Disc: I have no rights to the series seaQuest DSV and seaQuest 2032. I'm
not earning any money from writing this story.
My thanks goes to Refur for beta reading! Thank you very much!!!
Throw him off the boat by Yury Julian
"Why you?"asked a indignant Lucas.
"Because I'm the best man for the job."Bridger answered.
"Hasn't the UEO got anyone else? Why are we getting a stand-in on board? Isn't Commander Ford qualified enough? I'm sure he would cope."
Captain Bridger pushed Lucas out of the way so he could get to his drawer. "Of course he's qualified, but at the moment it's unclear how long I will be off the boat and that's why we need a stand-in."
"You do realize that I'm going to give him hell on earth?"asked the teenager with narrowed eyes.
"You will stay in your cabin and make as little trouble as possible!" Bridger warned the blond boy.
"Is that your final decision?"
"Yes it is. I have my orders and I will obey them."
"Whatever you want."A furious Lucas ran out of the cabin.
"And?"asked Ben who was waiting for Lucas not far from the captains' quarters.
"He's going. Are you sure that this stand-in is really that bad? I wasn't very nice to Bridger."
"Really bad is not the right word. This guy'll have me punished after two minutes. You can't have fun with him. Maybe you could play a harmless trick on him, but in my position he would send me straight to the brig."
"As long as we can't convince Bridger to stay here, we have no other choice."
"Go back and try again. He usually listens to you. Tell him you'll miss him terribly and that you're scared he might get hurt."
"Give me a break, Ben! Since you're the one who knows who the stand-in is, go argue with him yourself. I'm not your puppet!" With those words Lucas left his friend alone in the corridor. He had promised Darwin he would swim with him, and that was what he wanted to do now. It was none of his business who would take Bridger's place during his absence. As long as he was able to do what he wanted, everything would be all right. Anyway, Bridger would be back soon.
"Is he already on board?"Lucas asked Commander Ford breathlessly. He had been running through the corridors and had run more than one crewman over.
"Lucas, how many times do I have to tell you that you have no reason to be on the bridge. Especially now."said Ford, sounding displeased. He was nervous about the new captain. He wondered what it would be like to work with him. Bridger was really close to his executive staff, but the first captain of seaQuest had not been. Ford had had some problems with her. He hoped that this new one, who would be around for some weeks, would be someone like Bridger. Someone who he would be able to get on with.
"I'm a part of this crew, I have a right to be here just like everyone else on the boat,"Lucas answered like a shot.
"Hasn't Dr. Westphalen got any work for you to do?"
"No, she hasn't. I want to know what the stand-in's like. Krieg told me he's a real hardass."
"This hardass, my lad, does not allow children on the bridge,"said a stern voice behind Lucas. He was grabbed roughly by the arm, and he looked into a harsh face. The man was half bald and the hairs which were left were only milimetres long. "Get out of here or I'll send you back to your kindergarten."
"You can't order me around. I'm a civilian!"Lucas freed himself from the unpleasant man's grasp.
"So is that what you think? Under the circumstances, I am anxious to see how long you will hold that opinion."The man waved at two bridge officers. "Get him off the bridge."
"Captain Hudson, I don't believe this is necessary. I'm sure Lucas intends to leave by himself,"interrupted commander Ford.
"Don't tell me what to do. Just because Bridger lets children run around his feet doesn't mean I have to."
"But Lucas is not an officer of the UEO, nor is he an adult,"said Ford.
"That is exactly the reason why he has to leave the bridge!"he threw a dark look at the teenager, who exited the bridge at a leisurely pace. This asshole wasn't going to ruffle his feathers!
Without knocking, he opened the supply officer's door just a few moments later. "I take everything back, Ben. This guy is the pits!"
"Is he already on board?"Ben jumped out of his bunk. "Damn. I'm on duty. If he knows that I'm not at my post, there'll be trouble."
"So now you're jumping like the bad captain ordered? That's not like you." The teenager stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets and observed his friend. He was hurriedly trying to get into his trousers and putting his socks on the wrong feet.
"If it is Hudson, then it is like me. He's going to have a fit as soon as he sees me."
Somebody knocked on the door and a brief moment later the person appeared in the quarters. "Hi you two. Guess who else was put on the hitlist of the people to be thrown off the bridge!"
