Filming a sunken ship was always an interesting story. But a sunken ship with an important history like the USS Pennsylvania would be even better. There were a couple of complications for doing so, namely the need of a diving bell. While it was possible to scuba dive to that depth, it would be easier to have a relatively near place to get some fresh air from.
It was especially great to have four guides to lead the news team down to the Pennsylvania; Ran and Gaz the Great White Sharks and Rapier and Gladys the Marlins. They were good additions to the footage, no question. And it was comforting to have someone down in the dark depths who could protect them. Sharks would turn away as they approached and everything smaller than them was nothing to be concerned about.
Even at the bottom of the ocean, the Pennsylvania was a remarkable ship, not least because of its size. It was an impressive dreadnought during the war, which almost made it a shame that it was used for bomb tests and then allowed to sink. The sunken ship could have been made into homes for Animalians, probably from the same fish that dwell there now. But having it as a memorial seemed more tasteful.
"Now we can't go everywhere in this ship," said Ran over the underwater radio that did pretty well to communicate with the news crew, "Partly because we don't have the time and partly because there are some spots you simply can't go into."
"Ok, just give us a minute to get our camera," said one of the reporters.
"Uh, the Pennsylvania is the only wreck here, right?" asked a cameraman.
"Yes, why?" asked the reporter.
"I thought I saw something over there. Something bigger than a shark," said the cameraman.
"It could be a trick of light," said Gaz, "Sometimes down-" Suddenly, she was swept out of sight by something. Ran and the Marlins quickly swam in a certain direction.
The news crew quickly swam after them to see what happened. They didn't have far to go. The Animalians were currently engaged in a fight with a large red creature with many waving tentacles. "Oh God, it's a kraken!" yelped the cameraman.
"Don't be stupid. That's a giant squid!" snapped the reporter.
"Like that makes me feel better!" snapped the cameraman, "I've seen '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'!"
"Get your camera running!" snapped another reporter, "When has anyone ever recorded a giant squid battle?"
"Really? You're thinking of that now?" asked the first reporter.
"Wouldn't you want to record it?" retorted the second reporter.
After a pause, the first reporter said, "Run that camera. If it looks like they're in trouble, shine the light in its eyes. Squids don't have eyelids."
The Animalians were swimming around the huge cephelopod. Clearly, the squid saw the Animalians as food, never mind that they had arms and legs. It swung its longest tentacles at them, trying to grab one. Its smaller tentacles were also trying to seize some prey.
Eventually, one of its tentacular clubs managed to catch Ran's back. Ran gave a shout of pain at that. The suckers on the squid's tentacles didn't cling just by negative pressure. The rims of the suckers were lined with sharp, finely-serrated rings of chitin. It felt rather uncomfortably that there were multiple cookie cutters in Ran's back. However, Gaz quickly towards her mate and latched her jaws around the tentacle. She shook her head, tearing up the squid's flesh and damaging the nerves. Soon, Ran pulled himself free. Then he and Gaz started attacking the tentacles with fangs and claws.
The Marlins were not idle in the battle either. They were swimming very rapidly around the giant squid. Like their close relatives, swordfishes, marlins were among the fastest fish in the ocean. And contrary to what some people would think, their bills were not meant to stab like a rapier. Rather, they were meant to slash like a saber. They darted in, aimed a slash at the squid's flesh, and then swam away before it could grab them. This cut-and-run technique was very effective on marlins' prey.
Before long, the water was murky with the giant squid's blood. It had many slashes across its body, caused by Ran and Gaz's teeth and claws or Rapier and Gladys's bills. The news crew were not just bystanders to this battle. When it looked like the squid was about to snare one of the Animalians, the cameraman shone the light directly into its huge eye, distracting it enough. Eventually, it became clear that it was losing strength, not even having enough to flee. The Animalians swam out of its reach. The squid made little move to follow them. It was bleeding out heavily by this point, coloring the water a deeper red than its skin. In the end, the giant cephelopod was left floating lifelessly.
"That might be the most epic thing ever recorded," said the second reporter.
"Are you four alright?" asked the first reporter.
"It left its marks on me," said Ran, turning around to show the circular wounds on his back.
"I've got you matched," said Gaz, turning to show similar ringlike indentions on her back.
"I'm glad that's only the worst of it," said Rapier.
"It's too bad we couldn't have made it flee," said Gladys, looking at the dead squid.
"It was us or it," said Rapier.
"Yes, but it wasn't pleasant," said Gladys.
"So what do we do with it?" asked Ran.
"That thing could make a lot of calamari," said Gaz.
"I think I have a better idea," said the cameraman.
The excursion inside the USS Pennsylvania would have to wait another day. The squid's corpse was brought up to the surface so it could be studied. The scientists soon reported that this squid was the largest male ever recorded so far, being 3cm longer than the current record holder. But not the longest giant squid in total. Females could apparently be 10 feet longer. None of them were eager to go fight a female giant squid.
But the giant squid was an inspiration. Already plans were being made for an AFS (Artificial Floating Structure) that would be a nautical museum for both the history of nautical travel in the South Pacific and a display of the unique aquatic life in Mieni Atoll, The body of the 'Mieni Kraken' would also be on display, preserved in a gigantic block of resin. Though the name was a bit of an exaggeration as the giant squid wasn't nearly the ship-sinking size that the kraken of legend was.
But the legend of the kraken did spark some interest. Could there be an even larger cephelopod that inspired the old myths. Were there other sea monsters that were waiting to be revealed by the light of science. The bottom of the ocean was still a mystery, but thanks to aquatic Animalians, there was a lot more opportunity to explore. Already, scientists were considering deep-sea specimens to uplift, such as an anglerfish. But whether there were true leviathans in the deep or not, there was a great chance for exploration in a previously unapproachable frontier.