Far is the Way Home
By Subjockey
Chapter One
Mystery Mission
Pain. Intense pain was the first thing to greet him as he woke, gasping in raw, unchecked moans, cradling an arm currently impaled with a splintered tree branch, bloodied with the bone exposed. He breathed in shallow breaths until he gained control over the searing pain in his limb that was only now easing off in time to acknowledge the incredible pain in his head as well. It was another few moments before Lee Crane realized he was suspended some fifteen feet above the ground. A quick look up revealed a ripped parachute, tangled in the canopy of trees overhead. The chute, backpack attached to his chest, and black fatigues suggested he was on an ONI mission, but just what that mission was escaped him at the moment. An unexplained grogginess only added to his confusion as he decided to deal with first things first, how to liberate himself from the tree without adding any broken bones to the mix.
Reaching for his knife proved to be a painful endeavor, as it was located on his right side for easy access, only it was his right arm that was currently injured and bleeding. Carefully, he raised his knee as he fumbled until his left hand found the survival knife, the added movement causing him to stop and breathe through another wave of pain. A few minutes later, he had the knife in hand, assessing which line to cut first. If he cut the right lines, he might be able to close the distance to the ground and hopefully avoid more injuries. He started cutting away, unfortunately only losing a couple of feet, and swallowed hard, knowing that the best he could hope for was to prepare for a twelve foot fall. He prepared himself for the drop and roll he intended, holding his injured arm close to his body and taking a deep breath in before slicing through the final lines entangling him and then releasing his chute for the long drop.
He rolled as he intended, but still had his breath taken away at the pain of the jolt, leaving him to recover on the forest floor sucking in gulps of air to avoid the scream he would have liked to have issued. He didn't know how long he lay there before he was able to push himself up to lean against a nearby tree. At least he hadn't broken an ankle on the way down; that was something to be grateful for. He leaned his head back, nursing a monster headache and reached up to feel the blood trailing down his temple.
Now... all he had to do was remember why he was dangling from a parachute in the middle of a jungle in the first place.
VTTBOTS
Carefully, Lee unlatched his backpack still attached to his chest to avoid interfering with his chute, and slid his arms out gingerly. He stopped to blow a breath out, dispensing the sharp pain with an airy breath, before rummaging through his pack looking for clues to his mission.
The search had been fruitless; as expected he carried nothing that would betray his mission or implicate his country. Furthermore, his black fatigues had neither rank, nor country insignias, signaling an all or nothing mission. If he failed, he was on his own. With no physical clues to work with, Lee leaned his aching head back against the tree and tried to focus his brain into giving up its "secrets". His head pounded as he dabbed at blood still oozing from his forehead, and noted that he had a rather large and extremely tender bump on the back of his head as well; the two head wounds apparently accounting for his temporary memory loss.
Wandering aimlessly through the jungle would do him no good, so he took the time to treat his forearm utilizing his first aid kit. He wasn't looking forward to pulling out the branch sliver and momentarily considered breaking off the wooden intrusion and bandaging over it to avoid bleeding out, but decided against it figuring he would lose too much mobility. He might just need all four limbs in working order to complete his mystery mission, so he assessed the injury feeling confident that the sliver had missed the artery. He pulled out the rubber band tourniquet and fixed it on his bicep, just in case he was wrong, and then prepared himself to liberate the offending branch. He breathed deeply, wrapping his hand around the sliver and mentally counting to three. He tugged firmly, and in one swift pull, accompanied by a silent scream that escaped in a loud grunt, relieved his arm of the projectile. Quickly, he added a pile of gauze to his arm, applying pressure and then releasing his tourniquet in order to watch the blood flow as it saturated the bandage. He added another layer when the blood soaked through and tilted his head back, breathing hard while trying to keep from giving away his position. The whole affair spent him, but he noticed that the grogginess that had plagued him up to this point had now receded, the pain having jolted him back to full awareness.
