Harassed

By JSRobertson

The admiral was contacted by a company, A. R. Laboratories, to take their mini bathyscaphe* to the Sirena Deep in the Mariana trench so they could do some research on amphipods, ooze, xenophyophores and sea cucumbers in the deep trench. No Seaview personnel would be needed except to launch the bathyscaphe. Seaview was just the vessel of transportation.

The only reason the admiral took this mission was to see how deep their bathyscaphe could dive into the trench and what they would actually find. This being one of the deepest trenches in the world there wasn't too many living things that deep.

They would have three civilians aboard. Lee really didn't like to have civilians on Seaview as there seems to be more trouble when they're around but he knew the admiral wanted to take on this mission so he agreed. One of the civilians was a woman scientist who would handle the diving of the bathyscaphe, along with another scientist, Silas Howard. The owner of the company, Andrew Rosen, would also be on board as an observer. Janet was looking forward to have another woman aboard for a change. Unfortunately, she got sick and was replaced by Don Porter.

Seaview sailed to Pearl Harbor to pick them up. The crew loaded all their equipment, gear and the bathyscaphe, which was bigger than the mini sub. They also picked up extra supplies Cookie would need including fresh fruit and fish.

The admiral came in the missile room as Lee and Janet were looking over the manifest.

"Admiral they sure are bringing a lot of equipment on board. Do they really need all these items?" Lee asked shaking his head.

"Most of these items are used to conduct the tests on the things they find in the trench. It can all go in the lab."

"Okay, sir," Lee replied as he signed the manifest and gave it back to Janet so she could put it in the file for this mission. She left the missile room and went back to the control room with the duty rosters she had typed up earlier.

They brought their own computer which would need a place to be connected.

"Sir, where would you like us to put their computer?" Kowalski asked the admiral.

"There's no room in the lab so just put it in Mrs. Crane's office. I'll tell her later they'll be sharing her office."

"Yes sir," Kowalski answered and took the computer to her office.

((()))

Since it would take four days to get to the Mariana Trench, they would depart Pearl before dawn the next day.

The admiral met the gentlemen topside and brought them down to the control room where he introduced them to Lee, Chip and Janet.

"Mr. Rosen, Mr. Howard, Mr. Porter I would like you to meet the captain of Seaview, CommanderLee Crane, the executive officer, Chip Morton, and Janet Crane, Lee's wife, and administrative assistant to all of us."

"Nice to meet all of you," they replied.

"If you should need anything, please don't hesitate to let any of us know," Lee told them.

They all shook our hands but when Mr. Porter shook Janet's hand he held on to it a little too long. She actually had to pull it away from him.

"Mr. Morton, please show our guests to their quarters. I believe their luggage has already been taken to their cabins," Lee asked Chip.

"Aye sir," Chip replied as he led them up the spiral staircase and showed them where their cabins were.

As they were walking away Janet heard Mr. Porter ask where the computer was and when could it be connected.

((()))

Since they were still in the harbor, the admiral decided to have dinner that night in the observation nose. Seaview was the largest vessel at Pearl Harbor right now so she was docked at the largest berth which offered the best view of the harbor and a nice back drop for entertaining their guests.

Chip, Lee and Janet arrived just ahead of everyone and were looking out the windows when the admiral and the guests arrived.

Mr. Rosen had brought some wine aboard which they enjoyed before dinner. Since Seaview was on a private mission, alcohol was allowed on the boat.

Cookie and the mess specialists set up a buffet with delicious appetizers of fresh oysters, shrimp and sushi to eat before dinner was served.

While eating the appetizers Mr. Rosen and Mr. Howard were talking to the admiral.

"Admiral we're very impressed on how large Seaview is and the windows offer a magnificent view of the ocean. What keeps them from breaking?" Mr. Rosen asked.

"Gentlemen, the windows are made of a material I invented called herculite. If you want to see something spectacular, please come down tomorrow morning when Seaview dives under the water," the admiral told them proudly as he always enjoyed talking about his 'front porch'.

Mr. Porter showed no interest in what they were talking about. He homed in on Janet as she stood next to Lee and Chip. He grabbed her hand and was stroking it.