"No, really?"asked Lucas surprised. "What, you didn't dance to his tune? Or did he just not like your face?"
"No, I just didn't put the WSKRs in the position he wanted them in. I can't risk losing one of them. We were blind without them, so I had to go,"said Ortiz.
"Count yourself lucky. He's starting right away and I'm late. I'm sharkfood."
"Don't worry, I don't think Darwin will eat you,"Lucas laughed.
"You may laugh. Just wait a little while. You'll see why you have to be afraid of him."With those words, Lieutenant Krieg disappeared out of his cabin.
"He's not so bad."
"Leave him alone, Miguel. He had some bad memories of the replacement captain. Hey, he forgot to throw us out of his quarters before he left. What do you think, do you need any of this stuff?"Lucas was already digging in the boxes.
"Are there any movie disks? I can't find my old ones."Ortiz got down on his knees beside Lucas.
"Sure. There's some porn at the bottom of Ben's cupboard,"said Lucas casually as he swiped some disks.
"Are you old enough for this?"
"Don't get me wrong. This is softer stuff. Ben hasn't got any hardcore disks."
"It seems like you know a lot about this."Lucas only grinned at his friend's comment.
"Ok, I have all I need. See you later."
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna update the vocoder a little bit. My computer needs something new, too. Say hi to the jerk-off from me."Then he was away. Miguel decided that 'jerk-off' referred to the new captain.
"Ok, Darwin. What do you think of this one?"Lucas held the book higher to give the dolphin the opportunity to see the picture.
"Bad."
"Hey, don't get my book wet."He quickly protected the book from the dolphin's splashing.
Someone banged something on the table. Startled, the teenager looked behind him. "What happened?"
"This damn..."She didn't say anything else. Dr Westphalen slumped down on the stool. "I could explode!"Her cheeks were red and her right hand still a fist.
"So the list's getting longer?"Lucas said. He went to the doctor and sat down on the opposite site of her.
"Lucas, I don't know what you're talking about,"said Kristin, shaking her head.
"The list of people who'd like to send the captain to the moon."
"You can say that again. Is everything all right with you? I heard he wasn't pleased with you, either."
"That?"Lucas brushed Dr. Westphalen's doubts away with wave of his hand. "He can't do anything to me. Besides, it's in my interest to play with Darwin like I'm following orders. After I saw Ben transform into a workhorse, I can imagine what he would do to me if he had the chance. What have you done to annoy him?"
"I haven't done anything, he has. Instead of bringing us to the South Atlantic, he changed our course, just like that. He wants to observe an area in the Persian Gulf. He said there might be a crisis. If there is it would be better if seaQuest is already in position. The fish in the South Atlantic won't swim away. But this is a scientific boat not a warship. He loves to play at being a war god!"
"Couldn't you insist on your science mission?"
"If only it were so easy,"she sighed. "At the moment the military has the last word. They know who they sent to this boat."
"Somebody who feels best on the bridge when he's alone."Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock sat down. "I said our sensors seemed to be going wrong and he asked how, but I couldn't answer correctly."
"So you had to leave the bridge and somebody with more competence than you came to take your position."Lucas put one and one together.
"Did you secretly hack into his files?"she joked.
"No, not yet,"grinned the teenager. "Ben was telling me stories about this jerk all morning."
"Oh, that doesn't surprise me. I already know them by heart. I always thought he was exaggerating, but he really is like that,"said the commander.
"What we do now? I don't want to watch him throw one crew member after another off the bridge. In the end our war god will be barricaded in there on his own,"said Lucas.
"I can't do anything. Beside I should look after the medical section so we can be ready in case of emergency. My research can wait till later,"Dr Westphalen said sarcastically.
"You're not really going to follow his orders?"
"Of course I am, Lucas. If I just sit here the whole time I'll go crazy!"
"You could play with me and Darwin! Please, you can't go now. The medical station won't run away from you like the fish. We have enough personnel who care about the station. They won't need you."begged Lucas.
"I'll play with you."Hitchcock offered.
"Right, Katie will play with you and I'll go to the medical station."With that, the doctor disappeared off seadeck.
"I'm going to try to find Bridger."
