to the screen—convincing herself everything would be fine—a few seconds of the Octo Alert alarm sounded, and all the indicating lights flashed orange, but stopped after a few blinks. 

“Huh… that’s odd…” Lena said. 

“Did any of you just hear the Octo Alert?” Shellington asked. 

Tweak reasoned, “I did. Maybe the circuits are frozen.” 

“I don’t think so,” Stella said, pulling up the GUP -Finder on her tablet. “I’ve been watching the GUP -Finder for the past hour and I just saw the GUP-S go off the radar. Either the device froze in the GUP-S or something happened to them. Unless the lights and the alarm are on the same circuit, I think the Captain tried to sound the Octo Alert but it failed… but why?” 

“Maybe Kwazii forgot to charge the battery in the GUP - S .” 

“No, the battery was fine according to the Finder,” Stella debunked, checking the diagnostics on the Finder. 

“Hmm… Run a radio scan, would ya? Maybe we can find a signal from one of their radios or the Octo-Compass,” Tweak said. 

Stella nodded, then nodded back toward Shellington. “Aye, aye, Tweak!” 

“Right away,” Shellington said, plopping down into a nearby control station. He ran scans for all Octonauts aboard that mission, twice for the Captain, and…. “Nothing yet. I’ll keep running the scan.” 

“Tweak, I haven’t heard from the Captain in almost three days. Now the GUP-S has gone off the radar, and we can’t contact them.”

“I got a message from him asking for navigational advice, but he signed out as quickly as he signed in,” Natquik reported. 

Stella asked, apprehensively, “And when was this exactly???” 

“Euh… Yesterday night. You were sound asleep I think.” 

“Should we run a rescue mission?” Lena questioned. 

Stella looked toward the stores of supplies that had been sorted. She sighed. “I don’t think we should go out. If we go, and use up some of the supplies, you and Natquik might not have enough after we leave. I don’t like the idea, and if I could go I would. But, I have faith in the Captain. He’ll get the crew home one way or another even if it kills him. We’ll just have to monitor the Finder and the radio scans for any sign of them.” 

“Aye, aye, Stella.” 

Stella found it very difficult to fall asleep comfortably that night. 

The next morning, Stella was up at dawn. Worry and stress kept her from falling back asleep, so she went up to the roof bundled up in her snowsuit over her pajamas. She listened to the cold, calm breeze blowing across the Antarctic wastes, watching the sun slowly rise over the horizon. She heard the Emperor Penguins below her wake up and start calling for their mates, hoping to hear them in the clear morning air. 

Shellington exited the GUP-I . “Stellaaaaaaa!” He called. “Where are you, lass?” 

“Up here, Shellington!” 

“Oh!” 

“I’m here. What’s the matter?” She mewed, jumping into a pile of fresh powder snow. “Hehe, that’s fun.” 

“*Whew…* I was looking for you to ask if you wanted to help me check on the colony. I hear they’re starting to call for their mates.” 

“Yeah, I heard a few last night. Some of the mothers must be fast waddlers,” commented Stella as she wiggled herself out of the snow. “In any case, we should get going. Let’s hope that the team isn’t too far behind the Penguin mothers.” 

Shellington nodded. The duo ran back to fetch the GUP-O . Many of the mothers were already back, and more arrived throughout the morning. But, one father with his uniquely patterned chick was missing his mate and his chick’s mother. His calls grew louder, and louder, as the morning progressed. Stella and Shellington joined the other three crewmates to investigate. 

“Don’t worry,” Tweak said, “we’ll help you find your mom. What does she look like?” 

“It’s more important what she sounds like,” Shellington corrected. 

Stella nodded in agreement. “Shellington’s right. Emperor Penguins—like many other bird species—recognize their mates and chicks in crowded colonies using special calls.” 

“I’d know my wife’s call anywhere. And she’s not here.” 

“Talk about not being here,” Natquik interjected, “where is Barnacles ?” 

Tweak said, “I thought the team would be back with the Penguin mothers. Did you see anything on the GUP -Finder, Stel?”

“Nothing but static. It was the first thing I checked. No sign of the radios either. They’re just… gone .” 

Tunip gasped and fainted, like he did so often when something scared or surprised him. 

Something in Stella’s back pocket beeped loudly. She jumped and pulled it out of her pocket. It was her tablet. “Wait… *Gasp!* Scratch that, I’m picking something up! Running identity scan… Awwwwww, lost it!” She slumped over in defeat. “I had something!” 

“It’s something… but not a lot to go by,” Shellington commented. 

They stood in silence, wondering what to do next, when other noises hit the sharpest of listeners in the group. 

“Wait, wait! I hear something…” Natquik said. 

Tweak agreed, “I hear something too!” 

“Me three!” Stella agreed. 

“Can you identify the sound, Professor?” Lena asked. 

“Hmmmm… Yes, yes! That sounds like an Emperor Penguin cry—”

“Combined with a Cat’s meow…” Tweak added. 

“Mixed with a Polar Bear growl?” Stella questioned. 

The crew looked over the ridge toward where the sounds were echoing over the snowdrifts. Up at the top of the snowy ridge, the tall figure of a Polar Bear wearing a snowsuit loomed in the morning sunshine. Stella squinted, barely making out the exhausted figure of her Captain in the backlighting. But she then noticed the rest of the team carrying ropes behind him. They seemed to be pulling some kind of makeshift sled. 

Her name echoed over the wind. 

“Shellington, hop off!” 

He did as told. 

Stella took the GUP-O and raced to the top of the ridge, just in time to catch poor Dashi as she toppled over in exhaustion. Peso was next, flopping onto the GUP-O ’s trailer to take a breather. Kwazii and Barnacles pulled the missing Penguin mother onto the trailer and then flopped over themselves. 

“What the hell happened to you ?!” Stella exclaimed, coasting down the slope. “It’s been three days since we got any news from you four! Sure, Natquik said you called to ask for navigational advice, but that wasn’t news!” 

“Storm… knocked out communications… I called when I had the opportunity… Didn’t get any other chances,” Barnacles explained between breaths. 

“Then where’s the GUP-S ?” Stella asked as they reached the rest of the crew and the Penguins. 

The Captain didn’t respond until Tweak asked the question. 

“You tell her,” Kwazii said to Peso. 

“No, you tell her,” Peso shot back. 

Dashi interjected. “No, I’m not gonna tell her!” 

“I-I’m afraid the GUP-S is at the bottom of an ice chasm.” 

Silence. 

Tweak fainted. 

“Tweak!” Barnacles exclaimed as everyone gathered around her. “I didn’t think you’d take it that hard.” 

She woke up a minute later. “*Sigh* W-We’ll figure it all out, Capt. It oughta be a real adventure getting the GUP-S out of that chasm. *Crunch*” 

Kwazii pulled her to her feet. “But first, how about some hot chocolate?” 

“Make mine a double, with extra marshmallows,” Tweak replied. 

Laughter echoed through the Antarctic wastes, through the springtime air.

Chapter Text

The Octonauts spent weeks getting the GUP-S out of the chasm and fixed, ready for the journey back to the Octopod . During those few weeks, Stella made herself invaluable. She gathered materials, strategized rescues, and mapped out locations of large shifts in the ice. As December approached, Stella knew they would have to leave Antarctica eventually. 

She asked Captain Barnacles, “Captain, when do you suppose we’re going to leave Antarctica?” 

“Hmmm… Possibly in the next few weeks, but I haven’t really decided where we’re going yet.” 

Stella thought for a moment. A grin spread across her lips. “I think I can help with that.” 

“Oh?” Barnacles mused, “What do you have in mind, Cadet?” 

Stella smirked and pulled him into a deserted hallway. “Well, back when Kwazii approached me on the bus back to Uni, I asked him where his favorite place in the world was. Can you guess what he told me?” 

“The Amazon?” Barnacles asked knowingly. 

Stella nodded, enthusiastically. “Yes! He and Dashi are turning 30 this year. While we didn’t do anything special for my 30th, it’s still a big number and I want to make their birthdays special. Dashi also told me that going to the Amazon and photographing the amazing species there is one of her dreams.We could go to the Amazon and study there for a while, maybe discover new species in the area! Shellington would enjoy that kind of adventure too.” 

“I’m sure they would… It’s been quite a while since we went up the Amazon River, plus there’s Kwazii’s treasure map we can investigate.” 

Stella’s ears perked up. “Treasure map?” she asked curiously. 

“A gold medallion he found several years back in a shipwreck in the Atlantic. We went to follow it, but were driven away by bad hurricanes and tidal bores in the area. Barely even got into the river mouth before the hurricane told us to back off.” 

“Well, going back would be the perfect 30th birthday present!”

“Are you willing to pilot the Octopod when needed during the trip?”

“Well… I need practice. How about we take it in turns?” 

“You’re reading my mind, Cadet. Of course we’ll take it in turns.” He placed a paw on her shoulder. “In the meantime, you should take a rest. Give your friends a call and check in with them. When was the last time you called Bam-Bam?” 

“Uhhhh…. My 30th Birthday? Actually… Bam called me.” 

“Go give her another call and relax. You’ve been working really hard these past weeks.” 

“Yes sir.” 

Stella turned on the heel of her boot, and walked toward her room, pulling out her tablet as she went. Barnacles watched her leave, and heard Tweak make herself known with a cough.

“Tweak, come out, I know you’re there.” 

“I know, Capt,” she said, leaving the seclusion of the side hall. “*Sigh…* I still feel guilty not giving her a gift for her birthday… I wanted to give her something, but other things came up and I couldn’t finish it.” 

“Can you finish it before Christmas?” 

“Probably… if nothing else comes up.” 

“Anything I can do?” 

“Well… there is something. I know this may sound like a wild goose chase, but I need blueprints. Old ones, from the formation of the Octonauts.” 

Barnacles tilted his head, his hat falling askew. “Could you be a little more specific…? As in… what is this creation you’re deciding to make for Stella?” 

“Well… Stel’s been my reliable test-dummy--so to speak--and I wanted to test some new features for the radios and the Octo-Compass, but to do it I’d need to have a copy of the compass… which I don’t and I don’t have a copy of the blueprints for the device. Adding new features to the current one doesn’t take terribly long, but creating and testing takes longer so I’d need a copy that I could play around with and someone willing to go out into the field with it and test the features. Who better than Stella, right?” 

“So… you’re saying you want to create a second Octo-Compass for Stella in addition as a test compass for features for my Octo-Compass… I mean… In theory it’s a wonderful idea, but don’t you think she has too many communication devices already?” 

“That’s the other issue I noticed. She carries that tablet around all the time now. She always has it tucked in her arm or crammed into that pouch--I have no idea how that thing hasn’t stretched thin yet--and it’s pretty bulky. Her family can’t call her helmet radio, but I could implement the feature into an Octo-Compass for her with Pole-to-Pole communication like I did for yours. That way, she can monitor whatever and do whatever while still having access to the resources she needs and communication with her family in the field,” Tweak explained. Her expression turned sheepish as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck and added, “Kat and Inkling also told me you’re considering promoting her to Commander…” 

Barnacles almost jumped. He had discussed the idea with Professor Inkling but never with the Lieutenant. 

Tweak also jumped, seeing him jump. “Kwazii told me it was just an idea! He never said it was for certain! Believe me, I can see why you’d consider her to lead beside you, but the Compass thing has nothing to do with that idea! I saw a problem and had the Compass idea in mind long before I was told anything!” 

“N-No, Tweak,” clarified Barnacles, “it wasn’t the fact you were told that’s the issue. The issue is that I let the idea slip before I said anything to Inkling and I don’t want Stella thinking that it’s completely true. Yes, I want her to lead beside me, but I want to be certain that the rest of the crew agrees with me first. I have Inkling’s approval, and now I assume yours--” 

“And Kat’s too. He told me everything about his thoughts on the subject while we were fixing the GUP-S . He also told me how he encountered the conversation. He walked into the Library to ask Inkling a question and eavesdropped by accident. He told me about it because he thought I already knew, y’know, being one of the founding trio.” 

Barnacles breathed a heavy sigh, blowing white hair out of his eyes. “Well, I’ll have a chat with the Lieutenant personally about eavesdropping and sharing such information. Yes, he’s thirty, but he acts like a 13-year-old boy at times.” 

“I’ll say. I told him off for eavesdropping already, but I know you’ll really drive the point home, Capt.” Footsteps whirling around and jogging away tickled Tweak’s bunny ears. “Speakin’ of, that was him.” 

“I’d better catch him before he disappears then.” 

Meanwhile, Stella was finagling with her tablet to sit and sketch her pearl necklace. She was trying to balance it against the wall behind her tiny desk. She finally just gave up and put the necklace back on. 

“Stella… where did that necklace come from again?” Bam-Bam Panda-Grizzly Bear asked. 

“From Whitney,” Stella answered. “Whitney the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin found  the pearl in the necklace and Captain Barnacles came up with the idea to turn it into a necklace. I’m not sure if he came up with the design, but it’s one of the largest pearls I’ve ever seen.” 

“Whitney… That’s yer mother’s name… Bio mom, right?” 

“Yes. She’s one of the many reasons I’m in this field in the first place, so what better than to name a Spinner Dolphin after her?” 

“I was about to say weren’t ye gonna name yer cub after yer mum?” 

“I was… but Mother asked me to name a baby dolphin—just in general—when I did finally get into the field. Plus, Whitney was like a child to me as much as she was her Momma’s Girl.” 

“Awwww…. That’s sweet,” Bam-Bam said. She shuffled some papers on her desk and asked another question, “Has any major revelation occurred since we last spoke? Someone get promoted, someone in the crew’s fam gettin’ hitched or havin’ kids, that sort o’ thing.” 

“O-oh… as far as I know none of the above. I know Shellington’s sister Pearl is looking to stay with us for a few weeks sometime, but Shel suggested waiting until Periwinkle is five or six. He was born right before the crew headed for Alaska, and it’s been only two years since, going on three.” 

“Awwwww… the lil’ munchkin is so cute!!! The pictures Shellington posted from his sister’s page made me squeal from just how cute they were!” 

“Captain Barnacles is an Uncle, too. His niece and nephew—Ursa and Orson respectively—are turning four this year. Their Mother, Bianca, is also looking to stay with us for a week or so to let the cubs spend some quality time with their Uncle. If I know the Captain as well as I think I do—and I’ve been told the cubs act quite a bit like him—they’ll probably go out onto the Sea Ice Floes to earn more Polar Scout Badges.” Stella shook her head. “I’ve never met any of the kids in question, and having never really been exposed to cubs aside from the Himalayan Species I grew up with, I’m a little nervous of what they’ll think of me. Say if I were to meet Peri now, he’d probably be pretty nervous at the size difference between myself and his Uncle. No offense to Shellington—he’s pretty tall for his species—but I’m a lot bigger than most of the crew.” 

“Hey, Stel. Look at me! I’m huge compared to a lot of my friends and even my own Boyfriend! Did that ever bother anyone? No! Corey brought his siblings over for a study session the other night and they paid absolutely no mind to my size! Itty, bitty lil’ cubs come to Katmai all the time and they pay absolutely no attention to my size. When that day ever comes, ye’ll be fine!” Bam-Bam put her pencil down and closed the notebook she was filling. “Well, I gotta go do somethin’ for the crew ‘ere. I’m glad to hear you’re doing alright. Also very glad ye’ve got capable paws lookin’ out for ye. Sounds like Capt. Barnacles is lookin’ for ye.” 

“Stella? Are you—Oh! Heh, sorry, Cadet. How are you, Bam?” 

“I’m fine, just signing out.” 

“What’s the matter, Captain?”

“Supper time.” 

“Ah. I’ll be right there.” 

“Hope to hear from ye soon, Stella.” 

“Stay safe out there, Bam.” 

“Ye too, Stel. Bam-Bam out.” 

A few weeks later, the team was bound for South America. Stella took most of the manual steering, even taking over for Dashi a few times a day. She was dedicated to her work, and even the sponsor, National Seaographic, was impressed with her dedicated work, mostly at Dashi’s high praise. They even named her a deputy—she wasn’t—in one of their magazine editorials. Stella quickly found the error and corrected it for future reference. 

“I’m not a deputy and I doubt I’ll be promoted to one anytime soon. If anyone, it’d be Dashi. She’s one of the longest serving Octonauts and piloted the autopilot system on the Octopod , manned the computer-related crises, and provided these incredible reports for three years before I joined. I’m still technically in training 2.5 years in,” she wrote in the email report NS asked her to write as a first-look experience into the life of the newest crewmate. 

Barnacles read the article and countered with, “While I agree that Dashi is more than qualified to be promoted to deputy—or other rank—on the grounds of her invaluable work for the team, even she admits that given enough time Stella is far more qualified on the grounds of her leadership, sense of responsibility, dedication, creativity, diplomacy, and unparalleled wisdom.” 

Stella saw it over Dashi’s shoulder while reviewing some of the outgoing emails, blushed, and when the Captain next entered the HQ she told him, “Flattery gets you nowhere, Captain.” 

“On the contrary, I do believe that it was your own Mother who said ‘Flattery gets you everywhere,’” he joked. 

He got an almost playful scolding from Stella, Dashi, and Inkling for that one. To his credit, Stella did her research and found that he was right. 

When Kwazii’s 30th birthday rolled around in late November, Stella was ready to pounce on the opportunity to surprise him with the Amazon river the minute she was out of bed. Dashi’s birthday wouldn’t be until a week or so later, but she didn’t care as long as they both liked the gift. 

As per routine, Barnacles came downstairs at 6:10 in the morning sharp, ready to wake her up with the ginormous yawn that was brewing, when she burst out the door of her room fully dressed and almost knocked him over. 

“Whoops, sorry, Captain!” She called over her shoulder. 

Surprised to say the least, he picked up his pace and chased her down the hall towards the kitchen. “You’re up really early, Cadet!” 

“I could say the same to you ,” she shot back, taking note of the dark circles under his eyes. “I could barely sleep. Today’s Kwazii’s birthday and we’re half a day away from the Amazon River mouth! The plan we’ve kept quiet for weeks is finally coming to fruition!” She stopped in front of the OctoChute leading to the kitchen and said, “Although, you look like you could use an hour’s extra sleep. Don’t act like I can’t see those dark circles under your eyes. You’ve worked yourself all but sleepless worrying about us! You don’t have to stay up so late and make sure we all get back home safely. That’s exactly why you have so many paws helping you, isn’t it?” 

He opened his mouth to retort, but the yawn blocked him from saying anything. 

“My point exactly. Weren’t you the one telling us to take the time needed to take care of ourselves?” She asked, folding her arms. 

He closed his mouth, and had the decency to look guilty. She had a valid point. 

“Eat your breakfast, and take another half-hour or so’s rest. Kwazii, Dashi, Tweak and I have it all handled. Right Dash, Tweak?” 

“Right, Stella!” Dashi and Tweak answered cheerfully as the duo entered the kitchen. 

Tweak flashed Stella a knowing smirk of excitement. Tweak was only a few months older than Stella, and a few more older than Kwazii and Dashi, but Stella’s cleverness, aptitude, and ingenuity easily made Stella the higher rank in their rather unorganized hierarchy. 

The group ate their breakfast as the others began filing in. Once Barnacles had finished his meal, he debated disobeying Stella and going up to the HQ, but the stern glance she gave him guilted him into submission… quite unnaturally. Even the rest of the crew were stunned when he said he’d be leaving Stella in charge for an hour or so while he rested. 

Two years in and she already knows me too well. Goddamnit, Stella.  

To Stella’s credit, he had spent pretty much all of his time for her first six months standing over her shoulder and training her with personal advice, as if the idea of having a co-captain had been on his mind since she was first hired. He even shared personal experiences he never would have told otherwise. Unsurprising how she knows him too well, perhaps even better than Tweak and Inkling. 

He trekked back up to his room, kicked off his boots, flopped down on his bed, and fell asleep without setting any kind of alarm. 

“Did… not expect that to work…” Stella said. 

Dashi glanced over at the Leopardess, tilting her brown-furred head curiously. “Expect what to work?” 

“You heard what I told him. Just now he happened to glance over at me and he looked like he was waiting for me to look away so he could sneak up to HQ. I gave him the stern expression I use when scolding my younger siblings—jokingly I will add, since he outranks me by a mile—and he looked guilty as I was about to giggle and left!” Stella added, “I literally just heard him flop down onto his bed through the vents!” 

“Maybe he decided he was too tired to argue when you caught him in HQ,” Tweak joked. “He can be like that sometimes.” 

“No, I think he knew he’d get snippy and cranky when he didn’t get enough sleep, and didn’t want to flare anyone’s temper, much less mine. To be frank, I didn’t get much sleep either.” 

“Oh, no! Anxiety piling up again?” Dashi asked, understandingly. “I can skip—”

“No, it’s okay, Dash. You don’t have to skip navigation training today. Although, you and Kwazii have been on your feet without so much as a snack break all week! Why don’t you relax for a few hours and let Tweak, Shellington, Inkling, Peso, and I handle HQ today?” 

“I can teach Stella about the autopilot system!” Tweak exclaimed, “I built it, didn’t I?” 

“And I can teach her about the mapping system,” Shellington added, playing along. 

Dashi shot Kwazii a look, confused. “Well… it is the Lieutenant’s birthday, but why me too?” 

“Oh, come on, Dash!” Stella interjected. “You’ve been at this for almost five years day in, day out with little more than a two week’s vacation during all that time! You’re a rockstar, but you deserve the time to yourself.” 

Dashi glanced at Kwazii, uncertain. “Ye know they’re right, Dashi.” 

“Oh, alright… rematch of ping-pong, Lieutenant?” 

“Yeow! You’re on, Dashi!” Kwazii exclaimed, excitedly. The duo quickly finished their breakfast of delicious pancakes and bounced out of the kitchen like the excited cat and dog duo they were. 

Stella flopped back in relief as the hatch to the chute closed. “*Whew…* Nicely done, team. Now all we need is to be sure we can keep them away from the HQ until we’re on course and the maps are more or less hidden.” 

“I think Tunip can help with that,” Shellington said, gesturing to Tunip. 

