Tremor Christ - authored by Starbuck
Title: Tremor Christ
Author: Starbuck
Rating: R
Notes: Some UST and MSR here folks but not blatantly so. For once, I am writing something I hope will resemble an episode of the show....Hey if it is any good Chris most certainly can do with it as he will. No problem! (further credits given at the end)
Disclaimer: If I owned them, which I do not, I would be sitting on a beach somewhere with a laptop writing these stories anyway. Oh and yeah, I'd be filthy, stinking rich. As it is, I'm just your fan fiction writing maniac who has little in the ways of money but much in the ways of the imagination. Enjoy the ride!
Summary: Mulder and Scully go storm chasing and get more than an eyeful.
"Scully" file - 'the smallest oceans....' Sing it girl....I know you want to.
Archive: By permission of the author only.

July 19, 1999
10:13 am
Mulder and Scully's office, Hoover Building

"Mulder, you cannot expect me to get on a boat with you just because the Gunmen say that there is an anomaly within Hurricane Jean. Need I remind you of what happened the last time you went off into the deep blue sea?"

"Scully, I am painfully aware of what happened in the Bermuda Triangle. This is not the Triangle. This is the North Pacific Ocean. That was the Atlantic Ocean."

"A hurricane is a hurricane Mulder."

"Actually in the North Pacific Ocean, which incidentally is where we are going, hurricanes are called typhoons." Mulder gave Scully his best smirk. She didn't looked amused. The look she was giving him now reminded him of his mother when she discovered he had flushed all of her makeup down the toilet when he was six years old. A feat that earned him several whacks of a wooden spoon on his rear end. Hmm... Scully and a spoon....bad Mulder. "Got to stop that", he thought scornfully, "No way to think about your partner." Scully's voice brought him reluctantly back into focus.

"A hurricane, or a typhoon if you will, can have wind speeds greater than 75 mph. They are circular in nature with an eye that is 20 miles in diameter. The winds in the eye are what many call the lull in the storm since the wind speed in this part of the storm is dramatically different than the outlying areas. However the wind shears in this part of the storm can rip the skin off a man. I won't even get into the rains."

"Thank God for that at least."

"Hurricanes are very destructive Mulder. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives are lost each year due to these storms. And many of those deaths occur on land. Yet, you...you want to drag me head first into one of these things in the middle of the ocean. Water Mulder...lots and lots of water." She thought for a moment. "What did Skinner say about this?"

"He agreed to us taking the case. Thought there was definitely something here that needed our attention.."

"He agreed?"

"Yes he did. Why would that surprise you Scully?"

Scully looked Mulder in the eyes and answered him in her usual soft, yet sarcastic tone he had come to know so well. "After all these years working with you and Skinner you would think nothing would surprise me." It was a statement rather than a question.

Mulder was about to reply to that when he decided to let that go. Truthfully, he really didn't have a comeback for that just yet. Mulder, for the time being, had more important things to do. He must convince his sometimes annoyingly cynical partner to go sailing off into a typhoon. A task that was becoming increasingly more difficult as this conversation progressed.

"Scully, we will be on board a US Coast Guard vessel with a crew that is expertly trained in dealing with rough seas. Besides we will be in and out of there before you can say 'Man Overboard'. Scully, what can go wrong?"

Mulder saw it clear as day. Scully actually rolled her eyes at him, again. "I hate when you do that."

Scully played innocent. "Do what?"

"You know what. You rolled your eyes at me. I saw you. Don't bother to deny it."

"Mulder, I have no idea what you are talking about." Scully smiled to herself. "Two can play at this game", she thought quietly.

"Back to the X-File."

"What X-File Mulder?"

"C'mon Scully. It is a classic X-File. From the reports that the Gunmen got me there has been a lot of unusual activity in the region." Scully gave him an expression that would have been the facial equivalent of "Duh".

"Aside from the normal activity of the typhoon there has been reports of mass disappearances of people near the area. One man, who claims to be a psychic, even has had repeating dreams of people stuck in what can only be described as limbo. Imagine it Scully, being transported to an alternate realm."

"Mulder, every day with you is an alternate realm."

"Scully, please, just go with me. After all, you always harp on me about going off on my own with these things. I am actually begging you to go with me. Me, Mulder, is begging one Dana Scully to go for a ride on the Love Boat. I'll make you a pina colada." Mulder did the only thing he knew for certain would get her to go. He gave her the puppy dog look. True to form, Scully took it hook, line, and sinker.

