A Third Season story, written for the "Abandoned" picture challenge at Seaview Stories.

Dedicated to the memory of our beloved Robert Dowdell aka, Lt Cdr Chip Morton

Smooth sailing Commander, we'll miss you

The Temptation

by Lynn

Chapter One

Admiral Harriman Nelson's eyes narrowed as he read the reports that accompanied the official invitation of the Canadian government to investigate strange and unexplained noises in the Arctic Ocean. A thorough investigation had been rendered under the very efficient Canadian Oceanographers League as well the Coast Guard and other government agencies. In addition, US scientists were invited to review the data in the hopes of not only explaining the strange pings and beeps coming from the area, but also the fact that the noises were scaring away fish and mammals from the region. The local natives were extremely concerned about their lack of game, while the authorities suspected illegal activity was at the root of the problem. Perhaps some type of sonar equipment to keep ocean life away from illegal mining operations; or perhaps even an unidentified country testing new equipment on a submarine; no one knew for sure, but the pings and beeps had been verified and the source had to be identified for the national security of both Canada and the US. With the means of both governments' military and scientific assets unable to produce the answer for the unexplained noises emanating from the ocean floor, Seaview was being called upon to investigate with her state of the art detection equipment.

The large mahogany desk in his office was covered with underwater photos, reports, and cassette tapes; all seeking to add a piece of the puzzle to the overall picture. Harry's bottom lip pursed as his brow furled while silently brainstorming possible reasons for the sounds and corresponding animal behaviors. His silent contemplation was interrupted, however, when his intercom came to life.

"Admiral, Captain Crane is here now."

"Very well, Angie, send him right in," Harry replied, depressing the talk button as he continued to study a graph on the subject, until the door opened garnering his full attention as Admiral Nelson greeted his guest, Seaview's Master and Commander, Captain Lee Crane.

"Good morning, Admiral."

"Good morning, Lee. Come in," Harry invited with a nod to the guest chair.

"Looks like you've received the packet from the Canadian Marine Biology Society," Lee noted with a raised eyebrow and ready to dig into the evidence himself. *

"Hmmm, yes," Harry said, looking down at one photo in particular and nodding. "I'm surprised at the amount of information they've acquired. Apparently, they've gathered a lot of facts, just not the source of the problem," he replied, adding eye contact on his last statement. "Let's move this to the conference room and get started," he suggested, standing and gathering the photos, graphs, and reports together.

"Aye Sir. Looks like we ought to get the coffee pot going, there's a lot to go over," Lee commented with a small smile.

"Hmmm," Harry replied distractedly, far too engaged in the project to stop for more than changing locations for the purpose of obtaining more room to spread out.

# # # # #

Nearly every corner of the conference room table was covered with reports, charts, graphs, and notes as Admiral Nelson and Captain Crane poured over the data. Empty coffee mugs sat as paper weights holding the edges in place of several sea charts rolled out with marks of interest penned in red ink, joining the organized chaos of data.

"Well, it looks to me that the Canadian MBS* did a thorough job," Harry said, sitting back and expelling a breath with a shake of his head in contemplation. "They asked all the right questions and followed up on every possible lead," he complimented, tossing his pencil onto the table.

"But we're still no closer to an answer," Lee replied, sitting back as well, having spent the last three hours pouring over the data and in serious need of a break.

"The only thing left to do is an on-site investigation."

"I agree, Sir. Perhaps, our scanning equipment can pick up on something they missed," Crane offered, knowing that their equipment was more than the "latest" in submarine technology, some were proprietary to Seaview and not yet available to marine research vessels.

"I'd like to move on this," Harry said, picking his pencil up and casually tapping the eraser end on the table as he spoke.

"We could add this to the Plankton Project voyage in three weeks," Lee suggested, noting that geographically it made sense.

Harry pursed his bottom lip in thought. "No, I'm inclined to give this top priority. There's a mystery here that is affecting sea life, not to mention the subsistence of several communities. Let's get on this while the iron is hot. I want to set sail in four days; we'll investigate the pings and then hit the Plankton Project on our way back."

Lee raised an eyebrow at the logistics involved, but nodded in agreement. "I'll get Chip right on it," he said standing. "But the tides will be more favorable in three days," he noted, demonstrating his attention to detail to keep track of such things even when Seaview was in port.

Harry nodded, "Very well, Lee," he agreed, standing and collecting the plethora of paperwork currently strewn across the table.

"Aye Sir," Seaview's captain replied, heading out the door with a list of tasks to complete in order to shove off in three days.

