Disclaimer: I don't own the television series called SeaQuest, or any
rights to its characters. This is a non profit story written for fun.
Rating: pg-13
Characters: Tony Piccolo and others.
Summary: When one of the members of SeaQuest resigns his friends miss him
but think nothing more of it. Will this member ever return, will he remain
alive long enough to return? What is really going on?
Genre: Fantasy/Angst/Drama.I hope that covers it, but I'm not sure Drama
should be in there.
Warnings: This story deals with forced captivity and fantasy.should be good
eh?
Author's notes: I've had this on my computer for a while and finally decided that I was just going to finish it and post the thing. So, with that pointed out I feel the end comes quickly and is rather roughly written. I apologise for that. Please enjoy and please, lets have some more Tony stories people! He's such a great character to work with! I would also like to say that through creative licence a 'Siren' is not associated with females and the title should become clear in the end ;)
Siren's Call
It was a beautiful set-up, probably one of the finest in the world. The design and detail were so well put together it took your breath away upon first glance. He hadn't known what to expect, though it had always promised to be good. Dustan Miner was not someone who put his money into useless things, it didn't matter that he was one of the wealthiest people on the planet and had an extremely expensive hobby: The collection of exotic sea creatures.
Of course the term exotic tended to be translated into Illegal these days. Or endangered. That was how he'd met Dustan twelve years ago, at the black market in old Manchester England. It was very secretive and usually only frequented through special invite. He himself had been looking for some subsystem computer mumbo jumbo. He couldn't recall exactly what it was that had held his attention that day. Dustan had been examining some rare fish, a reddish spiky creature that was supposedly poisonous and almost extinct except for the few wildlife colonies that were trying to breed them back into abundance.
He and Dustan had had lunch together, and it had turned out that they got along quite well despite their different interests. He learned that Dustan's riches had come to him quite legally, through the death of his father at the age of 93. There had been quite the age difference between father and son, about sixty-five years. Being the only son Dustan received all profit and power that was wrapped into Miner Maker Industries, who provided most materials for building to the UEO and many other large and profitable organizations as well as owning a mini-sub manufacturing plant. Dustan had sold out at fifty billion in profits to himself alone.
Then he'd entered into the world of aquamarine, still having strong ties with the material industry he'd designed and built some of the most elaborate and environmentally friendly public aquariums currently in running order. They also sided as an endangered species protection area and medicinal research. Quite the combo but it worked flawlessly and every year since he'd continued to reel in the money.
Of course all that was good and great, but Dustan's pride and joy existed in his personal aquarium, one hundred acres worth of land on his island in the tropics, which had been built into enormous holding tanks for creatures of all sizes. He had not one but two beluga whales which he was attempting to breed, two humpbacks and three Orcas as the largest in his collection, if one were to exclude the several species of sharks. The creature's homes were built to mimic the ocean they came from. The temperatures were adjusted to the season's they were supposed to be in, the water currents changing with the regular ocean pattern based on the moon. The whale tanks were up to forty feet deep in spots, being built into the ground for structural integrity.
The entire complex was covered by a roof , which allowed natural sunlight to filter in and at the same time restricting view from prying eyes and satellite sensors. However, it was just the excessively large tanks which were held close to the surface, the underground addition of the complex was just as, if not more magnificent. You could only enter the complex with strict security codes and, of course, invitation, which was limited.
Driving through the luxurious corridors lined with glass walls on the side and overhead in spots that were filled with many assortments of sea life. Coral growing in an abundance of shapes and colours in most tanks, fish of all kinds and sizes darting through it and swimming around. They stopped at each one and Dustan would explain which species was what and everything else he wanted to know. You see he'd graduated at the top of his class in marine biology, physiology and anatomic structure on all living things. He was the scientist of his beloved facility, the doctor to all the creatures in it and perhaps one of the most knowledgeable of people on the planet when it came to anything that lived under the surface. Sometimes it was quite overwhelming.
Despite all this he was well aware of Dustan Miner's ability to be cruel when he wanted and had always made sure to remain on his good side.
