Lisa POV

'You killed her!' Jisoo rushes to Jennie's side. After a moment of delayed shock, I recollect my thoughts and run to Jennie's side. I couldn't believe this. I was right. Hewett is a cold-hearted traitor.

Hewett turns a dial on the stock of his weapon and nonchalantly says, 'Did I?'

I'm paralysed between the desire to help Jennie and the urge to tackle our teacher and make him sing soprano for weeks.

Roseanne, the only one who seems somewhat collected, presses two fingers against Jennie's neck. 'N-no. He's got a strong pulse.' She scowls at Dr. Hewett. 'You can't just go around electrocuting people!'

'There will be no permanent damage,' Hewett assures us.

 'That's kind of not the point,' I say, at the risk of getting shot. I honestly don't care anymore.

Having heard that Jennie won't die, Jisoo turns her attention to her own Leyden gun. Like any goodCephalopod, she sets it down and starts to disassemble it. Her mass of bronze corkscrew hair sways and bounces around her face like the coils of a complicated machine. She extracts a projectile from the top of the magazine and holds it up for inspection. It's a shiny white lozenge about the size and shape of ... Well, honestly, the first thing it reminds me of is a tampon. 

'Some kind of glass?' Jisoo frowns. I can almost see the gears turning in her head, figuring out how exactly the tampon worked in the gun.

'Not exactly,' says Hewett. 'Each projectile is based on a Leyden jar. It stores an electrical charge that is released upon impact. But the casing is constructed from a special type of secreted calcium carbonate.

'Like abalone shell,' I say.

Hewett looks pleased. 'Precisely, Prefect Manoban'

I try not to feel gratified about giving him a correct response. We're not in class anymore. Also, he just shot my friend.

'If the casing is secreted,' Jisoo says, 'what is it secreted from?'

Hewett just smiles. Suddenly I don't want to know.

 'Upon discharge,' he says, 'every trace of the projectile is destroyed. The stun effect lasts anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the target's constitution.'

As if on cue, Jennie wakes with a snort. She sits up, shaking her head. 'What happened?'

Jisoo hugs her tightly. I wince, remembering what it was like to be on the receiving end of her bear hugs.

'Hewett... um...he shot you,' Roseanne says. She clutched my hand in relief. I tried to ignore the feeling bubbling in my chest, even though I was sure she was using my hand as a stress ball.

Jennie looks at Hewett with awe, as if she didn't know the old man was capable of being so cool.

'You're fine,' Hewett tells her. 'On your feet, Prefect. I was just about to explain. In the event of another attack by Land Institute, you will use these weapons. You'll find them more reliable than conventional guns.'

Hwasa's expression changes to disbelief. 'More reliable than my SIG Sauers?'

'I'm not doubting your skills, Ms. Hwasa,' Hewett says. 'I'm aware that you have the highest marksmanship scores in the school's history. But our enemies will have body armor that is quite effective against standard firearms.' 

'Kevlar isn't perfect –'

 'I'm not talking about Kevlar.' Hewett's expression hardens. 'Besides, we will shoot to incapacitate, not to kill. We are not Land Institute. We are better than that.'

His tone is so bitter I wonder if I was wrong to suspect him. He sounds genuinely disgusted with his former employer. I just wish I understood why he left them and graced us with his presence.

'The range of the Leyden guns is limited,' he continues. 'However, any contact with the target's body will release the charge. You will find the guns accurate to a hundred feet.'

 'One-third the range of any regular handguns,' Roseanne mutters.

'Let us hope you do not have to test your skills with either type of weapon,' Hewett says dryly.'But we must be prepared. There are three more boxes like this one in the armory. I've set the locks to open to the fingerprint of any prefect. Ms. Hwasa, arm your Sharks first. Then the rest of the crew.'

Jisoo is shaking her head. 'Sir ... how do these things even work? They shouldn't be possible.' 

Hewett grimaces – his famous Lord, give me the patience to handle back pain and gays expression. 'Prefect Kim, the impossible is merely the possible for which we don't yet know the science.'.

 'But –'

'I understand it is a lot to absorb,' he says. 'Normally during Junior trials, I would introduce the Leyden gun and leave it at that for the day. I'd save the more outlandish alt-tech for Saturday and Sunday.'

'Alt-tech?' Yuna gulped.

'More outlandish?' Moonbyul sounds excited, like she's volunteering for further target practice.