Harry stopped his gathering to pick up a chart showing the concentration of the mysterious pings, studying it a moment before circling an area where the pings seemed to be in the strongest concentration. This would be their starting point, he decided, placing the chart on top of his pile to brief Seaview's Command Team later.

It's going to be a very busy three days, he noted silently, tucking the reports under his arm and heading to his office to get the ball rolling from his end.

# # # # #

Lee took the familiar rungs down the ladder, skipping the last three rungs and hopping deftly to the deck below, before turning to scan the near-empty Control Room as Seaview rested in her underground sub pen.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Sanders greeted, currently on watch as the Security Detail while in port.

"Afternoon, Phil. Is Mr. Morton aft?"

"Aye Sir, in the Missile Room overseeing the new Deep Water Detection equipment."

"Very well," Lee replied with an easy smile and headed aft, stepping over the knee-knocker hatch and heading through Seaview's corridors toward the Missile Room.

As he walked, he resisted running a hand on the bulkhead walls of his beloved Seaview. She was in port and silent at present, but always alive in his eyes. Even without the engines purring under his feet, he could feel her strength, ready to sail into action; often deploying with only days' notice. She was every captain's dream, and his privilege to command. He never lost sight of that knowledge, even after three years commanding the wonder vessel.

Seaview's corridors were semi-dark, it was late in the day and his efficient Executive Officer had managed to prep the boat for deployment in record time. Only a few Details were aboard at present finishing rather routine maintenance projects, and the fresh food stores weren't scheduled for loading until tomorrow morning.

The Missile Room hatch was just ahead, and even in port it was sealed closed, the habits of safe submarining well ingrained in Seaview's crew. Lee turned the wheel and opened the hatch as the sound of Chip's instructions to the loading detail reached him, even before visually spotting the blond XO guiding the Deep Water Detection equipment to its position near the winch.

"Very well, men. Secure the equipment," Chip ordered, looking up and spotting Lee as he stepped through the hatch. "And make sure it's good and tight. You know how the Skipper likes to rattle things with his Angles and Dangles," he added straight-faced.

The steps of Lee's oxford shoes alerted the detail of their captain's presence as the men chuckled at the XO's deadpan humor. Lee smiled and met Chip at the control panel alongside the vertical dive hatch, folding his arms and watching the detail bolt the equipment into place.

"So, how's it looking? Has all the equipment been loaded?" Lee asked, losing his smile to get down to business, but still relaxed in his approach.

"This is the last of it," he replied with a quick glance at his watch. "We'll be done here within a half hour."

"Good," he noted, before furling his brow slightly. "Temperature Control is a little off in here," he said, noting the sudden cool feel of the air in the Missile Room.

"I noticed that earlier. I've already scheduled a detail to adjust it tomorrow."

"Very well. Are you headed out soon?" Lee asked, moving easily from boat business to casual conversation.

"As soon as we're done here and I clear the messages on my desk," Chip replied, fully intending to get his job done, but not losing sight of the fact that he only had two more nights in port with his beautiful wife before embarking on a three-week cruise to the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean.

"Good," Lee answered approvingly; he had plans himself and while he rarely dated the night before shoving off, he was eager for the dinner Kristin was preparing for him tonight. They had been dating for the last several months and he was truly enjoying her company. Her plans for an intimate dinner for two sounded just about right before heading out on their next cruise; the fact that she had offered to prepare the meal at his house had invoked a smile several times today. "See you in the morning," he added, stepping away and leaving the final details to his able first officer and crew.

Chip nodded his reply before turning his full attention back to the detail, while momentarily wondering if the rest of the boat was as chilly as it was here in the Missile Room.

# # # # #

A chilly breeze moved through the house, circling the perimeter of the living room before moving decisively up the stairs. The icy misty fog stopped at the bedroom before seeping under the doorway to enter the room where the officer lay in bed, swirling over the top of the sleeping man and invoking a slight shudder as the temperature in the room dropped. The fog glowed eerily, hesitating before slowly spiraling down to just above his forehead and making a connection. The officer expelled a breath; the intrusion noted, though not enough to wake him as the fog spoke in whispery breaths. A moan was followed by a quick toss of his head, until the woman sleeping beside him shifted. She turned over, splaying a hand across his bare chest and shivering at the newly chilled air as he drew her closer in the crook of his arm. Immediately, the swirling fog pulled back, severing the link; it carried a message for the officer alone, but it had connected long enough to know that he would be on board the submarine two nights hence.

Quickly, the fog retreated, lest its presence be made known; retracing its steps back under the crack of the door; down the staircase; through the living room; and finally, out the window, where it traveled across the beach and dissipated into the night sky over the breaking waves of the Pacific Ocean.

# # # # #

Lee glanced down at his watch, before reaching for the phone.