"Mrs. Crane, I find it very interesting that you are the only woman on board. What is it you do on Seaview and how long have you been here?" Mr. Porter asked.

"I'm the administrative assistant on board. I help Admiral Nelson, Commander Crane and Mr. Morton with their paperwork. I've been here a little over two years and there is no problem being the only woman on board, I'm just a member of the crew," she replied politely as she tried to pull her hand out of his grasp but he had a tight hold on it.

He never acknowledged that fact that she was married and that it was to the captain of Seaview. She was very uncomfortable talking to him and he never did say one word to Lee or Chip. Neither one of them noticed he held her hand the whole time he was talking to her.

When it was time for dinner, Mr. Porter directed Janet to a seat at the end of the table and sat down right along side of her. Mr. Rosen was already seated at the head of the table so Lee had to sit a few seats down from her. He could tell she was not happy.

Cookie served a dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans with fresh fruit and of course brownies for dessert.

"Admiral, that was a fantastic dinner. My compliments to the chef," Mr. Rosen exclaimed taking his napkin from his lap and putting it on the table.

"Cookie is the chef on board and he and his mess specialists take very good care of us," the admiral said happily acknowledging Cookie who was standing by in case they needed anything.

"Thank you sir," Cookie responded. "I'm glad you enjoyed the dinner." He looked at Lee and Janet and shook his head noticing how little food they ate.

"If you'll excuse us gentlemen, we have an early start in the morning getting Seaview out of the harbor," Lee told them as he, Chip and Janet got up to leave. "Enjoy the rest of your evening."

"Mrs. Crane, do you need to leave too?" Mr. Porter asked taking her hand in his as she got up from the table.

"Yes sir, I will be up early also," she replied removing her hand as politely as she could without making a scene.

The three of them left for their cabins while the rest of the gentlemen enjoyed a nightcap and the gorgeous view.

"Well, what do you think of our guests?" Chip asked as they walked to their cabins.

"I'm not impressed by any of them and I don't care for Mr. Porter at all, there's something about him that irks me," Lee commented.

"Could it be because he took your seat?" Chip chuckled. "And I think you're a little jealous. He seems a little taken with Janet."

"Very funny, Morton. Watch out or you will have to take Seaview out of the harbor. The last time you took her out, you scratched her paint and had to pay for dinner," Lee answered smiling but noticed Janet was very quiet instead of joining in the banter between Chip and him.

"Sweetie, are you alright? You were unusually quiet at dinner and hardly ate anything."

"I'm fine. Just wasn't that hungry. Good night Chip, see you in the morning," she replied as they got to Chip's cabin.

They got ready for bed and Janet fell asleep as soon as she lay down. Lee was a little surprised she fell asleep as fast did as he would have liked some evening exercise.

((()))

They were up at 0400 and after some morning exercise Janet was in a little better mood. Lee always made her feel better. They quickly got ready as they were running a little late.

As they made their way down the spiral staircase, she could see Cookie had already put a pot of coffee on the table in the observation nose. Chip was already in the control room with a cup of coffee waiting for Lee. Lee and Janet grabbed a quick cup before leaving the control room. The three of them climbed the ladder to the conning tower. The only time Janet was allowed up was when they leave Pearl Harbor or if Lee is going on or returning from a mission. She loved watching Lee and Chip direct the crew getting Seaview out of the difficult harbor.

Once they left the harbor and were in open sea, Mr. O'Brien took over the conn while they went to breakfast. As they headed into the wardroom, Janet tensed up as Mr. Porter and the other two men were already there eating with the admiral and Jamie.

"I forgot something in our cabin. I will eat in a little while," she whispered squeezing Lee's hand and left.

Lee couldn't follow her as he needed to get on duty as soon as he finished breakfast. Chip was also a little surprised that she left them. So were the admiral and Jamie who saw her turn and leave. The other gentlemen had their backs to the door so they didn't see her.

((()))

Chip and Lee walked in and were served eggs, bacon, and toast along with some fruit by the mess specialists. They sat down next to the admiral and Jamie after getting some coffee.