Another two hours into the day found Stella piloting the Octopod though its manual steering system. Even though she’d been on the team for two and a half years maximum, and had only piloted the Octopod completely on her own once during the Cone Snail incident she endured, the ship’s helm felt familiar and the steady rocking of the ship beneath her feet comforting; she was in complete control over the situation. A newly installed holographic heads-up display containing a map of her course and other information such as speed and geographic location, ship’s status, and direction hovered in the glass in front of her, but never obstructed her view of her surroundings. It was a test concept that could be turned on and off as she pleased, and customized based on who was at the wheel. Perfect timing, since this meant that other things could be monitored in HQ without revealing what they were doing. 

Barnacles called from his bedside for a check in. “*Yaaaaawwwn….* How’s it going up there, Cadet?” 

“Swimmingly, Captain! The seas are calm, we’re on course, and I’m testing something in the manual steering pod. Check it out!” She sent over a third person view of what she was doing, with the camera positioned over her shoulder as if he was standing behind her at the wheel: like he had done many times during the trip. 

He gasped at the display in front of her. “Whoaaaaa… Another one of Tweak’s projects?” 

“Yep. She’s testing it for a later concept. I gotta say, I don’t know how you’d fare with it but so far it’s been a life saver for me! There’s pretty much no way to know where the heck you’re going without a guide or a very detailed Atlas.”

“Is this your solution to… Um… Kwazii and Dashi potentially figuring out what’s going on?” 

“Yes… and no. This is a temporary solution, but I convinced them both to take a few hours to themselves and Tweak brought this up as a solution to the mapping problem.”

“Ahhh… I see.” 

“Did you sleep well?” 

“Yes, I did.” 

“I’m sure you appreciate me telling you off for staying up too late, perhaps this once?” Stella teased, an eyebrow raised knowingly. 

His ears laid back in annoyance, but his voice spoke truth. “Yes……” 

“You certainly look a lot less exhausted. You probably feel ten times better too.” She glanced at the waters ahead. “There’s some rough water ahead, probably part of another river’s delta. I gotta sign out so I can focus. I’ll call you if I end up needing your help.” 

“Okay…” 

“Stella out.” 

Stella herself came up into his room to fetch him when they reached the Amazon River mouth. He’d found some boxes in the back of his closet he’d never opened in years to busy his paws with. She’d never been into his quarters—never needed to—but she knew how to get to it and Kwazii’s sharing a wall with it, and knew what it looked like from the outside. Being inside his room, with its blue striped walls covered in framed pictures and classic sailing memorabilia, was a completely different experience. 

“Hey, Captain.”

“Hmm? Oh, Cadet. *Ahem* Didn’t hear you come in.” 

“Sorry, I came to tell you we’ve landed safely. That’s the river over there. Do you think they know where we are now?” 

“Maybe. Only one way to find out. Sound the Octo Alert!” 

Stella pressed the button with her paw. 

“Octonauts, to the HQ.” 

Every Octonaut converged on the HQ, ready to listen to what the Captain had to say. The last to arrive were Dashi and Kwazii from the Game Pod. 

“What’s going on, Captain?” Dashi asked, confused. 

“Aye,” Kwazii added, “and where’s the rest of the crew?” 

Every Octonaut leaped out of the shadows with gifts and sweet treats, just in time for Lunch. “Surprise! Happy Birthday, Dashi and Kwazii!” 

“Oh my gosh… you guys! You know my birthday isn’t until a week from now!” Dashi exclaimed. 

“Aye, ye didn’t ‘ave t’ do this for us, certainly not now…” 

“But we wanted to!” Shellington protested, “We didn’t get to celebrate Stella or Tweak’s thirtieth as a team, and you’re only thirty once.” 

“So, why not celebrate right now as a team?” Tweak suggested. 

Tunip chirruped in agreement. “Breee~!” 

“Haha, Tunip says he made cupcakes for everyone!” Shellington translated. 

Tunip added, “*Chiba-Chiba!*And there’s plenty of choices! No need to stress! *Burr!*” 

Stella translated this time. “There’s plenty of choices, don’t stress about it.” 

Dashi giggled, “You can always count on Tunip and the Vegimals to accommodate the whole crew with their cooking!” 

“Dig in, Octonauts; it’s lunchtime after all.” 

Half an hour into the party, Stella noticed Shellington in a corner of the HQ looking worried… by himself. Having known him for two years, seeing him by himself and worried was unnatural and unnerving to her. She’d always been good at reading people, but the two exceptions to this rule were Captain Barnacles and oddly Shellington. The Captain could be very obvious at times, and admitted to having a bad habit of hiding relevant information from his crew to keep them from panicking over him—in other words, feeling guilty about having people help or look after him when it’s his job to look after them—but Shellington was either very good at hiding his worry or she was just blind to how he expressed it. 

This was just ridiculously obvious: keeping his back against the wall, nervously glancing at his reflection or at the box in his paw, keeping his head bowed and back arched. 

It was the most nervous she’d seen him since she disappeared back in April in Antarctica. Back then, he’d been pretty worried since she hadn’t responded to their calls and went off the radar for nine hours in the middle of the Antarctic wastes—understandable—but what could be worrying him today? 

She cautiously approached him. “Hey, Shellington.”

“Hmm?” The tall Sea Otter peeked up at her curiously, big sparkling amber eyes filled with what seemed to be worry. “Oh.. Hey, Stella.” 

“You okay?” 

He stared in silence at the small square box in his paw. Straightening his back he said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Are you enjoying yourself?” 

His slumped shoulders and nervous posture told her he wasn’t fine. 

“I was,” she said, “until I noticed you here by yourself. Didn’t Dashi challenge you to a game of Gobstones? I know you two are big Harry Potter fans.”

“She did… but then Kwazii pulled her aside to rematch their ping-pong game.” He pointed toward the ping-pong table set up across the room, where Dashi was crushing Kwazii in a ten-to-three match. The rest of the crew was gathered around the table cheering for the duo. “Heh, from what I can tell Kwazii’s off his game.”

“It has been a while since I’ve seen him play. If anything, I’m certain Tweak will drag him off at some point to play video games downstairs.” She noticed the meticulously wrapped box in his paw. “What’s in the box?” She asked. A knowing smirk flickered across her lips. “A gift for Dashi?” 

The blush filled his tan cheeks faster than Tweak could say “Buncha munchy crunchy carrots!” 

“H-How did—”

“—Did I know that? We’re celebrating Dashi’s birthday too. I’ve seen you in the lab all week with a jewelry-making book on your desk and a bunch of wire and pliers lying around. Heh, didn’t know you could do such a thing, Shellington.” 

“What can I say? My father was a jeweler and I picked up some tips on wire-wrapping from my mother when Pearl and I were younger. Dashi likes sea glass so I turned one of the larger jewelry-quality pieces we found together into a necklace for her.” 

“Aww… how sweet! Hmm… Is it.. wrong for me to suppose that the Captain gave you instructions to turn Whitney’s pearl into a necklace for me?” 

Shellington froze. He swore himself to secrecy about the origins of the pearl necklace, mostly for the Captain’s sanity since he’d spent many hours working on its design and didn’t know how Stella would react if she knew it was his design, not just his idea. But the Captain never told him to keep it quiet, and it had been two years since. 

“Erm… not just instructions to design it… Captain Barnacles designed the necklace himself; right down to every last detail of the wiring. It is a huge pearl, so he had a lot of room to work with, and he engineered the idea of drilling straight through it like a bead and slotting an extra wire through it to secure it to the rest of the wire underwater. I think he kinda assumed you’d be wearing it all the time. Do you?” 

Stella pulled it out from under her shirt and helmet-collar, cupping the delicate swirling wire-wrapped pearl in her paws. “I almost never take it off. I only take it off to go to sleep.” 

“Ahh… good thing I waterproofed it then,” he said as she tucked it back into her shirt. “Why do you keep it in your shirt then?”

Stella shrugged. “It was a combined effort of people who care about me to make—yourself, Whitney, and the Captain—and I just don’t want it getting lost because it means so much to me.” She brushed a stray strand of raven hair back into its place in her fringe. “I was just going to create a small treasure box of Whitney’s found items to keep on my nightstand—a time capsule of sorts—and leave the pearl in there. That is… if I’d known it existed . When did she find it?” 

“While Kwazii and I were watching her, before she noticed you weren’t in the group with us watching over her. She brought the pearl to me, possibly because the blue shirt I was wearing at the time looked like yours, and then chittered at me happily. Only when she heard my voice did she realize it wasn’t you and, as you said, she started actively looking for you. She thumped her nose against my stomach, chirruped at me, and swam away. On instinct, I thought she was trying to start a game of tag!” 

“Ahhh… that explains a lot. She would randomly start games of tag like that, and she would signal that she wanted to play by burrowing her nose into my stomach or shoulder. I wonder how she’s doing… Maybe we will go back to Hawaii soon…” 

“Maybe we should. It’d be nice to see how the reef is recovering after a couple years away from the area, plus Whitney and all our Hawaiian friends.” 

“Yeah…” Stella agreed. “But that still doesn’t answer my question of why you’re here by yourself and not watching the game.” She shoved him with her shoulder and purred, “Your girl’s winning~” 

“Shut up, Stella!” He exclaimed in his thick Scottish accent. 

The mountain feline giggled in her tinkling voice, “I’m teasing! I’m only saying it’s very obvious that you like her and she’s too focused on her work to notice you’re waiting for her.”

“You think so?” 

“I’m known for my people-reading skills; I know so. Voice of experience, Shel. This is somewhat like the situation with Bam-Bam and Corey before they started dating. Bam liked Corey and told me; Corey liked Bam and told me. She was waiting for him to make the first move, while he was waiting for her to make the first move since he had a lack of confidence. Fast forward to Bam’s birthday and he has a gift with a personal touch he’s waiting to give her and struggling to build up confidence. The others at the party—not limited to and including myself—had cooler gifts and he lost his courage and I noticed him in the corner by the door, packing up to leave. I’m glad I got to him right then, and talked him into just giving her the gift, because she wore that bracelet all. The. Time. Afterward. She still wears it to this day. She later told me that out of all the gifts, including mine, his was her favorite. That sealed it. A few weeks later they started dating.” 

“Wow…” 

“What I’m about to tell you, I told Corey first: ‘It’s the thought behind the gift that counts.’ The gift could be anything: a shell, a book, a specially made craft, a found object that made you think of the recipient. If it has some memories of fun times attached to it, like the sea glass in the necklace you made, that’s great! Handmade? Even better. She might not wear it all the time like I do with my necklace, but if she writes or says ‘thank you’ in person, or if you see her wearing it she’s extremely appreciative. Believe me, she’s gonna love it; especially since it’s from you, from the heart.” 

He looked hopeful. “You think so?” 

“I know so,” Stella said with a kind smirk. “Now’s your chance; here she comes!” 

“Woo! Haha, ping-pong never gets old!” 

“You were really in your groove today!” Stella commented, “Right, Shellington?” 

“Uhh—Y-Yeah! Great job, Dashi!” 

“Aww… Thanks, Shellington! Now, where were we with that Gobstones match?” 

Stella backed away slowly as Dashi led Shellington toward the Library, where it was bound to be quieter. 

When Shellington came back, the box was gone, he had a lip gloss smudge across his cheek, and the cheesiest grin. At this point, Stella, Barnacles, and Inkling were playing ping-pong and by the sound of it, Stella and Barnacles were winning. Stella happened to lock eyes with him and flash a knowing smirk, scoring a point as she did. 

The entire crowd around them cheered as the ball bounced away, signaling the winning point. The Captain and Stella high-fived in triumph over Professor Inkling. 

“Ohhh… Well played, Stella, Captain,” Inkling said, shaking their paws. 

Stella giggled, “Thanks, Professor.” She turned to Barnacles who was standing beside her and whispered, “You don’t suppose it went well for Shellington, do you?” 

Barnacles glanced over at the Otter marine biologist. “Heh… by the expression on his face it went better than he anticipated.” 

“Oh, expectations blown clear out the window!” Stella joked. She had a bright smile across her face, but it never reached her eyes. Something else was pricking at the corners of her sapphire blue eyes. 

Pain . Hurt. Sadness. 

The Captain knew all too well at this point how she felt just by reading her eyes and the lilting saddened tone of her voice. Her bright smile hid sadness and an unseen longing from the view of her peers; he knew her, but how well if she hid her emotional pain like this? 

“He deserves it,” Stella muttered, “he’s worked on that gift for weeks. It took immense amounts of careful planning and attention to complete. I just wished he’d asked one of us for help before the party… I could’ve given him more advice.” She breathed a sigh and glanced away toward the window, staring at her reflection. Barnacles swore he heard her whisper, “Always the wingwoman, never the lover…” 

Kwazii’s reflection in the glass beside Dashi and Shellington’s reflections prevented him from delving deeper while he had her attention. “Wooo! So… we stopped for a couple hours to have a party. Where are we going next?” Dashi asked. 

“Nope! Not for a couple weeks, Dash!” Stella said, her expression lightening. “We’re staying right here for a two week adventure.” 

Barnacles asked his two crewmates, “Dashi, Kwazii, can you tell us where we are in the world?” 

Dashi leaped into her station and said, “Well Captain, we’re on the east coast of Brazil right around the—” She stopped short in stunned silence for a moment. 

Kwazii joined her, confused, and completed, “The Amazon River. What in the— No, you did not!” 

“I sure did! Happy birthday, Kwazii, Dashi,” Stella said. 

“I hope you haven’t lost that medallion, Kwazii. Tomorrow, we’re going out onto the river to finally see where it leads. To be honest, it had been nagging at the back of my mind since we were first driven away from the river. Didn’t really know when to go back until Cadet mentioned it back in Antarctica.” 

“You mean it?!” 

“I mean it, Kwazii.” 

“Yeow~!” 

Early the next morning, Stella was rudely awoken by the Octo Alert sounding. Evidently, the Captain let her sleep in or she just didn’t hear him yawn. She forced herself out of bed and threw on her uniform. She didn’t even get time to brush or tie up her hair. 

She ran up to the HQ just as the rest of the Octonauts were gathering, oddly out of breath. 

“Whose bright idea was it to let me sleep in???” She asked incredulously. 

All eight remaining Octonauts glanced around, confused. 

“Well, whoever it was, you made me panic because I thought I was late!!!” She exclaimed, grabbing her hair-tie to tie up her hair into its normal high-ponytail. “Anyway, what’s the alert all about, Captain?” 

“Err.. Right. *Ahem* Good morning, Octonauts. I hope you’re ready to head out on the Amazon today. Our mission is to follow Kwazii’s treasure map to the Hidden City.” 

“Aye, today we finally find the treasure the city beholds!” 

“I can’t wait to see all the amazing scenery and creatures we find along the way!” Dashi exclaimed. 

“I’ve never been to the Amazon, but I’m really hoping that I can get in contact with my cousin Jasmine Jaguar. She’s been living on and studying the Amazon River Basin her entire life. I’ve never met her in person, so I really hope we can share information with her at some point.”

“We’ll keep our eyes peeled then, Cadet.”

“Ooh~ Is she a scientist?” Shellington asked. 

Stella nodded vigorously. “She is! She’s an ecologist specializing in Rainforests and Rainforest River ecosystems. I’m sure she’d love to share information with you, Shellington. Who knows? Maybe one day you two could study the brackish water in the river delta together.” 

“You certainly have a lot of cousins, Stella,” Peso commented. 

“Why wouldn’t I? Felines are a very diverse group of—naturally—carnivores and are found on all continents except Antarctica. Canines like Dashi are also a very diverse group, and Professor Natquik’s species is an evolutionary cousin to Dashi’s species.” 

“That’s very true. I have cousins in all regions and more breed-related cousins than I can count on two paws!” 

“The same applies to Kwazii. While he looks like he could be a short haired breed, he could have genetics from Persian Cats and other long haired breeds too.” 

“Aye,” Kwazii agreed, “ye really can’t tell until ye look at me family tree.” 

“Tweak, ready GUP s A and E .”

“Aye, aye, Capt!” 

Stella found herself itching to take the wheel and navigate the river by herself, but she refrained from doing so. It was Kwazii’s gift and he was the one with the map. But when she caught a glimpse of the map, she noticed something… off . She couldn’t quite place why it was off, but she knew it was. 

While the rest of the crew were trying to figure out what was wrong with the map, Stella noticed a rumbling beneath her feet. She peeked out the window and noticed what the rumbling was coming from. 

“Uhhhh… guys?” she said. 

They continued arguing, but before she could say anything else, they were knocked out of the GUP-A . 

“Shiver me whiskers! *Cough* What was that?!” Kwazii sputtered as he surfaced. 

Shellington climbed up the tilted floor of the GUP-A . “Of course… Falling trees are very common along the Amazon.” 

“Hmm… Now you tell us,” Tweak said. 

Barnacles turned toward the stuck GUP-A . “We need to get this tree off of the GUP s. Come on, everyone.” 

“Hang on…” Dashi said, looking around. “Where’s Stella?” 

Panic rose in Barnacles’ throat as he realized Stella was nowhere to be found in his immediate sight. 

Just as he was about to dive down to search for her, she sputtered to the surface near the submerged GUP-A . She sputtered a curse word that was drowned out by her coughing. Barnacles snagged her arm and dragged her to a place where she could hang on and breathe. 

“You okay, Cadet?” 

“*Cough!* Well… I’m not dead,” she chuckled darkly. “Shoulda seen that coming…” 

“Stay here. Is everyone else okay?” 

“A-okay, Captain.” 

Stella spit out more water and said, “Let’s get that tree off the GUP .” She hopped right back in the water. 

Almost twenty minutes later, the entire team found themselves giving hefty shoves to the log holding their submarine down. Stella was situated beside the Captain on top of the GUP-A , pushing the log with all her might. 

“Do you feel that?” she asked as a rumbling swept through the valley, “It’s starting to break free!” 

“I don’t think so, Cadet…” Barnacles answered, noting it felt more like an earthquake than the GUP-A breaking free on the riverbed. 

Shellington peeked over the top of the log and gasped. “It’s a tidal bore! A wave of water is moving up the river from the ocean!” 

“Everybody grab onto something!” Stella exclaimed, grabbing onto the fallen log and bracing herself. She didn’t have time to get a proper grip before the tidal bore hit and swept her upriver. 

Captain Barnacles found himself being swept upriver by the tidal bore and struggling to stay afloat. He clambered atop a floating log, scrambling for air. 

I have to find my crew!

“Octonauts!!! Can you hear me?!” He called into the empty jungle. “No sign of the GUP s either.” He reached for his Octo-Compass. “Better check the—” He felt around his belt before looking. “Oh… it must have come loose,” he moaned as he slipped off the log to begin searching. Even with his helmet, the water was completely murky. “I can’t see a thing down here!” 

Something approached and swiftly passed him from behind, startling him. 

“Huh? Hello? Who’s there?!” 

A pink marine mammal emerged from the murky water. “Hello~” 

“Whoa! A dolphin… in a river?” 

“That’s right. I’m a River Dolphin! The name’s Berta, and I’ve lived my whole life right here in the Amazon.”

“I’m Captain Barnacles, Leader of the Octonauts, and--Uhm..--I seem to have lost my Octo-Compass.” 

Berta whistled a bit and then asked, “Hmmm… Is it small? Round? Smooth?” 

“Yes, but, how did you know?” 

“Found it for you!” she announced proudly, presenting him with the small round object. 

“Thanks, Berta!” 

“You’re wondering how I did that, aren’t you?” Berta laughed. “Well, I used the special sounds *Whistles* to find things in the murky water.” 

“Ahh, yes! Exactly how the GUP-M ’s Sonar-Mapping system works! I, uh, don’t suppose you’d help me find my crew. We came here to the Amazon, looking for the Hidden City.” 

“A hidden city? Here in the Amazon? *Gasp!* This I gotta see!” Berta exclaimed, swimming away with Barnacles in tow, laughing. 

Meanwhile, much further upstream in the winding maze of the flooded forest, Stella found herself waking up in an unfamiliar hut on the riverbank. The bed was hard and stiff, the blankets scratchy and thin. Her immediate instinct was to sit up and use her radio to call the Captain--make sure he knew she was okay. 

“Easy now… You inhaled a lot of water,” an unseen voice said. 

Stella, now alarmed, squeaked, “Wh-who are you…?” 

From a shadowed corner of the room, a black Jaguar emerged. “You really don’t recognise your own cousin?” 

“Jasmine Jaguar?!” Stella exclaimed. 

“Stella Himansha!” Jasmine exclaimed, reaching over to embrace her cousin. “Now tell me, what are you doing here in the Amazon Jungle?” 

“It was cousin Kwazii Cat’s birthday yesterday, so while we were adventuring in the Antarctic, I mentioned to the Captain that the perfect 30th birthday gift would be to return to the Amazon and finally find the Hidden City that’s been nagging him all these years.” 

“A hidden city? In the Amazon? You’re certain this isn’t some lost Maya Civilization he’s going on about, cause if so, you’re in the wrong jungle.” 

“If it was, I doubt pirates would be so keen on finding it. They don’t like walking long distances over land apparently. I just hope I can find the rest of my crew… The Captain must be so worried about me… and the rest of the crew.” 

“Your Captain?” 

“Captain Barnacles… Ever heard of him? Or the Octonauts?” 

“You’re an Octonaut, Stella?! Oh, your mother would be so proud!” 

“I know, but I won’t be an Octonaut if I don’t have a crew to be a part of,” Stella said. Come on, we can use my radio to scan the forest for any familiar frequency!” 

Back with Barnacles, he explained what happened to bring them so deep into the jungle. 

“...and that’s when the tidal bore swept us all away.”

“I tell ya, I’ve seen some big waves in my day,” Berta commented. “And Jasmine, I haven’t seen her in the flesh for weeks. She’s around but-- Wait.” Berta whistled, using her sonar to scan the waters ahead. “Just around the bend, some kind of struggle… Like something’s hurt!”

They swam around the corner, Barnacles hoping to find one of his crewmates unharmed.  

“Peso!” 

“Shhh… I’ve got a bit of a situation here, Captain… This poor eel, the wave tangled her up.” 

“Stay back!” the eel exclaimed. “Or I might do something crazy!” 

“That’s no ordinary eel, that’s an Electric Eel,” Berta warned, “when it gets upset…” 

“*Zzt!* Ahhh!” 

“I zap! That was just a lil’ taste.” 

Barnacles moved in, warning Peso. “Careful…”

“I’ve got this, Captain.” Peso swam back to the eel, hoping to untangle her. “Easy now, I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Better not… Or else, or else--” the eel breathed, holding back a panic attack. 