"What? I thought we were going to play now?"said Hitchcock to Lucas, who got up from the stool and turned to go.
"I'm not interested in that."
"But just now you wanted to."
"Just now Dr Westphalen was still here. She knows exactly how to play with Darwin, but with you I have no idea how long you'll stick around."
"So I'm not good enough for you?"said the commander, sounding offended. She put her hands on her hips.
"Exactly."He was already gone. Once he had arrived at his quarters he right away logged into the UEO computer system. It wouldn't be too difficult to find Bridger. Nothing was hidden from him.
Nathan was in command. His temporary crew worked well together. Top men, who were used to frequent changes in command. There was a knock on his cabin door. "Sir, there's an incoming call for you. We'll put it through."
"Thanks."He frowned, thinking. Who would call him here? He had spoken with the general just an hour before. As long there were no other changes there was no need to break gagging order. Captain Bridger directed his attention at his vidlink. The logo disappeared and a familiar face appeared.
"Lucas!"
"Sorry, Captain, but I had no other choice. The whole crew is going crazy. And nearly half of them have been banned from the bridge."
Nathan looked at the teenager expectantly. "Why?"
"Because your stand-in is an idiot! I'm not so affected by him, he's not got to me too badly, but you should see the doc. I think it won't be too long before she kills him."
"I can't imagine that the UEO would send someone who would terrorize the crew so badly."
"But they did! Hudson is an asshole! Perhaps I should buckle down like Ben. Even Ford is working with him."
"Lucas!"
"Yes?"
"Please do me a favour and don't annoy him. Stay in your cabin or with Dr. Westphalen. If he's really so bad, then leave him alone. I'll try to finish this job as soon as possible."
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know."
"Please hurry. Nobody on board can hold their breath for ever."
"I promise. Take care of yourself, kiddo."
"I will,"the blond teenager assured him with a smile.
"And stay away from him."Unfortunately Lucas had closed the connection before he said this. He sat there for a while thoughtfully. It seemed that his youngest crew member was ok, but what he had told him was not so good. As soon as he had a spare minute, he would call Kristin and speak to her.
When he entered the mess hall some of the crew gave him disgruntled looks. After realizing that he was not the one they were angry with, they turned back to their food. The situation was not mentioned again, and he got a tray and an extra big portion with noodles. Earlier he had been playing with Darwin, now he urgently needed something to eat.
All the seats at O'Neill's table were free. "How's it going?"he asked as he sat down.
"It's going,"sighed Tim.
"Hudson?"
The Lieutenant nodded silently. His gaze was directed fixedly at his plate.
"What was it with you?"Lucas speared noodles until there was no space left for any more.
"It wasn't so bad. He didn't say anything against my work, but everything I did seemed to be wrong. He's treating everybody like little children. You have to answer before he's asked the question, but before you've had time to find the required information he's already done an about turn."
"Well, I'm glad I'm off duty."
"You should be."
Ben was standing in the corridor outside the mess searching for a free seat when he spotted Lucas and Tim. He went over to them. "It's all over!"
"Oh, our workhorse,"Lucas said casually.
"Stop joking and listen to what I have to say."
"What is it? Have you finally managed to put him off balance?"asked Lucas right away.
"Can't be. Ben was the only one who he treated like a man,"put in O'Neill.
"No, that's not true. It's only cos I know how to handle him from before. But that doesn't stop me going crazy."
"Oh?"Tim said doubtfully.
"That's right, that's why it's time for revenge. We need Bridger back!"
"I called him today. It looks like he can't come back any time soon."Lucas had finished and stood up to get another portion. When he returned the supply officer went on with their conversation.
"Listen,"he whispered and leaned over the table. His two friends did so too. Ben told them his plan.
"Forget it. Bridger said I should stay away from him and be as quiet as possible."
"Are you afraid?"asked Krieg provokingly.
"No, I'm not."
"Then you can do this with us."
"It's really risky."
"No pain no gain."
"I'm in."Tim offered. "It's enough. It would be better if Ford was in command. But we can't go on this way."
"That's what I think, too. How about it, Lucas, are you with us?"His friends were looking at him intensely. The teenager nodded reluctantly.
To be continued...
The word immediatly fits not well enough and I replaced it with right away. Hope this was right. If not, please tell me to correct it. Thx! The next chapter will be up within two weeks.
