Hugo’s Voice: "Well Ichy, if you and your sister are going to continue going on these lobster charters with me, I might as well teach you a few things about the ’beasts’ you’re hunting, kiddo."

There is the sound of a bottle cap being removed from a glass bottle, and the top *TINKS* to the ground while audible gulps follow.

Hugo’s Voice: "First- *BUURRP* and the most important information in my opinion, if you’re ever without a bottle opener, a lobster can crush the glass with their dominant claw.

So don’t get your finger caught in there, that pincer is stronger than a human’s grip.

I was once working with a guy who lost a fingertip and when he flinched in reaction, the SOB also got a piece of his ear too.

We tossed that lobster back in the water, since the rest of us on deck respected the ocean warrior’s fight, haha!"

Deep down in the depths of the ocean, a crowd of lobsters is moving together in a large pack.

Hugo’s Voice: "It’s very important to know in this business, lobsters travel in swarms.

So if there isn’t much of a catch in one area, it’s most likely they have migrated somewhere else."

A couple of the craws dart through the water, backwards, to hide between tall seaweed.

Hugo’s Voice: "Also, little fun fact, lobsters swim backwards with their tails.

Never turning their back on whatever it is swimming away from."

From some coral, a different lobster emerges and it is clearly carrying sacks stuck to it’s undercarriage.

Hugo’s Voice: "As you’ve been told already, females hold hundreds of eggs on their tails and are off limits to us lobstermen. So they get thrown back to give birth to our future catches.

We also toss away the tiny guys because they’re not really worth anything on the market, and we give them time to grow.

Believe it or not, but the largest most vigorous lobsters have to return back home too.

It’s the same process as selective breeding and those big guys can contribute to the advancement of the species’ overall gene pool.

That way, less little guys are born."

Separated from the rest of the colony, a solo crustacean begins tunneling itself under the sand.

Hugo’s Voice: "When they shed their old shells, lobsters try to hide in the mud. They become soft like jello and that’s when they are the most vulnerable."

For the misfortunate little guy trying to shed his outer armor to grow larger, a camouflaged octopus snatches the prey and strangles it with tentacles.

Hugo’s Voice: "Other than humans, large fish and octopi are their main predators. Sometimes those smart ass cephalopods find one of our traps and know they can feast on our catch."

Already within their fated prison along the ocean floor, hundreds of grouped lobster are munching on the copious amounts of nutrients hung within the cage.

Hugo’s Voice: "Each of our pots have reflectors because, like a lot of marine life, lobsters are hyper sensitive to shiny objects.

Their favorite delicacies are fish dung, chum, and sand fleas.

The large swarms tend to move towards warmer waters, under 60 F° but above 43 F°.

Any colder or warmer than that, they become sluggish.

Luckily your sis is one of the best damn Captains and Helmswomen I’ve ever worked under.

None of the other boats dare poach your sister’s trap territories, and her vast knowledge of marine biology is so astounding, not one of our set traps has come up empty.

She’s the reason we’re back home a whole day early and we come back over weight on our quotas most of the time."

The lobster pot gets raised and the unknowing prey already have their fates sealed as it breaches the surface...

Hugo’s Voice: "Lobsters range in all sorts of colors and hues.

Most are calico brown, but I’ve seen green, orange, red, even white and blue.

Ain’t that neat?

...

...

... 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Welp, I’ll take care of the mooring duty today, Ichy.

You go with Kay to register the boat for the night."

...

...

...

{7 Years Before Leviathan’s Invasion}

[The Atlantic Ocean]

Under a grey cloud overcast sky, the same small lobster boat from two years earlier, slowly drifts along the waves.

This time, the name of the vessel can be seen.

’Here’s Hopeful Heaven’ in navy blue lettering is on the side.

Ashes fall into the water from the deck of the independent marine hunting ship.

Looking over the edge, a depressed, post crying Hugo is spreading the ashes of someone into the ocean below.

A hand touches his shoulder and the upset man looks to his right.

Ichythis (now 18 y.o.) grabs a bit of ash from the small urn and helps her brokenhearted friend.

Ichythis: "Look at it this way Hue, she doesn’t feel those aches, pains, and sickness anymore.

You were afraid to take her out with us before, but now, whenever we’re out here, your little girl will be with us too."

She gently tosses her handful and the remaining matter that is left of Hugo’s deceased daughter flies with the breeze.

Hugo: "When I had found out, the doctors told me, ’2 months minimum’.

I had planned...so...much.

To make her fight easier.

Ways to lift her spirits.

Places to have our possible final adventures together."

Ichythis fights back tears, then looks up at the Captains Deck above.

Looking down from the glass window, the onlooking sky blue haired sister, Kaylee, blows her nose into a tissue, then wipes her eye corners.

Hugo: "My little girl was so strong...

But why did her disease only give me 3 weeks with her?

How could the universe allow something so negative, to happen to my outgoing and over positive angel?"

The two friends take turns tossing handfuls of the ashes, off the side and to the earth’s ocean.

Hugo: "It breaks my heart even more, knowing Junior didn’t get to see his little sister one last time.

He doesn’t get back from his tour overseas for another 2 weeks, and now he won’t ever get to say goodbye to her.