“Shhh,” Peso shushed. “I’m just going to…” he mused, reaching for the river-reed keeping her pinned. He gave it a gentle tug and the eel slipped free. “There!” 

“But my tail… it still hurts!” she whined. 

Peso grabbed his medical bag and pulled out a bandage roll. “I’ll just bandage that up for you.” 

The bandaging frightened the eel and she zapped Peso. “What’s the big idea, scaring me like that! I oughta-- Hey~ my tail. It feels.. Better! Thanks!” She gathered up the frightened penguin’s medical bag and brought it back to him. 

“No problem…” Peso said, timidly taking the bag. 

Barnacles reached out to high-five Peso. “Good work, Pes--Oh!” Some residual electricity remained in Peso’s feathers, and zapped the Captain’s paw. 

“Oh, hahaha!” 

Stella quickly picked up the signal of Kwazii Cat, and headed toward it. It seemed to be coming from a tree. 

“What?” Stella asked, confused, eavesdropping on the conversation Kwazii was having with some unknown speaker. “There’s nothing here!” 

“Hmm,” Jasmine hummed, peeking around the tree. “Ha! I knew that voice sounded familiar!” She ran to the other side of the tree and yelled up it. “Ahoy! Calico~!” 

An orange furred cat that looked strikingly similar to Kwazii--albeit about fifty years older--poked his head out the window of the tree house. “Hmm? Ahoy, Jasmine! What are ye doin’ ‘ere?” 

“We’re looking for Kwazii, have you seen him?” 

“Aye, ‘e’s right ‘ere!” 

Stella followed her cousin and called up to the window, “Kwazii! Kwazii, are you up there?” 

“Aye, Stella!” Kwazii poked his head out the window. 

“C’mon up ‘ere!” Calico agreed. 

Stella and Jasmine joined Calico and Kwazii up in the tree house. They asked about the hidden city and Stella mentioned that Kwazii had found the map years back. Calico thought that was impossible since he had the map. 

Stella asked to see it, sensing something was amiss. 

“I’ve been goin’ in circles for all these years, thanks t’ this no-good map. Dunno what ye’d want wit’ it, Lassie.” 

It looked like a broken semi circle, much like the medallion Kwazii had. 

“Hold on…” Kwazii mumbled, catching her drift. He placed his medallion in line with Calico’s. 

“I knew it!” Stella exclaimed. “It takes both parts to make the full map! Whoever hid the treasure may have deliberately broken the medallion to protect it!” 

“Ho-ho! Well, what are we waitin’ for? Let’s go!” 

Meanwhile, the Captain and Peso had found Dashi and a stranded Arapaima fish on the riverbank. They helped it and it helped them in return by knocking Dashi’s camera free from its precarious perch on a branch. They were now getting much closer to the GUP-A . 

Peso happened to hear something behind him and turned around to find himself face to face with a small fish. “Oh, hello…” 

“Hungry…” was the fish’s response. 

“Berta, what are those fish chasing us?” Barnacles asked, concerned. 

“Those guys?” Berta asked. “They’re piranhas.” 

“Ah, piranhas…” Barnacles repeated. It took a couple seconds before the notion settled in his head. 

“Piranhas?!” The trio of Octonauts turned around in shock. All three said “Nope,” and skedaddled the heck out of there like bats out of hell. 

“Captain, up here!” Shellington called from the trees as they surfaced. 

Barnacles, Dashi, and Peso clambered up the tree limbs to get away from the fish. “*Whew*… That was close…” Barnacles muttered, pinning himself against the tree trunk. 

Shellington braced Dashi against him as he held onto the tree for dear life, and Tunip gripped his leg like his life depended on it. 

“I was trying to tell you!” Berta laughed, “The piranhas aren’t after you; they rarely eat anything bigger than themselves.” 

“Huh?!” 

“They sometimes get excited when they smell something they like!” 

“Hungry!” 

“Then… what could they be smelling?” Barnacles asked, fishing around in his pockets. He finally encountered a Fish Biscuit in his belt-pouch. “Aha…” He dropped it into the river out of curiosity. 

Within an instant all of the piranhas within a two meter radius were chowing down on it, chanting “yum!” 

“Oh! Fascinating!” Shellington exclaimed. He grabbed a handful of biscuits out of his book bag and threw them into the water. Dozens and dozens of piranhas leaped out of the water, scrambling to reach them first. 

“Well, Tunip, looks like your Fish biscuits are a big hit!” 

Tunip chirped happily. 

With the piranhas distracted, they moved on and found the GUP-A … still stuck. Luckily, Tweak found a friend willing to help them out: a Wood-Eating Catfish!

“I knew there would be one around here since I modeled the GUP-MC after various Catfish, this being one of them! Thank gosh I landed in the GUP-E ,” Tweak explained. 

“Well done, team. Two more Octonauts to find!” Barnacles announced, checking his compass. I hope Stella and Kwazii are alright…  

As they paddled along, they followed the flow of the river until something alerted them to the presence of one of the remaining two Octonauts. They were keeping their eyes and ears peeled, when a radio-tracking signal reached the computer in the back of the GUP-A . 

“Captain, I’m picking up a radio signal!” Shellington exclaimed. 

Dashi said, “Send it over, I’ll see if I can identify it.” A few keys were pressed and she had the signal. “It’s Stella! She’s rigged her helmet radio to scan for any familiar frequencies!” 

“Captain Barnacles to Stella, come in.” 

“Stella here, Captain!” 

“Everything alright?” 

“Well, I’ve found Kwazii, Jasmine, and—get this—Calico Jack! We’ve reconstructed the medallion and followed it to this swamp full of Capybaras—not terribly happy ones—and we accidentally triggered an Anaconda attack! We’re trying to rescue the baby Capybaras and could really use some help here!” 

“Hang tight, Cadet, we’re on our way!” 

Didn’t take him long to find her. She was gathering baby capybaras on the riverbank and bravely fending off the huge snakes attacking her. The Octonauts split up throughout the small wetland and told the snakes to buzz off. 

Reunited at last. Hugs were shared, but the most incredible thing was the hidden city on the other side of the Capybaras’ swamp. The Tidal Bore washed silt and dirt into the pond and covered up the beauty waiting below. 

As the water washed back out, it revealed an incredible castle of freshwater sponges populated by new species of fish. The two scientists in the group were fascinated . 

“Well, I guess this is your Hidden City, Kwazii.” 

“Ye mean… There’s no treasure?” 

“Oh, Kwazii, ‘tis the hunt for the treasure that counts. And we’ve had ourselves a wild one.” 

“Just imagine!” Stella interjected, “Years from now you’ll look back on these memories and say ‘yeah, this is a treasure.’ It’s the memory that’s the treasure, more valuable than any amount of gold or jewels. This discovery will go down in history, and it's all thanks to a pirate’s treasure map you found!” She giggled and joined the rest of the crew and their Amazonian friends in the pool. 

“She’s right ye know, Kwazii. What say ye join me?” 

“Me?! Go with you?!” 

“Picture it: Calico Jack and Kwazii, together, on the Seven Seas.” 

“Grandad, I—” Kwazii began, a pit forming in his stomach. 

Barnacles called, “Kwazii, come look at these fish!” 

“There’s a really fast one you’re gonna love!” Peso added. 

Kwazii took a deep breath. “Grandad, as much as I’d love t’ join ye, there’s only one Ship I sail on now, and that’s the Octopod . The truth is, I’ll always have the heart of a pirate, but I’m an Octonaut now.” 

“Oh… I understand. ‘Tis a hearty crew ye ‘ave there, Kwazii.” Calico handed over the medallion. “Ye’re a good pirate, and a brave Octonaut.” He whistled for his parrot companion Pete. “Come on, Pete. Get a flap on.” He clambered into the tiny dinghy, unfurled the sail, and called back, “Fare thee well, Kwazii.”

Pete squawked. “Goodbye!” 

“Keep an eye out for me, wherever ye set sail!” 

“Aye, aye, Grandad. Aye, aye.”

Chapter Text

Three years into Stella’s service as an Octonaut, a violent storm knocked the Octopod into the dry, dry desert of Namibia. Stella found herself seemingly abandoned on the deserted coastline, the sea lapping at her boots. She wasn’t harmed, thank goodness, but the sight that beheld her when she sat up and faced the Octopod was sickening. 

The trusted ship lay in shambles on the sand. If she didn’t check that her crew had survived she would fail not only herself, but her oath and the crew that became her family away from her family. She ran around the side of the massive, Giant-Pacific Octopus shaped submarine vehicle, hoping to find at least one other member alive. 

They were lucky. 

All nine official members and all of the Vegimals survived the crash. But they wouldn’t survive long if they didn’t save their drinking water, which was steadily leaking from the orange hull. Stella leaped into action. 

“Captain, might I ask where we are exactly?” Stella asked, hauling a barrel of water toward their makeshift shelter. 

Barnacles consulted his Octo-Compass, wiping sweat off his brow. As a Polar Bear, in the desert he’s at serious risk of overheating, not to mention Peso and Stella herself. “Well, Cadet, we’re in the Namib Desert… on the—Skeleton Coast?” 

“I think I can see why it’s called that…” Stella said, pointing to a different wrecked ship. “Look at all those shipwrecks! And that storm, those storms are getting more and more common around these parts.” She swallowed and said, “And man, it’s hot! Anyone without a suitable source of clean freshwater would die of thirst within days! And you and I are in danger of overheating if we stay out here chatting for much longer!” 

“C’mon then!” Kwazii encouraged, “No time to dilly-dally!” 

Stella blew her raven-black hair out of her face and rolled the barrel a little further. A cooling breeze distracted her as she placed the barrel back with the others by the GUP-H : a helicopter based on the Dragonfly. It was then that she noticed a few barrels were missing and the GUP-H was hovering in front of her. “Huh?” She looked up, only to find an unfamiliar macaque piloting the helicopter. “Um, excuse me? Who are you and what are you doing with our helicopter?!” She asked incredulously and loudly. 

She startled the macaque and the GUP-H clattered to the ground. The rotor broke and landed. None of the barrels broke, though. He fell out of the helicopter at Stella, Barnacles, and Kwazii’s feet. 

“Well?” She asked. 

“*Sigh…* Sorry… Paani’s my name. I’m a Hydrologist.” 

“A what?” Kwazii asked. 

“A Hydrologist,” Barnacles answered. 

Stella further explained, “A scientist who studies water in general.” 

“Yes!” 

“What were you doing with our drinking water, Paani?” Barnacles asked. 

Paani, slightly ashamed, explained, “I was trying to bring it to thirsty animals further inland. You see there’s been a drought here for several years, and the waterholes are drying up.” 

“Well, we do have a bit of a problem here… We’ve just shipwrecked here on the Skeleton Coast, and it will take maybe months to repair the ship with just how much damage it sustained, but… we do have a way of producing our own drinking water while being underwater. What do you think, Captain?” Stella asked. 

Barnacles agreed with her. “Agreed. The salt filtration system should produce clean drinking water for us as long as we can repair the leaks and get the Octopod back to the ocean.” 

“Then let’s get going!” Paani exclaimed. He then stopped and realized, “Oh… wait a moment? How are we supposed to get these barrels to the waterhole?” 

Tweak, who was listening in, replied, “The GUP-X is still ship-shape!” 

Stella kicked her foot in the sand. “Won’t the sand get caught in the gears like with the snow in Antarctica?” 

“Sure,” Tweak replied, “but if there are creatures in need out there, it’s worth the risk in my opinion.” 

“Agreed. Octonauts, let’s do this!” 

They started loading barrels into the GUP-X . Paani did his absolute best to repay his unfortunate misunderstanding. He and Stella found some common ground in the sense that they both loved mountain landscapes for their spectacular views. On the other paw, he also found common ground with Dashi for their shared love of surfing and paddle boarding. Shellington loved chatting with a fellow scientist, something he hadn’t done since he met Stella’s cousin Jasmine Jaguar back in November. He was also very concerned that three out of nine Octonauts were Polar or Cold-Adapted animals and needed to stay cool. He would intermittently splash water across the Captain’s back, Stella’s face and back, and Peso’s insulating feathers. Barnacles was never pleased with this, but he would never admit that he enjoyed it and it was a welcome relief from the beating sun on his thick uniform and white fur. 

Stella could tell he did like it. She knew she did. It was almost nightfall by the time all the water they thought they would need was loaded up. Stella was a little concerned that the setting sun wouldn’t be enough light to make it there by, but she brushed it off and followed the small crew setting forth with Paani. 

The rattled along for what seemed like hours before Paani finally exclaimed that they were reaching the waterhole. Just in time too; the GUP-X was starting to fail due to sand in the gears. 

“Mabel!” Paani exclaimed, noticing the Elephant herd entering the area with a group of sandgrouse. 

“Paani!” The Elephant elder exclaimed. 

“Mabel and I go way back,” Paani explained. 

Mabel and her young one soon discovered that there was no water at this waterhole, buried deep underground. They did this by smelling it and digging deep with their trunks, as Paani explained. Kwazii commented that it’s a “nifty trick.” 

Most of the Elephants got some water from the reserves, but not enough. Stella frowned as Dashi noted that there were rain clouds on the Storm Tracker. 

“If we can’t bring the water to the animals, we’ll bring the animals to the water,” Barnacles declared. 

“But how?” Paani asked, “The GUP-X is too small to fit a herd of Elephants and a couple sandgrouse, and the animals are too thirsty to go any further.” 

Stella noticed rumbling on the horizon. “Maybe not, but the Octopod is!” She pointed over into the distance. “Look! Here she comes!” 

Everyone turned, and sure enough Tweak had rigged the arms of the Octopod into legs for walking like a giant Elephant! 

“Hi guys! I figured you’d need some help getting the animals to water when I saw those rain clouds,” she chirped. 

“Excellent, Tweak!” Barnacles exclaimed as Tweak brought the ship down enough for all the critters to enter. “All aboard, everyone!” 

As the Elephants and Grouse were boarding the Octopod , Mabel soon noticed that her son was missing. She voiced the concern to the Octonauts, and tried to set out to find him, but thirst and age left her weakened. 

“I’ll find him, Mabel,” Peso said, bravely. Stella had seen this bravery before, back in the Caves of Sac Actun when he and Barnacles got lost in the winding maze of the underwater caves. He had helped the normally brave Captain get over his claustrophobia during that time, and of the nine Octonauts she saw him as the bravest and most dedicated. 

“I’ll go with you, Peso. Two heads are better than one, and with my Octo-Tablet we can track storms headed our way. The Namib desert is famous for sandstorms,” Stella said. 

Paani handed over a small canteen. “You’ll need this. There’s only a little water left, but it should do the trick.” 

“Thanks, Paani.” 

Stella tucked it into her belt-pouch and began to walk, following the telltale tracks the young Elephant had left behind. 

She and Peso marched on into the desert. Every few paces they stopped to listen, hoping Stella’s hearing would indicate the missing elephant. The further they walked, the more worried they got. The wind began to blow away the tracks.

“Peso, we have to hurry,” Stella warned as her Octo-Tablet beeped. “There’s a sandstorm on the way.” 

“Up there!” he pointed. Stella followed his gaze to the top of the dune. Up at the top was the missing elephant. “Hello!” Peso called. 

“Hello?” the elephant asked, turning to face them. 

“Stay right where you are,” Peso instructed. “I’m coming up to you!” 

“Peso!” Stella exclaimed at the alert on her tablet grew more frantic. The wind kicked up sand and dust. The young elephant backed away, slipped, and slid all the way down the dune. 

“Or you could come down,” Peso chuckled, shaking sand out of his flippers. “That works too.” 

Stella sighed and approached. “Here young one, have a little water.” She handed the canteen to the young elephant, then proceeded to radio the Octopod . “Stella to Captain Barnacles.”

“Go ahead, Cadet.” 

“Captain, we’ve found the baby elephant.”

“Oh good work you two! We’ll pick you up as soon as we—” 

“Captain?” Stella asked as static began transmitting over the radio. Sand and dust washed over the trio in an instant. “Damn; the sandstorm’s interrupting the radios. We’ll have to tough it out.” 

“Ouch!” the young elephant exclaimed, shielding his eyes with his large ears. “There’s sand everywhere; it’s getting into my eyes!” 

Peso whipped out a roll of bandages from his med-kit and used them to form a blindfold. “There! That should protect your eyes.” 

“Thanks.” 

Both Peso and Stella deployed their helmets. “Our helmets should protect us from the sand,” Stella explained. “All we need to do is wait for the sandstorm to pass. Hopefully in a few minutes.” She glanced at the elephant and at Peso. “Here, both of you, take my paws. We’ll stick together better if we have physical contact.” Peso took Stella’s paw in his flipper with a hopeful squeeze, and the young elephant took her other paw in his trunk. She wrapped her tail around Peso’s midsection and with her back to the wind shielded them. Stranded they may have been, but they were not alone. 

Meanwhile, the Octopod was facing her own troubles. The sandstorm hit with almost no warning. Sand and dust was thrown miles into the air, reducing visibility and almost completely blocking out the sun. 

“Steady as she goes,” the Captain told Dashi. 

The wind beat against the side of the ship as she walked along the dunes. Creaking metal heralded disaster. “Cap, I’m not sure how steady she can go in these conditions,” Tweak replied. 

Right on cue, the whole ship tilted and creaked to a halt. 

“Punctual as ever,” Tweak sighed. “One of the legs is jammed up with sand!” 

“Then I’ll go and un-jam it!” Kwazii exclaimed. 

The Captain turned toward Paani. “Paani, any ideas about how to—” The macaque was nowhere to be seen in the HQ. “Paani? Where’d he go?” 

Dashi shrugged. 

“Kwazii, do you—” Now Kwazii was gone. “Kwazii? Oh…” 

Outside Paani secured himself to the Octopod with some rope and swung to the damaged leg. He cleared out all of the sand and attempted to swing back. He missed, then swung again. This time Kwazii caught him by the paw. 

“Ye could’ve asked me for help!” the lieutenant told him. 

Paani dusted off his jacket and replied, “I didn’t think I’d need it, but thanks!” 

Kwazii hit the button on his radio. “Kwazii to Captain Barnacles; Paani’s got the Octopod fixed up, and I’ve got Paani. We’re good to go!”

“Excellent work. Now let’s move!” 

The Octopod got back up on her feet and began to continue out of the sandstorm toward distant clouds. 

A minute or two later, they were firmly surrounded by dark clouds. The Octopod gave it her all getting them there. Everyone disembarked and stood under the cloudy skies. The air felt heavy with moisture. 

“It looks like these clouds aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, right, Paani?” Barnacles asked. 

Paani agreed, “It should rain any moment now.” 

Mabel couldn’t rest yet. “But where are the other three: Peso, Stella, and my little one?” 

Kwazii scanned the horizon with his spyglass. “I’m keepin’ an eye out for ‘em.” 

“Dashi, keep trying to get Stella or Peso on the radio.” 

A voice echoed over the wind. “Captain!” 

“Huh?” 

“Look, over there!” Kwazii pointed, lowering his spyglass. 

Everyone turned as a second voice echoed. “Mum!” 

Running across the dunes were a very bedraggled Stella, Peso, and baby elephant. Stella’s fur was a mess, not only covered in dust and sand but sticking out every-which-way. Her normal bun had now become a ponytail, and she was practically carrying Peso on her back just to ensure he kept up. Peso’s hat was clasped in his flippers along with his med-kit and Paani’s canteen. The young elephant was faster than the two of them, running across the sand to meet up with his mom. 

“My little one!” Mabel cried, breaking from her herd to embrace her baby. 

The baby elephant explained, “First Stella and Peso found me, and then they protected me from a sandstorm. And then, I thought I smelled rain. So we followed the smell until we saw the clouds. And that’s how we found you!” 

“I’m so happy you’re back!” Mabel replied. “Thank you, Peso, Stella.” 

“We were a good team,” Peso claimed. 

Stella agreed, adding, “He’s a very brave elephant.” 

Something cold and wet landed on Stella’s bare nose. She opened her paw and looked to the skies. More droplets began to fall, steadily increasing. 

“It’s finally, officially, raining!!!” 

When the rain stopped and the sun returned, there was a brand new waterhole for all the creatures of the Namib desert. Flowers would be blooming in a few short weeks, ready to make the most of the flood. 

Standing by the edge of the new waterhole, Paani in turn thanked the Octonauts for their help. “These animals would have never made it here without your help,” he told them. “I couldn’t have done it alone.” 

“And we could never have done it without you, Paani,” Barnacles replied. “That’s why I think we should work together from now on.” 

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m no Octonaut. I like to go with the flow and follow the water on land.” 

“Of course,” Stella chimed in. “But what if you could call upon us whenever you found yourself in a situation too big for you to handle alone?” 

The Captain nodded in agreement. “She said it better than I would have,” he added, indicating his thought was the same.

“Now that would come in handy; I have to admit.” 

Tweak sauntered up to them. She turned to face the Octopod , still standing on its arms in the sand. “Well Cap,” she said, “we sure got a big job ahead of us fixing up the Octopod .” 

“And I’ve got an idea that’ll make our job even bigger.” 

Two months passed, and finally the Octopod was back where she belonged: in the ocean. It had been hard and hot work repairing her, but now the work was done and there was no need to remain on the desert shores. The crew was incredibly relieved to be back in their watery home, where it was cooler and the risk of overheating didn’t loom over their backs. 

“Octonauts, welcome back to the Octopod .” 

“Tweak, you’ve made it as good as new,” Peso complimented. 

“Aww, thank you,” she replied as the Vegimals chirruped in agreement. 

Kwazii sighed contentedly. “Ah, it’s so good to be back. Captain, I’m ready to explore!” 

“Rescue!” Peso added. 

“Protect,” Barnacles finished. “And to help us do that, we’re adding eyes, ears, whiskers, and paws from around the world. Ready to test the Octo-Agent alert system?” 

“Ready, Cap!” Tweak confirmed, pulling out a carrot. 

Barnacles turned toward the main Octo-Alert button in the HQ and pressed it. “Calling all Octo-Agents. This is Captain Barnacles. Report please.” 

On the main computer monitor a map of the world was displayed. As each agent signed in, a small circle appeared showing their camera view as they spoke before shrinking down to the Octonauts’ logo as an indicator of where they were in the world. 

“Paani here.” 