My thanks goes to Refur for beta reading! Thank you very much!!!
Throw him off the boat by Yury Julian
"Why you?"asked a indignant Lucas.
"Because I'm the best man for the job."Bridger answered.
"Hasn't the UEO got anyone else? Why are we getting a stand-in on board? Isn't Commander Ford qualified enough? I'm sure he would cope."
Captain Bridger pushed Lucas out of the way so he could get to his drawer. "Of course he's qualified, but at the moment it's unclear how long I will be off the boat and that's why we need a stand-in."
"You do realize that I'm going to give him hell on earth?"asked the teenager with narrowed eyes.
"You will stay in your cabin and make as little trouble as possible!" Bridger warned the blond boy.
"Is that your final decision?"
"Yes it is. I have my orders and I will obey them."
"Whatever you want."A furious Lucas ran out of the cabin.
"And?"asked Ben who was waiting for Lucas not far from the captains' quarters.
"He's going. Are you sure that this stand-in is really that bad? I wasn't very nice to Bridger."
"Really bad is not the right word. This guy'll have me punished after two minutes. You can't have fun with him. Maybe you could play a harmless trick on him, but in my position he would send me straight to the brig."
"As long as we can't convince Bridger to stay here, we have no other choice."
"Go back and try again. He usually listens to you. Tell him you'll miss him terribly and that you're scared he might get hurt."
"Give me a break, Ben! Since you're the one who knows who the stand-in is, go argue with him yourself. I'm not your puppet!" With those words Lucas left his friend alone in the corridor. He had promised Darwin he would swim with him, and that was what he wanted to do now. It was none of his business who would take Bridger's place during his absence. As long as he was able to do what he wanted, everything would be all right. Anyway, Bridger would be back soon.
"Is he already on board?"Lucas asked Commander Ford breathlessly. He had been running through the corridors and had run more than one crewman over.
"Lucas, how many times do I have to tell you that you have no reason to be on the bridge. Especially now."said Ford, sounding displeased. He was nervous about the new captain. He wondered what it would be like to work with him. Bridger was really close to his executive staff, but the first captain of seaQuest had not been. Ford had had some problems with her. He hoped that this new one, who would be around for some weeks, would be someone like Bridger. Someone who he would be able to get on with.
"I'm a part of this crew, I have a right to be here just like everyone else on the boat,"Lucas answered like a shot.
"Hasn't Dr. Westphalen got any work for you to do?"
"No, she hasn't. I want to know what the stand-in's like. Krieg told me he's a real hardass."
"This hardass, my lad, does not allow children on the bridge,"said a stern voice behind Lucas. He was grabbed roughly by the arm, and he looked into a harsh face. The man was half bald and the hairs which were left were only milimetres long. "Get out of here or I'll send you back to your kindergarten."
"You can't order me around. I'm a civilian!"Lucas freed himself from the unpleasant man's grasp.
"So is that what you think? Under the circumstances, I am anxious to see how long you will hold that opinion."The man waved at two bridge officers. "Get him off the bridge."
"Captain Hudson, I don't believe this is necessary. I'm sure Lucas intends to leave by himself,"interrupted commander Ford.
"Don't tell me what to do. Just because Bridger lets children run around his feet doesn't mean I have to."
"But Lucas is not an officer of the UEO, nor is he an adult,"said Ford.
"That is exactly the reason why he has to leave the bridge!"he threw a dark look at the teenager, who exited the bridge at a leisurely pace. This asshole wasn't going to ruffle his feathers!
Without knocking, he opened the supply officer's door just a few moments later. "I take everything back, Ben. This guy is the pits!"
"Is he already on board?"Ben jumped out of his bunk. "Damn. I'm on duty. If he knows that I'm not at my post, there'll be trouble."
"So now you're jumping like the bad captain ordered? That's not like you." The teenager stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets and observed his friend. He was hurriedly trying to get into his trousers and putting his socks on the wrong feet.
"If it is Hudson, then it is like me. He's going to have a fit as soon as he sees me."
Somebody knocked on the door and a brief moment later the person appeared in the quarters. "Hi you two. Guess who else was put on the hitlist of the people to be thrown off the bridge!"