"Now Farren, this here is the preserved carcass of the now extinct Blue Whale, also known as the Sibaldus Musculus. There are only two others preserved on the entire planet." Farren stared at the giant body floating in a tank, he couldn't even see the entire thing. Dustan continued driving their sleek cart along the tank, passing the fluke. "now this one is only twenty-four meters long, however they have been catalogued at thirty meters and weighing 150 tons. They were the largest mammals that ever lived." They'd reached the head now, a small beady black eye clouded over with death long ago. Yet as Farren looked at it he could feel the wisdom the creature had held, a giant from the ancients, passing on knowledge through generations. Shame there was no more of them.
"That's quite impressive Dustan. How the hell did you get it down here?" Dustan smiled.
"It's all in the engineering." He suddenly stopped the cart Farren looked ahead and noticed that the massive blue corridor had come to an end, a solid metal door with a blue half sphere emerging from its centre. Dustan jumped out of the cart, his black hair seeming to reflect the aquatic blues around them. He placed his well-manicured hand on the blue orb and waited a moment. The orb turned green and he got back into the cart, grinning in anticipation. The door slid open and they drove through.
"Isn't your security tight enough? What have you got back here?"
"My most prized possession, and let me tell you how hard he was to obtain." Farren raised his eyebrow. "The male narwhale was like picking an apple off a low branch in an orchard." And if he remembered correctly the Narwhale incident had almost ended Dustan's collection permanently, at least that was what the authorities had tried to do. Of course it hadn't worked, there was too much politics involved in him.
"What is it?"
"You'll see." They rounded a corner and stopped, Dustan getting off the cart and walking to the passenger side, helping Farren out of the vehicle and handing him his cane. They walked through a door and into a room, the glass wall of a brightly lit tank stood in front of them about seven meters in width and three meters high. Farren gazed past the glass and gasped.
"Amazing isn't he?"
"How is it possible?"
"Nature at it's best."
"So it's all natural?"
"I don't carry fakes Farren."
"Of course not, I'm just.shocked. Where did you find him?"
"On a submarine if you could believe that. They had him walking around and working as though he were just another member of the ship. I don't think any of them realize what he truly is. Have a seat." Dustan pulled two simple cushioned chairs out and they sat down, just gazing at the creature that hadn't realized they were there yet, seemingly occupied with something happening on the other side of the tank, his back turned to them.
Farren took his time admiring the beauty, by far the most exotic piece in Dustan's entire collection. His body was pale white from lack of real sun, the fake lighting feeding his body with needed nutrients but not providing anything in the way of colour. His back was well muscled, noticeable when he moved slightly, his blond/brown hair about three inches long floated around his head like a halo, swaying in a current provided by some pumps hidden in the tank.
He was sitting on a large rock surface that was a two feet off the ground, held in place by another rock pillar and balanced perfectly, like an alter or display surface. Which it was. Rising onto his knees the creature still faced the opposite wall, now his legs almost fully visible, covered in a skin tight material to mid thigh then long strips hung off it dangling down his legs where they were tied around mid calf and then flaring out loosely in the water, creating a fin like image. The material shimmered slightly in the light, the colour of a golden red, blending nicely with his hair.
And on both sides of his abdomen were three gill slits rising and falling with every inhalation of water. Finally the creature sat back on the rock, whatever was captivating his attention before seeming to have left he twisted around to lie back and saw them staring at him. He was only about four meters away from the glass wall, but his eyes which slit with anger, glared at them unremittingly. The colour was unsure at this distance but the hate was clearly noticeable. Then the being raised a hand to them and held down all fingers but the middle one. Now that was an offensive gesture, and one Farren had not seen in a while.
He felt Dustan frown beside him.
"We're still trying to iron out his more undesirable tendencies." The creature in the tank slipped off the rock stool and sat on its opposite side, obscuring his body so they couldn't watch him anymore.
"I take it he did not join your collection willingly." Farren stated, somewhat amused and Dustan chuckled, his humour returning.
"No he did not, and if you ask him he still hasn't 'joined' my collection. He'll learn."
"How long has he been here?"
"Two months."
"And the extra security around him is to make sure no one knows you've kidnapped a water breathing officer of the UEO?"
"Partly. The man's also not stupid. He hasn't been trained in a lot of things but he watches and learns very well. Two escape attempts have almost succeeded." Farren let out a low whistle; Dustan's security was top of the line.