“Pearl here.” 

“Tracker here.” 

“Min here!” 

“Natquik and Lena here, here!” 

“Ranger Marsh, present and accounted for.” 

“Calico Jack’s here, mateys. And Pete too!” 

“Stephen Himansha and the Landketeers here.” 

“Jasmine here!” 

When all of the agents had signed in, their circles flashed orange, indicating all were present and everything was functioning as intended. 

Kwazii shook his head in disbelief. “Hold on, Captain. This is amazing, but where are Dashi and Stella?” 

“Good question. Activate the Octoray .” 

Stella and Dashi’s voices were heard over the radio. “We’re on it, Captain!” The whirring of engines could be heard outside as a manta ray-shaped airborne vehicle rose from the ocean’s waves. The wingspan spanned the entire width of the Octopod , arms and all, and the main cabin seemed to be almost as big as the Octopod ’s main body. 

“No matter who needs us, from the beach to the desert, from the bottom of the oceans to the highest peaks of the mountains, we’ll be there. Octonauts, let’s do this!” 

Dashi kicked the Octoray into gear, flying the new mobile base around the windows of the Octopod . Stella waved to the rest of the crew as they passed by, before soaring up into the skies for the Octoray ’s maiden flight. 

This was a new beginning for the Octonauts.

Chapter Text

A few months after their forays into the Namib Desert and recruiting various Octo-Agents from around the world, the realization came to pass that there needed to be a Commander and at least a Deputy within their ranks. The new Octoray airborne vehicle needed a pilot. 

It came down to a choice between Dashi and Stella. Dashi had the benefit of being IT Officer for the crew for the past six years and having programmed dozens of vehicle computer systems. Stella, on the other paw, had the benefit of being the most versatile of the team and had the most experience flying an airborne vehicle of this style besides the Captain and Tweak herself. Stella had flown the tiny GUP-MA through a windstorm in Antarctica during the winter to reach a small group of lost Emperor Penguins. She’d piloted the Octopod itself many more times than Tweak or any other crewmember besides Barnacles himself. 

In the end, the sponsor, The World-Wide Research and Preservation Agency , chose who was Deputy and who was Commander. They chose Dashi as Commander for her seniority, and Stella as Deputy for her inexperience. 

They would soon discover it was a mistake. 

Only weeks after the decision was made company morale hit all-time lows. Particularly since Stella was often left with busywork that the rest of the crew didn’t have any more time for. The Octo-Agents only ever called upon the Octonauts’ assistance when the going got tough and they couldn’t handle the situation alone. The more experienced crewmembers would leave and help the Agent, usually leaving one or two Octonauts behind. Of the four or five left alone at any one time, Stella, Barnacles, and Inkling were left behind the most. 

It hurt. 

Occasionally Inkling would be the only other Octonaut left aboard the Octopod and Stella would be drowning in paperwork and emails she didn’t want to handle. It just wasn’t in her nature. 

Barnacles announced one afternoon that they would be headed for Hawaii for some much needed RnR. It was a welcome relief for Stella. She’d get to see Whitney for the first time in three long years. Perhaps a bit too long. 

That same afternoon her parents called. She was sitting in the HQ alone, reading emails and scanning them for anything important, writing it down, and sending the reports to the Captain. The same, boring routine, day in, day out; doing what Dashi had done for years without so much as a complaint, since back then there weren’t so many emails to read through and her reports were gorgeous in a way that Stella’s almost paled in comparison. She’d have to write her first one in a few days. 

“Hey Stella!” Her siblings chorused happily. Sonia had grown up so much since she last saw her, not to mention Scott, Seth, and Selene. 

Her father asked, “Hey, sweetie, how are you?” 

“Busy?” Sonia asked. 

“Going on awesome adventures?!” Scott added excitedly. 

Stella gave them a weak smile at their enthusiasm. “If you’re looking for any wild tales of excitement, you’re talking to the wrong Octonaut…” She added, “unless you find an inbox full of unread emails interesting or exciting in any way.” 

Their smiles dropped. Selene and Scott looked at each other, confused. 

“But…” Sonia asked innocently, “aren’t you Deputy? Surely you must have something interesting!” 

“Deputy?” Stella asked, leaning forward on her elbows to brush away a small tear and to give reason to her slumped shoulders. “More like ‘Glorified Secretary,’” she added almost bitterly, just as Captain Barnacles entered the HQ followed by Dashi. She looked up as she heard the OctoChute close. Her face lost its color instantly. “O-Oh… E-excuse me, Captain. I-I didn’t hear you come in. I-I’ll be going downstairs now, Captain, Commander.” With that, she quickly left. 

To say Barnacles was heartbroken would be a complete understatement. He was hoping that giving her some kind of promotion would help her self-esteem and self-doubt, when it really had the opposite effect he was hoping for. She had the skills, and when it came down to the wire, he’d chickened the fuck out and made her unhappy. 

Dashi rubbing salt into the wound only made it worse. “I told you—and the sponsors—she wasn’t going to be happy.” 

He sank down into the chair beside the main control panel as Dashi returned to her normal station at the autopilot steering system. 

“Don’t beat yourself up for WWRAPA ’s fuck-up. All I’m saying is don’t say I didn’t warn you this would be her reaction to the promotion. She’s not very good at hiding sadness; you’re just dense at times.” 

“Gee, thanks,” Barnacles said, sarcastically. He knew arguing with Dashi now that she had the power to override him was dangerous and nigh impossible. 

“Look, I love getting into the field as much as she does, but I had my role here and liked it. If there was anyone aboard having a role-identity crisis it was her . Turning to WWRAPA with their bias-toward-seniority bullshit was a bad idea and you’re the only person with the power to fix their fuck-up. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go talk to her.” 

Dashi brushed past Kwazii on his way into the HQ and leaped down the Chute to the second level. 

“What was that all about?” He asked as Shellington came in from the other side. 

Downstairs, Dashi made her way to Stella’s room. Evidently, she’d ended the call with her family in the few short moments she and Barnacles were talking upstairs. Tweak and Inkling had also noticed Stella’s lack of her usual chipper attitude toward work. But, of them, only Dashi had heard what she’d said out loud. 

“Commander—”

“Cut the formalities, Tweak. I hate it. And I hate it even more when I know the position I never wanted is deserved by another.” 

Stella buried her head further into the blankets and pillows of her plush bed. The lack of flattened fluff in the new blanket told Dashi Stella hadn’t been sleeping in her bed recently, especially since the room seemed untouched since she’d last been inside to vacuum. 

“Y-Yes… Sorry, Dashi. The-The title is still new to me too…” 

“It is less that the title is new and more that I don’t want it whatsoever. I never wanted it. As much as I like being in the field, this position of power is overwhelming and I am expected to bend backwards in a way that my body just can’t handle.” Dashi took a deep breath, and spat bitterly, “Fuck seniority-biased-scumbags!” 

Stella, startled and confused, asked, “You kiss your parents with that mouth? I’ve never heard you swear before!” 

“Well, you said what you believe about your position, so I said mine. I hate it. I hate the mental bullshit this role puts me through. I don’t know how you do it. You’re smart, witty, strategic, rational, ingenious, crafty, and a million other things that make you a fantastic leader and rescuer. There have been hundreds of times in the past three years where I’ve looked at a situation and thought ‘hmm… What would Stella do here?’ It’s very hard to make Tweak call anyone a genius and you’ve done it fifteen times in the past three years!” 

“You’re one to talk about swearing, Stella,” Inkling added, knowingly. 

Stella’s ears dropped. “I-I know… And it’s more frequent when I get frustrated…” 

The small group around her looked at each other then back at her. She rolled over, facing toward the wall. 

“How… Do you do it?” Dashi asked timidly, hoping that perhaps making her talk about it would give her a better understanding if this problem persisted. 

Stella looked over her shoulder, wet fur streaking her cheeks. “How do I do what?” 

“Lead a team so gracefully. Remember when you led Peso, Lena and I around the Antarctic Circle documenting Penguin Species? You absolutely rocked at it!” 

“O-Oh… I’m flattered, Dashi… Simple thing is having a team of well rounded and understanding people… and not being dishonest. Your team is there to support you as much as you are there to support them . Having people you can trust to have your back in the same way you have theirs is a key element… something Captain Barnacles has yet to learn I’m afraid.”

“I agree, Stella,” Inkling said. “His insistence that he doesn’t need help or that he’s fine worries me sometimes…” 

“Another good thing is managing your stress in a healthy way. That’s something I learned also back in Antarctica. Talking through your stress with someone can help, but sometimes you just need a minute—or nine flipping hours—to breathe and de-stress. Don’t make the mistake of letting it bottle up like I did.” 

“Heheh, yeah, we did drive you up the wall didn’t we?” Tweak admitted. 

“It was less the questions themselves and more that I was already annoyed that I was missing the fun stuff and monitoring the most tedious of things. There wasn’t anything to do since most of the penguins there were just standing still and not doing anything besides waiting and sheltering their eggs. Remarkable how they do that, nonetheless, but boring when you’re sitting there watching it. Now that I’m the one sifting through hundreds of emails saying ‘do this, do that, research here, sample there,’ and writing reports on it, I’m finding the incessant nagging and emails of ‘Why aren’t your reports as good as they were?’ both annoying and downright insulting.” Stella mumbled, “Maybe that’s why my lab-report and field-study papers weren’t as good as they should have been… the teachers asking for them were too strict and asked for extremely specific details from a student who’d never taken a writing—or typing—workshop…” 

“But— Your thesis was incredible! Well written, right to the point, covered all there needed to be covered. Model example!” Inkling protested. 

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better, Professor,” Stella shot back. “English is what my parents always spoke to me, having grown up in the Rockies, but I never had to write an essay until I was in college and nobody seemed to get that I needed help. I did my research and learned everything I could, but nothing seemed to actually curb my English Grade until Mr. Toner. Toner actually noticed that I needed help and knew those teachers were just biased because I was a foreigner. He asked the principal to let him—the department head—re-grade my papers and only then did my grade improve. He told me on Grad-Night that he used his power as a department head to change my grade and prove those asshole teachers racist toward non-English speakers. I owe him my degree, so to speak.” 

“He told me the same story, come to think of it…” Inkling admitted. “He said that those teachers were jealous because a Nepali Snow Leopard spoke better fluent English than they did, or so he theorizes.” 

“Oh, really?” Stella flashed a tiny smile, but it disappeared too quickly. “I think I still have those lab-reports somewhere if you’d like to read them… Anyway… I’m kind of thirsty, so I’m going to go get some hot cocoa.” 

She picked herself up and left the room to go to the kitchen. 

Nothing really changed until a few days later when they were passing the Bay of Bengal to get to the Pacific Ocean. Agent Paani called from the Himalayan mountains in the midst of a mudslide with something special to share, but no time to share it. The Terra-GUP 1–modeled after a beetle—wasn’t quite ready yet as Tweak stated, but the GUP-M was built with the mountains in mind and could handle almost any terrain. 

“There’s a lot of wind around the Himalayan Mountains,” Barnacles said, “I’m afraid the GUP-H and the Octoray won’t help much.” 

“Then we’ll get as close as we can, and drop the GUP-M from altitude. The shock absorbent tires should do the trick,” Tweak said. 

Stella interjected, “I’m not even sure we need the whole thing; it might just be easier to carry the MA and launch into a glide from the drop. Reduce stress on the Octoray and aerodynamics.” She turned to the Captain. “Captain, the Himalayas are my home. I know Himalayan mudslides and how to navigate them like no-one here. Dashi, Tunip, and I can take on this mission. The MA should be small and strong enough to navigate where the Octoray cannot.” 

“Alright, Cadet. Dashi, Tunip, Stella, to the Octoray !” 

The light that lit up Stella’s eyes the moment she got the affirmation was all Dashi needed to get through the day. 

It felt like moments until the Octoray was soaring over India and into the mountains. People below marveled at the huge airborne vehicle as it passed overhead with the indigo MA clasped between the “mandibles” of the ray. As they passed over the Ganges River, Stella swore she saw Talin, Tanisi, and their children waving at them from the riverbank. 

When the winds picked up over the mountains, the turbulence was astounding to Dashi and Barnacles, who was piloting the Octoray while Stella and Dashi rode in the GUP-MA , but normal to Stella. 

“The Octoray can’t get any closer, it’s all down to you,” Barnacles said over the radio. 

Stella prepared herself for the takeoff, going through her checklist for flying in high winds. She set the thrusters to high-wind-mode and deployed the wings and propeller. “Ready to drop, Captain,” she said as the propellers started spinning.  She turned to Dashi. “Hold on, Dash, this could get a little bumpy.” 

Barnacles pressed a few buttons and pulled a lever. “Be careful out there.” 

The “mandibles” let go of the MA and it dropped for a few moments before the lift caught up to it and it soared forward toward Paani’s location. 

“We’ll call you when we’re ready to be picked up!” Stella called as they soared into the mountains. 

They found Paani pretty quickly. He was surfing the mudslide on a fallen log, which sparked some of Stella’s memories. 

“I used to love doing that!” She laughed from the steering wheel as he joined her and Dashi. “So, what did you find?” 

“I found a hot spring snake! Meet Charlie,” he said as he pulled the bundle of blankets containing the snake from his backpack. “Charlie, this is Stella, Tunip, and Dashi of the Octonauts.” 

“W-Wow…” Dashi said, “A snake in the mountains?” 

“Of course!” Stella exclaimed, “Hot Spring Snakes live in the hot springs that dot the Himalayas. They can only live up here at these dizzying and frosty heights because of the springs.” She tapped on the computer screen in front of her to bring up a diagram. “Thin spots in the Earth’s crust allow for magma to rise to fill those spaces. However, since the Himalayas were formed by the Indian Subcontinent plate crashing into the Asian plate, these mountains are thrust upward through uplift and folding. That still results in the weak thin spots the hot springs need to form. Water fills holes and is warmed by the heated rocks below, thus creating the perfect space for reptiles like snakes to thrive. Remember when I said that I grew up in a thermal region? The river I learned to swim in was driven by meltwater and a long strip of magma-heated rock on the riverbed. It rarely froze over.” 

“Hmm… the Heat Tracker says that there seem to be some Hot Springs nearby…” Dashi said. 

“But how can we reach them? They’re pretty far,” Charlie stated. He shivered and asked, “Could someone please find a way to warm me up?” 

Stella placed her paw under Charlie’s chin. “Ooof… He’s way too cold to survive for long without heat. I would crank the heater, but then we’d get too hot too fast. I don’t want to relive the Skeleton Coast overheating incident,” Stella shuddered, remembering when she, Peso, and Barnacles had almost overheated only a month prior. 

Tunip tugged on Paani’s sleeve, holding a mug of hot cocoa in his fins. “Hot Cocoa?” He offered. 

Stella’s eyes widened. “Good thinking, Tunip! The heat from the cocoa inside the mug might help! And I know exactly how we’re going to reach that spring. By air!” 

“But, don’t you need a runway for that?” Dashi asked. “This isn’t the Octoray , Star.” 

“Maybe not, but just watch~” Stella pulled a lever as she said those words. 

The boosters on the end of the wings tilted downward and they started to lift off the rocks! The tires retracted and two more propellers deployed in their place. The main propellers were off, but they still had some forward motion due to the winds. 

“Are—Are we hovering?!” Paani asked, looking through the windscreen. 

“Hehe, yup! Tweak made some modifications to the Multi-Rescue GUP since she was last driven. Now, all of the tires can be replaced with hyper-lift propellers for hovering, no matter the terrain: Water, Swamp, or Rocks. The problem is that they don’t have the stopping power of the Octoray just yet, and we’re trying to adjust the power of the propellers to be just right so the wing-boosters don’t need to be used for hovering. But, it should be enough to get a vertical takeoff.” 

They held their breath as Stella slowly inched the MA into the air. The wind pushed it forward, but Stella kept her paws steady on the steering. When she figured the altitude was high enough, she set the boosters back to their normal state and turned on the main propellers, allowing the hover-propellers to retract. 

“Woo-hoo!” 

“Well done, Stella!” Dashi exclaimed, “How’d you manage it?!” 

“Like Captain Barnacles once said to me, ‘When the seas—or winds—get rough, keep a steady paw on the wheel.’” 

“Ahh… When’d he say that?” 

“Haha! While we were sailing for the Amazon for yours and Kwazii’s thirtieth birthday. I spent most of the time piloting, citing that I needed practice, and during that time he told me that.” 

“Wow…” Dashi said. She leaned into Paani’s shoulder and whispered, “This is why I voted for her to be Commander of the Octoray . She’s so good at flying, and Tweak designed the Octoray ’s steering console with Star piloting it in mind; the GUP-M and the Octoray share the same stick-shift system as the Octopod .” 

“I agree… but, please tell me, what’s with the ‘A’ if this is the GUP-M you speak of?” 

Stella indicated she was listening. “I heard that, Dashi. Anyway, the GUP-M is actually three—or four depending on who you ask— GUP s in one. This is the MA , or the GUP-M Airborne . The second section is called the MC , ‘C’ as in the Catfish it’s modeled after. The last two are the M-Bikes , also known as Mountain-Bikes. All four GUP s put together form the GUP-M .” 

“It was Tweak’s Christmas gift to her, Stella’s first year. She built it with the Himalayas in mind.”

“The original goal with the GUP-M was to drive the team up the Ganges River and into the Himalayan Mountains for Christmas so I could see my family in person for the first Christmas since I left for College. Sure, I saw them once with the remainder of my scholarship money for a week during the summer of freshman-sophomore year, but most of the money was squirreled away to spend during school. That was the last Christmas I saw my family in person, but I certainly hope it won’t be the last forever. My little brother became a Landketeer not long after I joined the Octonauts, and I’ve been hoping I’d see him at some point.” 

Stella looked down and noticed they were almost to the hot spring. 

“Almost there,” Dashi noted. 

Paani pointed over the landscape toward a small outcrop of mountain. “There it is!” 

“Plenty of room to land. And—Is that the Landketeers’ Tortuga in the valley down there?” Stella asked. 

Dashi ran a scan. “It is! And look, there’s one of their Jeeps!” 

They landed nearby and brought Charlie to the spring. A couple ‘keteers greeted them when they noticed who it was. 

“Stella?” 

“Stephen!” 

The siblings embraced on the edge of the spring, almost toppling into it. 

“I didn’t even know you were here; when did you get here?” Stella asked her little brother. 

“‘Bout a week ago. We’re here sampling water from the hot springs and caving. Oi! Rosie! Come meet my sister!” 

A fishing cat about three quarters Stella’s height emerged from the rocks behind him. Evident by the camera in her paws, she was a photographer like Dashi. “Hi! I’m Rosie, a photographer for the Landketeers.” 

“Rosie’s been my caving companion ever since she joined the crew a year ago. We recently left the Yucatán Jungle after exploring the cenotes that litter the peninsula.” 

“I’m Stella, Stephen’s big sister. This is Dashi, recently promoted to Commander, Hydrologist Paani, and vegimal Tunip.” 

“Nice to meet you, Rosie!” Dashi chirped, “Don’t bother with formalities, I’m still an IT Officer through and through.” 

“Dashi took the photos for Ryla’s cave diving book, the very book that sparked my interest in Cave Diving!” 

“Really?! That’s so cool! What’s she like?” 

“She’s very sweet. A little odd, but very sweet,” Stella said. “I personally met her a couple months ago when we were exploring the Caves of Sac Actun in the Yucatán ourselves… not on purpose, the reasoning for that is another story entirely. However, Ryla’s now an official Octo-Agent, like Paani here.” 

“I use my Octo-Watch to call for the Octonauts whenever I find myself in a situation where I can’t do it alone,” Paani explained. 

“What caused this Octo Alert then?” 

Stella explained the situation that caused them to meet so unexpectedly… while sitting in the spring! Charlie invited all those who wanted to warm up in the spring with him. Before long, pretty much everyone except for the Landketeers who had to leave soon were relaxing in the spring. 

Almost half an hour later, Barnacles called Paani’s Octo-Watch. He wanted to check in and see how they were getting on. 

“So… uhhh… I assume you’re ready to be picked up in the Octoray ?” 

“No rush, Captain,” Stella said, floating on her back in the warm water, “No hurry at all…” 

“She’s really happy up here,” Dashi added. “Thanks for letting her go with me on this mission, I probably wouldn’t have figured out the new hover system in the GUP-M without her. No offense to Tweak.” 

“Umm.. Okay… Wait, did you say hover?” 

“Yeah,” Paani said, “Stella expertly piloted the GUP into a vertical takeoff with the hover system Tweak installed. She pilots the MA like a champ!” 

“U-uhh… okay… I‘ll just… check back when I’m on my way.” 

He did check back almost fifteen minutes later, but he didn’t quite understand what was so relaxing until he finally found them. He was even more surprised to see the GUP-M hovering in midair. 

They reached Hawaii uneventfully. It didn’t take Stella long after they reached Hawaii to grab the GUP-M and go. She felt… free . Something she hadn’t really felt since she was “promoted” to Deputy. A few Spinner Dolphins closed in around her, chittering happily. One in particular was very excited to see the Octonauts Logo painted on the side of the indigo submarine. 

“Whitney!” Stella exclaimed. She parked the GUP-M and went outside to say “hi.” 

“Stella~!” Whitney chirped in response, tumbling into her former caretaker. “How are you? Where have you been? Did you meet any cool creatures during your travels?!” 

“Haha! One thing at a time, Whitney. I’ll tell you everything. But first....” She tapped Whitney’s side with her paw. “Tag, you’re it!” 

She and Whitney chased each other around for old time’s sake until Barnacles and Dashi came to fetch her in the GUP-A . They explained that they needed the GUP-M for maintenance, but the GUP-A was ready. 

“Thanks, Captain. See you later! *Thump* Whoa!” She was knocked right into the Captain’s chest. 

He froze, cheeks redder than strawberries. 

“Whoops, sorry!” Whitney teased. “Catch me if you can, Stella!” 

“You’re so on,” Stella replied, swimming into Whitney’s slipstream. 

Barnacles watched the pair zoom about the reef, stunned. He was frozen to his spot, floating a little above the sandy bottom. 

Dashi swam around him, trying to see his face. She was met with a stunned, staring-into-space expression. A small smirk crossed her lips. “I’ll take the GUP-M back to the Octopod . You go enjoy yourself.” 

