It probably isn't a great idea to be starting a new story, given my time restraints, but this story just will NOT go away. So be warned that updates may not come as quickly as you would like, but I promise I will finish it.

Thankyou again to all the fantastic readers who helped me retrieve "What If?" It made me realise how much I've missed writing so I blame all of you for this story! Seriously though, I love writing and I hate not having time for it so I'm trying to find a balance here between the stuff I need to do and the stuff I want to do. I hope you enjoy while I give Lucas a hard time once again :-)

Oh and just for the record - I don't own seaQuest, just in case you were unsure about that! But I do like messing with it!

False Witness

Chapter One

He tugged at the boy's hand again. When the child refused to move, he glanced back into a small face filled with terror.

"It's going to be OK," he whispered. The child didn't seem to hear him and continued to stare blindly into the space behind them.

He tried again, a little more forcefully this time. "It's going to be OK, Micah. We just have to get down to the launch bay and I can get us out of here. I promise!" The last words were out of his mouth before he realised, but they echoed in his ears. How could he promise such a thing? There were armed guards everywhere and they were searching for just one thing. Them!

He crouched down in front of the traumatized boy and gently cupped his face towards his own. "Micah, if it's the last thing I do, I promise, I will get you out of here. You just have to hold my hand and come, now."

Micah finally reacted at the closeness of their faces and he began to cry. "Papa!" The word fell out of his mouth in an anguished moan. Lucas realised his small charge wasn't going to be able to move himself anywhere so he reached out and scooped up the boy. He was surprised at how heavy a six year old could be, but he stood up and gently maneuvered the child onto his back.

He glanced across the open space and took a tentative step around the corner. There was no sound of anybody in the immediate area so he began to edge along the wall. From memory, the launch bay was two floors down, but he couldn't be sure he was heading in the right direction for the stairwell. The lift was too dangerous an option as they could be easily cornered and the grand stairway was too open. The service stairwell was his best option and he hoped he could find it soon.

He hadn't thought it would take them this long, but Micah's reluctance to move had slowed them down considerably. It wasn't really surprising given what the child had just witnessed, but Lucas knew the longer he took to get to the launch bay, the less chance they had of escape. It was only a matter of time before there were vessels sweeping the area but he hoped the size of the Stinger would mean he could drift through their search pattern unnoticed.

Micah wrapped his arms around Lucas' neck and buried his face into his back. Lucas could feel the tremors of fear coursing through his small body and he wished he could do something to stop them. He continued along the wall, stopping every few feet to check for sounds of pursuit.

Finally they reached a door marked "Staff Only" and Lucas pushed against the rail handle, hoping it wasn't locked. The rail refused to budge and he cursed under his breath. They didn't have time to waste picking a lock, but there was no other way for them to sneak down to the launch bay. He glanced back at Micah and tried to disentangle the boy from his back. Micah clung on tighter and Lucas was forced to crouch down and try again.

"Come on, buddy. I need to get the door open and I need both hands free." He tried to pry Micah's fingers apart and finally the child loosened his grip. As he slid to the floor, Lucas spun around to grab his hands. "OK, this should just take a minute." He smiled encouragingly at the child and quickly stood up to get to work on the panel beside the door.

It was a basic control module and it only took a few tweaks and crossed wires before he heard the soft click of the latch giving way. He pushed at the door and turned back to grab Micah's hand. Before he could move through the door he heard the sound of heavy boots running up the corridor. Micah stood rooted to the spot and Lucas grabbed at his shoulder.

"Come on, Micah!" he hissed. The child refused to move, but the footsteps were closing on them rapidly. He reached down and grabbed Micah's arm and pulled him towards the open doorway. Micah stared at him in confusion and then swung back to see the guard who had made it around the corner.

Before Lucas could react the guard had raised his rifle and fired. There was no time to think as he yanked Micah backwards through the door. Lucas felt his body jerked sideways and he rushed forward to slam the door shut. He had already fried the control circuit on the other side and there was no way to re-lock the door. Suddenly the guard was pushing at the door handle as Lucas frantically wedged a shoe under it. It wasn't much, but each second counted and he hoped it would be enough. He stood up to grab Micah's hand again and was surprised to see the child pull away from him. Micah looked like he was going to scream and Lucas reached out to quiet him. He knew the solo guard would have probably called it in already, but there was no need to alert anyone else nearby if he could avoid it.

Micah continued to back away from him, his eyes wide with fright. With the adrenaline of the moment still racing through his body it took Lucas a moment to realise what was frightening the child so much. He looked down and for the first time he registered the sticky feeling on his t-shirt.

The guard was still pounding on the door behind him and Lucas could hear another voice had joined him. He quickly pulled his flannel shirt around him to cover the spreading patch on his t-shirt and started again to pick up the boy in front of him. He groaned at the weight pushing into his side, but began the long climb down the next flight of stairs. He knew it was just a matter of time before other guards entered the stairwell from the bottom so he prayed, that just maybe, luck would be on his side and he could get out of the stairwell before they got there.

Captain Bridger leaned back in his chair as he flipped the last report closed. It felt good to finish a pile of overdue paperwork. The idea of a paperless society had first been mooted many years ago but somehow the name "paperwork" had never really gone out of use. He smiled slightly as he recalled a conversation he had been having with Lucas only last week about how computers had single-handedly saved the world's remaining rainforests.

The memory of the conversation made him glance at his watch. He would have liked to call the teenager and see how he was going, but Lucas would no doubt be sound asleep as it was well past 3am on the Hope Colony. The call would just have to wait until tomorrow.

A/N Yep I know it's short but I'm just reeling you in! Be back soon I hope.