The bandage was soaking slower now, so he added another layer, then wrapped and taped it. He leaned his head back knowing that he needed to stay put for a short time to recover before going on his way, but then realized that he still didn't know which "way" his way was.
"Think Crane," he silently urged himself, closing his eyes and trying to remember anything about his mission. Even the smallest detail escaped him, so he blew a frustrated breath out and decided to take a different approach.
"Come on, Lee, what's the last thing you remember?" he asked himself, willing his brain to find his last memory and work from there. He wasn't completely amnesiac, and was well aware that short-term memory loss was sometimes an unfortunate symptom of a concussion. In many cases, the memories returned as swelling in the brain receded, so he closed his eyes in concentration, searching for his last memory.
He opened them with a sigh, realizing that his last memory had nothing to do with an ONI mission but a rather routine voyage aboard Seaview. He checked the date on his watch, realizing that he had lost three days and focused his thoughts while cradling his arm, allowing the memory to sharpen in his mind and hoping that with each new piece of the puzzle added, the mystery would soon be cleared so he could complete his mission.
The memory sharpened with more details falling into place, so he focused on three days ago, hoping that one memory would spark the next.
"Status Mr. O'Brien," Lee inquired having entered from the aft hatch and scanning the duty stations as he approached the chart table. He had just come from dinner and fourteen hour days aboard the submarine were common place; as captain, he was never off-watch, even when the Con had been transferred.
"Depth ninety feet; trim satisfactory; engines at standard, Sir. I was just about ready to suggest a course correction," O'Brien said handing a piece of paper to his superior officer as Lee looked over both the chart and the intended course correction.
Lee walked to the navigation computer to ascertain their current position and nodded in approval after a quick, but accurate, calculation in his mind before handing the course correction back to the junior officer.
"Very well, Mr. O'Brien," he replied, before checking his watch and heading to the radio shack where the duty sparks was currently busy working the radio. Lee smiled to himself, knowing that Admiral Nelson was right on time, despite the difference in time zones. He waited as Finley adjusted his dials and answered, identifying Seaview and verifying the radio transmission source.
"Admiral Nelson, Sir," Finley informed, as Lee reached for the telephone handset to speak in private.
"Admiral, this is Crane," he greeted professionally with a hint of friendship that his two years as captain of the Seaview had afforded them. Working with the famed Admiral Nelson again had been everything he thought it would be. He had first served under Harry as captain of the nation's first nuclear submarine, the Nautilus; even then Lee's admiration of the officer was substantial. Captain Nelson could make the bravest of men shudder in their deck shoes, but he garnered respect from his men; not blind fear. His tactical commands were decisive and brilliant, and Lee counted himself very fortunate to be serving under the contemporary legend. His admiration and respect only grew upon his two-year tenure aboard Seaview. It had been an adjustment having flag rank aboard during voyages, but he and the Admiral had found that the combination of naval decorum and trust among the two officers had served them well. Their friendship had grown and he considered Harry as close a friend as Chip Morton, his executive officer and former Academy roommate, whom he considered as close as a brother.
"Hello Lee. How did the mission go?" Harry asked with ease; as was sometimes the case, the high demand for Admiral Nelson's expertise required that Seaview set sail without her creator on board. In this case, he was fascinated by the offer of the Ecuadorian government to join other scientists from a variety of disciplines, convening at a special gathering on one of the Galapagos Islands. The gathering, aimed at discussing the unique ecosystem of the region, was topped off by a formal meeting of the minds in Ecuador, where the accommodations could house a temporary "Think-Tank" symposium with far more comfort, with the finale a fly-over of the Amazon Rainforest within Ecuador's borders. Such an invitation was too hard to pass up, and Lee knew that the Admiral had been looking forward to the conference for months now.