“Y-Yeah… Sure.” 

Dashi’s smirk grew wider. “What’s up? Love-struck?” 

“Dashi!” 

“I’m teasing!” She hopped into the GUP-M , started the engine, and chirped, “See you!” With that, she zipped off into the deep blue. 

Eventually, Stella managed to pry Whitney off of her after hours of playing in the waves and telling stories. It was time to go their separate ways for the evening. 

Hawaii was Stella’s training ground. She could point out places on the reef she remembered training around and explain exactly how she trained and adapted. 

A clear signal at how dedicated she was to her field work. 

Barnacles listened, but his mind was elsewhere. 

“Oh… gosh, listen to me ramble on…” she mumbled, twirling a lock of hair around her finger as she stood at the co-pilot’s steering system. He’s not interested at all...Seen it all before.  

It took him a moment to realize she’d fallen silent. 

“Cadet?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you remember that over there? I think that’s where you had to drive the GUP-B during your Driving Test.” 

Stella followed his pointing paw to the tall spire of coral in the distance. “Oh yeah! I still remember the pride in your eyes when I crossed the finish line.” She laughed, “Hard to believe that was three years ago.” 

“Yeah… hard to believe…” 

A frown spread across her face as she noticed his expression. “You’re making that face again.” 

“Huh?” He turned toward her, confused. “What face?” 

“Sad. Unhappy, upset, whatever you want to call it.” She took over the controls and continued, “You’ve been making that same expression pretty much every time I see you since  we were in the Bay of Bengal. What’s on your mind, Captain?” 

He took a step back from the controls and sank into one of the orange chairs behind them. “You’re one to talk. You seem disappointed whenever I see you, too.” 

“That’s not my point,” she said, stopping the GUP-A to let a pod of whales pass by. “It’s less that I am disappointed—I am, to answer your question—but more that you seem to be kicking yourself over something and almost all of us can’t tell what. The only person seemingly able to do so is Dashi and she refuses to spill. Y’know, Commander and all. I feel like I am—as I’m sure you heard me say—a Glorified Secretary. I see what almost no other Octonaut of my rank ever sees: emails sent between our sponsors and the higher-ups. That is, you, Dashi, and Kwazii if he counts. Yet I can’t do what you’ve told me if I don’t know what’s going through your head regarding the subject. How am I supposed to weed out what’s important and what isn’t if you don’t tell me?” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re doing a great job.” 

“Not according to the sponsors. You’re avoiding my original question.” She finally just parked the GUP-A and turned to face him. “Every time you look at me or are alone around me you act like there’s something on the tip of your tongue, like there’s something you want or need to say to me. Ever since that afternoon in the HQ!” She frowned. “Is it what I said in the HQ that day before just… leaving?” 

Oh… Oh dear. In truth, it is. But he isn’t about to phrase it like that anytime soon. Not when she’s giving him the knowing look he’s grown to begrudgingly adore. 

“I’ll just keep asking,” Stella pressed, prodding him hoping to get something . 

“You’re stubborn like that.” And I love it , he added in his head, not really processing his thoughts. 

“So are you,” Stella shot back, taking a small step forward. “You’re still avoiding my question.”  

“You’re not getting anywhere by prodding, Deputy.” 

“Please don’t call me that… I prefer ‘Cadet,’ if I’m honest… ”

“Pardon? I didn’t catch that last bit.” He knew what she said, but he wanted to hear her say it louder. 

“None of your business, Captain.” 

“I’ll just keep asking.” 

Stella turned to him and threw his own dang comment right back at him in response, “You’re not getting anywhere by prodding, Captain.” 

Goddamnit, Stella, Barnacles thought. Something about the way she brought that comment back around full circle while he was sitting on a chair with her towering over him made his heart jump and clench. 

She cleared her throat. “If that’s the case, neither of us are getting anywhere here and now. We’ll be home soon,” she said, turning back to start the engine again. She’d dropped the subject. 

Good thing, too. I’m not even sure what the fuck is going on in my head right now.  

Barnacles called a meeting with the Sponsors later that evening. He asked Dashi and Kwazii to back him up, and Stella to forward every email she’d received during her time as Deputy to him. Confused, Stella did as told. She wasn’t allowed in, but neither were the Vegimals, Peso, Shellington, Tweak, and Inkling. However, from what they could hear, sitting and straining to hear outside, they knew it was a heated argument. 

Stella had never heard her Captain raise his voice so loud before, and Inkling hadn’t either. Nobody could hear what they were saying, but whatever it was somebody triggered the Captain’s nerves. 

“I dunno what they said, but somebody struck one of the Captain’s nerves!” Tweak exclaimed. 

“I’ve never heard him raise his voice that loud before,” Peso commented, shivering. 

“Me neither,” Stella agreed. 

Tweak shrugged. “I dunno. I’ve seen how he gets when he misses breakfast.” 

“Yes… he does get rather cranky when that happens…” 

“But he hasn’t missed a single meal. Not today, anyway,” Stella countered. 

Tweak replied, “I know. But someone struck a nerve somewhere.” 

Stella thought for a moment, racking her brain for anything that might help their higher-ups feel better after what sounded like a rough battle. An idea popped into her head. Pretty much all of the Octonauts liked trying new food, and it was almost time to start cooking dinner. “Tunip, can we help you and the vegimals make dinner tonight?” 

“What have you got in mind, Stella?” Shellington asked. 

She smirked. “How about we put a new spin on some old classics?” 

When Barnacles, Kwazii, and Dashi emerged, they were ravenous. The surprise that flickered across their faces when they were presented with the delicious, new, warm meal was priceless. Dashi was almost moved to tears when Shellington offered her favorite dish to her. Kwazii wrapped Tweak and Peso up in huge hugs when they gave him an algae burger with some of Stella’s father’s village-famous spice. 

“Did you all work together to make this?” Barnacles asked, unsure where to start. 

Tweak squirmed out of Kwazii’s grip. “It was Stel’s idea.” 

“It sounded… pretty rough in there…” Stella said sheepishly. “We thought a nice meal would cheer you three up.” 

“Uhh… Star, you thought of the idea.” 

“Tweak! I’m giving credit where credit is due; the rest of us and the Vegimals put this together, not me alone!” Stella protested, flustered. “A-Anyway… what in the seven seas was going on in there?” 

“It sounded like you were trying to tame a warring army!” Peso commented. 

Everyone turned to the innocent penguin: the youngest member of the crew besides the Vegimals. 

“That’s dark, Peso,” Stella said. 

“Aye,” Kwazii agreed, “that’s dark even fer me!” 

“I-I’m sure I was… pretty loud…” Barnacles admitted, bashfully. “I just… I don’t like that manager… He’s rude and biased to seniority. I mean; excuse you, James, but if I’ve done my math right I’m old enough to be your Father! I’m thirty-three for Pete’s sake! He’s like fresh outta middle school! Believe me, manager positions look good on resumes but if the company is so seniority biased why would an upstart like him be trusted with that position. He had the gall to call me an upstart!” 

“That’s pretty ballsy… Who’s the manager you usually talk to?” Stella asked, pulling out her tablet as she munched on some naan. 

“His name’s Michael. Sometimes I call him Mike. He’s usually the manager we talk to to organize reports or sort out issues like this. But I don’t know—”

“Found it! Mike’s on paternity leave! Here, this email was sent a month before the promotion. It says, ‘Hi Barnacles. Change of plans; I’ve gotta go on paternity leave early. I don’t know who’ll be taking my place but if you have any issues with them don’t be afraid to call me. Hope to see you sometime in April! -Mike.’ Just give him a call and explain what’s going on.” 

“That explains a lot. Wonder how we missed it,” Dashi said. “Anyway, I’ll go talk circles around the upper management and see how this James bastard gained the position.” 

“Lemme help,” Shellington said, grabbing the plates of food for them. 

“O-kaaaayyyyy… So~” Tweak said, “what was the meeting about?” 

Barnacles swallowed, hard . 

He’s nervous… but why? Stella asked herself. She laid a paw on the soft sleeve of his uniform, hoping to tell him it’s okay. “Captain, you don’t have to fight alone. It sounded like you were doing all the talking in there; let us help you. It’s what we’re here for, right?” 

“She’s right, Captain,” Inkling agreed. “It’s okay to have vulnerable spots and lean on your team for help.” 

“Isn’t that what you’ve been telling me?” Stella asked. “We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and being a team leader is knowing how to identify those strengths and weaknesses and placing your teammates in a role that suits them. If you see talent in sayyyy…. Photography in a certain person, put them in a role with lots of pictures like photojournalism if that’s what you need. Engineering? Let them be an engineer. Oceanography? Let them be an oceanographer. Leading doesn’t come easy, and it can be really hard if you're unsure how to read a certain person. I’m known for my people-reading skills, but there are still people who stump me. You, for example. A leading role is a lot more than just strategizing and planning, I’ve learned over the years…” 

“Maybe those people skills come from the fact you’re the oldest of six children, the second eldest having a ten-year age difference from you. And they’re all so different! Scott is fascinated by marine biology while Selene is more hydrology and oceanography. Sonia seems to take after Stephen in the sense that she seems to like the deep dark caves in the world… but it might be too early to tell.” 

“She’s almost nine now, and back then it was a little early to tell. Lately she’s been studying river ecosystems and the other day she called me with a question about the Thermal River ecosystem. She might follow Stephen’s pawsteps and become a Landketeer, or she’ll do something completely different. She’s always loved cooking.” Stella laughed, “And you’re right, I suppose those skills do come from having five younger siblings. The weird thing is, I’m still learning those skills. And everybody’s different. You might not have as much trouble reading Shellington as I do.” 

“Pfft,” Dashi joked as she grabbed her teacup from the table, “Shel’s easier to read than a novel .” 

“Case in point,” Stella said. “Shellington is probably one of the most difficult of the Octonauts to read for me. His emotions change so quickly it can be difficult to grasp what he’s thinking if you’re not quick enough. Although, a few times it is easy to understand how he’s feeling.” 

“Like that cheesy grin he had after that game of Gobstones?” Barnacles joked, sneaking a glance at Shellington’s extremely flustered expression as he entered the room. 

“Exactly!” Stella laughed, noticing the same expression. “Anyway, we couldn’t hear much from out here. What was that meeting about? The Promotion? I know I said something I shouldn’t have said out loud, much less in front of you—”

“Cadet, you didn’t know I was there . You were minding your own business chatting with your family.” Barnacles swallowed again. “If anything, it was rude of me to eavesdrop. Don’t you even dare say it wasn’t my fault. Dashi’s already given me an earful about it. You said what was your honest opinion and knowing it’s not in your nature to complain, I wouldn’t have gotten it out of you otherwise. We’ve been working together for three years; you can tell me anything.” 

“*Ahem* You spent two-and-a-half of those three years standing over my shoulder personally training me. You can tell me anything,” Stella smirked. “You’ve spent the past six years working with the rest of the crew; you can tell them anything and they won’t judge.” 

“Lassie’s got a point,” Kwazii admitted. “Six years is quite a while.” 

Barnacles took a deep breath, exhaled, and said, “Alright, you’ve made your points. In truth, the meeting was about the promotion choice and what might happen if I reversed the roles. James didn’t like that, but I know that if it was Mike leading that meeting he would’ve agreed with me. Most of the other people didn’t get a word in edgewise between James arguing against Dashi and I. Kwazii didn’t get a word in either.” 

“Aye, I was trapped in silence! Couldn’t even speak out fer me own cousin!” 

“Sounds like James was on a power trip and was just high on the authority over the company decisions the position gave him,” Stella said. “Happened to one of Mr. Cabori’s higher ups and if Centoni wasn’t principal he would’ve been fired on the grounds of something completely falsified.” 

“I wouldn’t be shocked.” 

“If anything, he doesn’t quite understand how valuable we are to WWRAPA . I looked over the previous reports Dashi sent me and our articles equate to 90% popularity. We’re the entire reason WWRAPA is making money! My siblings subscribed to WWRAPA ’s newsletter because of the Octonauts, Bam subscribed because of us, pretty much everyone I know who subscribed to the magazine subscribed because of the Octonauts. In the six years the team has been together, that number has steadily increased, and is still going up. Some people have been a little disappointed that Dashi’s reports aren’t there, because I’ve been doing them, and there are fewer pictures, but they still value our work. I’ve seen it all on the website! If WWRAPA stops sponsoring us—publishing our articles—they lose ninety-percent of their customer base. There’s no way in hell they can afford to lose us. It’s petty, but should you call back and get James, threaten to break contract and when he laughs act like you’re going to do it, hang up, and wait. When the higher ups come crying, tell them the truth of what he’s been doing and get someone with actual power to change something.” 

“That’s way out of my comfort zone, but that bastard deserves the cussing out.” 

“Well, we might have to go through with it, Captain,” Shellington admitted. “We can’t get ahold of the higher managers. Dashi’s getting frustrated, pretty quickly.” 

“Alright, I’ll try it. Stella, team up with Dashi and shoot an email at Mike. Ask him to call us ASAP.” 

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Finally, something interesting . Stella leaped out of her chair with her tablet in paw and took Dashi down to her room. 

They didn’t pay any attention to the argument going on upstairs. Instead, they typed out the email to Mike, sent it, and then waited. During the wait they gossiped and chattered. Now that Stella had calmed down a bit, Dashi was able to get a clear answer out of her regarding exactly what made her so disappointed. 

“I’m not entirely sure what made me so disappointed, but I know it was a number of factors,” Stella explained. “For one thing, he’d offhandedly mentioned the idea back in Antarctica, but what confuses me is that he said it like he was training me for the position—in fact Scout even asked if that was his goal—for my entire training period. Yet he chickened out at the last second and turned to the sponsors for help. I wasn’t in that meeting, what happened?” 

“Okay, I wasn’t there either, but I got it from Shellington that the original meeting had a vote that was leaning mostly toward your side, but the Captain still wasn’t sure. The sponsors had more people so that might’ve been his logic.” 

“Stupid idea, since most of the people on that board don’t even know me.” 

“Yes, even he admitted that after the fact.” Dashi leaned on the bed and added, “Although he also stated that he didn’t quite understand what subconsciously made him chicken out.” 

“Really?” Stella asked, tilting her head. 

“Really,” Dashi agreed. 

Stella pursed her lips. “What do you suppose made him act like this? He’s been… kinda reclusive toward me lately.” 

“I dunno,” Dashi smirked, “it could be he’s just scared of how well you know him and how well your argument skills are.” 

“Him? Scared of me?” Stella laughed, “Ridiculous, why on earth would a few valid arguments bother him that way? You’ve seen how we bicker: like--”

“Like an old married couple,” Dashi joked. 

“Dashi!” Stella scolded, “I was going to say like siblings, but that’s just ridiculous, Dash. Anyway, that doesn’t seem to be the entirety of it. To my credit, he spent two-and-a-half years standing over my shoulder guiding me.” 

“He did, didn’t he?” Dashi agreed, thoughtfully. The grin spread across her lips further. “I personally think he’s finding it very difficult to admit to himself he has a crush.” 

“Real mature, Dashi, real mature. Although, that includes me too, doesn’t it? I’m here gossiping like a schoolgirl too aren’t I?” 

“I mean it!” Dashi protested. “You said my crush on Shellington was painfully obvious--and I appreciate your help in getting him to notice--but the Captain’s crush on you is painfully obvious to me and the rest of the crew!” 

At this point it finally dawned on Stella like she was dunked into the icy waters of Antarctica without her deep-sea suit. “Excuse you?!” Stella exclaimed. “I don’t think he’d like you saying that!” 

“He might not like it, but who knows when he might’ve had a crush before in his life. The tundra is pretty isolated, and most of his friends besides us are marine creatures that live in the Arctic or people he’s worked with. Natquik, for example, worked with him and taught him how to conduct field research among other things. Tracker, for another example, was one of his students and a part of his Junior Polar Scout troop as a cub. Harry the Harbor Seal who you met the day you joined the crew also met the Captain as a cub, and Boris the Narwhal is an old friend of the Captain too. He offhandedly mentioned a couple years ago that his sister was the only girl in their troop for years until they left the troop to join the emergency service. So he wouldn’t really have been exposed to a diverse group of people, gender-speaking anyway, until now and never really related to anyone differently until now.” 

“But why me?” 

“That’s something I haven’t figured out yet, but I’m sure it’s a number of factors he finds admirable. I mean, he’s never really had someone he can get competitive with and not feel guilty about his strength or wit. You’re strong; I’ve seen you lift rocks half your bodyweight and giant clams the size of the GUP-M tires. You’re fast, much faster than Kwazii and the Captain. Believe me, the Captain was a tough adversary in a swimming race. You’re witty, smart, wise, and strategic; I’ve watched you beat Inkling many times at checkers and chess, and those witty remarks can really sting in an argument! You’re dedicated to your work and supporting the rest of us, doing what’s asked without much complaint regardless of your personal thoughts. You’re also the one standing beside him acting like an external conscience, telling him to go take some extra hours of sleep when he looks like he needs it regardless of how he resists.” 

“You’re absolutely sure this is somehow romantic and not just admiration between coworkers? I took an oath and I’m just—to quote Paani here—‘going with the flow.’ I’ve been told my ability to bend backwards to fit pretty much any role is quite admirable and sought after by employers… although, that actually came from my father when I was about ten or twelve…” 

“Exactly,” Dashi agreed, “you can bend to fit any role given to you so long as you have the knowledge and basic skills. I’ve seen you tie bandages around injured creatures while Peso was busy, you’ve written reports and organized photos for me, you’ve helped Shellington with research, and you’ve helped the Captain as a co-leader alongside Kwazii: piloting the Octopod , mapping, strategizing rescues… Captain Barnacles just… can’t. He chose a career and stuck with it, losing valuable opportunities to diversify skills. Not to mention there’s not a lot of jobs available in the Tundra he lived in, so he had other factors limiting his choice of occupation. He chose to be a leader and oceanographer and is now finding that he can’t be anything else because of his limited skillset. Kwazii’s pretty fixed too, and so am I. We can adapt to take on roles temporarily easily, but not all of us can adapt to a new position permanently so quickly. It’ll take me many many years to learn what you’ve learned  about leading in your thirty years of life. Probably longer than I have, starting so late in life… I mean, I have a little sister, but she was born five years before I joined the Octonauts. You have a bunch of siblings at a variety of ages who spent long periods of time with you. I mean… ten-year age gap? How many of those years did you spend with Stephen?” 

“Um… I left for college when I was twenty-four… I was four-six years late to college and lots of younger students looked at me strangely for it.” 

Dashi scooped up the tablet and put it on Stella’s desk next to the door. She settled herself back into the beanbag chair she’d dragged over and said, “I was given strange looks by people there too. Probably because I’m the photographer and never the subject.” 

“We can change that,” Stella said, picking up Dashi’s camera. 

Dashi smiled, but said, “I didn’t mean it like that, Star. Some students gave me strange looks because they’d never seen me in person, others because of my Aussie accent. Not gonna lie, half of all the students who did give me odd looks said they thought I was an American Southerner.” 

“Oh! Yeah… When I arrived at University a lot of people thought I was Asian. Nope. Born in the Rockies, moved to Alaska for a year when I was five, moved to Nepal when I was six. Parents were both born in the Rockies and have very American accents. I guess Stepmom’s accent got to me.” 

“Yeah… when we met I couldn’t really tell…” Dashi agreed. “Anyway, back to the topic. If you were in his situation, what would you do?” 

“I’d ignore the sponsors and listen to my team. If the team thinks someone should lead alongside me, then the only argument I would have against them is if we didn’t get along. In the Captain’s case, we get along just fine; dare I say we’d be a power duo if we led together, just looking back on how we interacted in the past.” 

“My thoughts exactly. Probably more than a Power Duo.” 

“Stop with the romance, Dashi.” 

“I’m teasing, this time.” 

Stella gave her the side-eye. She pulled her hair out of its ponytail and grabbed a brush to run through it. Being very long, she had to keep it up in a ponytail to keep it from jamming her helmet. However, in the past three years it had lengthened quite a bit and thickened even more. Since she’d switched to all-natural shampoos and conditioner it had fixed all of her issues with dandruff, loose hair, and oily or dry hair. But, that caused a bit of a problem with the helmet if it got caught in the bubble when deploying. 

Now, Dashi had short hair all her life and liked it. Neither she nor Tweak had the same problem Stella did because their hair was clipped short: a bob-cut for Dashi and a pixie cut for Tweak. This made Dashi wonder…

“Not to change the subject but… Have you ever thought of cutting your hair?” 

“Not really, no. I have long raven hair and like it. Something a bit more manageable would be nice; I remember Mom having really really long hair when I was like… six or seven and then cutting it to about half its length when I was eight. I might’ve thought about it when I started college, but as I said back then I wasn’t terribly fixated on my appearance. I didn’t really care if my hair looked unkempt or if my face looked ugly because I wasn’t looking for a relationship and liked who I was—physically and identity.” Stella put the brush down and grabbed another hair-tie to pull her hair into two braids. “I only ever wore makeup once during my entire college career because I didn’t go to parties where makeup was expected until then; everybody at the parties I went to knew me and none of the girls there wore makeup either.”

“By girls you mean…?”

“Okay… Me, Bam, Corey’s Sisters, Bam’s Sisters, our Ocelot friend Ollie, ummm… and Red-Fox Felicity. Nobody really cared about appearances since most of us weren’t looking for relationships just yet. Some relationships did start and catch the pair involved completely off guard—like in Bam and Corey’s case—but most of us remained single. I think Ollie’s found herself a partner recently, but she hasn’t been in touch for a while. Emails and Snail-Mail.” 

“I think you’d look good with shorter hair. Sure, I like the long hair but unless we find a style that prevents the ends from getting caught and still gives you range of movement within the helmet bubble you might have to. Your hair has gotten quite a bit thicker and longer since you started.” 

Stella finished a braid and set her paws down to think. Dashi does have a point… “You’ve got a good point… I’ve got a couple styles that might work and not take too long… A trim wouldn’t hurt either.” 

“We’re here for a week. I’m scheduling hair appointments for Tweak and I for Thursday, want me to schedule one for you?” 

“Sure. A trim won’t hurt at all.” 

“Alright, I’ll go do that now. In the meantime, go to the library and dig up that box of magazines I told you about a couple of weeks ago. There’s a bunch of fashion magazines and hairstyle magazines in there you can look through. Of course, you can also go online and poke around if you like.”