"Tell me more about how you work with him." Dustan visibly perked up, anything about how he handles his pets was always a choice topic.
"The tank you saw him in is a small display tank, we've been renovating his last one which is much larger for the past week. It should be complete in another two days. It's attached to an aqua tunnel which we use to send different animals in and examine how they interact. A month ago we had a tursiops trunactus in with him, that's a bottle-nose dolphin, it went well, they got along fine. Unfortunately the authorities managed to confiscate the creature. I'm not sure how, the lawyers know but I couldn't be bothered. I'm getting another one in two weeks." He stood up and went to the wall beside the tank, activating a video projection of the man/fish. The image of the body turned slowly on the screen.
"As you can see by this diagram he contains a normal set of lungs meant for atmospheric respiration, completely separate from his gills. Now, when he is submerged he sucks water in through his mouth and it travels down his trachea, this is where it gets interesting: where his trachea divides into bronchial tubes to send air into his two lungs he actually has a third passage! When he breathes water the two bronchial are closed off with a valve, much like the epiglottis closes off food from entering the trachea. This third passage has built its way behind his heart and other organs, changing from the hard cartilage into a soft rubbery type of flesh. Water passes through this tube easily and the tube divides, traveling up and between the eleventh and twelfth ribs, the floating rib. On a normal human this would seem impossible except that the flexible tube is supported through the ribs with a set of muscles that don't even exist on a normal human being.
"From here the tube flows into a strong but thin membranous sac that is pressed between the external oblique muscles and the three gill slits. Now the water is pressed thin and forced out of the gills back into the surrounding water. Each gill is branched with feathery like tissue filled with tiny blood vessels near their surface, the oxygen in the water is absorbed into these blood vessels and transported throughout the body, allowing him to breath under water." Farren was about to comment when Dustan continued excitedly, completely caught up in his lecture, and though Farren didn't understand most of what he was saying he simply pretended to be interested. His business was technology, not biology.
"You're probably wondering 'how' enough oxygen is transported through his blood stream with only three gills on each side, the answer is quite simple: For one his gills are large, passing enough water through them to support most of his body. Another benefit is that he can manually pull the water in through his mouth without the aid of continuous movement. Unlike a shark which must swim or it can't push the water through his gills. Another thing that factors in is physical fitness.
"As you might have noticed he's in fair shape, and the better shape he's in the easier he breathes, it's a natural instinct to be fit. Breathing water, because of the slightly slower absorption rate compared to air, requires approximately twenty percent more energy than regular lung breathing, which makes this guy chalk full of extra energy when he is awake and out of the water."
"So you do remove him from the tank."
"Oh quite frequently. He gets a fair amount of exercise out of the water, we have him running treadmills and working in a gym on top of what he usually does with swimming to keep in shape. And of course I'm studying him every way possible: behaviour, food, instincts, how his body works etc. You know the UEO actually used him as a basic diagram to give regular people gills!"
"And it worked?"
"Oh for a while. There was a scientist a few years back who turned all his children into fish people, they've all passed away now sadly. The UEO changed two more into gill functioning humans. One died a few months later and the other about a month ago. You see it's not a matter of simply turning someone into a water-breathing creature, it's the entire body you have to change! That's one hell of a shock to the system and as far as I can tell the UEO didn't even get to some of the important changes. Like the skin for example, in order to sustain long periods under water it has to be able to absorb and expel the water enough to remain at a constant H2O state. You spend too much time in the water you flesh turns wrinkly, after that your skin bloats. And vision is also important, water being denser to look through the eyes must be able to focus differently than when out of the water. Tony here has a slight problem with dyslexia because of it but it appears he's been able to work through it."
"Fascinating Dustan. This Tony being has appeared to be quite the investment." Dustan stood and helped Farren to his feet, sensing that the man had had enough of hearing about his pet science project.
"Worth every penny, if only he'd calm down and just let us work with him it would be even better." Farren chuckled at the complaint.
"I suppose that was the reason for the chain that engulfs his wrist."