She asked me where he was the night before she..."

Ichythis(thinking): *He’s really hurting...but I can sympathize with the poor guy.

If anything happened to Kaylee, I- I wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep.*

Hugo: "Thank you, Ichythis."

The spontaneous gratitude makes the young woman snap back to the conversation.

Ichythis: "Wh-Why are you thanking me?"

The grieving man let’s a half smile escape.

Hugo: "Because of you and Kay, I’ve had people to help me get through these past 21 days.

Usually, in this field of work, males like myself would be less inclined to provide emotional support for others grieving on the job.

You two helped me and my daughter during her last days.

Kaylee called to have her cremation scheduled, all so I wouldn’t have to go through that phone call.

Not to mention, you two have worked alone for a few days, and giving me time off today to do this.

That’s why I’m thanking you, kiddo."

...

...

...

{A Few Months Later}

From the starboard of the ’Here’s Hopeful Heaven’, once again Hugo is wearing his rubber suit, but his bare hand is under tossing fists fulls of ashes from an all gold urn.

This time, Ichythis also wearing her rubber ship dock gear, approaches him from behind with a hook in hand.

Ichythis: "If you needed to, I could’ve worked alone out here on this charter, Hugo.

I would’ve understood if you just wanted to spread your sons ashes and go back to the cabin."

Hugo allows the soft ash to slowly fall through his fingers, and get caught by a gust of wind.

There is nothing but the sounds of waves hitting the boat and sea winds whistling.

Ichythis: "It said in today’s paper, his platoon leader was sentenced to over 300 years for the entire incident involving over 100 civilian casualties.

That reckless son of a bitch will rot in jail for all the lives that were lost because of him.

Not just Junior’s."

With aggression, Ichythis tosses the heavy hook at a bouye and sets up the rope to the lift wheel.

Hugo(sighs): "Don’t say stuff like that, kiddo.

Mistakes are made under pressure, and from what the entire report said, it seems like that man has a guilty conscience.

He lost a lifetime friend too in the moment.

Junior joined the military by his own choice, knowing the risk he may not return home.

If you want my honest truth, I don’t blame that man for my son’s death one bit, Ichythis."

From underneath his shirt, Hugo pulls out his locket necklace, opening it to view the individual pictures of his children.

Ichythis: "I just hate seeing the man who has been more of a responsible role model, than my own biological parents, lose his own kids in matter of months."

Hugo: "I really appreciate your words, kiddo.

Really..."

While waiting for the haul to be pulled up, Ichythis pulls out a pack of cigarettes and removes one, lighting it. She leans over the edge and looks down at the blue water below, ashing her cig off the side.

She holds out the pack towards the unfortunate man.

Ichythis: "Here, I don’t smoke that cheap shit anymore."

Hugo looks at the pack and grabs one.

Hugo: "Menthols? But they just got ba-"

Ichythis tosses him a lighter and the man stops his sentence to focus on catching it with one hand while holding the urn in the other.

Ichythis: "This past weekend, I went across state and bought a month supply of menthols for us."

Hugo ignites the cigarette and puffs out smoke.

Ichythis: "Since our government ’overlords’ thought the already established law that prevented kids from buying cigs wasn’t enough, now I gotta drive 2 hours just for a decent pack of puffs."

Hugo(chuckles): "Legislation is paradoxical to the way life is supposed to function, ain’t it kiddo?

We can observe the progressive growth of a living species through generational selective breeding, but governmental powers want to maintain safety and civility, avoiding the concept of survival of the fittest all together.

And because humans can’t get along collectively and simply compromise, we have to have others decide the society rules for us all."

Ichythis takes a drag and she exhales the smoke out her nose.

Ichythis: "But to decide the laws, a person has to obtain a certain level of social respect.

Unfortunately, we all know when a human’s power steadily grows more and more, eventually their own interests or agenda comes before the freedom of others."

The man no longer with living biological children looks at the slowly burning end to his own cigarette.

Hugo: "Aye, Ichy.

Can you promise me something?"

Ichythis: "What’s up?"

Hugo: "Don’t ever change, kiddo..."

Ichythis watches the smoke from her cig float up.

Ichythis: "No problem, Pops."

...

...

...

Following the smoke trail back, it shows a 5 year older Ichythis, with her orange hair in a bun, taking a drag from her almost finished cigarette.

She has a golden urn under her arm and she opens it.

{2 Years Before Leviathan’s Invasion}

[The Atlantic Ocean]

In the exact same lobstering boat, but now it is repainted pure white and has golden trim along the edges and railings.

A handful of ashes drop by the new all red lettering, with the name ’Here’s Hugo’s Heaven’ replacing the previous title.

Ichythis: "You just had to go cuz of lung cancer, aye Pops?

Thanks, now Kaylee is already getting on me about quitting."

She lets out a soft jestering chuckle as she tosses the final particles of the man who started as her coworker, and eventually became her only true father figure.

Ichythis: "It’s finally time you stopped using us as place fitters and spend some quality time with your actual kids."

A tear drops into the ocean.

*DARKNESS*

Ichythis’ Voice: "No, thank you for everything, Pops."