“Alright…” 

With that, Dashi left. 

Stella continued her braids and began to think. She wondered if Dashi was correct about the Captain’s feelings for her. The more she thought about it, the more she recognized the subtle hints hidden in their conversations, interactions, and private moments. They seemed to hint to more than the mentor-student friendship she’d once thought of their friendship as. She even found subconscious hints in her side of the interactions too. The thought of it all was overwhelming and confusing. 

Caught her completely off guard. 

She didn’t know what to do. She’d spent her entire life helping others with their relationships using only her wits, wisdom, and innate ability to read others, yet when it came to her own relationships she found it difficult to use that same logic. Besides, why her ? Tweak had been there since the beginning and there was much to admire about Dashi; why hadn’t he taken to them first? And why not his own kind, either? Perhaps it had something to do with “like-minded individuals” rather than species. Inter-species relationships weren’t uncommon, but not all combinations succeeded easily, similarly to how not all zodiac signs get along so easily. Plus, with already endangered species like hers and Barnacles’, there was pressure against inter-species relationships. Even Shellington and Dashi, who made their relationship public on instagram recently were getting flack for it due to Shellington’s Sea Otter species and Keystone Species role. It wasn’t until Pearl spoke out for her lil’ bro that much of the hating stopped and diehard fans started to break through. 

She picked up her tablet, staring at it in silent thought. Would her parents disapprove? Should she just… ask? Now that the thought had occurred to her, her Father never seemed against inter-species relations, even encouraging her to be open and ignore the pressure as a cub. 

Her paw hovered over the button to call her family for a moment, but she hesitated pressing it. Deep in her gut, she knew this wasn’t the time to ask, especially since she wasn’t sure what her preference was: gender or otherwise. Plus, there was the hierarchy to worry about. It felt kind of like trying to tell her parents she was dating a teacher (she never had, mind you). It just felt… wrong… deep in her gut. He outranked her by a mile, and that power-dynamic was not okay with her stomach. In addition, he was close to six feet tall and 500-plus pounds: largest land carnivore on the planet and tallest person on the team! He could easily hurt her if they weren’t careful. 

Her gut wrenched. She had a very difficult decision to make. Her mind was racing as she scrolled through the many photos she’d taken with her team. Of them, more than half of them were her and Barnacles, just Barnacles, or herself, Barnacles, and one or more other teammates. That far outnumbered the pictures she’d ever taken with her College friend group or even her own family. Not an avid photographer by any means. Who knows how many pictures Dashi took of Stella and the Captain together during her training period. 

Meanwhile, Barnacles had enough of talking to James. He didn’t even need to throw their idea into question once during the argument; James did it all on his own. All he needed to do now was wait. 

He walked past Stella’s door in a huff: frustrated, tired, confused. Her door was wide open, allowing him a peek of her activity inside. 

He had to do a double take. 

There she was, bathed in the ocean-filtered sunlight streaming in from the window, curled up in her beanbag. Her fluffy tail was wrapped around her bare feet, and pulled up over her shoulder like a blanket. Her boots were kicked off willy-nilly on the floor in front of her, her hair was held back in two loose braids at her shoulders, and her face was a forlorn and slightly confused smirk. An odd mix of expressions that seemed so characteristic of Stella these days. 

Probably the most calm he’d seen her in recent weeks, aside from watching her zoom around the reef with Whitney earlier that day. 

Her ear twitched, and when their eyes met was when he realized he’d been staring. 

The blush crossed his cheeks faster than he could duck away. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Stella stuttered, never letting his eyes leave hers, “did you need something from me, Captain?” 

Shit… what do I say for myself?! “Uhh… actually, yes.” Oh, brilliant, Barnacles.

“Nothing from Mike yet if that’s what you’re looking for. I don’t think he’d respond to me and send an email directly to you.” 

“Oh…” 

“A-Annnything else?” 

“Where did Dashi go?” 

“Probably to her room. She’s hauling Tweak and I to land to get our hair trimmed later this week.” 

Barnacles blew his side-swept fringe out of his face, noting it was getting distracting. “Probably not a bad idea for all of us with fur. Any longer and I might have to pin my hair back.” 

“Yeah, no kidding. I dunno if it’s the sudden switch from chemical to all-natural, but it almost feels like my hair doubled in length in the past three years. I know it hasn’t; probably a couple inches extra, but it’s starting to be bothersome.” 

“Maybe a good idea to cut it short like Dashi and Tweak have; no hair getting in the way of the helmet,” he added, snagging her office chair. 

“That’s what Dashi said. I’ve never really considered cutting it short until now; I like the range of styles I can make with my long hair. The problem is the thickness combined with the length. My hair is very coarse but fine enough to slide out of anything when wet; it's an odd mix that made me just leave it alone as a cub, aside from running a brush through it every day. Short hair would mean that I would have to deal with Bobby pins and barrettes keeping my hair back if I get wet—not hard to do in this profession. Longer hair means it's less likely it will fall out too much if I get wet. So, I’m at a bit of a loss. Bam-Bam and Ollie always said I’d look good with medium or short hair, but I just don’t see it.” She breathed a sigh, and added, “Oh well, at least I have until Thursday.” 

“I’ve had that problem too. If you look at really old pictures of me, think my late teens, I had semi-long hair that I pulled back into a ponytail. Yes, I look back on it and think I look stupid, but that’s what was cool to teens at the time. When people started thinking about careers, I had to make a choice. If I wanted to keep my long hair, I wouldn’t have joined the Navy since any military service required recruits to cut their hair short and remove any thicker fur around the chin-area. By that point I didn’t really care what hairstyle was cool anyway so it wasn’t a tough choice. But, they also made me cut my fringe, a lot shorter than I liked it. At the time I was incredibly insecure about the scars I’d picked up as a rough-and-tumble cub, and I had a nasty one across my eye at the time that was the epicenter of this insecurity.” 

“That’s hard to believe.” 

“It’s since disappeared but back then just looking at it in a mirror was enough to make my stomach clench. I don’t really remember what caused it, but it must have been something embarrassingly stupid to make me that appearance insecure.”

“Wait, let me guess. You used said fringe to cover it up and the Navy didn’t like that.” 

“Exactly. The Navy taught me that scars are a part of our story, and not something to be ashamed of.” 

“Then, if the scar’s faded away, why do you still have the fringe?” Stella asked, innocently. 

Barnacles shrugged. “I suppose it’s just a matter of personal preference. Not everybody uses their hair to cover up something they view as undesirable, am I right?” 

A blush spread across her cheeks, sparkled in her eyes. She knew he was referring to her own side-swept fringe, which was a matter of personal preference in a sense. 

Adorable , was the one word that went through his head. 

Her tablet beeped. “Hmm?” Looking down, she gave a slight smile and laugh. “Oh, it’s my parents.” 

“I suppose I’d better let you take that call then. See you in the morning.” 

“Goodnight… do try to go to bed earlier, Captain. I can’t stand seeing you wake up at six in the morning and then be falling asleep standing up a few hours later. Reminds me of my first months at college when I was still on Nepal time and severely jetlagged. It stinks and I hate watching you go through it every morning.” She flashed him a weak smile as he got up, uniform jacket wrinkled and hat askew. 

A weak smile that he returned. “Might not be a bad idea, Cadet.” 

Barnacles trudged his way upstairs, kicked his boots off, and collapsed face-first into his duvet. His prim and wrinkle-less hat tumbled off his hair onto his bed. He only got a few moments of this odd bliss before his own Octo-Tablet rang with a video call. 

Oh, great. What now? He wondered. 

To his surprise it wasn’t WWRAPA that was calling, but Mike!

“Hey, Barnacles!” Mike exclaimed, holding his newborn son against his chest, “Sorry I couldn't call earlier. I just read that email from Stella, and well… Father’s duty called. Mind explaining what happened?” 

“It started about a month ago when I was deciding who to promote to Commander. At first, Stella was top of my list, but she pushed Dashi into the spotlight and that… kinda confused me? I’m not entirely sure what went through my head. I know I can’t please everybody, but even Dashi rubbing salt into the wound that is my mistake of letting the sponsors dictate the choice just confused me even more.” 

“Alright, I’ve met Dashi, and definitely heard of Stella, but what makes you think that the newest member of the crew deserves this position? I don’t care what my other higher-ups think, I want your personal opinion. We’ve known each other for ages, Barnacles. Tell me everything .” 

Not knowing what the heck else to do, Barnacles did as told. He told Mike everything he knew about Stella and her skills. 

Near the end of the tale, Mike raised an eyebrow and asked, “By any chance, did you ever think to analyze those emotions of yours?” 

“What?” 

“The way you talk about Stella, the interactions, silly stories, personal stories, admiration… Ever thought those actions could be subconsciously romantic? As in, you have a crush on her?” 

“Excuse me? …” 

Mike gave him the knowing smirk so characteristic of himself. “Listen, I’ve been there. Remember back in the Navy when we went back to Kaktovik? Yep, when I met my now Wife?”

“Yeah?” 

“Remember when I told you I needed help and you said I was stupid?”

“When I teased you about having a crush…?! I beg your pardon, Mike! That—”

“Dude, you’re in your thirties. She’s not… in her teens is she? No. She’s turning thirty-one in June, for crying out loud. It’s extremely hard not to form some-kind of friendship with your coworkers in your field of occupation, especially in your case. She might be a student in the case that she’s the newest Octonaut, but she’s also a mentor if even her coworkers learn from her: including you. I’ve read through Dashi’s reports, and even in her first-person reports, she often writes that she asked herself what Stella would do in her situation. If even one of the more experienced Octonauts ask themselves what Stella would do in their situation, that’s a good sign they’re learning from her. That’s really rare these days, but so valuable in leadership. I once read Peso asking himself what you would do in his situation, and Kwazii did once or twice as well.

“To be honest, some people around the office have been reading Dashi’s reports and detailed life-on-the- Octopod editorials and asking, ‘Now I wonder when those two are going to get hitched.’ Weird, I know, but people like this stuff. 

“Wouldn’t be shocked if Stella’s downstairs analyzing her own actions and emotions.” 

“If she is, she’s really good at hiding it. She blushes when anyone so much as compliments her; even her own cousin!” 

“You did say she’s very insecure and skittish toward any kind of compliment—something that could be considered flirting. But, couldn’t the most mundane thing be considered flirting?”

Barnacles thought for a moment.

“Look, I can’t change how you think of her. All I’m saying is don’t let your crush dictate what position you give her. You think she deserves it, the crew thinks she deserves it, let her have it. She’d be great! If anything, I think your subconscious knows you have a crush and doesn’t want the crew to think that’s what gave her the Commander Position. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if the rest of the crew knew before you did.” 

“Yeah…” Barnacles agreed, laying on his back, “wouldn’t be shocked… Hmm… Come to think of it… Dashi kept teasing me about it earlier today. I heard Tweak and Kwazii joking about it—in front of a very offended-looking Stella no less—about an hour ago, and Inkling always seems to be trying to corner me to talk about it. Shellington and Peso couldn’t care less, it seems, since they’re usually the ones holding everyone else back from teasing Stella and I relentlessly.” 

“Didn’t Shellington and Dashi just announce they’re dating?”

“Yes.” 

“Could you go to Shellington for advice?” 

“Absolutely not, because Stella approached him with advice. She’s known for being the wingwoman to her friends and family. Even said it herself! Stella would be able to recognize those tricks in a heartbeat and know exactly where I got them.” 

“I don’t think she’d care , Barnacles. You just said she’s always the wingwoman, never the lover. Anything might please her given how well you know her and how well she knows you. Now, it’s late, and I just received an email from work. I’ll call back in the morning and we can continue this conversation. It’s… ridiculously late on the New England Coast and you know it.”

“Alright… Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” 

Sleep took over him before he could do anything else. 

The following morning, he woke up to Mike calling once more. Dreading the storm Mike might cause before he’d even had breakfast, he grumbled and grabbed the tablet. 

“Dude you need to tell me what the fuck went down in your meeting last night. I got an email from HR telling me you’re going to break the contract. What’s the matter?!” 

“Bloody hell, you wake me up from a dead sleep just to screech at me? Are we still in the Navy?” 

“No, seriously dude what happened?!” 

“You know anything about a bastard named James?” 

“Oh no, not him again. Okay, now I get it… He didn’t like the fact that you were tryin’ to tell him what to do and that young stupid new journalist-dickhead decided to be fresh with you. He’s the one who started this shit. I should have known! I’m going to the President with this. You’re not getting anywhere with James’ Manager—the Vice President—because they’re father and son, and I was the only one with power to discipline the dick. Should’ve fired him before I left on leave. Be right back. *Click*” 

“Christ alive, Mike!” Barnacles exclaimed, flopping back down on the bed. “It’s four in the fucking morning here!” 

He fell asleep for a couple more hours before Mike emailed him and his alarm rang. The email told him that the president agreed with him that James was a dick and he should reverse the decision, rather than keeping the current hierarchy. 

And you couldn’t just say that instead of calling me at four this morning? Geez, Mike, we’re not in the Navy anymore and I’m in Hawaii. 

He looked at the background photo he’d set a couple months prior… or rather, the background photo Dashi had made him set. It was a picture of himself and Stella in the Amazon, laughing and smiling as Berta the River Dolphin splashed water at them with her tail. 

The happy memory made him smile when he woke up every morning, causing a fluttery feeling in his stomach he couldn’t explain; but today the fluttery feeling made sense. 

When he went down to the kitchen, he was surprised to find Stella wide awake with her hair tied up in a messy bun, drinking a glass of water and eating a couple kelp cakes while reading the latest issue of National Seaographic . 

She blinked, glanced up at him, took a sip of water, said “Morning,” and went back to her magazine. 

“You’re up early.”

“So are you. Did you sleep well?” 

“Not really…” 

Stella tilted her head, concerned. She put down her glass and asked, “How so?” 

“Finally got a response from Mike almost as soon as I sat down, and part of what we talked about left me too lost in thought to fall asleep. Then, Mike—who’s on New England time—called me at four this morning to ask what the fuck was going on with HR panicking. I just got an email confirming that my choice is my choice and the right choice. I’m reversing the decision as soon as everybody’s up.” 

“Meaning…?” Stella asked. She then stopped, and said, “Actually, I’ll wait.” 

“Morning, Stella!” 

“Morning, Shellington! Ready to go study that coral?” 

“You bet, we’ve been talking about it since November! Oh, morning, Captain.” 

“Where are you going?” 

“To the Northwesternmost islands, where that storm destroyed much of the reef? We want to know how well the corals are recovering now that the oceans are more acidic and storms are stronger.” 

“I really hope they’re doing okay, but Ocean Acidification doesn’t help.” 

“When were you planning on leaving?” 

“Well,” Shellington thought aloud, “right about now, but we think this will be an all-day thing, so we’re packing lunches.” 

“All packed and ready to go; I packed some of the leftovers from last night,” Stella said, holding up two paper bags. “Hope the GUP-M is out of maintenance.” 

“If not we can just use the GUP-E , which should be good enough to fit the two of us.”

“True, but what if Peso needs it?” 

“Hmm… Touché…” 

Barnacles frowned and asked, “Can you two wait until the rest of the crew are up? I need to talk about the previous hierarchy decision, as soon as possible.” 

Shellington gave him a look that said, “I really don’t want to wait.” 

“I don’t think they’ll be long, Shellington. Dashi’s already up and so is Kwazii. I saw Kwazii heading down to the Launch Bay with breakfast for Tweak about half an hour ago,” Stella protested. 

“Then why not sound the Octo-Alert if this is so important?” Shellington asked, reaching for the nearest button. 

Stella snatched his paw before his fingers could touch the blue button. “Shellington! This isn’t an emergency or a highly coordinated plan; it’s just a hierarchy discussion.” She turned toward the Captain, still sitting on the bench across from her. “Captain, how long do you think this discussion can wait? If it can wait until nightfall, Shellington and I should be back here by then and we can discuss it in the HQ over dinner.” 

He thought for a moment. A deep sigh left his chest. “Alright. I’ll discuss it with Kwazii and Dashi today and then we’ll relay the discussion to you at dinner tonight. Be careful out there and check the storm tracker regularly. Winter in the Northern Pacific can be stormy.” 

“Aye, aye Captain!” Stella and Shellington chorused. 

By nightfall that evening, Stella and Shellington had collected all the data they needed and were analyzing it in the lab. The corals were recovering well so far, but the calcium carbonate they needed to build their skeletons was diminishing rapidly into calcium ions and bicarbonate ions, which couldn’t be used to build calcifer shells and skeletons. The bicarbonates were caused by an increase in hydrogen ions attaching to the carbonate ions that would normally bond into calcium carbonate. Shellington was hoping to find a way to fix the issue and test the resilience of these corals over a period of ten years, until Stella pointed out that ten years wouldn’t be enough time unless the growth of the corals was accelerated through abundant food, calcium and carbonate ions, and a stable environment to live in. 

It was as they were trying to fix this issue that the Octo-Alert sounded. There normally was one every day, and having just one day without a single sounding would be a miracle. 

“Ohhhh…. We were going for a record there,” Stella moaned as she and Shellington dashed out of the lab to the Octolift. 

“Wonder what could be wrong here.” 

When they got there, Calico Jack and Kwazii’s faces were on the screen in front of them, next to a ginormous whale washed up on the beach. Onlookers behind them were throwing bucket after bucket of water onto the beached whale. 

“Octo-Agent Calico Jack, report please.” 

“Aye, Captain. Kwazii an’ I were walkin’ down this beach near Honolulu and beachgoers alerted us t’ this mighty whale washed up on the beach from a recent storm.” 

“Aye!” Kwazii agreed, handing a bucket to a little girl. “Beachgoers called in the beached whale to authorities, but nobody’s been able to come here due to downed trees. Requesting assistance.” 

“Shellington, could you tell us what kind of whale it is?” 

“It’s a Humpback Whale! They migrate from the Bering Sea to the Hawaiian Islands for the winter to breed and give birth to their young,” Stella explained. “I used to see them all the time in Alaska.” 

“Humpbacks and many other whales can get sunburnt if they stay in the sun too long, which is awfully uncomfortable.” 

“She told us she isn’t sunburnt, but onlookers say she washed up twenty minutes ago. People are startin’ to lose hope.” 

“The Octoray should be large enough to lift the whale back into the water, but we’ll need to get ropes underneath it,” Tweak said, assessing the situation. 

“What if we tunnel under it at key points? Like with the Fiddler Crabs and the beached Orca you told me about, Captain!” 

Kwazii thought for a moment. “Of course! I’ll round up anyone with beach shovels to help dig stable tunnels underneath!” 

“Good thinking, Cadet.” 

“Aye, yer a smart one, Lassie!” 

“Let’s hope that works, Stella. Any longer, and the whale will die,” Shellington warned. 

“Then there’s no time to lose! On your signal, Captain!” 

“Stella, Dashi, Shellington, Peso, to the Octoray !” 

“Right away, Captain!” 

“Tweak, follow us with the GUP-C .” 

“Aye, aye, Capt.” 

Once the team boarded the Octoray , Stella stationed herself in the back room with Shellington, finding the seats for take off. Dashi took note of this, and sent Peso into the back room to switch with her. She’d never been on the bridge of the Octoray , never had to, but to say it was a daunting task would be an understatement. 

“What’s that all about?” Shellington asked. 

Peso shrugged, and replied, “All they said was that they wanted Stella up there. Additional training maybe?”

“I don’t know… perhaps the Captain’s finally figured out what’s wrong with the original hierarchy. That’s what Dashi told me.” 

Stella entered the bridge—the room where all the main pilot-controls were located—with a slightly trembling frame. She wasn’t certain what to expect. 

“You… you wanted to see me?” 

Dashi spoke first, “Sure we did, Star. Now, don’t panic, we just want to see you in action. Could you pilot the Octoray to our destination?” 

Stella almost jumped out of her fur. “You--You’re asking me to pilot the Octoray … Well… it’s not that different from the GUP-M , as you say, Dash.” She plopped herself down in the cushy pilot’s seat and adjusted it for her height. She flipped a switch and said, “Computer, show me the takeoff checklist.” 

Right as rain, a checklist appeared on the circular screen on the control panel above the steering wheel. It had several things checked off already: equipment locked, power systems online, radio online, computer and navigation system online, engine powered off. 

“Right, looks like we’re ready to go. Thanks, computer.” With that, the voice commands went to sleep with a small icon on the display showing a crossed microphone. 

Dashi stared in disbelief. “The Octoray has voice commands?!” 

“Another thing Tweak was testing, as well as facial recognition and entrance alerts. If the cameras sense an unfamiliar person entering the Octoray alone, the computer will automatically send a notification to the watches, the compass, and the Octopod computer system. However, if it notices an unfamiliar person entering with a familiar person--i.e. my siblings entering with myself--it won’t trigger the alarm notification but it will take note of these people and scan the database for any names. Very smart but simple AI. It’s the same technology used in Siri, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. The GUP-M has these rudimentary voice commands too, but I usually leave them switched off and only use them in desperate times where I can’t use my paws to hit the button.” 

“Engineer Tweak has boarded the Octoray .” 

“Oh, and if you leave the voice commands on—even though it will show a ‘muted’ icon—the AI will speak to you if the AI senses someone boarding the vehicle,” Stella added as Tweak entered the bridge. 

Tweak laughed, “I see you discovered the voice commands, Stella.” 

“Nah, I knew about it and kinda guessed they were there thanks to the Octoray ’s similarities to the MA . How I knew where the switch was I may never know.” 

“Wow~” Tweak turned to Barnacles and asked, “Believe me now, Capt?” 

“I believed it before but this just confirmed it.” 

Stella raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press the subject. 

“Anyway,” Tweak said, “I’ve got something for you, Stella, and I know if I wait any longer I will forget it.” She walked up to the pilot’s seat and pressed a small, circular, gold, smooth object into Stella’s paw. 

Stella opened her palm to look at the object, only to realize it was an Octo-Compass. Her confusion was evident when she looked up at Tweak, puzzled. “It’s an Octo-Compass… Why am I getting this instead of the watch?” 

“Should I just tell her?” Dashi asked. 

“Explain on the way if you like, I’ve gotta go get the GUP-C !” Tweak exclaimed as she hopped down the nearest OctoChute. 

