Present
Lt. Cmdr. Heiko Kimura took a moment to consider her surroundings, sight was not much use to her as it was pitch black, something to be expected of 3:30 am. It was her hearing that brought her comfort; specifically it was the gentle inhalation and following exhale of Tim. Or Lt. O'Neill if one wanted to be formal. To her it was hypnotic in its power to relax. Granted she never used to be comforted by staying awake listening to someone breath, actually it put her in distress. She remembered listening to her own breath as the only thing keeping her sane from the pain of her having her implant surgery. For so long the sound of breathing brought her maddening memories but Tim had not only tamed her fears bought brought her to enjoy it. It reminded her of the first time she noticed his breath…
Flashback
"I could not have played my role so well if somewhere inside of me I did not really feel that way" her first words to him upon defecting and joining SeaQuest. Tim had sunk his down and breathed raggedly, something not lost on Cmdr. Kimura's ears. She smiled hoping to take some of the sting out of his disappointment but he would not even meet her eyes. She felt a surprised pang in her heart, she had not meant to do any major harm to him, and it was just a job, more than that she respected Tim. Anyone able to do what he could do was someone worth respecting and he was more than a polyglot. As indifferent as she was at the beginning of their e-mail exchanges she found herself enjoying their correspondences and admiring even more so the man behind them, even more so when he risked so much to meet her. Yet all she could do for this amazing person was feel his disappointment and listen to his ragged breaths. Her words were not a lie; she honestly thought he surpassed many men in service to Chaodai. The pang in her heart sank deeper as Tim's disappointment seem to increase and he said some words that she did not even hear as she was so foregone in her own mind as the ragged breaths led her to ask herself, "What have I done?"
Present
Tim's breathing got light and he tossed in bed, and Heiko prepared to greet him with a good morning until he settled down and his breathing resumed. The air of Jeju Island combined with how active they were during the day served to keep Tim asleep as she prepared to take in more of the symphony of listening to her love breath. It was so much gentler and less ragged then they had first met. Tim ended up avoiding her entirely for her first month onboard the SeaQuest, by the second month; he would not make eye contact and address her flatly as "Commander". The third month was their first mission together, a mission ironically based on the intel she had provided.
Flashback
UEO command rarely if ever found itself addressed by a person so assured in their knowledge and firm in their demeanor as Lt, Cmdr Kimura. "Chaodai was originally an economic alliance that sought to economically rebuild the industrialized nations of the Pacific after the downward decline of the world economy following the 2008 Financial Crisis. The mega corporations that served as founders came to control the member governments as an economic oligarchy and eventually replaced the governments altogether. With this there was no separation of power, your supervisor became your mayor, your CEO your President and so on. In practice the average person or worker was totally expendable to the State-Corporation. Support for the Chaodai government among the people was always mixed but held a majority because of economic stability until the mid-2020s. Since then economic stagnation and increased brutality of the regime have led to support of the government now being a minority opinion. In other words the time is right to defeat topple the current Chaodai government and its xenophobic policies and fill the vacuum with a less extreme position, do not forget if this government is friendly towards the UEO that would be a powerful ally against Macronesia. To successfully do this an infiltration team will be required."
The response UEO command was almost immediate; she had full permission to go ahead. She needed an infiltration team, which consisted of 3, herself, Lucas running support on the SeaQuest and Tim O'Neill, with escorts including Piccolo, Brody and Dagwood. No sooner had the infiltration unit had crossed Chaodai waters and set foot on Fukouka when the local media announced the news. "The disrespect and aggression of Macronesian President Bourne our brave Chaodai soldiers are bringing our order to the sea but claiming our birthright of sea and land." The Chaodai had launched a total war against Macronesia. Radio silence prevented real time communication with the SeaQuest so burst transmission "e-mails" were the only option. The infiltration team transmitted all the data they could to SeaQuest. What they got in return was shocking, massive casualties on both sides, the Chaodai slaughtered Macronesia in the sea however as they hit the coast they were routed by the superior ground forces of Macronesia. Things were seemingly at a stalemate, Macronesia could not live without access to the sea and but had to defend its territory and the Chaodai had no choice but to follow their orders and walk into certain death.