"Like I said my friend, he's smarter than we thought. Come on, it's time for dinner." They left the room, unaware of the eyes that followed their departure. Tony floated gracefully to the glass wall, pressing against it with the one hand that could reach, unrestricted by the chain. Then he slammed the fist as hard as the water would allow, bruising his knuckles and not even making a smudge mark on the glass. He swam back to his spot on the floor behind the rock and waited for whatever they wanted him for next, rubbing a hand along where the material gently tickled his leg. He sighed a breath of water and drifted asleep.
Author's notes: I've had this on my computer for a while and finally decided that I was just going to finish it and post the thing. So, with that pointed out I feel the end comes quickly and is rather roughly written. I apologise for that. Please enjoy and please, lets have some more Tony stories people! He's such a great character to work with! I would also like to say that through creative licence a 'Siren' is not associated with females and the title should become clear in the end ;)
Siren's Call
It was a beautiful set-up, probably one of the finest in the world. The design and detail were so well put together it took your breath away upon first glance. He hadn't known what to expect, though it had always promised to be good. Dustan Miner was not someone who put his money into useless things, it didn't matter that he was one of the wealthiest people on the planet and had an extremely expensive hobby: The collection of exotic sea creatures.
Of course the term exotic tended to be translated into Illegal these days. Or endangered. That was how he'd met Dustan twelve years ago, at the black market in old Manchester England. It was very secretive and usually only frequented through special invite. He himself had been looking for some subsystem computer mumbo jumbo. He couldn't recall exactly what it was that had held his attention that day. Dustan had been examining some rare fish, a reddish spiky creature that was supposedly poisonous and almost extinct except for the few wildlife colonies that were trying to breed them back into abundance.
He and Dustan had had lunch together, and it had turned out that they got along quite well despite their different interests. He learned that Dustan's riches had come to him quite legally, through the death of his father at the age of 93. There had been quite the age difference between father and son, about sixty-five years. Being the only son Dustan received all profit and power that was wrapped into Miner Maker Industries, who provided most materials for building to the UEO and many other large and profitable organizations as well as owning a mini-sub manufacturing plant. Dustan had sold out at fifty billion in profits to himself alone.
Then he'd entered into the world of aquamarine, still having strong ties with the material industry he'd designed and built some of the most elaborate and environmentally friendly public aquariums currently in running order. They also sided as an endangered species protection area and medicinal research. Quite the combo but it worked flawlessly and every year since he'd continued to reel in the money.
Of course all that was good and great, but Dustan's pride and joy existed in his personal aquarium, one hundred acres worth of land on his island in the tropics, which had been built into enormous holding tanks for creatures of all sizes. He had not one but two beluga whales which he was attempting to breed, two humpbacks and three Orcas as the largest in his collection, if one were to exclude the several species of sharks. The creature's homes were built to mimic the ocean they came from. The temperatures were adjusted to the season's they were supposed to be in, the water currents changing with the regular ocean pattern based on the moon. The whale tanks were up to forty feet deep in spots, being built into the ground for structural integrity.
The entire complex was covered by a roof , which allowed natural sunlight to filter in and at the same time restricting view from prying eyes and satellite sensors. However, it was just the excessively large tanks which were held close to the surface, the underground addition of the complex was just as, if not more magnificent. You could only enter the complex with strict security codes and, of course, invitation, which was limited.
Driving through the luxurious corridors lined with glass walls on the side and overhead in spots that were filled with many assortments of sea life. Coral growing in an abundance of shapes and colours in most tanks, fish of all kinds and sizes darting through it and swimming around. They stopped at each one and Dustan would explain which species was what and everything else he wanted to know. You see he'd graduated at the top of his class in marine biology, physiology and anatomic structure on all living things. He was the scientist of his beloved facility, the doctor to all the creatures in it and perhaps one of the most knowledgeable of people on the planet when it came to anything that lived under the surface. Sometimes it was quite overwhelming.
Despite all this he was well aware of Dustan Miner's ability to be cruel when he wanted and had always made sure to remain on his good side.
"Now Farren, this here is the preserved carcass of the now extinct Blue Whale, also known as the Sibaldus Musculus. There are only two others preserved on the entire planet." Farren stared at the giant body floating in a tank, he couldn't even see the entire thing. Dustan continued driving their sleek cart along the tank, passing the fluke. "now this one is only twenty-four meters long, however they have been catalogued at thirty meters and weighing 150 tons. They were the largest mammals that ever lived." They'd reached the head now, a small beady black eye clouded over with death long ago. Yet as Farren looked at it he could feel the wisdom the creature had held, a giant from the ancients, passing on knowledge through generations. Shame there was no more of them.