"No, really?"asked Lucas surprised. "What, you didn't dance to his tune? Or did he just not like your face?"
"No, I just didn't put the WSKRs in the position he wanted them in. I can't risk losing one of them. We were blind without them, so I had to go,"said Ortiz.
"Count yourself lucky. He's starting right away and I'm late. I'm sharkfood."
"Don't worry, I don't think Darwin will eat you,"Lucas laughed.
"You may laugh. Just wait a little while. You'll see why you have to be afraid of him."With those words, Lieutenant Krieg disappeared out of his cabin.
"He's not so bad."
"Leave him alone, Miguel. He had some bad memories of the replacement captain. Hey, he forgot to throw us out of his quarters before he left. What do you think, do you need any of this stuff?"Lucas was already digging in the boxes.
"Are there any movie disks? I can't find my old ones."Ortiz got down on his knees beside Lucas.
"Sure. There's some porn at the bottom of Ben's cupboard,"said Lucas casually as he swiped some disks.
"Are you old enough for this?"
"Don't get me wrong. This is softer stuff. Ben hasn't got any hardcore disks."
"It seems like you know a lot about this."Lucas only grinned at his friend's comment.
"Ok, I have all I need. See you later."
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
"I'm gonna update the vocoder a little bit. My computer needs something new, too. Say hi to the jerk-off from me."Then he was away. Miguel decided that 'jerk-off' referred to the new captain.
"Ok, Darwin. What do you think of this one?"Lucas held the book higher to give the dolphin the opportunity to see the picture.
"Bad."
"Hey, don't get my book wet."He quickly protected the book from the dolphin's splashing.
Someone banged something on the table. Startled, the teenager looked behind him. "What happened?"
"This damn..."She didn't say anything else. Dr Westphalen slumped down on the stool. "I could explode!"Her cheeks were red and her right hand still a fist.
"So the list's getting longer?"Lucas said. He went to the doctor and sat down on the opposite site of her.
"Lucas, I don't know what you're talking about,"said Kristin, shaking her head.
"The list of people who'd like to send the captain to the moon."
"You can say that again. Is everything all right with you? I heard he wasn't pleased with you, either."
"That?"Lucas brushed Dr. Westphalen's doubts away with wave of his hand. "He can't do anything to me. Besides, it's in my interest to play with Darwin like I'm following orders. After I saw Ben transform into a workhorse, I can imagine what he would do to me if he had the chance. What have you done to annoy him?"
"I haven't done anything, he has. Instead of bringing us to the South Atlantic, he changed our course, just like that. He wants to observe an area in the Persian Gulf. He said there might be a crisis. If there is it would be better if seaQuest is already in position. The fish in the South Atlantic won't swim away. But this is a scientific boat not a warship. He loves to play at being a war god!"
"Couldn't you insist on your science mission?"
"If only it were so easy,"she sighed. "At the moment the military has the last word. They know who they sent to this boat."
"Somebody who feels best on the bridge when he's alone."Lieutenant Commander Hitchcock sat down. "I said our sensors seemed to be going wrong and he asked how, but I couldn't answer correctly."
"So you had to leave the bridge and somebody with more competence than you came to take your position."Lucas put one and one together.
"Did you secretly hack into his files?"she joked.
"No, not yet,"grinned the teenager. "Ben was telling me stories about this jerk all morning."
"Oh, that doesn't surprise me. I already know them by heart. I always thought he was exaggerating, but he really is like that,"said the commander.
"What we do now? I don't want to watch him throw one crew member after another off the bridge. In the end our war god will be barricaded in there on his own,"said Lucas.
"I can't do anything. Beside I should look after the medical section so we can be ready in case of emergency. My research can wait till later,"Dr Westphalen said sarcastically.
"You're not really going to follow his orders?"
"Of course I am, Lucas. If I just sit here the whole time I'll go crazy!"
"You could play with me and Darwin! Please, you can't go now. The medical station won't run away from you like the fish. We have enough personnel who care about the station. They won't need you."begged Lucas.
"I'll play with you."Hitchcock offered.
"Right, Katie will play with you and I'll go to the medical station."With that, the doctor disappeared off seadeck.
"I'm going to try to find Bridger."
"What? I thought we were going to play now?"said Hitchcock to Lucas, who got up from the stool and turned to go.