'Unfortunately,' Hewett says, ignoring both questions, 'we don't have the luxury of time. To survive, we will need everything we have. Miss Park, you see that case against the far wall? You remember my lecture on opto-electric camouflage, I hope.' 

Rosie blinks. 'Like the skin of an octopus.'

'Exactly. That case contains projection modules. They must be installed around the exterior of the hull, just above the waterline at one-meter intervals. Do you understand?' 

'I ... Um, yes?'

 'Good.' Hewett glances out of the window. He looks frustrated to see how close we still are to shore. 'Ms. Yuna, there's another case on the bench just behind you. Inside is a pulse-dispersion unit. Please install it on the forward deck. It should jam any radar or sonar.'

'Uh ...' Yuna's face is turning almost as pink as the streak in her hair, like she's forgotten to breathe for the last several minutes. 'Okay, sir.'

'Now, Miss Manoban –' 

'Alt-tech,' I blurt out. 

I feel like I'm emerging from a trance, or maybe going into one. At this point, I'm not sure I'd know the difference. I don't even correct Hewett on the Miss Manoban thing, which I find incredibly patronizing. 

'Your class,' I say. 'Theoretical Marine Science. All the bizarre, dangerous tech you talked about.It isn't theoretical at all, is it?'He gives me that sad expression again. 'Oh, my dear, I am so sorry.'

This apology scares me worse than anything he could have said. And my dear? He's only ever called me Prefect Dakkar (my correct title), or Miss Dakkar (which I hate), or sometimes hey, you if he's feeling particularly perky.

It seems dangerous to keep asking questions. It feels like I'm standing on the highest cliff I've ever dived from. I take the plunge anyway. 'You said Jules Verne reported a few things correctly. You didn't say he foresaw or imagined. Are you telling us the events in those novels actually happened?'

 Hewett sets down his Leyden gun. His fingertips linger over the elaborate wiring on the barrel.

'The age-old question: where do authors get their ideas? In the case of Verne, the answer was personal interviews. He heard rumors. He sought eyewitnesses. Those witnesses lied to him about certain details to protect themselves. Verne changed other facts to make his stories read like, well, stories. But yes, my dear, the bulk of those tales is true.'

 A fragile silence descends on the bridge. The only sounds are the hum of the engines and the thump of waves breaking on the prow. The other prefects look dazed. When Hewett talks again, they lean in, as if trying to hear a voice from a century-old phonograph.

'Since the school's founding,' he says, 'we have been able to reproduce some of Nemo's alt-tech. Much of it we still do not understand. The mission of Harding-Pencroft is to safeguard his legacy, keep his technology out of the hands of human society, and thwart Land Institute, which would use alt tech to dominate the world. I'm afraid, as of today, the balance of power that has existed between our schools for nearly a hundred and fifty years has been broken. Land Institute is on the verge of final victory.

I study Dr. Hewett's aggrieved expression. My nerves feel like a shoal of herring all swimming frantically in different directions. Finally, I can't contain the chaos anymore. I burst out laughing. 

I must look like I've gone crazy. I can't help it. My life has been upended again. I've lost my brother, my school, my future. I've been running on adrenalin for hours. And we're talking about Captain Nemo! 

I hug my ribs. I wheeze and blink away the tears. I'm pretty sure that when I stop laughing, I'll cry myself to death. Roseanne steps towards me nervously. She must sense I'm near a breakdown. Even Jisoo and Jennie look worried.

Hewett's eyes remain as dark as squid ink. 'I'm sorry, Miss Manoban.'

'Prefect,' I correct him, though it's hard to come across as serious when I'm wheezing hysterically.

Hewett frowns. 'I wish we had more time. We spent almost a year slowly orienting your brother. He was being trained to lead, to take over where your parents left off. As much promise as he showed, the pressure nearly destroyed him. Now, I'm afraid I have to ask even more of you. I wish –' 

Jisoo's eyes harden. She looks like she's about to punch someone, preferably Hewett.

He's interrupted by a ding from his tablet computer. I've never heard it make any sound before, and despite the cheerful noise, I can tell from Hewett's expression it isn't good news.

 'They've found us,' he announces.

Hwasa's hands gravitate to her sidearms. 'Is it the thing I saw on your screen before? What was that?'

'No time,' Hewett says. 'Alert the crew. We're under attack.'