"Like clockwork, Sir. The resupply at PMR went textbook," Lee answered, mentally noting that their first dealings with Perkins Marine Research and Underwater Laboratory had been difficult six months ago, when it was discovered that the mating dock had been damaged when the previous supplier failed to disengage cleanly. Repairing the mating ring had been a long, tedious job since the lab was located at a depth of 200 feet and required deep-sea rated divers capable of the delicate repair. Fortunately, Seaview had both, and other than adding a few more days to the originally scheduled voyage, had been deemed a complete success. The endeavor was very much appreciated by the lab's namesake, Terrence Perkins III; a very rich philanthropist who rewarded the Nelson Institute with a three year contract.
"Excellent," he replied with a hint of pride for the repair work Seaview had conducted on their last visit. "And were you able to, by chance, obtain the nembrotha kubaryana samples?"
Lee smiled at the scientific name Harry always preferred to use, but in this case the impressive name couldn't gloss over the fact that the nembrotha kubaryana was a sea slug.
"Aye Sir, our next stop was the reef; the Solomon Islands are beautiful this time of year," Lee added casually. "We were able to secure the slugs you asked about."
"The green or the neon orange?" Harry inquired, finding the nembrotha kubaryana far more interesting than the name 'slug' implied.
"Both Sir, they're waiting in your lab, fat and happy in a specimen tank."
"Fine, Lee."
"Are your plans for tomorrow's fly-over still a go?" Lee asked, knowing the Admiral found the Amazon jungle to be a fascinating study and was looking forward to the outing.
"Yes, Dr. Sanders and I will take the last chopper ride out in the afternoon; each of the expeditions will be assigned a different grid to investigate, we're hoping to spot and identify as many harpy eagles as we can. They spend most of their time in their nests, but if we're lucky we'll spot a few hunting," he added excitedly.
"Sounds great, Sir. Would that be Dr. Carolyn Sanders, Admiral?" Lee asked with a small mischievous grin.
"Yes, Dr. Sanders and I have had many fruitful conversations this past week," Harry answered evenly, despite the fact that he knew Lee was goading him along, as Carolyn Sanders was a brilliant marine archeologist and chemist whom the Admiral admired greatly… and who happened to be quite beautiful, very available, and only a few years younger than Harry.
"When will you make port?" Harry asked in an attempt to move the conversation from its present course.
Lee grinned inwardly, knowing Harry's diversionary tactics well.
"Three days to Pearl, Sir; if we don't decide to stop in Fiji on the way home, that is," he joked to Harry's light chuckle.
"Well, I'll know if you do decide to take a detour," Harry warned in like-jest. "Jiggs already knows you're coming."
"Then we'll keep to the schedule, Sir," Lee acquiesced, withholding the jab he was tempted to make, even good-naturedly, about Admiral-Spit-Polish-and-the-Brig.
"Very well, Lee. We'll see you in about a week," Harry said.
"Aye Sir, have a good expedition," Lee offered before signing off and replacing the handset.
He made a circuit around the control room, signed off the boat's log and then took the stairs and headed to his cabin. He still had a pile of reports to read over before his walk through the boat later, and left in a good mood, rather enjoying the routine of life aboard Seaview.
Lee sighed, the task of remembering proving to be more taxing than he would have thought. He rested a moment, seeking a brief reprieve as he momentarily considered how Harry was doing rekindling an old flame. Unfortunately, reality forced its way back in as Lee returned to the process of recalling the day's events with a monster headache and a throbbing arm.
VTTBOTS
Harry straightened his tie, his image in the mirror reflecting a sharp, well-dressed gentleman in his black dinner jacket and bow tie. The white shirt under the ensemble offered the perfect contrast to his dark suit, while his wavy auburn hair complimented the ensemble grandly. With the bow tie in place he made one last appraising check and reached for his room key, sitting on the bureau. He was looking forward to this evening, as his dinner companion and he had renewed an old friendship that was presently on a course to continue after the conference. Tonight's dinner was going to be topped off by the expedition tomorrow by helicopter over the Amazon Rainforest of their host country Ecuador.