"I'm not interested in that."
"But just now you wanted to."
"Just now Dr Westphalen was still here. She knows exactly how to play with Darwin, but with you I have no idea how long you'll stick around."
"So I'm not good enough for you?"said the commander, sounding offended. She put her hands on her hips.
"Exactly."He was already gone. Once he had arrived at his quarters he right away logged into the UEO computer system. It wouldn't be too difficult to find Bridger. Nothing was hidden from him.
Nathan was in command. His temporary crew worked well together. Top men, who were used to frequent changes in command. There was a knock on his cabin door. "Sir, there's an incoming call for you. We'll put it through."
"Thanks."He frowned, thinking. Who would call him here? He had spoken with the general just an hour before. As long there were no other changes there was no need to break gagging order. Captain Bridger directed his attention at his vidlink. The logo disappeared and a familiar face appeared.
"Lucas!"
"Sorry, Captain, but I had no other choice. The whole crew is going crazy. And nearly half of them have been banned from the bridge."
Nathan looked at the teenager expectantly. "Why?"
"Because your stand-in is an idiot! I'm not so affected by him, he's not got to me too badly, but you should see the doc. I think it won't be too long before she kills him."
"I can't imagine that the UEO would send someone who would terrorize the crew so badly."
"But they did! Hudson is an asshole! Perhaps I should buckle down like Ben. Even Ford is working with him."
"Lucas!"
"Yes?"
"Please do me a favour and don't annoy him. Stay in your cabin or with Dr. Westphalen. If he's really so bad, then leave him alone. I'll try to finish this job as soon as possible."
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know."
"Please hurry. Nobody on board can hold their breath for ever."
"I promise. Take care of yourself, kiddo."
"I will,"the blond teenager assured him with a smile.
"And stay away from him."Unfortunately Lucas had closed the connection before he said this. He sat there for a while thoughtfully. It seemed that his youngest crew member was ok, but what he had told him was not so good. As soon as he had a spare minute, he would call Kristin and speak to her.
When he entered the mess hall some of the crew gave him disgruntled looks. After realizing that he was not the one they were angry with, they turned back to their food. The situation was not mentioned again, and he got a tray and an extra big portion with noodles. Earlier he had been playing with Darwin, now he urgently needed something to eat.
All the seats at O'Neill's table were free. "How's it going?"he asked as he sat down.
"It's going,"sighed Tim.
"Hudson?"
The Lieutenant nodded silently. His gaze was directed fixedly at his plate.
"What was it with you?"Lucas speared noodles until there was no space left for any more.
"It wasn't so bad. He didn't say anything against my work, but everything I did seemed to be wrong. He's treating everybody like little children. You have to answer before he's asked the question, but before you've had time to find the required information he's already done an about turn."
"Well, I'm glad I'm off duty."
"You should be."
Ben was standing in the corridor outside the mess searching for a free seat when he spotted Lucas and Tim. He went over to them. "It's all over!"
"Oh, our workhorse,"Lucas said casually.
"Stop joking and listen to what I have to say."
"What is it? Have you finally managed to put him off balance?"asked Lucas right away.
"Can't be. Ben was the only one who he treated like a man,"put in O'Neill.
"No, that's not true. It's only cos I know how to handle him from before. But that doesn't stop me going crazy."
"Oh?"Tim said doubtfully.
"That's right, that's why it's time for revenge. We need Bridger back!"
"I called him today. It looks like he can't come back any time soon."Lucas had finished and stood up to get another portion. When he returned the supply officer went on with their conversation.
"Listen,"he whispered and leaned over the table. His two friends did so too. Ben told them his plan.
"Forget it. Bridger said I should stay away from him and be as quiet as possible."
"Are you afraid?"asked Krieg provokingly.
"No, I'm not."
"Then you can do this with us."
"It's really risky."
"No pain no gain."
"I'm in."Tim offered. "It's enough. It would be better if Ford was in command. But we can't go on this way."
"That's what I think, too. How about it, Lucas, are you with us?"His friends were looking at him intensely. The teenager nodded reluctantly.
To be continued...
The word immediatly fits not well enough and I replaced it with right away. Hope this was right. If not, please tell me to correct it. Thx! The next chapter will be up within two weeks.