"Okay, I'll go. If you get me killed Mulder, I promise you I will come back as a ghost and haunt you."

"You don't believe in ghosts, remember?"

"No, but you do. Just keep that in mind Mulder when you hear bumps and screams in the middle of the night."

"Oh Scully. Say that again." Mulder received a sharp elbow in the ribs as he walked next to her down the main corridor of the Hoover Building. "Hey!" Mulder feigned injury in hopes of getting some sympathy from her.

"Shut up Mulder." To Scully's shock and amazement Mulder listened to her and didn't say anything more until they arrived at the airport.

12:20 pm
Washington Dulles Int'l Airport

"Remind me why I am doing this again?"

"Because you love me?"

"Give me the real reason Mulder."

"I'm hurt by that Scully." Mulder gave her the puppy dog look again as they took their seats aboard the plane. This time he found the effect wasn't one he would have hoped for.

"Mulder it is about time you realize something."

"What?" Mulder scowled at his partner playfully like a child who knew he wasn't going to get his way.

"The look only works once." Scully paused to open her briefcase with the X-File marked X #345-678-890-22 marked on the front cover. "It is this curiosity of yours that gets me in to more trouble than I would care for." She pauses again and inhales. "However, I am going to look over these files you gave me to see if I can figure this out before we go off on Poseidon's Adventure."

"I have had experts review those files Scully and they have come up with nothing."

"Meaning what Mulder? Just because it defies explanation, rational explanation, doesn't mean that a perfectly logical one does not exist. We have been through this argument before Mulder. I really don't feel like going through it.....what the hell?"

"So, do you have a rational, scientific explanation for that?" Mulder watched as Scully had the same reaction that several people, including A.D. Skinner, had had when he showed them the same satellite photos of the hurricane. At first glance the hurricane appeared as any other hurricane would. A swirl of clouds that revolved around a epicenter that was often referred to as "the eye" of the storm. However, this description took on new meaning to Scully as she looked at the photo in utter disbelief. Before her was a photo of a hurricane whose center did indeed look like a human eye. It was the coldest, darkest eye Scully had ever seen. It was like looking at pure evil. What was worse was that the photo seemed to look right back at you. It sent chills down Scully's spine. She shut the folder abruptly and looked at Mulder.

"Mulder what is going on here?"

"We'll just have to wait until we land in Seattle to find out."


4:39 pm
Seattle, Washington
Thirteenth Coast Guard District

Mulder and Scully approached the main desk in the lobby of the 13th Coast Guard District building. A young gentlemen, Sergeant Thomas Kipling, sat waiting in the lobby as Mulder had expected. Rear Admiral Ron Blakesley had told him on the phone that there would be someone there to greet them. Mulder surmised that the Rear Admiral heard of his unusual approach to his cases and didn't want to take the chance of him being alone in his building. Mulder wasn't too surprised by that reaction. It was one that accompanied him throughout his career. He wasn't called "Spooky" Mulder for nothing.

"Agent Mulder. Agent Scully. I'm Sgt. Kipling. I will be escorting you throughout your stay here. If there is anything you need please feel free to let me know."

"Thank you Sergeant", replied Scully with that warm, welcoming smile that on one or more occasion drove Mulder to distraction. It had the same effect on their coast guard friend. Which was precisely the effect they wanted. "Damn, she's good", thought Mulder.

"Yes Ma'am. I will be taking you to see Rear Admiral Blakesley now. Please, follow me."

Mulder and Scully followed the sergeant through a long corridor that had the whitest walls that Mulder had ever seen. The entire building was completely spotless. The effect, to him, was almost blinding. The Rear Admiral's office was a sharp contrast to that of the rest of the building. The walls were the same stark white as those in the rest of the building but it was obvious to them both that the man had put some of his own personality into his working space. There were the usual diplomas and awards placed prominently on a bookshelf There were also several family photos scattered around the room. However, it was the large painting of a ocean storm that drew the attention of the two agents.

"Hello, I'm Rear Admiral Blakesley." Mulder turned to see a rather large, well built gentleman standing behind him. He was in his early fifties but had the look of a thirty year old in an extremely fit condition. "Agent Mulder and Agent Scully I presume?"

It was Scully that answered. "Yes sir, thank you helping us on this case. We know that the request of the FBI to have us go out in the middle of a storm like this one is a bit unorthodox but we need to see for ourselves what we are dealing with here. I'm sure you can understand."