He made his way down to the hotel lounge, ordering himself a scotch and turning to scan the room as he took a drink. It was a good label and he found himself enjoying the drink when he spotted Carolyn enter the lounge. She was stunning in a long deep blue dress that fit her curves to perfection. Her dark brown hair was styled on top of her head, bearing her neck delightfully. Harry picked up his glass and approached her, guiding her to a nearby table. He kissed her cheek in greeting and placed a gentlemanly hand on her bare back, with delicate sequenced sashes crisscrossing her back.
"You look beautiful," Harry complimented, pulling the chair for her as she sat.
"Thank you, Harriman," she replied, raising an eyebrow as he sat across from her. "You're looking very nice yourself."
Harry smiled and raised a hand for the cocktail waitress.
"White wine," Carolyn ordered before turning her attention back to Harry. "This has been a wonderful conference, I'm going to be sorry when it's over," she said, intimating that it was more than the informative conference, but her present company that she would be missing.
"We still have an eventful day tomorrow," Harry reminded her, his dimples sharpening as he smiled.
"One I'm very much looking forward to," she replied as the waitress returned with her glass.
"Then here's to another day," Harry offered in an elegant toast, raising his glass which Carolyn met at mid-table with a delicate "clink" as the two glasses met gracefully.
"To another day," she answered with the twinkle in her eyes intimating her own desires for the direction she hoped the evening would take.
Harry returned her smile and leaned forward feeling incredibly fortunate to have run into Carolyn after all these years. They had both been too busy with their own pursuits before, and perhaps they still were, but neither one could deny the sparks that still flew whenever they were together.
"I made dinner reservations for seven, do you still like to dance?" he asked with a closed mouth half-smile.
"You remembered," she answered pleased, her brown eyes lighting up with her smile. "I haven't been dancing for so long."
"I'm sure not for the lack of willing dance partners," Harry replied, complimenting her beauty as she blushed slightly.
"Well you know me, throwing myself into the next project and not leaving much room for anything else."
Harry nodded and sat back. "I'm afraid I know all too well, since you and I are very much the same in that regard," he answered gracefully.
Carolyn took a sip of her wine and sighed. "That's what I always remembered about you Harriman, you always know the right thing to say, since it was really me that pushed you away."
"We were both busy, but I don't see why we can't enjoy one another's company and celebrate our unique friendship."
Carolyn dropped her eyes in self-contemplation before answering.
"I've missed you, Harriman, and yes our friendship is unique, which is entirely due to how very special you are."
Her honest moment was met by Harry's appreciative gaze as he found his next words effortlessly.
"I feel the same way about you. Let's agree to navigate these waters slowly… enjoy one another's company, and just see where it takes us."
"I would like that very much," Carolyn agreed, raising her glass for a toast. "To the journey… and smooth sailing," she added with a smile which Harry returned as their glasses met once again.
Harry sat back, pleased with the direction the evening was taking and very much hoping that tomorrow wouldn't be their last day together. It had been a long time since he had been stirred like this and found himself enjoying the moment very much.
VTTBOTS
Wondering about Harry was a fleeting thought, but one that brought him a small reprieve as he remembered the Admiral's expert diversionary tactic off the subject of Dr. Sanders. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to ponder it more and returned to the task of filling in the blanks of his missing memories. He remembered the rest of the evening as being uneventful and sighed as much out of frustration as for the headache he sported.
Lee rubbed his head and then checked his watch. It had taken twenty minutes to pull the day's memory from the cobwebs of his mind, but since he still didn't know where he was or what he was doing here, he realized he needed to continue the process of rebuilding the memories. He had accounted for one of the three missing days. With any luck, perhaps he could entice the remainder of his memories to make an appearance. As with most missions, he didn't believe that time was a luxury he could afford to waste, so he concentrated on the next day's events hoping it would snowball into complete recall.