6512/On A Boat Going To Southern Islands

On A Boat Going To Southern Islands
Date of Scene:	15 February 2019
Location:	The southern Pacific Ocean
Synopsis:	Aspen meets Aquaman while gathering marine research data
Cast of Characters:	Fathom, Aquaman

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Fathom has posed:
The Paradise Found has been at sea for a few days now. The marine research vessel sails of out National City, which absorbed the remains of San Diego after the disaster that turned it into the Atlantean city of Sub Diego. Hired to conduct ocean current research by Cranston Shipping, Aspen has had her boat and crew working hard for the first few days. There are plenty of sensors and buoys to prepare for collecting measurements. With corporate funding behind the project, this data set stands to be one of the best ever collected. With plans from the corporation's owner and CEO to release as much of it to academia as possible.

This is on Aspen's mind as the boat is currently just drifting on calm seas while they finish up some preparatory work. As the rest of the crew break for lunch, Aspen takes the time to go for a swim. She has been drawn to the water for as long as she can remember. Swimming, surfing, diving, all of them have been an interest for the twenty-six-year-old.

Aspen pulls off her t-shirt and shorts, wearing an aquatic sports top beneath and a pair of bikini bottoms. She goes over to the side and wastes no time in diving into the clear blue waters of the South Pacific. At this latitude the water is perfect for swimming in. She dives deep under the water, having always been able to hold her breath longer than anyone she's known. She looks around, spotting a pod of dolphins in the distance. Aspen surfaces and begins swimming in that direction, getting closer and then tipping her legs up in the air to dive underwater again, looking about for the playful marine mammals.

Aquaman has posed:
Arthur doesn't get away near as often as he would like these days. His duty as either the King, or as the Aquaman, takes up almost all of his time. So, moments like this are few and far between. The man moves through the water at an easy pace for now, though he could tear through it at over Mach 3...or simply use his trident to teleport. But this...this is relaxation.

She catches sight of the human figure moving amongst the dolphins. Someone tall and muscled, though the details hard to make out at first. He surfaces a bit away from her, the dolphins circling him playfully.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen sees the figure over with the dolphins. Muscular, blond hair... and swimming alone in the ocean without signs of a ship. The dark-haired young woman kicks for the surface, swimming with a fluidity that other human swimmers have actually envied. She surfaces and waves her arm, calling over, "Kaldur, is that you!?"

She begins swimming over towards who she thinks is a member of Aquaman's royal guard. Only as she gets closer, she sees he is lighter skinned. Definitely not Kaldur. She continues swimming nearer though. "Hello," she calls over as she's about thirty feet away. "I thought you maybe were an Atlantean I'd met before. Kaldur is his name."

Aquaman has posed:
The man turns towards the sounds, arching an eyebrow as he gets a look at the woman. He considers her a moment as he idly, skillfully treads water. When she gets close enough she catches the sunlight reflect off of the glorious orange and green scalemail.

"Kaldur? Ah. He's a good kid." His voice is deep and pleasant, and he has the faint kind of a Mainer accent hidden under it all. "But I am not him, sadly."

The dolphins split off and begin playing a bit further away. "Is your ship in distress?," he asks curiously.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen swims over nearer. She has soft, violet eyes which he probably hasn't seen amongst surface-dwellers very often it at all. "Oh, you know him though? I guess it's a small... ah... ocean," Aspen says with a soft smile as she treads water a few feet away. "We're not in distress. Just working on some equipment. We're conducting some research over this part of the ocean. The currents have been unusual for several months. We want to see if we can figure out why. And figure out how to predict it for the future," she tells him.

Aspen watches the dolphins swim away, though her attention stays on the much more interesting Atlantean. "I'm Aspen Matthews," she tells him, offering a little wave of greeting towards him. She tips her head back in the water so when she comes back out, her hair lies smooth upon her head, the dark locks glistening wetly.

Aquaman has posed:
He watches the woman with great curiosity, treading water as if he were more saltwater then he was man. Effortlessly. "Ah, the tides. Yes. We've noticed an oddness as well. We haven't begun to look into it just yet, however, thanks to border skirmishes keeping my attention...along with double-duty with the League..." He shakes his head a bit and chuckles to himself, brushing his fingers back through his long, wet blonde hair.

"I am Arthur."

Fathom has posed:
There is only one Atlantean that Aspen could name by reputation. And if he normally isn't referred to as Arthur, she at least has heard that name too. "Wait, Arthur? You're Kaldur's king? Aquaman?" she asks him. Her eyebrows go up in surprise and for a moment she nearly forgets to tread water, sinking a bit before starting to gently kick again.

"It is an honor to meet you. It is alright to call you Arthur then?" she asks, very not up on Atlantean customs. But then he did introduce himself like that. "Well, if we can figure out anything, I'd be happy to let you know. If there's some way to get the information to you. We're just starting. We have a lot of instruments to start tracking the current flow and try to get a big picture of what is going on."