Puzzlement remained on Stella’s face as she turned back around to wait for Tweak to appear on the camera headed outside. Finally, she appeared in front of the Octoray ’s windscreen and gave the signal to start takeoff. 

“Everyone ready for takeoff?” Stella asked. 

“Ready, Stella!” Shellington and Peso exclaimed. 

“Ready,” Dashi agreed. 

“Captain?” 

“Ready.” 

With everyone confirmed to be ready for takeoff, she pressed the ignition button on the circular screen in the steering column and took the wheel in her steady paws. The two propellers in the wings started spinning, stirring up the delicate seafloor and lifting the Octoray off its landing gear. Once they were above the surface of the waves, Stella pulled the shift-lever to shift from hover mode into flight mode. The wings fully extended, the propellers rotated on axels ninety degrees, and the flight controls activated around her. 

“And here we go!” Stella said, steering the airborne vehicle forward into the cloudy skies. 

It was true: Stella was an expert pilot. Dashi caught it all on camera for the hundreds of online fans to enjoy, as well as for the crew’s own records. 

Stella happened to glance over toward the Captain on her right and saw him gripping the arm-rest of his seat with force. “Are you scared, Captain?” 

“No, I’m trying to keep myself from ‘steering’ the Octoray with you! Usually if I go anywhere I’m in the pilot’s seat and if I’m not I ‘steer’ by instinct.” 

Stella and Dashi both started giggling. “Haha! You do you, Captain. I’m not going to question it anymore.” 

It wasn’t long before the Hawaiian island of Oahu rose from the seas and Stella spotted the landing-pad. She nimbly brought the Octoray down to the sandy beach to let the crew out. She turned the engine off and opened the front doors. 

She and the crew exited the Octoray and met Kwazii and Calico on the beach. “Right on time, Mateys!” Kwazii exclaimed. 

“How are those tunnels coming along, Kwazii?” 

“Almost done, Lassie,” Calico said. 

“Fantastic! Shellington, Captain, get the ropes. As soon as those tunnels are ready we’ll feed the ropes through them. Peso, do a medical check on the whale. Calico, Kwazii, keep splashing water on her. Dashi, come with me; we’ll catch the ropes on the other side.” 

“Aye, aye, Stella!” 

They split up and completed their tasks. Just as Barnacles and Shellington were pulling the ropes through the tunnels and throwing them to Kwazii and Calico on the starting side, Tweak rocked up in the GUP-C . 

“Right on time, Tweak!” Stella exclaimed. She then grabbed a third rope and secured it to the first two ropes. She then took the loop created by the third rope and secured it to the tow-line on the whale-shaped tugboat. “Alright, all secured. Now, I’ll fly the Octoray and secure the whale from above, lifting it off the sand with the grabber-arm. Tweak, on my signal, I need you to pull the whale forward into deep water. Remember, a Humpback Whale is a lot bigger than an Orca, so I’ll be there supporting you with the Octoray .” 

“Gotcha, Stella.” 

Stella turned to the crowd of people around them. “You all might want to take a few steps back.” As Barnacles walked past her, she clapped a paw on his shoulder and whispered, “Make sure everyone stays a good distance away, ask the others to form a barrier keeping the crowd back. Wouldn’t want any spectators getting hurt should those ropes fail.” 

“Right away,” he confirmed. True to his word, as Stella ran back to the Octoray he spread the remaining crew along the crowd of spectators and herded the crowd back away from the whale. 

As soon as Stella arrived at the bridge and started the engine, she noticed a weather alert on the screen. 

Thunderstorms . 

Her blood ran cold for a moment as she looked out towards the ocean, searching for any thunderclouds on the horizon. A flash of lightning struck the water many many miles away, and she counted the seconds before the thunder reached her ears. 

Eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve…thirteen…four— *Boom!!!* About 5 kilometers then…  

After that minute’s delay, she lifted the Octoray off the ground and hovered over the whale, using the grabber to hook onto the secured ropes. 

“Now, Tweak! Pull!” 

“Right away, Stella!” Tweak affirmed. 

Stella lifted the whale off the sand just as a lightning strike hit the water less than fifty feet from the GUP-C , knocking out its power. 

“Whoa, I’ve been hit!” Tweak exclaimed. 

“Ditch the towline!” 

Tweak pulled the lever to cut the towline and sped to deeper water. Half panicked, Barnacles ordered the remaining Octonauts to escort the crowd indoors as soon as possible; he’d monitor the operation via his compass and radio. 

Without the GUP-C towing the whale, it was up to Stella to guide the whale to deeper water. She kept a cool head as the winds got rough and the waters became choppier. She had to be careful; when lightning strikes the ocean’s surface the electrical current spreads out through the water near the surface. 

“Euh… Stella?” The whale asked. 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Is your crewmate going to be alright?” 

“Tweak’s an experienced engineer and one of the founding trio. She’ll be fine. Are you alright down there?” 

“I’m fine, a little parched, but otherwise okay. You?” 

“A little concerned about the Octoray ’s ability to handle lightning, but otherwise okay.” 

The Octoray suddenly said, “Approaching 100 meter depth zone.” 

“What was that?!” 

“The Octoray’s letting me know that the water beneath us is about 100 meters deep, about 328.1 feet. Sound deep enough for you?” 

“Sounds deep enough to me. Ready to drop when you are.” 

“Okay, releasing in three… two… one!” 

Stella pulled the release lever and the whale dropped back into the water with a deafening splash. She broke the ropes and gathered them up with her fins. She surfaced as the Octoray hovered above her. 

“Here’s the ropes back. Give my thanks to your crew.” 

“I will. Stay safe out there!” 

“See you later!” With that, the whale dove deep beneath the waves. 

As Stella was flying back toward the setting sun shining through the stormy sky, she dodged a few lightning strikes by mere inches and tried to get in contact with Tweak. 

No luck, but she had to have faith that Tweak would be alright. She had to focus on landing safely. 

When she reached the beach and landed, the Octoray computer advised her to put up the lightning rod. 

Brilliant, Tweak! Stella thought, activating the rod. She powered down the engine and turned the Octoray into a stationary base. 

It was right on time too. No sooner had she activated the rod did lightning strike directly overhead, striking the rod and directing the electricity to the sand below. The impact knocked out power briefly, but the emergency hatch-release allowed Stella to escape outside and bolt for the nearest building. 

The cheers, applause, and whoops of excitement were deafening when she entered the building, which appeared to be a resort lobby. Children and Adults alike, regardless of species, whooped and cheered for the newest Octonaut. 

“Gosh, I wasn’t expecting a standing ovation,” Stella said. 

Kwazii placed a paw on her shoulder. “Ye deserve it, Lassie. Any word from Tweak?” 

“Nothing yet.” 

“Oh…” Kwazii murmured, disappointed. 

“She’ll be fine. She kept going forward and the GUP- Finder is still active. She landed in a lightning-free zone in the water… barely, but she did.” Stella then noticed an alert on her new Octo-Compass. Smirking she added, “Don’t fret, Kwazii, your Treasure’s not lost forever.”

“Stella!” Kwazii exclaimed, embarrassed. 

Stella laughed and shoved her compass in his face. “Here, you talk to her!” She turned around and found herself face-to-chest with the Captain. Her cheeks turned bright red as she stuttered, “O-oh! C-Captain, I-I didn’t see you there…” 

In her defense, he was just as red, if not redder, in equal parts embarrassment and admiration. Coming to terms with his crush on the Leopardess was not coming easily to him, and he had to force himself to not deny the idea for once. But, professionalism was more important than his emotions at the moment. “Don’t apologize, Cadet. I was the one standing in your blind spot.” 

Thunder interrupted their conversation. Stella visibly flinched and stared up out the windows with wide eyes. 

“When do you suppose the storm will pass?” She asked with wide eyes. 

“I’m not sure…” 

“Tweak’s gonna stay down there until she can fix th’ power system. The shock fried one o’ the GUP-C ’s circuits, but it’s fixable,” Kwazii added, pawing Stella’s compass back. 

“Thanks, Kwazii.” She turned to the crowd and asked, “Other than that, is everyone else okay?” 

She got variations of “Yes,” “Yeah,” and “A-okay.” 

“You all did a fantastic job out there; thanks for jumping in and reporting the incident when you did,” Barnacles added. “Which one of you knew to ask Kwazii and Calico Jack for help?” 

A shy little Fennec Fox vixen raised her hand, held up by her father. “I-I did, Captain.” 

Her mother explained, “We heard of Deputy Stella through the news when she made global headlines as the first Snow Leopard in marine science and exploration. Fiona became obsessed with the crew’s adventures and when she saw Lieutenant Kwazii on the beach she knew exactly what she needed to do.” 

Fiona’s big brother added, “She’s been following the crew’s adventures through Stella’s and the Crew’s instagram pages, and I’ve been checking out National Seaographic magazines from our local library when they have the issues. I must admit, the amount of those reports she can recite to her teachers at school is impressive.” 

“Felix, don’t make me blush,” Fiona muttered, turning away. 

Stella was in stitches holding back giggles. “Reminds me of how my siblings and I interact. When I got my college acceptance… my god, was that seven years ago already?! Anyway, my five little siblings would brag about it to anyone who would listen all summer until I left, embarrassing me to no end as a shy twenty-four-year-old. And you would never guess, looking at me now, that I had no formal education up until American college and worked from a young age in my stepmother’s bakery to feed my family. I spent my off hours at the library with various textbooks in my lap, a computer mouse in my left paw, a pen in my right, and whatever subject I was teaching myself on the computer.” 

“That’s how you learned?” 

“Pretty much… I spent a lot of time on Khan Academy learning math, physics, geology, biology, chemistry, language arts, and on Duolingo teaching myself languages. I still practice on Duolingo with whatever free time I have… usually late into the night.”
“Just goes to show you that you can learn remotely and online when given the time to, even if your family can’t afford formal education,” Barnacles added, placing a paw on her shoulder. 

“Actually, Captain,” Stella corrected, “most of my education was done through books and practice, rather than online. The computers didn’t arrive until I was in my mid-teens and teaching myself higher level maths, science, and language. But, much of that education that caught the scholarship’s eye was done online. That’s how I got into college, just putting in hard work and applying.” 

“What made you choose Alaska over others?” 

“The Marine Science Major, of course. I couldn’t find a school my scholarship would cover that had the major that I wanted, until I encountered Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, Alaska.” 

A little girl tugged on Stella’s sleeve and asked, “Could you tell us some stories from the sea until the storm passes?” 

A clamor of children gathered around her, pleading with her to tell them stories. Stella looked to Kwazii. “Mind helping, Kwaz, Calico?” 

“Anytime, Lassie.” 

“Aye, we’d be ‘appy t’ tell a few tales.” 

“Alright, those of you who want to hear the Pirate tales, follow the Lieutenant and his Grandad, the rest of you—who want to hear about the collective Octonauts’ adventures—follow me.” 

The group of children split half and half between the pirate fans and the general Octonaut fans. 

It took a few more hours for the storm to subside. When it finally did, the sun was setting, and the beach wouldn’t be clean in the time they had. So, they’d have to return the following morning. 

During the flight home, Stella piloted them back toward the Octopod , using the Octoray ’s mandibles to clamp the damaged GUP-C tightly and carry it homeward. The Octonauts gathered on the bridge to listen to their Captain’s announcement. Stella listened by flicking one of her ears toward the Captain, while she kept her eyes and other ear focused on the Octoray ’s steering system. 

“Of course, we all know about the hierarchy kerfuffle that’s been going on. So, to fix the system, Dashi will be returned to her original position as IT Officer, under the title of Deputy. Stella will take over beside me as Co-Captain—or Commander—and Kwazii will remain our Lieutenant. If myself, Kwazii, and Stella are all compromised somehow—be it injury, illness, or otherwise MIA—Dashi will take over and lead the remaining team until the next person in the hierarchy returns to action.” 

Stella almost fell out of her seat as the announcement settled in her head. “Me?! Co-Captain?!” 

“Yes!!!” Dashi exclaimed from the other side. 

That explains the compass thing, Stella thought. She looked at Tweak. 

Tweak laughed and said, “I know that face. No, the compass was my idea long before this. Although, I was absolutely sure you would be Commander instead of Dashi that I designed the Octoray with you piloting it in mind, which is why it's so similar to the GUP-M . However, back in Antarctica I mentioned to Cap that I needed a test dummy compass to test new features in the field before I put it on his own compass. I knew you’d be willing to help given the chance so you were the perfect person to give it to. I also offhandedly mentioned that I was told that the original idea was to promote you to Commander anyway but… things changed and got a little out of paw, eh, Captain?”

Barnacles blushed, knowing exactly what Tweak was implying. “Uhh… Yeah, let’s put it that way.” 

Stella flashed him a sideways glance, wondering what in the world was going through his mind. A few thoughts flashed through her mind at the sight of the Captain’s red cheeks. She shook her head and brushed it off to keep her focus. But throughout the flight her mind kept wandering. 

From the rest of the crew’s perspective, she was stunned into silence. 

By the time they returned, dinner was on the table and now Stella felt she had earned the spot next to her Captain that she always took, even when he took her under his wing personally: his right hand side. Dashi made plans to help Stella redesign her uniform to suit her new role if she liked, and Tweak offered to help her adjust the Octoray controls to her liking the following day. 

By the time dinner was over, Stella and Barnacles were the only two left in the HQ. 

There was an awkward silence hanging in the air between them: Stella fidgeting with her tail, Barnacles with the cuff of his uniform. 

Stella glanced at him from the side. He looks distressed… nervous… like his heart is racing and he’s about to faint. 

Barnacles, too, glanced at her from the side, wondering if she felt she was up for her new role. 

Finally, Stella spoke, breaking the tense silence. “Hey… Are you okay, Captain?” 

“Yeah… I-I’m fine… Why do you ask?” 

“Oh, come on, Captain, I know you better than that. You look like you’re about to faint! Please, sit down… You’ve been on your feet all day as far as I know.” 

He obliged, sitting back down on the bench. “As have you… How has the experiment come along?” 

“Shellington’s worried about the pH of the water. It’s highly acidic, much higher than it was when we were cubs… That poses a problem for corals and other marine calcifiers. It… it worries me… Our activity on land is harming these beautiful ecosystems and some people have no idea… let alone access to the technology used to reverse it. I mean… cleaning the oceans is one thing—plastic pollution on land and in the sea—removing CO2 is another matter entirely, but vital if we want to stop ocean acidification.” 

“Well…” Barnacles began, “we could promote the Team Trees movement… we have the means to do that… And various organizations are reaching out to us to promote the Team Seas movement starting this year in October. We can start there.” 

“Touche, there is that.” 

“Mark Rober, the head of both movements got in contact the other day and asked me to propose the idea of a collaboration to the team. I suppose it's both a marketing tactic and a benefit to us.” 

“Hmm… There's an idea. YouTube. We don’t have a channel, and YouTube is one of the most widely used media streaming platforms in the world. Even just posting snippets of video and funny moments caught on camera might get people interested in the topic of marine science and exploration informed, as well as give existing fans an insight into the shenanigans that… don’t get put into the magazines or the instagram page… Some of those comments people leave make us sound like robots.” 

“Instagram TV shorts and Reels would be good too… We are a living breathing team…” 

“It’s less that we’re treated like we’re not alive and more that people portray us as stoic and no fun. I wish I’d posted some of those Holiday pictures when they were still relevant…” 

“Well… there’s always birthdays and other holidays.” 

“Hmm…” Stella peered out the glass windows of the HQ, her tail twitching nervously. “I just realized… we never celebrate your birthday, Captain. Awkward date or… siblings?” 

“Kinda a combination of the two. My birthday’s in January… and it's never the same without my sister, Bianca. It’s the same week as the Scouts Review, so she gets reviewed and pay adjusted during that week and is super busy between work and the cubs, we just don’t celebrate aside from perhaps the “Happy Birthday” email. Plus… the Navy doesn’t celebrate birthdays, especially not at sea, so the idea of celebrating my own birthday at sea never crossed my mind.” 

“How long have you been doing this?” 

“... Probably since I was eighteen?” 

“You’re kidding… Why didn’t you tell us?! The team cares about you, and we’re not the U.S. Navy, we can celebrate birthdays. *Sigh…* Oh well… I suppose that’s a discussion for another time…” She pulled her hat off and dropped it on the clear table, pulling out her hair-elastic with her other paw in a single fluid motion. Her long curls fell loosely around her shoulders, prompting the Captain’s memory of the conference coming up near the end of the week. 

“When is your hair appointment?” 

“Eleven-thirty on Thursday. Why? That conference I heard Dashi and Kwazii bellyaching about earlier?” 

“Yes… It just popped up randomly this morning and the head of the project is asking us to at least attend and input some wisdom.” 

“When do you suppose they’ll be expecting us?” 

“I’m not expecting you to show up beside me, especially since you’re new to the position and you have plans already, but if you really want to show up I recommend twelve-thirty or one o’ clock. I’ll take notes, and if you want to read what the conference was about I can give you those notes. This is your free time and I can’t tell you how you spend it.” 

“Thank you… I-I think I should take some time to get used to my new role.” 

“You’ll be perfectly fine in your new role. Take some time to settle in, but you’ll do perfectly.” He wrapped her up in a hug. Resting his chin on her head, he said, “Get some sleep. The storm put a lot of debris on that beach. We’ve got a lot of clean-up tomorrow.” 

“Right… Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” 

The following day was spent cleaning up the beach. Stella stayed up kinda late the night before and put the word out to local Hawaiian citizens that they needed help to clean up plastic debris from the beach. She wasn’t expecting such an immense turnout on such short notice. All up and down the beach locals and tourists alike were picking up trash and debris from the beach after the storm blew through. 

Some people noticed the small change to Stella and Dashi’s uniforms. Stella’s nametag now read Commander, and Dashi’s reverted back to IT Officer. Some people thought it was a joke, since Dashi was listed as Commander on the official website… until they noticed that the hierarchy listing had since been updated. Barnacles had changed the listings that morning. Stella still treated him as though he were ranked a mile above her, even though their names were now listed next to each other as Captain and Co-Captain. 

“Good grief…” Dashi mused looking up and down the beach. 

Stella nodded. “Yeah… when I put the call out last night I wasn’t expecting so many people. I’m noticing a lot of local schools have scheduled clean-ups recently, there's a public school over there, a private one over there.” 

“Aye, I was jus’ talkin’ with one o’ the school teachers an’ he said that the interest in cleanups has increased since that clip Dashi posted with the Pelicans nearby,” Kwazii agreed, helping one of the young children carry their bucket. 

“I got so many comments on that post from teachers and schools asking for tips,” Dashi remarked. “I could hardly comprehend the response I got from locals and even ambassadors in far away regions like Indonesia.” 

“My Junior year in university I wrote a paper about Ocean Plastics in Indonesia and their low-income islands. During my research, it surprised me to find out that most of the plastics are coming from places like China and Indonesia,” Stella remarked, using her gloves and grabbers to place cigarette butts in a smaller bucket. “A study I cited found that places that have high tourism—like Hawaii or the Bahamas—are more likely to have dedicated cleanup organizations cleaning plastics and garbage off their beaches. It also said that the citizens of the Indonesian villages under study knew that the plastics lying around were a problem, but they didn’t understand the environmental problems. They just saw it as a problem because all the trash lying around made their village look dirty!” She leaned on the pole of her grabber and added, “Hundreds of tons of plastic debris washes up on their beaches every year, and being on these tiny little islands they don’t have the place to put it all, let alone recycle what can be recycled. Not to mention finances.” 

“That’s something we should bring up on Thursday. Do you still have a copy of that paper?” Barnacles asked, taking a sip from his water bottle. 

Stella nodded. “Remind me to send you a digital copy tonight.” 

“Will do.” 

The turnout was well over a thousand people all up and down the coastline; resort employees, schoolchildren, teenagers, parents, tourists, locals, natives, anyone and everyone. Stella joined a small group of children who had a bunch of children from Nepal and the Himalayas. One of them was a Snow Leopard himself. He was young, probably about five or six years old. The chaperone—their teacher—told Stella that he was an orphan sent to live with a Cat family here in Hawaii. Most of the children here were poor children, working in an underfunded obscure public school. It was the only place some of these families had access to computers aside from the public library. They had never seen a Snow Leopard in marine science, let alone an adult Snow Leopard. He hung back from the crowd, following at the distance and diligently picking up plastic and paper garbage during the twice weekly walks down the beach in Physical Education class. 

“It’s a shame really,” his teacher said. “He once told me that he dreams to one day help fix plastic pollution in places like Indonesia. I can only take him so far up the chain to get to that point; I’m afraid that getting through his education is going to dampen his spirit as the relentless teasing gets worse.” 

“‘It only gets worse before it gets better,’” Stella said. “That mantra got me through college, and it did get worse before it got better. Some of my former professors graded me poorly based on my species and citizenship. Would you believe it? I was born in the American Rockies and have an American birth certificate. They thought I was a Nepalese citizen! In truth, I am, but when we arrived in Nepal my parents applied for dual citizenship.” 

“Really?” 

“Yeah. Spent a year or so in Alaska before crossing the Pacific back to Nepal. Unfortunately I don’t really remember what prompted the move, and I have family in the Rockies I haven’t seen nor heard from in years.” Stella started collecting more garbage and stuffing it in her bucket. All the while, the little boy was helping her and listening in. He really was diligent about collecting garbage on the walks. He walked away to collect some more while the other children were playing in the sand. “I swear, kids like him are going to change the world one day, through the force of sheer willpower.” She laughed and added, “Give him twenty some-odd years and he’ll be like one of us Octonauts.” 

“That begs the question… What will happen to the Octonauts after the original nine are gone?” 

Stella paused at the teacher’s question. She had never thought about what would happen after the founding trio passed and the remaining six had died. “Well… I’m not certain. It’s not something we tend to talk about, but… I would like to hope that some of us will have children to carry the legacy or outsiders will be hired in to continue our work after we have left this plane of reality. I think by the time my youngest sister is out of college— if she decides to go—I’ll be in my fifties. She’s nine, and I would never want to put such weight upon her shoulders, as interested as she seems in my work. Heh, all four of my youngest siblings share the interest in my and my brother’s work in the sea and on the land, respectively.” Stella took a deep breath. “It’s been three years since I started working with the crew, but I don’t think I have felt true pressure until now, just thinking about what could happen far into the future… Hopefully we’ll all have many years ahead of us.” Her ear twitched. The crunching of sand under a pair of boots indicated the approach of Captain Barnacles from behind. Stella turned to face him as the little boy returned to shove more garbage into the bucket. 