Cmdr. Kimura addressed her team, the outside situation was grave, but that did not change their mission. They still had a duty to perform. Tim seemed uncomfortable; she dismissed her team and asked to speak to the Lieutenant in private.
Present
This time Tim awoke, after a few moments he spoke, "Sweetheart?" to which he received a positive answer. You were absolutely right about Jeju, everything here has amazed me, and the Pink Snapper we had for dinner, the blackberry wine we had afterwards, going to Sunrise Peak after the Manjangul Lava Tubes. Everything about this trip has been perfect and the best part of all," Tim paused to plant a gentle kiss on Keiko's forehead, "is spending the time here with you. I am so glad you talked me out of spending our honeymoon in Hawaii, and to where your grandmother was originally from." Taking Tim's hand she laughed about her blood connection to the island. "I am glad you like it so much Tim, in fact I haven't seen you look so pleasantly surprised since… the Fukouka mission. Tim thought for a moment and was forced to agree, with reservation of course.
Flashback
SeaQuest's response was clear, The UEO was being overwhelmed by refugees; complete the mission at all costs. At the primary data hub for Chaodai's servers they had prepared a special virus. One that would open holes in the firewalls and allow its citizens, who were already brutalized by the Chaodai's government to see the life of the outside world and in doing become dissatisfied with the status quo and demand more. Assuming the identity of Capt. Shinomori (Kimura) and unnamed specialist (O'Neill) infiltrated the supermax facility to implement the program. The mission nearly failed on 3 separate occasions, but between Heiko's martial arts training for the first incident, Tim's language skills in the second and sheer luck and laziness from a sentry for the third the upload was complete. All that was left was to get out, which is when things got interesting.
No sooner than exiting the room then did a soldier come in guns blazing. Tim dove to the left and Heiko to the right, where the guard was made short work of. The problem was that the commotion of battle had attracted more attention and from the sound of it at least 8 guards were en route. 4:1 odds are horrible so the two decided to flee. They tore into the next room, and then the next, then, it happened. One of the guards was armed not with a laser but with an old fashioned bullet-firing gun which the guard preceded to fire. The slug tore through the wall and embedded itself into Heiko's left thigh. Tim spun around and looked on with such horror that even years later it would still be remembered by his teammate.
"Get out of here Lieutenant!" she half-screamed, half-shouted to Tim. "I can slow them down and-" "Like hell! I can't leave you like this; they'll hang you for treason." Heiko did not have time to retort that pilots are not hung, (their implants are used to induce brain death via apoptosis) she simply grabbed Tim by the collar and repeated louder, "Go, now, GO!" Tim replied in a surprisingly soft voice "No". The door behind them opened and the Chaodai soldier was immediately dropped by Cmdr. Kimura's marksmanship. Celebration was premature as there were still 7 more guards to deal with. Before their argument could resume a loud "BANG" could be heard, the sound of the firearm that had been used moments ago to wound Heiko. The shot itself was followed by salvos of laser fire coming from the direction of the seven.
Tim and Heiko looked at each other for a moment, why would Chaodai troops be fighting amongst themselves? The opportunity this question provided was not lost on them as supporting Heiko's weight to favor her wound the two continued to flee. Adrenalin kept them geared up for battle but something was amiss, the commotion going on around them was far too random then guards coming to serve death to interlopers. There were weapons exchanges and shouting sprinkled with profanity from battle at every turn. As many combatants were out of uniform and dressed as civilians as there were uniformed personnel. Neither Heiko nor Tim seemed to attract particular attention from security. What was going on here? Why did it feel like a riot instead of an escape?