"Admiral Nelson's office," Angie replied; the petite brunette was ever the professional, juggling her responsibilities as Nelson's Personal Assistant with her duties of keeping the Institute Boat afloat while the Admiral was away at sea. It was her efficiency that gave the admiral the freedom to run the large Institute while not compromising his ability to partake in Seaview's missions at sea.

"Good morning, Angie. Is the Admiral available? I have a matter I'd like to discuss with him."

"I believe so, Lee. One moment," she said, putting him on hold as Lee glanced down at the new data before him, pursing his bottom lip in thought until her chipper voice returned. "Yes, Lee, the Admiral can see you now."

"Very well, I'll be right there," he replied, hanging up and standing as he gathered the papers, charts and map. He nestled them under his arm and headed for the door, anxious to see what Harry thought of this new information, and walking with resolve to Harry's office.

"Go right in, Lee, he's expecting you," Angie advised, the two had long-since been on a first name basis, even though she always used his title in front of other Institute employees.

Lee nodded and smiled politely, but walked forward with his mind clearly on the impromptu meeting. The large paneled door was left ajar as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

"Good morning, Admiral," he greeted.

Harry's desk was loaded with stacks of paperwork, no doubt prioritized for his attention as he worked to clear his desk before departing on the voyage.

"Good morning, Lee," he returned, raising his head to give Seaview's captain his full attention.

"Sir, I was wondering if you had seen this," he said, moving alongside Harry's desk and laying the map over the top of his desk as Harry moved papers out of the way to accommodate him.

The sea map was familiar; indeed, it was the same one denoting the approximate coordinates for the mysterious pings reported by various boats and officials. The circle he had drawn was clearly visible, denoting a high concentration of reports and was the first area he had wanted to explore. Lee placed a second map to the side; it was similar, except that this map contained data regarding the latest in sub-marine quake activity.

"It would appear that there was a major quake in the region," Lee pointed out, as Harry nodded, his eyes already accessing and gathering that fact for himself. "And look Sir," he continued, circling the date, "It predates the earliest reports by only one week."

Harry's brow sharpened as he looked over the data on both maps, before a small half-smile broke out.

"You're right, Lee. Of course, we can't prove a correlation at this point, but the timing does seem to be very coincidental, and certainly worth considering," he added sitting back.

"I'm not sure what it means," Lee said, sitting on the edge of Harry's desk while thoughtfully considering his next words, "but perhaps some old sonar equipment was unearthed in the seaquake, and began transmitting again," he postulated with a shrug.

"But powered by what source?" Harry questioned with a raised brow.

Lee shook his head and chuckled. "I'm afraid we're back to where we started… a mystery," he said, standing and collecting his maps. "All I know is that we need to be prepared for seismic activity."

"I agree, I guess the rest will have to wait until we get there," the Admiral added with a smile that said he loved a good mystery, and Lee knew that he loved solving them even more.

"Aye Sir," Lee agreed amicably.

"How are preparations coming?"

"Chip's overseeing the last of the supplies as we speak. The crew is ready to report tomorrow morning and our shove off time is still on schedule for 1400 hours."

"Excellent," Harry said, rearranging his paperwork back in front of him and reaching for his pen as Lee turned to leave. "Oh, and Captain," he added, "nice work on the seismic report."

Lee nodded at the compliment, offering a small smile in return. "Thank you, Sir," before heading out of Harry's office and pulling the door behind him.

Angie looked up from her desk and smiled, acknowledging his presence professionally.

"Thanks, Angie," he replied returning her smile, heading back to his own office through the hallway that led to the other side of the building, where his own corner office was located. A soft wisp of cool air rushed by him as Lee looked up, noting an air conditioning vent nearby and dismissing the chilly air that had suddenly filled the hallway.

# # # # #

"How are preparations coming?" Lee asked his Executive Officer, standing on Seaview's dock and watching as the overhead crane lowered a large crate into the open deck to the missile room below.

"Sharkey's kept everyone on task," Chip replied, watching the process, but leaving the official duty to Seaview's capable Chief of the Boat. "This is the last of the stores; we've got a detail below stowing them."

"Great. Carry on, Mr. Morton. I think I'll take a little walk below," he said as Chip nodded, knowing Lee was going to walk the boat from stem to stern to ascertain for himself Seaview's readiness for deployment.

"Aye, aye, Skipper," Chip replied, looking down at his clipboard and checking off the last crate when he felt a brush of cool breeze and turned sharply. The coolness lingered for only a moment before he mentally shrugged it off and headed for the ladder to inspect Seaview's stores.

# # # # #

*Canadian Marine Biology Society – Fictional organization created for this story