“There you are, Stella. How long have you been here?” 

“Probably about fifteen minutes,” Stella said thoughtfully as the boy reached to put the trash into the bucket. 

“I see you have recruited a helper,” Barnacles chuckled. The tiny Snow Leopard cub froze solid as he looked up to see the white bear towering over him and Stella. “Strange to see a Snow Leopard living here.” 

Stella set her bucket down and stood on her tiptoes to whisper, “He’s an orphan from Nepal. A family of cats near here took him in.” 

“Ah. I see.” 

She fell back onto her heels, the soles of her sneakers sinking into the soft sand. Almost instantly, the tiny cub latched onto Stella’s tail and refused to let go. 

“Faneel, what’s come over you?” The teacher asked. 

“Oh, it’s alright. It’s only natural for him to be frightened of me,” Barnacles replied. 

Stella tilted her head and asked, “His name is ‘Faneel’?” 

“Yes?” 

“Ha, that’s fitting. ‘Faneel’ is a Nepali name meaning ‘Sea waves.’ My mother considered it when naming my younger brother, though she and my father settled on the more American name Stephen when he was born.” 

“Why a Nepali name?” 

“He was the first of our family to be born in Nepal for generations.” Stella laughed, “In the end, none of my family ended up being named a Nepali name, and all of us have names starting with ‘S’. Not just us young’uns, but my father and stepmother too!” 

“Really?” The teacher asked, surprised. “If it’s not too personal, what was your bio-mom’s name?” 

“Whitney.” 

“Oh! I thought you looked familiar! Whitney was my mom’s pen pal when she was in high school! She and my mom sent letters back and forth till about twenty years ago.” 

“Really?!” Stella exclaimed. “What was your mom’s name?” 

“Brooke. I think Whitney called her Boo for some reason… it’s an inside joke I never got.” 

“I don’t remember Mom ever mentioning Brooke; provided I was ten when she passed away due to childbirth… Everything seemed fine and then…. It just… wasn’t.” Stella bit back a whine at the last words. Barnacles reached out to touch her shoulder, but Faneel held Stella’s tail a little too tight and snapped her out of it very quickly. “Faneel, that’s too tight…Ouch! He’s pulling on my fur.” 

“Faneel, let her go, please.” 

“Here, I’ll go take the bucket to the collection site and come back,” Barnacles offered, hoping his absence would calm Faneel’s nerves. 

When the Captain returned with the bucket, he was surprised to find Faneel completely unfazed by his return. He was back to collecting plastic from the bushes near the walkway and had his arms almost completely full. Faneel walked right up to him and dumped his armful of garbage into the bucket with no hesitation. 

What the—? What changed??? He asked himself. 

“He told me he was surprised to see a bear appear suddenly on the Hawaiian islands, and that seeing a Snow Leopard was normal because the social worker on his case is another Snow Leopard living here. Less appearance-based and more ‘Oh my god when did you get here?’” 

“Oh, heh.” 

The teacher, Luna, walked up to them as Faneel waltzed up with another armful of trash. “Well, I’m afraid I have to walk the children back to school now. It’s getting close to the end of the school day and I’m sure these kids will want to see their families.” She turned to Faneel. “Say goodbye to the Octonauts, Faneel.” 

“Time to go already?” 

“Yes, I’m sorry, dear.” 

“Okay… Bye, Octonauts.” 

“Take care, Faneel,” Stella said, kneeling down to give him a final hug. 

“Keep up your hard work, Commander Stella!” Faneel said, happy that he had met her. 

“Take care, Stella, Captain.” 

“You too, Luna.” 

Faneel ran up, hugged Barnacles’ knees, and said, “Good luck out there, Captain!” 

Stella turned to Luna and said, “If possible, keep an eye out for the Octonauts on YouTube and Instagram. We’ve set up a company-wide Instagram and Dashi and I are discussing setting up an Official YouTube channel.” 

“We will, won’t we, Faneel?” 

“We will! I can’t wait to hear more of your adventures!” 

As the sun began to go down, Stella and Barnacles began their trek back down the beach to the Octoray . They had walked quite a ways down the beach picking up garbage and debris. As the sun set over the west oceans, slightly north of them, they walked back down the beach laughing and joking, playfully jabbing at each other. 

“So, how are you settling into your new role?” 

Stella paused, walking beside him carrying one of the buckets. “It still feels so surreal,” she answered. “I—It just doesn’t feel like my reality yet. It still feels like a passing joke between my friends and I that I would be Commander one day. Scout mentioned it first when I mentioned reading the Octopod ’s manuals. After that, every time Scout would call me or would be in a call with Bam, Corey, and I he would ask something along the lines of ‘Are ya promoted yet?’ You can imagine how happy he was when I said I had been promoted to Deputy. Heh, he’s going to have a field day when I get around to telling them about the change. They don’t even know I have an Octo-Compass yet!” 

Barnacles took a deep breath. “About the change… I— I— I’m sorry…” 

“Eh?” Stella hummed, turning her head to face him. “What on earth would you have to be sorry about? Shit happens and things change! Sure, you mentioned promoting someone to Commander back in Antarctica but I never expected it to be me, not in a million years. If anyone, I thought it would be Kwazii and either Dashi or I would take his place as Lieutenant.” 

“I don’t mean any offense to Kwazii, but he’s just not overall responsible enough to hold your position. There are a million things I could mention that make him unsuitable for any leading position, but those are outweighed by the billion other traits he has.” 

“He’s responsible when it counts, and I would say one of the most positive. He makes things interesting. That doesn’t answer my original question. What do you have to apologize for? You made an honest mistake and did your bit to make up for it, even though I saw very little wrong with it. I might have had some doubts, but give me a year or two and I could definitely handle it.” 

“Ha,” Barnacles half-laughed. “I admire your optimism. I don’t have a doubt that you could take on the role of Deputy I had given you, but I doubt you would have been very happy doing it. Your sense of duty is strong, but your longing for an active part in missions is stronger. If I had seen that earlier, perhaps I would have gone with the original plan.” 

Stella pulled her hair elastic out of her hair and asked, “Is it right for me to assume the original plan you speak of was to promote me to Commander?” She pinned the elastic between her jaws and started finger-combing through her hair, pulling her hair back up into a new ponytail. 

“Uhh…. Yes ,” Barnacles replied, willing his blush to go away. He was starting to find it difficult to remain professional. “That was the plan.” 

“When did you start thinking of promoting me specifically?” Stella asked, starting to tie her hair back up. 

Barnacles paused in thought. “I think since your first Christmas with the crew.” 

Stella stopped, mid-step. “That long?” She asked, halfway through her ponytail. 

“I believe so.” 

“And Dashi?” 

“I hadn’t really thought of promoting her since she liked her position, though everybody else thought she deserved a new title. When you mentioned it prior to the first decision, that’s when I started thinking about it.” 

At this point Stella blushed. So he thought of promoting me before he even thought about Dashi. If that’s the case, what stopped him? She turned to face him, hoping he wouldn’t notice her reddened cheeks. “Then… What stopped you just… promoting me?” 

Barnacles felt his knees go weak. She’s totally oblivious , he thought, There’s no way she knows… is there? His mouth went dry, and if his fur wasn’t white he was certain she wouldn’t be able to tell his cheeks had turned a rosy red hue. For once, he cursed his snowy white fur. 

“Captain, are you unwell? I-I can radio the team and ask them to pick us up if you’re not feeling well. It was… really warm today and we have been working in the sun all day,” Stella asked out of genuine concern, pressing her palm against his cheek. He was incredibly flushed, and she genuinely believed it was the heat. She had been at least smart enough to wear a pair of blue denim shorts and a cobalt blue tank top with the Octonauts logo hand-dyed into the back. She had pulled it off by using a template made out of tape, a sheet of cardboard, and a paintbrush to paint the bleach onto the shirt and bleach out the color of the top. He on the other hand didn’t bother and wore his usual uniform, still feeling the need to remain professional. 

Her palm against his cheek only worsened his current predicament. 

His cheeks are so warm! He doesn't have a fever, does he— Oh! At about that moment the penny finally dropped. She yanked her paw away, silently chastising herself for being so oblivious. “S-Sorry, Captain,” she stuttered, “I—I didn’t mean— Oh, nevermind…” Well, shit, Stella. You just triggered what Dashi suspects is a crush. She started walking away, hoping to drop the subject entirely and give him space to calm down and clear his head. 

“Wait a moment, Stella.” 

“Hm?” 

Shit… Should I— Barnacles debated with himself for a moment, before putting his foot down with a firm thought. Fuck it, I’m never going to tell her if I don’t confront my feelings head on. “I-I wanted to say I’m sorry in the first place because I— I let myself give too much power to my emotions, and I selfishly didn’t want the crew thinking that my admiration of you is what gave you your current position beside me as leader. I do truly believe that you deserve the position, but I wasn’t certain the rest of the crew understood that. I had planned to promote you last year, as we were leaving Antarctica, but then we got caught up with other things and I started to subconsciously realize that I have a crush.” He sighed and slumped his shoulders. “I didn’t start to consciously realize that fact until Mike called Monday evening. We were in the Navy together, and I feel dumb because I recognized he had a crush on his now wife before he did yet  I didn’t recognize my own crush until he told me I have one.” 

Stella bit her lip. Dashi had been right all along. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so guilty , Stella thought. She dropped her bucket and tilted his chin up to look her in the eyes. “When in your life would you have been consciously exposed to your own interests in a partner?” 

Barnacles opened his mouth to defend himself, but he then realized that she was right. He’d never thought about it, for one thing; for another, he had never chosen to experiment and mingle due to his Navy lifestyle. 

“To your credit, I also stayed single and refused to mingle. I didn’t realize it until Dashi told me to analyze my actions toward you.” Stella took a deep breath, steeling her nerves, knowing she was beet red. “My mentality was ‘Career first, relationships later,’ which is quite contrary to what everybody else was thinking, except for Bam-Bam.”

“Ironically she ended up in a relationship with Corey during College.” 

“Ah, haha! Yes, that is true,” Stella giggled. She picked her bucket back up and pulled him along by the paw. “I had plenty of guys trying to flirt with me, but did I care? No. I just wanted to do my best without any other dramas distracting me and secure a decent job. Mission accomplished.” 

“You mean ‘Mission accomplished and then some.’” 

“Touché,” Stella laughed, “I never anticipated climbing this high in the hierarchy, let alone seeing parts of the globe I scarcely thought I would.” Stella brushed a loose lock of hair behind her ear with her free paw. Her old beat-up sneakers crunched the sand beneath them as they walked along the beach, matching each other’s pace. “I never thought I would see the Amazon river in such detail… Although I suppose I have Jasmine to thank for that. The Caves of Sac Actun? Never had heard of them until I started researching jungle-cave ecosystems for an ecology class I was mandated to take. I didn’t even think I would ever get to see them, but I did see them from the outside and Stephen has explored the inside.” 

“I don’t plan to go back into those caves any time soon.” 

“Oh god no!” Stella exclaimed, remembering Peso’s account of the Captain’s near panic attack in the cave. “I wouldn’t even think about making you go into the cenotes, especially if you were against it! That experience reaching the Caribbean was traumatic enough . If anything, I would ask the Landketeers—who have proper caving equipment—and Ryla to join us if we ever planned to do a study in the cenotes of the Yucatán.” She internally shuddered at the thought of it, remembering how for weeks afterward he would wake up in a cold sweat and go walk around the Octopod until he could fall asleep again. 

“I have a feeling that Kwazii would appreciate such a thrill,” Barnacles remarked as if the idea didn’t bother him. Stella knew him too well to buy that façade. 

“He would, wouldn’t he?” Stella said, thoughtfully. “I think that kind of trip should wait. Shellington wants to run a biodiversity survey in the Arctic this summer, and I believe we should savor the opportunity we have to run surveys here in Hawaii before heading up to Alaska. I think Tweak would appreciate the extra time to work on maintenance and work with the Wonder Welder while we’re still here.” 

“I’m almost certain she would appreciate the extra time.” 

“There’s another reason I think our next destination should be Alaska.”

“Hmm?” 

“Bianca sent an email to us asking for a visit. I told her that we were kind of busy at the moment but I would see if I could slot in a visit for her and the cubs. I don’t think Bam and the gang would mind if I dropped in at some point either. I’ve never been to Katmai.” 

“Why didn’t you say Bianca emailed earlier?” 

“I just saw the email two hours ago, that’s why,” Stella giggled. 

“Oh…” Barnacles hummed. “Speaking of people I haven’t seen in years, it was refreshing to hear from Mike, even if it was in a work setting.” 

“Oh! *Ahem…* I’m sure it was, hearing from an old navy pal. I’d be pretty happy to hear from Ollie and Felicity… I’ve been kind of stalking them on Instagram and they have been following my posts, but I haven’t heard from them aside from that. Then there’s my family in the Rockies… what I wouldn’t give to hear from my other cousins personally…” 

“We’ll get up there eventually. I suppose we were more focused on your direct friends and family when it came to keeping contact.” 

“It’s alright… I don’t believe any of my extended family have spoken to my father or I since he remarried. Well, except for Kwazii, Cloud, Lena, Calico Jack, and Tanisi.” 

“Religion?” 

“Partly… the other part is lack of technology and funding for such.” She took a deep breath and squeezed his paw a little tighter. She took a moment for his earlier words to settle and then stopped short. “Are we just going to ignore the fact that we both just admitted we have romantic feelings for each other?” 

“Can we discuss that when we return to the Octopod ? As romantic as confessing your love at sunset is, I personally don’t feel comfortable doing so.” 

Stella flushed cherry red, almost uncertain he knew what he was saying, and stuttered out, “C-certainly, Captain.” And with that, she dropped the subject and continued on in silence. 

Evening came and went, and soon the Octonauts were settling down for bed. Stella was the only one still up, writing in her journal and hoping for a call from her family or friends. She was just finishing her journal entry when Barnacles entered her room, looking a little bedraggled from the long walk. His jacket was crumpled, his shirt was wrinkled, and his hair was a mess. She dropped her pen almost immediately and stood up. Her first instinct was to wrap him up in a hug, the sleeves of her pajama shirt catching on the buttons of his cuffs. 

After what was said on the beach, there was little else that needed to be said between them. They already knew. 

“ I love you .” 

They sat on Stella’s bed and had the longest, most heartfelt and serious discussion of Stella’s life until they fell asleep. They discussed their fears, hopes and dreams, who they both are and who they both want to be. Stella didn’t receive that call she was hoping for, but she didn’t mind. She found herself resting on her Captain’s chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. She snuggled into his arms, purring in bliss. 

A few days later, as the Octonauts were deciding where to go next, Stella was organizing papers and books in the library for later use in research. She wasn’t really waiting on anything, and Inkling wasn’t feeling too good so she decided she would reorganize the books for him. How many times had she done it during training? A dozen? Probably closer to a hundred. She wasn’t sure anymore. Dashi had re-customized Stella’s uniform to suit her new title as Co-Captain (officially, Commander), giving her a hat similar to her Captain. She and Barnacles opted to leave their love for each other and blossoming relationship unspoken to the crew, and see how long it took for the crew to notice something was different. Although, as it was so new to them, they had both quickly adopted the habit of showing each other affection and calling each other pet-names in private. She was sitting on the floor going through piles of books neatly stacked and sorting them by topic, title, and occasionally author. 

She was still getting used to her Octo-Compass, and was constantly reminding herself that she didn’t need to carry her tablet everywhere with her. This was quite evident when her compass started beeping at her and she reached into her belt-pouch for her tablet. 

Huh? Oh, god, Stella , she groaned. You don’t have to carry that anymore . She pulled the round compass off her belt and answered the call from Bam and the gang. 

“Hey~!” 

“Wow, the gang’s all here! Ollie, Felicity, how nice to see you both!” 

“Great to see you too, Stel!” Ollie exclaimed. “If I sound a little scratchy, it’s because I have the flu and had to stay home from work.” 

“Oh no!” 

“Yeah,” Felicity said. “She’s tapping in via her home laptop. Sorry it took us so long.” 

“That’s okay!” Stella exclaimed. “So, Felicity, what are you doing in Katmai?” 

“I ended up here on an Emergency Assignment and decided to hang back a day so I could chat with Bam and the crew. How’s everything from your end? Buried under paperwork still? You’re surrounded by books!” 

Bam nodded and replied, “Yeah, I haven’t been paying attention to hierarchy updates. Yer… Yer still Deputy, aye?” 

“Actually, no.” 

“Eh? What happened?!” Corey asked.” 

Scout just about panicked. “Did you get demoted?!” 

Stella turned and started laughing. “Hahahaha! Scout, don’t be such a drama king. Simple answer: yes and no.” 

“What that suppos’d t’ mean?” Bam asked. 

Stella breathed a deep sigh, collecting her thoughts of how to explain things. “So, to put it simply, Dashi and I swapped titles. I got promoted from Deputy to Commander, and Dashi returned to her original position under the title of Deputy. If B- *Ahem* Captain Barnacles, myself, and Kwazii—in that order—are unable to lead, Dashi will take over until the next person in the hierarchy can take over. In her case, that would be Kwazii, in mine that’s the Captain. Although, the Captain phrased my role as a Co-Captain rather than an additional Lieutenant. I got demoted but then immediately promoted. Does that make sense?” 

Corey, ever the curious one, asked, “Then… why was Dashi Commander in the first place?” 

“Well…. The details are personal between myself and the Captain, but he posted a newsletter on the website yesterday. All the newsletters have the coordinates of the closest major city attached, so if you plug them into a map you’re going to find that we’re in the Hawaiian Islands region at the moment. Each letter is also dated so if you search yesterday’s date you should find it.” 

Bam and Ollie did that immediately on the other end while the others were asking questions. Ollie suddenly cut in, “He’s very vague about the topic… I assume that’s on purpose?” 

“Completely. The past month-or-so has been hectic ; between hierarchy drama and missions, plus the storm and the beached Humpback whale the other day, he might have been a little out of it. Basically, what happened was we ended up letting the sponsors help us decide who to promote. The sponsors put me in the role of Deputy—”

“Which he says you brilliantly phrased as ‘glorified secretary.’” 

“Geez; rub it in, why don’t ya,” Stella said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, the sponsors gave me the role of Deputy for my inexperience, and Dashi the role of Commander for her seniority. Obviously that didn’t work so well. Writing and reading have never been my cup of tea!”

“Well the sponsors really didn’t know who they were judging,” Scout scoffed, looking over Bam’s shoulder. “Even the Captain says that!” 

Stella blushed. “True… The main issue behind letting the sponsors dictate that decision was the manager in charge of the meeting. Normally, the manager we talk to is one of the Captain’s old Navy buddies, but since Mike was on paternity leave, the Vice President’s son James was slotted in to take his place… and probably not temporarily. James really didn’t like the Captain—someone old enough to be his father—challenging his authority, thus arguing against it.” 

“I don’t understand why Captain  Barnacles didn’t just go against the decision if his gut told him to go with his original plan. If I didn’t know him personally, I’d say he’s a pretty weak Captain. Whatever the personal details are, they must have had a lot of pull on his decisions.” 

“You’re right about that, Felicity. I don’t really understand why the sponsors’ opinions about our hierarchy mattered, but perhaps there was some legal issue that I didn’t catch.” Stella tucked her knees to her chest and added, “By the way, Felicity, have you heard from Bianca lately?” 

“No, unfortunately. Last I heard she was pretty upset that her brother wouldn’t be home for their birthday for the first time in several years; all she wants is a visit! Why do you ask?” 

“It’s almost spring in the Arctic. She emailed us a day ago asking if we could visit sometime in the near future. I would ask to go next year for her and the Captain’s 34th birthday but… it’s in January in the Arctic . Kwazii and the non-cold adapted members of the team would not be terribly happy with me.” 

“Do you think you could convince her to take a vacation somewhere warmer for a week or so around that time so everyone can visit? Seattle?” 

“I don’t know. She has two cubs and you know that, Ollie,” Felicity replied, shutting down Ollie’s suggestion. 

Stella shook her head. “We’ll figure something out.” 

The door to the Library slid open, and then closed. Barnacles’ tall blue and white figure appeared in the viewfinder behind her. 

“Are you done sorting books?” 

“No,” Stella replied, sitting up to look over her shoulder up at him. “Why?” 

“There’s something I’d like to discuss.” 

“Oh… I-I’ll—”

“No, Stella, take your time! Here, give me a moment, I’ll help.” 

“O-oh… Okay,” Stella muttered as he began sorting through books and checking piles. She turned back to her friends on the tiny screen. “What?” She asked when she noticed their confused expressions. 

“Nothing. Anyway, we should probably let you go now.” 

“We luv you, Stella~” Ollie teased. 

“Haha! I love you guys too. Hope you feel better soon, Ollie.” 

“Thanks. Signing out~!” 

“See ye next time, Stel.” 

“Bai, Stella!”

“Bye~!” 

“Bye guys!” Stella purred before Bam ended the call. 

Barnacles looked over at her from the sofa behind her. “Is Ollie okay?” 

“She has the flu. Hopefully she’ll be feeling better soon.” 

“Oh no! Well, at least she managed to connect. And Felicity?” 

“She was in Katmai on an Emergency Assignment and decided to hang back for a day. Was really nice to chat with her,” Stella replied. “So, what do you want to discuss with me?” 

“We have another conference, this time in New York, with National Seaographic and Oceans United magazines in April.” 

“So… you’re saying we have to go ashore and fly to NYC in April to go to this conference, if we plan to go to Alaska…I assume the sponsors want to meet me in person now?” 

“Well, Mike does. I think he mostly wants to see me again, but I have to go to NYC for the aforementioned conference anyway. It’s just a review of the articles’ popularity, how much we’re being funded, etcetera. Boring economics; that was always Mike’s thing and never mine.” 

“Ah… and you’re complaining to me about it because you want me to go with you. I gotcha. Why the heck not? I’ve never been to New York.” 

Barnacles looked stunned for a moment, glanced around, and then quietly mused, “You know me too well, Honey.” 

Stella laughed. “Give me one reason why I wouldn’t, Bear?” 

After three years of working and living together, it was bound to happen.