The answer was apparent as they emerged from the facility and approached the perimeter of the fence of facility's compound. Things seemed like a riot because; they were in the middle of a riot. Hitting the deck as to avoid attracting they observed the participants. Within minutes Heiko had deduced what was happening, she was too conservative in her estimates to the UEO, the oppression of the Chaodai regime had come to a head around them in a revolt that was occurring around them. The military personnel and civilian militia clashed with such intensity that the two crewmates were hardly noticed down in the grass.
Present
"I sure was surprised in Fukouka," Tim admitted, "I was surprised at the depth of feelings I had for you, I was surprised when we were ambushed and you were wounded, and I was surprised when a riot broke out as we made our escape. In fact my mind was completely blown 3 times in the course of a few minutes. But the grand finale I did not think came until our way back to the SeaQuest, and I am not talking about the collapse of the Chaodai and the recession of Macronesia either".
Flashback
"Tim had been on some long shuttle rides during his time with the UEO, but none were quite as long as what he was now experiencing. The riot had turned out to be more of a social collapse that masked their escape from Fukouka back to the extraction shuttle currently en route back to SeaQuest. The entire crew had made it safely back with Brody applying first aid to Himura's leg wound. What was making this so long was the way Heiko was looking at him from across the shuttle. Now there were many reasons, Tim had disobeyed her direct order to flee was one possible reason. The fact that while hiding in the grass they somehow ended up holding hands which brought back a flood of emotions including the giddiness from the early days of their e-relationship. Finally there was the fact that world politics which the SeaQuest was at the forefront of had just been irrevocably altered. Hearing the words "Preparing to dock" from the mouth of Picolo was a relief to Tim as it meant getting off of the shuttle and back to his area of expertise on the bridge. "Lieutenant" it was Heiko. "I would like to speak with you privately about the mission as soon as humanly possible following our debriefing." Tim turned trying to gauge the tone of her voice and found himself cautiously optimistic. "Of course Commander, after the debriefing".
Present
"I just remembered how nervous and excited you looked when you first came to see me, Tim. I did have a little guilty pleasure though in having you sweat it out a little." Heiko said with a smile, "Of course you had nothing to worry about." Tim chuckled a bit, "At first it seemed odd that the entire world had just been turned upside down and all you wanted to talk about was two hands meeting. But in all honesty that was at the forefront of my mind to. But," Tim paused to find Heiko's hand and gave it a good squeeze before contemplating their twining fingers and saying, "after so many months it was a relief to finally get everything off my chest. I was even more relieved to see know that the feeling was mutual." With this Tim bent down to kiss his beloved's hand before speaking again. "I knew from the way you were looking at me on the shuttle that something was going to happen, I just couldn't imagine that it was going to be "Tim, I love you" coming from you." Heiko giggled "to be fair I only told you I was interested in you at the time, I did not say "I love you" for another 6 months. I just remembered I loved how those words sounded rolling off my tongue." Tim was forced to agree, "hearing that was music to my ears. Why don't you say it again?" Heiko was quick to reply with "I love you".
Author's note: The plot bunny of an O'Neill/Kimura romance has been on my mind for a long time, starting when I first saw Weapons of War in its original broadcast on NBC back in 1996! I thought Tim's online girl was a cool idea, (though hardly sci-fi in today's world) and to see Tim change as he realized who she was really intrigued me. The final scene where she admits to him that it was not entirely an act sealed it, this was a love story that I wanted to see the conclusion of! However NBC was not willing and that was the last we saw of the SeaQuest. I do not want to go into a soliloquy of what the show meant to me other than to say that after Season 2 I was really impressed how the cast and crew stuck with the show for Season 3.
Rewatching the show on Netflix I realized the strength of the show was in its characters, while a copy of Star Trek: TNG the political intrigues and ecology vs. economy dilemmas of a near future Earth brought the characters much more vividly to life than with an intergalactic federation in the distant future. The show was full of interesting characters, case in point Tim O'Neill and Heiko Kimura. As I said I have been interested in these characters for awhile now and writing this fic was one of the more satisfying parts of my writing "career" with . As one fan to another I hope you enjoy this fic as much as I did.