"That's quite impressive Dustan. How the hell did you get it down here?" Dustan smiled.
"It's all in the engineering." He suddenly stopped the cart Farren looked ahead and noticed that the massive blue corridor had come to an end, a solid metal door with a blue half sphere emerging from its centre. Dustan jumped out of the cart, his black hair seeming to reflect the aquatic blues around them. He placed his well-manicured hand on the blue orb and waited a moment. The orb turned green and he got back into the cart, grinning in anticipation. The door slid open and they drove through.
"Isn't your security tight enough? What have you got back here?"
"My most prized possession, and let me tell you how hard he was to obtain." Farren raised his eyebrow. "The male narwhale was like picking an apple off a low branch in an orchard." And if he remembered correctly the Narwhale incident had almost ended Dustan's collection permanently, at least that was what the authorities had tried to do. Of course it hadn't worked, there was too much politics involved in him.
"What is it?"
"You'll see." They rounded a corner and stopped, Dustan getting off the cart and walking to the passenger side, helping Farren out of the vehicle and handing him his cane. They walked through a door and into a room, the glass wall of a brightly lit tank stood in front of them about seven meters in width and three meters high. Farren gazed past the glass and gasped.
"Amazing isn't he?"
"How is it possible?"
"Nature at it's best."
"So it's all natural?"
"I don't carry fakes Farren."
"Of course not, I'm just.shocked. Where did you find him?"
"On a submarine if you could believe that. They had him walking around and working as though he were just another member of the ship. I don't think any of them realize what he truly is. Have a seat." Dustan pulled two simple cushioned chairs out and they sat down, just gazing at the creature that hadn't realized they were there yet, seemingly occupied with something happening on the other side of the tank, his back turned to them.
Farren took his time admiring the beauty, by far the most exotic piece in Dustan's entire collection. His body was pale white from lack of real sun, the fake lighting feeding his body with needed nutrients but not providing anything in the way of colour. His back was well muscled, noticeable when he moved slightly, his blond/brown hair about three inches long floated around his head like a halo, swaying in a current provided by some pumps hidden in the tank.
He was sitting on a large rock surface that was a two feet off the ground, held in place by another rock pillar and balanced perfectly, like an alter or display surface. Which it was. Rising onto his knees the creature still faced the opposite wall, now his legs almost fully visible, covered in a skin tight material to mid thigh then long strips hung off it dangling down his legs where they were tied around mid calf and then flaring out loosely in the water, creating a fin like image. The material shimmered slightly in the light, the colour of a golden red, blending nicely with his hair.
And on both sides of his abdomen were three gill slits rising and falling with every inhalation of water. Finally the creature sat back on the rock, whatever was captivating his attention before seeming to have left he twisted around to lie back and saw them staring at him. He was only about four meters away from the glass wall, but his eyes which slit with anger, glared at them unremittingly. The colour was unsure at this distance but the hate was clearly noticeable. Then the being raised a hand to them and held down all fingers but the middle one. Now that was an offensive gesture, and one Farren had not seen in a while.
He felt Dustan frown beside him.
"We're still trying to iron out his more undesirable tendencies." The creature in the tank slipped off the rock stool and sat on its opposite side, obscuring his body so they couldn't watch him anymore.
"I take it he did not join your collection willingly." Farren stated, somewhat amused and Dustan chuckled, his humour returning.
"No he did not, and if you ask him he still hasn't 'joined' my collection. He'll learn."
"How long has he been here?"
"Two months."
"And the extra security around him is to make sure no one knows you've kidnapped a water breathing officer of the UEO?"
"Partly. The man's also not stupid. He hasn't been trained in a lot of things but he watches and learns very well. Two escape attempts have almost succeeded." Farren let out a low whistle; Dustan's security was top of the line.
"Tell me more about how you work with him." Dustan visibly perked up, anything about how he handles his pets was always a choice topic.