"Where's your wife this morning? Sleeping in? She said she would be up early." Mr. Porter asked curiously.

Lee wondered why he wanted to know what his wife was doing. Controlling his temper, "No she forgot something and will be down later," Lee replied abruptly drawing a surprised look from the admiral at his tone of voice.

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to having breakfast with her. Mr. Morton, I need to set up the computer. Is everything I need available in the office I'm using?" Mr. Porter queried.

"Yes, sir," Chip replied. "I will make sure everything is ready for you to set up as soon as we're done with breakfast."

Lee and Chip finished breakfast and left the wardroom. Chip left with Mr. Porter and went to the office where they put his computer.

Lee didn't have time to check on Janet now but would make it a point to do so later in the morning. He went to the control room and relieved Bobby.

((()))

Janet never went down for breakfast that morning, instead heading right to her office and started work. She was working on some reports when Chip and Mr. Porter walked in. She didn't find out until this morning when she saw the other computer that Mr. Porter would be working with her in her office.

"Good morning Mrs. Crane," Chip said quietly, "Missed you at breakfast."

"Good morning Mr. Morton," Janet replied softly, "I forgot something in my cabin and had to go back."

"Just making sure everything is set for Mr. Porter to hook up his computer and it looks like everything is here."

Mr. Porter just needed to connect the cables and plug it in. As Chip watched him, he could tell he knew very little about computers. Chip did the connections for him.

"I'm sorry I need to go to the control room. If you need any more help, you can ask Mrs. Crane and she will get in contact with me and I will be able to help you later."

"Thanks for your help Mr. Morton. It looks like everything is working fine," Mr. Porter answered after he booted up the computer. "If I need anything more I will ask Mrs. Crane first."

Chip hoped they wouldn't need his help with their computer. He had a lot of reports to catch up on and was hoping to do that while they were diving in the bathyscaphe.

Janet wanted to leave the cabin as soon as Chip and Mr. Porter walked in. She was not happy he was going to be in there with her. She didn't like him but she knew space was limited and would have to work it out. Hopefully he wouldn't be in there when she was and if he was she would somehow work around him.

"I see we're going to be working together," Mr. Porter said coming over to her desk and grabbed her hand and patted it gently. She quickly pulled it away. This man was definitely weird, she thought.

"Yes, I will try to stay out of your way," she said tensely.

She would have to be careful on what she worked on when he was in there. She didn't want him to see any classified information or for that matter any information. She could also tell he wasn't too familiar with computers. He asked her a couple of questions about the computer that everyone should know. She liked him even less than before.

"I have to go to the control room, so if you need anything more it will have to wait until I get back," she said while she turned off her computer.

"No problem, I'm just going to check out our program and make sure it's ready to enter the data," Mr. Porter answered back winking at her. This part of the mission was going to be real fun. She wants no part of me, he thought. But that isn't going to stop me.

She couldn't get out of there fast enough.

((()))

Janet went to the control room and sat in the observation nose as Lee directed the crew to dive the boat. She loved watching her glide under the water. The admiral was there with Mr. Rosen and Mr. Howard. While they looked out the windows, she could see they were in awe of how she slid so easily under the water.

"Chip, take over the conn for a few minutes, please. I want to check on Janet."

"Aye sir."

"What's wrong? You didn't come back for breakfast, did you eat?" he asked her gently.

"Not hungry. Did you know I would have to share my office with Mr. Porter?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I thought the admiral told you. If it's going to be a problem, I will try and find some other space but your office is very convenient as it is right down from the lab."

"I don't like Mr. Porter. He gives me the creeps but I will make it work. Please don't say anything."

"I won't. But please go get breakfast," he told her grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

Janet went to the wardroom and did get something to eat and then went back to her office. She had a lot of work to do. The admiral had given her some letters to type, plus she had inventory to enter. When she got there Mr. Porter was gone. This is going to be a long mission; she thought thinking of ways to avoid him. Cheech he was creepy.

*Bathyscaphe is a free diving self-propelled deep sea submersible consisting of a cabin crew similar to a bathysphere but suspended below a float rather than from a surface cable. Source: wikipedia