"I must tell you both that I have heard quite a few stories about your reputations Agent Mulder and Agent Scully but, even that withstanding, I am at odds with this one myself. I have had several members of our crew disappear this afternoon while you were on your way here. The reports I have gotten from witnesses are, if you will, out of the ordinary." Mulder and Scully took two seats in front of the desk as the Admiral sat down. He opened a drawer on his left to pull out a file. "This is the information we received from the satellite reports, including the eye-witness reports. I am sure you will agree that whatever it is that we are dealing with here is getting worse. It will hit landfall by tomorrow evening at its present course."

"Admiral Blakesley, from these reports it says that the anomaly has the appearance of a human eye at the epicenter of the storm. Is that correct?"

"Yes. It is no trick photography I can tell you that. At first I didn't think anything was that odd about it. After all, we often interpret the things we see. Much like the inkblot tests that therapists use. However, unlike those pictures this one comes with a personality."

"Meaning?" Scully questioned.

"If anyone approaches too close to the center of the storm, the winds begin to increase at exactly that moment. The sky glows with an almost iridescent glow. The most extraordinary occurrence has to be the voices."

"Voices? You heard voices?", Scully noted the skeptical tone that was always present in her voice at moments like these. Even after all these years, after all the cases she has worked on, every new occurrence was a shock to her system. In a way it was her true north pointing her to the right path. The path of reason over illegitimacy. It was, as Mulder once told her, what kept them honest. She prepared herself for the next wave of information that she knew would undoubtedly throw her off kilter.

"I know Ms. Scully, I had the same reaction. Had I not heard them myself I would not be sitting here taking up your time and mine. I took the liberty of taping these sounds for you the last time we ventured out to sea to investigate. You can have your labs check them out but I can assure you that no one here has tampered with them."

"Thank you Admiral Blakesley." Scully held the tapes in her hand and could feel the tension mounting within her. For some reason she could not fathom now, there was something about this case that resonated a deep fear inside her. She wasn't sure if it was just her nerves or if it was this case in particular.

Mulder looked back towards the painting that had drawn the attention of he and his partner as they entered the office. It was eerie, almost terrifying. It wasn't the painting itself. No, it was just an average painting of a storm at sea with one small ship being tossed about it like a rag doll. It was something else that worried him. Something almost intangible. Yet as Mulder stood there looking at it he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand on end. He rubbed them flat in an effort to calm himself down but it did little to ease him. Mulder decided he needed to know more. "Excuse me Admiral, but do you know anything about this painting? I can't see any signature of the artist nor do I see a date located here anywhere."

"That painting was here before I took over this base. I thought it was interesting to look at so I left it hanging there where it was. Other than that I don't know much about it."

"When exactly did you arrive here, sir?"

"Two months before this whole thing began. You don't think it has anything to do with this, do you?"

"Probably not but sometimes I find that the answers I am looking for are right in front of me. Do you mind if I borrow this for a day or two to have it checked out?"

"No, by all means do whatever it takes. Like I said, I may not understand your methods agents, but if it helps get rid of whatever the hell is out there taking my men I will do whatever it takes."

Mulder and Scully thanked the Admiral and made arrangements for their trip out to sea for two days from today. That would give them time to review the tapes, and yes, the lab would be checking them as a precaution. It would also allow them to visit some of the eyewitnesses that still lingered in town. Some, too afraid of what would happen next, had fled days earlier. Mulder and Scully hoped that those that remained would offer some additional clues to solve this mystery.

Mulder also had some things he wanted the Gunmen to work on for him during those two days. Mainly, background checks on all the witnesses and especially the origin of the painting that had been hanging in the Admiral's office. Mulder held the painting up to the light in the hallway as they moved to the exit, their escort a few paces behind.

"Mulder, do you think that painting has anything to do with this?"

"I don't know Scully but we both had the same feeling when we looked at it. This painting may not be our cause but it may lead to the cure."

Mulder and Scully thanked Sergeant Kipling after they both signed out of the building. Mulder carefully placed the painting in the trunk of the car. Once inside the vehicle Scully turned to Mulder. "I can't get over this feeling I have had since we got her Mulder. Do you feel it?"

"If you are talking about the feeling of fear and death then yes, Scully, I definitely feel that."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Ideas for the continuance to this story may be sent to Starbuck. Please put title being referenced to in subject box....thanks!


Additional Credits: Song that inspired this fan fiction is "Tremor Christ" by Pearl Jam off their Vitalogy Album. Information about the US Coast Guard was obtained from the US Coast Guard, Thirteenth District Web site. Names have been changed. No references to actual persons, places, or things was intended (Hey...that is why they call it fiction folks!)