"The tank you saw him in is a small display tank, we've been renovating his last one which is much larger for the past week. It should be complete in another two days. It's attached to an aqua tunnel which we use to send different animals in and examine how they interact. A month ago we had a tursiops trunactus in with him, that's a bottle-nose dolphin, it went well, they got along fine. Unfortunately the authorities managed to confiscate the creature. I'm not sure how, the lawyers know but I couldn't be bothered. I'm getting another one in two weeks." He stood up and went to the wall beside the tank, activating a video projection of the man/fish. The image of the body turned slowly on the screen.
"As you can see by this diagram he contains a normal set of lungs meant for atmospheric respiration, completely separate from his gills. Now, when he is submerged he sucks water in through his mouth and it travels down his trachea, this is where it gets interesting: where his trachea divides into bronchial tubes to send air into his two lungs he actually has a third passage! When he breathes water the two bronchial are closed off with a valve, much like the epiglottis closes off food from entering the trachea. This third passage has built its way behind his heart and other organs, changing from the hard cartilage into a soft rubbery type of flesh. Water passes through this tube easily and the tube divides, traveling up and between the eleventh and twelfth ribs, the floating rib. On a normal human this would seem impossible except that the flexible tube is supported through the ribs with a set of muscles that don't even exist on a normal human being.
"From here the tube flows into a strong but thin membranous sac that is pressed between the external oblique muscles and the three gill slits. Now the water is pressed thin and forced out of the gills back into the surrounding water. Each gill is branched with feathery like tissue filled with tiny blood vessels near their surface, the oxygen in the water is absorbed into these blood vessels and transported throughout the body, allowing him to breath under water." Farren was about to comment when Dustan continued excitedly, completely caught up in his lecture, and though Farren didn't understand most of what he was saying he simply pretended to be interested. His business was technology, not biology.
"You're probably wondering 'how' enough oxygen is transported through his blood stream with only three gills on each side, the answer is quite simple: For one his gills are large, passing enough water through them to support most of his body. Another benefit is that he can manually pull the water in through his mouth without the aid of continuous movement. Unlike a shark which must swim or it can't push the water through his gills. Another thing that factors in is physical fitness.
"As you might have noticed he's in fair shape, and the better shape he's in the easier he breathes, it's a natural instinct to be fit. Breathing water, because of the slightly slower absorption rate compared to air, requires approximately twenty percent more energy than regular lung breathing, which makes this guy chalk full of extra energy when he is awake and out of the water."
"So you do remove him from the tank."
"Oh quite frequently. He gets a fair amount of exercise out of the water, we have him running treadmills and working in a gym on top of what he usually does with swimming to keep in shape. And of course I'm studying him every way possible: behaviour, food, instincts, how his body works etc. You know the UEO actually used him as a basic diagram to give regular people gills!"
"And it worked?"
"Oh for a while. There was a scientist a few years back who turned all his children into fish people, they've all passed away now sadly. The UEO changed two more into gill functioning humans. One died a few months later and the other about a month ago. You see it's not a matter of simply turning someone into a water-breathing creature, it's the entire body you have to change! That's one hell of a shock to the system and as far as I can tell the UEO didn't even get to some of the important changes. Like the skin for example, in order to sustain long periods under water it has to be able to absorb and expel the water enough to remain at a constant H2O state. You spend too much time in the water you flesh turns wrinkly, after that your skin bloats. And vision is also important, water being denser to look through the eyes must be able to focus differently than when out of the water. Tony here has a slight problem with dyslexia because of it but it appears he's been able to work through it."
"Fascinating Dustan. This Tony being has appeared to be quite the investment." Dustan stood and helped Farren to his feet, sensing that the man had had enough of hearing about his pet science project.
"Worth every penny, if only he'd calm down and just let us work with him it would be even better." Farren chuckled at the complaint.
"I suppose that was the reason for the chain that engulfs his wrist."
"Like I said my friend, he's smarter than we thought. Come on, it's time for dinner." They left the room, unaware of the eyes that followed their departure. Tony floated gracefully to the glass wall, pressing against it with the one hand that could reach, unrestricted by the chain. Then he slammed the fist as hard as the water would allow, bruising his knuckles and not even making a smudge mark on the glass. He swam back to his spot on the floor behind the rock and waited for whatever they wanted him for next, rubbing a hand along where the material gently tickled his leg. He sighed a breath of water and drifted asleep.